2H Rebalancing

[chirality]

i agree the cha-based abilities (at least atm) are underwhelming->useless. good fix would be to flat boost the formula (so average cha still useful) or make it bit like caco where using str+dex in addition to cha.

interesting point on pdk dw cuz opposing hs for 2hers, nonetheless i simply don't see/like turning pdk into a dual wielder. if dw gets buffs to make viable again there's already plenty of existing archetypes (some from ancient times) that can capitalize on dw (or already HG-ized specifically for it, like ranger): monk, barb, cot, ftr.

i'd prefer pdk as a support, not just a "dw HS niche", if there's anyone to get buffed dw-weap dmg penetration it should be ones that already like dwing like dexsin (for minja/fluffy fans out there), monk, ranger, even dex fighter / wm. "rallying the troops to fight better": it's the whole point of the class, and what sets it apart from others that exist to boost their own dps. i definitely agree the class features are bad<->useless spectrum; asking for high cha to make them even approaching attractive is harsh; and overall a "crappy bard" is tough to pull off as attractive role without fail, but i think with proper tweaks a crappy bardic-tank with some unique stuff that bard doesn't do could be kewl (altho never as cool as a battlebard now, thx to battlebard loving devs ). really some stuff like weaponspren to buff fellow tanks dmg, or a serious/working AB/AC boost, maybe penalty amelioration (something like "planar adapt aura" maybe), dirge-like truefear aura, something that works like a possum but for kd instead of death...there's plenty of ways pdk could deliver something kewl (unique would be great but tbh anything helping alleviate bard/cleric job, or semi-replace, could be valuable imo, or if crappy bard isn't attractive either, then stick to boosting fellow tank performance, i'm looking at something like lash which the dps roles in party love, but instead of inflicting it could boost their performance in other ways).

fwiw hopefully no more 2/day "thing that u take this class for" anything will be implemented, we already have HS being a huge pita and lost lot of attractiveness in long/hard runs cuz the limited usage of boots, plz no more hs boot type stuff.

pdk class secret could be something like limbo2's ranged p2/rez rod, 1/day "epic"-style partybuff giving nice dps boost (+dmg, mass haste etc) or phys imm/soak, or miracleturn-type "make space" effect maybe.

[dopplegang]

In that case it seems like the battle bard role is as filled up as the DW role and doesn't need a PDK without some unique and highly relevant party wide specials that are not already implemented by bard auras. I would also note that Rallying Cry is an instant effect that somewhat denotes the concept that you are still a Knight intended to be in combat rather than support caster.

I think the same complaint about harper boots could be made of the divine power cloak, harper scout is just a middle build concept until that one item is collected then you discard the harper for more beneficial things, much like sword and board is commonly a stepping stone to double demi 2hander who can output twice the dmg but can't get to demi without a shield. This is slightly over simplified but in most cases this is true. I personally have never had the luxury of owning the divine power cloak so I still make my builds based on not having it, and I find the two to be identical in terms of use, and its just as sad to take the class just for that one thing as it is to obsess over the cloak, but since these are the only two force multipliers of this type they are still desirable as they should be. For that matter the harper boots could be made to work like the monks empty body activation countdown timer and resolve that 2 per day complaint about them.

For the PDK, if it is going to be a true party support class then yes it would probably fall best under the support aura category like the bard aura, some sort of AOE type party buffs(or several) of random useful improvements, preferably unique things since bard covers some, and the precedent is set previously since COT and lasher have very nice benefits or inflictions. There are a lot of good ideas at this point floating around about how to improve PDK, I like the ideas of KD possums or true fear immu aura, maybe daze stun sleep confuse immune auras, any combinations of these things, mass haste aura would help, environmental adaptivity aura is interesting, specific damage type immunity auras (elemental or exotic immunity aura) could be made to scale based on some statistic or any combination of various metrics to ensure they are balanced.

[chirality]

Dec 22, 2017 3:32:16 GMT dopplegang said:

I think the same complaint about harper boots could be made of the divine power cloak

not really. unlike harper boots, u can swap spare wraps on and effectively never fear lacking the buff. i'll admit carrying spares is richboy territory, so that said, the +1 use/day is a lot more mileage. just 1 number but tbh it's a big difference.

Dec 22, 2017 3:32:16 GMT dopplegang said:

harper scout is just a middle build concept until that one item is collected then you discard the harper for more beneficial things

not imo. hs is very op, the main reason it lost popularity for op leetboyz is cuz limbo. p1 (at first) and then p2 introduced lot tighter rest requirements+longer times between rests, greater likelihood of possuming for 2hers that might rarely die in limbo yet virtually never in hell/abyss, and limbo crittables increased attractiveness of WM for 2nd splash slot, so it made a lot of sense to drop. hs can also be harder/more annoying to manage/optimally use for boxers, and incidentally there's some boxers that run limbo, go figure. pre-limbo, hs is very strong "endgame", not middle of the road at all, it's solid final build for 90% of playerbase, u just don't see it as much since limbo runners and/or armyboxers largely abandoned it. wm splash is still trashtier outside limbo, hs dmg output on bosses/tough hell/abyss noncrittables is unmatched, boots + wrap stack and it's a very favorable outcome. having wrap w/out hs is great ofc, but just to be clear, it's not like once u have a wrap hs stops being good, it's more like once u reinc ur toons for limbo, wm starts being good, and the un-fun drawbacks of hs start really getting an emphasis.