This is a WIP as some of the vets are still testing Rancor
Full disclosure: I will also try to be as objective in reporting the suggestions offered by those who’ve tested it, though this will obviously be biased towards my preference. Also, in the name of perfect transparency, I will include the the runs done by @mad_lee, and @nery at the end of this post, after I have laid out my rationale for how Rancor needs to be rebalanced.
Intended design for rancor
- It’s clearly meant to support bleed PB, hence the massive damage modifier, the massive bleed damage on the weapon, and the +1s to CD.
Unintended consequence of rancor
- Hands down the strongest PB build GD has ever seen.
- That being said, for the first time in GD’s history, Rancor has also finally made it possible to craft a top-tier pierce spam-caster. And this is something I would personally love to maintain in the name of build diversity.
Suggested nerfs
- From @x1x1x1x2: <— NOTE: x1 has yet to pilot the build (no offence intended mate <3)
- From @mad_lee:
^Note: Lee’s rationale for this is that pierce PB shouldn’t be allowed to perform at such a level because it’s a gimmicky build which revolves around 1 weapon. I personally disagree with this.
- From @thejabrixone <— NOTE: Jabrixone has yet to pilot the build (no offence intended mate <3)
- From @nery:
- From @ya1 <— He’s still testing it, so I’ll refrain from quoting him just yet
…And finally, my suggestions:
Rancor undoubtedly deserves a nerf. But IMO, the ones put forth by lee, jabby, and nery are way. too. harsh.
I’ve tested the build more extensively than all the vets combined, and in my experience, pierce damage is the most vulnerable to mutator RNG.
- With the exception of pierce, all damage types have mutators which will reduce monster res to it by -8%
- Armored mutator increases monster res to pierce by 30%, which is DOUBLE the 15% value of other damage types.
- It is possible to lose up to -28% casting speed with mutators.
Furthermore…
- The build is squishy as hell and is inconsistent in the hands of top pilots like @nery, and @mad_lee.
- As mentioned above, I’d love to have a top tier pierce spam-caster. And we are also talking about a spec which is using:
a. RAVAGER’S HELM (an item the vast majority of players will never see outside of grimtools),
b. a double rolled M.I,
c. Slow res bonus on all craftable items.
Given the insane item dependency of this build, I think it’s reasonable for it to perform at the level of other top tier specs (i.e. 6:30 clears).
Thus my suggestion is to change the damage modifier provided by the weapon from 50% to 30%.
A 20% decrease in DPS should theoratically increase its current clear time by 20%, allowing it to perform in that 6:30 range.
That being said, I also wish to preserve the possibility of making a bleed PB nuker. So I would also suggest adding a flat bleeding damage modifier to PB on rancor to compensate for the reduction of the total damage modifier.
Alternatively, one could also simply add a modifier to rancor which will REDUCE the total number of projectiles on PB by 1.
Clear times - ranges from 5:12 - 6:30
As explained above, clear times with this spec varies HUGELY because of mutators. Another factor which adds to this discrepancy is the fact that pierce damage has no DoT, thereby denying the pilot the luxury of leaving stragglers behind to be killed off by said DoT.
In other words, there are PLENTY of factors outside the build which can very significantly reduce it’s performance.
Here are 2 runs done by @mad_lee and @nery respectively. These were done under near optimal conditions:
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No slow enemies stuck in corners
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No detrimental mutators
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Only 1x kaisan spawn
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In @mad_lee’s case (5:11): He also lucked out on getting theodin instead of korvaak, as well as having maiden + that dinosaur thing spawn in 165 (i.e. having zantarin and gargabol spawn in those corners would have very easily added 5s to his clear time).
- In @nery’s case (5:17): He was using pharma (no offence intended). I’m not sure how this would’ve affected his clear time, but there you have it.
I personally have NEVER broken the 5:20 barrier, and tend to average a 5:35 clear.