Destruction changes!

"Destruction and Improved Destruction have been changed. These effects now have a duration of 20 seconds each, and reduce Fortification as well as Armor Class. Destruction reduces Armor Class and Fortification by 1% every time this effect hits an enemy, up to a -4 AC and -4% Fortification. Improved Destruction now reduces Armor Class by 2, and Fortification by 2%, up to -8 AC and -8% Fortification."

It's not much, but it's something more! I know acrobats will be happy to get a little more use out of Rahl's.

I am curious as to whether the two ability's debuffs will stack with each other though.

The important change is that the duration is only 20 seconds...

That's going to make it very hard to switch back and forth between your DPS weapons and your destruction weapons.

I must now redouble my efforts to procure an epic Chimera's Fang since it's a DPS weapon that ALSO has Destruction.

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Originally Posted by Thrudh

I must now redouble my efforts to procure an epic Chimera's Fang since it's a DPS weapon that ALSO has Destruction.

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Indeed. I might get Epic Kron'zeks on my rogue.

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Originally Posted by Thrudh

The important change is that the duration is only 20 seconds...

That's going to make it very hard to switch back and forth between your DPS weapons and your destruction weapons.

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it'll allow for garbage DPS toons like my bard to actually contribute more, and ID shards are cheaper to make then GLoB and GCoB :)

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Originally Posted by Thrudh

The important change is that the duration is only 20 seconds...

That's going to make it very hard to switch back and forth between your DPS weapons and your destruction weapons.

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Good point, but it means just a little more switching. Someone should crunch the numbers on this (hopefully, Turbine did this already) to see if the dps lost by potential weapon swapping is less than or greater than the dps gained by fort decrease.

Actually just thinking about that, one person using an improved destruction weapon, their dps loss from weapon swapping should be much, much less than the dps gain from the other often at least 5 people in a raid from the fort reduction.

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Originally Posted by grodon9999

it'll allow for garbage DPS toons like my bard to actually contribute more, and ID shards are cheaper to make then GLoB and GCoB :)

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Ah crafting... I guess I'll need to get into crafting now...

Holy silver/adamantium of Improved Destruction matched with a Chimera's Fang. Not too shabby.

From what I can tell, does NOT seem like they stack.

Just had both equipped, and you only get one debuff tooltip.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/z...nShot00934.jpg

Checked, seemed they are not stacking.

I tried using one both weapons. Noticed a single tooltip.

I used Improved Destruction, hit.
Swapped to Destruction, hit.
Swapped back to Improved, hit twice.

And it went Debuff, Stack, Stack, Stack. Regardless of weapon being used.

I don't know if that means we're getting properly applied Fortification/AC loss or not. I'll need someone online to hop into a Tavern PVP instance with me to check it out.

By making Destruction and Improved Destruction no longer stack, they just made every random-gen Destruction weapon in the game trash (and Breastplate of Destruction for me, sad I wasted TP on an armor kit for that as it will be trashed if this change goes live).

Where my Bard helped the party hit better with Breastplate of Destruction and Rahl's Might (for Improved Destruction), I'll now have no use for the Breastplate of Destruction. I don't think anyone else will have a use for it any more either. I very much dislike this change.

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Originally Posted by Backley

By making Destruction and Improved Destruction no longer stack

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I love how they just cant resist tossing a nerf in everything they do:D

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Originally Posted by Backley

By making Destruction and Improved Destruction no longer stack, they just made every random-gen Destruction weapon in the game trash (and Breastplate of Destruction for me, sad I wasted TP on an armor kit for that as it will be trashed if this change goes live).

Where my Bard helped the party hit better with Breastplate of Destruction and Rahl's Might (for Improved Destruction), I'll now have no use for the Breastplate of Destruction. I don't think anyone else will have a use for it any more either. I very much dislike this change.

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Originally Posted by mystafyi

I love how they just cant resist tossing a nerf in everything they do:D

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Technically, since the stack renews, I'm not sure. I haven't gone into a Tavern Brawl area or something and tested it with anyone yet, but since any hit with a Destruct/Improved refreshes and/or "builds" the "stack", it makes me wonder how it does that.

