A Werewolf's Journal: The Dark Brotherhood PTS

Chrlynsch · May 2016

Here is written a Werewolf's opinion on the gift/curse in current state. Most of my opinions come from much time spent in form 100s of hours in PVE and PVP

First and Foremost, Great Job ZOS! You are so close to a great in game werewolf! Here are some tweaks to the current additions. Key Points in bold for you skimmers.

-Call of the Pack: Redesigned this passive ability so it now reduces the cost of staying in Werewolf form by 10/20% for each transformed Werewolf in your group, including yourself, up to a maximum of 40/80% at Ranks I/II.

5/5: Pretty Cool for those that run Werewolf groups in PVP or PVE, and also adds a little more time for solo wolves. Keep the timer, I am a fan of the mechanic now, as in a group of 4 one devour will get you about 2 min of werewolf time, and encourages "pack play".

-Pack Leader (Werewolf Transformation morph): Redesigned this morph so it now summons 2 dire wolf companions to fight by your side for the duration of your transformation. If killed, the dire wolves will return after 16/14/12/10 seconds at Ranks I/II/III/IV respectively.

2/5 This one is meh, for a couple a reasons. The wolves are cool, I give you that, but all they really are is a unreliable dps boost with a mild chance of drawing aggro from npcs. So not a good choice for pvp, and barely a good choice for pve. Also those wolves never re-spawn. You've also taken away the ability to generate time for your pack which is kind of lame as you've taken 4 steps forward with the new Call of the Pack, IMO, Buff.

My alteration to Pack leader: change your companions from dire wolves to NPC Werewolves (the modles are in the game already!). We don't need to see a damage increase, but there will be an added shock factor in PVP, and will actually draw fire from PC players if only for a moment as they try to figure out the correct werewolf to attack. PVE they will have the same value as the current dire-wolves. Here is the BIG addition though. Whenever you use a werewolf ability you and the werewolves in your group gain 2 seconds of werewolf form. I understand how we shouldn't always be in form, and I respect it. But with the current Werewolf we can go entire dungeons/raids/sieges/2 hour grinds as werewolves if we do it right. It will allow groups of werewolves to travel across the fields and hills of Cyrodiil together. The werewolf has to remain active/or be driven by an active Packleader to keep their highly demanding form up.

My other Suggestions to werewolf that I would love to see soon!

-Berserker Werewolf: Keep the current Damage increase to bleeds but add Black Fur , Add Snare Immunity (Not Root Immunity)

-Give Werewolves the Sneak mechanic

-Hircine's Bounty and morphs: heal yourself, and a fellow nearby werewolf for half that amount. (think breath of life-ish but less powerful)

-Devour: This Passive should include a buff of some sort. Major Regen comes to mind.

-Rousing Roar: Bring the major brutality buff up to 20 seconds.

-Ferocious Roar: Grants Major Expedition for 15 Sec to yourself and fellow werewolves.

-Claws Of Life: Apply the dot on Initial hit, so heal is more responsive and reliable.

-Expert Hunter and Morphs: Add Increase the detection range of stealthed Werewolves and vampires by 100% (12m)

Please Leave feedback or questions!

@ZOS_GinaBruno @Wrobel

Happy Hunting!
-Caius Rockclaw

MonarchChief · May 2016

Love pretty much every suggestion here.

I don't think Devour needs a buff so much as resource return. Also it should be instantaneous like synergies.

Also, that Hircine's Bounty suggestion should only apply to Fortitude and not Rage, for balancing reasons.

RAGUNAnoOne · May 2016

I like this but I wish hircines bounty had a stamina morph but that could be OP. perhaps a magicka roar or howl can be added as well as they don't seem physical. +1 to sneak use the NPC crawl animation and make it like the Oblivion mod curse of hircine Resurrected. +1 on the black fur and morph mechanics stop being racist zenimax. The issue with devour is limited use in PvP perhaps when a player releases they leave a "husk" for 10 seconds that can be eaten and more responsiveness to the move .

Gottbeard · May 2016

There is a good reason ww can't Sneak. Unless you want to see 1 shot stealth howls.

Would like to add that devour should check for the body at the beginning of a feed so despawns and respawns don't rob us of time we already invested.

Chrlynsch · May 2016

Gottbeard wrote: »

There is a good reason ww can't Sneak. Unless you want to see 1 shot stealth howls.

Would like to add that devour should check for the body at the beginning of a feed so despawns and respawns don't rob us of time we already invested.

True about stealth howls, though, in order to get the bonus from howl of agony you must first break stealth to fear. Not to say it wouldn't be painful, but other stealth combos already do exsist and are more deadly.

You will also be able to hear werewolves hunting you, as pack leaders will have to howl in order to keep timers up (Menacing and awesome at the same time)

Good point on devour though

Iduyenn · May 2016

Great ideas. Especially with the howling Part from packleader.

