You know the game is not balanced properly when...

[draven1]

I realized DC Caster doesn't need caster PLs to work well on EE after 1st wiz caster life on my melee centric toon(All PLs are melee & even that toon is 19 wiz/1 clr sunelf).
Caster PLs will make life easier, but it doesn't make EE impossible without it.
I could keep efficiency on EE even that toon have 0 caster PL(Actually, I didn't miss top kills for most quests on this life).

Quite low DC than my caster centric toon, but you can overcome it by using proper debuffs & using proper spells on proper mobs & many continual try after saves.

Quite low spell penetration, but you can overcome it by using non-spell penetration check spells & twisting spell penetration.

If you saw my toon recently on G-land, you will know what I am saying.
I can provide some screenshot, but, it will be just bragging, so I don't want.

[Qhualor]

You know the game is not balanced properly when...
-

..It uses turn based systems, which runs in ultra fast paced real time, using deviant mechanics like *spell pool* essentially letting you decide how many times you can cast ANY spell you have. -vs- having to memorize n use per shrine and save the big guns for the big fights.

Thats where they broke the hopes for game balance, additionally feat dcs vs spell dcs, seriously whoever decided FoD has 8s vs Stunning Blow's 15?s shouldnt be doing any game design...

The last few updates probably brought so much balance breaking stats thats not even funny.

still think a better balance would be longer cooldowns on high damaging spells, especially insta kills. DDO would be a completely different game if you could only use spells X times per rest, but not sure it would be better. i can imagine gear and enhancements that casters would want to increase number of times they can cast spells much like melees have with action boosts.

[Tinco]

Already forgotten the old cooldowns on wail for example?

Spell points are really not a balance problem, playing an SLA-less caster (FSoul for example) makes that clear. You could argue that SLAs are too powerful - but compared to melee that's not really the case. Gating Casters by usage/shrine would be terrible imo.

Feat DC vs. Spell DC also has multiple facets. Stunning Fist goes way higher than a PM dc for example, as do the Ice-attacks of Warchanters. Stunning Blow still works for builds with extreme Str-Scores. There are certainly imbalanced DCs around, primarily the joke that is Quivering Palm on the low end and the Skill-based DCs on the high end.

[Tebaco]

Quite low spell penetration, but you can overcome it by using non-spell penetration check spells & twisting spell penetration.

Sure adventurer has bunch of twists available..

[Tebaco]

still think a better balance would be longer cooldowns on high damaging spells, especially insta kills. DDO would be a completely different game if you could only use spells X times per rest, but not sure it would be better. i can imagine gear and enhancements that casters would want to increase number of times they can cast spells much like melees have with action boosts.

Well lets count.. How many swings with sword do a meelee? How many spells cast sorc for same time? 1:1 or 4:3? This must be cound for some time (eg. 1min. due to couldawns) Is meelee demage bigger? yes.. Do meelee need blue bar for dmg? No. Figure out balance..

[Ellihor]

It's obvious to everyone that paladin and barbs are overpowered and need to be fixed NOW. Balancing the new stuff for it, and then buffing everyone else to theyr levels makes no sense, because since u14 that's all you have been doing: buffing something, and then buffing everyone else to follow the power creep, what breaks more stuff, and need more buffing....

Nerf down is the key. Also, classes should have more interdependence to encourage grouping. When I say interdependence I mean it should be way more efficient to complete a quest with different roles in with different types of characters than it should to do with just x6 [build], BUT ALSO it should be possible to do with just one role. Possible but much less efficient.

All classes should have it's roles where they are better, but also should be capable to do raw dps, but top dps classes should not do more than 2x the bottom dps classes. Also, quests should favor diferent kinds of roles to be filled (and that also includes different kinds of dps).

Raw dps rules king of the game right now and that's why it suck. I'm sorry for those who blame pale masters where overkilling before u14, but at those times the difference of the top builds x a sucky, let's say a pale master X ranger was much smaller than nowadays a paladin X rogue, just for example. DC is easier to balance, and easier to create diversity of mob challenges, but for raw dps what you do is just pump hp of mobs.

The solution to the problems we have today is fix barb and pally first (and that includes rolling back armor changes), then balance everything DOWN if needed. Also quest desing, loot and rewards have lot to do with balancing as well. I have a full tread about this here but i think noone reads it because it's too big :: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...How-to-Fix-DDO

The amor nerf serv is saying here is PATHETIC. Reducing armor base from 45/30/15 to 30/20/10 does really nothing to the game.

[Angelic-council]

Wrong and as an example:

Let's go with Ash's Pure 20 Wizard Pale Master

After all of his lives (TRs and eTRs):
Int: 80 -- (20 base +6 tome +7 level ups +2 completionist +2 PM tree +2 Sun Elf tree +2 Archmage Tree +1 Harper tree +2 capstone + 11 item +3 Insight +1 GoTIB +2 litany + 6 destinies +2 Twist +4 lich +2 yugo +2 ship +1 Epic feat +2 lasting)
Generic to all: +60 (10 base +9 lvl +35 Int +1 wiz +2 augment +1 Unique +1 Profane +1 Guild)
Necromancy – 77; (+59 Generic +3 feats +1 Lich +1 PM +1 AM +3 ED +6 Item +2 Deific Focus II) Enchantment – 68; (+59 Generic +2 feats +1 Bard PL +5 Item)


I can come pretty close to that in 3 lives:

First Life Wizard, Second Life Bard...then play as a Wizard.

