I got a discussion going in the thief forum about stealth, you can read more about it here. During the discussions someone threw out an idea for Black Powder (pistol off-hand 5). He proposed to change the combo field to Dark instead of Smoke and let the projectile it fires grant stealth if it connects (in the same fashion as Ranger Longbow 3).
Changes to Black Powder;
Projectile grant stealth if it connects
Change combo field to Dark
Add a small cast time after the field drops and until the shot is fired. The same as Cloak and Dagger.
Why do I think this is a good idea?
It would fix the problem with D/P stealth stacking
It would provide stealth too P/P and S/P. Dual pistol really need help, and this would help a lot.
It add real counter play to the D/P stealth combo. You could just evade, block, blind, etc the projectile to negate the thief stealth. This is also in the same fashion as Cloak and Dagger.
The cast time would really help with the counter play as people will have a chance to evade or block it.
This change would help people counter the D/P weapon set and it would help the other two sets that use pistol off-hand a lot! This change was originally proposed by Maugetarr.
I know ist very annoying playing against permastealthable thiefs,. but
I dont played that much with darkfields, so tell me how it would provide p/p,s/p with stealth?
The combination of pistol5(smoke)+sh2= stealth;
dont know how darkness provide stealth here…. or did I miss something, plz explain.
I only know the blindeffect with finshers and the lifesteal on projectiles on darkness, which is very good and a very good reason for myself to approve that Balance Change
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
He suggests #5 itself provides stealth when it hits the target. Changing the field to Dark would change the combo-effect on leap (and blast) to blindness and thus end it’s use as a stealth generator. It would also give stealth to P/P and S/P weaponsets
The stealth comes from the skill itself (like Cloak and Dagger on dagger off-hand 5). When you activate the skill the following happens;
Black powder field drops
Thief is rooted within the field for 1/2 second while it aims at his target, charging the shot
Shot is fired.
This shot blinds target and stealth the thief if it connects (hits).
This means that if the shot is evaded, blocked or blinded the thief won’t get stealth. As it is now the thief just drop black powder and use heartseeker through it. There’s really no skill or risk/reward, because unless you’re interrupted you will get stealth. Making this change will make black powder function the same as Cloak and Dagger, but ranged. It offers more counter play and can actually be interrupted, blinded, evaded or blocked.
The risk is being interrupted and having spent a lot of ini in the process with no reward. Stopping a bp->hs will wreck a thief and force them to start popping utilities to make up for it. It would be more forgiving if they didn’t have to hs through the field.
They also lose out on the c&d damage (doesn’t apply in sPvP where c&d needs a buff to make up for the higher risk though).
I actually really like this idea for a couple of reasons. It gives stealth access to sets that are not D/P and the utility of lifesteal combos would help P/P as well since each shot from the pistol stealth attack is a guaranteed combo finisher.
The best part of this change would be that even if you chain stealth on a stationary enemy it can’t be permanent because if the shot deals damage while the previous stealth is going on you’ll be revealed instead.
Would you still make the Dark field apply Blind on contact?
The risk is being interrupted and having spent a lot of ini in the process with no reward. Stopping a bp->hs will wreck a thief and force them to start popping utilities to make up for it. It would be more forgiving if they didn’t have to hs through the field.
They also lose out on the c&d damage (doesn’t apply in sPvP where c&d needs a buff to make up for the higher risk though).
It will wreck a thief yes. But how often does this happen? I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been negated stealth using that combo… It’s hard to counter in a 1v1 because you blind people with the shot. The hearseeker happens so fast after that you won’t have time to clear the blind and interrupt the thief. This also means that we can’t just stealth and run away and keep stealthing using that combo. It would actually require a target to get stealth, like cloak and dagger, which I think would be much more balanced.
Is Cloak and Dagger more forgiving than d/p? No. It’s possible to evade, block, blind or interrupt. Hearseeker can only be interrupted… When you see the smoke field drop you know that within half a second (you can see the thief aim at you) the thief will fire a shot that grants him stealth. This shot can be evaded, blinded, interrupted, blocked or reflected. It doesn’t need more damage since it blind it’s victim and is a ranged stealth.
