The question is a relatively simple one…is AoM by design biased against ranged characters? I’m referring more specifically to the areas around Malmouth itself, which consist mostly of ruins with lots of line-of-fire obstructions, stairs (the bane of ranged classes in GD!), and short halls/small rooms.
After working my way through the expansion with a higher-level char (letting me explore with a bit without a particularly high risk factor), I got the distinct feeling that a character that couldn’t face tank most mobs would be at an extreme disadvantage, particularly in Malmouth. The level designs themselves seem geared toward very short ranges and poor maneuverability, while ranged characters need both longer ranges and room to maneuver to survive.
Too many hulks that ignore all forms of CC really hurts any form of ranged glass cannons IMO. If you make tanky ranged class that just shoot mobs in the face while standing still then you might as well play sword/board at that point
It’s been a problem since the beginning of time. It’s just more noticeable in AoM since mobs hit way harder than usual. To finish all game content you will soon have to be able to facetank anyway, enemies like Fabius or Lokarr are immune to kiting.
One aspect that i really liked about POE (even though i despise alot of it) is the boss fight mechanics, seems very fair and their dash all have directions rather than homing, so range characters suffer less from being shadow striked/blinked to death. Positioning is rewarded with DPS opportunity. This happens to an extend with Shaper of the flesh which is very refreshing, but i wished more bosses can have these very clear mechanics.
Stuff like iron maiden which you have to face tank can be quite detrimental to some* range build, so much so they might be locked out certain contents all together. Which is why melee builds are rather popular.
I have a buddy who got 1 shot by zantarim a month ago. Then today, another friend and I were mowing down content on crucible (aspirant), I brought a dw ranged tactician just to handle zantarim, buddy ss in to get in a hit…bam dead.
Zantarin + Madqueen are more like exceptions rather than the rule.
Even then, Zantarin doesnt do his one shot move at melee, so you just have to bait it out then move to melee.
Madqueen, spell breakers make her useless with nullification/chain mirror, A good sword and board build that has damage absorb just outright tanks her.
Iron maiden on the other hand have little to no counter play for ranged builds (outside of face tank with tanky ranged builds like CT/Tactician). Also annoyingly she seems to only use her stunning forcewave at ranged.
My question isn’t as much about specific mobs being particularly tough for ranged builds (as with any ARPG, there are mobs that are tougher by design for different builds), but more about whether the environmental design of AoM itself puts ranged builds at a disadvantage.
Again, I’m thinking specifically about the Malmouth ruins themselves, but the design of the environment struck me as much more conducive to melee over ranged. The ruined buildings offer very short sightlines, small rooms, obstructions, and alot of twists and turns/stairs. The tight quarters and obstructions would seem to limit the built-in strengths of a ranged build (ie, you can do damage at range while avoiding taking damage yourself), while the twists and turns and stairs limit maneuverability/kiting potential.
These problems were at least limited in other sections of the game (separate buildings, which have always had these problems, were much fewer and interspersed with alot of outside area), while dedicated interior areas like the Warden’s Lab had longer hallways and larger rooms. Not so much in AoM, where there are huge interconnected blocks of buildings.
Zantarin isnt a foil for melee - Zantarin is a foil for reckless fools. My ranged characters will rush into melee with him after 1 dodge so i don’t have to worry about it agaun.
Zantarin has telegraphed ability that can oneshot at close range. If he oneshots you, blame yourself only, because that ability is meant to be avoided by running away.
It’s just like in PoE you’re meant to avoid Uber Atziri’s double-flameblast, etc.
