Focused Feedback: Pool Powerset Revamp: Sorcery

[Riverdusk]

Add me to the camp that very much likes the new arcane bolt how it is currently on Beta.  I don't like the idea of linking it with other powers in the set (to me that limits it much more than the current mechanic as that then limits build flexibility/opportunities in a pretty major way).  Some of the other suggestions I've seen sound even more complicated than how it is on Beta now.

 

For my characters that will regularly use it I won't find it finicky or gimicky or really treat it as a combo of any sort.  To me I'll treat it more like a scrapper crit, when it happens it happens and I won't worry about it, just blast away.  As has been shown it is now a decent power even without the bonus effect.  So, basically it is just some amazing free damage when it does happen, yay!  For those that do want to try and time it and maximize it, it is still possible to a certain extent as well, moreso than scrapper crits anyway.

[Myrmidon]

5 hours ago, parabola said:

Has some strange timewarp phenomenon happened here?!

Damn Gremlins...

[arthurh35353]

1 minute ago, Myrmidon said:

Damn Gremlins...

Just don't feed them after midnight!!

[BGSacho]

I'm encountering some buggy behavior with Arcane Power. Initially it was working normally, but after some testing in the Rikti War Zone, it appears to have gone haywire.

Rarely, I'll get the Arcane Power proc, and it will work normally. Example:
 

2021-04-09 22:20:15 Readying Arcane Bolt.
2021-04-09 22:20:17 Arcane Bolt is still recharging.
2021-04-09 22:20:17 Arcane Power bursts through your body!
2021-04-09 22:20:17 Arcane Bolt missed!
2021-04-09 22:20:17 MISSED Crey Juggernaut!! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 95.31.
2021-04-09 22:20:18 Arcane Bolt is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:20:18 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:20:18 Readying Arcane Bolt.
2021-04-09 22:20:20 Arcane Bolt is still recharging.
2021-04-09 22:20:21 HIT Crey Juggernaut! Your Arcane Bolt power was forced to hit by streakbreaker.
2021-04-09 22:20:21 You hit Crey Juggernaut with your Arcane Bolt for 88.26 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:20:21 You hit Crey Juggernaut with your Arcane Bolt for 88.26 points of Energy damage [ARCANE].

Most often, it seems to not trigger the extra damage, but instead it recharges Arcane Bolt twice in a row:
 

2021-04-09 22:14:52 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:14:54 Arcane Power bursts through your body!
2021-04-09 22:14:54 HIT Crey Juggernaut! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 2.00.
2021-04-09 22:14:54 You hit Crey Juggernaut with your Arcane Bolt for 81.47 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:14:55 Arcane Bolt is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:14:56 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:14:59 HIT Crey Juggernaut! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 20.12.
2021-04-09 22:14:59 You hit Crey Juggernaut with your Arcane Bolt for 81.47 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:14:59 Enflame is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:14:59 Arcane Bolt is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:15:01 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:15:03 Headman MISSES! Rikti Rifle power had a 5.75% chance to hit, but rolled a 46.10.
2021-04-09 22:15:04 HIT Crey Juggernaut! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 57.43.
2021-04-09 22:15:04 You hit Crey Juggernaut with your Arcane Bolt for 81.47 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:15:04 You knock Crey Juggernaut off their feet with your Arcane Bolt!
2021-04-09 22:15:04 Arcane Bolt is recharged.

Or here:

 

2021-04-09 22:21:55 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:21:56 Crab Spider Slicer MISSES! Longfang power had a 5.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 49.83.
2021-04-09 22:21:57 Tarantula Mistress MISSES! Mental Blast power had a 5.75% chance to hit, but rolled a 67.06.
2021-04-09 22:21:57 Crab Spider Slicer MISSES! Longfang power had a 5.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 88.97.
2021-04-09 22:21:57 Arcane Power bursts through your body!
2021-04-09 22:21:57 HIT Tarantula Mistress! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 80.13.
2021-04-09 22:21:57 You hit Tarantula Mistress with your Arcane Bolt for 82.38 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:21:58 Arcane Bolt is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:21:59 Tarantula Mistress MISSES! Telekinetic blast power had a 5.75% chance to hit, but rolled a 72.30.
2021-04-09 22:22:00 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:22:02 HIT Tarantula Mistress! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 13.60.
2021-04-09 22:22:02 You hit Tarantula Mistress with your Arcane Bolt for 82.38 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:22:02 You knock Tarantula Mistress off their feet with your Arcane Bolt!
2021-04-09 22:22:03 Tarantula Mistress MISSES! Mental Blast power had a 5.75% chance to hit, but rolled a 90.94.
2021-04-09 22:22:03 Arcane Bolt is recharged.

