Ambrosia Software Web Board: Magic is useless - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Overall I think cythera is a great game. It has very addicting game play. However, I think there are some problems with the way magic was designed.

I have a mage at mana(15) and exp. level 9, and I only have 36 magic points. I started the game over as a mystic, and at mana(15) and exp. level 5 I have 35 magic points. With the way the magic points system is setup, you can't use magic in battle 99.9% of the time. 36 points is enough for 9 mystic arrows, which might be enough to finish off a single group of enemies, or 1 fireball, or 2 death strikes, etc. You can't use magic in battle, so what is the point of having a magical character? There is only 1 kind of character in the game: the kind that has to swing a sword 99% of the time. You have this great and powerful wielder of magic, but he's basically just another sword munky (and a weak one at that!)

Magic is one of the coolest parts of this game. A magical character should be able to use magic as his primary weapon in battle. What the designer(s) of this game should have done:
Make a certain set of spells "free" (cost no magic points). Like mystic arrow, or minor embrightenment. Spells like fireball and death strike should still cost a lot of magic points because they are so powerful, and maybe all healing spells should cost magic points. There should be a set of weak but still useful spells that any magical character begins the game with. Different characters start out with different spells, some have more spells than others, etc. As the experience or mana or casting or whatever advances to higher levels, more and better spells become free. You could make it so that the higher the level, the less magic points a spells costs, until the cost drops to zero. Also, the higher the level the more powerful a spell should be. Offensive spells do more damage, healing spells heal more, etc.

The game would be a lot cooler if the magical characters could use magic in battle. Magic is useless. You are better off spending your training points improving a mage's sword, attack, or defense than you are improving their magic skills.

I hope my suggestions are used in sequels (and I hope there are sequels). Somebody else must have thought of this before me.

Dan

Magic isn't meant to be used all the time during a battle. In other games do you have your mage only casting spells during battle. I believe magic should be used strategically. A fireball at a crowd of tentacles on a seamonster, or on a crowd of 30 undead before you actually go up to them and use physical attacks. I never had much use for magic arrows.
Your magic points increase if you go past level 5. There are potions that restore magic points at the cost of a little health.
Magic is useful for opening locked and magelocked doors. Magic is essential for alchemy.
May I also make a point that being a mystic or a wizard doesn't mean that you deal more damage in spells. It just means that you start out trained in magic more than other characters. You could have a warrior and turn him into a mage.

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