Fischblut · May 2016

NPC werewolves are beautiful beasts and with them I'll feel like I actually have a pack

Where is my pack now? Songamdir accepted me to his pack, we had nice dinner together and it was the last time I saw my new family... Each NPC ww wants to attack me!
But I want it to be new 6th werewolf ability - summon one (two as part of the ability morph) NPC wws to fight by my side. Much like nightblade's ability to summon Shade. Only in this case I would approve such companions. With just 5 abilities on the bar, the choice will be interesting.

Basic ability:

Howl to your pack and summon a werewolf to fight by your side for 15 seconds (16,17,18 as the ability progresses). WW's attacks deal * physical damage (this will scale off your stamina) and affect enemies with Minor Defile. Optional: when the summoned werewolf dies/expires, you receive 12 seconds to your timer. I would love to see it, it's like a pack member sacrifices his life to help you. But it doesn't seem like developers want to make werewolf's life easier.

First morph: everything the same, but now you summon two werewolves and they last for 20 seconds (if not killed). Their health increases a bit with each ability stage. Minor Defile from their attacks doesn't stack, of course. If both of your companions die/expire, you get 12 seconds only once.

Second morph: everything the same, one werewolf, but now his attacks affect enemies with Major Defile and he lasts for 20 seconds (if not killed). His health increases a bit with each ability stage. Your Major Defile from Claws of Anguish doesn't stack with his, of course.

Also, thinking about awesome ability of Clannfear which saved my (and his

) life many times, I would love to be able to receive healing from my NPC allies too. Activate the ability button again (stamina cost, because I'm already out of magicka), and your pack howls for you - awesome!

Each use of WW ability which gives + 2 seconds = interesting suggestion. Not perfect, but much better than nothing.
And I agree that werewolves must always be able to detect stealthed/invisible enemies (actually, vampires also should be able to do it).
...
Of course, all my suggestions are here only because of timer. Simply remove this nasty limitation, and I won't spend my time here complaining and suggesting while I could be playing and enjoying.

Birdovic · May 2016

Overall, pretty interesting ideas, but let me make some suggestions.

Since WW is obviously designed to be played as a group, as a "Pack", it should revolve around a Pack Leader.
While I liked the idea of having Wolf companions when transforming, its not working too well + they're not even really helpful, except maybe for triggering Pet-based Passives/Sets/etc, also the point is totally missed, it doesnt encourage playing as a group at all. For Solo Play, the Berserker Morph is absolutely fine, so we dont need another Solo Play based Morph.

Instead of summoning 2 Wolves, the "Pack Leader Morph" should be something like this:

"Increases your Max Magicka and Max Health by 500 for every transformed Werewolf in your group , stacking up to 4 times. Also, activating Abilities as Pack Leader, will Grant additional Effects."

Those "additional Effects" are unlocked by using the Pack Leader Morph and being Group Leader (to avoid 4 Pack Leaders per group)

The Additional Effects are added to every Abilties Tooltip, like this:

Hircines Fortitude: Invoke the huntsmans' Blessing to heal yourself for X and an additional Y for 8 seconds
While Packleader: Now also grants The First heal (X) to up to 3 transformed Werewolves in your Group and extends Werewolf Timers by 3 seconds.

Rousing Roar: Roar with Bloodlust to terrify up to 3 nearby Enemies, afflicting them with fear and setting them off-balance for 3,5 seconds. Grants Major Brutality to nearby Allies, increasing weapon damage by 20% for 4 seconds.
While Packleader: Extends the Major Brutality to 15 seconds and grants Major Expedition for 6 seconds to up to 4 transformed Werewolves in your group.

Howl of Despair: Crush Enemy with a deafening Howl, dealing X damage and knocking them down for 3 seconds.
Allies can activate the Feeding Frenzy Synergy, increasing heavy and light attack damage by 10% for 15 seconds.
While Packleader: Activating Howl of Despair now grants the 10% increased heavy and light attack damage instantly, without activating a synergy, to up to 4 transformed Werewolves in your group.

Passives Changes:

Pursuit: Increase The amount of Stamina your Heavy Attacks restore by 50% / 100%. Also grants your Light Attacks a 8% / 15% Chance to restore X Stamina

Devour: Allows you to devour corpses to increase the Werewolf Duration by 12 Seconds and grant X healing over 6 Seconds. While feeding, you can't be interrupted.

And I agree with claws of Life, it should heal on the first Hit.

Chrlynsch · May 2016

andypappb16_ESO wrote: »

Overall, pretty interesting ideas, but let me make some suggestions.

Since WW is obviously designed to be played as a group, as a "Pack", it should revolve around a Pack Leader.
While I liked the idea of having Wolf companions when transforming, its not working too well + they're not even really helpful, except maybe for triggering Pet-based Passives/Sets/etc, also the point is totally missed, it doesnt encourage playing as a group at all. For Solo Play, the Berserker Morph is absolutely fine, so we dont need another Solo Play based Morph.

Instead of summoning 2 Wolves, the "Pack Leader Morph" should be something like this:

"Increases your Max Magicka and Max Health by 500 for every transformed Werewolf in your group , stacking up to 4 times. Also, activating Abilities as Pack Leader, will Grant additional Effects."