I haven't been able to trigger the behavior by using other skills, although they have their own problem. I seem to get a lot of "dud" Arcane Power procs:

 

2021-04-09 22:27:08 Arcane Bolt is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:27:08 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 18.87 points of Toxic damage over time.
2021-04-09 22:27:12 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:27:13 Infantry MISSES! Rikti Pistol power had a 5.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 78.00.
2021-04-09 22:27:13 Improved Drone MISSES! Drone Blast power had a 6.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 73.61.
2021-04-09 22:27:13 Lash is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:27:14 HIT Chief Mentalist! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 74.61.
2021-04-09 22:27:14 You feel Arcane Power crackle at your fingertips. <-- arcane bolt doesn't recharge
2021-04-09 22:27:14 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Arcane Bolt for 76.04 points of Energy damage.
2021-04-09 22:27:15 You activated the Lash power.
2021-04-09 22:27:16 HIT Chief Mentalist! Your Lash power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 35.95.
2021-04-09 22:27:16 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 78.09 points of Fire damage.
2021-04-09 22:27:17 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 18.87 points of Toxic damage over time.
2021-04-09 22:27:17 Chief Mentalist MISSES! Mesmerize power had a 6.50% chance to hit, but rolled a 41.47.
2021-04-09 22:27:17 You feel Arcane Power crackle at your fingertips. <-- arcane bolt still doesn't recharge
2021-04-09 22:27:18 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 18.87 points of Toxic damage over time.
2021-04-09 22:27:18 Arcane Bolt is still recharging. <-- !
2021-04-09 22:27:19 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 18.87 points of Toxic damage over time.
2021-04-09 22:27:19 Improved Drone MISSES! Drone Blast power had a 6.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 63.53.
2021-04-09 22:27:20 You hit Chief Mentalist with your Lash for 18.87 points of Toxic damage over time.
2021-04-09 22:27:20 Infantry MISSES! Rikti Pistol power had a 5.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 38.51.
2021-04-09 22:27:20 Arcane Bolt is recharged. <-- full 7s recharge
2021-04-09 22:27:20 You activated the Arcane Bolt power.
2021-04-09 22:27:22 You feel Arcane Power crackle at your fingertips. <-- yet another dud
2021-04-09 22:27:22 Arcane Bolt missed!
2021-04-09 22:27:22 MISSED Chief Mentalist!! Your Arcane Bolt power had a 95.00% chance to hit, you rolled a 97.95.
2021-04-09 22:27:24 Chief Mentalist MISSES! Dominate power had a 6.50% chance to hit, but rolled a 78.58.
2021-04-09 22:27:25 Lash is recharged.
2021-04-09 22:27:26 Improved Drone MISSES! Drone Blast power had a 6.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 21.96.
2021-04-09 22:27:26 Infantry MISSES! Rikti Pistol power had a 5.00% chance to hit, but rolled a 49.61.
2021-04-09 22:27:26 Chief Mentalist MISSES! Mental Blast power had a 6.50% chance to hit, but rolled a 9.81.
2021-04-09 22:27:28 Chief Mentalist MISSES! Mesmerize power had a 6.50% chance to hit, but rolled a 14.85.
2021-04-09 22:27:29 Arcane Bolt is recharged. <-- notice full 7s recharge

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by BGSacho

[Bopper]

49 minutes ago, BGSacho said:

I'm encountering some buggy behavior with Arcane Power. Initially it was working normally, but after some testing in the Rikti War Zone, it appears to have gone haywire.

Thanks for providing the combat logs. It's very helpful to review what you are seeing.

 

First thing to address: "You feel Arcane Power crackle at your fingertips.".  This is the combat message you'll see when your chance to proc AP increases. So if you had a X% chance before that, it will now be X+10% chance going forward.

 

Second thing: "Arcane Power bursts through your body!".  This is the combat message you'll see when you proc AP. This is the time at which you'll get AB to recharge and it will do its Arcane crit.

