Crystal Dart Update 12/31/2017 02:56 PM CST
After discussing the situation with Grejuva, we came to the following compromise re: Crystal Dart costs.

For two minutes after a CRD cast, minimum preps of CRD in that room will not cost aura even in adverse conditions. One mana point over min prep and the current cost scheme applies. You will be messaged about the free cast if you benefit from it, but not in cases where you wouldn't have to spend aura to begin with.

Note that this grace period is not refreshed on each cast, it can only be reapplied to the room after the initial two minutes are up. What this means is that you'll still spend aura over time casting CRD in adverse conditions, but you should see its cost drastically reduced when used for learning.

-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
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Re: Crystal Dart Update 01/03/2018 11:35 AM CST
More modifications to Crystal Dart.

1) Messaging! You can now detect the residue cloud in a room with PERC. The spell now messages correctly if your dart is created from residue, and there is messaging to note if you have access to a residue cloud but are casting too powerfully to make use of it. Finally, the ask description has been updated to reflect the existence of residue clouds and their use.

2) Better scaling! The residue cloud now has a density directly related to the Integrity of the cast that created it. The more dense/higher integrity the cloud has, the more mana you can stuff into Crystal Dart without having to spend aura in adverse conditions. This isn't a 1:1 calculation between Potency and Integrity, but it's pretty generous in my opinion.

Like before, you only default to the cloud if the only other option is to spend aura. Unlike before, a higher Integrity cast will override an existing cloud without making you wait until the existing one is gone.

3) Evil! You're still gonna pay aura in adverse conditions at some point, establishing and reestablishing clouds. This is intended and not going way in the foreseeable future. However, at this point I think we've made CRD quite competent without being excessively draining on your aura.

-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
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