I mean if you use some simple logic and perhaps assisted by basic math and try to actually optimize stuff...which i understand is unecessary to have fun but still some people find that fun...you notice some seriously crazy things. Especially with stats you see on items. For example, I got this amulet...that gives you wraith card...and can only be used by death school level 45+. This amulet is totally worthless. even if it was availible to death school at level 1 I think it would be a very poor choice for an amulet for them. We can assume that death wizards have a spellbook, and have wraith, and are perfectly capable of cramming their spellbook with more wraith cards than would actually be wise to do. Then there is stuff like the crafted items. The crafted level 45 storm boots are actually halfway decent because their stat bonuses to storm. But why on earth would I ever use bonus to life damage? It is totally inferior for me to ever cast a life damage spell, ever, even under some pretty ridiculous circumstances. Maybe I could do it to pretend that i have a secondary life school...but if i did i would know for a fact that it is totally inferior to doing anything else, including simply passing. So why are those irrelevant bonus to life damage stats even there? Is this because originally the game was designed in such a way that it might sometimes be reasonable for a storm wizard to cast a life damage spell, and that changed and people didnt bother changing the stats on items? or is it because nobody really puts any thought into what would be the results if you actually try to optimize stuff. I dont mean this in an offensive way I am genuinely curious.
Yes, many items do not make sense to use....they are nothing but 'unconverted coins'. I think they are meant to have many unique items.
But who knows, a trip to the mall has many items for sale that a sane person would never buy....same idea I think.
As to the level 55 crafted clothing that has duel schools. If I look at one of my death characters: they give the best boosting to my school, and if I choose the opposite school (Life) as a second set of stats, it benefits my wand attacks. If I could get a better Death-only crafted item at that levle, it would be the one I use, but...as the game currently stands....this is what I have.
I mean if you use some simple logic and perhaps assisted by basic math and try to actually optimize stuff...which i understand is unecessary to have fun but still some people find that fun...you notice some seriously crazy things. Especially with stats you see on items. For example, I got this amulet...that gives you wraith card...and can only be used by death school level 45+. This amulet is totally worthless. even if it was availible to death school at level 1 I think it would be a very poor choice for an amulet for them. We can assume that death wizards have a spellbook, and have wraith, and are perfectly capable of cramming their spellbook with more wraith cards than would actually be wise to do. Then there is stuff like the crafted items. The crafted level 45 storm boots are actually halfway decent because their stat bonuses to storm. But why on earth would I ever use bonus to life damage? It is totally inferior for me to ever cast a life damage spell, ever, even under some pretty ridiculous circumstances. Maybe I could do it to pretend that i have a secondary life school...but if i did i would know for a fact that it is totally inferior to doing anything else, including simply passing. So why are those irrelevant bonus to life damage stats even there? Is this because originally the game was designed in such a way that it might sometimes be reasonable for a storm wizard to cast a life damage spell, and that changed and people didnt bother changing the stats on items? or is it because nobody really puts any thought into what would be the results if you actually try to optimize stuff. I dont mean this in an offensive way I am genuinely curious.
LOL, regarding crafted gear for primary and secondary schools:
My pyromancer can get 1250 from a 2 pip heal spell. Gotta love some secondary school critical boosts!
I got this amulet...that gives you wraith card...and can only be used by death school level 45+. This amulet is totally worthless.
he crafted level 45 storm boots are actually halfway decent because their stat bonuses to storm. But why on earth would I ever use bonus to life damage?
The amulet isn't "totally worthless", as you state. It can relieve the wizard of the necessity of stocking a Wraith card in the spell deck, as it will be available if the amulet is worn. It also does 75 more damage than the school's (unaltered) Wraith card does.
Many higher-level crafted hats, robes, and boots have dual damage boots: one in the main school, one in another. White it may not be practical for most wizards, it's available for the few who might want it. Since there's no requirement to purchase or craft them, there's no harm in the recipe vendor offering them to whoever may want them.
Fiveos, that is a bit of a broad generalization there! And not quite sure I fully understand your comment.
But with regard to the amulets, yes they give cards that can be trained, however they most always have more power than the original. Wraith is one of those spells that can't be enchanted so the 575 damage the amulet card does is very helpful for us death wizards who normally have to use a 500 damage wraith card. Same with Power Nova, a balance school spell that can't be enchanted.
As for the clothes, here I agree somewhat. Up until CL, the crafted clothes weren't worth the effort. Not quite sure what KI was thinking on that one. But in CL the level 55 clothes are mostly stronger than the 56 or 58 clothes. And with the critical system, you will probably want to craft level 55 clothes with life as secondary for the chance of getting a critical heal. Has happened to me on a couple occassions and been very helpful!
The Wraith Amulet is one of my favorites ... when 99% of your time (before Celestia ... lol) is spent in the starter deck, having a copy of that heavy hitter OUTSIDE the 14 spell deck is NOT ... worthless.
The Balefrost Amulet is another item many question. It is the exact same spell you can put into your deck normally. Why would anyone WASTE amulet space by wearing it? Because ... you can buy and cast this spell from the amulet LONG before you level far enough to earn it from your professor ... ;) If you look hard, you will find other "buffs" that come on amulets LONG before they are earned by leveling up to them.
Crafting equipment is too little and too late, but KI HAS asked for better ideas in their feedback forum and I expect changes will come - someday;).
Like you, I was irritated at the VAST numbers of "worthless" items - especially clothing, clogging up the game. I literally moaned out loud EVERY time I went to the Bazaar, dreading having to sift thru all that "stuff" to find something worth having.
Then I found the "useable" items key on the Bazaar inventory display. Later I found I could sort useable items by level - descending - high levels first and after that I could sort by school, turning a 30 minute clerical nightmare into a 30 second "mouseover" ... and I realized ...
the game wasn't "clogged" up ... my procedures were.
Finally ... the greatest time saver of all ... was discovered ... and THIS is where the math "much-ness" comes in ...
play naked - staying AWAY from the Bazaar until you hit Krokotopia.
There isn't a single item in the game that effects the result of combat by a single combat round until you start getting level 20-25 combat drops. Until then, just wear the stuff that boosts health and mana as much as possible. Other than that - it is all "cosmetic" anyway. Why?
Killing a 300 point mob with a 175 point spell takes two hits. Until you find a way to boost that 175 by @80%, allowing a 315 point hit ... it is ALWAYS going to take two hits to kill that mob with that spell.
You are not going to get 80% from clothes. You get it from spells.
Early on, clothes give you enough health to stay alive long enough to hit as many times as needed. They also provide enough mana to allow you to stay in the quest long enough to finish it without running out of the ability to cast spells.
Later on, when damage and resistance clothing begins to exceed 12-15%, and power pips become ... important, clothes begin to become "game-changing" artifacts.
"How much math do game designers use?"
Well, I'd have to say they are using more than 99.99% of the players use.
How many naked wizards have YOU seen running around the spiral?
So, just a quick note on the crafted gear before Celestia...
It really depends on your play style. For instance, I found that with my fire, the crafted clothes generally gave me the best accuracy, overall health, and damage boost I could get. In addition, they did the same thing for a secondary school which many people like to use. For instance, its very common to have storm as a secondary school due to damage, but let's face it... if you aren't storm, accuracy stinks. This gear allows you to more effectively use your secondary school. While it certainly isn't useful for everyone, it can be very useful none the less.
