Crystal Weapon
PudraSekeri
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Crystal Weapon suffered a massive nerf after receiving a double hit buff, rendering it unusable in both PvE and PvP ever since. All that needs to be done is to revert it to its pre-buff state. Players are forced to reuse the skill without waiting for the second hit, which makes no sense at all.
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PudraSekeri✭✭The original damage was 2399. It's 2091 now, and that feels very inadequate. It feels bad to use a scribing spam skill instead of a class skill.0
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dark_hunterxmg✭✭✭✭It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.0 -
PudraSekeri✭✭dark_hunterxmg wrote: »It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.
Since it's a sorcerer skill, it's normal for it to be triggered when cast, but if it's triggered again when it deals damage, I think it's a bug.2 -
dark_hunterxmg✭✭✭✭PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.
Since it's a sorcerer skill, it's normal for it to be triggered when cast, but if it's triggered again when it deals damage, I think it's a bug.
When the skill reads "instant" and the game thinks "channel", it sounds like a bug.0 -
PudraSekeri✭✭dark_hunterxmg wrote: »PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.
Since it's a sorcerer skill, it's normal for it to be triggered when cast, but if it's triggered again when it deals damage, I think it's a bug.
When the skill reads "instant" and the game thinks "channel", it sounds like a bug.
Success is a certainty when nothing is left to chance. While beginning to use a Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time, you gain a damage shield for 0.5 seconds that can absorb 5280 damage. This effect is based off your Max Health. If the shield does not break, you and nearby group members gain 6% Weapon and Spell Damage for 20 seconds.(Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time)1 -
dark_hunterxmg✭✭✭✭PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.
Since it's a sorcerer skill, it's normal for it to be triggered when cast, but if it's triggered again when it deals damage, I think it's a bug.
When the skill reads "instant" and the game thinks "channel", it sounds like a bug.
Success is a certainty when nothing is left to chance. While beginning to use a Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time, you gain a damage shield for 0.5 seconds that can absorb 5280 damage. This effect is based off your Max Health. If the shield does not break, you and nearby group members gain 6% Weapon and Spell Damage for 20 seconds.(Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time)
Fair. "Beginning to use" is vague phrasing, but I can see how it could apply here.0 -
NxJoeyD✭✭✭✭My issue with Crystal Weapon is the pacing. It only has a 6 second window and the second instance of the skill deals so much less damage than the first, one of those needs to be adjusted.
If I compare Crystal Weapon to Crushing Weapon and Insp Scholarship I find that both Insp. Scholar & Psijic Crushing Weapon either deliver more flexibility in use (Insp. Scholar will proc off any class skill rather than just light & heavy attacks), or more valuable deliverables (Crushing Weapon applies Major Breach).
With Crystal Weapon being a class skill it really needs higher scaling in order to stand out. Currently it's one of the few direct & reliable bursts Sorc have. Crystal Frags has a ridiculous cast time making mostly useless outside of it's bonus proc and skills like Curse are delayed bursts which can be either healed through or cleansed off.
If Crystal Weapon is going to keep the 6 second window of activity then the 2nd instance of damage needs much higher scaling; maybe only 10% less than the first instance. This would make rapid weaving of skills + light / heavy attacks far more effective in current combat.
Edited by NxJoeyD on 21 July 2026 21:451 -
PudraSekeri✭✭My issue with Crystal Weapon is the pacing. It only has a 6 second window and the second instance of the skill deals so much less damage than the first, one of those needs to be adjusted.
If I compare Crystal Weapon to Crushing Weapon and Insp Scholarship I find that both Insp. Scholar & Psijic Crushing Weapon either deliver more flexibility in use (Insp. Scholar will proc off any class skill rather than just light & heavy attacks), or more valuable deliverables (Crushing Weapon applies Major Breach).
With Crystal Weapon being a class skill it really needs higher scaling in order to stand out. Currently it's one of the few direct & reliable bursts Sorc have. Crystal Frags has a ridiculous cast time making mostly useless outside of it's bonus proc and skills like Curse are delayed bursts which can be either healed through or cleansed off.
If Crystal Weapon is going to keep the 6 second window of activity then the 2nd instance of damage needs much higher scaling; maybe only 10% less than the first instance. This would make rapid weaving of skills + light / heavy attacks far more effective in current combat.
