Although I have proposed a series of changes in a compilation of posts named “Changes that MUST be made considering long-term development of MO2”, as I am not sure what Star Vault's next steps will be, all proposals in this new compilation will ignore the previous ones. However, for those who followed the previous posts, you will see that it is fully possible to incorporate such suggestions here, especially with regard to part 3 (Magic Schools Fundamentals).
Similar to spiritism, it is a magic school whose problems are as complex as... But in this case, I can definitely say that I have viable and balanced solutions for each problem.
In this way, I will comment on the problems in general and solutions, later more detailed work on spells and another mechanic specific to the school, Ritualism:
Similar to spiritism, it is a magic school whose problems are as complex as... But in this case, I can definitely say that I have viable and balanced solutions for each problem.
In this way, I will comment on the problems in general and solutions, later more detailed work on spells and another mechanic specific to the school, Ritualism:
- Immersion;
- Quality of life:
- Tower of Descensus (Necro Dungeon);
- Permanent Ritual Tables;
- Walkers and minion’s control;
- Quality of life:
- Gameplay:
- Spells;
- Ritualism;
Immersion
Historically, Necromancy as a practice, not as a myth or fantasy, like the other Ars Magus (Pyromancy, Aeromancy, ...) is deeply related to the art of divination, in this particular case, through impure energies originating from death. It is worth mentioning that in this same historical context, even today, several religions incorporate "necromantic" elements in their practices... Maybe this is not clear to some, but just think about Alan Kardec's spiritsm and its ramifications, the most diverse religions originating from Africa and Eastern (China, Japan and others)
It is interesting to note that as the centuries passed, and the power of Catholicism advanced, at different moments in history necromancy came to be seen as a comprehensive set of prohibited arts, encompassing all forms of divination and even demonology. Thus, in some regions it was commonly called “Nigromancy”, being associated with any work of "black magic" and witchcraft, i.e., there was no longer a distinction between the methods.
I must point out that the term Nigromancy has nothing to do with prejudice or racism, I say this because I am aware of a certain streamer who tried to use “Nigromancer” as name and was kindly invited (obligated) to change his nickname. Don't be ignorant about the historical aspect of the elements you incorporate into your game Star Vault.
Unlike history, in fantasy, as well as all other Ars Magus (magic arts), Necromancy has a more attractive aspect, exerting a more visible power in the physical world, so to speak... In this case, the fantasy incorporates elements such as Reanimation and the use of corpses, the use of curses and the imprisonment of souls in the most varied ways as a "means of combat" in the conception of its universes. At least this is what is expected from a Necromancer when observing a fantasy work (books, games, movies...)
Since MO2 is an online game, and Star Vault decided to launch Necromancy as a completely separate magic school, everything leads me to believe that what they had in mind was a design suitable for fantasy. The problem is that they failed miserably in this aspect... For anyone who has tried playing as a necromancer, you should very well understand what I'm talking about:
Historically, Necromancy as a practice, not as a myth or fantasy, like the other Ars Magus (Pyromancy, Aeromancy, ...) is deeply related to the art of divination, in this particular case, through impure energies originating from death. It is worth mentioning that in this same historical context, even today, several religions incorporate "necromantic" elements in their practices... Maybe this is not clear to some, but just think about Alan Kardec's spiritsm and its ramifications, the most diverse religions originating from Africa and Eastern (China, Japan and others)
It is interesting to note that as the centuries passed, and the power of Catholicism advanced, at different moments in history necromancy came to be seen as a comprehensive set of prohibited arts, encompassing all forms of divination and even demonology. Thus, in some regions it was commonly called “Nigromancy”, being associated with any work of "black magic" and witchcraft, i.e., there was no longer a distinction between the methods.
I must point out that the term Nigromancy has nothing to do with prejudice or racism, I say this because I am aware of a certain streamer who tried to use “Nigromancer” as name and was kindly invited (obligated) to change his nickname. Don't be ignorant about the historical aspect of the elements you incorporate into your game Star Vault.
Unlike history, in fantasy, as well as all other Ars Magus (magic arts), Necromancy has a more attractive aspect, exerting a more visible power in the physical world, so to speak... In this case, the fantasy incorporates elements such as Reanimation and the use of corpses, the use of curses and the imprisonment of souls in the most varied ways as a "means of combat" in the conception of its universes. At least this is what is expected from a Necromancer when observing a fantasy work (books, games, movies...)
Since MO2 is an online game, and Star Vault decided to launch Necromancy as a completely separate magic school, everything leads me to believe that what they had in mind was a design suitable for fantasy. The problem is that they failed miserably in this aspect... For anyone who has tried playing as a necromancer, you should very well understand what I'm talking about:
- It is impossible to play with Walkers actively in PVE or PVP:
- They are Clunky:
- Requires to much time to setup;
- Difficult to command in battle (range, reagents);
- Sacrificial Eruption and Sacrificial Heal are unfeasible;
- The curse-based playstyle is lacking:
- There are not enough curses;
- Existing curses have little impact on combat;
- There is Purify... There is no sense that a 6-mana spell can remove all magical debuffs from the game in just one single cast,
- Many spells that don't make sense depend on a target for casting
Perhaps some will disagree with the points raised here, but as each topic is properly deepened, my point will be more than clear. It's impressive how despite having spiritism and Necromancy in my build, I am literally forced to spend 95% of my time conjuring lightning, fire or some kind of Ecumenical spell from my fingers, both in PVE and PVP, simply because these schools are useless... Don't get me wrong, there are some useful spells, but considering what is expected of the playstyles that such schools are supposed to provide, it is not an exaggeration to say that they both failed as magic schools.
