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How to Balance the Guardian Fighter (And Other Classes) From a GF Lover
checkmatein3
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 525 Arc User
As the title suggests, I love the Guardian Fighter. I have played the Guardian Fighter exclusively as my main since May 2013. And, on the one hand, I enjoy the role that the GF can currently take in parties (whether PvE or PvP), especially in light of the history of the GF, where the class has not been a favorite of that many. But now, the shelved GFs are coming out as the class du jour (class of the day). For those new to Neverwinter, the perceived 'dominate class' changes about every 6 months, or with the introduction of a new class... So, be warned.
Here are my suggestions:
1) Remove all sudden rings from the game. All of them. Goodbye! The mechanism of their proccing, whether in my companion or in my own character, does not follow the stated rules. As soon as I am out of combat, the rings reset. And with the companion, the sudden rings proc before the bonding stones, meaning that if I choose a companion with 3 ring slots (like the Lillend), I can get almost 12k in 3 separate stats (power, crit, and defense) as I enter the fight, with rank 12 bonding stones. Add this to the means of buffing and no caps and multiplicative synergy, and the power creep and the burning of Orcus in a couple seconds is on. So, get rid of them. Honestly, we really do not need 4k boost in one stat to do something. Consider that a guild boon giving 4k in power or defense takes a lot of work to achieve. Now, you just need some luck in ToDG, PoM, or either of the demos, and you are set to do incredibly beyond what is needed.
2) Bring back soft and hard caps on everything. Bring back the diminishing returns on stats. If a GF goes above 50% DR, have it start flattening out, like it did before mod 6. Make the curves parabolic, not linear. Do this with all stats, so that all classes must really start to think what stats to put where. Do it even with the blessed power stat. If the formulas are changed, then a lot of changing of powers is not needed. Imagine a 100% boost of DR in ITF, where the GF is hard capped at 80%, but the soft cap starts at 50%. The GF would really need to work to get that last 80%, to the detriment of other stats. This is how it used to be pre-mod 6. If you bring back a semblance of soft cap and hard caps, the power creep for the GF (and for most classes) would be less noticeable.
3) Cap companion buffs at 200%. As I presented elsewhere, change the function of bonding stones to be a maximum 50% buff at rank 12 OR a stat, but not both. Change normal runestones to a smaller stat at rank 12 AND a smaller buff (like 20%). Cap all buffing from any companion from all sources at 200%. Since Augments already provide 100% buff, this would be included in the 200%.
4) Make it so that buffs from one party member to another ONLY come from base stats, not from buffs from other players that are included. The list of buffs and how they interact together are too long to go into detail. But, the broken mechanism of buffs multiplying off an already buffed player is absurd. Yes, it makes for an interesting site in PvP or PvE. But, find the way to write the formulas, so that the buffs come from the base stats only. Then, buffs are distinct between what the player provides for oneself and what the player provides for the party. This fix should also include old sets like Vizier, Knight Captain, etc.
5) Check to make sure that the pre-block damage is not taken into account before proccing some other functions. As I cannot detail broken mechanisms, there are certain functions that only happen when a player may take X% of damage in a one time hit. GFs can abuse this mechanism with the block, the only class to do so, so that the pre-block damage is taken into account to trigger the effect, and the GF takes less or no damage, while getting the benefit of the effect. Please go through and examine these functions with the GF and make sure that post block damage is the only level of X% dmg that triggers the desired effect. Devs had to do the same thing with Reflect and Briartwine, if you remember...
6) Make sure some class features, like steel blitz, only trigger on GF-initiated attacks.
