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toopygoo -> problems with latest updates (11/8/2013 22:14:44)
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Hey guys,
imma let y'all finish but first, i gotta share some of my opinions and insight on the newest balance update.
BEFORE I BEGIN: i would like to point out, that i am no way in favour of reverting these updates to the old way, i love what the crew has done, however, there are some design flaws which i think should be worked out one way or another, rather shortly, if possible. again this does not mean UNDO them, but i would like these points looked at, and see if something can be done to arrange an inbetween, with what we have now, and an obvious solution
in the last two weeks, there have been a HUGE number of changes to the ENERGY cost system: meaning that with the implications of cores, and passive->active conversion, energy is at an all time high value, in battle. what does this mean? energy drains, energy boosts, and other energy related moves are valued exceptionally, over HUGE damage skills., because huge damage skills cost VAST quantities of energy, and without energy, you can be basically, unless you use a strength/support build, as no damage is reliant on your tech/dex.
Cores all cost energy now, (which i will touch base on later, and more in depth) all the old passives cost energy, and now, there are newer, and better energy gain/drain methods, with the TM/TCLM battery, and BM energy leech.
so... TM: Im not quite sure the devs though this one out too clearly... giving an energy reliant class, a skill with which it (in 2 turns) can easily generate enough energy to cast its biggest move at max power? that would be like is Merc could cast a max surgical strike whenever it wanted to (after 3 turns) or a BM could use massacre, max level whenever it wanted to: it is insanely powerful.
Its other move: fire scythe: is now basically an anti-tank weapon... ragardless of their defence, it can deal 5% under rage damage value, an ANY given turn, for only 31 damage, and it is predictable. previously, people had problems with bunker buster, which would deal rage damage 1/4 attempts, not every single one. oh yeah, and from the use i have seen of it, it is unblockable, but dont hold me to that, im not positive, but if it is, it can still be be combined with rage, to ignore atleast 78% of all defence. if we look at the possibility of it using Malf, and an omega weapon to decrease base stats, then mercs shield is weakened, and their defences are still overlooked.
in all honesty, i have a mage character, and i think it is the most viable optino for upcoming builds looking at diversity, and surivival as it has very effective anti-tank skills, HUGE mana regains, and huge damage possibilities. also, with all this mana, they are very loosely affected by the change with cores, as they can produce mana in one of 3 ways still...
next, BH: i think the last two changed have REALLY affected BH, synergic builds, leaving it now with either tech/smoke/strength build, or dex/bomb/multi build. its poison has always been kind risky, with getting blocked anyways, and being weaker than tclm's poison, and without tanking capabilities, a poison it close to useless... im not saying BH is now borken and useless, it can still be VERY effective, however, it has become very confined, as the fade into shadows is super expensive with very little long run return. i dont think the new form of bloodlust is much worth its cost either, since you spend more mana on it, than the life you regain, essentially leaving it as a mana sink. with the new added way of energy draining for even BM's now, every single class can ESILY counter BH's massacre, as it is high cost, and BH has really no way of mana regen, except core/piston pistol. which you can only have 1 of, and return only maximum 25 energy.. not enough to let you survive, and have enough for your high level massacre... overall, i think BH took a pounding on the last two updates, not really nerfing it so much, just confining it to a limitted set of builds that can be efficient in 1v1 or 2v2, regularly.
TCLM is next: these guys! man, i've always liked TCLM's, but not so much as mercs. basically TCLM's were the more powerhouse version of mercenaries based on tanking and wearing your opponent down, with high shields and energy regain, tus repeated healing. When mercs got static smash, TCLM, was put at a disadvantage against mecs, however unaffected against other classes. i think people really thought that since it didnt have the advanateg given to mercenaries, it was now useless, although i think that they make better jugg characters than mercs. The last update left them empowered when their energy regain was suddenly cherished more than almost any other passive, as you could use cores to almost full extent still. This weeks update gave them overall a Debuff: although they gained the same battery skill as mages, i think taking away shields from any class was an awful idea. il explain more on this later, when i get to mercs, because a merc is my main, and i have the most insight on that specific char. the problem with making shields active , AND reroutes active is that it slows the class down, forcing them to either give up on shield, or mana regain, and i think 9/10 people will paick the mana over the shield, as you can regain HP in other ways (heal, their life regain smash, and surgical strike). I expect this class to make a great comeback after the last update, as i feel it is now in 3rd place overall for the ranking of all classes.
BM: im kind of indifferent about these guys. similar to BH's, they still have their old power house build; well almost,. they lost deadly aim, to the new energy leaching skill, which i find boggling, and great! i think they have needed something like this for a while. i think that BM's are still pretty successful with strength builds, as they have bludgeon, and fire scythe, adn can rage quickly with this combination. equip a strong bot, and your prolly good to go. if you dont like bots, i'd porlly abuse strength just for better pay-off of these two skills.
