Focused Feedback: Blaster Secondary Revamp

Hew · November 6, 2020

3 hours ago, Coyote said:

Uh, Arctic Air is good, but not stupid strong. AA can have about 65% uptime on even-cons of LT level (50% on higher cons). With a much larger radius and a -Recharge debuff.

WoC can have about 75% uptime on even cons but only up to minion level (about 60% on higher cons), with a much smaller radius and no debuff.

WoC is a lot weaker than AA. AA is a good power, one of the main defenses of an Ice Controller, but not a great power. And WoC is a lot weaker.

Comparing it to what is probably the best single AoE mez in the game... is not warranted. Just because they're both AoE Confuse powers and would both be available at low levels is not enough reason to compare WoC to Seeds of Pwnership.

You completely misread.

... you would know how powerful confuse is at low level. ...

It doesn't matter if the power itself is godly or not. Confuse is poorly resisted at the level range in question. Even con minions easily provide enough distraction to lts and bosses at low level for other means of control (blowing up lts and bosses, or lts if solo) in a very effective way.

A pack of skulls dumping -def into each other makes general slaughter much much easier, since lack of accuracy slotting is offset. One example.

Griffyn · November 6, 2020

On 10/27/2020 at 6:32 PM, zenblack said:

Vines - These changes are fine. The recharge was obviously off. I personally used this less because of it's AOE than it's mag, but it seems semi-unreliable which is what the Dev's were going for.

I don't have a problem with the unreliability of the hold (50%), but the immob should always apply. The way that it stands the held targets could start moving sooner than the targets that are missed by the hold. If it's strongly slotted for hold that would be minimized, but I think that should not be expected for Blasters even with a Hold power.

FutureTails21 · November 7, 2020

I really would like if Boost Range is a toggle instead of a click power

Jimmy · November 7, 2020

Build 3 - November 7th, 2020

Blaster Secondary Revamp

After the game shut down, several new Blaster secondary sets were developed (eg: Tactical Arrow, Atomic Manipulation, Plant Manipulation), but these sets were generally quite overtuned in the crowd control department, whilst also lacking in incentives to get into melee range - both of these factors contributed towards the sets being a tad too safe.

Additionally, most of the legacy sets received some changes in the i24 beta just before the game shut down that were never really followed up on. This ended up with several sets (eg: Ice Manipulation, Electrical Manipulation, Energy Manipulation) being slight underperformers, especially compared to the new sets.

This round of changes aims to level the playing field for Blaster secondary sets, both towards each other and towards dedicated crowd control ATs. In general, you'll see many of the underperforming sets receive several buffs (both in terms of damage and survivability), alongside some reductions in the crowd control capabilities of most sets.

Tactical Arrow

Electrified Net Arrow
- Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
- Endurance cost increased from 5.2 to 7.8 to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Ice Arrow
- Range reduced from 80ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation ST mez powers
- Recharge increased from 12s to 16s
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Upshot
- +Recharge buff reduced to from 30% to 15%
- +Damage buff reduced from 100% to 81.25%
- +ToHit reduced from 20% to 15%
Flash Arrow
- This power's effects are no longer irresistible
Gymnastics (Replaces Agility)
- Gymnastics and Agility have been merged into a new toggle power
- Provides knockback protection, a 1.75% defence buff, a recharge bonus, a jump bonus, a movement speed buff and some slow / mez protection
- If you previously had Agility, you now have Gymnastics
ESD Arrow
- Hold now only applies to robots
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Added Stun against all foes (does not override the robot hold):
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Now accepts Stun enhancements and sets
Oil Slick Arrow (Replaced Gymnastics)
- Similar to the Trick Arrow version, but does not have a defence debuff and only has a 15ft radius
- If you previously had Gymnastics, you now have Oil Slick Arrow
- No longer knocks foes down once it has been ignited
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Electrified Net Arrow
Glue Arrow
Ice Arrow
Upshot
Flash Arrow
Eagle Eye
Gymnastics (Replaces Agility, merged with T9)
ESD Arrow
Oil Slick Arrow (Replaces Gymnastics)

