Sniper Beta Patch Notes, June 1st 2019

[BillyMailman]

So, I've got a level 50 Elec/Elec Blaster as my main. Had him for years and years on live. Here's what I've found to be the big areas this impacts, from a bit of playing around with the same build on the Beta server.

 

Solo +0x1 opening the fight:

Live: For a group of three minions, I toss in Ball Lightning (my basic targeted AoE), and follow it up with Zapp (My snipe). The enemy I'm targeting will almost always die instantly, and then the other two take enough damage from the AoE that I can quickly mop up with the two basic attacks, one at each minion. A single rotation ends the fight. For an Lt and a minion, I pop Build Up, hit the Lt with Zapp, and continue my normal ST rotation until he dies, then move on to the minion.

Sniper Beta: For a group of three minions, the same tactic works. Ball lightning going off will trigger Zapp, and I mop up as always. However, it does feel clunkier; Zapp's activation time is front-loaded now, meaning it causes the actual damage later. For an Lt and a minion, I have to either not open with the big heavy snipe hit, or else wait through the interrupt time. This can be avoided by rushing from fight to fight, but that's for the Combat Pacing section below. Waiting for the interrupt time really sucks, since usually I'm hitting attacks while moving towards the next group of enemies, so that those attacks will go off as soon as I'm in range.

 

Team opening the fight:

Live: If a nuke power is up (Thunderous Blast or Ion Judgement), I use that. Otherwise, Since Zapp has a long range, I just Build Up, then Zapp a priority target (Immunes Surgeon, Malta Sapper, or just the biggest boss in the group) to open the fight. I'm far enough back that even if I get the initial aggro, the tank'll have plenty of time to jump in and pull things off me before I get overwhelmed.

Sniper Beta: Nukes work the same, but Zapp-based openings have the exact same issue as opening a Solo fight, in that I can't use the power from movement if it's cold. The range is probably going to be an issue sometimes, but 80' is still pretty good.

 

ST Attack Chain:

Live: Charged Bolts, Lightning Bolt, and Zapp. These activate fast, and with medium-power slotting, Hasten, and Ageless Destiny, I've got all three recharging fast enough to fill a rotation.

Sniper Beta: Either the same thing, but now with a delay waiting for Zapp, or else add in Ball Lightning, and we're back to the I23 situation of having to throw AoE into my ST attack chain.

 

Combat Pacing:

Live: Post I24 changes, the Force of Thunder +recovery effect helps with going from group to group without having to stop, but I can stop and fire off Rest when I need to. In a group, if someone needs a break, we can stop.

Sniper Beta: I feel like I'm playing a Brute. Pausing means losing that fast snipe, so I have to open the next fight more awkwardly.

 

Catching Strays:

Live:If a Sky Raiders Porter runs off, as long as he's in line of sight, I can tag him with Zapp, and that probably finishes him off. The extra range is handy.

Sniper Beta: Admittedly, a lot of the time, they're still in range. But when they're not, the time spent chasing them can mean they run away even further, or they get off one more attack than before.

 

Catching Priority Targets:

Live: Zapp is super-fast to actually deal its damage, so if I see an Immunes Surgeon or Malta Sapper or Quantum that the team missed, I can just target it, hit Zapp, and it dies pretty much instantly.

Sniper Beta: Zapp doesn't deal its damage until the end of the animation, giving the enemy one more chance to get off a heal/sap power. Also, they may be out of range.

 

 

Underground Trial:

Haven't tried it on beta of course, but I feel like this is gonna be annoying for the bombs. Snipe one, then wait 15s to go out of combat again so you can reach it again.

 

I think part of the reason I'm noticing the range issue so much, is because I'm a hoverblaster. I'm 20-30 feet up in the air at all times, so my range is a bit shorter than it should be as a result. Having that one longer-ranged power as an option is great. Overall, this change is a major nerf to my main, and to a mechanic that I was really excited about when it was on the test server years ago, and had always wanted to have had the chance to try on live.

