Patch Notes for June 8th, 2019

[Golden Azrael]

The aoe on thunderstrike is abysmal.. the DPA for the first two melee powers is way way way better so those should be your main damage dealers along with snipe and the cone aoe... Elec assault really lacks aoe so its probably never gonna be even ok at farming.

 

I was disappointed that Thunderstrike was only 'a little' ahead of Havoc Punch (which is a punch you through the chain link fence kinda punch.  POW!) for damage.  And your DPA is on point.  True.

 

After I've laid the control smack down?  Havoc punch, energy punch, snipe insta pop and lightning blast (not as emphatic as some blasts...couldnt' they add DoT elements to elec assault?  Like the addiontal Poison DoT on some Thorn attacks?)  I used them heavily when 'hoovering' up the chain fence mobs.  A great 'beat' (pun intended) to the elec assault song.

 

On farming?  'Meh.'

 

But AoEs.  Also 'Meh.'

 

However, Static blast, ball of lightning (on even con whites...) should trim the HPs on the held mob.  And when TS's AoE element (it can be how you position yourself to a degree...) kicks in it can be good to have a 'Havoc +' output hitting 2 or 3 enemies.  I like how it sends them flying.  It's a theatrical finisher.  I like it.  A touch slow though in the way that 'slow' snipe was 'a bit' slow.

 

I like the auto snipe from that stand point.  It has a real 'kick' to it now.  And there's no reason why TS and TF couldn't have a bit more 'kick' to their ker-pow.

 

Both TS and Total Focus have issues with sloooow animation.  So does impale in Thorn assault.  Guess it's all part of the balladic style of CoH.  And that's a good thing (TM.)  Overall.  But knocking off a second or so on some animations might be a good idea, done judiciously.  I wouldn't want the skitter-y jittery animation of Champions MMO, for eg.

 

Azrael.

[scran]

However, Static blast, ball of lightning (on even con whites...) should trim the HPs on the held mob.  And when TS's AoE element (it can be how you position yourself to a degree...) kicks in it can be good to have a 'Havoc +' output hitting 2 or 3 enemies.  I like how it sends them flying.  It's a theatrical finisher.  I like it.  A touch slow though in the way that 'slow' snipe was 'a bit' slow.

Azrael.

 

Important correction, the AOE portion of TS only does about 12.7% of the main hit worth of damage (just tested this ingame). Where as havoc does 83% of TS's dmg (at over twice the animation speed).  The AOE damage of TS is practically inconsequential (slightly above the aoe immob damage), and you need to put a kb/kd or cage otherwise its more detrimental than anything else.

 

Originally when i was planning the build i thought it looked great for dmg, and could put a recharge proc on it... It may be ok for melee ATs that dont have much to do, but throwing a hold, confuse or jolting chain from the primary seem a better use of my animation time than a TS.

[Bossk_Hogg]

However, Static blast, ball of lightning (on even con whites...) should trim the HPs on the held mob.  And when TS's AoE element (it can be how you position yourself to a degree...) kicks in it can be good to have a 'Havoc +' output hitting 2 or 3 enemies.  I like how it sends them flying.  It's a theatrical finisher.  I like it.  A touch slow though in the way that 'slow' snipe was 'a bit' slow.

Azrael.

 

Important correction, the AOE portion of TS only does about 12.7% of the main hit worth of damage (just tested this ingame). Where as havoc does 83% of TS's dmg (at over twice the animation speed).  The AOE damage of TS is practically inconsequential (slightly above the aoe immob damage), and you need to put a kb/kd or cage otherwise its more detrimental than anything else.

 

Originally when i was planning the build i thought it looked great for dmg, and could put a recharge proc on it... It may be ok for melee ATs that dont have much to do, but throwing a hold, confuse or jolting chain from the primary seem a better use of my animation time than a TS.

 

They most likely based the animation time on damage as if it did the full amount to all targets, rather than the weak splash damage. Apparently this is why Energy Transfer sucks ass now, in that they coded it with the damage done to you as part of the total damage done, and upped the animation time to match. Regardless, Thunderstrike sucks in general.

