As with others, I have also done my rounds of re-rolling and re-stating. To sum up my testing, if this patch were to come out tomorrow I would certainly invest in a couple re-specs to find a good niche; which now brings me to the feed back I want to give.
The old feats allowed you to flex between two trees at a time without the regrettably of not investing all the way. In this patch I found that sticking with one tree, although limited in options, turned out the be the only effective way to build your toon. It's appears now that the hunter ranger would have to specialize in a style in order to be efficient in combat and survival. Archery has great feats for range only, as with Combat too. Trapper is a nice mix of stance switching feats, which emphasizes the "specialty" that hunter rangers have.
While mixing feats, creating hybrids, is still possible, the fact that each tree is so specialized adds a barrier to having "best of both worlds" builds. I did manage to grab the 30% range damage and 15% pierce damage in a build, however that meant having other specialized feats that don't cross over stances.
It appears now that hunter rangers would have to specialized, and lock in, a certain combat play style in order to perform well in combat and survival; in other words picking straight Archery would mean being in Range stance for the majority of combat, and vice versa with Combat and Melee stance. It became difficult to switch stances when I was investing in one combat style, not because there wasn't a need to switch stances, but because I felt that the other stance was somehow...nerfed...when I invested in the other. For instance, being an Archery build allowed me to dish out a load of damage in a short time, yet once I switched to my melee stance mid battle it felt useless and inefficient; which then I ended up staying in the range stance for the duration of all other conflicts.
The Trapper feats, including the Strong Grasping Roots (SGR) to Thorn Roots, is really creative and interesting. When I invested in the Trapper tree, I felt comfortable and well rounded, at least the way I see a hunter ranger should fight; maybe because I didn't feel trapped in one stance the whole time.
To sum up the feat comparison between trees, Combat had nice AoE enhancing feats, Archery had nice Single Target feats, Trapper had nice Stance Switching enhancing feats.
A couple personal shout outs:
I want to shout out to the SGR and WGR change; this was a good move in my opinion. Rangers, to me, are suppose to be masters of slowing down the enemy (aside from the generic frost mages in other MMOs). Constricting Arrow as an AoE snare is awesome, it gives us a CC option at a range stance as oppose to using the Melee stance for CC stuff.
I want to shout out to the Archery 30% damage increase feat; this allowed Electric Shot to become a viable option/alternative to Split Shot. I personally use ES over Split, and this feat buffs it to a useful state.
Another shout out to the Thorn Roots conversion feat; though 250%, or simply multiplying the weapon damage by 3.5, DoT sounds insane, I think it gives us another window of DoT attacks. This feat certainly helps encounters like Hindering Shot/Strike and Binding Arrow.
All in all, the hunter ranger would need to specialize in a specific combat style in order to be effective in combat, be it PvE or PvP. It's no longer "I'm kinda Archery" or "I'm kinda Combat". As for Paragon Paths, Storm Warden seems to fit in the Hybrid category now as it's melee enhancing powers, like Blade Storm and Throw caution, can negate the "nerf feeling" that the Archery tree gives off; going Combat creates an "over excessive" feel that I think needs to be looked over. Pathfinder still fits the Single Target builds and can go well with either straight Archery or straight Combat, but falls short on hybrids and the Trapper tree.
Grasping Roots (Weak): This power now roots a target in place for 1 second (.5 seconds on players). This power now deals damage against Control Immune targets.
Grasping Roots (Strong): This power now roots a target in place for 2 seconds (1 second on players). This power now deals damage against Control Immune targets.
The change to a direct rooting effect is a good one though the duration for non Trapper paragons is almost negligible. I would suggest a slight duration increase so that they are actually noticeable
Aspect of the Serpent: This power now only stacks 2 times each direction. This power now provides 3% per stack. This power grants an additional 3% per stack per rank.
Again a good change with the slight damage increase but I think we should turn to a time based flat increase instead of just a double charge each way as most hybrid players will remain in one stance long enough to burn through a set of encounters and wait for the cool downs to begin the routine all over again. I believe that it should be a flat 5% per rank damage boost which activates upon stance change and lasts for 2 sec per rank. This gives it far more utility and makes it a must have for stance changers like me whilst boosting damage overall somewhat for hybrids, which they fall behind their single path brethren in.
Constricting Arrow: This power is now an Area of Effect Strong Grasping Roots apply instead of a series of stuns.
Words can not begin to express how awesome this now is... at least for trappers. It is far less useful for the other two paragons. A slight base duration increase like I proposed above for root effects may help.
Feats: Archery T1
Ghostwalker: 5/10/15/20/25% more Stamina Regeneration while in Ranged Stance.
A good ability and one that the Archers will need considering they have very little control. 25% is a bit much though and I would suggest 3/6/9/12/15% instead to be a bit more reasonable
Keen Eye: 1/2/3/4/5% more AP from Ranged Powers.
Nothing wrong with this at all, keep it.
T2
Broadhead Arrows: 1/2/3/4/5% more Critical Chance while in Ranged Stance.
I'd actually like to see this increased to 2/4/6/8/10% to give it a little more value and help offset reductions in other feats in this path
T3
Unflinching Aim: 6/12/18/24/30% more Ranged Damage.
Here's where we start to go off the deep end. I can't begin to fathom how we came up with the 30% flat increase number. This is a very heavy handed approach to damage increasing and I think that this feat should be changed with either a 2/4/6/8/10% boost across all ranged attacks or a 4/8/12/16/20% boost to single target powers instead.
Again, a bit much when you consider the stacking encounter reductions of the Royal Guard set and the Stormstep action feat. 5/10/15/20/25% reductions are more reasonable without going overboard
T4
Rising Focus: Ranged Critical Strikes grant 1/2/3/4/5% Critical Severity and 1/2/3/4/5% more Power. Stacks 3 times. Lasts 6 seconds.
The power buff portion of this feat is completely unnecessary and only serves as yet another flat damage increase which is redundant and too far. Remove the power buff, duration and the stacking and make it a straight 3/6/9/12/15% crit severity increase
[*]Stillness of the Forest: Your Ranged damage is increased the farther you get from your target. Max 2/4/6/8/10%. Additionally, while no foes are within 25 feet of you, you have 5/10/15/20/25% increased chance to crit.
[/LIST]
I actually like the concept of this feat a lot. But a 25% increased chance to crit is too extreme. The range buff is fine, but the crit increase needs to be brought down to 1/2/3/4/5%
T5
Predator: Using a ranged encounter power on a foe applies Prey to your target. You deal 30% additional damage to your Prey. You may only have 1 Prey at a time. Prey lasts 20 seconds or until the Prey dies.
I think this feat should be changed to be a stack-able bonus based upon how many times you attack your prey, make it grant 4% increased damage per stack up to 5 stacks for a max of 20% and also reduce the movement speed of the Prey by 2% per stack to a max of 10%. Duration of 30 seconds or until the Prey is dead. The longer the hunt, the more dangerous it becomes for the Prey rather then an immediate "I hit you like a thunderbolt from god" that it does now.
Bloodletting: While in Melee Stance you gain 1/2/3/4/5% more Life Steal.
Wrong, HR's just had their set nerfed because of self healing capabilities like this. Change this to a bleed effect for 5/10/15/20/25% of weapon damage dealt once every 2 seconds for ten seconds.
Serpent Weave: Shifting lowers Melee cooldowns by .1/.2/.3/.4/.5s.
Nothing wrong with this one, keep it
T2
Fluid Hunter: While in Melee you gain 1/2/3/4/5% more Deflect Rating.
Another good one in line with other class' deflection increasing paragon feats.
T3
Piercing Blade: Melee attacks deal an additional 3/6/9/12/15% damage as Piercing damage. Piercing damage is Physical damage that cannot be resisted or deflected.
Not sure why you didn't go with just a flat damage increase since most monsters have no deflection really... otherwise it's a cool concept
Wilds Medicine: Deflecting attacks cause the Hunter to be healed for 1/2/3/4/5% of their HP over 15 seconds. This effect can stack.
Again no, we want to make the HR harder to kill, but not invincible. Change this feat to boost the Rangers deflection severity by 3/6/9/12/15% or boost incoming healing by 2/4/6/8/10%
T4
Scything Blades: The Ranger deals 1/2/3/4/5% more Melee Damage for each foe within 25 feet.
I like this, like a lot. It needs to cap out at 5 enemies though.
Battle Crazed: Melee Attacks grant .6/1.2/1.8/2.4/3% more Life Steal. This effect stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 3 seconds.
Again with the life steal? This should be boosts the ranger's melee attack speed by 2% per stack. Can stack up to 5 times. Lasts 3 seconds.
Blade Hurricane: Using a Melee Encounter Power grants Flurry. Flurry causes your next Melee At-Will to strike two additional times for 5% additional damage. Flurry can only be triggered once every 5 seconds.
Flurry is great!
Feats: Trapper (formerly Nature) T1
Fleet Stance: When you switch stances you move 2/4/6/8/10% faster for several seconds.
Only thing needed here is a clear duration
[/list][*]Readied Stance: When you switch stances you generate 1/2/3/4/5% more AP for several seconds.
[/LIST]
Again needs a clear duration otherwise it's fine
T2
Deft Strikes: Your Melee encounter powers cause your next Ranged encounter power to deal 2/4/6/8/10% more damage. Your Ranged encounter powers cause your next Melee encounter power to deal 2/4/6/8/10% more damage.
I'd actually like to see this boosted a tad to 4/8/12/16/20% since it will only effect a single power during a rotation.
T3
Ancient Roots: Your Weak Grasping Roots now last .5/1/1.5/2/2.5 seconds longer. Your Strong Grasping Roots now last 1/2/3/4/5 seconds longer. This benefit is halved on players.
One of the best new feats yet!
Swiftness of the Fox: Your Melee encounter powers shorten the cooldown of your Ranged encounter powers by .2/.4/.6/.8/1 second. Your Ranged encounter powers shorten the cooldown of your Melee encounter powers by .2/.4/.6/.8/1 second.
