test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

Preview Build Patch Notes: NW.123.20201203e.1

nitocris83nitocris83 Member, Cryptic Developer, Administrator Posts: 4,495 Cryptic Developer
Greetings all,

Thank you very much for your efforts in checking out our preview build for the upcoming Combat Rework!

Please note that this is not, by any means, the final build as forum feedback began Friday, and the first iteration stream was on Monday. This build includes some changes in response to community feedback, but other adjustments are in progress. Please refer to the following thread for discussions from players, as well as get latest developer responses:

https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter#/categories/neverwinterpreview-announcements-release-notes

Known Issues
  • Master Svardborg and Master Demogorgon are available in the queue list. This is not intended and will be removed in a future patch.
  • A few older rings have incorrect Ratings.
  • Armor Penetration references persist in the game.
  • Brada’s Sage shop sells a bonding runestone for 80 copper.
  • Bel’s Relics have not yet been updated to the new system.
  • Boulders in Lair of the Mad Mage may be difficult for characters around 25k in Item Level.
  • Certain Gems, Runestones, Insignias cannot be donated to stronghold coffer.
  • Characters do not get automatically respec when loading in.
    • If you ever deal 0 damage, or notice that your damage is 0, a respec will fix your character
  • Companion Bonuses (item level, combined rating, etc…) apply on PvP modes.
  • Companions like the Hell Hound, Stronghold Cleric, and others only have Combined Rating.
  • Dragonborn Passive does not add to the character sheet.
  • Divine Protection Power contains a typo and does not modify Critical Avoidance total.
  • Empowered Storyteller’s Journal now grants too little in Rating.
  • Foehammer’s Favor Elixir’s tooltip is missing a word, but now correctly grants its effect.
  • Inner Balance power mentions Armor Penetration to function.
  • Miscellaneous text errors (formatting issues like “Chance on hit to increase your deflect by up to 3”)
  • Race Appearance presets appear as white boxes.
  • Several Companion bonuses are not applying properly.
  • Several Dungeons/Epic Dungeons are much more difficult than intended.
  • Several Enchantment items may display with tooltip irregularities.
    • This includes weapon/armor enchantments, which may have outdated references to weapon damage.
  • Several Potions have mentions of Armor Penetration/incorrect rating in Long Buffs.
  • Several zones may still be difficult for players to complete.
  • Vorpal/Holy Vorpal Enchantment’s Critical Strike increase does not display on the character sheet.
  • Glorious Founder’s Enchantment grants incorrect number of Stats.

General Updates
  • VIP is now enabled on Preview.
  • Companions now have a single category for Bolster.
    • As a result, the Bolster bonus has been halved, per rank.
  • Companion damage has been boosted.
  • General critter damage adjustments from player feedback.
  • UI Changes in the companion tab and companion roster to reflect the system changes.

Character
  • Character appearance items are now in the proper slots.
  • Characters should no longer have a decimal affixed to their Attributes.

Companions
  • Acolyte of Kelemvor Companion adjustments
    • Acolyte of Kelemvor should now grant a reasonable amount of Critical Avoidance.
    • Acolyte of Kelemvor should no longer grant the character erroneous bonuses.
  • Augment companions should now have the proper Ratings contribution. (please report if you spot errors with any particular companion)
  • Active Companion Bonuses now have a “max possible value” displayed and should display increases as a full number.
  • Baby Deepcrow’s Prescence’s tooltip now states that it grants +3% Power, and not Total Damage.
  • Slime Player Bonus tooltip correctly now states that it grants a bonus to Defense, and not Total Damage.
  • Pet Power: Vulnerability Enhancement no longer increases the target’s Critical Avoidance.

Content
  • Zariel and Halaster have been updated to account for the new changes (3x damage modifier).
  • Zombie Rotters in Dread Ring have been reduced in power to better match player characters.

Items
  • Armor Penetration Armor Kits are now named Critical Severity Armor Kits.
  • Assassin’s Enchantment, Rank 15 now grants the correct Combined Ratings in the Defense Slot.
  • Bonding Runestones are no longer available from the Tradebar store.
  • Chain of Scales have been updated to the new Ratings system.
  • Enchantment tooltips have been updated to no longer mention weapon damage.
  • Gigantic Enchantment, Rank 15 now grants the correct Combined Ratings in the Offense Slot.
  • Forte has been added to some artifacts that used to give companion influence.
  • Holy Avenger enchantments now grant towards the Other Contribution for Defense.
  • Indomitable Runestones Offense Slot description has been updated to show the direct increase to base damage that character gains, and values were adjusted.
  • Insignia bonuses no longer mention Armor Penetration.
  • Radiant Enchantment, Rank 15 no longer grants erroneous amounts of HP in the Defense Slot.

