In the lead-up to 7.2, I was concerned about BLM losing the mechanics that made it intellectually stimulating. And I was so focused on that that I never once thought about how the shorter cast times might impact the fundamental way it felt to cast these spells. But since the release of the update, I've had the opportunity to experience these impacts first-hand. So here's my feedback on that.
For a decade, a core part of Black Mage's game loop has involved chaining spell casts. Which is to say, you start charging a spell, and then when the spell finishes casting, you're already starting the cast of your next spell. It felt so smooth to seamlessly transition from one spell to the next, and that felt really good.
Now that smoothness is gone. When a BLM finishes casting Fire IV, there's this half-second gap until they can start casting another spell. And I can only speak for myself here, but it feels meaningfully worse than what we had before. For the first time in a decade, I finish casting a non-instant spell, and I want to cast another spell, and the game tells me, "Not yet, you've got to wait."
And that feels bad. The chained casts felt good.
Obviously there's utility in this forced gap. You could use it to move. You could use it to weave an OGCD.
But BLM doesn't need more utility of that nature. BLM already has plenty of instant cast spells to do this — many of which were DPS gains — along with 2 casts of Triple-cast and 1 Swiftcast. And for movement specifically, BLM even has multiple ways to teleport 25 yalms near-instantly, giving them access to some of the fastest movement in the game.
And if for some reason a BLM were to exhaust all of the above resources...can you imagine how horrible it would be to cast Scathe, of all things? That would mean casting a less damaging spell in exchange for the utility of being able to freely move and weave. I can understand how making that kind of strategic trade-off wouldn't be welcome in an action-RPG.
Regardless, I dislike the way it casts to feel Fire IV now, and I don't think what BLM got in return was worth sacrificing this aspect of what made the moment-to-moment gameplay of BLM feel the way it did.
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For a decade, a core part of Black Mage's game loop has involved chaining spell casts. Which is to say, you start charging a spell, and then when the spell finishes casting, you're already starting the cast of your next spell. It felt so smooth to seamlessly transition from one spell to the next, and that felt really good.
Now that smoothness is gone. When a BLM finishes casting Fire IV, there's this half-second gap until they can start casting another spell. And I can only speak for myself here, but it feels meaningfully worse than what we had before. For the first time in a decade, I finish casting a non-instant spell, and I want to cast another spell, and the game tells me, "Not yet, you've got to wait."
And that feels bad. The chained casts felt good.
Obviously there's utility in this forced gap. You could use it to move. You could use it to weave an OGCD.
But BLM doesn't need more utility of that nature. BLM already has plenty of instant cast spells to do this — many of which were DPS gains — along with 2 casts of Triple-cast and 1 Swiftcast. And for movement specifically, BLM even has multiple ways to teleport 25 yalms near-instantly, giving them access to some of the fastest movement in the game.
And if for some reason a BLM were to exhaust all of the above resources...can you imagine how horrible it would be to cast Scathe, of all things? That would mean casting a less damaging spell in exchange for the utility of being able to freely move and weave. I can understand how making that kind of strategic trade-off wouldn't be welcome in an action-RPG.
Regardless, I dislike the way it casts to feel Fire IV now, and I don't think what BLM got in return was worth sacrificing this aspect of what made the moment-to-moment gameplay of BLM feel the way it did.
Continue reading...