5/10/15/25 energy?

Ok a few questions and descussion points on energy costs in guildwars.

Why do skills follow this pattern for energy costs? why not have 8 energy cost for a skill if its to good for 5 but not good enough for 8?
Example: Remove hex. this quite obviously has a 2second cast time because for 5 energy a 1second cast time would be too good but if it has a 1 second cast time then 10 energy would be too much. So why not 7/8 energy?

Obviously this train of thought can carry on through other skills and costs.

My second point is where on earth is the 20 energy cost mark gone?
For me 1 example of a skill that should be 20 energy is balthazars aura (although i'm sure someone will disagree and maybe rightly so.)

Is it just me wondering why? I'm fairly sure its to 'streamline' the game and make things simple however maybe it would be good to balance skills using this as an option too.

Thoughts?

It's easier to mentally formulate. The less values, the better.

If skills had inconsistant energy pattens, I'd get a headache trying to memorize them all.

I think zinger hit the nail on the head, i'd have a horrible head ache too, i mean, trying to keep up on my monk where all my energys going and having 3 differnet spells, one with 5 energy one with 7 and one with 9 it'd be way more than simple math and to hard for me to do while monking and wandering when i'll need the energy management to kick in

I do agree with the 20 E cost idea. Some spells just seem a little too expensive at 25 for the effect they have. Then again; they'd probably still be too high at 20 for most of them.

But I agree with the above posters. Less is more when we're talking energy cost variation.

I also agree for many skills to be lowered to 20e rather than 25. Especially bathazar's aura like BD said, as well as a few of the fire ele's AoEs.

I agree with adding a 20 energy skills. I alway wondered why they wouldn't add that energy range.

Maelstorm doesn't need 25e

You've obviously never been crippled + frozen bursted + grasping earth + ice prisoned, then hit with maelstorm Ok so I haven't either, but I have been froze bursted then maelstormed it sucks. Any AOE spell that cause spell failure needs a high ene cost imo.

AoEs cost alot simply because their very effective when used...em...effectively, like in a choak point, at the flag stand or against NPCs that have their feet glued to the ground. Imagine what they would do if they were spammable XD

maby because it has a long recharge

balthazars aura is 20 energy with AoE

We're not talking about recharge times but the cost. a spell could have 5 energy and not be spammable due to a 45 second recharge. remember when Aura of Restoration had a 30+ recharge time?

And also, Galie, if you happen to read this, could you give a little explanation about this 20 energy mark not being in the game? I mean, recharges don't have such thing. they have stuff like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12 second recharge times. what's the deal with energy costs?

(Hopes that nightfall may have some 20 energy skills.)

I must admit that the energy variation would be annoying but an answer on why no 20 energy cost skills would indeed set my racing mind at ease a little

Skill costs/descriptions can be complicated enough for people to learn, so making skills cost odd amounts of energy would just make this harder. With more skills being added from Nightfall, the last thing GW needs is for them to be more complicated. I enjoy seeing new people come to GW and keep the game populated (nothing more depressing than an empty district when you are trying to form a party for a mission), so I'd hate to see people turned off from joining GW because the skill list was too intimidating.

You guys are complaining about the wrong skill ... you are high if you think B. Aura is overpriced ... it is probably the only 25E spell that is worth it...

Panic?
Conjure Nightmare?
Lingering Curse?
Lightning Hammer?
Churning Earth?
Eruption?
Mark of Rodgort?
Searing Heat?

All of these could be dropped to 15 and still most would see zero usage...

i'll quote you on that you never know

Lightning Hammer and Conjure Nightmare see a fair amount of use. Mark of Rodgort does also, but not as much as those two.

if lightning hammer is dropped to 15 energy, i'll use it. all the damage of lightning orb, without the annoying "fly through the air" effect.

The energy cost of a skill is supposed to be balanced out by its cast time and recharge. If there is something wrong with a skill, the energy template can remain, yet other parts can be changed to make it more or less appealing. Is that always the case? Of course not, but that is the general notion behind skill balancing.

Well, considering Balthazar's Aura has been nerfed three times at 25 energy cost, I don't think it would be reduced to 20 anytime soon...

But yeah... some skills could definitely be reduced to 20...

I am a hardcore PvPer, and I can assure you those skills are worthless in PvP... as far as PvE goes, I didn't think PvE Mesmers and Air Eles existed?

And if they do, why would you use either skill? LHammer recharges too slow, and the AI doesn't dodge anyway so you might as well use Orb. And Conjure Phantasm can be spammed on 2.5 times as many enemies for almost the same effect...

