Let me begin by stating I could be entirely assuming things affect the Veil that don't, but I have wondered this for awhile, and want to finally ask.

Does the presence of a BattleRager/Mage character affect the Veil sheerly by their being logged in?

The only time I ever see a super-thick or super-thin Veil are when there are tons of BattleRagers, or high level mages around (respectively). I originally came to the conclusion that the presence alone made for a shift in the Veil, directly. I later then realized that I might just be entirely stupid and that those Battleragers/Mages might be affecting the Veil by having a dozen or so people actively trying to shift it one way or the other. Anyways, thanks!

>Does the presence of a BattleRager/Mage character affect the
>Veil sheerly by their being logged in?

The full answer is a little complicated, but effectively the answer is yes.

Heh, hate to prod, but realized the short answer could be taken wrong.

I've been proceeding under the assumption that BattleRager logged in = thicker Veil = bad for any mage who wants to walk in.

High level mage logged in = thinner Veil = bonus for all mages.

Not after a number crunch, but this assumption leads me to think that this aspect of the Veil actually ENCOURAGES a pendulum swing. More Ragers logged in actually means any poor mage wanting to fight is figting uphill already?

If this is correct, I am rather curious to the reason behind this design. I can see a certain logic that if there's tons of ragers, it's a bad day for mages and vice versus, but from the funstick aspect, would there be any chance for consideration to reverse that impact?

My convoluted explanation would be that if the Veil is letting X amount of mana through, then the more mages around, the more that mana is being spread out and the weaker each individual mage would be. In reverse, perhaps the presence of BattleRagers or few mages, mana would be repelled from BattleRagers and be more focused on the few mages, effectively increasing the mana available for them to draw on.

Anyways, just thinking for the funstick. Of course, I'm also half betting that your complicated answer might be what's taking care of making this fair, but figured I'd bring up the idea.

You're correct in that, to some degree, it can make things more swingy. This is one of the reasons that despite roughly annual calls for it I'm not particularly interested in mechanics that make things even better for Empire if Empire's winning, etc. -- I think the game can bear one such thing decently well but I don't think having everything be that way is a good idea.

Part of the reason it is the way it is is because the Veil status is also more generally the magic vs. anti-magic balance status for Nexus and other things that care about it. When lots of tough Battle are logged on (and not dead) it's a pretty good indication that Battle is winning.

There are other factors and options, such as the Mana Drought edge, to help balance this and/or make it more interesting.

As for the original point, I gave it a go, but that answer works fine.

As for the making things more Empire when Empire wins, I wouldn't mind some things being cosmetically heavily Empire. Instead of the Recruiter running routes through town, that maybe one sits in every town. Or Centurion/guard sort of mobs travelling through & between towns just for appearances.

There are a couple of veil shaking items that any hero mage should be able to get very easily that are almost always in.

And if you're an invoker, no excuses.