Again I'd like to see this boosted a bit to .4/.8/1.2/1.6/2 seconds to make it a bit easier for faster stance rotations to occur thus more synergy with Aspect of the Serpent
T4
Thorned Roots: Your Strong Grasping Roots are upgraded to Thorned Roots. Thorned Roots deal 50/100/150/200/250% of your Weapon damage over their duration. Half this damage is dealt immediately to control immune targets.
This is a great feat. Keep it as is.
Serpent's Bite: Your Aspect of the Serpent Class Feature now provides 1/2/3/4/5% more damage per stack. Additionally these stacks also provide .5/1/1.5/2/2.5% Critical chance per stack.
To make this work with the Aspect of the Serpent change I proposed it should grant a single flat 1/2/3/4/5% damage increase for the duration of Serpent and a 1/2/3/4/5% crit chance increase for the duration as well.
T5
Biting Snares: When you apply Grasping Roots or Thorned Roots you gain "Biting Snares". Biting Snares causes your next stance shift to generate 10% of your AP and increase your damage by 15% for 10 seconds. This effect can only be trigged once every 10 seconds.
I'd like to see Biting Snares boost party damage by 1/2/3/4/5% for 10 seconds instead of the AP generation. This makes it more synergistic with group play.
All in all, if we scale back our first two trees a tad and bump up the third, we can see three very unique types of rangers that all are relatively equal in the power scale. The changes to Aspect of the Serpent are good, but it needs to go to a timed flat buff instead of charges as at two charges you will see people frantically changing stances to try and maintain it, or they will just ignore it completely.
To me the life steal feats proposed for the melee tree honestly look like they belong in the Guardian Fighter Protector tree instead to help boost that classes survivability. These are for the most part very good ideas and changes, and if we fine tuned them as I have outlined they will be balanced.
BUG:
The Bear Trap animation shows the trap floating up into the sky if placed on a hill or incline.
Rain of Swords will not hit targets a few feet in front of it. Terrain height differences may be a cause. Also, triggering it right after another encounter that spins the camera around seems to make it miss more as well.
Wilds Medicine triggers while sitting around a camp fire and also while running around the map and not taking damage.
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simplyawfulMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 10
All in all, if we scale back our first two trees a tad and bump up the third, we can see three very unique types of rangers that all are relatively equal in the power scale.
I agree with caexar's post. Testing I did on preview makes me think that currently the Archery tree gives us far too much additional damage (PvE I had fairly constant 7k crits on Rapid Shot when I had Prey on the target) and the Combat tree far too much additional survivability (PvP testing showed almost nobody could kill me 1vs1 even with CW perma-control, and PvE I could tackle far larger groups of enemies than on live). Trapper is rather fun (although I am one of the few who will miss the Nature tree - any chance of getting the buff powers adjusted to always be 100% for party members now instead of 50%?) and I can see it being effective for soloing, but with the buffs to Archery and Combat it is currently very much overshadowed at the moment.
BUG: Ancient Roots/Thorned Roots Taking the Ancient Roots feat for extended root duration means the 250% weapon damage damage from Thorned Roots is stretched over 7 seconds instead of 2 seconds, reducing dps.
While I do not think that the intention is necessarily for damage to be increased when the duration of the root is extended, if the damage is going to be spread like this then I think it needs to be. Since most players taking the Trapper feats will take both feats (at least, I do not see why you would take Thorned Roots but not Ancient Roots), I would suggest that damage is changed to something like 75% of weapon damage per second while rooted by strong grasping roots, which would give 150% over 2 seconds without Ancient Roots and 525% over 7 seconds with that feat (note that this is from a PvE perspective - since root duration is halved in PvP that would mean half damage as well, so the damage would probably need to be adjusted for PvP separately).
BUG: Stormcaller's Arrow/Forced Respec The forced respec of the paragon feats does not refund ranks in Stormcaller's Arrow, meaning you have to purchase a respec to remove ranks in that feat as even if you want to include that feat in your build again the system rejects your selections.
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mircalla83Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 36
edited June 2014
I strongly disagree with simplyawful and caexar. While I don't have an opinion about Archery and Trapper, the fact is that currently, in PvE, the Combat HR gets MURDERED unless severely outgearing the content and running around with 'Best in Slot' gear and maxed out boons.
Combined with the LOSSES given by the new feats, caexar's suggestions would outright kill the PvE Combat HR off for good.
In PvP, people currently are foaming around their mouths due to the fact that the whole 'Proc on Deflect' mechanic isn't working at all - the effects activate while being buffed by an ally, or standing in a campfire, too. This should be fixed before the 'tests' can be taken seriously in the first place, since a lot of 'testers' use intentionally onesided 'scenarios' (weak hitting dots, Ray of Frost, basically ONLY attacks that give lots of hits with pathetic damage, to give as many chances to deflect as possible). However, I agree that Wilds Medicine needs a maximum stack size, which, however, should not be a kneejerk nerf to appease the PvP players, since this would render the changes to the Combat HR moot.
Lifesteal, which only applies in Melee Stance, is, for PvE at least, an appropriate change. It requires the HR to actively attack - and, it should be kept in mind, Lifesteal is subject to Healing Depression. Can't kill the Combat HR in melee? Then bring a ranged attacker, instead of running a team composed of GWF, TR and maybe GF. Also, the Hunter Ranger has NO Control Breaker, so once the promised boosts to CW control capability get made, there would be another possible counter.
Also, specific Feedback to an upcoming change:
Fluid Hunter: This Feat is utterly useless, like every single other 'Gives a 5% Bonus to your stat X' Feat in the game. My Archery geared HR, with 1062 Deflect from gear, gains a whopping 53 points from 5 points - resulting in 'awesome' 0.4% more Deflection Chance. If I switched all my Defense Slot R7 Dark Enchants to R7 Silvery, including those on my Ioun Stone, and switched to the Fey Elusiveness Boon I would rise to 1867 Deflection Rating base -> 1960 Rating, resulting in a roughly 0.46% increased Deflection Chance.
So either this feat needs to turn to a flat bonus to chance (at 5%, it would still only give half the bonus of the current Elusive Hunter Feat), or boost it, and with that, all other 'Increases Stat x by 5%' to a 20 or 25% Bonus.
Using the 20% Bonus, and the above numbers, this would mean:
1062 Deflection Rating -> 1274 Rating, net increase of Deflection Chance: 1.6%
1867 Deflection Rating -> 2240 Rating, net increase of Deflection Chance: 1.8%
Still not really 'worth' it, but at least better than the current implementation. The argument that this is too much of a bonus to a 'rating' Stat is moot, too, since the precedence has been given in with the Power attribute (which is, technically, also a 'Rating', without Diminishing Returns on top of that), and 2 Feats on the Great Weapon Fighter Class that pump Defense (at 20% Rate) and both Armor Penetration and Recovery (at even 25% Chance) into Power. So either those 2 Feats need a NERF, or every other 'Increases 1 Stat based on a Percentage of itself, or another' Feat needs to be brought UP.
An example is the Cleric Heroic Feat 'Initiate of the Faith' which, at 5 Points, raises the Critical Hit RATING stat by 1% of the Power Stat. Another Example, same Class: Domain Synergy Heroic Feat: Gain 5% more Recovery. at 2k Recovery (most Clerics I know use around 3k, in addition to Intelligence or Charisma, to get their Recharge Speed Bonus to 33%) this means 100 Recovery. For 5 Feat Points.
Based on testing people are doing in dungeons, I'm not sure the buff to archery is going to be enough to warrant taking an HR over a CW/GWF because we have no control to speak of.
I know people are shocked that HR can put out big numbers in Archery now, but CWs and GWFs can put out the same kind of numbers and heal for just as much with lifesteal.
My Harem: Dawn HR, Erin CW, Piper TR, Zoe GWF
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fdgxfhxfgnzthMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 20Arc User
...
Still not really 'worth' it, but at least better than the current implementation. The argument that this is too much of a bonus to a 'rating' Stat is moot, too, since the precedence has been given in with the Power attribute (which is, technically, also a 'Rating', without Diminishing Returns on top of that), and 2 Feats on the Great Weapon Fighter Class that pump Defense (at 20% Rate) and both Armor Penetration and Recovery (at even 25% Chance) into Power. So either those 2 Feats need a NERF, or every other 'Increases 1 Stat based on a Percentage of itself, or another' Feat needs to be brought UP.
An example is the Cleric Heroic Feat 'Initiate of the Faith' which, at 5 Points, raises the Critical Hit RATING stat by 1% of the Power Stat. Another Example, same Class: Domain Synergy Heroic Feat: Gain 5% more Recovery. at 2k Recovery (most Clerics I know use around 3k, in addition to Intelligence or Charisma, to get their Recharge Speed Bonus to 33%) this means 100 Recovery. For 5 Feat Points.
...
So as u begin to compare different classes, so why hunters always forget that self-healing feats on other classes look like "on some **** you regen 1-5% hp. 50 seconds cooldown". 50!!!!! seconds, and you have no cooldown stackable heal and it is "normal"
So as u begin to compare different classes, so why hunters always forget that self-healing feats on other classes look like "on some **** you regen 1-5% hp. 50 seconds cooldown". 50!!!!! seconds, and you have no cooldown stackable heal and it is "normal"
You are once more in PvP mode with your Brain. That's what 1. People are supposed to TEST, if the mechanic activating the feat/heal would work in the first place. And 2. Why we have Healing Depression. Right now, those selfheal feats are what is needed to make the melee HR function in PvE. They have horrible control, they do not tank like crazy, their 'dodge', while they have 6, which might be fine in PvP, effectively turn to 2 or 3 in PvE, since you need to double or triple dodge.
Right now, the whole 'Heal on Deflect' is BUGGED, since both the PvP Armor Heal Proc AND Medicine are activating out of the blue. The exact same thing, aka 'WAY too high Proc chance on the wrong triggers' also applied to the CW Class Feature 'Eye of the Storm', giving it a ridiculously high activation rate. So you might better ask to fix the borked PROC RATE first, before you WHINE for a nerf.
