Spellweaving needs a change

[Locryn Finck]

I was on a break from the game when spellweaving was a true flavor of the month, but right at the moment it seems pretty nerfed. Basically the two spells the skill is used for are pixies and thunderstorm. Both are great, obviously. But almost every other ability is irrelevant in general combat. The cooldown times also seem excessive. Attunement is great, except for it's huge cooldown. Gift of renewal is OK, except it takes an eternity to cast even with 4fc, and has a cooldown.

And the whole "circle" thing just seems sort of misguided. I remember reading about it before release and thinking that that circle would have to be maintained with a certain radius or something. Nope. Its a gameplay mechanic that breaks down to spamming Gchat until you get a few people together then leave. ARCANISTS UNITE! Seems pointless.

It doesn't need to be way powerful, but maybe something to reduce the cooldown timers the higher your skill is, etc. More reasons to go 120.

 

[Connor_Graham]

You don't use Word of Death? I'd use that before the others you mentioned.

 

[Lorddog]

way wrong

with a focus 6 wod = final death blows
wind = destruction of lvl 1 champs
(a few guys together with wind can really put out some death)

self res = nice to have
healing over time = nice to use on self or pets

Lorddog

 

[Stupid Miner]

Spellweaving needs a change

No... spellweaving is just about the most effective use of 100 skill points. You just need to learn how to use it properly.

 

[Kellgory]

Would be nice if you could buy or make blank spellweaving books as well the ability to make the scrolls. I did find that the crystal demons in the prism of light drops the scrolls at a somewhat decent rate, but its pretty much hit and miss (some days they drop and others you get none), plus trying to loot the scrolls as well as the crystals while applying bandages, and fighting the other demons can get a bit much.

 

[agpga]

I would like to be able to recast gift of life before the timer expires. Seems like I get killed just as the timer wears out. If I could recast when I know the timer is getting low so I could reset it. Then I could cast it before going into a tough battle and be able to get out alive. Also it would be nice to be able to move away from a mob before the resurrection actually took place.

I too would like to see the cool down timers adjusted or gotten rid of.

 

[Locryn Finck]

I'm not convinced. WOD is pvm only, and winds has too long of a cast time to pvp. Is the argument that it dominates in pvm? I would also like some input on the actual claims made in my post. Cooldown timers, etc.

 

[Hildebrand]

I find it surprising that people think Spellweaving is fine as it is. It's something about this skill that isn't quite there. It's more frustrating rather than fun for me.

If I have an hour to play, and I get on my legend weaver, I have to wait a pretty long time to get that dang focus gem. No focus gem = impotent 120 skill. Agree? Want a level 6? Good luck.
Gift of Life is currently still broken in the Abyss. The Seed question overrides the Gift of life gump.
All the spells do take a long time to cast even at 4/6. I should have a title in my paperdoll... "FizzeWeaver".
It's a mana hog skill. Even at 120 med & 20 MR, 40 focus, 40 LMC.
Cooldowns are a huge pain. We don't even get a timer to let us know when to recast. We either have to count in our heads or guess when the cooldown is done.
Imolating Weapon is a joke and should be removed. It's short, eats huge mana, takes long cast time, does some fire damage? Even a non mystic casting Enchant Weapon gets 120 sec Hit Lightning 30%.
I understand that some of these downsides are there for a reason... no reagents.

We've had some improvements last year. I am grateful for the Arcane circle at the bank AND the ability for the level 6 focus gem. I'm happy to see "reaper form" got their running shoes rolleyes:. I'm happy they fixed Arcane Empowerment after so many years. They even added a little splash sound to Imolating Weapon when it expires .

Like others I know, I'm planning to stone this skill. It's just sad to see skills not getting updated with the times.

 

[G.v.P]

with a focus 6 wod = final death blows
wind = destruction of lvl 1 champs
(a few guys together with wind can really put out some death)

self res = nice to have
healing over time = nice to use on self or pets

Lorddog

Yeah, I agree, anyone who misses how useful wind is doesn't spawn, and it can be sick in pvp too although SW in pvp is usually just for support/niche roles. Maybe OP is more of a field fighter though. And I don't know about your shard, but my shard gives a +1 bonus to focus at Brit Bank, so it isn't that hard to get a LVL 6, especially since I have over 5 friends with 100+ SW on at least one char, haha (and well, some of them even trained up 100+ SW on other chars JUST to circle, such overkill ;P).

However, it would be neat if some of the spells were tweaked. Like if attunement, at high levels, could absorb a single weapon special effect in addition to damage (I'd have to look into the max damage attunement can absorb though). Or if Wild Fire was a bit quicker, or useful. Everytime I see someone use Wild Fire, I cringe. Good for flushing, I guess, but eh.

