Drachmoril
10-07-2019, 05:45 PM
I think there's a reasonable case for looking to Hardcore for balancing cues. A lot can be said of melee/ranged comparisons in hardcore, the power of certain enemies or trap sequences, the dominance of certain builds in a survival setting, etc.
Not everything applies exactly. A quick example: I find, in heroics, my melee monk frequently reaching the top of the kill charts in quests. Just as often, a ranged class will get the most kills. Our damage is comparable, but often I'm at a greater mortal risk. Does this mean that melees need to be buffed a lot to make them more "attractive," ranged nerfed a lot to make them more "fair"? Of course not; normal servers value survivability far less than Hardcore does, and many would take the option to run faster and kill harder over this security in a typical setting.
Likewise, I find a lot of tanky, healing, multi-purpose builds at level cap in hardcore, with Favored Souls proving particularly viable for farming reaper. Of course I do! In a gamemode where survival is paramount, it's natural that the most successful builds are those that focus on surviving above most else. I could go on about what conclusions *shouldn't* necessarily be drawn from Hardcore (there are a lot of warlocks in heroics, but their performance is generally balanced - just particularly well-suited for a survival environment), but there are plenty of conclusions that can be made.
For example - on ranged vs melee. I'm a melee monk in Hardcore (dex-based), and I generally do well in the kill rankings. I'm mighty wooshy and evasive, which makes me pretty survivable too. I'm not healing or buffing or crowd controlling as others are, but I punch things well. Often, an inquisitive build will do more damage than me, while staying out of the thick of things. Many of these builds are also trapping, casting, and using magical devices where I can't. I like my roll as "up-front murder guy," but I'm just not as needed in such groups. Inquisitive strength, "DPS homogenization" --- both outside the scope of this post (In fact, I tend to think inquisitive is very cool). But after my experience in Hardcore, I find myself wanting a bit more in melees. If I'm gonna be "up-front murder guy," let me murder like no other! (<-- Or... something. Don't take that too seriously.)
What kinds of builds are proving most viable for reaper farming? High reaper at cap? What quests or mechanics are too brutal for their level ranges? What quests aren't nearly brutal enough? Should there be a "disintegration immunity" item for beholders in von? (Lol)
Whatever it is, I hope the devs don't let this massive social experiment go to waste. So much right happened in Hardcore, and a lot of it can be carried over onto the regular servers.
Not everything applies exactly. A quick example: I find, in heroics, my melee monk frequently reaching the top of the kill charts in quests. Just as often, a ranged class will get the most kills. Our damage is comparable, but often I'm at a greater mortal risk. Does this mean that melees need to be buffed a lot to make them more "attractive," ranged nerfed a lot to make them more "fair"? Of course not; normal servers value survivability far less than Hardcore does, and many would take the option to run faster and kill harder over this security in a typical setting.
Likewise, I find a lot of tanky, healing, multi-purpose builds at level cap in hardcore, with Favored Souls proving particularly viable for farming reaper. Of course I do! In a gamemode where survival is paramount, it's natural that the most successful builds are those that focus on surviving above most else. I could go on about what conclusions *shouldn't* necessarily be drawn from Hardcore (there are a lot of warlocks in heroics, but their performance is generally balanced - just particularly well-suited for a survival environment), but there are plenty of conclusions that can be made.
For example - on ranged vs melee. I'm a melee monk in Hardcore (dex-based), and I generally do well in the kill rankings. I'm mighty wooshy and evasive, which makes me pretty survivable too. I'm not healing or buffing or crowd controlling as others are, but I punch things well. Often, an inquisitive build will do more damage than me, while staying out of the thick of things. Many of these builds are also trapping, casting, and using magical devices where I can't. I like my roll as "up-front murder guy," but I'm just not as needed in such groups. Inquisitive strength, "DPS homogenization" --- both outside the scope of this post (In fact, I tend to think inquisitive is very cool). But after my experience in Hardcore, I find myself wanting a bit more in melees. If I'm gonna be "up-front murder guy," let me murder like no other! (<-- Or... something. Don't take that too seriously.)
What kinds of builds are proving most viable for reaper farming? High reaper at cap? What quests or mechanics are too brutal for their level ranges? What quests aren't nearly brutal enough? Should there be a "disintegration immunity" item for beholders in von? (Lol)
Whatever it is, I hope the devs don't let this massive social experiment go to waste. So much right happened in Hardcore, and a lot of it can be carried over onto the regular servers.