micky1p00Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 3,594Arc User
Who the HAMSTER cares what it is named. Call it a meatball of doom, or fluffy suicidal unicorn.
Don't balance a paragon over some semantic notion of whatever. I know it will be news, but it's not really cold, or hot, or electricity, it is some lines of software code, that supposed to make entertainment fun.
Either both Paragons need Adequate AoE and ST, or swapping should be easy and free (as in freedom, not only cost) - or better yet, both.
This notion of balancing something because that sounds like ice or fire, or lightning or whatever will end up in tears for all of us who plays, and the only happy people will be those that only read tooltips and do not actually play the game.
2
darthpotaterMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,261Arc User
edited March 2019
In my opinion shard is allways a problematic spell, from flavour perspective and mechanical. In every mod shard is allways in the feedback threads and allways ends being unused and unchanged.
Maybe we dont have time, but replace shard (forever) with something like Chain Lightning could solve the problems we have now for arcanist and is an iconic Spell in DnD (And we have something similar already in the game). A versatile AoE and single target spell with lightning theme all in one:
The spell hits the first target and then chains 2 times to others (if any) doing less and less dmg up to 7 targets. Hits for double (or more) dmg if there is only 1 target.
1 target: Magnitude 2X (or 1,5 not making numbers right now)
Multiple targets target 1: Magnitude X target 2 and 3 (first arc): X/2 target 4-7 (second arc): X/4
Well is just an idea it could hit a third arc for 15 targets in total for X/8 but seems too much... or not
I agree that Lightning should have an adicional effect like suggested but I think that is already in the game like a ministun (interrupt) or something. Adding partial paralysis seems totally OP.
i noticed that using repel in my spell mastery make the magnitude go from 600 to 200 i feel like that s not intentional since the aoe dmg is 225?
1
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
So speaking of 4E spells,
Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
Oh fun, a semantics discussion
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
> @theycallmetomu said: > So speaking of 4E spells, > > Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice). > > You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context. > > Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative. > > There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball. > > Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky... > > Oh fun, a semantics discussion > > The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it. > > All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now. > > I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!) > > It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
> Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
>
> You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
>
> Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
>
> There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
>
> Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
>
> Oh fun, a semantics discussion
>
> The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
>
> All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
>
> I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
>
> It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
All I'm saying is, you're wrong on the factual question of whether the Shard was OBVIOUSLY referencing cold/snow, and you should excise that talking point from your argument.
I have found myself enjoying CW so far and I have been playing from 70 to 80 as an Arcanist; still haven't reached the last new zone though. I have used arcanist as "AoE", I think thaumaturge potential is good, but requires time; its long cooldowns are a probem for me, so arbiter plays very well as in single target an dealing with pack of mobs. I want to share my only concern with this build:
Repel! I can see future runs, where people complain to wizards for using repel, especially if they are rogue; barbarian, paladin, figther and daunting light arbiter user. So my suggestion is to get rid of "snap freeze" feat and replace it with something that boosts repel.
Repel no longer pushes the target but either: 1 Have its cooldown reduced by 3 secs. 2 Deal an additional 200-300 magnitud damage over combat advantage target. 3 Deal additional 1% damage per stack of arcane on you. 4 Deal 10% more damage against an enemy affected by ray of enfeeblement or imprisonment.
This way, the user will have a hard time trying to pick between assailing force or repel feat.
> @theycallmetomu said: > > @theycallmetomu said: > > > So speaking of 4E spells, > > > > > > Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice). > > > > > > You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context. > > > > > > Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative. > > > > > > There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball. > > > > > > Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky... > > > > > > Oh fun, a semantics discussion > > > > > > The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it. > > > > > > All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now. > > > > > > I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!) > > > > > > It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean. > > > > > > That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it. > > > > Wizards in this game use lots of ice. > > > > The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks. > > > > Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently. > > > > I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard. > > All I'm saying is, you're wrong on the factual question of whether the Shard was OBVIOUSLY referencing cold/snow, and you should excise that talking point from your argument.
You can’t possibly be serious right now.
The semantics discussion is fun and games until someone tries to clock you with a 4E handbook.
> > Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
>
> >
>
> > You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
>
> >
>
> > Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
>
> >
>
> > There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
>
> >
>
> > Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
>
> >
>
> > Oh fun, a semantics discussion
>
> >
>
> > The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
>
> >
>
> > All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
>
> >
>
> > I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
>
> >
>
> > It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
>
>
>
>
>
> That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
>
>
>
> Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
>
>
>
> The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
>
>
>
> Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
>
>
>
> I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
>
> All I'm saying is, you're wrong on the factual question of whether the Shard was OBVIOUSLY referencing cold/snow, and you should excise that talking point from your argument.
You can’t possibly be serious right now.
The semantics discussion is fun and games until someone tries to clock you with a 4E handbook.
You made a point that was wrong. If you really think it's so unimportant, just acknowledge it and move on. A "Oh, that's interesting. Anyway, given X Y and Z, here's why we should Q" type response is fine. Just don't include things that are wrong in your argument. It's pretty simple.
Like, it's fine to be wrong, and you don't even need to lose credibility over it or anything, but don't get indignant about defending wrongness.
> > Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
>
> >
>
> > You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
>
> >
>
> > Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
>
> >
>
> > There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
>
> >
>
> > Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
>
> >
>
> > Oh fun, a semantics discussion
>
> >
>
> > The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
>
> >
>
> > All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
>
> >
>
> > I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
>
> >
>
> > It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
>
>
>
>
>
> That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
>
>
>
> Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
>
>
>
> The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
>
>
>
> Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
>
>
>
> I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
>
> All I'm saying is, you're wrong on the factual question of whether the Shard was OBVIOUSLY referencing cold/snow, and you should excise that talking point from your argument.
You can’t possibly be serious right now.
The semantics discussion is fun and games until someone tries to clock you with a 4E handbook.
You made a point that was wrong. If you really think it's so unimportant, just acknowledge it and move on. A "Oh, that's interesting. Anyway, given X Y and Z, here's why we should Q" type response is fine. Just don't include things that are wrong in your argument. It's pretty simple.
Like, it's fine to be wrong, and you don't even need to lose credibility over it or anything, but don't get indignant about defending wrongness.
...you're telling people that you won't "tolerate" things and demanding reparations for an imaginary offense.
I'm not wrong about the concept of an "avalanche" or how the spell fits in to the context of Neverwinter. I never claimed to reference the 4E spell.
Why you are invested in trying to get me to admit fault over this I have no idea. If your goal was to position us as the two people arguing over whether or not Superman would beat up Shazam, you've succeeded.
We need to cry together to give us a normal functional alt-will AOE. And they fly in semantics heaven.
If we do not get it then after the nerf encounter and daily magnitude. You will cry that no one needs to be in the party, the barbarian is killed by alt-will AOE spam, with great damage - upped in next patch, and also big axes and hidden daggers.
1
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
Thank you.
I mean, if you meant to say SHOULD imply something to do with snow, rather than DOES imply something to do with snow, that's a much more understandable position!
Anyway, putting all that aside, as I said earlier, Sphere of Ultimate Destruction/Sphere of Annihilation works much better for an Arcane style wizard anyway. Sort of an AOE Disintegrate type effect. Maybe remove the explosion and prone effect, keep the sphere around and make it controllable somehow.
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
Thank you.
I mean, if you meant to say SHOULD imply something to do with snow, rather than DOES imply something to do with snow, that's a much more understandable position!
The qualifier "in this context" and the verb "implies" alone should be sufficient. You are the one who (vigorously) introduced the 4E context and started a side argument out of nowhere in response to my very clear reference in the context of the game of Neverwinter.
As amusing as I'm sure this is for everyone else talking about class balance, I'm done with the sidebar.
I think that changes in numbers on a skill is the best we will get with the number of bugs they are fixing and the stat overhaul. They can throw in pre-existing code.. like animation effects and such. I am nearly certain they will not design new mechanics that are gonna require new animations, unless it was the only skill the paragon needed tweaked. We have a pile of needs still, and Arcanist AoE is one of them. Just my 2 cents.... umm 1 cent?
1
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
Thank you.
I mean, if you meant to say SHOULD imply something to do with snow, rather than DOES imply something to do with snow, that's a much more understandable position!