 

 

[scran]

I think in general doms would work better with short animation times and longer cds in general due to how active both the primary and secondary are.

[Sunsette]

I have talked to Leo about this in the last few days: Assault set buffs are top priority right now. Dont have a full list to share yet, but in Energy Assault in particular looking at shortening the cast time for Total Focus, increasing the recharge and damage for Power Burst significantly, and possibly make Power Boost be a bit more like Gather Shadows.

 

Will any of these changes carry over to the other Energy offensive sets? I believe every single Energy Attack Powerset is considered lackluster at the moment.

[Derek Icelord]

Is there an ETA on this hitting the live servers?

[atletikus]

Is there an ETA on this hitting the live servers?

Would also like to know this. Got a toon in the pipeline waiting for some TLC. :)

[Thezanman]

The last news was on June 25th; one of the developers said that they were waiting to finish work on dominators and devices before bringing the changes to live.

[atletikus]

If by "finishing work on Dominators" means rebalancing the (weaker performing) power sets, it...may take a while. Several of the powers are shared with other ATs which could lead to a cascade of "fixes". The patch seemed to be near going live given how quickly the changes on it came, but progress seems to have stalled somewhat now. Wish the devs were a little more communicative as to their plans and progress.

[Eliot]

I have talked to Leo about this in the last few days: Assault set buffs are top priority right now. Dont have a full list to share yet, but in Energy Assault in particular looking at shortening the cast time for Total Focus, increasing the recharge and damage for Power Burst significantly, and possibly make Power Boost be a bit more like Gather Shadows.

 

and incandescent strike for peace bringers...? *eyebrows raised, eyes bugging out* lol

[Thezanman]

If by "finishing work on Dominators" means rebalancing the (weaker performing) power sets, it...may take a while. Several of the powers are shared with other ATs which could lead to a cascade of "fixes". The patch seemed to be near going live given how quickly the changes on it came, but progress seems to have stalled somewhat now. Wish the devs were a little more communicative as to their plans and progress.

 

None of the powers are shared with other ATs. Each archetype has it's own version of each power, usually with different damage, but the dominator versions also tend to have much different recharge rates and radii as well.

[atletikus]

If by "finishing work on Dominators" means rebalancing the (weaker performing) power sets, it...may take a while. Several of the powers are shared with other ATs which could lead to a cascade of "fixes". The patch seemed to be near going live given how quickly the changes on it came, but progress seems to have stalled somewhat now. Wish the devs were a little more communicative as to their plans and progress.

 

None of the powers are shared with other ATs. Each archetype has it's own version of each power, usually with different damage, but the dominator versions also tend to have much different recharge rates and radii as well.

 

Semantics. By your logic, Defenders/Corruptors doesn't share that many powers with Blasters either given they too have many diverging versions of the same powers.

[Derek Icelord]

It's more than semantics. It means tweaking the powers on one AT doesn't affect any of the others. Thus, tweaking Dominators doesn't break Blasters, Defenders, etc...

[Captain Powerhouse]

The powers are indeed separate and, for the most part, can be tweaked independently.

 

Usually (not always) a version of a power in similar sets are balanced in sync (Havoc Punch on all melee sets are identical.) It is more a design rule of thumb than one written in stone or an actual linked power. There are some exceptions to this, as can be seen in the Blaster and Defender/Corruptor versions of Neutrino Bolt.

 

Versions on other sets are balanced in different ways, an assault, manipulation or epic version of melee and ranged are not expected to be equal to their peers. Havoc Punch for Electricity Manipulation is different from the melee versions. In fact, almost all Manipulation and Assault versions of attacks are different from their namesakes in melee and ranged sets.

[Golden Azrael]

The powers are indeed separate and, for the most part, can be tweaked independently.

 

Usually (not always) a version of a power in similar sets are balanced in sync (Havoc Punch on all melee sets are identical.) It is more a design rule of thumb than one written in stone or an actual linked power. There are some exceptions to this, as can be seen in the Blaster and Defender/Corruptor versions of Neutrino Bolt.

