It really seems like Clarity ought to be boosting perception. It would help in PVP against stealth and range combat. I always find myself at a disadvantage against surival primary guilds; Necro's and thieves in particular. Which we ought to be well equipped to deal with. It would seem to make sense in RP being Shadow Bane's, we ought to be able to find those hiding and planning theft, backstabbing, or attacking from the shadows.

I think we lack in skill boosts in general, and as survival terts our perception skills just can't handle the stealth skills of players decades lower in circle.

Thoughts?

Paladins already have a Perception booster in Glyph of Light, I don't see the point in adding a spell to do that as well. The duration of GoL could definitely use a boost though.

>I'd be fine with separating the light source (glyph) from the perception boost (spell). I believe it has been said before that things like standard stat or skill boosts are more suitable for spells (assuming it's an MU guild), whereas other guild abilities should be reserved for more interesting effects.

I'm the opposite, as a Barbarian main and semi-active Thief I detest that everything seems to be moving to the magic system for guild identity.

As a philosophical counterpoint I think we need a lot more non-magical development so I want to see it remain a glyph, and as a practical counterpoint it just makes sense to tweak the cost/benefit numbers on what most agree is an ability that could use buffing.

>>I feel similarly. For a magic tert, I have to be awful magey.

I think part of what needs to be assessed is what falls under "guild skill" and what falls under "magic." The risk with making too much "guild skill" is that one skill manages "too much" influence in a guild's capabilities, and the risk with making too much "magic skill" is that if magic isn't a primary skill, you may not be able to learn how to do your awesome skill stuff at a rate that matches your general guild development. It's an understandable thing to be concerned with.

When Conviction (and Blindside) gets further fleshed out, the feeling that you're "magey" will diminish. For example, once Glyphs/Protects have more unique "hey this is fun" to them, and most likely also run through the conviction skill, I think the "everything Paladins is magic" will diminish.

If, for example, the perception boost moved to Clarity, and GoLight did a series of other cool things (beyond be a light source), I think people wouldn't really mind perception moving to Clarity because GoLight has so much more to it, and there's a more explicit way to get better at having it do what it will then do.

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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.

Armifer,

It honestly feels like I 'have' to use magic for almost everything. Because of skillsets, I NEED to utilize quite a few buffs to train everything. If I want a reliable way to stun/debil, I'm using magic. If I have a burning need to wipe out a crowd (invasion, quest, saving a partner hunting), I'm using magic. To the point where the idea of fighting in say, the Crossing Barbarian Pit is utterly silly because I'm going to be less effective then a pre-magic trader.

Our powers have been slowly chipped away at in either strength, or usefulness (see prior rants about the death stuff), to the point where I honestly only use two, and of the useful powers I DO use, one of them is GoMana! GoLight is less then half the strength of a clear vision cast at my level, if it wasn't so cheap I can use it 24/7 I'd be more frustrated. And my favorite, Lead, currently requires another player (with the fun side effects of group mechanics in many situations).

It comes down to, if I want to feel 'potent', I'm delving deeply into the magic system. To the point where I'm honestly not far from seeing capped ranks, and I don't 'train' magic, ever. Luckily, the magic system is one of the most robust, and has seen a few sanity passes so that being a Tert caster doesn't feel like a wearing a parachute on the back, running uphill, against a gale.

Samsaren

I concur with the magey sentiment. If I’m honest, I don’t mind the spell-buffing so much after the camb RT reduction, with the exception of the oddball stuff (i.e. single skill/stat buff spells and battle buffs). I signed up knowing that magic would be a big part of the guild, guild leaders’ words notwithstanding. In fact, I didn’t roll a barb, whose defense is at least on par with paladins’, arguably better, because I wanted magic access. I feel magey because I spend more time casting than doing anything else.

My experience can be summarized in spars. In spars against every guild not barb, I’m using halt or stun foe to try and get to melee long enough to swing a sword a few times or land a single weapon throw every minute and a half or so via shatter (lack of a missile buff really sucks here). (It seems relevant to state how having only two debilitation options, diminishing stun or halt and shatter, sucks, too.) If I’m fighting a magic primary or secondary guild and they have the common sense to realize they can cast way better than I, then I’m also spending much of the fight re-buffing. All of that, combined with engagement issues, have me casting far more often than using a mundane weapon.

Now, let’s take a different kind a fight: barbs. This fight shows me how useless I am without magic. I can’t land a single damaging hit on a barb near my skill without spells.

My paladin feels like a really bad mage who can wear plate. We can all talk about the benefits wearing plate affords, but my position is there are plenty of other defense (and some offense) mechanisms in the game that render the difference between plate and no plate nearly a wash. In other words, sometimes my paladin just feels like a really bad mage.