I counter it multiple times every single day on my eng alone…
It’s not that other classes can’t do it as well (I do it when I’m on my mes/guard a lot as well) and idk why more players don’t bother to learn how to do it.
I wasn’t saying c&d was more forgiving, but that the suggested change would be vs. the current version as it would drain less ini. It would be easier to counter though.
The risk is being interrupted and having spent a lot of ini in the process with no reward. Stopping a bp->hs will wreck a thief and force them to start popping utilities to make up for it. It would be more forgiving if they didn’t have to hs through the field.
They also lose out on the c&d damage (doesn’t apply in sPvP where c&d needs a buff to make up for the higher risk though).
I go with changing into darkfield, but the stun on activating is indeed not neccessary because s/p is very static build, skill 2,3 already having short Position imobiliz.aftercast effects and adding skill5 with a selfstun would be not very good for mobility , also in respect to stealth thiefs you dont have to nerf more mobility
(you could Change the provided stealth effect instead of nerfing mobility, so stealth only if hit succes on targeted enemy)
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I actually really like this idea for a couple of reasons. It gives stealth access to sets that are not D/P and the utility of lifesteal combos would help P/P as well since each shot from the pistol stealth attack is a guaranteed combo finisher.
Heh, Sneak Attack from dark field would steal 1k health
Would you still make the Dark field apply Blind on contact?
I don’t think the current blind is from the Smoke field, so if the field type is the only thing that changes it would still apply blind.
It should still apply blind as it does now. This is why it doesn’t need a damage buff. It would be powerful in a P/P set, but that set really need it. The life steel won’t be OP either because you would have to stay in it or move behind it. It’s very easy for the other player to counter that and it would add more team utility by allowing teams to heal a small bit by firing through it or whirling in it.
Not sure about this one. It doesn’t seem to actually change much. D/p would just become identical to d/d in practical play, either teleporting mid black powder or using the spare initiative to shadow shot to their target afterwards.
Perma stealth has already been somewhat nerfed but I don’t get into WvW much so maybe it’s still a problem?
It’s probably too strong for s/p as that set is already seeing play without any stealth and is probably too strong for p/p giving easy sneak attacks (p/d can already be a bear, just imagine that with lifesteal and ranged stealth)
P/P wouldn’t be viable for condition builds with this change, so people would only use it as a power build. P/P is still weak and could need some love. I’m not sure about S/P though. It do have enough damage and are used competitive. The added stealth wouldn’t be used for much other than defense in tight spots though.
D/P would still be the best 1v1 because of shadow shot and head shot, but it would add more counter play to it than it has today.
Only thing that I can imagine ppl crying about with this change is:
Blind/stealth stomp. Normally we have can either blind stomp, stealth stomp or ShS stomp. But this just combines two of our safeguard nets at once. Even if they did clear blind on time to use their downed CC, you’d be in stealth.
Only thing that I can imagine ppl crying about with this change is:
Blind/stealth stomp. Normally we have can either blind stomp, stealth stomp or ShS stomp. But this just combines two of our safeguard nets at once. Even if they did clear blind on time to use their downed CC, you’d be in stealth.
But other than that it sounds great for me
they would deal with it, if permastealth at the end gets killed
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
they would deal with it, if permastealth at the end gets killed
Sad part is that they’ll probably just move on to the next topic on thieves to cry about. Do you know that “perma-dodge” is a term starting to grow on forums now?
they would deal with it, if permastealth at the end gets killed
Sad part is that they’ll probably just move on to the next topic on thieves to cry about. Do you know that “perma-dodge” is a term starting to grow on forums now?
“IF” permastealth gets nerfed, and the only way of avoiding dmg relays on dodging, they wont nerf it untill a elite skill with 60sec is added which grant 5 sec immunity.
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I don’t like this idea, because it seems OP to me.
A ranged skill with no cooldown that can provide you stealth? It’s like Cloak and Dagger without the problem of needing to be close to your target. Stealth needs to have strong setbacks, like C&D has.
I feel this is close to a solution, and definitely agree P/P needs help.
I don’t like this idea, because it seems OP to me.
A ranged skill with no cooldown that can provide you stealth? It’s like Cloak and Dagger without the problem of needing to be close to your target. Stealth needs to have strong setbacks, like C&D has.
I feel this is close to a solution, and definitely agree P/P needs help.
