Source
r/Eldenring•
phaerodox

Speculation on magic in Elden Ring

Discussion & Info

Being that I can't draw anything nice looking, I figured I can help this sub cope with the lack of news with other means: thinking about/starting discussions on potential game details/mechanics.

To me, it seems there's going to be more focus on magic and casting with Elden Ring when compared to other FromSoft titles. If the newest rumor turns out true and there are "schools of magic" and the game has more high fantasy elements, this really leads me to believe magic is at the forefront of Elden Ring's story and gameplay.

Something that stands out to me as well was in interviews its mentioned that From is going to be able to do things in this game they could never do in Dark Souls. When I read this, I thought of magic and how its presented and used in Dark Souls (specifically 3 since its the newest/most refined of the series). In Dark Souls 3 including both DLCs, there are 106 "spells" (38 sorceries, 38 miracles, and 30 pyromancies). This seems like a good number of magic "abilities" to have in a game of this scale, but if you've played Dark Souls 3 (online especially) you'd know that magic takes a backseat for most players.

While extremely strong, most of the useful/viable magic isn't obtainable until mid to late game and usually requires a hefty stat investment. Not only that, but you're limited by an FP bar, where as a melee build is not. All of these things attribute to the fact that most people would rather not spend the time to gather all the right rings, staffs, talismans, tomes, etc. to make a proper magic build. Don't get me wrong. With the right set up, magic is incredibly strong but like I said, requires too much of an investment to deem worthy for most players.

Moving on to Elden Ring. Obviously not much has been confirmed. However, if the rumor about different schools of magic and casting styles is true, this could mean that magic may even be a sort of requirement. I'm hoping we get more diverse magic, because although there are 106 spells in Dark Souls 3, many of them are iterations of the same. Different elements (not just blue stuff, lightening, fire, and dark) would be nice. Maybe something along the lines of earth magic, gravity based magic, water magic, necromancy, summoning ,etc. including the types of magic found in other titles. If you read any of the rumors, it seems there will still be defined melee builds, and caster builds, but I still think that magic is going to have more uses beyond what we're used to in previous Fromsoft games. Maybe we'll get a sort of "strength" magic, or "dex" magic (whos to say these will even be the stats we get in game).

Curious as to what this sub is thinking/hoping for. If this sub likes this kind of thing I'd be willing to think up a discussion topic every now and then. Try not to go hollow out there...I know I'm barely hanging on.

Posted Apr 3, 2020, 12:48 AM UTC

86
Hellwheretheywannabe•

I want moon magic that is focused on illusions. Like a spell that allows you to make a copy of the enemy that fights for you. Or you make a copy of an enemy that you control.

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phaerodoxOP•

That's actually really interesting. Again, illusory magic is another example of something that was done in dark souls but could have been more fleshed out.

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premium_potato•

I share the thought of magic beeing more of a key element in the world than it was in previous games.

Lore/story-wise I have two ideas.

Magic could have been something that was made with the creation of the world and the establishment of the Elden Ring. That means, when the Elden Ring was shattered, magic was critically weakened as well. The magic school system broke down and many wizards died in the catastrophal events. The player character could be one of the few surviving magicians of the school which is chosen at the start of the game and has a small arsenal of spells in his possession. Through his journey he meets NPCs who can teach new spells or visit special places like altars or something to get more spells.

My other theory would be, that magic was something that opposed the Elden Ring and got way more popular and strong with the shattering (magic could even be the reason for the shattering). This would mean that we are one if many scholars of our chosen magic school and would at some point find out about what magic has done to the world. With the ambition to (maybe) restore the world order and the Elden Ring our character would become an enemy of all magic schools. This could end up in sick boss fights against great magicians or in getting invaded by magicians who are trying to stop you. New spells could be learned through defeating invaders and bosses. Or maybe there are NPCs that don't hate the player character and teach some spells to him.

For the schools I believe there won't be too many of them. Maybe one for illusion magic (becoming invisible, create a shadow that fights for you, distracting lights or sth like that), one school for fire and lightning elements (Gwyn sends his regards) and maybe another one for pure magic like soul arts and stuff like that. I'm not too creative when it's about different kinds of magic, because I don't know how they can possibly balance all of them.

Maybe you like my ideas

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careless__•

if you recall diablo 2 had character classes that had skill trees that were essentially skills based on the chosen class, like a barbarian had the whirlwind attack or ground pound.

I imagine there would be skills that act as "magic" similar to that of Diablo games that allow the user to invest in spells that are weighted towards their build and further enhance what they are good at, with some magic abilities being available to all classes so as to better balance the game. Something like Sekiro but with different classes or paths, but maybe not quite like Path of Exile, which is also decent as well, but I don't think it's Fromsofts style. It could change.

Baldurs gate games typically have this style of magic as well. I mean there are tons of others.. This is not a new concept. In Diablo games, some of the wearable items even granted +X number of skill points to particular skill as well, meaning if you invested 20 points into a skill, and the weapon is +2 for that particular skill, it might make sense to use that weapon over another that is slightly more powerful because your damage per second / over time / per use allows you to effectively operate in your class even with a slightly lower tiered weapon.

TBH I always felt the DS spell mechanics were a bit under-developed and I never really felt powerful during PvE running in circles and casting soul arrows and whatnot. I know it can be made to be devastating to enemies, but it just seemed a little bland.

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phaerodoxOP•

Never played Diablo 2, but sounds pretty cool. As for Baldurs gate I remember playing one on GameCube when I was a kid so I didn't have a full grasp on it. What you mentioned here though does remind me of weapon scaling in dark souls, which I do hope also carries over to elden ring.

That last bit you put about dark souls spell mechanics is exactly my point. It isn't as fleshed out as it potentially could have been. Many spells are an afterthought or just similar versions of something that already exists, or a step above another spell. I'm really hoping elden ring brings something more to the table for casters and magic users.

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alleywaypip•

A few classic spells I wish would manifest into this game: Enlarge Person, Summon Monster, Fly, Haste, Slow, Spider Climb

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