 

[G.v.P]

Gift of Life is currently still broken in the Abyss. The Seed question overrides the Gift of life gump.
All the spells do take a long time to cast even at 4/6. I should have a title in my paperdoll... "FizzeWeaver".
It's a mana hog skill. Even at 120 med & 20 MR, 40 focus, 40 LMC.
Cooldowns are a huge pain. We don't even get a timer to let us know when to recast. We either have to count in our heads or guess when the cooldown is done.
Imolating Weapon is a joke and should be removed. It's short, eats huge mana, takes long cast time, does some fire damage? Even a non mystic casting Enchant Weapon gets 120 sec Hit Lightning 30%.

-Don't use the Seeds, they're stupid. They should Rez you at the spot you're at in the Abyss, not take you back to the Tree. Very bad design, IMO.
-If you're Fizzling, and you're 120 SW, then how are your hands equipped? If suit is culprit, can't blame the skill ;P.
-Try a necro SWer for mana; w/ a lvl 6 focus, wind is insane. It hits everything on your screen. Everything.
-Some cooldowns last longer than others, but Attunement I'm pretty sure is only 60 seconds, which isn't too bad considering what it does. Maybe there should be a text message for Gift of Renewal though, so you know how long before you should target again.
-Imolating Weapon fire damage adds fire damage that can't be added any other way. Enchant adds a mod only if it doesn't exist, right?

SW is worth it just for the WOD alone. Some spells could be tweaked, but WOD is insane. It's 300 damage base, and with a little SDI, and some debuff spells, you're talking over 700 damage a WOD. That's insane. A SW can get looting rights on top end monsters just by casting WOD right before the monsters die. INSANE.

 

[Hildebrand]

Thanks for the constructive answers GvP.
-I fizz with 120 wrestling, 45 DCI, 4/6. And it's frustrating with SW because spells take long. I know many that get frustrated.
-Yes Essence of Wind is really cool. But i can't spam it at a spawn for long since it's a mana hog. And even still, it will fizz a whole lot more than wither. I've sorta cheated with wraith form. Even with JoaT 20, it will leech quite a bit of mana which is a Godsend. But I feel sort of 'dirty' doing that. I feel that reaper form should be the complement, not wraith. *shrugs*
-Attunement is working fine as is now, no complaint. Cool down should show a timer.
-Imolating weapon yup. But still is lame.
-WOD is good but I have a big problem with the fizzes from Area effects due to the fact it takes so long. I might do HUGE damage sure, but i seem to fail 2 out of 4 casts and by then... the fight is over since the archers/warrors DPS the boss so darn fast. Maybe i'm supposed to settle for those 2-3 WOD *shrugs*. Not to mention We have to wait till the creature is down to 20% *sigh*.
I have a tough time with WoD lately. Maybe it's just me.

 

[G.v.P]

-I fizz with 120 wrestling, 45 DCI, 4/6. And it's frustrating with SW because spells take long. I know many that get frustrated.

:O a Wrestle SW impressive.

for me, I only get frustrated when I fail WOD ;P.

 

[Hildebrand]

I get a good laugh when any of my char come across some SW monsters. They pew pew, zing zing and then nothing. Not a scratch. They go down quick even with their little Attunement & Gift of Renewal, lol! My point is, when you come across a necro monster, you notice!

I wonder if there is any real kick butt monster spellweaver? Just to compare and see it in action.

 

[lucitus]

Yeah but i agree spellweaving should be redesigned, the spells should work like the new mystic spells. And i agree the cast time is too high and should be reduced for that the power should be nerfed a bit.

It would be nice to see a interaction of the devs here, but iam skeptical to see this.

 

[Stupid Miner]

I get a good laugh when any of my char come across some SW monsters. They pew pew, zing zing and then nothing. Not a scratch. They go down quick even with their little Attunement & Gift of Renewal, lol! My point is, when you come across a necro monster, you notice!

I wonder if there is any real kick butt monster spellweaver? Just to compare and see it in action.

It's cause they don't have a focus

(no really, that's exactly the reason)

 

[Hildebrand]

I get a good laugh when any of my char come across some SW monsters. They pew pew, zing zing and then nothing. Not a scratch. They go down quick even with their little Attunement & Gift of Renewal, lol! My point is, when you come across a necro monster, you notice!

I wonder if there is any real kick butt monster spellweaver? Just to compare and see it in action.

