• Light/Dark

Best magic combat in games

Kuro

Kuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,172
There are quite a few games with combat involving magic in all sorts of different genres and I was wondering what Era's favorites are. It can be anything from first person fire ball slinging to turn based SRPG conjuring to high octane third person magical combat. What do you look for when it comes to magic? Is it customization? Fusion of spells? Exploitation of elemental weaknesses? Big bombastic spells?

Some notable examples that I can think of are:
The co-op based Magicka 2
2874671-0003.jpg


Final Fantasy Type-0
Final%2BFantasy%2BType%2B0%2BHD.gif

(only decent gif I could find)

Kingdom Hearts
latest


Skyrim (Not a fan but can't leave this one out)
6rqqobyqhi8y.gif


Persona 5

Of course there is also WoW and FFXIV for some really fun magic combat.
 
JoDa

JoDa

Member
Jan 12, 2018
558
Wizard of legend is great, it has a huge arsenal of different spells that combo with each other in a rather satisfying fashion, granted there are spells that are just melee weapons disguised as magic but it's understandable and works well with the flow of the game
 
Kyoufu

Kyoufu

Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,582
Dragon's Dogma does a good job with magic.

And I don't think everyone will agree with me here but I was a big fan of Mass Effect 1's space magic. The control you had over the battlefield with biotics was great and what made it fun was the lack of a global cooldown, so you could lift enemies and then instantly throw them into the sky with no delay. Space magic, woo.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Kyoufu said:
Dragon's Dogma does a good job with magic.

And I don't think everyone will agree with me here but I was a big fan of Mass Effect 1's space magic. The control you had over the battlefield with biotics was great and what made it fun was the lack of a global cooldown, so you could lift enemies and then instantly throw them into the sky with no delay. Space magic, woo.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Mass Effect 1 is seriously underrated considering you could make people go flying in to the abyss.

Mass Effect 2 had pretty shitty biotics but 3 was a step forward and Andromeda was even better. If I wasn't lazy I would post gifs.


And yeah DD has amazing looking spells no doubt about it, but I also found the magic users the least fun classes in the game so
 
Fahzzy

Fahzzy

Self-Requested Ban
Banned
Jan 21, 2018
1,079
Diablo 3 Wizard/Mage is a ton of fun! Feels really visceral and satisfying. Pairs great with a bruiser type class teammate.
 
Xiaomi

Xiaomi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,237
You're not going to get any more "holy shit, magic!" than Dragon's Dogma.
RegalPerfumedHummingbird.gif


ZLDOb9.gif


avEcVPl.gif


latest


latest
 

Deleted member 8861

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,564
Vita aesthetics so YMMV but I especially love the idea of Soul Sacrifice Delta's "Offerings", especially how they're presented in menus

maxresdefault.jpg
 
Pellaidh

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,206
I really liked Magicka Wizard Wars (the free to play PvP one) before it died. It managed to take the completely broken system of the coop games and create something that actually worked in a competitive setting. A system that really required both speed and strategy, and where every spell had clear counterplay.

The original Guild Wars was also incredible, with unmatched customization and a combat system that really shined in PvP matches.

And Magic the Gathering, if that counts. It's pretty incredible that the game is over 20 years old and still going strong despite a ton of competition. In terms of PC games, the original Shandalar remains the best, with its open world RPG campaign.
 
Wood Man

Wood Man

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,449
I always enjoyed the SMT/Persona Press Turn system. Spells like poison, charm and sleep are useful. Same with buffs and debuffs are actually useful. Although it is getting a bit dated.
 

Deleted member 18347

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,572
Never tried magic in Dragon's Dogma since my 360 died before I could do much in that game, but going by the gifs and how satisfying and weighty melee combat was it must be up there.
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,395
$


Invoker from Dota 2.

CVqX1Iy.png
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Invoker has three essence skills: Quas, Wex, and Exort, as well as an Invoke spell which acts as his ultimate. He can change the essences at will, and have three out at once. Each provide different stat boosts. The ten different combinations get you the spells above. Invoke has a fairly short cooldown, and you can have two spells invoked at once (invoking another replaces the first one you invoked), so you effectively have three spells for a fight. When you start throwing in items, especially Refresher Orb/Shard, things get even cooler.

Here's a webm of some cool Invoker play.

 
Artdayne

Artdayne

Banned
Nov 7, 2017
5,015
Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2 have both satisfying spell effects along with a level of strategic depth that no other game, outside of maybe the Temple of Elemental Evil can touch. Dragon's Dogma is the best I've seen in an action game but I've always found the melee combat more satisfying and rarely use magic, not to mention again DOS 1 and 2 have FAR more strategic depth.
 
Last edited:
PeskyToaster

PeskyToaster

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,325
The actual spells in Elder Scrolls are fine but the effects need some work. We need a show, some fireworks
 
Al3x1s

Al3x1s

Banned
Nov 13, 2017
2,824
Greece
Arx Fatalis can't go unmentioned with its at the time unique rune word combo system as well as the rune drawing on top of it.
 

Deleted member 29682

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 1, 2017
12,290
Well you've already got the best (Magicka) so nothing else really matches up. Sure there's some cool stuff to look at in other games but few manage to nail the sheer self-destructive potential that Magicka does. You've got to keep a cool head or you'll accidentally wipe out everyone on the screen, including yourself.

giphy.gif
 
Last edited:
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,950
Diablo feels amazing. Love the magic attacks and effects when you're all jacked up

I also love the cross attacks in Dante's Inferno.
 
Van Bur3n

Van Bur3n

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
26,089
I like The Elder Scrolls magic in all of its iterations, even in Skyrim. Morrowind and Oblivion's spellmaking take magic to whole new levels of sandbox fun. While Skyrim, although lacking the depth of previous games, at least has some nice visual flare. It's quite satisfying to throw fireballs in first person.
 
Azzanadra

Azzanadra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,812
Canada
Divinity: Original Sin 2. There are so many things you can do with magic both inside and outside combat.

Controversially I think most magic systems in games suck, they don't add much and are often just flashy projectiles and mechanically vacuous. I wish more games used magic systems that allowed cool combinations in combat and innovative functions outside of it as well.
 
Dervius

Dervius

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,024
UK
It's Dragon's Dogma no question.

After enjoying spellcasting so much on it I went with a caster for Dragon Age Inquisition.

I was... underwhelmed

Not nearly as visceral but I feel obliged to shout out Divinity Original SIn (I and II) for having some pretty awesome magic. Youc an do some pretty cool stuff with it, just happens to be wrapped in a turn based system.
 
TheBaldwin

TheBaldwin

Member
Feb 25, 2018
8,324
tumblr_mmpofhdOeo1rex9fco1_400.gif


Couldn't find a better gif, but doing Mass Effects Warp ability from far away is such a great feeling
 
Avis

Avis

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,236
DD is flashy but lacks substance. Hit a button and the spell comes out, for the most part - fairly simple. I like DD but I think there are games that do better.

Magicka comes close but honestly my favorite of all time is Dishonored.
giphy.gif

gallery-1475846449-dishonored2-creative-kills-emily-far-reach.gif

(It's remarkably hard to find good gifs of this game, if anyone wants to tag in)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.