Adjusting Subclasses

[zongclu]

I feel the main purpose of subclasses is to provide alternative playstyles, but some of the current ones could do better in achieving that outcome.

Some suggestions to boost weaker ones, to provide greater differentiation between subclasses, and to align their boons/banes with their concept:

 

 

Fighter - Black Jacket

Concerns: The weapons master. Giving up rapid recovery for quick switch + 1 more proficiency seems like a poor deal. Weapon switching doesn't occur often because enemies have static ARs, so for the same enemy there's no point switching (disregarding unique effects of weapons yet to be seen).

This subclass has been used for all-out first-striking with triple sets of dual pistols, rapidly switched, but this seems like a niche application.

 

Suggestions: Centre this subclass around weapon modals, and switching to utilise these modals.

- Advanced Proficiencies : Penalties from weapon modals are halved 

- Alternatively, gain proficiency in all weapons automatically. Instead of choosing proficiencies, choose Advanced Proficiencies (gold instead of blue icon) in selected weapons.

 

 

Ranger - Stalker

Concerns: The melee ranger, but the radii are forgiving enough to allow use to ranged weapons as well. Bonus makes the ranger & pet marginally more tanky, but that doesn't quite gel with the subclass name (and the bonus itself isn't too interesting) + the issue of no melee-compatible abilities

 

Suggestions: Rangers are primarily single-target destroyers. Other than making abilities usable in melee,

- Gain +1 engagement (vs 0 for rangers, I think)

- Attacks against enemies engaged by both stalker and pet apply Marked Prey without cost

- Ambush : Exiting stealth within 3 range of an enemy applies a small short-duration Action Speed buff (to add stalking element without making high stealth absolutely necessary)

- Penalty - The Stalker deals less damage to enemies not engaged by both stalker and pet (including when pet has fallen), suffer bonded grief when outside 5 range.

 

 

Wizard Subclasses

Concerns: Chance-based (Evoker, Illusionist's empower) and random bonuses (Conjurer) feel unreliable. Ultimately the playstyles between some are not that much different beyond the selection of spells.

 

Suggestions: Alter bonuses to provide tactical considerations

- Conjurer - Empowered conjuration spells also conjure a decently strong familiar/creature based on element or type of spell (e.g. weapon conjuration summons a self-acting, weaker copy of the weapon)

- Evoker - No passive bonus to power level. Elemental Momentum : Casting an evocation spell of X element increases the Power Level for evocation spells of other elements. Each spell cast provides separate "Momentum: <Element>" buffs (effectively up to 3 given 4 elements), with all Momentum lost when a spell of the same element is cast again, or a non-evocation spell is cast.

 

 

Small note on single-class's relative weakness - Perhaps power level can be made more impactful for both passive and active abilities, making the difference in power level above multiclasses characters more pronounced.

[dunehunter]

I think Evoker is the only wizard subclasses that doesn't need adjust... 30% echo is really powerful imo.

 

Summon familiar is....just for roleplaying? Ogre form gives me the same feeling that they are aimed for roleplaying more than powergaming.

Edited December 2, 2017 by dunehunter

[Climhazzard]

Some that I feel need adjusting...

 

Mage Slayer:  The beneficial spell duration malus is way to harsh.

 

Ascendant:  The duration you get a power bonus at max focus is shorter than the cast time of some of your spells, lol....

 

Ghost Heart:  I feel like the pet should be zero cast time/recovery and longer duration.

 

Well... there's others I kind of feel like commenting on, like all the rogue sub classes, but for now I'll leave it at these 3.

[Juodas Varnas]

If it was up to me, i'd definitely try to make it so that Conjurers would actually get to choose what familiar they want to have at character creation, with each having different bonuses. There could also be familiar-specific spells. Something like "Switch places", where your character would switch places with the familiar (especially if the familiar was immune to engagement and relatively fast moving, it could be used defensively), heck, maybe even spells that empowered or transformed the familiars into more fearsome forms for a duration, making them more effective combatants (like, if the familiar is a small wurmling, the spell would turn it into a drake, if it's a kitten, it would turn it into a lion, and so on).

 

Also, i don't know about the Ogre transformation, from what i've seen, it seemed kinda... boring. I wish it was something more like Sauron from the Shadow of Mordor games (i know, i know, the games pretty much butcher Lord of the Rings lore and the newest one is an awful microtransaction machine, but the transformation sequence is pretty cool)

Edited December 2, 2017 by Juodas Varnas

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Ascendant is . . . painfully bad. 

[Skaddix]

If it was up to me, i'd definitely try to make it so that Conjurers would actually get to choose what familiar they want to have at character creation, with each having different bonuses. There could also be familiar-specific spells. Something like "Switch places", where your character would switch places with the familiar (especially if the familiar was immune to engagement and relatively fast moving, it could be used defensively), heck, maybe even spells that empowered or transformed the familiars into more fearsome forms for a duration, making them more effective combatants (like, if the familiar is a small wurmling, the spell would turn it into a drake, if it's a kitten, it would turn it into a lion, and so on).

 

Also, i don't know about the Ogre transformation, from what i've seen, it seemed kinda... boring. I wish it was something more like Sauron from the Shadow of Mordor games (i know, i know, the games pretty much butcher Lord of the Rings lore and the newest one is an awful microtransaction machine, but the transformation sequence is pretty cool)

 

Basically you want Tenser Transformation and yeah I am salty about conjurer not picking their own familiar.

[SaruNi]

Ascendant is . . . painfully bad. 

 

If they'd gone with the initial, brief description---without the 5 second schtick---it would be pretty good. Were they adamant about forcing people to actually use the powers? Afraid people would multiclass Ascendant just for Biting Whip? Did they really think the 6 second spells would be too powerful?

Edited December 2, 2017 by SaruNi

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

 

Ascendant is . . . painfully bad. 

 

If they'd gone with the initial, brief description---without the 5 second schtick---it would be pretty good. Were they adamant about forcing people to actually use the powers? Afraid people would multiclass Ascendant just for Biting Whip? Did they really think the 6 second spells would be too powerful?

 

 

Cast times and duration aren't even the whole problem.

Ironically, presuming they fix cast times, it will be a lot smarter to go Ascendant as a multiclass. Ignore the -1 power level penalty while building up focus with your other class; Once at max focus, unleash powers at a higher level than if you were singleclass.

[dunehunter]

Ascendant is . . . painfully bad. 

 

Ascendant has some design flaw, the subclass increase your max focus, but it requires u to reach max focus to be effective, but this two feature conflict each other, so actually it makes u harder to reach max focus.