The report has dropped. I will provide a post explaining the changes and the overall design and will update the wiki with the skills later tonight. I actually need to go really soon to an event, or I would do it now!
A lot has changed. The big thing is that the old mote paradigm is gone. Now, dreamweavers mark a single dreamcatcher (like bards and their instrument). They can also hang up dreamcatchers. Sleeping in the room of a hung dreamcatcher enhances your sleep, and every time you see a dream, the catcher gains a mote. The dreamweaver can also spawn dreams while in dreamform to charge up a dreamcatcher.
The dreamweaver then goes around to hung dreamcatchers and siphons off the motes into their personal dreamcatcher. They eventually can also hang a special dreamcatcher in Nirvana: their "anchor". The anchor acts like a battery - the dreamweaver can store a huge number of motes there, and use a command from anywhere in the game to pull motes from their anchor to their personal catcher, and vicea versa.
When in the marked dreamcatcher, motes function like power. There is a pool of "reserve" motes and a pool of active motes. When used up, the active motes move into the active pool at a rate equivalent to power (8s). Flicking motes now uses up one of these motes, instead of the discrete item. The dreamweaver can also PLUCK a mote from their dreamcatcher, for use in crafting. Also: try EATing a mote!
Here is the other key mechanic: manifestations and committal. The dreamweaver (currently) has four effects that they can manifest from the dream realm to cause ongoing and difficult to disrupt passives. These are Haunt, Blade, Beast, and Tower. However, each of these has a "commit cost". What that means is that they both consume active motes and reduce the maximum size of the active mote pool while they function. For instance, haunt has a commit cost of 4. That means that if you have no other manifestations in play, your maximum number of active motes is reduced to 6. In this way, the maximum number of manifestations a dreamweaver can have out is limited, and limits their ability to spam motes.
To be clear: You should mark a dreamcatcher and leave it in your inventory forever more. It's something you need to have on hand to use most of dreamweaving, as a focus for your motes. In that sense, it's kind of like an ecology fetish - you never need to wield it, you just need to have it.
You hang other dreamcatchers and use other dreamcatchers to form your anchor.
So quite aside from any combat/balance implications, which I'm probably not knowledgeable enough to comment on, can I say how much I love the new mote/dreamcatcher idea?
It's immersive, creative, wonderfully flavourful and I think pretty damn unique. Brilliant job to all those who came up with it!
I love the idea that dreamwavers will now really be weaving and working with dreams, in a way that ties in nicely to the existing dream mechanics.
The white mist here washes over you in a wave of ghostly tendrils. Scintillating arcs of electricity crackle through the stratus field around Falmiis, slashing across your skin in a painful dance of brilliance. Thin, wispy clouds from Falmiis's cirrus field brush across your skin, causing you to wince. A prickly, stinging sensation spreads through your body. Lightning strobes within the clouds of Falmiis's cumulus field, flashing directly into your face in pulsating blasts of light. Your nerves feel suddenly jangled. Shadowy voices whisper dark warnings in your ear. Unthinking paranoia overcomes you. Blood trickles out of the corners of your eyes. 10758h, 9883m, 6104e, 10p, 26400en, 26400w Blrxkb<>-(sip bromide|sip lucidity)(-1542h, 12.5%, -575e, 7.4%) A crystalline dreambeast briefly flickers out of existence. Whipping translucent tentacles forward, A crystalline dreambeast briefly materializes in the air and latches on to you, leaving you feeling weak and shaken. 10758h, 6759m, 3802e, 10p, 26400en, 26400w Blrxkb<>-(eat sparkleberry)(-3124m, 30.3%, -2302e, 29.5%)
Its got some pretty hefty burst potential from chems.
The amount of motes in anchor is too few. You can easily blow through 250 motes in a fight with active afflicting and beast/blade/haunt/tower. You will likely run out before the fight is over and then have nothing.
1: Please allow the ability to read AB files while asleep and dreaming and filling dreamcatchers. (news, messages, and things like that would be nice too if not already)
2. Please allow the ability to check your defs when in dreamform.
So I used the same things against Gero as I used against anyone else (actually, I even added static and reality against Gero for more vital pression/mental affs) and I think I only managed to get him below 50% once, after I used channel. Most of the time he wasn't even close. Not really sure what was different about Gero compared to everyone else who I tried it on.
1: Please allow the ability to read AB files while asleep and dreaming and filling dreamcatchers. (news, messages, and things like that would be nice too if not already)
2. Please allow the ability to check your defs when in dreamform.
2. Reduce Catchers to 3 needed only. 1 personal, 1 non Nirvana hung, 1 Anchored.
Set it up like this.
You hang a non Nirvana catcher and it is only useable by you. It can only be actively filled to capacity by 'dreamweave dream' and holds 250 motes. You siphon from this dreamcatcher.
When you learn Anchor you can anchor a dreamcatcher in Nirvana and this acts like a power node, but is linked to your previously hung dreamcatcher. Your Anchor slowly fills up with motes to 500 and as your non-Nirvana dreamcatcher is emptied it replenishes from the Anchored one.
This reduces the need to hang dreamcatchers all over the landscape, which any dreamweaver can walk off with, makes Anchor a skill that people say "Yay, I get passive motes now!" and makes the whole dreamcatcher system more useable, less greify, and less clutter in every room description.
1: Please allow the ability to read AB files while asleep and dreaming and filling dreamcatchers. (news, messages, and things like that would be nice too if not already)
2. Please allow the ability to check your defs when in dreamform.
3. Dreamblade does to little to pressure.
4. Dreambeast does to much to pressure.
Are you able to elaborate on this please?
Dreamblade hits for 2% - 3% of vitals. Even with reduced regen, this is ignorable. DreamBeast hits to fast and scales really well for some people over others. Either it needs to be slowed down or have its scaling slightly reduced.
