Spell Durations and juggling Spell Matrixs

[meerkat]

I think most players that have played casters would agree the bane of your existance is juggling Spell Matrixs. (well at least till you get to high level which few campaigns do)

I am keen to hear the Devs opinions on how this was envisioned to work to maintain game balance.

My own biased opinion (as a caster) runs like this..

Spell has a duration in Days...Put it in a Matrix/cast it/reattune matrix with a 10 minute downtime with another spell and enjoy for multiple days..
Spell has a duration in Hours...Put it in a Matrix/cast it/reattune matrix with a 10 minute downtime with another spell and enjoy for a few hours..
Spell has a duration in Minutes...Put it in a Matrix/cast it/do not reattune matrix so it will always consume a matrix slot and keep casting it every few minutes you are in a dungeon/on watch/expecting trouble etc..
Spell has a duration in Rnds...Put it in a Matrix/cast it when you are already in a fight and it will always consume a matrix slot

There is of course the opportunity to reattune on the fly which is what you might do to your minute duration spell matrixs in combat but I just wanted to hear what the intent was to make sure my interpretation wasn't perverting the intended game balancing function of Spell Matrixs..

[galafrone]

i am missing something here ? when you put a spell in a matrix that spell stays in forever unless you dont change it with another spell.
you dont have to reattune nothing AFTER A CAST of that spell from that matrix afaik
you reattune only if you want cast a different spell safely (that is, using a matrix)
i am wrong ?

[Mataxes]

I think he's talking about how if you hav a spell that has a duration of hours, you probably don't need to keep it "at the ready" in your matrix -- you can cast the spell and then swap it out for another that has a shorter duration.

[galafrone]

ah, yeah. if you have a hour duration spell, you can cast it and then he stays until the end
it doesnt have nothing to do with the use/reuse of matrix
you can use the matrix that held it in for another spell without troubles
i cant really see the point of the post tbh
but probably it's my bad english comprehension

[ukhata]

he simply wishes to know why this system was implemented.
the philosophy as to why the dev's thought matrices were needed.
at least thats what i got from it

[meerkat]

Actually I think Matrixs are about game balence so low level casters can't cast every spell they know which would make them too powerful/versatile. The way it stands you can cast a couple of your spells that you have prepared but nothing else unless you reattune on the fly.

eg if your caster has 3 matrixs he may have one attack, one defence and one miscellaeous spell stored in them. Say the attack is mystic damage and you run into a critter that has high mystic armour you are in trouble until you reattune on the fly to an attack spell that does physical damage. Without matrixs to limit the spells you can cast you'd just change spells without missing a beat. Or you'd have just the right utility spell everytime!

My question was if swopping out day or hour duration spells after casting them and putting in other spells was their original vision or was this exploiting an unintended feature of the system?

Eg. My 4th Circle Nethermancer has Spirit Servant, he casts it and then put another spell in the matrix for the multiple days the Spirit Servant lasts

[arma]

Well, we're not the original creators, so we can't talk a lot about original intent...
...but yes, you're totally supposed to just cast long-Duration spells and swap them out.
For the most part, they're not critical to what you're doing, and come as an added bonus that, in other games, would be covered by minor magic items. ED casters are a bit weaker in things like damage output compared to other games, but they're effectively replacing the need for the mentioned magic items or single-use items.
That's all for spells you can safely cast, mind you. Daily routine. Cavalrymen can ride all day, casters can do their thing, etc..

[Flagg]