Focused Feedback: Storm Blast

[kwsapphire]

2 hours ago, Frosticus said:

It does, but damage buffs need to be active prior to casting storm cell to benefit the lightning aura power's damage for the duration of said damage buff.

You'd likely want to use intensify after storm cell to maximize proc chances on your attacks, but you'd ideally want something like fulcrum shift on you prior to casting it as those damage procs can really add up.

 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that if I cast Intensify AFTER Storm Cell and Cat 5, that it won't buff their damage, but it will buff the proc chance? So if I want Intensify to buff the damage component of my patches, I have to cast it first? If that's the case, I wonder how the damage actually compares. 

 

Increased damage from Intensify for full 10 seconds on Storm Cell & Cat 5, but only 4-6 seconds to cast attacks in order to trigger procs

vs

No damage buff from Intensify on Storm Cell or Cat 5, but full 10 seconds to use attacks and trigger procs regardless of how many patches you lay down first

 

I was under the impression that most of the damage from Storm Cell came from using your attacks on mobs within it, not the power itself. So it seems like sacrificing the +Damage from Intensify for about double the amount of time for using blast attacks is actually the way to go?

Edited April 16, 2023 by kwsapphire

[Galaxy Brain]

14 minutes ago, kwsapphire said:

 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that if I cast Intensify AFTER Storm Cell and Cat 5, that it won't buff their damage, but it will buff the proc chance? So if I want Intensify to buff the damage component of my patches, I have to cast it first? If that's the case, I wonder how the damage actually compares. 

 

Increased damage from Intensify for full 10 seconds on Storm Cell & Cat 5, but only 4-6 seconds to cast attacks in order to trigger procs

vs

No damage buff from Intensify on Storm Cell or Cat 5, but full 10 seconds to use attacks and trigger procs regardless of how many patches you lay down first

 

I was under the impression that most of the damage from Storm Cell came from using your attacks on mobs within it, not the power itself. So it seems like sacrificing the +Damage from Intensify for about double the amount of time for using blast attacks is actually the way to go?

 

That'd be the play yes. Intensify still buffs your Storm Blast attacks, and given it lasts 10s you get way more mileage out of more lightning per click + damage per click as opposed to a few seconds of boosted DoT / a few lightning with better damage

[Frosticus]

 

28 minutes ago, kwsapphire said:

 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that if I cast Intensify AFTER Storm Cell and Cat 5, that it won't buff their damage, but it will buff the proc chance? So if I want Intensify to buff the damage component of my patches, I have to cast it first? If that's the case, I wonder how the damage actually compares. 

 

Increased damage from Intensify for full 10 seconds on Storm Cell & Cat 5, but only 4-6 seconds to cast attacks in order to trigger procs

vs

No damage buff from Intensify on Storm Cell or Cat 5, but full 10 seconds to use attacks and trigger procs regardless of how many patches you lay down first

 

I was under the impression that most of the damage from Storm Cell came from using your attacks on mobs within it, not the power itself. So it seems like sacrificing the +Damage from Intensify for about double the amount of time for using blast attacks is actually the way to go?

 

Short term damage buffs don't work well with Cat 5 or storm cell. When the buff expires on you it expires on those psuedopets as well. Unfortunately, buffs put on you after casting storm cell/cat 5 do not transfer over.

 

Essentially if you use intensify then storm cell you'd get maybe 3 blasts off with higher proc chance and boosted damage, which then cause storm cell to potentially fire off boosted lightning.

If you storm cell then intensify you'd get 4-5 blasts off with higher proc chance and boosted damage, which do not cause storm cell to potentially fire off boosted lightning.

 

Your attacks "tease" storm cell into casting its powers. It's powers are governed by the enhancement values you have slotted into storm cell and the buffs you manage to pass on to the power at the time it uses said attack.

 

Long story short you want long duration damage buffs applied prior to casting storm cell. Things like fulcrum shift (45sec) or perhaps best - overgrowth (60 sec and boosts tohit chance of storm cell)*

 

*I'll do a follow up post on why slotting acc into storm cell is paramount. The way the power works isn't entirely unique, but it is the first time the player base will likely have to consider the shortcomings of psuedopet based attacks.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Frosticus

[Chronicler J]

I love the cover photo. I feel so powerful when I mash minions. 

