Focused Feedback: Snipes and Dominator changes

[JPax]

On 8/12/2019 at 5:06 PM, Bossk_Hogg said:

 

 

I'm surprised there were no changes to Elec Assault. Havoc Punch is at the lower end of the melee attack's DPA, and Thunderstrike is uniformly garbage in all sets. 

 

Is the formula for Thunderstrike accurately reflecting that only a small portion of the damage is AE? If the everyone was hit for the full amount it would actually be relatively balanced. 

As I recall it, Thunderstrike damage is divided into two parts, Smashing and Energy. The target takes both portions, while the AoE takes only the Energy portion.

[Vanden]

On 8/11/2019 at 5:30 PM, Vanden said:

The only problem is the "whoosh" sound is synched with the normal, slow animation. Any chance a new one could be made that syncs with the new one?

Expanding on this, the glowy hands are synched with the old animation time as well - could that be fixed?

 

Also, I noticed in the character creator that Fling Thorns in Thorny Assault seems to hit the target before the projectile even fires. Someone else was saying that the same thing happens in-game to Hurl Boulder in Earth Assault, and that's apparent in the creator as well. I wasn't able to test it out myself, but it seems like that probably happens in-game to Fling Thorns as well if it shows that way in the creator.

[summers]

I'm a bit sad that the martial set, which was only flimsily melee to begin with, is becoming even less so. I really hope you reconsider this, an okay ST attack is not breaking anything, while other sets seem to be getting this or even more?

[Tater Todd]

As a Dom lover I'm going to try my darndest to test all of the changes!  So today I started with Energy Assault and correct me if I'm wrong (I always wanted to try Energy Assault on live but the KB was a Turn Off for me)  Is it normal for The Tier 9 ability: Power Burst to not play any SFX when it misses?  Currently on Justin you can't hear a sound from the power if you miss your target. 

Power Boost is giving the correct values and the SFX are matching up.  I love the new cast time for Total Focus.  If it was up to me it would be even quicker haha but the animation, impact and SFX matched well with the new change and the same can be said about Power Burst besides one when miss with the power.  Power Boost actually feels more like a T9 compared to the current version on live.  Sniper Blast was working fine as well.

I'll try my best to test all of the Dominator changes!

[Tater Todd]

 

Now on to my Favorite Dominator Secondary Earth Assault.  Now I must tell you my favorite /Earth combo is Electric/Earth but after trying out Earth/Earth for testing purposes....I'm in love.  It's like playing a ranged Brute!  I will definitely make one once these changes hit Live.

Testing Earth/Earth:

• Power Boost: Excellent change.  It added the usual utility but with the +dmg it should make this power work well with other Primaries
   

• Stone Spears: FINALLY, the version of this on live is HORRIBLE the user is left standing there not being able to do anything after using this attack.  It doesn't flow with combat the dmg was horrible and we are forced to take it.  Thank you for the change.  Everything was syncing up for me when it came to the audio of the power, impact and effect :D.
   

• Tremor: Like what I said about Total Focus.  This power just feels amazing now and the audio of the power, impact and effects all matched up with the new animation.  I was one of the few idjits that took this power on live and now I won't look so much like an idiot  >_>.
   

• Heavy Mallet: Matched up perfectly but it felt more like it's own individual power instead of it always feeling like a second chain of Stone Mallet.  This will make it more desirable for high recharge builds.
   

• Hurl Boulder: Woah!  This power isn't absolute garbage anymore!  It truly feels as hard hitting as it always sounds for once lol.  You guys are kinda sneaky.  I can tell you are testing stuff out on Doms to see how it is received before you port it over to other classes :P.  I don't blame you.  Powers like Total Focus, Hurl Boulder and Energy Transfer needed love for quite some time.  When it comes to bugs this power has a few.  The animation of your removing a chunk of Earth is somewhat smooth and you can tell it's faster than the live version but sometimes it slows which seems to throw off the final "heave-ho" of the rock.  Sometimes it seems like your hands are soapy and the rock slips out towards your foe at break neck speed.  Other times the "removing a chunk" of earth animation will slow a bit depending on their location, previous power animation or range (This power must be a combination of two separate animations?) causing the impact to fire on your foe before the boulder even halfway makes it to them.  I also noticed the boulder veering off in another direction only to find it's way home in your foe's squishy chest.  The same thing is happening with Animate Stone's animation of Hurl but at least he no longer gets stuck in a trance after using Hurl Boulder.  In closing even with the weird animation issues of this power on Beta I would still take this power w/o hesitation because it's soo much better now.  Makes me look forward to testing out Thorny Assault!

 

Again, I can't wait to try this build out on Live.  Thank you again for your work on Dominators 😎

[Neogumbercules]

Stalker - Mu Mastery - Zapp

 

This power has a weird lag between the activation and cast, and the actual damage being dealt.

[Replacement]

On 8/14/2019 at 8:02 AM, summers said:

I'm a bit sad that the martial set, which was only flimsily melee to begin with, is becoming even less so. I really hope you reconsider this, an okay ST attack is not breaking anything, while other sets seem to be getting this or even more?

I think the bounce limit increase paired with the lowered target maximum is what's pushing me more to this conclusion.

I have a feeling this was the original devs' intent in ignoring design goals for the melee cone and having the low bounce count. Subtle ways to lean towards melee.

[csr]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:48 AM, Leandro said:

Powers - Snipes

• General Changes
  • ToHit is no longer required to achieve fast-snipe. Now, combat status determines if snipes are fast or slow, and ToHit buffs increase how much damage fast-snipe inflicts.

I still don't like that the power is ringed most of the time.  It should be ringed for the special use, which is now slow snipe.  Yeah, cottage rule, but you changed Propel physics, so consider this now "broken" too.