7) Change the % of ITF boost and Tactician Capstone. For GFs, this seems like anathema. But, the original ITF only added 5% damage per power point, and another 5% if you took the Tactician tier, for a grand total of 20% if you were a lvl 60 Tact GF. AND, the very first ITF was stackable. Such that, if you had 2 GFs in the party, the ITF boost would stack. But the stackable feature was taken away, and when this happened, the GF had very little use in parties, as the buff it supplied was much lower than could be gained by simply adding another dps and healing. Thus, the Trinity was dps + heals. Then, with power creep, the heals were removed, and dungeon runs were merely groups of dps. Guilds were the way for GFs to beg guildmates to carry them through content. As a GF Lover, to see this situation return is not desirable. Then came the ITF change to its current problem: Linear Defense stat up to 80%, companion boosts, and some other party boosts, that can be buffed back to the party via ITF at 25/50/75/100% well above the hard cap. This seemed to be the saving grace of the GF. In fact, yours truly used to see it this way. But then, the GF became monolithic in parties. It was buff GF this. Buff GF that. If you did not run ITF, the party did not want you. The Protector Line was all but useless for PvE. The 5 points for ITF damage boost in Tactician seemed meaningless. And now, with additional power creep, you can just run Conqueror with ITF and just be loved by everyone... Well, almost everyone. So, here is my suggestion. Since 5% DAMAGE boost per power point is too low, and 25% of DR (unlimited by buffs) is too high, how about a happy middle. With the cap on DR (see above) what if ITF became a 15% boost per power point based on a DR that is soft and hard capped. That is removal of 40% of the ITF boost in connection with a soft and hard capped DR. A GF with 50% DR in base stats and 4 power points in ITF would provide 60% of that DR to the party, or a 30% damage increase. Then, change the Tactician feat from 5% damage with 5 points, and make the ITF boost the capstone feat of Tactician for an extra 20% boost with more range (80'). At 50% DR, the party damage would 'only' be 10% more, but with the extra range, you could include classes that may be farther away from your tank that is holding aggro in the middle of some mob.
8) Change the Capstone of the Protector Line. With the hard hitting mobs and bosses since mod 6, a damage debuff only seems useless. If the GF loses aggro, and a boss turns to a TR or GWF or anything else really and hits for 30% less of 500k-1Mil damage, do they really care? They are dead. Plain and simple. Thus, change the capstone of Protector Line: 10% debuff per strike, stackable up to 50% AND a 100% multiplier to aggro, stackable up to 500%, with each stack lasting 8 seconds. Thus, the capstone does exactly what the Protector Line should do: protect with guaranteed aggro... The debuff is therefore, for the GF to take less damage and to give a means to hold aggro.
9) Change the Capstone to the Conqueror Line. If a GF wants to be a dps machine, in place of a tank or a buffer, then by all means, lets give it damage, but lets also make it pay the price for such a choice. Sorry fellow GFs. Here is a recommended capstone: 10% damage buff + 3% crit buff and -4% DR debuff, stackable up to 5 times, with each stack lasting 6 seconds. Rename the Capstone 'Berzerk' so as the GF increases in damage, the DR rating goes down...as a penalty. But that is so unfair? But such is the life of a dps GF. In fact, a GF with a 50% DR rating running Conqueror would approach damage of other classes with a 50% boost, but that -20% DR bites hard into the defense stat, making it close to levels of other classes. And here is another kicker. The penalty on DR affects proccing ITF on oneself... The penalty is added prior to using ITF. So, the GF could not really run as a tank or buffer in this line. It is a choice for dps, relying upon other roles.
With these 9 changes, not only would the game benefit as a whole, where each class can contribute a unique buff or ability and not be looked at as a super buffer with other super buffers, but the GF would be both viable and selective in its role.
Thank you for your time reading.
Here are my suggestions:
1) Remove all sudden rings from the game. All of them. Goodbye! The mechanism of their proccing, whether in my companion or in my own character, does not follow the stated rules. As soon as I am out of combat, the rings reset. And with the companion, the sudden rings proc before the bonding stones, meaning that if I choose a companion with 3 ring slots (like the Lillend), I can get almost 12k in 3 separate stats (power, crit, and defense) as I enter the fight, with rank 12 bonding stones. Add this to the means of buffing and no caps and multiplicative synergy, and the power creep and the burning of Orcus in a couple seconds is on. So, get rid of them. Honestly, we really do not need 4k boost in one stat to do something. Consider that a guild boon giving 4k in power or defense takes a lot of work to achieve. Now, you just need some luck in ToDG, PoM, or either of the demos, and you are set to do incredibly beyond what is needed.
2) Bring back soft and hard caps on everything. Bring back the diminishing returns on stats. If a GF goes above 50% DR, have it start flattening out, like it did before mod 6. Make the curves parabolic, not linear. Do this with all stats, so that all classes must really start to think what stats to put where. Do it even with the blessed power stat. If the formulas are changed, then a lot of changing of powers is not needed. Imagine a 100% boost of DR in ITF, where the GF is hard capped at 80%, but the soft cap starts at 50%. The GF would really need to work to get that last 80%, to the detriment of other stats. This is how it used to be pre-mod 6. If you bring back a semblance of soft cap and hard caps, the power creep for the GF (and for most classes) would be less noticeable.
