Magic-related Polls

[Based_Trixie]

I’m surprised nobody has done this before, 'spcially considering that the game’s been out for a while.

Best Magic (in terms of stats, effects, synergies, imbues, etc.)

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Worst Magic (in terms of stats, effects, synergies, imbues, etc.)

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Favorite Magic

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Least Favorite Magic

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Most Overrated/Overused Magic

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Most Underrated/Underused Magic

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Magic with Best Visuals

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Magic with Worst Visuals

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Magic with Best Sounds

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Magic with Worst Sounds

• Ash
• Acid
• Crystal
• Earth
• Explosion
• Fire
• Glass
• Ice
• Light
• Lightning
• Magma
• Metal
• Plasma
• Poison
• Sand
• Shadow
• Snow
• Water
• Wind
• Wood

Best Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Worst Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Favorite Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Least Favorite Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Most Overrated/Overused Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Most Underrated/Underused Magic-related Build

• Mage
• Warlock
• Conjurer
• Paladin
• Savant

Best Spell

• Blast
• (Self) Explosion
• (Placed) Explosion
• Leap
• Beam
• Snare
• Aura
• Cannon
• Javelin
• Array
• Pulsar
• Surge

Worst Spell

• Blast
• (Self) Explosion
• (Placed) Explosion
• Leap
• Beam
• Snare
• Aura
• Cannon
• Javelin
• Array
• Pulsar
• Surge

Is Magic Overrated/Overused or Underrated/Underused?

• Highly Overrated/Overused
• Overrated/Overused
• Neutral
• Underrated/Underused
• Highly Underrated/Underused

Is Magic Overpowered or Underpowered?

• Highly Overpowered
• Overpowered
• Balanced
• Underpowered
• Highly Underpowered

What are you looking forward to upcoming additions to Magic?

• Ancient Magics
• Lost Magics
• More Spells
• More Customization
• Balancing Changes
• Other (can include a reply)

What do you think of the implementation of Hecate’s Essence?

• Great
• Good
• Neutral
• Bad
• Terrible
• i’d rather wipe my file

Thank you for taking your time reading this (or skimming all the way to the bottom)

[the_wingler]

I’m looking forward to arcanium weapons

[Darkzoul1234]

Yo what’s the array spell? (havent played since before the empires update)

[Based_Trixie]

Time to leave my own thoughts on the polls here (without voting so i won’t seem biased)