Atomic Manipulation

Electron Shackles
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Positron Cell
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Radioactive Cloud
- Hold effect has been adjusted:
  - 50% chance of hold by choking - choking foes might actually counterattack if hit
  - 50% chance of hold by barfing - barfing foes will continue emptying their stomachs until the duration of the hold expires

Darkness Manipulation

Penumbral Grasp
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Touch of the Beyond
- Increased the duration of the self buff from 60s to 120s
- The self buff now also provides Fear protection
- The self buff now auto-hits, regardless of if the enemy-targeting portion of this power hits
- Added a short, non-enhanceable Mag 3 Hold (in PvE only)
- The regeneration buff should no longer be weaker when used against higher or lower level enemies
Dark Pit
- Recharge time increased from 60s to 90s
- Endurance cost increased from 13 to 20.18
- Stun changed from Mag 2, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Devices

Toxic Web Grenade
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Taser
- Fixed this power doing PvE damage in PvP
Field Operative
- This power now has a No Fade customization them
  - Selecting this theme will stop the power from fading the player body
Gun Drone
- Now has 80% resistance to all damage
- Taunt aura reduced to 8ft, mag 3, max of 4 targets
- Death explosion now has a knockup component

Electrical Manipulation

Electric Fence
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Thunder Strike
- Cast Time reduced from 3.3s to 2.53s
Dynamo (renamed from Lightning Field)
- Moved from T3 to T6 (see Power Order Changes below)
- Is now the sustain power in the set (along with the existing damage aura component)
  - No longer has an endurance cost to run
  - Provides a Recovery and Regeneration buff
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
- If you had Force of Thunder, it will now be replaced by Dynamo and keep the same enhancements from Force of Thunder
Force of Thunder
- Moved from T6 to T8 (see Power Order Changes below)
- No longer provides a sustain buff
- Stun changed from Mag 2, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
- Knockback chance increased from 30% to 100%
- If you had Lightning Field, it will now be replaced by Force of Thunder and keep the enhancements from Lightning Field
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Electric Fence
Charged Brawl
Build Up (moved down from T5)
Havok Punch
Thunder Strike (moved down from T7)
Dynamo (moved up from T3, renamed from Lightning Field)
Power Sink (moved down from T8)
Force of Thunder (moved up from T6)
Shocking Grasp

Fire Manipulation

Ring of Fire
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Cauterizing Aura
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)

Energy Manipulation

Energize
- Now provides a small amount of Stun protection (PvE only)
Stun
- Recharge reduced from 20s to 14s
- This power now has synergy with Power Boost and Boost Range
  - With Boost Range active, this power becomes a ranged Stun
  - With Power Boost active, this power becomes an AoE (instead of boosting its duration)
- Stun will have an orange ring whenever either of these buffs are active
  - As highlight rings can only be one color, Power Boost and Boost Range are also getting a pale white ring to make it easier to know if their buffs are still active, without having to look at the buff bar
- Full combo details:
  - Stun = 14s recharge, 7ft range, Mag 3 scale 10 stun, single target
  - Stun + Boost Range = 14s recharge, 60ft range, Mag 2 scale 10 stun + Mag 1 scale 6 stun, single targets
  - Stun + Power Boost = 90s recharge, 7ft range, Mag 2 scale 5 stun + Mag 1 Scale 2.5 stun, AoE (10 targets)
  - Stun + Power Boost + Boost Range = 90s recharge, 60ft range, Mag 2 scale 5 stun + Mag 1 Scale 2.5 stun, AoE (10 targets)
Total Focus
- Cast time reduced from 3.3 seconds to 2.53 seconds

