I'm collecting feedback on the assorted TM spells we have. Which do you like, which do you not like and why. This thread is for the Ranger spells:
Awaken Forest
Eagle's Cry
Carrion Call
Devitalize
Stampede
Strange Arrow
Feel free to comment on both the mechanics and the messaging since messaging is a big part of what makes TM spells what they are.
-Raesh
"Ever notice that B.A.'s flavor text swells in direct proportion to how much one of our characters is getting screwed?" - Brian Van Hoose
DR-RAESH
SMITHL97
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/04/2014 08:30 AM CDT
Disclaimer- These are only the opinions of a very casual player, and some of what I think our spells do could be a bit off...take it easy on me guys!
As far as messaging, I'm pretty happy with the different visual effects each of the spells seem to have. Ranger magic is looking pretty snazzy these days :)
Awaken Forest- never use this spell honestly, but sounds like it might teach target pretty decently? Just never feel the need to summon one while I'm hunting. Did not pick this spell back up.
Eagle's Cry- wish it were a bit more powerful/damaging, but love that it does cold and slice damage
Carrion Call- by far my favorite Ranger spell! The messaging is vicious, and the way it focuses on already damaged areas is a great touch. This is my go to hunting spell
Devitalize- this spell seems a bit underpowered for being basic, but that feeling probaly ties into the fact that I usually miss with this spell
Stampede- love the damage type, and that this a multi-strike spell, another favorite spell. The messaging could use a bit more oomph though
Strange Arrow- didn't pick this one up since the spell wipe. Messaging is great on this, and electrical damage is nice. Pretty indifferent towards this spell in general (This spell is still in Analogous spell patterns?)
-Ranger Linessa
As far as messaging, I'm pretty happy with the different visual effects each of the spells seem to have. Ranger magic is looking pretty snazzy these days :)
Awaken Forest- never use this spell honestly, but sounds like it might teach target pretty decently? Just never feel the need to summon one while I'm hunting. Did not pick this spell back up.
Eagle's Cry- wish it were a bit more powerful/damaging, but love that it does cold and slice damage
Carrion Call- by far my favorite Ranger spell! The messaging is vicious, and the way it focuses on already damaged areas is a great touch. This is my go to hunting spell
Devitalize- this spell seems a bit underpowered for being basic, but that feeling probaly ties into the fact that I usually miss with this spell
Stampede- love the damage type, and that this a multi-strike spell, another favorite spell. The messaging could use a bit more oomph though
Strange Arrow- didn't pick this one up since the spell wipe. Messaging is great on this, and electrical damage is nice. Pretty indifferent towards this spell in general (This spell is still in Analogous spell patterns?)
-Ranger Linessa
TJBER21
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/04/2014 06:40 PM CDT
awaken forest is fun, but I find it to have little value when hunting or PVP. Would be nice if it would auto face whatever your facing and or guard your back from anything/person that was behind you.
stampede is by far my favorite TM spell, don't use any of the others, have them solely so that I could get stampede...
~Purnay
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."
stampede is by far my favorite TM spell, don't use any of the others, have them solely so that I could get stampede...
~Purnay
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."
BSWEET2004
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/04/2014 10:22 PM CDT
The only time I use awaken forest is when I am mining. The incredibly long timer for recasting and the fact that the spawn disappears when you move to a new room make it unappealing, useless if we are being blunt,when hunting. I don't use the other spells often enough to comment on their day to day usefulness.
_____________________________________________________________
Caution: may scream about HUGE DRAMATIC AMAZING SIGNIFICANT loss
_____________________________________________________________
Caution: may scream about HUGE DRAMATIC AMAZING SIGNIFICANT loss
LAWREYJRJ7
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/05/2014 12:33 AM CDT
Just curious mind you but the last time I used AF it only taught utility magic and no TM at all. In fact even though it was listed as TM it was noted that it was not a TM spell anymore.
NOte:
<<Last night, I was assisting Pfanston testing this spell and Melete was looking in on us. She noticed it had... interesting EXP modeling. Just hoping that looking in on this lead or leads somewhere and leaving a note for it here so the spell doesn't get lost.>>
<<Melete then responded - I found the thing that was causing it to not teach and eradicated it, though from the code it does not appear to teach TM by design. It should teach utility now. It's set up a bit differently than the summons which teach TM; the TM thing is a kind of complex issue so I will leave that for the Magic and Survival GMs to hash out.>>
<<Awaken Forest (AF) - Magic 3.0 brings in a spawn but teaches nothing but life magic, and maybe attunement and arcana depending on how you cast it. Magic 3.1 power level determines the ability of the spawn, and it now at least will teach utility magic but not TM. My guess is the bug in AF might change how its listed and it may have more changes but for now it will at least train utility magic. Was listed as TM spell but does not teach that and cant be cast as if it were one.>>
So as of 3.1 it was still not teaching any TM. I know the spell is still included as TM but it trains no TM. SO it should be listed as a UTILITY spell not TM based on what Melete said during the 3.0 and 3.1 testing.