 

 

At the end of the day, I gotta wonder why this change is even being done. And I wanna go back in time to explain that. Before Issue 19, blasters (and corrs/defenders built for their attacks, but I'll just say blasters from now on) were kings of AoE, and scrappers (and brutes, and possibly stalkers, but again, I'll just say scrappers) were kings of ST. Blasters had more AoE attacks, they hit much wider areas, but they couldn't maintain a good ST chain nearly as easily as a scrapper could. Then I19 hit, and brought the Judgement Slot with it, and threw that AoE vs. ST balance for a spin. Now, in a group of eight level 50 characters, you can have a judgement power going off every single fight, even if the team's moving quickly. And judgement powers were just plain better than blaster nukes, since they didn't have a crash. Teams didn't need that AoE power, so blasters needed to step up their ST game to compensate. But the only way for many blasters to get enough ST damage was to take melee attacks and start blapping. And the only way to do that, was to slot set IOs pretty heavily, and work up to the defense soft cap.

 

So, I24 comes, and brings three big changes to this. First, blaster nukes no longer crash. And because blaster nukes can be slotted for recharge, unlike judgement, and get global recharge buffs like Hasten, unlike judgement, and can be slotted for damage and get global damage buffs, again unlike judgement, this helps make blasters the kings of AoE again. But they're still not undisputed at it, and judgement is still damn powerful. So the other two things that happened were to give blasters options regarding ST damage. You can build resistance with set IOs more easily now, so blapping isn't locked in to going defense soft cap. And you can build ToHit instead and use your sniper power to fill your ST rotation. The difficulty in getting to perma-instant-snipe isn't meant to be shoehorning people into it, it's meant to be looked at as an alternative to the difficulty in getting to/near the defense soft cap, and being able to play as a blapper effectively. Both are now workable options for keeping up a good ST chain. And it makes sense for blasters to need to put in at least some work to keep an ST chain going, since they're meant to be secondary to melee at ST, and better at AoE.

 

Thing is, I think some people are both overstating how hard it is to get perma-instant-snipe, and also overstating how important it is. An actual blaster gets both Aim and Build Up to help get them there, the Kismet IO is fairly well known and easy to slot, and Tactics has always been a fantastic power in basically any build. But more importantly, there are a LOT of sources of incoming +ToHit from your team. In team content, someone else having Tactics is fairly common, as are things like Forge, Fortitude, Far Sight, etc. Just like the old wisdom that you probably don't need to fully softcap yourself if you can expect a +def boost or two from the team, you can get away with just lightly slotted Tactics, and maybe not even the Kismet IO if you want, and often still have the instant snipe anyway in a large team. In solo content, you're either running at/near normal difficulty, and don't actually need instant snipe all that much, or you're running with the difficulty turned up because you have a good build, in which case you've got a good build, and working permanent instant-snipe into it is one of the tools you had available when you made that build.

 

So why is this mechanic being targeted for a change? And why is this the change that was decided on? If you want perma-instant-snipe to be easier to reach, drop the number to +20%, or make Tactics a bit stronger. Or make +ToHit enhancements a bit stronger and easier to slot it with. Or, if you want to add more sets, maybe add a sniper set that increases ToHit globally like Kismet, or has a single piece that does. Or maybe add a resistance counterpart to Kismet that stacks with it. Or maybe one that doesn't stack, but makes getting that +6% easier anyway. Or maybe a sniper attuned set similar to the Summer Blockbuster one that specifically makes a sniper power always instant-snipe, no matter the buff. Or, if you just want to make instant sniper more reliable, but less permanent, maybe just drop the recharge time on Aim and variants. But there's definitely no need to completely overhaul the numbers like this.

 

Actually, the best advice here may be to wait. It takes time for people to get used to mechanics like this, and we've all been just getting back into the game existing. So let it sit for a bit, and see how the build advice looks in another couple of months. It's entirely possible that as people get more and more used to this mechanic, the advice around how to use it will shift. Maybe reaching perma-instant-snipe all on your own will end up being thought of like a heal-only Empathy defender; sure, you can, but it's probably not a good idea.

 

[Golden Azrael]

Just got a chance to actually play with it. My first experience upon trying to activate the snipe in combat "Out of range!"

 

And my feedback...

 

This feels wrong.

 

So I'll reiterate what I said before. I love the idea of making instant snipe automatic but I really dislike the range reduction, and I dislike that /Devices loses a big part of what made it special.

 

Aye.  'Feels' wrong.

 

Azrael.

[Golden Azrael]

Also weighing in, I normally don't post thing like this so I'll keep it short. This snipe change not only feels bad, it was honestly a waste of dev time. There are a lot more blaring issues that could have been addressed and quite frankly the snipes felt fine before. I know it's incredibly selfish to post this sort of thing on a free private server but if I don't speak up I don't think anyone else will for me.

