Okay, quick drafting of the idea. There were some more details worked out but I just want to get it aired now.

My idea has a few key points to it, so here they are:

1. Switch around aura and barrier's properties. Make aura shorter duration (4-5 hours), higher damage reduction. Make barrier lower damage reduction, much longer duration (40 hours) and the only form of damage reduction that doesn't reduce healing. Shield remains the same, and is easiest to find/get since it's largely not on mobs like the other two.

2. Make detect artifact level 35. This way by 40 everyone should have an aura source if they're any good at exploring.

3. Despoil moves to level 40. To prevent level 30-40 monster mages with aura.

4. Critical hit becomes 1.5 rounds lag instead of 2.

5. Make an edge to extend auras duration, something closer to current barriers level, as a reward for well played and long lived chars. If barrier is so important to a mages build, it's a chance to empower it with your edge points.

The key behind all these changes is to shift the balance of power with mages. The greater gripe everyone has with the system is that it's very easy for vets or uber-mages to gain abs, while newbies and less powerful mages get trampled on trying to get them. By making aura far more common barrier-like protection, you're powering up lvl 30-45 mages significantly while giving barrier a glaring flaw - it's 4-5 hour duration. This means smarter tactics are rewarded while all mages get a basic hardcore damage reduction they can use.

This also depowers uber-mages (liches, charged aps, despoil-crazy scions) somewhat at hero because now their barrier-style aura only lasts a few hours and the really-hard-to-get wands they could get easily don't give that much protection. The idea is diminishing returns on prep effort. Putting a lot of time and effort has a rapid reward at first, and can still continue to have a reward, but this reward is not as great at hero - when exploration moves more toward the big area explores and certain hardcore areas. This encourages more low level exploration, fixes what I personally percieve is a great imbalance between uber-mages and regular mages power, and still allows the same maximum level of damage reduction when all three are combined. The idea of removing barriers healing-impairing ability is, again, to reward uber-mages effort for getting that extra dam-redux.

Scouts now also have many more foes with high damage reduction, and a slightly faster skill to counter it as well as discern to watch it's low-duration ticker and time their attacks.

What do you think?