Second, not sure why Strange Arrow is in there, its not really a ranger spell but anyone can use it. However, I would probably use Strange Arrow before Eagle's cry except for the fact that if you do that you really delay yourself for getting to the first debilitation spell you can effectively use DEVOLVE, which is plain stupid if you want your debilitation magic moving before circle 20. After that you probably wont use strange arrow or eagles cry because you will have either carrion call or devitalize or both. But good to have spells you never end up using. Rangers are good at that.
I like stampede now and devitalize and carrion call. They all have a use depending on circumstances. Awaken forest would be ok but its not a TM spell.
Ranger Pfanston and his soggy pup.
SPYRAUX
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/06/2014 10:38 PM CDT
AF - Gonna say I honestly rarely ever use this spell. For older Rangers who predate Ranger TM learning, this spell has very little effectiveness as TM is probably too far behind other general magics to make it much use. Aside from that, it's pretty limited. It doesn't last very long, has huge cooldown timer, and can not move rooms. Sometimes I use it to keep things from wandering off with my arrows when I'm sniping. But mostly it's just a novelty as of late.
EC - EC is an ok entry target spell. It's not super strong, and can feel underpowered at times. But it does tend to present itself as having incresed accuracy. The messaging is nice too, and just speaks to a Ranger theme. However, sometimes lacks a little flair that lets me know I hit something really well. Almost everything often feels like a glancing blow. Does what appears to be cold damage by crit description, which is unintuitive, but welcome. I kind of got the initial impression of something that might deliver more severe cuts and bleeding.
CaC - This is an interesting spell. It's definitely got some very gruesome crits and does fairly decent damage. I like the mechanic of targetting existing wounds first. That adds a mechanical improvement to power, in an abstract and interesting way. WHich lends to good options for strategy. Probably one of the better TM spells we have.
DEV - I personally like this spell. It feels more like general, raw, magic. I tend to get good accuracy out of it, and occasionally decent power. And the messaging on the crits and stuff is pretty cool. The ice damage theme is interesting and can potentially be useful with the advent of thermal damage.
STAMP - This is a really odd spell to me. Comes across to me a little on the wild side. I mean while I think the concept of it is fascinating, a stampede of charging, flaming, horses doesn't really strike me as a TM spell. It's a single opponent, multi striker, which is nice for damage and stuff. But I find it getting deflected a lot. Crit messaging is a little iffy. Often seems weak, and sometimes I find myself confused of if I even "hit" them or not.
I look at this spell though, and I feel like it would behave something a lot more in line with CL. Something that drew it's power off of TM, hit multiple opponents, but wasn't really a significant TM teaching spell. Something used for mass damage when necessary. Seems like it should be a debalancer too, but I know thats pushing it. Fire damage is a good plus, to kind of compliment the other cold damage spells.
~Van
EC - EC is an ok entry target spell. It's not super strong, and can feel underpowered at times. But it does tend to present itself as having incresed accuracy. The messaging is nice too, and just speaks to a Ranger theme. However, sometimes lacks a little flair that lets me know I hit something really well. Almost everything often feels like a glancing blow. Does what appears to be cold damage by crit description, which is unintuitive, but welcome. I kind of got the initial impression of something that might deliver more severe cuts and bleeding.
CaC - This is an interesting spell. It's definitely got some very gruesome crits and does fairly decent damage. I like the mechanic of targetting existing wounds first. That adds a mechanical improvement to power, in an abstract and interesting way. WHich lends to good options for strategy. Probably one of the better TM spells we have.
DEV - I personally like this spell. It feels more like general, raw, magic. I tend to get good accuracy out of it, and occasionally decent power. And the messaging on the crits and stuff is pretty cool. The ice damage theme is interesting and can potentially be useful with the advent of thermal damage.
STAMP - This is a really odd spell to me. Comes across to me a little on the wild side. I mean while I think the concept of it is fascinating, a stampede of charging, flaming, horses doesn't really strike me as a TM spell. It's a single opponent, multi striker, which is nice for damage and stuff. But I find it getting deflected a lot. Crit messaging is a little iffy. Often seems weak, and sometimes I find myself confused of if I even "hit" them or not.
I look at this spell though, and I feel like it would behave something a lot more in line with CL. Something that drew it's power off of TM, hit multiple opponents, but wasn't really a significant TM teaching spell. Something used for mass damage when necessary. Seems like it should be a debalancer too, but I know thats pushing it. Fire damage is a good plus, to kind of compliment the other cold damage spells.
~Van
GALLAHAN
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/08/2014 05:59 PM CDT
About the only TM spell I ever cast anymore (for training) is Stampede because I got it in my head that having multiple projectiles successfully hit increased your learning, so it is the ideal spell for training. Thinking back, I'm not sure the spell really works that way..but casting it has become a habit.
