1. Having one hand stuck trying to loot some goo whilst fending off an undead with a dagger in the other hand in the middle of a battle with Weythune was pretty memorable for me. During that fight it was fantastic to be able to turn the spells I knew I wasn't going to use into evocation so that they'd actually be useful.
2. IG it's never fun to connect a well timed banish with an elemental and have them resist it, but that's just how it goes sometimes.
I felt pretty underwhelmed after using up my channeling pool. I only took one rank of it, so that's understandable, but also it feel like I'd have to put a lot more ranks into it for it to feel as satisfying as putting that build into spell slots. Emptied it all into one elemental of the opposing element without killing it and at the end went "Well, I guess that's all for today."
The fight with Weythune seemed to go on longer than it really needed to and left a lot of people feeling like they couldn't contribute. It was interesting however to have to think more about tactics and what would actually bring him down as our resources began to rapidly dwindle.
3. Like Morel said, it can feel a little dead when you're not actively involved in one of the plot lines going on. More goblin hijinks are always needed and they give lower level players something they can feel like they're contributing more to. Big storylines are great but it's the little adventures I find that make the world feel like it's alive and anything can happen at any moment. Even for higher leveled players sometimes it's fun just demolishing the enemy as a sort of recognition of how far they've come and what they're capable of now.
More roleplaying is always good, and roleplaying where everyone in a party can contribute, rather than just having one voice do all of the talking. It feels a little bit like all of the major plot turning points have combat as a central element and that can get tiring. Having more roleplay moments is also a way to give new players the chance to shine as it doesn't rely on in game skills.
4. The battlefield was alive with the sounds of fighting. Calls for healing and attack came in equal measure. Our forces seemed like they were overpowered by one of the most powerful necromancers we had ever had the misfortune of meeting, and where was I in this fray? Right out in the middle of the horde of skeletons, exchanging blows with one slowly advancing. I had no weapon shield left, no spells to deal with this pitiful creature, only a dagger in my left hand and the mounting realization that it was a stalemate and I really, really shouldn't be there. Attempting to slowly back up and call for help all I could do was keep this skeleton at bay. Ah! From the corner of my eye I spot Warthorn and call out to him. He comes to my aid, finishing off my foe, and once more I'm able to take stock of my quickly depleting stack of scrolls and hope that our strike team gets back quickly to help us fend off this menace as successfully as I hope their mission went.
5. Flexible casting is amazing and gives casters the flexibility to choose exactly what they need to do at the moment they're in. It lets us not feel as if we have to save certain spells for rare occurrences and then feel like that slot was wasted when that situation never arises. It promotes the preparation of those spells that are maybe not as commonly used but extremely effective in the right circumstances. I don't mind taking things like banish/subjugate knowing that if I don't see any elementals they are still useful spell slots.
Effect groups are wonderfully simplified and much easier to remember. It's easier to remember what cures what now without needing a printed out chart with you at all times for those rarely encountered effects.
All of the martial skills make the martial classes seem more dynamic and interesting (Especially the spellsword/adept skills). You never know what you're going to get when you meet a fighter or rogue now!
Meditation was handy to have, especially as you're learning new incants. It also provides a great reason to take a breather.
The racial changes are all fantastic, reasonable, and well done. They were clarified where they needed to be, modernized, and made more interesting because of it.
Crafting also seems more flexible and like something an artisan can actively engage in.
6. Earth incants seem long winded (Suggestion: Have the earth incants match the necromancy incants. "With Earth I <do something>"). Undead having natural armour seems strange and like an artificial fix to NPCs having to keep track of doubled damage. (Natural armour should be reserved for those creatures who are either tough to hit or have incredibly thick hide) The way healing works against undead now, especially as part of a party, seems like it devalues earth casters rather than empowers them. Earth blade being a 6th level spell seems a little high and like it further prevents earth casters from being relevant as a support role unless they're capable of casting that level of spell. It should be in line with enhanced blade as I assume it's meant to empower earth casters against undead the same way celestial casters are empowered against elementals.
Channeling pool seems small or the XP cost too high. (At least as a C caster) I would be hard pressed to put enough XP into this skill to make it worth using compared to spell slots. Also having to use both hands for a wand and packet seems like it exposes the caster to more danger, you also need to find a way to carry a slippery wand. (I lost both of mine temporarily before game had even begun) Having it be a way to expand your capabilities throughout the day as in 1.3 would be preferable, even if it was only really useful at high level, rather than having to choose between putting XP into it or into spell slots.
The new spell levels for celestial spells seem really reasonable, except that stun limb seems a little too high. Its earth counterpart paralysis seems much more powerful. I wouldn't mind seeing stun limb ending up around 6-7th level as its effect seems more comparable to something like a wither, even considering the limits of what can fix it.
Having no protectives at the start of an event seems disconnected from what a caster would be doing during the rest of the month. Do we not use magic the rest of the month? Is it not reasonable to assume that at least those capable of casting protectives would renew them on themselves, or that those unable to cast them might seek out someone who is able to? Rather than having no protectives at the start of an event, it might be better to have a full stock of protectives, or at least have the option to pay for them to represent paying a caster to cast them on you from a scroll/potion or something, with discounts if you're personally able to cast them.
Changing shield to mend armour changes the spell from a wonderful buff to casters to something that might be used on your fighter if it's convenient. The fact that nothing really replaced bless for Earth casters is even a little more disappointing. Those extra points really help us squishy ones!
Playtest specifically: Allowing only 1000 PP of stuff seems limiting on the merchants who help fuel everything. It's not indicative of how play during an event would actually go (It makes things harder than they would normally be), prevents full RP by the merchants, and costs them extra just so that everyone else can have a better time.
I prefer death as the name for the effect, as I understand death to be the discontinuation of something's existence. Trends die, you can kill time, stars can die. None of these things have a constitution and they can still die. Doom sounds like a mix of the fear and paranoia effects and doesn't really reveal what will actually happen to a player struct by it. Death makes that a lot clearer.
Overall though these are just minor tweaks to the major improvements that currently exist in 2.0, and I'm really excited for when we finally make the switch over permanent!
- IG Name: Silvas ----- OOG Name: Cody
