Earning and Learning magic spells

No worries, its all related.

 

There can always be some barrier for the complete noob or someone who's never used a certain weapon. Maybe there's an intro story where you get to level 10 or something like GW2 where you spend 30 minutes or so with a new weapon breaking it in to unlock the skills.

Some skills will be situationally better and the more experienced character will have more to choose from. That choice should still be made somewhere out of combat. (Building decks or w/e).

You can't really wear two sets of armor or wield two weapons at the same time. So this is an example of zero sum: I'm either wearing chain or plate, not both. So if someone masters both, that shouldn't chew up some skill cap for other areas.

 

Well... currently, armor is broken up in to four pieces, and you can potentially dual wield. But those are exceptions. Your skills should reflect the main body of the armor (chest piece) and the primary weapon you wield. Using dual wield (which is a blade skill currently, I believe) would require you to wield one blade and gain access to a second weapon skill type. Which is fine; those are replacing the ability to use a shield or wield magic. And yes, I believe magic should require at least one hand free to use (with the exception of 2H weapons).

 

Also, how do you provide for the traditional fighter-type, who has the potential to master all combat skills. This was done with classes in the past, but that's not an option here. Personally, I agree with PrimeRib at least in the opinion that skill caps are unnecessary and not helpful. What's necessary is a load of content. I respect that we won't be able to have a fully flushed out system in Episode 1, but I hope the throttle will be the high amount of material.

Another thing - the grind game has left people feeling like they're not doing well unless they are continually advancing. Being able to closely monitor our metrics leads us to count every bit of xp. We SHOULD be so excited about our new skills and spells that we want to go play with them. This is one reason I pushed for less numbers in the UI. This is another reason I would like the content to be scattered about and not entirely included in the character's stats. Another is that magery has always been a big scavenger-hunt for goodies and secret knowledge, and I'd like to see that continued. In fact, I'd like to see it extended to the other traditional character types as well.

 

You keep bringing in these random things that have almost no relatability to an MMO. MY skill is the skill of the player, and in an MMO, there is a serious limit to how much MY skill can affect gameplay. Technically, we DO give a benefit to the chess and golf champion... we pay them to play. Not to win, just to SHOW UP. There's an additional insane payout to the winner of a tournament.

In the MMO, the CHARACTER is the master, and his skill should be represented. When I sit down at the computer to let my fingers do the fighting, my skillfull decisions will bear their own benefit, which is beyond Portalarium's power to grant or deny. But the CHARACTER is the archmage, the master-swordsman, the deepwoods ranger. The CHARACTER should continue to accrue some degree of skill past getting max skill points. What is so hard to understand about that point?

Actually, it wasn't terribly uncommon for a mounted knight to wear plate OVER chain. So... yeah.

 

When your initial desire to learn magic arose you sought out a mentor, a trainer, someone that could provide instruction on the basics. Assuredly, they were parlor tricks and small illusions but they came in handy on a number of occasions. They also whet your appetite for more knowledge.

As you slowly mastered your initial and somewhat sparse repetoire of spells you realize that, to further increase your understanding, you must seek out another - a true teacher. Who is this person and how can you find him. Thus your second journey leads you to your master.

This master is rather strict with his teachings and demands unfailing concentration and dedication. But slowly, and with much practice, you add to your arsenal of spells. The focus required, the reagents needed, the incantations, are all starting to make sense. You feel the power ebb and flow within you. Eventually, with the slow passage of time, you come to the point where even your master cannot teach you any further. However, the council of wizards has been observing your progress from afar and now wishes to discuss certain worldly matters with you.

It seems like you've spent an eternity increasing your power and knowledge with the council of wizards. So many new spells and incantations were learned. Having become a wizard yourself, and also recently granted a seat at council, you begin the final leg of your journey.

Like the accomplished chef who creates wonderful recipes with ingredients you begin experimenting. You experiment because there is now no one who can provide you with further information. You have been taught what they have been taught. But is that really the end? Do you truly have complete mastery of all worldly magic or are there even more mysteries that can be mastered? What secrets wait for you to discover?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So after having written a short story I'd like to point out the key concepts:

1. Immersion
I'd like to see quests that help you move along the path. I don't want to simply "ding - new level, new spell" my whole way through the game. And I'm not fond of going to the same one or two guys the entire game to advance my level. Let's get a bit more creative with the learning process. Thank goodness they won't have exclamation points over their head in SotA!

2. There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of magic to master.
We see some of this with the prerequisite spells. We also know that you need to put "points" into a particular school to obtain those spells. The more "points" you place in one school the higher you can go but the less you have available to place in another school. However, what happens when we want to change schools? Is, or should there, be a penalty of some sort for doing so?

3. Magic isn't learned overnight. A wizard will spend his whole life in order to master magic.
Hopefully there won't be a million wizards one week after launch. That would cheapen the whole magic system.
Also, I want to see some benefit through use and experience: higher to-hit, less fizzle, less damage variance, perhaps even a small damage bonus. I'm a wizard, not a neophyte, after all.

4. Discovery
Will/Can there be a method or system similar to crafting to permit players to discover spells? Just throwing this out there.

My 2 crowns...

 

Not to quibble overmuch, but if we are following the standard Ultima intro, you ARE a neophyte, having recently been abducted from Earth to wander the world of Britannia.

Once a character is highly progressed through the learning process, though, I could get behind passive abilities that allow you to mod your spells, reduce fizzle chances, etc.