AF - Does this belong in the list? I thought it was completely based off of Utility. Either way, I mainly use this spell when mining in areas with critters. I sometimes use it during invasions too when there aren't a lot of other players around. I do like the 3.0 version of the spell more than the old one, as far as duration and power. I just wish we had more control over the spawn...like telling it not to try to kill my friends, or me if I accidentally face it.
EC - I didn't train TM very much early on, but when I did I used this spell. It seemed to work ok for training. I never had high expectations as far as damage goes. I didn't expect a ranger to be able to wipe out critters left and right with TM. The messaging was always kind of cool too.
CaC - I like the idea behind this spell, but I haven't really used it much outside of the 3.0 test instance.
Dev - Back when EC and Dev were my options, I used EC for training & Dev occasionally just to watch the awesome damage messaging.
Stamp - I started training TM when 3.0 came around, mainly because tactics allowed me to train it at level, even with TM being hundreds of ranks behind my upper combat skills. I got it stuck in my head that this was the ideal spell to use for training and haven't really looked back since. With 3.1 things changed a bit and I have to disrupt my target a little more to reliably hit them, but besides that not much changed.
Stra - I got myself motivated to back train off and on over the years, and later on in life when I learned about AP spells (I was a bit slow) and acquired a scroll for Strange Arrow, that was my TM spell of choice. I was always told that EC was fairly weak and Strange Arrow was a better option for rangers..so that is what I used. The messaging for the spell was always amusing too..turning critter faces into donuts.
After reading my own evaluation of the TM spells available, I think I need to play around with the other spells some more..especially CaC.
AF - Does this belong in the list? I thought it was completely based off of Utility. Either way, I mainly use this spell when mining in areas with critters. I sometimes use it during invasions too when there aren't a lot of other players around. I do like the 3.0 version of the spell more than the old one, as far as duration and power. I just wish we had more control over the spawn...like telling it not to try to kill my friends, or me if I accidentally face it.
EC - I didn't train TM very much early on, but when I did I used this spell. It seemed to work ok for training. I never had high expectations as far as damage goes. I didn't expect a ranger to be able to wipe out critters left and right with TM. The messaging was always kind of cool too.
CaC - I like the idea behind this spell, but I haven't really used it much outside of the 3.0 test instance.
Dev - Back when EC and Dev were my options, I used EC for training & Dev occasionally just to watch the awesome damage messaging.
Stamp - I started training TM when 3.0 came around, mainly because tactics allowed me to train it at level, even with TM being hundreds of ranks behind my upper combat skills. I got it stuck in my head that this was the ideal spell to use for training and haven't really looked back since. With 3.1 things changed a bit and I have to disrupt my target a little more to reliably hit them, but besides that not much changed.
Stra - I got myself motivated to back train off and on over the years, and later on in life when I learned about AP spells (I was a bit slow) and acquired a scroll for Strange Arrow, that was my TM spell of choice. I was always told that EC was fairly weak and Strange Arrow was a better option for rangers..so that is what I used. The messaging for the spell was always amusing too..turning critter faces into donuts.
After reading my own evaluation of the TM spells available, I think I need to play around with the other spells some more..especially CaC.
LESLIEC
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/08/2014 06:40 PM CDT
I've started using EC at 2 mana when I'm doing back training. With that Stra, and Stampede I seem to lock my target pretty fast so far.
But then my target is really BAD. Less than 100 ranks in it, but I'm locking it every day and soon will be able to move up critters. I can't cast CaC yet. Hope to soon.
Bluefalcon
But then my target is really BAD. Less than 100 ranks in it, but I'm locking it every day and soon will be able to move up critters. I can't cast CaC yet. Hope to soon.
Bluefalcon
MOCKERJB
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/09/2014 05:34 PM CDT
Is EC actually more accurate than other targeted spells?
DR-RAESH
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/09/2014 09:03 PM CDT
Not right now, no.
-Raesh
"Ever notice that B.A.'s flavor text swells in direct proportion to how much one of our characters is getting screwed?" - Brian Van Hoose
-Raesh
"Ever notice that B.A.'s flavor text swells in direct proportion to how much one of our characters is getting screwed?" - Brian Van Hoose
DRFREAK3
Re: TM Feedback - Rangers
07/11/2014 07:19 PM CDT
AF= completely useless and with a max cast...with a cooldown for the room at over 1 hour....(you can only cast it once in one hour)...This is useless and the spawn is dumb...it has no intelligence and you can't command it in anyway.
EC= it is okay if you can hit the body part you aim for (which is hard to do)
CC= Same as above
Devitalize= Uesless...to weak to see any difference. I'd rather use COTW at a high enough cast to 'immensely' debuff them.
Stampede= By far the best TM spell once you can hit with it.
SA= barely use it because it is useless and weak.
EC= it is okay if you can hit the body part you aim for (which is hard to do)
CC= Same as above
Devitalize= Uesless...to weak to see any difference. I'd rather use COTW at a high enough cast to 'immensely' debuff them.
Stampede= By far the best TM spell once you can hit with it.
SA= barely use it because it is useless and weak.
