Lamannia Update 59 and beyond Preview 2 - CLOSED

[EinarMal]

I think it's fine, but a better solution would be to reduce the helpless damage boosts for spellcasting and increase the helplessness damage boosts for melee. Too many helpless damage boosts is the reason casters are wiping out mobs.

I agree with this, to me a better approach than the blanket nerf in reaper would be caps along the lines of Jump skill. The problem with casters is the top end, not every build and every class. An easy way to get at that is to cap key damage components by level, it does require a bit more thought.

This can also be done with other key values like Melee Power, Range Power, Doublestrike, Doubleshot. There are in the end only 10 or so key values for balancing DPS. Cap those and you can ignore all the build combinations and complexity.

For example at level 32 it might look something like

(Max cap for values, anything over that amount does nothing ala Jump cap)
Level 32
Spell Power - 800
Spell Critical Chance - 50%
Spell Critical Damage - 75%
Helpless Damage - 40%

This also gives great tool to balance by just tweaking the numbers. You probably only need a few of these at key levels:

Level 5 (and under 1-5)
<Insert Caps>

Level 10 (and under 6 -10)
<Insert Caps>

Level 19 (and under 11 - 19)
<Insert Caps>

Level 28 (and under 20 - 28)
<Insert Caps>

Level 32 (and under 29 - 32)
Spell Power - 800
Spell Critical Chance - 50%
Spell Critical Damage - 75%
Helpless Damage - 40%

[KoobTheProud]

This change makes r10 a solo difficulty. When will we have a real challenge mode for 6-person parties?

Probably never. Reaper was not put in as a challenge mode it was put in as a get end game players to grind more after all their grinds were finished mode.

I do not know if SSG anticipated reaper becoming meta or the new Elite when they did this.

[Hawkwier]

Probably never. Reaper was not put in as a challenge mode it was put in as a get end game players to grind more after all their grinds were finished mode.

I do not know if SSG anticipated reaper becoming meta or the new Elite when they did this.

It's also probably worth considering the impact of increased difficulty as we move towards L40, though I get that is a long way off, it might not be best to address these matters based on an L32 meta. But then again, I guess it's never going to be a "once and done" initiative at any given point anyway.

[Zeklijan]

(Max cap for values, anything over that amount does nothing ala Jump cap)
Level 32
Spell Power - 800
Spell Critical Chance - 50%
Spell Critical Damage - 75%
Helpless Damage - 40%

Considering endgame ice casters run 1200 spellpower, 75% crit chance and 100+ crit multiplier, those numbers look much harsher than the nerfhammer currently planned. It also makes a bunch of item stats useless, such that if you already have capped spellpower you don't need to bother with quality spellpower, touch of power etc.

Touching specific sources of these stats is a better approach in my opinion. If the devs wanted to reduce spellcasters helpless damage, make the Crush Weakness feat physical damage only. Or, epic spellpower feats do not stack universal crit multi beyond the first, etc.

There's also something to be said about how the filigree set Frozen Wanderer is so strong that other elements cannot reasonably compete with Ice because of it. Changing it to 5% crit multilplier instead of crit chance would go a long way to help diversity.

[magaiti]

Spell Power - 800
Spell Critical Chance - 50%
Spell Critical Damage - 75%
Helpless Damage - 40%

Nice move, Procrustes

[rabidfox]

I agree with this, to me a better approach than the blanket nerf in reaper would be caps along the lines of Jump skill. The problem with casters is the top end, not every build and every class. An easy way to get at that is to cap key damage components by level, it does require a bit more thought.

This can also be done with other key values like Melee Power, Range Power, Doublestrike, Doubleshot. There are in the end only 10 or so key values for balancing DPS. Cap those and you can ignore all the build combinations and complexity.

For example at level 32 it might look something like

(Max cap for values, anything over that amount does nothing ala Jump cap)

It becomes like jump then where gearing eventually becomes irrelavent. Without a gear chase and tetris for those couple extra points then same people who have those high stats would have nothing to grind. Stat caps might let new/poorly gear players close the gap easier but it leaves power players bored.

[Arkat]

It becomes like jump then where gearing eventually becomes irrelavent. Without a gear chase and tetris for those couple extra points then same people who have those high stats would have nothing to grind. Stat caps might let new/poorly gear players close the gap easier but it leaves power players bored.

Yes

+1

[DJSnapple]

I can only imagine, just like before reaper, the pandering to solo players/BYOH players will once again result in another reduction in active players. Forcing players into playing only 1/2 magic classes and nerfing party healing is the exact opposite of what the game needs right now. Dont ruin most magic classes for the majority of your player base. Like most MMOs out there, Devs are once again pandering to the small group of p2p try hards that feels the need to speedrun r10 solo to show off how good they are at a 17 yr old game. EDIT: Can we get some love for party players? you know the 6/12 man parties, which is what D&D is built on.

The free stuff SSG claims to be giving out(most of it is already owned by most players anyway), the vastly overpriced "expansions", the lack of love for VIPs. SSG is failing on all levels.

[Zretch]

I can only imagine, just like before reaper, the pandering to solo players/BYOH players will once again result in another reduction in active players. Forcing players into playing only 1/2 magic classes and nerfing party healing is the exact opposite of what the game needs right now. Dont ruin most magic classes for the majority of your player base. Like most MMOs out there, Devs are once again pandering to the small group of p2p try hards that feels the need to speedrun r10 solo to show off how good they are at a 17 yr old game. EDIT: Can we get some love for party players? you know the 6/12 man parties, which is what D&D is built on.

The free stuff SSG claims to be giving out(most of it is already owned by most players anyway), the vastly overpriced "expansions", the lack of love for VIPs. SSG is failing on all levels.

You honestly believe that forced grouping is going to stop people from leaving? I tend to think it will do the opposite. There is nothing you can do to force people who want to solo to group instead. All you force them to do is find another game and take their revenue with them. A game that allows solo but also rewards grouping would make more sense. Look at what happens to groups during buddy bonus weekends.

[Hawkwier]

You honestly believe that forced grouping is going to stop people from leaving? I tend to think it will do the opposite. There is nothing you can do to force people who want to solo to group instead. All you force them to do is find another game and take their revenue with them. A game that allows solo but also rewards grouping would make more sense. Look at what happens to groups during buddy bonus weekends.

Indeed. The buddy bonus is the proven perfect carrot if increased grouping is the aim. No stick is therefore required.