Tank Balance Changes in Game Update 5.9

[Loadsamonie]

They are. We get a max 15% damage nerf in exchange for fixed focused defense.

 

PTs got damage gimped and no buff

 

Sins got hit pretty hard too; they're gonna come down a bit. Juggs might be the gold standard for tanking again.

[Joonbeams]

Well...at least the Jugg nerfs seem relatively tame compared to PT/Sin nerfs.

 

Very true. Won't see PTs in this meta.

[Ghost_Spectre]

Hey folks,

 

Let’s talk about the changes coming to Tanks in Game Update 5.9. There are two things that informed the changes you will find below. First, “skank tanks” are greatly overperforming in PvP. This is a player who is using a Tank Discipline but equipping DPS gear. Second, when comparing all tanks (regardless of gear) against the DPS targets we outlined last year, tanks are doing more damage than intended.

 

The summary of what we are changing in 5.9 is that tanks across the board will be doing less damage. To ensure that this doesn’t have a negative impact on their ability to tank/hold threat, we are greatly increasing their overall threat generation. This will mean that although they will commit less damage to an encounter, holding threat will not be any more difficult than it is today.

 

We are going to continue to monitor things beyond 5.9 and see if additional changes are needed.

 

-eric

 

Below is the detailed breakdown of changes.

 

 

Assassin

Darkness

• Dark Charge’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• Dark Charge’s internal damage has been reduced by 50%
  
• The damage bonus given to Shock from Electrify has been reduced from 25% to 20%
  
• The damage bonus given to Depredating Volts from Harnessed Darkness per stack has been reduced from 25% to 15%
  
• The Wither and Discharge damage bonus given from Mounting Darkness has been reduced from 30% to 20%
  

Powertech

Shield Tech

• Ion Gas Cylinder’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• Fixed a bug in Power Armor that wasn’t calculating damage correctly
  
• Power Armor now gives a 5% damage bonus to Ion Gas Cylinder (down from 10%)
  
• Reduced the base damage of Heat Blast by 18.75%
  
• The damage bonus given to Firestorm and Searing Wave by Flame Engine has been reduced from 100% to 40%
  
• Reduced Ion Overload’s damage by 50%
  
• Reduced Ion Gas Cylinder’s damage by 20%
  

Juggernaut

Immortal

• Soresu Form’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• The damage bonus given by Pillar of Strength to Crushing Blow, Ravage, and Backhand has been reduced from 30% to 15%
  

Shadow

Kinetic Combat

• Combat Technique’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• Combat Technique’s internal damage has been reduced by 50%
  
• The damage bonus given to Project from Bombardment has been reduced from 25% to 20%
  
• The damage bonus given to Cascading Debris from Harnessed Shadows per stack has been reduced from 25% to 15%
  
• The Slow Time and Force Breach damage bonus given from Pulsating Force has been reduced from 30% to 20%
  

Vanguard

Shield Specialist

• Ion Cell’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• Fixed a bug in Power Armor that wasn’t calculating damage correctly
  
• Power Armor now gives a 5% damage bonus to Ion Gas Cell (down from 10%)
  
• Reduced the base damage of Energy Blast by 18.75%
  
• The damage bonus given to Ion Storm and Ion Squall from Pulse Engine has been reduced from 100% to 40%
  
• Reduced Ion Overload’s damage by 50%
  
• Reduced Ion Cell’s damage by 20%
  

Guardian

Defense

• Soresu Form’s threat generation bonus has been increased from 100% to 150%
  
• The damage bonus given by Beacon of Might to Guardian Slash, Blade Barrage, and Hilt Bash has been reduced from 30% to 15%
  

 

 

 

 

Have you people lost your ever loving minds? Why don't you just remove tanks from the game. I main tanks and now you're making them as useless as Sorcerers and Sages were after 1.2. All to get rid of skank tanks.

 

The simple fix was to remove the ability to use shields for the other two non-tank stances and not allow anyone in a tank stance to use anything but tank mods and enhancements. But no, you cannot do that. You have to screw over all pure tanks for the action of those who exploited your design in the first place. Now, I my tanks will have more aggro with the exact same mitigation and useless defense against anything other than white damage.

 

The developers of this game are truly inept and incapable of doing what is needed other than fit their own misconceptions and ill-conceived notions of a game they barely play themselves.

 

Thank you for the nerf bat, literally a nerf bat my tanks will use now. Now my weapon(s) are nothing more than a stat sticks just like a Sorcerer & Sage. Great fracking job. :mad::mad::mad:

Edited April 5, 2018 by Ghost_Spectre

[KendraP]

Sins got hit pretty hard too; they're gonna come down a bit. Juggs might be the gold standard for tanking again.