 

Ironically, something that DOES need fixing in the Snipe.  CAN WE PLEASE HAVE THE SNIPE DAMAGE NUMBERS IN THE MANAGEMENT GAME STAT WINDOW.  Snipe dam numbers of all types seem AWOL.  (You can tell this was a work in prog' by the devs and they didn't have time to put the new numbers in...)

 

That pet peeve aside.

 

Fixing snipe?  uhh.  Paragon HAD fixed it.  That was the whole point of i24's snipe. 

 

SCORE have done plenty of bug fixes.  Hundreds probably.  But this is the one thing that didn't seem really necessary.  You could have an insta-snipe on call through...  AIM/BU/PBoost (if en/en) and AIM Inspires.  None of those required IOs.

 

Just turn the little used 'to hit' enchancement category that is seldom used in AIM/BU to something useful for snipe.  Ie.  3 recharge and 3 to hit auto triggers snipe.  Drop kick everything else.  Keep the big initial hit.  Keep the two second activation.  Kill the recharge epoch.  Kill the range fussiness. 

 

Keep insta-snipe ring on regardless as long as you've slotted AIM/BU for 3 to hits.  That's the most logical and easy mainstream non-io way to get it.  That hardly 'in game' knowledge.  Put it in the AIM/BU.  3 to hits in AIM or BU will trigger auto snipe in the aim/bu power description.

 

Nothing else needs to change.

 

Azrael.

[AngriestGhost]

 

If it becomes a problem in PvP just lower the number. Doms really don't need a lot of extra ToHit to reach insta-snipe (hence why Link Minds is enough).

 

25% to hit issue outside of PVP.  It drastically lowers the need to slot for accuracy, and accuracy is very important on a control AT.  The base to hit chance is 75% against an even level mob.  That kind of buff caps the chance to hit an even level mob without any slotting at all. 

 

To your second point, while Link Minds may only provided a small boost to to hit, the binary nature of insta-snipes makes that small contribution significant.  Kismet is similarly small (6% vs 4.45% from Link Minds), but is essential in insta-snipe builds.

[Auroxis]

 

25% to hit issue outside of PVP.  It drastically lowers the need to slot for accuracy, and accuracy is very important on a control AT.  The base to hit chance is 75% against an even level mob.  That kind of buff caps the chance to hit an even level mob without any slotting at all.

 

Doesn't matter, lower it to 10% if having more chance to hit for perma-doms bothers you this much.

 

To your second point, while Link Minds may only provided a small boost to to hit, the binary nature of insta-snipes makes that small contribution significant.  Kismet is similarly small (6% vs 4.45% from Link Minds), but is essential in insta-snipe builds.

 

Yes, that's the whole point. Dom doesn't need much.

[skoryy]

My defender doesn't have perma-snipe yet.  She does have Aim, AM, and Hasten slotted, though, and she just picked up Tactics too.  Throw in a pile of yellow skittles, and its not like she's short on options if she needs to start popping instant Proton Torpedoes.  And I really wouldn't want to lose the range bonus on her snipe, 'cause there's always going to be runners.  The recharge nerf is also going to throw a wrench into her endgame rotation, I'll have to start considering dropping a support power for another attack.

 

That said, I can see where a Traps or Devices toon would have the advantage over her.  I can also see the issue of heavily encouraging a DPS-centered class like Blaster or Sentinel to use a slot on a support power like Tactics.  I think, ultimately, I'm in favor of Number Six's idea. Or at the least, keep the recharge and range on the snipe.

[VirtualViolet]

Just adding my two cents: As a Blaster main, I do not like the sniper changes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and it ain't broke. I like the dynamic play of managing your ToHit bonuses (Build Up, Aim, Inspirations) to make sniper attacks instant. I like almost never having to use the full charge. The extra damage on a slow snipe seems excessive, too.

 

Also, the way it works currently actually makes sense. If you have high enough ToHit/Accuracy, it makes sense that you wouldn't have to take time to line up your shot. This change is nonsense. You're just converting the sniper attack into a normal attack in combat (albeit with higher damage and shorter animation time), and a godly alpha strike out of combat. It seems like someone decided they want to be able to one-hit lieutenants or something (maybe even players) and tried to come up with an excuse to make it deal more damage.

 

Please don't push this to the live servers.