The qualifier "in this context" and the verb "implies" alone should be sufficient. You are the one who (vigorously) introduced the 4E context and started a side argument out of nowhere in response to my very clear reference in the context of the game of Neverwinter.
As amusing as I'm sure this is for everyone else talking about class balance, I'm done with the sidebar.
Just to be clear, when Neverwinter first launched-and when Shard was first introduced-4th edition D&D was the active edition, and most of the power names come from it. Ergo, the naming context for powers was the context used in the 4th edition D&D system.
That being said, that's a context that the game is moving away from. If anything, Shard should be replaced with something else entirely,to something with greater brand identity. Of course, creating a new power uses up development bandwidth, and given that we JUST got a Fireball, that seems unlikely at this point.
In retrospect, if it weren't for the fact that Thaumaturge has more than enough fire powers already, Flaming Sphere wouldn't be a bad candidate: just reskin the sphere and it's pretty much good to go.
Im not a D&D guru. Haven't picked up a book since 2nd Edition. Do they still have Otiluke's Freezing Sphere?
edit: found it. Sounds a lot like Shard
Freezing Sphere A frigid globe of cold energy streaks from your fingertips to a point of your choice within range, where it explodes in a 60-foot-radius Sphere. Each creature within the area takes 10d6 damage, half on save vs Constitution.
You can refrain from firing the globe after completing the spell, if you wish. A small globe about the size of a sling stone, cool to the touch, appears in your hand. At any time, you or a creature you give the globe to can throw the globe or hurl it with a sling. You can also set the globe down without shattering it. After 1 minute, if the globe hasn't already shattered, it explodes.
1
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
Im not a D&D guru. Haven't picked up a book since 2nd Edition. Do they still have Otiluke's Freezing Sphere?
6th level spell, yeah. The gimmick is that it can be passed off to someone else by casting it ahead of time. Useful if you wanna give the globe it creates to another ally ahead of time I guess, but otherwise, it's just not that great of a spell: better off casting Cone of Cold or Fireball.
EEEEErm... I understand that toning damage on encounters, dailies and at-wills goes well with 30% hp reduction. And i probably should write it in topic of Stats not here... But the conclusion is ... You cut daily magnitude for nearly half, you cut encounters magnitude for around 100 each, and you gave an astonishing 10 magnitude to all AoE at-wills ... 10 magnitude... 10 ! Fantastic trade :D. I literaly dont know what to think Also as i saw there are no patch notes and as i know (/checked) there was done nothing with class balancing. Oooooooooh wait a minute !!!!!! Storm Pillar was renamed to Lightning bolt Is there any chance there will be some changes to Arcanist Snap Freeze and Frigid Winds ?? @noworries#8859 any answer ?? You havent informed us for a long time with anything in this thread
giglle ...Lightning Bolt... giglle
1
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
EEEEErm... I understand that toning damage on encounters, dailies and at-wills goes well with 30% hp reduction. And i probably should write it in topic of Stats not here... But the conclusion is ... You cut daily magnitude for nearly half, you cut encounters magnitude for around 100 each, and you gave an astonishing 10 magnitude to all AoE at-wills ... 10 magnitude... 10 ! Fantastic trade :D. I literaly dont know what to think Also as i saw there are no patch notes and as i know (/checked) there was done nothing with class balancing. Oooooooooh wait a minute !!!!!! Storm Pillar was renamed to Lightning bolt Is there any chance there will be some changes to Arcanist Snap Freeze and Frigid Winds ?? @noworries#8859 any answer ?? You havent informed us for a long time with anything in this thread
giglle ...Lightning Bolt... giglle
Ewww, they renamed Storm Pillar instead of Sudden Storm? Big mistake. Class ruined, never going to play CW ever again.
Well I got my Wiz (19k iL) through the last of Vanrakdoom tonight and if anything, once stats were adjusted, tonight’s play felt a little easier than last time I played her (Thursday or Friday).
Gut reaction says the changes are bad. Post play and during play days no change or things have improved slightly, at least for my Thaumaturge.
Obsidian Moonlight - Paladin Obsidian Oath - Warlock A whole lot of other Obsidian toons as well.
