Announce post #3181: Class tweaks

Autoposter

4/21/2021 at 16:48
Keroc, the Starborn
Everyone
Class tweaks

Hey folks,

After the forum thread on class viability, I've put together a few tweaks in order to address the biggest concerns people had. The general consensus seems to be that most classes are in a good state, except the top dogs who do a bit too much.

I have Ascendril on my list to probably put some bigger changes into (and also potentially Shaman) but that'll be a little while yet.

I'll keep an eye on things and ensure it hasn't swung things too drastically, but it should allow the rest of the pack to compete a bit more fairly.

Corpus
==============================
- Frenzy now has a minor stun upon it again.
- Frenzy base PvP damage has been slightly reduced.

Devotion
==============================
- Removed skill: Warding.
- Piety 80% block rate now requires 6 afflictions, up from 5.

Enchantment
==============================
- New skill: Amplification.

Ferality
==============================
- Attacks will now trigger divert before damage is applied, instead of before parry.

Forging
==============================
- The lance has been shifted to the large cutting weapon pool.
* It has no basic weapon attacks though, as it will remain one handed.

Fury
==============================
- The boosted effect upon Expunge has been removed.
- Expunge balance recovery time lowered to 2 seconds, down from 3.
- Expunge now cures a random physical affliction.

Gravitation
==============================
- Cannon equilibrium recovery time lowered to 3 seconds, down from 3.5.
- Pulsar now has a chance to give deadening, instead of disrupted.

Horsemanship
==============================
- New Transcendant skill: Lancing.
- Leaping has been shifted down in the skillset a little.

Wayfaring
==============================
- New skill: Manhunt (forests).
- Greenheart has been moved into the general Wayfaring skillset.
- Blindsense now only provides a 10% accuracy bonus, down from 25%.

Illumination
==============================
- Shadow afflictions are no longer hidden when Shine hits an enemy.
- Cleansing cooldown increased to 20 seconds, up from 15.

Mentis
==============================
- Lure now has a maximum range of 3 rooms but no longer needs line of sight.
- Lure equilibrium cost increased to 2.5 seconds, up from 1.5.
- Lure now has an equilibrium cost when it cannot reach the target.

Numerology
==============================
- Syncopate equilibrium recovery time lowered to 2.75 seconds, down from 3.

Purification
==============================
- Cauterize clot amount increased to 150 bleeding, up from 50.

Sanguis
==============================
- Removed Pulse choice: Overpower.
- New Pulse choice: Subdue.

Sorcery
==============================
- Removed skill: Countercurrent.
* Likely to be removed from Ascendril too, but I need to sort them out a bit first.

Spirituality
==============================
- Removed skill: Corporality.
- Beckon angel power cost increased to 300 for no target, up from 100.
- Beckon angel power cost increased to 50 when a target is supplied, up from 35.
- Beckon equilibrium cost for a target increased 2.5 seconds, up from 1.5.
- Beckon now has an equilibrium cost when it cannot reach the target.

Tekura
==============================
- BBT balance recovery time lowered to 3.25 seconds, down from 3.5.
- Whirlwind kick bonus limb damage increased to 3.5%, up from 3.0%.

Psionics
==============================
- Added skill: Corporality

Some quick overarching notes -

Luminary: Beckon made less spammable. Defensive power less strong. Team kit trimmed down a bit.
Sciomancer: Trimmed away some defence and hinder. Venom classes should compete with them better.
Wayfarer: Pushed them more towards glass cannon archtype with less curing power. Will keep an eye on this.
Monk: Some number adjustments to broaden their kill window.
Archivist: Small buff to Syncopate speed to make it more of an alluring midgame choice.
Zealot: Obtained Corporality from Luminaries for better team utility spread across tether. Light buff to Cauterize for teams.
Praenomen: Lure made stronger to better match Beckon. New Subdue pulse to use in 1v1.
Misc: New Lancing ability to play around with. New Enchantment that buffs team assist strategies.

Penned by my hand on Quensday, the 25th of Niuran, in the year 494 MA.

Sibatti

What falls under "active healing skills of others" re: Enchantment Amplification?

(thank you based pools for not making it require silver)

Bulrok

A++

I think you missed the mark on WF, looks more like you just increased their staying power while only marginally increasing their time to kill? We'll see how it plays out, I like almost all of these changes.

Keroc

Sibatti said:

What falls under "active healing skills of others" re: Enchantment Amplification? (thank you based pools for not making it require silver)

Any ability that requires balance or equilibrium to heal another. Basically so that passive regen and such are not included, you have to do an action.

