leepalmer95 wrote: »BlackMadara wrote: »People say this buffs zergs and Xv1 but, chances are, you aren't surviving 3-5 ults being dropped on you at once. Unless you are specced to be a full tank. So any offensive ult is a "buff" to those playstyles. I know one of the most frustrating things I run into is when 3 people pop ults on me at once, with a fear thrown in. I died, you should die. How is the new SA so much stronger than meteor, dawn breaker, etc when you are outnumbered and they hit you at once?
Because with soul assault, its very cheap and they don't need to drop 3-5 ult's at once (who does that vs 1 person..) , just anyone of the zerg just needs to pop soul assault and you have an unpurgable 70% snare on you and are literally forced to block because it you don't you'll get melted by the 80k tooltip 4s dot.. You block + 70% snare means you stop moving, you stop moving you die.
If your a mag build blocking a soul assault will drop your stamina to nearly empty.
If you a stam build you gonna have to spam vigor once and hope in the 4s your stood still and lose all mobility the zerg doesn't spam you to death.
I've been defending soul assault. But after close reconsideration, I must admit that it will be absurdly OP for zergs, but it will become underwhelming in 1v1, because it is now blockable. Is that how it should be ?
Don't make it grant CC immunity, leave it unblockable.
bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »This game was meant to be LARGE scale. It was meant to utilize and fight strategically using large scale map strategy and tactics. Small scale combat that has been available through the game is more a side effect of that large scale engagement. This is what the game has been balanced around. (To that end i love the small skirmishes around the the larger keep fights, but they have been less and less over the last year or so.)
I´m also one of the ppl thinking it only hits the "right" portion of the playerbase. It´s a counter specifically designed to burn 2h + bow NB builds on magica toons in my opinion (and it will destroy those in 1v1 aswell).
Yet your statement shows lack of understanding of the general problem with ZOS´ design philosophy. Have you ever asked yourself why there have been less and less small skirmishes around keeps and in the open world between them? That´s the direct result of the "when you´re outnumbered you die" philosophy.
ZOS has taken this statement "when you´re outnumbered you die" to a new extreme with every patch in a way - because they don´t feel outnumbering an enemy in itself is advantage enough so they:
-First nerfed all mobility that allowed you to escape outnumbered situation (bowspeed, streak, targetable mistform etc pp)
-Then nerfed survivability or implemented hardcounters (shieldbreaker, blocking, dodgecostincrease, soulassault etc pp)
-They removed tools to fight higher numbers on the enemy team (dynamic ulti)
-They implemented NEW things to favor numerous players attacking single targets (poisons)
To top this off they reimplemented forward camps and all pvp that is left is a zergfest at alessia bridge or a random keep of your choosing while the server goes to sh*t every evening.
What makes this so absurd is that most of the balance changes made to the game were directly targetted at smallscale, dueling or 1vX / Xv1 engagements. Not to promote those - no they were made to make this kind of engagements less desireable and they implemented mechanics that made it it harder to win when already at a numerical disatvantage. In a game that can´t handle largescale engagements without having 1000+ pingspikes.
So not only is the statement of the game being balanced around largescale partially if not fully incorrect. The decision to try to harm smallscale encounters by directly nerfing the tools used in them is also a design decision that directly pushes the game in a direction for combat that their technology is not able to handle.
It´s like showering oneself with gasoline because you like the smell while also searching for a match to light a cigarette (and whoever is making these decisions needs to be adressed to a different task).
I don't disagree that the design philosophy should not be what it is. I'm just stating that they won't change it and this has been reaffirmed. The changes to small scale etc have still been balanced around the large scale desire this game strives for.
Well i think the exact problem is that they´re not only balancing for largescale.
They patch for balancing largescale and on top of that patch to get rid of smallscale - or atleast make it significantly harder with every patch since 1.7 hit.
I get when they don´t want to follow it and balance according to smallscale. But they´re doing quite the opposite. They are obviously following smallscale pvp and balance to counteract any attempts. Which i my opinion makes no sense. The people who want to smallman are not going to play siege games in 1000 ping when you take away their playthings. Those people leave the game.
I disagree. They are not balancing game in order to stop small scale. They are balancing for large scale and the side effect of that is a detriment to small scale. Specifically, solo play.
