Drain is a good point, since those spells are quite rubbish currently. A select few occasions where they MIGHT be useful, but those are rare... real rare.
The direct damage spells though, are more than fine. When you are doing ele, you are essentially a glass cannon, aka you WILL die if you dont have some heals coming your way. Melee is easier to level solo, yes. But an ele+healer is just silly, the speed you can kill stuff at.
I hate to be that guy, but since Suboxide isn't around, I'll do it. You say that you don't want a path that offers no challenge at all. Ele offers next to no challenge if done properly, with a healer that is. I've leveled 1-150ish 4 times, and way past that on one/this character. There is not much difficulty to doing ele, except kinchers. You are just being impatient or doing it wrong. Some spells will be resisted, and you might get killed, but its not worse than trying to kill stingas with a massive axe.
The direct damage spells though, are more than fine. When you are doing ele, you are essentially a glass cannon, aka you WILL die if you dont have some heals coming your way. Melee is easier to level solo, yes. But an ele+healer is just silly, the speed you can kill stuff at.
I hate to be that guy, but since Suboxide isn't around, I'll do it. You say that you don't want a path that offers no challenge at all. Ele offers next to no challenge if done properly, with a healer that is. I've leveled 1-150ish 4 times, and way past that on one/this character. There is not much difficulty to doing ele, except kinchers. You are just being impatient or doing it wrong. Some spells will be resisted, and you might get killed, but its not worse than trying to kill stingas with a massive axe.
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Gasket
"It's shite being tryker! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of Atys! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some people hate the Matis. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We're ruled by effete arseholes. It's a shite state of affairs to be in, Marceline, and ALL the fresh air in the world won't make any ****** difference"