Sif Muna Channeling: Removing 'aa' Spam

[Tiktacy]

At a certain piety level(maybe at ******?), sif muna gives a buff while outside of combat that disables the use of channeling, but will give the effect of hungerless channeling each turn by default as long as you are standing still/resting. It can be flavored as "Sif Muna allows mana to be passively channeled while you have great peace of mind."

This way, players would no longer be forced to spam 'aa' while out of combat to avoid a dangerous confrontation while low on mana(which is usually the optimal play). It would be a buff to Sif Muna who is already very good, but I think giving her an unneeded buff in exchange for removing a tedious and unpleasant part of her worship is a fair trade.

[kuniqs]

Pick one:

1) Vehumet used to lower mp cost of spells. Would that power be equally bad on Sif Muna?
2) Similar to slow resting with mobs in LOS, give Sif Muna mp regeneration when nobody's in LOS.
3) Give Sif Muna mp regeneration effect of amulet of mana regeneration, and make those amulets useless for Sifmunites.

[Lacuenta]

Why not just add a/increase the piety cost so its no longer usefull to spam channel?

[Tiktacy]

Why not just add a/increase the piety cost so its no longer usefull to spam channel?

That would be a big nerf to sif muna considering channeling is her main ability.

[Lacuenta]

So? It would solve all the issues. Besides it seems like channel should be an in combat choice not a way to regen faster. Could make it cost 1 point so its still usefull outside combat just no longer optimal. Piety gain could be increased a bit too make books appear a bit faster and create a trade-off situation; earlier books/more mana now.

[Tiktacy]

So? It would solve all the issues. Besides it seems like channel should be an in combat choice not a way to regen faster. Could make it cost 1 point so its still usefull outside combat just no longer optimal. Piety gain could be increased a bit too make books appear a bit faster and create a trade-off situation; earlier books/more mana now.

You have yet to mention what is wrong with the original proposal. It seems like you completely ignored it actually. The original proposal would keep the design of sif muna the same but remove the problematic elements. What you are suggesting just changes it without any justifiable reason. What makes your idea the better solution? Why does sif muna channeling need to be removed instead of improved?

[Lacuenta]

You are right, I apologies for offroading your proposal. I thought the thread title implied that you were looking for different ways too handle the issue.
Perhaps a mod could be so kind and delete my posts?

[archaeo]

You have yet to mention what is wrong with the original proposal.

It's possible they thought it was obvious:

At a certain piety level(maybe at ******?), sif muna gives a buff while outside of combat that disables the use of channeling, but will give the effect of hungerless channeling each turn by default as long as you are standing still/resting. It can be flavored as "Sif Muna allows mana to be passively channeled while you have great peace of mind."

What counts as "outside of combat"? How long do I need to be standing still? During the period of time between 1* and 6*, do I still have to mash aa like normal? How is this meaningfully different from simply giving more MP regen, and if there is a meaningful difference, why is it better?

I don't think anything here needs to be modded; Sif reform has always been popular, after all, and everybody's got their pet ideas.

[Tiktacy]

What counts as "outside of combat"?

No enemies in LOS.

How long do I need to be standing still?

No time at all, clicking 's' will act the same as though you clicked 'aa' but without the hunger as long as you have the buff, which you will have while out of LOS of monsters(not in combat).

During the period of time between 1* and 6*, do I still have to mash aa like normal?

No, I merely suggested ****** as a possibility. Personally, I would prefer if you got this peace of mind effect upon joining.

How is this meaningfully different from simply giving more MP regen, and if there is a meaningful difference, why is it better?

MP regeneration is my least favorite suggestion given for sif muna for multiple reasons. First and most importantly, MP regeneration turns sifs only real ability into a no brainer. Channeling as it exists presents various different interesting choices within combat. For example, you can plug up a corridor with ice beasts and hide behind them to try netting some MP safely while in combat, or you could pull a weaker monster into a corridor to block off a dangerous enemy to try channeling some mana. Perhaps you are low on HP and totally out of mana in a dangerous encounter, you are put in a situation where you have to weigh your options; "Should I cut my losses and spend one of my last teleportation scrolls, or should I try regenerating some mana to help with my escape? Can I survive a few more turns in this situation if I choose to channel instead of teleport?"

In addition to this, MP regeneration would make sif muna too similar to Vehumet. Obviously there are differences, but the main idea is that you are passively gaining mana to alleviate mana as a limiting factor in how long you can continue fighting safely. Channeling does something similar, but instead of regenerating passively, you are presented with a tactical choice.

On a more subjective level, I also think channeling is a lot cooler of an ability than just lame-old MP regeneration. You get a real invokable god ability instead of just another number. Imagine if mahkleb just gave you HP regeneration passively, what fun would that be?

TL;DR: Why throw something away when you can simply fix what is broken about it?

[kuniqs]

In my experience, the only 'strategy' when using channeling is to hovel in a corridor, put up a flame cloud between youself and your enemies and spam aa.
All of my Sif Muna pc's almost never had to fight in melee because it was more optimal to aa a few times and cast a heavy spell.