Why Can't Wraiths Ride?

LilyGrace

Why can't we still ride our steeds while in wraith form? Why can't it work like Vampiric Embrace and just change our skin tone? Turn us green or something?

I think the artwork for both male and female wraith form is terrible. The male form you can't see worth a darn. And the female form is just plain cartoonish and goofy looking.

Should be able to ride.

McDougle

LilyGrace said:

Why can't we still ride our steeds while in wraith form? Why can't it work like Vampiric Embrace and just change our skin tone? Turn us green or something?

I think the artwork for both male and female wraith form is terrible. The male form you can't see worth a darn. And the female form is just plain cartoonish and goofy looking.

Should be able to ride.

Or lich or any other form...

Urge

Because they would fall thru the horse! 

Ghostly horse only wraiths can ride will hit the store for the low price of 1500 tokens. 

LilyGrace

If it's not an issue of balancing power on the character, as in they're too powerful if they can be in that form and ride or fly too, then it's an artwork issue.

I'm sure not all the forms we can change into are coming to my mind at the moment. But with polymorph spell changes aside, I can't think of any that couldn't be characterized by a change to the skin, like using Vampiric Embrace.

Reaper Form, Stone Form, Lich Form, what else? They could all be indicated by changing the look of the skin.

Arnold7

If a wraith could ride, I would use that form almost 100% of the time during events. Their ability to leech mana is a huge advantage over my human form.  But think original decision was that none of the alternate forms would be able to ride.  Think they made the exception for vampiric embrace because Bela Lugosi illustrated a vamplre’s ability drive a coach in Dracula so many years ago.

Was surprised my lich could not ride or cast spells when I learned necro.  What’s the point of being a lich if you can’t cast spells?  Don’t really think being a lich provides the player much of an advantage in the game.  But movie vampires generally can do anything humans can so can understand why they can be mounted.  Hint to developers: vampires can also fly!

JohnKnighthawke

"Lord of the Rings" and "Ultima" are two different fantasy environments, with very different rules. In most fantasy terms LotR's Ring Wraiths aren't really wraiths, exactly.

Fun fact: In the first LotR books the Ring Wraiths are considerably less obviously supernatural than they are in the movies. The whole idea was that you could meet one and mistake him for a weird person in a black robe, a mysterious traveler type. My bet is that if they were more conventionally wraith-like, they wouldn't have been riding horses.

dvvid

I like how the male wraith form looks but I agree the female art for it looks goofy. It should be the same as the male art or at least transparent like the male art. 

The male art looks ghostly as it should. The female art looks like a cartoon character in comparison. 

Anyway I think it would be great to ride a mount in wraith form but it might he too overpowered. Hmmm

LilyGrace

I think maybe my LOTR nod was taken a bit too literally. Tho' a good argument could be made that they are wraiths, given they're called Ringwraiths. 

As far as wraith form being overly powerful because they can run around leeching magic. I don't see how that could matter. We have mana draining spells, mana leeching weapons that can be used while riding. 

We have undead mounts we can ride. Doesn't seem outside the realm of what can be imagined might take place in UO for a wraith to ride, I don't think. 

Dvvid, my husband is often in wraith form. I can hardly ever find him on the screen! Especially if there's a lot going on. lol!

I think it would be cooler to have characters in the gear they've chosen to wear and have some other indication that they're transformed. Maybe they could look more like someone whose hiding, a bit transparent but still themselves, so to speak.

This guy looks wraith-y to me! And so does the horse.   

 

Seth

Arnold7 said:

If a wraith could ride, I would use that form almost 100% of the time during events. Their ability to leech mana is a huge advantage over my human form.  But think original decision was that none of the alternate forms would be able to ride.  Think they made the exception for vampiric embrace because Bela Lugosi illustrated a vamplre’s ability drive a coach in Dracula so many years ago.

Was surprised my lich could not ride or cast spells when I learned necro.  What’s the point of being a lich if you can’t cast spells?  Don’t really think being a lich provides the player much of an advantage in the game.  But movie vampires generally can do anything humans can so can understand why they can be mounted.  Hint to developers: vampires can also fly!

It would be nice if such forms can ride or have faster movement speed - not necessarily equal to a ride.

For example the Ninja wolf form is faster than walking but not as fast as riding. There seems to be a medium speed setting.

