Problems with and Fixes for Stormcaller Soul

[Black Howling]

First let me say I love the concept of this soul, it was the first soul I played at launch and it's still the most fun for me. however...

- Electrified/Hypothermia Mechanic.. We have to spend far far to much time keeping these two mechanic features of the soul charged up and Far too little time doing damage... We need one or both of these to be put into an hour long buff.. something along the lines of (Air damage applies Charge of electrfied on the target/Water damage applies charge of Hypothermia) So that any air/water Damage is a Builder..

- Thunderbolt/Cloud Burst/Ice Shear This single target combo monstrosity needs to have Cool downs applied to 2 of the three.. for Macros. OR maybe if we get the above buffs we can do away with cloud burst spell all together and have Ice Shear on a 5 second cool down and buff The Damage to Thunderbolt making it One single target air damage and one single target water damage without messing up single target DPS too much? Streamline the ability tray and become Macro friendly all in one go..

-AoE's- Thunder Storm Is too weak for a 31 point skill as it stands now, If it's kept at it's current damage then it needs to not be channeled Tying up an SC with Channeling on this spell is Rude.. Give it a 1 second cast time and let the poor mage MOVE to avoid the aggro that's going to come from casting it..

-Look into combining Lightning Field with Forked lightning- Maybe a % Chance/cast not to occur more then once every 10 seconds talent that states That Forked lightning has a chance arc between mobs using up the electrified charges in the process in effect Keeping both spells but in one casting.. Again Streamlining the Mages battle processes keeping the rotation lean and tight..

-Moving Lightning burst- Great spell fun and very much in the spirit of the stormcaller soul but 44 points is too high a price, seeing as how it doesn't really give you any functionality that doesn't occur elsewhere in the soul.. 36-38pts is plenty high enough.. Maybe at 44 put a Root "Armor" like Pyromancer's Armor that gives you chance to cast it Instantly..

Defensive Counter Measures..
Stormies need something to protect them better then Knockback and snare.. In theory these work great, but there are to many Anti-Snare skills out and there and FAR to many 3 hit combos that can kill a mage before his Knockbacks Recharge.. That + diminishing returns Make a CC based defensive set up meaningless. It comes down to this, You can't out run them, You can't tank the close in damage for more then a few seconds(3 to 4 hits is the most you can hope for), you can't slow them and your knock backs takes 1-3 minutes to recharge and no guarantee if they where up it'd even knock them back.. (And That is a assuming that they won't just teleprot right back to you, or Teleport you to them for the fun and games to start all over..)

Long way of saying that mages in general need Damage shields and escape tricks.. That aren't so deeply rooted in the souls that getting them and using them will gimp you.

-It's especially problematic in the Stormcaller soul though because to make it perform as advertised it's VERY point intensive.. With 3 5pt talents and 3 3pt talents adding up to 24 points just for making your skills perform right.. Then there is charged field a 1 point talent that makes lightning field something worth throwing and Sever weather a 2 pt talent for 20% AoE Damage.. 27 points in SC. Now if you want the extra damage from Ice Sheer That is another 2 points Then your up to 29 points without Taking a Single Knock back or Damage shield.. Or the other 5 point talent that increases the snare of the hypothermia builders.. So yeah TOO point intensive to find good defensive options and still have your offensive skills be buffed for destruction..

Last problem and the least but still a pain in the rear Is 3 skills that use charge, Two of these should be converted to standard durations.. Static Flux, Storm Guard, Ride the Wind..

I suggest Increasing the % of Damage Reduction on Storm Guard from 15% to 75% for 8 seconds with a 3 minute cool down and giving ride the wind a 10 second duration.. and leaving Static Flux alone.. That way Charge isn't an over taxed resource..

Since you hip Cats and Catesses are working on "Storm Legion" and Tinkering with Souls anyway might be a good time to Fix your very wonderful but here to date much unloved Soul "Stormcaller". Please make this soul and Slinging "AoE Nukes" rocks again?

[Samfortal]

The problens u say was very like my topic problens in 1.3 and 1.4
Link: http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-gene...***-1-4-a.html

I started to play this game because of stormcaller but i think i cant play with it in pvp and pve because it still have very weak survival and not so pleasure single target damage, mainly because rotations.

I agree with you about almost all thing, except about macros. I think storm guard should be a buff with no cost or like u said. That current storm guard is no fun.

And about Lightning Brust, i think it have problens. In pve, i prefer not use because it decrease my dps. In pvp... only kill noobs... It dont kill good players and i have to restart all rotation again (only happens if im still alive, because stormcalle have poor survival, remember?)

[Hartzekar]

I want it to be more viable, but DO NOT make it's mechanics easier. I enjoyed playing cabalist pre-ezmode buff and nerf. Now it's easier to play and less effective. I'd hate to see that happen with SC.

