Do the 3rd and 4th skills in the Ley Lines tree actually do anything beyond the listed stat buffs? (+3 mana/1 regen, +10 mana/1 regen). If no, don't these seem kind of weak? RANDOM BONUS QUESTION: I tried the "lure" skill in Big Game Hunters...I can't figure out what, if anything, it does. Halp?
As independent skills they are weak, but they put you closer to the final ability which is worth getting. That's pretty standard for support lines in this game. I believe a skill is only under powered if there is no compelling reason to take it. Taking a skill as a requirement for a more worthwhile skill is fine. And it's not like they do nothing. There are skills in this game that are never ever ever taken by anyone who is making an informed choice. I think all skills should be independently beneficial. I also think that each line should have a low hanging fruit and a reason to max it out. Leylines accomplishes all three feats. All the skills are beneficial. There is a great skill early on and a great skill at the end.
One of those skills - Channeler - has a 5% chance to proc the Thaumaturgic Conflux buff, which gives you 10 , 5 , and -15 for 20 turns. Pretty useful as it basically amounts to more Mana Regen and short spurts of increased power, you just gotta watch the lowered Magic Resist when it goes off.
The main use of Lure is to give a group of monsters -2 - which (usually) means you'll deal 2 more damage to them with every hit. Actually fairly useful in the early game, and always worth applying to tough monsters if you have a free moment. Not spectacular, but +2 damage is on a par or better with many warrior skills.