[kenlon]

1 hour ago, csr said:

I still don't like that the power is ringed most of the time.  It should be ringed for the special use, which is now slow snipe.  Yeah, cottage rule, but you changed Propel physics, so consider this now "broken" too.

I wouldn't put "change the UI to match updated functionality" as something that should invoke the cottage rule.  When fast-snipe is the default state for the power, the ring should only show when you're at sufficient to-hit to get the better damage scale.

 

[scran]

Is electricity assault really not being touched at all?

[Captain Powerhouse]

2 hours ago, csr said:

I still don't like that the power is ringed most of the time.  It should be ringed for the special use, which is now slow snipe.  Yeah, cottage rule, but you changed Propel physics, so consider this now "broken" too. 

The original intent was for the ring to denote the conditional (that slow snipe was ready) but consensus was that most wanted the highlight when it was on fast mode.

 

24 minutes ago, scran said:

Is electricity assault really not being touched at all?

There is one change in the next patch.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Captain Powerhouse

[Remidi]

I confess that I never dug into mechanics back on live, because I didn't have the time or energy to chase the expensive IO sets.  Now, however, I'm trying to build more knowledgeably.  So, for a self-confessed idiot like me, will someone tell me how accuracy works into the fast snipe scenario?  Because all the snipe sets include accuracy, not to hit.  Will this help, or will only to hit bonuses work to boost damage? 

[csr]

1 hour ago, Remidi said:

I confess that I never dug into mechanics back on live, because I didn't have the time or energy to chase the expensive IO sets.  Now, however, I'm trying to build more knowledgeably.  So, for a self-confessed idiot like me, will someone tell me how accuracy works into the fast snipe scenario?  Because all the snipe sets include accuracy, not to hit.  Will this help, or will only to hit bonuses work to boost damage? 

Only ToHit,  It ups the base Damage Scale of the fast snipe, which is then modified by the Damage Enhancement slotted.

Edited August 16, 2019 by csr
Clarification.

[csr]

17 hours ago, kenlon said:

I wouldn't put "change the UI to match updated functionality" as something that should invoke the cottage rule.  When fast-snipe is the default state for the power, the ring should only show when you're at sufficient to-hit to get the better damage scale.

 

Any +ToHit (up to 22%) ups the DS.

Edited August 16, 2019 by csr

[csr]

16 hours ago, Captain Powerhouse said:

The original intent was for the ring to denote the conditional (that slow snipe was ready) but consensus was that most wanted the highlight when it was on fast mode.

Well, it's certainly not the first time the consensus is wrong.  😄

[Thezanman]

On 8/15/2019 at 12:34 PM, Replacement said:

I think the bounce limit increase paired with the lowered target maximum is what's pushing me more to this conclusion.

I have a feeling this was the original devs' intent in ignoring design goals for the melee cone and having the low bounce count. Subtle ways to lean towards melee.

I imagine that if they wanted the set to be melee-themed, they would have given it more than the minimum three melee powers that all assault sets have. A few of the sets have four, so they definitely could have given it one or two more melee powers if that was the intent. Realistically, the target cap change for Spinning Kick doesn't matter, since it is a relatively small AoE that would rarely hit more than 5 targets anyway.

[Leandro]

There is a new patch, so make sure to read the Patch Notes for August 17th, 2019.

[kajmir]

On 8/12/2019 at 11:03 PM, Leandro said:

Recipe > PVP IO Set > Sniper Attacks > Experienced Marksman

I found out that it's not in game yet. It's only on the test server for now. I was speaking of the actual homecoming servers.

[Replacement]

Really like the new tuning for Martial Assault!

 

It's a bit sad to see Envenomed Blades brought in-line, but this simple change (and it's really a nerf) frees up tons of room in MA's design space.  This creates room in the set for not just the changes listed in today's patch notes, but for additional buffs down the road if it's ever found to be underperforming. 

 

Good approach, bravo.

 

Now, you just need to add Burst of Speed as an alternate t8 to Caltrops and my dominator will be complete...

 

Also, glad you listened to lobster's feedback from very early in this thread on the topic of the offensive auras.

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by Replacement

[Replacement]

Potential bug: Can someone confirm Trick Shot's bounce range?  It appears to be drastically lower than on Live.  

 

EDIT: Made a bug report about this.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Replacement

[Jaguaratron]

Look forward to playing these on live, just a suggestion though, what about using the one handed animation that Hurl Boulder and Hurl use when they have Shield defense, I personally think it would be a better flow and its a cool and rather underused animation, I would wager most havent seen it.

[Vanden]

Nice job synching the sound of Total Focus with its new animation. However, the FX are still timed for the old one; there's a final pulse from the pom-poms that happens after the enemy is hit, that was synched with the hit in the old animation. Could that be fixed?

[Captain Powerhouse]

The pom-poms are not part of the attack itself, they are weird... in that they behave just like weapons. Any energy melee attack will attach them to your hands, independent on power timing.

[Vanden]

But some powers have FX that plays on top of the pom-poms, like Total Focus.

[Rooks]

I love what you guys have done with this second iteration of MAs kicks. If you gave me the option of nerfing the overall power of the set as a whole if it meant keeping more value in the kicks (considering it's pretty much agreed in that the context of domis, MA is at least somewhat OP), then I absolutely would have taken it.

 

Also as someone who had a thorns domi back on live who I'll eventually get around to relevelling I appreciate the love you guys have pointed at thorny barrage. It's a power that's always felt good even if its mechanical value wasn't really there.

 

So as a guy who really likes to kick and shoot a billion thorns in one go, thank you for making me more valuable to any potential teammates.