Instability? - Page 3

Quote:








I'm going to focus on the word, "blasty" that Jay Wilson was using. What this could mean is:

A) an increased cast rate

B) More spell damage

C) Larger spell radius

D) Longer spell duration

E) Additional spell effects (Higher chance to freeze, stun, slow)

Now let us focus on the word vulnerable:

A) Penalty to defense or block

B) Penalty to run/walk speed or to hit recovery

C) Increased chance to be stunned or slowed by an enemy attack

D) Lowered resistances to magic

E) Hitpoint Debuff

D) Health Drain

I believe the system will combine some effects from that first list with some effects in that second list.




That seems like a pretty fair analysis. In more simplified form Jay's comments seem to mean: "cast spells more effectively while increasing the danger to yourself."

The details of that function can be played around with, and I'm sure Blizzard is doing just that during development, using many of the lettered points quoted above. We don't know enough about the game yet to say which of the "blasty" buffs are most valuable, or which of the "vulnerable" debuffs are most dangerous. Further, the "blasty" buffs vary by spell; higher casting rate, higher damage, larger AoE, etc all will benefit different spells more or less, depending on the design of those spells.

It does seem likely that we can rule out slower casting or increased resource cost as debuffs though, since as Jay said, running out of mana is no fun. I'd also doubt the "slows movement" stuff as a debuff, since that would be no fun and confusing to players. The fun of a Wizard is fast movement and casting rate; high instabilty = slower movement seems to contradict that design scheme.

Also consider that the danger to a mage usually comes from ranged attacks, since melee attackers are stopped by tanks, slowed by cold, avoided by teleporting/running, etc. If the instability balance to a wiz is slowing her movement, lowering her defense, etc, that's not really a debuff at all, in many/most circumstances.

So what is? Lowered resistances, I guess. Lowered defense to missiles, maybe. Lowered hit points, perhaps, so any hits that do get in, of whatever type, are more dangerous. Low hps is virtually the definition of "more vulnerable" after all. Is that too simple, though? Wouldn't that just result in every wizard doing all she could to up her hit points, so that the debuff from instability was negated?

The D3 Team wants to make all the stats valuable and make a wider variety of equipment important. And just making hit points the be all/end all wouldn't fit that goal.|||One other point that may or may not be valid. Look at the word itself. Instability: "the quality or state of being unstable"

So what does unstable mean? I'll quote from Merriam-Webster:


Quote:




un�sta�ble \-"stA-b�l\ adjective (13c)

: not stable : not firm or fixed : not constant: as

a : not steady in action or movement : irregular <an unstable pulse>

b : wavering in purpose or intent : vacillating

c : lacking steadiness : apt to move, sway, or fall <an unstable tower>

d (1) : liable to change or alteration <an unstable economy> <unstable weather>

(2) : readily changing (as by decomposing) in chemical composition or biological activity




Now it's entirely possible they just chose the word since it sounded cool, rather than because it accurately summed up the resource's function. But the meaning of "instability" is basically: not firm or fixed, wavering, changing, altering, etc.

If you take that literally, shouldn't it suggest that the Wizard's magic output will vary or change or vacillate? Continually spell casting gives some of the buffs discussed above, but also adds a chance for malfunctions and misfires? Spells cast faster, but sometimes fizzle? Sometimes a different spell comes out? Sometimes the range or direction goes awry? Those seem fairly "realistic" as far as that goes. Do anything you're skilled at at very high speed and you get into a groove, but as you stretch out your performance you'll start to screw up mildly, and then worse and worse as fatigue sets in.

I wouldn't expect anything too far along those lines, since Bliz is so committed to making the game play experience user friendly. If they won't include a weapon switch hotkey since some people can't figure out how to use it, they're not going to make one of the characters start firing off the wrong spells all the time. But I do like the idea of "instability" having some literal meaning, and making the character at least slightly unpredictable.|||I doubt only "instability" is the intent, but rather his/her mental instability. These are the types to fly off at the snap of a finger.

From the little history we get, it seems these are rebelious, they lack discipline, and are extremely dangerous to those around them (possibly due to having tapped into this new power. Chaos related? hmmm)...|||The definition of instability also fits with the character background of the wizard being inexperienced. It would make since that the more spells she cast without knowing all the properties/side effects the high the chance that the spells would morph or change unexpectedly.|||I don't think there has to be a buff that goes with casting more spells. Really, the advantage of casting more spells is that you're casting more spells, so I don't agree with the assumption that the Wizard will do more damage or cast faster or whatever when she increases her 'instability'. That is to say, I don't think it's safe to assume the above.