What they need to do is revert it to its state prior to the buff that caused it to be nerfed in U35. It was a single-use skill, and if I recall correctly, its base damage was the same as Surprise Attack and it cost less.1 -
NxJoeyD✭✭✭✭PudraSekeri wrote: »My issue with Crystal Weapon is the pacing. It only has a 6 second window and the second instance of the skill deals so much less damage than the first, one of those needs to be adjusted.
If I compare Crystal Weapon to Crushing Weapon and Insp Scholarship I find that both Insp. Scholar & Psijic Crushing Weapon either deliver more flexibility in use (Insp. Scholar will proc off any class skill rather than just light & heavy attacks), or more valuable deliverables (Crushing Weapon applies Major Breach).
With Crystal Weapon being a class skill it really needs higher scaling in order to stand out. Currently it's one of the few direct & reliable bursts Sorc have. Crystal Frags has a ridiculous cast time making mostly useless outside of it's bonus proc and skills like Curse are delayed bursts which can be either healed through or cleansed off.
If Crystal Weapon is going to keep the 6 second window of activity then the 2nd instance of damage needs much higher scaling; maybe only 10% less than the first instance. This would make rapid weaving of skills + light / heavy attacks far more effective in current combat.
What they need to do is revert it to its state prior to the buff that caused it to be nerfed in U35. It was a single-use skill, and if I recall correctly, its base damage was the same as Surprise Attack and it cost less.
That would be fine, for the skill to be single use and scale in proportion to other like-skills. But even if they did that the skill would need to deliver more than that in order to be comparable.
Even Crushing Weapon delivers a major debuff and it doesn't make sense for a guild skill to outshine a class skill.
Making Crystal Weapon a single use per cast is fine so long as the scaling makes the burst potential worth it because it's going to slow the overall skills pacing, which is a big deal given the current state of combat. So if they are going to go that route the skill still needs to deliver something more.2 -
PudraSekeri✭✭It needs another nerf, it's too strong.
The nerf should be like this; attack an enemy with crystal, dealing 2399 physicial Damage. Activating a different sorcerer ability while in combat grants a stack of Seething Fury up to 3 times, increasing the damage of your next Crystal Weapon by 33% within 10 seconds.🙂1 -
NxJoeyD✭✭✭✭It needs another nerf, it's too strong.
Crystal Weapon is far from strong. Compared to numerous other class skills in the game which are a combination of spammable and scale to higher damage than Crystal Weapon this skill is "mid" at best.
It is one of the better direct burst skill that exist withing the Sorc skill lines but that's not saying much.
Competitively, Crystal Weapon lags behind. It's slow and doesn't scale nearly as high, in terms of burst, to what's out there. Surprise, Whip, Venom Skill, Runeblades, Cliff Racer ... are just some examples of spammable skills (i.e. repeatable with no cast time) that scale to at or more damage than Crystal Weapon. .. Then you have incidentals like Fissure or Merci that scale really high or deliver powerful secondary effects.
Crystal Weapon isn't spammable due to it's mechanics nor does it scale overly higher than other skills which are spammable, nor does it delver any powerful buff/debuff; only a minor reduction in target armor which isn't anything to write home about.0 -
Vondreas✭Crystal Weapon isn't spammable due to it's mechanics nor does it scale overly higher than other skills which are spammable, nor does it delver any powerful buff/debuff; only a minor reduction in target armor which isn't anything to write home about.
Longer duration then, 5-10 seconds?EL DON0 -
NxJoeyD✭✭✭✭Crystal Weapon isn't spammable due to it's mechanics nor does it scale overly higher than other skills which are spammable, nor does it delver any powerful buff/debuff; only a minor reduction in target armor which isn't anything to write home about.
Longer duration then, 5-10 seconds?
A longer active duration is a start, but remember, Crystal Weapon doesn't deal any more damage than other class spammable skills that are instant-cast and able to be applied in succession, where as Crystal Weapon will always have to be cast first, then applied. That delay in the current state of combat is big.
The only scenario where Crystal Weapon really presents a big burst prospect is when paired with Power Overload, which, not all Sorcs slot. Most Stam Sorcs aren't slotting that Ulti and maybe half, or so, of the Mag based Sorcs. Given that Crystal Weapon is a stam-pool skill it really doesn't synergize well at all.
Crystal Weapon also doesn't deliver any noteworthy buff or debuff on application, just a mere 1,000 point reduction in armor, which, in the current game state is a joke.