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simplyawfulMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 10
Right now, the whole 'Heal on Deflect' is BUGGED, since both the PvP Armor Heal Proc AND Medicine are activating out of the blue. The exact same thing, aka 'WAY too high Proc chance on the wrong triggers' also applied to the CW Class Feature 'Eye of the Storm', giving it a ridiculously high activation rate. So you might better ask to fix the borked PROC RATE first, before you WHINE for a nerf.
It is not the bugged procs on buffs etc that is the problem though (since that gives you relatively few stacks), it is that every time you deflect even the smallest DoT effect you get another stack of healing (note that the feat description does not say "chance on deflect..." like the PvP armour set bonus - it is actually every deflection that gives you a stack currently). When I can go in solo against the Remorhaz encounter and actually heal faster than I take damage even when I don't bother dodging any of the red circle/line attacks it is obvious that the effect is too good when you have high-end gear.
Whether the feat is adjusted to have an internal cooldown, only a chance on deflect, maximum number of stacks etc it really needs toning down in some way, or replacing with an effect that benefits lower-geared Combat HRs in a reasonable way without making BIS Combat HRs nigh-immortal. In essence, the feat scales up far too well currently.
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fdgxfhxfgnzthMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 20Arc User
edited June 2014
ok, lets count.
HR has 50% deflect
so 50%to regen 5% hp or 2,5% with depression
so to start damage hunter you need to deal more than 1,25% hp with EACH attack, now counting 50% deflect it goes to ~1,6%
with 30k hp it is 480 hp. 480 hp with every attack is simply diminished by single feat.
Now add regen and the only way to kill hunter is to oneshot with dailies with multiple people
And why do you think that EVERY spec should be viable in PVE? IN every game there is a pvp spec, a pve spec and some variations for experiments.
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gennarovaMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 3Arc User
edited June 2014
Feedback:Archery
I think the changes of ranged tree are very good. Now HRs can have 30% passive bonus damage with ranged skills. This is very cool. Than more crit chance ( not all passive, but it's ok ). Final point is ok too. This is a good buff for ranged tree: it isn't OP in PVE and in PVP. Good
Feedback:Melee Good buffs, but :
T3
Wilds Medicine: Deflecting attacks cause the Hunter to be healed for 1/2/3/4/5% of their HP over 15 seconds. This effect can stack.
This buff has to be nerfed. Hr is too much OP with this.
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mircalla83Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 36
It is not the bugged procs on buffs etc that is the problem though (since that gives you relatively few stacks), it is that every time you deflect even the smallest DoT effect you get another stack of healing (note that the feat description does not say "chance on deflect..." like the PvP armour set bonus - it is actually every deflection that gives you a stack currently). When I can go in solo against the Remorhaz encounter and actually heal faster than I take damage even when I don't bother dodging any of the red circle/line attacks it is obvious that the effect is too good when you have high-end gear.
Whether the feat is adjusted to have an internal cooldown, only a chance on deflect, maximum number of stacks etc it really needs toning down in some way, or replacing with an effect that benefits lower-geared Combat HRs in a reasonable way without making BIS Combat HRs nigh-immortal. In essence, the feat scales up far too well currently.
The HR, compared to live, lost 10% Deflection chance when in combat stance, for once. The new feat does NOT even give ONE percent. That is point one.
Point two: 'When you have high end gear'. Hint: At that level, EVERYONE is over the top. What YOU want is to remove the Combat HR as a viable PvE playstyle at EVERY level and gear quality unless you have invested significant time, effort and AD/Zen into the character,. Kinda like the Scoundrel Rogue right now, which has to outgear an Executioner Rogue by 30% to come close.
Point three: With an ICD, you turn the feat into complete GARBAGE. It also has a 'Chance' already. The decreased Deflection Rate. A fun little example: 2k Deflection Rating, gives 15.37% Deflection Chance. Then, I add 7% from my 24 points of Dexterity, makes it 22.37%. Then, I add Lucky Skirmisher, 25.37%. so you have a 25.37% Chance to proc it. See, there is your proc chance.
However, what I, personally, think would be a good balance: Maximum number of Stacks. While I think 5 is not good enough (not everyone in PvE is running around with 30k or more HP as DPS), 10 should be fine, it basically adds another layer of 'Regeneration', which is subject to Heal Depression in PvP. So fix the Proc(I could maintain 6 Stacks while standing at the campfire), limit it to 10 stacks, and it should then be tested.
ok, lets count.
HR has 50% deflect
so 50%to regen 5% hp or 2,5% with depression
so to start damage hunter you need to deal more than 1,25% hp with EACH attack, now counting 50% deflect it goes to ~1,6%
with 30k hp it is 480 hp. 480 hp with every attack is simply diminished by single feat.
Now add regen and the only way to kill hunter is to oneshot with dailies with multiple people
And why do you think that EVERY spec should be viable in PVE? IN every game there is a pvp spec, a pve spec and some variations for experiments.
Please show your math to the detail, where do you get the 50% Deflection Chance. Name every Feat, and name the amount of Deflect Rating. Also, tell us the Rank of Enchants you use in your calculations, please. Because going just by base Deflection rate, 2k Deflect Stat gives 15.37%, while 3k give us 19.63%. So for 1k more invested Rating, you gain whopping 4.26% Deflection Rating. 'Maxed' out Dexterity, gives another 8 (when rolling for 18 Dex at the beginning, including racial bonus this makes 20, plus 6 points during levelup), makes it 27.63%, plus Lucky Skirmisher, makes it 30.63%, now lets add Halfling, 33.63% (I'm Moonelf)
With the new deflection feat (I tested it, no worries), 3k Deflection Rating (the stuff you get from gear) turns into 3150 Deflection, turning it into 20.11% Base deflection. Add 8 for Dexterity, 3 for Lucky Skirmisher, makes it 31.11%, plus Halfling, 34.11%. So where are your 50% Deflect? Please show them. To reach 50% Deflection, minus Halfling, minus Lucky Skirmisher, minus Dexterity (14% in total), aka 36% Deflection from Stats alone, you would need more Itembudget than you could ever aquire in the game.
Source for my numeric values: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/3dqpvhuavj
That Spreadsheet is crossreferenced by the top numbercrunchers in the game, including Kaelac, who recently crunched out the interaction between Damage Reduction, Tenacity and Armor Penetration.
I am all for FIXING the currently messed up Proc Rate and capping it at 10 Stacks, which would turn it into 10, in PvP 5 % HP every 3 Seconds. Add Regen, usually at 10% too, this makes it 10% every 3. Its not as if a HR would run around with GWF like (current GWF) 80% DR.
By the way, what I would also like to see fixed: DoT Deflection. One shouldn't deflect the Damage tick, but the application of the DoT.
Oh, and another fun thing: You say 'PvP Spec'? Look at the Trapper. That looks very PvP Spec to me. Damage to Control immune enemies, Control bonuses, quite high damage bonuses when investing in the right feats and using the right encounters. Archery and Combat were set up in the way they are now, on Preview, because they are intended to be (in theory at least) equally viable, for those that prefer staying in one stance. The 'new' Combat Ranger, without the healing bonuses, is WORSE off than the current Combat Ranger, since the new Feats take 9% Deflect Chance, 10% Crit Chance, and FIXED 10% Movement Speed away.
Feedback Bottomless Quiver's 50% recover has made spaming hard hitting skills so easily in pvp and 2 thorn wards on the ground. Make thorn wards cooldown start after the duration ends and them maybe the percentage for bottomless quiver wont need to be reduced.
I think by now we all know that wild medicine has made hr unbeatable in 1v1? only a hunter ranger will be able to stall another hr.
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fdgxfhxfgnzthMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 20Arc User
edited June 2014
used 50% jsut to make it easy to count. Real deflect is 35-40%, but u get 25% more deflect severity after going melee, so its 75% deflect severity average. so 0,5*0,5 and 0,35*0,75 are almost equal (that is damage reduction from deflect). SO lets say it is not 480, but 400 hp mitigated with single feat. ANd it is after armor/tenacity damage reduction. SO hunter is healing if hit less than 800.
Just look at other healing feats from other classes. They all have 50 sec cd with same amount of heal. So that is tier 3, so it may be a little bit better, like 5 seconds cooldown or something.
Feedback Bottomless Quiver's 50% recover has made spaming hard hitting skills so easily in pvp and 2 thorn wards on the ground. Make thorn wards cooldown start after the duration ends and them maybe the percentage for bottomless quiver wont need to be reduced.
I think by now we all know that wild medicine has made hr unbeatable in 1v1? only a hunter ranger will be able to stall another hr.
I bet they cannot kill each other
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mircalla83Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 36
Feedback Bottomless Quiver's 50% recover has made spaming hard hitting skills so easily in pvp and 2 thorn wards on the ground. Make thorn wards cooldown start after the duration ends and them maybe the percentage for bottomless quiver wont need to be reduced.
I think by now we all know that wild medicine has made hr unbeatable in 1v1? only a hunter ranger will be able to stall another hr.
The whole Archery tree seems to be a bit...overbuffed right now, and the Bottomless Quiver is facepalm-inducing, especially given the fact that they appear to have increased the base cooldown on Thorn Ward. In PvE, a HR in Royal Guard Armor probably can forget about his At-Wills, and keep chaining Split the Sky, Thorn Ward and Rain.
And I think by now, we all know that Wilds Medicine and the PvP Armor 4/4 Heal Procs are currently working on a messed up mechanic, especially since both currently proc by simply standing next to the Campfire or walking/riding. One this is fixed, SERIOUS tests including BURST damage skills can be made, INCLUDING tests on how it reacts to mindless DoT-Spam. That the unlimited stacking is stupid is pretty much obvious even to those who defend Medicine, like me.
Edit:
fdgxfhxfgnzth, so lets go with an unlikely, but realistic value of 35% chance then (unless using Forest Meditation, thats a different can of worms - and that Daily should consume 100% AP in my opinion, not 75). Also, I just checked, on preview, in Melee Stance, my HR does not have 75% Deflection Severity, it stays at 50%. I checked the PvP sets, nothing gives a 25% bonus to Deflect Severity. The only class that has 75% Deflect Severity is the TR, they also have it all the time. The only bonus to Deflect Severity I could find is the Dread Ring boon 'Illusion Shimmer', which is supposed to give 3%. I'm honestly asking where you can find the other 22%, because no PvP item in the game has an effect like that.
