Sorcery: The Lost Promise

Good afternoon Funcom devs and forum users alike,

The sorcery system is the absolute biggest carrot-on-a-stick in this game. It was originally promised as a base game system at release that never made it into the final outcome (due to technical issues I believe, kind of like mounts that kept flying through the mesh; just didn’t work).

But the game already has so many things in it to support the system like the corrupting brew, the new hyena helm from the unnamed city that gives half a bar of corruption for absolutely no reason because corruption does nothing but reduce your health and stamina. Why have these random aspects of the game in if sorcery still isn’t in development?

We get that projects are hush hush, and removing exploits in the game is certainly important since officials are nearly dead with all the meshing, exploiting etc. But the lack of new, innovative content is strangling the already dwindled player population. Even if it’s just a small tease like the Witch Doctor feat, spells where you can use corruption to spray down areas with poison clouds (assets you already have in the game), or use corruption to add buffs (since food and potions already don’t stack anyways, can keep it as yet another means of buffing our characters). Spells that deplete other character’s food and thirst to cause them to dehydrate or starve and force them to use the stack of roasted haunch (since it’s for whatever reason still even better than the cooking recipes that include it, but that’s another rant) Or hey, even put down healing clouds so we have a support role when we’re PvPing/raiding.

I’d certainly love to eventually see glass cannon players flinging fireballs and thunderbolts around but I understand that’s an arduous process to code and make sure it’s not entirely broken. And things take time; like we still have the entire top right side of the map that could be unlocked and perhaps those are the dungeons you go through to learn the higher-tiered spells.

TL;DR, please implement sorcery it’s one of the reasons many of us bought this game and paid cosmetic DLC after a year of development is getting really stale really fast.

Much love and support,

-Valaris

P.S. Scooper smells.

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I would absolutely love to see this in game! It would definitely give a use for that corrupted helm (instead of just despawning it or putting it on a clan mate as a prank) and give a breath of fresh air and new PvP dynamics.

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I have to agree Funcom. If you maybe took a break from making DLC as a cash grab and actually putting effort back into your game. People would be more willing to buy new DLC that comes out

Think that’s a bit harsh, but yes I think people are tired of being able to build reskinned t3 buildings. Heck there isn’t even a reskin for black ice (not an idea pls no funcom)

Not like every person is skilled in every craft and can be on fix team, =/

Down time, people do stuff else where, I doubt dlc is really a issue of hold back fixes. Hell The Swed took 10mins of his own time to slap some RP items together.

Sorcery is alot of animation and visual effects and balancing… give it time. Considering how Combat works, implementing with out it being weird is another thing.
It’ll likely be on hot bar, and hopefully split.
So fire sorc can be its own hot key/feat, quick tapping, holding and mix with l2(controller anyway) can do different spells in fire line. Give traps its own hot key/feat and different combos of buttons do stuff.
Thats how I picture it with CE set up…

But reusing is boring… and i think the hype of what Sorc could be has everyone wanting something new. hell, maybe there saving it for one of last 3 dungeons?

I dont believe its harsh what so ever. After having 2k+ hours in this game. And seeing the most work Funcom has put into anything is a new RTS game. Not caring at all what happens to their own Official servers. Doing little to nothing with the rampent exploiting / hacker problem the game is having. Not listening to anything their players have been saying for years. Ya i dont think its that harsh lol.

It’s why I said put them in as starter, low-tier spells. Progressively implement the stuff you’re talking about.

There is also the fact that you are ignoring. Conan isn’t Dungeons and Dragons. It’s not about flinging fireballs and lightning bolts. That isn’t what sorcery is in Conan.

The sorcery of Conan is more ritualistic magic. Summoning minions, blood sacrifice, things of that nature.

Also, because you clearly don’t know this yet, the top right of the map is never going to be unlocked, because that is where all the current dungeons are located.

The type of magic you are looking for seems wildly out of place for this setting. From what people have said of the books, there isn’t a whole lot of on-the-fly combat magic being used in Conan. It’s stuff prepared in advance because it takes time to cast.

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No, I didn’t know that. I thought the dungeons were located on the left side of the map past Sempermeru. But please, keep @'ing me bro. It’s a suggestion, get off your high horse.

Not “@'ing” you at all.

There is already a massive thread that was going on about Sorcery that already covered most of this stuff.

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There all over place. “Most” of them are in Top right. Dregs is in Southwest of Desert, I forget which is in west.

Well of Skelos is under blood/coffee stain in top right.

Don’t let anyone get to you here, =D

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I disagree with this. They have begun the process of fixing the numerous exploits. They have now fixed the exploit which allowed players to have unintended thralls, fixed the all Attributes maxed out exploit and are currently in the process of fixing the god tokens and bubbles, and associated exploits.