It could mean that you use Rahl's Might, and Breastplate of Destruction, and get the initial Improved Destruction "Hit". Then, as the stack builds, switch to your DPS weapon and go to town. The Breastplate of Destruction/Destruction DT Rune/Whatever continually reapplies the stack.. possibly at the Improved Destruction's values? Don't know.

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Originally Posted by mystafyi

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Originally Posted by Backley

By making Destruction and Improved Destruction no longer stack

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I love how they just cant resist tossing a nerf in everything they do:D

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The old Improved Destruction was actually only giving -4 AC, which stacked with the Destruction effect (the description was incorrect).

The new Improved Destruction applies a Destruction effect along with the additional -1/-1%. It's now actually better than vanilla Destruction, instead of being exactly identical, and can actually get to -8 AC/-8% Fort on its own.

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Originally Posted by Eladrin

It's now actually better than vanilla Destruction, instead of being exactly identical, and can actually get to -8 AC/-8% Fort on its own.

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But is still useless to swap from Improved Destruction to your real DPS weapon, and still makes every Destruction weapon (and the Breastplate of Destruction) into trash.

Over-all, a major nerf.

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Originally Posted by Eladrin

The old Improved Destruction was actually only giving -4 AC, which stacked with the Destruction effect (the description was incorrect).

The new Improved Destruction applies a Destruction effect along with the additional -1/-1%. It's now actually better than vanilla Destruction, instead of being exactly identical, and can actually get to -8 AC/-8% Fort on its own.

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Well and good - but is the Duration up for debate at all? Losing a full two-thirds of it's duration is, indeed, a nerf, no matter how you cut this pie.

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Originally Posted by Eladrin

The old Improved Destruction was actually only giving -4 AC, which stacked with the Destruction effect (the description was incorrect).

The new Improved Destruction applies a Destruction effect along with the additional -1/-1%. It's now actually better than vanilla Destruction, instead of being exactly identical, and can actually get to -8 AC/-8% Fort on its own.

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Eladrin with all these fort reduction changes can we get one for the shroud ooze items? It seems like a natural one to have a fort reduction on it after all.

It actually makes perfect sense when you think about why the duration was changed.

If its a minute, people only equip the item until it procs and then instantly can remove it for increased DPS at virtually little to no cost or choice.

With a short duration of 20 seconds and a ramp up time, it makes the item a choice. Do you want to aid your entire party or merely do your personal max DPS against a non-debuffed enemy?



Also, just a word of note....you can craft modules for this sort of thing....its not like the dog does stupendous DPS anyways.

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Originally Posted by Backley

By making Destruction and Improved Destruction no longer stack, they just made every random-gen Destruction weapon in the game trash (and Breastplate of Destruction for me, sad I wasted TP on an armor kit for that as it will be trashed if this change goes live).

Where my Bard helped the party hit better with Breastplate of Destruction and Rahl's Might (for Improved Destruction), I'll now have no use for the Breastplate of Destruction. I don't think anyone else will have a use for it any more either. I very much dislike this change.

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To be fair...it applies the effect to your weapon....allowing you to use any weapon you prefer.

In the absence of someone willing to use a destruction item you still passively provide the benefit without sacrificing DPS.

Technically all the content in the game has been beaten without the absolute need of destruction effects....but it sure does help if its available.

So both types of destruction provide the same debuff of -1 AC and -1% fort, but destruction goes to 4 "stacks" and improved destruction goes up to 8 "stacks"?

So one str based TWFer with +5 holy burst(silver/adam/cold iron) of shatter +8 and a
+5 holy burst (silver/adam/cold iron) of imp. destruction can Debuff a boss for everyone in the group by 8 AC, 18% fort, and -15 fort save. Not too bad for costing one feat, 100? DPS, and some canith crafting.

It would probably be a good idea to introduce a Sovereign Rune of Improved Destruction for Dragontouched Armors now since vanilla destruction runes became redundant.