Focused Feedback: Blast Power Set Updates

[TotalThunder]

26 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

It's not really a question of whether Aim is better than Beanbag (it is).

 

The issue is one of changing the basic functionality of a powerset that has been in the game since launch, that is played by many, many people.

If they can find a niche for the set that is satisfactory in performance that includes Beanbag and Ignite, then great.

I don't think a low mag, single target stun is the "basic functionality" of Assault Rifle. It's a bad set. It's always been a bad set. Not that many people actually play it. Replacing the low mag, single target stun, with Aim, makes it actually playable for a larger number of people who wouldn't even look at it normally.

Disregarding my personal opinion that mezzes on DPS classes are worthless, every class that can take Assault Rifle has more powerful mez in their secondaries.

 

Beanbag is a worthless, useless power.

Aim is a 62.5% damage buff. Damage that Assault Rifle has ALWAYS been lacking.

Edited April 15, 2023 by TotalThunder

[Super Atom]

just move the stun to slug. Gains everything, loses nothing. I don't even know why this is difficult.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Super Atom

[Crimsanotic]

16 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

It's not really a question of whether Aim is better than Beanbag (it is).

 

The issue is one of changing the basic functionality of a powerset that has been in the game since launch, that is played by many, many people.

If they can find a niche for the set that is satisfactory in performance that includes Beanbag and Ignite, then great.

Assault Rifle has never been popular (because it's bad and always has been). If your concern is losing a stun, why not just add that to Slug or Buckshot or whatever and then also get Aim.

What's wrong with that?

[Neogumbercules]

Actual feedback from playing:

 

Storm Blast

• There's something not quite right with the sound effects. They are way too quiet and seem to get lost in other sounds or have the wrong audio priority if that even makes sense. Really makes the set feel weak even though....
• This set is great! I love the visual effects and the snipe is truly awesome.
• Jet Stream seems okay inside of a storm cell
• Storm cell follows way too slowly but with a very high recharge build I can see it being useable most of the time when needed.
• Chain Lightning seems to pull aggro before the power effect actually hits the enemy. Seems like it shouldn't do that?

 

Assault Rifle

• Ignite just feels weird. I can't quite put my finger on it but it just feels kinda broken with the way it leaves the patch and the enemy goes running. I get this is the intended effect, but I think it plays bad...The patch being tiny really does make it hard to effectively use against more than the initial target, which is not different than before, and I don't think losing the ability to place it manually is worth what we got. Something should happen to ignite, but this ain't it. As other's have suggested, making it a mini Incendiary Swarm Missiles would be A LOT better, then take the damage out of Beanbag because nobody cares about ST damage on AR. Just let AR be the big AOE damage set and leave it that. There is literally no need to overcomplicate things. Is the game going to be broken if AR is actually good at something? It's been an F-tier blast set for damn near 20 years now.
• Beanbag's animation is awful. Shooting out that blob, that loud fart sound effect, it just seems weird. I know this is how it's always been, it's always been awful. If you want to make beanbag better, start by replacing the sound effect and doing something about that arcing slow-motion hackey sack that it blorts out at dudes.
• Kinda want aim back.
• Beanbag's stun seems to be delayed. I hit an enemy with it and it takes a second or two for the stun effect to happen.
• Full Auto with a massive cone is nice but it seems wasted when you only have a 10 target limit. This is the penultimate AR attack. Like other nukes, it should have a 16 target cap, yes I know it's a cone. I don't care.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Neogumbercules

[Luminara]

Beanbag's Defiance isn't showing up on CoD.  It is there on the HC build, missing on the Cryptic build.  Someone check whether Beanbag is building Defiance on the test server so we know if it's a CoD issue.

[Neogumbercules]

21 minutes ago, Luminara said:

Beanbag's Defiance isn't showing up on CoD.  It is there on the HC build, missing on the Cryptic build.  Someone check whether Beanbag is building Defiance on the test server so we know if it's a CoD issue.

Just tested. No defiance boost on beanbag.

[ScarySai]

1 hour ago, Wavicle said:

The issue is one of changing the basic functionality of a powerset that has been in the game since launch, that is played by many, many people.

