When Shadow Dancer was in Preview Pass One in Update 51 Lamania, many chimed in and put in pages of conceptual miscues prior to going live.
Shadowdancer
Description:
Overview: Use the power of shadows and deadly illusion magic to terrify and consume enemies. (Where? When? huh?...how do I do that as a Stealth player? )
the end result of it being the "bait and switch" promises that our Epic Destiny's' where going to be "better" and "with more choices than before." is not the case with Shadow Dancer for who, the base class/style, was there from the beginning a Stealth/Sneak kill based Tree with Avoidance in its periphery.
Putting in these into the Tree would be viable again and not a Splash Tree.
1. A Real choice for a Tier V Weird alternative. Like Consume. (or just add Assassinate DC to the formula: Greater of INT/CHA/WIS + illusion/Assassinate DC's.
2. Ability to Confuse Reapers and also Distract them.
3. Epic Moment should have Dark Discorporation tied to it, 95% Dodge, 25% Stacking Incorporeal to insure you don't get hit and get killed in End Game content, As the PK only happens if they swing at you( which means you can get killed for the Epic Moment PK to take effect).
4. Summon a Displacer Beast to draw aggro.
5. Meld should not be tied into Epic Strikes but a separate Builder/Stronger higher option in Shadow Dancer Tree.
I'd honestly rather they'd make a new destiny specifically for hybrid support and use the resulting design space for stealth abilities and diversionary tactics. The destiny currently is trying to do too much, which is causing an identity issue, hindering efforts towards a comprehensive design schema, and making the devs leery of keeping/reintroducing the abilities it used to have because they added other stuff that was ultimately superfluous. It doesn't help that they take forever to review major aspects of the trees once they nerf a critical component (like how maybe Fey Chaos would have been used if not for the fact that reaper duration penalties and spell pen apply, and nerfs to the mantle make casters not want to even invest in the tree in the first place).
I'm also kind of curious if this type of playstyle you're advocating for (and which I also enjoy) is one that any of the devs is deeply familiar with. Trapmaking has been bugged in several parts for nearly a decade now, with other shortcomings notwithstanding. The abilities they have currently require being in stealth to activate, at least one of which also encourages you to be in a place where it's easy to get knocked out of stealth (Shadow Expulsion). From the Shadows should be an abundant step-like ability that recharges over time when sneaking, instead of requiring sneaking to use. This would enable someone to use it in stealth to get around or as a defensive maneuver in the heat of combat while still encouraging the stealth dynamic. The epic moment says you are considered invisible and sneaking but does not allow you to use any abilities that mechanically require you to be sneaking. There's no diversionary abilities in a tree that emphasizes not having aggro.
And having the caster specific stuff detracts from that. Why are we getting spellpoints at tier 1, and only 100 at that? It's taking up the place of other more beneficial bonuses. Sleight of Hand doesn't stack with Wand and Scroll Mastery, but even if it did, that seems like something more thematic in Magus of the Eclipse (magus being an archaic word for magician). Weird is weird all around because it has two separate saves like PK and there's hardly any illusion support outside of Feydark Illusionist (and in the form of damage that scales poorly and DCs rather than providing a greater variety of cc/buffs/diversionary effects). It also essentially locks out non-casters from that enhancement. However, the alternative (Shadow Expulsion) runs into the issue I talked about in the paragraph before. In the absence of the devs good intentions (and I know they've meant well with their design goals), a lot of these caster and stealth effects they've added or kept seem tacked on just because, on the face of it, they seem like it should help the builds in question.