Here it looks like you activated AB and it proc'd AP. However you missed on your attack. Luckily, because AP proc'd you got AB to insta-recharge and when you used it you got the Arcane crit (shown as [Arcane] in the last line).  Now, I am curious about some stuff here, in particular, your AB recharged at :18, you activated the power at :18, yet the damage didn't show up until :21. That seems a bit long. 

Your second block was interesting. You were still proc'ing AP from activating AB and since you hit (as opposed to the previous block where you missed), you got the recharge of AB but not the crit damage (on that attack nor your next attack). That seems like a bug. Good find

[DoctorDitko]

Might as well weigh in here, for what it's worth. Read the whole thread, but had to take my acrimony meds (I take Damitol).

 

I had some downtime at work, so ran a mish on Beta (Hey, beta-testing software is part of my job! They never set a limit on what software!) and didn't respec first. On Sorcery I currently have Mystic Flight, Arcane Bolt, and Rune o' Prot.

 

I greatly enjoyed the changes to Mystic Flight, and travel powers in general. Having Hover and MF together seemed like the old Hover/Fly binds, but without the bugginess. (I also enjoyed being able to speedily fly while standing up straight, as a sorcerer should). Great job!

 

(Am I right in feeling the range increase on Translocation is overridden by the increased flight cap, such that it is no longer worthwhile to auto-fly, then periodically TP as a way to speed up travel? It was always marginal, but seems slower now.)

 

This alt is an Ill/Rad, so short on the direct attacks. I use Fire APP and Arcane Bolt to take up the slack. I have now moved AB closer to the front of my tray, because it's no longer an "Aw, do I hafta?" attack. Not a fan of combos, but this one is simple and effective. With Containment, the sucker does triple damage! (If you guys do feel the need to adjust it, maybe have it proc only on powers that move points around? Even toggling Sprint on and off seems to fire it sometimes. It would be fine if heals, attacks, buffs, debuffs, and summons were the only triggers. (And eating Insps should be its own reward!)  Nevertheless, wonderful upgrade!

 

And, finally, RoP. I use it strictly as an "Oh, sh*t" power, so it seems fine to me. I'd prefer if the recharge and duration were based on traditionally magical numbers, like 42 (the answer!) and 69 (thrice 23!), though.

 

I'll doubtless weigh in on Enflame and Spirit Ward, once I respec* but the idea that SW should have a small benefit to the caster seems reasonable, especially at that END cost. I also agree that the "run away" part of Enflame sounds counterproductive. Both those opinions are based on secondhand information, though, so apply salis atticus.

 

Overall: What I'm qualified to comment on seems nice, thanks!

 

 

* Is there any chance we could add a way to change specific power picks and slots to the Freebies menu? It would be a big help to folks like me who seldom have time for a full respec, but would like to help with testing.

Edited April 10, 2021 by DoctorDitko
OCD

[Wavicle]

2 minutes ago, DoctorDitko said:

I'd prefer if the recharge and duration were based on traditionally magical numbers, like 42 (the answer!) and 69 (thrice 23!), though.

I love this idea.

[Zepp]

So, the Arcane Power buff is confusing (there are two parts, the recharge and crit which are separate apparently?) and it can be triggered by either attacks, toggles, I think I got it to trigger off of an insp once, maybe a mild sneeze or a cough...

I like the idea of Arcane Bolt crits, but could we possibly eliminate the AP mechanic and just add a "chance to crit for 200% damage. Will automatically recharge after a crit" into the power rather than involving other powers? It seems like that would get a similar result without a lot of the bugs/confusion/hating that is currently happening. It would also allow the smoother use of the power and prevent the CJ exploit (you can toggle Combat Jump on and off until you trigger AP and then use it as an opening with guaranteed double damage, making every toon a ranged Stalker...

[Teirusu]

First of all, I'd like to thank the Devs for all of their hard work, sweat, and tears that they pump into getting us free (awesome) patches to Cities after all of these years.  Thank you!  😀

 

 

Spirit Ward:

Looking at the last changes I see on the closed beta test server from today, I still think that .39 End/s is a bit too high.  After all, Assault/Maneuvers/Tactics all buff both you and your whole team.  Spirit Ward only buffs one person.  It would be nice if it buffed you, somehow, for .39 End/s along with your target.  Or more of the team, maybe.  And .39 End/s is already a hard bargain for the Leadership toggles.  I feel that .26 End/s would be more reasonable since it's basically like an armor toggle, just not as powerful and not use-able on yourself.  Even at .26 End/s, it only takes 30 seconds to match the end cost of the old version of the power of 7.8 End.