• Best Magic: Lightning. Nice balance between damage and speed, has most synergies of all magics (including bleeding and several stun synergies).
• Worst Magic: Mixed between Wood, Water and Poison. I think they’re all outclassed easily.
• Favorite Magic: Wind. Was my main since WoM. I don’t care if it’s shit and will always be shit, I just think it’s cooler than everything else.
• Least Favorite Magic: Glass. Water, Wood and Metal are close, but despite their lame visuals, I still think they’re conceptually cooler.
• Most Overrated/Overused Magic: Either Metal or Explosion. Shadow’s fine, and I wanted to put Lightning here but I don’t think that’d make sense since I also ranked it as the best lol
• Most Underrated/Underused Magic: Either Wind, Ash or Sand. I think they have pretty decent stats and synergies. I’ll also mention Shadow as a bonus for Most Overhated Magic.
• Magic with Best Visuals: Hard choice, since I haven’t had a fair look at all of them yet. Mixed between Wind, Light, Lightning, Fire and Plasma.
• Magic with Worst Visuals: Metal is bland, Crystal looks like crap (metaphorically), Wood and Earth look like crap (literally), and Glass is hardly noticeable.
• Magic with Best Sounds: I somehow memorize these better than visuals. Mixed between Wind, Lightning, Light, Shadow and Plasma.
• Magic with Worst Sounds: Glass, which is also one of the reasons why it’s my least favorite. Ash, Poison and Explosion are loud and obnoxious, while Snow and Sand are bland.
• Best Magic-related Build: Mage. As much as I find Mage boring, it’s the best and most braindead class in the game, especially in PvE with the cheesable and insanely oppressive NPCs.
• Worst Magic-related Build: paladin lol
• Favorite Magic-related Build: Savant, despite technically there being non-Magic Savant builds. I like all-rounders along with Savant being seemingly the most complex and difficult class to master while not being specialized in anything.
• Least Favorite Magic-related Build: Paladin as of now. Will probably be changed to Mage after Full Release.
• Most Overrated/Overused Magic-related Build: Picking Mage wouldn’t make sense considering what I said earlier, so it’s tied between Paladin and Conj.
• Most Underrated/Underused Magic-related Build: Savant, if you include Magic with it.
• Best Spell: I’d argue that Blast is also the best skill in the whole game, not only due to its stats but also because of the stats, effects and synergies provided by Magics. It’s all you need to basically play the game.
• Worst Spell: What costs 220 Magic to learn, can only be found via a rare scroll, gives you no control over it, doesn’t do anything while you’re stuck in place, and can’t even hit its target properly without missing while both you and them are standing still? Array. Placed Explosion is 2nd.
• I think Magic is sorta Overrated/Overused, but its popularity is understandable considering it’s literally the best route both for PvE and PvP, which I don’t feel like explaining here.
• I think Magic might definitely be Overpowered, but not by an insane amount, though I think that’s partially due to the core mechanics of combat (endlag) and the implementation of NPCs.
• I’m looking forward to more customization, balancing changes and a buncha other misc things that I don’t feel like naming in the future. Losts/Ancients don’t appeal much to me as a Savant main, but that’s also due to their exact unconfirmed implementation (they might be straight upgrades, sidegrades with gimmicks, or both)
• Hecate’s Essence is the worst thing implemented in the whole game (that isn’t forced PvP) and I won’t elaborate on it here. Period.

[Rayman_Axel]

basically its a really bad version of calvus’ delayed tracking orbs, but its getting a homing buff on full release which is pretty good

[nilexrl]

@Rayman_Axel

but its getting a homing buff on full release

i doubt it’ll make it worth a spell slot over the other spells we have and are getting however

[HeavilyTiger_new]

lost magics would be so cool tho

[Darkzoul1234]

max speed with array is gonna be crazy then

[fartman1314]

i am obligated to love fire mage and hate shadow conjurer

[GalleryCharlotte]

Glass having the worst sounds is such bullshit. It is my fav magic BECAUSE it is loud af. Also it looks the coolest with the evil spiky ball stuff it does. I really wish Glass had bleed stacking tho, that would make it PEAK

[crimis_cringle]

@Based_Trixie

Worst Magic: Mixed between Wood, Water and Poison.

@Based_Trixie

Poison

how dare you i am throwing you in the microwave

i am being serious btw

[juancruz1050]

Fire is hella overrated yet not use a lot, like bro what choose smth

Also acid is underrated, it deals good impact and dot dmg while also being decently fast and having decent size

[IJustComplain]

Lol I haven’t even tried all magics yet, nevermind done any thorough analysis of each.

[Iris]

all these fire enjoyers and crystal haters
these poor people don’t know peak

[hanmbi]

to anyone saying hectate is trash (thanks maple):

@Maple

honestly just be happy you can change your magic ts wasnt ever going to be a thing in the first place until everyone was bitching about it

then he made it rare because you arent supposed to get it in the first place
and everyone bitched about it

then he added a way to buy it with money so you dont have to grind for it (reminder: this never was supposed to exist in the first place)

and then now everyone is bitching about that

i know it might seem unfair BUT THIS WAS NEVER EVEN GOING TO BE IN THE GAME IT IS ONLY IN BECAUSE PEOPLE R COMPLAINING

so just be glad you even GET to change your magic and appreciate the things you get instead of complaining about the things you dont have

[GalleryCharlotte]

