augmentation gems useless?

[sarnsereg]

this was brought to my attention today. and now that i think about it... they are. let me explain why i feel this way.

you have to be very high level to even start the quests to get them. they take an insane amount of xp which at lower levels needs to spent on skills.

so what happens? even in the preview, around 180 i had all my important stuff maxed out and the other stuff comfortably where i could use it.

so what does this augmentation gem do then? it keeps people huntig and playing for a useless thing.
lets say you do 5 +5 coord. thats +25 coord. on a bow that is 12.5 points of bow skill. how much will 12.5 points of bow skill matter when yo are already maxed out in bow skill? same with any of the others... maybe magic will make a slight difference on resists you get? but at the point you can afford to get it how much stuff is constantly resisting you? you probably have at least minor cantrips if not better and maxed out skill.


the big thing is augmentation gems sound cool. they look cool on paper. but when you take into account what level you have to be to start to get the, and how much xp it'll take to get one... they just don't seem worth it.

maybe we need levels of augmentation gems? some we can get earlier? sorta like cantrip, have a minor, moderate, major gems? like minor gem of str would be the +1 str, etc.


i don't know.. i like the idea and concept of the gems, but i don't see how they are working. especially for those of us that won't log in with a maxed out 126 already and beleveld up quite a ways.

[MaddyFF]

The idea as you stated is to give you something to do with the XP you are earning. They are not aimed at the sub 126 crowd. Some of the gems sound good to me, others not so good.

[Solandra]

By the time someone has the XP to use an augmentation gem they will likely have 100 base coordination.

The augmentations will not raise a skill past 100 innate skill, so you wouldn't gain an additional 12.5 points into bow with this augmentation.

Some of the augmentations are useful, in my opinion...

Like the DI Reducer, Extension to Spell times, Burden Reducer... some of the others I find useless or overprices. :)

[Gouru]

An archer probably started with 100 base coord, so would not be using the gem there. Instead, it would be used to raise some of the 'supplemental' stats, perhaps pushing willpower to get a few more points in magicd/spellcasting, or strength to carry more arrows.

So you are correct, they won't help your primary skill, but they are not useless, as they will help your support skills.

[Paraduck]

They are not aimed at the sub 126 crowd.That's part of the reason why many, and myself, are disappointed with the current selection/cost of the gems. These gems are NOT properly geared towards very high level players (those who can actually afford these and use 'em as an XP sink.)
An archer probably started with 100 base coord, so would not be using the gem there. Instead, it would be used to raise some of the 'supplemental' stats, perhaps pushing willpower to get a few more points in magicd/spellcasting, or strength to carry more arrows.

So you are correct, they won't help your primary skill, but they are not useless, as they will help your support skills.Incidentally, I feel that the only ones that aren't really useless or need to be tweaked for high level players are the tinkering augmentations and the innate attribute augmentations.

[MaddyFF]

That's part of the reason why many, and myself, are disappointed with the current selection/cost of the gems. These gems are NOT properly geared towards very high level players (those who can actually afford these and use 'em as an XP sink.)

The issue that would come up then is if they are too good then you cause an even bigger imbalance in the game between hard core players and casual players.

[Paraduck]

The issue that would come up then is if they are too good then you cause an even bigger imbalance in the game between hard core players and casual players.It's ridiculously easy to level these days. Especially in the expansion. These new XP dungeons will help negate the fact.

Also, I'm not saying that Augmentations should all be super powerful. Some of the costs need to be tweaked down and some of the effects changed minorly (such as the extent of the effect in PK.)

[sarnsereg]

well, you guys brought another point. you cant use them to further your main stuff.

the thing is, at 260 you'll have maxed out your skills. and a few more points most likely won't make a difference anymore. take a bow/life spec. having maxed out life and starting 100int/10focus , how much would and extra 25 points of focus do for you? like 6 points of life magic. but how much will that help? aren't you already able to land on everything as it is?

yes, a way to further yourself, but to no end and need. when you are maxed out on skills then what? yes, i like the gems, they are awesome, i just wish they were useful to me.

more people are going to end up getting gems because they have nothing else to do. stuff like the imbue 5% will help a ton. less DI's is nice.. but wouldn't it help MORE at a lower level when you're gonna die? as opposed to being maxed out on defenses where you aren't going to die?

i'm not saying the gems are useless per say, just the way they are implemented right now makes them not worth it really when you considered how uneeded they are at the levels you can get them.

[MaddyFF]

It's ridiculously easy to level these days. Especially in the expansion. These new XP dungeons will help negate the fact.

And that supports what argument? That everyone should be sittig in a dungeon leveling?


Also, I'm not saying that Augmentations should all be super powerful. Some of the costs need to be tweaked down and some of the effects changed minorly (such as the extent of the effect in PK.)

I would agree with that statement.