Hey, GA I'm rather new, and I am really liking the catcher concept. I admit though, that I'm not thrilled that when I max out the catcher spell - using 4 skill points - that I am still catching really crappy spirits. This has apparently been how it is for a year now, and I can understand that you don't want everyone who specs into catchers to be placing high hp airs all over the place, so I can live with the fact that I am going to randomly get good and bad spirits.

What I suggest though is a slight tweak. As it is, I am only newly lvl 12, but casting a catcher currently takes me 3/4 of my mana bar. Therefore if I want to recast and try for a better spirit I have to wait, and this becomes significantly time consuming if I try more than a few times in a row. Often the result is that I just got a bunch of crappy spirits in a row and wasted a bunch of mana and time. What I would request is that you keep the randomness as it is now, but reduce the mana of the spell a certain amount per level of the spell, so that if you have 4 skill points into catcher you might be able to cast 4-5 times (as a lvl15) on a full mana bar.

I don't think this would be game breaking, and finding a good spirit would still take a lot of effort, but I would feel like I got something for putting 4 points into a currently laughed at spell.

Tan

I would also be happy with levels in catcher reducing the amount of power needed to maintain a catcher, so that people who are specialized catcher casters can maintain more catchers; Or if levels in catcher reduced the amount of time to catch the spirit, so that a lvl 4 catcher might only take 30s to 1 min to catch a spirit.

I'm just looking for something that really distinguishes a lvl 1 catcher and someone who has put 4 points into the spell.

This is a great idea. I like the time part because I do agree that it takes a while to catch a spirit for low levels and high levels the same. This should b changed. At least high levels (3 star) stay as is, mid level (1 star) half of what it is, and low level (no star) 1/4 the time it is

I was hoping for more feedback on this topic. Perhaps the majority of people don't care about catchers in light of other issues? Or is it that most people think they are fine as is?

I actually like catchers better than wards, because wards are slow and weak, and you can only have 3. Not to mention the fact that wards only attack one time (unless you continue to cast after the ward finishes its attack), and the game ANNOUNCES the attack. Catchers are stealthier, especially if there are other dormant spirits around. However, the problem you mention is exactly why I don't use them.

Here is my solution:

First, GA should add two more specialization points, but I won't go there on this thread. Second, catchers should only attract a certain quality of spirits with each level. This is my proposed breakdown:

I: 50-700hp
II: 580-1140hp
III: 1020-1550hp
IV: 1350-1930hp

Provided you use a specialization point on Ward I at level 10 (which the game should just make you do), you can't possibly attain Catcher IV until level 12. With that said, there should be no issue with the catcher attracting spirits within range of your level using the HP criteria set forth above. I mean, when you go spirit hunting alone between levels 12-15, you certainly aren't attracting lowly Korrigans, so why should your catcher? Also, the catcher should be able to lure another spirit once it releases the previous one, so long as it (the catcher) is not destroyed.



Thoughts?

Edited by Meridius (Nov. 25, 2011 03:08:16)

This would make it very much worth the mana. At first I thought, "That's exactly what I want!", but upon further thought I feel like that would make catcher lvl 2 so much better than current lvl 4 which might be too much of a change. Especially since its not a big deal to stick two points into catcher. Perhaps though, if the hp range for lvl 2 was 2-3 hundred lower. Then there would be a noticeable jump in strength from lvl 2 to lvl 3 to indicate that you have dedicated enough points to catcher to hinder other areas of your build.

True, but that's only because Wards, Beacons, and Doms are pointless to specialize, in their current state. Check out my other thread, and then tell me what you think.

http://www.shadowcities.com/forum/topic/2546/

i wish they would improve on the energy you get from the catchers...

In Finland BG people do not use catchers.
- Too little amount of energy when collected.
- Too much energy for competitor (when hunted for a mission)
- Too small spirits in catchers (they don´t do enough damage to the competitor).