Shattered Kingdoms

Undead armies where only change because they where stupidly unbalanced. Necromancers still have access to every skill and spell in the game other PCs can use and a few from NPC only. They are able to get more tanking than any other class in the game. They have more killing power than almost all groups of two PCs (necromancers not included) and quite a lot of groups of 3 or more. They have the counter to every single class at their dispose the only draw back is they need to put in time and effort to get these counters. HW is powerful against them but look at an evil sorceror with a charmie against a light holy word, similar result accept a necromancer is more likely to have something left after the HW has been cast. HW has a significant PE cost if the necromancer just runs around a little priests and paladins will have a hard time.

Back to E drain the spell is fine. So long as over use of it is limited. E drain every fight is excessive use of a spell. Remember the game is more than your own enjoyment. If someone says you are having a strong negative effect on their enjoyment. Take stock of what you are doing perhaps limit the use of some tactics that is dont handicap yourself but you dont have to PK people three or four times with E drains when once would be enough.

I've watched this thread for a while but haven't had the time to comment on all the things I wanted to say.

Energy Drain: E-drain is not overpowered. Only a few necromancers have used it significantly in the past few years. It may have been wimped a little too much. I like the timer, which prevents abuse. I like having the xp drain being around one tick, although two would also be fine - three ticks would be too much. I don't like that stunned people only lose a little xp, because the spell is rather useless in producing death and is therefore not optimal in a close fight.

Energy Drain as an OOC, vindicative action: E-drain is not an OOC kick in the pants. It is an IC kick in the pants. Realistically, one tick of xp is not so harmful that it should make the game unbearable for players. E-drain is the only quasi-permanent damage that can be dealt in the game. One of the reasons I chose to play a necromancer was when Dimmel e-drained me, and I was so secretly annoyed at the xp I lost, even though I had enough reward-xp that it wasn't even close to changing my level.

Necromancers as under-powered (?): Necromancers, in their current state, have a very large offensive capability which comes at the expense of defensive capability. They have huge weaknesses: Arrows, taunt, BoG, holy word, cancellation, dirt kick, voodoo. Every attack they have can be countered, which makes the element of suprise more important for them than any other class. When they do get the appropriate jump, they can devastate full parties. I don't think necromancers are under-powered.

Priest vs. Necromancer: While a holy-word may wreck a necro, a well-prepared necro should never die to a lone priest. BoG > Holy word.

Changes to Energy Drain: I think energy drain is slightly underpowered, because the only reason to cast it in a fight is to incur long-term damage. If buffs were to be implented to edrain, I would support a slightly shorter casting time, a slightly larger drain on xp, or something to make it actually viable in a fight, such as a pe/me drain.

Editted to clarify that I don't think necromancers are underpowered.

No, and that is what bothers me the most - and you prove it yourself, right here,



ICly, death is the ultimate punishment - that comment is purely OOC, what does the memory of your last twenty fights against the demons you have fought your entire life matter against your own death? Nothing - it is purely detrimental on an OOC basis, no matter how many references you make to it ICly.

That is an opinion, not a fact. Surely, some characters believe that the loss of their soul (or part of their soul, in this case) is worse than death. Necromancy is based on the idea that people can be more or less permenantly tainted.

This isn't to say I don't sympathize with your point, Konge. I just disagree.

Contradictory.

Versus this, in the same paragraph.

Let me define my terms, then. By OOC kick in the pants, I mean something which is unpleasant and exclusively out-of-character in nature: deletion, curses, using yim to screw someone over, etc. By IC kick in the pants, I mean something which is unpleasant and in-character: death, noteboard posts, energy drains, etc.

Benzo - Much respect but you're really taking this too far.

Necros have the capability to employ several GM barbarian NPCs fully equipped with any weapon type they want (not to mention you're in a tribunal and I dont think I need to say much more than that coughfacelessnymphcough). So saying they are vunerable to range is really just asking for too much. Right now - everyone is vunerable to ranged attacks because they are devastating and you should find a way around it like most others have - until it's nerfed/changed.

Energy drain is not underpowered nor overpowered. It has been wimped so the level of maliciousness has been reduced to fit more RP friendly players and it serves it's purpose as being annoying and anger-inspiring. As a necro though, you should recognize when the right and wrong times to use it are. It is balanced and there are much more valuable spells you could use to realy make a player suffer.

Your necro does it's job but you're not utilizing your capabilities to the epic proportions of Delear. The choices you must make are similiar to a rogue and you need to evaluate what is the best plan of action. Open with a hamstring? Or a backstab? Perhaps recite a petrify scroll.

Some things are just better than others, and like you said, energy drain is useless for killing.

To clarify, I'm not complaining about these vulnerabilities. I think its important for the necromancer class to be vulnerable to many things. I was just making a laundry list of what can own an unprepared necro. I've edited my original post accordingly in an attempt to make this more clear.

Personally I wince everytime I read logs with Beethiok in, but that is a good thing. I like the fact that there is a palpable fear when fighting Benzo's necro... it's just how it should be.

Does he [Benzo] employ the spell too much? Perhaps, but it never gets boring.



And this here is a perfect reason of why it is not overpowered. You are telling Benzo he is not nearly as an efficient death dealing machine as he could be, because he uses the spell that is being complained about.

And yes, I have been on the end of said spell.

He isnt. He could be pulling off a lot more deaths if he wasnt wasting his time energy draining so much. But he does his job as a tyrant and pisses people off. Good show on his part. I just think death is a more critical message in terms of "dont mess with me". What he's doing now is along the lines of "I know I wont win so im just going to make your life (which you get to keep) miserable for a day.

The code is fine and is not subject to change.. again.