Radioactive Assault - WAI or Needs Help?

[Panache]

So I have this Illusion/Rad/Psi Dom I really like,  and have spent enough time with it that I’ve noticed it doesn’t seem to do what it says on the tin. Rad Assault is in a strange place; released on the private server and given a pass in 2019, there are no Feedback threads or guides for it anywhere (that I have found). The set has one major issue, and I’d also like to suggest two tweaks (these are less important and I don’t know if they are dumb or would break any design rules or anything; just spitballing).

 

Major Issue: Fusion states that it grants the “next few attacks” a 100% chance to inflict Contaminated. This doesn’t happen in practice. Radiation Siphon is a solid heal, with the trade off that it only works on Contaminated targets, so Fusion>any Rad Attack that has the chance to inflict Contaminated>Siphon ought to be a heal every time, and it isn’t, because the target doesn’t always get Contaminated. Obviously the damage splash is missing too, but that’s a lot less noticeable and impactful than missing out on your heal. This is a fairly massive flaw in a set designed around that mechanic.

 

Suggestion One: Atom Smasher is your typical Dom Assault PBAoE, although it costs more End than any of the others, has a 3 second cast time (only Combustion and Thorn Burst are as slow), and has a 10’ radius rather than 15. I suppose the idea here is that there’s a trade off because you’re inflicting both the secondary effect (-Def) and (potentially) Contaminated. I don’t think that trade off is equitable (admittedly just a “feel”).

 

SUGGESTION: increase the damage radius to 15’; leave Contaminated radius the same. As I write it, that seems tricky to code. Something about that combination of cast time, End cost and radius seems wonky though.

 

Suggestion Two: Devastating Blow is one of those Feels Bad T9s that a lot of builds skip. With one of the highest sums of cast time and End cost (2.67/2.904 Arcana and 18.512, respectively), its closest comp is probably Total Focus (although that’s available much earlier, so not quite the same Tier). I think DB’s main issue is the frequency of its Stun effect (60%). Similar melee “Tier 3” assault powers (Midnight Grasp, Seismic Smash, Earsplitter, Total Focus if you want to toss it in there) have a 100% chance to inflict their mezzes. DB’s cast time is a big gamble on a 3 out of 5 chance to Stun something (and an unknown but lower than it should be chance to Contaminate something).

 

SUGGESTION: if Contaminated is fixed, give DB a 100% chance to Stun Contaminated targets. If Contaminated doesn’t get fixed, increase DB’s chance to Stun to 80.

ALTERNATIVELY: leave it alone but dramatically increase its chance to Contaminate (if that’s working)

OTHER ALTERNATIVE: have DB extend the timer on any Contanimated target (this might be my favorite option)

 

So…thoughts? Feel free to point out any obvious dumb ideas or incorrect assumptions; I would love to find out that I’ve just been playing the set wrong

 

EDIT: I didn't notice that Devastating Blow's description states that it always has a 100% chance to Contaminate; this doesn't happen, even if you pop Fusion first. Now I'm thinking that there might be some kind of internal timer on Contaminated? Tested some chains against the target dummies and,

in theory, it should go:

Devastating Blow (inflicts Contaminated) > Radiation Siphon (removes Contaminated) > Fusion > Contaminated Strike / Devastating Blow (inflicts Contaminated), but that second infliction never occurs. 

Edited January 14 by Panache

[arcane]

That all sounds reasonable to me

[Panache]

Should this go in a different forum?