[Frosticus]

PSA on storm cell slotting:

I'm sure the player base understands psuedopet attacks reasonably well when it comes to powers like shield charge, but long duration psuedopets aren't common enough that I believe most players really get how they operate, or how they operate doesn't really matter because other mechanics in the set mask their shortcomings.

 

You need 98% (after ED) acc slotting IN storm cell if you want the lightning attacks to hit +3's at capped rate. +4's (if you fight them) present a real hurdle for the power.

Why?

-Psuedopets do not iherent the players global acc (ie set bonuses), or get buffed by tactics/kismet. When buffs expire on you they expire on the psuedopet as well (ie intensify's +tohit).

 

But I don't slot acc in Freezing rain!

-it only needs to catch a target with a single tick to work it's magic and it checks every 0.2 sec

But my Rain of Fire only has 1 acc slotted and it does fine!

-It is a short duration (15 sec) psuedopet that most people pop aim prior to using. The 10 sec buff of aim masks the shortcomming. Plus it spams its attack every 0.2 sec, so even when it misses a bunch most people don't notice.

But my Lightning storm from storm summon wrecks!

- yes it does! it has 1.4x base acc and storm has freezing rain to drop defenses.

But my carrion creepers seem to do more damage if my buddy fulcurm shifts them once they are out killing stuff!

- yes carrion creepers summon targetable entities that attack enemies (or you if you get confused). Because they are targetable they can be buffed from player powers like tactics

 

Storm cell is unique in that it is a very long duration psuedopet. The many self buffing sets (blasters, sents, many def and corrs) will potentially see storm cell fall a bit short on performance. Debuffing sets don't have such issues.

 

I'm also guessing no one has tested this power in hardmode content extensively as it will be a wiff-fest without specific powers present.

 

 

[Booper]

First, I would like to remind everyone that providing "feedback" to others' feedback is not appropriate. Let everyone provide their ideas, results, concerns, etc without having to devolve into a bunch of arguing and misinformation spreading.

 

The set does not come to Brainstorm ready to go. We don't do business that way. We are always looking at the feedback and trying to find ways to improve on the set that keeps balance in a good spot. This is a good place to get fresh eyes on a subject in hopes of identifying concerns that were overlooked during the internal development phase and closed beta phase.

 

For example, a few days ago I pitched an idea to address a concern that I felt had a lot of merit. A 90s cooldown on Storm Cell may be too harsh on a low level character (where enhancement slots and other sources of recharge buffs are very limited). The overwhelming response was a 40s fixed cooldown was not desirable, so I didn't pursue that option. But that is still an example where we are listening to the feedback from both test servers and trying to find solutions to problems that we agree need to be addressed.

 

That being said, the set is close to a release candidate, but there will still be tweaks that need testing so take this down-time to recharge the batteries and get ready for the next set of changes.

[ScarySai]

I think Storm could use some minor tweaks and buffs in certain areas, for sure. Category five feels awesome, storm cell feels...inconsequential to me.

 

I think the earlier idea with Storm Cell just scared the piss out of most people to the point of being apprehensive to further major changes.

 

Just don't do... that again, jesus.

[MirrorDarkly]

2 hours ago, Frosticus said:

PSA on storm cell slotting:

I'm sure the player base understands psuedopet attacks reasonably well when it comes to powers like shield charge, but long duration psuedopets aren't common enough that I believe most players really get how they operate, or how they operate doesn't really matter because other mechanics in the set mask their shortcomings.

 

You need 98% (after ED) acc slotting IN storm cell if you want the lightning attacks to hit +3's at capped rate. +4's (if you fight them) present a real hurdle for the power.

Why?

-Psuedopets do not iherent the players global acc (ie set bonuses), or get buffed by tactics/kismet. When buffs expire on you they expire on the psuedopet as well (ie intensify's +tohit).

 

But I don't slot acc in Freezing rain!