Ice Manipulation

Chilblain
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Frigid Protection
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
Shiver
- Half of the debuff now lasts 60 seconds (previously the entire debuff dropped off after 15 seconds, now only half of it does)
Freezing Touch
- DoT on this power now lasts 10s, delivering additional cold damage ticks (11, up from 6)
Frozen Aura
- This power now inflicts damage and accepts damage enhancements and sets
- Sleep changed from Mag 2, Scale 20 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 20 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 12 (stacking)

Martial Combat

Ki Push
- Damage lowered from scale 1.32 to scale 1.0
- Recharge time reduced from 6s to 4s
Reaction Time
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- If you are concealed (from Stealth or a similar power) this power will not impact foes unless you are in combat (it will no longer accidentally break stealth)
Throw Sand
- Stun changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)
Eagles Claw
- This power now has a chance to cause lethal internal bleeding damage over time, similar to the set's Storm Kick

Mental Manipulation

Subdual
- The range of this power is not being adjusted and will remain at 80ft as increased range is part of the secondary effects for Mental / Psionic powers
Telekinetic Thrust
- Recharge increased from 6 seconds to 16s
- Cast Time reduced from 2.07s to 1.67s
- Damage Scale increased from 0.8 to 2.92 (per the standard damage formulas)
- Moved from T3 to T9 (see Power Order Changes below)
World of Confusion
- Moved from T7 to T3 (see Power Order Changes below)
Scare
- Moved from T8 to T7 (see Power Order Changes below)
Psychic Shockwave
- Moved from T7 to T8 (see Power Order Changes below)
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Subdual
Mind Probe
World of Confusion (moved down from from T7)
Psychic Scream
Concentration
Drain Psyche
Scare (moved down from T8)
Psychic Shockwave (moved down from T9)
Telekinetic Thrust (moved up from T3)

Ninja Training

Immobilizing Dart
- Toxic damage over time doubled to bring it in line with other single target immobilize powers
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Sting of the Wasp
- Recharge increased from 5s to 10s
- Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas)
Choking Powder
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Shinobi
- No longer grants a damage buff outside of stealth
- Now grants the caster a 20% chance to inflict lethal criticals with every attack
  - The amount of damage will be based on the recharge time of the power
  - Usually this will be 80% of the standard damage formula
  - This bonus damage ignores enhancements and damage buffs
- Now provides movement buffs similar to Scrapper's Shinobi-Iri
  - See note on Movement Buffs in "Other Powers Changes" for more info
The Lotus Drops
- Recharge decreased from 28s to 14s
  - This was much higher than intended
Blinding Powder
- Sleep magnitude increased from 2 to 3
- Chance for Confuse mag increased from 2 to 3
- Chance for Confuse scale lowered from scale 20 to scale 8
- Accuracy lowered to 0.8 (to match other AoE CC powers)
Golden Dragonfly
- Recharge increased from 12s to 20s
- Damage increased accordingly (per the standard damage formulas)

Plant Manipulation

Entangle
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
Skewer
- Cast Time reduced from 1.67s to 1.23s
  - Was 1.17s in the previous build
Strangler
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 12 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Spore Cloud
- Moved from T9 to T5 (see Power Order Changes below)
- No longer grants a Defiance buff
  - As a toggle, it never should've given one
- -Regeneration debuff now scales with player level
  - -59.32% at level 20
  - -80.33% at level 40
  - -90.83% at level 50
Wild Fortress
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
- VFX will now stay active as long as the toggle is active
Vines
- Hold effect has been adjusted:
  - 50% chance to hold foes at scale 8 mag 2 + scale 5 mag 1
  - Foes not held in this way will be held for scale 1.5 mag 2 and immobilized for 17.88s
- This power can now be enhanced for immobilization
Thorn Burst
- Moved from T5 to T9 (see Power Order Changes below)
- Cast time reduced from 3s to 2s
Power Order Changes

Spoiler

Entangle
Skewer
Strangler
Toxins
Spore Cloud (moved down from T9)
Wild Fortress
Ripper
Vines
Thorn Burst (moved up from T5)

