When we look at the history of game-changing mechanics, there's a common theme to what these updates are focused on. Critical and Block Ratings, Advanced Pets, Astral Magic, and Armor Piercing (coming soon with Zafaria) can all benefit a single player, whether or not they have teammates. In other words, when my questing allies have logged off, all of these features (Critical, Pets, Astral, Piercing, etc.) are still available to me, and I'm not losing out on anything when my friends are offline. It feels great to be able to play and not have to be dependent on matching schedules with someone else.
However, what if there was a game mechanic or feature that becomes an incentive (or a reward) for practicing teamwork and/or coordination between multiple schools? Instead of four Storm Wizards being the most effective bulldozer to mow down normal mobs, why don't we introduce Fusion Magic, where a tertiary effect occurs when two or more specific schools lay out their spells in succession?
This idea is actually inspired from my Atlantica Online days and from contemplating how it'd feel to be a mob that was drenched in a fierce Tempest and suddenly frozen by a Blizzard follow-up attack. In AO, when certain DoTs were stacked on top of one another, they'd produce an entirely new spell that would affect the targets in a unique fashion that couldn't be accomplished if the DoTs were cast separate of one another. For example, if Break Down (visual effect of an earthquake, physical DoT) and Chaos Wind (a vortex of wind magic, elemental DoT) were played consecutively, the affected units are affected by a new spell called Destructive Wind.
If this were implemented into Wizard101, imagine all the different possibilities and outcomes that would follow:
- Let's say one mechanic would require a new spell called "Fusion," which is a pair of Universal Prisms, meaning any school will affect them. Two Prisms are placed upon one target.
To use "Fusion," two attacks of opposite schools must damage the target consecutively (one right after another, without any other school in between). In other words once the Prisms are placed, a Fire-then-Ice or Ice-then-Fire combo must take place -- it can be on the same OR different turns (under the condition that no other school's spell uses up the second Prism). Thus, DoTs like Fire Dragon and Snow Angel must be timed correctly, or else one of the ticks from one school will remove the second Prism, nullifying the "Fusion" spell.
If a "Fusion" is used correctly, the following events can occur:
If Fire Dragon followed after Snow Angel, for example, it'd create a spell/effect called "Steam Wall."
(The Snow Angel tick is removed, only to be replaced by a tick that's silver/grey. This tick would not do any damage, but it will last for two rounds after it has been placed, and not allow the victim to cast any magic upon anyone else but themselves. It is almost like a "blindness" effect, where self-target spells do not fizzle, but anything else that targets allies or enemies WILL fizzle. Enemies and allies, however, can still target the afflicted creature/player.)
If Snow Angel were to follow Fire Dragon, "Freezer Burn" would take place.
(The Fire Dragon's tick is removed, replaced by a tick that's pearl white. This tick would do very little Astral damage (50 per turn) for two rounds, and act as a Stun per tick. Of course, if a Stun Shield is present, then a Stun is avoided while the shield is removed. So, someone with 3 Stun Shields under Freezer Burn would have only 1 Stun Shield after the spell is exhausted.)
- Or, what if any school could "fuse" with any school (except with its own), and what if the order the spells were used in didn't matter, as long as they were casted consecutively?
Death and Myth could fuse to create "Shattered Dreams," which removes all charms on the target, and adds a 10% Weakness spell for every unique* charm on them (*though Elemental and Spiritual blades consist of three different charms, they will be counted as one single charm, as a whole).
Storm and Fire could fuse to create "Acid Rain," which creates a personal bubble around the target (similar to Star magic) for three rounds, which imbues an additional 15% Armor Piercing to any incoming attack. Thus, if an attacker already has 20% Armor Piercing on their spell, this bubble will increase it to 35% Armor Piercing onto the victim. (Of course, the victim could always play another Star Magic spell to cut off its normal duration!)
Keep in mind that the concept of fusing is NOT meant for increasing damage (Meteor's damage + Blizzard's damage != fusing), but it is meant for creating an effect with unique properties on a chosen target. Thus, it's possible that Fusion Magic will result in lowered damage output (like removing a Snow Angel tick in the first example), but, as I've explained to Ronan when he feels uneasy about using his Nova when he's stacked with three different types of Weaknesses, spells don't always have to deal significant damage to be useful.
For example, while I may lose my Snow Angel tick in the Steam Wall spell, a hypothetical boss will be unable to cast anything onto anyone but itself for two rounds. That means we could nullify a cheat (instant-fizzle, per Steam Wall's effect) together.
I do have my solo-happy friends in mind, however. So, I'll reiterate that these Fusion spells are not required to beat certain bosses, but rather, to help cut down time and act as an optional, auxiliary mechanic (just like Gardening, where you don't have to utilize this feature to be able to fight Morganthe). I just feel that it would be interesting to introduce a type of "chemistry" where reactions occur between two different "elements." Thus, with the Mastery Amulet and/or a minion, Fusion magic can be achieved without another player, and there still exists the essence of "team strategy," timing, and combination spells.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this matter: whether you agree, disagree, or want to "fuse" your own ideas with mine, or make up some of your own spells using my prescribed system, please leave your responses down below!
