I am a very proud Pyromancer. And in my opinion a very powerful one too. Fire has never let me down. But one thing has been bugging me since the very weaving of its existence.
Detonate!
It's pointless!
Just so you know Detonate is a spell that was released in Avalon to be received as a special reward for the quest "No Pain, No Agravaine" at level 72. It is a four pip spell with a 75% accuracy rating. The function of this spell is to Destroy 1 Attack Over Time and Deal 100% Damage. What this means is if there is an existing DOT on an enemy, the spell with immediately deal the rest of the damage the DOT has left in one solid hit. The concept isn't really flawed, but the idea that Pyromancer's would find this useful is. I will give you a few scenarios that explain why the spell is useless. First, the only single enemy DOT spell Fire has that would be worth detonating is Heck Hound. But by the time you have saved enough pips to use it, Heck Hound will be on its last tick. Power Link and Fire Elf aren't really worth it. This doesn't include Rain of Fire or Fire Dragon. Both of which are powerful but aren't often used to target one single enemy. Second, Detonate doesn't deal any more damage then if you were to wait it out. Other spells, which Detonate seems to be the response to, such as triage, reduce the damage for a much lower pip cost as well as low or no fizzle rating. Why the hefty cost for something that doesn't benefit you that much? You could argue that in a team setting one wizard can DOT and then the other could Detonate. But here is an alternative. One wizard can DOT and the other could DOT as well, stacking the attacks and making Triage or Cooldown futile. I don't suggest trying to trap and hit with detonate, it's just better to use a solid hit.
Detonate needs to change and I have a few suggestions. My first and favorite suggestion would be... -Mass Detonate (Essentially the answer to Mass Triage except it costs four pips and still has 75% accuracy. This means you can use Detonate on spells like Rain of Fire and Fire Dragon. In this case the spell would Destroy 1 Damage Over Time to all enemies and Deal 100% Damage to all. The best part is you can use it just like Detonate is now on one person. But I don't know why you would do that.)
-Rekindle (This may be a crazy and overpowered idea but how about a spell that adds a round to a DOT, essentially being the answer to Ice's Cooldown. This spell would probably cost the same amount of pips as Detonate as well as have the same accuracy. Or maybe lower the accuracy like Balance's Supernova. That might make it slightly more fair.)
-Make Detonate Cheaper (I am not so sure of this idea because I have read complaints that if Detonate were 0-2 pips, Fire would be able to Heck Hound and defeat their enemies much faster.)
I want to know what you think. Are any of these spell changes good ideas? Do you have any ideas for Detonate? Keep in mind changing this spell could make Fire too strong.
Detonate can be used effectively in a team situation by someone other than the caster of the Heck Hound. It's especially powerful with 3 fire wizards. Wiz A casts Backdraft for +210-220%, Wiz B casts Heck Hound with full pips, Wiz C casts Detonate to get maximum damage of the most powerful attack available in the game. The spell works just fine the way it is. You say it doesn't do more damage than letting the spell run, but it does. It allows max damage to take advantage of a single trap or feint. It shouldn't be made cheaper or easier to use. It's a specialized spell for specific situations. The only common use for it I've ever used is for Pendragon. Shift his 200 round cheat Fire Dragon back on him, then detonate and it'll kill him instantly.
Detonate can be used effectively in a team situation by someone other than the caster of the Heck Hound. It's especially powerful with 3 fire wizards. Wiz A casts Backdraft for +210-220%, Wiz B casts Heck Hound with full pips, Wiz C casts Detonate to get maximum damage of the most powerful attack available in the game. The spell works just fine the way it is. You say it doesn't do more damage than letting the spell run, but it does. It allows max damage to take advantage of a single trap or feint. It shouldn't be made cheaper or easier to use. It's a specialized spell for specific situations. The only common use for it I've ever used is for Pendragon. Shift his 200 round cheat Fire Dragon back on him, then detonate and it'll kill him instantly.
Think about that for a minute? How often are you going to be in that situation? It requires lots of planning and lots of time. Not to mention it only hits one enemy. That might be good for something like Malistaire in Darkmoor. But in a PvP setting, people are going to see it coming. That is if people actually were to use the strategy in PvP. I have only seen a Fire use this spell once and might I tell you it was pointless. Of course I have played around with it too but the fact of the matter is, it is probably the least used spell in the game. It's honestly probably better to not even have the spell. And I did mention that someone could try and make the argument that Detonate can be used in a team setting, but like I said it is more often than not better to use a solid hit rather than to use a DOT. This is because it is more efficient, less time consuming, and most of Fire's big solid hits have some sort of utility that could benefit the user. Also like I said before, I don't really like the idea of making it cheaper to use. When you say "It's a specialized spell for certain situations" I think that there aren't enough situations where this spell can be useful. And all of the situations that detonate could be used for can easily be overcome with a different, more useful strategy. As far as the Pendragon loophole goes, I really do just treat it like a loophole. That's really the only thing I can think of where Detonate would be useful. However, Pendragon can still be defeated without Detonate. I still seriously think that it should Detonate all enemies. It's not going to make it overpowered at all. Just more reason to use it. Plus it can still be used the same way in a team setting with Heckhound.
how about make it 120% damage, just so there's some benefit to it being used over waiting out....
Not a bad idea, but my retort would be that you could just throw a fuel on there for 2 pips cheaper. But if it were changed to something like 150%, that might spell disaster. A good middle ground might be 135%.
I am a very proud Pyromancer. And in my opinion a very powerful one too. Fire has never let me down. But one thing has been bugging me since the very weaving of its existence.