 

Versions on other sets are balanced in different ways, an assault, manipulation or epic version of melee and ranged are not expected to be equal to their peers. Havoc Punch for Electricity Manipulation is different from the melee versions. In fact, almost all Manipulation and Assault versions of attacks are different from their namesakes in melee and ranged sets.

 

Hello Captain Powerhouse,

 

Is there any way (for the love of God....) to change the 'HUR!' taunt to the 'Arrh' taunt? 

 

Every tank I roll seems to 'Hur' (pass the sick bucket hurl) vs the more civilised, 'Ahh.....'

 

You know, like changing your flight pose 1-4?

 

Can we have a hard code taunt 1-2?

 

It drives me crazy when each tank I roll has the 'Hur!' instead of the 'Arh.'

 

Regards,

 

Azrael.

[Thezanman]

The powers are indeed separate and, for the most part, can be tweaked independently.

 

Usually (not always) a version of a power in similar sets are balanced in sync (Havoc Punch on all melee sets are identical.) It is more a design rule of thumb than one written in stone or an actual linked power. There are some exceptions to this, as can be seen in the Blaster and Defender/Corruptor versions of Neutrino Bolt.

 

Versions on other sets are balanced in different ways, an assault, manipulation or epic version of melee and ranged are not expected to be equal to their peers. Havoc Punch for Electricity Manipulation is different from the melee versions. In fact, almost all Manipulation and Assault versions of attacks are different from their namesakes in melee and ranged sets.

 

Hello Captain Powerhouse,

 

Is there any way (for the love of God....) to change the 'HUR!' taunt to the 'Arrh' taunt? 

 

Every tank I roll seems to 'Hur' (pass the sick bucket hurl) vs the more civilised, 'Ahh.....'

 

You know, like changing your flight pose 1-4?

 

Can we have a hard code taunt 1-2?

 

It drives me crazy when each tank I roll has the 'Hur!' instead of the 'Arh.'

 

Regards,

 

Azrael.

This is not the place to ask. Use the suggestions subforum.

[Rambolazer]

Logged onto Justin and love the updates to snipe. Removed comment asking questions.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Rambolazer

[Rambolazer]

On 6/8/2019 at 7:53 PM, Leandro said:

Blaster Devices:

Changed Web Grenade to Toxic Web Grenade, now deals scale 1 toxic DoT and can be slotted for damage

Taser recharge reduced from 20 to 10 seconds, duration reduced from scale 10 to scale 5, damage increased from 0.25 to 1.96 (same damage as Energy Punch)

Time Bomb animation is now 2.77 seconds, interrupt time removed, countdown reduced to 5 seconds, defiance values reduced to match (this only applies to this set, not to the Traps support set versions.)

Targeting Drone now also adds a 30% recharge buff.

These changes to devices are exciting! After logging the last few days on Justin server I wanted to provide a bit of feedback.

Toxic Web Grenade- A great buff to this power.

Taser- Love these changes.

Time bomb- Finally, this power will be used to glorious extent! I like that this power is uninterruptable. A "Nova" type power that is useable is much appreciated.

Targeting Drone- I personally was hoping to see a damage buff here as opposed to recharge but it is a most welcome buff. My idea was that other sets get build up or something similar so it would be cool for targeting drone to add a smaller persistent damage buff to make up for where this set currently lacks. Something that doesn't give you the burst damage of other sets but in the long run would close the gap a bit on damage. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of a persistent 20-25% DMG buff. Otherwise I think a thematic buff would be for it to work like reach for the limit from martial combat. The targeting drone zeroes in on targets defenses as you continue to attack and boosts damage.

 

Gun drone- I've seen a few people asking that this pet becomes permanent.... PLEASE DO NOT do that. I love that I can summon 2 of these guys with enough recharge and hasten. 

I do think that gun drone machine gun burst should lower enemies defense. This would allow you to slot it for -defense sets which would fit well here and fit with the theme that bullets lower defense as seen across most sets.

 

I think with the proposed current changes and a damage buff to targeting drone and the devices set will be modernized, on a more level playing field when compared to other sets and most importantly enjoyable to play!

 

Excited to update my AR/Dev blaster!

Edited July 26, 2019 by Rambolazer