RE: Dragon Breath
I think the main issue with Dragon Breath changes is that these specific changes are a symptom of the real problem: caster damage is in a really odd spot. There are a few types of casters who are able to make effective use of their spells in R10s. This comes down to the specific spells/abilities being used, and the ability of the class/race to make mobs vulnerable to the spell damage type as well as any particular build's ability to scale the stats for those spells. (spellpower 1300+ (without metas), 70%+ crit chance, 110%+ crit damage multiplier)
Some casters/builds can hit the necessary spell numbers, but have no/few ways to make mobs vulnerable to their damage. Others can hit the spell numbers and stack vuln but don't have (compartively) great spell/ability rotations. For instance, if you want to play a Cleric nuker, you're going to go Tiefling w/Sun Domain (for fire and light vulnerability) and STILL be disappointed with how it performs when compared to druid/sorc/alch due to the available spell rotations.
The nerf to spell damage in R10 from U59 did bring down certain builds that were over-performing, unfortunately it also destroyed many other builds that could otherwise be effective. Because there are so few build choices/abilities which underpin R10 casters, when you cut the damage from Dragon Breath it's a feel bad moment. However, Dragon Breath changes are not actually the underlying issue here. Can we unwind some of the spell damage nerf in R10s from U59 in conjunction with this change?
Yes, I totally agree with you. But let me add one more thing so that Tonquin understands why the nerf to dragonbreath is not going to be well received even with his new modification. I want to take advantage of the fact that Tonquin does read the feedback on these topics, something that not all devs seem to do.
There is a perception that nerfs are not done for balance, because they really do not usually bring balance to the game, but mere destruction. And I don't think that at this point the devs ignore the deep distaste that players have with their nerfs, not because of the nerfs themselves, but because two times out of three their nerfs have managed to make the object of their nerf useless or highly undesirable.
So Tonquin if you are really interested in bringing balance, you can't just nerf dragon breath. You need to improve the draconic's abilities that fail, such as wings and epic momentum, so that there is no perception of destruction for the sake of destruction.
But there is something else. As Griglok said, devs treat spellecasters as a homogeneous population, when there are two groups: those that work well (sorc, druid, alch) and those that leave a lot to be desired in terms of damage (everyone else). Nerfs have always affected the second group more than the first. And if you really want to bring balance with this ED pass, you need to make changes that help the second group. Give us the perception that you bring balance and not destruction.
What does the second group need? Well, casters like the wizard or cleric need the EDs to not be geared towards specialists. Currently
the only ED that allows its procs to work with any spell, regardless of its energy type, is draconic. All the others require using a specific type of energy, and that for a generalist is not good. This tendency towards specialization is the reason why Magus ED doesn't work for the casters the devs had in mind, and will continue to not work after the changes in this pass. Cold and negative are energies with so many immunities that it is basically a nightmare to choose this mantle, although the concept is cool. PA works a little better than Magus for a generalist caster, but is still very limited. Seriously devs, regardless of output procs are limited to a particular energy type (or limited range of types), the spells that activate the mantle must be any energy type, or you're penalizing generalists grossly.
Of course,
the ideal would be to have an ED that gave procs of exactly the same type of energy as the input spell. That would be an ED for a generalist and it is greatly missed. For me, the fact that you changed the magister, which was a generalist caster ED although too focused on DC and little on damage, for a specialist ED like the Magus left a very bad taste in my mouth. Magus could be cool as a second ED if there was a true generalist ED, but there isn't one.
But anyway, the EDs are what they are and I don't expect exit procs that help generalists in this pass. But I do hope, Tonquin, that for once you help the generalist casters and extend to the Magus and the PA the way that any spell can activate the mantle. If you really want to bring a little balance.
The warlock is a different case. In his case, what
warlocks need is that all mantles work with his eldritch blast. Also, the sonic warlock is in a really bad position, because the EDs that support sound don't mesh well with the class at all. I won’t speak about bards, because I’m not an expert in this class.
I'm not a big fan of each ED supporting only three spellpowers. This means that the specialists, who are not coincidentally all from the group of spellcasters that work well, are disproportionately benefited in relation to the generalist spellcasters. Specialists simply stack the benefits of their main element three times, while generalists... well. They are as they are. And keep in mind, Tonquin, that this is in addition to the fact that those classes that work well have better heroic damage enhancements, epic feats focused on specialists (all epic crit feats affect only one element), and, more important, the entire design of the gear revolves around them. It's impossible to equip many spellpowers, and that inevitably benefits specialists (plan to create some heroic enhancement that allows generalists to use an element's spellpower and critical, like force, for elemental spells please). Generalists usually have the added handicap of also needing to equip themselves for more DC schools.
There are many differences between the two groups that disproportionately benefit the “good” spellcaster group, but speaking specifically of EDs, we really need the activation procs to be focused on an entire spellbook and not just on one or limited group of elements, and in a future, an ED whose procs are too based on the initial spell. In the past shiradi kinda was something like this, but even then it was a weak ED for generalists and is currently not viable for a spellcaster. We need a generalist ED that isn't seen as a missile spammer so we don't get nerfed it to the ground.
Another detail that has helped draconic be overrepresented among casters is that it has Ruin intensified in its tier 5. And no, it is not that this enhancement is OP. There are classes like wizard or cleric or warlock that use force as their main offensive element. So where do they go but tier 5 draconic when looking for offensive power? When you created these new EDs, devs, I was opposed to putting this enhancement there. At that time sorc, druid and alch did not use ruins in any appreciable number, but they were used for “weaker” classes like the ones mentioned above. By putting that enhancement there, it was clear that all the casters looking for spell damage were going to go directly to that ED, as indeed it has been (specialists because it was the elemental ED par excellence, and generalists because of the entry of their mantle and the support for the only epic spell that really works for them).
I do not propose that you move the enhancement. This is going to cause deep discomfort among nukers, at a time when you are nerfing draconic hard, and even more so after the nerf in r7+, which has left spell damage in a bad position. But keep in mind the reality that generalist casters currently receive more support from the draconic than from any other ED, due to the fact that his mantle is the closest to his spellcasting style despite his unique elemental output (which really sucks a lot against immune targets, but it is the best “generalist” in entry) and because it supports better force than any other ED. So not all casters are in draconic ED for the dragon breath. There were other reasons too. Put a more general proc entry in PA, and I'll consider using the PA mantle for my wizard, e.g. In my experience, the draconic mantle is also the one that best suits the warlock, because warlock is really very limited in mantles that work with his eldritch blast.
And yes, I repeat that all epic strikes need to eliminate the CL max. They should be epic.
----------
Edited to correct mistakes, non-native speaker who wrote this post too quickly.
Not all toons are.