Temporal Manipulation

Time Wall
- Now inflicts scale 1 energy damage to bring it in line with other single target immobilize powers
- Now accepts Damage enhancements and sets
- Range increased from 50ft to 60ft to be in line with other Blaster Manipulation T1 Immobilize powers
  - This change was missed in the last build
Aging Touch
- Base damage slightly reduced from 1.32 to 1.02
  - This power was doing more damage than intended
Time Stop
- Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 10 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 6 (stacking)
Temporal Healing
- Absorb has been adjusted to match Cauterizing Aura's Heal per Second and can now stack up for up to 12 seconds
- No longer shows floating numbers by default
  - A new "Show Floaters" theme is available if you prefer seeing the Absorb numbers
Future Pain
- Recharge increased from 11s to 18s
- Endurance cost increased from 11.024 to 16.848
- Damage increased accordingly (by about 52.8%, per the standard damage formulas)
End of Time
- Recharge decreased from 22s to 17s
- Endurance cost decreased from 20.176 to 16.016
- Damage decreased from scale 1.552 to 1.232 (per the standard damage formulas)
Time Shift
- Stun changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
  - Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)
  - Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Architect Entertainment

AE versions of these powersets have been updated with missing powers and to match current power effects

ForeverLaxx · November 7, 2020

Well, RIP my Archery Blaster's playstyle. Pure range support secondary that doesn't have the proper range isn't worth using when I could just play TA/A Defender instead. And since Gymnastics is no longer going to stack with CJ per the movement powers changes, it was probably out the door anyway.

Greycat · November 7, 2020

Not seeing a specific thread for this (granted, I may have missed it.) And this is a minor thing, but.. .

Eagles Claw
- This power now has a chance to cause lethal internal bleeding damage over time, similar to the set's Storm Kick

Aren't we supposed to be "arresting" stuff, at least blue side, and leaving the "is that lethal or not" up to the player? (Yes, I know, "but broadswords/arrows/fire/sticking someone in a block of ice that encloses their head.")

*Personally* what the description says wouldn't bother me while playing, any more than Dark consistently mentioning "the netherworld," for instance. Just bringing it up before someone who actually will have a fit ("my character would never do that, I picked it so as not to kill people!" for instance) does.

ForeverLaxx · November 7, 2020

7 minutes ago, Greycat said:

Not seeing a specific thread for this (granted, I may have missed it.) And this is a minor thing, but.. .

Eagles Claw
This power now has a chance to cause lethal internal bleeding damage over time, similar to the set's Storm Kick

Aren't we supposed to be "arresting" stuff, at least blue side, and leaving the "is that lethal or not" up to the player? (Yes, I know, "but broadswords/arrows/fire/sticking someone in a block of ice that encloses their head.")

I wonder if it means that the damage is flagged as "lethal", and not that it's actually life-threatening? Like, it does Smashing damage on initial hit, followed by a Lethal damage DoT.

Greycat · November 7, 2020

3 minutes ago, ForeverLaxx said:

I wonder if it means that the damage is flagged as "lethal", and not that it's actually life-threatening? Like, it does Smashing damage on initial hit, followed by a Lethal damage DoT.

I don't think that's normally called out in a (flavor) description like that, generally. *shrug* Might be what they're going for, but that might be a touch odd.

Like I said, personally I'm more interested in "oh, that attack" over flavor text, which (by now) I often fly past.

ForeverLaxx · November 7, 2020

@Greycat Well the way it's worded, that doesn't look like a flavor addition. It even calls out how it's similar to the set's Storm Kick, which does have a Lethal damage DoT as part of its effect. I'm going to assume that's what it means.

Hew · November 7, 2020

We have people swinging 10 foot long swords, sharp pointy knives, swords, sharp pointy maces, guns, probably some other stuff.

