I hope this game incorporates summoning from Everquest. The feeling of going to a new area and discovering whether or not things summon was always exciting. You would find out whether the creature was a 10 second summoner or a 6 second summoner or if it didn't do anything at all. It was always a challenge to time your spells just right if you were kiting something that summons. Definitely a great part of the game. That feeling of seeing some named you've never seen before, starting to snare it and kite it, and anticipating the first summon at 96% was priceless. That first time you got back up too early after feigning, not realizing the creature was still below 96% health and that the threat table had not yet reset, and getting summoned back and being pounded in the face...totally priceless. That time you ALMOST made it to the zone before you got summoned back at the last second into a gigantic stomping.
I also think it worked real well with how creatures would follow you until you feigned, died, or zoned (or killed the creature) in Everquest. If your group tries to kill a named that summons and mid-way through you realize you can't do it, escaping becomes that much harder. It would also lower the amount of trains you would have, given the extra added difficulty of being summoned back over and over and over again by the thing you are running from.
I guess this goes without saying, but this is just one part of a puzzle. Non-instanced zones, penalty for death, some degree of difficulty to return to your body, etc., along with summoning creatures...you need it all for it to work right. All those unique elements made the fear in Everquest so real and tangible.
It’s funny that I just got reading a post the other day about how much people hated the idea of summoning creatures.
My personal feeling is it should only be used to prevent cheating such as getting to a place that a creature cannot reach. Simple being on the top of an agro list should not require the game to pull you to the mob. I can see when a mechanic can be synced with a specific mob, such as one that has the power to pull the enemy to them. EQ got too much in the habit of giving everyday creatures the ability to summon to prevent them from getting kitted.
I would rather see some more out of the box thinking to overcome this obstacle. Maybe giving mobs more ranged attacks would help.
After reading that the cleric will have a spell that makes a magical wall to black mobs I kind of think summoning might not be a normal thing. What’s the point of creating such a barrier if creatures just summon you to them?
Summoning always felt like a bandaid fix to me. If its necessary, its necessary, but I think there are better ways. For instance a pull spell. Maybe a mob roots or stuns. Maybe to prevent being kited, you raise the mobs MR. If all else fails, add a particle effect and a short cast time to spell of summoning because the whole instantaneous summon thing always felt artificial.
I liked summoning in EQ as well, but also appreciated how it was selective and didnt apply to all enemies. Added another layer of complexity to encounters that I would love to see make a return. Of course, it would be important to include mobs that do not summon as well.
The instant summon thing really gave you the feeling that you were far less powerful than the mob you were fighting. Loved seeing over-zealous wizards getting summoned and insta-killed. That'll teach em to over nuke, lol.
Truly i would rather see mobs having ranged attacks than summoning, and if a mob can summon then it really needs to be a Mage type or Boss mob. it just doesnt make sense for a physical attacker to have summoning as his only magic.
also as said before i think that summoning should have rules and not be instant and on a short cooldown. it should either be channeled or have a long cooldown.
Dekaden said:I liked summoning in EQ as well, but also appreciated how it was selective and didnt apply to all enemies. Added another layer of complexity to encounters that I would love to see make a return. Of course, it would be important to include mobs that do not summon as well.
The instant summon thing really gave you the feeling that you were far less powerful than the mob you were fighting. Loved seeing over-zealous wizards getting summoned and insta-killed. That'll teach em to over nuke, lol.
I must agree with you here. Summoning is a good mechanic when it make sense..but this is true for every mechanic, even death touch. So long as it makes sense for the entity to use such an ability it should have it and use it liberally. The more tools an entity can bring to a fight the better the encounter.
Summoning could have some uses but not necessarily to the mob maybe into a nasty green pool where your slowed and have to coordinate cures and healing. Mobs should have a small/medium skill set not the kitchen sink because Fantasy! Give them skills that make it a challenge not so that you need to use zerg tactics to overcome (DT on GCD/liberally). Strategically making use of skills and the enivronment. Summoning could be an interesting mechanic or lazy depends on frequency of use and how it's used.
Vandraad said:Dekaden said:I liked summoning in EQ as well, but also appreciated how it was selective and didnt apply to all enemies. Added another layer of complexity to encounters that I would love to see make a return. Of course, it would be important to include mobs that do not summon as well.
The instant summon thing really gave you the feeling that you were far less powerful than the mob you were fighting. Loved seeing over-zealous wizards getting summoned and insta-killed. That'll teach em to over nuke, lol.
I must agree with you here. Summoning is a good mechanic when it make sense..but this is true for every mechanic, even death touch. So long as it makes sense for the entity to use such an ability it should have it and use it liberally. The more tools an entity can bring to a fight the better the encounter.
Agreed 100%
Dullahan said:Summoning always felt like a bandaid fix to me.
I can't agree with this enough. Summoning has it's place but to be a main mechanic of any mob shouldn't really be a thing. At least not a common thing. Using it as a non exploitation thing, sure. If they want to give all mobs the ability to summon when there is no path available for the mob to get to someone then I could get on board but even then I would prefer the mob to be able to climb walls that we couldn't rather than summon.