2
kieranmtornMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 382Arc User
Anybody got any suggestions for a decent ranged AoE Encounter for an Arcanist? The ones to chose form mostly just are either buggy, slow to cast (aim, activate), short ranged, unreliable or pointless....
By contrast, lots of decent choices for Point Blank AoE
I don't know whether it was posted earlier so sorry if it is a repeated bug report. <font color=red>Icy Terrain: Root effect doesn't get x2.5 duration bonus against mobs (or is that intentional?)</font></font>
<font color=cyan> I also have several suggestions that should make both PPs more thematic, balanced between each other and provide them with bigger variety of options of dealing ST/AOE damage to choose from. Some of the suggestions made earlier are included as well. I'll split them into three categories so that they are more convenient to read.
1) Power Placement * Swap Entangling Force (in Shared Powers) with Steal Time (Arcanist Powers). This will let both PPs take a combo of Icy Terrain and Steal Time to get more AoE Crowd Control losing some AoE damage if wished (currently this combo is available only for Arcanists). Also, in unique powers list, both PPs will have access to only 2 thematical ST Crowd Controls (Entangling Force/Imprisonment for Arcanist, Icy Rays/Chill Strike for Thaumaturge), so 2 PPs will get closer to being balanced in terms of accessible CC (currently, Arcanist can take 2 ST CC Powers and Thaumaturge can take 3 ST CC Powers)
2) Power Changes 2.1 Shared * Return the old Spell Mastery effect of Entangling Force (pulls surrounding enemies to the target and generates AM stacks for each target affected). This effect would still be very useful for AoE situations, especially for Arcanists, who could pull mobs together and effectively smash them all with Sudden Storm/Shard of the Endless Avalanche, but would lose 1 AoE Encounter slot for such a possibility. 2.2 Arcanist * Make Arcane Bolt an Arcane-Mastery generator that does less ST damage per second than Arcane Missiles, but gives Arcane Mastery on each hit. This will give Arcanists a tool to quickly generate their mechanic, similar to Ray of Frost for Chill generation, which will be especially useful for those who will take A Step Over Mastery feat. They also already have Arcane Missiles for ST damage, so there shouldn't be an issues with it. * Make Disintegrate Spell Mastery version an AoE hit around the target (target is hit as well) with reduced magnitude. This will provide more options for AoE Damage Encounters to choose from for Arcanists and will give them a convenient AoE tool that was asked in previous posts - max range, fast cast, with small cooldown, without AoE targeting, but also with lower magnitude than other AoEs to compensate, pretty much Arcanist's equivalent of Chill Strike. * Increase width of Sudden Storm area to 8-10 feet (and remove a small amount of magnitude if needed for balance). As it was pointed by many people in previous posts, currently Sudden Storm is quite hard to target effectively, so slight increase in its width would be a nice solution. Moreover, being a short-range ability, it shouldn't become an outlier between AoE Encounters for Thaumaturge even with this change. * Make Sudden Storm Spell Mastery version a max range ST hit of currently targeted enemy with greatly increased magnitude. This will provide additional alternative option for ST Damage for Arcanist, will give them the missing Lightning ST Encounter and also will provide the Lightning Bolt spell for people who asked for it in previous posts without necessity to add new spells or completely change mechanic of other spells. * Increase radius of Maelstrom of Chaos to 15-20 feet, but remove its knockdown component. This will make the spell much more viable as a "Cheap AoE Damage Daily" as the current radius is definitely too small. This will also keep Arcane Singularity/Oppressive Force viable for Arcanist AoE Dailies as well as even while being more expensive, they would still have much bigger radius and a Crowd Control component attached to them. This change would pretty much make Maelstrom of Chaos Arcanist's analogue of Fireball with bigger power and without a cooldown, but with AP cost. * Increase the Spell Mastery bonus for Arcane powers from Imprisonment to 30+%. Currently, it's Spell Mastery is worse than Spell Mastery from Ray Of Enfeeblement (both provide additional 10% bonus, but RoE Mastery increases all magical/projectile damage while Imprisonment - only Arcane, duration of RoE bonus is 10 seconds, while duration of Imprisonment bonus is 6), so Imprisonment's Spell Mastery should provide bigger bonus to compensate these downsides.