I've been defending soul assault. But after close reconsideration, I must admit that it will be absurdly OP for zergs, but it will become underwhelming in 1v1, because it is now blockable. Is that how it should be ?
Don't make it grant CC immunity, leave it unblockable.
RinaldoGandolphi wrote: »I've been defending soul assault. But after close reconsideration, I must admit that it will be absurdly OP for zergs, but it will become underwhelming in 1v1, because it is now blockable. Is that how it should be ?
Don't make it grant CC immunity, leave it unblockable.
Agreed @Dracane I just wanted us Sorcs to get back to New York, not this kinda crazy beam...of course combining it with unblockable Curse and then Mages Fury could be delicious though
bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »This game was meant to be LARGE scale. It was meant to utilize and fight strategically using large scale map strategy and tactics. Small scale combat that has been available through the game is more a side effect of that large scale engagement. This is what the game has been balanced around. (To that end i love the small skirmishes around the the larger keep fights, but they have been less and less over the last year or so.)
I´m also one of the ppl thinking it only hits the "right" portion of the playerbase. It´s a counter specifically designed to burn 2h + bow NB builds on magica toons in my opinion (and it will destroy those in 1v1 aswell).
Yet your statement shows lack of understanding of the general problem with ZOS´ design philosophy. Have you ever asked yourself why there have been less and less small skirmishes around keeps and in the open world between them? That´s the direct result of the "when you´re outnumbered you die" philosophy.
ZOS has taken this statement "when you´re outnumbered you die" to a new extreme with every patch in a way - because they don´t feel outnumbering an enemy in itself is advantage enough so they:
-First nerfed all mobility that allowed you to escape outnumbered situation (bowspeed, streak, targetable mistform etc pp)
-Then nerfed survivability or implemented hardcounters (shieldbreaker, blocking, dodgecostincrease, soulassault etc pp)
-They removed tools to fight higher numbers on the enemy team (dynamic ulti)
-They implemented NEW things to favor numerous players attacking single targets (poisons)
To top this off they reimplemented forward camps and all pvp that is left is a zergfest at alessia bridge or a random keep of your choosing while the server goes to sh*t every evening.
What makes this so absurd is that most of the balance changes made to the game were directly targetted at smallscale, dueling or 1vX / Xv1 engagements. Not to promote those - no they were made to make this kind of engagements less desireable and they implemented mechanics that made it it harder to win when already at a numerical disatvantage. In a game that can´t handle largescale engagements without having 1000+ pingspikes.
So not only is the statement of the game being balanced around largescale partially if not fully incorrect. The decision to try to harm smallscale encounters by directly nerfing the tools used in them is also a design decision that directly pushes the game in a direction for combat that their technology is not able to handle.
It´s like showering oneself with gasoline because you like the smell while also searching for a match to light a cigarette (and whoever is making these decisions needs to be adressed to a different task).
I don't disagree that the design philosophy should not be what it is. I'm just stating that they won't change it and this has been reaffirmed. The changes to small scale etc have still been balanced around the large scale desire this game strives for.
Well i think the exact problem is that they´re not only balancing for largescale.
They patch for balancing largescale and on top of that patch to get rid of smallscale - or atleast make it significantly harder with every patch since 1.7 hit.
I get when they don´t want to follow it and balance according to smallscale. But they´re doing quite the opposite. They are obviously following smallscale pvp and balance to counteract any attempts. Which i my opinion makes no sense. The people who want to smallman are not going to play siege games in 1000 ping when you take away their playthings. Those people leave the game.
I disagree. They are not balancing game in order to stop small scale. They are balancing for large scale and the side effect of that is a detriment to small scale. Specifically, solo play.
What would be the reason to nerf streak in largescale pvp?
What would be the reason to nerf bowspeed or any other mobility option (don´t tell me major minor buff system - if that was true malubeth or skeleton set would not exist in their current form)?
Who even uses dmgshields in largescale - why was shieldbreaker implemented and shieldduration decreased?
When was stamreg while blocking an issue on largescale pvp?
What´s the purpose of a singletarget ultimate without burst component in largescale pvp - namely soulassault?
Why were resource draining poisons that are singletarget implemented as they hold no relevance in largescale pvp?
Why do gapclosers need a snare/root mechanic in largescale?
