Breach As a Core Game Mechanic

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Wazz72 wrote:

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sarannah101 wrote:

Please do not nerf ES, not everyone plays meta builds!

Just buff life, and nerf(or disable) vaal pact when used with ES.

Agree, especially the bolded part

Yea Vaal Pact need nerf with ES something like 80% slower recharge or similar, if life dont have regen let ES has a bit slower recharge, or maybe 30% reduced ES is also decent.

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"We are also still working out our plans for Energy Shield and related mechanics (and Keystones). Changes to this defence affect Hand of Wisdom and Action builds significantly, and there may not need to be a nerf to Hand of Wisdom and Action if ES and Vaal Pact based build-options are changed significantly.

I got a feeling I will not like this ES / VP change :( I'm playing since day 1 open beta but never liked all these nerfs to good builds.
I'm getting tired of working out a build that works against all the content that PoE has to offer only to see it getting nerfed (usually to it being complete Un-usable) again and again.

It might be the way GGG always worked but I'm asking GGG to reconsider. Normally when I play a (A)RPG I want to get over powered strong I want to obliterate my foes like they are ants not from the start and low lvl or when I got a few good items no of course not then! But when I got every piece of gear (almost) perfect I SHOULD be able to kill and murder every goddamn foe a game has to offer. Here in PoE its considered a bad thing if you can do that.

PoE might have an all time high player base but I got a feeling when you are around as long as me or even longer you might get the same feel like me. Feeling that playing long and going for the 1% strongest build with OP gear is getting you no where, because 99% of the players feel entitled that if they don't have to get to be as strong as the 1% the 1% should also not enjoy that power. So new players aren't the problem to get into this game the problem is keeping the older/longer players.

You can check my char page (char: Helanha) I have OP gear but worked hard to get it. reading that it soon might get another nerf is pushing me more away then ever. I do know there are people who say: but nerfs are fun! I get to try other builds etc. Well I was there to the first 3 - 5 nerf pathces but eventually you will get tired of it!

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SinisterMinister wrote:

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canjp wrote:

CI being chaos immune is very big deal. I thınk you can turn into reduced chaos damage taken %75-80 instead of immunity.

This is by far, the most idiotic thing I've read in the past few weeks.

Congrats on being that special kind of special.

Chaos damage = bypasses energy shield

Chaos Inoculation = 1 Life

Anything that does chaos damage EVEN IN THE SLIGHTEST YOU DIE, YOU MORON.

You just have no mind.

"Maximum live becomes 1
+135% of chaos resistance (it's grants cap of 75% for all difficulties)
Chaos Damage does not bypass Energy Shield"

My Thoughts on HOWA


I don't think GGG quite gets it, that Vinktar's is what makes HOWA go from "a bit overpowered" to Stupid Overpowered.
(That's the same for the other "op" skills too.)

But here's the big problem for HOWA:

Without Vinktar's, it's also not possible to survive reflect for long.

After a while, Atziri flasks just don't cut it. Not even with Vitality Void and VP!
............

I think GGG Has 3 Options:

1) Nerf Howa Dmg only, and watch the build die
2) Don't nerf, it, Nerf the Drop-rate: And HOWA is a wealth-gate item that trivializes the game like Headhunter and Shavronne's Wrapping.
Keeping the build rigid, inflexible, do-able only as a Raider/Inquisitor/Elementalist, with VP and Flurry / Spec throw like it currently is.
3) Nerf the dmg but up survivability, and make it viable with many classes, with many different skills.

#3 I hope is chosen.
If it is,
Here's my suggestions on balancing it out.

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What Isn't Fun About HOWA:

The Survivability Problem

People think HOWA is overpowered, looking at *Softcore* Breach videos: (And yeah, maybe the damage is.)

But almost anyone who tries it in Hardcore dies long before they get rolling.

It is usually the 2nd or 3rd attempt at playing HOWA that hardcore people currently play.

All it takes to die is standing in a doorway wrong, and having your spec throw bounce off the wall back at you - you'll die to trash mobs because your spc throw didn't enter the room.
Boom, there goes many exalts worth of gear, back to Standard!

It's
1) Extreme glass-canon (5% phys mitigation at best,)
2) Requires DW, which means
3) Low ES pool
4) Relying on leech to live, and thus
5) Requires Duelist Attack Dmg Leech nodes (phys leech does nothing in tree),
6) Going crit makes you die to reflect

The Fragility Problem not only isn't fun, it means something tragic.
HOWA claws can make long-dead skills come to life again in a fun and exciting way!
I don't remember the last time I had so much fun with Static Strike!

