Questions on Combat

[slashmus]

Hi there all!

Still a newb here since I layed off playing for a bit over the holidays and into January.

I'd like some honest answers to a few burning questions on combat.

1. Is it practical to go all magic in combat? I ask this because it seems to me that leveling up fighting is way easier than doing the same in magic. At least in the newb levels(1 - 20). It also seems to me that fighting is more practical than magic since spells get interrupted etc. And also because I hear that all affliction spells are broken if the caster does something else. So I cant for instance root a creatue and throw Cold Bolts at it or Fear it and do the same.

2. Have the developers balanced this game for PVP or more for PVE. I've found that MMOs that get balanced for PVP tend to have less satisfying PVE encounters

3. Is engaging in the PVP a necessity in advancing in the game?

Those are my questions for now and I'd appreciate any help or insight you may have to share. Thanks.

[vguerin]

Hi there all!

Still a newb here since I layed off playing for a bit over the holidays and into January.

I'd like some honest answers to a few burning questions on combat.

You missed alot... OP's and other things have arrived.

1. Is it practical to go all magic in combat? I ask this because it seems to me that leveling up fighting is way easier than doing the same in magic. At least in the newb levels(1 - 20). It also seems to me that fighting is more practical than magic since spells get interrupted etc. And also because I hear that all affliction spells are broken if the caster does something else. So I cant for instance root a creatue and throw Cold Bolts at it or Fear it and do the same.

Yes and No... Magic is WAY easier than melee to level... maybe I should say Elemental. ALL afflictions lose their lock when ANY other action is done.

2. Have the developers balanced this game for PVP or more for PVE. I've found that MMOs that get balanced for PVP tend to have less satisfying PVE encounters

You dont have to worry about PvP balance... It's typically PVE oriented.

3. Is engaging in the PVP a necessity in advancing in the game?

Those are my questions for now and I'd appreciate any help or insight you may have to share. Thanks.

If you listen to the boo-bears... they feel left out on things... If you read your gamebox, PvP has a place and that aspect is going well for those that read up on the games origins.

Your mileage may vary...

[katriell]

Offensive magic is difficult to level until about level 30, in my experience. Then it gets a bit easier.

[rushin]

Hey

1) Yes indeed, melee is much easier to level at the start but ele comes into its own after lv100 when u get double missiles. Afflictions are really for use in teams, and they can be really helpful.

2) 99% of game was PvE until fairly recently so you'll find it nicely balanced, PvP has had a lot of work done on it so i'd say they are both pretty well balanced

3) not at all.

take care and have fun!

[kgrieve]

Indeed it is possible to go all magic and I have seen many Homins take this route. There is the disadvantage of very few Hit Points unless you include some melee. I have a number of friends with level 180+ Elemental but low melee levels. Combat works fine until the mobs get to them then a few hits and they are dead.

Going all magic means keeping the mobs at a distance. The traditional way is to use a combination of fear enchants and elemental damage. The fear is used to stop the mobs getting too close.

An advantage of levels in magic is a higher dodge, so that you can avoid attacks. With low HP it is best to get armour with a high dodge bonuses so that you don't get hit so often.

[thlau]

I think I limit myself to give my opinion on your first question, I don't think I can add anything new to the answers already given to your two other questions.

The main problem you encounter in the beginning of your magicians life is, that you get interrupted when your game gets in close combat range. And that you get hit more often, while casting spells. So my advise is, see that your target drops dead, before it gets near you.

There are some techniques you may want to try out.

Modify your spells so, that you have version without range credit. This will entiltle you, to start the attack at 50m. If your target gets nearer, you can switch to a spell with range credit, to save your hp and sap.

Use 'Root' to stop your target in its tracks. Fire an elemental spell on it, and 'Root' it again. This definetly will slow your target down.

The use 'Fear' makes your target to run away. So you can keep a distance between yourself and your target.

You should consider to make some level in melee, since you get your hit points up more easily and can concentrate on spells and sap in your magic tree.

This is my personal opinion, that may differ from the experience of other players.

[ncrijns]

ALL afflictions lose their lock when ANY other action is done.

Not entirely true, when you walk, for me this is typically backwards, you can move about 1, maybe 2 meter without losing the link. Not something drastic maybe but nice to know?

[sidusar]

It's definitely practical to go all magic, but not to do that solo. It's possible to solo elemental magic, but pretty hard. Healing is ofcourse impossible to solo and afflictions are nigh-on impossible. If you want to go all magic, it's best to team with a melee. If for any reason you want to solo your way up, get melee to 150+ before starting with magic. The extra health you'll have from your melee makes it much easier.

If you do want to try it, Trini already gave some good tips for soloing magic at the lower levels. One I'd like to add to that: Try to fight near water so you can dive in if a creature by luck resists all your spells (which will happen frequently).

But with the exception of elemental magic above level 125, soloing magic isn't efficient at all. So unless you enjoy doing it, I wouldn't recommend it.

So I cant for instance root a creatue and throw Cold Bolts at it or Fear it and do the same.

Yes, you can For this very purpose, Root and Fear last for a few seconds even after the link is broken. But remember this doesn't apply to any other afflictions; they all stop working as soon as the link breaks.

Yes and No... Magic is WAY easier than melee to level... maybe I should say Elemental.

DT is right here... but only for after level 125. The racial spells that elemental gets at that level make it far more powerfull than melee. Before you reach level 125 however, and specially before level 100 (where you get the double spell), elemental magic is much weaker than melee and far harder to level.

[slashmus]

DT is right here... but only for after level 125. The racial spells that elemental gets at that level make it far more powerfull than melee. Before you reach level 125 however, and specially before level 100 (where you get the double spell), elemental magic is much weaker than melee and far harder to level.

Hmmm...I don't generally like games where you're more or less forced down a path. In general if I want to play a melee character I do, if I want to play a magic character then I do that. And having to wait 125 levels to do it doesn't seem very appealing at all. It doesn't seem very balanced in terms of progression.

[sidusar]

Hmmm...I don't generally like games where you're more or less forced down a path. In general if I want to play a melee character I do, if I want to play a magic character then I do that. And having to wait 125 levels to do it doesn't seem very appealing at all. It doesn't seem very balanced in terms of progression.

You're not forced to do anything, you can do magic right from the start if you want. I did elemental magic up to level 150, and about half of the time soloing, before trying any melee past level 30. It's quite possible if that's how you want to play.

No game is perfectly balanced, they all have more and less efficient ways to play. Some players prefer to pick the most efficient way so they can rush through as quickly as possible, some (including me usually) purposely pick a less efficient way because they enjoy playing that way more. My advice was meant to give you an idea of what's more and less efficient in Ryzom, but efficiency isn't the most important in deciding what to do.

Elemental magic is harder to get to 125 than melee, but more powerfull afterwards. It's a case of the harder path wielding greater reward at the end. If all skills were exactly equal, that'd be pretty boring in my opinion.

The "far harder to level" was only meant to apply to soloing, as I assumed you're mostly doing at the newbie island. Once you really get into the game and join a guild though, you'll mostly be training in groups. And in groups the speed at which you gain experience is much less dependant on which skill you're using. At sub-100 levels melee will still be a little easier than magic, but not by nearly as much.