U55 Preview 3 (6/7 - 6/9)

[VinoeWhines]

Epic Destinies

• Shadowdancer: Cut to the Soul: You are unbothered by the physical restraints of the world: From the Shadows now allows you to pass through enemies in a cloud of smoke proccing an Improved Deception and gaining 3% uncapped dodge stacks 3 times on Tumble and lasts for 10 seconds while in stealth(like Measure the Foe). +3% dodge bypass, +3% fortification bypass, +3% damage versus the helpless.

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Tumble through enemies was already an ability that shouldn't of been taken away. Grandmaster of Flowers kept it in their destiny even now.

These removal of valuable abilities*:

*Consume. (Could easily of been the multi-choice of Weird if you didn't cast x-level spells)
*Shadow Manipulation. (Shiradi now gets this in Beguile Charm? Why?)
*Executioner's Strike/Shot. (Just as Weird is hard coded for casters, this should of been hard coded for assassinate ability)
*Meld Into Darkness (was used as a separate ability from attacking).
*Removing the AOE explosion in Dark Imbuement range proc.
*Removing Pass through enemies on Tumble.

Putting Stealthy and Assassinate bonus' as a separate choice when they where part of the same bonus ability.
Putting in a useless Wand and Scroll Mastery that doesn't stack how about changing it to:

Sleight of Hand should be:

Sleight of Hand: Traps and Vial Mastery: You can make Noisemaker Traps or Noisemaker Vials(on exploding they stick to door/wall and make ticking sound), with the ability to place or throw in stealth.

(Tier 1): If you have the Trapmaking Feat, you can now add your Sneak Attack Dice and Damage to Traps and Vials.
(Tier 2): You can use the higher of Melee or Range Power to Traps and Vials you Throw.
(Tier 3):You can inscribe scrolls as Traps and Alchemical Recipes as Vials.

Maybe have specific Alchemical Vials like Mass Suggestion/Confusion, Turn to Frog/Bat, a real Tanglefoot a la "Sharn exploding goo"(with DC: Reflex (DC 20 + Rogue Level + Stat Modifier + Assassinate Bonus)
and Shadow-Thunderstone: Alchemical Vial Trap Attack: 1d6+2 Force damage per character level and dazes in an area. Fort DC (12/16/20 + Rogue Level + Stat Modifier + Assassinate Bonus).

Creating traps and throwing vials was a Rogue ability, even having a mechanical dog in the beginning.


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Other Trees got:
Cut the Strings(1 minute cooldown).
Mass Frog(1 minute cooldown).
Everything Is Nothing(Grandmaster Of Flowers, it stayed intact.)
Beguile Charm(Shadow Dancer's Shadow Manipulation).
Weird(AOE Phantasmal Killer....oh wait that's our Tree but oh wait, we can't pick it and are locked out of it as a Tier V in our own Tree! Seems like a Consume alternate.. oh but wait, that was removed...)

We get an Epic Moment that puts you in line of danger of being killed for it to proc(Gain the feat: Piñata), with a non stacking 50% Incorporeal(it should stack with our 25% that we already invested in plus outside sources. Weird is a safer more efficient AOE PK and you don't have to wait to get swung at for it to go off, it just does! And it's in our Tree! and we can't pick it! Or Consume, Shadow Manipulation, Executioner Strike/Shot)
Viva unstacking Wand and Scroll Mastery.

Again no pass through enemies on Tumble.....

[VinoeWhines]

Each update and Expansion, keeps taking away this choice and hard-lining players to go Range/Caster at End Game.
In a group while in Stealth, all the Reapers run to you, when entering a dungeon, not great for the Tanks.


Stealth:

Stealth is a PIA, it is not the End All Be All in game mechanics, it is a chore. It is slow. -20 to Jump.
We live with our choices. It is part of the mechanic with being stealthy.
I have no problem with it, and if it is part of avoidance, that's great. Don't keep taking away from the purpose of it, it should have incentives, developers need to consciously/unconsciously stop harbingering away this style from ddo, it IS part of Wizards of the Coast Dungeons and Dragons.
Placing traps(the effects triggered)only lasts for 3 seconds in End Game Reapers. 6-12 seconds should be the bar for all game mechanics with effects based Crowd Control, Damage Over Time.(with conscious ability to raise it to 12 seconds; or even 15 with Specialization, not haphazard mechanics)
I'm pleased that all Elemental Casters are not subjected to just Fire as the element of choice, that was programmed in the past, now you have a resurgence of elements to go along with your choice.
I like the approach that ddo is consciously trying to make continuity with all power. But don't remove the playstyle of each type of class.
An Olympic swimmer will beat everyone in water events. A Decathlete will be able to get to the Finish Line in all events.
Choice should all have their rewards at the end game.

It's great that new content gets created and added to the ddo world. It's time to clean up this house that has issues scattered all over the game. Make it part of the DNA that for every update, 2-4 things get fixed as the blueprint, that way no one gets bombarded with an unattainable task to "Fix Everything" at once mentality.
Make the Budget for this accountability.
Make the Time for the responsibility of "Cleaning the Room."
It's stewardship, it's part of responsibility. DDO is not a fly by night, Cash Grab.

Do it for the children.....
Do it for Fathers.

[nobodynobody1426]

The fix for the dodge nerf is easy, just give all players 10 HP and have the monsters deal 1 damage per swing, then completely remove PRR/MRR/AC/Dodge/Absorb/everything. Each additional skull increases the monsters damage by 1.

Bam

Whole game "balanced" and devs don't need to worry about "challenging" the top 0.1% of the population.

Reminds me of some Tanaka level stupidity with the whole Dev's acting as Evil DM's vs Munchkin PC's.

[VinoeWhines]

If Shadow Dancer would of been left as is, minus the Stat choices, it would of been stronger than what it is as it's current form.
Yes some perks were added, but they could of been added without the take away of it's major strengths.
"Balancing" the tree by taking away it's identity is not beneficial for the class and style of play at all.
GMoF kept it's theme and signature attacks and added some improvements, obviously it took away some nice things but it's identity is somewhat kept.
Shadow Dancer tree brought in an orphan and took away the residents identity by giving the orphan more than it's original occupant and gave the orphan an AOE tier V that the resident can't even use, and gave the neighbor (Shiradi Champion) the keys to the second car(Beguile Charm = Shadow Manipulation) as a lower tier choice that should of stayed as well in Shadow Dancer.


Here's an example of what was and should still have been:

Welcome to the Release Notes for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Launch Update (Also known as Module 9). These release notes were posted Monday, August 31st, 2009.


Rogue
Rogue Assassin III
Prerequisites: Rogue level 18, Assassin II, Sneak Attack Accuracy IV, Sneak Attack Training IV
Cost: 2 Action Points
Benefit: Your lethality is unmatched in battle. Grants an additional +2 bonus to damage on critical hits (before multipliers), +2 bonus to Bluff, Hide, and Move Silently skills and Fortitude saves against poison. Also, any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike (natural 20 followed by critical confirmation) that you make will kill most living targets.


Requires: Level 20 Rogue
Rogue Cheat Death: +2 dexterity and a chance of self-resurrection, but this chance drops each time you die and Maruts dislike you.

We also had a choice to build a mechanical dog as a hireling.

We also have vials that could be thrown but don't scale at all like the Alchemists do. (No Rogue Level damage increase/Sneak Die to damage/Assassinate bonus/Melee-Range Power increase to damage)

Shortbow proficiency for nothing.