You get water from a well
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 10th 2007 at 2:07PM
... and bread from a mill? Grettel asks an interesting question on the forums: Why don't mages get a water well? That would be a spell like Lightwell or Ritual of Souls that would create an item players can click on to get their own water (or food-- Grettel says a "flour mill" would work), instead of having the mage cast Conjure Water 60 times before every raid.It's not really a bad idea. The obvious benefit is that it would definitely save time, and since other classes have gotten timesaving skills like this, pretty much the only thing anyone waits for in a raid now is for the mages to make all the water they need to give out, and then drink again to regain all that mana. The only real argument against it is that unlike, say, Ritual of Souls, the mage water spell doesn't require any costs or reagents-- just mana. So the devs might counter that Ritual of Souls was meant to make the reagent cost cheaper for warlocks, but mages are supposed to use their mana-- that's how you play the game.
I guess you could make a parallel with buffs as well-- if we're not waiting for mages to drink after conjuring their water, we're waiting for priests to drink after rebuffing all the time. The only way to keep that time from being wasted is to give the priests mana-free buffs, and that ain't going to happen, so maybe the devs aren't hot on the water well idea, either.
But considering Ritual of Souls was implemented, a food and water well doesn't seem too far off. Maybe there'll be an extra mage quest in the next content patch?
Filed under: Mage, Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, Tricks, Blizzard, Buffs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Scruffy Apr 10th 2007 2:20PM
*Insert very apt bitching about priests needs something ANY-FUCKING-THING done about their class while other classes are buffs, hotfixes, and new abilities*
Yeah, I'm getting to the point where I HAVE get some shitty talents in Holy, keep sinking points in Discipline, or just respec again to Shadow to get decent talents.
Mike Schramm Apr 10th 2007 2:28PM
I am probably derailing the thread here, but I'll do it anyway: how is your bitching apt? Shadow priests are known for their dps, and other healing classes have to fight to heal as well as Holy priests do (except for paladins maybe, but everyone hates them anyway).
And besides, implementing a mage spell like this doesn't take away from any work that would be done on priests-- for all we know, the devs aren't even bothering with this. A mage water well has exactly zero to do with how many priest talents get changed.
So quit your bitching.
Halicante Apr 10th 2007 2:35PM
I think the idea behind the soulwell was that each healthstone for the locks was unique, so it was a giant pita for them to make them for a raid as it had to be done on the spot, one by one.
I won't lie, making food and water for a ton of people sucks, but I'd much rather have them fix some of our serious issues first...ie molten armor ignite overriding a fireball stacked ignite, or how about getting our dps in line with locks?
Todd Apr 10th 2007 2:46PM
This very question has been posed for a long time. I imagine a spell is in the works.
Todd Apr 10th 2007 2:52PM
The Devs will probably implement such a spell using Arcane Powder. Although, since mana is the Mage's crutch, I don't see why this spell shouldn't be level 70 and cost 5k mana to cast. The Devs are so concerned and self conscious about giving Mages too much. Sheesh, those people need to lighten up.
ErsatzPotato Apr 10th 2007 3:16PM
Water Well is a terrific idea but for the love of god don't make it a talent. Mages are better off with the ability not existing than everyone being forced to spec into arcane (probably) to get the now required spell. Quest, trainable, drop: fine. Talent: hello cookie cutter mage build.
There are any number of ways to limit the spell: require a reagent, make it a non-combat only cast, make the water disappear if mage leaves party, add a timer.
What quality water it dispenses is tricky. Easiest is spell requires lvl 60 to learn, dispenses the best water the caster can make (up to 70 book water) but scales down for lower leveled well drinkers. Another possible restriction is no down-scaling.
A water well would let my main enter a battleground without my head exploding.
No need for the food--everyone in a raid will be on buff food and bandages anyway--but summoning an enormous glowing toaster is appealing. "HeIsMage casts Luminal Toaster"
Savok Apr 10th 2007 3:04PM
Make the water "Unique (20)" and add a reagent cost or something. There, saves time, mana and patience without being "overpowered" (not that I can grasp how the hell making water could be overpowered but anyway).
Heymish Apr 10th 2007 3:07PM
I think there should be a vending machine that falls out of the sky that players can click on and can buy as much food and water as they want for 1s 25c a piece. Lol. I know that wouldn't work, but we can dream. Hmmm... Its not so unplausable for engineers though.
Quoi Apr 10th 2007 3:16PM
It boggles my mind how anyone could be against this idea.