3) Cap companion buffs at 200%. As I presented elsewhere, change the function of bonding stones to be a maximum 50% buff at rank 12 OR a stat, but not both. Change normal runestones to a smaller stat at rank 12 AND a smaller buff (like 20%). Cap all buffing from any companion from all sources at 200%. Since Augments already provide 100% buff, this would be included in the 200%.
4) Make it so that buffs from one party member to another ONLY come from base stats, not from buffs from other players that are included. The list of buffs and how they interact together are too long to go into detail. But, the broken mechanism of buffs multiplying off an already buffed player is absurd. Yes, it makes for an interesting site in PvP or PvE. But, find the way to write the formulas, so that the buffs come from the base stats only. Then, buffs are distinct between what the player provides for oneself and what the player provides for the party. This fix should also include old sets like Vizier, Knight Captain, etc.
5) Check to make sure that the pre-block damage is not taken into account before proccing some other functions. As I cannot detail broken mechanisms, there are certain functions that only happen when a player may take X% of damage in a one time hit. GFs can abuse this mechanism with the block, the only class to do so, so that the pre-block damage is taken into account to trigger the effect, and the GF takes less or no damage, while getting the benefit of the effect. Please go through and examine these functions with the GF and make sure that post block damage is the only level of X% dmg that triggers the desired effect. Devs had to do the same thing with Reflect and Briartwine, if you remember...
6) Make sure some class features, like steel blitz, only trigger on GF-initiated attacks.
7) Change the % of ITF boost and Tactician Capstone. For GFs, this seems like anathema. But, the original ITF only added 5% damage per power point, and another 5% if you took the Tactician tier, for a grand total of 20% if you were a lvl 60 Tact GF. AND, the very first ITF was stackable. Such that, if you had 2 GFs in the party, the ITF boost would stack. But the stackable feature was taken away, and when this happened, the GF had very little use in parties, as the buff it supplied was much lower than could be gained by simply adding another dps and healing. Thus, the Trinity was dps + heals. Then, with power creep, the heals were removed, and dungeon runs were merely groups of dps. Guilds were the way for GFs to beg guildmates to carry them through content. As a GF Lover, to see this situation return is not desirable. Then came the ITF change to its current problem: Linear Defense stat up to 80%, companion boosts, and some other party boosts, that can be buffed back to the party via ITF at 25/50/75/100% well above the hard cap. This seemed to be the saving grace of the GF. In fact, yours truly used to see it this way. But then, the GF became monolithic in parties. It was buff GF this. Buff GF that. If you did not run ITF, the party did not want you. The Protector Line was all but useless for PvE. The 5 points for ITF damage boost in Tactician seemed meaningless. And now, with additional power creep, you can just run Conqueror with ITF and just be loved by everyone... Well, almost everyone. So, here is my suggestion. Since 5% DAMAGE boost per power point is too low, and 25% of DR (unlimited by buffs) is too high, how about a happy middle. With the cap on DR (see above) what if ITF became a 15% boost per power point based on a DR that is soft and hard capped. That is removal of 40% of the ITF boost in connection with a soft and hard capped DR. A GF with 50% DR in base stats and 4 power points in ITF would provide 60% of that DR to the party, or a 30% damage increase. Then, change the Tactician feat from 5% damage with 5 points, and make the ITF boost the capstone feat of Tactician for an extra 20% boost with more range (80'). At 50% DR, the party damage would 'only' be 10% more, but with the extra range, you could include classes that may be farther away from your tank that is holding aggro in the middle of some mob.
8) Change the Capstone of the Protector Line. With the hard hitting mobs and bosses since mod 6, a damage debuff only seems useless. If the GF loses aggro, and a boss turns to a TR or GWF or anything else really and hits for 30% less of 500k-1Mil damage, do they really care? They are dead. Plain and simple. Thus, change the capstone of Protector Line: 10% debuff per strike, stackable up to 50% AND a 100% multiplier to aggro, stackable up to 500%, with each stack lasting 8 seconds. Thus, the capstone does exactly what the Protector Line should do: protect with guaranteed aggro... The debuff is therefore, for the GF to take less damage and to give a means to hold aggro.
