A better alternative to reducing Harm Touch damage...

[Hon]

<p>REPOST</p><p>This is a repost of a post on the PVP forums.  I post it here because this is how one SK feels about the proposed reduced damage of Harm Touch and this is our classes forum.  Please feel free to comment here or there... </p><p><a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=366669" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=366669</a></p><p>Dear Developer <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/user/profile.m?user_id=242118" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Aeralik</a>,</p><p>In this player's opinion a better alternative to reducing the damage of a Shadow Knight's class defining ability (Harm Touch) is to do any or all of the following:</p><p>1.) Increase timer to 30 minutes.</p><p>2.) Make timer only countdown while online.</p><p>As I understand the issue, the biggest complaint against HT is that a SK can nearly kill any player then log off and wait 15 minutes till the cooldown expires.  Afterwhich the SK rinse and repeats for instant and safe fame.  I believe that this situation is ridiciulous and I agree it needs to be corrected.  </p><p>However, I do not believe that nerfing the damage is the way to correct this problem.  Harm Touch has been and should remain a class defining ability of a SK, both in PvP and PvE.  In comparison to other classes this ability does give an edge to a SK, but only once every 15 minutes.  In between the cooldown, the class can is arguably much less likely suited for PvP much like another crusader. </p><p>In the end I will still continue to play a SK, but I think my alternative is both fair and just for all involved.  </p>

[Nakash]

Simply no to the 30 minutes solution. By that what i have seen, a major damage nerf has been made to all high damage attacks of all classes to increase the duration of PVP combats. I dont see the point why there should be made an exception for our class. Btw making the Timer from 15 to 30 would change nothing on what they try to balance in my eyes. Further I see Harm Touched Line Balanced for PVP makes it possible to increase it usefullness in PVE where ist has taken serious Hits in usefullness as a tool and I see a major reason was the Problems it causes in PVP that some [Removed for Content] who dont play the class as a whole used it as a "OneshotKiller". So I hope after it is now balanced for PVP, it will gain a major increase in the next tier so that it can be still usefull as a tool for Tanks in PVE, where it became less effektive as an Aggro Tool due to the all over Damage increase of all other DD Classes. (e.g. hard to use to get back Aggro with it, if some Scouts do Ranged Autoattack with the same Damage amount). Lets hope this time changes will not effekt PVE to balance PVP. No offense to our Sk Buddys who play mostly PVP but I think most PVP SK are skillfull enough to use it as one tool under many, and have no need to depend on it.

[Bowser]

<p>I think Harm Touch is balanced because of the high reuse timer. Its not like you can go around using HT on people left and right. At the very most you could only use it 4 times in one hour.</p><p>Now if it were on a 5 minutes or less reuse timer then I would see the cause for concern, but it seems reasonable enough for me in its current state and I hope its not changed.</p>

[Fratzz]

How much is it reduced in fact on Test? Half, third, quarter, tenth? Just curios (and yeah, I was too lazy to check it out myself and hope someone else knows).

[Nink]

<p>I hope they dont change Harm Touch, although I only play PvE it seems to me that other classes have a high damge spell with a 15+ minute recast timer.</p><p>My Assassin has Decapitate which can do around 9000 point of damage and we all know about Ice Comet for Wizards. </p>

[Ozgood]

<p>I think the Devs has a slippery slope to manage with all these "balances".  All in all, I think they did a very good job.  While I don't agree with all the changes made, and most won't, I think they were made in the best interest of the game as a whole.</p><p>Maybe I am the only one to notice or research this; but my understanding is that this game was built on being 100 levels.  Therefore, having the current system we have now, maxing players out at 100% in a particular field, leaves people with no incentive to continue onward in search of more AA goodness or new spells trees.  The class shouldn't fill complete probably until level 100 to keep interest.  Every time they add a tier, they have a difficult job to re-balance all the classes in PVE and PvP.  PvP players, like myself, make up the minority but tend to be the most vocal.  But I am confident that when we ask for a change they look at it as "should this be a PVE change as well, or How will this affect overall balance?"  Asking them to make changes for the minority, while heard, cannot and will not be a priority.</p><p>Therefore, to address your post directly, I think the way they went about nerfing the HT line was a knee jerk, no other way out move.  With bazillions of posts from certain "I normally get away classes", they forced the hand of SOE to make a change.</p><p>But, I would think that with the overall reduction in spike damage gamewide, the lack of aggro management by some classes now, that HT needs to be changed to a more beneficial spell for the PVE and PVP Sk.  15 minutes is too long to wait for a spell that does less than most other classes spells do once every 30 seconds or every minute for that matter.</p><p>Therefore, my recommendation would be to move it to closer to 35% of it's original value, 1.5 second cast time, castable from range, but only while standing still and move it to a 5 minute timer, with AA's to reduce it to 2.5 minutes.  SKs right now do not have a chance to do spike damage, which is critical in PvP and essential for aggro in PVE tanking.  This would solve both issues.</p><p>As it is right now, with spells crits, trample and a fully fabled weapon, SKs will have a hard time getting through a Magi shield or Mana Ward due to the Nature of our less powerful, but many, DOTs.  Healers in PVE and PVP will auto attack for more, and with CAs can deliver WAY more burst damage.  To me, this seems like a win-win fix all around.</p>

[Hamervelder]

Why don't I see anyone complaining about assassinate, or fusion, or any of those other massive damage spells?  This just irks me, and I'm glad I don't play on a PvP server.  It <i>really</i> irks me to see rangers whining about HT.  Rangers are perfectly capable of demolishing SK's easily, and unlike us SK's, they have more than one massive damage attack.  I'm just thankful that the nerfs coming in LU36 are by and large on PvP servers, and won't affect me too much.

[Nakash]

<p>I am still hoping the T8 harm touch will be in an damage Scale to be usefull as a tool.</p><p> meanwhile pvp Buddys relax...:</p><p> Aeralik wrote: </p><blockquote>I'm giving back the damage to harm touch, assassinate, etc since the other global damage reductions seem to be working well.  I'm still going to leave fusion toned down although not as much as it is currently.  </blockquote><p>http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?start=30&topic_id=366940</p>

[FireDragon]

So SK's are being nerfed based solely on PvP?  Thats ridiculous.

[MaCloud1032]

I play on Venekor and the nerf is not that bad.  I lost about 2k worth of DMG off the top end.  It never hit for that to begin with.  There first nerv at it took it down to where i was hitting for about 1500 on crit.  Now they got it up to about 3-4k crit.  Have I ever ''one shotted'' some one only one time it as a green scout with no resists or gear hit him for 7k.  The name of the game for T7 PvP is resists and that sill has not been addressed in my off stance with about 4k resists across the board i still resist most everythign tossed at me.