Lighting issues are sucking the fun out

[Hagamus Maximus]

I realize that the devs wanted to use full, dim, and no light areas to affect attacks but it's really getting difficult to enjoy the game in the darker areas. The main reason: lighting the braziers to creating a light source seems to be the only effective way to light up areas. Using wizards' light spells is not sufficient as they have to be so close to the enemies to keep them lit that they end up in melee. So, without lit braziers to drive away the darkness, you can't effectively engage enemies at all in dark areas as the game won't allow the ranged attacks to proc (the enemies can't be seen) and more than half the time (or worse with bad RNG) the melee strikes miss the mark entirely. Don't even get me started with the dim vs. full light, but that's another issue and appears to be getting better over time with patches.

So my wizard is a high elf and has darkvision, but for some reason can't even see the brazier to target it with the fire bolt spell unless she is much closer than the spell range indicates (too dark maybe?). When I finally get close enough and launch the spell, it misses the brazier and I sigh the long sigh of resignation. I now have one of two choices: Wait another round and waste another wizard's main action to light the brazer while my other characters defend (they can't attack, too dark) or have one or more of them wield torches like angry villagers and storm that freakin' brazier for all it's worth.

Jokes aside, this system needs help. Not sure how to fix it other than nerfing the darkness penalties significantly or removing the issue entirely.

I really want to love this game, and I do some of the time. Some of these issues are due to Early Access which I understand. I guess I just really want this to be fixed and not left as is, since over time this one issue will absolutely drive myself and many others away to other games.

Cheers,

H

[BW022]

For the game as is... dancing lights is a better option than light. It has range and can be moved as a bonus action. Faerie fire is also a good option.

I like the lighting system conceptually and it adds tactics, but... I'd say they should just implement darkvision as written. Yes, this will make humans and halflings have issues, but... they can deal with this simply by putting more light sources in dungeons so that it isn't such an issue -- add light on ammunition if necessary.

[Hagamus Maximus]

Cool thanks for the ideas!

[Vezin]

Yeah, it’s my biggest complaint. Not only did they change darkvision, they changed the way fighting blind works.

Two blind opponents swinging at each other will roll a straight roll on the attacks. Not disadvantage.

So they took away darkvision and they made fighting blind even worse than 5e rules.

[TheCerpent]

In tabletop, dim light is only supposed to impose disadvantage on perception checks, not attack rolls or combat. Only darkness imposes disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as blocking line of sight - though, as people have pointed out, if both opponents are blinded by darkness, it cancels out advantage and disadvantage.

According to the Devs, the whole dim light/darkness thing was a very intentional design decision. Kinda sucks, imo, but meh. I can deal.

Also, in regards to solutions to the light problem - Clerics can cast light on their shield and provide illumination that way. You can also cast Flaming Sphere, and that will shed light in a radius around it, as well as being an effective source of AoE damage and crowd control. I've had several fights where I set up my front line at a choke point, plopped a flaming sphere 2 spaces away from them, and let the melee enemies approach and burn while inside it. Dancing Lights is another early option you can pull out, which sheds some bright light within 10' and dim light in the next 10'.

[Capt.Luke]

its a bad homebrew rule
I don't see any of the enemy useing light source

useing a light souce actualy give an advange to the enemy

[krikroune]

Lighting sources suck...in castle of bones, breaking barricades on windows is useless: daylight doesn't provide any light even when foes are literaly bathing in sunlight...

[dhraiden]

I noticed the barricaded windows were highlighted as interact-able objects, but how do you actually break them? Clicking on them did nothing...hopefully the lighting issues can be sorted with, at worst, a mod, if developers don't retweak it.

[Vezin]

Originally posted by dhraiden:

I noticed the barricaded windows were highlighted as interact-able objects, but how do you actually break them? Clicking on them did nothing...hopefully the lighting issues can be sorted with, at worst, a mod, if developers don't retweak it.

I didn’t try but I think you have to attack the windows? So unless you do it out of combat, you have to waste a turn attacking a wooden board covering a window.

[Aramyl]

Originally posted by dhraiden:

I noticed the barricaded windows were highlighted as interact-able objects, but how do you actually break them? Clicking on them did nothing...hopefully the lighting issues can be sorted with, at worst, a mod, if developers don't retweak it.

You clic on your weapons and after on the barricade windows and the little attack icon will appear

[Shepherd]

Is it not possible for a spell caster to cast light on melee? I thought it was? I had good success with my cleric casting light on his shield. Generally he and my dwarf mountaineer were in the thick of things well enough for my archer and wizard to target. Also, the cleric spell daylight is game over for the darkvision monsters in my experience. I haven't unlocked all the traits for the monsters yet but I have noticed daylight gives most of the higher level foes disadvantage and may actually injure some of them outright. I can understand the frustration with having to deal with light but generally found it to be a pleasing advantage when I planned for it. You do have to commit a couple of cantrips to it. Even my rogue carried a torch around in her offhand for necessary moments.

[jgn77]

Its a terrible mechanic mostly because it largely only affects the players. The bad guys hardly ever have to deal with it. So its a layer of tactical complexity that is only a negative for you not a positive. This is atrocious game design in my opinion.

[NixAhmose]

Originally posted by TheCerpent:

Also, in regards to solutions to the light problem - Clerics can cast light on their shield and provide illumination that way. You can also cast Flaming Sphere, and that will shed light in a radius around it, as well as being an effective source of AoE damage and crowd control.

Are you sure about that? When I casted flaming sphere put right ontop of an enemy, the game still told me that enemy was completely unlit.

[boarass]

The devs appear to have their heads in the sand about the lighting issue. That being said, you CAN cast Light on other party members. Select your wizard (or any High Elf who chose Light for their cantrip), click Cast Spell, and click Light. This will open up your inventory. They key here is that you can actually click on any other party member's portrait, opening up THEIR inventory, and then click on the held item you want to cast Light on.

So if you have, for example, a Sun domain cleric, a wizard, and two melee characters, you can have the cleric light up Melee #1's weapon and the wizard light up Melee #2's main weapon, more or less solving all your lighting issues.

It's worth noting, too, that spells which impose a saving throw do NOT care about light. So the cleric's Sacred Flame is fine to use against unlit enemies, as is the wizard's Acid Splash and Poison Spray. To be fair, the wizard's options are not super attractive (the acid spell does only 1d6, and the poison spell has a ludicrously short range), but at least they are options to avoid disadvantage when attacking enemies before your lit up melee guys get into the fray.

[mm.324]

Originally posted by boarass:

The devs appear to have their heads in the sand about the lighting issue.

+1

[Something completely different]

Originally posted by mm.324:

Originally posted by boarass:

The devs appear to have their heads in the sand about the lighting issue.

+1

The game is out for less then a month and the dev's haven't responded much if at all to any post here. let's try to have some patience and see what comes after the usual first rounds of bug fixing.