PSA: Some Fall of Truth raid items have changed

[sirgog]

From Event 7.

I didn't get screencaps, but here's some info in summary:


Halcyon Boots:

Changed from 100%/2SP to 5%/15SP. Although this sounds weaker in a vacuum, it's probably stronger in practice. Still this part of the item is weaker than Concordant Opposition let alone Transform Kinetic Energy.


Skybreaker:

Two changes:
First, it does more physical damage now. 2.5[3d6].
Second, the 'Skybreaker' mutation was toned down a little (3d6 all bursting instead of 5d6 all bursting).
Overall the weapon is better but not by much, it still needs some better form of Lightning Strike proc on it to be of any use except on the rare 'i take additional damage from electric damage and have high fortification' mobs.


There were probably other changes too, I didn't look too closely. None of the changes were huge.

[Tid12]

Screenshots.

[totalmir]

:First, it does more physical damage now. 2.5[3d6].

As if someone read my mind,this is exactly what I was thinking to myself that needs to be done if the crit profile is 19-20/x2.Maybe it's not the best weapon for scoring crits,but with this base damage it should still be bada** enough for almost everyone to want one.Awesome change imo.

[Munkenmo]

From Event 7.

I didn't get screencaps, but here's some info in summary:

Halcyon Boots:

Changed from 100%/2SP to 5%/15SP. Although this sounds weaker in a vacuum, it's probably stronger in practice. Still this part of the item is weaker than Concordant Opposition let alone Transform Kinetic Energy.

It's a step in a better direction i guess, with this change I will however consider using these boots on my melee fvs now. Though given the SP isn't really replenishing I still can't help but feel a 10% proc of 1d20+20 temp sp would be a better effect.

I'm still disappointed to see the "madstone" effect gone though, The old reavers rate had some strong items it's day and I feel rather let down seeing loot made that doesn't really fit the theme of the old item.

To me, the Madstone boots are the iconic item in the raid, and on most of my toons I would gladly upgrade from halcyon boots to madstone boots.

Feather, for the love of god, make something worthy of a full ****** dps melee.

[Scarious]

Skybreaker 2.0

Hit is 3d6 Electric, critical is 10d6 sonic, and i think the vorpal stayed the same. So less electric damage per hit, more sonic damage on a critical. Plus the change to 3d6 base damage

EDIT - I didnt grab one, but i think the Ring of Deceit got improved deception

[Tid12]

What's all that Reaver's Resolve, Reaver's Quest and Reaver's Fate? Are they useless descriptions?

[DarkForte]

Why waste the item effect space with flavor text? There's already a place for that on the bottom. If it's going to be in there at least put something on it.

Also, anyone feel like doing the dips math on this and seeing how it compares to eSoS/nerfed cleaver?

[Scarious]

Have not noticed anything extra happening in my limited testing. They may have some extra effect, but not one that I noticed right away, I'll play with it more later. Perhaps it's flavor text that is further revealed as it's upgraded?

[NytCrawlr]

Halcyon Boots:

Changed from 100%/2SP to 5%/15SP. Although this sounds weaker in a vacuum, it's probably stronger in practice. Still this part of the item is weaker than Concordant Opposition let alone Transform Kinetic Energy.

My only real complaint about the new loot: They are just too **** hesitant to give us another Transform Kinetic Energy item, aren't they.

[BlackSteel]

happen to see if the amulet is still melee only?

[Scarious]

happen to see if the amulet is still melee only?

Yes it is

[shadereaper33]

What's all that Reaver's Resolve, Reaver's Quest and Reaver's Fate? Are they useless descriptions?

Pretty much. Seriously Feather, flavor text goes on the bottom of the item, not in the space where actual useful information goes. I get that this sword is supposed to be special to the Stormreaver, cool, fantastic. Now put the flavor text where it belongs!

[oweieie]

Halcyon Boots:

Changed from 100%/2SP to 5%/15SP. Although this sounds weaker in a vacuum, it's probably stronger in practice. Still this part of the item is weaker than Concordant Opposition let alone Transform Kinetic Energy.