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simplyawfulMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 10
What YOU want is to remove the Combat HR as a viable PvE playstyle at EVERY level and gear quality unless you have invested significant time, effort and AD/Zen into the character.
Quite the opposite actually - I am sympathetic to your viewpoint and want lower-geared HRs to have a significant benefit (which they do not really; in fact they end up losing out compared to live) without driving the higher-geared HRs too far. I may not have been clear enough in my earlier posts that I want a balance, not a general reduction at all levels.
Discussion point: Your suggestion of a maximum of 10 stacks would mean 50% regeneration over 15 seconds which equates to 3.3% per second i.e. 833 health per second with 25k health. This is currently very easy to achieve (mainly due to the way DoT effects can be deflected) and is on top of regeneration, lifesteal and Oak Skin (and any healing from other players of course). Whether this is the kind of number that is acceptable to both players and devs is the question.
Personally I would prefer not to have this "on deflection" type of feat and have back the old deflection chance along with some other non-scaling benefit that helps the lower-geared Combat HRs out more (my personal issue with combat HR has always been the relative lack of immunity to control effects, since some mobs spam knockdowns with alarming frequency).
To rein in BIS HRs the feat is probably going to be drastically cut back leaving lower-geared HRs with not much to make up for the loss of deflection chance. The likelihood is that the feat will gain an internal cooldown, a low stack limit and a chance of proc on deflection (i.e. end up identical to the PvP armour set bonus). Better to point out that it benefits one end of the gear spectrum too much and the other too little and get some adjustments we are happy with than to wait for the hammer to fall and all end up losing out.
Side note: I don't agree with the argument that it is okay to have a virtually immortal HR because I spent time and AD getting my gear (in case you were wondering - yes, it's a well-geared PvE build with over 44k health, an augment companion and purified black ice armour and weapons - my guild are nice enough that they don't mind me taking my tankier low-dps combat HR along on runs etc despite the fact I could take my glass-cannon archery HR along and do double the dps - but I started out with much worse gear than that at one point so I have not forgotten what it is like). I should be fairly robust, yes, but testing on preview shows that the way it works right now really does result in an unacceptable level of survivability for both PvE and PvP even with 10% less deflection chance than live builds currently have.
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fdgxfhxfgnzthMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 20Arc User
edited June 2014
i meant feat "nature's enchacement", but it seems like i was wrong, wiki tooltip says 25%, in-game its only 5%, but anyway that feat is just too strong and it just scales from enemy numbers
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mircalla83Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 36
The '10 Stacks' would limit it to 50% over 15 Seconds, if all 10 Stacks went up at the same time. It ticks every 3 seconds, so it is 10% every 3 Seconds, this means it could technically actually replace stacking Regeneration, since most people I know stop around 10% Regeneration anyway. Maybe a change could be done to the way DoTs get deflected in General? Right now, you deflect the Damage - why not see if it can be made to check once, when the Attack that would apply the DoT hits. If it gets deflected, the whole DoT isn't applied in the first place, if it hits, the DoT is applied and NO ticks of the Dot get deflected against.
i meant feat "nature's enchacement", but it seems like i was wrong, wiki tooltip says 25%, in-game its only 5%, but anyway that feat is just too strong and it just scales from enemy numbers
Ah, that one. 5 Seconds per switch to melee stance. Requires constant re-tapping (or a Gaming Hardware Macro/NW Keybind trickery).
And keep in mind, I agree with the 'nerf cries' that it can stack too much and needs a limit. But nerfing the chance based on current values, or the Heal amount, that would not be appropriate right now, since the numbers not only have 'valid' Tests (people actually fighting. at 6-8 stacks, it feels fine, backed by 10% Regen, the Lifesteal Feats, and Endless Consumption, with an LS modifier of roughly 12% before feats). I still need to pot now and then, but I am running Royal Guard, and only had 19% Deflection at the point of my test. In the current 'addtastic' environment, too few stacks make it useless, too. Maybe have the heal amount scale with the amount of enemies in 25 feet range, so in PvP, in a 'Small Group' situation, it would turn out less, in PvE, in an Addtastic fight, it would turn out higher? Or have the amount of Stacks scale with that?
Just look at other healing feats from other classes. They all have 50 sec cd with same amount of heal. So that is tier 3, so it may be a little bit better, like 5 seconds cooldown or something.
Wilds' Medicine (or the current set bonus) seems to be meant to be our ITC or Unstoppable in PVP. It's meant to bolster a class specced for melee who otherwise isn't very well equipped for it. Without it an HR would live about as long as a rogue without ITC or stealth.
Healing traits from other classes aren't comparable because they already have built in defenses in melee range.
If they get rid of it or nerf it too much you can forget about melee node-contesting HRs.
The '10 Stacks' would limit it to 50% over 15 Seconds
That might be ok if new stacks would be added as old ones dropped off. If it works like plaguefire, though where all the stacks drop off after the last one is added on, you're looking realistically at a 50% heal over 30 seconds (15 seconds after the last stack gets put on). A single IBS wipes out all healing and there would be no way to mitigate all of the other damage occurring in that 30 seconds. And that's not even factoring in healing depression.
I think the biggest reason people are freaking is because it's a stacked HOT. They see 20 stacks and they're like "WTF that HR is getting a 100% heal". That's not how it works in practice.
Take a situation like forest meditation where you have 100% deflect.
You could get 20 stacks fast, but because it's a ticking HOT, you can die to burst damage faster than now with 20 instant heals for less.
Also another reason is because one of the other classes doing lots of testing is CWs spamming ray of frost trying to perma-freeze people. People are getting much higher stacks while simultaneously putting out much lower damage than you'd see in a live dom match.
My Harem: Dawn HR, Erin CW, Piper TR, Zoe GWF
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gabrieldourdenMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,212Arc User
edited June 2014
Feedback: Trapper
Tested it soloing Icewind Dale. Pretty solid for PvE. Very good control with Strong Roots. You can go full control with Marauder's/Hindering/Constrictive moving back and forth from Melee to Ranged and Controlling a nice group of mobs, and you can replace Marauders with Rain of Arrows for more damage. With this tree, Rangers can finally bring more to the table than damage or mitigation, broadening the scope of the class.
Le-Shan: HR level 80 (main)
Born of Black Wind: SW Level 80
Point two: 'When you have high end gear'. Hint: At that level, EVERYONE is over the top.
One of the first things that crossed my mind when watching that earlier OP archery video was that it didn't look that much different to the sort of thing a CW or GWF can do on live. Maybe that's the level they're going for. *shrug*. We'll see what happens over the coming weeks.
A good ability and one that the Archers will need considering they have very little control. 25% is a bit much though and I would suggest 3/6/9/12/15% instead to be a bit more reasonable
We have this exact feat already. At 5/10/15/20/25%.
I'd actually like to see this increased to 2/4/6/8/10% to give it a little more value and help offset reductions in other feats in this path
Sadly even at 10% this would be almost worthless to higher geared players.
Here's where we start to go off the deep end. I can't begin to fathom how we came up with the 30% flat increase number. This is a very heavy handed approach to damage increasing and I think that this feat should be changed with either a 2/4/6/8/10% boost across all ranged attacks or a 4/8/12/16/20% boost to single target powers instead.
We have a feat now that grants up to 20% based on range. But we almost never get this in most battles. As we are often mid range or in the middle grouping up. This feat I speak of is being reduced to 10%. This is making up for some of that overall. Our overall damage is very lacking. This helps both our AoE and our single target. Our last feat helps our single target.
Again, a bit much when you consider the stacking encounter reductions of the Royal Guard set and the Stormstep action feat. 5/10/15/20/25% reductions are more reasonable without going overboard
We currently have a feat that lowers our encounter by 0.5 when we crit. This feat is less controllable. And rewards better geared players. This kind of evens the playing field. And it's not a 10s CD for a 20s base. It's 13.4s. 100% would halve the CD. I think they word it wrong is all. Should say "Comes off cooldown 50% faster". Overall this is just a re-making of an existing feat.
The power buff portion of this feat is completely unnecessary and only serves as yet another flat damage increase which is redundant and too far. Remove the power buff, duration and the stacking and make it a straight 3/6/9/12/15% crit severity increase
Mostly an increase to our sustained damage without giving us a huge burst boost. If we are proven too strong, this probably would be the easiest area to look at and hit. We also already have a 10% Crit Severity feat. If anything I'd say keep the 5% per stack and grant 10-15% at full stacks. Depending on if we're OP or not.
I actually like the concept of this feat a lot. But a 25% increased chance to crit is too extreme. The range buff is fine, but the crit increase needs to be brought down to 1/2/3/4/5%
It's rare we'll get the full effect of this buff. It rewards great positioning. But a lot of fights are going to have mobs running around everywhere.
I think this feat should be changed to be a stack-able bonus based upon how many times you attack your prey, make it grant 4% increased damage per stack up to 5 stacks for a max of 20% and also reduce the movement speed of the Prey by 2% per stack to a max of 10%. Duration of 30 seconds or until the Prey is dead. The longer the hunt, the more dangerous it becomes for the Prey rather then an immediate "I hit you like a thunderbolt from god" that it does now.
I'd really really hate to have a mob walk in front of me, I attack them,and now my stacks are gone on my main target.
Far as that video goes. It doesn't show anything. That damage isn't hard to do with his gear. I can do 24k crits(maybe more, I don't watch it that closely) with 13kGS and no vorpal. I would do 30857 with a Vorpal. Aim Shot is also not a reliable ability to use. Overall I was unimpressed based on what it looks like his gear is and the damage he put out. He also opened wrong. Aim Shot would of been best and he could of gotten 2 off before they got to him. Followed by Rain of Arrows in front of himself and a Thorn Ward. With his gear he could of killed one before it even got to him with live values.