-it only needs to catch a target with a single tick to work it's magic and it checks every 0.2 sec

But my Rain of Fire only has 1 acc slotted and it does fine!

-It is a short duration (15 sec) psuedopet that most people pop aim prior to using. The 10 sec buff of aim masks the shortcomming. Plus it spams its attack every 0.2 sec, so even when it misses a bunch most people don't notice.

But my Lightning storm from storm summon wrecks!

- yes it does! it has 1.4x base acc and storm has freezing rain to drop defenses.

But my carrion creepers seem to do more damage if my buddy fulcurm shifts them once they are out killing stuff!

- yes carrion creepers summon targetable entities that attack enemies (or you if you get confused). Because they are targetable they can be buffed from player powers like tactics

 

Storm cell is unique in that it is a very long duration psuedopet. The many self buffing sets (blasters, sents, many def and corrs) will potentially see storm cell fall a bit short on performance. Debuffing sets don't have such issues.

 

I'm also guessing no one has tested this power in hardmode content extensively as it will be a wiff-fest without specific powers present.

 

 

 

This is a very informative and clear explanation of an issue I'd been noticing but had not thought through. Thank you!

 

@Booper Is there any chance you would consider giving Storm Cell and Cat 5 a higher base accuracy? I ask because very hard content is the place where I would expect Storm Blast to shine as it's design holds it back to a degree in easy/speed run situations.

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by MirrorDarkly
Typo

[Booper]

32 minutes ago, MirrorDarkly said:

 

This is a very informative and clear explanation of an issue I'd been noticing but had not thought through. Thank you!

 

@Booper Is there any chance you would consider giving Storm Cell and Cat 5 a higher base accuracy? I ask because very hard content is the place where I would expect Storm Blast to shine as it's design holds it back to a degree in easy/speed run situations.

 

Storm Cell is auto-hit with its debuff. Category 5 is two pseudopets, the ramped up one has a base accuracy of 1.3x, however the starter is only set to 1.0x so that can be buffed.

[Frosticus]

1 hour ago, Booper said:

Storm Cell is auto-hit with its debuff. Category 5 is two pseudopets, the ramped up one has a base accuracy of 1.3x, however the starter is only set to 1.0x so that can be buffed.

Storm Cell:

Tempest debuff is auto hit - that's the minor tohit and speed/rech debuff

High Winds rolls a tohit and accepts accuracy - that's the more prominent debuff, has base acc = 1.0

Lightning Aura(s) roll a tohit and accept accuracy - base acc = 1.0

 

I haven't tracked High Winds, but the Lightning aura(s) definitely have issues hitting higher level enemies without significant outside intervention from either def debuffs and/or long lasting tohit buffs cast before Storm Cell.

 

There is no way to slot Storm Cell so that it hits +4's with much consistency for most storm blast combos across all 4 AT's no matter how expensive of an IO build or which incarnates you choose. 

 

edit: this is a bit of an exaggeration:  6 lvl 50+5 Acc IO's + Nerve Core Boost puts you at 94% tohit chance vs +4s. If you go higher in the Nerve branch it applies a level shift, so no longer +4s.

 

I also haven't tested but I suspect that slotting ranged aoe damage sets means that High Winds do not get that enhancement buff (ie the acc slotting). But again, I haven't really looked at that part of the power in depth yet, so I could be off in lala land. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Frosticus

[Gobbledigook]

I would like to have seen 1-2 mini Tornado pets. Something similar to Voltaic Sentinel that follows you around that does what Storm Cell does with some lightning/wind attacks.

 

If Storm cell is required for the extra debuffs with attacks then it should be on a lower cooldown with a faster activation.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Gobbledigook

[warlyx]

Storm cell is slow as hell , by the time it arrives.....mobs are dead 

 

change it to an aura on the player , or lower CD , dunno but feels bad, fly away..... look back and ohhh is coming turtle speed....ok lets wait for it....oh it despawned  before arrived....

 

the idea of storm cell is cool , but we are playing a game with super speed , flying at mach 3 and instant teleports back to back ...

 

maybe convert it to a permanent pet with an aura? 

