The last night on earth (subscription ending)

[NuRhoPhi]

The last nigh on earth is a song from Delta Goodrem in case anyone wondering.

 

Didn't post much in 'general', posted a bit in a few class forums, etc.

 

So, why end subscription? I look at it the other way around: why pay for subscription.

I enjoy pvp, but 8vs8 'ranked' is removed, and ranked arenas don't really pop often.

GSF is fun, but is kinda a minigame.

 

Major peeves, things I would expect from a big MMO:

-The black talon flashpoint. Still. Crashes.

 

-Other bugs, Jaesa/Scourge not available for GSF, missing a global cooldown, stuff goes on cooldown but doesn't take effect..

 

-Massive class imbalance (IMO)

Pvp favors burst classes. O-kay. But not entirely correct. Which burst classes?

Well, there is 'smash' marauder, which gets 7% DR (for 17% dmg reduction vs internal WITHOUT cloak of pain up. Vanguard tank has 19%), 30% AoE dmg reduction and a quite well known suite of defensive cooldowns.

Carnage marauder can keep up 6% DR, 6% def, and gets the same defensive cooldowns.

 

Tactics vanguard/prototype powertech gets: 2% dmg reduction (o-kay), -30% AOE, -30% dmg when stunned, and the 'shield bubble' pop up every few seconds, plus everytime damaged reduction of the main defensive cd. (the -25% dmg shield).

 

Sooo. What type of class design puts the best defenses, the best survivability in the 'burst' classes, or rather in the 'burst' trees?

IMO: Bad class design.

 

Other examples of failures in class design, inherited from previous design:

lets look at vanguard:

-vanguard has 'high impact bolt' or 'rail shot' (BH). This ability can be used on a stunned/.. or bleeding target. Great.

Except: Without the skill tree, vanguard does not have ANY DoT. Suppose I level, I get the high energy cell, and I start running around with it. Before I get 'gut', I can only use high impact bolt on a silver/+ enemy by using cryo grenade first. Likewise with the shield cell (ion cell): you have to pick up an ability that makes ion cell procs deliver a weak DoT.

A result is that ALL vanguard specs will DoT their target, which is a curse for group play in terms of mezzing a target. For Shield and assault spec you can't even guarantee a random attack won't trigger a DoT.

Commando healer while leveling has issues with using high impact bolt. Likewise, gunnery, until grav round is taken, can't use high impact bolt well.

-Vanguard is a melee class. O-kay. Without a 'leap' like gap closer. O-kay.

Question: where is the root and snare? Again, vanguard does not get baseline root or snare. So, they are clustered in every skill tree. I consider it bad class design to make a melee class, without gap closer, and without baseline root/snare. Think of it this way: if you had snares/roots, you could use those and spend skill points elsewhere.

 

Bad class balance decisions:

Sage 'balance' balance patch: make the dots uncleansable. Siiigh. Well, what about Juyo? Assault/Pyro?

Etc. ->Horrible design.

Bad force management: not touched.

 

Bad survivability design:

Undying rage did not need the changes made. Rather the dev team should never have buffed it with setbonus, and again in 'smash' spec. Instead, the cd should have been increased, and reduce healing received during the ability by 50%.

 

'Focused defense' for guardians. Still WAY too costly. Making it useable without cost however, will be a huge advantage to guardian tanks: another defensive tool, 45s cd, in both PVP and PVE. (but it is a treat drop!. Yeah.. bring one 'tank class' dps, and an oftank to an operation. Pop focused defense, 'tank dps' taunts, offtank taunts, you taunt. Sure it may be situational, but guardian already has the best cooldown suite.

A problem with this cooldown besides the cost: it heals, a bit. This makes it best for 1vs1 fights: against multiple enemies it wont help much at all. Again, biggest help for tank: more health regained, and better mitigation, making this health last even longer.

A similar case for 'adrenaline rush' or kolto overload. Big stream of small numbers, trying to heal you to (after much whining) 35% health. Again, coodown that seems out of place for group play: focus fire will burst through that without much issue. If you are healed, you will quickly be either dead (kolto overload no longer heals you) or above 35% (" " unless tank specced). Pvp wise, again most valuable for tank. PvE wise: if this is keeping you alive in an operation, or rather, you are desperately hoping this will keep you alive in an operation, something has already gone quite wrong.