A ranged stealth sounds OP, but think about it. You get a very clear indication when you see the smoke around the thief that he has popped Black Powder and is about to fire a shot that will grant him stealth. It will be just as easy to avoid as Cloak and Dagger, but the damage will be drastically lower and you won’t get vulnerability. The thief is probably doing this from range, so he will have to close the gap, thereby making it more difficult to backstab.
I don’t like this idea, because it seems OP to me.
A ranged skill with no cooldown that can provide you stealth? It’s like Cloak and Dagger without the problem of needing to be close to your target. Stealth needs to have strong setbacks, like C&D has.
I feel this is close to a solution, and definitely agree P/P needs help.
While it is a ranged skill that gives stealth, you can’t use it to stack stealth. If you use it again before the stealth expires you’ll deal direct damage and be revealed instead of stealthed. I suppose if you timed it just right you could shoot the shot just as stealth expired so the projectile would hit after stealth ends and you’d be stealthed again but even in that case the field is dropped first so the enemy knows the shot is coming.
@OP: I very much disagree with your idea. P/P with access to stealth would be way too OP. It’s just not a good idea for a ranged set to get it. Instead the other skills of P/P should be buffed.
S/P should also NOT have access to stealth. It should be about controls and blinds.
well, to make builds and also all weaponsets/combinations avaiable
p/p now is very useless in stpvp, it indeed Needs buff, and get in mind that blackpowder Needs 6 init. at last …. spam 6 will not get stack stealth because of range attack and also spamming skills is already been punished by the initiative Change
But s/p having already acces to stealth with shortbow 2 Combo, after changing into pistol5 into darkness, all x/p builds gain same Attention to stealth like x/d
And getting ae blind on Combo is indeed much more useful then a simple stealth.
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
So, you suggest to let leap finishers apply their combo the moment they cross the field instead of at the end of the leap (the way it works now).
Personally, i see this as a good solution.
/edit: Also apply this change to all other skills. As of now, an engineer using Rocket Boots in a smoke field doesn’t get stealthed until he lands again. After the change he would stealth immediately and then doing his jump part. It would be a buff to engineers but i think it’s a deserved one.
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
but tell, how would that solve the Problem getting permastealthable?
thiefs would simply do the Hs+BP Combo on open field and stacking stealth again.
the new Change would simply prevent beeing permastealth because you cannot spam /stack stealth by using 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
@Cynz:
and what could be the most possible Thing they do after stealth…
indeed pressing 1 and then pressing 3 … dodge this ….and doing same Thing again or switching weapons…. dodge this
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I would actually be ok with this change. D/P is a crutch for bad thieves, the only current counterplay is trying to interrupt the HS thru the BP which means you first usually have to get ride of the blind first. The blind should probably happen at the initial cast and not pulse. You can now dodge, block, reflect, even blind the stealth which gives it so much more room to play against than what it was before.
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
but tell, how would that solve the Problem getting permastealthable?
thiefs would simply do the Hs+BP Combo on open field and stacking stealth again.
the new Change would simply prevent beeing permastealth because you cannot spam /stack stealth by using 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
@Cynz:
and what could be the most possible Thing they do after stealth…
indeed pressing 1 and then pressing 3 … dodge this ….and doing same Thing again or switching weapons…. dodge this
except to get backstab off you have to be in melee and behind the target, gl doing that while being chilled and crippled and your enemy having perma swiftness
it is way easier to dodge backstab than pistol channeled attacks
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
but tell, how would that solve the Problem getting permastealthable?
thiefs would simply do the Hs+BP Combo on open field and stacking stealth again.
the new Change would simply prevent beeing permastealth because you cannot spam /stack stealth by using 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
@Cynz:
and what could be the most possible Thing they do after stealth…
indeed pressing 1 and then pressing 3 … dodge this ….and doing same Thing again or switching weapons…. dodge this
except to get backstab off you have to be in melee and behind the target, gl doing that while being chilled and crippled and your enemy having perma swiftness
it is way easier to dodge backstab than pistol channeled attacks
im sorry my english is lacking here, but to deal with the second one:
to dodge enemy BS is easy and also dodging channeling pistol attacks, because you can hear it and you know they are very expenxive initiative skills, so enemy cant use them very often and you have also the Option to simply interuppting them
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
but tell, how would that solve the Problem getting permastealthable?
