Barrage

With a 39 Point Blank bow build, I'm seeing Barrage do the same, if not slightly more effective DPS than Frenzy vs single targets. I'm not speccd for more frenzy charges though, so that probably plays a factor. I'm just wondering, is the tool-tip DPS not accounting for all four arrows hitting a single target? It seems almost like it's showing the DPS for a single arrow rather than all four.

Also, is it possible for Barrage's deviation to cause an arrow to miss in close range? Or am I just having bad luck with 92$ chance to hit?

May it be that the skill info is wrong an listing DPS as damage of just one arrow instead of all 4? My Skill info says 650 DPS (with added fire dmg and faster attacks) on my 66 Bow Scion (in town but its also only Level 9 by now) while RoA (with added fire dmg and conc. effect) does 2450 DPS. But it's still wrecking single targets so fast. Very similar to RoA right now or a bit faster. 2600 DPS (which would be x4) seems more right.

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isgz wrote:

And Im still wondering if CoC is calculated indep on any single proj, or if it is calculated on use only

ive been trying to figure that out for days...

I'm currently leveling a Phys Barrage Point Blank build (Chain-Point Blank bug abuse). I've got a Chin Sol ready and will grab the Point Blank keystone. I plan on using Barrage with Chain, Faster Attacks, Physical Projectile Damage, Blood Magic and LMP/GMP. From the looks if it, it seems Split Arrow will be way better for this purpose. At lvl 44 now and it works decently as Single Target.

Anyone knows if Barrage can be supported by Reduced Duration? (I'm guessing not since it doesn't say Duration in skill description)

I think Barrage is really inteded for crit builds, not neccesarily CoC builds, but Bow/Wand crit builds, while using a slower weapon. Barrage really makes up for the lack of attack speed and would also explain the dmg penalty on Barrage. The slow bow with implicit crit (Makareth?) is a good example. Previously deemed unviable because they are too slow, but maybe not now with Barrage.

Here's a prime example of a wand that I think would rock with Barrage;

Been trying out this skill for a while a now on my lvl 89 Power Siphon witch. I've come to the realization that this gem is not very good. AOE wise it is subpar compared to typical PS setup. Single target is bad when compared to frenzy or PS since you only get a 4L for single target on a wand build.

The main problem I see with this skill is the way you crit with it. You either crit or you don't and if your crit isn't about 70% you waste a lot of time and damage since if you don't crit the rest of the following projectiles won't crit either and you will deal mediocre damage. Tack that on with the fact that you cannot hit that many enemies unless you have chain and LMP/GMP with it, you will deal even less damage and waste even more time when you don't crit.

I feel like having a faster weapon is a must. When trying out both setups (slow and fast hitting wands) the faster attacking wand was way better since the time in between projectiles is shorten which allows you to get in more crits and gives you a chance to maneuver around mobs. The spread that happens at range is a terrble idea and forces you to get in close.

All in all this build cannot be used in the same way as most Power Siphon builds currently. It might be fun at first but after a while it gets annoying to use.

I must agree with most of the comments here. The Skill is pretty week, if You consider the existence of Frenzy/Split Arrow.

You know, i´ve just tried to level it pretty regular with a Ranger and I began to wonder how it comes auto-attack is doing even more/same damage (just an experience, not considering the tooltip).

With all those physical bow nodes You can boost Frenzy or any damage converting skill even further, whereas Barrage will fall by the wayside.

I like to see a boost in damage effectivness or the removal of attack speed penalty.

I'm so silly that I try to replace my Split Arrow with this gem... With the same support setup in a 5L Split Arrow deals 17k while this skill deals 4.5k.

If all the arrows hit the same target, Barrage will do 18k but my 4L Burning Arrow(Item Rarity + Item Quantity + Faster Attacks + Burning Arrow) does 20k.

It is even not worth testing. Just read skill descriptions for them both(assume lvl 15):

Split Arrow: 80% damage effectiveness, 5 projectiles, 42% increased Physical Damage
Barrage: 40% damage effectiveness, 33% less attack speed, 4 projectiles, 56% increased Physical Damage

Them the only use for this skill I think would be a trigger skill for single target Cast on Critical Strike.(Reads from previous posts) Maybe some trivial uses like Blind/Knockback/Curse on Hit etc.

should be sustained fire, along with cyclone, that drains mana while active.
that is the only change needed to make this skill useful for specific builds. it'd be nice if the levelling increase was 2% phys and 2% aspd instead of just phys, as most bow users that aren't elemental are aiming for puncture now and they have no use for this skill.

outside of cast on crit and its mildly useful interaction with life gain on hit fighting single targets, this skill has no viable use.
frenzy out dps's it single target, and nets you charges to boot for other skills. puncture is better for DoT and kiting, lightning and burning are both better in their respective fields for an elemental build and for cast on crit split arrow with chain still might be better if you're not using LMP (which you shouldn't be, most of the time), so it seems kind of useless.

cool idea, poor implementation. constant fire while mouse held down would make this effectively useable but still not great, but at least you'd have a tradeoff to choose from on damage/survivability instead of just a straight-up worse skill.

This skill appears to have an additional hidden penalty to attack speed when dual wielding wands. With my character screen open, when I equip my second wand, this skill's attacks per second goes down. This is noticeable in gameplay too.

That said, the skill's DPS actually goes up when you use it while dual wielding, so I assume each hit is actually doing damage from both wands, like dual strike. Still, would be nice if it mentioned these things in the skill tooltip.

@CanHasPants
I updated my post, will do again, when I'm back home. :)