Getting Rid of Wail of the Banshee

[Faent]

The other thread is too long for most to follow at this point, so I wanted to post a separate thread which highlights the fact that Eladrin's proposed Haunting system effectively removes Wail from the game. For the high-necro DC caster, it's tantamount to getting rid of the spell. With charts to explain the changes to those who aren't following them!

Suppose a 44 Necro DC arcane wails 10 mobs. Their DC now looks as follows over time:

Seconds............DC After Cast

000.....Wail.........24
015...................26
030...................28
045...................30
060...................32
075...................34
090...................36
105...................38
120...................40
135...................42
150.....Finger......42

As you can see, they are back to their 44 Necro DC 150 seconds after using Wail. For about a full two minutes of that 150 seconds, they won't be casting any instadeath spells. They scored 11 kills at their max DC of 44.

Now consider what happens over time if you choose not to Wail, but rely on Finger only. (Note that the DC at which the spell is cast is two higher than the DC After Cast).

Seconds................DC After Cast

000.....Finger.........42
015.....Finger.........42
030.....Finger.........42
045.....Finger.........42
060.....Finger.........42
075.....Finger.........42
090.....Finger.........42
105.....Finger.........42
120.....Finger.........42
135.....Finger.........42
150.....Finger.........42

You just racked up 11 smart-targetted kills at your max DC of 44.

The fact that you get about the same number of 44 DC, i.e., unnerfed kills, over time by relying on Finger, coupled with the fact that these kills can be much better chosen, is itself sufficient to show that no competent caster will ever use Wail.

But it actually gets worse. The person who foolishly choose to wail was unable to attempt any instakills AT ALL for a long time (at least seconds 0-90), while the person who chooses Finger can choose to toss, in the several minutes the Wailer nerfed his Necro DC, other single target instakills at a slightly less optimal DC of 42 or 40. This is not an option for the Wailer who blew his load on a Wail and relegated himself to about two minutes of playing like a sorcerer before it might be reasonable to try to work in another lower DC single-target instakill.

This means the person who didn't foolishly Wail can work in other instadeath spells (in addition to his free 11 44 DC Fingers) over that 150 seconds at a slightly suboptimal DC of 42 or 40. The foolish Wailer can only begin to do this as he gets past the ninety second or two minute mark of total Necro nerfage.

The higher your Necro DC, the more single-target instadeath spells you will be able to weave in with your eleven max-DC fingers over 150 seconds, and so the the more stupid casting Wail becomes (unless you use it as a single target instakill).

So not only does the proposed change make it ridiculous to ever cast Wail as anything but a single target instakill, it also imposes a fairly severe cap on the number of instakills an arcane can get over time. It's around one every fifteen seconds at your max DC, and a few more in the mix at a lower DC if you never use Wail on a group. (This is hard to calculate, but I estimate it'd be something like 1 every 10 seconds.)

Reducing Necro arcanes to something like six instakills per minute is a MASSIVE nerf to Necromancy. It's the biggest nerf the game has ever seen. It guts Necromancy. And the proposed changes make Wail and Circle utterly useless as mass instakills (it converts them, in the hands of the smart caster, to single-target lower DC instakills for use when Finger is on timer).

[paraplegic]

Wail = SP efficient
Fod = i like i can be selective. but it cost a bit more (sp/kill wise)


also ill be TR my wiz to Sorc. (ill be a very smar sorc!)

[Faent]

Wail = SP efficient Fod = i like i can be selective. but it cost a bit more (sp/kill wise

This is a red herring. Yes, Wail is more SP efficient, but Necro arcanes already cast Finger every time it's off timer without SP problems. Since they'll be casting it even less now, the SP point is a total non-issue (and it never was an issue to begin with).

Choosing to nerf your ability to toss ANY instakills AT ALL for minutes at a time is ridiculous, as is choosing to give up the ability to make tactically wise choices on which mobs need to die over several minutes.