How do you think that the Class Skill Lines will be Impacted with the Heal/Tank/DPS Focus?

Avran_Sylt

In my opinion I'm thinking that at the very least some skills are gonna be swapped from line to line.

Avran_Sylt

For the NB, I'm thinking that the Assassination tree and Shadow tree will swap Blur and Surprise attack at the very least.

Erraln

Generally, I have a sinking feeling that the goal of this will be class homogenization and TTK increase, in all game modes. The game will be easier to understand and have a lower skill cap, which may be interpeted as slower and less interesting.

I'd love to be wrong. I'm guessing all classes save warden will lose total offensive abilities.

xaraan

I think this change they are making to mimic how warden was setup will just give them another "soft reboot" of the game to say "look here" instead of just balancing things. At best it just lowers the skill cap, and the game is already in boring territory with the heavy attack meta. Making it more boring, not the best idea IMO. But at worst, it just doesn't balance anything and changes stuff just the sake of changing stuff and just extends the problems we already have while they distract us with another 'redo'.

Derra

I can´t even imagine the idea for sorc.

Every line is dps and the closest to a healing line is probably still pets - which happens to also be the best dps line.

kojou

Well even the Warden has a DPS ultimate and skill in the tanking tree...

I just hope whatever they do, they do it in a way that adds fun to the game and not just change for change's sake...

Erraln

Derra wrote: »

I can´t even imagine the idea for sorc.

Every line is dps and the closest to a healing line is probably still pets - which happens to also be the best dps line.

Right? And can't you see Dark Magic becoming the tanking line, once that pesky Crystal Shards skill is removed? It's always the center of so many complaints, right?

exeeter702

Honestly, i believe the majority are over thinking what wrobel said.

I dont believe there will be sweeping changes, they are simply going to take measure to ensure that the angle is clearer when figuring out which of the 3 trees lends itself more effectively to each of the 3 roles in the game. They might change up passives and morphs but they are not going to restructure the skill lines.

For example NBs refreshing path will likely remain in shadow as it is still a good NB tank skill for keeping shadow barreir up and a mice group hot for healers. Dks cauterize will still be an ardent flame skill as its just as much a solo magdk tool.

The aim here is to be more concise especially for newer players as was the case with the wardens skill tree design.

It should be noted that those who say wardens are designed as a "jack of all trades"or "support based" class because of how their trees are set up, or that this revision of class tree role emphasis is a universally bad idea because "look how wardens came out" should be completely ignored.

The fact that they are acknowledging this to begin with is a good thing no matter what anyone says. This has actually been in the works slowly over the last year, with changes like cauterize, twilight matriarch, absorption feild, orbs, major mending nerfs.. Absolutely none of the recent announcements are some kind of radical shift in the class/role design philosophy of this game.

An mmo with 5 classes and 3 roles where there is only one option for tank and healer is a bigger crime against veriety and diversity than the angle they are taking now would ever be.

Avran_Sylt

@Erraln

Class homogenization isn't actually a bad thing. What is a bad thing is the homogenization of skill applications.

Take for instance all classes being equal at "healing", but for Templars they deal more with ST Burst Heals. Nightblades deal more with Lifesteal and DoT Heals, Wardens with AoE and mobility heals, Sorcs with wards acting as a pre-heal damage mitigation (don't need to heal if you prevent the damage from happening) and DK's having heals from... I dunnno.

Kilandros

I'm sure they'll find a way to somehow gut DK even more.