It's cause they don't have a focus

(no really, that's exactly the reason)

I wonder how they'd be with focus gem. *ponders*

 

[G.v.P]

I wonder how they'd be with focus gem. *ponders*

I'm pretty sure Skrees used to drop healing stones as loot at least hehe

 

[legendsguy]

spellweaving is probably one of the most powerful spells in the game, and it only takes 120 pts, and it doesn't use reagents. you might want to take another look at it sometime

 

[aoLOLita]

IMO Spellweaving is the single most poweful skill in the game, mainly because it needs no complementary skill, it is truely a stand-alone skill that is beneficial to any char template.

Wind: Kills low lvl spawn

Nature Fury: Provides a one-slot "target" to distract foe. Sometimes even does considerable damage depending on monster type.

Arcane Empowerment: Boosts the damage of your spells - and more important, your summons! An RC thus primed does alot of damage. This is one of the few spells that has a very short or no cooldown period.

Tree Form: Nice when casting on a solitary target

Slef Rez: speaks for itself

WoD: If you haven't got looting rights yet, WoD for the win will ensure that you will. With a little SDI and an Arcane Empowerment cast prior, a lot of damage can be dished out.

I am quite happy with Spellweave, but I often soulstone it too. That way my Mystic-Mage, my archer and my Tamer can take advantage of the skill

 

[WarUltima]

Spell Weaving is quite possibly one of the most powerful skill that do not require a supplement skill.

Especially in PvP you only need like 60. Circle 6 summon fey is almost instant and you can summon multiple at one cast... and it takes the mage a lot more mana to mass dispel them (like a mage can do anything while getting ganked by 5 other mages) and if they do mass dispel them it also takes you near instant time to recast 4-5 more fey right back... those are like the cheap shot against all mages and sometimes dexers with no AoE ability.

Attument... at focus 6 it gives amazingly high absorb amount. It potentially raise your hp from 130ish to a whooping 200 hp and recastable once every minutes... NO its not too long if anything it's too short.

Gift of Renewal is the most powerful heals in UO for the mana cost. 12 hp (this is with focus 6 and human 20 SW) every other seconds? it heals thru poison and mortal as well. You precast this NOT casting it while 10 archers are ganking you.

The ONLY problem with Spellweaving is people dont know how to use it properly. (well other than Gift of Life should be made renewable before it expires). It's one of the best PvM and PvP skills and at focus 6 you can start WoD when the boss still has 1/3 of its hp. With a slayer book and good sdi, you can break 1000 damage per WoD EASILY.

 

[Lorddog]

heres the dirty little secret

as far as getting the lvl 6 focus gem - u stone the skill and get 5 passerbys with 0 skill and do the focus. then go put your skill back on.
(you may need to turn the skill lock in the up position to be able to cast the arcane circle)

- would not a gang of 4-5 sw casting wind against players not annialate everyone on screen?

 

[puni666]

My main's a weaving/fencer/healing dexer with 4/0 casting. It's extremely effective while trying to gain ground in field fights. Wild fire a fielding group... then run in while they're interrupted and wind them and they're useless for the next 5-10 seconds.

The spells in general aren't ment to be spammed for those of you that run out of mana. The spells hit and have a lasting effect... so only cast it once.

The casting speed and recast timer's justifiable for the benefits you gain. Gift of renewal hmmm... 16 HP/2 seconds for 2.5 minutes... that's 75 ticks which in turn is 1200 hp.. don't complain. I've kept many of people alive by x healing with aids and using renewal on myself never having to use an aid on myself.

The only useless thing about weaving that could use a change is immolating weapon. An extra 3-4 damage per hit for a few seconds really isn't worth 32 (24 with LMC) mana.

 

[G.v.P]

heres the dirty little secret

wow I never thought about that, haha. but isn't the duration a lot shorter than if you had a 120 cast focus?

 

[Konge]

I personally would hope that SW was based more on skill than focus, kinda disappointed but because there's no reagents, guess it's an even trade off.

 

[Violence]

Re: Spellweaving

I may be wrong but Immolating Weapon isn't all that bad. 2-3 Fireball for the next hits including your weapon's spell effect, right? I'm not sure if it works for archery weapons but if you add velocity damage on top of these you've got quite a punch there. Or maybe it could be used with Ninjitsu for quite potent Focus Attacks. Also think Corpse Skin. I mean right, it's not a Flamestrike replacement spell or anything.. Still nice to have though.

And Gift Of Renewal is very usefull to be honest, especially coupled with potions or any other healing method. Just don't allow any poison ticks to kick in or it may cure the poison and get cancelled too soon.

For all the reasons people posted here I've got to say it's a great complementary skill to almost any template. Not to mention the Pixies are VERY annoying in PVP.