 

Animations are amazing ! love the powerset , and yeah i would love a tornado maybe isntead of the cloud raining attack (hailstorm attack i think is it) 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by warlyx

[Taxes]

15 hours ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

I have to beat the dead horse, as you say, because this set was already tested extensively before it reached Brainstorm. And as I have said before, many of us have already brought up these concerns. If they didn't change in closed beta, they're highly unlikely to change on Brainstorm. We were literally told from the devs that the speed of Cell will not be changing. So what I instead offer is what those of us in closed beta who have already put hours into playing and testing this set have learned.

 

This is not a speed running set. It requires a different playstyle. It's a powerset for protracted fights and things like the MSR bowl.

 

And the power *is* fine. It works as intended. You just have to get over that movement is not its core feature and accept that you will need to recast it if you desire to place it more quickly.

 

I understand what you and others' concerns are, many of them are things we already fought for. 10 more pages could be saved if you guys would listen and get off the Cell movement speed horse. Its movement/speed function will not be changing and is a flavor effect.

 

That's unfortunate. I do agree with you, the power set is fine, but only just so. It won't stop me from playing it; I'd already formed some ideas for Storm Blast characters when it goes live. I will agree it's not broken or unplayable. But it could be better, without being out of line with other power sets.

 

Designing a power set that only gets to shine in a small percentage of the game isn't good design. Most of the game is not protracted fights. And other sets get to function at 100% in both types of content. The fact that the devs ignored this in both closed beta and now open beta is disappointing at best. An unwillingness to deviate from some imagined "vision" for the set in the face of so much feedback shows a lack of empathy for the players.

 

Edit: Actually, I'll go ahead and apologize to the devs for that last statement, because it's unfair. I should say there's a perception of lack of empathy, because we have nothing else to go on than the lack of responses and the one offered change that didn't really address the issue.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Taxes
clarification

[Taxes]

11 hours ago, Booper said:

First, I would like to remind everyone that providing "feedback" to others' feedback is not appropriate. Let everyone provide their ideas, results, concerns, etc without having to devolve into a bunch of arguing and misinformation spreading.

 

I'm just going to point out this expectation is unrealistic and has never happened in any forum ever in the history of the internet. 😄 If you really don't want us influencing each others' feedback or replying, you should use a feedback form that just goes to the devs and no one else can see it!

[Dispari]

I wanna compare t9s real quick. I'm doing Radiation vs Storm here. The slotting for the powers is with level 40 basic IOs, 1x ACC, 3x DMG, 1x RECH, so +38.6% ACC/RECH and +97.4% DMG. I'm not sure how you're meant to slot Storm Cell so I put 3x DMG in it (+97.4%). Also these were all done with level 40 blasters, with custom units with no resistances or HP bonuses. Anyway, this is Category Five:



Category 5 by itself takes about 30 seconds to kill an even-con minion. This is... Aggressively Not Good. Not only does it take about 5 seconds to ramp up but even when it does the damage is very low. We could of course combine it with Storm Cell, but it's not like that changes much so here it is:



It still takes about the same amount of time, maybe a second less. Now I want to compare this to Radiation.



...Yeah. Anyway, I'm sure what you're saying is "It's different, it's a patch power." We can compare it to Ice Blast's Blizzard too.



Blizzard by itself takes less than 10 seconds to kill minions with the same slotting. So it's at least 3x as powerful. And realistically if you're counting Storm Cell's contributions then Blizzard should get Ice Storm too.

And... YES you could say "The procs though! You have to use the other powers." I would just ask why. ALL sets will kill enemies faster if you use the other powers. I could be using Radiation's Irradiate or Neutron Bomb to kill minions faster, except I don't need to because they're already dead. So what exactly does Category Five bring to the table? It's a bad nuke. And if it's not a nuke, then what is it? A bad targeted AoE? It's not like it has a shorter recharge than Blizzard to compensate.

