I will start answering the last two questions first.
Soulfire: The concept of magic fire is currently used by a really lot of magics and is very unoriginal, also the LT asked us to move away from targeting dark creatures and modified it so soulfire could burn everybody. With both of these things in mind we decided to move away from it and use a different type of energy.
Strict tenets: They limited the Ascended too much and didn't give room for dynamic development (for example the political tenet)
Disconnection: The last system that we had for disconnection was awful and super abused, basically you could infuse a black ember into a weapon, give that weapon to someone else and that person disconnect an Ascended with it.
Regeneration: Immortality + Super Regeneration is simply too OP and made us act fearless knowing that whatever happened to us would have little impact to our characters and also took away the possibility of healing our own wounds.
Infusions: Too many infusions were created and sold, which wouldn't have been an issue if players would roleplay it properly and get them recharged often, but that wasn't the case.
Master Sage: Someone being a "T6" Ascended is not good and nobody should habe such privilege. Plus this created some sort of forced centralization around them.
Hallowed grounds: Only 1 could exist at any time which lead to it being able to be harbored by a few Ascended and limit the rest of the Ascended to be stuck at T3 since they can't undergo the ritual of Stoking which must take place into it.
Soulfire braziers: all the lower tiers of it are almost useless and even the most powerful only limits the corruption of souls into a radious, limiting the rp of other players.
Soulmending: A too easy way to heal someone, and many times abused by just taking the wounds of others and just going AFK or logging out while the wounds heal.
Also a lot of drama just made a big part of us just stop using the magic for some time and instead start to work on a rewrite.
- Well, the removal of everything that i listed above this along with more freedom tenet wise is a good start i believe (like now Ascended being able to get into politics)
- Ascended won't need to be forced into one single order and instead will be allowed to be on their own or create their own groups if they wish so without constant threats of disconnection.
- Disconnection will only be a thing if they break tenets, which would also handicap them if they don't look for redemption and undergo the Trial of the Damned.
- A really lot of new spells to support other players with none of them being purely offensive.
- Handicapped regeneration and partial sterility to balance immortality.
Also this rewrite will bring a lot of fresh air to the playerbase and many will start to play their characters once more while also new players will integrate into it.
Rn with the current lore? The purpose is the same as always, fight the dark, avoid souls getting corrupted etc. But that lost meaning and importance with the passage of time and it became boring to play.
With the rewrite the purpose of the Ascended will be ensure the welfare of the descendants and their souls, making sure that they are mature enough at the moment that they pass into to the afterlife. The way of doing so is not scripted in the lore and is open to the different points of view of the different Ascended and their rp, but by no means we plan to be protagonistic, just fulfill our purpose in the daily basis with small things that together produce meaningful rp and fun for other players.
(Purpose doesn't necesarily makes a magic good or bad, is what you do with it what creates good rp for others)
I hope my answers helped you to understand it better : )
On a side note to those concerned by the community and potential powergaming:
If the lore is accepted i am totally down to work alongside the LT to ensure the proper use of the magic, and if you think that someone powergames i ask you all to report them so they can be explained what they are doing wrong. And in regards to toxicity and bad behavior you can always message me and i will try to do my best to solve such.