The issue, truly, is that if the skill is going to require a cast then an application then the skill is going to have an inherent slower pacing than most other skills, let alone spammable attacks which means that to be balanced Crystal Weapon either needs to deliver a significant secondary effect or both instances of damage need to scale more equally and a bit higher; one or the other.
In the current state of combat we have huge amounts of durability and self healing to the skill needs to deliver more consistent pressure, not good pressure then suddenly drop super low on the second instance.0 -
ketsparrowhawk✭✭✭✭✭
✭dark_hunterxmg wrote: »PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »PudraSekeri wrote: »dark_hunterxmg wrote: »It procs Calculated Defense on every cast though so there's something. I don't know if that was intended or not. Seems kinda strange that you would get a shield for that.
Since it's a sorcerer skill, it's normal for it to be triggered when cast, but if it's triggered again when it deals damage, I think it's a bug.
When the skill reads "instant" and the game thinks "channel", it sounds like a bug.
Success is a certainty when nothing is left to chance. While beginning to use a Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time, you gain a damage shield for 0.5 seconds that can absorb 5280 damage. This effect is based off your Max Health. If the shield does not break, you and nearby group members gain 6% Weapon and Spell Damage for 20 seconds.(Sorcerer ability or an ability with a cast time)
Fair. "Beginning to use" is vague phrasing, but I can see how it could apply here.
I believe that phrasing is specifically for Dark Deal. You get the shield immediately even if you don't complete the cast time. Every sorc skill triggers the shield.0 -
ketsparrowhawk✭✭✭✭✭
✭Crystal Weapon isn't spammable due to it's mechanics nor does it scale overly higher than other skills which are spammable, nor does it delver any powerful buff/debuff; only a minor reduction in target armor which isn't anything to write home about.
Longer duration then, 5-10 seconds?
A longer active duration is a start, but remember, Crystal Weapon doesn't deal any more damage than other class spammable skills that are instant-cast and able to be applied in succession, where as Crystal Weapon will always have to be cast first, then applied. That delay in the current state of combat is big.
The only scenario where Crystal Weapon really presents a big burst prospect is when paired with Power Overload, which, not all Sorcs slot. Most Stam Sorcs aren't slotting that Ulti and maybe half, or so, of the Mag based Sorcs. Given that Crystal Weapon is a stam-pool skill it really doesn't synergize well at all.
Crystal Weapon also doesn't deliver any noteworthy buff or debuff on application, just a mere 1,000 point reduction in armor, which, in the current game state is a joke.
The issue, truly, is that if the skill is going to require a cast then an application then the skill is going to have an inherent slower pacing than most other skills, let alone spammable attacks which means that to be balanced Crystal Weapon either needs to deliver a significant secondary effect or both instances of damage need to scale more equally and a bit higher; one or the other.
In the current state of combat we have huge amounts of durability and self healing to the skill needs to deliver more consistent pressure, not good pressure then suddenly drop super low on the second instance.
I think of Crystal Weapon as a pressure skill, not burst. To get the full value out of it you gotta cast it in between every other skill in your combo (while LA weaving ofc). It made a lot more sense when Fury lasted 4 seconds instead of 2 (I stopped using it after this change). Went something like: CW > Curse > CW > Fury > CW > Bound Armaments, etc. Was a great way to keep the pressure up while waiting for your next burst to line up. But doesn't work great now with 2-second Fury. Imo the amount of damage is fine it just doesn't fit too well into the toolkit anymore.2 -
NxJoeyD✭✭✭✭ketsparrowhawk wrote: »I think of Crystal Weapon as a pressure skill, not burst. To get the full value out of it you gotta cast it in between every other skill in your combo (while LA weaving ofc). It made a lot more sense when Fury lasted 4 seconds instead of 2 (I stopped using it after this change). Went something like: CW > Curse > CW > Fury > CW > Bound Armaments, etc. Was a great way to keep the pressure up while waiting for your next burst to line up. But doesn't work great now with 2-second Fury. Imo the amount of damage is fine it just doesn't fit too well into the toolkit anymore.
Crystal Weapon is defiantly a pressure skill, but that truly goes for all of Sorc skills, the class has no reliable spammable burst (save for Power Overload which is an Ult) or cleave.
Sorc skills are majority utility oriented, the output skills Sorcs do have either require excess time or standing in AoEs, which, is extremely ineffective in most PvP situations because nobody stands-in-stupid.