Powers
  • Barbarian: Crescendo Daily Power has been increased to 2000 Magnitude, up from 1200.
  • Barbarian: Raging Bladeturn now grants up to 10% Deflect towards Other Contributions when Rage is gained.
  • Fighter: Crushing Blows now states it requires the Rating for comparison.

UI
  • References to Companion Ranks and Levels have been removed.

System
  • Maximum HP description text has been updated.
  • Players can join a Party when their character reaches Level 5.
  • Sources of Deflect Severity on items should now display as Deflect Severity and reflect on the character sheet.
  • When manually raised from the dead state, companions can regenerate HP.

Things to Come
  • Adjustments to Forte (see Forte feedback thread for more details)
  • Adjustments to Gear Bonuses.
  • Bosses will have Combat Advantage on their attacks, and their damage will be adjusted to compensate.
  • Background adjustments for Character Sheet display.
  • Miscellaneous Text fixes.
  • Radiant/Empowered Runestones Exchange.
  • UI adjustments the character sheet, which should enable better display of certain Ratings.
Post edited by nitocris83 on

Comments

  • justtester#3228 justtester Member Posts: 73 Arc User
    edited December 2020

    Glorious Founder’s Enchantment grants incorrect number of Stats.

    no longer grants*? Or it should be in Known Issues?

    Adjustments to Forte (see Forte feedback thread for more details)
    Bosses will have Combat Advantage on their attacks, and their damage will be adjusted to compensate.

    Meh...
    This forum is an echo chamber
  • louveteau4louveteau4 Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    Wow incredible i am impress with that work very nice from you guys i am now having hope again
  • ron#1747 ron Member Posts: 115 Arc User
    Does the x3 damage modifier on the the trials apply to all attacks, or does it only apply to attacks that target the aggrovator? Because applying it to all attacks does not seem like a good idea at all. While tanks are a lot tougher now, dps and healers are not that much tougher than before because they don't max defense (it's very hard to max stats with the new system so you can't max them all anymore, as you know). This is just forcing them to cap defense, and now that you can only cap 1-3 stats, forcing players to cap defense, which is quite a hard stat to cap, just seems really cruel towards dps and healers, who will see a huge reduction in their effectiveness because they'll be able to cap even less stats. So yeah, I think you should just increase the damage of attacks that target the aggrovator, and NOT the overall damage
  • carloswartune#5709 carloswartune Member Posts: 265 Arc User
    ron#1747 said:

    Does the x3 damage modifier on the the trials apply to all attacks, or does it only apply to attacks that target the aggrovator? Because applying it to all attacks does not seem like a good idea at all. While tanks are a lot tougher now, dps and healers are not that much tougher than before because they don't max defense (it's very hard to max stats with the new system so you can't max them all anymore, as you know). This is just forcing them to cap defense, and now that you can only cap 1-3 stats, forcing players to cap defense, which is quite a hard stat to cap, just seems really cruel towards dps and healers, who will see a huge reduction in their effectiveness because they'll be able to cap even less stats. So yeah, I think you should just increase the damage of attacks that target the aggrovator, and NOT the overall damage

    They are increasing all damage because when the changes entered preview, all damage was too low. Whitenoise was not removing even 50% of healer/DPS health bar without any mitigation. Zariel's Challenge (Master) was completed without healers. And no, I don't think DPS will be force to cap 90% defense when the changes are finalized. 40~50% will probably be enough.
  • depaminadepamina Member Posts: 37 Arc User
    'Augment companions should now have the proper Ratings contribution. (please report if you spot errors with any particular companion) '
    So: my Polar bear cub still gives much less stats than any other non augment. Both mythic and with 100% bolster.
  • sondreaal#8982 sondreaal Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited December 2020
    - Augments still gives less stats than summoned companions.
    - Damage of summoned companion is miniscule. 300 damage per hit of swarm with 6x indomitable rank 15.
    - Damage of zariel should be a little higher. Can survive whitenoise with no damage reduction at 750k hp. EDIT: seems i was lucky with deflects.
    - Damage of halaster is way too high. With 650k hp and 60% defense as dps, halaster will oneshot you with his at will if he critical strikes. Not sure if this is intended, and that dps would need to "cap" their critical avoidance too.
    Post edited by sondreaal#8982 on
  • kozi001kozi001 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 876 Arc User
    Companions now have a single category for Bolster.
    Awesome!
  • darthpotaterdarthpotater Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,259 Arc User
    Kudos for hearing in the bolster category.

