I'm guessing this doesn't apply to archers/nukers/melee in the least but I could be wrong.
Heck some skills are even better in inventory form than what you spend actual sp/levelling on. For example, mine.. and I'm including all forms, whether it's slightly worse, the same, or better.
Cardinal
*90% rez
Can be found at 50% in a clan hall, 100% in a brez scroll, 100% on a pet scroll, and 0% on a regular scroll. Can be found as an augment all the way up to highest level rez. Siege charms eliminate the need for a rez to begin with.
*WW2
haste potion is slightly slower, greater haste pots the same, and WW on a scroll is the same and lasts much longer.
*Greater heal
Any HoT pot (lesser heal pot, heal pot, etc) but weaker than the skill, herbs
*Major Heal
QHP, instant no delay but heals for less. Life elixirs, heals a lot but has a delay. Greater herbs heal for more than I ever could.
Well, my situation is somewhat special, because my Songs are stackable with most of the scroll-and-potion effects out there... but, then again, the songs don't last an hour...
Level 65 SE versus Scroll / NPC / Potion
Not counting augments, because they are random
Might? Check S/N
Shield? Check S/N
Wind Walk? Check, Check, Check S/N/P
Mental Shield? Check N
Focus? Check S/N
Guidance? Check S/N
Death Whisper? Check N
VR? Check N
Empower? Check S/N
Recharge? Check P (Elixers and herbs)
Heals? Check N/P
Resurrection? Check S/N (clan halls beat my rez any day)
Disrupt Undead? Negative
Sleep? Negative
Dryad Root? Negative
Wind Shackle? Negative
Vampiric Touch? Negative Do I still use this? LoL!
Ice Bolt? Negative See above comment.
Wind Strike? Negative See above comment.
Purify? Negative! I have a purpose again!
Cure Poison?Check P
Invocation? Check Do elixers count? Does this skill matter?
Erase? Negative Not like I use it much...
Holy Resist? Negative
Resist Wind? Negative
Mana Burn? Negative And I use it... when?
Wild Magic? Negative Yay! A reason to exist!
Concentration Check N
Kiss of Eva Check P
I think that's everything...
Oh, wait... I forgot one more thing I have to compete with.
There are not many skills left that are not in form of some other magic artefact in game. I'm not counting SAs and Augments - SAs are useful no matter who picks them up and I haven't heard of anybody turning down supporter saying "I got Health, Acumen, RskHaste, Mental shield ... SA I don't need your heals and buffs". And Augments can be count to hundreds and it's matter of Korean Random to get some result, and all active skills there are a joke.
Scrolls are rarer to get, that's event item only and you can't rely on steady income of them.
But I vote for: remove all Greater pots (no matter how comfortable for myself are too), including CP pots and leave only those "small" in shops. Also get rid of Quick pots of whatever, and lower level of buffs provided by Clanhall managers.
LOL I remember when they first introduced BSOE and BREZ to the game. I was kinda ticked, because two of the big draws of having an EE in your clan/party back then were their high rezzes and party recall.
It always ticked me off that they could put the EE's major skills in a scroll (PR, Rez), the Bishop's major skills in a bottle (heal, Rez), the Prophet's major skills in a bottle (acumen and haste - both readily available too) but not the SE's major skills (Empower? VR?) Now we have empower scrolls from events but for a long time we didn't have them and/or they were really rare (they still are rare compared to other scrolls/pots.)
well basically every skill is available as an augment
i have a fair few 70+ toons but for my buffers pretty much everything is accessible from a pot or scroll except vr, shield buffs, prophecy, and dances
as for my DDs all of their skills are possible on augments and in most cases the augments are more effective
Sure spirit is in a bottle, but why buy WW pots as a PW/SR/SwS, if you got a self WW skill that takes about 8 seconds to cast?
It's not about if i cast or use the bottle. It's about others can use the bottle, so it doesn't give me any advantage, even more I'm in disadvantage using sprint, cause bottles are instant. IMO all elf self buffs should stack with buffs from buffers and bottles.
PP/EE/SE/WC/ (OL?) have lvl 3 of it...when do you use self buff might? I'll admit I've done t when in a pinch, but normal lvling I never do self buffed (cept for spirit barrier).
Olympiad will now carry lvl 3 Might as a buff you can choose.
so tell me what usefulness is lvl 2 might?
As for sprint, I stand firm, I wont carry around bottle forms of WW, when I can self buff it. Sorry but it doesn't matter if it's instance or not. You can still cast self buffed WW lvl 2.
Don't forget that BS can also do crafting - not that I know anyone that crafts their leather etc at BS. Some crafts are also NPC only... I won't count the 1a craft shops.
Heh I'll accept crying about olympiad buffs too ;)
Augments don't exactly count in some ways either... it depends. Like PR2 is an augment but it has a super long recharge and the recharge refreshes when you log in or out or change weapons, so that's fair enough balancing.
A brez on the other hand, turns EVERYONE into a better rezzer than any cardinal or eva's saint. That's bogus. Same with BSOE. Or since it hasn't been mentioned yet, CP pot popping I'm sure burns OL's big time.
Augments don't exactly count in some ways either... it depends. Like PR2 is an augment but it has a super long recharge and the recharge refreshes when you log in or out or change weapons, so that's fair enough balancing
if you look at stun skills from augments they are actually better than normal stun in most cases
of course most ppl would kill for active para though
Yeah passive WM 6 (well that's the only one I've had) is amazing. But seeing my sub is an sps I can give love to multiple SE's no problem with my mana hogging.
I'm still waiting for hydro blast in a bottle for my cardinal though, or stun shot.
40 LSs so far and only active/passive skill i got was bless the soul....
you know the one that costs 90 mp, gives you and extra 200 mp and lasts 2 mins :/