Detonate!
It's pointless!
Just so you know Detonate is a spell that was released in Avalon to be received as a special reward for the quest "No Pain, No Agravaine" at level 72. It is a four pip spell with a 75% accuracy rating. The function of this spell is to Destroy 1 Attack Over Time and Deal 100% Damage. What this means is if there is an existing DOT on an enemy, the spell with immediately deal the rest of the damage the DOT has left in one solid hit. The concept isn't really flawed, but the idea that Pyromancer's would find this useful is. I will give you a few scenarios that explain why the spell is useless. First, the only single enemy DOT spell Fire has that would be worth detonating is Heck Hound. But by the time you have saved enough pips to use it, Heck Hound will be on its last tick. Power Link and Fire Elf aren't really worth it. This doesn't include Rain of Fire or Fire Dragon. Both of which are powerful but aren't often used to target one single enemy. Second, Detonate doesn't deal any more damage then if you were to wait it out. Other spells, which Detonate seems to be the response to, such as triage, reduce the damage for a much lower pip cost as well as low or no fizzle rating. Why the hefty cost for something that doesn't benefit you that much? You could argue that in a team setting one wizard can DOT and then the other could Detonate. But here is an alternative. One wizard can DOT and the other could DOT as well, stacking the attacks and making Triage or Cooldown futile. I don't suggest trying to trap and hit with detonate, it's just better to use a solid hit.
Detonate needs to change and I have a few suggestions. My first and favorite suggestion would be... -Mass Detonate (Essentially the answer to Mass Triage except it costs four pips and still has 75% accuracy. This means you can use Detonate on spells like Rain of Fire and Fire Dragon. In this case the spell would Destroy 1 Damage Over Time to all enemies and Deal 100% Damage to all. The best part is you can use it just like Detonate is now on one person. But I don't know why you would do that.)
-Rekindle (This may be a crazy and overpowered idea but how about a spell that adds a round to a DOT, essentially being the answer to Ice's Cooldown. This spell would probably cost the same amount of pips as Detonate as well as have the same accuracy. Or maybe lower the accuracy like Balance's Supernova. That might make it slightly more fair.)
-Make Detonate Cheaper (I am not so sure of this idea because I have read complaints that if Detonate were 0-2 pips, Fire would be able to Heck Hound and defeat their enemies much faster.)
I want to know what you think. Are any of these spell changes good ideas? Do you have any ideas for Detonate? Keep in mind changing this spell could make Fire too strong.
I agree. You're not the only one who has issues with Detonate. A lot of players feels the same way. That spell is design to works more effectively in a team situation. Seriously, how often does 2 or 3 fire wizards join in the same battle and make it work in a teamwork matter.. Not as often as we think. Just because it works that way for some, doesn't mean it works for the majority of players. I never use the spell because I go solo and I rarely battle with another fire wizard who has good teamwork strategy. So that spell is useless to me. I feel Detonate should be redesign so even solo wizards can conveniently use it. Those who wish to contradict this post by arguing, only means he/she didn't read it careful enough therefore needs to read it again because i'm not going to repeat myself to those who are argumentative. I don't mean to be mean but I'm tired of those who thinks for themselves and for the majority of others
wanna toss this in, detonate works by sending all the damage of a DOT at once right? does it say it has to be fire DOT? so like basilisk, frostbite, poison, dont know about it but, sprite... it doesnt say school DOT
I agree. You're not the only one who has issues with Detonate. A lot of players feels the same way. That spell is design to works more effectively in a team situation. Seriously, how often does 2 or 3 fire wizards join in the same battle and make it work in a teamwork matter.. Not as often as we think. Just because it works that way for some, doesn't mean it works for the majority of players. I never use the spell because I go solo and I rarely battle with another fire wizard who has good teamwork strategy. So that spell is useless to me. I feel Detonate should be redesign so even solo wizards can conveniently use it. Those who wish to contradict this post by arguing, only means he/she didn't read it careful enough therefore needs to read it again because i'm not going to repeat myself to those who are argumentative. I don't mean to be mean but I'm tired of those who thinks for themselves and for the majority of others
It's a spell that's used for utility. Plenty of spells are only useful in team play. It's really not necessary for every single spell to be useful for solo and pvp play. Every school has spells that are only useful in teams, or only useful while using minions, or only good for PvP. It's also getting old telling everyone to reread what you said just because they disagree with you. Making someone reread something that's wrong won't make it right the next time around. Every school has spells they never use because you can't have spells that fit every situation. This is especially true of specialized tools like Detonate. The spell works as designed and fills the niche it was made for.
I agree. You're not the only one who has issues with Detonate. A lot of players feels the same way. That spell is design to works more effectively in a team situation. Seriously, how often does 2 or 3 fire wizards join in the same battle and make it work in a teamwork matter.. Not as often as we think. Just because it works that way for some, doesn't mean it works for the majority of players. I never use the spell because I go solo and I rarely battle with another fire wizard who has good teamwork strategy. So that spell is useless to me. I feel Detonate should be redesign so even solo wizards can conveniently use it. Those who wish to contradict this post by arguing, only means he/she didn't read it careful enough therefore needs to read it again because i'm not going to repeat myself to those who are argumentative. I don't mean to be mean but I'm tired of those who thinks for themselves and for the majority of others
Or it could mean your idea isn't healthy for the game. I don't mind a change to detonate to make it more useful when it is successfully used, however cheapening it so it could be effectively used by a solo player would make it vastly overpowered in pvp.