Going from 2 SP/hit to 0.75 SP/hit took something I saw no point in wearing to something I wouldn't even waste bank space on. Huzzah.

These are epic items, 2 SP when you're getting hit for 100 even on a paladin and 150-200+ if you're a caster is silly. 0.75 is useless.

[Shade]

Skybreaker - Nice improvement, but still mostly junk for most situations on a Barbarian.

Barrage calcs:
Char - Greataxer (FB BBN 25, Fury of the wild)
Dmg Mod: 120 (130 for esos/128 for skybreaker)
Seeker: 6
To give the skybreaker the greatest advantage, I'll set the W to +3 over default. It's semi unrealistic as that is pretty much what youd get only with a lot of luck on spamming supreme cleave/mom swing/lay waste and getting lucky on the resets.

Though actually it's only matching the epic antique in base (3d6 = 10.5 average, same as d20), it beats it due to its stronger bonus dice.

Fort 0%:

ESoS:
Final Average Attack
336.38 = 336.38 + 0

Skybreaker old:
Final Average Attack
307.95 = 279.93 + 28.03

Skybreaker new:
Final Average Attack
317.59 = 292.71 + 24.88

Gained under 10 dps, stll vastly inferior to the ESoS for most enemies.
Plus the average adrenalin hit will be much weaker as the ESoS maintains a guarenteed minimum x3 crit (with x7 possible via frenzy/overwhelming), while the skybreaker will mostly only do x2s.

It's also weaker in DR breaking imo. As ESoS for my foreseeeable future wil remain adamantine, good and cold iron (you can continue to slot those gems if you dont update your wep) - which handles all demons and most constructs - currently the most common endgame enemies with DR.
While the skybreaker can only be slotted to handle devils - which are not endgame anymore.
And handles the stormreavers DR by default, which is just dumb due to the fact hes immune to electric, so the one advantage the sword has, negates itself since it relies so heavily on dealing electric damage. - ~20 points a swing in fact, and the stormreavers DR is only 15 even on epic elite.

Situation 2: High fort:
Noticed next to none in epic gianthold besides the obvious undead at 100%. The most important target being the truthful one who is undead, 100% fort, no DR.

So I'd set that at 70% given the huge variety of effects we have to lower undeads fort and the fact youd have 12 people working towards that. (Black scale/mornlode chain + insult alone convers it solo tho)

ESoS drops out here, there have always been superior high fort weapons. Namely the Epic Antique, Cleaver and Triple pos greataxe.

Epic Antique:
Final Average Attack
210.78 = 206.36 + 4.43

Cleaver Tier3/4 (I didn't slot it since all 3 weapons compared here have a red slot, so adding the new dmg augment wont change the relative differences)
Also not including planar conflux due to the dumb nerf and fact I use claw set.
Final Average Attack
229.94 = 216.34 + 13.59

Skybreaker new:
Final Average Attack
236.21 = 211.34 + 24.88

So yea it wins by a small margin, versus a very limited set of enemies, in fury without calculating in the fact adrenalins will be weaker. Overall i'd say it would do less dps given the weaker crits on adrenalin. Let's try with Dreadnaught (headsman chop advantage and another +0.5W but no adrenalin):

Cleaver:
Final Average Attack
241.37 = 227.77 + 13.59

Skybreaker:
Final Average Attack
242.15 = 217.27 + 24.88

Very little difference, but cleaver has the advantage improve curse to debuff the bosses damage, plus the +15 PRR from conflux set (and potentially +4 dmg which would close the gap if you dont have that bonus elsewhere). Solid advantages given the truthone is mainly a hard hitting melee boss.

What about non ideal situation for the skybreaker:
Lower dps builds, say a bard with no cleave, so basic W, and only a +70 dmg mod/ic and has IC, but only default crit multiplier:
Skybreaker:
Final Average Attack
120.79 = 95.91 + 24.88

Triple pos falcion:
Final Average Attack
117.75 = 78.82 + 38.93

Pretty sad, it nearly gets beat by your old standard ml12 single shard greensteel. Mainly because it relies so heavilt on it's stronger base W to gain any advantages, and the triple pos has superior bonus dice for undead.