To make a well-designed hybrid tree, they'd have to more or less apply agnostic bonuses throughout (which they won't do because it'd become "overpowered") or introduce to a majority of the enhancements multiselectors that would enable you to fill in on the caster or physical side what the base build is missing (which as far as I can tell they haven't done because that requires way too many design resources to produce). If you've noticed, that's the state of every hybrid tree they've introduced as a result - riddled with abilities that scale with contradictory modifiers that don't take into account current gearing and which future gearing never seems to alleviate; throwing spell-related enhancements in there because they're spell-related as opposed to how they would work in practice; pre-nerfing abilities on account of napkin math; and lacking an overall cohesiveness because of trying to do too much rather than focus on one or two key aspects. The worst part is, it's not like they haven't been told time and time again what issues will arise and why. The general response is "we'll do it anyways and come back to it if it really becomes an issue", which inevitably happens usually years down the line after the general sentiment has turned towards indifference, and then there's this feeling of surprise that people haven't been playing the class/archetype/destiny/enhancement tree that they stated in no uncertain terms before that they were dissatisfied with.
Yes many have mentioned how this Tree was an Identity Crisis, Frankenstein Tree that would be a Splash Tree at best.
But this Tree doesn't necessarily need a huge Split/overhaul if it would implement these points:
1. Remove Meld from being an Epic Strike and could even be "Added" to From the Shadows (Tier IV) as a 35-45% uncapped Dodge for 12-20 seconds.
2. Add Assassinate DC's to Weird as the greater of
INT/CHA/WIS + illusion/Assassinate DC's
3. Put back, Tumble through Enemies, since it use to be there before.
4. Add back Shadow Manipulation (or Feydark Distract) , was a great way to enter a room in stealth and have one mob draw aggro to allow you to sneak attack. Put in SLA Greater Color Spray or a way to AOE Stun/Sap mobs.
5. Depths of Darkness: Cloak yourself in magic and assume the form of an illusionary Shadow. Your Shadowdancer Destiny Mantle now grants +25%
Incorporeality and 25%
Concealment, and allows you to float as if you had
Feather Fall.
You gain Meld into Darkness: You gain 20% Dodge that is not affected by your Dodge Cap for 10 seconds. Cooldown 20 seconds.
Tier IV Dark Mercy would add
: Dark Mercy: Your Shadowdancer Destiny Mantle now grants you +15% Dodge to Meld into Darkness and +5/10/15% damage versus the Helpless.
6. Stealthy and Assassinate bonus should of never been split in Tier 1 and should be together, like it always was, to open a spot to add a "Stun" ability builder, that can become AOE at Tier IV.
7. Tier III Shadow Caster, should just be renamed:
SHADOW MASTER: -10% Cooldown on Spells/Tactics/Assassinate. 5% Doublestrike/Doubleshot/Spell Crit. You are immune to Energy Drain. (1/2/3 pts)
8. From the Shadows: From-
Stealth Active (i.e. is sneaking): From a stealthed position dissolve into shadows,
PASSING THROUGH ENEMIES, before appearing some distance in front of you.
This grants you the buffs from your Shadowdancer Meld Into Darkness if you have it trained. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
9. Epic Strike Upgrade in Tier II instead of Meld could be:
Dark Imbuement:
Paranoia:
Stunning Shadow: (In Stealth or Sneak Attack) When you critically hit a mob you stun them for 4 seconds.(Tier IV would become an AOE Stun for 6 seconds)
10. Slight of Hand: +2/4/6 Use Magic Device. +25/50/75% damage and healing of your wands, scrolls and other items that cast spells. Adds +1/2/3 to the save DC's of your offensive wands.
If you have the Trapmaking Feat:
Gain Improved Traps Enhancement: Elemental/Magical Traps that you place now have a DC equal to 65%/80%/100% of your Disable Device Skill.
Traps and Vial Mastery: You can make Noisemaker Traps or Noisemaker Vials(on exploding they stick to
door/wall and make ticking sound), with the ability to place or throw in stealth.
(Tier 1): If you have the Trapmaking Feat, you can now add your Sneak Attack Dice and Damage to Traps and Vials.
(Tier 2): You can use the higher of Melee or Range Power to Traps and Vials you Throw.
(Tier 3):You can inscribe scrolls as Traps and Alchemical Recipes as Vials.
