The spell Relic: Placid Focus has been in-game for some time now, having originated as a replacement for a previous relic mana tap (the name of which escapes me...). However, this spell's usefulness is questionable.
As it shares its line with the Beastlord buff Spiritual Bliss, PF will overwrite Bliss when cast. On more than one occasion, I have cast it for my own benefit during downtime only to realize I just ate up a groupie's Bliss. This also means that PF is very often useless in raid situations, where a Beastlord will frequently be present. The fact that it can only be cast out of combat (which, looking at the benefits, is indeed justified) and the recast time of 40 seconds coupled with its short 3 minute duration only further limits an enchanter's incentive to keep the spell up.
Despite having tried to find practical application for this buff, I have failed. Never have I grouped with another enchanter and seen them make any point to utilize this spell and I don't blame them. In fact, just a couple days back when I cast it in a group, someone asked, "What's this placid focus thing?" It was a spell that was implemented "under the radar" and one that, to me, always felt a bit like a placeholder or afterthought of a spell. For a relic to serve no useful purpose is a shame, and for this reason I would suggest it be replaced with something else.
I suggest Relic: Placid Focus be replaced with a self-only illusion in the vein of Illusion: Werewolf. WW is the illusion of choice for the meleeing high-end enchanter as it is; it works very nicely in conjunction with the Cascading Bond tome line and is the only long-duration, self-only illusion to confer significant melee advantages (discounting Fire Elemental's DS). On the other hand, WW is a spell that even green-con (level 44) enchanters have access to. So, perhaps it might be replaced with something along these lines:
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Relic: Rabb's Rodential Masquerade
Mana cost: 180 (double that of Illusion: Werewolf)
Cast time: 6 seconds (double that of WW)
Recharge time: 12 seconds (double that of WW)
Duration: 360 ticks (1 hour, 36 minutes) (identical to WW)
Effects:
Illusion: Giant Rat (like WW, the Giant Rat is already a global model)
Increase ATK by 80 (WW parses at 66)
Increase Attack Speed by 45% (WW parses at 40%)
Increase STR by 40 (WW parses at 29)
Add Weapon Proc: Monster Summoning I (~level 30 rat pet, more or less a negligible novelty proc at perhaps the proc rate akin to that of Leader of the Pack recourse?)
Cast on You: You squeak with rodential fury.
Spell Description: Through arcane mimicry, you disguise yourself as the Newportian scourge, Rabb the Rat. Your rising battle-squeaks may rally local rats from the woodwork to join your cause.
(Are the Effects figures too high? low? missing something? If anything, such as the Attack Speed %, seem disproportionate, by all means use your imagination--or a reply--to balance them!
)
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The rationale is that this would replace PF with something immediately useful to the enchanter who dares to venture into melee. It would expand the enchanter's illusionry and would do so using a model that is already global. Additionally, it would be a spell very much tailored to Shards of Dalaya, as it draws on what might be the server's most iconic mob for its namesake. Such a buff would be highly situational, admittedly, and would likely have little place in a group in which Avatar of Destruction is already being rolled, but at a glance, this imagined spell does not appear overpowered to my eyes. It would simply serve as an upgrade to Illusion: Werewolf.
(From a lore-friendly perspective, the idea is that the high-end enchanter has mastered illusions to the point that he or she is able to imitate even the form of Rabb the Rat, a beast who preys exclusively on new adventurers. Given Rabb's legendary status among his kind, masquerading as him allows the enchanter to fool passing rats to join in a fight, thinking they are lending aid to Rabb himself.)
Such a change may be too lofty a thing to ask the developers to consider, but keep in mind that this is merely one idea for how this spell might be changed. If nothing else, I hope this can at least serve as a starting point for discussing a way to do something about the uselessness of Relic: Placid Focus.
PS: Apologies for the lengthy post! I hope I have placed it in the correct thread, as this is indeed a suggestion/request. If it belongs in Classes & Gear, please move it.
As it shares its line with the Beastlord buff Spiritual Bliss, PF will overwrite Bliss when cast. On more than one occasion, I have cast it for my own benefit during downtime only to realize I just ate up a groupie's Bliss. This also means that PF is very often useless in raid situations, where a Beastlord will frequently be present. The fact that it can only be cast out of combat (which, looking at the benefits, is indeed justified) and the recast time of 40 seconds coupled with its short 3 minute duration only further limits an enchanter's incentive to keep the spell up.
Despite having tried to find practical application for this buff, I have failed. Never have I grouped with another enchanter and seen them make any point to utilize this spell and I don't blame them. In fact, just a couple days back when I cast it in a group, someone asked, "What's this placid focus thing?" It was a spell that was implemented "under the radar" and one that, to me, always felt a bit like a placeholder or afterthought of a spell. For a relic to serve no useful purpose is a shame, and for this reason I would suggest it be replaced with something else.
I suggest Relic: Placid Focus be replaced with a self-only illusion in the vein of Illusion: Werewolf. WW is the illusion of choice for the meleeing high-end enchanter as it is; it works very nicely in conjunction with the Cascading Bond tome line and is the only long-duration, self-only illusion to confer significant melee advantages (discounting Fire Elemental's DS). On the other hand, WW is a spell that even green-con (level 44) enchanters have access to. So, perhaps it might be replaced with something along these lines:
----------
Relic: Rabb's Rodential Masquerade
Mana cost: 180 (double that of Illusion: Werewolf)
Cast time: 6 seconds (double that of WW)
Recharge time: 12 seconds (double that of WW)
Duration: 360 ticks (1 hour, 36 minutes) (identical to WW)
Effects:
Illusion: Giant Rat (like WW, the Giant Rat is already a global model)
Increase ATK by 80 (WW parses at 66)
Increase Attack Speed by 45% (WW parses at 40%)
Increase STR by 40 (WW parses at 29)
Add Weapon Proc: Monster Summoning I (~level 30 rat pet, more or less a negligible novelty proc at perhaps the proc rate akin to that of Leader of the Pack recourse?)
Cast on You: You squeak with rodential fury.
Spell Description: Through arcane mimicry, you disguise yourself as the Newportian scourge, Rabb the Rat. Your rising battle-squeaks may rally local rats from the woodwork to join your cause.
(Are the Effects figures too high? low? missing something? If anything, such as the Attack Speed %, seem disproportionate, by all means use your imagination--or a reply--to balance them!
)----------
The rationale is that this would replace PF with something immediately useful to the enchanter who dares to venture into melee. It would expand the enchanter's illusionry and would do so using a model that is already global. Additionally, it would be a spell very much tailored to Shards of Dalaya, as it draws on what might be the server's most iconic mob for its namesake. Such a buff would be highly situational, admittedly, and would likely have little place in a group in which Avatar of Destruction is already being rolled, but at a glance, this imagined spell does not appear overpowered to my eyes. It would simply serve as an upgrade to Illusion: Werewolf.
(From a lore-friendly perspective, the idea is that the high-end enchanter has mastered illusions to the point that he or she is able to imitate even the form of Rabb the Rat, a beast who preys exclusively on new adventurers. Given Rabb's legendary status among his kind, masquerading as him allows the enchanter to fool passing rats to join in a fight, thinking they are lending aid to Rabb himself.)
Such a change may be too lofty a thing to ask the developers to consider, but keep in mind that this is merely one idea for how this spell might be changed. If nothing else, I hope this can at least serve as a starting point for discussing a way to do something about the uselessness of Relic: Placid Focus.
PS: Apologies for the lengthy post! I hope I have placed it in the correct thread, as this is indeed a suggestion/request. If it belongs in Classes & Gear, please move it.