Race Drow and got lucky to trade for a +3 INT tome...figure got a few quest packs and Menance of the Underdark -- investment around $50.00 which is less than an XBox game ^^ and lots of loot farming...have only done like 2 eTRs

Int: 74 -- (20 base +3 tome +7 level ups +2 PM tree +2 Drow tree +2 Archmage Tree +2 capstone + 11 item +3 Insight +1 GoTIB +2 litany + 6 destinies +2 Twist +4 lich +2 yugo +2 ship +1 Epic feat +2 lasting)
Generic to all: +57 (10 base +9 lvl +32 Int +1 wiz +2 augment +1 Unique +1 Profane +1 Guild)
Necromancy – 74; (+57 Generic +3 feats +1 Lich +1 PM +1 AM +3 ED +6 Item +2 Deific Focus II) Enchantment – 65; (+57 Generic +2 feats +1 Bard PL +5 Item)


So how did I do...my little 3rd life Wizard who I traded and loot farmed like crazy for...

INT: 92.5%
Generic DC: 95%
Necro DC: 96%
Enchantment DC: 95%

(also to note...the Tome...I only listed a modest +3 (easily tradeable or can be found in the wilds)...if you have a bigger one...well...you're just that much more closer to Ash's)

It still stakes lots of patience and gear collecting (like just about any toon) but I don't need all the past lives to be over 90% as effective as the Pale Master Master

Pale masters are exceptional. Even the 1st lifer can achieve necro DC 70+.

What is important is that, they don't need maximum DC, it surely helps, but they already have high enough DC to deal with regular EE monsters. Not to mention, level drain is an amazing tool, wail of banshee has it and circle of death. So I agree with Madcookie. Still... as a DC caster, you going to need 3x wiz, 3 fvs, maybe x3 sorc/clr, completionist, epic completionist to be the king. I personally believe it's all about survivability and tactics, meaning that you gonna have to farm tons of past lifes to be efficient and good.

But yes.. if you can manage to farm ED/Gear equally as the best players. You can be awesome too. But never better

[Angelic-council]

I realized DC Caster doesn't need caster PLs to work well on EE after 1st wiz caster life on my melee centric toon(All PLs are melee & even that toon is 19 wiz/1 clr sunelf).
Caster PLs will make life easier, but it doesn't make EE impossible without it.
I could keep efficiency on EE even that toon have 0 caster PL(Actually, I didn't miss top kills for most quests on this life).

Quite low DC than my caster centric toon, but you can overcome it by using proper debuffs & using proper spells on proper mobs & many continual try after saves.

Quite low spell penetration, but you can overcome it by using non-spell penetration check spells & twisting spell penetration.

If you saw my toon recently on G-land, you will know what I am saying.
I can provide some screenshot, but, it will be just bragging, so I don't want.

You are the one who is just bragging.

If you have the prove, why hesitate to post it. I'm not saying that you are lying, I agree that wizards are exceptional. But I also believe people deserve to know the truth.

When you asked me about how powerful is the Implosion at DC 75, I told you that you can't rely on a single spell with 60 sec CD. I explained you everything.. You didn't even know it. What you done after that was, you simply ignored me and now -- you refuse to post the screenshot. Maybe you shouldn't have posted this in the first place. I'm serious. You have the opportunity to prove something interesting here, it shouldn't matter what others would say... I hope you don't ignore again.

[Qhualor]

Well lets count.. How many swings with sword do a meelee? How many spells cast sorc for same time? 1:1 or 4:3? This must be cound for some time (eg. 1min. due to couldawns) Is meelee demage bigger? yes.. Do meelee need blue bar for dmg? No. Figure out balance..

a better comparison is not swings and spells cast, but damage per swing and damage per spell cast. technically, casters should be doing more damage than a melee. another thing to compare is the cooldowns for melee insta kills vs caster insta kills. not every melee class has insta kills in their trees.

[Angelic-council]

a better comparison is not swings and spells cast, but damage per swing and damage per spell cast. technically, casters should be doing more damage than a melee. another thing to compare is the cooldowns for melee insta kills vs caster insta kills. not every melee class has insta kills in their trees.

Yeah, if we going into that direction, we should separate casters into two categories, "divine" and "arcane", they both can instant kill, but differently. I think it's pretty hard to balance when the blue bar is the limited source for casters. Not only that, but in DDO you can zerg and even solo. We have multi class option and ED of our choice.. When all of that comes into one, it becomes clear that DDO can't be balanced equally. But only challenged in later game.