If I could one day be half the awesomeness Estarra is, I'd be one happy little munchkin. 
I have to say I've been incredibly impressed by so many of the changes I've read about (and less so by others, but that's normal), but at the same time I wonder if so many upgrades might possibly cause some problems. I can't say I have the experience to judge effectively, which is why I ask, but do you all think that with resurrection, healing and escape abilities becoming more and more widespread the 'permanence' of action in Lusternia is reduced at all?
Perhaps I'm just imagining things in a different way than the reality, which is quite likely.
Still, I really do want to congratulate the admin on taking such bold and innovative steps with this wonderful world. For all the criticism, I know they really are some of the most amazing that you can find. I'm sure with time the divide between player expectation and admin response will gradually get smaller and smaller. And in the meantime, there are apparently aethership battles! Wheeeeee!
/random post from the grave
I have to say I've been incredibly impressed by so many of the changes I've read about (and less so by others, but that's normal), but at the same time I wonder if so many upgrades might possibly cause some problems. I can't say I have the experience to judge effectively, which is why I ask, but do you all think that with resurrection, healing and escape abilities becoming more and more widespread the 'permanence' of action in Lusternia is reduced at all?
Perhaps I'm just imagining things in a different way than the reality, which is quite likely.
Still, I really do want to congratulate the admin on taking such bold and innovative steps with this wonderful world. For all the criticism, I know they really are some of the most amazing that you can find. I'm sure with time the divide between player expectation and admin response will gradually get smaller and smaller. And in the meantime, there are apparently aethership battles! Wheeeeee!
/random post from the grave
Ok, first off? Estarra is the best admin I've seen. He doesn't preside over an insanely bugged game, an utter lack of quests/bashing, boring rooms with literally no difference between them, absurd player-killing rules that lead to lolzpk, idiotic city balances, tiny organizations with even smaller populations, an ungodly reliance on bashing as measuring your importance to an organization, updates that only happen once in a year, or ridiculous class imbalances that LITERALLY make the game unplayable. That alone makes him better than the executive producer of every other text mud out there. He honestly invests a lot of work into meeting every criticism, never mind things that are legitimately wrong. I would put even money on the fact that Estarra yanked the new Celest construct because players are upset because he was trying to calm things down in the playerbase. I feel bad because Estarra genuinely feels bad. 
Nico: fine. We will state as fact experience has worth. Ok. Let's take a situation where someone has 10 power upon activating Trueheal. If they had all of their defences stripped, got thrown off balance for 5 seconds, lost all of their active power (the 10 points you see in the prompt), and then had no ability to put their 0p Trueheal back up again without first regenerating their active personal power? THEN it would be comparable to Lichdom for value of use. As it is, for any Necromancer with tri-Trans guild skills and any hope of getting buffs, ArchLichdom's bonus to stats is +1 STR and +1 INT. If you are not a Necromancer? You get the buffs only at night, and during the day you suffer through -1 buffs to both stats. You can escape even the most dire situations with one Trueheal while bashing, so you suffer even less than any Magnagoran with Archlich. If you use a ton of power, and therefore it has no value to you? Fine. I'd settle for Upgraded Trueheal merely taking all the power in your personal reserves (ex. the amount shown in your prompt). I would still think it's better than Lichdom. But with the proposed Upgraded Trueheal, even if you can only use it once before you can't use it again, you have the ability to teleport out and re-establish it. This is while keeping all of your defenses, balances, and power. Liches are not given the same leeway. You have a Champion helm and admit to chasing power to the point you are rarely able to use more than 5 points worth at any given time. Assuming you kill people who cannot or will not take hundreds of units of power from their Nexus just to fight a duel- I'm one of them- maybe this says more about your consumption of your active power than the validity of Trueheal. I'm trying to ask you to think briefly about this. By all accounts you're a very strong Champion- one fight with you "convinced" me that a reflex system upgrade was long overdue. So just think about it.
Catarin: I understand that non-Sacraments users need to consume 20 power (!) to be able to cheat death. See my response to Nico. In addition, I would say that if my body could be retrieved during a village revolt, and then resurrected for 1 power? I would be a LARGE fan of Sacraments. For that matter, if I could get a prismatic barrier merely by keeping my power up, then running off without any EXP, defense, or power loss, that would be even better. In fact, it would be the best skill in the game. In the spirit of really helping Celest, let me suggest a new skill that the construct would grant Sacraments users.
SPECIAL TRUEHEAL: DEUSEX
Syntax: DEUSEX
Cost: 5 power units (Pool of Stars)
The Holy Supernals smile upon your perfect dedication to the Light. If you pray to them for deliverance while enveloped in the Angel Aura, the Blessed Ones will instantly place your battered form at the Pool of Stars on the Prime Plane. You may use this ability at any time, regardless of your physical state. Be warned: this ability will strip all of your defences, including your Angel Aura. This ability will also consume 10 power: if you have less than 10 personal power, it will be taken from your reserves. If you do not have any power in your personal reserves, none will be taken. The Holy Supernals will only grace you with this ability 3 times in one month.
