Magic has always been a bit of a touchy subject when it comes to Dark Souls. In the original Demon's Souls, using magic was, according to many players, "Easy Mode."
In the first Dark Souls, magic was greatly expanded upon, but many argued that anyone not using magic was at a severe disadvantage. This problem was only compounded in Dark Souls II — the only way that Bloodborne avoided such a fate was almost completely omitting magic in the first place.
For Dark Souls III, director Hidetaka Miyazaki (via GameInformer) is going back to the drawing board. Magic will be almost completely overhauled for Dark Souls III — this isn't just about rebalancing a spell's damage and adding in some new graphics. To put it bluntly, Dark Souls III's magic system will be almost unrecognizable to anyone who skipped over the original Demon's Souls.
First and foremost, the "ammo" system introduced in Dark Souls (where players only have a set number of shots before the spell needs replenishing) is a thing of the past. For Dark Souls III, From Software is going back to the more traditional Magic Points (MP) bar, which will regenerate over time. Basically, the new system will eliminate the need to return to bonfires for more ammo.
Miyazaki says, "By changing the magic management system to an MP scheme, options and freedom of utilization should increase. This way we can better clarify the differences in managing items and magic."
It remains to be seen if making magic more available will improve the gameplay or further enable spamming. Considering Miyazaki's track record, fans should definitely expect the former ... but you shouldn't rule out the latter just yet.
Dark Souls III is set to launch sometime early next year.
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