All in all, I don't think you realize how low the HR is on the class pole. We do comparable damage to GWF/CW, often less because of how our tools work. Our single target doesn't compare to either. If we are to be a striker class we need our damage buffed quite heavily. CW and GWF will still be able to pull mostly what they do now. The more OP factors are being changed around a bit. And my require specing into.
Top this off with the very limited utility we bring(striker class after all). Archery single target damage is bring brought up heavily because it's a weaker area for us. The rest is being brought up as well so we can keep up with and sometimes surpass CW/GWF in AoE.
Biggest problem I see coming is that little X button on everyone's keyboard.
There are so many different ways to contribute to a fight. What will the CW offer when the HR is more likely to get paingiver and has an equal chance at getting #! on kills. Perhaps a "debuff" lable is needed. Showing a value for CCing enemies. Granting different amounts based on type of CC/debuff and it's duration. But none of these charge will ever be "perfect". I'd rather just see overall stats removed and just have boss stats. These charts are so bloated by trash mobs.
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orodalfMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited June 2014
Something of a different nature:
Feedback: Trapper I very much like the idea behind this tree. However, given that it is called the Trapper, I feel like any HR's with points in this tree should also have the ability to disarm traps like Trickster Rogues have.
Feedback: Combat Tree That tree's survival capabilities are way out of line in both PVP and PVE. Overall the new feat Wilds Medicine and the reworked PVP set bonus present a nerf to the current Profound gear (especially with increasing hit frequency), but Life Steal generated by Bloodletting, Battle Crazed, Incoming Healing Bonus and Endless Consumption is crazy.
I tested it against medium HEs in IWD and healed nearly 5k/sec, 3k from Health Steal alone. And my 14k HR is far from BiS and not geared for a LS/melee type so there is room for more. With DoTs/Blade Storm/AoE the stacks of Battle Crazed are easily maintainable, so I ended up with 26.9% LS and 30% should be possible from geared HRs.
Feedback: Ranged Tree Feels a bit more potent compared to live, I think it's reasonable. Ranged HRs should be a serious DPS now and they need a GF to hold aggro so they can snipe.
Bug: Bloodletting Bloodletting is a direct boost to Life Steal, not to the rating. I think gcrush said that the Tier 1 feat should increase the rating, while Battle Crazed the stat itself. Not sure whether Fluid Hunter should boost the rating or the Deflect chance, right now its the rating.
Feedback: Bloodletting and Fluid Hunter Given Bloodletting and Fluid Hunter indeed are meant to increase the ratings, 5% is underwhelming and not in line with other T1/T2 feats:
I feel like the modification to weak grasping roots is like taking away entangling force and modding it to snare someone for .5 seconds for a CW. I feel like it was a HARSH draw back from the control you could maintain with hindering shot. And Constricting Arrow was mainly used (in my PVE usage) to control the bigger mobs, while the strong grasping roots were coming back to hold it again, i would already be charging up my aimed shot for the kill. Obviously, now it won't be possible. I consider it a nerf.
Anyways, I hope everyone gets a free respec token because this change is really going to affect the powers I use. permenantly. And I recently used one on my HR too.
biggest problem now is bug in deflect. where it applies even if you are just running in pvp.
Same thing goes with 5% from Fluid Hunter - with 2k defect it gives you less then 2% in total. Please change this to 5% more.
Feedback
Question - would life steal from Bloodletting or Battle Crazed work if you apply for example throne ward and switch to combat? This is very common scenario in pvp especially for pathfinders where they throw thone ward and and that is all.- he is god in that spot. So if you add 5% more life steal per feet it would make it even more survivable.
Note - Combat HRs have no combat breakers at all. At the same time we now have curious synergy with archery skill - I can not really see what to use from that side. With my combat stormwarden hr with one target focus I use fox/boar/marauder archery seems to be useless cause we don't have now any coldowns for archery tree. Ill need to play more with different combos
"Hunter Ranger PVP sets now have a 50% chance to trigger on a successful deflect (down from 75%), and cannot be healed by this effect more often than once every 2 seconds."
Another thing for pvp - having nerfed profound gear with cool down you made it pretty useless. Fixing "heal on deflect" will make it . 2 second in pvp is a lot. 2 second is the time that gwf can wipe you from the field. And we are talking about gear that required to play a lot for. it is 19+ daily victories in pvp per 1 piece, remember? And you need 4 for gear to have this effect. People gridended for it a lot! Does not you really want to have something good for all the work you did to get this gear? This is top pvp gear! I would not expect that it be nerfed cause of all crying about "thouse bad hrs" - thoose hrs fight and died a lot for that gear.
My best suggestion is to fix "heal of deflect". This will make mechanic work as supposed to be and will dramatically low gear usefulness already. And then remove cooldown from gear to balance it up.
I generally like most of the proposed changes very much, I'd just like to make one bigger highlight: HR buffing powers were always kind of useless. With the nature tree, at least there was a feeling that they were headed somewhere - and nature HRs actually had a certain role to play up to a certain GS (after which they all became useless).
With the new changes, I feel these powers will feel even more like "fillers". With the new Trappers tree, IMHO most powers should be able to deal SOME damage. Boar Charge is a good power with good synergies with archer powers, but it seems like a waste, in a Trappers build, to have a slot which doesn't deal damage both ways. I already feel like that about Fox Shift as it is.
Anyway, just wanted to share my view on this. Thanks for listening.
Question - would life steal from Bloodletting or Battle Crazed work if you apply for example throne ward and switch to combat? This is very common scenario in pvp especially for pathfinders where they throw thone ward and and that is all.- he is god in that spot. So if you add 5% more life steal per feet it would make it even more survivable.
No. Feats trigger based on the type of power used, not which stance you happen to be in. Thorn Ward is an Ranged encounter and will not benefit from Combat-only feats.
Hey guys, I wanted to drop in and note a few changes we want to make to the Ranger's update.
Wilds Medicine: Wilds Medicine will only trigger from Damage sources, and will no longer trigger from other assorted effects that can be deflected but where deflect had no effect.
Wilds Medicine: Now has a maximum stack cap of 10. This effect will refresh the oldest possible stack if you are at maximum stacks without interrupting the time to your next HoT tick.
Wilds Medicine was providing too much healing over time in cases where small strikes were being easily deflected, so limiting that to a maximum amount of incoming healing is an important part of how this build is intended to work. Additionally making it work only on incoming deflected damage will help prevent some awkward cases where stacks were being added for nothing.
Before we make any further changes to the class we would love to see some dungeon runs and performance comparisons with various classes.
Thank you all for your continued feedback!
Chris "Gentleman Crush" Meyer
Comments
The old feats allowed you to flex between two trees at a time without the regrettably of not investing all the way. In this patch I found that sticking with one tree, although limited in options, turned out the be the only effective way to build your toon. It's appears now that the hunter ranger would have to specialize in a style in order to be efficient in combat and survival. Archery has great feats for range only, as with Combat too. Trapper is a nice mix of stance switching feats, which emphasizes the "specialty" that hunter rangers have.
While mixing feats, creating hybrids, is still possible, the fact that each tree is so specialized adds a barrier to having "best of both worlds" builds. I did manage to grab the 30% range damage and 15% pierce damage in a build, however that meant having other specialized feats that don't cross over stances.
It appears now that hunter rangers would have to specialized, and lock in, a certain combat play style in order to perform well in combat and survival; in other words picking straight Archery would mean being in Range stance for the majority of combat, and vice versa with Combat and Melee stance. It became difficult to switch stances when I was investing in one combat style, not because there wasn't a need to switch stances, but because I felt that the other stance was somehow...nerfed...when I invested in the other. For instance, being an Archery build allowed me to dish out a load of damage in a short time, yet once I switched to my melee stance mid battle it felt useless and inefficient; which then I ended up staying in the range stance for the duration of all other conflicts.
The Trapper feats, including the Strong Grasping Roots (SGR) to Thorn Roots, is really creative and interesting. When I invested in the Trapper tree, I felt comfortable and well rounded, at least the way I see a hunter ranger should fight; maybe because I didn't feel trapped in one stance the whole time.
To sum up the feat comparison between trees, Combat had nice AoE enhancing feats, Archery had nice Single Target feats, Trapper had nice Stance Switching enhancing feats.
A couple personal shout outs:
I want to shout out to the SGR and WGR change; this was a good move in my opinion. Rangers, to me, are suppose to be masters of slowing down the enemy (aside from the generic frost mages in other MMOs). Constricting Arrow as an AoE snare is awesome, it gives us a CC option at a range stance as oppose to using the Melee stance for CC stuff.
I want to shout out to the Archery 30% damage increase feat; this allowed Electric Shot to become a viable option/alternative to Split Shot. I personally use ES over Split, and this feat buffs it to a useful state.
Another shout out to the Thorn Roots conversion feat; though 250%, or simply multiplying the weapon damage by 3.5, DoT sounds insane, I think it gives us another window of DoT attacks. This feat certainly helps encounters like Hindering Shot/Strike and Binding Arrow.
All in all, the hunter ranger would need to specialize in a specific combat style in order to be effective in combat, be it PvE or PvP. It's no longer "I'm kinda Archery" or "I'm kinda Combat". As for Paragon Paths, Storm Warden seems to fit in the Hybrid category now as it's melee enhancing powers, like Blade Storm and Throw caution, can negate the "nerf feeling" that the Archery tree gives off; going Combat creates an "over excessive" feel that I think needs to be looked over. Pathfinder still fits the Single Target builds and can go well with either straight Archery or straight Combat, but falls short on hybrids and the Trapper tree.
The change to a direct rooting effect is a good one though the duration for non Trapper paragons is almost negligible. I would suggest a slight duration increase so that they are actually noticeable
Again a good change with the slight damage increase but I think we should turn to a time based flat increase instead of just a double charge each way as most hybrid players will remain in one stance long enough to burn through a set of encounters and wait for the cool downs to begin the routine all over again. I believe that it should be a flat 5% per rank damage boost which activates upon stance change and lasts for 2 sec per rank. This gives it far more utility and makes it a must have for stance changers like me whilst boosting damage overall somewhat for hybrids, which they fall behind their single path brethren in.
Words can not begin to express how awesome this now is... at least for trappers. It is far less useful for the other two paragons. A slight base duration increase like I proposed above for root effects may help.