Ultimately, ofcourse, if it can ride the undead mount then it will be awesome. I like the illustration above.

TimSt

To fit in with the wraith theme wraiths should only be able to ride the transparent ethereal vet reward beasts.

LilyGrace

Urge said:

Because they would fall thru the horse! 

Ghostly horse only wraiths can ride will hit the store for the low price of 1500 tokens. 

I’d buy a wraith horth. 

Marge

I just want the goblins to be able to run super fast again. Poor broken goblins ...

LilyGrace

Yeah, hadn't thought about youz guys not being able to ride either. 
Goblin and Orc races would be so awesome. I'd love to see Goblins and Orcs on paper dolls.

PlayerSkillFTW

Arnold7 said:

Don’t really think being a lich provides the player much of an advantage in the game.

It doesn't anymore. The +13 MR from Lich Form is subject to the 30 MR Cap on gear, which is very easy to reach nowadays from Legendary Artifacts, so Lich Form doesn't do crap for most geared Mages. Lich Form also grants immunity to Bleed Attack. I've suggested before that Lich Form should grant +1 FC Cap to Magery/Necro spells (so 3 FC cap total for them, mimicking Liches infamous ability to rapidly spell dump combos), while also altering Spirit Speak to regain Mana as well as Health when channeling from a corpse while in Lich Form.

The male "Wraith Form" is of a Wraith, and the female "Wraith Form" is of a Banshee. They could simply change Wraith Form into retaining your human form, but gaining an ethereal look (Tyball's Shadow has this), which would allow you to mount while in it. You'd lose the ability to make Changelings vulnerable to Undead Slayer via Wraith Form then though .

Currently Wraith Form gives Hit Mana Drain (actually takes Mana from the opponent and gives it to you, doesn't work if they have no Mana left though) that scales with Spirit Speak skill, +15 Physical Resist/-5 Fire Resist/-5 Energy Resist, the ability to move through creatures/people in Fel without losing Stamina (no stam blocking), and other little known benefits of it, is that it makes you immune to Bleed Attack, as well as Semidar's damage reflection for Male chars, and gives 100% success chance for casting Recall (still requires regs).

Would be cool if Wraith Form also gained a 100% chance to successfully cast Recall without regs, or even Teleport/Shadow Jump.

LilyGrace

Good stuff, PSFTW, thank you.

Pawain

LilyGrace said:

Yeah, hadn't thought about youz guys not being able to ride either. 
Goblin and Orc races would be so awesome. I'd love to see Goblins and Orcs on paper dolls.

At least you can dress as an orc and ride the store pig.

McDougle

Pawain said:

LilyGrace said:

Yeah, hadn't thought about youz guys not being able to ride either. 
Goblin and Orc races would be so awesome. I'd love to see Goblins and Orcs on paper dolls.

At least you can dress as an orc and ride the store pig.

One of the race faces in  ec is orc

Pawain

Yes and there are players who have not experimented with those.  If you started in CC and changed to EC you can change your face using the body builder NPC. One is in the mage shop in Luna and other towns.

Many cool options.

LilyGrace

EC! EC! EC!

Merus

I would prefer to see wraith form function more like dog/wolf (ninja) forms.  Technically they are floating, so just let them float faster.

LilyGrace

Merus said:

I would prefer to see wraith form function more like dog/wolf (ninja) forms.  Technically they are floating, so just let them float faster.

That would totally work. Not as cool looking as wraith forms flying down the road on wraith horses but it'd work.

McDougle

LilyGrace said:

Merus said:

I would prefer to see wraith form function more like dog/wolf (ninja) forms.  Technically they are floating, so just let them float faster.

That would totally work. Not as cool looking as wraith forms flying down the road on wraith horses but it'd work.

Dog forms can't cast.... leave wraith form as is and un-nerf ninjutsu 

LilyGrace

Go start an un-nerf ninjitsu thread, McDougle.

Seth

Merus said:

I would prefer to see wraith form function more like dog/wolf (ninja) forms.  Technically they are floating, so just let them float faster.

Exactly, that was what I meant at medium speed between walking and running like the wolf form in ninjitsu. So if they feel wraith should not move as fast as a ride then consider a medium speed since it floats.

McDougle

LilyGrace said:

Go start an un-nerf ninjitsu thread, McDougle.

You brought up ninja wraiths are powerful as is..