Posted by Joshu (DELETIST] on June 5, 2000 at 16:08:12:
In Reply to: An Answer, and a Rant about Masters (long) posted by The Arcane aka Conj-Boy(VIP) on June 5, 2000 at 15:49:20:
> > I was wondering, since there's a cap now on how powerful a conjies pets can be, how useful is the master's skill that let's you put 50% more mana into them? I mean if someone can reach the max power without it, isn't it a bit useless?
>
> Yes and no.
>
> At hero, it's largely irrelevant, EXCEPT in the case of nightgaunts, where the mana/power curves are steeper than they are for other servitors.
>
> From 25-45 or so, it is most certainly not useless, as it lets you consistently conjure more powerful servitors than non-Masters since Master and non-Master alike have less mana available to them, and more mana is required to reach the "cap" in question.
>
> Conjurers get by far the most out of magical control, compared to the other three mage classes. Non-evil conjurers also benefit immensely from transform. Right now, conjurers are the only viable "elite" Master class.
>
> Allow me to explain (tangent coming).
>
> The new Master powers make the cabal more newbie-friendly, and less welcoming to the so-called "elite" players whose comings and goings traditionally dictate the swinging of that famous pendulum.
>
> New transform: basically obviates the need for barrier. Yes, it's got a minor advantage or two, but for the most part what it means is that you don't need to know where to get barrier rods ("elite" knowledge) in order to be able to absorb twice as much damage. Only truly potent when sanctuary comes into play.
>
> Tome: Purely a time-saving device, again making things easier for players who may not know clever practice methods for various spells.
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> Magical Control:
>
> Invokers--makes practicing easier (if you're running out of mana regularly in PK situations, you've got other issues to deal with).
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> Transmuters--allows for greater margins of error in anticipating PK situations and makes spell management easier.
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> Necromancers--makes gathering a zombie horde easier and faster.
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> Conjurers--makes you genuinely more powerful at low levels, but as you approach hero increasingly becomes purely compensatory for obtaining and managing a +mana suit.
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> Scourge: Useful, albeit toned down.
>
> If you look at the above, you'll note the word "easier" occurring a lot. Hence my argument that Masters are a newbie-friendly cabal, perhaps by design. This is, however, not what I associate the Masters with IC or OOC.... Traditionally, Masters were always the badasses of Thera, the bastion of "elitists," and in IC terms, the home of the most powerful magi in Thera. Thus, the sorts of players who would affect the balance of power are driven away, and towards other cabals. If I may presume to speak for the elitist corps, we aren't looking for things that make the game "easier" for us, we're looking for things that will allow us to exploit our advantage of superior knowledge of items, areas, and tactics. As a brief comparison, evoke is the essence of an "elite" power. Underrated and horribly underused by most, it's ungodly powerful given a knowledge of the right items and in which situations to use them.
>
> The obvious response is: "But why should Masters have PK powers?? They're a cabal of studious quasi-nonaggressive bookworms!" Well, this is a PK/RP mud, with both facets being equally important. There's certainly a niche for the pacifists in Thera, and it's a growing niche. Dawn and Troupe have pacifistic cabal powers because it fits their RP, *AND* because they are a neutral party in cabal wars. Giving PK-irrelevant powers to a cabal that is continuously at war, by the nature of the game, with a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians whose powers are ALL PK-oriented, and also in a state of conflict with treehuggers who have perhaps the deadliest set of powers in the game... well, that's just folly.
>
> And THAT'S why Masters are faring poorly now. It's not because of overpowered Ragers. Having seen both sides of the coin in a relatively short span, as Dhaevor and then Peroleth, I can state with a fair bit of confidence that it's NOT the Rager powers. If anything, they need a bit of a boost (defenders, that is).
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> My two cents.