    Now @nitocris83 you only need to convince @noworries#8859 to change perma CA on bosses with something more creative and give us a flexible forte. And people will be happy with the change even if we have to work hard.
    Lescar PvE Wizard - Sir Garlic PvE Paladin
    Caturday Survivor
    Elemental Evil Survivor
    Undermontain Survivor
    Mod20 Combat rework Survivor
    Mod22 Refinement rework Survivor
  • dracory1#6808 dracory1 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    edited December 2020
    Alright, I have a bit of a concern here.
    I went in with 54% defense to both Zariel and ToMM just to test how much they'll do with Weight of Virtue and Annihilate.
    Zariel did 1.3 million, no deflect. Halaster did the same.
    Both of their at-wills hit like trucks, Halaster's almost killed me in one shot with 630k damage, same with Zariel's at-wills.

    In comparison, on Live I am able to take 2 hits from at-will if needed and survive WoV with just Courage Breaker at 520k HP - right now with Courage Breaker alone the damage was brought down to 1 million HP. With another 15% from Paladin Sigil, Courage Breaker (15% less damage output on target), Resiliency of the Depths (5% more DR) and Griffon (15% less damage output on target again) - 670k + 30k reduced by Barkshield. Still not enough to survive where this is very close to the current meta.
    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    With 10 mythic companions I'd rather feel like I progressed and became more powerful, at the moment it just doesn't feel like it.

    My proposition in this instance is that Zariel should only do 2x more damage and only her at-will attacks plus tankbuster would benefit from Combat Advantage.

    Quick edit: I had 58% defense and 620k HP, just checked the numbers again. Take note that I am topped out on preview with almost 48k item level where not everyone might be able to reach those numbers.
  • arazith07arazith07 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,719 Arc User

    Alright, I have a bit of a concern here.
    I went in with 54% defense to both Zariel and ToMM just to test how much they'll do with Weight of Virtue and Annihilate.
    Zariel did 1.3 million, no deflect. Halaster did the same.
    Both of their at-wills hit like trucks, Halaster's almost killed me in one shot with 630k damage, same with Zariel's at-wills.

    In comparison, on Live I am able to take 2 hits from at-will if needed and survive WoV with just Courage Breaker at 520k HP - right now with Courage Breaker alone the damage was brought down to 1 million HP. With another 15% from Paladin Sigil, Courage Breaker (15% less damage output on target), Resiliency of the Depths (5% more DR) and Griffon (15% less damage output on target again) - 670k + 30k reduced by Barkshield. Still not enough to survive where this is very close to the current meta.
    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    With 10 mythic companions I'd rather feel like I progressed and became more powerful, at the moment it just doesn't feel like it.

    My proposition in this instance is that Zariel should only do 2x more damage and only her at-will attacks plus tankbuster would benefit from Combat Advantage.

    Quick edit: I had 58% defense and 620k HP, just checked the numbers again. Take note that I am topped out on preview with almost 48k item level where not everyone might be able to reach those numbers.

    In the Master Trial thread, the tanks there are asking for more damage from the bosses after this update. IMO Tanks really do need to have 90% defense. Oh wait you are not a tank, why are you worried about at-will damage from bosses?
  • carloswartune#5709 carloswartune Member Posts: 265 Arc User


    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    Unless they change defense going up to 90%, there is basically no other option. If the boss at wills are survivable by DPS players, it will be laughable for the tanks. In fact, some tanks believe it's still too weak when considering 90% (one tank just commented on the Trial thread that he's taking less damage than on live).

