I've rolled out the start of the new damage barrier system to Test.

At this time all of the old barriers still exist and are unchanged - please do not combine them with the new barriers if you want valid test data.

All of these is tentative and subject to change if testing doesn't go well, and there is no doubt that this is generally a nerf. I think we've been forward with that from the start - many barriers right now are far too broad and stacking becomes far too powerful. It makes barrier spells very uninteresting and hard to develop and differentiate from one another.

First of all, there will be two different types of damage barriers, Damage Barriers and Damage Wards (terms subject to change if someone suggests something I like better).

Wards
These are, mechanically, very similar to what we have now. They'll be applied through a core mechanic for more consistency and generally be narrower than they have in the past. They represent the ability to endure more damage.
*Percentage based damage reduction (With possibly a very small amount of flat reduction).
*Applied after armor.
*Applies to all attacks.
*Limited to one Ward at a time.
*NMUs will generally have access to stronger effects here since they won't have access to the second type of barrier.

Barriers
These are new and represent intercepting an attack with a magical force (Yes, many existing spells like Cage of Light appear to work this way based on messaging... but they don't).
*Flat reduction of damage
*Applied before armor, but after defenses are checked (This is a necessary limitation of the combat system).
*Chance to proc on every attack, but will not intercept all attacks.
*Ablates with every hit. If the barrier breaks for any reason before it would naturally expire a new one cannot be formed until the natural duration expires.
*Limited to one Barrier at a time.

Barriers in particular are intended to be more useful to lightly armored caster types - they're capable of soaking a lot of damage, but they're also capable of leaving you suddenly vulnerable if something does manage to break through them. Meanwhile, Wards are a more constant form of protection, but some damage will slip through over time. By allowing you to have one of each time we're avoiding just casting three narrow spells to replace the old broad ones, while still allowing some customization and active choice in how you want to defend yourself.

There are two new spells set up for the initial testing (They are by no means finished spells, at least not cosmetically) - they are both AP spells on preview. Please don't bug report about typos, but if you notice message quirks along with functional works - I want to know about those.

The first is Spectral Barrier (SBAR). This is a "Barrier" spell, it is a slightly broader barrier than I would expect to see when we go Live, but it makes it easier to test with a limited selection of spells. It has weak protection vs Puncture and Impact and modest protection vs Slice and Fire.

The second is Minor Warding (MW). This is a "Ward" spell that protects very well vs slice and moderately vs impact.

Again, please limit your testing at this time to these two spells - the old spells have no yet been updated (And don't have the proper checks in place to prevent stacking). I want to make sure we have the mechanics in close to the right place before I begin mass conversion of spells.

Thank you for your help!

-Raesh

"Ever notice that B.A.'s flavor text swells in direct proportion to how much one of our characters is getting screwed?" - Brian Van Hoose

This message was originally posted in Abilities, Skills and Magic, Magic - Suggestions, Discussions and Thoughts. To discuss the above, follow the link below.

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