A good ability and one that the Archers will need considering they have very little control. 25% is a bit much though and I would suggest 3/6/9/12/15% instead to be a bit more reasonable
Nothing wrong with this at all, keep it.
I'd actually like to see this increased to 2/4/6/8/10% to give it a little more value and help offset reductions in other feats in this path
Here's where we start to go off the deep end. I can't begin to fathom how we came up with the 30% flat increase number. This is a very heavy handed approach to damage increasing and I think that this feat should be changed with either a 2/4/6/8/10% boost across all ranged attacks or a 4/8/12/16/20% boost to single target powers instead.
Again, a bit much when you consider the stacking encounter reductions of the Royal Guard set and the Stormstep action feat. 5/10/15/20/25% reductions are more reasonable without going overboard
The power buff portion of this feat is completely unnecessary and only serves as yet another flat damage increase which is redundant and too far. Remove the power buff, duration and the stacking and make it a straight 3/6/9/12/15% crit severity increase
I actually like the concept of this feat a lot. But a 25% increased chance to crit is too extreme. The range buff is fine, but the crit increase needs to be brought down to 1/2/3/4/5%
I think this feat should be changed to be a stack-able bonus based upon how many times you attack your prey, make it grant 4% increased damage per stack up to 5 stacks for a max of 20% and also reduce the movement speed of the Prey by 2% per stack to a max of 10%. Duration of 30 seconds or until the Prey is dead. The longer the hunt, the more dangerous it becomes for the Prey rather then an immediate "I hit you like a thunderbolt from god" that it does now.
An example of how overpowered the Archery tree currently is
Wrong, HR's just had their set nerfed because of self healing capabilities like this. Change this to a bleed effect for 5/10/15/20/25% of weapon damage dealt once every 2 seconds for ten seconds.
Nothing wrong with this one, keep it
Another good one in line with other class' deflection increasing paragon feats.
Not sure why you didn't go with just a flat damage increase since most monsters have no deflection really... otherwise it's a cool concept
Again no, we want to make the HR harder to kill, but not invincible. Change this feat to boost the Rangers deflection severity by 3/6/9/12/15% or boost incoming healing by 2/4/6/8/10%
I like this, like a lot. It needs to cap out at 5 enemies though.
Again with the life steal? This should be boosts the ranger's melee attack speed by 2% per stack. Can stack up to 5 times. Lasts 3 seconds.
A little video of how overpowered the life steal stacking becomes
Flurry is great!
Only thing needed here is a clear duration
Again needs a clear duration otherwise it's fine
I'd actually like to see this boosted a tad to 4/8/12/16/20% since it will only effect a single power during a rotation.
One of the best new feats yet!
Again I'd like to see this boosted a bit to .4/.8/1.2/1.6/2 seconds to make it a bit easier for faster stance rotations to occur thus more synergy with Aspect of the Serpent
This is a great feat. Keep it as is.
To make this work with the Aspect of the Serpent change I proposed it should grant a single flat 1/2/3/4/5% damage increase for the duration of Serpent and a 1/2/3/4/5% crit chance increase for the duration as well.
I'd like to see Biting Snares boost party damage by 1/2/3/4/5% for 10 seconds instead of the AP generation. This makes it more synergistic with group play.
All in all, if we scale back our first two trees a tad and bump up the third, we can see three very unique types of rangers that all are relatively equal in the power scale. The changes to Aspect of the Serpent are good, but it needs to go to a timed flat buff instead of charges as at two charges you will see people frantically changing stances to try and maintain it, or they will just ignore it completely.
To me the life steal feats proposed for the melee tree honestly look like they belong in the Guardian Fighter Protector tree instead to help boost that classes survivability. These are for the most part very good ideas and changes, and if we fine tuned them as I have outlined they will be balanced.
Gloom level 60 Control Wizard
Dusk level 60 Trickster Rogue
Dawn level 60 Devoted Cleric
Eclipse level 60 Hunter Ranger
Wrath level 60 Great Weapon Fighter
Jinx level 60 Scourge Warlock
The Bear Trap animation shows the trap floating up into the sky if placed on a hill or incline.
Rain of Swords will not hit targets a few feet in front of it. Terrain height differences may be a cause. Also, triggering it right after another encounter that spins the camera around seems to make it miss more as well.
Wilds Medicine triggers while sitting around a camp fire and also while running around the map and not taking damage.
I agree with caexar's post. Testing I did on preview makes me think that currently the Archery tree gives us far too much additional damage (PvE I had fairly constant 7k crits on Rapid Shot when I had Prey on the target) and the Combat tree far too much additional survivability (PvP testing showed almost nobody could kill me 1vs1 even with CW perma-control, and PvE I could tackle far larger groups of enemies than on live). Trapper is rather fun (although I am one of the few who will miss the Nature tree - any chance of getting the buff powers adjusted to always be 100% for party members now instead of 50%?) and I can see it being effective for soloing, but with the buffs to Archery and Combat it is currently very much overshadowed at the moment.
BUG: Ancient Roots/Thorned Roots
Taking the Ancient Roots feat for extended root duration means the 250% weapon damage damage from Thorned Roots is stretched over 7 seconds instead of 2 seconds, reducing dps.
While I do not think that the intention is necessarily for damage to be increased when the duration of the root is extended, if the damage is going to be spread like this then I think it needs to be. Since most players taking the Trapper feats will take both feats (at least, I do not see why you would take Thorned Roots but not Ancient Roots), I would suggest that damage is changed to something like 75% of weapon damage per second while rooted by strong grasping roots, which would give 150% over 2 seconds without Ancient Roots and 525% over 7 seconds with that feat (note that this is from a PvE perspective - since root duration is halved in PvP that would mean half damage as well, so the damage would probably need to be adjusted for PvP separately).
BUG: Stormcaller's Arrow/Forced Respec
The forced respec of the paragon feats does not refund ranks in Stormcaller's Arrow, meaning you have to purchase a respec to remove ranks in that feat as even if you want to include that feat in your build again the system rejects your selections.
Combined with the LOSSES given by the new feats, caexar's suggestions would outright kill the PvE Combat HR off for good.
In PvP, people currently are foaming around their mouths due to the fact that the whole 'Proc on Deflect' mechanic isn't working at all - the effects activate while being buffed by an ally, or standing in a campfire, too. This should be fixed before the 'tests' can be taken seriously in the first place, since a lot of 'testers' use intentionally onesided 'scenarios' (weak hitting dots, Ray of Frost, basically ONLY attacks that give lots of hits with pathetic damage, to give as many chances to deflect as possible). However, I agree that Wilds Medicine needs a maximum stack size, which, however, should not be a kneejerk nerf to appease the PvP players, since this would render the changes to the Combat HR moot.
Lifesteal, which only applies in Melee Stance, is, for PvE at least, an appropriate change. It requires the HR to actively attack - and, it should be kept in mind, Lifesteal is subject to Healing Depression. Can't kill the Combat HR in melee? Then bring a ranged attacker, instead of running a team composed of GWF, TR and maybe GF. Also, the Hunter Ranger has NO Control Breaker, so once the promised boosts to CW control capability get made, there would be another possible counter.
Also, specific Feedback to an upcoming change:
Fluid Hunter: This Feat is utterly useless, like every single other 'Gives a 5% Bonus to your stat X' Feat in the game. My Archery geared HR, with 1062 Deflect from gear, gains a whopping 53 points from 5 points - resulting in 'awesome' 0.4% more Deflection Chance. If I switched all my Defense Slot R7 Dark Enchants to R7 Silvery, including those on my Ioun Stone, and switched to the Fey Elusiveness Boon I would rise to 1867 Deflection Rating base -> 1960 Rating, resulting in a roughly 0.46% increased Deflection Chance.
So either this feat needs to turn to a flat bonus to chance (at 5%, it would still only give half the bonus of the current Elusive Hunter Feat), or boost it, and with that, all other 'Increases Stat x by 5%' to a 20 or 25% Bonus.
Using the 20% Bonus, and the above numbers, this would mean:
1062 Deflection Rating -> 1274 Rating, net increase of Deflection Chance: 1.6%
1867 Deflection Rating -> 2240 Rating, net increase of Deflection Chance: 1.8%
Still not really 'worth' it, but at least better than the current implementation. The argument that this is too much of a bonus to a 'rating' Stat is moot, too, since the precedence has been given in with the Power attribute (which is, technically, also a 'Rating', without Diminishing Returns on top of that), and 2 Feats on the Great Weapon Fighter Class that pump Defense (at 20% Rate) and both Armor Penetration and Recovery (at even 25% Chance) into Power. So either those 2 Feats need a NERF, or every other 'Increases 1 Stat based on a Percentage of itself, or another' Feat needs to be brought UP.
An example is the Cleric Heroic Feat 'Initiate of the Faith' which, at 5 Points, raises the Critical Hit RATING stat by 1% of the Power Stat. Another Example, same Class: Domain Synergy Heroic Feat: Gain 5% more Recovery. at 2k Recovery (most Clerics I know use around 3k, in addition to Intelligence or Charisma, to get their Recharge Speed Bonus to 33%) this means 100 Recovery. For 5 Feat Points.
I know people are shocked that HR can put out big numbers in Archery now, but CWs and GWFs can put out the same kind of numbers and heal for just as much with lifesteal.
You are once more in PvP mode with your Brain. That's what 1. People are supposed to TEST, if the mechanic activating the feat/heal would work in the first place. And 2. Why we have Healing Depression. Right now, those selfheal feats are what is needed to make the melee HR function in PvE. They have horrible control, they do not tank like crazy, their 'dodge', while they have 6, which might be fine in PvP, effectively turn to 2 or 3 in PvE, since you need to double or triple dodge.
Right now, the whole 'Heal on Deflect' is BUGGED, since both the PvP Armor Heal Proc AND Medicine are activating out of the blue. The exact same thing, aka 'WAY too high Proc chance on the wrong triggers' also applied to the CW Class Feature 'Eye of the Storm', giving it a ridiculously high activation rate. So you might better ask to fix the borked PROC RATE first, before you WHINE for a nerf.