    And that is why Defense (and Deflect Severity) should probably be changed. 90% is too much to make things balanced, and also makes mitigation powers basically useless, as they apparently don't go beyond the 90% mitigation limit.
  • sephiz#1200 sephiz Member Posts: 47 Arc User

    Greetings all,

    Things to Come

    • Bosses will have Combat Advantage on their attacks, and their damage will be adjusted to compensate.
    I hope you guys remember that GF have two mechanics that negate CA damage:
    - Feated Bladed Rampart
    - Dig In

    This change would give an even bigger advantage to GF tanks.
  • dracory1#6808 dracory1 Member Posts: 128 Arc User

    Unless they change defense going up to 90%, there is basically no other option. If the boss at wills are survivable by DPS players, it will be laughable for the tanks. In fact, some tanks believe it's still too weak when considering 90% (one tank just commented on the Trial thread that he's taking less damage than on live).

    And that is why Defense (and Deflect Severity) should probably be changed. 90% is too much to make things balanced, and also makes mitigation powers basically useless, as they apparently don't go beyond the 90% mitigation limit.

    As I said, if powers that target DPS would deal no combat advantage, everything will be fine with 2x damage multiplier. 3x is just too much and DPS should not focus on getting more defense when they already have over 50%, unless the system forces this, which just doesn't feel fair considering that even right now killing ice in ToMM is near impossible. I can deal witth Tanks laughing off powers that do not target them, but making them careful when dealing with attacks from boss is fine. This way DPS will also be more careful to not take away aggro as they'll just be one shot.
  • arazith07arazith07 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,719 Arc User
    Attacks meant to be a threat to DPS and healers should be manageable with 50% defense, that much we all can agree on. If a tank loses aggro, and it doesn't go to the second tank...there is something wrong with how the tanks are managing aggro in general, which in general should not be an issue with endgame content. DPS shouldn't be taking aggro to even have to worry about at-will damage.
  • rubytruerubytrue Member Posts: 582 Arc User

    Alright, I have a bit of a concern here.
    I went in with 54% defense to both Zariel and ToMM just to test how much they'll do with Weight of Virtue and Annihilate.
    Zariel did 1.3 million, no deflect. Halaster did the same.
    Both of their at-wills hit like trucks, Halaster's almost killed me in one shot with 630k damage, same with Zariel's at-wills.

    In comparison, on Live I am able to take 2 hits from at-will if needed and survive WoV with just Courage Breaker at 520k HP - right now with Courage Breaker alone the damage was brought down to 1 million HP. With another 15% from Paladin Sigil, Courage Breaker (15% less damage output on target), Resiliency of the Depths (5% more DR) and Griffon (15% less damage output on target again) - 670k + 30k reduced by Barkshield. Still not enough to survive where this is very close to the current meta.
    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    With 10 mythic companions I'd rather feel like I progressed and became more powerful, at the moment it just doesn't feel like it.

    My proposition in this instance is that Zariel should only do 2x more damage and only her at-will attacks plus tankbuster would benefit from Combat Advantage.

    Quick edit: I had 58% defense and 620k HP, just checked the numbers again. Take note that I am topped out on preview with almost 48k item level where not everyone might be able to reach those numbers.

    Have you tried that new mechanic in this combat system called, "Stay out of the red"?

    Seriously.

    Halaster and Zariel are veritable dieties in this realm; you are a mortal rogue. Quit trying to stand toe to toe with them. (Or maybe, just perhaps, Impossible to Catch may become a requirement for these trials?)

    Choices. That is what the new combat system is all about. You can choose to completely maximize your damage at the risk of being a glass cannon, or you can choose to do a lot of damage and maybe still have enough mitigation so that you aren't being wiped off the floor constantly. Either strategy is viable--it is your *choice*.
  • hustin1hustin1 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,458 Arc User
    edited December 2020
    rubytrue said:

    Alright, I have a bit of a concern here.
    I went in with 54% defense to both Zariel and ToMM just to test how much they'll do with Weight of Virtue and Annihilate.
    Zariel did 1.3 million, no deflect. Halaster did the same.
    Both of their at-wills hit like trucks, Halaster's almost killed me in one shot with 630k damage, same with Zariel's at-wills.

    In comparison, on Live I am able to take 2 hits from at-will if needed and survive WoV with just Courage Breaker at 520k HP - right now with Courage Breaker alone the damage was brought down to 1 million HP. With another 15% from Paladin Sigil, Courage Breaker (15% less damage output on target), Resiliency of the Depths (5% more DR) and Griffon (15% less damage output on target again) - 670k + 30k reduced by Barkshield. Still not enough to survive where this is very close to the current meta.
    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    With 10 mythic companions I'd rather feel like I progressed and became more powerful, at the moment it just doesn't feel like it.