The set already has lighter AoE than other sets because it lacks a targeted AoE (only having a chain power which is less reliable), making it weak in that regard. You can say it's "not a minmax set" or "not a speedrunning set" but I want to know what it IS because it doesn't seem like it's actually good at anything. At best it takes a very long time to ramp up to the point where it does something that other sets can just do with a single click. What does it get for that extra effort? What does it do that other sets can't do and would be jealous of? Because I can't think of anything. Are people fine with it just being a weak set because "not every set needs to be top tier?" That's true, but I don't think it means we should make bad sets on purpose.

As others have said, it feels like the "theme" of the set is holding it back. The slow ramping up doesn't work. Even if it does, I'm not getting any benefit for the added effort. I'm sure it's too late to change it, but I think people should at least be aware of where the set falls behind.

EDIT: Oh yeah. I also forgot to mention that because everything in the set takes so long to set up and ramp up, you get basically no benefit from the damage portion of the Aim equivalent. Category Five wastes a full five seconds of the duration doing basically no damage.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Dispari

[Wavicle]

23 minutes ago, Dispari said:

EDIT: Oh yeah. I also forgot to mention that because everything in the set takes so long to set up and ramp up, you get basically no benefit from the damage portion of the Aim equivalent. Category Five wastes a full five seconds of the duration doing basically no damage.

literally you’re doing it wrong. use Intensify AFTER summoning C5. It buffs your OTHER attacks chance to Proc C5 and Cell.

[Galaxy Brain]

@Dispari, I like the comparison here, especially the gifs!

 

I was curious about this too and wanted to compare Cat 5 to Blizzard specifically last week on the testing discord, and got the following results:

 

Blaster with 95% damage enhancement:

 

Cat 5 DoT = 130.14 dam of all hits connect (over 30s, 16 targets)
Cat 5 Eye = 487.98 dam (over 25s, 10 targets)
Cat 5 lightning = 121.99 dam (per hit, 5 targets. Per CoD, a single target can be hit every 5s so x6 at max)

 

Blizzard = 406.65 dam (over 15s, 16 targets)

 

This is kind of hard to compare given the different targets and the lightning procs, and how attacking with storm blast damages the enemies separately as well as proccing lightning but I can try to ignore that to see what Cat 5 can output by itself.

 

For the easiest scenario, lets assume you are fighting an EB. They have 5354.5 HP at level 50. 

 

Blizzard vs EB = 406.65 / 5354.5 = ~8% of their HP.

 

Aim + Blizzard = roughly 576.1 dam = ~11%

 

Aim + Atomic Blast = 644.4 dam = ~12%

 

Cat 5 no Procs = 618.12 = ~12%

 

Cat 5 w 6 Procs = 1340.06 = ~25%

 

 

Granted, this will take 30s to apply in full but vs a meaty amount of HP the difference seems clear in terms of damage output even without a proper Aim power. Its not the best at instantly deleting trash mobs, but it appears to be much better at messing up bigger threats or LOTs of mobs over time given the 30s and lightning procs.

[WindDemon21]

22 minutes ago, Galaxy Brain said:

@Dispari, I like the comparison here, especially the gifs!

 

I was curious about this too and wanted to compare Cat 5 to Blizzard specifically last week on the testing discord, and got the following results:

 

Blaster with 95% damage enhancement:

 

Cat 5 DoT = 130.14 dam of all hits connect (over 30s, 16 targets)
Cat 5 Eye = 487.98 dam (over 25s, 10 targets)
Cat 5 lightning = 121.99 dam (per hit, 5 targets. Per CoD, a single target can be hit every 5s so x6 at max)

 

Blizzard = 406.65 dam (over 15s, 16 targets)

 

This is kind of hard to compare given the different targets and the lightning procs, and how attacking with storm blast damages the enemies separately as well as proccing lightning but I can try to ignore that to see what Cat 5 can output by itself.

 

For the easiest scenario, lets assume you are fighting an EB. They have 5354.5 HP at level 50. 

 

Blizzard vs EB = 406.65 / 5354.5 = ~8% of their HP.

