>>My problem for my list is I genuinely like almost all the spells.

That's not a problem.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

First off, thanks for asking about the spells, I think there are a few spells which could use a little love. I will start off with the top/bottom but i am also going to comment on the rest of the spells. Please remember this is only my opinion.

Let me first set the stage, playing a moonie in Plat so there are a few things that are not as helpful for me as for others playing in Prime. Also, I do not CvC/PvP so my view is strictly based on how the spells interact with critters/environment/my character.

TOP 5:
-SEER'S SENSE - great for bumping up my defenses when moving to the next hunting tier, also good while i'm there and a good gauge of when i need to consider moving again (ie. if i can do it without SEER, i probably need to look for a next spot)
-MENTAL BLAST - all around best debil, wish the stun was a little longer but the nervous system damage is good. Having said that, i'd love to see the pre-reqs reviewed and changed so they are lower since MB is a slot hog all on its own
-STARLIGHT SPHERE - i like this spell insomuch as it is our only TM cyclic and it does a decent job if the situation is right.
-TELEKINETIC STORM - my go to TM choice.
-SHADOWS - probably the best buffer when paired with high stealth


BOTTOM 5:
-SHEAR- mixed feelings on this because of the huge drawback it has of not being able to cast while using it, never really understood that since i think there are other barriers that do not have such a heinous drawback. Also the duration, provided you are someplace like sky giants or malchatas, is pretty much worthless so i just end up recasting it over and over again to maintain it. What it does do however, it does well, magic stops at the door.
-UNLEASH - this spell has so much potential but the lackluster ratio of scroll cast to scroll destruction and the rarity of most spells makes this spell pointless for me.
-CAGE OF LIGHT - i like this spell in theory but i can't seem to stack barrier spells so this gets shoved down the list in favor of MAF and yes i realize the barrier review is coming (is here?) and this might not be the case much longer
-BURN - i've forgotten how long it's been since i cast this
-CALM / HYPONOTIZE / SLEEP - i really wish something would be done with these spells, i have zero use for them once i get to MB, several posters have already mentioned the juggling act it is to try and command 1/2/3 etc. In dire needs i might cast calm on everything in the room... one by one.. but really overall these 3 could use a reason to exist

REMAINDER:
-ARTIFICER'S EYE - don't have this one
-AURA SIGHT - i used to have this spell, haven't needed the boost to astro in a while and due to spell slot limitations chose to forget it, i will probably pick this back up again for the attunement assistance since mana is changing how it regens
-BRAUN'S CONJECTURE - don't have this one
-CLEAR VISION - i feel like this spell and piercing gaze really need to get made into one for a 1 slot cost
-CONTINGENCY - great for exploration when you just don't know what to expect or to keep going against a critter with special attacks that might wreck you
-DAZZLE - i like this spell and it would probably make my top 5 if it could be cast indoors
-DESTINY CYPHER - don't have this one
-DINAZEN OLKAR - use this very infrequently, probably as often as i do burn
-DISTANT GAZE - had this when it was a pre-req, forgot it and never looked back, i suppose it makes a nice RP tool in invasions, large battles, etc..
-EMPOWER MOONBLADE - don't have this one, don't see a point to moonblade in general due to having played for long enough to have great weapons
-FOCUS MONBEAM - this is exactly right for this spell, zero cost spell
-INVOCATION OF THE SPHERES - i feel the spell is too niche for me, i have it, but i feel like it has too few combinations to make it worthwhile
-LOCATE - bread and butter MM, no issues here
-MACHINIST'S TOUCH - really sad that PG no longer has the locksmithing bonus and that this spell received it instead, i have not picked this up yet
-MIND SHOUT - post changes, i think this spell will be great.
-MOONBLADE - no point for me, have better weapons that have no lunar requirements and weight is not an issue
-MOONGATE - no real point for this, used very infrequently in Plat but we have portals
-PARTIAL DISPLACEMENT - i love the idea behind this spell, i am excited it is getting some added benefits
-PIERCING GAZE - i really feel like this spell is no different than focus moonbeam and should not cost any slots to give me the ability to bypass clouds. In and of itself, this spell does nothing much like focus moonblade. Please give some thought to moving this to a zero slot spell and do away with the x-ray vision (if it still does that)
-PSYCHIC SHIELD - i have only ever used this spell to train magic ranks, but i don't do much PvP so YMMV
-READ THE RIPPLES - only used this during the trial period and the time frame during which it would work did not seem long enough to go with the 1 hr cool down. I suppose if i was in a pinch and needed to fill all of my pools (since it does not selectively target empty ones to fill) it would be worth using but still the cooldown is way too long for me
-REFRACTIVE FIELD - i like this spell though i really do wish that it worked differently than hiding+, it really is magical hiding and it should take either magic or a special ability to pull you out of it not just "oh hey i see you there as if you were hiding".
-REND - i have this spell but so infrequently kill things that buff themselves with magic that i had to check to see if i actually still had it that's how frequently i use it, niche but probably useful
-RIFTAL SUMMONS - never had this spell but seems like a nice to have if you need someone brought to you.. again playing in Plat so not really needed
-SEVER THREAD - never saw a point to this but i know Raesh is looking at the TELEO book
-SHADEWATCH MIRROR - never had it, never needed it
-SHADOWLING - this was a great spell for me into my late circles, gave it up due to trying out other spells, possibly will pick it back up depending on how severe the mana regen thing turns out to be
-SHADOW SERVANT - portable vault, love it, no need to expound.
-SHAPE MOONBLADE - unnecessary for me
-SHIFT MOONBEAM - this used to be one of my favorite spells back when it could move across Elanthia with a magic check only. I'm not sure how useful it is currently, any feedback on this would be appreciated
-SOVEREIGN DESTINY - don't have it, never needed it

