Spell Auto Attack Itemization

[Xalmat]

<p>Two questions:</p><p>1. Besides the quested weapon that you get in Eastern Wastes, where are the Spell Auto weapons? I've seen no other weapons besides the quested one.</p><p>2. Why are the stats for Spell Auto so darn low? I look at the stats on top end items that have Spell Auto stats, and the stats are so low they might as well not be there.</p>

[Undorett]

<p>We ran an easy mode raid first thing last night while people were getting their AA figured out and gear adorned, etc.  Our wizard checked out the wand from the quest you mentioned and it never did over 600 dps even on fully debuffed raid mobs.  The "crush" damage from it was parried, dodged, etc at an alarmingly high rate, and apparently no group buffs are effecting it.  You would think that the double attack, dps mod, haste, etc from dirge/bards/other buffing classes would work for both wand damage and melee damage.</p>

[Banditman]

<p>The damage dealt by these weapons is frankly irrelevant.  However, it needs to hit.  That's what will (finally) equalize proc rates, which is really all you can expect from this.</p><p>If you have a weapon that never, or rarely, hits the target, it won't equalize those proc rates.</p>

[Undorett]

My guess is that it is using melee skills, needs to use casting skills for the hit rate

[Xalmat]

<p>Your Focus stat determines your hit rate, as well as influencing the minimum damage. I do not know which defensive stats affect hit rates as well.</p>

[Banditman]

<p><cite>Xalmat wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Your Focus stat determines your hit rate, as well as influencing the minimum damage. I do not know which defensive stats affect hit rates as well.</p></blockquote><p>Well that's [dumb].  Is it magic?  Check.  Is it damage?  Check.  Why isn't it using my Disruption skill?  Why isn't it checking against the mobs arcane resistances?  Dumb.  Dumb.  Dumb.</p><p>(I do actually have a larger vocabulary, unfortunately the other words don't pass the filter)</p>

[Temptrix]

<p>The spell auto item needs to be in the ammo slot...since the quested one isn't even close to replacing Raid dropped primaries, secondaries, and ranged.</p><p>They way they did the spell auto is so only the casuals will use this new mechanic and none of the raiders.</p><p>This is the worst GU ever!</p>

[Morghus]

<p><cite>Banditman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Xalmat wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Your Focus stat determines your hit rate, as well as influencing the minimum damage. I do not know which defensive stats affect hit rates as well.</p></blockquote><p>Well that's [dumb].  Is it magic?  Check.  Is it damage?  Check.  Why isn't it using my Disruption skill?  Why isn't it checking against the mobs arcane resistances?  Dumb.  Dumb.  Dumb.</p><p>(I do actually have a larger vocabulary, unfortunately the other words don't pass the filter)</p></blockquote><p>Considering all the drawbacks of spell auto, it's like they might as well not have even added it.</p>

[PotatoeGuru]

<p><cite>Undorett wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>My guess is that it is using melee skills, needs to use casting skills for the hit rate </blockquote><p>If so, then that's probably why I see the range item equipped during combat. It's also overriding the graphics for appearance slots. I'm not sure if the bug still happens with normal gear.</p>

[Nebbeny]

We had one drop off the trash in EoW, it had stats similar to other items in that zone, still had abysmal hit rate however even with the inqys focus being very high (i think his is above 600) so the hit rate really needs to be looked at, and the stats itemised on current gear, unless they intend for us to fully gear priests and mages from EoW

[Xalmat]

<p><cite>Morghus@Butcherblock wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Considering all the drawbacks of spell auto, it's like they might as well not have even added it.</p></blockquote><p>What drawbacks are you talking about?</p>

[Banditman]

<p>I think he really meant deficiencies, not drawbacks.</p>

[Xalmat]

<p><cite>Banditman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I think he really meant deficiencies, not drawbacks.</p></blockquote><p>Yeah, it <em>is</em> fairly deficient.</p>

[Meirril]

<p><cite>Xalmat wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Banditman wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I think he really meant deficiencies, not drawbacks.</p></blockquote><p>Yeah, it <em>is</em> fairly deficient.</p></blockquote><p>Wait until people start getting better drops than quested gear before you talk about how useful it is in raids. In our instance group last night our inquisitor was pulling down an extra 1k DPS zonewide than he was before switching to the quested item. 1k may not sound like much, but considering it came with essentially no loss free upgrade is an upgrade.</p><p>Seriously, what is the "drawback" over pre LU-61 casters? Though the suggestion to base the hit rate off of disruption sounds good. That would kinda bone priests in general since their gear isn't itemized for disruption but I'm sure that could be fixed with the introduction of new content and the accompaning itemization.</p>

[Faeward]

<p>I can see how Spell Auto Attack works for healers when they are full time healing, since the attack doesn't need to be timed between using abilities.</p><p>Here's how I think Spell Auto Attack should work though:</p><p><ul><li>Make a new auto attack mode, in addition to Melee and Ranged, add Spell.</li><li>Make Spell Auto Attack share the same modifiers as Melee and Ranged (Haste, DPS, etc.) this makes sense.</li><li>If the devs and players feel that not having to time spell auto is too OP with shared stats, then lower the base spell weapon auto attack damage across the board.</li><li>Make it use disruption skill - all other damage spells are disruption, and resists against disruption are set up on mobs in the correct way. Mobs seem to incorrectly resist focus. In fact, this seems like a bug. Also, it's confusing; there is a focus skill and then there is a focus type of damage which is actually unresistable (see Necro Lifeburn for example)</li></ul></p><p>Hope you find this feedback constructive!</p><p>Kind regards.</p>

[Banditman]

<p><cite>Meirril wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Wait until people start getting better drops than quested gear before you talk about how useful it is in raids. In our instance group last night our inquisitor was pulling down an extra 1k DPS zonewide than he was before switching to the quested item. 1k may not sound like much, but considering it came with essentially no loss free upgrade is an upgrade.</p><p>Seriously, what is the "drawback" over pre LU-61 casters? Though the suggestion to base the hit rate off of disruption sounds good. That would kinda bone priests in general since their gear isn't itemized for disruption but I'm sure that could be fixed with the introduction of new content and the accompaning itemization.</p></blockquote><p>Again, drawback is the wrong word.  Deficient.</p><p>The deficiency is that there is NO ITEMIZATION for this new feature aside from a quested item and (supposedly) itemization in a raid zone that has not been released, nor is there any guild WORLDWIDE within 12 kills of opening up access to.</p><p>Anyone who is sporting gear from the Kael zones or greater will find themselves seriously under the crit avoidance numbers required if they use the quested wand.</p><p>There is a gaping hole in itemization that makes this mechanic a huge challenge, not to mention that for melee priests it creates a HUGE problem with auto attack types when mixing spells (debuffs) with damage (melee).</p>