[Golden Azrael]

 

So why is this mechanic being targeted for a change? And why is this the change that was decided on? If you want perma-instant-snipe to be easier to reach, drop the number to +20%, or make Tactics a bit stronger. Or make +ToHit enhancements a bit stronger and easier to slot it with....

 

*snip.

 

... Or, if you just want to make instant sniper more reliable, but less permanent, maybe just drop the recharge time on Aim and variants. But there's definitely no need to completely overhaul the numbers like this.

 

Actually, the best advice here may be to wait. It takes time for people to get used to mechanics like this, and we've all been just getting back into the game existing. So let it sit for a bit, and see how the build advice looks in another couple of months. It's entirely possible that as people get more and more used to this mechanic, the advice around how to use it will shift.

 

Eloquent and meticulous post.  With an elegant solution.  Just allow us to x3 SO Tactics.  'DONE.'

 

I'd say, 'wait' and let players have more than a month before changing the something that the dev's themselves had set right.  I don't mind the added 1st kill bonus.  I don't mind the 'cool' sniper hit graphic.  That's in spirit.  I don't mind the 2 second activation.  They all trim the fat on the snipe power and refine what the dev's had done.

 

But the added recharge, range and stripping out the BU/AIM and Boost Range activation is taking away in my view.  How hard is it to boost the numbers in AIM/BU or Tactics to acheive insta-snipe with a description that tells you than this can be done.  Same in Snipe.  'Selection Tactics from the leadership pool or AIM or BU and slotting with 'x 3 to hit SOs' will perma-on your snipe into an instant fire weapon.  With very shorter recharges the more more you slot for recharge AND a set recharge bonus for a x6 slotted snipe.)  A mainstream way of adding to your sniping specialism.

 

If you want something to fiddle with?  Put back the knockback boost in Power Boost which, the devs, inexplicably stripped out.  Isn't it supposed to boost ALL 2ndary effects of powers?

 

This 'feels' like a backwards step on play ability.  This is turning the clock back to i23. :(

 

Azrael.

[AngriestGhost]

Yes, that's the whole point. Dom doesn't need much.

 

It doesn't need much to hit, yes.  But in terms of build options it's quite a lot since you're locking out the other possible EPP/PPPs on top off taking Tactics.  That's a significantly larger sacrifice than a Blaster dipping into Leadership for Tactics. 

 

A fair more reasonable adjustment would be to adjust Dom's buff range modifiers to match blasters, making the insta-snipe equally accessible to both ATS.

 

EDIT: Or as Azrael points out, just lower the threshold all together.  Then the change only affects snipe powers and doesn't require fiddling with stuff that isn't broken.

 

[Golden Azrael]

Just adding my two cents: As a Blaster main, I do not like the sniper changes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and it ain't broke. I like the dynamic play of managing your ToHit bonuses (Build Up, Aim, Inspirations) to make sniper attacks instant. I like almost never having to use the full charge. The extra damage on a slow snipe seems excessive, too.

 

Also, the way it works currently actually makes sense. If you have high enough ToHit/Accuracy, it makes sense that you wouldn't have to take time to line up your shot. This change is nonsense. You're just converting the sniper attack into a normal attack in combat (albeit with higher damage and shorter animation time), and a godly alpha strike out of combat. It seems like someone decided they want to be able to one-hit lieutenants or something (maybe even players) and tried to come up with an excuse to make it deal more damage.

 

Please don't push this to the live servers.

 

Love your 1st point.  Intelligent game management.  Spot on.  I like the dynamic of managing my Bu, aim and power boost in battle to make snipes instant.  I, too, like never having to use full charge.  The extra damage on 'slow' snipe is meh for the drawbacks to the changes.

 

The way it currently works makes perfect sense.  You intelligently build up your snipe power.  From slow to insta through power choice.  And slotting.  None of it currently requires IO'ing.  (Unless you want auto on call 'all the time' instead of most of the time as I have it prior to any IO'ing.)  If someone like me can understand it.... :P  Anyone can!!!  I'm no IO scientist / maths buffer.  I'm an SO meat and two veg player.  My En/En blaster can pick and choose auto snipe now 'most of the time' and it has no IOs in the build what so ever.  I was saving up for the kismet to six slot the tactics.  But other than that.  All I've done so far is very mainstream.

 

And I'm the 1st to argue democratisation of powers.

