Nice!
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Thanks for the summary - just got the 54 moth reward so this was very handy.
Nice!
Thanks for the summary - just got the 54 moth reward so this was very handy.
12 Months: Melee Attacks
At the 12 Month level, a player gains access to veteran melee attacks. There are two possible choices. Every character on the account gets to choose separately, but each character can only choose one of the two, and the choice is permanent. Not even respeccing can change it.
Ghost Slaying Axe
1.05 inherent accuracy multiplier
7' range, 1 target
defense tags: Melee, Lethal
2.17 sec. activation / 12 sec. recharge
8.58 endurance cost
13.2 – 141.36 lethal damage to all targets
13.2 – 141.36 additional energy damage to True Undead*
Sands of Mu
1 inherent accuracy multiplier
7' range, 45° cone, 5 targets max
defense tags: Melee, Smashing, Negative
3.07 sec. activation / 16 sec. recharge
10.66 endurance cost
21.6 – 230.88 damage (half smashing, half negative) dealt over 2 seconds
-5.25 – -9.375 ToHit debuff for 10 seconds (depends on AT)
Comparison
The Sands takes noticeably more time to activate and recharge than the Axe, particularly since it uses the same punchity-punchity-punch animation as Flurry and Shadow Maul. It also costs about 25% more Endurance. On the other hand, the Sands A) puts out more than one-and-a-half times as much raw damage against most targets, B) deals a mix of damage types that is resisted less than the Axe's pure Lethal delivery, C) actually strikes an area and can hit up to five enemies per use (although hitting only two, or three with practice and luck, is far more common), and D) applies a ToHit debuff as well.
* The Axe's bonus damage applies to most spirits, ghosts, and zombies, though not to Vahzilok zombies or to Necromancy Mastermind henchmen. For a full list, see the ParagonWiki article on Undead Enemies.
33 Months: Ranged Attacks
At the 33 Month level, a player gains access to veteran ranged attacks. Again, there are two possible choices, every character chooses independently, and the choice is permanent.
Blackwand
1 inherent accuracy multiplier
80' range, 1 target
defense tags: Ranged, Negative
2.5 sec. activation / 14 sec. recharge
10.66 endurance cost
14.8 – 158.49 negative damage, ×1.5 if your Origin is Magic, Mutant, or Natural
-5.25 – -9.375 ToHit for 10 seconds (depends on AT)
Nemesis Staff
1 inherent accuracy multiplier
100' range, 1 target
defense tags: Ranged, Smashing
2.5 sec. activation / 16 sec. recharge
10.66 endurance cost
16.4 – 175.63 smashing damage, ×1.5 if your Origin is Science, Tech, or Natural*
3.84 – 8.308 Knockback (depends on AT and level)
* The brief summary describing the Nemesis Staff power before you choose it omits the fact that Natural characters do bonus damage with it.
Comparison
These two powers are more similar to one another than the melee attacks are. That, combined with the significant increase to base damage that comes from matching your Origin, means that non-Natural characters usually have an easy choice to make.
54 Months: Go Back For One More
At the 54 Month level, a player gains one more veteran attack: either the melee attack skipped from the 12 Month reward or the ranged attack skipped from the 33 Month reward. Each character chooses separately, yada yada.
Important Note: If the ranged attack is chosen here, it will not do bonus Origin damage.
Common Traits of All Veteran Attacks
1. No Archetype damage scaling
Veteran attack damage does not vary between Archetypes like it does when ATs share common powers. Lightning Bolt and Flurry both do more damage for a level 10 Blaster than for a level 10 Defender, but the Blackwand does the same for both. This makes veteran attacks relatively stronger for the more support-biased Archetypes.
The secondary Knockback and -ToHit effects follow the standard AT scaling for such things.
2. Limited interaction with Archetype Inherents
Veteran attacks benefit from Vigilance's Endurance reduction, and they build Fury and Domination. They do not benefit from or interact with any other Archetype-specific Inherent Powers.
3. Unenhanceable powers
None of the veteran attacks can be slotted with Enhancements.
4. Unbuffable effects
The veteran attacks' effects ignore all buffs and all Enhancement set/global bonuses. That means you can't buff anything these powers do:
- all damage, including the bonus Origin damage on the Blackwand and Nemesis Staff and the bonus Undead damage on the Ghost Slaying Axe
- the ToHit debuff on the Blackwand and Sands of Mu
- the Knockback from the Nemesis Staff
But that's all that's unbuffable about those powers. Other aspects respond to buffs normally, including- +ToHit buffs, like from Tactics, yellow Inspirations, and even Build Up (just the +ToHit part, not the +Damage part)
- global Accuracy bonuses
- global +Recharge buffs, like from Hasten or the Luck of the Gambler Defense/+Recharge IO
- Endurance cost reduction buffs, like Conserve Power and Vigilance
- Boost Range (Staff and Blackwand only)
Plus, even though some buffs don't matter, enemy resistances do. Radiation Infection lets you hit more often with your Axe, and Enervating Field makes it cause more damage. The automatic adjusting of effect strength when you use powers against enemies above or below your own level, a.k.a. the "purple patch", is still another factor that can alter unbuffable effects.And one last, occasionally useful point of information: any effect that ignores buffs also ignores debuffs. Your veteran attacks still do full damage if you get hit by an enemy's Siphon Power or you're in the middle of a Rage crash, for example.