Obsolete thread.
Obsolete thread.
Tue, 07/30/2013 - 23:44
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 02:37
#2
+1
I think everyones gonna +1 this.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 03:14
#3
nope, not me. not until all my focus is maxed.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 05:09
#4
@Byas
Invisibility has a 24 second cooldown if you use the entire duration of the invisibility (16 seconds)
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 05:24
#5
Everyone is unhappy now because the cloak has like 60 seconds of cooldown at level 15.
It will get better as you level it up.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 07:30
#6
@Hexzyle
The problem is that aside from when I was running away or trying to rush through a depth grabbing only crystals/treasure boxes I didn't have any single situation where I used the whole invisibility time, not even when it was at the lowest, and strategic positioning which is what I was more eager to do with this ability isn't really worth it when I lose almost a minute worth of Quills. I admit that I didn't level its focus to the max level yet, but from what I've seen from lvl1 focus + 5% cooldown harness and the lvl3 focus + 5% on the Quills it ain't gonna get much better, though I hope I'm wrong.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 08:29
#7
@Byas
Once again, Cloak only has a minimum of a 24 second cooldown if you're using it to avoid monsters, not one minute. The cooldown increases to up to 35 seconds if you're using the cloak in combat for ambushes. With identical cooldown reductions, the quill to cloak fire rate ratio is only about 2:1 to 3:1
Remember that due to differing functions and attribute increase, different abilities will have different tiering speeds. At maximum level, ideally, all abilities are supposed to be equal in practicality. If you haven't maxed a sprite, you're not really in any position to complain about its balance.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 08:25
#8
Nah. -1
Nah. -1
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 08:34
#9
Nope. As much as I hate it, it makes sense.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 09:13
#10
+1
PLEASE!
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 21:02
#11
@Hexzyle
"If you haven't maxed a sprite, you're not really in any position to complain about its balance."
That's a pretty poor observation. Sure, you wouldn't be in a position to comment on it's overall balance; but as long as you've used it, you're in a position to comment on its progression balance.
Regardless, the issue people are identifying is, for argument's sake, say you had Ability 1 with a 40 second cooldown, and Ability 2 with a 5 second cooldown. Both abilities rely on the other one's cooldown. On that note, the 40 second cooldown ability seems like a poor choice, simply because it locks up the 5 second one.
Despite it having strategic implications, which I can understand, cooldown shouldn't go hand-in-hand.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 22:04
#12
@Rogue-Wolf
I did say that different abilities will have differing tiering speeds. Bombs are almost useless when 0-3 star but are overpowered when 4-5 star, yet no-one complains about that, do they?
Of course, ability A will not be as useful as ability B in a situtation where ability B is better at doing the job. The same goes for swords/guns VS bombs, it's just that due to their nature, bombs become more useful the more difficult the level. It would only make sense that the flamestorm ability (essentially a bomb) would follow the same pattern as this, as opposed to the firebolt (essentially a gun)
A similar logic also applies to the duration abilities. (excluding the flame shield since it is offensive) Since they have different functions to the offensive abilities, it goes without saying that they'd be useful in different circumstances. You wouldn't use Caustic Quills when you're about to be trapped in a corner by monsters, and you wouldn't use Shadow Cloak when you're going on the offensive. You wouldn't use Seraphynx's beam when you're ganked by monsters, and you wouldn't use the Shield ability when you've got plenty space to move around.
You can't say an ability is any less useful than another just because you don't use it as much, or because it has a bit of a nasty cooldown. If it saves your neck, or saves you time, it's useful. The cooldown is there so that you do use an ability in the right circumstances, instead of just spamming skills all the time. The first skill is supposed to be a compliment to your attack power, which you'll like to use frequently, so it has a small cooldown, while the "fallback" or "defensive" ability is supposed to be when things get a bit too hairy to be playing an offensive role. Of course this doesn't happen often in Sratas 1 through 3, so they'll remain fairly unused, just like bombs.
Additionally, abilities, when fully upgraded, are supposed to be equal: This means that if you do happen to spend skillpoints on Skill A, when you unlock Skill B, of course Skill A is going to be more useful. If you save skillpoints, Skill A won't be as useful to you at first, and when you unlock Skill B you can use it with the same amount of effectiveness immediately that you would have used for Skill A.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 22:19
#13
On the concept of skills
On the concept of skills being obviously better than another if you rank one up more...
I recently got Flame Barrier and Firebolt maxed out. Firebolt is much more damaging and the defense I get from Barrier is negligible.
This may balance out once I get to the very high levels, but currently, I don't see any reason why cooldowns have to be universal. Otherwise, I feel as if I only really have one skill to use...
I think having individual cooldowns would give each Sprite more of an impact on gameplay, and that could probably be a very good thing.
Wed, 07/31/2013 - 23:00
#14
I say ditch the whole cooldown system and use a regenerating MP bar.
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 01:42
#15
@Draycos
The defense will be negligable because it depends on what harness you use. Obviously if you're using an elemental harness in FSC the only thing flame barrier will protect you from is running into shadow fire. Anyway, flame barrier can hit multiple times, while firebolt only once, right? And due to multiple orbs the flame barrier can hit multiple enemies, while firebolt doesn't get that ability until its Ultimate. Great if you're hugging close to clusters like a shard/haze bomber or a sword regular attack user (if brandish charges weren't so stupid and overpowered then people would use its combo more often)
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:29
#16
An MP bar would be a neat way
An MP bar would be a neat way to balance other gear at the same time, in my opinion.
I wasn't aware that the defense boost was according to the harness. Could've sworn I had a Crystal Harness on when I tested it on a fire trap. Perhaps it scales according to the rank of the harness...
Here's the thing with Flame Barrier. Firebolt deals about 60 damage for me right now and Flame Barrier about 22 per hit. Firebolt's status seems to be more powerful than Barrier's, as well. I have to hug something for around four seconds of its duration for it to compare or exceed Firebolt's performance, and it has a higher cooldown to boot. I rarely find situations in which I can hit multiple enemies with the barrier, and when I do it's an enemy that isn't particularly threatening. Much as I'd be amused to, I can't sit in the midst of multiple Gremlin Thwackers or Jelly Cubes without having to back out soon after. I've found I can get a bit more mileage with some careful use of Dash, but it really isn't worth it.
As someone who likes swords that aren't reliant on charge attacks and bombs more often than he guns, I'm disappointed with how little performance I get out of that barrier, purely because I never use it because of how much more use I get from spamming Firebolt. Yada yada you know the rest.
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 09:45
#17
@Draycos
Fair enough. I'm just speculating about the Harness affecting defence type. What I've seen of it, it does, but I haven't experimented that much.
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 09:57
#18
+9001
I definitely agree, I was thinking about this before even seeing the post.
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 13:05
#19
+1
I agree as well, and I also like the idea of an MP bar.
Fri, 08/02/2013 - 12:57
#20
Remaking this.
Fri, 08/02/2013 - 12:52
#21
+1
Individual cooldowns would make so much more sense than shared cooldown.
I'm getting the same with Maskeraith, the cooldown for the invisibility is just so long that it isn't a viable skill unless I'm almost dead with no other means to survive than getting invisible and running. If the cooldown wasn't global it could at least be used in other than extreme situations.