Firebolt vs Divine Retribution Balancing

[John Robinson]

The following message was paid for by the C.F.E.C. Clerics for Equality Council and does not reflect the opinions of this Ratkin broadcasting station or affiliates.

First off thanks again for removing the Level 6 prerequisite for Kyrea to use Divine Retribution.

Tamlin's Aimed Shot SP cost was adjusted to more closely to match Vraes's cost to use Savage Sweep, Crushing Blow, and thoughtful consideration of what the future Rogue strengths might be compared to Tamilin (thanks again for that one fallen) .

As a wishlist item, I think it would be really great if the Kyrea's Divine Retribution SP cost was a little more in line
with Karjtan's Firebolt.  I've tried, but just cannot get the hang of using her as a healer/melee fighter while managing tasks only she can
perform (Myshana's Tears, Purifying Breeze). I can also say it is more fun for my style of play not to use her in melee.
Vincent is better at carrying that load.

In my games she usually sits back one or two hexes away from the party out of range of Archers, passively casting buffs, healing and Ethereal 1. 
If there is a Paladin coming out in the future I'm guessing that might be a fighter with limited healing abilities?  Kyrea is a healer with limited melee abilities?

By the time the Characters reach Level 9, they have all been awarded a total of 6 Talent points to spend.
For Kyrea there are two "mandatory" talents,one being Myshana's Tears 2, and Purifying Breeze 1.
This leaves her four discretionary points to spend (although I would be hard pressed to think of going in without Piety Shield 1). 

Would you consider lowering the SP cost to use Holy Retribution, and lower the damage that Holy Retribution rank 2 can do.
Given average accuracy Holy Retribution 2 has a wider chance of missing or lower damage to the target at a higher cost.

What I call the "Sweet Spot",  occurs when a spell's cost and effectiveness is optimal.  For Kharjtan this occurs at Firebolt 3
which really outstrips the damage points range of Holy Retribution at half the cost.

As the SP cost stands now for Divine Retribution it feels like you can have it, but don't use it kind of bind. Kyrea most likely will not have more than 2 Talents points to invest into Holy Retribution by the time she reaches level 9. Because of the high SP cost I feel discouraged about using it. 

 I would very much like to have the option to give her an offensive punch I can afford to use without getting in close with a hammer.  
 The tables shown compare existing costs to wishlist costs in hope of improving parity.

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Without your contributions the C.F.E.C. may not continue providing adequate Health Care or magical attack spells to heal the injured
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Current Settings

Talent	AP/SP	Damage
Firebolt 1	2/4	11-18 Fire  Damage
Holy Retribution 1	3/8	12-24 Holy Damage
Firebolt 2	2/6	15-23 Fire  Damage
Holy Retribution 2	3/12	16-41 Holy Damage
Firebolt 3	2/8	24-44 Fire  Damage
Holy Retribution 3	3/18	16-48 Holy Damage
Firebolt 4	2/10	26-64 Fire  Damage
Holy Retribution 4	3/24	16-68 Holy Damage

Short version: More closely match the Firebolt and Holy Retribution "Sweet Spots". Possible Example?


Maybe Settings ? (Firebolt unchanged, Holy Retribution adjusted)

Talent	AP/SP	Damage
Firebolt 1	2/4	11-18 Fire Dmg
Holy Retribution 1	3/6	12-24 Holy Dmg
Firebolt 2	2/6	15-23 Fire Dmg
Holy Retribution 2	3/8	16-28 Holy Dmg
Firebolt 3	2/8	24-44 Fire Dmg
Holy Retribution 3	3/10	26-46 Fire Dmg
Firebolt 4	2/10	26-64 Fire Dmg
Holy Retribution 4	3/12	28-66 Holy Dmg

[hollowpoints]

Jan 1, 2014 13:40:27 GMT -5 John Robinson said:

By the time the Characters reach Level 9, they have all been awarded a total of 6 Talent points to spend.
For Kyrea there are two "mandatory" talents,one being Myshana's Tears 2, and Purifying Breeze 1.
This leaves her four discretionary points to spend (although I would be hard pressed to think of going in without Piety Shield 1).

Hey John, I've been working on a DPS / heal build for Kyrea myself.  I have put points into Holy Retribution and Myshana's tears only. Vraes got a bump in intelligence which helps mitigate curses, and other than that hes on his own. Go ahead and spend those purifying breeze and Piety shield points in Holy Retribution... Rats HATE the light.

Unleash the fury.

[algesan]

Well, I solved the Kyrea as healer/DPS by using Karj Choking/Burning Blades and not bothering (much) with his casting attacks. As an alternate, perhaps Holy Retribution having a stun component (aka: -all AP for one turn, like when players hit a trap), Say a rising -AP penalty that capped out fairly quickly at -max AP (as in by level 5).

[John Robinson]

hollowpoints

Hey John, I've been working on a DPS / heal build for Kyrea myself.  I have put points into Holy Retribution and Myshana's tears only. Vraes got a bump in intelligence which helps mitigate curses, and other than that hes on his own. Go ahead and spend those purifying breeze and Piety shield points in Holy Retribution... Rats HATE the light.

Unleash the fury.

Thanks for the advice hollowpoints. I opened Holy Retribution(1) for Kyrea at Level 4, and put 2 points into Invocation
to aid accuracy. It was a very tough choice on Level 5 whether to put +1 Into Holy Retribution or +1 Piety ward.
At Resistance 5 Vraes is weak to curses and magic damage. I have had good luck raising it to 9 with +1 Piety, but
the downside is having to wait until Level 7 to put the next +1 into Holy Retribution as Level 6 has to be Purifying Breeze.

It's the "Sweet Spot" on Holy Retribution I would like to see changed as a spell she can use often like Karjtan's Firebolt.
12 SP is manageable at H.R.(2) but 18 SP for 3 and 24 for 4 is just too high (that's what puts it on my wishlist).

How High a level are you taking Holy Retribution and Purifying Breeze? You've got me 90% convinced, but would like more advice.
Thanks

[John Robinson]

Jan 3, 2014 0:44:59 GMT -5 algesan said:

Well, I solved the Kyrea as healer/DPS by using Karj Choking/Burning Blades and not bothering (much) with his casting attacks. As an alternate, perhaps Holy Retribution having a stun component (aka: -all AP for one turn, like when players hit a trap), Say a rising -AP penalty that capped out fairly quickly at -max AP (as in by level 5).

I couldn't agree more on your Karjtan build. I find his Burning Blades long duration boosted by conjuration invaluable.
Even at just Choking Ash 2, the impact is reliable because at this stage of HOS development player Curses never miss.
Bye level 9 I should have Burning Blades(5), Choking Ash(2).

The points in Conjuration will also extend the duration of Meteoric Shockwave that becomes available at character level 12.

Later down the road I'll begin adding points to Sorcery for attack spell accuracy. Immolation available at level 6, and
Firestorm (level 18), will add the Burning Blades fire damage bonus to both spells. Best thing about it they are both AOE!