Offensive Skills not defaulting to Attack when OOM [SOLVED]

Spells defaulting to a basic version already exists ingame. When skeletal spark mages run out of mana, they fire a small lightning globe instead.

Players using spells should do similar. The related "default" spells are already in the game too, specifically the basic fire/ice/lit globes used by skeleton mages. Make them low damage, minimum crit rate and zero mana cost, and the issue of casters not being able to take useful action when out of mana/flasks is solved.

Edit: Struck out misinformation. Id still like to see those elemental globes as "default" spells for characters out of mana btw!

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Spells defaulting to a basic version already exists ingame. When skeletal spark mages run out of mana, they fire a small lightning globe instead.

Very good point that i completely over looked. Odd, as i find the mobs actually having a real mana pool in this game, is just bloody fantastic. Wasnt ever a fan of the almighty endless cast bosses that seem to disregard all aspects of the rules.

/back on topic.

To be fair to the game, im gonna give it another shot. I admit, the first 5 levels i was already frustrated beyond belief with this setup, but, maybe it gets better over time when you regen fast enough to not worry bout it.

I guess after playing so many rangers from 0 to 70, i just feel like the other styles are not as smooth in regards to swapping attacks appropriately. Off i go, gonna give it one last go.

Heya GGG. Well, thanks for reading this (assuming you read through the entire thread :D). If nothing else, this just shows that at least you all are watching and reading, taking notes, etc.

Cheers. Great game.

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It would be okay for the first difficulty (and even mid-to-late Act 2 it's a stretch), but after that it's just ridiculous to autoattack.

Well actually , this is really the point in general i think. I havent made it past norm, just started this witch, however, i think as i grow and my mana regen gets better, as you stated, it works out much better. But normal mode is definitely where i am feeling this atm.

I cant deny at higher levels theres really no point to an auto attack, but at normal diff, this unique system POE uses, with no auto attack fall back, is really a pita. Of course, i realise, that GGG isnt going to cater to my needs, however, feedback is feedback, this is mine. :D

Anyways, as i posted before, im actually pluggin away again on the witch, and will see how it pans out after i get a lil further along.

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Mark_GGG wrote:

For the record, it's not "no autoattack fallback". All attack skills - the ones where you're actually using the weapon, will default to the default attack when you don't have the mana.
Spells, which are completely unrelated to your weapon, will not fall back to using the weapon.

This was chosen because it makes sense and fits with player expectations/desires in most cases. If you're hitting things with the hammer, keep doing so until you get the mana back to continue using the cool skill. if you're throwing fireballs, don't suddenly start running at things with your dagger.

Fair enough.

Im just so used to D2, casting fireballs, run out of mana, it automaticly takes a jab with your wand, staff, whatevs. Of course, this aint D2 dammit, its POE. :D

Anyways, pretty sure unless someone else comes along that has this same feeling, this thread will prolly die now. Thanks for reply again, Mark, and everyone else.

While it could make sense if it did default to attack, I'd hate it personnally. Wand attacks are slow as hell most of the time and the last thing I want is to get stuck in an attack animation instead of a fast cast because I tried to cast without hitting my mana pot first. That's even worse if you're using a dagger I feel since you'll actually move toward the mob, which in a lot of cases is a good way to get yourself killed instantly. So I'm perfectly fine with the concept, if I'm using spells, I'm most likely not also using weapons. Some attack based chars use spells, but they don't spam them so defaulting isn't a problem for them either.

I feel it's the best design choice for this mechanic, at least for me. I can see why people might like it better if it defaulted to weapons for consistency, but it makes very little sense in terms of making the gameplay better. Makes it worse for all purposes unless playing a crazy hybrid char for some reason and that's a very very minor cases I think.

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Mark_GGG wrote:

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KoTao wrote:

Spells defaulting to a basic version already exists ingame. When skeletal spark mages run out of mana, they fire a small lightning globe instead.

No. They have two different spells, and choose which to cast each time. The don't only use the regular lightning skeleton projectile when out of mana, and it is not a 'basic version' of spark that it can be replaced with.

Is there some sort of cumulative weight against spark then? They almost always cast it 2-3 times then switch to the lightning globe for many casts, which looks like theyve run out of mana for spark and have been forcibly switched to a free skill. Ive never actually watched closely and tallied the casts, but what ive witnessed in passing didnt look random.

Anyway thanks for the clarification and ill edit my post.