If that isn't lethal, I dont know what is. They got that iron palm martial arts stuff thats supposedly definitely lethal, so I could see this doing bad juju!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_of_Death

Grouchybeast · November 7, 2020

I propose changing all uses of 'Lethal damage' on blueside to 'cutting remarks'.

Troo · November 7, 2020

On 11/5/2020 at 8:58 AM, Troo said:

Moving the Melee attack from T3 to T9... bye bye defensive knockbock.

Making all the sets too similar is just gross.

On 11/5/2020 at 2:07 PM, Hew said:

You do know WoC is defensive, right? Or is that intentional oversight. If you have played a plant troller, you would know how powerful confuse is at low level. If not, please be aware it is STUPID strong.

@Hew, doesn't change what I said though.

TK Thrust is a mag 8 perfect power for getting one target off a blaster.

Trading that for a Mag 2 confuse that's only an 8 foot AoE toggle.. Something like Seeds of Confusion is mag 3, 50 foot radius cone.

Ejlertson · November 7, 2020

Im amazed that the GMs are so dead set on punishing TA. It's a ranged set, it has no melee powers, it has no incentive to go to melee range. I choose it because I wanted to Hover away from melee and have other options than blapping.

And Oilslick is incredibly unsatisfying as a T9 power

Zepp · November 9, 2020

Martial Combat: Burst of Speed, this power could use a huge reduction in Recharge [should be around 12-15s] (make it pair better with Combat TP). The current level of damage does not seem to be too high for this low recharge.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Zepp

csr · November 9, 2020

41 minutes ago, Zepp said:

Martial Combat: Burst of Speed, this power could use a huge reduction in Recharge [should be around 12-15s] (make it pair better with Combat TP). The current level of damage does not seem to be too high for this low recharge.

It can be used 3 times before the cooldown starts.

Zepp · November 9, 2020

44 minutes ago, csr said:

It can be used 3 times before the cooldown starts.

The same is true for Combat Teleport as well. The fact is the cooldown for Burst of Speed is insanely long when it hits. Reducing the cooldown would be reasonable and make Burst of Speed to Melee, Combat Teleport to Ranged a much more dynamic playstyle.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Zepp

csr · November 9, 2020

1 hour ago, Zepp said:

The same is true for Combat Teleport as well. The fact is the cooldown for Burst of Speed is insanely long when it hits. Reducing the cooldown would be reasonable and make Burst of Speed to Melee, Combat Teleport to Ranged a much more dynamic playstyle.

At a 12-15s recharge (unless you lose the 3 times before cooldown part) it would be doing much more damage (more than 2.5 times) than Dragon's Tail with roughly the same Recharge and extra utility (I think it even has a larger radius).

Zepp · November 9, 2020

53 minutes ago, csr said:

At a 12-15s recharge (unless you lose the 3 times before cooldown part) it would be doing much more damage (more than 2.5 times) than Dragon's Tail with roughly the same Recharge and extra utility (I think it even has a larger radius).

Looking at DPA at level 50, according to in-game numbers, are ~53 compared to ~43. Damage-wise that is ~65 per cast for Dragon's Tail and ~159 before the timer starts on Burst of Speed. [hard to actually test because BoS damage is not listed in the combat logs]
Dragon's Tail has a Radius of 8, Burst of Speed has a Radius of 14. (getting those numbers through testing [not in the power's description] were a pain because of that absurdly long cooldown).

Dragon's Tail has Knockdown (mitigation), Burst of Speed has Teleportation (utility).

