I like the back and forth people seem to be having about sorcery/corruption on the forums in general.
First, I’d like to pose a couple questions. How many people think sorcery is in a good spot in general? Are corruption builds more useful as often as they are less? If there’s a gap there, is there a good enough reason to pursue the builds given that gap or are most players just settling because they enjoy the thought or the kind of style it offers?
I think there is a large margin between the utility of sorcerer builds and non-corrupt builds in general with the spells given. Anybody can cast these spells should they corrupt themselves to take advantage of a spell at any time and then be able to brush away the corruption. While the non-corruption build user can get rid of the corruption, the corruption build is stuck with it, so my thoughts lead me to believe there must be more ways for the corruption builds to have worth than they currently do. I fight alright, but the general use case I see is that these builds don’t stack up in as many ways as they are torn down. Now, to get to some observations:
That’s exactly right. What makes a game fun is typically the systems of it. What gives the game its identity and flavor are the choices on how these systems are introduced and merge with the base story or lore. The example you gave on potions and the magical properties is perfect (which is why it is so widely used) because these things are known in nearly all context to have these magical/mystical properties even when logic could crush that in an instance. It’s the flick of the moment plausible realism that can tie the two concepts and that is more than enough for most. I fear that some fans of games wish to see systems that fully adhere to lore that would in fact make a far less game though not necessarily a less interesting one.
Taemien said basically the same sort of thing here, and of course I fully agree.
And each player should be entitled to their form of fun so long as a fun balance is kept. should every build be a copy of the next or be able to fight any other build? No. But, under the correct circumstances every build should have true and meaningful advantages over others.
But wait, isn’t that the redundancy we were talking about? At 25% reduction at 10 grit, a 20 grit char would get 50% with a 50% stamina bar. I’m not entirely opposed even if it reads as I think, but maybe I’m missing something.
This is one change I see that fits the bill. It provides a corrupted build with a means of healing that another build would not have. I would not say that it is overkill by any stretch, but between having low health due to corruption anyways, it can come in clutch for a synergizing playstyle.
I’m not so sure on this. People are (as a majority) choosing to not use corruption because of all the downsides anyways. Half-dependable corruption builds are already using Grit to take advantage of Steel-Thewed. The layer of corruption perks here would gift the opportunity of choice here rather than the system as it is. Purely on the thoughts of gameplay, a missed attack will cost you if its a stamina siphon. My thought here is that perhaps it should be based of the damage you do and not necessarily a direct siphon that steals from your opponent, because that would become a stunlock system.
Feeding into what you’re saying and trying to not detract, I think its obvious enough that the healing at that point is providing the described character with an opportunity to heal so that the next blow does not cause the same condition that the magic user you mentioned faced. I find it tough to tie in more realism to that. A gravely injured magic user needs less to heal to a full extent than a gravely injured warrior and it becomes a little lopsided.
While I want to hope that a good balance can be made here I think that its tough to deny this take. A better balance which would keep the systems similar in feel to the way they are while also not crippling the lore is a difficult goal and a rough bar to set for an expectation. It would be appreciated, because even playing in a genuinely thoughtful manner as a sorcerer will usually set you at an overall disadvantage even upon taking all routes to success. You have to rely on knowledge of mechanics, general skill of yourself, the understanding of the skill/abilities of your opponent(s), and without question luck in this game due to a healthy helping of jank at times.