Arcane feels kinda bad right now. Numbers tuning aside, I would like to share a few suggestions to improve general QoL for mages of all levels.
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It would be nice if arcane charges accumulated out of combat, rather than expired. Every single time I enter combat there’s this feeling of having to get my pants on first. And the payoff, once I’ve got those pants on, just isn’t there.
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Arcane blast cast time. If you try to cast arcane blast at zero charges, the cast time is extraordinarily long to do the weakest damage. This contributes to the no-pants feeling every time I enter combat. If all arcane blasts had the same cast time, that would feel better. If the weak and pointless arcane blasts had a rapid cast time, that would feel even better yet. When you progressed to a 4-charge blast, which would now be the slowest cast time, it would feel satisfying and meaty to cast.
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Shifting Power is sort of awful. It combines standing there feeling awkward, a large amount of visual clutter, and hardly any payoff. Most often, I just want to get my cooldowns back sooner. Having to perform this strange maneuver to achieve that is clunky as heck. I’d rather barrage just reduced my cooldowns by 1 second or something.
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Arcane Explosion. I said I wouldn’t talk about damage tuning, so I apologize but… currently this spell isn’t worth running into melee range to cast. Static Cloud talent is extremely potent, so much so that without it Arcane Explosion does no perceivable damage. I would like to see static cloud’s damage rolled into arcane explosion by default with a flat 25% buff, and that talent slot used to make arcane explosion cast on the current target (group member or foe). Then I don’t have to run into melee range to cast it, and I can stay out of the clutter. Just don’t let us cast it on strangers in dorn, mages are quite mischevious.
Thank you for your time and consideration!