I played for a little while and here is my feedback concerning the Dare Devil, PVE and HOT:
1) Staff: I understand where it was going but it seemed to come up short. As many other people have mentioned the animations are lacking. To much in and out with the skills. One skill out of 5 is made to do the same thing practically as an evade with a breakaway. Another 1 of your skills puts you back in and does eh dmged. I know this was built for more of a dodge tank with aoe threat drain but I cannot help but to feel a block-counter skill like “bandits defense” would have been more effective as a staff skill. I like the blinding skill, but blind only works for one shot. I would have preferred a stationary kicked up dirt field similar to blinding powder or smoke screen.- this would be more effective for tanking. Last but not least the only passive effect you pretty much have is endurance regen which seems a bit lacking and comes from any other corner of the thief tree. I always have a full regen bar and feels like a waste as a so called “new trait” ability.
2) Physical Skills: I love the concept and I like the thought put behind each of the skills… I just feel they were done cheaply. One the animations are always delayed. 2nd the animations you cannot even tell what you are doing in a mob fight.
Fist Furry: I was expecting a Jet Lee type of bone crushing animation. Instead we just got some flinging fist. No martial stance or anything. It looks like you took the dagger swinging animation and removed the daggers… Add some shock waves, wind marks, hard smacking sounds, an elbow with a turn through punch, something to indicate I made a hit. As for Palm Strike and Pulmonary Strike I feel like the above fits in with this as well as I cannot even tell when it lands other than the debuff bar and when it explodes. No real animation. Give it a blood burst when it explodes. The graphic button looks better than the actual animation. Last the actual damage caused by Pulmonary Strike does not much more than white damage. I feel this skill was made only for PvP and really has no implication in PVE. The stun effect is really the only thing decent about this skill in PVE.
Bandits’s Defense: About the only skill that was done right. I have no complaints about it except for a more crushing animation and sound but it works for practicality.
Impairing Daggers: Not a bad skill. Doesn’t do a whole lot in PVE unless you are running a condition build. It is a decent opener and decent recharge.
Distracting Daggers: I had a lot of high hopes for this skill. However it doesn’t seem to work worth jack in PVE. I have interrupted countless mob only to have them start the same skill up right away again. No way in hell there is a 10 sec cool down. They might work in PVP but it is lacking luster in PVE. Also the arming than throwing is a bit annoying. If you have to arm it than have a CD between throws the initial 1 sec charge on the arm needs to go away. For a skill that requires you to have lighting fast reflexes to use it takes almost 2 seconds to get the first blade to hit. I used this against the Revy mobs who use the OP Shiro signature port ability that takes half my health only to find it supposedly interrupted it but they continued to flow through the attack. Sad part is the mob did it again 3 seconds later. 10 sec CD my kitten .
Impact Strike: Love this skill when it works. Animation is delayed and this is the only skill that actually has some light effects even though they don’t go off all the time. Still needs some work on the animation/sound to compete with the other classes new skills, specially for an elite. Also some damage modifying couldn’t hurt (PVE).
Dodges: I am a little disappointed in this as our “new trait mechanic”. All the animations are clunky and do not flow like the old fashion roll.
Impaling Lotus: The one trait I don’t have much of a problem with even though I will rarely use it. This might be because it is nothing more than death blossom with short burst of poisoning dagger storm mixed in with it. It is not bad for an AOE condition build. However unless you are packing condi armor this isn’t a build maker.
Dash: I had high hopes of this skill since I first heard of it. I pre planned my new build around this. The active breakaway is good but the animation makes me cringe every time I dodge. The dash is in a straight, your character turns around and runs. I feel like I get feared every time I use it. I simply wish I had the option to keep my old dodge animation just with the activated effect. It does not feel like you are evading at all just running through it. If you had the option to turn to smoke, or have a smoke bomb go off when this happens it would make more sense. Otherwise it looks like I am running right through that swinging baseball bat… Simply please just move away from the straigh dash “fear” run animation. It makes no sense on how you can run though something so called “evading”. Death Blossoming, Evade Rolling, Pole vol-ting suggest a dodge attempt not a straight run through…
Bound: It is just the Staff pole volt without the staff. This is a waste of a trait. Specially if you choose a staff as a weapon.
Leaving note: It feels like all of the new traits are just the old traits but wrapped differently. I don’t need 20 skills increasing endurance regen. You can’t dodge if you are dead.The dodging still offers no more survivablity than what we had before I just can do it more right next to cliffs. dodging does not protect from damage from AOEs. It offers no more protection to stuns, fear or knock downs. Just playing the first portion of the new map alone there are a lot more mob who either knock you down or stun you. Right now in a current state if you get knocked down for 2-3 seconds you are as good as dead as a thief. You can’t dodge if you are feared, stunned or knocked down.
Please work on the DD a bit when it comes to PVE. I see how the new skills can be use well in PVP. Also an auto finisher is pointless in PVE unless you plan on putting in more NPC that go into a “downed” state. Make the finishing skill and others more useful in PVE please