Report 330

Report #330
Skillset: Skill: Astrology
 Org: Nihilists Status: Completed Mar 2010
Furies' Decision:
We will slightly reduce the costs.
Problem: Astrology currently drains massive amounts of endurance and willpower
as well as power to leave a person depleted of permenant banks that have heavy
regen times provided you are not trans discipline/resilience to aid in regen
times. The problem with this is that astrology is unlike most other skills in
the game that it actually has a viable buff/debuff skillset. However, it can't
be approriately used to its maximum capability because fully sphering one or two
people can drain someone down more than half their endurance/willpower leaving
the astrolger depleted and unable to fight/influence/bash due to the large
depletion of these more permenant stat banks. Lowering the costs would allow
this skill to be more widely used in its approriate manner to buff allies and
debuff enemies.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Lower the overall willpower/endurance drains by 75%
 to allow a useful skillset to be more widely used and
 adequetely available to those with and without the
 trans regen skills.
Player Comments:
---[Placeus on 3/1 @ 12:31 writes]:
Another problem I had with wp/end for Astrology spheres is what happens when you
try to use one when you have short breath or scrambled brain. With a strongly
negative sidiak/tarox and unlucky timing I have gone from near full to 0 wp/end
in one attack. Perhaps in addition to Solution #1 you could consider making the
high drain from these skills not effected by those afflictions?
---[Viynain on 3/1 @ 19:33 writes]:
I don't believe that Placeus' suggestion is needed since it'd bypass the
original intent for the afflictions in question, though I most heartily agree
that casting astrospheres just for basic bashing purposes can quickly kill the
caster's willpower and endurance (and causing them to lose even more time to
benefit from the bash because of the lessened endurance and willpower). This
even becomes worse when trying to take another person with the Astrologer and
trying to buff them. If anything, Id appreciate a means to do ASTROCAST <sign>
SPHERE AT [ALLIES|ENEMIES] in addition to the singular targeting mechanic so
that the spheres can be spread out without outright killing the casters
willpower and endurance. With that proposal, I actually wouldnt even mind a
slight boost to the cost when using the allies/enemies mechanic since itd
justify the cost for spreading them out.
---[Talan on 3/2 @ 02:17 writes]:
I don't think this is needed. The hefty willpower/endurance costs can be
predicted, and if they are too high, well, just don't use it. Do not think the
multiple targets thing is a great idea either. Maybe for allies... definitely
not for enemies. Would also have to translate the power cost from the multiple
spheres.
---[Romero on 3/22 @ 04:57 writes]:
I could have posted these sooner but the 0p 1en or 1wp drain around 6% of the
overall willpower of a person. With 5 spheres being required to kill, that is
30% of one's total willpower in order to instakill someone. That is assuming you
do not get any 2 or 3en or wp, which could easily put the attacker below 50%
willpower to get one kill. These numbers need to be altered in order to allow
the skillset to be used.
---[Fillin on 3/29 @ 16:13 writes]:
I think the high costs for spheres at certain times is supposed to be something
of a limiter for the astrology buffs, but I think we could greatly reduce those
costs for negative spheres only, since those are needed for meteor.