Scroll up and look at Veyils' post on numbers in testing.
Comments
A lot has changed. The big thing is that the old mote paradigm is gone. Now, dreamweavers mark a single dreamcatcher (like bards and their instrument). They can also hang up dreamcatchers. Sleeping in the room of a hung dreamcatcher enhances your sleep, and every time you see a dream, the catcher gains a mote. The dreamweaver can also spawn dreams while in dreamform to charge up a dreamcatcher.
The dreamweaver then goes around to hung dreamcatchers and siphons off the motes into their personal dreamcatcher. They eventually can also hang a special dreamcatcher in Nirvana: their "anchor". The anchor acts like a battery - the dreamweaver can store a huge number of motes there, and use a command from anywhere in the game to pull motes from their anchor to their personal catcher, and vicea versa.
When in the marked dreamcatcher, motes function like power. There is a pool of "reserve" motes and a pool of active motes. When used up, the active motes move into the active pool at a rate equivalent to power (8s). Flicking motes now uses up one of these motes, instead of the discrete item. The dreamweaver can also PLUCK a mote from their dreamcatcher, for use in crafting. Also: try EATing a mote!
Here is the other key mechanic: manifestations and committal. The dreamweaver (currently) has four effects that they can manifest from the dream realm to cause ongoing and difficult to disrupt passives. These are Haunt, Blade, Beast, and Tower. However, each of these has a "commit cost". What that means is that they both consume active motes and reduce the maximum size of the active mote pool while they function. For instance, haunt has a commit cost of 4. That means that if you have no other manifestations in play, your maximum number of active motes is reduced to 6. In this way, the maximum number of manifestations a dreamweaver can have out is limited, and limits their ability to spam motes.
I haven't read these, and don't have the time right now. When I add it to the wiki I will spell/fact check the ABs as necessary.
You hang other dreamcatchers and use other dreamcatchers to form your anchor.
Making dreamcatchers permanent and maybe generating x motes per month seems like the obvious one.
It's immersive, creative, wonderfully flavourful and I think pretty damn unique. Brilliant job to all those who came up with it!
I love the idea that dreamwavers will now really be weaving and working with dreams, in a way that ties in nicely to the existing dream mechanics.
Very freaking cool!!!
no afflictions "(-781m, 7.6%, -575e, 7.4%)"
1 affliction "(-1562m, 15.2%, -1151e, 14.8%)
With 2 afflictons 2343m, 22.7%, -1727e, 22.1%)"
With 3 afflictions (-3124m, 30.3%, -2302e, 29.5%)
with 4 affflictions (-3905m, 37.9%, -2878e, 36.9%)
Once every 5 seconds
The dagger does (-309h, 2.5%, -324m, 3.1%, -260e, 3.3%)" every five seconds. Doesn't change for mental affs
Can have both up at the same time.
Scintillating arcs of electricity crackle through the stratus field around Falmiis, slashing across
your skin in a painful dance of brilliance.
Thin, wispy clouds from Falmiis's cirrus field brush across your skin, causing you to wince.
A prickly, stinging sensation spreads through your body.
Lightning strobes within the clouds of Falmiis's cumulus field, flashing directly into your face in
pulsating blasts of light.
Your nerves feel suddenly jangled.
Shadowy voices whisper dark warnings in your ear.
Unthinking paranoia overcomes you.
Blood trickles out of the corners of your eyes.
10758h, 9883m, 6104e, 10p, 26400en, 26400w Blrxkb<>-(sip bromide|sip lucidity)(-1542h, 12.5%, -575e,
7.4%)
A crystalline dreambeast briefly flickers out of existence.
Whipping translucent tentacles forward, A crystalline dreambeast briefly materializes in the air and
latches on to you, leaving you feeling weak and shaken.
10758h, 6759m, 3802e, 10p, 26400en, 26400w Blrxkb<>-(eat sparkleberry)(-3124m, 30.3%, -2302e, 29.5%)
Its got some pretty hefty burst potential from chems.
Shielding, Psi shield, prone, web etc does not stop dreamweave channel.
There doesn't seem to be any counter play to it other than either you can out heal it or you cant.
One of the shielding forms should stop it.
Tradition? Has there even been a year when you've been playing where this hasn't happened?
1: Please allow the ability to read AB files while asleep and dreaming and filling dreamcatchers. (news, messages, and things like that would be nice too if not already)
2. Please allow the ability to check your defs when in dreamform.
3. Dreamblade does to little to pressure.
4. Dreambeast does to much to pressure.
1. Move Anchor to almost Trans.
2. Reduce Catchers to 3 needed only. 1 personal, 1 non Nirvana hung, 1 Anchored.
Set it up like this.
You hang a non Nirvana catcher and it is only useable by you. It can only be actively filled to capacity by 'dreamweave dream' and holds 250 motes. You siphon from this dreamcatcher.
When you learn Anchor you can anchor a dreamcatcher in Nirvana and this acts like a power node, but is linked to your previously hung dreamcatcher. Your Anchor slowly fills up with motes to 500 and as your non-Nirvana dreamcatcher is emptied it replenishes from the Anchored one.
This reduces the need to hang dreamcatchers all over the landscape, which any dreamweaver can walk off with, makes Anchor a skill that people say "Yay, I get passive motes now!" and makes the whole dreamcatcher system more useable, less greify, and less clutter in every room description.
Dreamblade hits for 2% - 3% of vitals. Even with reduced regen, this is ignorable.
DreamBeast hits to fast and scales really well for some people over others. Either it needs to be slowed down or have its scaling slightly reduced.
Scroll up and look at Veyils' post on numbers in testing.