It's certainly a bit disingenous to compare a primary skill available to all druids with a single tertiary then give a blanket statement that the melding advantage should always go to druids. There are many 3-person combinations that allow for instantly killing a single target when coordinated properly, it's a part of how burst-type kills work. However, even if you consider a case of 2 magi and 2 druids, the druid will always win the room if equivalent skill is considered (especially if Hartstone with stripes).

I don't really understand where people are getting that druids need to be better at actual melding than mages. Don't think that was something the admin had done intentionally when saplings were added.

@Malicia: I know Narsrim was good, I'd gotten wrecked by him enough times, but sometimes I wonder if some of that early success with stuff like Preserve and Sap was in part to early curing systems not being as good at the time. I know in my experience, success with Sap even under the best conditions relied mainly on how quickly the other person could cure in it. Have had certain people let me stack every hindering affliction on had on them, and they could still cure out of it faster than I could afflict or cudgel them to death. ):

@Nydekion: Really, you're right that flower is too strong, it needs to be more restrictive if it stays, but have to disagree with you when you say briar walls were a significant hinderance. The stuff mages get actually stops the person from leaving the room, instead of hindering after they leave it, if you're not just leaping over walls. And mages also get the same ability in Phantom walls, they just can't drop them in random mostly pointless spots through the whole demesne at once. And pathtwist (HS only) can be good, but most of the time isn't worth it because of it's large time/power set-up, and its luck based nature. If you had the time before a fight to set it up, great, but in the middle of a fight, if demesnes are still being set-up, or broken, it's not worth the 6p, likely to just get broken before it's of use.

I would gladly take rubble/duststorm, or currents/whirlpool, or mirage/firewalls over that stuff. (I don't actually remember what aeromancers get <___<, I guess it's not that impressive either)

What exactly is the worrying scenario with Intoxicating Flower? A druid being able to pull people cross demesne without having to participate in the fight? Ganking people?

Rainbowclouds/windwalls

Well, briars do offer additional functionality that phantomwalls do not. They don't have a random amount of limited uses and you can pass by them freely as the melder. Phantomwalls will hinder the caster as much as anyone they are trying to hit.

Narsrim got to the point of getting preserve to do damage solo, since then it has had several buffs. If you could solo preserve then the chances are you could do it very easily in any group.

Briars and phantomwalls, while similar, can't really be fairly compared anyway, so there's not much point pursuing that line of argument. Personally? They're equally good in different ways.

Narsrim was great, but I agree with Lehki that he played during a time when not many people cured very well, and I'm sure that helped quite a bit.

RE: Intoxicatingflower - I think if allergies ended up needing to be toned down, rate-wise, or if there would to be an active way to get rid of them, it should largely be fine.

Actually you could do what Narsrim did rather easy I think, you are just timing meld and dagger. All it takes to get someone frozen.

Getting someone frozen isn't too bad. Getting someone to half health isn't too bad. It's when you try to get someone to half health and frozen at the same time while you have enough power and are on eq which is impressively challenging 1v1 (and against someone who knows how to sip fire and health, excessively so since there is nothing in an aqua arsenal to significantly hinder these cures enough to make a difference unless the target lags out).

If you think 1v1 kills with sap were frustrating, try 1v1 kills using preserve. Heh.

That's okay. Kill with your other methods then. Trying to pull off a preserve kill 1v1 is like a druid trying to pull off a sapless thornlash kill 1v1. It probably won't happen unless you're in a group. The fortunate thing is though, you don't rely on preserve for anything. Or at least, that's the impression I get.

Preserve isn't really even up for debate here. It's difficult, period. I don't get Malarious' point in bringing it up.

Malicia:

Preserve isn't really even up for debate here. It's difficult, period. I don't get Malarious' point in bringing it up.

With choke dead we need a new way to derail threads. Preserve doesn't really work too well, so I propose we try reality. I hear that's OP...

Placeus:



With choke dead we need a new way to derail threads. Preserve doesn't really work too well, so I propose we try reality. I hear that's OP...

"I tried to make a post regarding reality, but a ladder fell on me when I tried"?

That said, I used to see preserve frozen corpses around the place, but don't think I've run across one in the past RL year or two. This makes me sad :(

Placeus:

With choke dead we need a new way to derail threads. Preserve doesn't really work too well, so I propose we try reality. I hear that's OP...

Foresight is on my list actually.

Come on, Dodge was OP but a skill that did not take either nerf and works against more things for no cost is totally balanced right!

ANNOUNCE NEWS #2032
Date: 6/17/2012 at 20:36
From: Iosai the Anomaly
To : Everyone
Subj: Envoy Reports - May 2012.

o Japhiel's pledge in Celestialism now allows for use of disloyalty
instead of weakness. Report 774.

o Crow Cloaks can now be worn effectively by anyone in the Blacktalon
guild, even if they didn't make it themselves. Report 858.

o There is a new skill in each of the Music specialisations: Reprise!
Report 793.

o Loralaria FleckedFortissimo is no longer a targetted stanza. It now
causes prone each tick, with a 50% chance to consume focus balance if a
bloodstone gem is attached to the instrument. Report 857.

o Music MajorSeventh is no longer curable while any of the other three
aurics are on your person (MajorSecond, Tritone, MinorSeventh). Report
840.

o Discernment's Illusions (realitycheck) can now only be used on the
ground elevation. Report 844.

o Minstrelry's ShotNote is now a high-level stanza ability. It has moved
up in the skillset accordingly. Report 836.

o Forced commands can now sip from liquids in the rift. Report 830.

o Crow Decoy now lets you fly while misleading in a random direction,
with a low balance cost. Report 832.

o Psionics Shatter's equilibrium cost has been increased and now applies
even if there is no psionic shield present. Report 834.

o You can now only sanctify a room if any adjacent sanctified rooms are
fully sanctified. Report 859.

o Telepathy's PsychicVampirism is now an ongoing drain. Only one drain
can be active at once. Report 838.

o Shrine Gravity is now a personal power that lasts 60 minutes. It will
only work in the area the shrine is in. Report 835.

o Night ShadowTwist now has a new parameter, 'Squeeze'. Report 839.

Penned by My hand on the 8th of Shanthin, in the year 327 CE.

Shrines are fine now. Really. This is pleasing.

Shatter report going in also very pleasing.

Woo, so evoke/invoke pentagram/circle psi aren't useless now!

Gravity change :). Though what will we complain about/blame for loss now?! :(

Shrine changes sound amazing. Also that psi shield buff, woo.

I imagine we can go back to complaining about fearaura/reality/anything that shoves out of the room again, instead of just these abilities + gravity.

Business as usual.

Sojiro:

I imagine we can go back to complaining about fearaura/reality/anything that shoves out of the room again, instead of just these abilities + gravity.

Business as usual.

Oh no, Squall!