Loxmere’s daggers are just so significantly better than all other Shadow Strike options that it’s genuinely difficult to make an SS build that isn’t strictly worse without at least one of them. That small 0.1 second edge makes them beat out Beronath’s horns. And it completely leaves Rimeblessed Spear in the dust. I even found it was a DPS increase on my lightning SS build with Stormserpent build over other options.
When even other damage types are looking at them with envy, the reduction on them is so extreme that it warps nearly all SS builds around them. As much as I love Shadow Strike, I feel like this is a massive drag on the build crafting experience. And if Zakull SS is going to get nerfed next patch, I would hope it would start here (and obviously 'zerker because the Reaver version is the best one).
iirc chinese community had a couple non cold SS builds using Loxmere before FoA too, one of them was indeed lightning (even before stormserpent got awakened)
i’ve honestly no idea how to fix this other than other XY dmg type build items. Nerf Lox, or bake part of it into base skill, and Lox daggers probably just goes away outside cherrypicked Plaguebearer prefix use
I have to disagree with respect to the daggers being the problem. Loxmere daggers are quite good, but all they really give you is cooldown reduction and some extra points in nightfall. That’s always been their thing. If other options are less compelling to the point where you don’t want to use them, that suggests those other options could use buffs. One doesn’t increase build diversity by making support for a skill worse.
Loxmere + Zakull reaver got hit pretty hard by removing the pierce to cold conversion from shadow strike, not to mention removing the onslaught stacks from Zakull’s proc.
“Only CDR” is insane when that is one of the biggest DPS increases you can possibly get for SS. Also you’re not really reading my argument, it’s not about Zakull specifically or Reaver specifically, it’s about the warping effect the daggers have on all SS builds.
Reaver getting hit specifically is good for Zakull in the latest public test patch because realistically it was never supposed to be a Reaver set. The public test changes don’t really affect my argument pretty much at all.
I understand your argument fine. I simply disagree that the problem is Loxmere daggers being overpowered. Other 1H shadow strike weapons give bonus damage, conversion, and other benefits. Some are better than others. The ones that fall short are just not good, which suggests to me that the answer is to bring up the laggards, not nerf the non-laggard.
If anything, the ability to use onslaught to increase damage for a nuke like shadow strike makes the argument that Loxmere daggers are overpowered weaker, not stronger than it might have been pre-1.3. Same idea with charges. You can do a lot of interesting things without the extra CDR that work. If there was ever a time to lean into different builds with shadow strike and venture out a bit, it’s now.
As far as cooldown reduction boosting DPS, yeah, obviously it does if you are relying solely on shadow strike. But so does increasing the damage per hit, which is one of the ideas behind the other weapons. To the extent that they do not feel good, buffs could be in order. Rift scourge slicers IMO feel pretty meh in endgame and the aether shadow strike conduit is absolute hot garbage.
This is a totally fine argument, my post was made under the assumption that buffs were not on the table (as they usually aren’t for SS). My problem is that Lox daggers are too good relative to other choices and that should be fixed. I suggested nerfs since Z is usually fine with those, but buffs for alternatives is also appreciated, though I always find them unlikely.
With PTR putting perfect gear generalist zakull around a 30s ravager (no TDM potion, no pharma) my vote would go towards improving the other offerings, or otherwise shifting some bonuses.
Loxblades didn’t need +2 Heart of Asterkarn on them. Spectral Longsword feels like a better candidate for that considering reaver has lost the set’s conversion
Chillstrifes shouldn’t be returned to prominence.
Rift scourge slicers feel to be very stat anemic. Spectral longsword gives health, resistance on top of supporting two skills. Nidalla’s hidden hand is mostly irrelevant. Seeing that acid SS nowadays goes straight for oathkeeper pairing, maybe tack on some benefit for occultist that plays nicely with SS?
In my testing bloodlord’s blade is sufficiently potent for chaos SS.
While pierce SS isn’t doing much nowadays, noctirns aren’t really being blocked by loxblades.
The only thing that’s greatly out of place on Beronath’s Celestial Horn is the acid->cold, since zakull medal covers this trivially. damage % on the horn looks a bit low.
Hrothnar claws are… I don’t even know. +1 charge along with such low values on the rest of the weapon are a joke.
I’m not terribly impressed by Bonebleach with its low AoE, single target proc droughts, full cold conversion being out of reach, low base attack speed, and lack of WPS for filler. Noctirn is at least kind enough to provide the full conversion, and it can be layered with WPS or werewolf for offensive devotion binds.
