Mags in PSO were awesome. I will be very unhappy if they are done away with. For the people who don't want mags and say it's a waste of time, simply don't fucking use them in the game if they are there. I sure as hell don't want those damn partner machines.
Last edited by WiZ1988; Oct 1, 2011 at 01:32 AM.
PSO2- Wiz had to be retired, current character is jonesy, female Dewman, jonesy male newman, jonesy male cast- Ship 2
RIP Wiz JP PSU & Blue Burst
Mags (PSO), GAS (PSU), Manastones (Aion), Soul Builds (RIFT)... there's more than one way to implement swappable character customizations that require hours of grind to build up. Not that there was much customization in PSO, everyone had the same stats at the end due to max stat caps, and usually rocked Sato or that one Cell mag with invincibility with Twins/Dolphin/Pewpew.
I don't really care either way as long as the mag system (if any) doesn't have:
1) The mag with the best stats as a huge corporate logo.
2) Fugly looking generic mags with the only option to make them look better being Cash Shop gacha only - US$5 a spin for a 90% chance at junk crafting mats, 9% chance of fruity colors and 1% for something you actually want!
If you dont like cool f***in mags floating around you then f*** you.
Zizan - [WhitexDragon] - Ecchi
It would be kind of hard to not use them if they affect your character as intricately as they did in PSO, you know. That would sort of be like saying, "Oh hey. Here's some armor and a sword, but you don't have to use them if you don't like them."Originally Posted by WiZ1988
But, I'll be damned if all this "WAT YOU DON'T LIKE MAGS OMG YOUR DUMB AND STUFF" hoopla ain't just hilarious.
It appears to me that most of you really don't understand Mags. Mags were integrated heart and soul into PSO. Don't think of them strictly as pets. Think of them chiefly as customizable auxiliary equipment. It's a unit equipped to a special slot, which, by a system with clearly defined limitations and mechanics, can be customized and traded.
PSO was a grinding game. It had a very high level cap which required enormous amounts of experience, and only a relative few have ever achieved it legitimately. In this type of game, you have a lot of time on your hands, where you will be doing the same thing over and over. It's very important to have something to break up the monotony. Better yet, if it's something useful. Such as Mags.
Simply feeding a Mag wasn't enough. You had to consider what to feed it, and to do that, you had to carefully weigh what you really need from it. This gave the player something to think about during the endless marathon sessions of mindless slaughter. Sure, the Mag system was complicated, but you could obtain a clear benefit very easily, and you had plenty of time in the game to think it through. Afterall, if simple repetitive gameplay were enough, then Call of Duty would be all we need.
People complain that Mags allowed low level characters to equip disproportionately high-level equipment. I suppose that may be true, but generally speaking, this is unlikely to be a new player's character, as it takes considerable time and resources not only to raise the mag, but also to collect that twink gear. The advantage is two-fold: First, this allows lower-level characters to keep up with friends whose characters are higher level, and second, it allows an experienced player to advance through lower levels more quickly, until the Mag, equipment and character levels even out. An experienced player has already been through Normal, Hard and Very Hard. He has made that new character to obtain different drops in Ultimate, and he's not missing anything by rushing through the lower levels on his second, third and fourth runs through.
Half of PSO was social in nature. Mag feeding during downtime gave players something productive to accomplish while standing around and chatting. They also provided another subject to chat about.
It was exciting to see what a Mag would become, and fun to see all of the variations. In this aspect, they also provided a measure of cosmetic character customization. Far beyond that, however, Mags provided a level of non-cosmetic, mechanical customization, that could be tinkered with and replaced as desired. Raising a Mag or even a collection of Mags allowed the player to create a character that was uniquely his own. Your Mags are a vital part of your character's build, and frankly, I thought their execution in the game was splendid.
That Mags were trade-able added a layer to the game's barter-economy. Mag trading was the only facet of the game's barter-economy that wasn't completely trashed by the hacking and duping epidemic, which went on for pretty much of the game's run. Many found the idea of trading weapons and armor to be quite appealing, but frankly, everyone knew that a duped Spread Needle with crazy %'s was basically the only weapon you'd ever need. Mags were a bit more variable though, and had cosmetics to consider in addition to stats. This wasn't a major draw for everyone, but it's well worth pointing out, regardless.
The Photon Blasts were always an exciting thing, especially once we realized that they could be stacked, for three fantastic, murderous attacks and a blast of Shifta & Deband that couldn't be matched by any Force in the game. Perhaps even more helpful in a game which liked to inundate you with status effects and overtly aggressive foes, were the little event-driven specials, which might heal you, revive you, or possibly drop Shifta & Deband on you. The perfect Mag would make you invincible for three events, and resurrect you on your death. Few variations did this, however, and this was yet another bit of give and take to tinker with.