But my joy was soon quashed - when I realized HOWA builds have to be Spec throw or FLurry, because they are too fragile for melee-range.

So how can we fix that?
..........

How to up Survivability?

-First, nerf Vinktar's. It's the "easy-button' of the game and makes everything trivial. EVERYTHING!

-Currently, Leech is a MUST to survive with Howas, and it makes Vitality Void nodes mandatory.
-This means a crazy trip to the Duelist area from anywhere else in the tree, and limits Ascendancy Choices. Let's fix that.

-Consider making more nodes around the tree have general Attack Damage leech, not just physical.
(Especially the shadow, the .04% phys node he has is pathetic, yet he's supposed to be an elemental specialist?)

-Consider a few leech nodes BEHIND Ghost Reaver. (LIke the best ES nodes are currently behind CI.)

-Add (general) Attack Damage Leech into the claws themselves...(The implicit 25 life gained on hit does nothing!)

-Add a defense bonus to the claws "while dual-wielding claws." Block, Leech Bonus, Armor, Dodge, + Flat or % ES, take your pick.

2nd Problem: Boring Skill Choices

Flurry or Spectral throw....are really the only 2 viable options.

-Increasing survivability means other skills can be used.

-A possibility: Consider making 1 claw "good enough" for dmg, and make it so you don't need to DW them.
-This opens up the possibility of the claw synergizing with other uniques, be they shields or other weapons.
-While you're at it, boost the damage of the rest of the unique claws - which are a sorry, sorry bunch.
-If you go claws in general, you don't have any leftover points to take for other weapons. Create a basic, game-wide bonus for DW'ing claws that incentivises people to use this long-dead combo.
-That would boost not only a nerfed howa, but claw-use in general.

-Consider changing some of the skills that are "physical % converts to elemental" - into just Elemental. Screw the physical. Too many skills revolve around scaling physical, if we wanted to do that, we'd just play a phys build. ;)

Performance tweaks plz! games runs extremly bad

Path of NERF! :)

Breach Zana mod! :)

Not need Breach in core game!!!!

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DoEFotGS wrote:

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SinisterMinister wrote:

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canjp wrote:

CI being chaos immune is very big deal. I thınk you can turn into reduced chaos damage taken %75-80 instead of immunity.

This is by far, the most idiotic thing I've read in the past few weeks.

Congrats on being that special kind of special.

Chaos damage = bypasses energy shield

Chaos Inoculation = 1 Life

Anything that does chaos damage EVEN IN THE SLIGHTEST YOU DIE, YOU MORON.

You just have no mind.

"Maximum live becomes 1
+135% of chaos resistance (it's grants cap of 75% for all difficulties)
Chaos Damage does not bypass Energy Shield"

I'm actually 100% against changing how CI works(full chaos resist is fine). Ci is a special kind of build, like EB, BM and low life. These build require knowledge to build into, and are also an easy entree build for newer players.

There is no reason to change CI either, as CI is not the issue here. The issue is vaal pact in combination with ES(CI/Low life/etc) allowing players to both take full damage hits and recharge their ES within 1/10th of a second. Which, like someone pointed out in a post before, negates the downsides of an ES character(no flasks, no regen, etc).

Just keep everything as it is, but only nerf or disable vaal pact in combination with ES. And buff life, so life builds can take big hits.

PS: I also miss the old Eldritch Battery mechanic. And hope they re-add it in some way, while keeping the current EB mechanic as well.

It is better to add breach as map device mod like perandus

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PaladinSMD wrote:

PoE might have an all time high player base but I got a feeling when you are around as long as me or even longer you might get the same feel like me.

I can't tell that I know your feel or totally agree with you here but I see your point. I have no problems with meta changes and nerfhammer falls coz I play temp leagues only, fresh start all the time... But I can imagine that Standard players may be very disappointed.

Even if I personally don't like Standard at all I can understand why there are people who play it and like it the way that it is. And when you got used to some build/playstyle and it got nerfed accidentally you will be pissed off, obviously.
So please GGG

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Coolmer wrote:

instead fix that shit ASAP

Exactly so. No need to wait while shit will become common and when you finally fix it this will release another shitstorm. ES+VP should've been fixed a while ago when it became shit, maybe you see it now. Please GGG do not bury one of my favourite games under the tons of old broken shit.

Armour need to be looked at imo. The fact that "the bigger the hit the less affective armour is" is realy stupid. +buff life. And 1 hit mechanics suck. Especially when most of the time you have no clue what it was... also remove reflect dmg! Its retarded.