Rularuu Watcher-class Hit Chances Extremely High

[Kartanian]

Hey, folks!

 

I was strolling through the Shadow Shard, just rescuing a damsel in distress, and fought through some of the Rularuu Watcher-class critters: Watchers, Observers, and Overseers.

 

Now, I'm a nimble-type stalker (Ninja Blade/Ninjutsu) who can dodge pretty much everything except that lucky 5% shot. (Positional defenses 54%/54%/100% in Hide and 47% out of Hide) But I noticed that these eyeball dudes were hitting me with just about every shot. And I mean EVERY shot! (They all had 95% chance to hit on me for all types of attacks.) After returning the damsel to her tower in Cap au Diable, with an earned bonus for presentation of her original condition, I looked up what research I could on these round, spiky, pestiferous things.  (https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Soldiers_of_Rularuu) I could see what people had reported as resistances and attacks and things, but I did not see any mention of OMG-HE-ALWAYS-HITS-ME! powers in that intel report.

 

I don't *remember* experiencing that degree of accuracy from the Rularuu watchers, observers, and overseers before, but I also may not have been running it so they were lvl 52-53 opposition. Anyone notice this? Is it "working as intended?" If so, I know who to play with for my sparring matches!

 

Regards,

Your Lovable Rogue, Kartanian

[Kartanian]

(In other words, how big is that +ToHit bonus that they have?)

[Syzyx]

As I recall it, Watchers were the solution to the original Super Reflexes problem when the Shadow Shard was introduced. So, yes, they are supposed to have insanely high +tohit.

[GM Kaiju]

All of the entries on that link list +to hit and +perception at the end, sort of lumped in with their resistances. 
 

If you shoot one with a power analyzer from P2W it should tell you their specific stats.

[Vanden]

Rularuu sentries have +100% ToHit buffs at all times.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Vanden

[Kartanian]

11 minutes ago, Vanden said:

Rularuu sentries have +100% ToHit buffs at al times.

Oh, my!

 

That definitely floors any kind of defense-based strategy, doesn't it? Thanks for the confirmation and numbers. Knowing this makes it possible (meh, easier, at least) to prepare. I was sniping minions and LTs from outside of reaction range already (when solo), but the Overseers will need a different strategy. Fortunately, the complete ninja's kit has some useful tools in it.

 

Sparring partner sentries, here I come!

Edited January 4, 2021 by Kartanian

[siolfir]

 

51 minutes ago, Kartanian said:

1 hour ago, Vanden said:

Rularuu sentries have +100% ToHit buffs at all times.

Oh, my!

 

That definitely floors any kind of defense-based strategy, doesn't it? Thanks for the confirmation and numbers. Knowing this makes it possible (meh, easier, at least) to prepare. I was sniping minions and LTs from outside of reaction range already (when solo), but the Overseers will need a different strategy. Fortunately, the complete ninja's kit has some useful tools in it.

 

Sparring partner sentries, here I come!

Look at the bright side, there's finally a use for that defense cap being at 175-225%, right? From the OP you were at 47% with Hide suppressed, slotted Kuji-in Retsu is ~72% to put you at roughly 120%, so you only need to come up with another 25% for Rularuu softcap! 😛

 

[Doomguide2005]

7 hours ago, siolfir said:

 

Look at the bright side, there's finally a use for that defense cap being at 175-225%, right? From the OP you were at 47% with Hide suppressed, slotted Kuji-in Retsu is ~72% to put you at roughly 120%, so you only need to come up with another 25% for Rularuu softcap! 😛

 

They also ignore stealth and perhaps more importantly if you aren't SR or otherwise have high levels of DDR and do get buffed to the "Sentry" cap have attacks that debuff defense.  Yay!? for cascade failure when your defense is at +150 😳

Edited January 5, 2021 by Doomguide2005

[Shred Monkey]

Lucky for you, they do not have very good defense against your -HP powers.   You see an eyeball, you punch/kick/stab/blast it.  Problem solved.

[Kartanian]

Definitely. It just requires a knowing adjustment of tactics to handle them!

 

For example, they still waste time scattering in Caltrops.

[SwitchFade]

And people complain that end game is too easy 🤣

 

Clearly, they don't visit the shard much

[Sakura Tenshi]

It's crazier to think  that those guys were made before invention sets were really a thing. Given the watchers and the quartz crystals DE lay down, along with how painfully common -def debuffs are to how rare damage buffs (for the enemy) and -res is, kind of makes you think Jack really didn't like defense as a mitigation tool.

[Kartanian]

1 hour ago, Sakura Tenshi said:

It's crazier to think  that those guys were made before invention sets were really a thing. Given the watchers and the quartz crystals DE lay down, along with how painfully common -def debuffs are to how rare damage buffs (for the enemy) and -res is, kind of makes you think Jack really didn't like defense as a mitigation tool.

To a certain extent, while the design approach was really good (IMO) about having all three methods--avoidance, reduction, and recuperation (defense, resist, regen/heal)--included, there may have also been a comic-book bias toward slugfests, and in the comic books I have seen defense/avoidance subtly regarded as "cheating." Dramatic "clash of the titans," macho, Superman kind of punchfests get a bit more implicit value attached to them. It comes with the "A hero is someone who can take a lot of punishment" mindset. (YMMV)

Fortunately, COH enables multiple play styles, so the Sentry-class mobs are an exception for spice and variety, rather than the rule.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Kartanian
for clarity

[Sailboat]

Specialist mobs that defeat common methods of mitigation are one of the few remaining areas where control powers are really helpful.  Who cares what insane value the +ToHit is for a held or stunned Rularuu?  Controllers and Dominators are the best for this, although other ATs can dabble.

[Purrfekshawn]

Everything in Shadow Shard defies laws of physics. Overseers aint exception, that's why nothing can dodge them!

[Coyote]

38 minutes ago, Sailboat said:

Specialist mobs that defeat common methods of mitigation are one of the few remaining areas where control powers are really helpful.  Who cares what insane value the +ToHit is for a held or stunned Rularuu?  Controllers and Dominators are the best for this, although other ATs can dabble.

 

Just to note, Sentry mobs also have protection against Confuse effects, making it harder for some Control sets to handle them. They were probably the worst mobs for my Plant/Savage to face, especially as his secondary defensive method (high Ranged Defense) mattered even less than Seeds of Confusion. And just for kicks, by flying they're mostly protected against knockdown effects, too.

[Kartanian]

Soo... Good design on niche end-game mobs? 😉 

 

It's not like Malta that we have to face pretty much constantly. (Although I love fighting Malta, myself.)

[Outrider_01]

2 hours ago, Kartanian said:

It's not like Malta that we have to face pretty much constantly. (Although I love fighting Malta, myself.)

Aka anti-faceroll NPC so the game isn't easy mode.  Stun/hold, solves the problem instead of keyboard licker mode.