 

Aim + Blizzard = roughly 576.1 dam = ~11%

 

Aim + Atomic Blast = 644.4 dam = ~12%

 

Cat 5 no Procs = 618.12 = ~12%

 

Cat 5 w 6 Procs = 1340.06 = ~25%

 

 

Granted, this will take 30s to apply in full but vs a meaty amount of HP the difference seems clear in terms of damage output even without a proper Aim power. Its not the best at instantly deleting trash mobs, but it appears to be much better at messing up bigger threats or LOTs of mobs over time given the 30s and lightning procs.

Ok, now do atomic blast with aim, gaussians, and procs.

 

Also factor in that most mobs are dead WAY before those 30 seconds are usually up in most cases.

 

Like cat 5, ice blast really should have a special aim that lasts 20 seconds so it lasts through the full duration of blizzard/ice storm.

 

Likewise as mentioned storm really should have one thar can last longer for car 5 as well.

 

Additionally given this nature too I wouldn't think a lower rech something like 120-150s would be out of the question, even at the cost of removing the damage buff in Intensify with a longer duration given cat5s use.

[Gobbledigook]

Blaster with 95% damage enhancement:

 

Cat 5 DoT = 130.14 dam of all hits connect (over 30s, 16 targets)
Cat 5 Eye = 487.98 dam (over 25s, 10 targets)
Cat 5 lightning = 121.99 dam (per hit, 5 targets. Per CoD, a single target can be hit every 5s so x6 at max)

 

Blizzard = 406.65 dam (over 15s, 16 targets, 170s recharge)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blaster

Full auto = 375.8 average damage (over 2.5s, 10 targets, 60s recharge) 

 

Full auto can be used nearly 3x more than Blizzard and Category 5.

 

FA 375.8x10 targets= 3758 damage with roughly x3 casts of Blizzard/Cat 5 = 11274 damage.

Blizzard 406.65x16 targets= 6506 damage

Cat 5 roughly 8k damage all targets, no procs.

 

Is this fairly close? rough attempt @Galaxy Brain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Gobbledigook

[Galaxy Brain]

50 minutes ago, WindDemon21 said:

Ok, now do atomic blast with aim, gaussians, and procs.

 

Also factor in that most mobs are dead WAY before those 30 seconds are usually up in most cases.

 

Like cat 5, ice blast really should have a special aim that lasts 20 seconds so it lasts through the full duration of blizzard/ice storm.

 

Likewise as mentioned storm really should have one thar can last longer for car 5 as well.

 

Additionally given this nature too I wouldn't think a lower rech something like 120-150s would be out of the question, even at the cost of removing the damage buff in Intensify with a longer duration given cat5s use.

 

Gonna ignore the special aim powers since thats another can of worms, but lets compare Super Atomic Blast to Cat 5 with 6 strikes of lightning:

 

Atomic with Armageddon, Purple Blaster Proc, Random other proc, Gaussians, Aim, and 95% dam = 1180.54 if everything lines up. 22% of EB hp.

 

Cat 5 with 6 procs does 1350.06 (25%) without such bonuses. Comparing it to the insta hit of Atomic is tough though as it can hit many more seperate targets over time compared to a traditional one and done nuke. Each minion defeated within a Cat 5 opens up the floor to another target getting hits, as opposed to only 16 total with Atomic.

 

In something like the ITF where you can get way more than 16 targets, especially meaty ones, in certain spots it will shine IMO.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Galaxy Brain

[Gobbledigook]

2 minutes ago, Galaxy Brain said:

 

Gonna ignore the special aim powers since thats another can of worms, but lets compare Super Atomic Blast to Cat 5 with 6 strikes of lightning:

 

Atomic with Armageddon, Purple Blaster Proc, Random other proc, Gaussians, Aim, and 95% dam = 1180.54 if everything lines up. 22% of EB hp.

 

Cat 5 with 6 procs does 1350.06 (25%) without such bonuses.

Can you do it with full auto for comparison as that is in beta also?

[WindDemon21]

1 minute ago, Galaxy Brain said:

 

Gonna ignore the special aim powers since thats another can of worms, but lets compare Super Atomic Blast to Cat 5 with 6 strikes of lightning:

 

Atomic with Armageddon, Purple Blaster Proc, Random other proc, Gaussians, Aim, and 95% dam = 1180.54 if everything lines up. 22% of EB hp.