thiefs would simply do the Hs+BP Combo on open field and stacking stealth again.
the new Change would simply prevent beeing permastealth because you cannot spam /stack stealth by using 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
@Cynz:
and what could be the most possible Thing they do after stealth…
indeed pressing 1 and then pressing 3 … dodge this ….and doing same Thing again or switching weapons…. dodge this
except to get backstab off you have to be in melee and behind the target, gl doing that while being chilled and crippled and your enemy having perma swiftness
it is way easier to dodge backstab than pistol channeled attacks
im sorry my english is lacking here, but to deal with the second one:
to dodge enemy BS is easy and also dodging channeling pistol attacks, because you can hear it and you know they are very expenxive initiative skills, so enemy cant use them very often and you have also the Option to simply interuppting them
you can’t always interrupt, because attack comes before target appears; by the time you get your interrupt(which also has cast time) the spell is already executed
channeled spells ARE harder to dodge than 1 simple attack simply because channeled spells have longer execution time and you would need 2 dodges mostlikely when for BS you would need 1
blinds also don’t work so well on channeled spells because only 1 tick will miss
there is reason why ranged attacks usually do less dmg than melee: ranged attacks are safe, ranged attacks don’t have such hard punishment for bad positioning; ranged attacks on thief don’t don’t get affected by chill/cripple
the only downside of ranged attacks is reflect shields but not every class has access to those w/o gimping themself out
i understand people want everyone build be viable in pvp but it is not possible, besides let’s face it p/p is probably the most braindead weapon set on thief; the only reason why it is not so popular in pvp is lack of moblity
I don’t think Anet would want to give the strongest range dps in the game, stealth.
strongest range “dps” ….. did I missed here again?!
@Cynz: ah ok, that was your Point of interest
also assumed that you were playing thief , and also agreed to p/p as the last useful weaponset but thats the most reason why it Needs some love from devs, in both tricks and mobility or more relating on another dmg source …
Good Thiefs are average,
Skilled Thiefs are dangerous
I have said for a while – Just remove the Leap from Heatseeker.
That would remove any stealth access besides utilities from d/p and render the set pretty moot.
It would solve the HS+BP stealth stacking, give it counterplay similar to C&D, and be a needed buff to P/P as that is the weakest weapon set thieves have as it has no access to either evades, or steath. I do fear s/p might be nerfed if the BP doesn’t apply blind, but access to tactial strike should make up for it.
I have said for a while – Just remove the Leap from Heatseeker.
That would remove any stealth access besides utilities from d/p and render the set pretty moot.
It would solve the HS+BP stealth stacking, give it counterplay similar to C&D, and be a needed buff to P/P as that is the weakest weapon set thieves have as it has no access to either evades, or steath. I do fear s/p might be nerfed if the BP doesn’t apply blind, but access to tactial strike should make up for it.
It could be countered a bit by slightly improved stats for Toughness and health. They shouldn’t have access to stealth on weapons in my opinion. It is fine having perma stealth outside combat but once you engage in combat your stealth should be more limited and used at the right time to set up burst or for defense.
I believe there is a easier way to solve this problem. keep pistol 5 as a smoke field but change the order of priority of hit than stealth. So the chain would look like this: Black Powder – HS – Stealth – Hit.
It would be similar to how cluster bomb would reveal you if you blast a smoke field and hit a foe standing in it. This would allow thieves to stealth, get away regen or w/e but it would allow the opponent to counter the stealth by standing in the field.
I think this would allow for more interesting play from both side
but tell, how would that solve the Problem getting permastealthable?
thiefs would simply do the Hs+BP Combo on open field and stacking stealth again.
