(POWER BALANCE) Claws

bluhman

Claws is in a good place, honestly. Others have said it's in desperate need of an overhaul. And in spite of what I just started this paragraph out with, I agree, because Claws is in way too good of a position right now. It's the fast-track to topping DPS against a single target. It's the easiest way to manage your energy. It's the easiest form to use to stack Focus. And most egregious, its powerset is so redundant that just a few set choices completely eclipse all the other potential depth the set has. Simply put, this set is undistilled, pure DEX-melee cheese in powerset form. It's imbalanced in its power, and achieves its results with very few steps required from the user. The set does have some minor issues with AoE combat, but in all reality it isn't much worse-off on this front than most other sets, such as Bestial or Might.

Simply put, Claws needs to be brought into line with its brother MA sets - it must have results that are more in line with what the other MA sets (especially unarmed, due to its recency) can put out, and with proportion to how much work that needs to be put in. With that, each component of the set needs to be given newfound purpose, to aid in that setup, or otherwise work with those top-tier options to come together into a coherent, balanced close-quarters combat package.

Main Goals:
Fighting Claws as DPS - Precision Strike
The current portrait that claws paints as a set is one of immense, single-target damage. It shouldn't shift from that position, and honestly, it works as a nice mirror to the simplistic, critical-heavy nature that the AoE-focused Dual-Blades constructs for itself. Claws can work towards a similar paradigm in turn, building and focusing upon synergies that bolster that crit chance and build a powerful melee set that's all about maintaining pressure with impactful stabs. It would stand as an inbetween to the dual-blades, and its maintained, rapid-fire slashes, and single-blade and its slow and deliberate build-up to a massive rupture.

• Superstat Focuses: DEX, REC
• Primary Defense Debuff: Shredded
• Other Debuff: Cleavage. This debuff has no direct effect, but does count as a wound for terms involving set mechanics. Cleavage's actual effect triggers when a target is defeated with a single-target attack, and causes the target to generate a 15 ft. PBAoE of slashing damage to nearby targets. This gives the normally single-target-attack focused set an incentive to quickly mow through enemies, as it will provide powerful group-damage in the long run as they continue.
• Self-Buff: Furious. Utilized by Munitions and Bestial currently (and in the future hopefully some other sets) Furious is a nice, effective bonus that provides the much-desired critical chance that MA's crave, as well as some minute survivability with a reactive heal. It'd fit in great with this set and give the set some interplay between itself and the somewhat similar nature of bestial utilities.
• Self-Buff: Focus Strike. For your next melee attack, Focus Strike will halve the charge time taken to prepare the attack. This buff counts as a Chi effect.

Fighitng Claws as Tank - Deadly Duelist
As a tank, it'd make the most sense for a claw-user to use that deadly focus to force a specific (very big) enemy to fight singly against them. The method of tanking this kind of character could take might even emphasize specific debuffs that could make enemies particularly non-issues for other party members...

• Superstat Focuses: CON, DEX
• Debuff: Assailed. Enemies under this effect deal 10% (base) less total damage, alongside an extra 5% (base) less AoE damage with all attacks. The amount of reduction this effect generates scales with the CON stat. The methods of applying this debuff require the target to often be under the effect of Challenge.

Rebalances of Existing Powers
Hawk's Talons

• Peerless Predation advantage now gives Viper's Fangs a chance to apply Shred on each hit.

Viper's Fangs

• No longer applies shred by default. In its place, Viper's Fangs has a 20/20/40% chance to stack and refresh Furious. The chances of these occuring are doubled when under the effect of Focus.
• Advantage: The final hit will knock the primary target down and apply Open Wound. This effect only occurs once every 5 seconds.
• Advantage: The final hit applies Shred to the primary target.

Rend and Tear

• Applies and refreshes shred on the given target.
• Drake's Deliverance is altered so that it applies Chi Flame.
• Advantage: Subs out the Shred application for a Clinging Flames effect.
• Advantage: Subs out knockup effect for an application of Cleavage.

Dragon's Claws

• The Dragon Rush effect is appropriately moved to a 3-point advantage.
• Crit severity bonus lowered from 50% to 20%
• The crit severity bonus only occurs on Shredded targets.
• A full-charge applies Cleavage to the target.
• Vertebreak advantage is altered: it now knocks the target directly, and then also applies the Jinxed effect on a full charge.
• Advantage: If used on a target that is currently targeting you, you deal 10% extra damage and apply the Assail effect.
• Advantage: If Dragon's Claw criticals on a target while you have Furious, the extra severity is transformed into a burst heal that occurs in a 20 foot radius aorund you. 3 point cost. This effect counts as a Chi Effect.