 

Eh you dont bring a shadow for the damage. Its for stealth and the 60% DR on force speed.

 

Guardians = face tank

Shadiws = cheese tank lol

[Versidious]

OR you could make mitigation stats more effective in PvP to positively motivate PvP tanks to take mitigation stats instead of skank tanks. What you don't get from just 'looking at the numbers' is *why* PvP tanks load up 'skank tank' builds instead of Tanking builds. The fact that so much PvP incoming damage bypasses Shields and Defence means that it's more useful to a tank to increase their DPS instead. If you make Shield and Defence stronger in PvP, I guarantee you skank tanks would not be nearly as common or game-breaking.

 

Also, why do you guys not have separate PvP/PvE damage profiles for abilities and specs?

[Joonbeams]

OR you could make mitigation stats more effective in PvP to positively motivate PvP tanks to take mitigation stats instead of skank tanks. What you don't get from just 'looking at the numbers' is *why* PvP tanks load up 'skank tank' builds instead of Tanking builds. The fact that so much PvP incoming damage bypasses Shields and Defence means that it's more useful to a tank to increase their DPS instead. If you make Shield and Defence stronger in PvP, I guarantee you skank tanks would not be nearly as common or game-breaking.

....

 

^^Just pretty much exactly this.

[Tarkashae]

I used to play tank spec with dps gear in solo pve content. Could easily jump into a FP as tank even with dps gear.

 

I will just play as dps - there is one less tank in the game now. I'm not sure this was a fix that needed to happen.

[Glocko]

Does the increase threat do anything in PvP, do you think they will also increase radius? That would be problematic

[PorsaLindahl]

So more nerfs because of BW's incompetence in separating abilities for PvP and PvE.

 

Want to get rid of skanks? Just need to do 2 things:

1. Tag modifications as tank only and dps / heal only.
   
2. Fix Defense for PvP.
   

[Loadsamonie]

So more nerfs because of BW's incompetence in separating abilities for PvP and PvE.

 

Want to get rid of skanks? Just need to do 2 things:

1. Tag modifications as tank only and dps / heal only.
   
2. Fix Defense for PvP.
   

 

Fix Shield too. Shield works against Force/Tech, but Crits bypass it completely. It should still work against Crits.

[GhOsTPrOz]

As a PVE Tank main since launch I think I speak for all of us when I say, ARE YOU GUYS ON CRACK?

 

Nerfing our damage will not fix the PVP issues. All it does is make PVE tanks that much more USELESS. Do you even understand how your own game works? Do you? I don't think you do. Stop balancing the game around PvP and stop listening to idiots complaining to nerf this and that. Most of them don't even know how to use all their abilities or take the time to understand their own class.

 

Simplest fix to skank tanking - Add in a bolster that any tank specs with stats other then Tank ones get converted. Mastery above 6k becomes defense, alacrity becomes shield and crit becomes absorption. Make power a static 2k and don't allow anyone to queue if they don't have the proper offhand on. Gg Ez. People can try to skank but it won't work. It also doesn't force them to regear either.

 

You guys either are purposely trying to kill this game or are just stupid. Honestly. People are alreadying leaving this game faster then the Titanic sank, and you come out with asinine class changes? It's bad enough Shadow/Assassin tanks are already better for 99% of PVE related tanking needs, now this? Nerfing DPS again too? No one likes to feel nerfed. People are already starting to quit due to lack of content and too much stupidness, now you nerf classes? Hullo?

 

Does anyone on the Dev team actually queue group ranked or down NIM content? Literally what are you guys doing!

 

Another thing, no one wants new augments! Literally no one. They aren't needed. If you really want a way to uninflate the market think up something clever like idk...here's 3 ideas off the top of my head.

1. Make cartel coins purchasable with credits for a limited time.

2. Make a casino/have a weekly or monthly raffle of some cartel items.

3. Allow people to pay credits to have a live chat with a Dev about *** is going on with this game

 

If you guys want to fix this game get your **** together. Make ranked seasons 2 Months long with a 2 week downtime inbetween. Have a weekly world boss that is buffed to require 16 to 24 players and gives better rewards. Make an incentive for open world pvp like - a weekly for killing 25 people in open world pvp. Communicate with us when new operations are coming out and actually make them good and don't drop some "one month to kill this boss for cool stuff" on us a week before it drops. Or promise us NIM if there is no NIM. GET YOUR SITH TOGETHER.

[Loadsamonie]

Bioware is reading our feedback now.