Overall:
For high dps barbarians and fighters, it's a top notch undead beater, mostly par with the cleaver, but other then that one situation, its mostly junk. It won't even work that well on the other top fort epic boss - (Lord of Blades) as he got a DR that it can't easily handle, and he's ultra resistant to electric.

Plus technically the one enemy it might be worth using on, should have DR/Blunt (but doesnt for unknown reasons).

Still a poor item imo. If they added metaline to it, it could at least be considered a worthy successor to the epic antique, which its deserving being a raid weapon.. But as it is, it has limited use.

[patang01]

The change to the boots is not really better. It's temporary non stacking just like the high tier draconic destiny feature and just not really that useful. It's sad that after these many years con op or torc remains a much better item at the lower level it is then anything else the devs can cook up. A much better solution would've been a low stacking proc of SP (say 2-5 SP) but with a higher proc rate (10%) compared to the current torc and con op. I mean even 1 SP on hit would be better. As it stands the rout towards making everything temporary is just flavor. Niche flavor for the few that it would work for (say a Paladin) but useless for casters of all types. It's just not an item that I would use on my Arti, divine, sorc, wiz etc. And it's now useless compared to all other melee related boots I can use.

I noticed some incremental changes to some of the raid loot and what was okay before remains okay and what was bad before is still not that good; certainly not in the way I'd like to replace them with anything I already have. So as it stands the only thing I'm really looking for is the cloak for my sorc and divine and thats it. And then it will be a quicker source of heroic accomendations. Maybe the trinket on my melee if I can convince myself to trade away the trinket he uses right now (planar). I love the raid; but it feels like lower level alternatives are more desired then this loot.

[Edit]

BTW, I like the raid cloak but I wish it had something else rather then greater spell pen. That makes 3 items in the same pack with greater spell pen. The blue dragon, some belt and this cloak. Yet there are fewer spell augment items out there. Sure, we dont want the devs to create the ultimate must have items out of one pack but diversity is a good thing. Making too many items with similar non stacking features only means that those items will never be considered.

[SableShadow]

Screenshots.

[oweieie]

Situation 2: High fort:
Noticed next to none in epic gianthold besides the obvious undead at 100%. The most important target being the truthful one who is undead, 100% fort, no DR.

Are the dragons classed as dracolichs and don't have blunt either?

Plus technically the one enemy it might be worth using on, should have DR/Blunt (but doesnt for unknown reasons).

Because the dev doing it doesn't understand the underlying 3.5E rules framework, and so we get things like that and demons being called devils, goddesses with no defenses at all etc.

[PNellesen]

Sigh - a one-minute timer on the Halcyon Mind SP regen? Why, because 15 permanent SP on a 20 would be a game breaker?

[dejafu]

Have not noticed anything extra happening in my limited testing. They may have some extra effect, but not one that I noticed right away, I'll play with it more later. Perhaps it's flavor text that is further revealed as it's upgraded?

Hmm. You know, I sincerely can't believe there isn't SOMETHING going on with not one, but THREE bits of flavor text inserted into places where that stuff doesn't usually go.

The descriptions seem to be linked to three adventure arcs: Tempest's Spine, Reaver's Refuge, and Return to Gianthold. Maybe there are upgrade components for the sword that drop in those adventures? Or maybe you even need to use the sword in those quests to power it up?

Just tossing out ideas here.

[Violith]

15 temp sp is better then 2 temp sp. since it allows you to reach 27-30sp with the sp regen when you run out, and thus can cast better spells, basically like Essence of the Turtle from druid enhancements. I only wonder if, and hope it does, stacks with druids enhancements Essence of the Turtle, and Essence of the Shrike.

but honestly, would've rather had a coop effect or a transform kinetic energy, even a lesser transform if they felt torc was too strong.