This is really just an arcana check correct? Does it make sense that it's this wildly off though?

> discern vigor
The Vigor spell must be woven with at least 17 mana streams, and can contain up to 100.

You think you could weave at least 22 mana streams into this spell.
Roundtime: 7 sec.
R>

R> foc armband
You focus your magical senses on a wide cambrinth armband.
Your link to the cambrinth armband is intact. You are focused on drawing mana for all types of usage. You clearly perceive 28 mana streams bound within the armband.
>
You feel fully prepared to cast your spell.
> cast

You gesture.
Your cambrinth armband emits a loud snap as it discharges all its power to aid your spell.
You close your eyes, drawing on the vitality of your surroundings to enhance yourself. You settle into a graceful stance, able to act quicker and firmer than usual.


That's a 17 + 28 mana cast. 45 mana I can put in it all the time (I can occasionally get 47), yet discern says 22. (Pretty regularly, it flucuates between 17 and 22).

Life Magic - 303.81
Arcana - 255.54
Augmentation - 242.75

---

TG, TG, GL, et al.

"Disagreement with the fundamental plan at this point is akin to supporting Richard III vs the Tudors."
-Raesh

I find that DISCERN regularly tells me half of the actual max mana:

Lunar Magic: 98
Arcana: 100
Utility: 79
Utility Mastery

Discern has been puzzling me since it came out. I can't even get any info on Murrula's Flames, Halo, or Hydra Hex with Discern with 523 Arcana except that it thinks I can't cast them at all which is sorely wrong. I'm not really clear on why the check appears to be so large when most of the information it gives appears to just be basic details about a spell. Does it do more at higher ranks?

>>I agree it's a cool utility, but the skill check for mana (the listed, intentional, purpose) needs to be lowered

Agreed. It's usefulness is unnecessarily hamstrung.

I can open my spellbook and get all of the info it gives(except the mana it thinks I can get into a spell) with 0 roundtime.

>read spellb
The fluid black-inked script on the ragged flame-singed parchment page of your spellbook reads:

*~ Notes on the Ethereal Shield spell ~*

The Ethereal Shield spell offers some protection from elemental damage, regardless of its source. All members of your group will be covered by the shield.

This is a non-battle spell that can be cast on an area or group. Non-battle spells have significantly longer preparation times than battle spells. It affects yourself and other adventurers. It requires a minimum of one mana streams, and can expand to a maximum of one hundred mana streams woven into it.

To begin to be able to cast this spell, you will need to reach the rank of a lowly novice. By the time you have mastered this spell, you will be ranked as an authority in your abilities as a caster. It requires the Warding skill to cast effectively. This spell is available for any guild member to learn.

Before you can learn this spell, you must know one of Air Lash, Stone Strike, Geyser, Gar Zeng or Fire Shards. It will also cost one spell slot.

>>I agree it's a cool utility, but the skill check for mana (the listed, intentional, purpose) needs to be lowered, since I have yet to speak with anyone who gets remotely accurate numbers out of it until they get 'you've capped it' ranks.

This. I love the idea, but it's near useless for me, often off by 20-30 mana. And my Arcana is notably higher than 5/6 of my magics.

It would also be really nice if it gave me something of a RANGE, like "You think you could put 20-30 mana into this spell" or "You are certain you could put exactly 93 mana into this spell."

Finally, much as I love the use of Arcana, the "Arcana must be higher than the magic" mechanic doesn't make much sense to me. I'd much much rather have flat Arcana checks for basic, advanced, esoteric. Let other abilities flesh Arcana out to 1750.


-- Player of Eyuve

So feats seem to reduce the skill required to cast spells of that sort (Utility Mastery brings the skill required to cast an esoteric utility spell from ~200 to ~150); is this in the form of a rank bonus? If so, does that mean feats are useless after you've cleared the range to be casting whatever you want?

Like, say I really want my fledgling Paladin to use HoW. I pick up Warding Mastery, and at around 150ish ranks of Warding, find myself able to cast HoW. A little while later if he's sitting at 200 ranks of Warding, Warding Mastery is only letting me stuff a bit more mana into the spell. At later ranks, like, say, 400 Warding or so, will the Mastery allow me to stuff significantly more mana into the spell? Or after ~200-250 ranks of a given magic skill, does it make sense to just forget the mastery, as it's not serving much of a purpose anymore, being only ~50 rank bonus?

Or is the bonus it provides a %'age?

>> Even if its just a 50 rank bonus, until the extreme end of the game it will help. How much? Meh, harder to guage but you'll get to capped potency and durations faster with it.

I agree it helps with Warding, Utility, and Augmentation. Being able to put more mana into those spells can generally be helpful. Stronger buffs, etc.

TM/Debilitation, not so much. Of course if people PVP a lot, maybe being at higher capped TM is a good thing, but PVE, I don't really see it.