Gafgarion

So, uh...hiya. I just keep wandering by PGoH, sometimes sooner than later, but I keep ending up here.

So, uh...I can finally say I've mastered the Art of War. After reading what Sun Tzu had to say, and applying it to the world of Ultima Online, I have become a better battler than I had ever dreamed possible. It's not to be confused with, for example, saying I'm immortal and can beat any foe out there. I just react better, and have a vast wealth of knowledge of warfare behind me now.

So, uh...after a bit of thought (I still have to think over it a bit more however) I might rejoin (or attempt to rejoin, more accurately) PGoH. After I finally learned most of what there is to learn about the world of Britannia, I have finally decided to rest. What better place, than one of my old guilds, with old friends?

So, uh...I guess that's it.

- Gafgarion, journey ended, Master of War

I'll settle for NeoCron in the meantime

http://www.neocron.com

Just to clear a few things up, here is what's going on.

**EDIT**

Ok, so the last patch completely made the old version of Precasting enabled. No more messing with equiping weapon before targeting cursor appears. Now, if you equip it before the cursor appears, your concentration is broken and the spell is ruined.

**END EDIT**

A mage w/o a weaponskill  vs. a mage w/ weaponskill and precasting will lose hands down. -- LizShue

Not quite, mainly this still is based upon the skill of the caster(s). For example, if you are an experienced PvP Pure Mage and fighting a less experienced PvP Precasting Mage, 9 times out of 10 the experience wins out.

And don't forget that, in order to precast effectively now, you must have a reasonable amount of dexterity, more than 25 +11 (Agility), preferably around 45-60, or innitiate the battle (whereas, unlike counter-attacking, you will instantly swing your weapon, not making contact if you dex is low for about 1-1.5 seconds).

EXAMPLE

Mage A has these skills/stats

100 STR/INT  25 DEX

GM Magery -- Evaluating Intelligence -- Meditation -- Magic Resistance -- Inscription -- Poisoning -- Wrestling

Mage B has these skills/stats

80-90 STR  80-90 INT  45-65 DEX

GM Magery -- Evalutating Intelligence -- Meditation -- Magic Resistance -- Wrestling -- Swordsmanship -- Tactics -- **Precasting**

With the recent (upcoming) changes, Mage B has a slight disadvantage to Mage A because of the inscreased strength of spells. With the lower HP, Mage B could very well lose before he knew what happened.

A mage w/ weaponskill and precasting vs. a warrior now has a tougher time of things as they have droped inscription/healing/poisoning, and the mages weapon can't insta hit - making it worthless. -- LizShue

This is partially true, whereas the mage now has a tougher time battling the common Dex Monkey, but it still relies on the skill of the mage. A Mage is only as good as his skills, says some.

A warrior gains the ability to pre-cast greater heal and sit on it, with no disadvantages. -- LizShue

Mostly this is true, except in the case of the Lumberjacker, whereas most of his skills are already used up. He would have to remove some type of favorable skill to throw in Magery and re-balance his stats to be at no disadvantage, else he faces the risk of relying on his Greater Heal instead of potions/bandages (a common occurance on Test Center 6 tx6).

Pre-casting without the insta hit is actually a NERF to mages, not some sort of bonus. -- LizShue

Basically, that's how I see it, but it still lies in the skill of the mage.

It was the fact I could get a few whacks in then get my FS off without delay.....often this was enough to finish the work I had started with Hally or Sword. -- BB

This is very much the case now. With merely 1 regular hit with a GM/Magic Halberd followed by your precasted FS, you now can practically kill any person within seconds.

...or Ill just have to learn new tactics! -- Kalinaf

That's what it comes down to every patch that changes any skill, isn't it?

I lost track of where I am going with this, so I'm going to end this giant post now.

(P.S. - I've been honing my PvP skills for the last few months and will readily accept any challenges from anyone new or old.)

(P.S.S. - I'm not picking on anyone with the numerous quotes, just making a few points. There were various points with the various posts here.)