And as for the priest thing, it's getting kind of tiring listening to all the priests complain about how much they think they suck in every thread about something cool another class *might* possibly get.
Mages are getting outnuked by warlocks and moonkin. Are we starting riots and bitching in every single thread ever created? No.
roXet Apr 10th 2007 3:17PM
I get so sick of hearing mages complain about having to conjure water, GET OVER IT. It doesn't cost you anything, make the water and shut up. The soulwell that warlocks got had NOTHING to do with being a time saver, it allowed us to now make 10 healthstones while only using 1 soul shard, that is the main benefit of it, not saving time. Mages have been complaining about nothing ever since the game started, they are just lazy.
Todd Apr 10th 2007 3:27PM
@roXet
Why not just buy your own water and food? Why get upset? Stop being lazy, earn some money, and go buy your own nourishment.
Quoi Apr 10th 2007 3:54PM
@roXet
Time is money, friend.
Ipos Apr 10th 2007 3:55PM
I completely agree with this idea.
Warlocks are mage offshoots they get to dish out healthstones why can't we dishout manastones, why can't we make mana wells or food wells?
Warlocks get soulwells.
I would not mind paying 50s for 1 regent to allow this to happen. I have to pay for my Rune of Portals, Rune of Teleportation and Arcane Powder.
Rune of the Sea, Rune of Nutrition, Mana shard..
Give me regents.. Give me power.
note: I play a 70mage.
Derbeste Apr 10th 2007 4:04PM
roXet,
STFU....seriously. You're being a complete tard.
There are other classes that got TIME saving spells even though the manual spell didn't cost anything.
Take a Paladin's greater blessings. Their 5 minute blessings cost nothing, but they still got Greater blessings that affect every member of that class in the raid, last 3 times as long, and cost a reagent to balance it out.
Why can't the same sort of thing be done for mages? Hell you could even say that the spell could only be cast at a meeting stone or something of that nature.
Seriously....all the whiners that bitch any time another class gets something really need a life. It's not a spell that makes gives their job an advantage. It just takes away some of the tedium.
Remember, Tedious DOES NOT equal challenging.
P.S. I don't play mage, so don't even try to play that card.
Todd Apr 10th 2007 4:22PM
Make this idea a level 70 spell which consumes a huge amount of mana. Make all the conjured water, stack of 20, unique but not conflict with the Glacier Water. Perhaps go so far as to introduce a rare upgrade drop which allows for one unique stack of conjured water which also gives a stat increase, like some foods do.
Scruffy Apr 10th 2007 4:24PM
@2
Mmmm, no. ...though I will admit to being a cantankerous ass here. I read the post as something the devs were mulling over in a kind of, "Hey, we're thinking something like this. What do you [Mages] think of it?"
Personally, I don't see the need for this. Yet. My highest level character is only 48 (a priest; hence the unfortunate 'tude) and my experience playing a Mage only goes up to level 20. I have been grouping with a Mage buddy regularly since about level 25-30 and, while conjuring water or food from a new spell sucks (and esspecially for four players), he seems to do just fine. Food isn't needed since it's two shammies, a mage (him), a priest (me), and a rogue.
I'm not sure where all the grief comes from (aside from conjured foodstuff beggars).
Quoi Apr 10th 2007 4:32PM
@16
So you haven't raided or done an instance as a mage, but you feel qualified to comment on a mage's group duties?
Baluki Apr 10th 2007 4:32PM
Oh, you missed the hilarious Eyonix quote:
"You want your friends to drink from a trough?"
They really do need to do something to help out mages when it comes to handing out food/water. It's not like it's something you would do in-combat.
It should be something kinda goofy too, since a lot of the stuff that mages can do is already weird: turning people into sheep, conjuring muffins, and so on.
I propose: Conjure Snack Table and Conjure Wet Bar. Each spell would require 50% of the mage's mana, and would summon a little table that people can "use" to get a stack of 20 Conjured Nachos or 20 Conjured Martinis. These items would automatically scale to whatever the mage's highest conjurable food/drink items are.
And of course there need to be limits, because food/drink are a good goldsink. Conjured Nachos and Martinis should only last for 1 hour. So you can take as many as you want, but there wouldn't be much of a point in taking more than 20.
Todd Apr 10th 2007 4:49PM
@Baluki
Hah hah. [Conjure Wet Bar] which plops down a full bar, with stools and compassionate Goblin bartender to hear you whine and bitch.
Pritchard Apr 10th 2007 4:53PM
roXet