926 réponses à ce sujet

[Reaverwind]

Icy Magebane wrote...

30% of mana reserved for Healing Aura is kind of high... if you add say, Rock Armor and Heroic Aura, there goes 50% of your mana pool. On the other hand, if you combine it with Blood Magic, you will most likely be casting using HP... so maybe the best way to do it would be to use ALL mana on sustained powers, activate Blood Magic, and ... so do things like Hex of Torment count as offensive? Meh... no matter how you slice it, this spec sounds boring as hell to me.

I assume offensive means any hostile spell cast at your enemies, so Blood Magic is out while Healing Aura is active.

[Morroian]

Reaverwind wrote...

Morroian wrote...

Reaverwind wrote...

Not that I used the spirit healer spec for more than the stat boost in DA:O, but it baffles me that Bioware would turn it into something that forces your mage to be a heal bot.

Healing has been nerfed a lot from the look of it, like I said healing spam was a big problem in DAO.

A problem for whom? All those who thought Wynne was vital to gameplay?

Don't you hate healing? So why do you have a problem with it?

[Reaverwind]

Morroian wrote...

Reaverwind wrote...

Morroian wrote...

Reaverwind wrote...

Not that I used the spirit healer spec for more than the stat boost in DA:O, but it baffles me that Bioware would turn it into something that forces your mage to be a heal bot.

Healing has been nerfed a lot from the look of it, like I said healing spam was a big problem in DAO.

A problem for whom? All those who thought Wynne was vital to gameplay?

Don't you hate healing? So why do you have a problem with it?

My problem is that this wasteful spec was included in the first place, instead of something more interesting.

Modifié par Reaverwind, 26 février 2011 - 09:47 .

[Crocodiles]

I noticed that healing aura has two upgrades, maybe one of them lets you cast offensive magic, or maybe one of the two passives that spirit healer has corrects the healing bot problem

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

Morroian wrote...

Reaverwind wrote...

Not that I used the spirit healer spec for more than the stat boost in DA:O, but it baffles me that Bioware would turn it into something that forces your mage to be a heal bot.

Healing has been nerfed a lot from the look of it, like I said healing spam was a big problem in DAO.

Spirit Healer can't can't any offensive spell like fireball or whatever as long as healing aura is active. They can't use their Spirit Healer spells unless healing aura is active. So the Spirit Healer mage is just a heal bot is what he was saying. And the Group Heal has a 40 second cooldown so the SH is not even much of a heal bot.

[Icy Magebane]

Reaverwind wrote...

Icy Magebane wrote...

30% of mana reserved for Healing Aura is kind of high... if you add say, Rock Armor and Heroic Aura, there goes 50% of your mana pool. On the other hand, if you combine it with Blood Magic, you will most likely be casting using HP... so maybe the best way to do it would be to use ALL mana on sustained powers, activate Blood Magic, and ... so do things like Hex of Torment count as offensive? Meh... no matter how you slice it, this spec sounds boring as hell to me.

I assume offensive means any hostile spell cast at your enemies, so Blood Magic is out while Healing Aura is active.

But you could use all your mana for sustained talents that boost your party's abilities, then use Blood Magic for access to spellcasting fuel.  HP can be used to heal allies and cast activated buffs... debuffs probably do count as offensive powers, so in the end, you would just have a very powerful heal-bot.  Hm...  not something I'd want from my main character, but I guess it's an option...

[Addai]

Seagloom wrote...

I have to agree with Reaverwind here. That saddens me. Not because I have anything against Reaverwind, but rather I am a long time fan of the mage class. Constantly resorting to autoattacks during the flight from Lothering was boring as hell. I found the excessive staff twirling got old fast. Most of all, few of the spells the demo included felt powerful or appealed to me visually. The odd part is I felt the exact opposite about archery; which featured visually blander autoattacks and less variation in abilities. Something about it just made it fun--whereas I kept feeling like mages were missing something I could not place my finger on. It was surreal.

Did you ever play an archer through Awakening?  Archery was about what I expected, and pretty similar to an Awakening archer.  But I had much more fun as mage in the demo.  I find the new attack animations more satisfying because I like the physicality.  All auto-attacks are going to get old.

[Seagloom]

Addai67 wrote...

Did you ever play an archer through Awakening?  Archery was about what I expected, and pretty similar to an Awakening archer.  But I had much more fun as mage in the demo.  I find the new attack animations more satisfying because I like the physicality.  All auto-attacks are going to get old.

Nope. As I wrote before, I prefer mages. I only made a few half-assed attempts at an archer in Origins. They tended to feel boring, as most of their power came from autoattacks later on. Their trick shots drained stamina too quickly.

