Possible Balance Idea for 2-Set Piece 2-Handers

Kalthea · January 2018

I've been thinking on it for a while now, and I've heard all of the arguments about how having 2-Set Piece 2-handers would cause 2-handed weapons to become far too meta, though I'd argue otherwise considering that most of the weapons in the game are 2-handers anyway, and you don't really see them in PvE (Staff x4, Bow, GS VS. Dual Wield, S/B). I suppose for PvP they could be an issue, but I've always been of the mindset that PvP should be balanced separately from PvE.

Anyway, on to my idea!

Perhaps a good way to implement 2-Set Piece 2-handers would be to force it into a 'crafted' system. Make it so in order to get, say, a 2-H Plague Doctor's GS for example, you would have to combine it with another 2-H Plague Doctor's GS, maybe even with the same trait. This would give some form of a 'ramp-up' in getting the buff that you want, and wouldn't allow you to just get it outright. It would also open up a LOT more options for builds, allowing for full set completion with 2-handers and opening up the possibility of a load of different ideas.

I dunno, I'm a fan of build-diversity, and this game seems to be a bit lacking in it for all the gear sets it has to offer. You can easily argue "end-game-grind" for the stronger ones I guess (Moondancer comes to mind), but I would still argue that opening up more options would be better, and healthier for the economy of the game.

What're your thoughts on it? Lemme know!

~Kal

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO · January 2018

No.

Kalthea · January 2018

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO wrote: »

No.

You say no as if people don't already have access to Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons. Say what you will about the difficulty of acquiring these weapons, but they allow for a third set to be used on 2-handers, and often times are far stronger than any other option. At the very least allowing these other set options, it would open up the possibility of more set usage without the Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons being the be-all-end-all.

~Kal

Shardan4968 · January 2018

I don't think that Zenimax is going to separate PvP from PvE so with your buff idea, dw would become so irrelevant that no one would ever use it again. Even now always when I ask people for advice about dual wield traits for PvP, the only response I get is "change to 2h" (because of Rally). If Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons are allowing for a third set then I don't see the point in buffing every other 2h, it's like saying that ZOS should buff normal armor that much so there would be no point in getting monster sets.

ArchMikem · January 2018

Two traits? What happened to the two set pieces debate?

Emma_Overload · January 2018

Shardan4968 wrote: »

I don't think that Zenimax is going to separate PvP from PvE so with your buff idea, dw would become so irrelevant that no one would ever use it again. Even now always when I ask people for advice about dual wield traits for PvP, the only response I get is "change to 2h" (because of Rally). If Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons are allowing for a third set then I don't see the point in buffing every other 2h, it's like saying that ZOS should buff normal armor that much so there would be no point in getting monster sets.

LOL, your last sentence is such a weak argument, because a lot of 2H builds can't even run a monster set in the first place...that's what we're complaining about!

Kalthea · January 2018

Shardan4968 wrote: »

I don't think that Zenimax is going to separate PvP from PvE so with your buff idea, dw would become so irrelevant that no one would ever use it again. Even now always when I ask people for advice about dual wield traits for PvP, the only response I get is "change to 2h" (because of Rally). If Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons are allowing for a third set then I don't see the point in buffing every other 2h, it's like saying that ZOS should buff normal armor that much so there would be no point in getting monster sets.

A fair point I suppose, but even then you're assuming that having 3 different sets would even be worth it. A lot of the sets in the game are extremely mundane, offering little in DPS output. I suppose the worse it could get is running Necropotence, Ilambris and a full Moondancer instead of the 3/4pc, but even then .

The single piece sets are already worth getting for the massive bonuses they add on their own, easily overshadowing many other set options in the game.

ArchMikem wrote: »

Two traits? What happened to the two set pieces debate?

Yeah, that's what I meant. I guess the wording is confusing since Traits are their own thing, my bad.

Fixed the wording of the topic for posterity's sake.

~Kal

Kalthea · January 2018

Emma_Overload wrote: »

Shardan4968 wrote: »

I don't think that Zenimax is going to separate PvP from PvE so with your buff idea, dw would become so irrelevant that no one would ever use it again. Even now always when I ask people for advice about dual wield traits for PvP, the only response I get is "change to 2h" (because of Rally). If Maelstrom/Master/Asylum weapons are allowing for a third set then I don't see the point in buffing every other 2h, it's like saying that ZOS should buff normal armor that much so there would be no point in getting monster sets.

LOL, your last sentence is such a weak argument, because a lot of 2H builds can't even run a monster set in the first place...that's what we're complaining about!

Even then, you can easily fit a monster set into a 2-H build. 2 Monster/5 Armor/ 3 Jewlery/1 Maelstrom,Master,Asylum. May not be that much of a point in PvP, but in PvE you could probably pull some alright numbers.

~Kal

Xundiin · January 2018

ArchMikem · January 2018

Shardan4968 wrote: »

I don't think that Zenimax is going to separate PvP from PvE so with your buff idea, dw would become so irrelevant that no one would ever use it again. Even now always when I ask people for advice about dual wield traits for PvP, the only response I get is "change to 2h" (because of Rally).

No one ever does use Dual Wield in PvP though, it's already become the standard to either go 2Handed or be a Sword and Shield half-Tank. So even if making 2Handed weapons count as two set pieces won't help PvP diversity at all, it WILL help PvE in expanding build options, especially for Magic.

It's a good place to start, and the only logical place until someone pitches something better.

Kalthea · January 2018

ArchMikem wrote: »

No one ever does use Dual Wield in PvP though, it's already become the standard to either go 2Handed or be a Sword and Shield half-Tank. So even if making 2Handed weapons count as two set pieces won't help PvP diversity at all, it WILL help PvE in expanding build options, especially for Magic.

It's a good place to start, and the only logical place until someone pitches something better.

And on that topic, it presents an even better reason as to why PvE and PvP should be on separate balancing scales. If DW is so under-used in PvP already, then DW needs a big time buff in PvP to allow it to compete.

~Kal