I know those who own these rare and historically epic artifacts are few but...can we start a discussion on how they are going to be updated along with the 730 changes that make them less useful?

I just animated a kobold using an uncut emerald and the duration, once more than 2 hours, is only 30 minutes. That's my initial test. I love the idea that 730 will be used by all sorcerers now but I don't want to retire one of my favorite artifacts due to it not keeping up with the changes.

Rolf

Wondering if you'd meet me in game and help me brainstorm. If that's possible, i'm standing in kobolds right now playing with my not-quite-level 100 kobold.

soulstone wand: no need to sacrifice channel to refresh, just point the wand. 5-10 extra levels/MAL. Point wand at dead creature that hasn't been waved at first will attempt to explode it. Animates wear skull embroidered tunics.

rattle: rattle acts as vakra, holding rattle while summoning will be same as summoning from a runestone (with bonus demon ranks?), rattle can do customized illusion

Here is what I would like to see with these:

1) 2 hour duration
2) Counts as using 10k gem for purposes of boosting the level of the animate
3) You automatically get max MAL
4) Wave and heals animate and refreashes duration
5) If the wand is in hand when you SACRIFICE CHANNEL the animate gets a x minute supercharge. Maybe increases its AS or give it weighting on all swings?
6) If the animate is told to explode while supercharged, it does extra damage or some such.

Normally I would be "suck it up" for things that get affected by changes, however the fact that there are only a couple of these combined with how high of a tier these items are, I feel that they should be adjusted due to the changes made to the spell.

Player of Malisai

Winterberry goes in both hands.

~ X., Free the Fifth

Yanso says, "Everyone offer thanks to the healthy looking lass and the most famous sorcerer or all time for finding these magical flowers."

Soulstone wands now cast Grasp of the Grave (709) when raised and bestow self-knowledge quake. Also arms born of Limb Disrupt (708) or Grasp of the Grave (709) when holding the wand follow the caster like 'Thing' from adams family. Licking the wand will cause all creatures in the room (including dead players) to become animates and do the "Thriller"

Just so its not a mystery:

a) when waved the wand acted as red crystal salts (req. for animation) at something like 175 necromancy ranks above the users own (animate anything at level 30 with 0 necromancy ranks). That super-powered fancy feat currently makes me animate a level 1 kobold for 30 minutes with 90 necromancy ranks.

b) when pointed the wand would fully repair any animate (including your friends!). Sacrifice channel now refreshes AND fully heals your animate as often as you can sacrifice. That super-healing power is still AMAZING don't get me wrong but all sorcerers (previously only mastered in alchemy) have access to healing animates.

c) when waved at disrupted limbs it would cause them to act like you had disrupted those limbs (with enough necromancy) causing them to come to life. All sorcerers with necromancy lore had that ability but the wand provided it so you would essentially need no lore.


Currently the main two reasons to use the wand (and made animate dead with no lore or alchemy) are now given to all sorcerers (a GREAT and AMAZING feat). The concern for the six or seven sorcerers whom invested between 70-150m (or just an average of 100m) is that mechanical value is now no longer unique and ought to have some investigation.

To put it to a squares point of view, imagine you owned one of 6 weapons in the lands that could make you berserk and have hasted multistrike. Then they gave all warriors the guild skill and created MOC skills.

Just set it up so that using the wand gives four hours on the animate, and have it automatically increase the level of the animate by 15 levels.

>To put it to a squares point of view, imagine you owned one of 6 weapons in the lands that could make you berserk and have hasted multistrike. Then they gave all warriors the guild skill and created MOC skills.

Oh, I'm sure that there was at least one item out there, fifteen or more years ago, that roughly corresponded to your speculative description. Special scripted gear is often used to substitute for what should really be a general system capability. A practice that continues through the present, as it so happens.

And we never let the existence of such gear interfere with applying a general system update.

Personally, I am left entirely unmoved at the prospect of devaluing somebody's equipment when making an update for the benefit of everybody else. To the extent that the gear is actually broken by the new mechanics, or can no longer fulfill its intended purpose, moderate updates may be warranted. That may be the case here, at the discretion of Estild. We certainly aren't going to rewrite a new item on top of the old one, re-bestowing the old margin of superiority over the revised implementation.

Below is the link including the loresong which hints at the unworldly powers linked to the wand. Again a review of the wand is appreciated as it certainly isn't doing anything unique at this point. I have speculated in the past that features of the wand ought to be released as general features (crystal free animations for example). As of right now this highest tier artifact by rarity and former power doesnt work in the current system.
https://gswiki.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Hollow_Soulstone_Wand

I am going to have to agree here about being unmoved when a high end item has some ability that becomes available without said item. I own several high end items and bought each knowing full well that there is no guarantee they will stay high end forever.

Of course, the wands still have huge advantages in that one can substitute them for millions of experience points worth of lores. That alone justifies their value.

You raise your soulstone wand skyward!
You sense that the soulstone wand holds much ancient magic that is wholly unknown to you.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.

---

Seems like there's a pretty well baked-in opportunity to expand their purpose, in any case.

>Point wand at dead creature that hasn't been waved at first will attempt to explode it.

I like that. Of course point currently, at a severed limb, will animate it.

Mostly though the wands I think work, AD is what is broken, with the wands influencing necromancy so much and now with AD not caring hardly at all about how much necromancy you've got.

Is this normal? I thought the cap was 115. I don't believe even warchiefs spawn above 115 trains...

You wave your soulstone wand at a Grimswarm troll warchief.
1d100: 17 + Modifiers: 279 == 296

A bubbling black mist slithers forth from your wand and curls around a Grimswarm troll warchief's body. It dissolves upon contact with him and disappears. The stench of decay begins to dissipate and the warchief's decomposition slows noticeably.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
>
>730 warch
You hear a blast of thunder as you twist the spiritual and elemental forces into one manifestation, preparing the Animate Dead spell...
Your spell is ready.
>
You gesture at a Grimswarm troll warchief.
The troll warchief was too poweful to be suitable for your animation.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.