But to your main point, unlimited skills might sort of solve the problem of situational skills, but it creates as many problems as it solves. I'd say it's easier to make skills versatile enough that they don't feel ultra situational than to balance having unlimited skills.
Exactly. Flood a player by the one time per game use skill is way to hell.
Poison antidote was pure crap in original release.
EE make it useful. What makes me bad feeling is, with reduced AP there is less option how to tune a skill. Poison Antidote is cheap, that is one of advantage. When all the spell costs the same, there is no space to tune up.
Issue with Purifing Fire is similar, it is good counter spell. But it costs more then target spell and has longer cooldown! So basicaly it is better to cast same spell on self then strip enemy. Purifying fire should cost one AP less and act smart e.g. do not strip Shields, Healing/Fire (depends resistances) on friendly targets. that would make it competitive.
Anyway, Larian needs quite invest to the battle AI. More clever skills requires more clever usage. Whenever I see a simple skeleton happily jogging over fire field to the dead, or Braxus Rex carefuly cast Fireball to avoid hit himself, or a teramage casts Bless on self, or goblins trying poison to death Nick, or ... that is the BIG space for improvement.
Smart and versatile skills the together with battle AI who can use them properly makes the game. There are couple of skill mechanics experts on the forum who could help to tune up current skills. But AI would happily ignore them or misuse.
