Barrage (Ice Shards): A Dead Horse

[unmerged(259983)]

I've commented several times on the barrage projectile spell, though, never asked Arrowhead's thought on the spell or what they intended it to be. So ?

Brief barrage history & overview:
It's changed dramatically from its first incarnation, where the damage ratio highly favored spam over charge. You could contend with the highest beam DPS if you could spam fast enough. At close range, it was a guaranteed death sentence. Now, what made it overpowered was the insane ice*2+water+arcane+lightning combo. I recollect the damage of this spell being roughly 2k per shard, capable of just under 12k. 12,000 with no charge, ridiculous.

All this behavior was changed during the PvP patches and it's remained mostly the same since. The only way to get efficient use out of it is to abuse the water exploit and release near max charge and line up with at least two targets. The problem there is, too much input and luck is required to break even in efficiency. Barrage is not a good mid or long ranged spell, yet its behavior suggests that it should be used like one. The one thing barrage does possess, however, is safety. This makes it marginally useful at close-range but that's negligible because there are many alternatives equal to or better at that.

With all that said, I'm left to believe the decision to use barrage is a matter of taste and not at all tactics, as it should be. Barrage is still my favorite spell and I still feel it deserves to be above average at close-range

 

[Siroso]

Could you just specify what you mean by "Barrage"?
Not everyone has the same descriptions for the same spell.

Are you considering this to be any standard cast spell with ice shards (so ice, but no earth) in it, or just Ice+ice+water+arcane+lightning (qrqrqrasf)?

 

[Oneyr]

With all that said, I'm left to believe the decision to use barrage is a matter of taste and not at all tactics, as it should be.

I totally disagree with that idea. If Magicka is a great game, I think that it's precisely because an enormous number of different playstyles is valuable. It is excellent that it is a matter of taste rather than tactics. However, maybe did you meant something else. After all, just like said Siroso, I don't understand what you mean by "barrage", and it is certain than the balance could be increased to make even more different playstyles valuable.

 

[unmerged(259983)]

Could you just specify what you mean by "Barrage"?
Not everyone has the same descriptions for the same spell.

Are you considering this to be any standard cast spell with ice shards (so ice, but no earth) in it, or just Ice+ice+water+arcane+lightning (qrqrqrasf)?

Sorry, I tend to use a combination of wiki and my names. Barrage is a short name for ice shards . Anyway, I'm referring to any incarnation of ice shards being a bit too unviable in a few ways.

I totally disagree with that idea. If Magicka is a great game, I think that it's precisely because an enormous number of different playstyles is valuable. It is excellent that it is a matter of taste rather than tactics. However, maybe did you meant something else. After all, just like said Siroso, I don't understand what you mean by "barrage", and it is certain than the balance could be increased to make even more different playstyles valuable.

I agree, the diversity is definitely one of the strong points in the magic system. I think "tactics" described my point as too extreme as I feel a mix of tactics and taste is the perfect balance. Viability is closer to what I meant.

As in my reply to Soroso, I'm referring to ice shards. Is ice shards viable? Yes, certainly but with some exception. Is it also fun to use? I believe so. These are the things that define "taste". The real questions are: How is ice shards unviable and what is ice shards purpose? On viability: it's a bit unreliable due to its shot pattern even with a full charge, so this rules it out as a viable ranged choice; even at point-blank range it's a bit unreliable because of the pattern and weak damage which can't match the DPS and safety of a beam or nova. On purpose: it doesn't have a clear role other than to just be a choice by the end user, to use it. This is unlike any other spell types the magic system has to offer. Even sprays have a role to play, though it may be minor.

 

[Siroso]

When you are trying to destroy any kind of shield, ice shard based spells are often the best option.
I also sometimes send them across the map in PvP, when my opponent is off the screen (just as you might send a steam projectile to keep your opponent on their toes!).

Your point is, however, perfectly valid - there are generally better options.
Most game mechanics in Magicka can't be altered easily, but I would imagine that increasing the number of shards would be a viable change.

 

[unmerged(259983)]

When you are trying to destroy any kind of shield, ice shard based spells are often the best option.
I also sometimes send them across the map in PvP, when my opponent is off the screen (just as you might send a steam projectile to keep your opponent on their toes!).

Your point is, however, perfectly valid - there are generally better options.
Most game mechanics in Magicka can't be altered easily, but I would imagine that increasing the number of shards would be a viable change.

More shards would definitely be nice. The spell is only fairly behind in my opinion, so a fair increase in shards and a tweak to the damage-to-charge ratio might do the trick.