Curse

Batou of Nine · Dec 10, 2005, 06:43 PM // 18:43

Ok, i have spent a while looking for a breakdown of these stats, and have asked my whole guild and no one knows for sure. I tried testing myself, but it is WAY to hard to be accurate when casting a 5 second spell, and simply counting the seconds it takes with lvl 5-10-12 fast casting.

The problem is, Strength, Expertise, Soul Reaping and Energy Storage give you exact results that are either directly explained in the attribute window, or are incredibly easy to see the extent of their affects. Fast casting however, is neither of those. It does not directly tell you HOW fast it increases spell casting per lvl and it is NOT easy to tell when using...

Too me it seems that 1 second deduction per 5 lvls is the case, but if so, then MAN how lame is that?....

Does ANYONE know for sure the break points for fast casting? (i.e. LvL 5 fast casting = 1 second deduction?)

If their IS already a breakdown somewhere, plz plz plz lead me too it!

thanks yall.

Batou of Nine · Dec 10, 2005, 06:56 PM // 18:56

OMFG. the breakpoints are even WORSE then i though. That is HORRIDE!! The diminishing returns pretty much begins from rank one in fast casting. and the only spells that really get any large change are the 6-8 second cast ones. Spells between 3-5, which are more common, are sadly affected and can only be effective if FastCast is at rank 16!! Anything under, is not worth it...

So fast cast is based on the base second casting time PER spell, which means a 1 or 2 second casting spell, is ONLY affect if Fast Cast is at rank 16, and even then 2 second becomes 1, 1 second becomes .50 seconds. CMoooon!!! im angry Grrrrrrr

Nessaja · Dec 10, 2005, 07:31 PM // 19:31

There's also a spell linked to it, which isnt bad at all, shortens cooldown. Except that if you dont use inspirtation, it's next to impossible to gain benefit from it since you dont have that much energy.

For an interrupted... 0.10 seconds different, not sure if it's worth it. 6 in fast cast seems the best as there are diminishing returns in the next two, otherwise 10 points in fast cast would give the best bang for your buck I think.

It's a whole lot more noticeable for rezmers and elementalists in mesmer disguise.

Mjollnir of Eitri · Dec 10, 2005, 07:43 PM // 19:43

Quote:

OMFG. the breakpoints are even WORSE then i though. That is HORRIDE!! The diminishing returns pretty much begins from rank one in fast casting. and the only spells that really get any large change are the 6-8 second cast ones. Spells between 3-5, which are more common, are sadly affected and can only be effective if FastCast is at rank 16!! Anything under, is not worth it...

So fast cast is based on the base second casting time PER spell, which means a 1 or 2 second casting spell, is ONLY affect if Fast Cast is at rank 16, and even then 2 second becomes 1, 1 second becomes .50 seconds. CMoooon!!! im angry Grrrrrrr

What did you expect? Of course Fastcasting has to be based on the base cast time, and a percentage/exponential equation. If it was linear, like you suggested, and took a set number of seconds off, many longer spells would take the same time as short ones (0 seconds). And when I can cast a backfire at the same time as a blackout, regardless of their time differences, that's a little messed up. Unless, of course, you wanted spells to go into a negative time...

I think the fast cast system was pretty fair. Maybe a tad slow, but not too bad.

Batou of Nine · Dec 10, 2005, 07:49 PM // 19:49

i agree. the METHOD is a fair distribution for spell casting times/deductions. HOWEVER, i think they left it on the slow side of the spetrum... They could have easily increased all deductions by like ,10 seconds, and even THAT woulda made an incredible difference, without overpowering...

in essence, it still is not a good enough mesmer specific attribute compared to the other class attributes. The bonuses gained, are greatly outwayed by the bonuses that the other classes get from their attribute...

And i think that is why it is still left either unfinished, or just wasnt thought about enough. I have only played a mesmer for 3 weeks now, and already think that they got lazy with this class, since like 50% of the skills are the same, and its class bonus is hardly there. Dont get me wrong. I love playing a mesmer, its just...well some thought wasnt fully THOUGHT through it would seem...

oh well. there's always chapter 2.

Mjollnir of Eitri · Dec 10, 2005, 08:03 PM // 20:03

And they'd better get Chapter 2 right. Speaking of which: does anyone know of a thread with solid, undisputed, confirmed details about the next one?

Hiryu · Dec 10, 2005, 08:28 PM // 20:28

Fast casting still makes a big and noticable difference when you want to cast stuff like Backfire on a healing monk right before a spike/AoE unleash, etc. Or Diversion, etc. Sure, a little bit faster probably would have been nice, without being overpowering, but yea, I think it's still viable as it is. In paper, it might not look great, but in practice, a setup like 15 Domination, 9 Fast Casting, and 11 Inspiration, the Fast Casting makes a significant difference.

neoflame · Dec 11, 2005, 07:04 PM // 19:04

I don't think cast times are rounded.

TGgold · Dec 12, 2005, 12:02 AM // 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by neoflame

I don't think cast times are rounded.

I didn't think they were either.
If they are, they're probably to the 1/4 second mark, no? I mean, we do have 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 second spells.

Zobi · Dec 12, 2005, 01:26 AM // 01:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGgold

I didn't think they were either.
If they are, they're probably to the 1/4 second mark, no? I mean, we do have 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 second spells.

This sounds about right.

Batou of Nine · Dec 12, 2005, 01:29 AM // 01:29

lol, another rumor? I wonder if this can be confirmed somehow, now that we have that fast casting chart...

Damien · Dec 14, 2005, 10:16 AM // 10:16

It may not seem like a big difference, but if you have any spells with 2 or 3 in casting time you notice the difference. Just try to use energy tap with 10 in fast casting and then again with 0

Burakus Lightwing · Dec 16, 2005, 10:03 PM // 22:03

wow, thanks for this thread. I have been wondering about fast castings overall effectiveness. I have been testing a few builds and playnig around with varrying ranks of fast casting. This explains alot. I aggree with Batou...this is not good enough for mesmer specific build. Other classes have a greater benefit from primary. Should be tweaked to amke it a little "faster"
Also agree with Nessaja...after playing around 6 seems to help a bit and that is as high as I'm noww willing to go. I wouldn't want to sacrifice more att. points here when they can be much more effective in other abilities

Yukito Kunisaki · Dec 21, 2005, 11:02 PM // 23:02

What?

My 1s. spells LOSE their cast bar at 8 fast casting.
2s. spells become 1.6 - 1.7s. or so.

It may not seem like much, but in a duel between spell casters, the one with higher fast casting will own the slower one depending on the circumstances.

Also, if you're of an interrupt build and not spell/hex based, you don't need fast casting as almost all the interrupts are 1/4s. and that's the cap off mark for any spell in terms of speed.

Banebow · Dec 23, 2005, 01:30 AM // 01:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yukito Kunisaki

Also, if you're of an interrupt build and not spell/hex based, you don't need fast casting as almost all the interrupts are 1/4s. and that's the cap off mark for any spell in terms of speed.

Certainly you don't need fast casting in an interrupt build, but how sure are you of the 1/4 cast time cap? I played a lot using cry of frustration (1/4s. cast) and an offhand item that increases casting speed. At times, I would have the normal casting animation, but at times the interrupt would fire with no animation, implying that the spell was casting faster.