 

If you want to really change something?  Put all the incarnate powers behind a proper CoHs interface eg. Super Epics instead of that nestle in nestled cluster bleep that is the inc' interface.  It's dreadful.  I like the idea of incarnates.  But the interface sucked eggs.

 

Azrael.

[Golden Azrael]

There's other fish to fry.

 

The one thing I loved about issue 24 MORE than rinse repeat NOVAs...and they're nerfing it.

 

*wait a whole month, at least.

 

That will give all the blasters enough time to line up with their (think Airplane comedy movie with the hysterical woman...) slaps, boxing gloves, baseball bats... :P

 

Hopefully, it won't come to that. ;)

 

Azrael.

[Aryn]

I'd personally like to remark I've NEVER liked the way hit works at times, in regards to accuracy.

 

It's basically akin to XCOM -- even if you have wads, and I mean WADS of accuracy, there is always a 5% chance to miss. Never felt right. Heck, they have a streakbreaker that never felt right for me. I get it in a sense, but at the same time...

 

I kinda wish it was set to 99%. Or something. Never seemed right to me, especially if you could build intense amounts of accuracy to just have arbitrary misses in there.

[Auroxis]

Yes, that's the whole point. Dom doesn't need much.

 

It doesn't need much to hit, yes.  But in terms of build options it's quite a lot since you're locking out the other possible EPP/PPPs on top off taking Tactics.  That's a significantly larger sacrifice than a Blaster dipping into Leadership for Tactics. 

That's why i suggested buffing Domination's ToHit buff duration, feels like i'm walking in circles in this discussion.

[Monkeyking]

I actually can't test the snipe changes because the only blaster I've gotten back up to speed is a Beam Rifle/Devices blaster. Nothing changes for me.

 

Well, that's not true. What it DOES mean is that I won't have one of my main big damage shots turned off by tohit debuffs anymore. That's good. On the other hand, quick snipes being limited to 80 ft is functionally a range nerf for me.

 

But that fact is, SOME people have quick snipes pretty much all the time. With some effort, you don't even need Devices to achieve it. So in that sense, I'm happy that people don't need to twist their builds up into knots to make it happen. Targetting Drones is going to need some kind of benny thrown in, though. Right now, getting trivial access to quick snipes is the main strength of Devices, especially since you don't get the extra damage kick from Build Up. If everyone's got quick snipes, the only claim to fame for Devices is getting to skip one accuracy enhancement - a benefit that no longer applies at high levels, or when you're slotting in IOs.

 

This is going to widen the gap between blast sets that don't have snipes, as well. Sonic Blast and Dual Pistols might need looking at after this. Ice Blast maybe not, though, since getting two holds is an immeasurable advantage (and now they do big damage? when did the freeze rays get buffed?)

[Nic Mercy]

I like the proposed snipe changes to be honest. Especially on my Dom who is pigeonholed into psi APP for link minds just to hit the to-hit requirement. That not to mention being pigeonholed into Tactics and whatever you take as the prereq on all but device Blasters.

 

This change is great and I personally don't get the outrage. I am especially confused by those complaining about "investing so much to get 22% to hit". So what? You'll respec out of all those powers and enhancements and optimize your build in other ways! This is not a nerf by any stretch of the imagination. Any loss from the slightly longer recharge time can be made up for with more global recharge... which you'll almost certainly be able to get because you just freed up all those slots in Tactics.

Did you see the part where dom snipe damage was nerfed dramatically?

 

I did. I also saw the part where the recharge time was nearly halved.

[Lazarillo]

I really like BillyMailman's assessment.  Don't have much to say beyond that.

[AngriestGhost]

Yes, that's the whole point. Dom doesn't need much.

 

It doesn't need much to hit, yes.  But in terms of build options it's quite a lot since you're locking out the other possible EPP/PPPs on top off taking Tactics.  That's a significantly larger sacrifice than a Blaster dipping into Leadership for Tactics. 

That's why i suggested buffing Domination's ToHit buff duration, feels like i'm walking in circles in this discussion.

 

If you follow the argument, you'll stop walking in circles.

 

1)Domination currently offers a 25% to hit buff for 15 seconds. That's about a 7.5% uptime out of the box.  If it lasts the duration of Domination that's a 45% uptime of the box.  That's an enormous boost for the duration.

