As expected, v1.2.1’s changes are inspiring some animated discussions, some constructive and some…well…we’d like to remind everyone to always play with the changes before they jump to extreme conclusions that look scary on paper.
We’ll be making a number of balance changes in the next build based on internal tests and your feedback
Firslty - I am glad the sunder changes are rolled back. I have over 4k hours in GD and over 400 in PoE because I prefer the gaming experience of GD to PoE - ie. one without twitch reactions. Similarly, Dark Souls games (to mention two games on the other extreme of the spectrum) fill a different role for me.
Thematically, they also suit the upcoming expansions ramped up difficulty better.
I am still not convinced by the sweeping changes to physical resists, though the updated patch log also helps assuade that slightly. It just comes across as tanking a sledgehammer to the problem, rather than a scalpel - as this affects every build rather than the outliers.
For reference, I have done Beta build testing. Ran an O/N Saboteur, Vanquisher / Cataclysm Templar, Ultos Elementalist, Targo Dervish and a few other builds through SR or other parts of the game such as Nemesis hunting or a couple Ancient Aether totems for the 6 Flesh Hulk spawns.
Overall impression is that the changes to physical damage done by monsters was roughly in line with where it needs to be. Even so, damage intake was a bit spikier than it was previously. As a HC player, I am most concerned with spikes. Consistent damage is far less likely to kill you than an unlucky string of spikes.
My main concern currently is very high physical damage monsters, some of which I still need to try. One that instantly comes to mind is Voldrak, who even previously in 1.2 did 9.5k damage on a sideswipe (! note: not the overhead slam) to one of my characters, trippling his highest damage taken. And I don’t use Lokarr’s set to level. It also makes me wonder how much higher the barrier of entry is for Lokarr. On a similar note, Iron Maiden seems particularly spicey now, especially as her charge follows you if you get the evade timing slightly wrong.
Having watched Reinan tilt over his Witch Hunter, which could previously face tank Ravager through Sunder get killed by regular hits (Twitch - around the 26 minutes mark is where the fight starts), or Rekt’s Korba trickster get one shot by a combination of Calla’s Shifting Sands + a Tornado spawning on him seems to imply that the higher damage of bosses isn’t quite where it needs to be yet. Unless the goal is to solely have Avenger Warders be able to take down a Celestial, as similarly the Archon Warder keeled over dead. Please note that none of these were while sundered.
Even with ‘armchair game devving’, passing on that information seems relevant. These are exceptional players, piloting exceptional builds - who, unfortunately - haven’t seemed to have responded here yet.