Especially self mobility skills got nerfed/altered numerous times while holding little to no relevance for at all. Claiming the game would not undergo changes targetted and justified in and at smallscale and solo encounters seems a little naive in my opinion.
Both RD and SA should have their range shortened considerably.
Just my opinion, as a templar, both should make melee think twice about closing not be a long range execute.
RinaldoGandolphi wrote: »I've been defending soul assault. But after close reconsideration, I must admit that it will be absurdly OP for zergs, but it will become underwhelming in 1v1, because it is now blockable. Is that how it should be ?
Don't make it grant CC immunity, leave it unblockable.
Agreed @Dracane I just wanted us Sorcs to get back to New York, not this kinda crazy beam...of course combining it with unblockable Curse and then Mages Fury could be delicious though
@RinaldoGandolphi Soul Assault is only really usefull for us, if it is unblockable. But this gets changed. For my personal usage, it's getting nerfed and I might not be using it anymore.
We'll see if the 15% damage buff compensates for this. But I really loved it vs permablockeres, who really are a problem for Sorcs. Because projectiles are mitigated by 15% more than other attacks (sword and board passive) and no other classes is forced to use so many projectiles as their main offense.
They really should rework this passive, it's not fair. Projectiles are reflectable, easier to dodge and more mititgated by blocks. Why ? Why do we get punished so hard ? Either you are melee or go home.
bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »This game was meant to be LARGE scale. It was meant to utilize and fight strategically using large scale map strategy and tactics. Small scale combat that has been available through the game is more a side effect of that large scale engagement. This is what the game has been balanced around. (To that end i love the small skirmishes around the the larger keep fights, but they have been less and less over the last year or so.)
I´m also one of the ppl thinking it only hits the "right" portion of the playerbase. It´s a counter specifically designed to burn 2h + bow NB builds on magica toons in my opinion (and it will destroy those in 1v1 aswell).
Yet your statement shows lack of understanding of the general problem with ZOS´ design philosophy. Have you ever asked yourself why there have been less and less small skirmishes around keeps and in the open world between them? That´s the direct result of the "when you´re outnumbered you die" philosophy.
ZOS has taken this statement "when you´re outnumbered you die" to a new extreme with every patch in a way - because they don´t feel outnumbering an enemy in itself is advantage enough so they:
-First nerfed all mobility that allowed you to escape outnumbered situation (bowspeed, streak, targetable mistform etc pp)
-Then nerfed survivability or implemented hardcounters (shieldbreaker, blocking, dodgecostincrease, soulassault etc pp)
-They removed tools to fight higher numbers on the enemy team (dynamic ulti)
-They implemented NEW things to favor numerous players attacking single targets (poisons)
To top this off they reimplemented forward camps and all pvp that is left is a zergfest at alessia bridge or a random keep of your choosing while the server goes to sh*t every evening.
What makes this so absurd is that most of the balance changes made to the game were directly targetted at smallscale, dueling or 1vX / Xv1 engagements. Not to promote those - no they were made to make this kind of engagements less desireable and they implemented mechanics that made it it harder to win when already at a numerical disatvantage. In a game that can´t handle largescale engagements without having 1000+ pingspikes.
So not only is the statement of the game being balanced around largescale partially if not fully incorrect. The decision to try to harm smallscale encounters by directly nerfing the tools used in them is also a design decision that directly pushes the game in a direction for combat that their technology is not able to handle.
It´s like showering oneself with gasoline because you like the smell while also searching for a match to light a cigarette (and whoever is making these decisions needs to be adressed to a different task).
I don't disagree that the design philosophy should not be what it is. I'm just stating that they won't change it and this has been reaffirmed. The changes to small scale etc have still been balanced around the large scale desire this game strives for.
Well i think the exact problem is that they´re not only balancing for largescale.
They patch for balancing largescale and on top of that patch to get rid of smallscale - or atleast make it significantly harder with every patch since 1.7 hit.
I get when they don´t want to follow it and balance according to smallscale. But they´re doing quite the opposite. They are obviously following smallscale pvp and balance to counteract any attempts. Which i my opinion makes no sense. The people who want to smallman are not going to play siege games in 1000 ping when you take away their playthings. Those people leave the game.
I disagree. They are not balancing game in order to stop small scale. They are balancing for large scale and the side effect of that is a detriment to small scale. Specifically, solo play.
