So, I finally got around to bringing my Bard into test a few days ago. Hooray.

My general feedback is that things feel pretty good. TM feels good, combat was basically the same, some spells seemed significantly improved. The worst part was that spending spell slots as a relative lowbie HURTS. But at least in my case (around 50th) I was able to do okay. I had enough spells to fill my various combat and utility niches and still teach me all the skills. I'd be a little worried if I were any lower circle though.


General feedback and bugs:

BUG: Pulse to group spells were not working. My group member did not receive any benefits from DRUM or NAME.

BUG: FLEE was not working for me in Test.

Question: Are Debil cyclics yet working normally in combat? I noticed the exp pulses changed up a bit rather than giving regular pulses of exp.


Individual spell feedback, including bugs:

AEWO. Potential bug: I tested the debuff to mana regen with a friend. He harnessed 50 and timed his regen to full, both with and without the spell affecting him. 225 seconds recovery without spell, 229 with. That's pretty lackluster.

ALB. Now that the old AEWO is gone, this spell fills the niche pretty well. I like it. Two things I wish for it: 1) I BADLY wish I could affect the whole area and not just creatures engaged to me. I'd pay another slot for this. Though I note that GJ is also one slot and affects the entire area. 2) I miss the immobilization of AEWO because the creatures wouldn't leave -- I could either slow down or "pause" combat for a bit, then resume. That was awesome and I miss it.

AOT. Loved it! BUG: It did not display duration when I perceived. Potential bug: I was able to get all 10 languages at only 40ish mana. The cap is 100. Is this intended?

DALU. TYPO: DALU in combat smooshes the RT message with the main message (see below). Usually the RT message is one line down.

You release an accompaniment of elemental water into the music, as your humming intensifies. You begin to glissando to each new pitch heightening the hypnotic effect.Roundtime: 3 sec.

DEMA. Potential bug: I tried this spell and really did not notice much effect on enemy balance. The first time I used it, the two creatures I was dancing with actually increased in balance. I watched over time, and it was highly variable. I'd like to see some more reliability and oomph in this spell before I choose it.

EYE. As far as I understand it, this spell will point people from hiding, but then you can't interact with them? If that's so, I see no reason to ever take it.

FAE. If I were to want any one cyclic to NOT be cyclic, this is it. It's great for sitting around idly but I'd really like to be able to boost my teaching in combat. I'm trying to focus on the possibility of a group-combat Bard, and that would help significantly.

GJ. Wow! Suddenly this spell works! I've failed with it over and over in Prime, but it was working beautifully to shut down creature spellcasters, both a bit below and a bit above my level, as well as one 60ish WM I tested with. And I could cast through it with enough mana! I'm thrilled about this spell now. My only issue is that when I use it at cap, it sucks all my mana and still barely trains. Compare to HODI, which trains fairly well (for a new cyclic). I just don't see this spell as a good Intro spell either -- now that I'm finally wanting to engage with critter spellcasters, it doesn't teach me.

MISD. I love this spell, it was just the saddest point in my slot spending. I basically need it to train stealth, but it's behind two non-combat spells (4 slots!) that I would otherwise ignore til later.

NEXUS. Seemed to be working with WM's Fissure now... confirm?

PYRE. Fantastic spell for clearing the room, but doesn't seem to teach as well as picking off creatures individually. Is this intended?

RAGE. See the problems brought up by Seld. Also I'll be waiting on it because it's behind another two lower priority spells (3 slots' worth).

WILL. Potential bug: I could not release this spell from me once I'd cast it.


Sorry for the wall of feedback. I know it's harder to tackle bugs from a giant list like this. I just wasn't going to be able to post them any other way.


-- Player of Eyuve

>WILL. Potential bug: I could not release this spell from me once I'd cast it.

I know that I'm several days behind on the forums and replying to this after a bit of a break, but I believe that all of the elemental invocations were meant to be non-releasable. I don't recall the particular reason, but the stun that occurs when you cast one invocation while under the effects of another would be bypassed if you could simply release them.

-Broichan Leshyahen

> hum tuneless
You hum a tuneless tune.

Can someone please give me more details about the NEXUS vs. Fissure issues in 3.0 so I can confirm they are playing nicely together in 3.1?


-- Player of Eyuve

>>When Nexus and Fissure were in the same room, you'd notice WILD fluxuations of diminishing mana

Okay, thanks for this. I'll try to test as soon as I have a WM who can provide the Fissure.


-- Player of Eyuve

>>Have fissure, will travel.

Thanks, but I managed to grab someone.

As far as I can tell, it's working as intended. No fluctuations in mana or other weirdness. The dual atmo messages (from both Fissure and Nexus) were a little much though.

A new thing in 3.1 is that it will supposedly become more effective with more people in the room. I like this idea. I was a little sad though that with two people I could not boost the room mana by even one level! This may be something to test when more are available. I should note that it would be nice if it were at least somewhat effective when on one's own, as that is how most people are forced to train.

A note (that I'm adding to the wiki page on magic) is that it does not list duration and seems to disappear when the Bard leaves.


-- Player of Eyuve

>>How much mana did you have in the Nexus that it did not move even one level?

25 mana, the max I could do at 284 Utility. Seems like at those ranks I should be able to do 1 level.

>>Also, will this be one of the songs that you need the new feat for it to work for other people?

New Nexus is a single-cast spell, not an enchante.

And as for the feat, I don't think so. The WM I was testing with could actually see one level of mana increase when I did it. (I didn't count it as a full level increase, though, because my Bard could not see a change.) But anyway, that suggests the room was affected for everyone.


-- Player of Eyuve

>>It is quite possible you did increase the amount of mana in the room but with your Attunment ranks you cant see the diff.

I think it's a case of rounding. My Attunement let me see, say, 12.1 mana in the room (which rounded to 12), while he was seeing, say, 13.8 mana in the room (which rounded to 13). Nexus then boosted the mana by 0.8 levels, which was enough for him to see 14 but for me to still see 12.

Assuming my theory is correct, it WAS boosting the mana. But not by 1 level, only by 0.8 (or some lesser number). I was just hoping for at least 1 level, so that I could see some difference when using it by myself.


-- Player of Eyuve