Path of Sorcery - Magic Perk Overhaul (WIP)

[Plowbat]

Brace yourself, wall full of questions incoming!

 

Hmmmm the destruction perks seem nice, but there's semething wrong in my opinion : you only restrict the choice of one lvl 100 elemental perk. Meaning, you can still take the 3 lvl 70 elemental perks, and get immunity to magic (even regenerating your own from it) even though it's perk-costly (i don't have your tree to see it, but i counted 8 points, so quite cheap still). This is giving one free hand against magic casters or dragons, since no wards are needed anymore, and let you put so many more enchantments that are not defense-related on your stuff.

To the contrary, limiting the mastery to only one element would be too restrictive. My guess would be limitiing the choice to only one elemental perk per rank (still can get the three 40's) : one 70, one 80, one 90, one 100. Should keep the perk-stacking and powerhousing to a reasonable level. But the perk tree would become shaped as one, with 4 more branches per element (one for each higher-leveled perk) in this case, pretty ugly.

 

Still about the lvl 70 elementals : is it the equivalent of a free cloak?

 

The Electromancer perk mentions the perk "Heartstopper", i guess that's the lvl 80 perk, with crispy one-shooting or paralysis for low-life targets?

Still miss the 90 in this case, i'd guess for 30 seconds, negate X% of recieved damage and paralyse attacker for X seconds when under 30% life (once a day)

 

I like what you did with the runes.

 

What do you have in mind for the Force of Nature after-effects?

 

How will the walls and cloaks interact with the ward breaker/elementalist : live damage adjustment, or on cast calculation? Im asking this since i'm no good with the CK.

 

What is the extent of "much more potent" in the description of your lvl 100 perks?

 

 

I think that's all for now, sorry for the disheartening questions and keep up the good work!

[steelfeathers]

It's still early days for destruction, so everything is still up in the air. None of those perks are set in stone - I've changed a few of them around since that post I made.

 

That said, here are my thoughts:

 

-The Heart perks do NOT provide any sort of resistance to that magical element. Neither do any of the other perks I listed there. So the Mancer perks are the only way of getting total resistance to an element, unless you cheat with Enchanting or something.

 

-No, the Heart perks are not a cloak spell. Only people who physically attack you take damage, and only a little bit.

 

-Heartstopper has been changed, because it was too easy to get instant death when casting Sparks. It's now High Voltage, which has a 10% chance of disarming and does 25% more damage to enemies wearing metal armor.

 

-Cloaks and walls don't count for elementalist, unless you keep switching cloaks every few seconds like a hyperactive squirrel, which would be silly.

 

-Much more potent = much more potent :smile: (aka, the effects are better)

 

 

EDIT: All that said, I am open to suggestions for Destruction. I'm not entirely satisfied with what I've laid out so far.

 

And if anyone has an idea for a level 70-75 Alteration perk, please share! There's a hole in the tree I need to fill, and I have no idea what to put there.

Edited September 5, 2015 by steelfeathers

[Plowbat]

"you laugh in the face of mages who wield flames against you, absorbing magicka from their fire spells." (taken from lvl 70 fire perk)

I read this as spell absorbtion, but in the game, spell absorb negates the damage of the absorbed spell, thus my misunderstanding.

 

As for an Alteration perk, why not try some group-buffing like you did with restoration? Or keep the vanilla magic resist?

[steelfeathers]

Okay, lol, so I went a little overboard with the perk description. I will fix it. (The perk doesn't use the vanilla absorb effect, which does negate damage. The description for the atonach standing stone is misleading, because you don't absorb 60% of incoming magicka - you have a 60% CHANCE to absorb 100% of an incoming spell. )

 

Also, the magic resistance perk is being handled elsewhere, as a boost for flesh spell. I thought about adding a perk that allows for spell charging, but it's a lot of work to make function....

R

[steelfeathers]

So, I had an idea for a new branch of the illusion school focused on creating phantoms/mirages (you know, the "Bend light and shadow" part of the skill, to contrast with the "warp the mind" part of the skill).

 

I'd like feedback on what you guys think of this idea, and if I should pursue it.

 

• Phantom Casting (25) > Grants the spell "Create Phantom", which silently creates the chosen phantom at the target location. Can only have 1 phantom active at a time. Notes: Phantom items and furniture cannot be used or picked up. Phantom creatures are not summoned minions - they won't follow you around, and they don't count towards your summoning limit. Fear, Calm, Frenzy, and Courage effects caused by phantoms have a chance to affect all targets, even those normally immune to direct mental control.
• The Magician (50) > Unlock adept-level phantoms. Phantoms last 50% longer and can be cast from twice as far away.
• Phantasmagoria (75) > Unlocks expert-level phantoms. Can maintain up to 3 phantoms at the same time, except for master-level phantoms.
• Hard Light (100) > Unlocks master-level phantoms. All aggressive phantoms become capable of causing harm. (?)

 

And the types of phantoms you can create...