 

Cat 5 with 6 procs does 1350.06 (25%) without such bonuses.

Thanks!

 

So again, almost the same damage, applied in 3 seconds versus 30 seconds, with a shorter recharge on top of that too. Also of which non AVs ie regular 95% content, the full 30s of cat 5 is never being used also. Add in the accuracy issues as well now.

 

I don't think upping it's base acc (and cells or giving -defense) and lowering its base recharge would be out of the question. Meaning it's more usable, but less damage in most situations, but more in the (much) long run and requires other power activations too.

[Sovera]

2 hours ago, Dispari said:

I wanna compare t9s real quick. I'm doing Radiation vs Storm here. The slotting for the powers is with level 40 basic IOs, 1x ACC, 3x DMG, 1x RECH, so +38.6% ACC/RECH and +97.4% DMG. I'm not sure how you're meant to slot Storm Cell so I put 3x DMG in it (+97.4%). Also these were all done with level 40 blasters, with custom units with no resistances or HP bonuses. Anyway, this is Category Five:

 

Cat 5 is a special power though. Even though it holds a place we would traditionally call a 'nuke' it would not be too unlikely to compare it to a Build-Up or even Aim sort of power. It is less about doing damage by itself and more about making your other powers do more damage (that seems to be the intent and a mirroring of Storm Cell but with added bonus damage from Cat 5 itself).

 

This is very much a non traditional way of doing things and thus it cannot be a direct comparison. I'm not going to say it is a good or a bad experiment but it is an experiment on doing things differently.

 

But because it is not a traditional nuke it requires being tested outside of the normal box we put nukes in. This requires actual gameplay tests such as Trapdoors or whathaveyous. In this more complete test encapsulating Storm it does look like it works well (someone posted a three minute Trapdoor with a Blaster).

 

 

If you can muster the energy I would say try a couple Trapdoors (or whatever you might feel like) with that Radiation character and a couple with the Storm and even if it is not super scientific with so few runs but give us the metrics you got from it.

[WindDemon21]

13 hours ago, Booper said:

Storm Cell is auto-hit with its debuff. Category 5 is two pseudopets, the ramped up one has a base accuracy of 1.3x, however the starter is only set to 1.0x so that can be buffed.

Yeah they were talking about on top of that since not really any buffs you can provide will extend to help the storm cell and cat 5 out over their duration which is an issue, so since to hit buffs are out of the question, you're relying on the powers themselves. Especially since cat 5 is a nuke too, other nukes already start at 1.4x and you can always use aim/bu to boost those.

 

Given that I don't think a 1.5x all the time acc on them would be out of the question given these issues since they basically rely only on themselves for ACC.

 

Also, major kudos to fixing the animation/casts on chain lightning and cloudburst. Though I'll say cloud burst still kinda *feels* like it is missing an oomph, seems like adding a KD to it would help that a good bit.

 

Edit: actually was the cloudburst change rerolled? I could have sworn i went to test it the other day and it wasn't that "whirlywater" animation anymore and the cloud instantly formed over the enemies head. Even adding a tiny bit of cast time (1.83s versus 1.67s) to also go with the added knockdown, I think that the gravity distortion animation makes a lot more sense for the power to have it instantly form over the enemies head.

Edited April 17, 2023 by WindDemon21

[Sovera]

Even though tempers (mine mostly) were a bit frayed last time I posted I would like to ask for a test on that earlier iteration of Storm Cell recharging faster. I don't recall the numbers being talked about other than there had been an attempt at making it recharge faster and duration being halved, but the consensus being 'it was not good'.

 

I don't particularly like this 'trust me' approach. But at some point this was discussed and tested so the devs were at least open to the idea even if it got scrapped. But rather than having a nebulous 'trust me on this' I would ask for that old iteration to have a few days in Brainstorm so more players can give it a whirl.

 

If the consensus is that no, it really is not good, then carry on, but since it seems to be what most(?) players are asking for it would be nice to give players a chance to chime in instead of having the choices already made for them based on a 'trust me'.