2 Month report on new combat system

[bigolbear]

my conclusions and opinions.


Overall - the changes are not horrific. I realy like the fact that armour has some meaning now.

1. PRR on armour is good - and works well at high lvls, at low lvls meles dominate anyway. - we now have a reason to wear armour rather than robes, this is a good thing.

2. dex - and wisdom for a monks ac is no where near as meaning full as it was, neither is str for to hit. bad thing - caters to mediocrity.

3. displacement change was a bad idea, plz revert this. and incorporate some arcane spells that grant AC/prr as if wearing armour to cater to battle mages types. id suggest mage armour be light armour appropriate to your caster lvl(no asf, no max dex), and improved mage armour(lvl 3 spell - heavy armour appropriate to your caster lvl, no asf, no max dex - but with a duration similar to haste) - and give bards these spells.

4. any source of DR should also grant a certain amount of stacking PRR. Its become very obvious that under the new changes wf meles and barbs are taking more damage at high lvls.

5. combat expertise is prety weak under the new rules, so weak infact there is basicly no reason to be using it unless you also have various other effects tied to it. eg i have a lvl 16 monk with around 60 ac. combat expertise takes me to 66 - as its +10%. however that translates into a mere 2 or 3% 'defence chance at lvl'. Its so week that I actualy leave it off so i can proc madstone - as that gives me better defences!

6. dodge: dodge cap is too low - and feats that grant dodge are not granting enough to be interesting.

7. heavy armour is granting too much ac compared to light - light nimble characters should actualy be harder to hit than slow heavy armoured ones - though less PRR obviously. the balance here needs to be addressed.

8. monk splashes are hurt bad (though still palyable). My sugested fix for this is to tie the additional monk AC bonus into BAB - rather than granting a bonus at given monk lvls. Require the monk splash to be centered to get this bonus, however change the feat whirling steel strike to allow the monk to remain centered when using any weapon they are proficient with, and zen archery to apply to all ranged weapons. Ki stikes to be useable with all weapons - not just wraps.

9. spell power:
So much emphasis is now placed on enhancements. I have no issue with this other than many classes do not get the relevant enhancements for their spells - eg no force or fire lines for clerics. fix that fact and these changes will be fine. certain gear also needs review - ml 24 versions of canith items would be a good idea. add a ring or helm or trinket that has potency, one that has devotion, and one that has impulse - and associated lores.

10. spell power: implement bonus:
dumb stupid idea. remove it - or put it on ALL weapons even if they have no caster function. I cant stress enough my loathing for this.

11.spell power: cannith crafting.
need recipies for spell power that range from +30 to +108.


In conclusion - I like the basics, the principles of the changes. There is just some fine tweaking that needs to be done.

[Hafeal]

With the exception of some quests (running with the devils on elite for example, in my last bard life i've actually had to pull mobs to get it done while before it was zerg zerg zerg) you can still zerg without much concern. Spellcasters on elite hit for a little more than before, but nothing that bad unless you are unlucky on saves for disintegration

Oh I agree some quests are still zergable, but, there is a greater element of danger.

One thing I have noticed is that they seem to have lengthened rubber bands for many quests; for example, I had some mummies and skellies follow me to a shrine in the main room from a tower in an Elite Wiz King run last night. Casters seemingly can again round up many for AoE; of course you have to watch for DA.

[Dandonk]

Well, to be good at this game, I am strongly convinced that you should be good at playing it, not just good at grinding

Build still matters: the difference between a "standard" build and an optimized build made by an experienced player is noticeable in my opinion.
Not even counting the fact that in my opinion you should adapt the build to your playstyle, not just going to do the numbers on how much potential damage it does in perfect situations.

Of course player skill matters. But one of the carrots in this game, and any game, is that this time - maybe - that one cool piece of loot you want will drop.
That part of the lure of paying the game is now gone (for AC and to hit)..

Stats selection and feats such as weapon focus are now meh. Before, you could go for that max strength or that one more dex mod, and get something out of it. Yes, you'd trade off saves or skills or whatever that would be nice to have, too, but that was the tradeoff.
Now that +1 to hit or AC is pointless. Sure, it helps at level 2. But at 24? not so much, if at all.

I'm all for making AC mean something again in all difficulties (does AC mean anything in EE atm?), but this was NOT the way to go about it. It simply has too many drawbacks.

[maddmatt70]

I agree, ran "Where There's Smoke..." on elite last night with a guildie, I have a 30 AC at level 5 and was getting critted on just about every hit, misses were rare. I did have light fortification only but it was stupid, 110 hp and was having to flee for my life after two hits. We decided to recall out and craft some moderate fort items before trying it again. Called it a night instead.

My take on it is true reincarnation favors spellcasters even more then it did previously which is saying something haha. I just true reincarnated a bard into a rogue which I will be levelling up. I figure it will be a cure serious wound pot fest when I do epic elite and try to get involved in the fighting. A guildy of mine will be double box true reincarnating and another one of my guildys will be true reincarnating too. I will probably be a trap monkey through many of the quests with the dual boxers for sure true reincarnating a caster as he will continue to walk through the quests while I will have to work even harder to be less effective then I was before in essence - drinking csw pots means less dps.

[Ape_Man]

My take on it is true reincarnation favors spellcasters even more then it did previously which is saying something haha. I just true reincarnated a bard into a rogue which I will be levelling up. I figure it will be a cure serious wound pot fest when I do epic elite and try to get involved in the fighting. A guildy of mine will be double box true reincarnating and another one of my guildys will be true reincarnating too. I will probably be a trap monkey through many of the quests with the dual boxers for sure true reincarnating a caster as he will continue to walk through the quests while I will have to work even harder to be less effective then I was before in essence - drinking csw pots means less dps.

Which is a TERRIBLE thing for the TR game. Good thing the reasons for TRing are so watered-down now it's basically pointless.

[ThePrincipal]

I havent played in about 2 months, stopped a few days after the expansion went live. I dont know, just not into it. AC is a small part of it. Since I never cared to get AC, I wasnt affected. My cleric has some PPR now and my Rogue some dodge which is nice I guess. Bard gets to keep displacement all for himself.

I have 5 20s and have no interest in 21. The destinies are confusing and dont feel like d&d to me. Too many mechanics and abilities and requirements and thresholds and conditions to keep straight. There was always a method to the madness and now, to me, it's just madness.

[sirgog]

Ah, you mean they dumbed it down

Yes, they did. but in a way I like a lot of it, especially the part that I'm no longer forced to monk-splash if I don't want to be a mana-sponge on a melee.



Epic elite mobs to-hits are too high, is that what you mean?

They also hit too hard but that's a different issue.

So you are complaining that they dumbed it down, then you want Epic Elite made easier? /rollseyes

The death of 'I can't be hit' godmode is a great thing.