CH: ho boy,.. where do i start on these guys.. i feel awful. they were no longer too efficient at 1v1, and were okay at 2v2. they too took a pounding from he core update, as they no longer could maintain cores, and skills... They dont have too many super awesome builds, and now that their shield has been taken awa yoot, they are basically futile. they have no great tank builds, they have no great offensive, they have now super damage, beause their massacre is just as counterable as BH, as their energy regain skill isnt all too great. youll be drained two times, before you can use static strike two times..CH used to be great, go nerfed too much, and in the last two weeks was reduced to a pile of rubble. i would seriously consider giving them better energy regain skills, or something new and more powerful than what anyone else has, as otherwise, they will remain a pile of s***... sand. i said a pile of sand...
and finally... the mercs... man, ive been a merc since i joined ED. it was my first char, and it was my main char, and it is still my main char... :P i loved merc with its diversity in tanking, extreme power, its support build, its strength possibilities, its raging properties, bunker buster, everything about this class, i thought was magnificent. other classes took a beating recently with the core update, adn that at first seemed like abig deal, but as a merc, i was able to deal. if you ask players i play against, i do have a typical tech/bunker/energy steal build, but i try to be creative when i use it. frankly. i have energy steal to stop players from doing things i dont like, and for healing/using cores. i bunk once, maybe 2 times in a game, depending on how high their tech is, as my other options against a high tech are deflectable or one time use. the one thing that has always stood out to me was how all classes, perviously, had the same number of attacking skills, and buffing skills as each other. This week, this changed, and i think was stupidly (i know its strong, but it was pretty obvious to me from th moment i started playing after the update) overlooked, that this imbalanced certain classes, as they had more ways of dealing damage, then merc and BH as well. Tactical merc got the huge energy gain, and i think that compensates rather well for wasting a turn, as it can immediatley be used to deal damage or heal, along with its now-useless shield (which can be debuffed before usage, as im sure you all know). Both TM, and BM were given a new skill which are much more worth a turn: another big damage, or energy drain. both of which perform some kind of return, be it rage or energy. BH was given the fade into shadows, which i think is utter garbage... there is never a time when you'll be trying to reduce incoming damage by a %. if the damage is big enough to to be affected by the % change, then you have just wasted a turn, toning that damage down by minimal effect. if the damage is not great to being with, then its useless using that ability becuase it wil have no overall effect on the damage your opponent deals. i think solution is unfit, and the skill is useless. the mark of blood, although too expensive, is GREAT for 2v2! not so much for 1v1. mercenary was given the shield (still garbage.. as it can be debuffed, costs a turn,and a TON of energy, without any numerical returns... ) and a rage gain skill, which neither deals damage, nor is useful to a partner. Now, merc is given two slower skills, neither of which provide any returns, and has brutally nerfed them. The new battery skills can totally overpower their static smash, as more can be regained than stolen; also it can be used on a partner when youre about to die. same with mark of blood, you can put it on an oponnent as you die, just to keep partner alive. Mercenary has gained beneficial for it, and has lost one of its most useful skills, and gained another ability that drains a turn with no actual upside: the rage gain gives no benefit, as by the time you are in need of using it, your probably about to die, out of mana, or still have the chance to get blocked. Overall, merc went from being in the top three classes to being the 2nd worst without a questions.
Next, i think the energy cost increase to exile/legion strike was not a good solution. the core had the benefit of dealing extra energy damage to only opponents of the alignment you have chosen to be part of. it wasnt stated early on that these cores would be energy only, and it still hasnt been updated to say that, and is thus misleading. the extra damage effect of the core might be completely useless based on the premise that you might have 15-25 only exile/legion battles in a row, rendering the core only useful for its ability to be unblockable. maybe 6 was better than 5 (hardly a difference) but based on the fact that compared to the two cores meteor shower and energy meteor shower (didnt bother looking up the name) gave full awareness of what they came with, their effect affects everybody, and were not paid for with real money (thats just really a small issue... no need to bite me back on this one) a simply 2 energy point difference is hardly worth it. oh right, adn did mention that these cores are locked, and thus can never be changed unless i use a different weapon which would cost around 15K to upgrade fully, plu 6K for my other core, and 10K for anew active? dont tell me i could just get another, if i dont like it, because i know my options, and i can also infer what is logical, and what is merely giving the players base "one less thing to complain about"
TL;DR overall.. this update is fun, but there are a great number of issues which now have to be fixed, as was expected before the release. i know devs are busy, and so i tried to list only what stood out most to me, what changing firstly, and most importantly.
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