Magicka PVP patch to rebalance cheap spells

Arrowhead Games has outlined its plans for an upcoming Magicka PvP patch - and yes, ice shards are about to be gimped, you cheap littl- victorious opponent.

According to a developer diary post on PC Gamer, Arrowhead found ice shard spamming could bring easy victory in around 80 percent of all matches.

To counter this, Arrowhead has modified a damage calculation formula to avoid massive bonuses, and by increasing the length of charge time needed for a worthwhile blow.

Beams, another favourite tool of utter too- ... victorious people will also see modification, so that they no longer devastate shield users. Instead, they'll hit nearby players or focus on the centre of the arena, potentially endangering the caster.

Finally, elemental shields will also be powered up, to full resistance. Arrowhead hopes this will help introduce more tactical use of spell types.

Magicka was released in January, and saw a tongue-in-cheek expansion - Magicka: Vietnam - in April.

Thanks, Joystiq.