2.3 Thaumaturge Most changes here refer to ST Encounters as Thaumaturge already has plenty of options to deal AoE Damage, but lacks options to deal ST Damage compared to Arcanist. * Make Fan The Flames Spell Mastery version a ST Power that loses the additional effect, but deals much bigger damage over time to the main target. This will give an additional alternative option for ST damage for Thaumaturge and add in game the missing Fire ST Encounter Power. * Make Conduit of Ice Spell Mastery version a ST Power that no longer hits surrounding enemies, but deals much more damage to the main target. This will give one more ST option for Thaumaturge and add a Cold ST Damage over Time Encounter. </font>
* Make Sudden Storm Spell Mastery version a max range ST hit of currently targeted enemy with greatly increased magnitude. This will provide additional alternative option for ST Damage for Arcanist, will give them the missing Lightning ST Encounter and also will provide the Lightning Bolt spell for people who asked for it in previous posts without necessity to add new spells or completely change mechanic of other spells.
EEEErmmm... it is impossible to do mate ... we have the Lightning Bolt... giglle... (check the name of "old" Storm Pillar) We cant have 2 Lightning bolts... giggle... or can we ?? :D:D:D:D
* Increase radius of Maelstrom of Chaos to 15-20 feet, but remove its knockdown component.
This will make the spell much more viable as a "Cheap AoE Damage Daily" as the current radius is definitely too small. This will also keep Arcane Singularity/Oppressive Force viable for Arcanist AoE Dailies as well as even while being more expensive, they would still have much bigger radius and a Crowd Control component attached to them. This change would pretty much make Maelstrom of Chaos Arcanist's analogue of Fireball with bigger power and without a cooldown, but with AP cost.
I love this idea. I was begin for somethin similar since the beggining of the preview showed.
* Increase the Spell Mastery bonus for Arcane powers from Imprisonment to 30+%. Currently, it's Spell Mastery is worse than Spell Mastery from Ray Of Enfeeblement (both provide additional 10% bonus, but RoE Mastery increases all magical/projectile damage while Imprisonment - only Arcane, duration of RoE bonus is 10 seconds, while duration of Imprisonment bonus is 6), so Imprisonment's Spell Mastery should provide bigger bonus to compensate these downsides.
Totaly agree. Altho all changes to Imprissonment, in current state i would still use Ray of Enfeeblement on mastery on single target. Nothin better for me to chose to be honest.
Comments
Don't balance a paragon over some semantic notion of whatever. I know it will be news, but it's not really cold, or hot, or electricity, it is some lines of software code, that supposed to make entertainment fun.
Either both Paragons need Adequate AoE and ST, or swapping should be easy and free (as in freedom, not only cost) - or better yet, both.
This notion of balancing something because that sounds like ice or fire, or lightning or whatever will end up in tears for all of us who plays, and the only happy people will be those that only read tooltips and do not actually play the game.
Maybe we dont have time, but replace shard (forever) with something like Chain Lightning could solve the problems we have now for arcanist and is an iconic Spell in DnD (And we have something similar already in the game). A versatile AoE and single target spell with lightning theme all in one:
The spell hits the first target and then chains 2 times to others (if any) doing less and less dmg up to 7 targets. Hits for double (or more) dmg if there is only 1 target.
1 target: Magnitude 2X (or 1,5 not making numbers right now)
Multiple targets
target 1: Magnitude X
target 2 and 3 (first arc): X/2
target 4-7 (second arc): X/4
Well is just an idea it could hit a third arc for 15 targets in total for X/8 but seems too much... or not
I agree that Lightning should have an adicional effect like suggested but I think that is already in the game like a ministun (interrupt) or something. Adding partial paralysis seems totally OP.
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Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice). I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
> So speaking of 4E spells,
>
> Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
>
> You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
>
> Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
>
> There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
>
> Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
>
> Oh fun, a semantics discussion
>
> The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
>
> All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
>
> I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
>
> It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
Contagion - Cleric
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NIGHTSWATCH
I have used arcanist as "AoE", I think thaumaturge potential is good, but requires time; its long cooldowns are a probem for me, so arbiter plays very well as in single target an dealing with pack of mobs. I want to share my only concern with this build:
Repel!
