Why was Spellweaving nerfed for solo players?

[Merv DeGriff]

From the patch notes:

Arcane Foci can no longer be created by a single spellweaver

WTF? Why did they nerf the level one Focus? That's a rather pointless nerf to spell weavers. Is there a reason for this? Or just a "Ya you did the quest, enjoy a skill you need your whole guild online to use!"



I am reading this correctly while I am at work right? Just no more level one focus... Why? How does this benifit the game in any way? I am confused and a bit irked.

 

[Ill Saint]

There were a handful of threads created when the patch notes first came out, but no response as to why this change was put in.

A note in the coming FoF as to why this was implemented and what purpose it serves would be welcome!

 

[Merv DeGriff]

Damn straight it would be ... I just got back from vacation to find this.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

I've been a spellweaver for several months now. To my knowledge, a level 1 focus is useless anyway. It doesn't increase your powers. It is the same as having no focus at all.
Maybe they removed it, because there was some way to abuse it. I have no idea.

 

[Connor_Graham]

Wasn't there some kind of bug where a single player could "trick" the system and end up with a level 5 or 6 focus by going to the prism?

 

[Ill Saint]

Wasn't that rumoured bug dismissed?

And while a level 1 focus may be far from great, it's still much preferred to using the skill with no focus at all.

 

[Satanatra]

If you moved your spellweaving points to a stone (so that you had 0 spellweaving) then you could get a lvl 5 focus by casting the spell (skill requirement 0) while standing in an arcane circle with 4 other people who also had 0-19 spellweaving (pretty much anyone). Then of course you would just move the skill points back onto your char and enjoy lvl5 focus with ur 120 spellweaving.

This is very similar to putting on Necro items in order to cast vamp form and then removing them... soooo i imagine it is just a matter of time before the vamp gets something like this too....

 

[Merv DeGriff]

If this note means they are removing an exploit that allowed a single person to make any thing greater than a level 1 focus, fine. That's an exploit and needs a whack. But getting rid of any thing I can already do with spell weaving to make a level one focus is a pointless nerf.

I would rather have a level 1 focus over no focus. It's pretty simple to see the effect, just cast wildfire for example. each level adds one tile to the radius... a level on makes the field 3 tiles by 3 tiles versus no focus being a single tile. Summon Fey and summon fiend, again +1 per focus. A level one focus doubles the rate you can pull out these fun pests.

If the functionality of level 2 and high foci remain unchanged, why remove the level 1? The damage is no where near game breaking, but many of the spells are near worthless without a level 1 focus due to miniscule area of effect or meaningless duration, such as ethereal voyage?

And why was the need to nerf even considered?

Do you see a level one focus soloing every peerless? No.
Do you see a level one focus destroying spawns with abbandon? No.

This pointless and whimsical nerf ticks me off.

 

[Nexus]

If you moved your spellweaving points to a stone (so that you had 0 spellweaving) then you could get a lvl 5 focus by casting the spell (skill requirement 0) while standing in an arcane circle with 4 other people who also had 0-19 spellweaving (pretty much anyone). Then of course you would just move the skill points back onto your char and enjoy lvl5 focus with ur 120 spellweaving.

This is very similar to putting on Necro items in order to cast vamp form and then removing them... soooo i imagine it is just a matter of time before the vamp gets something like this too....

This change shouldn't effect that if all the others were human...JOAT gives them a 10 check in Spellweaving too....

 

[Lord Kynd]

I've been a spellweaver for several months now. To my knowledge, a level 1 focus is useless anyway. It doesn't increase your powers. It is the same as having no focus at all.
Maybe they removed it, because there was some way to abuse it. I have no idea.

you are not very knowledgable then perhaps ?
witha level 1 you can use the skill. with level 1 focus's i run to prisum with others and get level 6's , gift of life, renewal, all last that little longer that is needed sometimes.

now if they drop a '6' area say at brit bank then now we have no problem

 

[Lord Kynd]

If you moved your spellweaving points to a stone (so that you had 0 spellweaving) then you could get a lvl 5 focus by casting the spell (skill requirement 0) while standing in an arcane circle with 4 other people who also had 0-19 spellweaving (pretty much anyone). Then of course you would just move the skill points back onto your char and enjoy lvl5 focus with ur 120 spellweaving.

