So basically I think that Shadow’s dmg should be buffed by Blinded status effect and Light by drained status effect. Here are the reasons why :
Light and Shadow both have horrible synergies, Shadow only having bad one, and Light having a buff with and a debuff.
It is logic in lore, status effects can be seen as some magic energy staying on the target, inflicting specific effects, and logically Shadow would react quite violently even with just residual light and vice versa.
I don’t really know what the buff should be, in lore it would be quite big seeing how violently Light & Shadow react, but for balancing purposes I think it should be like aorund 15%-20% in game ? Tell me your thoughts
I think shadow having above average stats for a solo magic but no good synergies was actually a very unique decision for shadow and I dont think it should change.
Shadow is a top tier because it has above average stats but no synergies, and in WoM we never got 2nd magic so synergies didnt really matter.
Therefore shadow being one of the best magics is something thatll go away as we get more content with AO like awakenings and then itll be more balanced in comparison to others
personally i’d just leave em be, it’s light and darkness. outside of equinox and the “purest” forms of light and darkness they shouldn’t really positively bind w/ another synergy wise.
you could propose a steam/explosion effect that dmgs both sides mentioned here and in the past but that can be it’s own can of worms when u want to go in depth w/ it.
the reason why the equinox reaction happens is because they magics are hitting each other head on, and the repelling force is so strong its creating the lightning and whatnot.
the reason why the status doesnt interact is because they arent the magic themselves, but a remnant left to inflict something on the opponent.
take drained.
after shadow hits the opponent, it leaves ‘drained’, which basically colorblinds them for a bit. it isnt a shadow blast hanging over their eyes tho, its more of a stain left by the magic.
when a light blast comes, it uses its light power to cleanse the stain, as they are opposite magics. but this also uses some of the magic energy stored in the blast, hence decreasing the damage.
Alternative idea:
IF shadow/light clash explosion dealt damage, then something that left shadow or light source of high enough energy (like a mine or maybe the magic zone) could be used to cause the explosion. Now, how would the damage be calculated? This question would be what determines the viability of such a strategy, likewise for any other similar strategy. Ideally the damage tradeoff would be worth the setup, but I doubt it.
Perhaps shadow should be buffed with poison magic. By what I can see if shadow weakens person with necrotic power, it should make them more susceptible to debilitating poison. So it should either do more damage to a person who is poisoned or vice versa. Just a thought.
Even if it’s your own magics you still get the debuffs. Ppl have suggested removing negative self-synergies, but as far as I know they’ll still exist in AO
Ah, I remember either a tweet or discord message long ago about how allowing your own magics to debuff each other limits variance between different what people can choose, and I could of sworn vetex replied to it agreeing.
But again, the information about this game in my mind is just so blurred so I can’t be for certain
i vaguely remember a discussion about that i have to agree on the variety part but it’s sort of wack in terms of a gameplay and mechanical perspective.