Hand Of Mephala & Trapping Webs could use a buff

StarOfElyon · January 2022

I'm creating a spider-themed character but some of the parts could use some work. One is a set and another is a skill. Both have issues with the radius of effect.

Hand Of Mephala (set)
(2 items) Adds 4% Healing Taken
(3 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(4 items) Adds 1487 Armor
(5 items) When you take damage, you encase the ground beneath you in webs for 5 seconds, reducing the Movement Speed of enemies within a 4 meter radius by 33% and applying Minor Breach to them, reducing their Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance by 2974. After 5 seconds the webs burst into venom, dealing 0 Poison Damage. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds and scales off the higher of your Physical or Spell Resistance.

Trapping Webs (skill)
Cast Time: Instant
Target: Ground
Range: Maximum range: 28 meters, Radius: 4 meters
Cost: 2984 Stamina
Skill description
Hurl webs to ensnare your foes, reducing the Movement Speed of enemies in the area by 50% and dealing 1742 Physical Damage. After 10 seconds the webs explode, dealing 2323 Poison Damage to enemies within. A ranged ally can activate the Spawn Broodlings synergy, dealing 2249 Poison Damage to them and summoning a spider to attack for 10 seconds. The spider bites enemies for 673 Physical Damage.

A 4 meter radius is almost nothing. It's only slightly bigger than the Templar rune. For an area of effect that snares, the opponent has to be right on top of you. In that case, who cares if they're snared - they don't have anywhere to go anywhere. For a tank set, it's really not going to even beat out a skill like caltrops which has a much wider radius (8 meters). Why can't this set have a radius like that? It just doesn't measure up to other tanking sets.

The same issue for trapping webs exists. It's only 4 meters wide. I tried using it and mobs walk right through it because it's so small. It needs to be at least 5 meters wide to be effective, I think. I also think it could have the snare potency increased the longer an opponent is affected by it, even after they leave the area of effect. So unless it's cleansed or removed, after leaving the AOE, the snare intensifies (like the shadows in Cradle of Shadows). And for an aesthetic improvement, maybe the spiders could be more like the black widow types? That would be great.

These are my suggestions. I appreciate you considering them. Thanks.

Necrotech_Master · January 2022

the problem i have with trapping webs is that the spiders dont even get summoned unless someone else uses the synergy, and the spiders are the key point to that skill in the first place (i think one of the morphs of this skill DOES already summon a black widow spider that deals a poison DOT in addition to its regular attack instead of 2 spiders that only direct attack)

i think bahraha curse is also one of those with 4 meter aoe but a 70% snare, however it is so small players can easily just dodge roll out of it so its not good in pvp even though it appears under the target (against NPCs its a lot more useful but not because of the snare)

further still there are other sets which suffer the opposite but similar problem, draugrs rest for example is a 5 meter aoe healing field which is great...except it appears under the enemy, which if its a large enemy nobody can even get to the healing field lol (good luck trying to make it to that 5 meter healing field that spawns directly underneath the middle of a dragon lol)

Araneae6537 · January 2022

I would love to create a spider-themed character! The problems with Trapping Webs include that the cast itself summons hoarvers and not spiders and as @Necrotech_Master pointed out, the spider doesn’t get summoned unless someone uses the synergy.

I agree with you too that a bit larger area would be nice — maybe at least if one of the morphs had a larger aoe?

El_Borracho · January 2022

I agree with @Necrotech_Master. I've wanted these sets to work on a tank so very badly. But they are riddled with problems.
4 meters makes these sets nearly useless. The jabs on a Templar have a range of 8 meters by comparison. Plus, most of the bosses you encounter as a tank are immune to snares As a capper, there are better skills to apply Minor Breach.

The range needs to be doubled and the snare needs to be undodgeable (for PVP) or changed to something with a leeching effect, like Leeching Plate, that does damage and heals

sneakymitchell · January 2022

Trapping webs have been bad due to having someone range to proc it. But the little burst damage is nice still but the synergy is what makes it shine