TL-DR: Feedback and Opinions about the Deadeye Spec. I LOVE IT, but it feels Clunky.
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TL-DR Long version: Feedback about the clunkyness of the Deadeye Spec and possible fixes.
Feedback 1: Deadeye’s Mark Projectile feels awkward compared to Core Thief’s instant Stealing.
Suggestion 1: Chance Deadeye’s Mark to a faster projectile or instant with a 1/4 to 1/2 cast time.
Feedback 2: Silent Scope Mastery is essensial for Deadeye, but feels useless with weapon swap.
Suggestion 2: Change Kneel to Sniper’s Cover by detault and reward players for not moving w/out rifle.
Feedback 3: Kneeling feels clunky and awkward to micromanage and it’s easy for people to jump on you.
Suggestion 3: Dodge Rolling from Kneel removes the player from Kneeling.
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So, I’ve been absolutely loving the Deadeye Spec (Which appears to be an unpopular opinion on the forums and in game), and the class will probably be stealing my “main” from Guardian once it’s been released. The only negative thing I’m feeling about the class is how clunky the Rifle Mechanics are, and how you’re pigeon hold into a specific build for the Deadeye, mainly the fact you have to take X-1-X if you’re wanting to play it.
Firstly, lets talk about the traits. Rifle Proficiency…… YEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!
Let’s me honest here, I wasn’t the only one who was shocked core rogue didn’t have access to the rifles. It seems like such a classic rogue weapon, and despite being slow, it hits for BIG numbers with a surprisingly decent DPS Power Build. Also, referenced from other threads, it makes a surprisingly good Condi Power hybrid.
Secondly, there is Deadeye’s Gaze, which feels extremely clunky in my opinion… I understand that with other combinations of powers, having an F1 “Deal instant damage from range without displacement” is a little overpowered, but comparing it to the original steal, it feels underwhelming. The first major problem with this is that its a projectile (and an extremely slow one at that) while the original steal is a point-and-click teleport option. But at the same time, the F2 feels a little weird being instantaneous without counter play other than “Dodge the mark!”.
A simple fix that I see could be applied would be giving Deadeye’s Mark (F1) functionality an instantaneous, or 1/2 second cast time, allowing the Thief to be still “interrupted” out of it, but at the same time, not be simply dodged 100% of the time or somehow blocked by environment (I seriously got “obstructed” from someone standing on stairs before). Secondly, transfer the projectile and “Stealing” Trait Mechanics to the “stolen skills” F2 ability, allowing for more of a counterplay once you’ve been marked, and allowing Deadeye’s Mark to be more powerful without being a “ranged poison damage without counter”. Just the fact that Deadeye’s Mark is a projectile while Thief’s Seal isn’t makes this feel extremely clunky.
Thirdly, it feels like the Silent Scope Mastery skill on the Deadeye Trait page is almost essensial, if not mandetory, for everyone who plans to take the Deadeye class (Let’s be honest here, if you’re becoming a Deadeye, you’re doing it for the rifle). A simple fix for this is to apply the Sniper’s Scope Mastery to “Kneel” without the Mastery. Have Kneel transform to Sniper’s Cover if you haven’t used it for 10-20 second, and remove the ammo counter. (It’ll also fix that awkward double 5 click people use for 2s stealth). Maybe change it to “If you haven’t moved for ‘%CounterNumber’ seconds, gain swiftness for ‘%BoonDuration’ seconds. Rifle skills critical hit chance is increased while kneeling”. This will make it so it doesn’t feel like I’m wasting 1/3 of my potential when weapon swaping just because I don’t have a rifle equiped. It also fixes some escape issues that I’ve found Deadeye’s having (both fighting against and fighting as).
Lastly is the clunkyness and awkwardness of the Kneeling mechanic itself. Considering you’re stuck when kneeling, you’re kind of SoL if someone jumps on you and CC locks you after the jump. Perhaps allowing them to remove kneel after a dodge roll. I understand not wanting to remove kneel from dodge roll, but I feel that a dodge roll should end the kneeling. Considering 90% of the time you’re dodge rolling while kneeling is to escape an attack, it feels like a Quality of life thing to automatically remove kneeling when you dodge roll backwards.
Those are just my open opinions on the class, and how to possibly remove the clunkyness (and the pidgeon hold x-1-x build you have to take if you want to play the rifle). Honestly, considering more than half the Deadeye’s mechanics are centered around the weapon is awkward to begin with, but I’m still loving the class despite its clunky feeling.
Is there a place I can post this feedback officially? lol