It is not the bugged procs on buffs etc that is the problem though (since that gives you relatively few stacks), it is that every time you deflect even the smallest DoT effect you get another stack of healing (note that the feat description does not say "chance on deflect..." like the PvP armour set bonus - it is actually every deflection that gives you a stack currently). When I can go in solo against the Remorhaz encounter and actually heal faster than I take damage even when I don't bother dodging any of the red circle/line attacks it is obvious that the effect is too good when you have high-end gear.
Whether the feat is adjusted to have an internal cooldown, only a chance on deflect, maximum number of stacks etc it really needs toning down in some way, or replacing with an effect that benefits lower-geared Combat HRs in a reasonable way without making BIS Combat HRs nigh-immortal. In essence, the feat scales up far too well currently.
HR has 50% deflect
so 50%to regen 5% hp or 2,5% with depression
so to start damage hunter you need to deal more than 1,25% hp with EACH attack, now counting 50% deflect it goes to ~1,6%
with 30k hp it is 480 hp. 480 hp with every attack is simply diminished by single feat.
Now add regen and the only way to kill hunter is to oneshot with dailies with multiple people
And why do you think that EVERY spec should be viable in PVE? IN every game there is a pvp spec, a pve spec and some variations for experiments.
I think the changes of ranged tree are very good. Now HRs can have 30% passive bonus damage with ranged skills. This is very cool. Than more crit chance ( not all passive, but it's ok ). Final point is ok too. This is a good buff for ranged tree: it isn't OP in PVE and in PVP. Good
Feedback:Melee
Good buffs, but :
T3
Wilds Medicine: Deflecting attacks cause the Hunter to be healed for 1/2/3/4/5% of their HP over 15 seconds. This effect can stack.
This buff has to be nerfed. Hr is too much OP with this.
The HR, compared to live, lost 10% Deflection chance when in combat stance, for once. The new feat does NOT even give ONE percent. That is point one.
Point two: 'When you have high end gear'. Hint: At that level, EVERYONE is over the top. What YOU want is to remove the Combat HR as a viable PvE playstyle at EVERY level and gear quality unless you have invested significant time, effort and AD/Zen into the character,. Kinda like the Scoundrel Rogue right now, which has to outgear an Executioner Rogue by 30% to come close.
Point three: With an ICD, you turn the feat into complete GARBAGE. It also has a 'Chance' already. The decreased Deflection Rate. A fun little example: 2k Deflection Rating, gives 15.37% Deflection Chance. Then, I add 7% from my 24 points of Dexterity, makes it 22.37%. Then, I add Lucky Skirmisher, 25.37%. so you have a 25.37% Chance to proc it. See, there is your proc chance.
However, what I, personally, think would be a good balance: Maximum number of Stacks. While I think 5 is not good enough (not everyone in PvE is running around with 30k or more HP as DPS), 10 should be fine, it basically adds another layer of 'Regeneration', which is subject to Heal Depression in PvP. So fix the Proc(I could maintain 6 Stacks while standing at the campfire), limit it to 10 stacks, and it should then be tested.
Please show your math to the detail, where do you get the 50% Deflection Chance. Name every Feat, and name the amount of Deflect Rating. Also, tell us the Rank of Enchants you use in your calculations, please. Because going just by base Deflection rate, 2k Deflect Stat gives 15.37%, while 3k give us 19.63%. So for 1k more invested Rating, you gain whopping 4.26% Deflection Rating. 'Maxed' out Dexterity, gives another 8 (when rolling for 18 Dex at the beginning, including racial bonus this makes 20, plus 6 points during levelup), makes it 27.63%, plus Lucky Skirmisher, makes it 30.63%, now lets add Halfling, 33.63% (I'm Moonelf)
With the new deflection feat (I tested it, no worries), 3k Deflection Rating (the stuff you get from gear) turns into 3150 Deflection, turning it into 20.11% Base deflection. Add 8 for Dexterity, 3 for Lucky Skirmisher, makes it 31.11%, plus Halfling, 34.11%. So where are your 50% Deflect? Please show them. To reach 50% Deflection, minus Halfling, minus Lucky Skirmisher, minus Dexterity (14% in total), aka 36% Deflection from Stats alone, you would need more Itembudget than you could ever aquire in the game.
Source for my numeric values: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/3dqpvhuavj
That Spreadsheet is crossreferenced by the top numbercrunchers in the game, including Kaelac, who recently crunched out the interaction between Damage Reduction, Tenacity and Armor Penetration.
I am all for FIXING the currently messed up Proc Rate and capping it at 10 Stacks, which would turn it into 10, in PvP 5 % HP every 3 Seconds. Add Regen, usually at 10% too, this makes it 10% every 3. Its not as if a HR would run around with GWF like (current GWF) 80% DR.
By the way, what I would also like to see fixed: DoT Deflection. One shouldn't deflect the Damage tick, but the application of the DoT.
Oh, and another fun thing: You say 'PvP Spec'? Look at the Trapper. That looks very PvP Spec to me. Damage to Control immune enemies, Control bonuses, quite high damage bonuses when investing in the right feats and using the right encounters. Archery and Combat were set up in the way they are now, on Preview, because they are intended to be (in theory at least) equally viable, for those that prefer staying in one stance. The 'new' Combat Ranger, without the healing bonuses, is WORSE off than the current Combat Ranger, since the new Feats take 9% Deflect Chance, 10% Crit Chance, and FIXED 10% Movement Speed away.
Bottomless Quiver's 50% recover has made spaming hard hitting skills so easily in pvp and 2 thorn wards on the ground. Make thorn wards cooldown start after the duration ends and them maybe the percentage for bottomless quiver wont need to be reduced.
I think by now we all know that wild medicine has made hr unbeatable in 1v1? only a hunter ranger will be able to stall another hr.
Just look at other healing feats from other classes. They all have 50 sec cd with same amount of heal. So that is tier 3, so it may be a little bit better, like 5 seconds cooldown or something.
I bet they cannot kill each other
The whole Archery tree seems to be a bit...overbuffed right now, and the Bottomless Quiver is facepalm-inducing, especially given the fact that they appear to have increased the base cooldown on Thorn Ward. In PvE, a HR in Royal Guard Armor probably can forget about his At-Wills, and keep chaining Split the Sky, Thorn Ward and Rain.
And I think by now, we all know that Wilds Medicine and the PvP Armor 4/4 Heal Procs are currently working on a messed up mechanic, especially since both currently proc by simply standing next to the Campfire or walking/riding. One this is fixed, SERIOUS tests including BURST damage skills can be made, INCLUDING tests on how it reacts to mindless DoT-Spam. That the unlimited stacking is stupid is pretty much obvious even to those who defend Medicine, like me.
Edit:
fdgxfhxfgnzth, so lets go with an unlikely, but realistic value of 35% chance then (unless using Forest Meditation, thats a different can of worms - and that Daily should consume 100% AP in my opinion, not 75). Also, I just checked, on preview, in Melee Stance, my HR does not have 75% Deflection Severity, it stays at 50%. I checked the PvP sets, nothing gives a 25% bonus to Deflect Severity. The only class that has 75% Deflect Severity is the TR, they also have it all the time. The only bonus to Deflect Severity I could find is the Dread Ring boon 'Illusion Shimmer', which is supposed to give 3%. I'm honestly asking where you can find the other 22%, because no PvP item in the game has an effect like that.
Quite the opposite actually - I am sympathetic to your viewpoint and want lower-geared HRs to have a significant benefit (which they do not really; in fact they end up losing out compared to live) without driving the higher-geared HRs too far. I may not have been clear enough in my earlier posts that I want a balance, not a general reduction at all levels.
Discussion point: Your suggestion of a maximum of 10 stacks would mean 50% regeneration over 15 seconds which equates to 3.3% per second i.e. 833 health per second with 25k health. This is currently very easy to achieve (mainly due to the way DoT effects can be deflected) and is on top of regeneration, lifesteal and Oak Skin (and any healing from other players of course). Whether this is the kind of number that is acceptable to both players and devs is the question.
Personally I would prefer not to have this "on deflection" type of feat and have back the old deflection chance along with some other non-scaling benefit that helps the lower-geared Combat HRs out more (my personal issue with combat HR has always been the relative lack of immunity to control effects, since some mobs spam knockdowns with alarming frequency).
To rein in BIS HRs the feat is probably going to be drastically cut back leaving lower-geared HRs with not much to make up for the loss of deflection chance. The likelihood is that the feat will gain an internal cooldown, a low stack limit and a chance of proc on deflection (i.e. end up identical to the PvP armour set bonus). Better to point out that it benefits one end of the gear spectrum too much and the other too little and get some adjustments we are happy with than to wait for the hammer to fall and all end up losing out.
Side note: I don't agree with the argument that it is okay to have a virtually immortal HR because I spent time and AD getting my gear (in case you were wondering - yes, it's a well-geared PvE build with over 44k health, an augment companion and purified black ice armour and weapons - my guild are nice enough that they don't mind me taking my tankier low-dps combat HR along on runs etc despite the fact I could take my glass-cannon archery HR along and do double the dps - but I started out with much worse gear than that at one point so I have not forgotten what it is like). I should be fairly robust, yes, but testing on preview shows that the way it works right now really does result in an unacceptable level of survivability for both PvE and PvP even with 10% less deflection chance than live builds currently have.
The '10 Stacks' would limit it to 50% over 15 Seconds, if all 10 Stacks went up at the same time. It ticks every 3 seconds, so it is 10% every 3 Seconds, this means it could technically actually replace stacking Regeneration, since most people I know stop around 10% Regeneration anyway.
Maybe a change could be done to the way DoTs get deflected in General? Right now, you deflect the Damage - why not see if it can be made to check once, when the Attack that would apply the DoT hits. If it gets deflected, the whole DoT isn't applied in the first place, if it hits, the DoT is applied and NO ticks of the Dot get deflected against.
Ah, that one. 5 Seconds per switch to melee stance. Requires constant re-tapping (or a Gaming Hardware Macro/NW Keybind trickery).