What would be the reason to nerf streak in largescale pvp?
What would be the reason to nerf bowspeed or any other mobility option (don´t tell me major minor buff system - if that was true malubeth or skeleton set would not exist in their current form)?
Who even uses dmgshields in largescale - why was shieldbreaker implemented and shieldduration decreased?
When was stamreg while blocking an issue on largescale pvp?
What´s the purpose of a singletarget ultimate without burst component in largescale pvp - namely soulassault?
Why were resource draining poisons that are singletarget implemented as they hold no relevance in largescale pvp?
Why do gapclosers need a snare/root mechanic in largescale?
Especially self mobility skills got nerfed/altered numerous times while holding little to no relevance for at all. Claiming the game would not undergo changes targetted and justified in and at smallscale and solo encounters seems a little naive in my opinion.
You seem to think that all of the things you mentioned have no place in large scale pvp. Let's get something straight, just because a changed mechanic or ability negatively effects smaller scale more than other aspects does not mean small scale was the target. I'm sorry but do sorcs not streak through groups of people? Have you never been in the middle of a group ult bomb or running through a breach spamming shields to survive? Have you never had a permanent blocking tank in your group? Can you not focus a single target to burst them down quicker with a single target ult such as a healer or tank of a group? Or can you not do the same with poisons? Do you not still have to gap close people in large scale?
bowmanz607 wrote: »To get back to topic at hand, SA is fine in small scale and dueling. The complaint comes from many people yelling about being attacked by multiple SA at one time. Aka, another tool for zergs that hurts mostly fotm solo builds. Again, this is not what the game is balanced for. Wrobel has statedany tiimes, your outnumbered so you lose.
Both RD and SA should have their range shortened considerably.
Just my opinion, as a templar, both should make melee think twice about closing not be a long range execute.
What? Melee don't think twice about closing. That's what they do. And there is no real range pvp in this game where there is no cooldown on gap closers. As a templar, you know that we have zero mobility. That's why most choose Vampire in order to get Mist. But even Mist is at the mercy of gap closers.
Weapon ultis:
- 2H great /
- BOW great / stam ultis
- S&B great /
- DESTRO garbage /
- RESTO garbage / magica ultis
This scenario is completely alright with stam users. But, buff a magica ulti that is completely situational and only works on certain stam builds and the world is falling apart. Sometimes i think stam warriors wont rest untill Cyro is only populated with stam builds.
Weapon ultis:
- 2H great /
- BOW great / stam ultis
- S&B great /
- DESTRO garbage /
- RESTO garbage / magica ultis
This scenario is completely alright with stam users. But, buff a magica ulti that is completely situational and only works on certain stam builds and the world is falling apart. Sometimes i think stam warriors wont rest untill Cyro is only populated with stam builds.
nerf sorc standing in mines ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »bowmanz607 wrote: »This game was meant to be LARGE scale. It was meant to utilize and fight strategically using large scale map strategy and tactics. Small scale combat that has been available through the game is more a side effect of that large scale engagement. This is what the game has been balanced around. (To that end i love the small skirmishes around the the larger keep fights, but they have been less and less over the last year or so.)
I´m also one of the ppl thinking it only hits the "right" portion of the playerbase. It´s a counter specifically designed to burn 2h + bow NB builds on magica toons in my opinion (and it will destroy those in 1v1 aswell).
Yet your statement shows lack of understanding of the general problem with ZOS´ design philosophy. Have you ever asked yourself why there have been less and less small skirmishes around keeps and in the open world between them? That´s the direct result of the "when you´re outnumbered you die" philosophy.
ZOS has taken this statement "when you´re outnumbered you die" to a new extreme with every patch in a way - because they don´t feel outnumbering an enemy in itself is advantage enough so they:
-First nerfed all mobility that allowed you to escape outnumbered situation (bowspeed, streak, targetable mistform etc pp)
-Then nerfed survivability or implemented hardcounters (shieldbreaker, blocking, dodgecostincrease, soulassault etc pp)
-They removed tools to fight higher numbers on the enemy team (dynamic ulti)
-They implemented NEW things to favor numerous players attacking single targets (poisons)
To top this off they reimplemented forward camps and all pvp that is left is a zergfest at alessia bridge or a random keep of your choosing while the server goes to sh*t every evening.
