Pyrokinet
02-14-2005, 01:10 PM
<DIV>I've been playing this class since release (technically, a few days after, from the 1 to 20 grind, but you get the idea). And since then we've seen thousands of threads on nerfing the horses, nerfing GE, and whines about our damage. And since I'm in the top guild in game (basing this on the fact that we were first to finish the "final" hallmark), and have a bit of a better perspective on end-game action than most (not to brag, just to offer a different perspective than your typical consumer), I thought I would offer this ideas.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1) Please make up your mind on the role of the SK. We can't self-heal as well as the Paladins, nor do we have the majority of the stun abilities they do. And because the Berserker class is the highest sustained DPS (aside from some particularly over-zealous wizards), we don't compare to them either. And Guardians are absolutely mandatory for the end-game raiding (hello, Lord Darathar!)...that fits us somewhere in the ether of "what the hell am I supposed to do?" category. Don't get me wrong; I like my DPS...but I'd like to do a little more. And here's where it can fit in:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> a) Ruinous Touch. At Adept 1, I'm doing roughly 750 damage against "boss" mobs, and 1200 or so against regular mobs or the attached mobs with bosses. And as we know, most "boss" mobs have at least 500,000 hp (from parses), therefore, Ruinous Touch is absolutely pointless (considering two Dreadful Wraths equal or surpass its damage against "boss" encounters). So. By reducing its timer from 30 minutes to, say, 5 minutes, we have a more viable weapon against "final" encounters. However, this isn't feasible because this will lead to abuse against other mobs. So therefore, we are left with the alternative of radically improving its damage output to a more viable 4k or 5k damage and keeping the same 30 minute timer. Some classes might complain (namely the wizards and assassins), but this isn't a sustainable damage for us. Its a one shot deal, since no boss encounter lasts more than 30 minutes, so we wouldn't be able to use it twice on one boss mob (although perhaps 2 times in an entire encounter).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> b) Dreadful Wrath. Great skill already. At Adept 3, its doing 300 to 700 a hit. Recast time is a little long though (under the assumption that, as the Berserker is to DPS what the Guardian is to Defense, and Paladins are to Defense what we are to DPS), and therefore trimming it down by 3 seconds leaves us with a solid offense output every 3 to 5 seconds. It wouldn't conflict with the brigand/swash/assassin melee output, and since the snare on DW is so pathetic and unnoticeable anyway, it doesn't lend itself well to kite exploiting (which you folks at SOE pretty much got rid of anyway this time around).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> c) Plague Sword needs drastic improvement. Not only does it do FAR less damage on average than DW at an equivalent level, it's recast timer is much longer as well. Need to cut the timer down to 6 seconds or so, and increase the damage (at Adept 1 at least) but roughly 75 to 125 to balance out with the current form of DW. And because it doesn't have the range of DW, again it doesn't lend itself to abuse and exploitation.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> d) Our lifetap series. Sad. Really sad. An insane recast time (I MIGHT be able to use it once per mob. Maybe. If I neglect using DW), high mana cost, relatively low damage (125 to 200 at Adept 1...), and a neglible life recourse (I'm sorry, but when a mob Barrages for 4k, and hits regularly for 2k+, 75 life points back is pointless...I'd rather have it do 75 damage more than what it does now, and NOT give me life back...).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> e) Sickening Anger. My usual pull spell. Could use a slight damage increase of 25 to 50 points to better increase hate. Its mana cost is nice and low (since we don't get to use bows/range weapons). The range, however, needs a slight improvement in order to better hit targets that require most melees to stand WELL out of melee range (aside from MT).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>2) Crusaders, as a whole, need better defensive capabilities. According to your own statements, Paladins and Shadowknights are supposed to be the most defensive of the tank classes. Clearly, we aren't. Berserkers not only have insane group haste, but virtually identical save and damage mitigation as Guardians. Malignant Circle doesn't cut it; combined with its limited defensive increases, it doesn't have the save increases nor the spiffy skelly form of Lucan's Will. The use of tower shields would be nice, and wouldn't take much away from the Guardians. However, given that Paladins and SKs rarely use 1hs during raids (since we don't MT) and therefore don't require sheilds for most raids, we should both be given an ability that allows us better defensive mitigation while using 2hs weapons, or something similar.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>3) Heavy Armor drop rates desperately need to be increased. This is for all tanks. 90% of the armor drops have been for medium armor wearers, when they really need better weapons in order to compete with the EBBC for damage output. Armor drops for these classes, at the rate they currently are, make absolutely no sense, since (in theory) they shouldn't be getting aggro and therefore don't need the mitigation, whereas the tank classes (who all virtually use either the Tundran War Axe OR EBBC, with the exception of the new prismatic weapons) require better physical protection and resists. So. Work with that.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>These are just a few ideas. Nothing major, I think. But a welcome change to the usual horse/GE threads.</DIV>