Report 520

Report #520
Skillset: Psionics Skill: PsychicPush
 Org: Pyromancers Status: Completed Dec 2010
Furies' Decision:
Balance loss will be given to the moved player.
Problem: Currenly PsychicPush is almost meaningless in combat. Not only does
recovery from it take much longer than simply using Gust, but Gust itself
already handles pretty much any attempt to move another from the room. For these
reasons, PsychicPush is pretty much cast aside and rarely used.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Make PsychicPush able to move someone up to 3-5 rooms
 that are within the line of sight. This would allow
 more variety and give reason for the longer recovery
 time versus using Gust.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #2: Make PsychicPush able to be used on oneself. This
 could be used in many circumstances, such as broken
 legs, etc.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #3: Have PsychicPush blast all enemies in the room and
 move all that are able to be moved out into an
 adjacent room.
Player Comments:
---[Raeri on 12/9 @ 11:03 writes]:
Out of these, I prefer solution 2. No to solution 3. I've always thought the
reason to use it was since you could combo it with two other channels to slow
re-entry.
---[Sahmiam on 12/9 @ 20:47 writes]:
I would think that solution 3 would require at least a 5p cost for it, as it
sounds like scissorflip. Harmony has a skill similar to solution 2. It's not
that fun to fight against, and I'm not sure mages need it. That being said, I
support solution 1 as long as it respects nexii and has conditions similar to
beckon, or alternatively, require target to be in the same room (as I'm guessing
it currently is).
---[Senna on 12/10 @ 00:12 writes]:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't PsychicPush have a 100% chance of
succeeding, whereas Gust has a chance to fail? I'm talking about the "You fail
to muster enough power to move <person>." message. That bonus, as well as what
Raeri said, seems to make it a viable skill by comparison. That said, though, I
think solution 2 looks nifty and I wouldn't be opposed to it.
---[Inagin on 12/10 @ 08:31 writes]:
I agree with Raeri and Senna in that I think this ability already has its unique
uses. However, if it must be changed, I think Solution #2 is probably the best.
To make it different from Akhoosh (which has a 1 power cost), perhaps movement
should be to a random room? -- Also, if movement resistance is the problem, that
should be addressed separately. (Sizes should matter again, but only default
racial sizes! This might be good to think about with the pending racial
changes.)
---[Raeri on 12/11 @ 05:48 writes]:
Akhoosh goes through everything, including walls. PsychicPush is just a psionic
gust.
---[Janalon on 12/11 @ 20:08 writes]:
PsychicPush is only available through the Super psi channel. It has high
likelihood of moving the target, followed by a 6 second channel rebalancing
where psymet monks are inhibited from any other action (including movement and
attacking). Momentum loss occurs at 7 seconds of kata inactivity. In contrast,
beast gust acts immediately, is mostly reliable, doesn't penalize the monk from
movement/attack, and regains beast balance in 8 seconds. The difference between
skills to a psymet monk is staggering. Of the solutions provided, #2 appears
like the 1p harmony skill akhoosh, and #3 appears like a powerless acrobatic
scissorflip. At least kata throw/toss will prone the victim upon impact (though
requires kata grapple for setup). Perhaps another suggestion would for p.push to
prone or 1s stun. I prefer solution #1 as it offers something more original for
psymet monks, though the issue of psi balance outweighing momentum deflation is
still an issue. As such, none of these solutions really address how a psymet
monk is to use psychic push.
---[Raeri on 12/12 @ 08:53 writes]:
Given that it's a Pyromancer report, I would assume they are aiming for it to be
useful for Psionic Mages, instead of tailoring to Psymet monks - most of whom
don't really use psionic channels in combat and have them locked for defs.
---[Janalon on 12/12 @ 09:50 writes]:
Agreed. Although, the skill is available to the mage archetype (which currently
represent two guilds) and monk archetype (which represent four guilds).
Shouldn't the skill be balanced around the needs of both? REPORT 447 raised this
issue, but was rejected that there be a psionics for mages, and another psionics
for monks. The two should never be divorced. I finder it utterly unacceptable
that the skillset should be optimized around mages without any consideration for
psymet monks. There are some psymet monk skills which rely on open channels
(ex. shift, cell adjustment, suspended animation), so you assertion is entirely
wrong. Please make considerations for how the skill will be used under both
circumstances.
---[Janalon on 12/12 @ 12:08 writes]:
Err, my logic is correct but example is wrong. Four mages, four monks (was
thinking pre pyro/areo). What I meant to say is that since mages are tied to the
cities, there is a larger outlet for monks to take up psionics. If/when Gaudi &
Halli acquire monks, the scales will tip 4/6 mages to monks (not even accounting
for Ackle or JoJo). Point being we need to think beyond psionics as a mage
skillset, even if this report was initiated by a mage guild.
---[Sahmiam on 12/13 @ 03:46 writes]:
Janalon's correct in that the skill should be usuable by both archetypes. It
doesn't necessarily need to be equal use, but let's not have the disparity in
usage for the current hyperactive for monks and bards.
---[Ridley on 12/16 @ 18:08 writes]:
Psychicpush does take summon resistance into account, so it is capable of
failing. No way to solution #3. Scissorflip/Squall/Whirlwind are all power
costing or high in a skillset for a reason. You'll get every Mage in the game a
scissorflip. Consider two Telekinetics working together with Barrier, for
example, and it'll get old fast. Solution #2 can just be done by sipping
anatine, but if that's too much, solutions 1 and 2 are fine.
---[Talan on 12/17 @ 05:47 writes]:
I'd rather see it just be made 100%, then, than any of these solutions. Solution
2 sounds like it would effectively negate pfifth, and solution 3, as has been
noted, equates to scissorflip. Solution 1, if I must.
---[Raeri on 12/22 @ 04:21 writes]:
If it's made 100%, it would negate pfifth anyhow though, technically.
---[Talan on 12/23 @ 21:54 writes]:
Fair enough, heh. Suppose my immediate response was the 'devil you know' since
every bard knows that gust is 100% already. :P
---[Janalon on 12/25 @ 17:18 writes]:
It should be noted that extending PsychicPush from Super to Sub OR Sub AND Super
would have tremendous appeal to psymet monks. I feel that other than solution
#1, this also be considered. I feel this is an effective solution because beast
gust does't put psion off eq/bal with 8s recovery, and psychic push uses
channels (competes with eq/bal) with 7s recovery. Putting the skill over to Sub
would nearly halve recovery time. Sub is the only channel that would be of any
real use to a psymet anyway.
---[Fillin on 12/26 @ 15:02 writes]:
I'm not sure what this report is about. Psychicpush is a very good skill that
allows you to gust in combination with a psionic offense, as well as through
prismatic barriers.