Ithraen
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Okay, I've done some testing/playing around with the new system, and I'd like to share my opinion. Sorry for the inevitably long post. o_o I tried to get a fair feel for things from different perspectives/different quest types, and I'm fairly happy with my conclusions. I'm sure there's something I haven't thought of, but I haven't thought of it, so I have no idea what it is. -_- SO! My two favorite classes are Riftwalker and Technomancer. Both fairly mana-intensive, one pre-9.0 and one post-. Seems as fair to rigor as I can really be without hours of testing.
Before I start, I'll share my stats. I haven't respecced at all, no gear changes, nothing different from before the update, as I wanted to see how much changed before pouring over math to respec and do want to see what a proper spec with the new stats compares later on. So let's get to it!
Level: 70
Health: 2380
Mana: 940
Str: 145+37= 182
End: 135+45= 180
Cha: 0+9 = 9
Luc: 0+24 = 24
Wis: 65+34 = 99
Crit: 34+1 = 35 (Total with the new luck)
Bon: 36 = 36
M/P/M: = 44/46/45
P/D/B: = 02/09/06
Dmg: = 74-90
I ran two types of quests on each class. One standard changing-rooms maze (endurance test), and one boss fight (damage and survivability test). Here are my thoughts from each class, new and old, both fairly mana intensive, with no stat changes to actually spec properly for the new stats.
Riftwalker:
Still feels powerful. Got through the endurance test without using a mana potion/healing pad. Yes, I got low, but I had those resources left unused, so my 940 mana seems to be in a good spot. The fights didn't feel slow, though I did notice how comparatively rarely I crit. Mainly because non-crits on this class before were always a surprise. It feels powerful, can still crush mobs using the same old rotation. My shield is now amazing. Any time I used it I simply couldn't be touched. Before the change I still got hit at least once before the shield wore off, usually twice-thrice on multi-mob fights. So defensively I'm in a good spot. I'm probably going to take points out of endurance, in fact. As for the boss fight, my old rotation felt just as powerful, killing the bosses in roughly the same amount of turns as before, so the crit nerf hasn't affected me as much as I expected.
Final thoughts on Riftwalker: Still feels powerful, feels tankier by far, and had no mana issues to speak of. Once I adjust my spec/gear, I think these changes will make it even stronger.
Technomancer:
Oh my. I was nervous about this one because of the wisdom nerf. I was sure it would make Mana Grenades useless over long fights. It.. sort of did, I suppose, but not for the reasons I thought. It was the crit change that made me adjust my rotation. Instead of blowing MG top priority after buffs knowing they'd all crit for massive damage, I found myself using my guaranteed crits more regularly. Force Sword hits like a truck now, as does my multi, and they're both more useful than MG. But that's not because MG got weaker. It's because auto-crits are actually useful. MG hit for ~70 non-crit with full mana, and at the end of the endurance at ~260 mana it hit for ~50. A nearly 700 mana difference and I lost 20 damage a hit for a total of 60. That's noticeable, yes, but it's certainly not going to destroy the skill. Interestingly, Technomancer seemed to fare better in the endurance tests than RW despite one of my major skills getting weaker as I run oom. I still completed them without potions or healing pads, and ended up with more mana than my RW runs left over. As for the boss fights, Tech did surprisingly well. The shield takes me up to ~160 M/P/M, which.. is laughably strong. Standard Buff, 'nades, FS, overclock, repeat still works wonderfully for melting mobs. It doesn't feel as strong as RW, but it never did. Now I feel like Technomancer is usable again in spite of the Wis nerf.
Final thoughts on Technomancer: Doesn't feel as useless anymore. I'll need to respec/change gear, and I do hope the class gets an update to bring it in line with the new classes, but I barely got touched, did decent damage, and didn't have any mana issues. All of this without changing anything to properly use the new stats. Technomancer's in a better place than it was before, in my opinion, even with the Wis nerf.
All in all, I like the stat changes. They're going to let me use gear that isn't just what has the highest crit, and they're going to make me think more about my spec/rotation, but I see no downside to that. Still powerful, still able to crush mobs, but only if you think. This is what DragonFable should have been. I'm certainly excited to get into the game and make my character awesome with all new builds.
TL;DR: The world hasn't ended. Adjust, adapt, evolve. Get into the game and see for yourself. You're not ruined, you just have to plan now. Mana isn't even an issue with my piddly 65 base, and we do have potions. I can't remember the last time I had to use a mana pot. I'm looking forward to having to again. I'm all in favor of these changes, and I'm definitely looking forward to what's yet to come.
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