 

2)The suggestion to lower the to hit buff to 10% and stretch the duration of the power to match domination has wide reaching implications outside of instant snipes.  It is a buff to nearly all powers in a Dominator's arsenal.  To hit buffs are much more powerful than simply slotting for accuracy.

 

You are advocating for an AT wide buff, including sets that do not even include a snipe (i.e Earth Assault, Icy Assault, and Thorn Assault) , in order to address the issues with snipe powers.  It's simply bad design to deploy wide reaching changes to address acute issues. If you want to specifically address the issue of Dominators struggling to achieve insta-snipe, the solution should be in those powers.

 

[Pzn]

I like the proposed snipe changes to be honest. Especially on my Dom who is pigeonholed into psi APP for link minds just to hit the to-hit requirement. That not to mention being pigeonholed into Tactics and whatever you take as the prereq on all but device Blasters.

 

This change is great and I personally don't get the outrage. I am especially confused by those complaining about "investing so much to get 22% to hit". So what? You'll respec out of all those powers and enhancements and optimize your build in other ways! This is not a nerf by any stretch of the imagination. Any loss from the slightly longer recharge time can be made up for with more global recharge... which you'll almost certainly be able to get because you just freed up all those slots in Tactics.

Did you see the part where dom snipe damage was nerfed dramatically?

 

I did. I also saw the part where the recharge time was nearly halved.

Which works out to be another nerf due to the way PPM is calculated

[eiynp]

this is a good change; if it was gonna be possible to build for instant snipes anyway via some wacky IO slotting and that was the dominant usage case... then the powers ought to just behave that way out of the box and be tuned appropriately (especially since the server doesn't all the time seem to recognize when a snipe ought to be instant)

 

the cooldown changes are fine as well; for lower level characters it'll be an overall buff once activation time is considered, and for characters with high-end slotting it'll be the difference of a second or so.

[Arkterusss]

Yeah man, it's a crazy idea that people who might not understand things, like, you know.  Ask bout it.  Or something. And then someone tells them, and so they learn something new.  And then they tell someone else who didn't know about it.  That's crazy. I guess I just ALWAYS knew to slot a Kismet and take Tactics, just inherently. I was never told about it, or asked about it. I just knew it.  At all times.

 

And it's almost like...I dunno. Taking certain powersets that give you something but take away something else is...I dunno.  It's like a uh. What do you call it?  Oh, like a tradeoff or something!  You know, like if I take /Devices. SO, like. I don't get build-up like most other 2ndaries. But oh hey, look, I get this cool thing called Targetting Drone. That's neat.  Oh hey, I don't have to do this whole Kismet/Tactics things at all now!  I guess that's a pretty good trade-off!  Neat! 

 

But yeah, that whole tax thing is a real big oof.  You're right, I should have just an easy enough time capping my S/L defense on a Regen Scrapper as I should on a SR Scrapper!  Without having to pay all this tax!  That doesnt make sense!

 

You seem to be missing the part where it's a tradeoff that clearly wasn't accounted for in the set design, because other than blaster secondaries, all of the sets that are paired with blasts were designed and balanced before the i24 snipe change was introduced.

 

Trade-offs can be good, but they are not inherently good, and this is a trade-off that was not accounted for when the support sets were initially created and balanced. That some support sets are more offensively powerful due to having an easier time doing damage because of how instant snipes work in i24 is not an intended feature, it is a consequence of the snipe change that should be addressed.

 

As for complexity, if a core aspect of a power needs to be explained from one player to another because of poor documentation and numbers not being clearly visible, that's a problem. The game routinely mixing up its terms for accuracy and tohit is only making this worse.

 

The change was made by the developers, who made the sets, so design was taken into account, yes.  Had it been so widely different, they would've made changes to those sets to account for them; this wasn't done by a group of random people who didn't work on the game for years, as is the current case.  There was a trade-off between choosing devices and other secondaries then, and there still is now.  I fail to see how it wasn't intentional when the devs made that change...intentionally.  But alrighty man. 

 

Easy fix for mix-ups and mislabels is to change them, which can be easily done.  Not change up an entire gimmick because someone doesn't feel like spending 20 mins to buy a Kismet and slot Tactics, honestly.  That's just being lazy. 

 

Regardless of how terrible this design decision is, and the pushback for it, I expect it to be pushed right on through to live, anyways.  So, no reason to continue talking about it.