Traditionally Sorc skills were pressure oriented because of the high utility Sorcs have; utilizing pets and/or movement to avoid damage and strong shields to mitigate more direct bursts.
The problem is the Devs gave away the farm. Psijic gave everyone access to one of the primary mechanics Sorcs used to avoid damage, even before subclassing (although subclassing made this worse). And Subclassing gave everyone access to shields or stronger healing which equates to more durability.
PvP especially has seen tremendous power creep and that comes, in part, from strong skill scaling but also in the form of skill mechanics. Not all skills are created equal; just because two skills might tool tip scale to similar values doesn’t mean they’re balanced. The way skills perform their function is just as crucial as how much damage they do.
In the case of Sorc this is our weak point. Current PvP calls not just for strong bursts but fast, executable bursts. Sorc skills being pressure oriented require time and that doesn’t align with PvP well at all anymore.
Higher sustain has helped Sorcs be more durable and harder to kill, sure, but that does little for the way their class skills being pressure oriented behave and how easy it is to mitigate pressure nowdays versus strong bursts.
The issue with Crystal Weapon is that it kills weaving. This is kind of a big deal for Sorcs especially as we have Power Overload and a Sorc that’s slotting Overload really benefits from weaving lights attacks in between direct damage cast skills, like, Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul. Given that Power Overload is the only spammable burst in the whole Sorc skill kit it means being able to weave those attacks is a big deal and Crystal Weapon doesn’t synergize well with that. One Crystal Weapon + Power Overload combo is less damage than one weave of Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul + Power Overload weave; this is because both Crushing Shock and Shocking Soul scale higher than Crystal Weapon.
This is why I say Crystal Weapon isn’t OP or even overly strong versus other skills that are out there. Skills like Surprise Attack, which are fully spammable, scale higher than Crystal Weapon even before the guaranteed crit proc. A skill like that is going to deliver far more damage per cast than Crystal Weapon, which isn’t spammable.
Sorc pressure skills just aren’t competitive. They are descent “ride along” skills when, say, Stam Sorcs use skills that perform overly strong in PvP such as most skills in either the Dual Wield or Two Hand skill lines (which is often the case). But in all reality Crystal Weapon slows down what would otherwise be a quicker rotation and I’d rather see the skill either perform more quickly as an instant, direct burst, or increase the damage.Edited by NxJoeyD on 29 July 2026 06:021 -
ketsparrowhawk✭✭✭✭✭
✭ketsparrowhawk wrote: »I think of Crystal Weapon as a pressure skill, not burst. To get the full value out of it you gotta cast it in between every other skill in your combo (while LA weaving ofc). It made a lot more sense when Fury lasted 4 seconds instead of 2 (I stopped using it after this change). Went something like: CW > Curse > CW > Fury > CW > Bound Armaments, etc. Was a great way to keep the pressure up while waiting for your next burst to line up. But doesn't work great now with 2-second Fury. Imo the amount of damage is fine it just doesn't fit too well into the toolkit anymore.
Crystal Weapon is defiantly a pressure skill, but that truly goes for all of Sorc skills, the class has no reliable spammable burst (save for Power Overload which is an Ult) or cleave.
Sorc skills are majority utility oriented, the output skills Sorcs do have either require excess time or standing in AoEs, which, is extremely ineffective in most PvP situations because nobody stands-in-stupid.
Traditionally Sorc skills were pressure oriented because of the high utility Sorcs have; utilizing pets and/or movement to avoid damage and strong shields to mitigate more direct bursts.
The problem is the Devs gave away the farm. Psijic gave everyone access to one of the primary mechanics Sorcs used to avoid damage, even before subclassing (although subclassing made this worse). And Subclassing gave everyone access to shields or stronger healing which equates to more durability.
PvP especially has seen tremendous power creep and that comes, in part, from strong skill scaling but also in the form of skill mechanics. Not all skills are created equal; just because two skills might tool tip scale to similar values doesn’t mean they’re balanced. The way skills perform their function is just as crucial as how much damage they do.
In the case of Sorc this is our weak point. Current PvP calls not just for strong bursts but fast, executable bursts. Sorc skills being pressure oriented require time and that doesn’t align with PvP well at all anymore.
