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EverQuest II Magic System Overview, Part Three
1) We've seen some of the particle effects in screenshots, but what sort of effects can we expect otherwise? Elaborate, flashy displays? Geometries and patterns fitted to the spell? Intensity based on the level of the spell or spellcaster?
You haven't seen any of our real particle effects yet; those were just placeholder particles. We intend to provide a mix of subtle and elaborate spell visuals and casting animations. We have a dedicated particle team that is putting together some incredible stuff.
2) Artisans and Spells It has been said there will be scribe type Artisans, what role will they play for spellcasters?
Our artisan professions (mainly of the scholar branch) will provide services and products related to spells. They are able to use components gained from harvesting and adventuring to produce more powerful versions of profession spells. For example, as a wizard levels he might gain his fireball, but a skilled artisan would be able to provide a more powerful version of the spell. This would be dependent on the type of components an artisan had access to.
3) Often, in fact in most cases (in EQ), mobs/NPCs have far more hit points and mana than PCs do of similar levels. Good reasoning for this is the challenge, but sometimes this seems unbalanced. Will EQ2 developers make an effort to more closely balance casting NPC's?
They are subject to the same rules where appropriate. Our goal is for an NPC to be closely equivalent in power and resources to a player character of the same level. The challenge comes from fighting groups of opponents rather than single foes.
4) In EverQuest and other MMORPG facsimiles we have seen cases where you get one heal spell, let's call it "heal" and then later on you'd have to get another spell, say "greater heal", which would eventually leave the caster with 10 different heal spells that all essentially do the same thing. While the benefits of this allowed the player to cast several versions of heal if they wanted to for different situations, it also mucked up the spell book a bit and caused some potential problems. Will we see this in EverQuest II or will spells efficiency and power increase over time as the caster matures in level and ability?
Interesting subject. Some spells will upgrade as the character grows in power and knowledge, and some spells will become permanent fixtures. Generally anything that grows with the character in a continuous fashion over a large range of levels is an ability as opposed to a combat art or spell. This is always a tough thing to balance. If we provide too many spells, arts, or abilities that grow infinitely with the character, we will enter a situation where players have nothing to truly look forward to except statistical increases after a certain point. However, if everything is a mathematical pattern of upgrades, it becomes too predictable. We hope we can provide a balance that's both logical and fun.
5) What elements of the magic system will allow casters to be able to solo the solo-specific content?
Professions that aren't as physically durable as others will have access to powerful spells, arts, or abilities that require significant resources to maintain. Using them will allow such classes to solo effectively, but these abilities will only be efficient to use while soloing.
Our desire is for all professions to be viable at soloing. However, that does not necessarily mean that all professions solo equally well. We're not going to focus profession balancing on how well the different professions compare in solo efficiency, but on how they contribute meaningfully to a group. That is our priority in terms of class balance.
I hope this has been an informative and entertaining read. I am certainly looking forward to the discussions (and rants!) that this article will generate.
Have fun and see you in EverQuest II.
EJ Moreland
