- remove %fire damage(lolwut?) from distortion. replace it with %weapon damage, but require daggers/scepters(possible right?)
- remove stun chance from Supercharged. change electrocute damage to 100% chance of 33% chance of burn/frostburn/electrocute
I really like the overall changes to phantasmal blades from a mechanical standpoint and I have been using frenetic throw as my main build since the day you released it. When you have the right gear, it’s still a really powerful single target skill with moderate AOE potential, but you have to be a lot more mindful. You can’t just hold down the button and wipe out everything in a 120 degree angle in front of the character, or kill Fabius in under 5 seconds(I had been doing this with PB prior to the hotfix). Now it’s a lot more about positioning/supplementing with other skills to cover the weaknesses. Maybe it is slightly overpowered still compared to many skills, but overall I think the performance is a good baseline for similar skills like DEE and PRM to have, where they really thrive in one area, like single target or AOE and the other aspects can be covered through tactical strategy from the player and other skills. I believe the changes to phantom blades are definitely for the better and help create a much more healthy metagame overall. If the damage type swap makes it in eventually, then that will be icing on the cake for me(please :p).
It was actually… sort of unintentional? - when I switched the transmuter / base skill around, I initially forgot to adjust the spread. Then later after testing it, I wondered if I should just leave it or increase it. Since, despite the drop in damage, the skill still does pretty considerable damage, I thought a narrower spread might add a little more challenge and also differentiate it more in play style from Quick Jacks. More precision aiming also just seems more in tune with the Nightblade theme. In time, if it’s a problem, I could add spread.
On another note, not in response to Cavar…
I realize some people are sort of in shock from the change but in testing a wide variety of different builds in Ashen Waste, I felt like Frenetic Throw was just too far beyond almost everything else in not only in raw power but even more so in terms of the ease and minimum risk with which it cleared packs of what are supposed to be some of the toughest enemies.
Meanwhile, some of what are supposed to be other “OP” builds felt slow and much more vulnerable by comparison. Many of them also relied on the coordinated use of multiple skills. So even just in terms of player-actions during combat, Frenetic Throw was pretty easy to play. I feel like the mental effort to activating additional skills during combat should be more of a payoff than spamming one skill on RMB.
I think some of the builds that rely on multiple skills could be boosted but Frenetic Throw also needed to come down a bit. When builds become too powerful and too easy to play, it trivializes the challenge of higher difficulty modes.
anyone have some examples of the gear that was changed this hotfix? i actually just lost my main yesterday so i don’t have access to level 50 gear.
Although my current character hasn’t spent points in that modifier yet, I was intending to use it in this manner as well. Having the -OA attached to the base skill would pair well with the reduced Armor and having the reduced resistances added back (if possible).
I do agree that it is not worth as much having just damage modifiers. Thank you for looking over the changes.
So, you didn’t test Summoner then? My summoners done Ashen Waste while I was reading his skills and deciding where to put my other points, and I don’t even have Savagery. Not asking for a summoner nerf, but atleast FT required a modicum of skill.
Since you’ve nerfed this, are there any plans to make melee more viable in the future? Kiting and nuking from range seems way too easy compared to melee, in terms of damage AND survivability.
After further playing and testing it, I still think the Zeal proc from the relic is very underwhelming… With such a small chance of it procing, and with a short duration, you can barely get to enjoy the proc, as most enemies will be dead by the time you manage to even proc it.
I suggest making the proc last at least 4 to 6 secs, make so that it procs whenever you crit with a 50% chance and perhaps, lower the attack speed bonus to 25/30%.
Does the Writ change effect already applied Writs?
Summoner is on our radar, don’t worry. 
Should be retroactive.
EDIT: I was informed that I was wrong. You will have to repurchase the Writ.
Avid BWC user here. I haven’t gotten around to testing it yet but one of my biggest complaints with the skill is its luckluster duration. I would love to be able to coat the entire screen in a blaze but when they only last 3 seconds its kinda underwhelming. Always did picture the skill being used to cover a large area in flames for a good while, while other skills are used to pick off anything left in the inferno.
