One of the challenges in advancing player-characters past level 50 is the increasing number of rounds it takes to gain sufficient power for the better spell cards.
What if there was a new 0-pip spell card available after level 50 for each of the schools that subtracted a few hundred health points for a couple of guaranteed power pips? The amount of health lost would be offset by the potential of the more powerful spell used in the subsequent round. It would be a cross between the minion banishing spells and the Fire's Immolate health drain spell, with the primary purpose of speeding the flow of the combat.
The names of the cards could match the respective school, like "Inner Flame", "Inner Storm", etc.
One of the challenges in advancing player-characters past level 50 is the increasing number of rounds it takes to gain sufficient power for the better spell cards.
What if there was a new 0-pip spell card available after level 50 for each of the schools that subtracted a few hundred health points for a couple of guaranteed power pips? The amount of health lost would be offset by the potential of the more powerful spell used in the subsequent round. It would be a cross between the minion banishing spells and the Fire's Immolate health drain spell, with the primary purpose of speeding the flow of the combat.
The names of the cards could match the respective school, like "Inner Flame", "Inner Storm", etc.
Death does get a card like this, pips for health, and most schools allow us to do the same with our minions...
500 death damage to self for 3 pips. cool thing is, throw a death shield on yourself then use it.. you get way less damage (and with good death resist gear... even better)
I do about 57 damage to myself for 3 pips....
FYI this is also great for SACRIFICE! use a death shield and make sure you dont have traps (like curse or feint on yourself) then cast... 44 damage for 700 health. :) even better if the enemy has casted weakness on you!
Getting rid of minions in order to gain pips does not immediately help speed the flow of combat, since you need to summon the minion first (and the pips required for that can vary).
I had not noticed the "Empower" card. 500 points seems a little steep for 3 pips, but I suppose there's the possibility of getting the equivalent of 6 with the power pip percentage. Then again, why does it still take a pip to cast it?
It would be helpful for the flow of the game if all schools were at least similarly empowered ;-)
It would be helpful for the flow of the game if all schools were at least similarly empowered ;-)
I just wrote a huge, big long post about something like this... All schools have their strengths and weaknesses, you must remember! So Death gets this spell... but other schools have their own amazing spells that make up for it.
But it was a creative idea! I like how people make things like this up.
Game balance is certainly important, and KI has done an excellent job in creating all of the variety in these different "magic schools" while maintaining close attention to that balance.
This was a suggestion about game pace, not balance. There are already several mechanics for that pace, including 0-pip wards & buffs, power pip percentages, and even extra pips with certain gear. But with extending levels past their designed cap, players on these boards could help brainstorm against excessive grinding. After all, this is Halston's Laboratory :)
Nearly every school has a shield, a trap, and a blade for its respective school. The suggestion was for every school to get a 0-pip card to gain extra power pips for health. Admittedly it is very close to the Empower card, and it would make sense to create a different spell card for the Death School to offset any game balance issue.
The "Empower" spell from Death School will only give regular pips (much in the same way that the Marleybone/Mooshu Staves give a +1pip that will never Power) but for arguements sake I will go and double check it next time I am online.
It also costs 1 pip to use, and can only use it on yourself, so your only really getting 2 more pips and taking damage at the same time (although with the right strategy, you can clear feint recoil/weakness/hex/curse on your terms and not the enemies)
Since around level 45, I have not personally had a problem coming up with the necessary pips to use my school spells. I had around a 60ish percent chance at 45, now I have 76% at level 50, and can cast my 6pip spell (being Wraith) by the third turn for 1100 damage before applying gear bonus or boosted damage (round one: Death Blade/Feint, round two: Blade/Feint whichever I didnt use in round one, round three: if all went right Wraith, if not I will definately be able to cast it on round 4)
It takes me more time to set up traps and blades, for one Wraith then it takes me to have the pips to cast it. For scarecrow, I wont generally set traps on all enemies, i just make sure I have DthBlade and SpiritBlade on and spend one or two rounds with 0 cost spells to have the pips.
Every school can cast their 6 pip spell on the second round with at least a blade/trap to support it, since every schools specific trap/blade is 0 cost.
The problem isnt the speed in which a wizard can cast their high pip spell, but in making sure that when they cast a spell it will do enough damage to defeat their opponent in that one shot and if it doesnt, they can finish them with a second attack easily.
The overall game mechanics of Wizard101 are excellent. How well they scale past level 50 is going to based on several factors. What will be the new level cap? How much health will the most powerful bosses have? Will it become the norm to use multiple 6-pip & 7-pip spells, and will there be 8, 9, 10-pip spells? Does one get the perfect set of cards in each combat to line up all the buffs exactly as planned? From a theme perspective, it seems difficult to imagine a storm card more powerful than Storm Lord or an ice card more powerful than Frost Giant. With a power pip percentage near 100%, acquiring the equivalent of 2 pips per round could become limiting. Perhaps a new percentage should start after level 50 to grant the equivalent of 3 pips, a "super-power-pip". KI has delivered a very fun family-oriented game. We'll just have to wait and see what they dream up for the next extension.
