https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/494595-U38-Balance-ChangesHey, SteelStar here. I'm here today to talk about a few upcoming changes you'll see in Update 38's first Lamannia, currently targeted for next week.
We've put quite a bit of time lately into gathering DPS data. This is in part to evaluate where builds are when on an even footing, to find outliers (both high and low), evaluate why they're outliers, and bring those in as necessary. This, in turn allows us to better balance groups - We can better make overall Melee buffs if we don't have 1-2 builds doing triple the damage of the other 98% of Melee builds. We'll talk a little about our tests, then outline the changes coming.
Testing an extensive number of builds (over 40) in terms of DPS: A pure 20 Monk, using Handwraps, with most of its points in Shintao and the rest in Henshin, did significantly, unquestionably more damage than any other build we tested. It was not close. More than 30% above anyone else. Far below that, the #2 build had most of its levels in Monk, the #3 was another pure Monk, and #4 had a significant number of Monk levels as well. The #7 build in terms of raw DPS was 20 Monk Henshin Mystic using a Quarterstaff. No Monk builds we tried ranked below that.
In addition, the process of this balance check helped us identify a bug where characters who were Two Weapon Fighting (as well as those using Handwraps) were receiving Doublestrikes, Offhand Attacks, and Offhand Doublestrikes at a far lower rate than intended while moving. We've now fixed that internally. For comparison, most fighting styles deal similar damage numbers while moving vs. standing still; TWF on Live deals about 40% less damage while moving because of this bug. With Update 38, Two Weapon Fighting damage will be roughly the same when standing or moving, as it is for other styles.
Based on the above, we're confident that an adjustment is needed. We understand that Melees are not in the strongest place in the top-end meta right now; we aren't trying to kick Melee when it's down. Rather, we're trying to bring the Melee outliers in, so we can better balance Melee as a group. Consider this some first steps that will allow us to better make other ones down the road (such as improving Melee Defense).
Handwraps
You've likely seen some threads by now about Duality, the Raid Handwraps from Ravenloft. We'd initially given Ravenloft handwraps damage dice akin to two-handed weapons in the pack. We'd had some reasons for it at the time, but we missed the mark on this one (especially with Handwraps benefitting disproportionately well from the increases in internal damage dice) . We're planning on dropping their dice from [1d6+6] to [1d6+3]. (In addition, the Legendary Morninglord and Nightmother handwraps will drop from [1d6+4] to [1d6+2].) Duality will still be the strongest handwraps, and likely stronger than most other weapons out there - But not by as much.
Henshin Mystic
Second, Henshin Mystic currently gets 75 Melee Power in its tree. This is a lot more than other trees get, and it's pretty evenly distributed through its cores. We're of the opinion that this makes both Pure Monks and Monk splashes disproportionately strong (especially given the other benefits of being a Monk), and are planning to alter it from (10/10/10/10/10/25) to (3/3/3/3/3/15). The net effect on Henshin Mystic builds is that their DPS falls in line with most other Two Handed Fighting builds. (We're hoping to do a little further analysis of Two Handed Fighting in general after U38.)
Vistani Weapon Versatility
During our DPS testing we took a look at how this ability impacts builds. We've come to the conclusion that, ultimately, this ability is detrimental to game balance and our ability to make adjustments differently among Melee and Ranged builds. We're planning to make it apply only to Daggers and Throwing Daggers, as it was in our earliest drafts of that ability.
Epic Destiny Boosts
With the above changes, we're planning on making the following changes to Epic Destiny Cores. This is not meant to solve the inherent issues in a lot of these Destinies; only to make them slightly more appealing, and to introduce a minor Melee buff into Epic.
Fatesinger :
Current: +4 MP per core
New: +10 MP per core
Grandmaster of Flowers :
Current: +4 MP per core
New: +10 MP per core
Legendary Dreadnought :
Current: +3 MP per core
New: Unchanged . Another spike in our DPS testing showed that, with few exceptions, most Melee builds are best served by being in Legendary Dreadnought. It does not need the help; it should remain competitive, even with these changes.
Shadowdancer :
Current: +4 MP per core
New: +10 MP per core
Fury of the Wild :
Current: +3 MP per core
New: +6 MP per core
Primal Avatar :
Current: +4 MP per core
New: +10 MP per core . Bear in mind that this is targeted for the same release as the Druid pass, where Tree Form glitching is planned to be fixed.
Divine Crusader :
Current: +2 MP per core
New: +3 MP per core
Unyielding Sentinel :
Current: +4 MP per core
New: +5 MP per core
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As said above, these changes are a step. They aren't meant to address issues with Melee Defenses, Ranged/Magic DPS (short of the Vistani change), or anything beyond trying to make a more balanced Melee ecosystem. We have the above changes completed internally, and have been running comparison tests. The essential impact so far seems to be:
Standing Handwrap Monk DPS falls fairly dramatically, but they're still in the top end of Single-Target Melee DPS. Just not by as much - they're a LOT closer to other builds.
Conversely, Moving Handwrap Monk DPS rises somewhat, as the bugfix to TWF outpaces the other DPS-reducing changes.
Misc. Monk builds drop somewhat, depending on their level of previous investment into Henshin cores.
Most TWF builds now deal about 40% more damage while moving due to the bugfix, but otherwise remain about where they are.
Henshin Mystic's DPS falls fairly dramatically, to about where other Two Handed Fighting builds currently are. (Two Handed Fighting builds are, themselves, a little bit below most SWF/TWF builds in terms of Single Target DPS, but Glancing Blow damage should put them right in the mix with other builds in overall damage; as I said above, we're hoping to examine THF a little closer in the future.)
Some Destinies are a little more competitive for Melees.
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U38 Balance Changes (Read 8433 times)