Guy 1 takes a shit on Guy 2’s plate

Guy 2: man what the hell. I can’t eat this c’mon dude

Guy 1: woooowwwww you’re so ungrateful. You’re lucky to even be able to eat

While it may be true that Hecate Essence was never meant to exist, it still doesn’t change the fact that it is a prime example of a poorly designed feature, or rather a feature that was implemented poorly. While I do not particularly think it is abysmal, (or at least the fixed version coming out in full release), I at least think it is worth listening to the community about it. Hecate Essence had (and still has) so many flaws in it when it first became a thing, and it has taken multiple updates to fix its bugged spawns just to make it function as intended. I think the community has every right to complain about it, even if i don’t care for the feature (because I am exclusively a zerker/warrior/warlord main)

[hanmbi]

@GalleryCharlotte

Guy 1 takes a shit on Guy 2’s plate

Guy 2: man what the hell. I can’t eat this c’mon dude

Guy 1: woooowwwww you’re so ungrateful. You’re lucky to even be able to eat

the one problem i have is this is that you didnt include context
that being that guy 2 wanted something to eat in the first place

also its not comparable to shitting on someones plate, its more having an exquisite dinner at a restaurant, but then that restaurant being very expensive

@GalleryCharlotte

While it may be true that Hecate Essence was never meant to exist, it still doesn’t change the fact that it is a prime example of a poorly designed feature, or rather a feature that was implemented poorly.

because people bitched about needing to change their magic
i agree, its poorly designed but do you have a better one then?

@GalleryCharlotte

I at least think it is worth listening to the community about it. Hecate Essence had (and still has) so many flaws in it when it first became a thing

which is? the entire point?? since you werent supposed to get it in the first place???

@GalleryCharlotte

and it has taken multiple updates to fix its bugged spawns just to make it function as intended.

while i agree that bugs should be fixed, using it to argument that a feature is trash just… doesnt work
hasty generalization fallacy, a bug isnt intended, and therefore cant be used as an argument
heck, bugs are near unavoidable
if youve done any amounts of coding or game design, most of the time it wont work first try

@GalleryCharlotte

I think the community has every right to complain about it, even if i don’t care for the feature (because I am exclusively a zerker/warrior/warlord main)

its 1/4th of the total classes
1/4th of the playerbase suffer from it
vetex added a bandaid fix that, and i say it again, was never supposed to be there in the first place, but the mages just had to complain about it, so he added it in an attempt to please the community

and then they bitched about it
then he made a gamepass for those that dont wanna grind
and everyone bitched about it

this isnt even complaining anymore, its just being petty

i start understand why people stopped being people pleasers, maybe i should also start doing that

look, im not saying ‘ooh vetex good you bad’, dont get me wrong, vetex has made mistakes before,
all im asking is for you to see his point of view

[GalleryCharlotte]

@hanmbi

i agree, its poorly designed but do you have a better one then?

Magic Reset/Hecate Essence Rework

The Problem Magic Reset has gotten constant criticism ever since it released, mainly due to how hard and painful it is to get compared to what other classes have to do to change their powers. Personally, I think the biggest issue is it being entirely luck based. Having something significant like this that requires grinding to get, while also being completely based on chance is not a good idea. For most people, it can take days to get, meanwhile some people will get it almost immediately. My s…

In my opinion, this would suffice
Edit: I also think this is a bit of a silly thing to say, too. Even if I didn’t have a solution myself, I would still have a valid point. You don’t need to be a carpenter to see that a giant wooden spike in the middle of a chair is a problem.

