page 3 [FOCUSED FEEDBACK] Sentinel Archetype Adjustments

[The Curator]

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Sentinels

• Self Resist and Defense modifiers increased from 70% to 75%
• Sentinel Meter now only builds while in combat
• Vulnerability is now as chain that can affect up to 5 targets
  • Known issue: the target requirement expression that is used to prevent the power from being used on a target that is already vulnerable is currently not working properly with chains.
• Opportunity now grants a perception buff based on meter buildup, with a max of +40% at full meter.
• Opportunity now grants a critical chance on all primary and epic attacks based on meter buildup, with a max chance of +40% at full meter, 5% with empty meter.
• Critical damage is 40% the strength of base power damage.
• Note: nukes are not intended to crit

 

[Lockely]

Oh, this is a pretty significant change. Vulnerability chaining to 5 targets definitely very welcome, but I wonder what the opportunity cost of using it versus just leaving Opportunity capped for the perma +40% crit chance would be. 

[Sovera]

Been running some pylon tests so I'll save the trouble for others: over multiple pylons using or saving Opportunity made no difference for single target damage. Using each time Vuln dropped from the target or just mashing buttons gave the same times with literally 5-6 seconds apart.

 

 

Untested, but from a mix of common sense and gut feels:

 

* Since the crits apply to AoEs the AT gets a boost (40% chance of a 40% crit is abouts 16% extra damage) for solo or fast teams. No point fussing about Vuln if everything is melting well. If they are not then Vuln multiplied by 8 is going to beat the 16% of hoarding it.
* Nukes don't get crits so using Vulnerability (which then chains to a lesser extent surrounding foes) on a boss before unleashing the nuke might be mathematically better(?) but since everything else crits then I wouldn't use Vuln again as each use cuts 20% crit chance off.

* The difference between using and not using, or trying to use min-max as above is probably going to be so minimal if actually looking at mission completion times that a Sentinel can not use it and not be missing out and still come out ahead with these changes. Chalk another boost for the ailing AT.
* The ATO that increases the meter doesn't do enough.

   * Simple test: used Vuln, kept attacking, Vuln ran out. Used a second time, kept attacking. Vuln ends. Not enough meter to use a third time.
   * This scenario applies with and without the ATO slotted into ST attacks.

 

On a spreadsheet the ATO will probably save X seconds before a new charge of Vuln is up, but the cost of slotting a set without damage procs should(?) cost more than getting Vuln sooner, especially with this change that rewards a full bar at all times.

Edited Friday at 10:57 PM by Sovera

[robobl4de]

Sentinel ATO's are too weak and not worth slotting (chance for absorb is OK), especially chance for opportunity proc, 1PPM to get 10% of the bar is nothing. 

Edited Saturday at 03:22 AM by robobl4de

[Derek Icelord]

Only thing I'm not thrilled with is the meter requiring combat (need to test). And yeah, the Opportunity proc ATO is a joke. I have it on exactly one character for the set bonuses.

[Lockely]

I do agree that if we aren't able to generate Opportunity out of combat, the ATO should get a buff to make it more attractive.

[Maelwys]

I don't think ATO effect changes are on the cards, but I agree that 1PPM is too low an activation chance to be meaningful. Bump it to 4 or 5 PPM and you'd end up with a worthwhile Sentinel ATO without breaking the cottage rule...

[Sovera]

4 hours ago, Derek Icelord said:

Only thing I'm not thrilled with is the meter requiring combat (need to test). And yeah, the Opportunity proc ATO is a joke. I have it on exactly one character for the set bonuses.

 

On the upside the meter doesn't run down like a Brute's Fury, so after the initial combat it is always up.

[Luminara]

[FupDup]

My waifu is finally getting buffs, hallelujah. 

 

I really have only two sticking points at the moment:

1. Given that the def/res modifier went up, I think the debuff resistance should also go up to match Scrappers (currently weaker). 

2. Nukes should be able to crit, even if the damage bonus is smaller. Make it something like a 20% damage bonus "mini crit."

 

 

[Faraday Gauss]

Love these changes. Pretty cool design to have the strategic balance between crits and Vulnerability, depending on solo/team size and whether you're trying to take down one tough foe or a group. I do agree that the Opportunity proc could stand a buff of some sort now that you can only build it in combat.

[Auroxis]

Current bugs:

• Seismic Blast: Enhanced Stalagmite and Rock Shards have a triple crit
• Mace Mastery: Does not crit
• Weapon Mastery: Does not crit

[Steampunkette]

It's not supposed to apply to Epics or Pool Powers.

[imzadi]

31 minutes ago, Steampunkette said:

It's not supposed to apply to Epics or Pool Powers.

 @Captain Powerhouse They are intended to crit, they just haven't managed to put that in patch notes. obv not your fault bc you couldn't know.

 

Edited Saturday at 07:51 PM by imzadi

[Heatstroke]

Something has to be down about the chance for Opportunity Proc.. Why not make it like the scrapper ATO and give it an addition chance to crit or add a little more damage when it crits.. Or a To Hit buff, or Add some Endurance.. hell ANYTHING would be better than what it is now... 

 

Sentinal ATOs feel like they were seriously nerfed for NO reason.. the Chance to Absorb used to be a decent proc to add survival now its very meh...

 

Sentinels have gotten some good upgrades recently so very happy with that.. but unless going for the set bonus.. that last enhancement in both sets is kinda... meh,..

[stryve]

Was just testing out some SR Sentinels.  I'll try to get a full write up of my thought on the changes to SR tomorrow, but for now I just wanted to mention that Master Brawler seems to be de-toggling when Mezed (at least on Sentinels).

