Should Dual Pistols get a +def bonus?
I actually like this idea. The amount of +def would have to be quite low, but it would be really interesting.
I'm sure the devs have a close eye on DP. Time will tell wheather there needs to be an adjustment. My impression is that the Devs would rather a new set be underpowered when it is introduced rather than overpowered. The nerf backlash is just plain nasty.
ask again in 3 years when they'll look at the set.
Positron's i13 letter: We are trying to make PvP more accessible to new players, while giving experienced PvP'ers the advantage that comes with formulating tactics around the new systems we're putting in place. PvP from now on will be on our priority list. If something isn't working out, we'll be in there tweaking it and making it work, for the entire future of the product, not just Issue 13.
I'm sure the devs have a close eye on DP. Time will tell wheather there needs to be an adjustment. My impression is that the Devs would rather a new set be underpowered when it is introduced rather than overpowered. The nerf backlash is just plain nasty.
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I mean look at the progressive nerfs to /regen and other sets like that. People still play them so they still work out all right but people were livid when the nerfs first went into effect.
The other side of this is that, well, Dual Pistols is a blast set... those sets can affect mobs, but they don't give the user defense.
Getting defense is a great idea on a Blaster, but you're not going to get it from a blast set. That would be a significant change to how blast sets work, and I can't see the devs doing it (or thinking it necessary).
As people have said, if there are adjustments really needed for the set, they'll make them: but it will be to animation times, or damage, recharge, etc.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
I'd like to see a decent amount of defense added only to Hail of Bullets, and only while the animation was playing. That would make it a lot more usable without unbalancing the set as a whole. Adding defense in general would be a bad idea since blast sets aren't supposed to have mitigation other than enemy-affecting things like knockback or stuns / holds from control powers. I could see making a special case for a four second defense boost during HoB since it is so much worse than every other nuke, but adding defense in general would be asking for trouble (and future nerfs).
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
I'd like to see a decent amount of defense added only to Hail of Bullets, and only while the animation was playing. That would make it a lot more usable without unbalancing the set as a whole. Adding defense in general would be a bad idea since blast sets aren't supposed to have mitigation other than enemy-affecting things like knockback or stuns / holds from control powers. I could see making a special case for a four second defense boost during HoB since it is so much worse than every other nuke, but adding defense in general would be asking for trouble (and future nerfs).
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Dual Pistols is probably balanced pretty well from what I can see so far.
But if it were granted anything like that I would say it should be - To Hit. This is probably thematically more accurate as it would be like cover fire making it more difficult for people to get a good accurate shot at you.
But to be honest I'd get out of the way and take cover from any of the other blast attacks probably more than I would the Dual Pistols. Think about it a lot of things are bullet proof, they won't be scared and ducking from a couple little guns pointing at them.
Blast sets just don't seem to have access to that kind of thing. If they did they should be in the form of a Debuff.
I'd like to see a decent amount of defense added only to Hail of Bullets, and only while the animation was playing. That would make it a lot more usable without unbalancing the set as a whole. Adding defense in general would be a bad idea since blast sets aren't supposed to have mitigation other than enemy-affecting things like knockback or stuns / holds from control powers. I could see making a special case for a four second defense boost during HoB since it is so much worse than every other nuke, but adding defense in general would be asking for trouble (and future nerfs).
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If you want to argue that it does not do enough on its own, go for it. But then state how to improve it by the numbers (again, damage done, KB chance, chance for random damage, recharge, etc.). Work with how sets are already set up and work, rather than throwing a dart at the wheel of "random buff that might work thematically."
I can wish all I want for Full Auto to make mobs cower in fear from the sheer amount of bullets being fired at them (even though that could make sense "thematically), but that doesn't mean it's going to be listened to, or adopted, by the devs. When Full Auto was buffed recently, it had its animation time reduced, for instance.
I can see the most traction happening from damage, recharge, or the extreme range of damage that it can do, personally. The animation is longish, but around what most of the nukes are. For balance, it just needs to be on par with what all those nukes can do (which is where the real debate comes in).
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
I agree, it'd be much easier to cut the recharge time or increase damage.
It's just disappointing to see these animations indicate that you're capable of superhuman dodging while not actually providing any defense.
I'm liking the sound of a tohit debuff though.
Dual guns that "borrow" gun kata animations yet the purpose to shoot in those ways, is to avoid other trajectories blah blah like it says on gun fu or the equilibrium site, yet the blaster is weak as hell. Those guns should have been mixed with melee pistol attacks and made scrapper, brute and I guess tank. So we could at least stand up to things and pretend we dodged it, without getting 2 shotted each spawn. If not, take it out of the game, do it right and put it back in on the right classes. It has no business in there if it's only half done, fast design. Added with no understanding of what it even should be like or is about.
Okay, look at it from the devs' point of view. If Hail of Bullets is indeed underperforming, why would they give +defense to it (which doesn't match up with any other blast set or how it works currently, something that they are unwilling to change much)? Why not just cut down the animation time, lower the recharge, or reduce the animation, etc.?
