Big Bad Suggestion Thread (Marauders)

[ThisGuyThat]

(Also in marauder subforum, but it's dead. Subforum failure...)

 

Despite all the bugs and balance issues in PvP, I think it's generally agreed that the Marauder is a fun class to play. Rather than focus on these bugs and balance issues (which will be forever-changing and are difficult to properly analyze in a meta game where level 10s are running around and gearing varies wildly), I want to look at how the Marauder can be improved without significantly adjusting balance. And thus this thread: my intention is to propose adjustments to talents and skills which would make the play styles of the trees more varied, make more abilities distinct (changes that can be seen during play rather than +1% increases, which, while important, are boring and pure mathcraft). For example, I want each tree to modify deadly throw in a unique way. This makes each tree feel more distinct and gives each tree tools that that spec specifically needs, allowing for tighter balance adjustments. (It bothers me that many abilities are precisely the same between trees except for damage increases. Sure this causes specs to favor one ability over another, but it's a boring way of changing how each spec plays, like saying "now this is strong, use this".) Where I mention numbers specifically I do so only with the intention of illustrating the idea, not of actually using that exact number.

 

Feel free to respond with ideas you like, ideas you hate, or ideas of your own (which I would gladly edit in if you'd like).

 

Annihilation: My understanding is that this tree is meant to focus on stacking Juyo and maintaining deadly saber stacks and rupture, when appropriate.

 

• %health returned on bleed crit based on current stacks of Juyo forms (encourages players to stick in a fight even when low on health to get higher health returns, also lowers floor of health returns and increases ceiling, which smart marauders can use to fool opponents/recover tons of health via undying rage)
  
• %damage increase on bleeds based on current stacks of Juyo form. Again, lower floor and increase ceiling, reward the aggression and bleed focus Annihilators should be going for!
  
• %slow on rupture based on current stacks of Juyo form. Don't go halfway on the theme: this should be the dominating idea of this spec, stacking Juyo, always trying to get back into melee range to keep the stacks up, more stacks should give more damage, healing, and slowing: with respect to also maintaining bleeds!
  
• Deadly throw refreshes deadly saber ticks, gives a tool to maintain bleed even when cc denies us melted range (let us use our 3 min CD to break stuns instead of worrying about getting snared just out of melee range and being worthless
  
• Ravage Refreshes rupture on last slash (punish opponents for not interrupting, reward marauders for using this ability smartly rather than wasting it)
  
• Ravage CD lowered by 1/2 seconds for each stack of Juyo Form at time of activation (same reasoning as annihilate CD reduction, marauders that stay in the fight can speed up their rotation)
  
• Increase rupture DoT damage and duration rather than initial damage: rupture should be used for bleed, burst is for Annihilate: make talents indicate that, an annihilation-specced rupture should bleed longer and much harder than a rage-spec)
  

 

 

Carnage: A focus on utility and 1v1 control. Where annihilation relies on attacking to recover health and do more damage and rage relies on heavy AoE burst, Carnage uses tools to deny an opponent his ability to run/control the fight, then uses superior melee damage to burst him down

 

• Move rage reduction to Carnage tree and apply it to more abilities (odd that we need to spec into annihilation to improve massacre utility, combine it with force scream rage reduction and maybe extend this rage reduction to deadly throw
  
• More effects from Ataru form procs! This is THE carnage specialty, Ataru form proccing. Give us flat +crit chance after a proc, flat global CD reduction, +surge, etc. There are lots of options, but as is massacre spam to hope Ataru procs more is only to set up scream and hope for more damage output, kind of lame
  
• Increase disruption range and make it deny abilities of that type (tech, melee, force, etc.) for 4 seconds. Carnage is about control and smart ability use, holding off on the disruption until we see a heal or channeled ability from an important tree (like grav round) adds skill without
  overbuffing
  
• deadly throw interrupts: again, more denial of opponent's control of the fight, something marauders currently lack
  
• Reduce obfuscate duration and drastically reduce cooldown. Obfuscate should be an important tool of timing, but it's long duration and CD encourage people to use it at first opportunity and forget about it for the rest of the fight. Allow us to use it to cause the important burst combo to miss (like just before an ambush-snipe), then again 15 seconds later when our opponent tries it again. (Imagine obfuscating a marauder just after a Gore, and then doing it again 15 seconds later. Much stronger than wasting the entire gore but not being able to do it again for a minute)
  
• Give us a channeled ability that works only on snared targets on a long cooldown (and that works in PvP): this could give us enormous burst the other trees don't need nor would they be able to use. The channel and long CD would allow opponents to interrupt or break the root to deny it. More skill/reward for awareness.
  
• Force scream as a slow/snare/stun when Blood Frenzy is active. This is our combo, make it count! (Currently a crit force scream does MORE damage when fully specked into Rage if Gore is not up, due to same 30% crit increase but passive damage bonus from Shi-Cho damage and armor penetration bonuses. Many ways to bring this back to an Ataru-form focus
  
• Each ravage hit interrupts (though the same ability can be immediate recasted). Ravage roots for control, but currently some classes can just unload abilities right back at the marauder, dealing back damage that the marauder can do nothing about. Ability interrupts would further force the quick interrupt, or deny channeled abilities if that interrupt was unavailable (instant cast is fair game)
  

 

 

Rage: All about big bursty damage. Currently the most obvious spec, but also disturbingly linear in use and very predictable. More tools!

 

• Obliterate denies slows/snares for the duration of its movement increase: important to give rage marauders more mobility, particularly when smash is unreliable against faster fleeing enemies (I can't say whether it's lag or a lying hitbox, but it happens to me quite often). Also gives obliterate more situational utility rather than a pure setup to the inevitable smash
  
• Shockwave smash also increases crit chance by 2.5/5% (or perhaps 3/6%)per tick. A 20% chance to crit won't let rage users smash without charging/obliterating first (the risk of lost damage would be enormous), but would encourage rage users to diversify ability use before smashing (and thus eliminating shockwave charges). A 20% increase can be enough to hit 50% crit based on gear, and thus represents an enormous damage increase...but with the risk of pushing it too far and missing the chance to Smash. Risk management!
  
• Force charge should perhaps grant cc resistance rather than rooting:roots are for carnage (which has base speed increase and can close gaps on stunned enemies quickly), cc is what cripples rage users (who might queue a smash on an immobilized target only to be knocked away and have the smash (shockwave and crit and cooldown) all wasted by what is an incredibly easy and panicky reaction by any class which has a knockback. Punish panic and reward deliberation and game knowledge: a stun will at least force the marauder to blow the 3 min CD, and the victim is still free to run
  
• Vicious and Deadly throw range increase: Rage gives these abilities a bonus Crit increase, bit more functionality would allow rage users to be effective even when gap closers are on CD
  
• Ravage grants shockwave ticks, 3 max. Honestly, I just feel like The channeled theme is strong and gives rage users a real benefit to investing in making ravage uninterruptible. Still limited by smash cooldown, just reduces downtime or allows for the saving of obliterate/charge when it is unnecessary.
  

 

 

I've got more, but this is more than long enough for now. Any other ideas? Not just number buffs/nerfs (unless you feel that there is a number very important to making a change viable), but real changes that would change playstyle and preferable reward skill (MMO skills) and increase tools without significantly changing balance. What type of changes would you like to see happen to each tree? Construct, guys!

 

-TG, That