Higher sustain has helped Sorcs be more durable and harder to kill, sure, but that does little for the way their class skills being pressure oriented behave and how easy it is to mitigate pressure nowdays versus strong bursts.
The issue with Crystal Weapon is that it kills weaving. This is kind of a big deal for Sorcs especially as we have Power Overload and a Sorc that’s slotting Overload really benefits from weaving lights attacks in between direct damage cast skills, like, Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul. Given that Power Overload is the only spammable burst in the whole Sorc skill kit it means being able to weave those attacks is a big deal and Crystal Weapon doesn’t synergize well with that. One Crystal Weapon + Power Overload combo is less damage than one weave of Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul + Power Overload weave; this is because both Crushing Shock and Shocking Soul scale higher than Crystal Weapon.
This is why I say Crystal Weapon isn’t OP or even overly strong versus other skills that are out there. Skills like Surprise Attack, which are fully spammable, scale higher than Crystal Weapon even before the guaranteed crit proc. A skill like that is going to deliver far more damage per cast than Crystal Weapon, which isn’t spammable.
Sorc pressure skills just aren’t competitive. They are descent “ride along” skills when, say, Stam Sorcs use skills that perform overly strong in PvP such as most skills in either the Dual Wield or Two Hand skill lines (which is often the case). But in all reality Crystal Weapon slows down what would otherwise be a quicker rotation and I’d rather see the skill either perform more quickly as an instant, direct burst, or increase the damage.
The initial cast of Crystal Weapon scales the same as other long-range spammables such as Inbue Weapon and Crushing Shock. It IS sorc's class spammable. You were mistaken in your earlier comment.. you don't have to cast it "then" light attack.. if you LA weave into CW, it will apply to that preceeding light attack. For this reason it actually synergizes extremly well with Overload, since your LA will deliver the damage of OL and CW in one single instant. I usually just keep my combo/rotation the same whether OL is active or not.
Surprise Attack is a melee spammable and so gets extra sauce since it's riskier to use. Also nightblades don't really have a "combo" the way other classes do so their skills need a little extra sauce imo.
*Burst* attacks are a different category of skill and definitely should not be "spammable". Merciless Resolve, Shalks, Blastbones etc can only be cast every few seconds. Curse+Frags/BoundArmaments is the sorcs version of this and fits right in line with that cadence. DK is the only class that has a semi spammable burst with flamelash, but even that requires setting the target off balance, then it has a 20s cooldown.. plus it's melee range (and it's OP).
Not sure what you mean about sorcs relying on enemies standing in AOE? Every sorc I see just uses long range single-target attacks. Combo is simple and can be cast consistently every 4 seconds.
Sorc's offense in PvP is definitely primarily burst-oriented. Curse+Fury+Frags is the traditional combo... all burst. Though they do have some options for pressure as well.0 -
PudraSekeri✭✭ketsparrowhawk wrote: »ketsparrowhawk wrote: »I think of Crystal Weapon as a pressure skill, not burst. To get the full value out of it you gotta cast it in between every other skill in your combo (while LA weaving ofc). It made a lot more sense when Fury lasted 4 seconds instead of 2 (I stopped using it after this change). Went something like: CW > Curse > CW > Fury > CW > Bound Armaments, etc. Was a great way to keep the pressure up while waiting for your next burst to line up. But doesn't work great now with 2-second Fury. Imo the amount of damage is fine it just doesn't fit too well into the toolkit anymore.
Crystal Weapon is defiantly a pressure skill, but that truly goes for all of Sorc skills, the class has no reliable spammable burst (save for Power Overload which is an Ult) or cleave.
Sorc skills are majority utility oriented, the output skills Sorcs do have either require excess time or standing in AoEs, which, is extremely ineffective in most PvP situations because nobody stands-in-stupid.
Traditionally Sorc skills were pressure oriented because of the high utility Sorcs have; utilizing pets and/or movement to avoid damage and strong shields to mitigate more direct bursts.
The problem is the Devs gave away the farm. Psijic gave everyone access to one of the primary mechanics Sorcs used to avoid damage, even before subclassing (although subclassing made this worse). And Subclassing gave everyone access to shields or stronger healing which equates to more durability.
PvP especially has seen tremendous power creep and that comes, in part, from strong skill scaling but also in the form of skill mechanics. Not all skills are created equal; just because two skills might tool tip scale to similar values doesn’t mean they’re balanced. The way skills perform their function is just as crucial as how much damage they do.
