Bolster Force/tech white dmg ongoing problem that BW will never solve

[Loki_]

Currently the way bolster is working for main hands and off hands is that is bolstering force and tech damage to the highest pve level i.e. 78.

 

However white damage is remaining fixed to the rating of the currently equipped main hand. Hence 69/63/61 is giving slightly more white damage than 67/67/67 and even though the broken 46/46/46 combo is giving superior force and tech user stats it is horrid for white damage classes.

 

This has highlighted a future problem with the system, as pve gear progresses and Bolster of force and tech power goes up over time then force and tech heavy classes ie sorc and sage are going to see greater dps or healing gains than white damage classes see as the white damage will remain tied to the base rating of the weapon.

 

Currently the gap is fairly small between 67 white dmg and 78 bolster force & tech damage but in the future this gap will widen turning pvp into a battle of force / tech only abilities.

 

How are bio-ware planning on fixing this in the future as the pvp pve gear gap becomes bigger .. if you start bolstering white damage TTK (time to kill) will go back to what it was like pre 2.0 and you re-open that old can of worms you thought you had closed by forcing proc relics on us.

 

This also explains the latest popularity of sorc / sage dps and increase in healers we have seen lately as they gain more force/tech bonus damage / healing every time a new tier of pve gear comes out and bolster level is adjusted compared to primarily white damage classes.

[Lafay]

if this is true its a bug and you should report it in the bug forums. Also, do you have or can you make any screenshot proof? that would be interesting!

[Telaan]

if this is true its a bug and you should report it in the bug forums. Also, do you have or can you make any screenshot proof? that would be interesting!

 

There's numerous threads with ss showing the effects of this. It's not a bug, it's a broken system that needs totally revamped.

[Valkyriez]

You could just, you know, use the PvP gear thats provided and not worry about it.

 

Its not like it makes much of a difference tbh.

[Loki_]

You could just, you know, use the PvP gear thats provided and not worry about it.

 

Its not like it makes much of a difference tbh.

 

Currently yes its only 30 ish bonus dmg increase and a very small primary dmg increase but as the new pve gear tiers come bolster will be re-adjusted and the gap will get bigger and bigger, this will be comming with the new Nim dread palace and Fortress raids scheduled in the next month or two, how big should we let the gap become before we highlight this issue ?

[sithBracer]

Currently yes its only 30 ish bonus dmg increase and a very small primary dmg increase but as the new pve gear tiers come bolster will be re-adjusted and the gap will get bigger and bigger, this will be comming with the new Nim dread palace and Fortress raids scheduled in the next month or two, how big should we let the gap become before we highlight this issue ?

 

Why stop with the next tier of gear? Let's worry about the gear that comes out in 2020.

[L-RANDLE]

Currently yes its only 30 ish bonus dmg increase and a very small primary dmg increase but as the new pve gear tiers come bolster will be re-adjusted and the gap will get bigger and bigger, this will be comming with the new Nim dread palace and Fortress raids scheduled in the next month or two, how big should we let the gap become before we highlight this issue ?

 

That's irrelevant.. if and when BW releases NiM Ops and increases the gear tier in PvE, bolster will be adjusted again. As long as bolster works the way it does, the gap will remain constant..

[Technohic]

That's irrelevant.. if and when BW releases NiM Ops and increases the gear tier in PvE, bolster will be adjusted again. As long as bolster works the way it does, the gap will remain constant..

 

At least we hope so. Wouldn't want you to have to start over on your bolster guide. lol That would suck.

[JediMasterSLC]

there's numerous threads with ss showing the effects of this. It's not a bug, it's a broken system that needs totally revamped.

 

qfmft

[L-RANDLE]

At least we hope so. Wouldn't want you to have to start over on your bolster guide. lol That would suck.

 

I'm not holding my breath. That is the real problem with bolster. They are forced to increase bolster to account for raid tier increases. This means that current BiS PvP will actually be a slight nerf to properly bolstered PvE gear at the next gear change. Much like what happen when Conq was made obsolete on many slots, and Partisan is a huge nerf now..

Edited January 30, 2014 by L-RANDLE

[Technohic]

I'm not holding my breath. That is the real problem with bolster. They are forced to increase gear to account for raid tier increases. This means that current BiS PvP will actually be a slight nerf to properly bolstered PvE gear at the next gear change. Much like what happen when Conq was made obsolete on many slots, and Partisan is a huge nerf now..

 

When you say nerf and Partisan, do you mean you get hosed if you have partisan gear still on a toon?

[L-RANDLE]

When you say nerf and Partisan, do you mean you get hosed if you have partisan gear still on a toon?

 

Indeed. My 100% PvE build carrying full EXP, was better than Partisan at the last changeover. I was still trying to figure out what happen back then, but just look in my thread. At that same time, I had BiS Conq implants and my crafted ones were better. Partisan<Conq, so yeah. Obroan will probably be a slight nerf on many slots compared to properly bolstered PvE gear...

