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The Real Defile Issue-Uptime vs Duration
IAVITNI
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Looking at the Defile changes, the real issue has not been addressed, and here is why;
Uptime=/duration. Nerfing duration of Defile is meaningless if the debuff can be reapplied before the duration expires.
The problem with Defile is the incredibly high uptime of the debuff. The, essentially, permanent uptime has punished the average build and forced players to build heavily into healing. In other words, Defile actually promoted the mechanics it was meant to counter. The reason it promotes high healing builds is because majority of Major Defile sources effectively reduce all healing all the time. The duration of a debuff is irrelevant if it can instantly be reapplied-- Durok, Ward and Flare and Snipe in a Zerg/xv1 context.
Reverb Bash and Incap are surprisingly the most balanced of the sources for Major Defile. Reverb is a utility skill and won't kill anyone by spamming it and Incap is locked behind an ultimate (not discussing Incap balance here, just the Major Defile uptime). Smart use of these skills means that you can keep an enemy in execute range longer, but only if you time it right. Spamming reverb for example, will still allow an opponent to adequately heal through some form of defensive mechanic such as Shield+heal, roll dodge+Vigor, or a defensive stun.
Durok's needs to have a unique cooldown per player. This isn't impossible as sets already exist with this mechanic. The fact that this debuff can have 100% uptime on 5 people while the wearer can still deal damage on their own is insane. Yes you are trading a 5 pc, but only 1. Durok's current implementation is equivalent to 5 5pcs. Wizards Riposte is even worse but thats another discussion.
Ward was an odd change. Honestly, Ward is probably balanced it just doesn't address the uptime issue. However, you are trading a 5 pc for Major Defile (effective only against 1 player), so the pressure is the same. It only becomes an issue in an xv1, but not enough that it should be a major concern.
Snipe and Flare are interesting skills. 1v1 they are useless but xv1 and in large scale they are very oppressive. Desynch combined with nb cloak make Snipe incredibly lethal and uncounterable, especially for solo and small scale players. In an xv1 "snipers" spam this ability making the effective uptime 100% or running the opponents stam by forcing roll dodging.
Now the obvious defence is that snipe/flare are useless 1v1. To this I completely agree. However, they are oppressive in an xv1. A skill that is useless on one end of the spectrum and oppressive on the other is not balanced-and therefore requires change, neither good nor bad but rather a vertical movement.
Furthermore, the largest issue is the desynch. While getting hit by a 7k snipe and having Major Defile while being zerged down is aggravating, it has counters. Desynch does not. And while LoS is a valid counter, being able to deal ~7k damage, apply a stun and Major Defile is incredibly over-bearing (see: Incap pre-pts), and these abilities can be spammed, the user is safe behind their zerg, and for NBs, you are never going to catch a good one before dying.
I'd propose the damage (similar to javelin) and cast time (no cast time >5 meters) to scale off distance, and remove Major Defile. This punishes desynch player, alleviates an effective 100% uptime on Major Defile and adds diversity to the skills themselves, making them useful in all situations but still performing best at a distance.
Uptime=/duration. Nerfing duration of Defile is meaningless if the debuff can be reapplied before the duration expires.
The problem with Defile is the incredibly high uptime of the debuff. The, essentially, permanent uptime has punished the average build and forced players to build heavily into healing. In other words, Defile actually promoted the mechanics it was meant to counter. The reason it promotes high healing builds is because majority of Major Defile sources effectively reduce all healing all the time. The duration of a debuff is irrelevant if it can instantly be reapplied-- Durok, Ward and Flare and Snipe in a Zerg/xv1 context.
Reverb Bash and Incap are surprisingly the most balanced of the sources for Major Defile. Reverb is a utility skill and won't kill anyone by spamming it and Incap is locked behind an ultimate (not discussing Incap balance here, just the Major Defile uptime). Smart use of these skills means that you can keep an enemy in execute range longer, but only if you time it right. Spamming reverb for example, will still allow an opponent to adequately heal through some form of defensive mechanic such as Shield+heal, roll dodge+Vigor, or a defensive stun.
Durok's needs to have a unique cooldown per player. This isn't impossible as sets already exist with this mechanic. The fact that this debuff can have 100% uptime on 5 people while the wearer can still deal damage on their own is insane. Yes you are trading a 5 pc, but only 1. Durok's current implementation is equivalent to 5 5pcs. Wizards Riposte is even worse but thats another discussion.
Ward was an odd change. Honestly, Ward is probably balanced it just doesn't address the uptime issue. However, you are trading a 5 pc for Major Defile (effective only against 1 player), so the pressure is the same. It only becomes an issue in an xv1, but not enough that it should be a major concern.
Snipe and Flare are interesting skills. 1v1 they are useless but xv1 and in large scale they are very oppressive. Desynch combined with nb cloak make Snipe incredibly lethal and uncounterable, especially for solo and small scale players. In an xv1 "snipers" spam this ability making the effective uptime 100% or running the opponents stam by forcing roll dodging.
Now the obvious defence is that snipe/flare are useless 1v1. To this I completely agree. However, they are oppressive in an xv1. A skill that is useless on one end of the spectrum and oppressive on the other is not balanced-and therefore requires change, neither good nor bad but rather a vertical movement.
Furthermore, the largest issue is the desynch. While getting hit by a 7k snipe and having Major Defile while being zerged down is aggravating, it has counters. Desynch does not. And while LoS is a valid counter, being able to deal ~7k damage, apply a stun and Major Defile is incredibly over-bearing (see: Incap pre-pts), and these abilities can be spammed, the user is safe behind their zerg, and for NBs, you are never going to catch a good one before dying.
I'd propose the damage (similar to javelin) and cast time (no cast time >5 meters) to scale off distance, and remove Major Defile. This punishes desynch player, alleviates an effective 100% uptime on Major Defile and adds diversity to the skills themselves, making them useful in all situations but still performing best at a distance.
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