Goonhub
04-29-2015, 04:43 PM
Hi I'm reviving this thread.
I dunno what sort of work Urs has done on this idea since its original posting, but after a conversation in deadchat, I've come to a few conclusions on the state of wizard rounds as things stand:
Wizard rounds are basically meant to be the frantic, high-paced deathmatch round, and it fills that niche very well. However, one of the major problems with the roundtype is that it's boring. Nine out of ten wizards start with exactly the same spell loadout and matches either end in ten minutes when the wizards get cornered or go on for ages because the wizards are purposefully ignoring their assassination targets.
First off, fireballs. The ubiquitous fireball has had many divisive opinions in the community, and with good reason, since the wizards who don't pick the damn thing are few and far between. This is because, not only is the fireball simple, easy to use, and extremely dangerous, it and Shocking Grasp are literally the best tools a wizard has. Wizards have many other spells with many different uses but they're all effectively pointless for one single reason: No matter what dastardly, clandestine plan you try to perform as a wizard, it will never be any more effective than if you had just Mohl Hotov'd and Ei Nath'd your way through the station.
Wizards need variety, but variety is pointless if it goes unused. The "point and click to light dudes on fire" kind of spell still has a place in the wizard's loadout and should be kept, but there needs to be better options than that. More specifically, there need to be more spells that are difficult to use but are even more effective than the simple spells if you use them correctly. Right now, the wizard's more esoteric spells all pale in comparison to the almighty fireball in terms of effectiveness, and this needs to change. Wizard rounds need to be more than one or more funny-looking dudes fireballing and/or disintegrating everyone until one side or the other dies.
In short, what wizards need isn't necessarily more options; it's better and more entertaining options.
I dunno what sort of work Urs has done on this idea since its original posting, but after a conversation in deadchat, I've come to a few conclusions on the state of wizard rounds as things stand:
Wizard rounds are basically meant to be the frantic, high-paced deathmatch round, and it fills that niche very well. However, one of the major problems with the roundtype is that it's boring. Nine out of ten wizards start with exactly the same spell loadout and matches either end in ten minutes when the wizards get cornered or go on for ages because the wizards are purposefully ignoring their assassination targets.
First off, fireballs. The ubiquitous fireball has had many divisive opinions in the community, and with good reason, since the wizards who don't pick the damn thing are few and far between. This is because, not only is the fireball simple, easy to use, and extremely dangerous, it and Shocking Grasp are literally the best tools a wizard has. Wizards have many other spells with many different uses but they're all effectively pointless for one single reason: No matter what dastardly, clandestine plan you try to perform as a wizard, it will never be any more effective than if you had just Mohl Hotov'd and Ei Nath'd your way through the station.
Wizards need variety, but variety is pointless if it goes unused. The "point and click to light dudes on fire" kind of spell still has a place in the wizard's loadout and should be kept, but there needs to be better options than that. More specifically, there need to be more spells that are difficult to use but are even more effective than the simple spells if you use them correctly. Right now, the wizard's more esoteric spells all pale in comparison to the almighty fireball in terms of effectiveness, and this needs to change. Wizard rounds need to be more than one or more funny-looking dudes fireballing and/or disintegrating everyone until one side or the other dies.
In short, what wizards need isn't necessarily more options; it's better and more entertaining options.