Discussing Balance
So I posted all these on October 11th..
Oh look! And here on October 16th...
Discussing Balance
People are now "suggesting" ABOUT 80% of the same things I mentioned. Really people? Like I said, people skip any relevant "long" posts because they are so used to people spewing out worthless mumbo jumbo that when an informative post comes along, they ignore it...
Lets try this again and see who likes them now (2+ months later)
I am going to repeat again. Everyone just seem to skip pages and writes a sentence or two saying what they do or don't like. If more people would make a rational thought out post like this,
@Bleak would have a much easier time sorting through and seeing which things he would like to try and change and whatnot.
REPEAT:
There are several things wrong and several ways to fix them, just as there are several reason for why things are how they are. So, while I will try not to repeat most of what people have put already (Which most are correct or true) offer -REALISTIC- solutions that may not take tons of coding.
Here are some of my suggestions, whether realistic or not.
Ranged Weapons Nerf
Ideas:
Increase SSI Cap (1.50)
Lessen Damage Inc Cap (This could be global for all weapons, not just ranged)
Lessen Hit spells % (Could be based off your SSI just like Mana Leech and such)
Pros:
Evens out some of the ranged dominance at the moment, thus perhaps varying templates more.
Cons:
Hurts PVMer DPS as well
Makes mages a little more out of balance, also requiring a nerf.
Pure Mage Nerf
Ideas:
Add skills to "Focus Mage" that breaks the SDI change (Alchemy, Poison, etc)
Lessen SDI increase from Focus
Make it so only wrestling gets parrying bonus (Or perhaps only a weapon skill) or add other requirements (HCI or a new property)
*One of my favorites* Make shields disarmable again
Pros:
Perhaps diversifies the mage templates more.
Cons:
Makes dexxers and archers more dominant than mages once again without other changes
Global Changes:
Exceptional item weights for imbuing should be increased:
With power creep, most of these items are irrelevant except for filler pieces. With legendary artifacts, you might have 1 or 2 imbued pieces (A ring perhaps, or 1 piece of armor) to compliment your suit. That is it. Increase the weights of everything at least by 100 if not more. This should be done ASAP because it hurts nothing at all in game.
Make PURE SKILL worth more than "Added" skill:
Set bonuses at points with real skill (100, 110, 120).
Example: Sure 120 parry is great, but that bonus 10% won't be there with your 100 real skill and +20 on a ring or brace.
Or simply make more -HARD- caps for things. Just like needing 90 tactics for specials, or 90 skill for masteries.
Make shields disarmable again:
This makes dexxers more useful, and parrying nerfed a little
Let DCI be overcapped again:
A lot of mage weapon using templates will open back up with this change
Let specials stay procced even when spells are casted:
This will also open up several spell casting templates with dexxer variants
Let dexxers hit from 2 tiles away:
This one is tricky, because it can change a lot of balance in PVM, but PVP wise, will really make dexxers a little strong. Balance may be needed with specials and this change, however.
Nerf Alchemy:
Everyone is using it. Either cap it at 50%, or make it so it doesn't stack with EP and just get the 50% bonus with GM. Every 2 points of alchemy gives you 1% EP.
Change the double conflag pot. With clever usage of macros, a double conflag is viable. This makes for something a bit game breaking when mixed with 80% ep and multi pot throwers.
Supernovas should surely be looked at as well. Doing anywhere from 15-35 with 80% EP and a cursed target (Or Omened) this is a lot of damage for an AOE -INSTANT- potion that can never miss. Perhaps a flat damage that isn't based on a resist? Or capped damage it can do (20 damage for instance).
A timer until the cast like explosion potions perhaps? On both conflags and supernovas.
Nerf 4/6 Chivalry:
A touchy subject because not all spells are "Broken". It needs to be looked at extensively. The simple fix is to increase the mana cost of a few spells (The Remove Curse, The Heal, The Cure) and/or for the remove curse, make the spell slower, or not remove ALL the curses. Only a random few.
You could also (Or instead) add a complementary skill to chivalry. The argument to this is simple... Mage/Eval - Mystic/Focus - Necro/SS. Some may argue to do the same to spellweaving, which is also true though.
Let true artifacts and items be imbuable:
There is no reason and no "BALANCE" that should be claimed against this. True artifacts are meant to be the most powerful in the game. Times change, and so does power creep, but come on. It was in the game once. A weight increase should also be implemented. At least up to 700-800 on armor. Weapons may need to be looked at (600 for archer, 650 for 1 handers, 750 for 2 handers perhaps)
These are just a few SIMPLE changes that could make a huge difference in the gameplay of a lot (PVMers & PVPers alike) of people for the better.
@Bleak I've started to give up with writing out well thought out processes, because there are generally ignored by the DEVs and pushed aside. I hope with your asking of thoughts from the public, you actually intend to take some of the great ideas presented by people and use them. We look forward to your hard work and implementation of these things. We are very passionate about your product, please show us the same in return.
Stupid good/effective template.
I'll wait to see what this next publish brings.