 

https://imgflip.com/s/meme/Laughing-Men-In-Suits.jpg

[Kurj]

OR you could make mitigation stats more effective in PvP to positively motivate PvP tanks to take mitigation stats instead of skank tanks. What you don't get from just 'looking at the numbers' is *why* PvP tanks load up 'skank tank' builds instead of Tanking builds. The fact that so much PvP incoming damage bypasses Shields and Defence means that it's more useful to a tank to increase their DPS instead. If you make Shield and Defence stronger in PvP, I guarantee you skank tanks would not be nearly as common or game-breaking.

 

Also, why do you guys not have separate PvP/PvE damage profiles for abilities and specs?

 

Fixing tank stats for PVP would utterly destroy the meta. TTK is too high as it is.

[Loadsamonie]

Fixing tank stats for PVP would utterly destroy the meta. TTK is too high as it is.

 

Umm...you haven't seen Juggs get tunneled by four Ops and die in three seconds with no chance to pop cooldowns. If a team wants you dead, you're dead, and no amount of mitigation will save you.

 

Fixing tank stats would balance the meta, not ruin it.

[curulz]

it would seem you're attempting to discourage tanks from wearing DPS gear. But by decreasing DPS output, doesn't that just encourage them to use more DPS gear? Edited April 6, 2018 by curulz

[Kurj]

Umm...you haven't seen Juggs get tunneled by four Ops and die in three seconds with no chance to pop cooldowns. If a team wants you dead, you're dead, and no amount of mitigation will save you.

 

Fixing tank stats would balance the meta, not ruin it.

 

No one is complaining that tanks are too squishy. They're complaining that they are too tough, and do too much damage in view of that. And, I can't remember the last time I saw 4 operatives in a single match, let alone on the same side.

[MuskyBoy]

This would have been such an easy fix just have a hard cap on bonus damage for tanks (say 2100) and have a crit hard cap for tanks say (28%) and just nerf the AOE effects on secondary and tertiary targets for hard hitting abilities like fire storm and crushing blow. This forces the nerf to tank damage and means in PVP the only dps stat that will help after hard caps are reached will be alacrity. This also won't hurt the tank dps in PVE very much.

[MuskyBoy]

Umm...you haven't seen Juggs get tunneled by four Ops and die in three seconds with no chance to pop cooldowns. If a team wants you dead, you're dead, and no amount of mitigation will save you.

 

Fixing tank stats would balance the meta, not ruin it.

 

Blatant lie. 4 Ops can't do 240K damage on a Jugg tank in 3 seconds (50% flat DR) given most geared tanks and are around 140 K health and enraged defense can be used while controlled. Show me 4 ops that global a Jugg tank through ED. Ops do not have a 3 sec 20k dps burst window against 50% DR.

[Loadsamonie]

Blatant lie. 4 Ops can't do 240K damage on a Jugg tank in 3 seconds (50% flat DR) given most geared tanks and are around 140 K health and enraged defense can be used while controlled. Show me 4 ops that global a Jugg tank through ED. Ops do not have a 3 sec 20k dps burst window against 50% DR.

 

Volatile Substance. Nuff said.

[MuskyBoy]

Volatile Substance. Nuff said.

 

Again show me, volatile substance debuff doesn't stack. It's a single 7% internal +elemental debuff you get 4 ops it doesn't increase to 28 %.

[TrixxieTriss]

What are people going to do who currently play skanks in pvp? Will you be switching to dps specs now or continue as you are?

[TrekkerVGER]

You, uh, do realise that April Fools was on Sunday, right? Edited April 6, 2018 by TrekkerVGER

[Loadsamonie]

Again show me, volatile substance debuff doesn't stack. It's a single 7% internal +elemental debuff you get 4 ops it doesn't increase to 28 %.

 

It's not the debuff that VS applies, it's the raw damage that it dishes out. 24k crits are normal with VS.

[MuskyBoy]

It's not the debuff that VS applies, it's the raw damage that it dishes out. 24k crits are normal with VS.

 

24 K crit against a dps you get 3 abilities in a 3 sec window all will need to hit for around 20 K a piece (all crits) to do the 240 K damage required against a tank who uses ED. gg cool story bruh.

[Loadsamonie]

24 K crit against a dps you get 3 abilities in a 3 sec window all will need to hit for around 20 K a piece (all crits) to do the 240 K damage required against a tank who uses ED. gg cool story bruh.

 

k, you're obviously just baiting me now. Go get tunneled by a team of competent DPS in a Warzone and see how long you live. Putting you on ignore now.