Considering the slow movement and summoning time, the should have +1/2s uptime. Mashing that button to make sure you got 3 Devils and max your Maelstrom output is no fun (or is it, Z? ). Especially when it’s the same with Totems (+1s, pretty pls, for the LD Stormreaver 5 Totem classic). Another thing is their frantic behavior. Using pet attack command is often a must.
But I wouldn’t go as far as to make them permanent. I don’t feel like shaman is discriminated by this. Shaman got shaman things going for him alright.
The main purpose of Wind Devils for the vast majority of builds is rr application and they just suck at it.
The problem is not just movement speed which should absolutely be higher like 1.5x times. It’s the behavior.
For some reason Devils are allowed to stray from the player much further than GoE and BS. Consequently, in multitarget environment they can easily choose their target to be a white mob in the corner of the screen instead of the Nemesis mashing your face into the dirt.
Another big downside is AoE. RR is only applied by the Deviles themselves, not by Maelstorm, and a lot of adjacent enemies escape their small model.
edit: i suggest to strongly improve QoL properties of the skill at a cost of 5% rr to bring it in line with most other sources.
Even Cyclone builds have to recast them on CD, because they are never where you need them to be (on important enemies, applying RR). You can use “pet attack” but they are just so slow, it’s better to summon them again. And finally - you don’t how long they will last - each of 3 or 4 of them (unless you use some mods), so it’s better to keep summoning them so you always have maximum of them.
They are like thermite mines… that like to wander off in the distance instead staying where you put them and they also have a cooldown so you can’t put them where you need them instantly.
So no, they are not like thermite mines - more like their retarded little brothers… on drugs.
I’ll write here what I said on stream multiple times. Imo the best way to fix them would be to add a transmuter that limits their number to 1 or 2 but makes them permanent.
That way nothing will change for builds actively pressing the button to get max dmg out of maelstrom (since they won’t use the transmuter), which imo is fine since you should have to press it actively for damage.
On the other hand all the builds using Wind Devil’s purely for RR can cast them once and forget about them, so they feel like Guardians of Empyrion. This would be huge QoL for all the 2h Primal Strike and Savagery builds out there, which aren’t OP in any way afaik (apart from maybe Vortex). Imagine having to resummon guradians on an EoR build… that’s how it feels like spamming Wind Devil’s on Primal Strike builds rn.
I’m not going to bother explaining the reasoning behind Wind Devil design again, since reasons I’ve given in the past for this and other design choices “make no sense” or “have no evidence”, and how can one argue against the power of such reasoning. So I will simply get into the details of the changes we Are going to make.
First up, the core skill:
increased Move speed by 33%
increased Duration to 18s
reduced max distance before Wind Devils follow the player / snap to their location
adjusted AI to move less sporadically and maintain targets better
Now for itemization, and this I suppose is where some will be pleased…
Mythical Codex of Eternal Storms: replaced % Energy Cost Reduction modifier for Wind Devil with -100% Cooldown modifier for it. Duration modifier now makes Wind Devils permanent.
Mythical Spark of Ultos: replaced Duration modifier for Wind Devil with +2 Summon Burst modifier for it
The Cyclone Set: replaced Cooldown Reduction modifier for Wind Devil with a +4 Summon Burst modifier for it.
The obsession with Wind Devils as pets is tenacious, I’ll give it that. Wind Devils are a spell, an AoE that happens to also move. They are only pets in the sense that they can be relocated. Otherwise they are no different from Inquisitor Seal, which is also, gasp, a pet.
The above changes should offer much more variety in how you can play with Wind Devils, so I hope everyone finds a playstyle that is to their liking.
Very cool, I like spamming spells and will try it out, especially since I haven’t played with Devils too much so far.
I tried two times to mod Inquisitor Seal so that it follows the player (i.e. giving it Hellhound controller) but I couldn’t make it to move or even bark. Whereas giving Seal buff to cosmetic pets didn’t look well iirc. Perhaps someone else would like to take this challenge.
). Especially when it’s the same with Totems (+1s, pretty pls, for the LD Stormreaver 5 Totem classic). Another thing is their frantic behavior. Using pet attack command is often a must.
. Devs should not give up so easily. What next, Devouring Swarm becomes an aura?