droid327
Well-known member
I decided to run a Bowadin (DEX build, KOTC + HW) life after the patch to see how well it worked leveling with the new AOE shots
General conclusion: it doesnt really
There were two big problems I found...one is targeting. Using bows now requires quick and precise targeting. You want to choose your AOE shot target to get as many other mobs as possible. You want to choose your single target shots carefully to hit priority targets and avoid overkill. However, the game simply doesnt support that kind of precision targeting. Tab targeting is clunky and inaccurate, and often impossible to quickly tab to the target you want, as everything is moving around. Mouse targeting is impractical when you're often needing to continously move, and soft targeting doesnt let you aim for mobs behind the front row. The tools simply arent there to target mobs as quickly and precisely as you'd need to optimize your special attacks. As a result, you get a lot of off-center AOE shots, you get special attacks wasted, or you lose valuable combat rounds trying to tab back to get the Reaper to Manyshot.
The second big problem is the shot delay with bows. There's about a 0.5 sec delay between pushing a button and the attack actually landing. Often, that's just enough for mobs to circle around or jump past you after you've pushed the button, and the shot completely whiffs. Its particularly noticeable since the AOE shots favor staying in one place and letting mobs surround you...but then they can also quickly circle out of your hitbox. It also makes it very unresponsive trying to anticipate what you're going to do next combat round, since you need to wait to see if your previous shot killed your target or what.
I think there needs to be a thorough overhaul of the targeting system to make it a little more intuitive, not just for bow users but for everyone. The cycle list should be snapshotted when you first hit tab, so you can go down and up it looking for a certain target, and mobs cant shuffle it under you by moving around (the snapshot would clear after 1 second of not cycling targets, or something). Target Next Reaper/Champ/Boss would be a useful function too. And the angle that's included in target cycling should match the hit arc of your weapon, so you wont ever target mobs that you cant hit.
I think the attack animation for bows needs to change too so your hit happens earlier, with less delay. This will make bow combat feel far more responsive.
General conclusion: it doesnt really
There were two big problems I found...one is targeting. Using bows now requires quick and precise targeting. You want to choose your AOE shot target to get as many other mobs as possible. You want to choose your single target shots carefully to hit priority targets and avoid overkill. However, the game simply doesnt support that kind of precision targeting. Tab targeting is clunky and inaccurate, and often impossible to quickly tab to the target you want, as everything is moving around. Mouse targeting is impractical when you're often needing to continously move, and soft targeting doesnt let you aim for mobs behind the front row. The tools simply arent there to target mobs as quickly and precisely as you'd need to optimize your special attacks. As a result, you get a lot of off-center AOE shots, you get special attacks wasted, or you lose valuable combat rounds trying to tab back to get the Reaper to Manyshot.
The second big problem is the shot delay with bows. There's about a 0.5 sec delay between pushing a button and the attack actually landing. Often, that's just enough for mobs to circle around or jump past you after you've pushed the button, and the shot completely whiffs. Its particularly noticeable since the AOE shots favor staying in one place and letting mobs surround you...but then they can also quickly circle out of your hitbox. It also makes it very unresponsive trying to anticipate what you're going to do next combat round, since you need to wait to see if your previous shot killed your target or what.
I think there needs to be a thorough overhaul of the targeting system to make it a little more intuitive, not just for bow users but for everyone. The cycle list should be snapshotted when you first hit tab, so you can go down and up it looking for a certain target, and mobs cant shuffle it under you by moving around (the snapshot would clear after 1 second of not cycling targets, or something). Target Next Reaper/Champ/Boss would be a useful function too. And the angle that's included in target cycling should match the hit arc of your weapon, so you wont ever target mobs that you cant hit.
I think the attack animation for bows needs to change too so your hit happens earlier, with less delay. This will make bow combat feel far more responsive.
