Originally Posted by Teeto_K
I'm gonna weigh in, because I agree with Infernus that the unique facets to the each problem make them worth their own discussion. It also gives more stage time to the less controversial topics, some chance for lesser issues to get the focus they deserve.
I'm also weighing in on THIS thread because I was about to make it, just with the title "Crashing Nukes?".
The crashing nukes, blasters' "Ultimate", do a very unique thing. It's not sustainable AOE damage, even stinkers like Short Circuit will do more total damage than Thunderous Blast, over time. Instead, they stop the show. Everything falls down, and the blaster pays a hefty price in convenience. Using the nuke with regularity will demolish your inspiration tray on a team. Using it solo will feel like a waste, as you wait interminably between spawns for the crash to end. But on an as-needed basis, the crashing nukes are unparalelled.
But I would argue, not good enough. Not in the context of Judgement nukes, Shield Charges and Lightning Rods. Not when stacked up to the power of Overcharges, Rains of Arrows, and Hails of Bullets. Their edge is eroding, and their enourmous penalties and massive recharge times are making "Second Best" arguably better.
So what do we do? We have a couple directions the sliding scale runs in, and despite what one may think, it's not black and white. We can go both directions to varying degrees.
Direction 1: Buff the nukes.
There are 3 defining aspects to a crashing nuke. They deal massive damage. They cause their set's "signature" secondary effect in high magnitude. And they do so in a wide radius to large numbers of targets.
All 3 of these elements can be increased. More damage. More or Better secondary effects. And a wider radius or higher target cap.
Direction 2: Nerf the penalties.
Crashing nukes come with a number of "Penalties" that make them "Worse" than a "Normal AOE attack" of their strength would be. They have an enourmously large recharge time. 6 minutes between attacks is an eternity. Even with +100% recharge slotting and +100% global recharge bonuses, that's still 2 minutes, but even if you manage that, you run into the other penalty. The endurance crash tries to take you out of action for 20 seconds. Mind you: The bosses are still alive. And if you're fighting above +2 (Say for instance, on an Incarnate Trial), the Leutennants are also. You can mitigate this with blue inspirations, but trying to do so on a team large enough to make your crashing nuke "worth it" will run your insp supply ragged.
Both of these aspects could be reined in or completely eliminated, each to varying degrees. Shorter recharge, less severe crash, or completely eliminated.
But again, the beauty is: Arguably, you could do some of both! Increase the benefits, while still eliminating some penalties. Remove the penalties, while still making the powers slightly better.
So what do we do to nukes? I'm not sure what would make them the best and most useful, but there is a guiding principle to be considered when contemplating how to buff them. The Cottage rule. Which is to say: The people who currently have, use, and enjoy crashing nukes, do so because they like what they can do. I think that, above all else, we should not reduce that. I'm kind of against nerfs to the damage of nukes because of this. You're hurting the people who like them, and merely widening the target audience at best, if not merely shifting it. I think there's a lot of room for improvement without making nukes "So good that they need to be nerfed."
But what kind of improvements?
In my opinion, a quick and dirty fix would be:
Remove the Crash, Keep the damage and effects the same, Reduce the recharge to 4 minutes, increase the radii to 35 feet, and the target cap to 24. Add a stun to nova and a moderate To-Hit debuff to Inferno.
But if we're willing to keep the crash, there's the possibility of doing even MORE. And who doesn't like more?
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