@hanmbi

if youve done any amounts of coding or game design, most of the time it wont work first try

Oh, trust me, I really do know. However, I do think a hotfix for its bugged state should’ve been released a lot sooner, and I am more criticising that it took this long to resolve an issue that we knew about months back

@hanmbi

look, im not saying ‘ooh vetex good you bad’, dont get me wrong, vetex has made mistakes before,
all im asking is for you to see his point of view

I agree, we all do make mistakes. I understand that he may not want to allow the player to change their magic (as that can cause meta-hopping, which is cringe imo), but I also think Vetex should understand that a player may not want to stay with the same base magic for the rest of the game, especially considering they wouldn’t know how these magics would play in the game if they were going into it blind (such as myself). I don’t think anyone is being harmed by a functional magic reset being a thing, and it is overall beneficial to the playerbase. It is actually very important to understand that what you personally want as a developer may not be objectively good for the game.

I praise Vetex a lot, and I hold an incredibly high amount of respect for him. However, that is also the reason why I criticise some aspects of the game. I want Arcane Odyssey to succeed, and I feel like problems need to be maturely addressed to do so.

[hanmbi]

@GalleryCharlotte

In my opinion, this would suffice

i said, do you have a better one?

@GalleryCharlotte

Oh, trust me, I really do know. However, I do think a hotfix for its bugged state should’ve been released a lot sooner, and I am more criticising that it took this long to resolve an issue that we knew about months back

you dont know how the code in ao works, it could be very well done, it could be spagetti code, we dont know
as such, you cant assume that a bugfix is gonna be quick
fixing 1 bug will most certainly lead to another, and then another, et cetera

also you said i should trust you, but you have yet to come up with any evidence for experience with coding

@GalleryCharlotte

I agree, we…
…to do so.

first off, the fact that you quoted my reply this late into the paragraph means you cut out my prior arguments for a good reason

@GalleryCharlotte

I understand that he may not want to allow the player to change their magic (as that can cause meta-hopping, which is cringe imo), but I also think Vetex should understand that a player may not want to stay with the same base magic for the rest of the game

hectate essence is a real feature thats going to get added, its just unreasonable to add it this early when weve only had 1.3th of the 7 areas we go to

not to mention, i can see some players being like that, but i cant see why the majority of players want that
on average 1/4th of the players play magic,
the first magic you choose is at the start of the game because you like the magic, maybe because its meta, maybe because you just like it in general compared to others

@GalleryCharlotte

especially considering they wouldn’t know how these magics would play in the game if they were going into it blind (such as myself)

ew metamancers
ao is a game for fun, while yes, there is meta, you arent expected to follow it
each magic has its own strengths and weaknesses

@GalleryCharlotte

I don’t think anyone is being harmed by a functional magic reset being a thing

nobody is. the developer, however, is harmed by the backlash because people wanted a magic reset ‘their way’
if you complain so much go make your own game

@GalleryCharlotte

It is actually very important to understand that what you personally want as a developer may not be objectively good for the game.

vetex wanted to be an author, the game is just a small stepping stone. if he writes things, people are going to disagree and not read it, which is fine.
same goes for making a game, you add a feature to try and please the community, the community makes complaints because they disagree, and thats also fine

what isnt fine though, is blaming it on the developer and forcing them to change something that wasnt supposed to be given to them in the first place
you got your food since you were starving, and now you want it handed on a silver platter? be grateful you got food in the first place
(except tanning and dirt those things are just minor inconveniences that dont add much)

@GalleryCharlotte

I praise Vetex a lot, and I hold an incredibly high amount of respect for him. However, that is also the reason why I criticise some aspects of the game.

there is a fine line between complaining and constructive criticism, tread carefully

@GalleryCharlotte

I want Arcane Odyssey to succeed, and I feel like problems need to be maturely addressed to do so.

then tell that to those that oppose hectate essence, not me
also on unrelated note
this implies you think im not mature

[IJustComplain]

Hecate essence feels like a mechanic designed to be a problem (it is).

It’s made in a way which effectively makes magic reset not exist for many players and abuses those willing to try to find it.

it just shows how Vetex doesn’t care to make his game fun (which I feel will make AO lose players).

The problem IS NOT HECATE ESSENCE. It is game design philosophy.