 

Most seasoned AR players will tell you that beanbag has always been bad, and many more will tell you they stopped playing AR because of all of the problems with it, beanbag included.

 

There isn't a silent majority of AR players who are cheering in victory over this, quite the opposite.

 

The good news, is that the new ignite kinda slaps. So the set is in a pretty good place considering it's bean-laden problem.

Edited April 15, 2023 by ScarySai

[oldskool]

Sentinel AR's Ignite appears to be slightly stronger than the Blaster version. 

 

Sentinel has 243.72 vs Blaster's 241.61

 

Not complaining, but that seems a bit off given their placement in each set's kit. I will of course caveat this that the Blaster has Sniper Rifle (281 dmg) which the Sentinel has nothing equivalent to. Has anyone double checked these (am I missing something??)?

 

Fire Blast's new changes to the T2 power of the same name made me take a double take on the new DPA. Holy crap.

 

Not gonna lie, kinda glad to see Scramble Thoughts back on the Sentinel. 

 

So far, I like the idea of the new hold changes on Suppressive Fire. I don't really use Cryo a whole lot, but adding the longer hold duration on Chem plays right into what I wanted from my Corruptor and Defender (both lean more on support than LOLWTFBBQDPS). I'm not that concerned about the Chemical Ammo damage loss on either of the two support ATs since Piercing Rounds is the cornerstone of both builds. This change at least lets me use Suppressive Fire on my Corruptor in the way I use it on live while also leveraging Chemical Ammo for its debuff while also benefiting from the Piercing Rounds change (which I like). 

 

Obviously, not everyone is going to be happy about the implementation, but I think it goes a long way into a better direction than the last beta build in actual practice (so thank you for that change!). 

[Wavicle]

Sentinel Ignite is actually quite a nice improvement. I still wish Slug wasn’t so slow, but this definitely helps.

[Ulysses Dare]

 

Dear Devs, thanks for revisiting the decision to remove beanbag.

[Gemini2099]

3 hours ago, nihilii said:

Loving the latest AR changes, both Ignite and Beanbag. While this isn't to everyone's tastes, personally I'm happy to trade Aim for a fast-activating stun with standard damage I can fit in my regular attack chain and doublestack to boss magnitude with ease.

I agree.

 

Back in the day people talked about AR needing AIM pre ED on AR/DEV blasters.  AIM is a good tool but the reasoning back then was that Ignite was the replacement for AIM.  Making Ignite more easier to use like AIM is probably the way to go. 

[Neogumbercules]

If any power needs to be deleted in favor of Aim it's Buckshot. No one gives af about Buckshot. It's a mediocre cone on a set full of better AoEs, all of which would be improved by the inclusion of Aim and it's Gaussian's potential.

 

I'd gladly give up buckshot to get a 162.5% damage boost to an M30>Full Auto wombo-combo.

[Gemini2099]

3 minutes ago, Neogumbercules said:

If any power needs to be deleted in favor of Aim it's Buckshot. No one gives af about Buckshot. It's a mediocre cone on a set full of better AoEs, all of which would be improved by the inclusion of Aim and it's Gaussian's potential.

 

I'd gladly give up buckshot to get a 162.5% damage boost to an M30>Full Auto wombo-combo.

I like M30 over Buckshot.  But many others do like Buckshot for its shorter recharge and it is easier to line up than M30. So I think it may be a toss up. 

 

Honestly Slug is starting to lose its luster as Sniper Rifle is starting to become that much better in single target attack chains.  So maybe Slug and Bean Bag should be merged and that way it gives room for AIM. 

[ScarySai]

52 minutes ago, Neogumbercules said:

If any power needs to be deleted in favor of Aim it's Buckshot. No one gives af about Buckshot.

Buckshot is great, are you high?

[psylum1]

42 minutes ago, ScarySai said:

Buckshot is great, are you high?

Seconded. Buckshot is the best AOE knock on the set. M-30 and Buckshot to more for my survival than beanbag ever could. Buckshot best shot.