I can see future runs, where people complain to wizards for using repel, especially if they are rogue; barbarian, paladin, figther and daunting light arbiter user. So my suggestion is to get rid of "snap freeze" feat and replace it with something that boosts repel.
Repel no longer pushes the target but either:
1 Have its cooldown reduced by 3 secs.
2 Deal an additional 200-300 magnitud damage over combat advantage target.
3 Deal additional 1% damage per stack of arcane on you.
4 Deal 10% more damage against an enemy affected by ray of enfeeblement or imprisonment.
This way, the user will have a hard time trying to pick between assailing force or repel feat.
> > @theycallmetomu said:
>
> > So speaking of 4E spells,
>
> >
>
> > Does anyone else wonder if Chill Strike shouldn't be renamed Ice Tomb? Chill Strike is basically the 4E answer to Chill Touch, but the NWO version is kind of closer to Ice Tomb (a single target "entomb" effect-eg the target is incased in ice).
>
> >
>
> > You are just making the "problem" that you are trying to solve worse. Thaum has enough AoE, Arcanist does not. Thaum needs Single Target, EF fulfills that spot. Shard is in no way a cold spell. The word "Avalanche" does not only mean snow rolling off down a mountain, it also means, "a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities." This is the context it is meant in here and its blatantly obvious, as it isn't even a cold spell. Make shard better, don't make problems for thaum. Especially not because you don't understand the definition of the word avalanche used in this context.
>
> >
>
> > Eh, I'd disagree with the naming thing, the name is non-indicative.
>
> >
>
> > There is a shard, but there doesn't seem to be any "endless" or "overwhelming quantities" of the bowling ball.
>
> >
>
> > Unless the plan is to rework the power to allow us to summon a storm of bowling balls raining from the sky...
>
> >
>
> > Oh fun, a semantics discussion
>
> >
>
> > The shard itself isn't endless; it's splintered off of the "endless avalanche," whatever the hamster that is supposed to be. Also, avalanche in this context definitely implies something to do with snow/ice/mountains since cold magic is a core function of Wizard. It is slightly odd that this power has nothing to do with anything cold, but I honestly never once considered this before now since I haven't really touched it in about 4 years and tend to forget that it exists except when I feel like complaining about it.
>
> >
>
> > All of this aside, the fact is that the power is lame and underperforming, but could be fun and useful with some major tweaks. Whatever we want to call it or change it to, Arcanist should be able to use it as an AoE power, and it's not at all good at what it does right now.
>
> >
>
> > I can assure you with 100% certainty that "Shard of the Endless Avalanche" was not designed with cold in mind. Why? Because the spell is a 4th edition power, taken from page 110 of Arcane Power. It is a level 17 encounter spell, with the description "You conjure a massive boulder from the Elemental Chaos that smashes your enemies' ranks, then shatters and dissipates." The spell deals untyped damage (which is typically reserved for weapon attacks). You summon the sphere within 20 (100 feet), move it up to 5 (25 feet), and when the boulder enters a space, it makes an attack that slides the target (doesn't even knock them prone!)
>
> >
>
> > It's an earth spell, not a cold spell. It was a poor choice for addition into the Wizard's repertoire in my opinion, but I will not tolerate people boldly saying they know what the spell ACTUALLY is supposed to mean.
>
>
>
>
>
> That’s interesting and all, but I think we’ve well established that Neverwinter does not religiously follow tabletop mechanics, nor can it.
>
>
>
> Wizards in this game use lots of ice.
>
>
>
> The vast majority of players can be assumed not to be intimately familiar with any of the tabletop handbooks.
>
>
>
> Earth damage isn’t a thing for any class, currently.
>
>
>
> I’d ask rhetorically why we’re still discussing this, but I’m in favor of any discussion that draws attention to a possible fix for Shard.
>
> All I'm saying is, you're wrong on the factual question of whether the Shard was OBVIOUSLY referencing cold/snow, and you should excise that talking point from your argument.
You can’t possibly be serious right now.
The semantics discussion is fun and games until someone tries to clock you with a 4E handbook.