I could see some adjustments to bring the two towards the middle (increase Dragon Tail's Radius to 14, Decrease BoS DpA to 41) but 2.5x damage in twice the animation time without the mitigation of KD is not far-fetched to begin with. If you were to remove the 3 before cooldown, you'd likely have to reduce the cooldown to 4-6s to make it useful.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Zepp

Blackbird71 · November 9, 2020

While it's nice to see some continued updates and (hopefully) continued improvements before this patch goes live, several of the issues with the Tactical Arrow changes are still unaddressed. For starters:

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 6:22 AM, Jimmy said:

Flash Arrow
This power's effects are no longer irresistible

I have a hard time buying the argument that Tactical Arrow is overpowered when I compare powers like this to their counterparts, such as the corresponding Flash Arrow in Trick Arrow:

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 6:21 AM, Jimmy said:

Flash Arrow
Can now be slotted with Range enhancements

-ToHit increased from -6.25% to -18.76%
Half this debuff is now irresistible

This was previously erroneously listed as an increase to -15%, but it is in fact -18.76

Keep in mind that Tac Arrow's FA has a -4.9% ToHit debuff. Only half of Trick Arrow's debuff is now resistible, while all of Tac Arrow's has now been made resistible (no note here as to whether Trick Arrow's -90% perception is resistible).

The disparity between the versions of these powers is huge. There is an argument to be made for a difference between Blaster and Defender versions of powers, but even so, this is significant.

I've said before I'd be fine if Tac Arrow's FA lost the -ToHit completely, but making the -90% Perception resistible is too much. At the very least, it should be made only half-resistible as the Trick Arrow counterpart. Let Tac Arrow keep range as its strength.

Now, going back to this one:

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 6:22 AM, Jimmy said:

ESD Arrow
Hold now only applies to robots

Hold changed from Mag 3, Scale 8 to:
Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)

Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Added Stun against all foes (does not override the robot hold):
Mag 2, Scale 8 (non stacking)

Mag 1, Scale 5 (stacking)

Now accepts Stun enhancements and sets

This has still seen no updates. Splitting the slotting options for this power based on enemy type is wholly unacceptable. Especially in light of the change to the Mag of the power, the inability to slot Lockdown: Chance for +2 Mag Hold against the majority of targets moves this power into near uselessness. It certainly reduces its utility for running higher difficulty content, and will likely mean that many /TA players drop it in favor of something else.

The proposed worse-than-Trick-Arrow's-T8 Oil Slick should be removed from Tac Arrow's T9 slot, bump ESD Arrow up to T9 and revert the hold changes (at the very least let it hold all targets; remove the hold/stun split), making it more worthy of the T9 slot.

KauaiJim · November 9, 2020

Some quick questions regarding the Mag changes to the Holds/Stuns/Sleeps - I think understand the mag (magnitude) system, I think but I am not clear on a few things.

1) By reducing the Mag to 1/2 from Mag 3 does this mean these abilities are now only effective against minions and not effective against Lt's?

2) Why are the new status effects split into stacking and non stacking and what does that mean compared to how it works now?

3) What are Scales? (targets? time? area?)

I'm sure this is common knowledge for some but I confess I never really looked into it. Searching the internet and this forum didn't explain it either. Apologies in advance for asking silly questions...

Thanks!

Wavicle · November 9, 2020

I've seen multiple people saying they won't take Oil Slick on their Blasters and I'm just completely baffled by that.

Regarding Energy Manipulation...

Some AoE would have been nice, but leaving that aside.

I think leaving Power Boost as a click is fine, but having Boost Range and Energize as clicks, with their current durations, is still a lot.

I'm not sure what exactly to do. Boost Range as a toggle would probably not be as strong, and Energize clicking less frequently would hurt the healing aspect of the power...

csr · November 9, 2020

9 hours ago, Zepp said:

Looking at DPA at level 50, according to in-game numbers, are ~53 compared to ~43. Damage-wise that is ~65 per cast for Dragon's Tail and ~159 before the timer starts on Burst of Speed. [hard to actually test because BoS damage is not listed in the combat logs]
Dragon's Tail has a Radius of 8, Burst of Speed has a Radius of 14. (getting those numbers through testing [not in the power's description] were a pain because of that absurdly long cooldown).

Dragon's Tail has Knockdown (mitigation), Burst of Speed has Teleportation (utility).