9) Change the Capstone to the Conqueror Line. If a GF wants to be a dps machine, in place of a tank or a buffer, then by all means, lets give it damage, but lets also make it pay the price for such a choice. Sorry fellow GFs. Here is a recommended capstone: 10% damage buff + 3% crit buff and -4% DR debuff, stackable up to 5 times, with each stack lasting 6 seconds. Rename the Capstone 'Berzerk' so as the GF increases in damage, the DR rating goes down...as a penalty. But that is so unfair? But such is the life of a dps GF. In fact, a GF with a 50% DR rating running Conqueror would approach damage of other classes with a 50% boost, but that -20% DR bites hard into the defense stat, making it close to levels of other classes. And here is another kicker. The penalty on DR affects proccing ITF on oneself... The penalty is added prior to using ITF. So, the GF could not really run as a tank or buffer in this line. It is a choice for dps, relying upon other roles.
With these 9 changes, not only would the game benefit as a whole, where each class can contribute a unique buff or ability and not be looked at as a super buffer with other super buffers, but the GF would be both viable and selective in its role.
Thank you for your time reading.
LEVIATHAN--19.3k Metallic Dragonborn Guardian Fighter Swordmaster Loadouts
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
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Comments
This game hasn't seen an actual dungeon added to it in forever now, the last new content was a few one room skirmishes in elemental evil and the maze engine didn't come with any end game stuff.
Just wait until mod 10, if it doesn't knock your socks off then quit. No more nerf threads.
You are right this isn't a nerf thread, this is a make the GF so it is only played in a very specific manner in which I like thread.
Let the devs fix the broken interaction between the DC powers causing some sort of power loop from the bonding stones being funneled through ITF causing the party to have astronomical power numbers and damage dealing abilities.
Suggestion 5 is a broken glitch. This is a glitch so that the GF can enter GODMODE. I specifically did not include HOW to do this in the post. Having the developers look over how guard interacts with damage taken is needed.
Suggestion 6 also is not a nerf. Steel blitz should only proc for the GF on GF-initiated attacks, as it says. As posted elsewhere, by other GFs, steel blitz should be fixed...not nerfed. I run steel blitz to do extra damage for me based on my attacks.
Suggestions 7-9 deal with the relianced upon ITF as the only encounter anyone expects from the GF. As difficult as it is to imagine, before the ITF rework, GFs still had a role in parties for PvE and PvP, but their role had to be earned through power creep. Therefore, I ask for a middle ground between the old ITF and the current ITF. Do I ask for ITF to be nerfed. Yes, from 100% of an uncapped DR to a 60% of a capped DR (at 80%). If a player wants to give more buff, then put more into defense. Also, if you compare my capstone suggestions, you will see that none of them are wholly nerfs. I ask for an increase in both damage and crit for the conqueror capstone (50% dmg and 15% crit boosts vs the current 25% and 10%). But, such a dps choice should come with a penalty. -20% DR at max stacks. The protector line is not nerfed, but increased, both in damage mitigation and in aggro. The Tactician line is changed from a poorly misunderstood capstone of AP gain to...more buff...with wider range. Perhaps the Tactician capstone could also add a % heal?? 10% of GF hit points as an instantaneous party only heal (ranged at 40'), on activation of a daily power. So, the player who wants to buff/heal more without...perhaps...hiding behind a shield or sinking large amounts into DR can do so...with Tactician.
Of these suggestions, my own current build would be hit, as I play a 4k+ SwordMaster Conqueror GF. If I want to remain a conqueror and run dps, I can. I just will not be able or expected to tank and buff the party as well as say a Tactician or a Protector. Other classes, like an OP, or other builds, like a GF Protector, could step in for a tank role.
***
I did not bring up the way guard is currently done with GF, because, the old shield, based on damage, was worse. For all those PvPers who do not remember, the GF would run to point, and hold up guard....the whole time. Until you could whack away at it through all the mitigation to have guard go away. So, no...the time based shield is better. It took some getting used to, but it is better, both in PvP and PvE. Other classes that engage a GF in PvP should understand how to attack a GF in guard. If you do a frontal assault with a GF in guard, then the GF can easily remain in guard indefinitely by having class powers in stamina gain and on artifact equipment with At Wills that boosts stamina gain. But, this is the point...don't do frontal assaults on the GF. Pull us away, make us hold guard without attacking, or make us move. Use control to pinpoint on us or slow us, then counter attack from the side or behind. Take your foot off the gas and kite us, or distract us, and let another player come in for the kill.
