Tactical Arrow changes

[eknudson]

So Tactical Arrow got an interesting mix of buffs and nerfs and I'm not sure yet how I feel about them.  Most of the nerfs are done for good reasons but that doesn't mean that I entirely like seeing them on my Dark/TA.

 

Looks like I'll have to do a respec, though, for a couple powers that got changed quite a bit--ESD Arrow and the new Oil Slick Arrow. I had ESD Arrow slotted with Superior Entomb and now that doesn't really help most of the time (other than set bonuses). And one of them things I liked about my Dark/TA was the "blastroller" feel of having 3 holds that I could stack. Now I have two single target holds and a group stun, which isn't as helpful.  The set bonuses for Absolute Amazement aren't quite as good for my purposes as Superior Entomb. I get the reasons for taking net, flash, and ice arrow down a notch, and upshot probably shouldn't get the +recharge for free but why the ESD change?

 

How are people slotting Oil Slick Arrow? I don't have any fire powers, can it be lit with something like Electrified Net Arrow?  Have to figure out where I'll get any slots for OSA-- Gymnastics and Agility were both basically "one slot wonders" that left me with loads of slots for other powers.

[srmalloy]

I have it five-slotted with Bombardment on my Arch/TA Blaster, simply because I had a set of LotG in it before, and I moved the Def/+Rech to the new Gymnastics, with the rest of the set going into SG storage, leaving it with space to take the set, from someone else's build on the subforum. Looking back at the Sentinel+ file for my TA/Arch Defender from live, he had Oil Slick Arrow frankenslotted for damage and recharge (with the more limited availability of merits/funds, slotting was a little more haphazard):

<slot boost="0" level="45">Crafted_Recharge</slot>

<slot boost="0" level="33">Crafted_Touch_of_Lady_Grey -- Chance for Negative Energy Damage</slot>

<slot boost="0" level="50">Crafted_Air_Burst -- Dam/Rech</slot>

<slot boost="0" level="50">Crafted_Detonation -- Dam/Rech</slot>

<slot boost="0" level="50">Crafted_Positrons_Blast -- Dam/Rech</slot>

<slot boost="0" level="50">Crafted_Tempered_Readiness -- Dam/Slow</slot>

 

[srmalloy]

On 11/27/2020 at 5:39 PM, eknudson said:

How are people slotting Oil Slick Arrow? I don't have any fire powers, can it be lit with something like Electrified Net Arrow?

I was hugely surprised this evening; I'd taken my Arch/TA Blaster out to Peregrine Island to do the Fake Nemesis loop, and was becoming annoyed that the Fakes were running out of my flaming oil slicks, so I tried dropping the oil slick, then targeting it and dropping a Glue Arrow on it. And the oil slick lit. I don't know if this is WAI or a bug, but if hitting your Oil Slick with a glue arrow not only gets the glue patch but lights your oil slick to boot, it's a bonus.

 

Update: It appears that it's the Positron's Blast proc in the power that was igniting the oil slick. After more than 30 times with it, Glue Arrow finally failed to ignite the oil slick, and checking my combat log showed that the proc didn't go off that time.

Edited November 30, 2020 by srmalloy

[Coyote]

Did you have a Positron or Bombardment damage proc in Glue Arrow? Those would light the slick. Otherwise it sounds like a bug, since it's only supposed to light from Fire or Energy damage.

[Uun]

The oil slick can be lit with the Magic or Technology origin powers (Apprentice Charm or Taser Dart). If you don't have either of these, you can get them from the P2W vendor. I recommend setting up a bind that automatically targets the oil slick and executes the power (/bind numpad0 "targetcustomnext oil slick$$powexec_name apprentice charm").

 

Electrified Net Arrow will also work.

Edited November 28, 2020 by Uun

[Rodion]

I started making an Archery/Tactical Arrow blaster when when the beta was live, so I had no attachment to the previous implementation. I had played Archery on a Sentinel, and my reaction was kind of "meh," so my expectations were low.

 

But I have to say that I really like Archery/Tactical Arrow. I went with soft-capped Ranged defense with no Fighting pool, and it's a lot of fun. I haven't really soloed, but the character plays really well on big teams, like a 54x8 ITF. 

 

I haven't noticed whether Glue Arrow ignites the Oil Slick, but Explosive Arrow does, making those a good one-two punch. I'd post a build, but Mids Reborn says there's no new update.

 

With Lockdown in both Ice Arrow and ESD Arrow (getting the large Ranged defense bonus), bosses are often held with a single shot.

 

Changes like these can really mess up a build (like my Electrical/Electrical blaster, which had to be significantly reworked because certain enhancements were obsoleted), but I have no complaints with A/TA as it stands now. 

[Coyote]

1 hour ago, Rodion said:

I'd post a build, but Mids Reborn says there's no new update.

