Report 933

Report #933
Skillset: Necromancy Skill: Omen
 Org: Nihilists Status: Rejected Jan 2015
Furies' Decision:
Per envoy request, we'll revisit this once we've progressed some in the
affliction Overhaul.
Problem: With the upcoming change to Omen, a previously powerful skill utilised
by both ur'Guard and Nihilists is now going to never be used when it is changed
to manabarbs. A 2 power skill that gives one affliction that is easily cured
will never be useful, for any guild. This same skill is made uncurable for 3
power by Bards, who have the same afflicting power as a Guardian (way higher
than a ur'guard), while doing more damage than guardian guilds (and way more
than a warrior). There is no other way to put it, a great skill was reduced to a
pile of junk. I can't think of any scenario that a ur'Guard would want to use
Omen, and maybe a Nihilist would if you were already aeon locked (and could take
advantage of spiritual affliction stacking), but I wouldn't waste the 2 power or
the 3 precious seconds of eq recovery while you were aeoned when it does nothing
to prevent the curing of aeon or contribute directly to a kill.
Solution #1: Change omen to provide 3 tics over 12 seconds, if necessary,
 raise power cost to 3. First tic, at 4 seconds: recklessness and
 sensitivity, minor bleeding, 8 seconds: prone and short stun,
 with progressive more bleeding, at 12 seconds: paralysis, with
 more bleeding. The idea is to provide something that both
 ur'Guard and Nihilists can utilise and take advantage of, and
 this particular solution can help Nihilists achieve a Wrack kill
 and helps ur'Guard be able to build wounds on acrobats and also
 gives them a chance to take advantage of a sensitivity hit
 without using beast spit
Solution #2: Similar to solution 1, change omen to provide 3 tics over 10
 seconds, if necessary, raise power cost to 3: first tic at 3,
 prone plus short balance loss, 7, paralysis, 10 seconds, broken
 leg + broken arm. Solution 2 is aimed at helping Nihilists
 achieve sacrifices without having people off balance forever,
 while helps ur'Guard with the same problem in beating acrobats
 while also taking up salve balance (if it'll exist?), and maybe
 can open up an avenue for a warrior sacrifice
Player Comments:
---[Saesh on 12/31 @ 23:37 writes]:
Full disclosure: the overall theme was my suggestion, though the specifics are
Silvanus's. Is there some use to suggestion 1 I'm missing? It seems kind of like
filler/generic hindering to me. Suggestion 2 seems much better.
---[Silvanus on 1/2 @ 06:15 writes]:
I updated solution 1 based on Saesh's suggestions. I'm open for any suggestions
on what to do with a third solution in a way that is similar to the above
solutions if these are found powerful. My aim is looking for ways both ur'Guard
and Nihilists can take advantage of without impacting Ectoplasm. With the loss
of Omen and Ectoplasm, a Tarot Nihilist lost half of their viable kill methods
(damage, sacrifice), Hexes is even worse with Wrack being the only viable option
for a Hexen, and I'm not even sure how you would do that without some quirky
jinx lock. For ur'Guard, warrior Sacrifice had already been mostly lost except
for Axelords, but with ectoplasm gone, there is no chance. As noted, ectoplasm
was also used for fighting acrobats, which is why the other solutions have a
paralysis or prone/stun included.
---[Enyalida on 1/3 @ 18:10 writes]:
Solution 1 is too powerful for 2p, by far. Those are pretty high power affs to
be giving passively so cheaply on top of demon attacks and actives (like hexes).
---[Enyalida on 1/3 @ 18:14 writes]:
My suggestion is to make omen lower the target's resists and give a buff to the
caster for the duration that increases their damage boosts (with potential to
bring above non-artifact cap). Make the duration the same as old omen.
---[Enyalida on 1/3 @ 18:16 writes]:
I'd also like to note that jinx will be significantly more powerful post-
overhaul if not envoyed. Fewer balances with overall longer times means that a
failure to cure will hurt more, topped with easier ability to cure stack in a
way that wasn't possible before. Pair that with other Nihilist offerings (like
the darkfate investible to throw off curing balances) and you should expect
people to suffer mightily before your jinxing powers.
---[Silvanus on 1/10 @ 04:36 writes]:
There's actually the same amount of balances (4). Before, we had eating/smoke,
sipping, applying, focus. Now we will have the four new balances (I'm assuming
allheale stays) in lucidityslush, soothingsteam, puritydust and whatever the
fourth one is. I haven't read or seen anything actually saying that cure
balances will be increased, though I believe someone said if they need adjusting
they would. I just assumed they would be the same. And I don't think afflictions
will be stronger, but actually weaker. Consider Hexes and you get
doublewhammied, as it stands now, you are not sure what you should eat/drink to
cure because the afflictions are hidden. You don't want to waste your cure
balances on something that you might not be afflicted with. Compare that to the
overhaul system, where if you get doublewhammied or whammied or hexed, you
should automatically assume a mental affliction (to avoid the jinx lock as you
point out) and sip lucitidyslush no matter what after the doublewhammy. Even if
you waste the mental cure balance and not cure anything, that lowers the
afflictions you are probably afflicted with by a very large amount. And finally,
Darkfate will no longer exist in it's current form (it eats up focus and eating
(2 out of 4 balances) for a ~2 seconds), since not only are they moving away
from afflictions that are uncurable and lowering the amount of afflictions
total, darkfate is an easily forgettable pact.
---[Silvanus on 1/10 @ 04:57 writes]:
Though, I guess in second thinking, I'm unsure if it'll be harder or easier,
because although you don't have to guess what cures what, you don't have the
advantage of two cures for one affliction like focus mind gave you. Either way,
I'm not against changing the power cost up to 3, as mentioned in the solution,
it's hard to know how things will or won't work without the new cures being
totally live yet. This is basically shooting from the hip to try and provide
creative solutions that opens up different offensive paths, instead of focusing
solely on damage killing.
---[Tanin on 1/13 @ 18:52 writes]:
I think solution 2 would be the better option considering both nihilists and
ur'guard usage.
---[Maligorn on 1/13 @ 18:54 writes]:
I like Solution 2. It's a high-risk, high-reward play as far as timing goes,
from what I can see. Think should tweak the power cost up to 3p and call it
good.
---[Enyalida on 1/13 @ 19:26 writes]:
Even 3p is hardly 'high risk'.
---[Maligorn on 1/14 @ 07:50 writes]:
It is if you're going for a Sacrifice kill, particularly as an ur'Guard, when
power can be spent elsewhere.
---[Maligorn on 1/14 @ 07:56 writes]:
To recap, Crucify is 7p, and Sacrifice is 3p (and requires all limbs broken).
You're using 3 of your precious active power for something that has an
incredibly short window of time to act upon, unless you have another Necromancer
with you to keep the target darkchant shriveled.
---[Maligorn on 1/14 @ 07:57 writes]:
Also think Solution 3 should be keep manabarbs, lower eq and no power cost.
---[Vivet on 1/19 @ 05:14 writes]:
Solution 2
---[Ieptix on 3/17 @ 04:39 writes]:
A final decision on this will be forthcoming, we're still discussing in the
Havens.