Nisavi

No objections to any of these changes save for one. I'm fine with losing passive disrupt, though it does lessen our group utility a bit, but Sciomancer was oppressive to any physical aff classes with that on top of having Countercurrent. They're still good, but... I'm not sure why we got Deadening? I don't have access to asthma, I'm not a lock class, and I don't pressure pipe balance at all? This is pretty much just the equivalent of removing the secondary effect from Pulsar. For an effect that procs only with a certain chance, that seems really weak and irrelevant to our kit. The only stun I have is from the Shadeling, but there's never a situation where a person isn't going to immediately heal Deadening before the Shadeling has a chance to proc any benefit from it.

Czcienn

Any general direction you're thinking about for the Ascendril changes?

I know @Church will be very interested to hear too.

Iesid

In a similar vein: I am interested to hear considerations on Shaman adjustments - even just the thought process that led you to consider and voice the potential for it in the referenced post.

Keroc

Czcibor said:

Any general direction you're thinking about for the Ascendril changes?

I know @Church will be very interested to hear too.

I don't have any solid plans yet. If anything it might only be light touches to the salve route for Ascendril, and a bigger overhaul of the affliction route.

Iesid said:

In a similar vein: I am interested to hear considerations on Shaman adjustments - even just the thought process that led you to consider and voice the potential for it in the referenced post.

Again, nothing solid yet. But perhaps the alteration of stormtouched for a less one-dimensional approach.

Keroc

Nisavi said:

No objections to any of these changes save for one. I'm fine with losing passive disrupt, though it does lessen our group utility a bit, but Sciomancer was oppressive to any physical aff classes with that on top of having Countercurrent. They're still good, but... I'm not sure why we got Deadening? I don't have access to asthma, I'm not a lock class, and I don't pressure pipe balance at all? This is pretty much just the equivalent of removing the secondary effect from Pulsar. For an effect that procs only with a certain chance, that seems really weak and irrelevant to our kit. The only stun I have is from the Shadeling, but there's never a situation where a person isn't going to immediately heal Deadening before the Shadeling has a chance to proc any benefit from it.

I picked it because I didn't really want to further buff their solo capacity; as a pipe affliction it likely won't affect much of anything. The best application of deadening will be in teams.

Alela

I've no real objections to the content of the changes. In fact, I like most of them! Really!

I do kind of object to the way they came about. I'm sure you've been thinking about them for a bit, but your post explicitly states you put the changes together after your poll. Plus, from what I've seen discussed on Discord, at least some of these changes were directly suggested by players, or else they pretty clearly address things players said in the comment section of the poll. The poll was open for a little bit more than 24 hours. Despite being active on the forum during that time, including (if memory serves) posting in another thread in that subforum, I didn't see your poll until after you'd closed it. Furthermore, looking at the thread, the poll was closed without even a bump to warn us that, hey, you're going to stop accepting responses soon. The result is that it feels a little bit like there was a secret, extra classleads round. I don't really love that, and I hope it won't become a thing that happens.

If polls like this do happen in the future, I have a few suggestions to improve on the process:

1. Make the poll a sticky post. Hopefully this will make it more visible to people who, like me, may not bother checking every thread in every subforum every time we visit.
   
2. Set an explicit open period in the initial post rather than just kinda running it until... you decide not to? It'll feel less arbitrary, and at least if it's written down, we latecomers can feel less like we've had the rug pulled out from under us or something.
   
3. If not the above, then at least bump the thread with a warning post to say you'll be closing the poll in X more hours.
   

I want to be clear, again, that I don't even dislike any of the changes! I'm not angry. I really hope I'm not coming across as haranguing anyone, least of all Our Lord Of Tears Kiki as he once again ascends His Salty Throne, because it's absolutely not what I want to come across in this post! I just hope my feedback will maybe impact how this sort of thing is handled in the future. Thaaaanks!

Illikaal

Iesid said:

In a similar vein: I am interested to hear considerations on Shaman adjustments - even just the thought process that led you to consider and voice the potential for it in the referenced post.

Again, nothing solid yet. But perhaps the alteration of stormtouched for a less one-dimensional approach.

After 8 years of repeatedly saying this, I'm glad my prayers are finally being answered.

Rijetta

Hi Keroc, I like the changes. Here are my thoughts.

I think WF got a buff, now that it doesn't have to choose between between greenheart and blindsense. The nerf to expunge helps offset but seems a small price to pay. 

Next time you do a pass I would really like to hear your thoughts on the current darling of cripple/epteth/epseth spam to guarantee punished arms. Much of the skillset goes unused by most  fighters and that seems a shame. (ravage, carve, etc) 

The piety nerf is much too light of a touch for my tastes but we'll see. 

The lure change is interesting but I doubt we'll see much come of it for a few reasons. 

Sciomancer nerf is good. Cannon buff I've been asking for since day 1. 

Ascendril probably doesn't need sweeping changes, but i do think the aff route could use some light adjustments.

That's all I really care about enough to post.