Variable min ranges on teleport runes

[Grey]

Teleport runes are a little dull right now. The max range is fairly irrelevant (often one wants it lower in fact), and the min range is always the same. If the min range could vary (say 8 - 15) then it would be much more interesting to find different ones.

[Asmageddon]

While I never used teleport runes, I feel that their main use would be teleporting away from enemies, in which case minimum range would be useful.

On the other hand, it would be sorta weird - max range is limited by power of the rune, but what makes it have minimum range? If you want more variety, imho ones that jump shorter distances multiple times or have a chance for controlled teleport would be better.

[Frumple]

Re: Why TP runes have min range: They have a min range so they can be the escape rune that doesn't have an inordinate chance of landing you right beside what you were trying to get away with. Unlike uncontrolled PD runes.

CPD's not as bad, but the range is short (Read: The beaming, critting, manathrust can still reach you if you're in LoS.) and it's possible to fail if you're trying to get on the other side of a wall or something. Teleport runes are the only current rune (ignoring movement infusions, of course.) that is actually guaranteed to get you away from what's killing you. It might land you in a new screw-over position, but it's definitely not going to keep you in your current one. As long as it's got the space to jump to, anyway. 75-90% of the time, TP runes or movement infusions are near infinitely better than uncontrolled or controlled PD runes, respectively.

Re: OP. Variable min range would be interesting. I wouldn't mind, actually, if they had a sort of 'max' min range, and then a minimum min range -- basically that they try to get you >=15 squares away, but if they can't (small level, i.e. adventurer ambush), the rune will try to land you, at least, as far away from your current position as it can. It would make them even more gratuitously better than uncontrolled PD runes

In other news, uncontrolled PD runes might be able to stand some sort of buff. They're pretty crappy Too dangerous to rely on. Maybe let them be activated a second or third time, sequentially, at the cost of the rune itself (or just an inordinately long CD). Not like you don't vacuum up several dozen of the things by the time th'game is over.

[bricks]

Regular phase door runes could be instant-cast, so at the very least you can take additional action if you land in an even worse situation. On the flipside, I'm not sure I want mobs to get instant teleports.

[Sirrocco]

Insta-cast sounds like a solid buff, and makes them a lot more appealing - but honestly, if the mob has one of its slots blown on phase door, I'm pretty happy about that. Making it somewhat more of a pain still doesn't mean that it's worse than dealing with teleport (for hunting the blighter down) or a strong healing infusion. Sounds like a good buff for an otherwise underpowered choice.

[Aquillion]

Honestly, I almost wish that there was some sort of tier system or variable installation cost for infusions.

For the most part, uncontrolled PD runes, Vision runes, and attack runes are going to have trouble stacking up to good healing effects, shields, debuff-removal and the like in terms of power. But there's a lot of stuff there that should be getting used by players, a bit... Maybe if players had more infusion slots, but better infusions used up more slots? That would allow for more variables in designing them. Vision runes use up one slot, controlled phase door/attack effects use up 2, regen / healing / shields use up 3, players start with 9... too many? Maybe the numbers could be tweaked... maybe make players start with 7 or 8 or so. Perhaps very weak or very strong versions of runes could be generated using -1 or +1 slots.

Category points buy you +3 slots. Existing limited-charge runes could instead be given really obscene footprints.

Anyway, just a thought.

[bricks]

Honestly, I almost wish that there was some sort of tier system or variable installation cost for infusions.

For the most part, uncontrolled PD runes, Vision runes, and attack runes are going to have trouble stacking up to good healing effects, shields, debuff-removal and the like in terms of power. But there's a lot of stuff there that should be getting used by players, a bit... Maybe if players had more infusion slots, but better infusions used up more slots? That would allow for more variables in designing them. Vision runes use up one slot, controlled phase door/attack effects use up 2, regen / healing / shields use up 3, players start with 9... too many? Maybe the numbers could be tweaked... maybe make players start with 7 or 8 or so. Perhaps very weak or very strong versions of runes could be generated using -1 or +1 slots.

Category points buy you +3 slots. Existing limited-charge runes could instead be given really obscene footprints.

Anyway, just a thought.

Starting to get way off-topic, but I think this is a really great idea.

[Tom]

Teleport runes are a little dull right now. The max range is fairly irrelevant (often one wants it lower in fact), and the min range is always the same. If the min range could vary (say 8 - 15) then it would be much more interesting to find different ones.

A nice idea indeed.

If there are random ranges, pls also make the rune show if it is possible to use it.
It is VERY annoying to try a rune and see nothing happens but you beeing killed.

Green items should work.
Gray items should not work due to out-of-range or low on recources etc etc.
Red items are on cooldown, or you beeing stunned, so they do not work either.
(stunned player should perhaps mean runes/infusuins are gray too)

But green items should ALWAYS work, and NEVER fizzle, IMO.
If this is to much, at least give a warning message, and allow an <escape> in case of fizzle to try something else.

Tom

[Aquillion]

IMHO Teleport runes should just never fizzle. If it can't find an available spot in range, it should try again with the minimum halved -- doing something is better than doing nothing.