FREE "Spell Again...Again!" Update for Magicka 2 (and some snazzy new DLC)

[Argotha]

Water beams are gone, water-deathballs are gone. *sigh*

Poison is neat, though.

Single wards are still useless

Full earth wards still don't grant immunity to knockback.

I got to the last element on the last boss and the game crashed.

I can't queue when being disrupted.

All in all, it feels better somehow, but it can still improve.

 

[Argotha]

Just read phexx's latest post, and if you want to make a Magicka 3, get the original Devs on it. At the very least let people who know how to actually play in on it BEFORE it's "released".

 

[Argotha]

And for the love of God, don't make it for console. Just make it right.

 

[Dimitris -holy]

If you could change the animation on the melee weapons, that'd be great.

Also, about the M:2 vs M:WW discussion. Yes I too am deeply sad that the development of M:WW has halted, but there is no need to post it on a different forum. I am sure they have been reading the other forum for a while now.

inb4 "hurr durr mah m:ww"

I believe the clear winner will be shown once M:2 has loses whatever popularity it has. Until then, give feedback and post complains on the correct game forums, please.

Edit: Being ignored is still not nice though, no matter the reason.

 

[Kaduseon]

The game feels less bad to play, but I've only had a moment to play the first two chapters on normal to just look at the new things.

I have mixed feelings towards the new form of ice and the way it interacts with rock, but the new ice machine gun mechanic is a nice way of differentiating it from just 'shotgun rock', but I fear it's kind-of like beams with less repercussions. I did have a lot of fun with QRSSSR and QRSSAR.

I don't like poison because of the elements involved (unless QW is also poison) since it means you can't have offensive wetting beams (but given the way new ice works, QRQSSS would do similar). There was something elegant about the components of steam and ice having the same priority and then forming something of a different priority. QS is kind-of messy in that regard because it mixes two things of different priorities.

I'm intrigued by the decision to bring back S/W > A in terms of priority. Not sure what to think of it yet.

However, some core things have been left untouched - like how spells don't vary in size given the amount of the primary element (e.g. @QRQR having the same area of effect as @QRQRQRQRQR). It might, but I didn't notice anything significant in my stuff. A little more in a bad direction would be the notion that most of the 'old bad spells' (bad because this spell is one of a few that isn't weirdly underpowered) from before this patch are... still bad.

Overall, I think this was a move in a good-ish direction (wouldn't know if it's the right or properly good - haven't had time to analyze) since it was more fun to play, felt like I was playing a Magicka game, and (kind-of importantly) wasn't just playing a bloated Magicka: Wizard Wars/bad Magicka spin-off for the sake of selling more Magicka things. However, I do have some deep-seated fear that this isn't really fixing anything as much as it is adding more things to draw the eyes away from the flaws.

When I have a chance to play this properly (a full run through, higher difficulty, with friends, and maybe some other things), I'll consider changing my opinion and review for this game.

EDIT: corrected a typo

 

[Phexx]

Most people who seem to be commenting on this at all here seem to be wizard wars players.

...so.. does anybody have an idea what the goal is? Gameplay is less awkward now. Might give the game another go with my girlfriend some day.

 

[AmbitiousMinnow]

Removed rant - Keep it on topic, and on the right forum. Thank you.

/Escher

 

[Stormross]

STAP FIGHTING ON TWO DIFFERENT THREADS

 

[Skullbeco]

I'm intrigued by the decision to bring back A > S/W in terms of priority. Not sure what to think of it yet.

What do you mean? It was like that before the patch. Now, it's all kinds of wierd.

Death has priority over lightning for forward cast and area cast (like Magicka 1). Lightning has priority over death for wall (Wizard Wars). Steam has priority over lightning for forward cast and area cast (like Magicka 1 too)

Sadly, there's no more wet lightning. Had a niche in Magicka 1, but now cancelling a combo element removes a lightning at the same time.

Edit: Oh, and walls can be powerful now, but all staves with +200% effects have been toned down to +100%.

 

[Kaduseon]

Yeah, Minnow, I agree with you on many things in that topic, but I don't think this is a suitable place. You're not wrong, but fighting here isn't right.
That said, there isn't really another great option due to all of the, y'know, abandonment.

What do you mean? It was like that before the patch. Now, it's all kinds of wierd.

That's a typo, my bad.

 

[Phexx]

Some people kinda want to defend Paradox on this whole stopping development thing, and my question is: WHY?

I think your post is a little bit over the top, but I haven't seen anyone defend stopping development. We said thank you for trying, but I don't think anybody is happy with the way this was handled.

Didn't monsters attack walls in m1? They dont now? The walls were ridiculous before at the start of M2. At least now they are some more fun to use, but half the time my opponents were just standing there looking at the walls, at least that was my impression, might be lack of animations.

