With the recent debut of an entry level set and buffs to some of the preexisting ideal options for acid shadow strike it’s even more glaring that there’s a lack of oomph for the skill itself. When massive bonuses are being handed out for set completion the intent is surely not to produce an overtuned skill, it’s a matter of “the skill needs this to produce results that are comparable to other builds in the current state of the game.”
Previously, Shadow Strike held the niche of high mobility and its performance was restricted by this being a unique advantage of the skill. With mobility runes this benefit is greatly diminished yet the skill has not received any adjustments to account for a game state in which its mobility is devalued.
Shadow Strike is also a uniquely single target skill in a game that has area damage liberally strewn throughout most builds and skills. Nightfall is a pitiful source of AoE and will continue to be a one point wonder until investment in it yields more beyond increasing the reliability of SS as a devotion proccer, it’s a full heal vs. trash at one point anyhow. 12/12 nighfall yields 40% weapon damage, 174 flat cold, 153/s frostburn. (and ultimate scaling is so depressing you’re just not taking it above 12/12) You get more damage out of points in weapon pool skills, in night’s chill, dual blades if you get halfway decent conversion, blade burst… simply put nightfall is your last choice for increasing the build’s damage output and on cold builds you’re typically tight on points so Nightfall will never be a priority.
So there comes the question of what is it Shadow Strike is supposed to do in a game where everyone has a movement ability. Is it a single target damage skill? Build tuning with a focus on shadow strike has yielded a peak dummy time of 13s meanwhile there are AoE builds that yield the same if not lower performance while boasting considerable AoE as evidenced by crucible performance.
- If shadow strike is to be single target, obviously it’s going to need more damage in a way that doesn’t boost other builds that are performing adequately. Make skill bonuses more accessible in a way that doesn’t conflict with current gearing. Improve the values on the skill itself. Improve the skill modifiers on available items.
- If shadow strike is to pick up more AoE nightfall needs some serious, serious buffs.
It has been implied in so many words by developers that Spectral Longswords are in a fine place/intended to be the leveling option. What then of Loxmere’s Frostblade? As of current this item - targeted at shadow strike - is outmoded by chillstrifes due to the RR’s contribution to AoE and single target alike. Loxblades produce similar single target results but obviously the chillstrifes are ahead on AoE, thus ahead overall.
~+~
off the top of my head thoughts for loxblades
- +2 shadow strike? (to address lack of skill point issues)
- increase the cooldown modifier?
- add in reduced energy cost on top of whatever else gets done? (or reduce the base cost of the skill if it’s not intended for energy to be a limiter on this sort of build)
- The crit damage mod isn’t as impactful as you might expect when the skill already has built in crit damage and the build is likely to amass near or above 100%, sacrificing this for more impactful modifiers would not be out of line.
Added thoughts on Mythical Night’s Embrace
- Okay it’s the main choice for cold melee builds in general right now because of its universal RR bonus. That % crit damage on shadow strike isn’t doing much because just like with loxblades, you’re adding crit damage to a skill that is already attaining 150%+. Cooldown reduction and energy cost reduction would be much more welcome (and if the whole amulet continues to be an issue globally due to its RR I dunno, just rework it to be more shadow strike / TSS focused with heavier modifiers? Or do something outlandish and give it a bonus that keys to star pact to really push it as a spellbreaker amulet.)