Report 259

Report #259
Skillset: Aquamancy Skill: Needlerain
 Org: Aquamancers Status: Rejected Sept 2009
Furies' Decision:
We do not find this to be necessary.
Problem: Currently, aquamancer demesnes are the least hindering in movement out
of the four types. Geomancers are able to slow enemy movement through
rubble/stonewalls and both druidic guilds can raise briarwalls, all of which
bypass protection scroll and any additional common defenses. However, aquamancer
demesnes allow enemies free movement if they are waterwalking and have a
protection scroll active.
Solution #1: Remove icefloe as an effect that bypasses protection scroll and
 replace it with needlerain. This would allow aquamancers a chance
 to strip waterwalking.
Player Comments:
---[Nienla on 9/13 @ 21:50 writes]:
Doesn't Needlerain strip Levitate, Waterwalk, etc all at once? Not to mention,
Briarwalls are gotten rid of by Ignite, so that doesn't compare really to the
Rubble effect that Geomancers have. Not to mention compare to Stonewalls. Not to
mention, you have Phantasms which employs the use of an ability similar to
Briarwalls (which cannot be ignited). You also have Whirlpool and Currents,
which are both fairly strong in the hindering department.
---[Llandros on 9/14 @ 14:15 writes]:
I think that aquamancers could use a little more movement hindering but I worry
that prolonged fights (much less likely with recent changes) could drain
elemental enchantments from the forests for wich they have no easy access to
---[Romero on 9/14 @ 19:35 writes]:
It doesn't strip it all at once. I am not sure that is entirely true because
even those with waterwalk must fight against currents and whirlpool. I remember
fighting aquamancers before where the only hope to outlast ego drain (at least
as a midbie) was to step into a new room to sip and this was almost always
stopped by the fact you would have to put up waterwalk all over again or spam
movement till you got past the whirlpool, and then got past the currents trying
to bring you back towards the whirlpool. Also, I don't think the currents or
whirlpool affect the aquamancer while I think the rubble slows the Geomancer
just the same.
---[Zynna on 9/14 @ 19:49 writes]:
Needlerain strips 1 defense each time it ticks, not all at once. Phantomwalls
can be removed with dispel illusion (that any mages or illusionist bards have)
or critique (that everyone can get), also phantomwalls fall after a very limited
number of hits, unlike briarwalls. Plus, briarwalls can be put up as a demesne
effect on multiple random exits at a time while phantomwalls have to be placed
on every exit individually. Currents also does not hit with protection scroll
up.
---[Ceren on 9/15 @ 00:09 writes]:
I agree with Nienla, needlerain strips a lot more than waterwalk, even including
some elementalism defs like elementshield. What if we made it an effect of
tsunami so that all waterwalking becomes impossible (the effects go "out of
phase") in the tempestuous waters of the aqua demesne for anyone except the
aquamancer himself?
---[Ceren on 9/15 @ 00:10 writes]:
Btw, little known fact. Geomancer rubble only falls if there's a person standing
in the room, which is checked on a 10 second tick. It aint just demesnewide
rubble, much to my dismay as I have been rushed in my demesne from several rooms
away on numerous occasions.
---[Zynna on 9/15 @ 00:36 writes]:
Cubes are readily accessible to all (and can be carried on one's person) so this
change would not drain already existent elemental enchants. Also, we did further
testing: Currents is entirely stopped by protection scroll
---[Zynna on 9/15 @ 00:37 writes]:
Cubes are readily accessible to all (and can be carried on one's person) so this
change would not drain already existent elemental enchants. Also, we did further
testing: Currents is entirely stopped by protection scroll -- so even if
waterwalk is stripped it won't do anything if protection is up. Whirlpool isn't
stopped by either waterwalking or protection scroll, so this change doesn't
affect how that works (and, whirlpool only works for the aquamancer standing in
his own demesne -- it can't be stacked at all.) So pretty much the only effect
you'd have for stripping waterwalk in this situation would be the need to either
put up waterwalk to move or the need to swim to locations.
---[Ceren on 9/15 @ 03:20 writes]:
Thought that was the point: needing to swim to move locations
---[Nienla on 9/16 @ 00:09 writes]:
As Ceren noted, the issue is mostly in the needing to swim from room to room.
Which an Aquamancer can easily time you moving in order to paralyse or keep you
still. I really don't think Needlerain needs to be one of the afflictions that
Protection scroll does not protect you with. As earlier noted, Communes do not
have ready access to Elemental Enchants and it should not be expected of
everyone to carry a cube (a 20,000 gold investment) just to stop a single
ability from hindering them repeatedly.
---[Zalandrus on 9/18 @ 03:07 writes]:
I agree with Ceren's comments in general. Making needlerain hit through
protection seems a bit much, since needlerain can do so much more. I know the
administration isn't fond of replicating skills, but isn't there some sort of a
new skill that can be added to Aquamancy to roughly replicate
rubble/stonewalls/briarwalls? That seems like a safer solution in terms of
maintaining balance...
---[Nienla on 9/19 @ 03:48 writes]:
It's not needed, Zalandrus. It was noted already that they have abilities
similar to that already.
---[Krellan on 9/19 @ 21:17 writes]:
I disagree with this. Ceren and Nienla made great points. On top of all that,
rubble, briarwalls will also hit allies. Aqua allies won't be required to swim.
Whirlpool remains one of the greater movement hinder skills available. Briar
walls also doesn't "hinder movement". It neither slows you down from leaving or
prevents you from it. Nor does it affect where your intended destination lies.
Therefore only Hartstone Druids have movement hindering effects (pathtwist) for
a power cost. If you want to hinder movement, you are free to raise icewalls at
will being a mage.