Sonic Blast Nerf Has Me Genuinely Taking a Break From The Game

[Drachmoril]

Obviously this sounds dramatic, but yeah… this is one change that really… changes something about the ddo that I have known for many years. Obviously dramatic, I know. But nonetheless it’s a change that just makes me want to take a step back. I don’t know if they know - or maybe this is proof that they do - just how core the function of sonic blast is to caster gameplay at early levels.

This is not just some tuning tweak, it’s a real shift in the actual gameplay identity of many classes and builds. It has wounded my excitement about the game somewhat. I don’t know. I’m sure when I try it out, the sky will no longer be falling. I just want to wait a while.

[cru121]

it’s a real shift in the actual gameplay identity of many classes and builds.

I wouldn't say "many". It cripples Spellsinger 1-32 and has impact on some sorcerers, mostly in early heroics. In my experience, the slow casting speed makes the spell boring for wizards.

[LightBear]

Weren't there more changes planned to all sonic spells?
Or are those live all ready?

I don't know what the true reasoning is behind this change, but making it single target and dropping in a word like "properly" in the release notes sure is a way to alienate your player base.
Super weird to do this.
Its not like sorcs have a lot of pick and match options for each quest.
At level 1 you have two spell slots, which one is taken by shield (because every caster mob spams magic missile.)
Making sonic blast the only real option to take at that level for it has both CC and a damage dice.

[Strider1963]

Well, I just hit level 30 with my first ever spellsinger toon and had a lot of fun with it. Was going to run 2 more of these past lives for racials, now forget it. Sonic blast is the ONLY decent long range damage/cc spell a bard has. Sonic blast doesnt hit hard enough at higher levels, but at least it could damage more than 1 monster at a time. If they follow through with this nerf, they should give sonic blast much more power as bards have no other long range decent damage spell.The cone spells like shout etc are fine, but very short range and you cant enlarge them. The devs just seem determined to take away anything that people actually enjoy playing and have fun with.

[Steeme]

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't been keeping up with Lama.

Was sonic blast overpowered? I play two different bards, one of them is for buffing, and the other is actually already a Stormsinger before the archetype was announced (sonic + electric, all buffing dumped). Sonic blast does not seem very powerful at cap at all, even with all the Fatesinger goodies and Master of Music. I routinely use GCS, Hold, or BoGW first, then have to make several passes of dragon breath, shouts, etc. in order to dps down mobs. The sonic blast portions do not seem to contribute that much on their own.

[droid327]

Was sonic blast overpowered?

Not really. It was just not as deliberately reduced-fun as everything else at low level. The devs apparently think low levels have to be a slog in order to feel like you're "progressing" later when you get actual good spells...so there can't be any ranged aoe with decent damage, even if numerically it's perfectly balanced...

People complain that casters are too powerful at cap with their room clearing aoe. So of course they nerf aoe at L1 where literally no one was complaining about it. And L10 for clerics and fvs with the holy smite nerf, also where no one was complaining.

Aoe ist verboten! You vill play ze tieflink fire sorc!

[Yamani]

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't been keeping up with Lama.

Was sonic blast overpowered? I play two different bards, one of them is for buffing, and the other is actually already a Stormsinger before the archetype was announced (sonic + electric, all buffing dumped). Sonic blast does not seem very powerful at cap at all, even with all the Fatesinger goodies and Master of Music. I routinely use GCS, Hold, or BoGW first, then have to make several passes of dragon breath, shouts, etc. in order to dps down mobs. The sonic blast portions do not seem to contribute that much on their own.

Before Stormsinger no, it isnt that powerful. After stormsinger yea, probably would be a little strong if left as a cheap AoE.

[archest]

Soundburst takes place of sonic blast at higher levels with blast a mass barrel breaker.
Niac's Cold Ray is ok for long ranged shots.
since they changed the effect to an individual instead of aoe did they change the spell point costs for it?
I don't think sleep is very effective as a comparison to the stun effect on mobs of blast
Cause Fear works well as an aoe to reduce mob attack damage

[White]

Just hoping devs somehow listen to the community and don't implement this change. For the love of God don't do it. The community that pays your bills doesn't want it!

[Loriega]

Just hoping devs somehow listen to the community and don't implement this change. For the love of God don't do it. The community that pays your bills doesn't want it!

I second that. Also the divine caster nerfs.

This game is not a PvP game. Let us have fun or we'll find another place to have fun in.

[OfElectricMen]

dropping in a word like "properly" in the release notes sure is a way to alienate your player base.

Maybe. Doesn't change the fact that it was always supposed to be a single target spell.

[Oddler]

Just hoping devs somehow listen to the community and don't implement this change. For the love of God don't do it. The community that pays your bills doesn't want it!

agreed the nerf will send the spell into uselessness, we do not need any more under powered useless spells devs !

[Lamassut]

Maybe. Doesn't change the fact that it was always supposed to be a single target spell.