At least at 15 energy, there would be a decision between recharge and "annoying fly through the air effect". At 25 energy AND a lousy recharge it's a joke.

conjure nightmare and lightning hammer could be reduced to 20. Man a mesmer only has 40-50 energy normally, this sucks up half if not more in on go. not to mention if it's interrupted...

its easier to memorize the skill requirement.. when we're getting near a thousand skills be happy its not 8energy or 17 energy

Dumb story...when I was young, I once asked my mother why recipes didn't call for 2.65 eggs or 3.134 ounces of oil or 1.15 lbs of hamburger. The food may taste better with these, more exact, measurements, but really, who could keep them straight? So I think that ANet keeps things simple just for that reason...to keep things simple.

Agreed, but 20 energy cost isn't complicated.

I agree with you ... that is a dumb story...



...

(j/k ... sorry I couldn' resist...)

Yup - I always wondered why there are no 20 energy cost skills. There are so many spells just shouting for 20. All the mentioned before and probably Recouperation and shelter.

There might be a pattern >.>

5 5 10
5 10 15
10 15 25

or in a row like.. 5 5 10 15 25

I feel dumb.

I'd like the idea of having 20 energy spells, but i'd dislike the concept of 6-9 energy types etc, because that would simply allow anet to make spells slightly more expensive to cast, while instead they are currently forced to make it 5 or 10 etc o.O

Join the club...but I think my story alone makes me the leader of our little Club for Dummies.

20 energy spells are welcome. But I kinda disagree in turning some like rodgort's, conjure nightmare or lightning hammer into 15, even 20. They are actually really powerfull; if you are a mesmer you know exactly how to deal with conjure nightmare without much trouble; lightning hammer will always strike unless you are interrupted, and hits hard, so I understand why putting it to 25 energy cost. Rodgort's hits various foes, causes burning and hits hard, fair enough. Mark of rodgort could be put to 20.

Now stuff like panic, searing heat, chiblains, defiant was xinrae seems to be too costy; panic is oftenly removed, and hard to cover, I even tried auspicious incantation but wasn't successful (but getting back all energy is amazing); searing heat is ridiculous, even more now that mobs scatter; chiblains already poisons you and defiant supposes you are going to take on a spike by yourself. Maybe making nature renewall costs 20 as well, given it is by far, the most dangerous spirit for certain builds.

LOL all you peeps worried about energy cost being non divisable by 5 numbers... anyone here not play a ranger or something???

Expertise 9

5e=3e
10e=6e
15e=10e
25e=16e

im not having a problem figuring it out... for cryin out loud we are talking a total of 8 skills to remember their energy costs... for that mater how many of you really calculate what u can cast after your energy has been bottomed out anyways... you either wait for the energy recharge u need or you attempt to spam ur low energy skills waiting for it to actually go off...

not to mention how realisitically can u calculate what you can chain when each prof has different energy regeneration rates not to mention zealous mods and focus items casting times and if your button pressing is even half a second off it means a difference of 1-2energy regen with some professions... granted you can depend on some calculations but not all to many affects in the game... most strategy is played out by knowing when to use your expensive costing skills and when to use your spammable ones...

get real some of you have to have a reason to argue with everything...


I believe the energy cost of spells/skills could vary a bit more than they do to make them more apealing and more usefull as well as the whole 20e cost idea...

if not then really get rid of the +12e focus items and make them +15e or +10e

why have skills be divisable by 5 when our equipment isnt always divisable by 5...

talk about making things complex

+12e focus items
+7 armor vs xxx
-2 dmg reduction
skills that have variable energy return
and completely randomized recharge times and casting times... 1,2,3,5,8,10,12 etc etc etc

making skills have more variable energy costs seems more realistic... considering right now energy cost is the only constant in this game unless ur a ranger with expertise


something to remedy any energy confusion could be a system similar to assassin skills and adrenaline skills where they are HUED OUT UNTIL U HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO CAST THEM

Having played an ele as my primary character and having focused as air in PvE(though I do dabble in everything) since presearing, I take offense to that.

Anyway, mesmers can handle the high energy costs skills. People are forgetting that mesmers have the best energy management systems in the game.

Let's see how much you think Lightning Hammer and Lightning Orb suck once you go and fight Chung, the Attuned.

I thought the EXACT same thing ;D

Those things hurt a lot...my monk henchs cant keep up his full combo so it is like spell-spell-spell 1 monk down!!! Usualy the second one dies while hes trying to rez the first one ^^

I did that quest whith my sin only wearing starter armor (I was too cheap to buy him 1500g gear from kaineng ^^)...getting a 415dmg light hammer on the head is not a pretty sight, trust me O_o

Latter.

just like they aren't going to add a 9th skill slot you guys can keep dreaming

Hrmm... Troll...

really your comment wasn't even remotely constructive to this thread nor did it even need to be said...

call someone who cares what you have to say