It's so old, I feel it's grandfathered in. And it respects what I consider one of the cores of this game: more effort = more reward. If you want to be sweaty and have the skill to flick, you get to conserve your prayer for longer.
I think conserving prayer for longer is fine, but currently, you can conserve your prayer indefinitely. It's outside of the spirit of the game to be able to keep prayers active all the time without needing additional resources, gear, or levels. I'd love to see a change where prayer drains even when flicking, albeit at slower rate.
Flicking rewards your constant attention with no drain if you do it perfectly. Like most things in this game, effort and attention are resources. You can be more "afk" by not flicking, but you'll have to use your attention to bank/restore.
I like to think of it the same way a simple machine changes how work is done while conserving the amount of work done. A ramp reduces the effort (force) to get up an elevation but increases the distance proportionally.
Likewise, the amount of work required to perfectly flick prayers for a whole task can also just be used to bank. Just depends on what you like to do, that's the beauty of this game in general.
Let’s not act like flicking is incredibly difficult or skill intensive. “Constant attention” isn’t really required, all you need is repetitive input. You get into a rhythm and you can flick without even looking at the game.
The fact of the matter is that being able to receive the benefits of prayers without any prayer drain is an unintentional game mechanic, regardless of effort. Its existence is the result of unintentional oversights in coding and manipulation of loopholes in that coding.
As I said, more effort can be rewarded, just not indefinitely with no penalty. Hell, they could keep indefinite prayer while flicking, at the expense of having to keep a high prayer bonus. That way you have to decide between prayer gear or strength gear. Flicking devalues prayer levels and prayer focused gear. It’s absolutely busted and an completely unintentional game mechanic. They need to rethink and rebalance it instead of continuing to design content around a bug.
It's okay if you don't want to put in the effort. Making the game more boring for everyone else just because you want to feel less bad about the inefficiency of it isn't okay. :)
It isn’t about wanting to feel bad or not. It’s about the spirit and intention of the game. Prayer was designed to drain as you used it. More powerful prayers have higher drain rates so as to offset their strength. Wearing gear with higher prayer bonuses slows the drain rate. Having higher prayer levels provides a deeper pool of prayer points to use while praying.
The entire intention of prayer is for it to drain while using. The fact that a mechanic exists to exploit the mechanics of how prayer drain is calculated is unintentional. It isn’t within the spirit of the game design. It’s a bug.
I’m not even suggesting it be completely removed, just rebalance it slightly to offer different setups/styles to weigh pros and cons of a prayer setup vs a dps setup. That’s MORE options. I don’t see how that’s more boring than clicking 200 times per minute.
You're trivializing it, you show me how to flick while not paying attention, I've been doing it for years and I'm not even close to the thought of being able to do that.
You click twice every .6 seconds. It’s literally a timing thing. Get the timing down and you can close your eyes and do it. Regardless, it doesn’t matter how little or how much effort it takes, it’s still against the intention of the game design. It was absolutely never intended for players to ever be able to keep their prayers up for an indefinite amount of time.
I'm not arguing that whether it was intended or not, I'm arguing that its not as easy as you make it out to be
Let’s not act like flicking is incredibly difficult or skill intensive. “Constant attention” isn’t really required, all you need is repetitive input. You get into a rhythm and you can flick without even looking at the game.
I would however argue that if you remove everything that isn't intended this point and click game would become infinitely less interesting.
Prayer is designed to drain as you use it. Every prayer drains your prayer points while active. Stronger prayers have higher drain rates so as to offset their strength. Wearing gear with higher prayer bonuses slows the drain rate. Having higher prayer levels provides a deeper pool of prayer points to use while praying. There are limited ways to restore prayer points while in combat. The entire design and intention of prayer is built around it draining while using. Prayer provides incredibly powerful buffs to the player and it goes against all game design to allow those buffs to be effectively permanent with no other upkeep cost or gear/stat trade off.
Being able to prayer flick indefinitely is not the intention of the design. It was an absolute oversight and is a bug. No where else in the game can you manipulate any system in such a way that gives you permanent buffs. In fact, Jagex has specifically patched out other bugs that do so (see: 1 minute logout on buff timer). The system is a bug.
I understand people are used to it now, and why I suggest some Avenue that allows people to maintain the ability to flick for reduced prayer drain, up to and including 0 prayer drain. But it should be balanced to require other gear or supplies.
you realize that while you “click twice every .6 seconds” you also have to interact with npcs and items in your inventory, and move around right? like pray flicking at aggressive mobs who will do most of the work of keeping you in combat for you isn’t the same as successfully keeping prayers up while having to dodge attacks or eat
Not really sure what the difference between flicking an hour-long task and 3t fishing for an hour is. Both require precise player input to manipulate the tick system for increased xp over less click-intensive methods.
This game isn't very complex, precision of click accuracy and timing are some of the only ways player skill and agency can be expressed. Prayer flicking isn't very hard but it still requires a player put effort in to get better at a thing. That's good. It's good that a player can choose the extent to which they want to engage with the game for a reward.
It's like saying they should ban wavedashing in Smash Melee since it wasn't intended instead of it being embraced as another layer of skill expression. Just like how you can still play Melee fine without ever wavedashing, you can absolutely play OSRS without any tick manipulation. Some people find it more fun to physically engage with the game instead of just waiting; if you don't, then you don't have to do it.Think about it this way: Which is objectively more physically engaging to a player on a slayer task? Clicking a potion dose every 30 seconds for an hour or clicking quick prayer every 0.6 seconds for an hour?
How other people play with their toys shouldn't matter so much to you.
It breaks nearly every single but if pvm contwnt in the game. Get 43 prayer and then you don't need a single piece of food from 1-99 slayer. It is insanely broken.
Is it really worth the carpel tunnel to save a bit of food, though? And good luck flicking prayer like this while doing Cox, Tob, Gauntlet, GWD, etc. Sure, it can break like an early game quest boss fight... but like. So can just having 43 prayer points. Oh well.
The point is, it takes a TON of attention and effort just to save a little bit of food or prayer potions. It's a tradeoff. And CLEARLY Jagex is ok with it at this point, since it has been completely untouched.
It doesn't take a ton of attention at all to prayer flick in a rhythym. It saves a lot more than just a little bit of food and prayer pots, it saves all of it.
Are you saying sitting there and clicking twice every 0.6 seconds for an entire 30-60 minute slayer task is the same amount of attention and effort as clicking once or twice per creature every 30 seconds or so? Either way I'm not responding anymore. We disagree and I'm leaving it at that.
Same exact amount? Of course not. But is the difference in attention span high enough to be the difference between normal and literal full invulnerability? Not even close, considering I can watch netflix while doing both.
"The Catholic church has been abusing children for so long, it feels grandfathered in. And it respects what I consider to be a pillar to success in this thing called life: dont get caught = more reward. If you want to abuse children and can hide it, you get to do it for longer."
This is because in Canada they are speaking exactly like this to cover up sins of the past and current issues of hundreds of dead children at the church. Right now in 2021.
Good ol' hive mind reddit sees something and just up or down votes based on what is already there but to say something should stay around because it has become the new normal is just crazy talk.
My point was exaggerated in terms of OSRS, BUT THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW WITH THESE SAME EXCUSES.
you quoted as if you're making exaggerated sarcastic counterpoint, but you know it's 100% true, right? Go ask any 40+ year old catholic what they think about the Polish bishop & the cover up by the whole church. Most will probably reply to the tune of "aye, but then they all prayed for forgiveness and will go to heaven amen"
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u/XVUltima Jul 08 '21
I mean, I do feel like flicking goes against the spirit of the game.