[Balancing/Spells] "Graveseal" is too good to be true (for its cost)

from Elemental Forums

There have been discussions about certain overpowered spells and strategies (Impulsive+Fireball, Maul,...), but I haven't seen a thread picking up on the death spell "Graveseal". The spell itself is pretty killer, but that alone doesn't make it overpowered I guess, I actually like the spell. My problem stems from the fact that it is seriously overpowered on the cost/effect scale.

For the oblivious among us, the affected target suffers constant critical hits from all attacks unless it resists the attack. The spell costs mere 12 mana to cast (which is further reduced with all the mage traits) and has no further prerequisites considering the type of attack or other conditions that have to be met. In my experience, as soon as you get the spell early in game you have won, since your entire army crits down almost anything like there is no tomorrow.

I therefore suggest to increase the mana cost to represent its crazy usefulness (like 50 or even more) and/or make the spell only apply/work under certain conditions (increase the resist chance against it altogether, only death spell damage crits, each round there is an increasing chance that it wears off...etc.), something to that effect.

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Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I tend to agree.  I've only fought a couple of battles with it but I was absolutely walking over the enemy.  It's way more effective than Pillar of Flame (is that what it's called), the strategic spell that costs around 50 mana.  It should definitely cost a lot more mana, or something.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I agree!

 

This spell either needs a much higher cost or it should end after 3 crits (+1 crit per xy shard)

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Graveseal owns. I'd rather see more debuffs cranked up to its power than Graveseal nerfed.

Right now it makes more sense to just nuke the hell out of most enemy units than to ever use the majority of debuffs, and Graveseal is one of the few bits of magic that is effective on single target units.

I don't think mana cost is necessarily the best way of adjusting the power of tac spells, for two reasons - the first is that if they implement in-battle mana limits, very high cost spells won't be viable at all, and the second is that extremely high cost tactical spells aren't going to be usable due to sharply limited mana incomes (at least with the way the shard system works now).

If they do power up debuffs, they should probably add curative spells to remove debuffs (instead of the mega-useless counterspell line of spells)

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Apart from Contagion (because it doesn't sweem to work atm) is there any of the Death Worship spells that aren't brokenly good?