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AoE Balancing

omnius#0640 omnius Posts: 204 Arc User
imho this recent direction needs to be reexamined starting with -

1. Brimstone. I think this should be re-examined, namely the CD that was very unpopular. Are you aware that there are more framework PBAoE's that we can spam the heck out of that did more dps than Brimstone even before the CD was implemented, than not? Even if I were to combine 3 AoE's ie. Eruption+Arc of Ruin+Brimstone, that's still slower dps and more work than many many other solitary PbAoE's. Which brings me to -
2. Epidemic's raised energy costs. Now the same thing I described above has happened to Epidemic, but in terms of energy cost instead of dps being worse. Again as above, we can clear maps faster and easier with numerous other PBAoE's in the game.

Which leads me to fear that you're going to go in this direction for all of them which imo is a direction that should've been a non-starter in the first place. These powers were not adversely affecting content clearing by making it too easy in anyway that I can see with one exception - a very small fraction of the community of highly geared and skilled players that are in no way representative of the general server population, and should not be used as a benchmark for adjustments.

Where I see this direction really having the most negative impact is on ranged dps. There's a trend that's been around since the dawn of MMO's that 'melee gets more damage than ranged because melee is more risk'. That's a myth in almost every MMO now. Most indoor maps are close quarter and in either case, this supposed advantage lasts about 1 second before the melee mobs close the distance to you and zero for the ranged mobs. In other words it's trivial. In the case of bosses, where it actually matters at all, there is no reduced risk for being ranged in most cases.

As in most mmo's I have experience with, the trend to adjust well performing but not overpowered abilities downwards (AKA nerfs) rather than adjusting power frameworks that are under powered upwards usually isn't the ideal solution
Unholy Consult | Pantheon | Lazarus Frost | Sword Saint | Gammatron | Blackguard | Imperator | Sardaukar | Risen Osiris

Comments

  • spookyspectrespookyspectre Posts: 632 Arc User
    imho this recent direction needs to be reexamined starting with -

    Where I see this direction really having the most negative impact is on ranged dps. There's a trend that's been around since the dawn of MMO's that 'melee gets more damage than ranged because melee is more risk'. That's a myth in almost every MMO now. Most indoor maps are close quarter and in either case, this supposed advantage lasts about 1 second before the melee mobs close the distance to you and zero for the ranged mobs. In other words it's trivial. In the case of bosses, where it actually matters at all, there is no reduced risk for being ranged in most cases.

    Being at range affects aggro, so Ranged DPS doing the same amount of damage should get less aggro than Melee DPS. Ranged also has a much easier time by not having to move and reposition as much as Melee. Melee DPS also needs to deal with ranged enemies including flyers. Finally, if enemy damage is following the same rule of thumb, more damage for melee attacks vs ranged, then Melee DPS builds do have disadvantages vs Ranged DPS builds that can kite enemies. IMHO, I think higher damage for melee vs ranged is justified.
  • omnius#0640 omnius Posts: 204 Arc User
    I'm aware of all that, but it still doesn't change the decided massive dps adv melee has over range with negligible risk involved in endgame content. I know this to be true playing my meta melee and my meta ranged, and appearing for you to see when you're standing there waiting for a cosmic timer to restart and seeing my name either at or near the top.
    Unholy Consult | Pantheon | Lazarus Frost | Sword Saint | Gammatron | Blackguard | Imperator | Sardaukar | Risen Osiris
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