And keep in mind, I agree with the 'nerf cries' that it can stack too much and needs a limit. But nerfing the chance based on current values, or the Heal amount, that would not be appropriate right now, since the numbers not only have 'valid' Tests (people actually fighting. at 6-8 stacks, it feels fine, backed by 10% Regen, the Lifesteal Feats, and Endless Consumption, with an LS modifier of roughly 12% before feats). I still need to pot now and then, but I am running Royal Guard, and only had 19% Deflection at the point of my test. In the current 'addtastic' environment, too few stacks make it useless, too. Maybe have the heal amount scale with the amount of enemies in 25 feet range, so in PvP, in a 'Small Group' situation, it would turn out less, in PvE, in an Addtastic fight, it would turn out higher? Or have the amount of Stacks scale with that?
Wilds' Medicine (or the current set bonus) seems to be meant to be our ITC or Unstoppable in PVP. It's meant to bolster a class specced for melee who otherwise isn't very well equipped for it. Without it an HR would live about as long as a rogue without ITC or stealth.
Healing traits from other classes aren't comparable because they already have built in defenses in melee range.
If they get rid of it or nerf it too much you can forget about melee node-contesting HRs.
That might be ok if new stacks would be added as old ones dropped off. If it works like plaguefire, though where all the stacks drop off after the last one is added on, you're looking realistically at a 50% heal over 30 seconds (15 seconds after the last stack gets put on). A single IBS wipes out all healing and there would be no way to mitigate all of the other damage occurring in that 30 seconds. And that's not even factoring in healing depression.
I think the biggest reason people are freaking is because it's a stacked HOT. They see 20 stacks and they're like "WTF that HR is getting a 100% heal". That's not how it works in practice.
Take a situation like forest meditation where you have 100% deflect.
You could get 20 stacks fast, but because it's a ticking HOT, you can die to burst damage faster than now with 20 instant heals for less.
Also another reason is because one of the other classes doing lots of testing is CWs spamming ray of frost trying to perma-freeze people. People are getting much higher stacks while simultaneously putting out much lower damage than you'd see in a live dom match.
Tested it soloing Icewind Dale. Pretty solid for PvE. Very good control with Strong Roots. You can go full control with Marauder's/Hindering/Constrictive moving back and forth from Melee to Ranged and Controlling a nice group of mobs, and you can replace Marauders with Rain of Arrows for more damage. With this tree, Rangers can finally bring more to the table than damage or mitigation, broadening the scope of the class.
Born of Black Wind: SW Level 80
We have this exact feat already. At 5/10/15/20/25%.
Sadly even at 10% this would be almost worthless to higher geared players.
We have a feat now that grants up to 20% based on range. But we almost never get this in most battles. As we are often mid range or in the middle grouping up. This feat I speak of is being reduced to 10%. This is making up for some of that overall. Our overall damage is very lacking. This helps both our AoE and our single target. Our last feat helps our single target.
We currently have a feat that lowers our encounter by 0.5 when we crit. This feat is less controllable. And rewards better geared players. This kind of evens the playing field. And it's not a 10s CD for a 20s base. It's 13.4s. 100% would halve the CD. I think they word it wrong is all. Should say "Comes off cooldown 50% faster". Overall this is just a re-making of an existing feat.
Mostly an increase to our sustained damage without giving us a huge burst boost. If we are proven too strong, this probably would be the easiest area to look at and hit. We also already have a 10% Crit Severity feat. If anything I'd say keep the 5% per stack and grant 10-15% at full stacks. Depending on if we're OP or not.
It's rare we'll get the full effect of this buff. It rewards great positioning. But a lot of fights are going to have mobs running around everywhere.
I'd really really hate to have a mob walk in front of me, I attack them,and now my stacks are gone on my main target.
Far as that video goes. It doesn't show anything. That damage isn't hard to do with his gear. I can do 24k crits(maybe more, I don't watch it that closely) with 13kGS and no vorpal. I would do 30857 with a Vorpal. Aim Shot is also not a reliable ability to use. Overall I was unimpressed based on what it looks like his gear is and the damage he put out. He also opened wrong. Aim Shot would of been best and he could of gotten 2 off before they got to him. Followed by Rain of Arrows in front of himself and a Thorn Ward. With his gear he could of killed one before it even got to him with live values.
All in all, I don't think you realize how low the HR is on the class pole. We do comparable damage to GWF/CW, often less because of how our tools work. Our single target doesn't compare to either. If we are to be a striker class we need our damage buffed quite heavily. CW and GWF will still be able to pull mostly what they do now. The more OP factors are being changed around a bit. And my require specing into.
Top this off with the very limited utility we bring(striker class after all). Archery single target damage is bring brought up heavily because it's a weaker area for us. The rest is being brought up as well so we can keep up with and sometimes surpass CW/GWF in AoE.
Biggest problem I see coming is that little X button on everyone's keyboard.
There are so many different ways to contribute to a fight. What will the CW offer when the HR is more likely to get paingiver and has an equal chance at getting #! on kills. Perhaps a "debuff" lable is needed. Showing a value for CCing enemies. Granting different amounts based on type of CC/debuff and it's duration. But none of these charge will ever be "perfect". I'd rather just see overall stats removed and just have boss stats. These charts are so bloated by trash mobs.
Feedback: Trapper
I very much like the idea behind this tree. However, given that it is called the Trapper, I feel like any HR's with points in this tree should also have the ability to disarm traps like Trickster Rogues have.
That tree's survival capabilities are way out of line in both PVP and PVE. Overall the new feat Wilds Medicine and the reworked PVP set bonus present a nerf to the current Profound gear (especially with increasing hit frequency), but Life Steal generated by Bloodletting, Battle Crazed, Incoming Healing Bonus and Endless Consumption is crazy.
I tested it against medium HEs in IWD and healed nearly 5k/sec, 3k from Health Steal alone. And my 14k HR is far from BiS and not geared for a LS/melee type so there is room for more. With DoTs/Blade Storm/AoE the stacks of Battle Crazed are easily maintainable, so I ended up with 26.9% LS and 30% should be possible from geared HRs.
Feedback: Ranged Tree
Feels a bit more potent compared to live, I think it's reasonable. Ranged HRs should be a serious DPS now and they need a GF to hold aggro so they can snipe.
Bug: Bloodletting
Bloodletting is a direct boost to Life Steal, not to the rating. I think gcrush said that the Tier 1 feat should increase the rating, while Battle Crazed the stat itself. Not sure whether Fluid Hunter should boost the rating or the Deflect chance, right now its the rating.
Feedback: Bloodletting and Fluid Hunter
Given Bloodletting and Fluid Hunter indeed are meant to increase the ratings, 5% is underwhelming and not in line with other T1/T2 feats:
Rising Hope (DC T1 - permanent 2*15% rating boost)
Disciple of War (GWF T2 - permanent 2*25% rating boost)
Scale Agility (GWF T1 - permanent 5% Deflect chance, not rating)
Plate Agility (GF T1 - permanent 5% Deflect chance, not rating)
Press the advantage (TR T1 - conditional 10% rating boost)
Anyways, I hope everyone gets a free respec token because this change is really going to affect the powers I use. permenantly. And I recently used one on my HR too.
Same thing goes with 5% from Fluid Hunter - with 2k defect it gives you less then 2% in total. Please change this to 5% more.
Feedback
Question - would life steal from Bloodletting or Battle Crazed work if you apply for example throne ward and switch to combat? This is very common scenario in pvp especially for pathfinders where they throw thone ward and and that is all.- he is god in that spot. So if you add 5% more life steal per feet it would make it even more survivable.
Note - Combat HRs have no combat breakers at all. At the same time we now have curious synergy with archery skill - I can not really see what to use from that side. With my combat stormwarden hr with one target focus I use fox/boar/marauder archery seems to be useless cause we don't have now any coldowns for archery tree. Ill need to play more with different combos
Another thing for pvp - having nerfed profound gear with cool down you made it pretty useless. Fixing "heal on deflect" will make it . 2 second in pvp is a lot. 2 second is the time that gwf can wipe you from the field. And we are talking about gear that required to play a lot for. it is 19+ daily victories in pvp per 1 piece, remember? And you need 4 for gear to have this effect. People gridended for it a lot! Does not you really want to have something good for all the work you did to get this gear? This is top pvp gear! I would not expect that it be nerfed cause of all crying about "thouse bad hrs" - thoose hrs fight and died a lot for that gear.
My best suggestion is to fix "heal of deflect". This will make mechanic work as supposed to be and will dramatically low gear usefulness already. And then remove cooldown from gear to balance it up.
I generally like most of the proposed changes very much, I'd just like to make one bigger highlight: HR buffing powers were always kind of useless. With the nature tree, at least there was a feeling that they were headed somewhere - and nature HRs actually had a certain role to play up to a certain GS (after which they all became useless).
With the new changes, I feel these powers will feel even more like "fillers". With the new Trappers tree, IMHO most powers should be able to deal SOME damage. Boar Charge is a good power with good synergies with archer powers, but it seems like a waste, in a Trappers build, to have a slot which doesn't deal damage both ways. I already feel like that about Fox Shift as it is.
Anyway, just wanted to share my view on this. Thanks for listening.
Aelar Hawkwind - Archer
Karrin Feywinter - Mistress of Flame
Errin Duskwalker - Executioner
Darquess - Soulbinder
Wilds Medicine: Wilds Medicine will only trigger from Damage sources, and will no longer trigger from other assorted effects that can be deflected but where deflect had no effect.
Wilds Medicine: Now has a maximum stack cap of 10. This effect will refresh the oldest possible stack if you are at maximum stacks without interrupting the time to your next HoT tick.
Wilds Medicine was providing too much healing over time in cases where small strikes were being easily deflected, so limiting that to a maximum amount of incoming healing is an important part of how this build is intended to work. Additionally making it work only on incoming deflected damage will help prevent some awkward cases where stacks were being added for nothing.
Before we make any further changes to the class we would love to see some dungeon runs and performance comparisons with various classes.
Thank you all for your continued feedback!
Chris "Gentleman Crush" Meyer