Those "additional Effects" are unlocked by using the Pack Leader Morph and being Group Leader (to avoid 4 Pack Leaders per group)

The Additional Effects are added to every Abilties Tooltip, like this:

Hircines Fortitude: Invoke the huntsmans' Blessing to heal yourself for X and an additional Y for 8 seconds
While Packleader: Now also grants The First heal (X) to up to 3 transformed Werewolves in your Group and extends Werewolf Timers by 3 seconds.

Rousing Roar: Roar with Bloodlust to terrify up to 3 nearby Enemies, afflicting them with fear and setting them off-balance for 3,5 seconds. Grants Major Brutality to nearby Allies, increasing weapon damage by 20% for 4 seconds.
While Packleader: Extends the Major Brutality to 15 seconds and grants Major Expedition for 6 seconds to up to 4 transformed Werewolves in your group.

Howl of Despair: Crush Enemy with a deafening Howl, dealing X damage and knocking them down for 3 seconds.
Allies can activate the Feeding Frenzy Synergy, increasing heavy and light attack damage by 10% for 15 seconds.
While Packleader: Activating Howl of Despair now grants the 10% increased heavy and light attack damage instantly, without activating a synergy, to up to 4 transformed Werewolves in your group.

Passives Changes:

Pursuit: Increase The amount of Stamina your Heavy Attacks restore by 50% / 100%. Also grants your Light Attacks a 8% / 15% Chance to restore X Stamina

Devour: Allows you to devour corpses to increase the Werewolf Duration by 12 Seconds and grant X healing over 6 Seconds. While feeding, you can't be interrupted.

And I agree with claws of Life, it should heal on the first Hit.

Thats some solid work

Chrlynsch · May 2016

Thoughts @CP5 @Lefty_Lucy ?

CP5 · May 2016

About the changes made on pts;

I like the "call of the pack" change a lot, since it isn't worthless for lone wolves to take and doesn't shaft the last person in a pack to transform. Still wondering what ti means by "in group" for if it has a limited range or not.

The pack leader's new wolves, eh, not liking them that much. They drew agro from npc's far to frequently and I would imagine in pvp they would most likely get you killed by proxi-det. They didn't seem to do much else aside from be there and be in the way when feeding, like the concept but execution was meh.

Now for suggested changes, I like most anything that makes the choice of being a ww more meaningful. For a long time they were only used for generating ultimate, then for free stamina regen, and now what? Transform and spam piercing howl since it is mostly just an upgraded wb? That to me is boring, and ever since we learned that the shift from 50s duration on pts down to 30s was to help it "feel more like an ultimate" I think they intend ww to be a dps buff, not an engaging and meaningful choice that carries both strengths and weaknesses. I would just love ww to be far more usable, make it part of what defines my characters. Just think about it, how many other ww's do you see outside of organized guild groups?

Lefty_Lucy · May 2016

@Prothwata - Nice post man! Here are a few of my thoughts.

Prothwata wrote: »

-Pack Leader (Werewolf Transformation morph) ...

2/5 This one is meh, for a couple a reasons.

Agreed. I was disappointed with how weak the summons are. I would much rather have my heavy attacks give extra duration to Werewolf timer over the Direwolves (even if they would respawn). They hit like wimps and die very easily. All in all, this change is nice in vanity, not in functionality.

Prothwata wrote: »

My alteration to Pack leader: change your companions from dire wolves to NPC Werewolves (the modles are in the game already!). We don't need to see a damage increase, but there will be an added shock factor in PVP, and will actually draw fire from PC players if only for a moment as they try to figure out the correct werewolf to attack. PVE they will have the same value as the current dire-wolves. Here is the BIG addition though. Whenever you use a werewolf ability you and the werewolves in your group gain 2 seconds of werewolf form. I understand how we shouldn't always be in form, and I respect it. But with the current Werewolf we can go entire dungeons/raids/sieges/2 hour grinds as werewolves if we do it right. It will allow groups of werewolves to travel across the fields and hills of Cyrodiil together. The werewolf has to remain active/or be driven by an active Packleader to keep their highly demanding form up.

So I do like the change from direwolves to Werewolves, primarily because the only usefulness of these summons is to be a distraction. If the wolves looked just like my character, then I would be able to hide in plain sight and beat my opponent to a pulp. If this change is made, I think no other changes need to be made. Increasing the damage and survival of full-on werewolf summons will probably be over the top.

I do not like the suggestion to add time in werewolf form when the player uses a werewolf ability. You will have enough stamina / magicka regeneration to be in permanent werewolf form with this addition.

I think we either scrap the summon concept and go back to heavy attacks giving time increase, or we simply change the direwolves to werewolves.

Prothwata wrote: »

-Berserker Werewolf: Keep the current Damage increase to bleeds but add Black Fur , Add Snare Immunity (Not Root Immunity)

Yup. Never understood why this isn't a thing.

Prothwata wrote: »

-Give Werewolves the Sneak mechanic

Nah - I don't think so. We are supposed to be snarling, ravenous beasts.There's no need to sneak. I want blood, and I want it NOW.

I could do without the remaining changes as well. I honestly think Werewolf is in a fantastic spot right now.

Happy feeding!