I could see some adjustments to bring the two towards the middle (increase Dragon Tail's Radius to 14, Decrease BoS DpA to 41) but 2.5x damage in twice the animation time without the mitigation of KD is not far-fetched to begin with. If you were to remove the 3 before cooldown, you'd likely have to reduce the cooldown to 4-6s to make it useful.

I think Burst of Speed is a 15' radius; but it is hard to tell. I base that on it appearing to be more than 10' and the next standard size being 15'. Increasing Dragon's Tail's radius to 14' or 15' would reduce its Damage by about 30% (or up it's Recharge to around 17s) to keep it balanced with regard to the standard formula. Plus, it's just not going to happen, as the power isn't in need of a buff of any kind.

Rebalancing BoS to an attack with a utility side effect rather than a power that balances the two is probably not going to happen either. That 200' teleport with no line of sight required is a pretty serious "side effect". I can tp from by the SG portal in the RWZ Vanguard base to the targeting dummies. BoS as a 6s Recharge 15' AoE with a basic side effect (no tp, no 3 times) would have Damage less than half of what it does now. (Edit: I haven't tested BoS's tp, but Combat Teleport works for out-of-los tps through assist. I expect BoS will as well. That's a major power effect.)

Personally, I'd like to see its recharge improved a bit, since it's the signature power of the set, but the numbers you are suggesting are just way out of line. A 60s Recharge I could see; anything less than that and some part of it would likely be nerfed for balance. At the extremely short Recharge you're suggesting it would basically end up doing no damage at all and becoming a longer range Combat Teleport.

Edited November 9, 2020 by csr

csr · November 9, 2020

1 hour ago, KauaiJim said:

Some quick questions regarding the Mag changes to the Holds/Stuns/Sleeps - I think understand the mag (magnitude) system, I think but I am not clear on a few things.

1) By reducing the Mag to 1/2 from Mag 3 does this mean these abilities are now only effective against minions and not effective against Lt's?

2) Why are the new status effects split into stacking and non stacking and what does that mean compared to how it works now?

3) What are Scales? (targets? time? area?)

I'm sure this is common knowledge for some but I confess I never really looked into it. Searching the internet and this forum didn't explain it either. Apologies in advance for asking silly questions...

Thanks!

No, it mezzes Lts as long as the combined Mag is > 2. So on one cast that's the duration of the Mag 1 portion of the effect, since that will stack on top of the longer Mag 2 portion.
I assume it's split to make it harder for Blasters to Hold Bosses and Elite Bosses with just their Secondary powers. The non-stacking portion just doesn't stack with itself from the same caster (I haven't tested the "same caster" part - but I think that's how the mechanic works in general). So if you can cast the power twice in the duration of the Mag 1 portion it will overlap briefly for Mag 2 + 1 + 1 = Mag 4 and mez a boss. To perma-mez a Boss with one of the Secondary ST mezzes you'll likely need to slot that power with Mez+Rech instead of as an attack. Or you'll need a second mez to stack with it.
Mez Scale with an Archetype Multiplier determines the duration of the effect.

Edited November 9, 2020 by csr

KauaiJim · November 9, 2020

Thank you csr! 🙂

ScarySai · November 9, 2020

On 11/6/2020 at 12:10 PM, Hew said:

You completely misread.

... you would know how powerful confuse is at low level. ...

It doesn't matter if the power itself is godly or not. Confuse is poorly resisted at the level range in question. Even con minions easily provide enough distraction to lts and bosses at low level for other means of control (blowing up lts and bosses, or lts if solo) in a very effective way.

A pack of skulls dumping -def into each other makes general slaughter much much easier, since lack of accuracy slotting is offset. One example.

WoC isn't that big of a deal at low levels, unless we're talking a level 50 with Coercive Persuasion six-slotted into it going back to exemp. Then it can do funny things, but I'd hardly call it OP.

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