Any chance of more mage gear options?

from Elemental Forums

I realise this is going to be low on the devs priority list and they're near enough feature locked at this point but I think that FE would benefit from some more mage gear equipment that becomes available in the magic tech tree, plus some special items that can be found in goodie huts and quests. We do have some mage gear already but I think it could be expanded alot further. I thought it would be good to start a thread on this to get some ideas together and hopefully the devs can squeeze them in, otherwise someone could mod them in after release - so heres some initial thoughts to get the ball rolling:

 

Headgear:

So far we have emerald skullcap and not much else. How about some hoods/circlets/masks? I think there should be a basic one that can be purchased in stores that grants a bonus to spell mastery and spell resistance (maybe just call it apprentice hood) - have more powerful versions called adept hood and archmage hood that can be found in the wilds.

 

Body armour:

The game currently has a set of robes that give casting discounts though I'd like to see the most basic version (apprentice robes) available as a purchasable item in stores.

 

Arm gear:

Following the apprentice, adept, archmage theme I'd like to see gloves that give a boost to spell mastery and initiative - again, the basic version should be available in stores

 

Leg gear:

I can't really think of an wizardy alternative to greaves (mages trousers seems kind of lame) but I think there should be something here - charmed belts maybe?

 

Foot gear:

There's not much that's specific to mages here - maybe some aegis style boots that apply status effects to the wearer or to those that attack the wearer?

 

Accesories:

There aren't really many accessories that help a mage - how about some rings or amulets that generate mana? Could be weaker versions of staff of souls maybe? Could also have rings that increase elemental damage from cast spells or add levels/apply buffs to summons e.g. ring of the pyromancer/summoner etc

 

Weapons:

Most of the existing staffs aren't very helpful to mages, how about some staffs that do weak melee damage (say 6) but the damage is elemental/poison based on the type as opposed to bash damage. Also the staffs grant a small initiative bonus and spells cast from them count as +1 shard for the purposes of calculating the effect (they could have different staffs for different shards or one catchall staff). This would be the basic staff (apprentice) but then there'd also be adept and archmage versions that grant additional shard bonuses and do more elemental melee damage.

 

Anyway that's arough sketch of ideas for mage gear, I'm sure you guys have plenty of thoughts and ideas on this, please feel free to contribute or provide your own ideas. My thoughts are that each item should help mages in different ways - if robes provide spell discounts, the other items should do different things. An archmage set of items should be very strong whereas apprentice items should be modest but significant

8,528 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Have you considered learning to mod?  Everybody has excellent ideas.  From my experience, modders usually implement theirs.  It's not that difficult, and the modding crew for FE seems a friendly and helpful lot.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I've got no background in computer programming so I'm pretty clueless about how to do it? I'd be willing to give it a try but as someone with zero knowledge in this area I'm not even sure where to start

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting DGB246, reply 2
I've got no background in computer programming so I'm pretty clueless about how to do it? I'd be willing to give it a try but as someone with zero knowledge in this area I'm not even sure where to start
End of DGB246's quote

 

That's where everybody starts, though.  Derek and Brad have written that will have modding tools, presumably with some info on how to use them, as we get closer to release.  I'd suggest waiting until then--just a couple of months off, I suspect, probably sooner.  It's what I plan to do.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

OK when it's released I'll have a look at the modding tools to see if I can figure them out - if the tools are accessable enough I'll create some mage gear :)

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm actually fairly satisfied with the mage gear in the game right now. There are a few strong robes that reduce tactical mana cost by a lot, and I've seen a staff around with spell damage and some other stuff.

 

I think the danger of having to fill every slot with a mage item is they'd be terribly diluted in power. Instead of having 2-3% less mana cost in tactical per item, why not just have a robe with -10% or -20%? Then you still get to pick from the rest of the armor in the game - and realistically, that's important because very few items give physical attack bonuses.

The only bit I am not happy about is that casters for some reason should strive to equip daggers or other "fast" weapons to improve their spellcasting time. That doesn't make sense to me.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting DGB246, reply 5
OK when it's released I'll have a look at the modding tools to see if I can figure them out - if the tools are accessable enough I'll create some mage gear
End of DGB246's quote
:)

 

I'll be doing as much, myself.  I want to create some "defective" items that appear as goodies: bonuses offset by drawbacks, with a slight humorous touch in the text, and strategic challenges to effective use that can be overcome.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

I am adding in some new staves that do splash damage, damage to all enemies, damage to all units, have an Initiative bonus, do mass amounts of elemental damage, allow you to cast special spells. This is needed in the vanilla.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

@Heavenfall

 

I wasn't thinking about further items for spell discounts - the robes do that fine and I don't want to see free spells again. I do think the apprentice robes should be available in the store.

Instead I was thinking of other boosts such as spell mastery/resistance, staffs that give initiative bonuses so you have wizardy alternatives to daggers. There's a whole bunch of things that can be done really

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

@Sean

I'll be sure to check out what you come up with but I don't really want a wholesale mod, just changes here and there. It's great what you're doing with your balance mod but I'm not sure if it's for me

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 8
I am adding in some new staves that do splash damage, damage to all enemies, damage to all units, have an Initiative bonus, do mass amounts of elemental damage, allow you to cast special spells. This is needed in the vanilla.
End of seanw3's quote

 

This sounds very good.  I agree, staves are poorly represented in the game, with no real benefit to use outside of the desire to handicap oneself.  A range of low and higher level staves would add a great deal to gameplay.  Best of luck with this.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

KGB thanks for the suggestion, I really like it, I think its sad that casters are balanced, and thought out to be wielding daggers and full plate armor or whatever. except for a plate chest its a robe that reduces mana cost... if you had the extensive amounts of luck required for it to drop.

so thanks! :thumbsup:

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Shame there's no random item generator in FE. Seeing the very same items for the nth time is not exactly a pleasant experience.

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top


Right on guys. 

I would like to see more 1 point options at the time of equipping your Sov.  Why not one of those basic staves that do ranged?  You can get a bow for 0 or 1 points depending on how strong it is. 

In regards to headgear, not a single pointy item.  Maybe this was to get away from stereo-types.  But still the thought is there,  hats that are just barely defensive at all, but help your mageliness. 

Also could have wands do same things as staves but be 1 handed.  Or lesser versions.  Since a two handed weapon will do more damage than a 1 handed one. 

Items that do say +10% life/death/air/fire/earth/water damage but apply only to spells.  Do not boost weapon damage at all (Attack Rating).   once these are made you could have it's big brother do +15% say and be harder (rarer) to get.

 

Just some ideas..

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 6
I'm actually fairly satisfied with the mage gear in the game right now. There are a few strong robes that reduce tactical mana cost by a lot, and I've seen a staff around with spell damage and some other stuff.

 

I think the danger of having to fill every slot with a mage item is they'd be terribly diluted in power. Instead of having 2-3% less mana cost in tactical per item, why not just have a robe with -10% or -20%?
End of Heavenfall's quote

 

because then you end up wearing a mage with plate which is incredibly bad