 

DPS wise: I'd like each 'full skill tree' to be a valuable member of an operation. That means 'smash' should be operation-worthy. (It can already be to an extent)

IMO: an ability can be two of the following:

-Utility (own survivability, other persons, cc, root, snare, damage buff, mobility buff, interrupt)

-Sustained damage (DoT's, abilities that don't crit very high or don't reliably crit, but do provide sustained dps)

-Burst damage (an autocrit force scream. Carnage berserk. the +25% crit for 12s vanguard gets)

-AoE

 

'Smash' breaks the above, because in the rotation, the smash ability provides to the spec burst dmg, burst AOE, and a major part of the 'sustained' dmg. A 'quick fix' would be to make smash cost a lot of rage, so the player has to choose between AoE burst (use smash at 3 stacks), or sustained single target.

 

Looking at the marauder trees, presuming we want each tree to be viable for operations, and somewhat viable for pvp (I have no 'misconception' that for a large part of the playerbase operations > pvp balance):

In 'large lines', meaning as 'specialization' for the spec:

Annihilation: Should provide utility and sustained dmg

Carnage: Sustained dmg and burst dmg

Rage: Sustained dmg and AoE dmg. Rage becomes less bursty, but sustained single target should go up, other AoE abilities should increase in damage (sweeping slash), or receive AoE component while rage specced (top ability? Force scream does AoE?)

Again, since each spec should bring something to boss fights, each spec should be able to deliver comptetitive single target dps.

 

 

A closing note: I don't like the direction 2.0 took for some of the classes:

Carnage has the random reset of gore, and execute becoming available. The auto-crit part of force scream is also a 30% proc chance.

Vigilance has execute become available based on DoT effects, and random masterstrike cd reset.

some gunslinger specs also have 'execute available' procs.

Gunnery has the 45% proc chance to reset the cooldown of unload etc.

I dislike the 'proc' systems, in which my dps becomes more random. IMO, executes should also be left to 'execute'. It should not be as widespread a proc system as now.

 

Anyway, the above are entirely my own points of view,

will still be playing this game as 'preferred',

hope y'all enjoy the game, and I hope the game receives improvements.

Edited December 26, 2013 by NuRhoPhi

[noobchoco]

i thought you were trolling at first but realized u werent. you pointed at so many mechanics that i doubt you're gonna be successful at attracting attention from anyone with enough influence to make these actual changes

[TUXs]

I hope they address your list as well.

[lStillWantMySWG]

I hope they address your list as well.

They will soon™ enough...

[tekhiun]

I don't really agree with your views on vanguard and unclenasable dots for all dots specs ( that you seem to play ) . But you are mostly right about bad class design and bug fixing in this game.

[NuRhoPhi]

I don't really agree with your views on vanguard and unclenasable dots for all dots specs ( that you seem to play ) . But you are mostly right about bad class design and bug fixing in this game.

 

/facepalm.

 

Nearly no dot should be uncleansable.

The point to bring up vanguard and watchman, whom don't have DoT protection is to mention that other specs are also strongly reliant on their DoT's to deliver dmg.

Why would 'balance' deserve more DoT protection?

IMO making the DoT's uncleansable, rather that addressing 'force management' was a horrible move.

 

I have at 55: marauder (yep, juyo), vanguard (often assault, so yep, dots), a gunslinger (Hybrid most often, so.. DoT's), a sage (hybrid most often, so some Dots), oh and a 53 merc, which at 55 I'm not sure yet what to do with: pyro merc? At the moment center tree, as I have the 61 setbonus.

[EzioMessi]

/facepalm.

 

Nearly no dot should be uncleansable.

The point to bring up vanguard and watchman, whom don't have DoT protection is to mention that other specs are also strongly reliant on their DoT's to deliver dmg.

Why would 'balance' deserve more DoT protection?

IMO making the DoT's uncleansable, rather that addressing 'force management' was a horrible move.

 

I have at 55: marauder (yep, juyo), vanguard (often assault, so yep, dots), a gunslinger (Hybrid most often, so.. DoT's), a sage (hybrid most often, so some Dots), oh and a 53 merc, which at 55 I'm not sure yet what to do with: pyro merc? At the moment center tree, as I have the 61 setbonus.

 

About the "Why should Balance get it and not the other specs", they have stated that all the DoT specs are getting it. Balance is just the testbed to see how the change works out. Better to test one spec and see if it breaks the game or improves it than to break 3-5 specs simultaneouly right?

