Shards or Orb?

Adam_Chattaway

Which is better? google seems to be confusing and people seem to often thing orbs can be used by ALL players and Shards only ONE player but tooltip to me suggests both can only be used by one player with shards doing 2 resources. Orbs seems to have double the damage or shards? the shards damage upgrade choice is pathetic it seems.

JanTanhide

Assuming you are discussing a Healer. I use both when needed. Shards you can throw onto a player for instant regen. Orbs just float in a straight line and time out eventually.

Orbs are one player at a time but it keeps going so if all players run by it and synergize they all get the regen until it expires.

So for example a Tank holding ground in one spot you can cast an Orb in their direction for regen. Any other player in a different location you can toss Shards to.

I usually run Shards but if needed I run both.

Adam_Chattaway

JanTanhide wrote: »

Assuming you are discussing a Healer. I use both when needed. Shards you can throw onto a player for instant regen. Orbs just float in a straight line and time out eventually.

Orbs are one player at a time but it keeps going so if all players run by it and synergize they all get the regen until it expires.

So for example a Tank holding ground in one spot you can cast an Orb in their direction for regen. Any other player in a different location you can toss Shards to.

I usually run Shards but if needed I run both.

So every played can sync with 1 orb but can every player sync with 1 shard?

Mr_Stach

Orb Combustion is a special synergy here's the patch notes from 5.1.5:

Combustion and Healing Combustion (synergies): These synergies will no longer remove their parent abilities when activated. This means a single orb can now provide a synergy to anyone in its path, and will not be removed for other players once it is activated.
Developer Comment:

Traditionally a synergy, when activated, removes the ability to activate the synergy for further allies, but keeps its parent object so the caster does not lose effectiveness for being a team player, as seen with abilities such as Spear Shards. In the case of Necrotic Orb and its morphs, due to their mobile existence and skill shot nature, we wanted to better reward anyone able to move or aim to react to these abilities properly, and allowed them to have an ally synergize them as long as they are not on cooldown for the synergy type.

Mr_Stach

Normally only one person can activate a synergy, the synergy is "spent" and can't be used by anyone else.

Orb is the exception to that.

Adam_Chattaway

So it seems a bit unfair for spears then? Another templar nerf?

Mr_Stach

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

So it seems a bit unfair for spears then? Another templar nerf?

Not really? I use both, orb is good but it travels a bit slow. But you can drop Shard exactly where someone is and they can get their Synergy right away.

The AoE damage itself isn't crazy good though and I wouldn't mind if Blazing Shards got a buff to their damage tick.

robpr

Orbs: travel slow, but deal damage/heal along the way, everybody can synergy, restores highest resource (ignoring Undaunted Command)

Shards: Instant placement, only one person can synergize, deals damage only, restores both resources (Luminous morph)

Take your pick

Adam_Chattaway

Mr_Stach wrote: »

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

So it seems a bit unfair for spears then? Another templar nerf?

Not really? I use both, orb is good but it travels a bit slow. But you can drop Shard exactly where someone is and they can get their Synergy right away.

The AoE damage itself isn't crazy good though and I wouldn't mind if Blazing Shards got a buff to their damage tick.

yes to say it has no healing option like orbs its a bit strange how its in the DPS tree but deals worse damage than Kenobi in episode 2...

Also does cleansing ritual get used up by 1 player? or can all use it?

robpr wrote: »

Orbs: travel slow, but deal damage/heal along the way, everybody can synergy, restores highest resource (ignoring Undaunted Command)

Shards: Instant placement, only one person can synergize, deals damage only, restores both resources (Luminous morph)

Take your pick

and would purse or cleansing ritual be better to remove negative effects?

BXR_Lonestar

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

Which is better? google seems to be confusing and people seem to often thing orbs can be used by ALL players and Shards only ONE player but tooltip to me suggests both can only be used by one player with shards doing 2 resources. Orbs seems to have double the damage or shards? the shards damage upgrade choice is pathetic it seems.

The great thing about being a templar is you actually have the CHOICE to be able to pick one or the other, but TBH, in a trial setting, I'll use both. With being limited to only having one Orb on the field at a time, and there being 2 tanks, it's handy to be able to shoot the orb in one direction (usually towards DPS/MT) and to drop shards for the OT - or in the instance the DPS aren't oriented in line with the MT, you can use shards for the MT instead.

robpr

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

and would purse or cleansing ritual be better to remove negative effects?

Definitely Purge. Cleansing ritual cleanses the caster only and synergy purges the effects for other people.

deleted221106-002999

shards for tank, orbs for the riff-raff.

Purge/ritual - ritual always available purge is circumstance specific.

Adam_Chattaway

Comrade_Ogilvy wrote: »

shards for tank, orbs for the riff-raff.

Purge/ritual - ritual always available purge is circumstance specific.

circumstance specific purge?

robpr

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

Comrade_Ogilvy wrote: »

shards for tank, orbs for the riff-raff.

Purge/ritual - ritual always available purge is circumstance specific.

circumstance specific purge?

Some content require constant and instant purging a dangerous dot, like Maw of Lorkhaj, Halls of Fabrication or Kyne's Aegis. Ritual is a heal over time, so templars will use it anyway, so you can choose to purge or not. Typically if the instant purge is not needed, the purgeable dots can be outhealed by the Ritual heal alone.

Adam_Chattaway

robpr wrote: »

Adam_Chattaway wrote: »

Comrade_Ogilvy wrote: »

shards for tank, orbs for the riff-raff.

Purge/ritual - ritual always available purge is circumstance specific.

circumstance specific purge?

Some content require constant and instant purging a dangerous dot, like Maw of Lorkhaj, Halls of Fabrication or Kyne's Aegis. Ritual is a heal over time, so templars will use it anyway, so you can choose to purge or not. Typically if the instant purge is not needed, the purgeable dots can be outhealed by the Ritual heal alone.

and can all players each use the rit purge or jsut 1?