the new Change would simply prevent beeing permastealth because you cannot spam /stack stealth by using 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
@Cynz:
and what could be the most possible Thing they do after stealth…
indeed pressing 1 and then pressing 3 … dodge this ….and doing same Thing again or switching weapons…. dodge this
except to get backstab off you have to be in melee and behind the target, gl doing that while being chilled and crippled and your enemy having perma swiftness
it is way easier to dodge backstab than pistol channeled attacks
im sorry my english is lacking here, but to deal with the second one:
to dodge enemy BS is easy and also dodging channeling pistol attacks, because you can hear it and you know they are very expenxive initiative skills, so enemy cant use them very often and you have also the Option to simply interuppting them
you can’t always interrupt, because attack comes before target appears; by the time you get your interrupt(which also has cast time) the spell is already executed
channeled spells ARE harder to dodge than 1 simple attack simply because channeled spells have longer execution time and you would need 2 dodges mostlikely when for BS you would need 1
blinds also don’t work so well on channeled spells because only 1 tick will miss
there is reason why ranged attacks usually do less dmg than melee: ranged attacks are safe, ranged attacks don’t have such hard punishment for bad positioning; ranged attacks on thief don’t don’t get affected by chill/cripple
the only downside of ranged attacks is reflect shields but not every class has access to those w/o gimping themself out
i understand people want everyone build be viable in pvp but it is not possible, besides let’s face it p/p is probably the most braindead weapon set on thief; the only reason why it is not so popular in pvp is lack of moblity
P.S. i main thief myself btw
Alright, let me explain my idea again.
The chain of the skill should be like this:
You press 5 and the Black Powder activates
You can now see smoke around the thief as it is today and the field is already there.
The thief starts a1/2 second channel where he aim at his target (you can clearly see this and prepare).
The shot is fired.
If the shot connects the thief will get stealth in a similar fashion as Cloak and Dagger.
Not sure if I want to keep blind on the projectile, but the field should still pulse blind as it does today.
This skill work like the rangers longbow #3. It’s impossible for the Thief to stack stealth with this skill since it deal a little bit of damage. If the thief spam the skill he will simply get revealed because of the damage. The thief can’t chain stealth in open areas as it will need a target to gain stealth.
Since this is not a channel of several attacks it won’t cure any blind if the thief get blinded before the projectile is shot.
leave black powder alone already. It is already fine (albeit was once nerfed with increased cost)
The is NO perma stealth that involves solely black powder and heartseeker ever since the nerf.
NOONE and i will repeat myself NOONE will bother redesigning a skill that works, is usable and does not involve any of the mentioned “opness”. Except people on forums.
Yes, I would much rather have the whole assasin thing from gw1 over this pathetic excuse of 2 times less base hp, no support and defensive capabilities nerf punchbag called thief.
But then people will cry twice as much.
It could be countered a bit by slightly improved stats for Toughness and health. ….
I see, that must be why Guardians and Warriors don’t need and have protection and blocking on their weaponskills.
Personally – Stealth > Blocking skills. You have access to stealth, what you shouldn’t have is access to stealth any time you like. Removing the Leap on Heart Seeker would go a way to stopping the multiple stealth’s and stealth attacks, especially Backstab.
Plus, you have PLENTY of evades and knowing most thieves they would just go to that sort of build anyway.
It could be countered a bit by slightly improved stats for Toughness and health. ….
I see, that must be why Guardians and Warriors don’t need and have protection and blocking on their weaponskills.
Personally – Stealth > Blocking skills. You have access to stealth, what you shouldn’t have is access to stealth any time you like. Removing the Leap on Heart Seeker would go a way to stopping the multiple stealth’s and stealth attacks, especially Backstab.
Plus, you have PLENTY of evades and knowing most thieves they would just go to that sort of build anyway.
and what should thief do dmg with? AA? spam HS? great solution…
plenty of evades come only from acro/trickery s/d build, every other build has to waddle and has 2 dodges like everyone else… so we should all play kitten s/d and scrap every single weapon set and every other tree when we are at it…mkay
I don’t think people will QQ less if thieves will lose stealth and instead will get 20k hp and backstab usable without stealth.
As a matter of fact, I think people would QQ a lot more.
This change will make people QQ a lot more.
It will basically be a better “on demand” stealth because of its ranged nature. It will require less initiative so there will be more room for error (now negating a BP→HS puts the thief under heavy pressure).
Not only this, but S/P users will be buffed to heaven as they could land their Pistol Whip while stealthed.
Perma stealth is not the problem. The players refusing to learn how to counter it are the problem. There are so many counters to perma stealth than people imagine. Any class has a build that works against a “perma stealth” D/P thief. ANY class.
leave black powder alone already. It is already fine (albeit was once nerfed with increased cost)
The is NO perma stealth that involves solely black powder and heartseeker ever since the nerf.