***
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
The recommendations appear to ask for the GF Conqueror to do more dps. But, this is connected with a desire for the game to get rid of power creep. If there is no change to the current game, either in tiered content, or reworked formulas, or fixing anything, then none of my 'boosts or nerfs' should be followed. I am not asking to nerf the GF as 'the problem class.' I want options to play as I like, as tank or buffer or dps with the GF, and where the party needs all of those roles filled by other players, who are playing as they like, to complete (not burn a dungeon down in 5 minutes) in a party (not solo).
If all the players only want to dps, and this is how the game will be designed, then yes, the game will be infinitely boring, without challenge and sterile and unbalanced in PvP as well.
Catch me in game. Inspect me and see...I am no phony, nor do I have a hidden agenda. I am bored. The game is not challenging. I want a challenge. I want the devs to make a challenge for us. I want the feeling I had when I slogged my way through eDV for the first time. There is this huge sigh of relief. But there must be rewards. Anyway, thanks mate!
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
- would give %DR as damage depending on the buffed person + smaller/constant base from GF (20-30% of the GF, and 70-60% of the buffed player)
- lowered %DR given as dmg and a secondary buff depending on the path (capstone), DR/deflect/Temp HP buff for Protector, Crit/arpen buff for Conqueror, Power/Recovery for tactician.
(a secondary dr buff should be dmg reduction to avoid problems giving infinite dmg with more than one GF)
- capping stats is a must, as its becoming ridiculous even without bonding and augments
Another argument would be that: If you max out your defense, then you start moving to offense stats or vice-versa. So everyone should have purely balanced stats then? Just have as much offense as defense? What was the point of adding dodge for glass cannons?
Capping is not a good idea here, and I highly doubt that Cryptic will ever do anything to discourage people from investing more into their characters. Nor will they ever limit the choices on which direction that progression is headed.
If they don't tone down overall DPS, then GFs need some better abilities to maintain aggro (especially if our DPS is reduced). Although if they nerf ITF enough, we can drop that and slot Iron Warrior instead.
Regarding things being easy, let's keep in mind that we are all running 2k il dungeons with 3-4.2K toons. I'd like to see some harder dungeons as opposed to nerfing all the classes so that 2K stuff is challenging again.
Don't mind the other suggestions - ITF is over the top at the moment and needs to be toned down & linking that to Tactician (the buffing tree) sounds like a good idea.
Regarding the Conq tree suggestions, that will still leave them with a shield that blocks 80% of incoming damage, not sure that will address the problems the PvPers have, I don't play PvP so can't comment with any authority
The old formulaic curves worked until Cryptic added artifacts, artifact gear, companions that give extra active bonuses, etc. Power creep made the old GS builds for all classes pointless. What we have in game is a level of difficulty aimed at the 2.5k level (in theory), with mob difficulty, length of expect time for dungeons and content, and rewards, all focused here. There are only two solutions that cryptic can make for those 3k and above: make a level of content more difficult and tiered, with better rewards, because honestly, running a 4k dungeon for a 3k AD salvage is pointless, OR slow power creep with curves that flatten when player's stats hit the 3k area, forcing them to start putting points in other stats. But, with Cryptic adding more and more items, even this will eventually be overcome, as is evidenced by mod 5. We seem to have a hint that such a dungeon is coming in mod 10. But really, ONE dungeon or instance is not enough. Change all content, if Cryptic decides on providing tiered content.
The Shield of the GF has long been a cunundrum in PvP and PvE, because damage levels are so different. The time-based build is better for both, because it does provide more of a consistency by both attacking and defending player. But, maybe the GF should have a different starting level for the shield, one that requires CHOICE to play.
