Deeva
01-06-2009, 12:29 AM
Yes, the best friends of Order and Witch Elves alike, dazzling the battlefield with their instarezz and questionably useful class mechanic!
That pretty much sums up how underwhelming I'm often finding this class to be. From now on, I'll try and bite back the bitterness. Back when Mythic was releasing the videos of Paul describing all the classes, the Archmage was amazing. I truly did find the concept of sapping an enemy's magic and using it against them to be appealing. Even though I'm a healbot currently, I wouldn't mind a bit more flexibility in that role. I mean, who doesn't like shooting rainbow eyebeams/staffbeams/handbeams?
The problem was that out class mechanic did not live up to its expectations- and our one skill, that many first thought of as the crux of the magic manipulation, Drain Magic, did absolutely nothing near what it was promised. It came out as a subpar AP burn spell. They later added a tactic, Transfer Magic (Probably because Dastion and every other Archmage was disappointed, and I'm in the same boat), to make it...somewhat reflect what Archmages wanted, but it was ultimately disappointing as well, taking up one of 4 key tactic slots and restoring a feeble net 25 action points. (50 gain, 25 cost).
Another key problem is survivability- however, so far I'm just tackling the viability of Asuryan and Vaul trees and pointing out underpowered abilities.
Elaboration below:
Looks
An Archmage wears a bathrobe and twirls a glowing stick above his head. I'm fine with the glowing stick, but can I get some noticeable difference in my armor between Level 11 and 40?
There's a lot of discontent about High Elf appearance overall, and several opinions that they were rushed because High Elves were added last. I tend to agree.
Class Mechanics
The class mechanic was interesting when it was revealed, but ultimately of minimal use when put into practice. Tranquility essentially boosts the cast time of offensive spells, or the damage of DoTs. Force does the same with healing spells.
With Force, you'll usually be spending it on casting bigheals- Blessing of Isha and Boon of Hysh. If Hurried Restore isn't slotted, you can use Force to greatly increase the casting time of Gift of Life. You can also use it on Lambent Aura (our only HoT), but at level 40 this adds 75 health per tick. Aside from the Archmage's big heals, Force will only get much use when used with Funnel Essence, arguably the best Archmage spell and the one area where the class outshines its Shaman counterparts.
So, how do we fix this? I've heard many suggestions- lowering the force/tranq counter to 3 maximum (with the similar scale of effect) and having the different levels lower the AP cost of our spells. I've heard of a suggestion where Force and Tranq start at 0, and as you gradually gain Force you'll max up to 3 Tranq (thus buffing all your damage). Once you cast a Tranq spell, it would take effect and drop your Force Counter down to 2. Another Tranq spell drops it to 1, all the way to 0. Once you hit 0, if you cast more Tranq, it'll start racking up Force points.
To make this short: The Weak Skills
Just tossing out my own ideas, since few people would want to read a really painfully in-depth overview of all the AM skills.
Isha:
Healing Energy- Lower AP cost by 10 (55 -> 45).
Shield of Saphery- Allow casting on those outside of groups, increase shield power.
Boon of Hysh- Reset cast time back to the promised 2.5 seconds.
Spec Skills:
Balanced Mending- Remove penalty on self.
Balance Essence- Currently at 75% of the power of Shaman equivalent. Buff both.
Magical Infusion- Decrease casting time to one second.
Winds' Protection- Clarify how much damage is absorbed and how much health is healed over time for group members...why are AM descriptions so vague?
Asuryan:
Radiant Lance- Buff damage, lower casting.
Searing Touch- Same as above, buff damage.
Law of Conductivity- Buff damage, add a secondary effect.
Drain Magic- HAVE IT STEAL AP. Compare to Yer Not So Bad. Seriously.
Storm of Cronos- Remove Cone AoE, let it be cast at 100ft range like other debuffs. Lower cool down.
Spec skills/tactics:
Fury of Asuryan- Buff damage, drastically lower CD (currently 30 seconds for damage that's just about as much as Radiant Lance). Remove 'nearby target' aspect of randomness, make it a 100ft spell that works on a target of your choice.
Feel the Winds- Clarify how long the debuff lasts in skill desc. Lower CD (Currently 30 seconds again).
Increased Conductivity, Dispel Magic and Forked Lancing will have some tangible use if the above buffs went into place. This includes the Class Mechanic overhaul.
Cleansing Flare and Flames of the Phoenix are fine, though the latter could use a slight damage buff.
Vaul-
Make all debuffs build Force and grow stronger with Tranquility.
Dissipating Energies- Drastically lower cooldown (currently 1 minute), make tranquility boost the damage.
Spec skills/Tactics:
Arcing Power- Increase chance to tick to 50%, increase healing from 25% to 50%.
Law of Age- Toughness is a rather 'meh' stat to debuff. Perhaps add a little bit of Wounds onto it so the spell is at least a threat.
Funnel Energy- T4 morale, 30 feet range...can we get something that isn't melee range?
Walk Between Worlds- Core Skill. Increase detaunt time to 6.5 seconds. It's currently at 5 seconds- in reality, that's 3.5 seconds to cast a single spell without being interrupted when you factor in GCD.