Hey, what if the more spells she casts, the shorter in range they become? That would make her more vulnerable, as unlikely as such a penalty would be.|||Quote:








I don't think there has to be a buff that goes with casting more spells. Really, the advantage of casting more spells is that you're casting more spells, so I don't agree with the assumption that the Wizard will do more damage or cast faster or whatever when she increases her 'instability'. That is to say, I don't think it's safe to assume the above.

Hey, what if the more spells she casts, the shorter in range they become? That would make her more vulnerable, as unlikely as such a penalty would be.




That would otherwise be true for a "conventional" caster. The Wizard is definitely not one.

The whole point behind instability is that it reflects her rebelliousness, recklessness, and depicts her as the glass-cannon blasty type, which is Blizz's goal for her.

The more she would get into the casting, the harder and harder it is for her to maintain control (instability rising). She'll get more and more destructive as she loses this control of herself, and fully delves into the casting, being more and more destructive and chaotic.

Currently, it is indeed speculation on if the nature of the spells alters during the build up of her instability, but it is reasonable to assume at least that much, or that she then gains access to others that are more destructive (building from magic missile --> electrocution --> meteor for instance).|||Quote:








That would otherwise be true for a "conventional" caster. The Wizard is definitely not one.

The whole point behind instability is that it reflects her rebelliousness, recklessness, and depicts her as the glass-cannon blasty type, which is Blizz's goal for her.

The more she would get into the casting, the harder and harder it is for her to maintain control (instability rising). She'll get more and more destructive as she loses this control of herself, and fully delves into the casting, being more and more destructive and chaotic.

Currently, it is indeed speculation on if the nature of the spells alters during the build up of her instability, but it is reasonable to assume at least that much, or that she then gains access to others that are more destructive (building from magic missile --> electrocution --> meteor for instance).




She doesn't need a reward for casting spells to be a glass cannon. I don't think it's reasonable to *assume* that her spells are going to be altered or that she gains access to more powerful spells in her arsenal as her instability increases. That said, it's possible that cast speed and damage increase as Instability increases.

Here's an idea how Instability could work:

You have an Instability meter. When you cast spells, it rises. When you get hit, it rises. It drains away pretty quickly. When your Instability is higher, your cast speed is faster. The problem is, if your Instability reaches maximum, it immediately drains to zero and you take a little damage (not necessarily a huge chunk, but a little). I'm not sure you can reach maximum without actually getting hit by an enemy.

The point is, you can keep up a solid pace of casting, but if you get knocked over the edge, you need to build up your Instability gauge again, and now you have a monster on top of you and your casting speed is diminished.

So it would benefit most players to maintain a healthy casting pace, but to go overboard would leave the Wizard in a volatile situation, and should she take damage at the apex of her spellcasting, she is now suddenly deprived of all her hard earned power with a nasty wound.|||Isn't adding damage and speed the same as altering it?



And in the system you described, the way to access the most powerful spells would be after using it after a while, and then you have enough to use that spell. Even that would be consistent with higher Instability = more devastating spells.

The way you described, it sounds like the Barb's Fury, and even he uses it to build up to his more powerful attacks.



Also, even with that vulnerability, I think you forgot about the defensive armors. The time one prevents damage taken after oh-so-many seconds :O|||Quote:








Isn't adding damage and speed the same as altering it?



And in the system you described, the way to access the most powerful spells would be after using it after a while, and then you have enough to use that spell. Even that would be consistent with higher Instability = more devastating spells.

The way you described, it sounds like the Barb's Fury, and even he uses it to build up to his more powerful attacks.



Also, even with that vulnerability, I think you forgot about the defensive armors. The time one prevents damage taken after oh-so-many seconds :O




No, you misunderstand me. Increasing damage is altering the spell, I guess you could say increasing cast speed is as well. But I was just saying that there doesn't have to be a reward for building up Instability. The system I described does, because I kind of warmed to the idea. I just don't think it's a far gone conclusion that the Wizard will be given extra rewards for casting lots of spells.

My system doesn't 'unlock' more powerful spells per se. You just cast faster the higher your Instability grows. So you can still cast Meteor at zero Instability, just slowly.

Also, I'll amend a small part of my system. The Wizard should be able to push herself over maximum Instability, so as to plummet back to zero. That should stop the defensive armours from interfering.