 

On that note, uncleansable DoTs is a lazy solution. Balance needed better survivability and Force Management, Watchman needed a buff to the self-heals and for the crit curve to come back where it used to be, and of course for whatever they nerfed to be rebuffed (Watchman used to be the FoTM Sentinel class once); and other specs which I've never played likely had other better solutions. The current "solution" basically forces classes like Sage and Sentinel to eat these uncleansable DoTs while Scoundrels can just "purge" them. It's silly that the most survivable healer is also the only one that can dispel these DoTs now.

[NuRhoPhi]

About the "Why should Balance get it and not the other specs", they have stated that all the DoT specs are getting it. Balance is just the testbed to see how the change works out. Better to test one spec and see if it breaks the game or improves it than to break 3-5 specs simultaneouly right?

You mean.. the nightmare will not only continue, but increase..

 

On that note, uncleansable DoTs is a lazy solution. Balance needed better survivability and Force Management, Watchman needed a buff to the self-heals and for the crit curve to come back where it used to be, and of course for whatever they nerfed to be rebuffed (Watchman used to be the FoTM Sentinel class once); and other specs which I've never played likely had other better solutions. The current "solution" basically forces classes like Sage and Sentinel to eat these uncleansable DoTs while Scoundrels can just "purge" them. It's silly that the most survivable healer is also the only one that can dispel these DoTs now.

Agreed lazy solution. Disagree on buffing self heals for watchman. Self healing buf= watchman undefeatable 1vs1, and self heals are not good enough still for use in 4vs4: focus fire bursts through it. If neccessary, add survivability in another manner (reduced cooldown of saberward, take less dmg stunned,..). TBH 'offense' wise all I would give Juyo is the 4 stacks to also give +2% melee crit chance each, so 8% total,instead of only reducing cooldown. Presto, small damage buff, small buff to focus/rage generation.

And indeed, leaving scoundrel and assassin (stealth classes) as the only ones able to cleanse the uncleansable buffs /= balance.

 

 

Major pet peeve, still not solved:

the ammo bar on my vanguard. How much ammo am I at? Well, I can kinda,.. um, it is approximately.. yeah, let me point at the screen with a split wooden branch.

Not cool bioware, not cool.

 

 

Edit: I pvp in Juyo.

Offense wise, as stated, Juyo could IMO use a + crit chance to its melee attacks.

Other options: buff 'force scream' somewhere for Juyo, making it used in all specs.

(At the moment the pve setbonus includes a buff to the damage done by ravage. Juyo benefits the LEAST from this buff, yet it is supposed atm THE pve sustained spec. (why the least? Because 'rage' will use ravage after a smash, so also +12% dmg, gets 30% armor pen, and +15% surge. Carnage will use ravage during a gore window. Meanwhile, Juyo has a need to keep applying dots and the top ability, leading to difficulty to squeeze in ravage without affecting the rotation.)

Give a buff to 'deadly throw': the healing debuff. This could be lower rage cost, increased debuff duration, increased damage even.

There is a talent that gives up to -5% dmg debuff when applying bleeds. This should also affect heals casted.

 

The MAJOR issue that Juyo needs for pvp:

I would, instead of making 'leap' generate +1 rage, make battering assault generate +2 rage, or otherwise dual saber throw like smash has. Juyo needs to use its leap to generate rage. But, it is also Juyo's only gap closer.

Furthermore, there is no gapcloser while rooted, and no secondary root break like carnage has, no speed buffs, no roots.

This is the main issue: Juyo can be denied from applying damage the most easily.

Possible solutions: force camo= root/snare break. During 'cloak of pain' roots only lasts half as long, and snares only snare half as much. Root/Snare/knockback immunity during saberward. Etc.

 

 

An addendum to my list: dissappointed by dev statements.

The debacle of 'class question answers' didn't go down well.

"hard to master", LoS and Heal2full.

Most aggravating to me was 'perception issue' for assault vanguard.

Hybrid is still top dps, ion-cell tactics rules pvp, and top of assault vanguard is meh. (alongside several of the lower talent points in assault too).

The vigilance/vengeance answer to masterstrike proccing : 'we may increase proc chance, but would then increase the lockout' also speaks volumes about how aware they are regarding damage levels. In principle, the goal is all dps classes within 5% remember.

 

2.4 is the pvp patch. Ranked 8vs8 gone. 4vs4 introduced: 2 new maps. 2!. Pvp patch without needed balance changes. Comes with 2 new operations and a new gear level. So, even in 'the pvp patch', much more work was put into pve.

2.5 will be the balance patch.

Erm, shadow/assassin tank was changed. Other than that, no fundamental changes.

Pvp is still cc-fest, specs with AoE dmg reduction rule.

Edited December 29, 2013 by NuRhoPhi