What does the initial intention matter? It matters what has been throughout the history of the game. It matters that this game does not have the same type of fighting as the pnp game. At low levels, in pnp sleep or color spray ends a fight, here they are useless (sleep) or of low utility (color spray), in pnp you have a couple of fights of multiple enemies at levels 1-3, here there are continuous fights with hordes of enemies

The spell hasn't given any problems so far. If they want, they can revert the changes to hit dice damage. If the problem is the new archetype, fix the archetype, don't change something that affects all classes.

They've already made this mistake several times in the past, like when they changed IPS to nerf the inquisitive. It's the same kind of nerf they're doing with the NW nerf, which hits traditional druid builds to cut off an unexpected synergy with shifter and druid caster builds. And who knows what they will affect with their next nerf. To tell the truth my characters are not affected by this nerf. But if they continue this trend, the next unwarranted nerf could affect my characters. Enough already. Let them start designing with their heads.

[Assassination]

Too many nerfs this update. I wanted to be excited by the archetypes, but there is really nothing new there. Just a bunch of rehashed, reused, things from other trees to make a new and not exciting tree. With just 2 devs working on this game I don't see much of a future here. Last expansion not impressive, customer service non existant. Server population, on Ghallanda at least, declining rapidly. Would like to think the Dungeons and Dragons Movie will breathe some new life into this game, but we can be sure they will not capitalize on that opportunity. Welcome to "maintenance" mode.

[Arjen]

Obviously this sounds dramatic, but yeah… this is one change that really… changes something about the ddo that I have known for many years. Obviously dramatic, I know. But nonetheless it’s a change that just makes me want to take a step back. I don’t know if they know - or maybe this is proof that they do - just how core the function of sonic blast is to caster gameplay at early levels.

This is not just some tuning tweak, it’s a real shift in the actual gameplay identity of many classes and builds. It has wounded my excitement about the game somewhat. I don’t know. I’m sure when I try it out, the sky will no longer be falling. I just want to wait a while.

This change serves no one - are we seriously worried about over performing in butcher's path? Everyone will spec into 2HF for a few levels until they don't stink. This is such baffling, backwards thinking you have to start to question the competence of the team.

We're playing DDO to have fun, right? Guys? Hello?

[Mithrielwielder]

Does this terrible change have something to do with these new dumb archetypes? So tired of them constantly breaking content just to satisfy a small number of players who seem to get easily bored with existing content.

[Stormraiser]

Does this terrible change have something to do with these new dumb archetypes? So tired of them constantly breaking content just to satisfy a small number of players who seem to get easily bored with existing content.

Please leave this spell alone.

[yfernbottom]

It's an extended range spell that does 1d6+1 damage of a type that is almost never resisted, and also has a built in stun. As opposed to other single target spells of that level which do 1d6+2 damage per level but have no associated status effects and are resisted much more often.

Honestly, making it single target makes sense.

Now we could argue about whether casters are any fun to play at low levels or not. I would say that generally they aren't at all, they are completely terrible until at least level 4. Hell, I don't like playing sorcerers until at least level 8, and 12 is where they go from tolerable to fun imo. However, I don't think that's something you "fix" by having one spell that is OP compared to everything else in that range.

[GeneralDiomedes]

It's an extended range spell that does 1d6+1 damage of a type that is almost never resisted, and also has a built in stun. As opposed to other single target spells of that level which do 1d6+2 damage per level but have no associated status effects and are resisted much more often.

Honestly, making it single target makes sense.

Now we could argue about whether casters are any fun to play at low levels or not. I would say that generally they aren't at all, they are completely terrible until at least level 4. Hell, I don't like playing sorcerers until at least level 8, and 12 is where they go from tolerable to fun imo. However, I don't think that's something you "fix" by having one spell that is OP compared to everything else in that range.

It has several things going for it, really it is the perfect low level spell. You could literally make all casters have only this one spell until level 5 and they would be OK.

- Stun
- Double range
- AOE
- Good damage dice
- High damage dice cap (8)
- No resistance

Unfortunately the thing they removed (AOE) is the main reason to take it. Could they have removed other things to make it more like a Burning Hands?

- Remove stun
- Bring range in line with Scorch
- Cap damage dice at 5

At least it is still a good low level spell, but not game breaking.

I'm starting to think they just don't have the development resources to make a new single target Sonic spell for Stormsinger tier 1 SLA.

[kmoustakas]

Obviously this sounds dramatic, but yeah… this is one change that really… changes something about the ddo that I have known for many years. Obviously dramatic, I know. But nonetheless it’s a change that just makes me want to take a step back. I don’t know if they know - or maybe this is proof that they do - just how core the function of sonic blast is to caster gameplay at early levels.

This is not just some tuning tweak, it’s a real shift in the actual gameplay identity of many classes and builds. It has wounded my excitement about the game somewhat. I don’t know. I’m sure when I try it out, the sky will no longer be falling. I just want to wait a while.

This nerf is probably worse than Feather's ghostbaning of loot.

They try to adhere to a spell and then go out of their way to stop adhering to feat pre-reqs.

This is more of a joke than ... it's not even a late april's fools' joke.

Edit: I can't help but think that either the nerfs are aimed to make us feel better about the archetypes in which case these guys need to go to marketing school or so they can sell them back to us later via some universal tree