[drbuzzard]

1 hour ago, Heatstroke said:

Something has to be down about the chance for Opportunity Proc.. Why not make it like the scrapper ATO and give it an addition chance to crit or add a little more damage when it crits.. Or a To Hit buff, or Add some Endurance.. hell ANYTHING would be better than what it is now... 

 

Sentinal ATOs feel like they were seriously nerfed for NO reason.. the Chance to Absorb used to be a decent proc to add survival now its very meh...

I am more under the impression that they just didn't know what to do with the ATOs myself. They just threw something at the wall and didn't much care if it stuck. 

 

Would be nice if they improved them, but let's be honest, a number of the ATO procs are pretty bad on other ATs as well. I think they have bigger fish to fry than fixing ATOs. 

[Uun]

Does the 5%-40% Opportunity critical chance stack with the 30% Shinobi-Iri critical chance? I was testing on my Psi/Nin sentinel but it's impossible to determine the source of the criticals.

[Sovera]

50 minutes ago, Uun said:

Does the 5%-40% Opportunity critical chance stack with the 30% Shinobi-Iri critical chance? I was testing on my Psi/Nin sentinel but it's impossible to determine the source of the criticals.

 

It should, barring bugs. But the change from damage to crit chance, and nukes not critting, makes opening with a nuke a waste of Shinobi-iri.

[Uun]

35 minutes ago, Sovera said:

It should, barring bugs. But the change from damage to crit chance, and nukes not critting, makes opening with a nuke a waste of Shinobi-iri.

I'm undecided on this, as it simply puts /Nin on equal footing with most other secondaries. Even without the 40% damage buff, I found my nuke was killing most everything except the boss. 

[Maelwys]

13 hours ago, Uun said:

Does the 5%-40% Opportunity critical chance stack with the 30% Shinobi-Iri critical chance? I was testing on my Psi/Nin sentinel but it's impossible to determine the source of the criticals.

Clarified this in the Ninjitsu Feedback thread; but yes, it stacks additively.
So you can have anything from 5% (no opportunity) to 40% (full opportunity) plus the 30% from stealth.

However Shinobi-Iri requires an eight second break in combat to re-enter stealth, and its +30% Crit Chance boost wears off as soon as you re-enter combat.
So just like on Live, it's good for exactly one attack (and that's assuming you're taking 8+ seconds between one mob and the next one!).
And the really sucky bit is that Sentinel Shinobi-Iri's buff has become far more unreliable (it's now a 30% chance of increasing your damage rather than guaranteed) and its buff no longer applies to Nukes (which was the typical use case for it on Sentinels). So it's objectively worse now by every metric.

[KaizenSoze]

On 12/5/2025 at 5:34 PM, Lockely said:

Oh, this is a pretty significant change. Vulnerability chaining to 5 targets definitely very welcome, but I wonder what the opportunity cost of using it versus just leaving Opportunity capped for the perma +40% crit chance would be. 

Solo, I wasn't able to find a substantial difference in clear times between using Vulnerability at lot or not. At best, a mix seemed the best.

 

On teams, maxing out Vulnerability targets would help the team more, but it's hard to quantify.

[oldskool]

Quick observation summary: 

I played my L50 Dual Pistols Sentinel on Brainstorm last night for a short run at a Pylon using Incendiary Ammo. 

The 40% critical hit damage was turning out to being very similar to the proc damage in my powers. For example: 
 

• Executioner's Shot with Apocalypse had the Chance for Negative damage reported 62 negative damage in the combat log. Due to my enhancement slotting (126% damage with Musculature Core Alpha) the critical damage with this power was 69 (niiiiice). That is not quite 40% of the power's reported damage against the Pylon, but very close. 
• Suppressive Fire with Unbreakable Constraint Chance for Smashing damage reported 62 smashing damage in the combat log. My critical damage was also 62. 
• In Dual wield I had similar findings where the overall damage value of the critical, with a power with lower total damage, was more on par with average damage procs. About 40~ish damage per crit. 

The damage increase is welcome. Any damage buff to Sentinels is still a damage buff. However, in practice this is not particularly overwhelming and in some cases pretty 'meh'. 

I do intend to test a bit further with the AoE powers but given what I see so far, the lack of critical hits off T9 powers is a bit perplexing. I presume there are internal metrics which we don't have showing a certain degree of imbalance or at least cause for concern of imbalance. 

The change also feels like a more conservative damage buff and is not, again in practice, that heavy handed. Another consideration is that for sets with AIM the outcomes may be much more wildly in their favor. Dual Pistols does not get that benefit and cannot prep a "Aim -> T9" damage drop. So, that may also be a reason. 

[oldskool]

Spent a bit more time on this tonight, and in some actual missions vs Pylon BS. 

Additional things to note: 

1) The tool tips have the critical damage listed next to 0.0% chance to X damage. I like that. 
2) Against regular content the criticals are working as intended, and their damage is much more notable than the Pylon test last night. It looks like my tool tip Executioner's Shot has around 270~ damage and my critical hits were over 100 damage. 
3) Seeing "Critical" when using Bullet Rain was pretty satisfying even if the damage in the chat window wasn't that great. 

The Sentinel ATOs could definitely use a pass at some point down the road. Chance for Opportunity could be a bit more interesting with these changes and the Sentinel's Ward is just lack luster. None of this is news, both the ATO procs are just... lack luster even if their full set bonuses are worthwhile. 

 

The Vulnerability feature of tagging extra targets... I love it. 

All-in-all, very positive changes. I'm hopeful that players running primaries with Aim are happy even if the T9 doesn't get boost. All that should do is alter some strategies, but still. I like the direction this is going in.