    My proposition in this instance is that Zariel should only do 2x more damage and only her at-will attacks plus tankbuster would benefit from Combat Advantage.

    Quick edit: I had 58% defense and 620k HP, just checked the numbers again. Take note that I am topped out on preview with almost 48k item level where not everyone might be able to reach those numbers.

    Have you tried that new mechanic in this combat system called, "Stay out of the red"?

    Seriously.

    Halaster and Zariel are veritable dieties in this realm; you are a mortal rogue. Quit trying to stand toe to toe with them. (Or maybe, just perhaps, Impossible to Catch may become a requirement for these trials?)

    Choices. That is what the new combat system is all about. You can choose to completely maximize your damage at the risk of being a glass cannon, or you can choose to do a lot of damage and maybe still have enough mitigation so that you aren't being wiped off the floor constantly. Either strategy is viable--it is your *choice*.
    At-wills don't have red areas telegraphing their attacks, so let's be sure we're talking apples and apples. I don't think DPS should ever be one-shot by an at-will, but I agree that DPS should have to get out of out of red areas when they appear. Let's just make sure that the red areas always *do* appear before such an attack (I'm pointing at *YOU*, red Dragonflight dragon!)

    As for ITC, that's always been my "American Express Card" -- I never leave home without it.
    Harper Chronicles: Cap Snatchers (RELEASED) - NW-DPUTABC6X
    Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
    Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
    Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
    The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
    My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
  • arazith07arazith07 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,719 Arc User
    hustin1 said:

    rubytrue said:

    Alright, I have a bit of a concern here.
    I went in with 54% defense to both Zariel and ToMM just to test how much they'll do with Weight of Virtue and Annihilate.
    Zariel did 1.3 million, no deflect. Halaster did the same.
    Both of their at-wills hit like trucks, Halaster's almost killed me in one shot with 630k damage, same with Zariel's at-wills.

    In comparison, on Live I am able to take 2 hits from at-will if needed and survive WoV with just Courage Breaker at 520k HP - right now with Courage Breaker alone the damage was brought down to 1 million HP. With another 15% from Paladin Sigil, Courage Breaker (15% less damage output on target), Resiliency of the Depths (5% more DR) and Griffon (15% less damage output on target again) - 670k + 30k reduced by Barkshield. Still not enough to survive where this is very close to the current meta.
    I understand that tanks should not be immortal but DPS should not be dying like flies either. We have much less sources to up our damage and in my opinion 54% defense with 630k HP should be more than enough, considering that I am using a slime in defensive slot, taking away precious % points.

    With 10 mythic companions I'd rather feel like I progressed and became more powerful, at the moment it just doesn't feel like it.

    My proposition in this instance is that Zariel should only do 2x more damage and only her at-will attacks plus tankbuster would benefit from Combat Advantage.

    Quick edit: I had 58% defense and 620k HP, just checked the numbers again. Take note that I am topped out on preview with almost 48k item level where not everyone might be able to reach those numbers.

    Have you tried that new mechanic in this combat system called, "Stay out of the red"?

    Seriously.

    Halaster and Zariel are veritable dieties in this realm; you are a mortal rogue. Quit trying to stand toe to toe with them. (Or maybe, just perhaps, Impossible to Catch may become a requirement for these trials?)

    Choices. That is what the new combat system is all about. You can choose to completely maximize your damage at the risk of being a glass cannon, or you can choose to do a lot of damage and maybe still have enough mitigation so that you aren't being wiped off the floor constantly. Either strategy is viable--it is your *choice*.
    At-wills don't have red areas telegraphing their attacks, so let's be sure we're talking apples and apples. I don't think DPS should ever be one-shot by an at-will, but I agree that DPS should have to get out of out of red areas when they appear. Let's just make sure that the red areas always *do* appear before such an attack (I'm pointing at *YOU*, red Dragonflight dragon!)

    As for ITC, that's always been my "American Express Card" -- I never leave home without it.
    Thing is, DPS shouldn't be targeted by at-wills in these places to begin with.
  • ron#1747 ron Member Posts: 115 Arc User
    > @arazith07 said:
    > In the Master Trial thread, the tanks there are asking for more damage from the bosses after this update. IMO Tanks really do need to have 90% defense. Oh wait you are not a tank, why are you worried about at-will damage from bosses?

