LKP
Forum Member of the year 09'
Hybrid is great because it's so diverse.
Publish 15 is a great era to emulate because there is such a variety of combat templates that work:
Scribe mages.
Nox mages.
Alchy mages.
Tank mages.
Healer mages.
Stun mages.
Stealth mages.
Thief mages.
Archer mages.
Med warriors.
Eval warriors
Parry warriors.
Pure warriors.
Alchy warriors.
Axers.
Pure thieves.
Disarm thieves.
I embrace that diversity. I think it's awesome that I can go out on the field, or in the duel pits, or in an event, and fight against such a great variety of different opponents. A lot of PvPers are with me on this - they've all got tank mages, or archer mages, or healer mages, or scribes. But they've got those characters tucked away in their third or fourth accounts, and they only come out when they play with a ruleset that forbids purple potions. Meanwhile they'll all continue to play their alchy mages and alchy dexers, because those are the most effective templates.
I think that speaks volumes. Why do the diverse templates only come out when alchemy is forbidden? Maybe because they're too busy getting mowed down from a screen and a half away for 30+ damage every 3 seconds. The following is a short list of things that are wrong with purple potions:
1) There's no risk in using them around innocents due to the senseless new AoE rules.
2) They need 0 skill points to use, 100 to use with full effect... and do damage comparable to a GM halberd in the hands of a character with 300 skill points devoted to its use.
3) They don't count as physical or magical damage, meaning:
a) Armor has no effect on them.
b) Resist has no effect on them.
c) Parry has no effect on them.
d) They can't be reflected.
4) They can be used without a free hand, unlike all other potions.
5) They can be thrown while moving.
6) They can be cancelled during their prep time, then reactivated, effectively nullifying their prep time.
7) They're basically heatseekers. If thrown at the right time, they will always hit a moving target.
8) Because of #5 and 7, they have an effective range much, much larger than that of archery or magery.
9) They cost neither mana nor stamina to use.
10) They lack any kind of cooldown timer. You can throw one every 3 or 4 seconds.
Put that all together and you've got an ultra-long range, hands-free, rapid-fire weapon that can't miss, can't be resisted, can't be absorbed, can't be parried, can't be reflected, and does damage over time comparable to well-equipped dex munky fighting someone with no weapon skill. Putting a stop to any one of the above conditions would be a step toward balancing these things. There have been numerous suggestions, and this has been debated for years. Hell, even on Divinity, a UOGamers shard, purple potions were balanced by making the potions count down an extra second after landing, so hitting a moving target actually required you to lead it, as it should.
I know I'm probably beating a dead horse here. Many players have become so dependent on purple potions that they don't have a clue what to do without them. You'll recognize these players when they reply with ludicrous arguments or flames saying "They're fine, l2p." (The irony there is astounding, by the way.) Others simply don't care anymore, or never did. Even so, as many times as this has been mentioned and ignored before, I think rebalancing these things deserves some thought.
Discuss.
Publish 15 is a great era to emulate because there is such a variety of combat templates that work:
Scribe mages.
Nox mages.
Alchy mages.
Tank mages.
Healer mages.
Stun mages.
Stealth mages.
Thief mages.
Archer mages.
Med warriors.
Eval warriors
Parry warriors.
Pure warriors.
Alchy warriors.
Axers.
Pure thieves.
Disarm thieves.
I embrace that diversity. I think it's awesome that I can go out on the field, or in the duel pits, or in an event, and fight against such a great variety of different opponents. A lot of PvPers are with me on this - they've all got tank mages, or archer mages, or healer mages, or scribes. But they've got those characters tucked away in their third or fourth accounts, and they only come out when they play with a ruleset that forbids purple potions. Meanwhile they'll all continue to play their alchy mages and alchy dexers, because those are the most effective templates.
I think that speaks volumes. Why do the diverse templates only come out when alchemy is forbidden? Maybe because they're too busy getting mowed down from a screen and a half away for 30+ damage every 3 seconds. The following is a short list of things that are wrong with purple potions:
1) There's no risk in using them around innocents due to the senseless new AoE rules.
2) They need 0 skill points to use, 100 to use with full effect... and do damage comparable to a GM halberd in the hands of a character with 300 skill points devoted to its use.
3) They don't count as physical or magical damage, meaning:
a) Armor has no effect on them.
b) Resist has no effect on them.
c) Parry has no effect on them.
d) They can't be reflected.
4) They can be used without a free hand, unlike all other potions.
5) They can be thrown while moving.
6) They can be cancelled during their prep time, then reactivated, effectively nullifying their prep time.
7) They're basically heatseekers. If thrown at the right time, they will always hit a moving target.
8) Because of #5 and 7, they have an effective range much, much larger than that of archery or magery.
9) They cost neither mana nor stamina to use.
10) They lack any kind of cooldown timer. You can throw one every 3 or 4 seconds.
Put that all together and you've got an ultra-long range, hands-free, rapid-fire weapon that can't miss, can't be resisted, can't be absorbed, can't be parried, can't be reflected, and does damage over time comparable to well-equipped dex munky fighting someone with no weapon skill. Putting a stop to any one of the above conditions would be a step toward balancing these things. There have been numerous suggestions, and this has been debated for years. Hell, even on Divinity, a UOGamers shard, purple potions were balanced by making the potions count down an extra second after landing, so hitting a moving target actually required you to lead it, as it should.
I know I'm probably beating a dead horse here. Many players have become so dependent on purple potions that they don't have a clue what to do without them. You'll recognize these players when they reply with ludicrous arguments or flames saying "They're fine, l2p." (The irony there is astounding, by the way.) Others simply don't care anymore, or never did. Even so, as many times as this has been mentioned and ignored before, I think rebalancing these things deserves some thought.
Discuss.
