> Even at medium levels of skill (say circle ~50), I'm not sure the statement "more likely to hurt than help" is accurate.

The base level (no ranks, no bonus from tool or pool fullness) is a 50/50 shot of getting the polarity you intend. From there, it only gets better. So yes, you're never more likely to hurt than help.

>>If the metric of usefulness is PvP, most guild-only skills are worthless or limited to one very limited function.

I think what happens though is that since we have the skill...were expected to get the highest tier of use out of it even though its speculation and RNG. Meanwhile were the only primary magic guild that can't cast a spell from its own book to increase Targeted Magic. Were also the only primary magic guild without a spell to buff a skill for defense that is not survival. Meanwhile clerics and war mages can use their own guilds main spells to buff targeted as well as defensive skills in both survival and armor skill sets.

If were left with the prediction system to "fill gaps" that our spell book intentionally has because of the system being there then I'd rather just have spells.

>>Even at medium levels of skill (say circle ~50), I'm not sure the statement "more likely to hurt than help" is accurate.

Its just my opinion and experience with the system. Even if you have a 10% chance to curse yourself, that is still going to happen a lot for some using the system compared to others. RNG is RNG. Everyone knows that problems tend to happen at the worst possible time.

I can see the point of the system being super powerful. But if there is never a point when you can safely say, "let me buff real fast" then it defeats the purpose of its utility when it actually matters. Nothing cool about being a master of fate and then raspberry yourself with a curse in the middle of an event or pvp.

"An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells; If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else. No! you won't 'eed nothin' else"

>> Meanwhile were the only primary magic guild that can't cast a spell from its own book to increase Targeted Magic.

What TM buff are you referring to for Clerics? AFAIK we don't have one. I can think of two things you might be thinking of:

1) Tamsine's commune: this only works vs. undead.
2) Align: this only buffs the ability to add mana to a spell; it doesn't buff TM damage or accuracy.

WM, Bard, and Necro are the guilds with TM buffs.

As previously mentioned, ALGIN doesn’t boost TM in your typical way. It lets you cast higher, as of you had more skill, but it doesn’t influence combat checks.

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Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.

> Show me where you have this information from.

It's been said multiple times by GMs. Here's one: http://www.tinyheroes.com/forums/DragonRealms/The%20Clerics/General%20Discussions%20~%20Clerics/thread/1746262

> As far as the spell reads, it boosts Targeted Magic skill.

The discern doesn't say anything of the sort. If you mean the elanthipedia entry, that player entered information lacks the nuance to be a source for a discussion like this.

Thanks for that post I didn't know it worked that way. I was wrong. They still have Tasmine's commune to boost it vs undead. And that is a huge amount of pve targets as well as necromancer pets which currently they are one of the most desirable things to have a boost against if you are going to be fighting or being attacked by them. What downside is there to using a commune also? That system compared to predictions just points out how lacking predictions are compared to systems that just do what they are intended to without chance of backfiring.

Look predictions have a huge potential. But so do other systems without any drawbacks. Most of the limitations in place on our guild are remnants of the past when the guild was a lot stronger. If you really want to start comparing guild abilities start with guilds like barbarians or clerics. At best with predictions you are getting a shield and a targeted boost.

Clear vision buffs my perception more than a capped prediction does. And there is a big range on how many ranks I even get from predictions. Spells are just way better. And acting like predictions are so great is just kinda playing the devils advocate. How many spells were thrown into the game so far to make predictions better or to use the system at all? PG,DC,BC,TF,TV,RTR. How many Spell slots is that? At least the teleo can be used to do more than just predictions. Too bad moon mages who are supposed to be focused on the prediction system rather than teleo are left without any options to turn a curse into a positive prediction. Also choosing telo gives you a huge advantage fighting a moon mage who uses predictions. All the combat power to SC along with what you can do to other moon mages who are using 2+ predictions is pretty absurd.

Its just like you need CV,Locate,SM,FM just to make moongate work. The vast majority of our guilds spells are tied together to making one thing possible rather than spells that just do what they are meant to. And with predictions you are still left with a huge amount of time invested for at best a dice roll.


"An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells; If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else. No! you won't 'eed nothin' else"

>>For what it's worth, this [which I feel is faulty] argument could be made for WM's summoned weapons, as well.

Explain. How is it a faulty argument? How is your comparison similar to the example I provided regarding the moon mages spell book that has too many spells that are linked together to make one thing happen?

"An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells; If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else. No! you won't 'eed nothin' else"

I think your overall point is that you are frustrated with the instability of predictions, and I hear that. The only thing I can say is that it gets better, much better, with skill and a bonded tool. And as far as I can tell, the design decision was to give us a large number of buffs in exchange for that instability, and the GMs are highly unlikely to change it at this point. I feel your frustration and I know it must be hard, but my suggestion is to try to learn and work with the system as it is and see if you can find ways to grow into it so that you're happier with your results. I am always available to help if you desire.

A few points of clarification that may help:

>>What downside is there to using a commune also?

I consulted a Cleric friend and the limitations of communes are: 1) they drain devotion pool, 2) they require a material component, 3) they have a cooldown.

>>That system compared to predictions just points out how lacking predictions are compared to systems that just do what they are intended to without chance of backfiring.

I believe the trade-off is supposed to be that instead of getting a handful of abilities (like communes) that "just work," we have access to a buff to every skill in the game (save Thanatology). So we have something like ~50 buffs that sometimes work, instead of ~10 that always work.

>>At best with predictions you are getting a shield and a targeted boost.

I'd say at best you're getting 5 buffs, one for each pool, or 6 if you're lucky enough to have a luckstone.

>>Clear vision buffs my perception more than a capped prediction does.

I just did a prediction on my Perception and got a +20% boost. That's at global cap, the exact same as a capped CV, only with a much longer duration.

>>Spells are just way better.

They are much better earlier in one's career, but only a tiny bit more reliable later.

>>How many spells were thrown into the game so far to make predictions better or to use the system at all? PG,DC,BC,TF,TV,RTR.

None of these are necessary to succeed with predictions, though I do highly recommend at least PG (for 1 slot). Even at the mastery level I'm at now, I only use PG, DC, and very occasionally RTR.

>>Too bad moon mages who are supposed to be focused on the prediction system rather than teleo are left without any options to turn a curse into a positive prediction.

All moon mages have the option of predicting again on the same skill in an attempt to add positive ranks on top of whatever negative ranks there are. This can be done in a few seconds with ALIGN TRANSMOGRIFY and sufficient skill, or you can wait 10 minutes to refill with RTR, or ~40 minutes without.

>>Its just like you need CV,Locate,SM,FM just to make moongate work.

You only need FM (0 slots) to make moongate work. CV and Locate are for Riftal Summons, and SM just enhances what you can do.


- Navesi