03-26-2004, 03:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-26-2004, 03:48 AM by Chesspiece_face.)
I think the biggest problems with the Mage class right now is that some of their core skills have been removed because they were FAR too overpowered and they are being reworked.
Chains of ice being probably the most important:
Chains of Ice
Mage Spell
Forms icy chains around the enemy, locking the target in place.
These root spells are common and practically a neccesity for mage type characters. They are also the easiest skill to break in a game. If a skill like this is broken it can give mages 100% impunity while fighting. I'm assuming that the reason that this skill has been removed (temporarily) is that the mobs were being held in one place for far too long or the chance for it to land was way too high.
Another thing to mention is that, at least from the topics on this board, it seems most of the people haven't played many mmorpgs at all. In mmorpgs mages opperate much differently in groups than when soloing. While soloing your main goal is to dish out as much damage as fast as possible, dropping the enemy before it can kill you. (^^^Chains of Ice would help you do that.) While in a group, however you absolutely cannot follow this mindset. Almost all the time you are in a group you will be fighting mobs that are too strong for you to take on your own. If you follow the "mana-dump" mindset you will draw too much Aggro from the enemy and it will come running at you far too early. Not only will you will you get killed much more often but there will be much more downtime between fights cause you now need to wait a long time to refresh your mana supply. In groups where the taunt ability is lacking the mages need to balance the damage they deal over longer periods of time, allowing other members of the party to keep up with the aggro list.
edit:
another thing to mention is that character planning is much more in-depth in these games. When people start playing a new mmorpg it is almost gauranteed that their first character will get trashed when they get a better knowledge of the game and how to build characters. It is very easy to mess up your character by putting points into skills or abilities that you don't fully understand. It is that reason that many of the newer mmorpgs are allowing users to untrain abilities in some way if they find out it isn't a good investment.
This is also a good reason that the lurkers lounge should, in fact, put WoW on their game list. The LL has always been the top page to come to when looking for in depth analysis of Diablos inner workings. In mmorpgs understanding these inner-workings is much more imperative to creating a working character.
Chains of ice being probably the most important:
Chains of Ice
Mage Spell
Forms icy chains around the enemy, locking the target in place.
These root spells are common and practically a neccesity for mage type characters. They are also the easiest skill to break in a game. If a skill like this is broken it can give mages 100% impunity while fighting. I'm assuming that the reason that this skill has been removed (temporarily) is that the mobs were being held in one place for far too long or the chance for it to land was way too high.
Another thing to mention is that, at least from the topics on this board, it seems most of the people haven't played many mmorpgs at all. In mmorpgs mages opperate much differently in groups than when soloing. While soloing your main goal is to dish out as much damage as fast as possible, dropping the enemy before it can kill you. (^^^Chains of Ice would help you do that.) While in a group, however you absolutely cannot follow this mindset. Almost all the time you are in a group you will be fighting mobs that are too strong for you to take on your own. If you follow the "mana-dump" mindset you will draw too much Aggro from the enemy and it will come running at you far too early. Not only will you will you get killed much more often but there will be much more downtime between fights cause you now need to wait a long time to refresh your mana supply. In groups where the taunt ability is lacking the mages need to balance the damage they deal over longer periods of time, allowing other members of the party to keep up with the aggro list.
edit:
another thing to mention is that character planning is much more in-depth in these games. When people start playing a new mmorpg it is almost gauranteed that their first character will get trashed when they get a better knowledge of the game and how to build characters. It is very easy to mess up your character by putting points into skills or abilities that you don't fully understand. It is that reason that many of the newer mmorpgs are allowing users to untrain abilities in some way if they find out it isn't a good investment.
This is also a good reason that the lurkers lounge should, in fact, put WoW on their game list. The LL has always been the top page to come to when looking for in depth analysis of Diablos inner workings. In mmorpgs understanding these inner-workings is much more imperative to creating a working character.