• Mudcrab (default) > An insubstantial mudcrab that has a chance to duplicate itself upon being destroyed
• Spike Trap (default) > An insubstantial spike trap that prevents anyone from moving through it, although magic and arrows can pass over it.
• Treasure pile (adept) > An illusory pile of treasure that attracts everyone nearby. Chance to cause rage in those nearby.
• Cage (adept) > An illusory cage that imprisons the target, preventing them from leaving that spot. Magic and arrows can pass through the cage.
• Jester (adept) > An insubstantial, flute-playing jester. Chance to Calm those nearby.
• Werewolf (expert) > An insubstantial werewolf that causes terror in those nearby. Chance to cause terror decreases with enemy level.
• Guards (expert) > A group of 4 insubstantial guards that engage your foes.
• Arena (master) > Transports all nearby hostiles (and you) to an illusory arena. The hostiles are trapped in an arena and enraged, while you watch from the seats above. The illusion breaks when you take damage, or when there is only one hostile remaining.
• Dragon (master) > An insubstantial dragon that causes wide-spread terror.

[AfroGamerNinja]

It sure will be a challenge to pick the right mastery if you play as a vampire. Using Better Vampires (and setting it to reverse progression) and picking Cryomancer or Electromancer would give me a 60% weakness to fire.

 

Well, better gear up accordingly.

Edited September 7, 2015 by AfroGamerNinja

[Plowbat]

Maybe replace the cage trap with a powerful slow? (or make it short) because the majority of foes in the game are fighters, it may be OP for an adept level spell.

 

I like the Arena a lot, it seems pretty fun (mass encounters aren't that common though).

 

In the end, maybe the mudcrab or the guards are the most powerful (for their cost) once you get the lvl 100 perk that permits damage from clones...i so want an army of murderous mudcrabs.

[steelfeathers]

Alteration done! This tree is smaller than the others, but then again there is a limited amount I can do without introducing a bunch of new types of Alteration spells, since alteration is essentially Paralyze + flesh spells in vanilla.

ALTERATION:
http://i.imgur.com/TtTJryX.png

• Student: Alteration (0/35) > All Alteration spells last 0.5/0.75% longer per Alteration level. All Alteration spells consume less magicka per Alteration level. Cost reduction caps at 50/70%.
• Alteration Dual Casting (20) > Dual casting an Alteration spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version.
• Mind Over Matter (20/45) > Increases the duration of Protection spells like Stoneflesh by 1/2% per your Alteration level.
• Mage Armor (30/50/70) > Protection spells like Stoneflesh are 2/2.5/3x stronger and negate 10/15/20% of incoming damage if not wearing armor.
• Synergy (40/70) > While affected by a flesh spell, all spells you cast are 15/30% stronger.
• Magic Resistance (40/70) > While affected by a flesh spell, your magic resistance is increased by 25/50%.
• Bastion (70) > While affected by a flesh spell, if your health falls below 15% you are protected by an impenetrable shield for 5 seconds. 30 second recharge time.
• Well Of Endurance (40) > (Toggle) Stamina is drained to keep your magicka pool replenished.
• Blood To Power (60/90) > (Toggle) When active, every spell costs 50/75% less magicka to cast and has 50/75% greater magnitude and duration, but you lose health equal to 10/5% of the base cost on casting.
• Strength In Reserve (70) > Choose a stat: Magicka , Health, or Stamina. When combat starts, the chosen stat is damaged by 10 points. Afterwards, if you lose more than 90% of that stat while still in combat, the stat is fully restored. Only occurs once per battle.
• Careful Preparation (25) > Grants the lesser power "Careful Preparation". When used, the next self-applied spell you cast will be re-cast at no cost the next time you enter combat. Lasts for 8 hours.
• Intrinsic Knowledge (50) > Choose a magic school. Spells from that school cost 25% less magicka to cast.
• Atronach (60/90) > 60/95% chance to absorb the magicka of any spell that hits you, taking no damage. Base magicka regeneration is reduced by 90/70%
• Spell Eater (80) > If Atronach is active, each spell you absorb restores your health by 10% of its base cost.
• Transmutate (75) > Transform your own flesh, gaining one permanent ability: Water-breathing, night-vision, or feather-falling. *Night-vision adjusts dynamically based on light level and time of day.
• Midas Touch (90) > Once a day, activate an opponent with less than 50% health to transform them into a pile of gold. The gold pile grows by 10 Septims for each point of health remaining. *The target drops all their items, including quest items, so nothing is lost - only the flesh is transformed*
• Spell Mastery (100) > The next spell you cast is infused into your very soul, transforming it into a lesser power that can be cast instantly for no magicka. (10 second cooldown between casts)

[AfroGamerNinja]

So, all we need is the Destruction tree, right?

 

Anyway, would Mage Armor still work if you wear clothing with the Dragon's Soul enchantment from your Enchanting tree?

[steelfeathers]

So, all we need is the Destruction tree, right?

 

Anyway, would Mage Armor still work if you wear clothing with the Dragon's Soul enchantment from your Enchanting tree?

 

Destruction and Illusion. I'm reworking the Illusion tree, because it's a bit boring right now.

And yes, anything that's clothing benefits from Mage Armor.