 

[Jensen4]

Ice and steam are finally how they should be and the additional poison is suitable. Those changes made me lauch Magicka 2 again. I had a bit of fun and finally fed the hungry troll in chapter 5.
I am very happy about the implemented halt key. It made the replay experience even better. What I am missing however is stability in earth ward. Those big guys can juggle you around and if I am not mistaked knockdowns are possible while in earth ward. Those mechanic flaws are the reason why I lost the interest rather quickly instead of replaying the game over and over with the huge advertised artifacts.

Beside from the singel player aspect I would love to see a duel arena like in orignial Maigcka. Implement a proper way for the compepetive players to do their shenanigans.

 

[Kiridium]

Poison, It was really necessary? ice machinegun...

 

[Van Silke]

Poison, It was really necessary? ice machinegun...

More like POISONOUS FREEZING ICE MACHINE GUN OF ELECTROCUTING DEATH

I had to...

 

[biip]

now with QRX :

 

[Skullbeco]

I tried using the Pit familiar, but he never seemed to buff ice or poison. And he tried to buff water. Fix?

 

[Ferrinus]

Most of this sounds good, although I'm also dubious about the decision to make QS collapse into a new element - being able to wet with beams or projectiles is a handy tool, and I probably wouldn't trade it away for the ability to do a new kind of damage over time if you gave me the option.

I do think that it should be possible to have electro-steam or electro-ice, but I don't think elements should collapse. Rather, QF, QR, and QS should fuse into a single double-sized element in your hotbar, protected from annihilation in the normal fashion.

I.e., a lightning ice spell might look like this: [Q-R]-A-A. If you summoned fire, your F and your [R] would mutually annihilate, which would then leave you with Q-A-A in your spell bar, and then your no-longer-protected Q and an A would mutually annihilate to leave a single A behind. I want this purely for reasons of symmetry and quality of life - I'd like the most powerful spells to require five button presses to conjure, rather than somewhere between five and ten.

 

[Cold Star]

Most of this sounds good, although I'm also dubious about the decision to make QS collapse into a new element - being able to wet with beams or projectiles is a handy tool, and I probably wouldn't trade it away for the ability to do a new kind of damage over time if you gave me the option.

I do think that it should be possible to have electro-steam or electro-ice, but I don't think elements should collapse. Rather, QF, QR, and QS should fuse into a single double-sized element in your hotbar, protected from annihilation in the normal fashion.

I.e., a lightning ice spell might look like this: [Q-R]-A-A. If you summoned fire, your F and your [R] would mutually annihilate, which would then leave you with Q-A-A in your spell bar, and then your no-longer-protected Q and an A would mutually annihilate to leave a single A behind. I want this purely for reasons of symmetry and quality of life - I'd like the most powerful spells to require five button presses to conjure, rather than somewhere between five and ten.

You may still wet enemies with beams and projectiles. What are you talking about? Examples: QD, QFDS, QRQ, QFS. Just use steam insted of water.

Double elements will decrease overall number of spell combinations. We won't be able to cast things like EQSQRAS. We want complex spells for whatever resaon.

ESFSF or ESAFS are pretty powerful and require 5 buttons.

 

[purple wizard]

Didn't monsters attack walls in m1? They dont now? The walls were ridiculous before at the start of M2. At least now they are some more fun to use, but half the time my opponents were just standing there looking at the walls, at least that was my impression, might be lack of animations.

Walls were the ultimate tool in the original Magicka, they could deliver huge damage and monsters would almost always first attack the walls before attacking you!
In Magick 2 the damage is... decent, I guess? But monsters will usually just walk around them.

In M1 your spells were very powerful, the monsters had absolutely no sense for survival whatsoever and the damage thrown at you consisted mostly of physical damage which just made the stone armour more "overpowered".
In Magicka 2 it's the other way around, many monsters avoid your spells, you are confronted with multiple damage types and CC most of the time and wards are extremely weak. Tanking is barely possible anymore, instead you are forced to run away.

 

[Van Silke]

Juggling vards appears to be a viable tactic, I haven't had a moment vhere one vard stayed on me for more than 15 seconds. Pretty much all enemy attacks can be blocked completely, be it vith valls or specific vard. Although forcing a player to constantly change vards to adjust to incoming attacks comes vith an expense of veakening them to a state vhen in order to block a bomb you have to hit EDFFF, vhereas in the old system !EDF vould be enough. It does encourage filling up the queue completely, but it feels less like strategy and more like mashing buttons for more protection.
I guess it vorks...?
Unavoidable CC is still a bummer though.
I think valls are nov designed to blockade passages in tight spaces or give the team a short breather, though it can be just as vell executed vith slov mine-lobbing retreat, often ridding off enemies faster - unless the team is literally surrounded.