 

Arcane bolt:

I like the newer Arcane bolt, it's good.  Just not quite as good as main blast powers.  I can understand why it's balanced like that, after all, we don't want people to feel like they need to take it or that it's better then their primary powers, that makes sense.  It might be nice if the knockdown had a higher chance, or it had some additional debuff.  Could be fun if the debuff was random and maybe only happened when you have arcane power?  That would match the random nature that you get the arcane buff in the first place.

 

Mystic Flight:

Can't complain, it's great and you get Translocation for free and that got buffed too.

 

However, my personal wish-list for both would be for neither to try and directly match the powers they're emulating.  For Mystic Flight, I wish that it was more closer to an in-between of Hover and Fly.  Perhaps, in-combat, it could have similar speed and air control to Hover, maybe even toss in the DEF buff too.  In exchange, when out of combat, it be slower then Fly, more closer to what it is on live.  This would be nice so you wouldn't feel the need to take Hover along with Mystic Flight.  The balance point would be that Mystic Flight would still be it's same cost, so it's more expensive to run and it provide less flight magnitude.

 

As for Translocation, I wish I could use it without running Mystic Flight.  Sometimes you just want to teleport without having a fly/hover power on.  In exchange, maybe it could cost the same as the current live version when Mystic Flight isn't running?  So, it be cheaper to use while Mystic Flight is on.  I wouldn't be against Jaunt getting the same/similar treatment.
 

Enflame:

Haven't really used this power before but always knew that it was buggy.  Changes look good though!

 

 

Rune of Protection:

I have to say, I had been mostly in-different to first change/nerf of this power that was originally put in-place as I did feel it might have been a bit strong for a pool power.   And, I feel it would continue to be a decent power pick after the nerf.  With the current changes coming down the pipe, it's mostly just a wash now.  My use case has been on an Energy/Energy Sentinel whom I regularly do pulls on MSRs and it's definitely a nice mini T9 replacement power for that power combination.  I have nearly capped DEF on every thing besides PSI/Toxic and capped HP for a Sentinel.  Overload would be basically useless on my build.  Could I use Barrier?  Sure, in-fact, I have it but I like using it as a Rez OR having the freedom to easily switch to an Ageless or some other Destiny Incarnate power.

My built doesn't have Hasten but does have 107.5% global recharge and, with the IOs/Agility Alpha that I roll with on her current build, the cooldown of Rune is 208 seconds.  (So Mids states)  So, with the 60/180 second version on closed beta... I loose 30 duration from live, but also have 28 seconds shaved off the cooldown.  AND, the weirdness of the power not granting the resistance when used as a Breakfree is fixed AND it's effects happen nearly instantly!

So, in my opinion, it's basically the same.  If even a little better!  Or a wash, depending on how you view it.  The 40/120 version might have been the slightly better option... but... it's nice that you can easily compare it to inspirations.  I like that, that makes it easy to figure out how much worth it has.  I mean, with Lucks and Rages being the most powerful inspirations you can carry... -any- power that can reduce the need to carry the other inspirations in your tray is a net positive to me.

 

Can we have an alternate version of the animation that doesn't have the magical ring around it?  It certainly looks nice, I -do- like it, but I can see that not fitting with everyone's theme.

Thanks for listening!  😃

[Wavicle]

I'm confused about one thing.

 

I've seen people saying that the new Rune works like Mind Link, regarding recharge.

Is that right? So you can't slot basic recharge, but you Can slot sets with recharge and the recharge will work, and Hasten impacts it as does global recharge buffs?

 

Have I misunderstood?

[Apparition]

13 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

I'm confused about one thing.

 

I've seen people saying that the new Rune works like Mind Link, regarding recharge.

Is that right? So you can't slot basic recharge, but you Can slot sets with recharge and the recharge will work, and Hasten impacts it as does global recharge buffs?

 

Have I misunderstood?

That is how it works in beta because it is bugged.  It will be fixed so recharge doesn’t work on it at all.

[Myrmidon]

8 hours ago, Zepp said:

It would also allow the smoother use of the power and prevent the CJ exploit (you can toggle Combat Jump on and off until you trigger AP and then use it as an opening with guaranteed double damage, making every toon a ranged Stalker...

Thank you, the idea that Arcane Bolt can turn every AT into a Stalker made me laugh and laugh and laugh.😂

[Arcanum]

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