Spell Consistency - A New Angle

#0 - Oct. 25, 2006, 6:49 a.m.

Perhaps I am not getting it, perhaps someone has already posted along these lines BUT I will feel better when I am done in any event

As you all have most likely seen, I posted a response to why Counter Spell was put onto the global cooldown.

This is consistent with other spells. Spells that don't have a global cooldown are ones that change the dynamics of your next spell. Example: Presence of Mind, Combustion.

So if you are specced into Frostbite, or Winter's Chill + Shatter and you cast Frostbolt, the frozen proc then changes the dynamic of your next Frost spell. A talented Rank 1 Frostbolt is only a 1 sec cast but could proc an effect which changes the dynamic of your next spell. So perhaps Frostbolt should be removed from the GCD, saving .5 secs on the follow-up cast.

You may argue that specific talents are required and the proc is only 'possible' therefore it does not qualify. What about Combustion as referenced in the post? It was changed so as to NOT guarantee a crit on the next cast or technically the next 10 thousand casts. If I cast non-fire spells after Combustion it has NOT changed the dynamic of anything. Even if I cast fire, it does NOT guarantee a crit on the next cast, only an increased chance until I make 3 fire crits. Therefore I must conclude that it is excluded from the GCD because of it's POTENTIAL to change the dynamic of the next cast, assuming I cast a fire spell.

Consistency is very important for us when furthering the design and function of the game. There are long term benefits to this overall.

Standard Disclaimer: We are continuing to evaluate all spells and talents and will continue to adjust things as we feel are necessary. All information is subject to change.

So as you continue your process of evaluation, what about CoC? It applies a chill effect, which could proc Frostbite, which can then affect your next Frost spell, ergo a POTENTIAL to affect the next spell cast. Please remove CoC from the GCD.

And while we are at it Frost Nova, Frostbite talent or not, Shatter talent or not, Winter's Chill talent or not, affects the dynamic of Ice Lance, therefore if you cast Frost Nova then cast Ice Lance it WILL affect the dynamic of the next cast. Please remove Frost Nova from the GCD.

Can someone tell me where my logic has failed? I anticipate that the removal of these spells from the GCD are the “â€¦.long term benefits to this overall.”

Tseric

#2 - Oct. 26, 2006, 1:05 a.m.

Have you considered this angle?

If Presence of Mind triggered a Global Cooldown, it basically negates itself. Point being, you should be able to cast your next spell instantly, but can't.

Now, while this additonal time on Counterspell affects the usage of it, you can't really say it changes the core function of the spell. It simply applies to different situations or lends itself to different usage.

That is the basic reasoning behind 'affecting subsequent spells'. It isn't simply the fact that one spell changes another, but that the spell was specifically designed to allow immediate use of another spell. By not triggering it, the global cooldown supports this functionality for POM.

Tseric

#8 - Oct. 26, 2006, 1:20 a.m.

Q u o t e:
I'm sorry Tseric but if a decision like this is going to be made by the class developers then they need to hold it to all classes. Feign Death has never been on the global cooldown, but it doesn't affect future spells that come after it.

For the sake of consistency, shouldn't Feign Death also be on the global cooldown?

Do you see where I'm going here? We're not necessarily angry over the CS GCD change so much that there is no reason to enact this change that has been given to us.

Again, I'm not posting this to flame. I sincerely want to know the reason for this change, and I'm sure the majority of the mage class is open to constructive discussion between us and the developers through yourself. Inconsistent consistency is oxymoronic.

Consider that Feign Death takes you out of combat. If I recall correctly, we have also changed functionality of feign death/frost trapping. That would suggest that it is intended for abilities to be used immediately after feign death and it therefore does not trigger the GDC.

That is a possible reason.