Oh, not to worry, this was abundantly clear.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to do it on purpose.
To add to what Ceno said, you are talking about design and theorycrafting. I am talking about implementation.
OFF and Blade Trap use this template specifically:
The devs intentionally made the debuff numbers larger for skills with this template because they knew that the player can’t use them as freely as other debuff skills like CoF. Whether or not the higher numbers is sufficient to make up for the innate shortcoming is up to the playerbase, and many people over the years have stated that the numbers simply aren’t worth it.
To change these skills’ functions would require an entirely new template, which means you’d have to re-make the skill entirely. That would have rippling effects on the Arcanist class as a whole, and the devs simply don’t have time to do a re-balance of an entire class when FoA is coming around the corner.
Well, if the skill would become too powerful if it would become generally usable, then the solution should be to decrease the value of the debuff it provides. Although even for the extension of OFF, which provides -40% physical RR, I doubt that the value is too large, when you look at other skills like Thermite mine. But it can be reduced to something like 25%.
That’s just sad to hear, if that’s really the case. But there are skills that already behave like this one should. War cry applies some of its debuffs instantly, while others with a separate duration (like the damage and resistance reduction). Ravenous earth has its own duration, while the damage reduction from Decay a different one. This method of inner workings already exists in the game, for many skills. The problem is that this skill will remain broken if they don’t do something about it. And I have no problem ignoring its existence and focusing on all the other skills, but it won’t become useful and usable until it’s patched. And it’s a shame to have a few flaws in an otherwise flawless game. And some builds will never become even more powerful without the benefits that these skills can bring. All the classes have at least one RR debuf that gets applied without exceptions, except Arcanist.
Sorry, I forgot about Panetti’s missile. Although this debuff is like the one provided by Blackwater cocktail from Demolitionist, a class that also has two RR debuf skills, but in that case they both generally work. Same for Necromancer, it has two RR debuff skills - Ravenous Earth and Spectral wrath. Oathkeeper too - Shattering smash and Celestial presence.
Thread is the perfect example of why we need less RR and not more tbh.
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I don’t know about that, the fact that you have so many options to augment your damage seems like one of the strengths of this game. If builds would be made weaker, the options to make a build that shines throughout the game would decrease and you’d end up with a game similar to Path of Exile, where only a couple of builds can somewhat make you enjoy the game. Here I think that there are around 100 variations that would make your gameplay enjoyable, so this makes players still have new things to explore for many years. No, the solution should simply be to align Flash freeze and Blade trap with the rest of the skills, so you’d be tempted to choose them and actually help you in the toughest of situations, where they matter most. This would also generate even more build variations and therefore more time spent in the game playing them.
Only my opinion but Arcanist having no RR is of no concern because of the other advantages the class offers, big damage numbers, mirror, high OA stack to name a few. About OFF - I guess that we sometimes just have to accept this is how the skill works to have something unique. Not saying it couldnt use anything to buff it (as you mentioned make it useful against bosses) but that could make it OP as well on the other hand