[Habibi Jones]

Okay this is actually a good reply, but I do want to explain the logic behind what I am doing, I hope I don't sound too argumentative.

Players can still heal if they don't cure immediately, but they lose a little health. At the end of the day cure is faster and takes less mana than poison, so if this is causing a problem it's probably because people haven't adjusted or don't have the situational awareness yet. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I do feel it's worth letting it be tested properly. Also time spent casting poison could have been spent casting a lightning (16 damage) a person would have to heal with two GHs through poison (loss of 7hp per GH whilst poison = 14hp total) in order for that poison to have done even nearly as much "damage" as the lightning would have done. So OK I am hearing what you are saying, but I'm also presenting the maths, which kinda indicates if poison is causing problems to survival it's because the person in question has taken far too long to cure or has chosen not to. Now I say indicates, because I am not saying you're wrong, or you're right, I'm just saying there is sufficient logical reason to continue testing and let people get used to the mechanic.

I think we need a more complex system than just casting GH, FS and lightning and this is one of the ways we get it. We've been hemorrhaging players recently and it's because the existing PvP is too simple, boring to watch and slow paced. Can't fix those problems without actually adding some new dynamics in somewhere.



Not much to say to these two since these spells were not changed in the new system.



Okay this is the kind of knee-jerk uninformed hysteria I don't like: Firstly, it is Mana Drain that is activated not Mana Vampire. But let's assume that's just a mistake; if you had tested thoroughly before leaping to wrong conclusions you would know it is not possible by any means to take more than 18 mana from a person with Mana Drain. Furthermore, the effect is temporary, the mana is returned after 12s and the spell can also be resisted.

If anything it is pointlessly weak and hardly anyone seems to think it is worth using, but I am waiting to see if tactics start to develop. Your assessment that it is going to lead to a bandaid fest and all mana will be stolen is so wrong I don't even know what else to say.



Sorry, genuinely not sure exactly what you mean about this.



Heal (In Mani): 4 mana, 13hp, 800ms cast at 0 ping (unrealistic, but whatever).

Greater Heal (In Vas Mani): 11 mana, 36hp, 2100ms cast at 0 ping.

3x Heal: 12 mana, 39hp, 2400ms at 0 ping. Realistically 2400ms + 2x your ping.

So let's compare: Heal is lower HPM (36/11 > 39/12) and for the additional 300ms + 2x ping you get only 3 extra hp, even at 0 ping the HPS is worse (36/2100 > 39/2400).

So conclusion: GH is superior in both mana efficiency and time efficiency than Heal. The only advantage of Heal is situational (e.g. fast smaller amount of health to survive an incoming FS, or to heal between poisons, or to top up when the amount of health desired is less than 36). I'm actually very pleased with the balance of GH and Heal right now; they are both useful and very comparable, GH can give you an edge if used at the right times, whilst Heal can save you if used when GH will not get off in time or will be mitigated by a fast poison. In otherwords it is a judgement call, something which is good for PvP. Being able to mindlessly crush the GH key knowing it is the best in all situations is not skillful or thoughtful.

The new system is good, all it takes is a bit of time to get used to it and a few new macros. It seems well balanced to me, there is no "cheesy" tactic that you can't counter/heal out of. Also, the mana drain thing is awesome, if you use it at the right time it's a great way to take people down.

No disrespect Scare and Smoke, but you should play it more because your complaints and how you were fighting earlier point to the fact that you are unfamiliar with it. It is a balanced system, but whether or not you guys like it is a different story, clearly you don't. I'm not going to say it's perfect, but it is a hell of a lot more fun than the live PvP.

In my opinion, the new style is much more fast paced and much more skill oriented considering the VAST increase in the number of effective spells. Duels and 2v2 are much more fun, but I can't really speak about a 5v5 scenario. That's something we really have to test.