    But the thing is, the devs increased the damage of most of the "dps" attacks too, like sword fall and stuff. Tanks should really need to have 90% defense, but dps don't. They needed to just increase the damage of her at wills and judgements and other "tank" attacks, not her overall damage
  • blackmagidblackmagid Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 111 Arc User
    Hey Neverwinter team

    You are enabling VIP on preview, would you also enable Dragonborn as a selectable race - was going to race re-roll but not without testing how it feels first. And no, not going to re-roll then copy the character to test!

    Many thanks
    Magi

  • sriram#1646 sriram Member Posts: 71 Arc User
    It the Companion Bolster works as Mount it is very awesome but it's not working like that even with 100% companion Bolster if you summon a companion / use non mythic companion power in bonuses those will gives much less stats. It they give full stats like Mounts which is a good change we can just have companion Bolster reaches 100% and there is no need to upgrade other Companion a. The current Update is Just removal of categories from companions window. And now we have to upgrade 10 companions like Mounts to reach 100% and then upgrade any companion if you want to use that companion bonus or as summoned which is kind of misleading Bolster system.
  • dracory1#6808 dracory1 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    edited December 2020
    rubytrue said:

    Have you tried that new mechanic in this combat system called, "Stay out of the red"?

    Seriously.

    Halaster and Zariel are veritable dieties in this realm; you are a mortal rogue. Quit trying to stand toe to toe with them. (Or maybe, just perhaps, Impossible to Catch may become a requirement for these trials?)

    Choices. That is what the new combat system is all about. You can choose to completely maximize your damage at the risk of being a glass cannon, or you can choose to do a lot of damage and maybe still have enough mitigation so that you aren't being wiped off the floor constantly. Either strategy is viable--it is your *choice*.

    "Stay out of the red" - because Swordfall or Clusters can be avoided when you are targeted by them. Or Halaster's Ground to Cloud (or Cloud to Ground, forgot which one was on you) or Sunfall. Don't be funny. If at-wills are nearly or one-shotting me, then other powers that were not a big threat now will be.

    On live it's enough that I swap one item or boon to have my defenses in the right spot, for Tower I don't even need to do that. The new system may be about choices but again - even if I have 57% defense and almost get one shot by Swordfall which on live sometimes may take maybe half of my HP...

    Someone needs to rethink their post.
  • drago#9606 drago Member Posts: 40 Arc User
    edited December 2020
    @noworries#8859 @nitocris83

    Changes around bolster categories, radiant/empowered exchange and gear bonuses all sound very positive. I have two questions relating to things not explicitly mentioned:

    1.) Dominance/Brutality insignias - is there consideration of a similar exchange for those insignias, given the power they give?

    2.) Running alts without bondings - whilst a bit of a pain to transfer, switching bounding runestones between characters allowed for alts to be relatively competitive without having to spend huge amounts of AD / Zen on each one. With the removal of bondings, I'm wondering what consideration can be given to how to enable people to play multiple characters competitively?

    Shorter-term: A move towards all mounts / companions being account-wide by default so that we can use them across all characters, ideally including already-bound mounts / companions.

    Longer-term: Easier access to account-wide items across characters. Get rid of the need to claim account-wide items, and make account-wide items immediately accessible to all characters on the account (E.g. I can slot an enchantment in all the characters, without needing a cumbersome transfer process).

    The one potentially contentious point is around what happens when you upgrade a companion or mount. Does it just get upgraded for that character, or across all? But either way, I think the rest of the changes would benefit everyone involved, since people will engage more with the game if they can easily build and switch between multiple characters through account-wide items.
  • sunshinedawn#4492 sunshinedawn Member Posts: 5 Arc User
    Hello NW team,
    not sure if it is already mentioned, but the amount of places for other contributions is just too low to be able to cap everything you will need... Now I know it is not intended to be able to cap everything anymore, however seeing the amount some of the stats have dropped, especially defense and critical strike is worrying. For healers and dps in order to get more than 50% you need to sacrifice an ACB, which can be an issue. Healers have their outgoing healing slotted there, it is not something to easily let go of, especially since the last changes we had in healing which nerfed outgoing healing to the ground...
    Since the rework was main to make companions use similar system as the mounts, why not add the passive mounts powers to other contributions as well, instead of giving them base flat stats and combined rating, which in most cases is totally wasted right now? That was there are at least 2 sources from which we can play with the other contributions percentages and giving a little bit more flexibility in adjusting to all those new changes.....
  • quickfoot#7851 quickfoot Member Posts: 488 Arc User
    Hi.