If you want to argue that it does not do enough on its own, go for it. But then state how to improve it by the numbers (again, damage done, KB chance, chance for random damage, recharge, etc.). Work with how sets are already set up and work, rather than throwing a dart at the wheel of "random buff that might work thematically." |
However, the power effects are already based on 'thematic' considerations. Just like Full Auto, the character is standing there unleashing a fusillade of bullets, unlike Inferno or Nova, which do all their damage up front, so a DoT effect is thematically appropriate, based on the mechanics of the powerset. There are several ways that the power could be tweaked to ameliorate the disadvantages. The power could give a Defense boost based on the number of opponents in the affected area (as with Rise to the Challenge) for the duration of the animation, simulating the targets' reduced accuracy while trying to dodge bullets. But, as you say, Blaster sets don't typically incorporate mitigation; however, players are still going to see the powerset as being like the Gunkata from Equilibrium, making them regard getting Defense from the powers -- if only during the animations -- as appropriate to the powerset. The power could apply Fear and Movement Slow effects, the same way Rain of Fire and Blizzard do; because this is already used in Blaster powers, adding this effect would be both relatively simple and not break the design considerations for Blaster sets. The damage mechanism for the power could be changed to the one Full Auto uses, which removes the wide variability in damage.
Overall, I think that the best change would be to buff HoB's damage some to bring its average damage up a little, then change Full Auto to use the Rain mechanic that HoB does, buffing its damage to keep its average the same, and apply the same Fear and Movement Slow effects that Rain of Fire and Blizzard have to both powers. I think the recharge time of Hail of Bullets needs to be reduced as well, but normalizing Hail of Bullets and Full Auto, which are both 'fill an area with bullets' attacks, work the same way even if they don't do equal damage would alleviate much of the creebing.
"But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses."
-- Bruce Leverett, Register Allocation in Optimizing Compilers
However, the power effects are already based on 'thematic' considerations. Just like Full Auto, the character is standing there unleashing a fusillade of bullets, unlike Inferno or Nova, which do all their damage up front, so a DoT effect is thematically appropriate, based on the mechanics of the powerset.
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Hail of Bullets starts dealing damage right after you push the power button (or after draw time, if the pistols are away, which is awfully common I imagine, since I bet a lot of people like to hit Build Up first).
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
Dual guns that "borrow" gun kata animations yet the purpose to shoot in those ways, is to avoid other trajectories blah blah like it says on gun fu or the equilibrium site, yet the blaster is weak as hell. Those guns should have been mixed with melee pistol attacks and made scrapper, brute and I guess tank. So we could at least stand up to things and pretend we dodged it, without getting 2 shotted each spawn. If not, take it out of the game, do it right and put it back in on the right classes. It has no business in there if it's only half done, fast design. Added with no understanding of what it even should be like or is about.
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Oh dear. This can really be summed up in one word;
/jranger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Those guns should have been mixed with melee pistol attacks and made scrapper, brute and I guess tank. So we could at least stand up to things and pretend we dodged it, without getting 2 shotted each spawn. If not, take it out of the game, do it right and put it back in on the right classes. It has no business in there if it's only half done, fast design. Added with no understanding of what it even should be like or is about.
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Pistols really are only good at short range, so it could've made sense, and it would've be doable by concept.
But I do understand why they went with the normal route of making it a blast set.
*sighs*
Every time someone says Dual Pistols should be/have been a Scrapper set, a little puppy dies. Been discussed to death, shot down by the devs, stop bringing it up already! Think of the puppies! Think of the trauma to my brain!
Also, Dual Pistols is NOT the Gun Kata from Equilibrium. They just went for fancy moves with the pistols, Equilibrium being just one of many movies that did that. If you want defense, get it from Weave, IOs, etc. It makes sense for a Blaster to do it, I do it with all of mine. But don't expect a nuke to do it. It just doesn't match how those blast nukes work.
Seriously, argue for a rational improvement to Hail of Bullets to at least get your foot in the door with an improvement to the set. You might get Castle to agree to it if you made him really, really drunk, but then he'd sober up eventually (and I wouldn't put my money on it while he was drunk, either).
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Okay, look at it from the devs' point of view. If Hail of Bullets is indeed underperforming, why would they give +defense to it (which doesn't match up with any other blast set or how it works currently, something that they are unwilling to change much)? Why not just cut down the animation time, lower the recharge, or reduce the animation, etc.?
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Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
Grey Pilgrim beat me to it.
I never thought of Hail of Bullets as a nuke. Just more of a PBAoE Full Auto. And I don't consider Full Auto a nuke.
Nobody complains that they're vulnerable while the Full Auto animation is playing, so what's with all the moaning for Dual Pistols in general?
I never thought of Hail of Bullets as a nuke. Just more of a PBAoE Full Auto. And I don't consider Full Auto a nuke.
Nobody complains that they're vulnerable while the Full Auto animation is playing, so what's with all the moaning for Dual Pistols in general? |
HoB goes off, often doesn't kill +0 minions and makes them very angry.
The Melee Teaming Guide for Melee Mans
Duel pistols is technically still in the development stage, the Devs are more than likely judging the player base usage and the feedback, and deciding if they should bring it up to other set standards or leave it as a below the average, flashy set like they did for duel blades.
Because Full Auto (and RoA) both do consistently more damage and recharge much faster. Plus they're both ranged so you don't have to be in melee range to fire them off. PBAoE nukes aren't a problem when they do enough damage to kill most if not everything they piss off.
HoB goes off, often doesn't kill +0 minions and makes them very angry. |
I've had this happen a couple of times.... XD
Duel pistols is technically still in the development stage, the Devs are more than likely judging the player base usage and the feedback, and deciding if they should bring it up to other set standards or leave it as a below the average, flashy set like they did for duel blades.
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And... good lord, another disparaging post about Dual Blades? I really, really do not want to have to counter that in a third forum in as many weeks. Dual Blades is decidedly not below average: it has very good AOE for a melee set.
I'm not even sure where those feelings are coming from, as most previous posts I have seen on Dual Blades thinks it's quite strong.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
If the dual pistol is designed after Wanted/Equilibrium type style of combat, it would make sense that the attacks be defensive as well. The +def would be only active during the longish animations.
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