-STEPS OF VUAN - as someone else mentioned, trying to use this with a group is very challenging and it to suffers from the hiding+ manner in which magical invisibility is handled in game
-TANGLED FATE - too niche for me, i'm at a point where if i do curse something i really didn't want to curse i can ALIGN TRANSMOG and predict again to overturn the curse
-TELEKINETIC THROW - decent multi strike, inventory management is a pain and it almost begs to have a new zero cost spell created that's just called SLIVERS though at this point i can fling around tons of stuff provided that there is something there to throw
-TELEPORT - pointless for me in Plat
-TENEBROUS SENSE - i like this spell, have used it in the mines when i need a light and forget to bring one which is always
-TEZIRAH'S VEIL - loved the old version, i liked the new version but the drawbacks are not worth it especially since i think Raesh said he'd be fixing it so it's not as good as it currently is
-TOUGHTCAST - never needed it as there is no shortage of free gweths in Plat

Just wanted to share my thoughts. Thanks!

Damian, a voice from the distant and long-forgotten past.
AIM:DamianDR

Top 5-

Teleport: teleporting to Grazhir is my favorite thing
Locate: no one escapes
Steps of Vuan: I'm invisible 24/7
Rend: when you hit that Osrela Meraud and all their spells drop
Shadows/Seers Sense: required buffs

Bottom 5:

Piercing Gaze: Clear Vision should see through clouds
Tenebrous Sense: this should be a cantrip
Cage of Light: not convinced this provides any protective benefit whatsoever
Calm: the only way this would be good is if it was AOE
Hypnotize: useless, annoying prerequisite for Mental Blast

>>CV is a fully fleshed out one slot spell. For it to consume PG it would have to go to two slots. I fail to see where the gain is. Further, CV needs to stay one slot since it's an intro spell.

Can PG be made into a single slot meta spell to add itself to CV? That maintains CV as an intro spell and gives us the other function on a single cast.


Kehlbins

>>CV is a fully fleshed out one slot spell. For it to consume PG it would have to go to two slots. I fail to see where the gain is. Further, CV needs to stay one slot since it's an intro spell.

Fair enough let's not roll it into CV. Can we at least do something more with this spell? To only have it so i can pierce cloud cover is a travesty and a waste of a potentially cool spell. Have it do something else or add the ability to pierce cloud cover to TS instead. I'm just disappointed that this spell is almost like focus moonbeam for me. It literally serves no other purpose than to give me access to celestial bodies covered by clouds much like FM served no other purpose than to anchor a teleport/gate back when it still cost slots to learn it.

Please give that some thought and maybe we can do something else.

I don't remember and maybe someone can correct me but did the slot costing change when the Locskmithing bonus was removed from PG? Did PG used to cost 2 slots? To me that was a rather substantial change and I'm not entirely sure that for what it does currently, it should cost any slots at all. Just my thoughts.

Damian, a voice from the distant and long-forgotten past.
AIM:DamianDR

FM has no intrinsic benefit when cast by itself, so it is a zero-slot spell.

PG has one intrinsic benefit when cast by itself, allowing Moon Mages to negate environmental factors to their astrology systme, so it is a one-slot spell.

You may personally not value PG the same way you value another spell, but that's where we'll likely have to disagree.

-Armifer
"Perinthia's astronomers are faced with a difficult choice. Either they must admit that all their calculations were wrong ... or else they must reveal that the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters." - Italo Calvino

>>PG has one intrinsic benefit when cast by itself, allowing Moon Mages to negate environmental factors to their astrology system, so it is a one-slot spell.

It actually still has a few other benefits - Seeing in your servant, inside boxes, etc. Are these limited and niche? Yes. But they exist.

You can also decide not to get the spell and have another Moon Mage cast it on you now. That's possible after the latest revision.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

I've been musing over sect spell bonuses in the background but I haven't made any major decisions yet. I was unhappy with the first draft of a proposal I put together so maybe we'll revisit in down the road.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

<<unfortunately having this particular ability is kind of necessary

Doesn't a telescope allow cloud cover to be pierced, albeit only by a small amount? Not on the moon mage to check atm.

Pretty sure that the telescope just allows you a greater chance of success when you have partial cloud cover. If you've got full cloud coverage I don't 'think' it's a viable alternative to PG.

I would like to see PG become a metaspell that just gives you cloud pierce automatically with knowledge of the spell and when you gaze into your shadow servant you see into it. No need to cast.

I want to see this Drogor storyline wrap up like the Malazan books where they break a god and chain him up for unending torture. Intense rainstorms 24/7? Exciting.

Semi-unrelated but I also wish every intro/basic spell would show up on runestone as a chance to drop in the loot system and/or scattered across the various magic shops.

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Vote:
http://www.topmudsites.com/vote-DragonRealms.html

>>I've been musing over sect spell bonuses in the background but I haven't made any major decisions yet. I was unhappy with the first draft of a proposal I put together so maybe we'll revisit in down the road.

This should wait til there is another crystal spell in the book. All the sect titles for monk were made indicating crystal spike, which required clarify gem. It would be nice to have some Crystallomancer themed spells again.



"An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells; If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else. No! you won't 'eed nothin' else"