Taking full advantage of a Mag was never a casual player's forté, but a casual player could still benefit from this bit of equipment. I don't know that Mags necessarily need to be in PSO2, but in a very little package, they added a great deal to the game-- especially for those who took the time to really consider them. That said, if Mags will not be in PSO2, then there should at least be some equivalent package for structured, weighs-and-balances interchangeable character customization. I am very, very confident that PSO would have been less of a game without them. Customization is an important factor in this type of game's ability to immerse its player. Mags contributed to this in PSO, and PSO2 needs something of the sort, as well.
I don't know that Mags absolutely need to be implemented in PSO2,
PSO2 needs mags so I can rage to my friends when I accidently feed my mag a Solatomizer instead of a staratomizer
MAGS
Ok. This is more how I want them to work. They will have 4 stats, you feed them anything to raise these stats. Depending on what you feed them/stat you raise their appearance changes. When the Mag gains PBG at every 25% something happens. At 25% you get a small stat boost or heal, if you die it may revive you(PBG empties). At 50% you get a large stat boost or heal, if you die it may revive you(PBG empties). At 75% you may get revived if you die, but at this point you get the PB(since the Mirage Blast was basically Photon Blast all of these are included). Depending on what you feed it determinds which ones you have. If you die you lose the PB until you build the PBG back up and the PBG won't go up until you use the PB. At 100% you get the small bonuses, you may get revived if you die. At full you get race specific moves
Cast Mags turn into and become their SUV Weapons
Beasts & their Mags fuse to make the Nanoblasts
Humans & their Mags team-up to do unlimited enhanced PAs for a set time
Newmans & their Mags team-up to do unlimited enhanced Techs for a set time
I pit this in another thread, but it would be better here. PSO style Mags with concepts from PSU & PSU partner machinary. So things can be tweaked for balance, but it could work.
Let me put mag design into a concept form.
Human are a type of "intelligent hunter" much like many famous carnivorous animal like tiger, wolves etc.
To keep intelligent hunter animal (players) healthy inside a zoo (game) require them to be able to make decisions while living (grinding) there. These decision can be as simple as "let's sit over there instead" to "what in the world is this thing?" to "let's calculate some rocket trajectory for fun". The better zoo can allow these animals to make more decisions during their daily routine, and happier animals live longer and attract more visitors (anyone want to see sad and sick tiger?).
In a sense, just by making us think about a decision in itself is a form of entertainment. I am sure some people require more of this form of entertainment than others, but we all need a basic amount of it. Not many people can do an unrewarding job (give you less room to make money decision), and on top of it being unproductive (no decision making on the job). Having either one is fine (fun job that pay less VS boring ass job that pay well), but having neither is unacceptable.
PSO's mag was one of the game's element to make us feel entertained through decision making. It was also one of the most impacting (equipment type decision). Mags were about the only (meaningful) decision making element that exist in both combat and non-combat zone.
Surely, a game can reach the same function without mag. However, by this point, anyone who played PSO can agree that mag is THE most impacting equipment in the game. Heck, most class can't even use spread needle until lv100+ without a mag. PSO and mag should be mentioned on the same sentence. Last thing I want in PSO2 is to use manastone like aion. If PSO going to be a generic MMo, please at least be generic in PSO way.
To sum up my feeling of mag.
"If mag is around, it better be meaningful; if not, we better get something way better."
An element that replace mag need to have:
-decision making in combat zone
-decision making in non-combat zone
-is an important decision
-visually apparent
-wide range of final forms to choose from
-wide range of ways to raise it (different food)
-good range of ways to reach the same final form
-medium-fast rate of interval between each decision (I say 20 minutes)
-trade-able
-probably more that I failed to mention... (wasted enough time)
So "one single" element that replace mag... will just be a mag 2.0 regardless of what it is called (due to the requirement being so specific). I don't think I have play a single MMO (or even game) with one single element that serve as many function as PSO mag. The closest thing is probably pokemon, but not a single pokemon fit the whole requirement (such as each pokemon has definite final form instead of starting from being the same pokemon).
To break one single element into many different elements will have a result I am incapable of predicting.
See if ya never used them you gimped yourself.
I found them a time sink unneeded myself, feeding them for some stat changes was simply a time sink I never cared for. The inviicblity thing while nice was something random. I never like random shit.
What if the new mag's(if there called that ) where some type of battle enhancement unit. Say to your character or weapon. There would be parts you could find on your way thru the world to build your unit enhancer, Which you would take to a tinker that would work on your combination of parts while you are hunting or running missions that way you don't have to waiting hand and foot on it. How would it work in Combat, It would use an Energy system like the PB gauge that on the amount of energy you wanted to you use would determined the power or duration of the enhancement. It won't work like adding stats but would be based on your build and how you use the Gauge in combat. It could boost your speed, add extra armor for defense, change your weapon to add new abilities, or add new abilities to your team. They don't have to be game breaking but be able to have little niche's that help game play. The nice thing is you'll be in total control of how you be able to use it based on your skill and no randomness. And you'll be able to build it how you want it with no down time, More time with your friends and your runs. Just a Thought.
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