NOONE and i will repeat myself NOONE will bother redesigning a skill that works, is usable and does not involve any of the mentioned “opness”. Except people on forums
Black Powder is only fine if you combine it with dagger for the stealth combo. Without that it’s just a blind field that is so small you can actually hit someone inside it in melee without being blinded by it. In PvP, when not in D/P, Blinding Powder serves one purpose only and that is securing a stomp against Rangers/Warriors/Guardians/Necros. That is not my definition of fine.
This change aims to make Blinding Powder a useful skill in both P/P and S/P and it does that by giving the sets access to stealth. This would give P/P the boost to survivability it requires to become a competitive set and boost the control options for S/P by giving it access to Tactical Strike. Furthermore this change also keeps the playtyle of D/P intact as it leaves the thief an option to stealth for those backstabs. It’s a great change IMO.
and what should thief do dmg with? AA? spam HS? great solution…
plenty of evades come only from acro/trickery s/d build, every other build has to waddle and has 2 dodges like everyone else… so we should all play kitten s/d and scrap every single weapon set and every other tree when we are at it…mkay
Rather than the class being a class that pretty much RUNS the moment they back stab and see hey would have to WORK to kill someone, rather than just going Stealth and repeating the Stealth, Backstab, HS, HS, HS, Stealth, Backstab until the person dies.
Maybe some changes would actually BENEFIT the class, so you know – they don’t have to rely on stealth and they can’t use stealth to run the moment they are beginning to lose.
leave black powder alone already. It is already fine (albeit was once nerfed with increased cost)
The is NO perma stealth that involves solely black powder and heartseeker ever since the nerf.
NOONE and i will repeat myself NOONE will bother redesigning a skill that works, is usable and does not involve any of the mentioned “opness”. Except people on forums
Black Powder is only fine if you combine it with dagger for the stealth combo. Without that it’s just a blind field that is so small you can actually hit someone inside it in melee without being blinded by it. In PvP, when not in D/P, Blinding Powder serves one purpose only and that is securing a stomp against Rangers/Warriors/Guardians/Necros. That is not my definition of fine.
This change aims to make Blinding Powder a useful skill in both P/P and S/P and it does that by giving the sets access to stealth. This would give P/P the boost to survivability it requires to become a competitive set and boost the control options for S/P by giving it access to Tactical Strike. Furthermore this change also keeps the playtyle of D/P intact as it leaves the thief an option to stealth for those backstabs. It’s a great change IMO.
I explicitly mentioned, that we, players, can and will find the weak and strong sides of any skills and can and will propose even the most meaningful changes.
But issues as small as the ones you mentioned will never be considered. To say the truth, I believe that the fact that the radius of the black powder field is half of the standard melee range is not even known among the people responsible for making class related decisions. And, with previous experience with changes that took effect and, lately, rather troubling livestreams from the people responsible for them, I doubt the proposed (in this topic) changes would meet our expectations should they ever come live.
You should have already taken notice that ever since launch none of the profession-inside balance issues were dealt with appropriately.
It is for that very reason they tend to focus much more on issues that relate to several classes or are simple and with obvious solutions.
and what should thief do dmg with? AA? spam HS? great solution…
plenty of evades come only from acro/trickery s/d build, every other build has to waddle and has 2 dodges like everyone else… so we should all play kitten s/d and scrap every single weapon set and every other tree when we are at it…mkay
Rather than the class being a class that pretty much RUNS the moment they back stab and see hey would have to WORK to kill someone, rather than just going Stealth and repeating the Stealth, Backstab, HS, HS, HS, Stealth, Backstab until the person dies.
Maybe some changes would actually BENEFIT the class, so you know – they don’t have to rely on stealth and they can’t use stealth to run the moment they are beginning to lose.
Thieves use stealth because they don’t have something else. Once you have something to propose for them to have instead of stealth, we can talk.
More damage? you wont agree
More health? you wont agree
More what? you wont agree.
You just want everything around you to become easier. You are not the least bit concerned about the “Maybe some changes would actually BENEFIT the class” you mentioned.