In the case of Sorc this is our weak point. Current PvP calls not just for strong bursts but fast, executable bursts. Sorc skills being pressure oriented require time and that doesn’t align with PvP well at all anymore.
Higher sustain has helped Sorcs be more durable and harder to kill, sure, but that does little for the way their class skills being pressure oriented behave and how easy it is to mitigate pressure nowdays versus strong bursts.
The issue with Crystal Weapon is that it kills weaving. This is kind of a big deal for Sorcs especially as we have Power Overload and a Sorc that’s slotting Overload really benefits from weaving lights attacks in between direct damage cast skills, like, Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul. Given that Power Overload is the only spammable burst in the whole Sorc skill kit it means being able to weave those attacks is a big deal and Crystal Weapon doesn’t synergize well with that. One Crystal Weapon + Power Overload combo is less damage than one weave of Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul + Power Overload weave; this is because both Crushing Shock and Shocking Soul scale higher than Crystal Weapon.
This is why I say Crystal Weapon isn’t OP or even overly strong versus other skills that are out there. Skills like Surprise Attack, which are fully spammable, scale higher than Crystal Weapon even before the guaranteed crit proc. A skill like that is going to deliver far more damage per cast than Crystal Weapon, which isn’t spammable.
Sorc pressure skills just aren’t competitive. They are descent “ride along” skills when, say, Stam Sorcs use skills that perform overly strong in PvP such as most skills in either the Dual Wield or Two Hand skill lines (which is often the case). But in all reality Crystal Weapon slows down what would otherwise be a quicker rotation and I’d rather see the skill either perform more quickly as an instant, direct burst, or increase the damage.
The initial cast of Crystal Weapon scales the same as other long-range spammables such as Inbue Weapon and Crushing Shock. It IS sorc's class spammable. You were mistaken in your earlier comment.. you don't have to cast it "then" light attack.. if you LA weave into CW, it will apply to that preceeding light attack. For this reason it actually synergizes extremly well with Overload, since your LA will deliver the damage of OL and CW in one single instant. I usually just keep my combo/rotation the same whether OL is active or not.
Surprise Attack is a melee spammable and so gets extra sauce since it's riskier to use. Also nightblades don't really have a "combo" the way other classes do so their skills need a little extra sauce imo.
*Burst* attacks are a different category of skill and definitely should not be "spammable". Merciless Resolve, Shalks, Blastbones etc can only be cast every few seconds. Curse+Frags/BoundArmaments is the sorcs version of this and fits right in line with that cadence. DK is the only class that has a semi spammable burst with flamelash, but even that requires setting the target off balance, then it has a 20s cooldown.. plus it's melee range (and it's OP).
Not sure what you mean about sorcs relying on enemies standing in AOE? Every sorc I see just uses long range single-target attacks. Combo is simple and can be cast consistently every 4 seconds.
Sorc's offense in PvP is definitely primarily burst-oriented. Curse+Fury+Frags is the traditional combo... all burst. Though they do have some options for pressure as well.
Why are you comparing a class skill to a weapon skill? Besides, Surprise Attack is an indispensable ability in the subclassing meta. High damage, Minor Breach, Off Balance, and a stun to follow. If Sorcerers had this skill—which is reliable—I wouldn't have to rely on a skill like Dizzying Swing, which became mediocre after its rework.1 -
ketsparrowhawk✭✭✭✭✭
✭PudraSekeri wrote: »ketsparrowhawk wrote: »ketsparrowhawk wrote: »I think of Crystal Weapon as a pressure skill, not burst. To get the full value out of it you gotta cast it in between every other skill in your combo (while LA weaving ofc). It made a lot more sense when Fury lasted 4 seconds instead of 2 (I stopped using it after this change). Went something like: CW > Curse > CW > Fury > CW > Bound Armaments, etc. Was a great way to keep the pressure up while waiting for your next burst to line up. But doesn't work great now with 2-second Fury. Imo the amount of damage is fine it just doesn't fit too well into the toolkit anymore.
Crystal Weapon is defiantly a pressure skill, but that truly goes for all of Sorc skills, the class has no reliable spammable burst (save for Power Overload which is an Ult) or cleave.
Sorc skills are majority utility oriented, the output skills Sorcs do have either require excess time or standing in AoEs, which, is extremely ineffective in most PvP situations because nobody stands-in-stupid.
