Combat Stacking... Yes/No?

Something i thought of yesterday while setting up my revamped mage deck. Does Combo\stacking increase the skill gain? Would it be worth it to stack 2 spells for increased skill gain or just use the same spell twice? Mind you i mean solely for skill gain.

 

It seems to be same. For combos it seem you get xp gain split between the abilities.

 

Well that would make sense for a combo that used two different skills. Cheers, i'll just cast the same spell twice probably.

 

It reeeally hard to track for me with the tiny gains I have but I *think* a 2x stack gets the same exp as casting 2x 1 spell - maybe a Dev could clarify that instead of relying on mm on a tiny screen like me

So for leveling purposes it would make no difference whether you stack or don't - you might even be better off stacking because you use less focus that way and can potentially cast more spells in less time.

 

stacking saves focus so you can cast more times before you run out of it.

 

When I first started stacking I had issues with trying to stack and pay attention to the battle also. The problem for me was going from wasd to the number keys gave me a lot of room for error. To resolve my problems I learned to move my character 100% of the time by using just right mouse click. In addition to that I've remapped all of my hotbar keys to my number pad keys. Now I can stack glyphs in any slot with minimal effort, movement, and error is also greatly reduced. After getting used to playing this way I can keep my focus on the battle and not so much as looking at the hot bar.

I do see an increase in damage on stacked glyphs and the focus saving aspect is very nice.

 

Did you find a way to side step with mouse movement? I can't live without that.

 

Am I the only one that enjoys the added difficulty (and benefits) spell weaving brings with ranged kiting, etc? ...

 

Who knows, for me it gets to the point where I fight more with the controls than the enemies. Especially since I prefer to stack/weave glyphs with my mouse, but I cannot turn well to face the enemies at the same time. I enjoy the difficulty when it comes to combat, but it should not be the difficulty battling with controls/UI.

 

I think it's a combination of both. The deck system (for me) represents real-life effort/dexterity to cast more powerful spells/weaves/abilities. Not unlike a fighter console game (w/combos requiring complex button mashing for optimal efficiency), for example. I for one like it that way, and there are locked glyphs for folks that don't.

As you get better and better with weaving I think it ends up drawing less and less attention away from the main battle/screen and serves it's purpose well! That said, there's always room for improvement, such as perhaps location of rebound keys, etc. Weaving a 1 w/an 8 is always a challenge

 

I agree with this statement. It is mainly the UI that is adding complexity. I would like to see where the spells auto stack when drawn like charging spells you are holding in your hand but, leaving the combo's as is so you can combine your glyphs for powerful hits. I think this would take a little sting out of it but still leave some complexity.

The only issue with it requiring real world button smashing skill is with the inherent nature of people being lazy. If it stays like this there will be 3rd party auto stackers and custom macro's built to give some players the automated edge. And once they take hold Port loses its control on the deck.

 

No matter what type of combat system you have, you're gonna have "lazy macroers", even if it was just mash the same button over and over someone is gonna be like, I don't want to look at the screen any more and create a macro, blah blah... please don't limit the design of a system for the sake of attempting to placate the "lazy", or if you do, how do you do it in a way to not cater to them and keep the fun/complexity level reasonable?

 

Not trying to dumb down the system but also not trying to exclude people who are not dexterous enough to reach key combinations. Either way, macro, 3rd party, or Port. There is going to be auto stacking , I would rather port add it themselves and have it be part of the game.