Barrage

Another thing i'd really like to see for Barrage would be the same sort of treatment Arc got quite a while ago:
Level progression instead of a fixed number of projectiles

Right now Barrage seems only worth using when one can add a lot of extra projectiles via the helm enchantment or the Reach of the Council unique Bow. Both are rather expensive and both massively increase the damage of the skill to a level completely beyond what one could reach without these. Therefore, i would suggest a mild increase of projectiles when leveling the skill.

Not only would this make the skill more viable for builds on a lower budget but it would also make the leveling process more fun by adding that great feel of progress once you reach the next threshold!

Example:
+2 projectiles @ lvl 1
+3 projectiles @ lvl 7
+4 projectiles @ lvl 13
+5 projectiles @ lvl 19
(+6 projectiles @ lvl 25)

I'd love it if Barrage got changed into a Channeling Skill. Along with the idea of additional projectiles as you level it up. I feel Channeling could bring it back into viability as a skill on its own for both Wands and Bows.

"

JeremiahLoh wrote:

I'd love it if Barrage got changed into a Channeling Skill

For me Barrage was Channel in disguise the day it was announced (same as Lightning Tendrils).

Volley Fire can just give 25% to fire 4 additional arrows (with limit of 2 jewels).

The problem is additional projectiles and current interesting interaction with Barrage which I do not want to loose...

I would like to have a green support gem that alter some projectile skills to be used like barrage does, it would be insane to get ethereal knives with that support gem. XD

Barrage is too strong. After double dip changes, skills like barrage are one of the only skills remaining that can absolutely delete bosses. With perfect gear it can easily reach over 20mil dps. With just normal couple ex gear +dying sun and +2 helm enchant. It can still get over 13mil dps easy.

That said, unless you stack +projectiles heavily, its ok or even too weak. But something should be done about the crazy +projectile scaling.

I'd currently like to include Barrage in several builds, but the way this gem is designed makes it undesirable for many builds but a few.

Unless you can turn those extra projectiles into exponentially higher damage (i.E. with shocking), Barrage has a significantly lower DPS overall than any similar bow gem. So for Barrage to be useful, you must exploit it. But then if you do, the damage becomes so excessive, that Barrage actually would justify a nerf.

I'd love to see Barrage become available for more "standard" builds as well (which means ~100% base damage) as some kind of boss-skill or in combination with chain and Deadeye chain, but without having certain combinations going completely through the roof.

"

I recommend addressing this the Hierophant way - put an overall "less" modifier per projectile after a certain amount. This addresses the issue instead of nerfing sources of additional projectiles overall.

^This.

Despite what everyone says about barrage only being worth using if you have over 7+ projectiles, i disagree completely. Let's look at some numbers. All these are based on lvl 20 gems:

Cyclone: 56.4% dps with 50% more attack speed * 2(cyclone hits twice per spin) = 169,2% dps
Ice Crash: 208 % dps with 20% less attack speed = 166,4% dps
Sunder: 181,1% dps with 15% less attack speed = 153,9% dps
Blast Rain: 47,6% dps with 4 explosions = 190,4% dps
Blade flurry: perfectly timed 56,4%*1.6*2*(1+0.75*1.2) = 342,9% dps (this should also be touched upon)
Sweep: 138% dps with 10% less attack speed = 124% dps (could buff that a bit)
Barrage: 61,4% dps with 4 arrows = 245,6% dps (fairly high, but kinda acceptable)
Most builds however don't stop at 4 arrows. The most common variation I've seen:
4 (base) + 2 (uber helmet enchant) + 1 (quiver corruption) + 3 (dying sun with atleast 50% flask effect)
which comes out to: 61,4% dps * 10 arrows = 614% base dps. Wands get one projectile less, but that does little to fix the problem.

How this was okayed by the developers and never touched upon (apart from one buff), I have trouble understanding.
My suggestion would be either making it so additional arrows have diminishing returns instead of linear scaling, perhaps a Less modifier, like the hierophant has, or putting a hard cap at the maximum number of arrows you can have. I would also suggest lowering the base damage of the skill. Anything over 250% attainable dps makes it pointless to ever use another skill, thereby severely limiting the build diversity you so wish to have.