 

I don't think that Mids Reborn finds the latest version, but if you manually update it to the latest version from @Bopper you will get the new sets.

 

Thread with comments about Mids Reborn updates

[eknudson]

After testing the changes for a bit, I'm not loving them. I expected a bit of a nerf, but this feels like overkill. Tactical Arrow was probably the "safest" secondary available to blasters-- pretty clearly the lowest damage secondary, I think, but offering the most control options.

 

The change to ESD arrow and addition of Oil Slick arrow seems like an attempt to make it like the other secondaries. Take away some of the control by taking away stacking, add some damage.  But removing the hold for almost everything in favor of a disorient and adding a wonky, slightly nerfed, hard to use oil slick to add damage doesn't seem like the best way to achieve that... if it had to be achieved at all.  

[srmalloy]

36 minutes ago, eknudson said:

But removing the hold for almost everything in favor of a disorient and adding a wonky, slightly nerfed, hard to use oil slick to add damage doesn't seem like the best way to achieve that... if it had to be achieved at all.  

I'm disappointed with the change to ESD Arrow, with it taking away an AoE hold and replacing it with a stun, given the game's horrible handling of stunned mobs -- back on Live, I've watched a stunned Outcast stagger off at a dead run, leap up onto the roof of a building, and disappear. Stun is not a reliable mez until the game aborts any movement for a stunned character and replaces it with the slow stagger PCs are limited to. But I moved a slot from ESD Arrow to Ice Arrow so that was five-slotted, and replaced the Lockdown in ESD Arrow with two Absolute Amazement and a pair of procs, and it seems to be reasonable.

 

Oil Slick Arrow works like the Defender Trick Arrow version, so if you've gotten used to lighting your slicks, it's not a pain. Adding a macro to target the oil slick and fire Explosive Arrow at it makes lighting it easy, and in big fights someone usually has it lit before I can. Once they fix the bug that causes a targeted Oil Slick Arrow to fail to spawn a functioning oil slick (you can hear it, but it doesn't show up, and it doesn't affect mobs) it will be a steady part of my rotation.

[Sinn]

I think the real problem I'm having is removal of Agility. I was under the impression Gymnastics and Agility were combined powerwise not position only...Your mobility is completely ruined compared to how it was previous...no one asked for oil slick either...what a, in my opinion, completely useless power. This forced me to respec my toons, should of left Gymnastics as tier 9 and put Oil Slick in Agility position. Also combine Agility and Gymnastics...can anyone link the reasoning behind this? Gymnastics is usually 5 or 6 slotted on my toons, very useful power.

[Sinn]

On 11/28/2020 at 12:50 PM, Rodion said:

I haven't noticed whether Glue Arrow ignites the Oil Slick, but Explosive Arrow does, making those a good one-two punch. I'd post a build, but Mids Reborn says there's no new update.

 

 

Explosive Arrow does NOT ignite Oil Slick, btw, Blazing Arrow does, not sure if that is what you meant. Oh and Electrified arrow ignites it too, but I'm prolly gonna respec Oil slick out of my Arrow/TA blaster since it is useless for me. Also on my Beam Rifle/TA, I don't think any of my powers ignite Oil Slick...lol...thanks DEVs...

 

Beam Rifle powers DO ignite Oil Slick, I still don't like it though.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Sinn

[Sinn]

•  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 movement speed buff and some slow / mez protection
  • If you previously had Agility, you now have Gymnastics

 So if I'm reading this correctly, 'merged' should imply Gymnastics and Agility are ONE power with both abilities working under the ONE power...this is NOT the case...

 

[Crysis]

Not a fan of the overall watering down of Tactical Arrow.  Have retired all my /TacArrow Blasters as a result.  Just not the same, not even close.

[Carnifax]

13 hours ago, Crysis said:

Not a fan of the overall watering down of Tactical Arrow.  Have retired all my /TacArrow Blasters as a result.  Just not the same, not even close.

I don't mind tweaking numbers if numbers need to be tweak, but wholesale changes are hella-annoying. 

 

What's my Dark / TA supposed to do with this puddle of oil? Make it even darker?

[Uun]

2 hours ago, Carnifax said:

 

What's my Dark / TA supposed to do with this puddle of oil? Make it even darker?

As stated above, you can ignite with Electrified Net Arrow, Apprentice Charm or Taser Dart.

[Carnifax]

2 hours ago, Uun said:

Electrified Net Arrow

Oooh, I did miss that bit (don't have the other two). Arcane Bolt will work too, but it's annoyingly slow. 

 

 

[Uun]

17 hours ago, Carnifax said:

Oooh, I did miss that bit (don't have the other two). Arcane Bolt will work too, but it's annoyingly slow. 

If you want Apprentice Charm or Taser Dart, you can change your origin power at the P2W vendor.