One point I would like to raise here is the question that many have about why the Necromancy was implemented the way it was, especially regarding walkers. The reason behind this is quite regrettable… They were heavily, heavily inspired (copy and paste) by Dungeons & Dragons. D&D is a wonderful game for anyone who has had the opportunity to play it, and yes, there are many good inspirations that have been adopted by other games. Star Vault took inspiration from some D&D systems and got some good decisions. The big problem was having copied the Necromancy system.
Therefore, I encourage you to first analyze the following spell in the D&D universe, Animate Dead from 5th Edition: https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:animate-dead
You can see that the system is the same, including the range. For those who are more interested in studying the other necromancy spells in D&D, you will eventually realize that the operation and range of some spells are exactly the same here in MO2… The question is: What's the big problem with copying D&D?
Well, according to D&D Beyond, of the 117 possible specialties in the game, the necromancer wizard was among the last played. Part of the reason is related to the fact that people usually feel uncomfortable having a necromancer in the group, especially in the case of "heroic journeys", although there are many ways to deal with this. But the biggest reason is the inconvenience of playing as a necromancer due to which the system for Animate dead is bad...
Even if the player is willing to go through all this trauma, this does not mean that his group or master wants to have extremely long turns because of a single player... Commonly, in order to speed up combat and sections, some masters tend to simply use various AoE damage spells as a way of destroying Zombies as quickly as possible... In other words, the experience of having a necromancer in the group is painful for everyone involved.
Therefore, some masters choose to play with custom rules. It is worth remembering that many fan editions (Homebrew) were released containing methods to fix specialization in necromancy or simply making a new class completely separated.
I should point out that the latest edition, D&D 5.5 or simply "D&D One", was recently released on September 17, 2024, with the purpose of being the definitive edition (which I highly doubt). This is the first time that the necromancy specialization has been removed from the base book... I imagine it will definitely return in some future edition.
In this scenario, when I think that of all the things Star Vault could have been inspired by D&D, the only thing I can do is laugh, because they literally decided to copy the only system in the game that was doomed to failure, kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.
Besides that, it's even worse to know that in the previous game, despite still being a bad system, some spells were still better than the currently version:
It is soon possible to see that even though SV has included some historical elements, be they spiritual or religious practice (Tower of Descensus Lore), or questionable practices (Zumbi from Africa and Tupilak from Inuit) that the Necromancy school failed the fantasy aspect since it is impossible play as a necromancer.
If at this point anyone still disagrees with everything I said, I must point out that here I am the owner of reason! Jokes aside, fortunately there are ways to make this school something unique and balanced.
One point I would like to raise here is the question that many have about why the Necromancy was implemented the way it was, especially regarding walkers. The reason behind this is quite regrettable… They were heavily, heavily inspired (copy and paste) by Dungeons & Dragons. D&D is a wonderful game for anyone who has had the opportunity to play it, and yes, there are many good inspirations that have been adopted by other games. Star Vault took inspiration from some D&D systems and got some good decisions. The big problem was having copied the Necromancy system.
Therefore, I encourage you to first analyze the following spell in the D&D universe, Animate Dead from 5th Edition: https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:animate-dead
You can see that the system is the same, including the range. For those who are more interested in studying the other necromancy spells in D&D, you will eventually realize that the operation and range of some spells are exactly the same here in MO2… The question is: What's the big problem with copying D&D?
Well, according to D&D Beyond, of the 117 possible specialties in the game, the necromancer wizard was among the last played. Part of the reason is related to the fact that people usually feel uncomfortable having a necromancer in the group, especially in the case of "heroic journeys", although there are many ways to deal with this. But the biggest reason is the inconvenience of playing as a necromancer due to which the system for Animate dead is bad...
Even if the player is willing to go through all this trauma, this does not mean that his group or master wants to have extremely long turns because of a single player... Commonly, in order to speed up combat and sections, some masters tend to simply use various AoE damage spells as a way of destroying Zombies as quickly as possible... In other words, the experience of having a necromancer in the group is painful for everyone involved.
Therefore, some masters choose to play with custom rules. It is worth remembering that many fan editions (Homebrew) were released containing methods to fix specialization in necromancy or simply making a new class completely separated.
I should point out that the latest edition, D&D 5.5 or simply "D&D One", was recently released on September 17, 2024, with the purpose of being the definitive edition (which I highly doubt). This is the first time that the necromancy specialization has been removed from the base book... I imagine it will definitely return in some future edition.
In this scenario, when I think that of all the things Star Vault could have been inspired by D&D, the only thing I can do is laugh, because they literally decided to copy the only system in the game that was doomed to failure, kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.
Besides that, it's even worse to know that in the previous game, despite still being a bad system, some spells were still better than the currently version:
It is soon possible to see that even though SV has included some historical elements, be they spiritual or religious practice (Tower of Descensus Lore), or questionable practices (Zumbi from Africa and Tupilak from Inuit) that the Necromancy school failed the fantasy aspect since it is impossible play as a necromancer.
If at this point anyone still disagrees with everything I said, I must point out that here I am the owner of reason! Jokes aside, fortunately there are ways to make this school something unique and balanced.
