Flasks – a new vision for the Mage class tree
(Full patch notes included at bottom of blog)
Hey Travelers and Heroes!
Let me Flask you a question – are you ready for the Mage Classline Rework? Well it’s officially out and we’re going to cover what the patch brings to both Orna: the GPS RPG and Hero of Aethric!
This Mage Identity Rework seeks to bring more excitement, combat/utility options and engaging gameplay for the mage classline – while keeping the Omnimancy theme of harnessing all elemental types and exploiting enemy weaknesses intact.
At the core of this rework are Flasks – a new spell type that Mages obtain from Tier 2 onwards. In battle, you’ll need to utilize elemental spells in order to charge Flasks and hitting an enemy’s weakness will charge them even faster. These spells can be used before a Flask is fully charged, however, the strength of that spell will be impacted. This new spell type will be getting a dedicated slot on your battle menu, meaning you won’t have to waste any spell slots on them.
These spells are versatile and range from damage dealing to pure utility. A few examples include Banishment – a Flask unlocked by the Nekromancer that will banish summons from the battle. Mana-Surge offers up area of effect damage and will hit all enemies in battle, offering up the chance to gain an additional turn if multiple enemies are struck. For the blue-liners out there, the Manaseep Flask has the chance to inflict Manaseep on oneself that will burn away a percentage of your mana each turn.
These are just a few examples of the tools that Flasks bring to the table for Mages. We’re excited for you to get your hands on these and experiment to see just how the flow of battle will change for the Mages among us.
There are a few changes to Mage passive abilities throughout the class tree to offer up each mage type a bit more personality and traits that match their identity. This means at each stage of the Mage journey you’ll get to experiment and lean into the identity of your Tier’s class. Due to Flasks being the common thread between all Mage classes now, we’ve removed Weaved Elements from the class tree to offer it to classes that are more in tune with the elements – Spellweaver (weave, it’s in the name and all) and Omnimancer.
In terms of big additions, Efficacious is a new passive near the endgame that offers up mages more defence when casting multi-turn spells as well as the ability to do partial damage to enemies who have elemental immunities to your spell type – ensuring you’re still charging up those Flasks.
Well, enough reading and more spell casting! We hope you enjoy this new vision for Mages and look forward to reading your feedback as you get your hands on the rework.
For those of you looking for a full list of changes – we’ve got you covered with full patch notes below:
Mage classline identity improvements:
* Introduced the “Manaflasks” and “Bloodflasks” passives to the Mage classline, allowing the usage of Flask abilities in battle
— Flask abilities are similar to spells, but require Flask charges opposed to mana
— Each mage class has preset Flasks available to them, which do not need to be equipped to be accessed in battle
— Flasks receive charges by making use of elemental spells in battle
— Flasks receive extra charges by making use of elemental weaknesses in battle
— Heretic Ara and Corvus spells additionally charge flasks
* Introduced the passive “Efficacious”, allowing the Mage classline to bypass elemental immunities and reduces damage taken when casting a multi-turn spell
* Reworked most of the Ara spells to be more useful
* Archmage: Added the passive “Manaflasks”
* Court Mage: Added the passive “Manaflasks II”
* Spellsword: Added the passive “Manaflasks II”
* Druid: Added the passive “Manaflasks II”
* Spellweaver: Added the passive “Manaflasks II”
* Archdruid: Replaced the passive “Mana Saver” with “Manaflasks III”
* Nekromancer: Replaced the passive “Mana Siphon” with “Bloodflasks”
* Omnimancer: Added the passive “Bloodflasks”
* Omnimancer: Replaced passive “Weaved Elements II” with “Efficacious”
* Omnimancer Ara: Added the passive “Efficacious””
* Omnimancer Ara: Added the passive “Manaflasks III”
* Omnimancer Ara: Now learns Ara sigils, Ara Vesta, and Ara Vestala
* Omnimancer Antlia: Added the passive “Bloodflasks”
* Heretic: Replaced passive “The Heretic” with “Efficacious II”
* Heretic: Added the passive “Bloodflasks II”
* Heretic Ara: Replaced passive “Weaved Elements II” with “Efficacious II”
* Heretic Ara: Added the passive “Manaflasks IV”
* Heretic Corvus: Added the passive “Critical Poise”
* Heretic Corvus: Removed the passive “Corvus”
* Heretic Corvus: Adjusted the passive “Steadfast II” to “Steadfast”
* Heretic Corvus: Added the passive “Flasks of Corvus”, increasing Flask charge rates
* Heretic Corvus: Added the passive “Bloodflasks II”
* Paladin: Replaced passive “Weaved Elements” with “Efficacious”
* All Off-hand Scrolls now have the ability to increase the rates at which Manaflasks charge in battle
* All Off-hand Scrolls now have positive Ward stats
* Flask charges are persistent across battles in Towers and Monuments
Other changes:
* Monster weakness review:
— There are now an equal amount of elemental weaknesses in the game for each of the 4 faction elements
— Ensured that at least 30% of each tier is weak to at least one of the 4 faction elements
* Midgame Arcane spells (Arcana, Arcanus, etc) now use either the magic or attack stat, whichever is higher
* Apex charge is persistent across battles in Monuments
* [PvP/PvE] Players can no longer counterattack when afflicted by an immobilizing status effect