Contagion - Cleric
Testament - Wizard
Pestilence - Ranger
Dominion - Paladin
NIGHTSWATCH
(Yes, I'm aware of the irony of me asking that)
TR is screwed, I would like to at least be able to play Wizard next mod (if I'll stay), so lets not ruin a class over some irrelevant HAMSTER.
Like, it's fine to be wrong, and you don't even need to lose credibility over it or anything, but don't get indignant about defending wrongness.
I'm not wrong about the concept of an "avalanche" or how the spell fits in to the context of Neverwinter. I never claimed to reference the 4E spell.
Why you are invested in trying to get me to admit fault over this I have no idea. If your goal was to position us as the two people arguing over whether or not Superman would beat up Shazam, you've succeeded.
Contagion - Cleric
Testament - Wizard
Pestilence - Ranger
Dominion - Paladin
NIGHTSWATCH
And they fly in semantics heaven.
If we do not get it then after the nerf encounter and daily magnitude.
You will cry that no one needs to be in the party, the barbarian is killed by alt-will AOE spam, with great damage - upped in next patch, and also big axes and hidden daggers.
Thank you.
Contagion - Cleric
Testament - Wizard
Pestilence - Ranger
Dominion - Paladin
NIGHTSWATCH
Anyway, putting all that aside, as I said earlier, Sphere of Ultimate Destruction/Sphere of Annihilation works much better for an Arcane style wizard anyway. Sort of an AOE Disintegrate type effect. Maybe remove the explosion and prone effect, keep the sphere around and make it controllable somehow.
As amusing as I'm sure this is for everyone else talking about class balance, I'm done with the sidebar.
Contagion - Cleric
Testament - Wizard
Pestilence - Ranger
Dominion - Paladin
NIGHTSWATCH
That being said, that's a context that the game is moving away from. If anything, Shard should be replaced with something else entirely,to something with greater brand identity. Of course, creating a new power uses up development bandwidth, and given that we JUST got a Fireball, that seems unlikely at this point.
In retrospect, if it weren't for the fact that Thaumaturge has more than enough fire powers already, Flaming Sphere wouldn't be a bad candidate: just reskin the sphere and it's pretty much good to go.
edit: found it. Sounds a lot like Shard
Freezing Sphere
A frigid globe of cold energy streaks from your fingertips to a point of your choice within range, where it explodes in a 60-foot-radius Sphere. Each creature within the area takes 10d6 damage, half on save vs Constitution.
You can refrain from firing the globe after completing the spell, if you wish. A small globe about the size of a sling stone, cool to the touch, appears in your hand. At any time, you or a creature you give the globe to can throw the globe or hurl it with a sling. You can also set the globe down without shattering it. After 1 minute, if the globe hasn't already shattered, it explodes.
You cut daily magnitude for nearly half, you cut encounters magnitude for around 100 each, and you gave an astonishing 10 magnitude to all AoE at-wills ... 10 magnitude... 10 ! Fantastic trade
I literaly dont know what to think
Also as i saw there are no patch notes and as i know (/checked) there was done nothing with class balancing. Oooooooooh wait a minute !!!!!! Storm Pillar was renamed to Lightning bolt
Is there any chance there will be some changes to Arcanist Snap Freeze and Frigid Winds ?? @noworries#8859 any answer ??
You havent informed us for a long time with anything in this thread
giglle ...Lightning Bolt... giglle
Gut reaction says the changes are bad.
Post play and during play days no change or things have improved slightly, at least for my Thaumaturge.
Obsidian Oath - Warlock
A whole lot of other Obsidian toons as well.
By contrast, lots of decent choices for Point Blank AoE
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
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Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
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I've basically grown to think that hard CC effects really only "work" in turn based games.
<font color=red>Icy Terrain: Root effect doesn't get x2.5 duration bonus against mobs (or is that intentional?)</font></font>
<font color=cyan> I also have several suggestions that should make both PPs more thematic, balanced between each other and provide them with bigger variety of options of dealing ST/AOE damage to choose from. Some of the suggestions made earlier are included as well. I'll split them into three categories so that they are more convenient to read.
1) Power Placement
* Swap Entangling Force (in Shared Powers) with Steal Time (Arcanist Powers).
