Showing Posts For Reik.8407:
but we dont know if backstab is considered a raw spike damage
but what i think is they will tone down the damage of auto attacks?
I’ll be shocked if they nerf autoattack damage and leave backstab like it is.
Autoattack isn’t raw spike damage.. raw spike damage is another way of saying burst damage, which would be what the mug→cnd→backstab combo is.
Personally? I think the best fix would be drop the damage on mug significantly and add either a short knockdown or stun to it. Would give us a little bit more control, which we currently lack, and we cut down on the burst damage that the combo provides.
‘Course, from some posts I’ve read, what I think they’re probably going to do is just destroy the ability to preload a cloak and dagger and then steal, which I think is an absolutely silly way to handle it, because that nerfs every single build that makes use of that combo, when that combo is ONLY devastating when used by one build.
After playing with p/p some more, i think bodyshot should be a knockback/down skill instead with 300range.
Only problem with that is we likely won’t ever get a knockback or a knockdown on any of our weaponsets because we use initiative. If you look at other classes with knockbacks and knockdowns, all of them are pretty much exclusively on really long cooldowns.
Yet another reason why I think dual skills should be moved to F2 with a cooldown and then modified in power. We could actually get more crowd control effects and whatnot if there was a cooldown restraint in place. But oh well.
I read a post the other day by someone on these forums that got me thinking..
Why are dual skills, if they are in fact one of our profession mechanics, #3 on our skillbar? We already have a #3 for every weaponset that we literally never ever use.
So, I thought to myself: “Self, what if dual skills were actually set to the F2 key instead? What if those abilities that were attached to each one of our weaponsets when we have no offhand became our new #3 abilities? What if we then set a cooldown to the dual wield skills? What would happen?”
And honestly, I think that would be the best solution. Currently, excluding death blossom in a condition dagger/dagger spec, how many of you actually think our dual wield skills are powerful? Because I don’t. Pistol whip is a pretty decent ability, even though the nerf hurt it. It’s still reasonable. But look at shadow shot, and shadow strike, and unload, and flanking strike. All of these abilities are actually somewhat (if not extremely) underwhelming, and it’s understandable as to why. We are a very spammy class. Due to initiative, these abilities can’t be as powerful as they should, because we would simply use them nonstop (see pistol whip prenerf). By attaching them to F2 and putting a cooldown on them, ANet could actually really buff them and turn them into powerful abilities that thieves would have to actually think about using, yet thieves would still retain their initiative system with all the flexibility it provides.
Also, keep in mind, you would end up with the #3 abilities from mainhanding certain weapons, and those could be tuned a bit to be actually useful (ie perhaps twisting fangs could hit 3 times and essentially be the new “death blossom” for death blossom builds.. but you could also make a condition dagger/pistol spec! stab could apply vulnerability and deal perhaps 10% more damage than the sword’s first or second chain strikes, etc)
What do you guys think? I’d be interested to hear your opinions on this.
1. Chain dazing and what? Dealing no damage?
Just a heads up, chain dazing people while autoattacking actually does a ton of damage. It may not be as much damage as spamming flanking strike (provided the target is stationary so you don’t get screwed by the pathing), but you’ve actually implied multiple times that you don’t spam the ability and think that it shouldn’t be a spam ability anyways.
On top of that, chain dazing a person in a fight effectively NULLIFIES THAT PERSON. :O Regardless of whether they’re dead, they’re not doing anything while being chain dazed. That’s significantly more powerful than flanking strike, ignoring cnd damage and autoattack damage. Throw in the fact that the sword chain with a zerker amulet and 30 points in CS with executioner (which pretty much every thief that’s not a condition thief runs with) can kill a medium armor golem in about 6secs, and I really don’t see why you’re acting like chain dazing isn’t a better route than flanking strike.
Yea, when you need a boon stripped, using flanking is a good idea. For nearly every other situation? I’d rather chain daze. Especially if I’m running a heavy shadow arts S/D spec.
edit Just thought I’d throw in, I play s/d a lot, it’s actually my absolute favorite thief weapon set, and I love the concept of flanking strike. But it does need improvements. It’s ALMOST in a good place right now, but not quite.