Another Nerf on DragonKnight Tank ...

Tecorsuh

TL;DR nHoF is hard even with the HP DK Tank build and ZOS needs to stop punishing players for using Flavor-of-the-Month builds. I could go on, but most of this post is me ranting about my frustrations dealing with gear grind and large system changes.

Dantaria wrote: »

How many people have cleared vHoF? Hmm? Hush, elite, I know you did, it's not about you.

*** it, how many people cleared nHoF? Out of the whole playerbase currently with access to it?

My main guild only completed nHoF after I built an HP DK Tank specifically for the trial. It was a build that I had seen a while back and thought that it was going to be our best bet for a clear. Said tank is one of the main reasons why we were able to beat the final boss, and helped immensely on the first bosses. All the other bosses are very straight forward and don't even need this particular tank build in order to clear it.

HoF, even on normal, is a tough clear, though I doubt I needed to say that. Will this change make it any harder? Not by much. I never got my mages' guild line up high enough before our first clear, so I didn't have equilibrium/balance; Tri-pots + 1.8k magicka regen get the job done for me. Losing 4k on the damage shield does kinda stink though, but an 8k damage shield is still better than nothing at all. This change could very well be deserved, but it doesn't sit well with me that ZoS decided to target a singular build because it was making a dungeon "easier than intended."

[Rant]

I just wish ZoS would either leave builds like this alone, or tell us how they intend for us to complete their high-end content without cheesing it even a little. It also feels like ZoS is tailoring their new balance patches to match the new content. A massive sustain nerf comes coupled with a Trial that drains massively drains magicka(hits mag-dps and healers badly). And a type of tank starts popping up to help counter that mechanic(it helps by giving the healers some relief while they are constantly having their resources drained by lightning) and it almost immediately get nerfed.

What are they going to nerf next, Tenacity for recovering more resources than intended with heavy attacks? The Red Trees for having more damage mitigation than intended? The Blue Trees for giving more damage than intended? The max sprint speed build because players aren't intended to run that fast/gather too many resources in a short amount of time? Max armor tank builds because tanks aren't intended to have 50% mitigation at all time? Please help me, I keep coming back to add to this list? Ebon/Lich/Hircine/SPC/Etc. because the group getting effects from 1 player is making group content easier than intended? Nerfing Combat Prayer because too many healers are using it to boost group DPS? Removing off-balance from lightning blockade because too many people are using the exploiter passive in the ritual tree? Minor/Major Slayer because too many people are using it to boost damage in trials?

It just seems like every time a player finds a method to make the game just a smidgen easier to play(not talking about exploits, those do need to be fixed) ZoS decides that it makes the game easier than intended and nerfs it. Sure, it is their game to do with what they want, but it seems like every time I finally get a set/build that I like and am comfortable with it gets nerfed and I have to start over from scratch again.

It's getting draining chasing gear. It's not fun or exciting to have to hunt new gear because the set that I'm wearing was getting overused by the general populace and got a massive nerf because of that. I would much rather chase new gear in the new DLC zone or dungeon because it's better than the gear I already have, not because my gear is now no longer usable for group content. It's to the point that I don't like DPS any more and solely tank.

I mean, I just can't wait until next month when they nerf: Silks of the Sun, Netch's Touch, War Maiden, and Julianos because magicka dps have been using these particular sets too much.(Seriously look at Morrowind's patch notes as to why they nerfed BSW. Spoiler alert: the dev comment said it was because it was too popular of a set(Side note: it's very painful to grind out the perfect set of divines over the course of several months for several guildies just to go back to a crafted set because the set you grinded was too popular))

And after this spectacle with ZoS nerfing a popular tank build(and dps build with BSW), I'm going to be tight lipped about all of my builds from now on and hope that they don't get nerfed. Well, I didn't share them much before, but I'm definitely not now.

I know this sort of balancing happens in a lot of MMOs, but it's tiresome. I know they are trying to prevent power creep, but it feels like the opposite is going on with every update characters keep getting weaker and weaker. The top tier of players stay relatively unaffected, but the mid and bottom tier players are going to suffer, especially people who don't have an optimized build or rotation. The people who don't have the knowledge, time, or know-how to craft a build from scratch. The ones who chase flavor-of-the-month builds to try to stay competitive.

[/Rant]

Edit: fixed some incomplete thoughts in my rant