***
Yeah, you suddenly stop having to pray with this skill. It's designed so that anyone can use it, regardless of condition. Now we can't kill you if you're seriously trying to evade us: even a Lich can't evade death 3 times in one month without running a serious risk of being caught as they reform, then killed. And when this happens, a Magnagoran will lose all of their undead bonuses and all of your personal power. This is a GUARANTEED escape from death, which is more than anyone can say for Lich. If anyone can think of a good way to alter this proposed skill for fairness, in one direction or the other, I'd love to hear it.
Nico: fine. We will state as fact experience has worth. Ok. Let's take a situation where someone has 10 power upon activating Trueheal. If they had all of their defences stripped, got thrown off balance for 5 seconds, lost all of their active power (the 10 points you see in the prompt), and then had no ability to put their 0p Trueheal back up again without first regenerating their active personal power? THEN it would be comparable to Lichdom for value of use. As it is, for any Necromancer with tri-Trans guild skills and any hope of getting buffs, ArchLichdom's bonus to stats is +1 STR and +1 INT. If you are not a Necromancer? You get the buffs only at night, and during the day you suffer through -1 buffs to both stats. You can escape even the most dire situations with one Trueheal while bashing, so you suffer even less than any Magnagoran with Archlich. If you use a ton of power, and therefore it has no value to you? Fine. I'd settle for Upgraded Trueheal merely taking all the power in your personal reserves (ex. the amount shown in your prompt). I would still think it's better than Lichdom. But with the proposed Upgraded Trueheal, even if you can only use it once before you can't use it again, you have the ability to teleport out and re-establish it. This is while keeping all of your defenses, balances, and power. Liches are not given the same leeway. You have a Champion helm and admit to chasing power to the point you are rarely able to use more than 5 points worth at any given time. Assuming you kill people who cannot or will not take hundreds of units of power from their Nexus just to fight a duel- I'm one of them- maybe this says more about your consumption of your active power than the validity of Trueheal. I'm trying to ask you to think briefly about this. By all accounts you're a very strong Champion- one fight with you "convinced" me that a reflex system upgrade was long overdue. So just think about it.
Catarin: I understand that non-Sacraments users need to consume 20 power (!) to be able to cheat death. See my response to Nico. In addition, I would say that if my body could be retrieved during a village revolt, and then resurrected for 1 power? I would be a LARGE fan of Sacraments. For that matter, if I could get a prismatic barrier merely by keeping my power up, then running off without any EXP, defense, or power loss, that would be even better. In fact, it would be the best skill in the game. In the spirit of really helping Celest, let me suggest a new skill that the construct would grant Sacraments users.
SPECIAL TRUEHEAL: DEUSEX
Syntax: DEUSEX
Cost: 5 power units (Pool of Stars)
The Holy Supernals smile upon your perfect dedication to the Light. If you pray to them for deliverance while enveloped in the Angel Aura, the Blessed Ones will instantly place your battered form at the Pool of Stars on the Prime Plane. You may use this ability at any time, regardless of your physical state. Be warned: this ability will strip all of your defences, including your Angel Aura. This ability will also consume 10 power: if you have less than 10 personal power, it will be taken from your reserves. If you do not have any power in your personal reserves, none will be taken. The Holy Supernals will only grace you with this ability 3 times in one month.
***
Yeah, you suddenly stop having to pray with this skill. It's designed so that anyone can use it, regardless of condition. Now we can't kill you if you're seriously trying to evade us: even a Lich can't evade death 3 times in one month without running a serious risk of being caught as they reform, then killed. And when this happens, a Magnagoran will lose all of their undead bonuses and all of your personal power. This is a GUARANTEED escape from death, which is more than anyone can say for Lich. If anyone can think of a good way to alter this proposed skill for fairness, in one direction or the other, I'd love to hear it.
It's Pat!
... I don't know what the hell he/she/it (artificial intelligence) is anymore.
... I don't know what the hell he/she/it (artificial intelligence) is anymore.
20% for me isn't done in half an hour. I am happy if I only need half a week for that. 
QUOTE(Ashteru @ Mar 25 2007, 10:09 AM) 393506
20% for me isn't done in half an hour. I am happy if I only need half a week for that.
that's why I said most of the player base.... now shush, minority and go guild hop or something
How about you go into Faethorn so I can hop onto you.
QUOTE(Ashteru @ Mar 25 2007, 10:15 AM) 393509
How about you go into Faethorn so I can hop onto you.
Dude... I'm cool with you and Aiakon, but I don't swing that wway