[Zoam]

Mages are totally broken IMO. Far more complicated stuff to do for far less DPS.

I'm looking forward to having souls that aren't Pyro/Chloro/Archon to be useful.

I for one LOVE the stormcaller, but it just does not work well.

[Lloigor]

Electrified Effect should not stack on the enemies, but be a Buff for the Mage himself.


Stretch of Cold:
Increases the dmg of your Water-Spells by 5/10/15/20/25% and additional increases dmg of all your Spells by 0,1/0,2/0,3/0,4/0,5% for each point spent in the Stormcaller Soul.
In addition, you have a chance of 5/10/15/20/25% plus additional 5/10/15/20/25% for each point spent in your SC-Soul, that your Water-Spells will automatically trigger a second similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that cause 50% of the normal damage but no threat.


Get rid of Storm Guard and give us something like:

Static:
Instant
40 Sec. CD
Surrounds the Mage with electrical energy.
Up to 10 Enemies within 10 Meters around you will be knocked back 15 Meters.
In addition their movement-speed will be decreased by 75% for 10 seconds.


Static Barrier:
Instant
90 Sec. CD
Makes the Mage 6 seconds immun against all kind of DMG.


Ride the Wind should no longer need Charge-Costs and free the caster from all controll and movement impairing effects. 20 sec cd.


Icy Apparition:
Instant
30 Sec. CD
Summons an Icy Version of Yourself at your position.
When touched by an Enemy or after 5 Seconds your Icy Apparition will explode dealing 437 Water-DMG up to 10 Enemies within 10 Meter around the Icy Apparition and freezing them in place for 6 Seconds.


Anti-Gravity:
Instant
30 Sec CD
Up to 6 Enemies near the caster are caused to Levitate in Thin Air for 10 Seconds.
Affected Enemies can take up to 5% of their maximum health in DMG before the Effect will break.


Lightning Burst:
Instant
10 Sec CD
Will not remove stacks of Electrified.


Additional give us a Mana-Reg-Abillity.

4-Elements

Water- Binding (A) (16)
Instant
Cooldown: 2 Minutes
The Illusionist is engulfed by water and restores life equal to 15% of his damage done.
Lasts for 15 seconds.


Thin Air / The Vanishing (A) (38)
The Vanishing
Instant
Cooldown: 2 Minutes
The Illusionist coats himself with air and is completely invisible for 12 seconds.
All slowdown and stunning effects are removed.
Taken damage or casting Non-Damage-Spells will not break the effect.


Frost-Nova (A) (38)
Instant
This spell can only be cast while the Illusionist is invisible.
The Illusionist leaves his invisibility into a frost explosion. Up to 8 nerby opponents suffer 548 to 558 Water-Damage each. In addition to that, the opponents are thrown bachwards 10 meters and are stunned for 2,5 seconds.




Mage: Suggestions, Proposals and Representations

New Calling: The Illusionist

[Maelystra]

Anti-Gravity:
Instant
30 Sec CD
Up to 6 Enemies near the caster are caused to Levitate in Thin Air for 10 Seconds.
Affected Enemies can take up to 5% of their maximum health in DMG before the Effect will break.

I want this!

[Lloigor]

I want this!

If you like this you should also be interested in New Calling: The Illusionist

[Samfortal]

Electrified Effect should not stack on the enemies, but be a Buff for the Mage himself.

Ride the Wind should no longer need Charge-Costs and free the caster from all controll and movement impairing effects. 20 sec cd.


Icy Apparition:
Instant
30 Sec. CD
Summons an Icy Version of Yourself at your position.
When touched by an Enemy or after 5 Seconds your Icy Apparition will explode dealing 437 Water-DMG up to 10 Enemies within 10 Meter around the Icy Apparition and freezing them in place for 6 Seconds.

Lightning Burst:
Instant
10 Sec CD
Will not remove stacks of Electrified.

And i liked this

[Lloigor]

First let me say I love the concept of this soul, it was the first soul I played at launch and it's still the most fun for me. however...

- Electrified/Hypothermia Mechanic.. We have to spend far far to much time keeping these two mechanic features of the soul charged up and Far too little time doing damage... We need one or both of these to be put into an hour long buff.. something along the lines of (Air damage applies Charge of electrfied on the target/Water damage applies charge of Hypothermia) So that any air/water Damage is a Builder..

All Water-Spells should apply the effect Hypothermia; all Air-Spells should apply the effect Electriefied.

- Thunderbolt/Cloud Burst/Ice Shear This single target combo monstrosity needs to have Cool downs applied to 2 of the three.. for Macros. OR maybe if we get the above buffs we can do away with cloud burst spell all together and have Ice Shear on a 5 second cool down and buff The Damage to Thunderbolt making it One single target air damage and one single target water damage without messing up single target DPS too much? Streamline the ability tray and become Macro friendly all in one go..