Again I dont agree with this. We have just had the anniversary update which brought us the Sunken City and Sepermeru Silver Mine updates, among other features. Not to mention all of the goodness which came with the Unnamed City update only a couple of months prior.

Furthermore, all of the major content updates are FREE. So yes I agree with Valaris that it is harsh.

Unsurprisingly I disagree here again. We have had numerous updates and features which were dedicated entirely to enhancing our playing experiences. For example the Quality of Life update. Furthermore, many of us have seen some of our suggestions find their way into the game. I personally have been fortunate enough to have two of mine included, ie-the Dismantling Bench and the Sword of Crom. Funcom simply doesnt have the budget and and staff numbers of bigger companies such as Electronic Arts, Warner Brothers, etc (try recieving direct correspondence from them). If they dont recieve any revenue from dlc, how are they going to continue to pay staff wages so they can continue working on the game…!? Look Im looking foward to some new content and more bug fixes as much as the next man, but Funcom is a good, approachable company. And I have no hesitation in saying that I will be remaining a loyal customer now and in the future.

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C_F is right. I think the biggest problem any game could ever have, is the gamers themselves. Most like to completely ignore what it takes to make a game, the concept of budget and deadlines, and in general just everything involved in the developmental side of things.

When it comes down to it, most gamers have the elementary school mentality of “Gimme gimme.”, “I want it now.”, “This isn’t perfect, fix it!!!”. With no regard for the ones doing the work at all.

Because their wishes aren’t constantly and immediately fulfilled, they bash and attack a game, or it’s developers. Mocking them for not being capable enough, labeling other games as far better, while still sitting and playing the game they are being derisive about in the first place.

The video game generation, probably starting somewhere around the PS2 or so, has been one of entitlement and little patience. Not saying all are like this, surely. But the majority is.

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Lol Oh Croms. Little do you know I talk with the devs. And have been Told. WORD FOR WORD We dont not plan on banning anyone who exploits. We would rather fix them. And as far as hacking goes. You can not hack in our game we have an anti Cheat program. Yes that was actually said to me by one of the heads of Funcom. If you know who i am you would also know i dont randomly throw out stuff without merit. Are they fixing some of the exploits? Yes. But they normaly only get to 1 or 2 within a 5 month period. Which for game time that is a world of time. Game breaking exploits that are so bad it is killing the official servers. But yet we will get instant fixes on a bug where we might get a little more exp then normal. Putting time into the wrong thing is what Funcom is known for. And also when they do fix an exploit they break 3 more. I mean we still have the same bugs and exploits that were in this game since day 1. So please next time you give an opinion on something know what your talking about. And in regards of what they HAVE given us. Lol most of it is rehashed content or worthless content. The unnamed City changes ill give ya. That has been amazing even though i dont agree with the drop rates it is nice. But we are also talking about 1 thing in what? Little more then a year. But we have got any many DLC’s? You can tell with the DLC’s they dont even know what they are doing they just throw them out there for a cash grab.

I disagree partially. Here are some variables I’d like to note:

  • Mindset can be an issue in some ways, yes, but I wager that the mindset of a gamer isn’t necessarily the biggest issue when it comes to this industry. I am my own contradiction, teacher and nemesis; as a developer to oneself. I believe I am the issue, my own mind, and how far I can reach. Gamers are my mirrors.

  • I understand the frustration behind, when a game that looks promising fortunes isn’t exactly delivering. There have been numerous products that have been promising, only to stumble just before the finish line; some already even at the start. I’m personally still waiting for the game that delivers us to the promised land, but to make it come faster, I decided to shuffle my deck and step to the stage too. To observe if I could… bring in some flavour. :yum:

  • Sometimes it’s the marketing that fails, sometimes it’s the deadlines and so on, but we are responsible of placing those deadlines and marketing into action to begin with. It’s our mouth that takes the bite. If we fail to grasp what our dreams need, for them to become reality, then they won’t surface exactly the way we want them to. They may surface somewhere close, but not close enough necessarily. So if I’m not capable enough, it is basically true, even though the depth doesn’t necessarily align alike. I’m okay with gamers playing games, no matter how much they love and hate them. I would be mortified if they suddenly didn’t. :worried:

  • I’m not waiting a warm welcome here, nor do I await people to educate themselves. I merely think I’ve learned enough about what it takes to make a quality product, enough to stand the space and time, then put it to the test and observe what happens. I’m eager to observe the reactions and how the stack resolves, in pursuit of one specific variable.