Here is an idea: What if the Shield, time based as right now, started at a 40% damage mitigation? Class abilities like shield talent could be changed to not only increase length of time of shield, but also add damage mitigation to the shield, 10% per point, so that 4 points of Shield Talent would provide more time and 40% more damage mitigation (back up to its current level). This way, to get a better shield, you need to have the class ability slotted. Give better shield buffs on the Protector Line, like 10% less stamina used and another 10 degrees of protection on the sides. But, this would make the player who wants to run Conq as a dps and not be in guard and not tank, NOT take the shield. Or, in PvP, if they choose the shield talent, to increase damage mitigation and time, they will invariably do less damage, because a class ability that could help them is consumed. The problem with this is it may hurt the Tactician setup, those who like to buff. Additionally, the Shield in PvE on those huge hits is necessary, but then, that is why a tank setup would still be needed. As a Tactician (above), I would basically be sacrificing any additional dps that I could provide to give the extra damage to the party, while having a workable shield with shield talent slotted + 1 other class ability (shield warrior's wrath or steel defense or enhanced mark). Such a suggestion would help distinguish the Conq (dps type GF) and the Protector (the tank type GF), but I am unsure how a buffer GF would need to setup to be useable in parties. But, then, maybe a buffer GF would need to go along with a tank (like an OP or a protector GF)... In PvP, I would not know how a Tactician would function...maybe control based. Unsure...
Anyway, this is a big what IF and would need to be thoroughly tested by GF community before implementing...
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
Single target burst damage could use some adjustment for the sake of pvp, but that's about the only change that needs to happen. And that can be fixed by having powers that do slightly different things while flagged for pvp.
This is only a video game so the content is only going to be difficult until you learn the rotation anyway. And you will always have those freaks that seem to be able to do it all by themselves. That's just the nature of the game.
And your GWF buff thread that seems to have been removed was probably the funniest thing I have ever read on these forums.
This is all probably moot since it looks like the Dev's already have a list of the balancing changes and maybe now its just a wait and see what happens.
Hopefully its adjusting around the edges, as opposed to drastically changing mechanics etc. that significantly affect the balance of things (like the OP nerf). Just in case I'm levelling a GWF and I found it interesting that at least one of the at-wills and one of the dailies seems to be exactly the same as the GF - Weapon Master's Strike and Steel Defence. Yet one is supposed to be a tank, and the other is pretty much top DPS . . . . . interesting.
Ps I also had a laugh at the GWF buff thread
I know right. I mean, come on, reducing the shield effectiveness by half (h-a-l-f)??? Like, is the op actually serious or just trolling? Seriously, taking x2 damage from Orcus would get the guardian fighter crushed like an insect in not time.
Did he consider that maybe, maybe not all of us gfs do use steel defense? Taking x2 damage from Orcus would prove to be a terrible idea. Does he even know that some times Orcus glitches and his attacks can be far more powerful?? Like, in normal condtion, Orcus' attacks can take like 16% - 22% of my health but when he glitches (and no, I don't count Orcus taking from the rift as a "glitch") and me being the only one in front of him, he can take between 30% to a good 72% of my hitpoints in a single hit, at least that's the case on xb1, not sure on pc. Anyway, as I said, Orcus can deal extreme damage to my non-steel defense guardian when he'a glitching, now, can you imagine if my shield worked as the op wants it to???? When glitching, Orcus would 1 shot me through my shield no problem and when "normal", he would be taking around 1/3 - 49,9% of my health per normal hit 0.0 Now, when taking power from the rift... oh gosh, I guess 1 hit would drop me from 100% hitpoints to around 1k hitpoints or outright instakillme.
My dr is 66.8%, in case you wonder. I do fine against Orcus but if he glitches/takes power from the rift and the healer is gone (or we don't have at all) I'm toasted.
And wait, a gwf buff thread? Is there any way I can see it or is it gone already as you think it does? Man the savagely nerfed shield gave me a good laugh even though it was also baffling... I really want to see that gwf buff thread, do you remember the proposed chances? Let me guess, self buffs being x4 times better and sure strike's base damage x20 times higher? 0.0
I am not trolling on this thread. My first desire, is to have challenging content above the targeted TIL of the game, which seems to be around 2.5k...for all classes, not just the GF. Some things are recommendations. Others are...what ifs...I have no idea...like the INITIAL shield reductions. My 'what if' on the shield is to have its base Damage Mitigation start lower and require feat points/class points/hell..maybe even attribute points..or a new category Stamina Severity (mo money mo money mo money) to make it more effective, not just in length of shield, but also mitigation. This way, GFs who want to be pure dps with a little buff and a little tanking, might be able to do it. The 'what if' is not in my original post, because, it is one of those...holy HAMSTER a lot would need to be thought out and tested ...suggestions. But my original post is about making the game challenging for classes above 3k while also not targetting core powers for nerf across the board on the GF (which is what is suggested on other threads). GF paths can be more distinguished by choices, but still available (to a lesser degree). Is there a way to 'balance the GF' in the shield for all paths or not? I don't know. No one does. It hasn't been done in game since the beginning. Biggest shield change was going from damage-based shield to time-based. So, hell if I know?? Its like the idea I have to remove that bogus 2-5min cooldown on self-healing class power for Iron Vanguard, and put in something useable, something that competes with Steel Defense, in a serious way. Here is an Iron Vanguard 'what if.' What if there was a class power that limited damage to a maximum % of the GF's hit points. It would be one of those...oh HAMSTER, I think I just made a mistake powers, that lower level TILs might take, but higher levels might not use in PvE, and who knows what it would do in PvP. It could be something like Limits One Time hits to not do damage greater than 75/60/45/30% of the GF's maximum hp, cooldown of 20sec, and then the IV protector path have 5 points to reduce the cooldown time..18/16/14/12/10sec. What if...man...what if??
