Report 707

Report #707
Skillset: Starhymn Skill: GuardianAngel
 Org: Cantors Status: Completed Oct 2011
Furies' Decision:
We will look at implementing solution 2.
Problem: GuardianAngel costs 1 power and winds the user's song back two stanzas,
and grants the user 20 DMP to all sources for 20 seconds. The small window makes
it difficult to take advantage of, and the damage resistance is minimal compared
to something like Numen, which reduces damage by 50%, lasts 1 minute, and stacks
with DMP rather than becoming less useful as you have more DMP. The end result
is that GuardianAngel just gets allocated to being used to counter Fugue (Fugue
costs 1 power to wind someone's song forward one stanza, and GuardianAngel costs
1 power and winds your song back two stanzas), and not for the DMP at all.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Increase the duration to 30 seconds and allow it to
 target players other than the caster.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #2: Change the cost to 2 power and the loss of one
 stanza, remove the DMP granted, and instead reduce
 damage received by 30% for 20 seconds (this would
 stack with DMP similarly to Numen).
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #3: Change it to grant a defense comparable to
 Paradigmatics ChaoteSign; this would be triggered
 upon being attacked by a non-denizen source to grant
 20 DMP to all sources for 20 seconds. Possibly also
 allow it to be cast on other players to buff them as
 well.
Player Comments:
---[Senna on 9/28 @ 01:15 writes]:
The intent here is as follows; as always, numbers are tweakable if they seem too
high. Solution 1: It's still usable to counter Fugue, but the effect is buffed
slightly so that it's worth using for the DMP in some situations. Solution 2:
This basically becomes a weaker Numen (Numen costs 4 power and reduces damage by
50% for 1 minute, compared to 2 power and 1 song stanza for 30% damage reduction
for 20 seconds. Because of the changed cost, it's also no longer easily used to
counter Fugue. Solution 3: It wouldn't be usable on yourself if you already have
the defense, so it's not quite so easily spammable to avoid Fugue; meanwhile,
it's much easier to take advantage of the small window of time because you can
set it up beforehand, so the actual effect doesn't need to be buffed nearly as
much.
---[Enyalida on 9/28 @ 20:42 writes]:
All of these sound fine.
---[Raeri on 9/29 @ 00:54 writes]:
Solution 2, caster-only.
---[Morbo on 10/17 @ 19:38 writes]:
Solution 2, lower than 30%, more like 15% sounds reasonable
---[Senna on 10/17 @ 22:19 writes]:
Numen is slightly lower in Sacraments than GuardianAngel is in Starhymn, lasts
three times as long as the proposed solution 2, and gives a 50% decrease in
damage as opposed to 30% (or 15%), and I don't see anyone complaining about
Numen despite the fact that it's also available to potentially two guilds as
opposed to one. If GuardianAngel becomes a 15% decrease like you suggest, that's
WORSE than the current ability as far as damage types you don't have any DMP in
already, and if you do the math, only becomes equally as good as the current one
in DMP types you have 17 DMP in, requiring 18+ DMP before this is actually a
buff to the skill. This in no way justifies the increase in cost proposed in
solution 2 (keep in mind, the ability to no longer spam GuardianAngel for
effective Fugue invincibility in solution 2, as well as 3, is a less obvious
downside to the proposal), and in combat, would be an utter waste of not only
power but also the balance used to both cast the spell and then perform one's
song back up to the stanza it was at.