Well, I like the rotation and I don´t want to macro it. But maybe Electriefied could be a buff for the Mage, an not a debuff on an enemy.

-AoE's- Thunder Storm Is too weak for a 31 point skill as it stands now, If it's kept at it's current damage then it needs to not be channeled Tying up an SC with Channeling on this spell is Rude.. Give it a 1 second cast time and let the poor mage MOVE to avoid the aggro that's going to come from casting it..

Maybe change Lightning Storm into this talent:

Linking-Rings

Tesla (A) (12)
30 Meter Range
Instant
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
The opponent suffers 764 Air-Damage over 8 seconds. While the spell lasts, bye ach tick the opponent aditionally suffers the effect „Electrified“.
Furthermore, flashes like the ones from a Tesla inductor jump onto opponents within a range of 10 meters, causing air damage as well. When hit, the opponents suffer „Electrified“ bye ach tick for 10 seconds.

This talent should not be cleansable

-Moving Lightning burst- Great spell fun and very much in the spirit of the stormcaller soul but 44 points is too high a price, seeing as how it doesn't really give you any functionality that doesn't occur elsewhere in the soul.. 36-38pts is plenty high enough.. Maybe at 44 put a Root "Armor" like Pyromancer's Armor that gives you chance to cast it Instantly..

Make it similar to Cinder Burst.
Chance to procc with a cd.
Lightning Burst should not remove the Electrified Effects!
I would say, this talent should be reachable for less than 30 points.

Defensive Counter Measures..
Stormies need something to protect them better then Knockback and snare.. In theory these work great, but there are to many Anti-Snare skills out and there and FAR to many 3 hit combos that can kill a mage before his Knockbacks Recharge.. That + diminishing returns Make a CC based defensive set up meaningless. It comes down to this, You can't out run them, You can't tank the close in damage for more then a few seconds(3 to 4 hits is the most you can hope for), you can't slow them and your knock backs takes 1-3 minutes to recharge and no guarantee if they where up it'd even knock them back.. (And That is a assuming that they won't just teleprot right back to you, or Teleport you to them for the fun and games to start all over..)

Long way of saying that mages in general need Damage shields and escape tricks.. That aren't so deeply rooted in the souls that getting them and using them will gimp you.

Here are some escaping ideas:

Arcane-Cards

Split Decision (A) (26)
Instant
Cooldown: 3 Minutes
Creates a non-controllable Illusion of yourself, attacking the enemies with Standart-Spells.
Decreases the threat simultaniously.
Lasts 35 seconds.


X-Change (A) (44)
50 Meter Range
Instant
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
You trade place with your Illusion.
To do so, he has to be within 50 meters range with his Illusion.

4-Elements

Thin Air / The Vanishing (A) (38)
The Vanishing
Instant
Cooldown: 2 Minutes
The Illusionist coats himself with air and is completely invisible for 12 seconds.
All slowdown and stunning effects are removed.
Taken damage or casting Non-Damage-Spells will not break the effect.

-It's especially problematic in the Stormcaller soul though because to make it perform as advertised it's VERY point intensive.. With 3 5pt talents and 3 3pt talents adding up to 24 points just for making your skills perform right.. Then there is charged field a 1 point talent that makes lightning field something worth throwing and Sever weather a 2 pt talent for 20% AoE Damage.. 27 points in SC. Now if you want the extra damage from Ice Sheer That is another 2 points Then your up to 29 points without Taking a Single Knock back or Damage shield.. Or the other 5 point talent that increases the snare of the hypothermia builders.. So yeah TOO point intensive to find good defensive options and still have your offensive skills be buffed for destruction..

/sign

Last problem and the least but still a pain in the rear Is 3 skills that use charge, Two of these should be converted to standard durations.. Static Flux, Storm Guard, Ride the Wind..

I suggest Increasing the % of Damage Reduction on Storm Guard from 15% to 75% for 8 seconds with a 3 minute cool down and giving ride the wind a 10 second duration.. and leaving Static Flux alone.. That way Charge isn't an over taxed resource..

Since you hip Cats and Catesses are working on "Storm Legion" and Tinkering with Souls anyway might be a good time to Fix your very wonderful but here to date much unloved Soul "Stormcaller". Please make this soul and Slinging "AoE Nukes" rocks again?

Change Storm Guard into:

Linking-Rings

Electric-Reflections (A) (20)
Instant
Cooldown: 60 Seconds
The Illusionist is soaked by electric energy, which absorbs 831 Damage for 20 seconds. Additionally, 30% of the absorbed damage are reflected back onto the opponent.

As a passive talent, this could look like this:

Electric-Reflections
Passive
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
When hit you have a chance of 100% to automatically cast Electric-Reflections.
The Mage is soaked by electric energy, which absorbs 321 Damage for 10 seconds.
60% of the absorbed damage are reflected back onto the opponent.





For more ideas go to this page: New Calling: The Illusionist