  • I don’t know about the majority part either, but I do know that some of us are at least a tad bit hasty or trigger-happy in their reaction windows. For me, it’s okay too. I try my best to process and filter each word, sentence, paragraph and article, with pictures and without them, from the beginning to the end and vice versa, from at least four perspectives if not sixteen; to bring about a measurable conclusion, taste aside and with taste in mind. Some variables tend to slip my awareness so my predictions aren’t exactly accurate at all times, hence anything I push out is worth some salt. In other words, I’m usually able to see beyond the jewelry (at least some of the time). :sweat_smile:

It’s okay to fail. Failing short means that we are closer to what we want than where we were a moment ago.

I need to sleep now… :zzz:

I agree with Crysis in this observation and it is a point that I had made in an earlier thread which was also another “Where is the Sorcery you promised” type of topic.

Conan’s world did not rely heavily on sorcery, there was little in the way of what most people think of when they say magic users. There was some divination, necromancy and summoning (which we have now btw), transmutation and elemental harnessing, but I don’t ever really recall wizards freely casting fireballs, lightening bolts, cones of cold, magic missile and the like. I have read, more than once, all the Conan novels written by Howard and am fairly well informed. Magic and Sorcery in the Conan world was secretive and exclusive to only the extremely well learned. The movie Conan the Destroyer actually portrayed much more in the way of magic than I ever remember in the books, but nonetheless, it is still not the D&D universe that so many people have been weaned on with their dungeon master allowing them to be a 50th Level Paladin, Dual wielding magic maces while riding a Platinum Dragon into battle, even that is kind of ridiculous in the D&D world.

Anyway, the suggestions of some to introduce small pieces of magic seems logical, maybe a healing spell, protective ward, hexing spell, etc… But I am not real keen on the prolific use and misuse of magic or sorcery in this world. ESO has plenty of magic, perhaps that would be more of what these people are looking for.

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In one of the last 2 streasm (don’t remember which one) sorcery was brought up. they said that sorcery in terms most people recognize it for games would not be a thing. So shooting fireballs and lightning out of your hands is pretty much off the table.

to me this meand any sorcery will be closer to the witch doctor feat if they do anything. Things that are less real time combat, and more ritualistic and strategic.

Buffing your thrall to attack a base like a purge thrall, corrupting/temp effect like poison to a weapon through mixing of organic materials are some ideas i would like to see.

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The real sorcery has been in the game all along with all the game breaking exploits that come along (and sometimes) go. There’s a growing number of players who no longer play the game the way it was intended but rather get a lot of enjoyment out of finding exploits and trolling others. The dismantling bench should have been renamed the sorcery table. If devs don’t want to ban the worst offenders pursuing “sorcery” then many will see the lack of consequences as the exploit meta being acceptable style of play on officials. Might as well turn some of the exploits into actual in game mechanics. A hard to find chance “sorcerer” spell to build in hidden/unintended locations for example or temporarily walk under the mesh. Maybe a rare and costly “Spell” that gives you max attributes for an hour. Maybe a joke(and extremely rare) legendary javelin that gives you infinite stamina. Think of your favorite past (or current) exploit that you know of and think of how it could be turned into legitimate gameplay as “sorcery”.

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This. ^^
Hmmm…interesting. As @Shadoza said, would you share your sources and correspondence? Well please do tell. We are waiting. Its not that I dont just believe every random stranger I encounter on the internet, but…oh wait it is. If you are correct, Im prepared to eat my words and give you credit where credit is due. So please do tell…

Yeah and I still have bugs in other games which have been there since day one, and are now way more than a year old. Skyrim and the Witcher 3 both spring to mind. Unfortunately that is a product of the times, and is the reality of modern day gaming. Do I wish it were different? Yes. Unfortunately that is the world we live in. I doubt that this, or for that matter any other games such as the two I mentioned above will ever be completely bug free. But hey if this means I ‘dont know what Im talking about somehow’, then you can keep your specious reasoning; I dont mind. Oh and the dungeons are mostly rehashed content…!? Brilliant logic. May I suggest you heed your own advice here.

Here is the thing which I dont get with so many players. You have been playing the game for over a year now and racked close to 2k+ hours as you say. The thing is, if you are unhappy with the current state of the game and the company, you are free to move on to other titles. You are not obligated to continue playing the game. And if it acts as a source of stress for you, it would probably be a wise move. But for the record, people such as myself have been playing it for over a year, and despite some setbacks and frustrations from time to time, I dont regret playing it or continuing to do so for a minute. Funcom will have my loyalty and support well into the future.

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Which new RTS game? Conan Unconquered was developed by Petroglyph, Funcom’s only the publisher. If I had to guess, I’d guess that Funcom’s publishing and marketing team don’t moonlight as game developers for another studio.