Grimrock

Really enjoying Grimrock 2! Here's some ideas how to improve what I think is the weakest link in the game - the magic system.

Firstly, the 4 elements need more personality. They basically do damage in different colors. The choice of element could also be a choice of a preferred playstyle, as follows:

Fire - best overall damage, large AoE's and damage over time - aggressive blaster mage
Earth - strongest defense, battlefield control - buffer / control mage
Ice - debuffs and battlefield control - blaster / control mage
Air - best single target damage, stun, some utility - single target sniper mage with tricks

Level 1 spells could already reflect this:

Fire 1 - Fireburst (AoE damage and burn like it already is)
Earth 1 - Fortitude (armor/vitality buff)
Ice 1 - Chill (AoE damage over time + combat debuff visualized by a blue tint)
Air 1 - Shock (single target damage + stun)

Battlefield control spells are sorely lacking in Grimrock 2, save for one that isn't associated with the elements. I would give Earth and Ice solid walls for battlefield control. Earth would be stronger but Ice would be see through. Fire could have a damage wall and Air could have an anti-missile wall for semi-control. Force Field could be reserved for a "timeout" spell just to drink potions and cast spells inside.

On to casting system! Compared to Grimrock 1, the new drawing system feels a bit gimmicky and needlessly complicated. The 9 opposing runes is a very elegant design but the new system undermines it. I.e. from Fire you can only draw into Life or Spirit - why does Fireball have to have a Life rune in it? The old system was more thematically solid and also less frustrating to use. I would return to that.

Element combinations! In theory, these combinations could lead to some exciting "special" spells but the lack of a large number of spells kind of already defeats the idea. The way it is now makes it mandatory for Fire mages to pick a significant amount of Air skill. And Ice mages have to splash into other elements to be able to cast anything Ice related at all. The elements are also very imbalanced in this regard. The vast majority of spells should only require 1 school, and the elemental combo spells should be a special bonus. I.e. I would suggest all current Fire spells require Fire skill only, and then creating a new Firestorm spell with Fire 3 / Air 3 requirement that would lash out with fiery winds in a 5x5 grid around the party - that would be distinctively Fire AND Air, greatly increasing the AoE over just fire.

Let's see what Earth could look like with a good amount of buff and control:

EARTH

Earth + Spirit = Fortitude (Armor and Vitality buff)
Earth + Balance = Poison Resistance
Earth + Matter = Earth Assault (spikes from the ground, AoE physical damage in a straight line)
Earth + Matter + Balance = Wall of Stone (blocks everything for a duration, high hp but can be smashed)
Earth + Life = Entangle (vines trap mob in place)
Earth + Death = Poison Cloud (dot)
Earth + Spirit + Matter = Summon Earth Elemental (attacks nearest enemy)

EARTH + AIR (3/3)
Earth + Air + Spirit = Earthbind (pulls fliers to the ground around the party and gives them a massive debuff. Or just hits them for a lot of damage.)

EARTH + FIRE (3/3)
Earth + Fire + Matter = Magma Ball (both physical and fire damage, ultimate damage dealer against a single square)

EARTH + ICE (3/3)
Earth + Ice + Matter = Winterblast (turns ground to ice in a 5x5 grid around the party and freezes everything solid, ultimate control)


Overall I think the magic system could be greatly improved with a lot of new spells added. Thanks for reading!

I really like the spell casting system; I think that the rune table idea is quite smart. However, I agree that the different magic schools need a few more spells. Nothing too overpowered not to overshadow other combat styles (melee and ranged), but a bit more diversity for more flair.


I also like the suggestion to differentiate magic schools even further, with related utility, such as the already existing elemental shield you are able to cast if you are trained in that elemental magic type. To expand a little bit:

Fire Magic could be more focused on damage and burn effects (damage over time) while being more costly or having longer cooldowns.

Air Magic could be more related to crowd controlling effects, such as knockback, slow, increase your party's own speed, with some lightning/shock attacks for some damage.

Earth Magic could go with more defensive spells, I agree, with something Earthquake-like later on to compensate the lower poison spells.

Water Magic could have a spell to increase underwater breathing time, as well as some splash attacks for decent AoE, i.e. attacking more than one square at once.


It's fun to speculate!