Tiger's Bite

• Mouth of Madness advantage grants 3% bonus damage per stack of Furious.
• Advantage: Subs out the Shredded consume to rupture poison effects. The rupture deals massive bonus slashing damage. Grants Tiger's Bite a short cooldown akin to Reaper's Embrace.
• Advantage: Landing this attack on a target with Cleavage on them will place the effect on all targets around them within 15 feet.

New Powers
Falcon's Dive
Lunges at your foe, claws beared.

• Standard 60 ft. lunge.
• Stuns target on hit.
• Advantage: Places the Assailed debuff on the target.

Mantis Scythe
A rapid slash dealt to disrupt your foe.

• Stun move
• Adv: Trauma
• Advantage: If the target is currently targeting you and resists your hold, they are affected by Assail instead.

Wild Boar Tusks
With a forceful sweep, you gash foes in front of you for high damage.

• T1 aoe option
• Charged cone attack for moderate damage.
• Repels all targets hit.
• Hitting more than one target with Wild Boar Tusks grants you a stack of Furious.
• Advantage: Any targets under the effect of your Challenge are affected by Assail.

Slayer's Gash
An ability made for decisive finishing of a select target.

• T2 charge attack with a short, forced full-charge.
• Works similarly to Execution Shot, deals massive bonus damage on targets below 25% HP.
• The HP threshold is raised to 33% if the target is affected by a Wound.
• Applies Cleavage when used.
• Moderate recharge rate.
• Advantage: Landing a successful defeat using Gash will apply 3 stacks of Furious to you.
• Advantage: Using this attack refreshes the duration of Assail on the target.

Malicious Fingers
Strikes at your foe with a barrage of furious swipes.

• T2 maintain AoE that has a similar appearance to 100-hands. Cylinder hit area.
• Has a 10% chance per hit to shred.
• Full maintain refreshes your stacks of Furious.
• Advantage: Applies a growing shield as you maintain. 3 pt. cost.
• Advantage: On a full maintain, applies Cleavage to all targets.
• Advantage: While maintaining, Malicious Fingers has a 20% chance per hit to stack Negative Ions instead of shredding, while a full maintain will complete circuits to deal an extra burst of electrical damage.

Auger Claw
With a burst of strength, you drill a path of destruction through the battlefield.

• T3 charged lunge. Hits in a cylinder between your start point and your target.
• Enemies are knocked down and take slashing damage. The main target is stunned instead of knocked.
• All enemies hit are afflicted with Cleavage.
• Significant cooldown
• Advantage: Replaces the Cleavage application with Dependency.
• Advantage: If the final destination of the attack has 3 or more enemies in it, you gain the Aegis buff and your main target is affected by Assail. 3 pt. cost.

Dragon Assault (All MA?)
Using your focus, you gain the ability to strike at your foe with deadly agility.

• T3 click buff
• Applies the Focus Strike buff to yourself.
• Has a fairly extensive cooldown (30s?) Ranking up reduces the cooldown of this ability.
• Advantage: Restoration
• Advantage: Refreshes Furious stacks.
• Advantage: Consumes other chi effects on yourself, such as Bountiful Chi Resurgence and Lithe, to provide an increased damage boost to your next attack. 3 pt. cost.
• Advantage: Applies 3 stacks of Charged Up over the next 10 seconds.

Full-Moon Claw
Strikes with your claws with a swirling sweep, covering all flanks.

• T3 charged PBAoE melee.
• Deals high slashing damage.
• Advantage: Knocks down all targets.
• Advantage: Stacks furious when defeating enemies
• Advantage: Creates a fire patch upon full charge.

Zenith Fangs
The final word in one-on-one combat.

• Claws Ultimate
• Click activation, deals high slashing damage to one target and applies Overpower.
• Target is also interrupted and stunned. The interrupt can operate even on high-rank targets.
• Deals a second burst of damage if the target is under the effect of Shred. This burst is AoE.
• Long cooldown (longer than even AoE melee ults like Vorpal Blade)
• Advantage: Extreme threat generation over the next 10 seconds.
• Advantage: Target radiates slashing damage that applies Cleavage to enemies within 25 feet.

bluhman

Altered DC's sev bonus to be much lower. Upon reflecting on it the whole reason it's so powerful is that the sev bonus was implemented back in the days when 50% base severeity wasn't the baseline. As it stands now here's an attack that is absolutely not impacted by Diminishing Returns whatsoever, and so straight off the bat you can potentially be nailing targets with crits that do at least double damage. That is, in fact, a bit nuts.

Current feedback on this thread has been ever so slightly underwhelming.

mordray001

Huh, wasn't looking for this. Nice though.

To my noodish eyes it looks viable. I see nothing that is obviously a problem anymore then anything else in this game, but I'm by no means a power player. I build Concepts not Roles, so my feedback is a bit limited in that regard. Ah well, bump for making my day and giving me ideas for a concept.