I thought mages in the demo lacked presence. Part of that has to do with a change in art style. Part of it has to do with sound. All in all it was an issue of presentation. Take fireball for example: in Origins a fireball made a loud explosion sound and sent enemies flying. The survivors ran around on fire. In DA2, there is no sense of impact. There is an explosion. Some enemies have a bit of fire on them. The rest are blown up. Maybe one or two fly if you grab the upgrade. It still dealt respectable damage but felt ptififul. Firestorm was even worse. The casting animation looks snappy, but the gouts of flame falling from above had no sense of oomph to them. The screen does not shake. There are no loud sounds. Hardly anyone seems to even react to it. All I saw were life bars tick down a bit and a few lingering flame graphics.

It is very weird. Some of the spells look prettier, such as cone of cold, while feeling weak in terms of visual and audiotorial feedback. That hurts my enjoyment of the class. Maybe I will feel differently after playing the full game awhile. I still intend to play a mage, but that is based primarily on my love of the class in RPGs--not my demo impressions.

Modifié par Seagloom, 26 février 2011 - 10:23 .

[Morroian]

Grumpy Old Wizard wrote...

Morroian wrote...

Healing has been nerfed a lot from the look of it, like I said healing spam was a big problem in DAO.

Spirit Healer can't can't any offensive spell like fireball or whatever as long as healing aura is active. They can't use their Spirit Healer spells unless healing aura is active. So the Spirit Healer mage is just a heal bot is what he was saying. And the Group Heal has a 40 second cooldown so the SH is not even much of a heal bot.

And.............. so what?

[Morroian]

Reaverwind wrote...

My problem is that this wasteful spec was included in the first place, instead of something more interesting.

I had a problem with shapeshifter in DAO.

There's something like 80 talents and upgrades and at most we will probably use 30 of them there's plenty of choice to go around. Healing will always be a specialty I imagine, just  like blood mage.

[Addai]

Seagloom wrote...
Nope. As I wrote before, I prefer mages. I only made a few half-assed attempts at an archer in Origins. They tended to feel boring, as most of their power came from autoattacks later on. Their trick shots drained stamina too quickly.

I thought mages in the demo lacked presence. Part of that has to do with a change in art style. Part of it has to do with sound. All in all it was an issue of presentation. Take fireball for example: in Origins a fireball made a loud explosion sound and sent enemies flying. The survivors ran around on fire. In DA2, there is no sense of impact. There is an explosion. Some enemies have a bit of fire on them. The rest are blown up. Maybe one or two fly if you grab the upgrade. It still dealt respectable damage but felt ptififul. Firestorm was even worse. The casting animation looks snappy, but the gouts of flame falling from above had no sense of oomph to them. The screen does not shake. There are no loud sounds. Hardly anyone seems to even react to it. All I saw were life bars tick down a bit and a few lingering flame graphics.

It is very weird. Some of the spells look prettier, such as cone of cold, while feeling weak in terms of visual and audiotorial feedback. That hurts my enjoyment of the class. Maybe I will feel differently after playing the full game awhile. I still intend to play a mage, but that is based primarily on my love of the class in RPGs--not my demo impressions.

Odd, I had exactly the opposite impression.  I thought every spell had more a sense of presence, to use your word.  The fire looks like actual fire, Mind Blast shows the mage actually pulling power from the Fade and while not as uniformly effective can knock enemies back or stun them, and all in all the mage is now a warrior which is exactly how I always wanted to envision my mages.  Arcane warrior was a poor substitute for an actual battle mage who is chopping off an enemy's head one minute and exploding them with her mind the next.

Firestorm could have had enemies panicking, but I'd rather they stay and take their punishment so I'm not too bothered by that. 

Modifié par Addai67, 26 février 2011 - 10:29 .

[Seagloom]

Addai67 wrote...

Odd, I had exactly the opposite impression.  I thought every spell had more a sense of presence, to use your word.  The fire looks like actual fire, Mind Blast shows the mage actually pulling power from the Fade and while not as uniformly effective can knock enemies back or stun them, and all in all the mage is now a warrior which is exactly how I always wanted to envision my mages.  Arcane warrior was a poor substitute for an actual battle mage who is chopping off an enemy's head one minute and exploding them with her mind the next.

Firestorm could have had enemies panicking, but I'd rather they stay and take their punishment so I'm not too bothered by that. 

Eeew! But seriously, having played mages across various games for years that is exactly the opposite of my preferences. I do not necessarily want a return to Origins's at times languid visuals, but DA2's mages have not impressed me so far. I agree, fire looks like fire. I like the way LadyHawke touches her brow to activate mind blast. I also liked how cone of cold sent spikes of ice jutting up across the ground. That is actually part of what frustrates me. My eyes tell me "oooh pretty" while my heart goes "meh".

DA2's frenetic casting style puts me off. When I envision a powerful mage, I think of someone that can do fantastic things with ease. I imagine a goddess such as Inanna, calling down lightning and rain, and causing the ground she walks on to sprout with vegatation--all with a few gestures. In other words, a character that exudes power while also being subtle. DA2's mages are too flamboyant. The autoattack staff dancing does not sit well with me. Then when a spell should be powerful, it does not feel substantial enough. I *do* want to see enemies scatter like frightened squirrels when fire is raining down on them.