Traditionally Sorc skills were pressure oriented because of the high utility Sorcs have; utilizing pets and/or movement to avoid damage and strong shields to mitigate more direct bursts.
The problem is the Devs gave away the farm. Psijic gave everyone access to one of the primary mechanics Sorcs used to avoid damage, even before subclassing (although subclassing made this worse). And Subclassing gave everyone access to shields or stronger healing which equates to more durability.
PvP especially has seen tremendous power creep and that comes, in part, from strong skill scaling but also in the form of skill mechanics. Not all skills are created equal; just because two skills might tool tip scale to similar values doesn’t mean they’re balanced. The way skills perform their function is just as crucial as how much damage they do.
In the case of Sorc this is our weak point. Current PvP calls not just for strong bursts but fast, executable bursts. Sorc skills being pressure oriented require time and that doesn’t align with PvP well at all anymore.
Higher sustain has helped Sorcs be more durable and harder to kill, sure, but that does little for the way their class skills being pressure oriented behave and how easy it is to mitigate pressure nowdays versus strong bursts.
The issue with Crystal Weapon is that it kills weaving. This is kind of a big deal for Sorcs especially as we have Power Overload and a Sorc that’s slotting Overload really benefits from weaving lights attacks in between direct damage cast skills, like, Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul. Given that Power Overload is the only spammable burst in the whole Sorc skill kit it means being able to weave those attacks is a big deal and Crystal Weapon doesn’t synergize well with that. One Crystal Weapon + Power Overload combo is less damage than one weave of Crushing Shock or Shocking Soul + Power Overload weave; this is because both Crushing Shock and Shocking Soul scale higher than Crystal Weapon.
This is why I say Crystal Weapon isn’t OP or even overly strong versus other skills that are out there. Skills like Surprise Attack, which are fully spammable, scale higher than Crystal Weapon even before the guaranteed crit proc. A skill like that is going to deliver far more damage per cast than Crystal Weapon, which isn’t spammable.
Sorc pressure skills just aren’t competitive. They are descent “ride along” skills when, say, Stam Sorcs use skills that perform overly strong in PvP such as most skills in either the Dual Wield or Two Hand skill lines (which is often the case). But in all reality Crystal Weapon slows down what would otherwise be a quicker rotation and I’d rather see the skill either perform more quickly as an instant, direct burst, or increase the damage.
The initial cast of Crystal Weapon scales the same as other long-range spammables such as Inbue Weapon and Crushing Shock. It IS sorc's class spammable. You were mistaken in your earlier comment.. you don't have to cast it "then" light attack.. if you LA weave into CW, it will apply to that preceeding light attack. For this reason it actually synergizes extremly well with Overload, since your LA will deliver the damage of OL and CW in one single instant. I usually just keep my combo/rotation the same whether OL is active or not.
Surprise Attack is a melee spammable and so gets extra sauce since it's riskier to use. Also nightblades don't really have a "combo" the way other classes do so their skills need a little extra sauce imo.
*Burst* attacks are a different category of skill and definitely should not be "spammable". Merciless Resolve, Shalks, Blastbones etc can only be cast every few seconds. Curse+Frags/BoundArmaments is the sorcs version of this and fits right in line with that cadence. DK is the only class that has a semi spammable burst with flamelash, but even that requires setting the target off balance, then it has a 20s cooldown.. plus it's melee range (and it's OP).
Not sure what you mean about sorcs relying on enemies standing in AOE? Every sorc I see just uses long range single-target attacks. Combo is simple and can be cast consistently every 4 seconds.
Sorc's offense in PvP is definitely primarily burst-oriented. Curse+Fury+Frags is the traditional combo... all burst. Though they do have some options for pressure as well.
Why are you comparing a class skill to a weapon skill? Besides, Surprise Attack is an indispensable ability in the subclassing meta. High damage, Minor Breach, Off Balance, and a stun to follow. If Sorcerers had this skill—which is reliable—I wouldn't have to rely on a skill like Dizzying Swing, which became mediocre after its rework.
Because they are in the same category of skill (ranged spammables) and are standardized thusly.
Surprise Attack is mele and was made for a class that has no delayed burst, no streak, no overload, etc. Crystal Weapon is Sorc's class spammable. It is ranged and thus balanced as a ranged spammable. I don't see how it's any less reliable than any other spammable and it comes with a bunch of secondary effects too.0
