When you look at blademaster - it’s mostly about pierce, sometimes cold. Which is reasonable, those two types fit class the most due to existing gear support.
The thing with acid Soldiers is that they actually can be viable for endgame. Acid is known for a complete absence of CC resistances and stats, but can stack big amount of flat damage. Soldier is known for having 0 flat damage, however it has some CC resistances, a lot of stats (OA, DA, armor and etc.) and 3 autoattacks that benefit from flat damage a lot, since their high %WD values. Moreover, isn’t that an interesting increase to our beloved variety?
Some time ago two things for acid soldiers were added - Slithbane (which is a garbage in terms of endgame potential for numerous reasons, but looks cool thematic-wise - so it’s a fine blue weapon) and conduit for acid cadence, which looks memey (as all conduits are), but meme doesn’t always mean bad or unplayable.
I’ve made this thing, mediocre performance in CR(5.20ish average, 4.58 the best one), good solo target (still worse than dervish’s), poor AoE (cadence), unstable lifesteal (cadence in general). Painfull to play in SR due to the weak sustain. Overall, it’s a beta-version of dervish, granted overcapped AS, 3200 OA and meaningfull amount of crit damage.
Suggestions:
Replace +2 to BoD on Rashalga’s Claw with +2 to Cadence/FF/DM or even +1 to Soldier.
+2 to BoD makes very little sence, because, here’s a dedicated MI weapon with pierce --> acid conversion for Occulist. Moreover, +2 to BoD is w/e value gain, it’s like 7 flat damage and 14 OA.
Replace +4 to cadence with +4 to BA on Slithbane and add physical to acid conversion there… Two handed cadence (!) nightblade (!!) makes very little sense. BA benefits a lot from flat and %AS, and it doesn’t require any WPS.
Add phys to acid conversion to Coven Darkener Pendant and replace +2 to DEE with… literally anything.
Add some soldiers points here and there to acid items that nobody uses and some mods to already existing legendary/MI items.
If you are afraid that this changes will benefit Dervish or WH instead of Soldier - add those bonuses to Field Commando.
Write your thoughts about toxic soldiers, at least one person I know desperatly wants them to be a thing.
Just gonna throw it out there now before anyone else does, you didn’t mention this for existing Acid Soldier support as well. Yes I know you don’t mean Retaliation .
I have no particularly strong feelings to or against Acid Soldier getting more support, at the very least I think Slithbane could do with getting Physical->Acid conversion regardless of whether it stays as a Cadence weapon or becomes a Blade Arc one because of Deadly Momentum/Laceration.
+1 to all suggestions. It feels like this is something that Crate and Zantai can get behind because they love adding support for very niche stuff - and Acid BM is definitely quite niche. Would be nice to have Acid items that give +skills to Cadence or Cadence nods.
We (well Grey, I just helped a bit) actually made one and it’s pretty decent.
It seems like a good idea and just in time - beta testers will be able to test the changes for imbalance and new changes will be available in the next patch.
Slithbane could use some improvement, yes. Maybe reduce +4 Cadence to +2 and add +2 to Soldier, making it more of a Witchblade weapon. Slapping chaos to acid conversion on it would also be pretty cool. Aside from Nadaan and Spite I personally don’t see a 2h BM working.
Wouldn’t Warlord be better at this? Although at this point might as well go physical… But Nightblade’s main strength is in WPS, so Witchblade seems like a better choice anyway. Unless they change Cadence Conduit with BA one.
Which is ironic. Although one can say it is a testament to an old glitchy engine where double physical mastery is the worst one for a physical build (I am looking at you “converted physical damage” and “small increments of flat physical damage are counted towards armor seperately” bugs).
If Slithbane got physical converted to acid for Deadly Momentum it would be nice. But on the the other hand cold Cadence can work even with Bane of the Winter King that doesn’t have it. And I made aether Death Knight Cadence without conversion also and it is the best of my Cadence builds. I am now playing Cadence builds (fire now) and acid is next on my plan so I will try to theorycraft something and post soon how it behaves.
I would also add that from the perspective of someone who plays only SR Cadence is better than Blade Arc but I understand why in CR it would be the other way around.
And here I am thinking " why is ravnas claw for aegis retaliation again?" as if we don’t have enough of that. Wouldn’t mind if mad queen’s remained a WH item and ravnas got reworked instead.