[Indystruck]

1 hour ago, Neogumbercules said:

If any power needs to be deleted in favor of Aim it's Buckshot. No one gives af about Buckshot. It's a mediocre cone on a set full of better AoEs, all of which would be improved by the inclusion of Aim and it's Gaussian's potential.

 

[TurboRaptor]

2 hours ago, psylum1 said:

Seconded. Buckshot is the best AOE knock on the set. M-30 and Buckshot to more for my survival than beanbag ever could. Buckshot best shot.

It's so good that it makes great single target filler because it does good damage and it has a 1s cast time.

[Kaika]

7 hours ago, Neogumbercules said:

If any power needs to be deleted in favor of Aim it's Buckshot. No one gives af about Buckshot. It's a mediocre cone on a set full of better AoEs, all of which would be improved by the inclusion of Aim and it's Gaussian's potential.

 

I'd gladly give up buckshot to get a 162.5% damage boost to an M30>Full Auto wombo-combo.

I'm not sure you understand how DPA(Damage per activation time) works, Buckshot is arguably one of the best powers in the set due to it's high DPA and low cooldown. From a pure DPA standpoint Buckshot does about twice the DPA as M30 grenade. Now both powers have their usage but there was a reason buckshot went untouched, it's very good.

 

Though I do agree, I miss the potential for Gaussian's, but if this is the compromise that lets me keep ignite I guess it's fine

Edited April 15, 2023 by Riot Siren

[blue4333]

If I'm running a team and an AR blaster keeps spamming beanbag to "try and help" with survivability, I would probably kick them. Just do your job and do damage please.

[Dispari]

I still think Sentinel's Slug -> Disorienting Shot is a good compromise, considering that gives people a stun power AND Aim. Unless a single target knockback from Slug is that important to the set. It looked like removing Aim was not a popular change considering all the posts and thumbs down.

[Mack008]

Glad to see an update to Full Auto.   Way back in the time before time, Blaster T9s had crashes and long recharge times to offset their extreme power... except for Full Auto.  Instead, it was made a narrow cone and less powerful.  As the eons progressed, the other T9s have been improved (most notably the crashes removed) but Full Auto had never been revisited.

 

Expanding the arc from 20 to 90 degrees is a welcome change, and greatly improves its usability as it's now easier to match its cone with that of Flamethrower or Buckshot.  However, having a T9 power capped at 10 targets still hurts.  Recommend increasing it to 16.

 

And if I'm allowed to ask for more... adding a side effect (such as -7% Defense like Burst) would be a welcome addition and still match the theme.

[ScarySai]

1 hour ago, Dispari said:

I still think Sentinel's Slug -> Disorienting Shot is a good compromise, considering that gives people a stun power AND Aim. Unless a single target knockback from Slug is that important to the set. It looked like removing Aim was not a popular change considering all the posts and thumbs down.

Agreed, but they seem to shoot down every alternative solution presented, this included.

[Lithobraker]

3 minutes ago, ScarySai said:

Agreed, but they seem to shoot down every alternative solution presented, this included.

Why'd they even bother making the Beanbag to Aim change if they were willing to backpedal this quickly? It was obviously going to upset someone, that always happens when you rock the boat.

I'm not against keeping Beanbag, but only if some sort of compromise is made that substitutes the benefit of Aim for something equivalent.

(Though, for clarity's sake, I'm not experienced at all with high-end play in this game... I still think AR would be more fun with Aim, though. I've never liked Beanbag.)

[Neogumbercules]

5 minutes ago, ScarySai said:

Agreed, but they seem to shoot down every alternative solution presented, this included.

What's killing me, and I've seen others comment as well...it doesn't need to be this difficult. Buffing AR should basically be a lay up. Example, increasing the cone on FA. Easy. More targets please, but yes. We're just getting bigger numbers there which is all it needed.

 

We don't need to  re-invent the wheel here. It's kinda wild.

[Gemini2099]

6 hours ago, TurboRaptor said:

It's so good that it makes great single target filler because it does good damage and it has a 1s cast time.

Before Sniper Rifle was improved Buckshot was a great filler in single target attack chain.  But with enough recharge buckshot is actually the cornerstone of what makes AR the master of cones along with Flamethrower and Full Auto.