I have a Rifle Commando nearing Homestead in Epic. There are a few things that I felt could use a little improvement that I wanted to comment on. I am not using a Grenadier build and not using melee, so I cannot comment on those skills.
Field Command: I have six points in this, but find the investment a little questionable. I wear heavy armour, so the armour boost is nice (and, being percentage based, will scale well at higher levels). The boost to OA and DA, however, have not scaled so well. At low-level, they were nice, but they are such a tiny proportion of my total as to now be irrelevant. For example, the interface reports 100% chance to hit/11.7% chance to crit before activating it, and after activating it only gets up to 12% chance to crit. Six points for a negligible bonus that will only get worse at higher levels strikes me as very bad. Perhaps if the skill had both a direct bonus (+X) and a percentage bonus (+Y%) it would scale better?
Flashbang: I have four points in Flashbang and one in Searing Light. Already, I feel like this skill is ‘finished’. I cannot understand why anyone would ever consider investing 22 points into this skill when five already feels maxed out. At four points, the AoE on Flashbang feels to be at a practical maximum: I already cover all mobs with it, so any more is overkill. A 33% chance to confuse feels fine for CC purposes, and the diminishing returns (only 50% at 12 points!) make further investment feel pointless. Honestly, I do not know what the average mob’s DA is, but the -DA in the skill looks so tiny next to my OA (10%) that it seems like it would be adding little-to-nothing. Searing Light is clearly a one-point wonder: the first point adds a nice effect, but the diminishing returns on further investment are far too harsh to waste further points on. This feels like it should be one of those one-point skills, perhaps with higher base chances but adding a small cooldown in exchange, as it is quite bizarre in its current format. The fundamentals of the skill are fine, but further investment seems beyond questionable.
Vindictive Flame: I only have one point in Vindictive Flame, and I am honestly not convinced even that point is a worthy investment. The damage and chance to stun when hit are OK, but nothing to write home about — perhaps better in a tanky melee build using skills like Counter Stike? The Health Regen and speed boost are OK, but also nothing special. I have not even bothered putting a point into Ulzuin’s Wrath, as I cannot see any value in it. The skill does not feel like it meshes well with the rest of the Demolitionist. I am not sure what can be done here, as it just feels like a bad skill.
War Cry & Terrify: While fear CC effects are generally unpopular, I like them and Terrify works fine. I feel three points for merely 33% chance to fear is a bit too much. One point would be fine, but three feels excessive. I would like to either see it reduced to one point or have a secondary effect that justifies the investment.