Edit: Damn those Warrior Priests ganking my attempted link to the Archmage Resurrection Spell!
That pretty much sums up how underwhelming I'm often finding this class to be. From now on, I'll try and bite back the bitterness. Back when Mythic was releasing the videos of Paul describing all the classes, the Archmage was amazing. I truly did find the concept of sapping an enemy's magic and using it against them to be appealing. Even though I'm a healbot currently, I wouldn't mind a bit more flexibility in that role. I mean, who doesn't like shooting rainbow eyebeams/staffbeams/handbeams?
The problem was that out class mechanic did not live up to its expectations- and our one skill, that many first thought of as the crux of the magic manipulation, Drain Magic, did absolutely nothing near what it was promised. It came out as a subpar AP burn spell. They later added a tactic, Transfer Magic (Probably because Dastion and every other Archmage was disappointed, and I'm in the same boat), to make it...somewhat reflect what Archmages wanted, but it was ultimately disappointing as well, taking up one of 4 key tactic slots and restoring a feeble net 25 action points. (50 gain, 25 cost).
Another key problem is survivability- however, so far I'm just tackling the viability of Asuryan and Vaul trees and pointing out underpowered abilities.
Elaboration below:
Looks
An Archmage wears a bathrobe and twirls a glowing stick above his head. I'm fine with the glowing stick, but can I get some noticeable difference in my armor between Level 11 and 40?
There's a lot of discontent about High Elf appearance overall, and several opinions that they were rushed because High Elves were added last. I tend to agree.
Class Mechanics
The class mechanic was interesting when it was revealed, but ultimately of minimal use when put into practice. Tranquility essentially boosts the cast time of offensive spells, or the damage of DoTs. Force does the same with healing spells.
With Force, you'll usually be spending it on casting bigheals- Blessing of Isha and Boon of Hysh. If Hurried Restore isn't slotted, you can use Force to greatly increase the casting time of Gift of Life. You can also use it on Lambent Aura (our only HoT), but at level 40 this adds 75 health per tick. Aside from the Archmage's big heals, Force will only get much use when used with Funnel Essence, arguably the best Archmage spell and the one area where the class outshines its Shaman counterparts.
So, how do we fix this? I've heard many suggestions- lowering the force/tranq counter to 3 maximum (with the similar scale of effect) and having the different levels lower the AP cost of our spells. I've heard of a suggestion where Force and Tranq start at 0, and as you gradually gain Force you'll max up to 3 Tranq (thus buffing all your damage). Once you cast a Tranq spell, it would take effect and drop your Force Counter down to 2. Another Tranq spell drops it to 1, all the way to 0. Once you hit 0, if you cast more Tranq, it'll start racking up Force points.
To make this short: The Weak Skills
Just tossing out my own ideas, since few people would want to read a really painfully in-depth overview of all the AM skills.
Isha:
Healing Energy- Lower AP cost by 10 (55 -> 45).
Shield of Saphery- Allow casting on those outside of groups, increase shield power.
Boon of Hysh- Reset cast time back to the promised 2.5 seconds.
Spec Skills:
Balanced Mending- Remove penalty on self.
Balance Essence- Currently at 75% of the power of Shaman equivalent. Buff both.
Magical Infusion- Decrease casting time to one second.
Winds' Protection- Clarify how much damage is absorbed and how much health is healed over time for group members...why are AM descriptions so vague?
Asuryan:
Radiant Lance- Buff damage, lower casting.
Searing Touch- Same as above, buff damage.
Law of Conductivity- Buff damage, add a secondary effect.
Drain Magic- HAVE IT STEAL AP. Compare to Yer Not So Bad. Seriously.
Storm of Cronos- Remove Cone AoE, let it be cast at 100ft range like other debuffs. Lower cool down.
Spec skills/tactics:
Fury of Asuryan- Buff damage, drastically lower CD (currently 30 seconds for damage that's just about as much as Radiant Lance). Remove 'nearby target' aspect of randomness, make it a 100ft spell that works on a target of your choice.
Feel the Winds- Clarify how long the debuff lasts in skill desc. Lower CD (Currently 30 seconds again).
Increased Conductivity, Dispel Magic and Forked Lancing will have some tangible use if the above buffs went into place. This includes the Class Mechanic overhaul.
Cleansing Flare and Flames of the Phoenix are fine, though the latter could use a slight damage buff.
Vaul-
Make all debuffs build Force and grow stronger with Tranquility.
Dissipating Energies- Drastically lower cooldown (currently 1 minute), make tranquility boost the damage.
Spec skills/Tactics:
Arcing Power- Increase chance to tick to 50%, increase healing from 25% to 50%.
Law of Age- Toughness is a rather 'meh' stat to debuff. Perhaps add a little bit of Wounds onto it so the spell is at least a threat.
Funnel Energy- T4 morale, 30 feet range...can we get something that isn't melee range?
Walk Between Worlds- Core Skill. Increase detaunt time to 6.5 seconds. It's currently at 5 seconds- in reality, that's 3.5 seconds to cast a single spell without being interrupted when you factor in GCD.
Edit: Damn those Warrior Priests ganking my attempted link to the Archmage Resurrection Spell!