What makes this so absurd is that most of the balance changes made to the game were directly targetted at smallscale, dueling or 1vX / Xv1 engagements. Not to promote those - no they were made to make this kind of engagements less desireable and they implemented mechanics that made it it harder to win when already at a numerical disatvantage. In a game that can´t handle largescale engagements without having 1000+ pingspikes.
So not only is the statement of the game being balanced around largescale partially if not fully incorrect. The decision to try to harm smallscale encounters by directly nerfing the tools used in them is also a design decision that directly pushes the game in a direction for combat that their technology is not able to handle.
It´s like showering oneself with gasoline because you like the smell while also searching for a match to light a cigarette (and whoever is making these decisions needs to be adressed to a different task).
I don't disagree that the design philosophy should not be what it is. I'm just stating that they won't change it and this has been reaffirmed. The changes to small scale etc have still been balanced around the large scale desire this game strives for.
Well i think the exact problem is that they´re not only balancing for largescale.
They patch for balancing largescale and on top of that patch to get rid of smallscale - or atleast make it significantly harder with every patch since 1.7 hit.
I get when they don´t want to follow it and balance according to smallscale. But they´re doing quite the opposite. They are obviously following smallscale pvp and balance to counteract any attempts. Which i my opinion makes no sense. The people who want to smallman are not going to play siege games in 1000 ping when you take away their playthings. Those people leave the game.
I disagree. They are not balancing game in order to stop small scale. They are balancing for large scale and the side effect of that is a detriment to small scale. Specifically, solo play.
What would be the reason to nerf streak in largescale pvp?
What would be the reason to nerf bowspeed or any other mobility option (don´t tell me major minor buff system - if that was true malubeth or skeleton set would not exist in their current form)?
Who even uses dmgshields in largescale - why was shieldbreaker implemented and shieldduration decreased?
When was stamreg while blocking an issue on largescale pvp?
What´s the purpose of a singletarget ultimate without burst component in largescale pvp - namely soulassault?
Why were resource draining poisons that are singletarget implemented as they hold no relevance in largescale pvp?
Why do gapclosers need a snare/root mechanic in largescale?
Especially self mobility skills got nerfed/altered numerous times while holding little to no relevance for at all. Claiming the game would not undergo changes targetted and justified in and at smallscale and solo encounters seems a little naive in my opinion.
You seem to think that all of the things you mentioned have no place in large scale pvp. Let's get something straight, just because a changed mechanic or ability negatively effects smaller scale more than other aspects does not mean small scale was the target. I'm sorry but do sorcs not streak through groups of people? Have you never been in the middle of a group ult bomb or running through a breach spamming shields to survive? Have you never had a permanent blocking tank in your group? Can you not focus a single target to burst them down quicker with a single target ult such as a healer or tank of a group? Or can you not do the same with poisons? Do you not still have to gap close people in large scale?
You don´t even get the point i´m making. None and i mean absolutely NONE of the points you´re trying to make has changed for largescale pvp with the changes made to those skills and mechanics.
The changes only affected smaller scales play (and for mobility were specifically targetted at that).
Also for shields: Did the shield changes affect their functionality in any way when being spammed when running through a breach? Do people spam singletarget lightattack shieldbreaker in those situations?
For the singletarget ulti: Did you even read the question posed? You speak yourself of bursting - in context to an ultimate that does not offer burst potential whatsoever and at the same time got heavily nerfed in regards to taking down healers and tanks as they tend to block and the ulti has now become - blockable?
As for streak: Do you even know why sorcs streaked through groups? Have you encountered that behaviour after they implemented static ulti gain? Most likely not because streaking through grps generated tons of ultimate when it was dynamic and disorient did not provide CC immunity. Now streaking through a grp is directly harmful as you hand out free cc immunity (breaking streak stun takes as long as just letting it run out).
Blocking: I´ve played enough larger scale (sneaky l2p comment there but i only comment on things i have experience in] to know that i don´t have ppl permablocking in my grp there - because it slows them down too much.
Also congratulations on conveniently ignoring bow speed.
You´re either one of those people arguing just for the sake of doing so - or you´re something else.bowmanz607 wrote: »To get back to topic at hand, SA is fine in small scale and dueling. The complaint comes from many people yelling about being attacked by multiple SA at one time. Aka, another tool for zergs that hurts mostly fotm solo builds. Again, this is not what the game is balanced for. Wrobel has statedany tiimes, your outnumbered so you lose.