[MechaMarshmallow]

The change was made by the developers, who made the sets, so design was taken into account, yes.  Had it been so widely different, they would've made changes to those sets to account for them; this wasn't done by a group of random people who didn't work on the game for years, as is the current case.  There was a trade-off between choosing devices and other secondaries then, and there still is now.  I fail to see how it wasn't intentional when the devs made that change...intentionally.  But alrighty man. 

 

Easy fix for mix-ups and mislabels is to change them, which can be easily done.  Not change up an entire gimmick because someone doesn't feel like spending 20 mins to buy a Kismet and slot Tactics, honestly.  That's just being lazy. 

 

Regardless of how terrible this design decision is, and the pushback for it, I expect it to be pushed right on through to live, anyways.  So, no reason to continue talking about it.

 

Ultimately if the entire gimmick can be bypassed by a kismet and tactics, I just don't think it's an interesting or valuable gimmick. If there is to be a gimmick around snipes, I'd like to see it be one that offers interesting gameplay decisions rather than is 'solved' at a baseline build level.

 

Still, if fixing the mix-ups and mislabels is easy, I definitely hope it's something the Homecoming team gets to.

 

I think we've both made our positions clear enough - hopefully it gives the team some food for thought!

[MERCURY DRIPS]

1) Enjoyed a lot playing and test on Justin ! What a brilliant idea ! Thanks

 

2) Concerning the snipe,

 

a) I do like the change as it allow characters not builded with max accuracy to cast insta snipe as well. Actually my blaster is perma instant snipe but I dont use the power on other char as it can be such a sacrifice on a build to run after accuracay. With this modification it expand the variety of characters able to use the snipe effectively. Very good.

 

b) Concerning the insta snipe proc as well. It seem that the range of the snipe is reduced to 80 wether engaged in a fight or not. So the choice of this proc will be specifical if you absolutely want to get insta snipe as a first attack. Otherwise its not a must have.

 

In a general way I enjoyed the new version. As a side effect it cause a damage drop for people who were used to the old version of perma snipe. But I see more advantage than disadvantage. Especillay in PVP zone were melee AT are less and less present because of over dominance of ranged. Remember an old time on the live were it was more balanced, and I liked it for variety of characters fighting in zone.

 

Thanks to less us test dear Dev's ;)

[Super Homer]

6 seconds[...]Recharge time of 9 seconds.

This is not possible. They increased base recharge by 3 seconds. If you are at 6 seconds with a base of 12, minutes it should now be at 7.5 seconds with a base it 15, not 9.

[Super Homer]

A constant I see on this thread is the divide between “too powerful” and “big nerf”

 

If it’s too powerful for everyone to get perma fast snipe, I think it’s too powerful for anyone to get them at all. Getting perma fast snipe at the cost of 3 second recharge sounds good to me. Would like more range on them than standard 80ft, though. Hopefully the powers that be increase the range.

 

I love the bonus damage out of combat, but can it be after 10 seconds instead of 15 seconds?

[Auroxis]

Yes, that's the whole point. Dom doesn't need much.

 

It doesn't need much to hit, yes.  But in terms of build options it's quite a lot since you're locking out the other possible EPP/PPPs on top off taking Tactics.  That's a significantly larger sacrifice than a Blaster dipping into Leadership for Tactics. 

That's why i suggested buffing Domination's ToHit buff duration, feels like i'm walking in circles in this discussion.

 

If you follow the argument, you'll stop walking in circles.

 

1)Domination currently offers a 25% to hit buff for 15 seconds. That's about a 7.5% uptime out of the box.  If it lasts the duration of Domination that's a 45% uptime of the box.  That's an enormous boost for the duration.

 

2)The suggestion to lower the to hit buff to 10% and stretch the duration of the power to match domination has wide reaching implications outside of instant snipes.  It is a buff to nearly all powers in a Dominator's arsenal.  To hit buffs are much more powerful than simply slotting for accuracy.

 

You are advocating for an AT wide buff, including sets that do not even include a snipe (i.e Earth Assault, Icy Assault, and Thorn Assault) , in order to address the issues with snipe powers.  It's simply bad design to deploy wide reaching changes to address acute issues. If you want to specifically address the issue of Dominators struggling to achieve insta-snipe, the solution should be in those powers.

You're really trying hard to make +10% ToHit (if you have perma-dom) some kind of gamebreaking feature outside of snipes when in all actuality it would have close to zero impact on anything else.