Black Flame Covenant set
THE GOOD:
- The dagger, the focus and the shoulders are all exceptional items (perhaps BiS) for a chaos/vitality AAR build.
- The shoulders and the dagger are very well designed items that can be incorporated into a significant variety of other, non-AAR builds, without losing their potency.
- The 4-set ability covers most of the weaknesses associated with AAR in an intelligent manner.
THE BAD:
- The hood represents one of the worst legendary helms in the game, because:
a) It offers no resistances;
b) It offers absolutely no ability.
Now, let’s look at other legendary helms that have no resistances:
i) Abyssal Mask – offers a relatively potent proc;
ii) Crown of the Winter King – offers a shotgun cold spell with no cooldown;
iii) Beastcaller’s Cowl – not only is this also part of a set, but it also provides a massive dps buff for the pets.
Possible solution : the hood should be designed in such a way that both Chaos/Vitality AAR Warlocks AND pure vitality caster Conjurers could use it. Giving an “on attack” proc to the helm would make warlocks OP, of course, so we should not pursue that path. The optimal solution, IMO, is to have an “on hit” proc on the helm that deals vitality damage and heals the player character. That way, vitality casters – who generally win their battles through a war of attrition – can also make use of at least two pieces of the Black Flame Covenant set. More explicitly, I believe the following ability should be implemented:
Leeching Nova (Level 1):
150-200 vitality damage;
20% Weapon Damage
100% of Attack Damage converted to Health.
5 Meter Radius
5 Seconds Skill Recharge
20% Chance when hit by a melee attack (target self).
This ability will (i) help AAR bulds in the crucible due to the omnidirectional, radial nature of the proc; (ii) offer a minor energy boost through energy leech; and (iii) improve survivability of the character – which, it must be noted, is very low in the absence of godlike double rolled greens (HINT: Warlocks have the lowest DA and HP of any character in the game).
THE UGLY: .
While the 4-set piece ability is very strong and solves some of the main issues of AAR, the skill in itself is still enormously hard to use and mostly energy inefficient. A lot of players will probably still hate it despite the buffs it received in 1.0.0.6. and the existence of the Black Flame set. The single target damage output is indeed very high as it should be (i.e. 15 sec Mad Queen, 15 sec Fabius, 20 sec Moosilauke, etc.). Still, an AAR build requires enormous dedication, twitch reflexes and inhuman attention. That, at least, holds true if you want to finish Gladiator Crucible solo. Don’t get me wrong here: finishing Gladiator SHOULD ALWAYS require a top-notch build, insane items, dedication and…most importantly…skill. However, comparing an AAR build to CT, we can clearly see that the lack of WDC makes AAR chars extremely vulnerable when crowded. No ADCtH means your survivability is put into a roller coaster where you have to constantly create choke points, manage energy consumption and time the Empowered Rituals Circle + Mirror such that you do not get cornered and destroyed.
FINAL REMARKS:
Overall, I would give the new Black Flame set a solid 7/10
My suggestion regarding a relatively long cooldown vitality wave when hit with a melee attack proc put on the helm, I think, will make the character easier to manage and more fun to play without making him OP. In fact, I believe that increasing the DPS of the ray or reducing the energy consumption further will NOT make most players complain less about AAR. Right now, AAR is in a good spot damage wise. The legendary helm of the Black Flame Covenant set, however, could benefit from a proc as I suggested. Even with that proc, an AAR Warlock will not be even half as efficient as a Warborn Witchblade in the Crucible…
P.S: I invite everyone, of course, to criticize my analysis if they think my ideas are retarded or they believe I have left anything out.
