Spell Leveling System Overhaul 2010-06-25 16:38

We know this is a hot subject for you - the amount of feedback alone would’ve been enough to convince anyone that the current Spell leveling System needed to be looked over carefully and it's true that certain aspects of it were in need of a change.

We took to heart all of your comments and have come up with a new and enhanced, revised version of the old system that should, hopefully, fix all of the problems you’ve been experiencing so far.

Spell leveling system

Let us make a summary of the principal flaws and constraints with the current spell leveling system, shall we? A simple search on the forums should give you an idea of the number of suggestions and complaints that were posted on the subject, also, here's an example of a thread that stirred things up a little.

The most recurrent criticism we’ve received is that single-spell builds are more effective than multi-spell ones. To be truly effective in both PvP and PvM, you are forced to concentrate all of your efforts on a single spell, which defies the purpose of strategic play. The multiple spell build is more interesting gameplay wise but at the cost of efficiency.

Another problem that was brought to our attention is that the actual system can actually block your character’s evolution - there are no possible rollbacks if you change your mind. If a spell is nerfed and the player decides to change builds, he won’t be able to modify the experience that was accumulated in that spell and we all know that leveling other low level spells is pretty much mission impossible as things are.

One of the difficulties we had on our side – and it goes hand in hand with build inequalities – was the impossibility to balance PvM correctly. Really, if you think about it, depending on your build (whether single or multi spell) the damage varies drastically - even for same-level characters. For example, a level 54 could either have one level 100 spell (in a pure single-spell fashion) or 3 level 54 spells… We had to ask ourselves how to possibly make monsters difficult enough for the single spell buffs and easy enough for the multiple spells enthusiasts, and the conclusion we’ve come up with is that, well, it really isn’t possible.

The constraints that needed to be respected for the spell leveling system were pretty simple.

What modifications have we made to fix these problems?

First off, to correct the blocking problem, we’ve chosen to no longer link a character’s xp (leveling-xp) to their spell-xp. At present, character levels have a corresponding amount of xp (i.e. to reach level 10, you need a total of 60,000 spell-xp). As things are, the spell-xp received in a fight is based on the amount of level-xp gained by the character – so a big xp gain will result in a big spell-xp gain. With that system it was pretty much impossible to reorient a build correctly.

The only way to do that would be to fight monsters that give you a fair amount of xp, while using your low level spells, but that brings you back the multi/single spell dilemma and makes your character weaker in the long run.

To counter this problem, we've modified the way the system works - spell-xp gains are no longer linked to the leveling-xp gained in a fight – they are now linked to the level of the monsters you are fighting. That way, if you wish to level your low level spells, you can proceed to fight low level mobs even if they don't give you any or very little leveling-xp. That way, you can change your build little by little without making your character weaker than a same-level single-spell character.

Also, to lessen the difference in power between the single and multi spell builds, we have done two things: we have reexamined the spell-xp curve for one, and have added a new spell-xp bonus based on the number of spells used in a fight.

With the present spell-xp curve, the xp needed to reach a level 100 spell is the same as what is needed to reach two level 75 spells. This means that compared to a single-spell build, having a 2 spells build makes you lose ¼ of your spells’ power… I’ll let you imagine the loss with a 3 or 4 spells build.

And thus, we have recalculated the curve for there to be only a 10% difference between the two types of builds - a level 100 spell now corresponds to 2 level 90 spells.

Let us take a closer look at the xp gained at the end of a fight. Each monster, depending on its level, will give you an amount of spell-xp that will be modified with the new bonus - the same way that the group bonus modifies your leveling-xp. The spell xp received will then be divided between all of the spells used in combat, depending on their usage and their cost (in AP, MP, WP). And so, if you've used a very costly spell numerous times through the course of your fight, he'll take a pretty big chunk of the pie.

We have added a significant bonus to the spell-xp gained in combat, to encourage the use of multiple spells. That way, even if a single-spell character is still more powerful than a multiple-spell one, at equal levels the later will have accumulated more spell-xp. It will make it harder to choose between using one spell to be at your maximum potential or using a multiple-spell strategy to be more polyvalent.

Finally, to correct the last issue - the balancing problem - we’ve made it so that with the spell-xp received from monsters, character's spell levels should no longer be that much higher than the player's actual level.

To sum up the changes:

• The difference in power between single and multi spell builds has been reduced.
• There is now the possibility to level new spells no matter where you are in your character’s evolution.
• We've added a spell-xp bonus when using multiple spells in combat.

We hope these changes will meet your expectations and please don’t hesitate to give feedback!