Changes Based on Preview 2 Feedback

[palladin9479]

That happens without IPS too, if they have to kill one mob at a time, they're still going to kite in circles, except 10x more.

The issue is some ranged players don't let the tank do his job. Really, they should pull mobs to the group, let the tank get agro, then start DPSing. With the IPS nerf-hammer,
ranged has to kite even longer because their damage went to cr4p with the "Inquisitor fix" which hosed everyone EXCEPT Inquisitors. They did that, instead of fixing ONE tree.

Smooth move, SSG. *Golfclap*

They are already failing at that point due to how aggro works in DDO. When a monster's AI activates it will target the lowest HP player within the monsters detect range, which is around 18 feet now. If a ranged player activates a group of monsters from outside their detect range they will all latch onto that player. Tank's / melee won't be able to "get hate" until that player either stands in one place for five to seven seconds, or dies, those usually happen at the same time. Instead what needs to happen is the tanks / melee's run into the group of monsters and activate their AI, while the casters and ranged stay outside of that detect range and only open fire after the aggro.

Trying to explain that to a bunch of bunny hoping idiots is impossible, so we just warn them once "no kiting", then we boot after. Kiting is the issue here, IPS just encourages such a strategy for maximizing DPS and kill counts. Without IPS they wouldn't be encouraged to kite mobs backwards and instead wait for others to get aggro first. Hell I'm ok with changing IPS from a stance to a single circular AoE attack that has extra crit damage / ect with a 6 or 12s cool down. Stuff like that encourages team work and monster placement instead of kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank kachank all day long.

[palladin9479]

1st swing w/ GAxe & Gswd is really too slow. The dmge output is great, but that 1st swing really is a hindrance

The animation and effect were out or sync, just did a THF Gsword KoTC paladin last life right after the update to test it out. Gsword actually works really well, it's animation cycle is like SWF's and it maintains consistency while moving, so you can easily go from monster to monster as they like to jump around. This last patch they were supposed to of fixed the animation sync issues, unfortunately I TR'd and am now doing a SWF KoTC Dwarf paladin to test that out and I'm in mid-epics with it. Holy Retribution is awesome though situational. I'm at the point now where monsters have 3~5K HP so the proc rate is between 50% and 30%, but even if it doesn't proc the damage is pretty good on it as it's a two swing cleave like Confront Any Foe.

[DRoark]

IPS just encourages such a strategy for maximizing DPS and kill counts.

Well, maybe in LOW level areas. Even when IPS wasn't nerfed, our melee and any caster at all, did more damage. Higher areas, stand at the tank, pull mobs to him,
and stay put while he gets a couple swings in (then back up). Kill count is irrelevent. Low level stuff dies before it actually gets to us, sure, but that's the point of clearing
low-level trash. Higher levels the IPS nerf is a joke, stuff doesn't die that fast. People made it sound like IPS was some end-all-be-all skill. It never was. At full damage,
it was far less DPS than a single caster nuke. If you want "maximum DPS", you don't play an IPS build, you play an AOE-anything like a Sorc.

The fact that ranged builds even HAVE a kill count, is because it's low level junk dies fast. It's supoposed to, they're minions. Melee gets their panties in a knot if they aren't
continually punching something, but in every game ever, low level stuff won't live long enough to make it to the group. That's jut how any game works.

Same with PnP. "There's an Orc 500' away, what do you do?"... Ranger: "Shoot it in the face"... Barbarian: >Sigh<.

There's many ways to fix that, but blanket-nerfing ranged wasn't effective. All is does is make the "chronic-kiters".. kite 20% MORE. They could have reduced maximum
range of ammo, added deflection percentages, increased "trash" HPs, added more monsters (since IPS doesn't have a spread), or anything else. But nope... /NERF.

[Captain_Wizbang]

They should reduced maximum range of ammo, added deflection percentages

This IMHO is one of the downsides to ranged combat in DDO. When a bolt can have the same range as an arrow from a specialized marksman w/ a long bow there is a problem.

When a dart and a thrown dagger share the same modifiers from "point blank shot" as a bolt or arrow there is another problem.

When ALL projectiles pass their maximum effective range, there should deflection probabilities built-in.

I won't flame SSG for these shortcomings because they know those conditions exist and because of "coding" issues these issues can't be changed right now due to what? Old code? **insert reasons here**

Until these issues and parameters are defined and acted upon we will have limitations to ranged combat.

[DRoark]

When ALL projectiles pass their maximum effective range, there should deflection probabilities built-in.

There's already coding for it, that's why my runearm shot for example just vanishes at X distance, and why fireballs don't go half a mile.

If ranged combat and IPS "miraculously" became an issue when Inquisitor came out *cough*, they could have just added it, left everyone else alone.

[Captain_Wizbang]

There's already coding for it, that's why my runearm shot for example just vanishes at X distance, and why fireballs don't go half a mile

This was covered by a dev 5? years ago. I would love to see a change in the system, Ive posted about it enough lately. BUT..........

[DRoark]

I would love to see a change in the system, Ive posted about it enough lately. BUT..........

It doesn't surprize me they don't fix the only problem tree. Why use a Scalpel when you can drop an Orbital Strike on half the population.

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Played with THF.

Really disappointed in the attack graphics now for Maul and Greataxe especially. They're short arcs, no big swings anymore. Graphically horrible enough that I stopped using them.
Greatsword has a little flourish like the falchion, no big swings, it's more of like a Frenchman trying to LARP.

They took the "Hulk Smash" out of the powerful swings we used to have. Doesn't even whip me off my feet anymore, it's like Combat Lite 2.0. Yeah the damage may be OK,
but the big beefy combat hacks are just not there. Poof... Imagine Conan using his sword like a fencing foil and eating croissants. There you go. That's what we have now.