    I've been away from the game since summer time, with the exception of a few days for the new halloween event. There are a few reasons for my declining lack of interest in the game, but most of it boils down to changes that occurred with the release of m16. I think those changes resulted in long lasting negative effects on game play in general, I'll try to summarize at a high level.

    The biggest change that resulted from the changes in m16 was a severe reduction in the "engagement" level of combat, it became much less engaging, which was caused by the removal of recovery. While one can argue for or against recovery and the mechanics around it as much as one would like, it's removal resulted in a much more boring combat experience and some work should be done on recovering that loss of dynamism (no pun intended). Exactly how to go about doing that, I don't know, but I might suggest adding 2-3 more encounter powers, something like a ranger has, or maybe some small at-will combos, (idk, just throwing that out there).

    Another major change that resulted in the game become much less interesting on a intellectual level was the reduction in choices available in the character build system. Playing mostly as a Wizard and in PvP I think I probably felt that loss more than the average player would have, were the term "illusion of choice" is frequently used. I think the way this "illusion of choice" was handled was wrong, instead of fixing the problem, it was just accepted as the default. Overnight, the build system went from being like chess, to checkers. Nothing really changed for the better, most classes still only have 1 or 2 choices in viable builds, and the potential for increased diversity was squashed altogether.

    Most of the changes I've seen in the upcoming combat system rework are mostly mechanical, affecting the underlying maths of combat. Potentially, one positive side effect of theses changes however, might be an increase in the number of viable gear/companion choices a player can use when building a character. The new system seems to cater better towards a more "horizontal progression" of gear than the previous maths would. In other words, I think a piece of gear's/companion's bonus, becomes more meaningful than the amount of power/hp it has. I think that's a good thing in general, however this only works if gear actually has interesting bonuses, and I still wish that class feats & abilities were more diverse and engaging, for example, Entangling Force on Wizard, I wish it still pulled mobs together when empowered (on tab), that little thing contributed to a more lively combat experience.

    At a surface level, I think I like the change in the maths, but I would like to see some enhancements to the "liveliness" of combat itself, as well as a more mentally challenging build system, I would like to see builds be at least somewhat customizable with a strong sense of personality arising from the customization points. When customizing a character, the look, feel, and personality resulting from each customization point is extremely important, even if the number of customization points is limited. So in a nutshell, I would like to see more liveliness and personality in combat, some work on combat ability animations should also be done, some attacks feel incredibly jerky and janky, and we need at least a few more meaningful customization points at the class & paragon level.

  • bratleyraybratleyray Member Posts: 389 Arc User
    I sure hope the adjustments to equipment equip bonuses includes weapon sets. I dont wanna run a mod 6 weapon set now that weapon damage has been removed. Make newer sets desirable as most of us have invested here already and many are new to the game. Why would you make new content obsolete so soon after release. Also causes a loss of interest in current endgame content.




    [The Legendary Outlaws] (Guildhall 20)

  • darthpotaterdarthpotater Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,259 Arc User
    I think is quite the opposite. This system opens more options. What if I want to run with a mod2 set? every set should have an unique bonus so it enables new builds or playstiles. I claim that they raise the item level of old sets and make every set bonus unique so people could farm old content.

    Imagine if a set gives a 20% bonus to speed, or a bonus every time one of your attacks is deflected, or a big control bonus, or damage vs dragons or who knows. It could allow players to play in different ways and not being obligated to get the latest set or be subpar.

    Also this sets should be BoE and everyone could farm them even if is a mod1 weapon.
    Lescar PvE Wizard - Sir Garlic PvE Paladin
    Caturday Survivor
    Elemental Evil Survivor
    Undermontain Survivor
    Mod20 Combat rework Survivor
    Mod22 Refinement rework Survivor
  • bratleyraybratleyray Member Posts: 389 Arc User
    That's kind of my point as well... weapons should be reworked as well. Not just gear. But I dont want to be stuck using an old set due to a lack of interesting choices.




    [The Legendary Outlaws] (Guildhall 20)

  • bratleyraybratleyray Member Posts: 389 Arc User
    Better idea: Allow us to reroll the equip bonuses on all gear using cubes of augmentation. Have a set list of bonuses for each piece. Kinda how weapon modifications currently are. This would also create an AD sink thru the wonderous bazaar when people buy cubes.




    [The Legendary Outlaws] (Guildhall 20)

Sign In or Register to comment.