This will let both PPs take a combo of Icy Terrain and Steal Time to get more AoE Crowd Control losing some AoE damage if wished (currently this combo is available only for Arcanists). Also, in unique powers list, both PPs will have access to only 2 thematical ST Crowd Controls (Entangling Force/Imprisonment for Arcanist, Icy Rays/Chill Strike for Thaumaturge), so 2 PPs will get closer to being balanced in terms of accessible CC (currently, Arcanist can take 2 ST CC Powers and Thaumaturge can take 3 ST CC Powers)
2) Power Changes
2.1 Shared
* Return the old Spell Mastery effect of Entangling Force (pulls surrounding enemies to the target and generates AM stacks for each target affected).
This effect would still be very useful for AoE situations, especially for Arcanists, who could pull mobs together and effectively smash them all with Sudden Storm/Shard of the Endless Avalanche, but would lose 1 AoE Encounter slot for such a possibility.
2.2 Arcanist
* Make Arcane Bolt an Arcane-Mastery generator that does less ST damage per second than Arcane Missiles, but gives Arcane Mastery on each hit.
This will give Arcanists a tool to quickly generate their mechanic, similar to Ray of Frost for Chill generation, which will be especially useful for those who will take A Step Over Mastery feat. They also already have Arcane Missiles for ST damage, so there shouldn't be an issues with it.
* Make Disintegrate Spell Mastery version an AoE hit around the target (target is hit as well) with reduced magnitude.
This will provide more options for AoE Damage Encounters to choose from for Arcanists and will give them a convenient AoE tool that was asked in previous posts - max range, fast cast, with small cooldown, without AoE targeting, but also with lower magnitude than other AoEs to compensate, pretty much Arcanist's equivalent of Chill Strike.
* Increase width of Sudden Storm area to 8-10 feet (and remove a small amount of magnitude if needed for balance).
As it was pointed by many people in previous posts, currently Sudden Storm is quite hard to target effectively, so slight increase in its width would be a nice solution. Moreover, being a short-range ability, it shouldn't become an outlier between AoE Encounters for Thaumaturge even with this change.
* Make Sudden Storm Spell Mastery version a max range ST hit of currently targeted enemy with greatly increased magnitude.
This will provide additional alternative option for ST Damage for Arcanist, will give them the missing Lightning ST Encounter and also will provide the Lightning Bolt spell for people who asked for it in previous posts without necessity to add new spells or completely change mechanic of other spells.
* Increase radius of Maelstrom of Chaos to 15-20 feet, but remove its knockdown component.
This will make the spell much more viable as a "Cheap AoE Damage Daily" as the current radius is definitely too small. This will also keep Arcane Singularity/Oppressive Force viable for Arcanist AoE Dailies as well as even while being more expensive, they would still have much bigger radius and a Crowd Control component attached to them. This change would pretty much make Maelstrom of Chaos Arcanist's analogue of Fireball with bigger power and without a cooldown, but with AP cost.
* Increase the Spell Mastery bonus for Arcane powers from Imprisonment to 30+%.
Currently, it's Spell Mastery is worse than Spell Mastery from Ray Of Enfeeblement (both provide additional 10% bonus, but RoE Mastery increases all magical/projectile damage while Imprisonment - only Arcane, duration of RoE bonus is 10 seconds, while duration of Imprisonment bonus is 6), so Imprisonment's Spell Mastery should provide bigger bonus to compensate these downsides.
2.3 Thaumaturge
Most changes here refer to ST Encounters as Thaumaturge already has plenty of options to deal AoE Damage, but lacks options to deal ST Damage compared to Arcanist.
* Make Fan The Flames Spell Mastery version a ST Power that loses the additional effect, but deals much bigger damage over time to the main target.
This will give an additional alternative option for ST damage for Thaumaturge and add in game the missing Fire ST Encounter Power.
* Make Conduit of Ice Spell Mastery version a ST Power that no longer hits surrounding enemies, but deals much more damage to the main target.
This will give one more ST option for Thaumaturge and add a Cold ST Damage over Time Encounter.
</font>
We cant have 2 Lightning bolts... giggle... or can we ??