New Medium Armor Passives harm Bow Wielding, Siphoning NBs?

hammer_fella

I'm personally finding a MAJOR flaw in thinking with the change from increased weapon attack speed to attack damage where NB archers are concerned (and, of course, NBs are the primary users of medium armor). I, along with many others, use Leeching Strikes (or some form of Siphoning Strikes) as a primary source of resource regen and survivability. Leeching Strikes, as we know, utilizes light and heavy attacks in order to return said resources. But now you have reduced the rate at which I can cast light and heavy attacks in medium armor. Meaning, you have effectively reduced the rate at which I can regenerate my resources. Which, by extension, means you have also reduced the rate at which I can cast ALL my abilities (not to mention maintain health) regardless of whether or not they utilize weapon damage. With diminished resource regen, my total DPS must surey be lowered as well.

Here's a simple example using made up figures for purely representational purposes. Imagine my character's stats are as follows (they're not):

Mag: 1600
Health: 3000
Stam: 1800

Now for the sake of ease, let's just say weapon damage for a light attack is 100. You can cast this ability 10 times in a given time span (don't even start about weaving, you weave whether or not attack speed is increased, and you can't do so when you have no resources to cast abilities). This amounts to 1000 total damage along with a total return (based on 2% of total attribute per attack) of 320 mag, 360 stam, 600 health (we'll forget, for the time being, about the 10% possibility to proc a 15% return to mag/stam).

Now consider the new passives. Your attacks now do a total 1120 dmg (with the 12% weapon bonus), but can only be cast 9 times (without the 10% speed buff) in the same span. This affords an increase of 120 total damage, but comes at the cost of significantly fewer returns: 288 mag, 324 stam, 540 health. This is not even taking into consideration that now you have one less possible chance to proc a 15% return to stam/mag in this scenario.

These are made up numbers (the imagined stats, not the passives) and are perhaps only of so much use as such, but it seems to me this is clearly representative of the problem at hand: namely, that having increased weapon damage while reducing the RoF negatively impacts both the survivability of a bow wielding NB and ultimately the potential DPS output as well -- counter-intuitive as that may seem -- because he more easily runs out of health and/or the resources needed to commit to further attacks, no matter how the damage of each individual attack may have been improved. Thus, it is better to have more reliable, consistent damage output, rather than improved damage potential saddled with the vulnerability of being left without resources.

BTW - Math is admittedly not my longest suit, so if the conclusions I've drawn here simply don't add up for some reason, kindly enlighten me as to what it is that I'm missing.

TL;DR The extra damage medium armor passives now give bows doesn't mitigate the loss of resource regeneration gained from Siphoning Strikes with the former enhanced attack speed passives.

Saet

I honestly dont really notice a difference either way as a bow using nb. As far as I know the attack speed buff didnt really work on bows anyway.

DuelWieldingCheesyPoofs

I dnt notice any bloody attack speed difference...all these numbers, all this thinking, doesn't your head hurt?

wasn't it only 5% or something? Cant you use potions? Hell cant you use haste which is 40% Haste!!!!! And 40% stam regen...it lasts for 20 sec just pop it on ur other bar...and press it once every 20 secs...

DuelWieldingCheesyPoofs

30%*

Teloran

Considering that you should be using animation cancelling ~90% of the time in a competitive build, attack speed is pretty much worthless. The weapon damage actually does something.

aco5712

firstly, why would anyone choose lecching over siphoning attacks. 2nd, 10% was useless and if your not animation cancelling then your doing it wrong lol.

hammer_fella

Do people even read? You can't animation cancel with no resources.

Kego

With Siphoning Strikes and animation cancel you shouldn't run out of resoruces fast. You gain with every attack rotation 60 Stamina or Magicka (@2000) and have the chance for 300 Stamina or Magicka with every Attack on top of the 100% safe regeneration.
And for Haste: Haste currently only works for the internal CD of Swings. Means you hardcap at 24% Haste. That can be achieved through the Haste Buff of Nightblades.

Stx

This change actually boosts Siphoning NB builds. It was possible to hit the weapon damage softcap with siphoning attacks active pre-patch, but now it will be much easier.

Weapon builds with capped damage and constant siphoning attacks are pretty awesome.

Kego

Yes they are, even though we gets limited to 4 Skill Slots what I don't like in PvP. For PvE it is fine, cause there I don't need as much utility as I would in PvP.

DuelWieldingCheesyPoofs

u can hit cap with siphoning attacks ? is this at vet 12 full ledg ?

Kypho

No difference for me eighter

CapuchinSeven

You're imagining it, Siphoning Strikes has an unseen cooldown and was unaffected by attack speed.