I think the current system in place is great. It will give magic that mystic and legendary feel that online games never achieve.

Even if I never get magic/talent it will be amazing to find someone who does and see what story unfolds from it.

I feel that if you open up Magic to everyone and water it down you get the worst of both worlds. Sure everyone will get magic but then it would be weak and not legendary. if you open up Magic to everyone and don't water it down then its no different than any game before it in this regard.

I think before we go trying to change the developers mind we should give their ideas and goals a chance.

Question one: Yes.

Counter proposal 'Or': See Caspians treatise on fairness vs equality.

Your second proposal favors those who can and will invest exorbitant amounts of time, energy and resources into learning. So, technically not fair to everyone. A 5% chance across the board, for everyone from peasant to king, is fair, if someone other than you gets it, not equitable but it was fair they got it. It also becomes something of legend and stories and world moving events which could involve an entire world. I myself, prefer that. I love magic, would love to get it. Do not get me wrong, I simply love the idea it truly will be something epic and whoever gets it, well I did really have the exact same chance to get it they did.

I love the current 5% and would be extremely disappointed if it were to change. I'm interested in CoE mostly because it is NOT like other mmos. It would be extremely disappointing if they switched gears and made another clone of everything out there.

Its very presumptuous of you to think something like the distribution of talents or magic is something that should be decided on by vocal mob rule, rather than kept as a tenet of the original game design of Caspian's vision.

Its akin to asking "Do we really want permadeath, or do we want something else"

I am grateful that SBS does not take threads like these seriously and that such significant parts of the game as magic are immune to the ebb and flow of public opinion.

Posted By Vucar at 05:03 AM - Fri Jan 13 2017

I am grateful that SBS does not take threads like these seriously and that such significant parts of the game as magic are immune to the ebb and flow of public opinion.

I'm also in the camp for not making Magic available to all, but I doubt SBS is not taking the ideas for Magic seriously. I just think they see it their own way and want to do it that way (which I agree with).

My main gripe with Magic being available to study is that a lot of people will end up focusing on that and Magic will not be as rare as it seems no matter the effort you need to put in.

Posted By NanoNaps at 08:31 AM - Fri Jan 13 2017

Posted By Vucar at 05:03 AM - Fri Jan 13 2017

I am grateful that SBS does not take threads like these seriously and that such significant parts of the game as magic are immune to the ebb and flow of public opinion.

I'm also in the camp for not making Magic available to all, but I doubt SBS is not taking the ideas for Magic seriously. I just think they see it their own way and want to do it that way (which I agree with).

My main gripe with Magic being available to study is that a lot of people will end up focusing on that and Magic will not be as rare as it seems no matter the effort you need to put in.

They can focus all they want. If only 5% of all souls handed out have the talent and they aren't one of them they can study to eternity and never become a mage.

I want the system that has been discussed in all the planning for the game up to this point and I'm not open to anything but the most minor of tweaks to it.

I've seen new folks coming on threatening "Well, I won't support the game if I can't have magical powers." My reply is simply this...

The planned magic system is the one feature of CoE that if it were to change before the game is released and it were no longer an entirely random determination of who gets a talent - I'd demand a refund.

Like others have said - I didn't invest in CoE to end up playing another crappy game like the last dozen WoW clones. SBS has a chance to make something truly great here - as long as they stick to their guns. It honestly will not likely reach millions of players, but it could see hundreds of thousands of /dedicated/ players that stick with the game for years and years.

Posted By Atogrim at 08:40 AM - Fri Jan 13 2017

They can focus all they want. If only 5% of all souls handed out have the talent and they aren't one of them they can study to eternity and never become a mage.

My point was rather if there was Magic available to study and learn to use it as a system different from the 5% talent system.

It was hypothetical.

The 5% talent rule is one of the most interesting things about this game alongside permadeath.

To be clear, if the game has no magick at all, I'm also fine with that. The base paradigm is interesting enough to make it worth the amount spent into it.

More to the point on being clear, if the game has no magick, I'll still be playing it.

Furthermore, it is not my intention to change anyone's mind, but to simply have a conversation about the topic. We are fans on a public forum, not the design team of SBS. It is not my intention create a bluebird, which is a fan made idea that is created and sent to the developers of a game. Guess what? 99.99% of blue birds die. So... there's no point in trying to change a developer's mind on their design. This thread is more for the community of magick lovers than anyone else.

Posted By Kiozanim at 05:14 AM - Fri Jan 13 2017

Well in defense of TheGuardian , you are ignoring is point. he merely asked what would you prefer and not give his opinion like i saw in so many treads (We want magic ,paytowin threads).

And he do raises interesting questions in the end. How will magic be controlled, indeed 5% is low but there must be limitations. I dont think you will be born with the talent to summon a meteor shower but rather the ability to control earth for example. And you have to start from a "let me try to control this little rock" to "let me create a wall" and you will keep getting stronger. Mana could also play a big part. You may have a very limited mana pool. Say 3/4 spells and it could take a very long time to recover. This would limit the speed of your magic training and make sure you wouldnt be able to go around spamming spells. In terms of power i see no reason to not being possible to do grand magics that would be very powerfull. Again just the time involved in magic training, not to mention its so rare that you dont know how to practice it at first xD And there is always the chance of you discovering your talent late in life, making you unable to reach that legendary power rank.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. How will magick be controlled so it doesn't create any issue for spamming and trolling? What are the more concrete abilities an individual with magick can do? Because right now, it's mainly speculation. And yes, Caspian has said that we should just pretend magick doesn't exist, but quite frankly, that would have been better accomplished if magick and talents was a secret we, as a fan base, discover in actual game play. And there's no putting a lid on the boiling pot of magick lovers... We are not leaving anytime soon haha.

I suppose, if this was a plea to the developers, it would be, "Hey! Can you pretty, pretty please give us more concrete info on magick and how far you want to take it."

Because the possible of 5% population of talents is not where magick stops. You have to remember that there are liches, and blessing stones, and gods that pretty much blew up the world once, and now phoenixes, beeping pinecones that beeping glow. Not to forget the astral plane, the records, and Maker knows what other realms we could end up in. We may not use magick to simply whip our tushes in the bathroom like most games nowadays, but you have to admit, magick is still rather prevalent.

If anyone here watches ABC's Once Upon A Time, there is this episode where Cinderella says there's no such thing as magick to a mouse that has on a jacket and a small, yellow cap. Magick is going to be in Elyria and it may not always be in the hands of a player, so the question here that is probably going to influence me in the forums and influence me in game is "What else is out there and how is it being controlled?"

The 5% is one of the things that drew me to the game. It would be nice to see a game where magic is actually special and rare. I hope the devs stick to their vision.

Posted By Vucar at 10:03 PM - Thu Jan 12 2017

Its very presumptuous of you to think something like the distribution of talents or magic is something that should be decided on by vocal mob rule, rather than kept as a tenet of the original game design of Caspian's vision.

Its akin to asking "Do we really want permadeath, or do we want something else"

I am grateful that SBS does not take threads like these seriously and that such significant parts of the game as magic are immune to the ebb and flow of public opinion.

+1

I wish they never said one way or the other if magic was in game.