The Spirit Realm

This post is ripped from Crucible, because I'm feeling it again. I looted my magic-element damage focus (yay!) so naturally I look around again at what's so glaringly missing...



Poison foci Post #1

Brohg
Whore

Joined: Jan 2003
Location: Monterey, CA

This post is plain bitching.

And it's bitching about the higher end of the game. That's warning for those of you stocking up your "elitist bastard" attacks. I don't care.

Why the 'fork' can't shaman get damage foci for half our damage spells? Wizards get three kinds of spell damage, and have access to all three kinds of highest level foci. Druids have two, get those np. Necromancers have four types (not that they actually use disease), and have access to the highest levels of all four damage foci. Shaman meanwhile? -Stiffed- on poison damage foci since Gates. There are -0- Poison damage upgrades or even sideways alternatives in Omens of War, just one in Dragons! For poison nukes, there's a gap all the way from Uqua to Rikkukin without any focus effects!

How about this, instead of by class, by damage type:
wiz/dru/rng/bst/shm all have cold damage, all can get the highest % focus. Rng/bst can get superfocus on the spell that matters.

wiz/dru/mag/nec/rng all have fire damage, all can get the highest % focus. Wiz can get superfocus on the spell that matters.

wiz/mag/enc/nec/cle/shm/dru/shd all have magic damage, all can get the highest % focus. Enc can get superfocus on the spell that matters.

shd/nec/shm/bst all have disease damage, all can get the highest % focus. Shd can get superfocus on the spell that matters.


and then there's poison.

nec/shm/bst/shd have poison damage ... THREE OF THOSE CAN"T GET DAMAGE FOCI.

Here's the kicker. Bst, shd don't really need upgrade. Their dots are under the cap for the Discordant focus, and they don't have any nukes. they get 45% on what is, for them, really minor spell lines. I think the only time I've seen Blood of Inruku cast was on a latenight one group Seru. Naturally, despite hardly ever using it, that guy had the 45% focus, since it happened to be on an excellent earring he bought for it's tanking stats. Anyhow, the knight and beastlord don't need ~of Anguish foci, and even Dragon focus would only be 5% upgrade on spells that aren't used.

Not so for our grand class.

If spells are created, not equal, but we presume balanced according to the intent of the designers (they sure micromanage those mana/damage numbers enough to indicate they have SOME intent), then how come they don't stay balanced? Why are poison spells comparatively much much weaker for raid shaman than for the more pedestrian variety? If raw spells for shm and necro are hitting the right comparative numbers, why are modded spells so out of whack?

all/all like , or ? Cause those are the only good poison focus items.

I recognise that the QUEST items are all/all, but that's hardly my beef.

Brohg, not everyone is Anguish/ Vish ready sir, and to think that those two are the only two "good" poison focus items is silly.. How about earhoop of the Eighteeneyes? How about Rikk eye with Cleric, Druid, Mage, Wizard and enc on it? Sorry, but if you were gonna mke this an Anguish/Vish only discussion you should have made it clearer. Focus effects on GoD plus items are screwed up, they make a piece of gear, put a whole bunch of random ass classes on it and then throw a focus effect like Murams Anger on it. Only thing with a focus effect that makes sense are pet focus items.

Where did I ever call anything "uber"? I said high %, 40% plus is high. 40% plus is also "good", regardless of what Ogre face thinks. Not to mention I made the post with the earhoop in mind, at the time was it not the best poison focus at 45%, and it is an all/all item. I was using examples of previous glaring stupdity in itemization. That crap from Anguish and Vish wil be outdated in September, so what does that matter? The issue, at least I thought the issue, was itemization.

Excluding artifacts:

Bene Spell Haste: Mark of the Brood Warden, Necklace of Grimspirit Beads
Detri Spell Haste: Assistant Researcher's Symbol, Mottled Black Dragonscale, Ring of Persecution

Bene Mana Pres: Ring of Deterrance, Accursed Earhoop of Pain, Chains of Anguish, Shroud of the Surging Storm
Detri Mana Pres: Plagueborn Cape, Crystallized Glass Staff, Warbeads of the Magus

Bene Spell Range: Earring of Dark Conflict
Detri Spell Range: Mask of Forbidden Rites, Crescent Palemoon

Bene Spell Extension: Ritualchanter's Boots of the Ancestors, Amice of Ill-WIll
Detri Spell Extension: Ritualchanter's Leggings of the Ancestors, Belt of the Stagnant

Heal Power: Obsidian Pauldrons
Cold Power: Mask of Raining Tears
Magic Power: Skull of Vishimtar
Disease Power: Belt of Contempt

Poison Power: ... yeah.

Not as uber, but there is another Murk Blood item:


MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: WAIST
AC: 25
STR: +15 STA: +16 WIS: +17 INT: +17 AGI: +19 HP: +195 MANA: +205
SV FIRE: +16 SV DISEASE: +16 SV MAGIC: +16 SV POISON: +16
Regeneration: +4 Spell shield: +4% Dot shielding: +4%
Required level of 70.
Focus Effect: Murk Blood
WT: 0.8 Size: SMALL
Class: CLR DRU SHM NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Slot 1, type 8: empty