Combat Sigil Update
By Mikayla

With the release of the Spring 2021 test realm, there came a lot of expected changes, such as the continued spell audit and adjustments to the damage & resist system. However, an unexpected change was definitely the change to how combat sigils work as I feel like it’s definitely fair to say that it caught everyone by surprise!

Note: This was NOT introduced on Live Realm

How Combat Sigils Currently Work

If you’re reading this article, I assume that you already know how the combat sigils work but just in case, I’ll explain them. In every area past Wizard City, with the exception of Crab Alley, Colossus Boulevard, and Sunken City, the fight will adjust in difficulty. Instead of having to fight one enemy per wizard, you would need to fight one extra enemy per wizard, up to four enemies. This system works out very well as it can help with questing, farming, and even badge hunting. The current problem with this system that KingsIsle would like to fix is when you join an existing street fight with someone, the fight becomes harder for the people already in the fight.

Unfortunately, this creates an issue that probably everyone experienced at some point in their wizarding career. When an additional wizard is pulled in a street battle (whether by mistake or on purpose) it adds an additional enemy. That can be both good and bad, but we tend to see it as mostly a negative factor when the additional wizard enters unexpectedly. Mostly because the additional enemy might pop in right when you just attacked all the enemies already in the fight. Thus, you now need to stack up blades and traps again to defeat the additional enemy. This was the primary reason that the Developers wanted to address this. Players shouldn’t be punished for getting reinforcements. Extra Wizards should be a boon, not a bane.

How will Combat Sigils work in the update?

With the exception of boss fights and the fights were you are already fighting more than two enemies when alone, the enemies will now become “shy.” Simply put, the number of enemies in street fights will now match the number of wizards in the duel when there’s at least two wizards.

So what does this mean?

One might be quick to look at this and wonder “it’s only one less enemy, so why does it even matter?” The answer to that isn’t as simple to see but it involves farming and questing. While questing, it’s a very common thing to experience that you’ll have to defeat a certain amount of enemies. You may also have to defeat an enemy, and then collect items from them as well. When you have other teammates, its much easier. For example, if a quest told you to defeat six Manders, it would take you three fights instead of two with two wizards. When battles, especially at lower levels, can take minutes or even longer to complete, that lost time starts to quickly add up.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think that the idea behind this change is a solid idea. KingsIsle completely nailed the fact that random wizards joining your battle can definitely make it harder for your character. With the current system, you would typically need to deal even more damage, which you might not have. However, this change doesn’t help in a 2 on 2 after a third wizard joins. The result is the exact same problem as before but with more people. The main issue with the change is that it hurts questing way too much. It’s rewarding playing with a full team of four wizards while questing, which isn’t always the case for a lot of people.

What do you think of the Combat Sigil Update?
Let us know down below in the comments.