Agreed on all points.
We did nerf summoner somewhat but it seems our efforts have fallen short. I haven’t played the build myself, only heard reports, so I didn’t want to go overboard until I had a chance to really test it.
My plan is to reign in some of the ranged AoE builds and apparently summoner that are too far ahead of the “pack,” while trying to boost some of those that are feeling underpowered. Currently it seems like the better melee builds have moderate to decent clear speed but are put in my greater risk, being in melee range, without the benefit of being able to absorb or negate sufficient damage.
I think melee were holding their own in the 30s but, with the higher levels, it’s clear balance shifts to favor ranged as melee survivability drops off. I have to playtest more to determine what the right course of action is. There are probably a combination of things that should be done. One thing I noticed is that armor does not seem to scale sufficiently.
Hamunces
My summoners done Ashen Waste while I was reading his skills and deciding where to put my other points, and I don’t even have Savagery.
I’m not sure I get your point! Could you rephrase so that I can understand?
I think I assumed people weren’t using BWC and that if they were, it would be as a spammable AoE, where the resistance reduction might as well be added damage.
If you’re using it more as a debuff, would it maybe make sense to put the resistance reduction on the transmuter?
I completed the zone Ashen Waste by walking near mobs via closing the skill screen quickly, then reopening it and trying to figure out whats more beneficial for me while my summons raced around on aggressive murdering everything within range. Once I spotted them running back to me, I’d close the skill tree again and move forward 30 feet.
I think even with that it was a faster clear time than with my Frenetic Throw build.
Basically, Summoners are a rapetrain with no brakes, that require no steering.
I can attest to this. My legacy melee characters are so damn squishy it seems, even after I’ve dragged them up to level cap. I wish I found Arcanist even slightly enjoyable so I would be able to play more characters, but I absolutely cannot stand it’s lack of spammable spells that aren’t just Panetti’s. Where’s my fireball autoattack? Where’s my aether explosive summoning? Where’s my ice shard gatling gun?
I even made a new build for melee recently I was considering posting, but it was much too item reliant and, to be honest, more than likely not interesting to anyone. I made a character one day to see how maxing lifesteal would be. Turns out its exhilirating watching your health bar yo-yo, but not exactly a good build without a stash full of epics.
I was pretty much thinking of it in those terms in my head.
How are peoples melee characters squishy? I mean hell, my main character is so tanky I can facetank nemesis bosses
I guess I assumed arcane missile basically was the fireball / ice shard gatling gun. In retrospect, perhaps it could have used an additional spammable skill line. Maybe we could add in some better scaling item granted skills in the future to accommodate that… but that’s another story.
I even made a new build for melee recently I was considering posting, but it was much too item reliant and, to be honest, more than likely not interesting to anyone. I made a character one day to see how maxing lifesteal would be. Turns out its exhilirating watching your health bar yo-yo, but not exactly a good build without a stash full of epics.
Yeah, unfortunately, I think lifesteal is one of the few semi-viable ways to play melee right now at high level but you probably wouldn’t last too long like that on HC.
Admittedly, I did not thoroughly test difficulty in the 40-50 range before the release due to time constraints. Testers didn’t seem to mind it, so I was not expecting it to be so brutal. It’s on my agenda though to look into this more…
I’d be interested to see your build / char sheet.
I actually sent it to you guys by accident when I reported that rep UI bug.
But its a commando build that abuses the hell outta hp regen. Has maxed military conditioning, the ele resistance and phys damage passive, field command/squad tactics, cadence, vindictive flame, and one point menhirs bulwark and olerons rage
Gear is as follows:
Earthbound dermapteran claw
Fanatics overcoat
Harvest shield
Swampdwellers leggaurds
Stonewrought groundbreakers
Menhirs touch
Devils shoulders
Frizzicks utility pack
Restorative cronleys signet of renewal
Restorative ruby ring of mending
Shard of menhir
Mistborn talisman
Field medics mark
All my components generally have regen boosting bonuses as do my augments