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You could reduce the damage by say 10% for each different type of element added.

Examples;
qr-r-e-a-s would have 40% damage reduction
qfqf-s-aa would have 20% reduction
sssss would have 0% reduction

Its just a passing thought so im not sure of all the implications, but it may be useful.
 
It would also be good to do something with Fire. I know this is an issue that has come up a lot, but it really has issues. In addition to not doing as much damage compared to other elements, it also doesn't combo with anything else at all (except to make Steam). Water, Frost, Earth, Lightning, and Arcane all seem to synergize well, but Fire doesn't really mix with anything, and indeed undoes the effect of water and frost. The damage issue might be mitigated if there was some element that comboed with Fire.

What, like lightning, earth and arcane?
asf
sdf

Also, ever tried this?
qffa - looks cool, has potential :p
 
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Ladder board wipe seems like good move, If you can do it once then you can do it twice if skill was involved.
Also I think the achievement of completing a level with only magicks is failing. I completed chapter 3 and 4 with only magicks and didn't get the achievement. Noticed how hard the boss fight in chapter 4 was because that guy is immune to vortex death and only indoors damage magick is Conflagration.

Didn't you heal? I just got that achievement on chapter 7.
 
I agree with this, definitely. I feel like a hard limit, or something like a mana pool would not be in keeping with the spirit of the game. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl has a system to discourage spamming attacks similar to one detailed above. Basically the last 10 attacks you make are stored, and if you keep using the same one it gets weaker and weaker. You can reset your moves by doing ten other attacks and then re-use the one you want to use at full strength. This might add an element of strategy to the game, and should solve the spamming issue. I think this should be in PvP as well as PvE, since it is a lot more fun when you use a variety of spells (though this is a personal choice).

This is exactly what I was going for with my suggested point system(but mine is a bit more flexible and broad), with the points connected to 3 key mechanics of the magic system it ensures maximum variety. I left out the penalties which could be: slowed casting animation speed(Cast Type); spell magnitude reduction(Spell Type); element disable(Element Type). Casting speed and magnitude reduction penalties could get more severe until the casting animation, for instance, feels slow as a slug and maximum spell magnitude drops to 1.

However, like I said in my first post, any changes that cause diminishing returns would also cause balance issues as I'm sure anyone would agree, without being able to spam or repeat certain spells over time, your wizard is noticably weaker. Some people keep saying Magicka is great the way it is, but why? Is being able to cast over 5 spells a second truly what the gameplay of Magicka needs? I say it's crazy to be able to do that without penalty. We need more strategy(and better fire!).
 
I agree with this, definitely. I feel like a hard limit, or something like a mana pool would not be in keeping with the spirit of the game. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl has a system to discourage spamming attacks similar to one detailed above. Basically the last 10 attacks you make are stored, and if you keep using the same one it gets weaker and weaker. You can reset your moves by doing ten other attacks and then re-use the one you want to use at full strength. This might add an element of strategy to the game, and should solve the spamming issue. I think this should be in PvP as well as PvE, since it is a lot more fun when you use a variety of spells (though this is a personal choice).
-> most Beat em' Ups nowadays use such a System, and if I remember properly Super Smash bros. Brawl used to store 8 attacks and Soul Calibur IV 25

However, in case of Magicka simply reducing the damage depending on how often is something casted may not be enough due to the sideeffects some spell combos which are likely to be spammed have.

I have to admit that I'm not a friend of cooldown times too, the focus of my Post above was - How the "Spam - Mali" could be calculated.

Another way could be to add a chance for a Spell to fail depending on how often it is casted.
While the first and second times cast could work to 100%
there could be a failing chance of 5% afterthe 3rd cast,
15% after the 4th
30% after the 5th and
50% after the sixth.
This are example percentages

Failing in casting a spell could simply result in
having it casted otherwise (on self changes to Around someone)
or (my favourite) emptying the Spellbar, nothing happens except the casting animation and the nullify sound occurs