Sooo is there a reason non-FS/IG/VG/LS weapon abilities do not consume mana?? Or at the very least, consume stamina or have some sort of cost?
Even weapons that scale partially on Int, but aren’t necessarily considered “mage” weapons such as Rapier or Musket have free abilities. Either make mage abilities free to use or add a mana/stamina cost to all abilities across the board.
This would could go a long way in evening the playing field for mages, esp in PvE. And could bring some value/build diversity to attribute perks (e.g. Focus’s increased mana pool at 100) and item perks (e.g. Siphoning).
I agree its unbalanced but AGS bias towards meele is uncanny.
Mages the slaves of mana. Mana is forced upon the int weapons (+LS) while other weapons dont suffer from it. It’s a permament nerf. A copy pasted system (outdated) that has no place in the game it is only there to be a nerf and thematic. Allow me to add to your statement:
While there are builds to mitigate and nulify the need of mana, they are insufficient and not good for both pve/pvp. Why would a mage have a build based on recoverying/regenerating mana? You need to prioritize survivability and/or damage output for both PVE and PVP but AGS doesnt get it even after all this time.
Mages basic attacks cost mana and do nothing exceptional compared to ranged dex weapons (they have arrows/bullets that increase output dmg btw) which can trigger a 100%crit chance hit called headshot. Same goes for meele weapons, which basic attacks are AoE and can also trigger a 100% crit chance called backstab. Healers also dont suffer this issue, they have a talent that makes their basic attack cost no mana. AGS bias? where? sarcasm
Nodoby uses perks like siphoning, really no1. Not even for PvE. As stated above there are better options that contribute to survivability and output dmg like any Keen perk (jagged, speed, etc) and many more…
Mana users are forced to use 1 of their 4 consumable slots with mana potions. Whereas the rest of people can freely slot another consumable like a gem dust or oak balm. SO fair and balanced right? sarcasm
With a good build either focused on survivability or dps (or both) a mage needs mana. So its annoying to stop your combos in the middle of a fight (also in pve) to chug a mana potion while you expose yourself.
So either remove mana or make everyone use mana. Thats the simple solution. That would be fair but after years of development they dont get it. At the very least basic attacks shouldnt require mana. sigh
Love the breakdown, I didn’t even think about the whole basic attacks costing mana as well… like at least make them do a small splash AoE since they cost mana lol
Overall I feel like the easiest way to go would be to just make all abilities cost mana to use (maybe remove auto attack costs from mage weapons or go with the splash idea, since thematically seems weird for melee autos to cost). Most games I’ve played abilities cost mana no matter it being “mage”, “warrior”, or whatever