Fire touch needs to be mana free.

[goodgimp]

I don't care if that means it needs to be weakened, but it absolutely sucks being out of mana and not being able to do anything, even harvest. I also hate expending a tactical resource to harvest.

In a fast paced schmup game, I should never be stuck unable to do anything unless I'm incapacitated or stunned by a creature.

Anyone agree or disagree?

[wyvern83]

Actually, why even require a spell for harvesting? What if you simply pressed 'e' to harvest or something like that? Simply picking it up would seem a little too easy but a button press might work.

[BobTheJanitor]

Agreed. The new fire touch fills a different role than the old fire touch. It's pretty much death touch light now. Which is fine, if that's a niche that needs to be filled, so be it. But by no means is it still filling the old niche, which is now empty. Its defining characteristic was that it was a free attack that was 'paid for' by being short range and low power.

Even if harvesting was done by just running up and using something, that still leaves unfilled the hole for a free attack. Weak, short range, fine, but it feels like there should be something there.

[zebramatt]

Actually, why even require a spell for harvesting? What if you simply pressed 'e' to harvest or something like that? Simply picking it up would seem a little too easy but a button press might work.

I said something like this:

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,9583.msg88709.html#msg88709

I'm still inclined towards a separate mining/harvest ability which is not related to melee spells; and mine-able items which therefore cannot be destroyed by melee spells. 

That way you can be sure the player always has a tool with which to harvest without worrying about the impact changing melee spells around might have on it.

And hell, if you wanted to keep it magical with upgrade paths and whatnot, introduce a new category of spells, "Harvest Magic", which are purely for that - and balance them separately.

Finally, if it's worries about having to use an action bar slot the simplest would be to simply have a keybinding for "Use best harvest spell" now that we don't have to worry about healing and mana replenishing keys.

[Bluddy]

I'm ok with making it really really cheap. The main problem is that it's way too expensive. It should be consuming mana only around your recharge rate (maybe slightly below, maybe slightly above). Mana is representing your applied energy and if you choose to mine for a minute, that's something that should take a toll on you -- but only a very minor one.

[x4000]

Will look at this in the next release, thanks for the feedback -- I agree, it's annoying as it is now.