This is very similar to putting on Necro items in order to cast vamp form and then removing them... soooo i imagine it is just a matter of time before the vamp gets something like this too....

i believe this applies only to humans since they get the jack of all trade's bonus(imajinary skills).

my weaver is a elf so that doesn't apply.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Yeah, this change bugs me.

There were reports about an exploit, though, and their lack of communication on this point backs up that there was some kind of exploit. I wish they'd just say "there was an exploit."

And level one was considerably better than no Focus at all.

oh well. *sighs*

-Galen's player

 

[Merv DeGriff]

For the record, if there was an exploit, then fix it. But to nerf my favorite skill in such a pointless and anoying manner is stupidity.

Will this affect my hunting of peerless mobs with my guild? No, we still make a level 5 for it.

Will this affect my ability to wander around for a few minutes to kill time or farm up leather and other everyday activities? Yes and in a rather negative manner.

All I want is some communication as to why, and what is being done to adress the issues this change causes.

 

[Emil IsTemp]

Well, i dont think it was intended for SOLO players in the first place... from UO.com:

Spellweaving is a new skill of magic that allows an arcanist (the official title of a spellweaver) to summon powerful forces of nature and manifest them into various spell effects. Channeling such power is often done in concert with other arcanists. Such cooperative casting allows for arcanists to weave titanic magic that would otherwise be impossible for a mortal to command.

*waits for pub54*

 

[Yalp]

Not to mention the ability to gain in skill at the low end.. casting focus gets you past.. what 25? How do you get new arcanists now?

I have no confidence that this new change.. once implemented... won't screw up the rest of the focus system.. like the 20 point rule.. dollars to donuts we won't be able to get a level 5 with weavers in the 80-120 range (with 100 casting).

Fix something that isn't broken.. new mantra .. everybody now!

LORD Yalp of Zento, CTDM

 

[Merv DeGriff]

Yes, and with a level 5 or (glee) 6 focus you get just that... cooperative magic that is titanic. But with 115 skill I'd at least like to be able to have the level of function I had with a level 1 focus.

The scaling with foci rewarded group effort without punishing your for having this skill when solo. Contrary to what some people think, you need to be within 20 skill of the other people to get your focus. Currently if I can't find anyone online with 95+ real spell weaving online I use a level one focus. My AoE's are now little 3 tile things that are functional, but not god like. The durations of spells are much shorter, the effects of healing greatly lessened.

I want an explanation for the change and just how this benifited the playerbase, or the base line (no focus) level of the spells adjusted to match what was availible with a level 1.

 

[Omnius]

it was a group spell casting skill. Having it rock for a single person seems a little silly. One more reason to have friends in this MMorpg.

 

[Merv DeGriff]

it was a group spell casting skill. Having it rock for a single person seems a little silly. One more reason to have friends in this MMorpg.

Did you read the above post? Have you tried using it solo? Solo it is an ok skill that has moderate utility. It only rocks with a group to get a focus. A level one Focus does not get you 600 point hits on dark fathers.

Removing the level one focus does not change that fact, it simply makes it dead weight when not in a group.

 

[Omnius]

It's a group casting skill! it's one of the most powerful things in UO in a group. it's perfectly fair for a group skill to be ineffective when used by a solo player in a MMorpg

That second M stands for Multi-Player

 

[Vyal]

This really does suck and is pointless.. FOR ONE, I am a red archer who uses pixies so now I have to summon one pixie at a time give me a god damn break.

MY spellweaving is just at the skill to summon them becuase I don't have enough skill points left to work with and NO one I know can use the arcane circle with me. Becuase they either joat or gm so that leaves me screwed.