If you think SA will be fine in dueling you have the creativity of a pebble and thats putting it nicely.
The statement "you´re outnumbered so you loose" is the most idiotic statement i´ve ever read a developer make in a pvp focused game. It illustrates the desire to remove any form of skilled gameplay or outsmarting your opponent in an attempt to cater to ineptitude (which can never be fixed on the devs end).
That you´re repeating it here to prove your point does not help it. Repeating something stupid often enough does not suddenly make it any less stupid.
I've been defending soul assault. But after close reconsideration, I must admit that it will be absurdly OP for zergs, but it will become underwhelming in 1v1, because it is now blockable. Is that how it should be ?
Don't make it grant CC immunity, leave it unblockable.
Ok how am i supposed to have an argument with someone who´s only argument is basically to tell me i´m to biased to talk on that matter.
I also think at whatever you do in the game pvp wise you´re not good enough to theorize about it in any way - yet i try to not base my argument on this assumption.
I´ve played with most of the self considered high end largegrps and i don´t enjoy it because all the theorycrafting you imply on happening is simply nonexistant and it is still the same ultidump move repeat concept that it was for the first year of the game when i did the lead of a 8 to 16ppl guildgrp almost every evening.
The thing that has really changed for largescale is bring more people because "you´re outnumbered you loose" works on almost every gameplay level nowadays - and it has not done the game any good.
andreasranasen wrote: »No! Do not nerf Soul Assault. It's a beautiful spell for us magicka users.
I have seen it today, sorc just standing in his mines like always, curse etc with mages wrath and soul assault and think if he will have swarm mother set also.
na chance to survive this if you arent heavy armor templar, dk or streaking/shielding sorc
andreasranasen wrote: »No! Do not nerf Soul Assault. It's a beautiful spell for us magicka users.
I have seen it today, sorc just standing in his mines like always, curse etc with mages wrath and soul assault and think if he will have swarm mother set also.
na chance to survive this if you arent heavy armor templar, dk or streaking/shielding sorc
And all the things stam users have to destroy magic? Every class has a weakness, soul assault is interruptible use a ranged interrupt.
Kinda funny the nerf request coming from a stam nightblade.
Pot meet kettle.
andreasranasen wrote: »No! Do not nerf Soul Assault. It's a beautiful spell for us magicka users.
I have seen it today, sorc just standing in his mines like always, curse etc with mages wrath and soul assault and think if he will have swarm mother set also.
na chance to survive this if you arent heavy armor templar, dk or streaking/shielding sorc
And all the things stam users have to destroy magic? Every class has a weakness, soul assault is interruptible use a ranged interrupt.
Kinda funny the nerf request coming from a stam nightblade.
Pot meet kettle.
thankyourat wrote: »Still not as op as meteor when you are outnumbered. Atleast you can los SA meteor will follow you wherever you go. And has a stun and a 70% snare. And to the people who say you can just block meteor, Welll you can do the same with SA
leepalmer95 wrote: »thankyourat wrote: »Still not as op as meteor when you are outnumbered. Atleast you can los SA meteor will follow you wherever you go. And has a stun and a 70% snare. And to the people who say you can just block meteor, Welll you can do the same with SA
But the point is you block meteor for a second, then roll or purge and you off.
Soul assault you can't move for 4s...?
How is that even comparable.
thankyourat wrote: »leepalmer95 wrote: »thankyourat wrote: »Still not as op as meteor when you are outnumbered. Atleast you can los SA meteor will follow you wherever you go. And has a stun and a 70% snare. And to the people who say you can just block meteor, Welll you can do the same with SA
But the point is you block meteor for a second, then roll or purge and you off.
Soul assault you can't move for 4s...?
How is that even comparable.
I would still rather have a soul assualt on me than a meteor. Because I can line of sight SA. Meteor is guaranteed to hit me which is way to op when outnumbered. I can also defend against soul assualt without wasting my stamina which is huge for me I don't even have to block it I can just shield through it. At least that's how I been defending against soul assault. So it is very comparable. Maybe a stamina build who doesn't have shields SA maybe a little op but i don't see it effecting me for the most part. But I play on console so I haven't gotten a chance to test it yet