I never troll on suggestions on the GF. I love the class too much. PM me in game, if you want to chat up more stuff. I usually just hang around doing a bunch of nothing anyway.
BTW, I am so bored, I respecced to Protector, because why not. I need a challenge.
Guild--And the Imaginary Friends
There's been alot of lobbying on the boards lately, arguing for buffs and nerfs.
99% of GFs are not and will never be the DPS monsters being described on this forum as detrimental and common-place and yata yata.
No one stops to think that the majority of players of this game are given almost no representation or voice on this forum with 3.5/4.5k IL players bickering about temp hitpoints and bonding stones. For alot of players, this game is still hard. Shocking to think it right. Till you play with players outside your cliquey club-house of 4k GWFs and trans vorps and R12s. The gear-gap is massive and real.
People argue for what they perceive to be fair, and it's totally human-nature to put our own interests first, before all else.
So who's to hate the devs for ignoring the player's requests for nerfs and buffs, who are really just playing the arm-chair quarterback at someone else's job. My point is biased opinions are just that, biased opinions. The game's dev have the data & metrics to judge the situation. Doesn't mean they'll do the right thing with them, but it does mean they'll do what's right for the game instead of what's best for their most favorite class or some personal reason. Players are too emotional about this. Bottom line.
And ITF nerf requests... OMFG. Everyone knows it's gonna get the nerf hammer like the bubble. How many more times we need to go over it?
Strum already said the plan is laid out and he's seen it personally.
I've ran several pugs this week where I stopped using Into the Fray and.. very predictability, average-geared GWFs smashing everything in sight and left the rest of the party a mile back picking up gear.
I think there are many bigger issues with this game's mechanics and the GF has made a very convenient and Goldstien-isque scapegoat to make 938 threads about. So we'll see...
I think the same thing every time I see GWFs open threads complaining about temp-hitpoints, prones, or just generally complaining.
No hidden tricks like a TR.
No insane DoTs like a HR.
No CCs like a CW and still put out damage like a beast.
Can't beat a buffed SW in terms of damage.
Not a buffbot like a DC.
Always let your team die when frontline got breached: The Class.
Only one viable feat path with little to no flexibility.
Insanely popular with a big cane to whack players, mobs and bosses alike until people find out they're absolute garbage without damage with the right build.
Practically stay rooted to deal damage in melee.
Self-peel doesn't exist until you have Drowned Set or Barbarian's Revelry with 100% crit.
Gets salty when 2k CW or HR ran ahead of the tank and still doing well and you can't do like those two classes did or find yourself half-dead.
Other classes are better damage dealers than GWF and done a better job than GWF does.
One and only role being taken away by other classes.
Some GWFs are complaining because they can't withstand the amount of salt they get for free every single day. Others just have to ingest it and stay as dead as possible, hoping that one day, they find their salvation at the end of the road they have chosen.
When the smoke clears and the vocal GWF lobby gets the SW,GF, and DC nerfed to death. The GWF will be back on top again, not like it ever detoured far from it in the first place. It's not about balance, it's ultra-obvious when someone is fighting for class supremacy.
I agree, the GWF really only has 1 build/role, but that one build is nothing short of amazing!! It will be very obvious how amazing it is when the nerf-hammer comes through and cleans up the creep and bugs and the GWF remains unscathed.
What the real arguments should be, if balance was the true priority, is making the SW a DPS contender without the exploits/bugs. It's nerf first, ask questions later, exposing true intentions.