Report 539

Report #539
Skillset: Druidry Skill: Thorns
 Org: Blacktalon Status: Completed Jan 2011
Furies' Decision:
Solution 3
Problem: Upon testing, Thorns, as a whole, is a fairly lackluster ability for
druids who aren't at all designed to damage kill anyone. On a target with 55/48
robes, not even splendours or fullplate, I managed to deal a whole 250 damage
with a level two magic rune and 150 subsequent bleeding for that. Top this off
with the fact that the effect only hits on the tree elevation, Thorns is being
envoyed to actually be of use to both artied and unartied druid combatants.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Substitute the damage/bleeding aspect of Thorns with
 a passive affliction of thornlashes. This would
 actually bring the Druidry instant closer to seeing
 some active use yet still be limited by sap and its
 tree elevation dependence.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #2: Have Thorns hinder the voluntary climb down of
 enemies within the meld by slowing the elevation
 change down much as rubble does for directional
 movement.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #3: Exchange Thorns' pure cutting damage type to a
 combination of cutting/asphyxiation. Choking vines
 for damage and bleeding cuts would be a better option
 for damage than the current incarnation.
Player Comments:
---[Raeri on 1/11 @ 07:01 writes]:
I like Solution 1, personally. However, it is my understanding that when sapped,
thorns counteracts kingdom enchantment and slowly builds up bleeding on the
sapped target. If this damage/bleeding is removed, does it not make it harder to
kill with sap (i.e. bleeding will stop due to kingdom?)
---[Viynain on 1/12 @ 01:18 writes]:
I ran a test on an undeffed, systemless target to test the above (whether or not
Thorns counteracts Kingdom while sapped) and found that, without Kingdom, the
target hit 412 bleeding after three hits in sap with Thorns. With Kingdom, the
target was at 145 bleeding, so the impact of Kingdom in sap is untouched by
Thorns. Therefore, altering Thorn's effect to any of the three proposals would
not be a detriment to the class' killing potential, but hopefully, be a boon.
---[Solanis on 1/12 @ 23:19 writes]:
I don't see Solution 1 being close to enough to making thornrend a viable method
for 1v1. A passive lash every 10 seconds isn't going to change anything. It'll
only make it more annoying in groups (tons of elevation changes). And druids do
damage kill via sap. I don't know how much more effective Thorns'd be with
Solution 3 but of these Solutions I'd probably go for Sol 2.
---[Viynain on 1/13 @ 03:10 writes]:
Solution 1 is but a possible step of many for Thornrend to be viable in the long
run. As for solution 3, since it's an all cutting damage type ability right now,
combining it/replacing it with asphyxiation even in part will raise its damage
output considering that's a type less commonly defended than cutting.
---[Lehki on 1/13 @ 06:32 writes]:
Solution 2 or 3 sound fine. Solution 1 honestly would do nothing for druids. 1
extra lash every 10 seconds could still easily be out paced by writhing or just
igniting. I think we're be better off with the current form then that.
---[Raeri on 1/13 @ 07:06 writes]:
Well, report 372 added bleeding to people who have lashed limbs. It might be
that the bleeding is more than what thorns currently generates, for solution 1?
---[Viynain on 1/13 @ 08:13 writes]:
I personally feel that people having to deal with writhing out of lashes (which
both causes bleeding and eats up balance) or igniting themselves (for damage and
equilibrium loss) would be a better boon than the minimal hit Thorns does.
---[Fillin on 1/27 @ 21:12 writes]:
Thorns give a decent dose of bleeding that synergizes well with druid offense.
If you really want it switch it out though, I'd say solution 2, but it should
affect everyone except the melder like rubble.
---[Viynain on 1/28 @ 00:11 writes]:
The thornlashes of the first solution will also cause bleeding that will help
the druid offense as well, whether left uncured or writhed out of. I'm
particularly fond of the idea of it being a step towards helping thornrend,
personally, though I'm not opposed to any of the three.
---[Lehki on 1/28 @ 22:08 writes]:
Thornlashes will not cause any bleeding on a sapped target, which is when it
would actually matter. Without sap the passive bleeding from lashes and
bleeding from rends is easy to keep up with, and since sap cures the lashes,
they have no need to go off eq or balance by writhing or igniting. Solution 1
could possibly speed up group thronrends, but other then that I think it's a
very small step for improving Thornrend. Solution 3 would be best, really.
---[Viynain on 1/30 @ 07:34 writes]:
Each time people writhe off a lash, they'd consume balance and encounter a burst
of bleeding, which I find would be a welcome hinder in between and before saps.
Though I have no problem with the third solution, I particularly like the first
solution - and since I am hopeful at not leaving the thornlash/sap relationship
as it is right now, it would be nice to take that process further in another
report.