Now if I am PvPin I have to spend hours just to summon pixies? How freaking stupid.

How many spellweavers are there to begin with that PvP and yes this effects my template big time.

This is utterly retarted thanks again for some stupid retarted pointless noob trash Draconi.


You have to be the worst programmer ever and you managed to get to work on UO shame on you EA for hiring such a noob programmer.

and all you noobs have no idea that you use it to summon more pixies at a time? Stupid noobs.. thats the hwole point of the dang thing.

 

[Lord Kotan]

From the patch notes:

.......Why? How does this benifit the game in any way? ....

I believe it was cause some exploit that let you get to like 120 SW casting circle. At least that is what I was told.

I would like to know if it was a nerf or if it was a fix for a bug. (FOF)

 

[Black Majick]

This really does suck and is pointless.. FOR ONE, I am a red archer who uses pixies so now I have to summon one pixie at a time give me a god damn break.

MY spellweaving is just at the skill to summon them becuase I don't have enough skill points left to work with and NO one I know can use the arcane circle with me. Becuase they either joat or gm so that leaves me screwed.

Now if I am PvPin I have to spend hours just to summon pixies? How freaking stupid.

How many spellweavers are there to begin with that PvP and yes this effects my template big time.

This is utterly retarted thanks again for some stupid retarted pointless noob trash Draconi.


You have to be the worst programmer ever and you managed to get to work on UO shame on you EA for hiring such a noob programmer.

and all you noobs have no idea that you use it to summon more pixies at a time? Stupid noobs.. thats the hwole point of the dang thing.

lol @ the wanna be PvPer. If you have to rely on pixies that much, migth I recommend playing a tamer.

 

[Vyal]

stfu noob I dont need pixies to kill anyone, but I like having them so they can poison.. stupid noob.

 

[Black Majick]

stfu noob I dont need pixies to kill anyone, but I like having them so they can poison.. stupid noob.

And the bitterness continues. Its okay. One day you will learn to PvP. No need to get angry?!

 

[KoolAidAddict]

i believe this applies only to humans since they get the jack of all trade's bonus(imajinary skills).

my weaver is a elf so that doesn't apply.

Actually, it still applies to elves with zero spellweave.
With being an elf, you have zero skill in spellweave unless of course you did the quest and worked it.
Now, with zero skill on your elf, and 20 JoaT on my human, we can still get a 2 because my 20 JoaT is 20 skill points away from your skill level of zero.
Still in range.

 

[KoolAidAddict]

And the bitterness continues. Its okay. One day you will learn to PvP. No need to get angry?!

Might I suggest you find him in game and see if he knows "how to pvp", because in MY uo, an effective template is an effective template. And if it includes something, like pixies, that you dont seem to approve of, and it works for him, then it would seem he does indeed, in fact, know "how to pvp" and you just might be falling into the "newb" category of one who doesnt know how to, or else perhaps your jealous, envious, or just plain foolish in believing theres only your way to pvp and no one else knows "how to pvp".


PS...a pvp tamer would still have to know "how to pvp" as someone who does indeed know how to, can get around the pet and get to the tamer fairly easily.
Well, I know I can.

 

[butthead owns]

becuase they never make crap beter just screw it up they want as to work as teams not play alone like old days where its was fun seems everything u do these day u need help of other just to do sumtin its a bunch of dung and i am 120 spellweavin and most other skills and cant do crap alone i always have to find someone to go with to do thingas which i hate cussmost time when i am on noone esle is in my guild so i have to find some nubs to work with that never listen and then i am force to rez them every few sec which sucks but

 

[Sir_Bolo]

Not to mention the ability to gain in skill at the low end.. casting focus gets you past.. what 25? How do you get new arcanists now?

Skill training is not an issue... you can still cast the spell solo to gain points in Spellweaving, even if the spell doesn't produce any arcane focus.