Revisit the Energy Melee nerfs

[banzaI]

I still remember soloing as an energy melee stalker. My attack chain was 

build-up

Assassin Strike target 1 (dead!)

Energy Transfer target 2 (dead!)

Total Focus target 3 (stunned or dead!)

 

It would bring me great happiness to see a split-second Energy Transfer again. Hoping to re-live that glory outside of my dreams someday..

[Super Atom]

They should just increase ET's animation by 3 more seconds and change whirling hands to a ST attack.

 

Sounds good to me

[tidge]

22 minutes ago, Super Atom said:

They should just [...] change whirling hands to a ST attack.

 

Sounds good to me

Only with the correct animation.

 

[banzaI]

Cautiously excited for the “near future improvements to Energy Melee”!
Hoping the ST abilities really get to shine still.

 

Right now on my EM stalker it’s just no comparison to my StJ stalker.

1) total focus and energy transfer - both have very long animations and either get no crit or a reduced crit

2) the new Assassin Strike mechanics greatly favor building up the guaranteed crit with faster/weaker attacks. (Again pushing me away from using TF and ET)

3) the stalker ATOs also proc more frequently on AoE of which energy melee has none

 

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/22534-game-balance-the-endgame/

 

[detour]

On 6/6/2019 at 3:06 PM, marcussmythe said:

By matter of comparison:

Titan Weapons:  Follow Through:  90.88 DPA, 10s Recharge (Requires Momentum)  Second Attack - Rend Armor.  71.22 DPA (I believe OUTSIDE of Momentum Time.  For reals, yall)

 

Mace:  Clobber:  89.47 DPA.  14 Second Recharge.  Mag 3 Stun (No drawback)  Second Attack - Jawbreaker.  44 DPA, but recharges fast and knock UP

 

Energy Melee:  Energy Transfer:  69.86 DPA. 20 second recharge.  Mag 3 Stun (Self inflicted damage)  Second Attack - Total Focus, 46 DPA, same 20 second recharge.

 

Psionic Melee:  Greater Psi Blade:  69.77 DPA  15 Second Recharge Mag 3 Hold.  -9.6% Recharge Debuff to Target (No downside, damage higher if focused)

Second attack - TK BLow.. 9s Recharge, 57.69DPA, Knockup, and adds focus to make Psi Blade even more damaging.

 

Superstrength:  Knockout Blow:  66.66 DPA. 25 second recharge.  Mag 3 Hold (No drawback.  Set Bonus - Rage)  Fallback is Haymaker, 42DPA, fast recharge, and the set still has rage.

 

By comparison, then:

Titan Weapons has the highest DPA, on the shortest recharge.  It requires Momentum to use this attack, but by 50 with a plan, your in momentum almost all the time.  And it has attacks to follow it that are ALSO silly DPA.  Set also has great AOE.

 

Mace has a better attack than Energy Transfer - more DPA, shorter recharge, same mag CC, and it doesnt hurt you.  Jawbreaker isnt bad.  And set has some AOE to keep its single target company.

 

Psionic Melee has a basically identical attack to Energy Transfer - but its psychic damage, so you get to laugh at almost all mob resists.  And it debuffs.  And its damage goes significantly higher if you have stacks of focus (you have stacks of focus).  And the set has two AOEs to the one of Energy Melee.

 

Superstrength has KNockout Blow.  Basically the same DPA, longer recharge, but it lives in the same set as RAGE.  You know, Rage, its like buildup, if buildup was perma and stackable 2-3x.  And some other decent attacks.  And Rage.  And an infamous AOE.  And Rage.

 

In light of the above, the only thing that justifies the existence of energy melee is the value of being pillow-fisted with pink-pom-poms.  Its not middle of the road with pros and cons, its just actively, notably, bad.  Reverting Energy Transfer probably wouldnt actually even make the set competitive with the later produced 'good sets' - Probably need to revist the animation time on Total Focus, and maybe give a bit of love to Barrage (say to the same DPA as Energy Punch and Bone Smasher - if you want the set to have a reason to be other than to by its choice indicate that you are uniformed, nostalgia-driven, or an active masochist.

 

The accuracy of this post made me incredibly sad to read.  EM is one of the OG powers. To see it so badly nerfed - and its repair so thoroughly ignored - is cape-crushing.   Lovely, detailed post, though.

[marcussmythe]

Lord, that posts been a hot minute.

 

That said, we know that they are supposed to look at EM at some point, and so far, I've been impressed by the work the devs have done on HC.  ((I don't always agree 100% with every choice, but if I wanted to make the decisions, I should have done the job myself)).  As such, I am hopeful.  Impatient!  But hopeful.

 

[Golden Azrael]

I'm currently playing a Rad/Rad Brute.  Boy.  It's tasty.

 

It has the single target bite I wish EM had.  And it has AoE.  And it has defence debuff.  And a brute's Fury.

 

It's like a more progressive version of EM.

 

I wouldn't mind 'borrowing' Atom Smasher and having that as an AoE stun for an AoE disorient with mod' damage instead of the single target stun.

 

The other idea I have for that power is like Radiation's choking cloud.  And have a 'disorient' toggle that does DoT.

 

Either would stack nicely with Whirling (which could stand a damage boost...) Hands.

 

Azrael.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Golden Azrael

[Golden Azrael]

On 9/29/2020 at 2:33 PM, detour said:

The accuracy of this post made me incredibly sad to read.  EM is one of the OG powers. To see it so badly nerfed - and its repair so thoroughly ignored - is cape-crushing.   Lovely, detailed post, though.

I think that's a poetic summation.

 

HC know what they're doing for.  Let's hope for an imaginative return to greatness.

 

Azrael.

[High_Beam]

What I am going to say is only a commentary on my enjoyment of playing an EM Tank; I never played one before and don't have the history or PTSD associated with live nerfs.  I have fun playing her.  She's slow and thematically that's her deal.  She's a slow tank, not the fasted girl and not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  But when she drops the pom poms on you, you are cooked.  I have fun playing her as she is.  Now would I complain of things like animation times were adjusted or say some sort of increase in disorient duration from whirling hands (or at least a name change) was put in place where the masses would stagger around while I slowly ST finished the rest . . .  nope, I would smile and continue slow crunching of bones.