We clearly want different things out of the class. I prefer the traditional caster type to gish. My hope is the full game will feel more complete than the demo and address some of my issues. I also hope other spell webs pique my interest, as throwing down fire is not really my bag these days, and there were only two ice spells to play with.

Edit: For the record, I did not consider Origins mages perfection by any stretch of the animation.

Modifié par Seagloom, 26 février 2011 - 10:51 .

[Godak]

If you're roleplaying a narcissist, the excessive staff twirling makes perfect sense.

[geegee_90]

shastboy wrote...

Aesieru wrote...

I feel they're under-powered, not so much in power but in quantity and quality and evolution of abilities.

I also feel that I'll be whacking away with that staff all day... which is not how I played Dragon Age as a mage...

In the demo, it takes a while for normal spells to recharge and the staff does virtually no damage

I agree, it was still very easy though, maybe that was why? I guess if the spells recharged super fast the game would be stupidly simple... I also do not like the animations of the Winter's Grasp spell... the little coloured target marker is just a bit childish looking and the animation of the spell itself (the icicle thing) it just not nice really and looks a bit daft. The other spells looked fine, but that one I did not like at all.

Also! GUTTED Bethany dies if you play as a mage in the demo... she was the best of the demo characters! Despite the ridiculously huge breasts being in your face for no reason... as a girl I don't see that appeal 

[Godak]

geegee_90 wrote...
Despite the ridiculously huge breasts being in your face for no reason... as a girl I don't see that appeal 

Her breasts are huge when Varric tells the legend, but they seem to get downsized in the "real" story.

...Why are you all looking at me like that?

[geegee_90]

Godak wrote...

geegee_90 wrote...
Despite the ridiculously huge breasts being in your face for no reason... as a girl I don't see that appeal 

Her breasts are huge when Varric tells the legend, but they seem to get downsized in the "real" story.

...Why are you all looking at me like that?

Haha! Fair enough, I must say I hadn't noticed, they still looked massive the entire time though, as did Isabela's... The breasts for all of the female characters do seem to be pretty big though and they distract from the faces lol but I can live with it because the graphics are shiny 

[havoc546]

I Love teh magez

[ME2 Fighter M]

DrunkenMonkey wrote...

but...but

http://t2.gstatic.co...UckpknVkzKnq6zY

These are the...... well it was try-outs and we needed new templars......

[Aesieru]

Where do I find the "Order Dictates" thing?

[borelocin]

The staff is actually a hollow tube full of fire - you have to twirl it to generate enough centrifugal force to get the fire to come out the end !

[dangeraaron]

I find the staff twirling a little over the top, and there is one heal spell in this game on a long cooldown if you aren't a Spirit Healer. Oh and if you are a SH you cannot cast offensive spells. Way to ruin my second favorite mage spec, you threw away my first favorite mage spec (Shapeshifting).



But...Awakening did however, bring new specs (Both full Specializations and Talent Trees) to the table when it released. Perhaps we can see the return of fan favorites such as Arcane Warrior and Shapeshifting in a DLC. The reason I'm clamoring for them so much is the fact that combat is much more indepth and fast paced, and playing a melee mage or a shapeshifted monster/animal could be a hell of a lot of fun.

[Nemis-Roidsavelt]

The force mage is just a knock off version of the jedi councelor, and you all know it.

[Aesieru]

Nemis-Roidsavelt wrote...

The force mage is just a knock off version of the jedi councelor, and you all know it.

Not really...

[Zies]

Should I focus on just pumping up Magic and Constitution, or will will power be as important as it was in the last game?

[Kyriani Agrivar]

Zies wrote...

Should I focus on just pumping up Magic and Constitution, or will will power be as important as it was in the last game?

I daresay multiple stats may have value depending on your needs

Cunning can provide a very considerable amount of defense so your mage isn't getting hit as often and it increases the amount of damage you inflict when you crit with spells and staff attacks.

Magic is obviously important but as long as you maintain 100% damage against minion level mobs at the very least you shouldnt necessarily "have to" devote every point to it. Though consider also Magic also provides magic resistance.

Dexterity increases your chance to crit with both your spells and your staff attacks so you may desire to invest there.

Willpower is another obvious stat for mana or stamina

Strength will let you wear a wider variety of armor and also provides fortitude so you are less prone to being knocked down.

And finally Constitution for HP

For me it seems like being more well rounded with your stat alottment will make you stronger in more ways than just pumping everything into magic with a smattering of points in willpower.

I'll try to focus on keeping my magic high enough so my attack is at 100% vs normal enemies, keep enough cunning to maintain 50% defense (which should also provide me some crit damage bonus), try to keep a healthy mana pool and hp going and if I can squeeze it in some dex to improve my crit rate.

Modifié par Kyriani Agrivar, 27 février 2011 - 02:45 .