[Technohic]

Indeed. My 100% PvE build carrying full EXP, was better than Partisan at the last changeover. I was still trying to figure out what happen back then, but just look in my thread. At that same time, I had BiS Conq implants and my crafted ones were better. Partisan<Conq, so yeah. Obroan will probably be a slight nerf on many slots compared to properly bolstered PvE gear...

 

I had just pulled out my slinger which I hadn't done much with after the last gear update and the other day I noticed my crit was low then laughed when I logged my fresh 55 scoundrel and in bolster, he had better crit, with just obroan relics (slinger has conq and 1 partisan) and missing some augments yet on the earpieces. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Will have to replace the mods ASAP.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Technohic

[L-RANDLE]

I had just pulled out my slinger which I hadn't done much with after the last gear update and the other day I noticed my crit was low then laughed when I logged my fresh 55 scoundrel and in bolster, he had better crit, with just obroan relics (slinger has conq and 1 partisan) and missing some augments yet on the earpieces. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Will have to replace the mods ASAP.

IKR..... What a drag! It's like being in a hamster wheel. I pretty much decided from here out.

 

As long as we have bolster, I won't buy any gear except for relics. Especially, since I am damn near BiS Obroan, and I got a ton of test pieces for this "first round" of understanding of bolster, ill be ready for round two, when it comes.

So hold on to those comms buddy....

[Technohic]

IKR..... What a drag! It's like being in a hamster wheel. I pretty much decided from here out.

 

As long as we have bolster, I won't buy any gear except for relics. Especially, since I am damn near BiS Obroan, and I got a ton of test pieces for this "first round" of understanding of bolster, ill be ready for round two, when it comes.

So hold on to those comms buddy....

 

No kidding. I guess it makes sense that stuff with expertise is not bolstered for the most part, yet there a stat increase. Just figure I had full expertise so I'm good. So not only can you game bolster, you get penalized if you don't.

[Odyseus]

You could just, you know, use the PvP gear thats provided and not worry about it.

 

Its not like it makes much of a difference tbh.

 

46/46/46 gives you an extra 2000 endurance and about +40 PWR. Huge difference when 2 equally skilled players are facing off.

[Vodrin]

And all of this really makes me think that the only way that Bioware will get the bolster to work as intended is to change how it works. I have suggested several times that it would make more sense to have it function so that it just checks whether a piece of gear has expertise or not. If it does, then it does nothing. If that piece of gear has no expertise on it it gives that stats for a corresponding piece of whatever the lower tier of PvP is currently.

 

For example, if a sentinel were to go into a warzone now with any non PvP chest, the bolster changes the stats to be equal to the conq warmaster chest.

 

It would make pretty much any gear ok to take into a warzone, and it would still leave the folks that had ever bothered to get PvP gear with a slight advantage (ability to min/max, and set bonuses). It would also eliminate the possibility of using PvE set bonuses in PvP.

[Domatron]

Unless they stop allowing pve set bonuses to work, some will always be better for certain specs than the corresponding PvP pieces if they are bolstered anywhere close.

[Vodrin]

Unless they stop allowing pve set bonuses to work, some will always be better for certain specs than the corresponding PvP pieces if they are bolstered anywhere close.

 

That's what I was getting at. The bolster system I was suggesting would disable set bonuses for all non-PvP gear in warzones.

[Dr_Kid]

I went on my lowbie Commando (level 34) to check this out.

Using a Blue level 34 Barrel.

 

Outside of a Warzone, Grav Round (Tech) does about 5.04% more damage than Charged Bolts (Ranged)

Inside a Warzone with nothing changed, Grav Round (Tech) now does about 55% more damage than Charged Bolts (Ranged).

 

Looks like a major bug. It will obviously catch up a little bit in 55's, but it looks using a 78 barrel/hilt will be BiS for white damage heavy classes. Obviously some more calculations involving expertise losses will need to be done.

[JediMasterSLC]

That's what I was getting at. The bolster system I was suggesting would disable set bonuses for all non-PvP gear in warzones.

 

I would support this, thought it would be an indirect nerf to some classes, and should be accompanied by better pvp set bonuses. *Cough* Dps scoundrels *cough.*

[Vodrin]

I would support this, thought it would be an indirect nerf to some classes, and should be accompanied by better pvp set bonuses. *Cough* Dps scoundrels *cough.*

 

Or some non gear related buffs, but it would have the added benefit of having fewer variables that the dev team needs to account for when balancing classes.

[JediMasterSLC]

Or some non gear related buffs, but it would have the added benefit of having fewer variables that the dev team needs to account for when balancing classes.

 

Yeah for sure.

[Valkyriez]

46/46/46 gives you an extra 2000 endurance and about +40 PWR. Huge difference when 2 equally skilled players are facing off.

 

The 2k HP is a bit of a difference, huge is a bit hyperbole though. The 40 power is ridiculously minor and not even thinking about.

 

Each to thier own man, I wear PvP gear and just play as intended. I don't even bother with Obroan gear, fully aug'd and min/max'd conq gear is just fine. The rest of my comms just gear alts.

 

EDIT: I use Obroan relics because they are a size able upgrade over conq. Set pieces are so small it's not worth it to me.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Valkyriez