cashew (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} cashew) wrote, |
That's why I said non-core professions and Mesmers. :P
Assassin:
The problem with changing assassins is that stupid Anet can't seem to decide what role assassins should be playing. Either they are melee nukers (and isn't that an oxymoron?) or they are supposed to run utility and support the rest of the team. But right now assassins run both using the same damn skills (Twisting Fangs I'm looking at you), so it's pretty much WTF?
Not so sure the chain should be shorted quite so much, because the long chain is the only thing that's preventing super heavy dual spikes (by forcing the usage of an elite or running dual->off-hand->dual->off-hand 4 skill chain). So if assassins are going to go the physical nuker route, then long chains are necessary to balance things out. However, if assassins are going to run utility, then it's better to run them on short chains and fast recharge for spammability. But most of an assassin's utility skill are already on the lead and off-hands at this point.
As for running variation, had they reduced recharge on most of the dagger and deadly arts skills (iron palm 20 seconds WTF?), especially all of the opening attacks, then assasssins have a lot more variation over the golden fox-wild strike-death blossom chain. Just think if iron palm, black spider, leaping mantic, desperate, disrupting, exhausting, vampiric, falling, golden phoenix, lotus, mantis, ox, asp were all 4 second recharge and black mantis was made into an off-hand again, suddenly the choice is totally open for an assassin. An assassin can go poison, bleeding, kockdown spam, interrupt, e-denial, or straight out damage, and can continuously deliver either condition, interrupts, or damage, as an assassin should be doing.
(As for Golden Skull, due to its off-hand nature, I think decreased recharge is much more preferable.)
Ritualist:
The thing is, spirits have only ever 1 skill. So even with three or four level 26 spirits, they can still go down fast enough due to their inability to do anything by spam one skill (and the fact that they're grouped together and will go down quickly in the hands of an assassin or dervish or ranger's barrage). I very much doubt the extra health and armor will be that much more of a problem. But at least this way player ritualists' spirits will actually be useful rather than fodder.
Also, communing spirits are really useful if not for the shitty energy cost. So lowering communing back to 10 or 15 energy cost will greatly improve a ritualist's versatility. So agreed.
As for weapon spells, even if usage is changed to duration as opposed to times hit, they're still not all that much overpowered. Look at Xinrae's, it's an elite skill that is less useful than a non-elite prot spirit. And while they're not strippable, they're also not stackable either, thus balancing things out. If anything, weapons spells should be a non-stripable and non-stackable enchant, and I do not see this being any more powerful than a monk's enchantments.
For hex removal, I'm thinking of changing the resto skills to include "remove a condition and hex" to fix things a bit.
Paragon:
Actually, for paragon spears, I think they need to have slower attack rate, maybe the same as a short bow due to the ranged nature. A paragon should also have less attack bonus and more utility and more energy based attacks. But I think we agree on this.
Dervish:
It doesn't seem very fair to link scythes to mysticism when all the other weapons are not linked to their respective profession's primaries. Yes, critical strikes help the usage of daggers as does strength to warrior weaponry, but that's not the issue. The issue is that the dervish's primary does not help with their weapon's usage. If mysticism gained energy based on number of foes hit, then a dervish will be able to use the scythe to a better degree than any of the other professions. Even expertise is not enough to counter a 10 energy or 15 energy attack.
Mesmer:
Well, mesmers already have the illusion line for extra hexes. If anything, they need a buff to the domination line, specifically more skills like backfire with faster recharge and lower cost to help with the problematic casters.
Assassin:
The problem with changing assassins is that stupid Anet can't seem to decide what role assassins should be playing. Either they are melee nukers (and isn't that an oxymoron?) or they are supposed to run utility and support the rest of the team. But right now assassins run both using the same damn skills (Twisting Fangs I'm looking at you), so it's pretty much WTF?
Not so sure the chain should be shorted quite so much, because the long chain is the only thing that's preventing super heavy dual spikes (by forcing the usage of an elite or running dual->off-hand->dual->off-hand 4 skill chain). So if assassins are going to go the physical nuker route, then long chains are necessary to balance things out. However, if assassins are going to run utility, then it's better to run them on short chains and fast recharge for spammability. But most of an assassin's utility skill are already on the lead and off-hands at this point.
As for running variation, had they reduced recharge on most of the dagger and deadly arts skills (iron palm 20 seconds WTF?), especially all of the opening attacks, then assasssins have a lot more variation over the golden fox-wild strike-death blossom chain. Just think if iron palm, black spider, leaping mantic, desperate, disrupting, exhausting, vampiric, falling, golden phoenix, lotus, mantis, ox, asp were all 4 second recharge and black mantis was made into an off-hand again, suddenly the choice is totally open for an assassin. An assassin can go poison, bleeding, kockdown spam, interrupt, e-denial, or straight out damage, and can continuously deliver either condition, interrupts, or damage, as an assassin should be doing.
(As for Golden Skull, due to its off-hand nature, I think decreased recharge is much more preferable.)
Ritualist:
The thing is, spirits have only ever 1 skill. So even with three or four level 26 spirits, they can still go down fast enough due to their inability to do anything by spam one skill (and the fact that they're grouped together and will go down quickly in the hands of an assassin or dervish or ranger's barrage). I very much doubt the extra health and armor will be that much more of a problem. But at least this way player ritualists' spirits will actually be useful rather than fodder.
Also, communing spirits are really useful if not for the shitty energy cost. So lowering communing back to 10 or 15 energy cost will greatly improve a ritualist's versatility. So agreed.
As for weapon spells, even if usage is changed to duration as opposed to times hit, they're still not all that much overpowered. Look at Xinrae's, it's an elite skill that is less useful than a non-elite prot spirit. And while they're not strippable, they're also not stackable either, thus balancing things out. If anything, weapons spells should be a non-stripable and non-stackable enchant, and I do not see this being any more powerful than a monk's enchantments.
For hex removal, I'm thinking of changing the resto skills to include "remove a condition and hex" to fix things a bit.
Paragon:
Actually, for paragon spears, I think they need to have slower attack rate, maybe the same as a short bow due to the ranged nature. A paragon should also have less attack bonus and more utility and more energy based attacks. But I think we agree on this.
Dervish:
It doesn't seem very fair to link scythes to mysticism when all the other weapons are not linked to their respective profession's primaries. Yes, critical strikes help the usage of daggers as does strength to warrior weaponry, but that's not the issue. The issue is that the dervish's primary does not help with their weapon's usage. If mysticism gained energy based on number of foes hit, then a dervish will be able to use the scythe to a better degree than any of the other professions. Even expertise is not enough to counter a 10 energy or 15 energy attack.
Mesmer:
Well, mesmers already have the illusion line for extra hexes. If anything, they need a buff to the domination line, specifically more skills like backfire with faster recharge and lower cost to help with the problematic casters.