Update 66 Preview 2: AOE Ranged Attacks

[SteelStar]

Welcome to the second preview where we're trying out an experimental new feature in this preview: AOE Ranged Attacks. Preview 1 indicated our experiment was fairly successful, so we've expanded it in Preview 2. These ranged attacks are fired from your hotbar like any other Ranged Attack feat or enhancement, with the following differences:

• When the projectile collides with something, instead of dealing your weapon damage and effects to that target directly, that enemy and all nearby enemies in a small area are hit with your full weapon damage and effects, as if they were also hit by the projectile.
• Improved Precise Shot does not work on these attacks, so as to not create a massive chain reaction. If Improved Precise Shot is on when you perform an AOE Ranged Attack, IPS's ability to pass through enemies simply does not work on that shot (and then resumes working on other shots like normal).
• NEW: AOE Ranged Attacks are always fired as a single shot, regardless of weapon type. This is to help prevent multi-shot ranged styles from becoming disproportionately strong compared to single-shot styles with these changes.
• NEW: AOE Ranged Attacks tend to have lower +% relative to melee attacks and non-AOE ranged attacks, also for balance. Exact +% may change based on this preview, but our general target is half of a Melee counterpart's +%.

All AOE Ranged Attacks currently have a size of 2.5 (how far out from the center the detect goes), that may change between abilities in the future.

Changed Ranged Attacks: (Unless something is specifically mentioned assume abilities are otherwise unchanged in terms of effects, cooldown, etc).

• Horizon Walker:
  • Scattershot
    • This ability now fires only 1 arrow, and reads "AOE Ranged Bow Attack: Expend one charge to take a shot with +1 Critical Threat Range and Critical Multiplier that shatters on impact, dealing your attack damage to all enemies in a small area around the enemy hit. 2 second cooldown. This feat gives 3 charges, you regain 1 charge every 12 seconds you don't use Scattershot or Manyshot. (Requires a Longbow or Shortbow to use). Shares Charges and a Cooldown with Manyshot."
• Artificer Battle Engineer:
  • Shatter Defenses (Ranged)
    • This ability is now an AOE.
  • Thunder-Shock Weapons (Ranged)
    • This ability is now an AOE.
      • (We left the +% unchanged on these, in part because they are reducing from 3x shots to 1x shot in most cases.)
• Paladin Knight of the Chalice:
  • Exalted Shot
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +10% damage (was 30%, puts it at half of the Melee version).
  • Avenging Shot
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +20% damage (was 50%, puts it at half of the Melee version).
• Ranger (and Elven) Arcane Archer:
  • Inferno Shot
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +10% damage (was 30%).
  • Final Strike
    • This ability is now an AOE, and reads "AOE Ranged Archery Attack: +20% Damage. Enemies hit take 7 stacks of Vulnerability. (Cost: 5 spell points. Cooldown: 18 seconds.)", replacing all previous functionality.
      • (It was performing its own odd AOE so far, as well as a weirdly-formatted set of damages - Instead, we've added +20% damage and given everyone in the AOE many stacks of Vulnerability, which we think is ultimately a buff.)
• Ranger Deepwood Stalker:
  • Head Shot
    • This ability has been renamed "Devastating Shot" and its melee counterpart has been renamed "Critical Strike".
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +25% damage (was 50%).
      • (It's still an automatic critical threat).
    • The DC for the Blind now works properly (on both Melee and Ranged)
    • The DC for the Blind now takes Sunder DCs into account (was previously only bonuses to All Tactical DCs, so this is a buff).
• Cleric Warpriest and Favored Soul War Soul:
  • Divine Vessel
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +15% damage (was 30%).
• Fatesinger:
  • Arrow of Discord
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +15% damage (was 30%).
• Legendary Dreadnought:
  • Dire Shot
    • This ability is now an AOE.
      • (This ability's +% damage is unchanged at +20% - Instead, we buffed the Melee version to +40%.)
  • Legendary Rally (Ranged):
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +25% damage (was 50%).
• Shadowdancer:
  • Shadowstrike (Ranged)
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • This ability now deals +25% damage (was 50%).
    • The additional Critical Multiplier of this ability is +2 (was +3).
• Shiradi Champion:
  • Pin
    • This ability is now an Epic Strike (see Destiny notes)
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • Otto's Whistler's Immobilize and Dance effects when upgrading Pin have been reduced to a 6 second duration (though still with no saving throw) as Pin's ability to lock down groups is now significantly stronger.

 

[canicus]

Love the additions to the list of AOE attacks

 

[rabidfox]

NEW: AOE Ranged Attacks are always fired as a single shot, regardless of weapon type. This is to help prevent multi-shot ranged styles from becoming disproportionately strong compared to single-shot styles with these changes.

Repeaters get a 1/3 doubleshot value. Our edge is multiple shots. if we're not getting those, then give use 100% doubleshot scaling. (same issue with dual wield xbows). I hate having my damage be meh because of only 1 shot of a volley or ICDs that make my fast attack rate meaningless.

This has been an issue for ages and this AoE single shot aspect is just another painful reminder that ever since double-shot was made a multiplier certain playstyles suffer from it.

 

[Lotoc]

I would honestly advise against including arrow of discord in this if you'll be making aoe shots single shots, right now its peak use case is on repeaters and this will mostly serve to kill the best case scenario for the ability more than it serves to improve ranged aoe.

 

[FixBows]

Not sure what to make of this yet

 

[rabidfox]

So if I am reading this correctly, it puts Hunt's End on cooldown? If so, I am strongly suggesting NOT doing this.

• Shiradi Champion:
  • Pin
    • This ability is now an Epic Strike (see Destiny notes)
    • This ability is now an AOE.
    • Otto's Whistler's Immobilize and Dance effects when upgrading Pin have been reduced to a 6 second duration (though still with no saving throw) as Pin's ability to lock down groups is now significantly stronger.

No, hunts end is being made a normal attack and not an epic strike; it's also just a big attack and doesn't increase the next attack's damage anymore.

 

[Ying]

Preview 2 is a natural progression from Preview 1. I'm looking forward to the day that IPS turns into an AoE attack, so ranged damage can be adjusted properly.

 

[FixBows]

No, hunts end is being made a normal attack and not an epic strike; it's also just a big attack and doesn't increase the next attack's damage anymore.

Yeah, I think I am finally done with DDO. I have been on a little bit of a break lately anyway, but I think this is it. I can no longer support a game that consistently finds ways to nerf what I like about the game. I hate that 17 years of dedication to this game has to finally end with Dev stupidity in decision making, but it is what it is. Congrats SSG....

 

[Lotoc]

The hunts end change basically had to be made because autocritting on multiple mobs every aoe shot you do every 9 seconds isn't healthy.
Adrenaline doesn't get to do that and will only apply the autocrit and damage modifier to the first target struck, but because your shots are processed seperately from your stats once fired and won't be updated it meant that hunts end would just autocrit and 250% damage mod your aoe shot on every target.

 

[FixBows]

The hunts end change basically had to be made because autocritting on multiple mobs every aoe shot you do every 9 seconds isn't healthy.
Adrenaline doesn't get to do that and will only apply the autocrit and damage modifier to the first target struck, but because your shots are processed seperately from your stats once fired and won't be updated it meant that hunts end would just autocrit and 250% damage mod your aoe shot on every target.

Then maybe don't do this change. Keep Hunt's End as is and not make it AOE. SSG is making nerfs to accommodate unnecessary changes. IPS is fine as is. The AOE range is not very big from what I can tell. This is a huge nerf and not sure why more people are not seeing it that way.

 

[Sorccadin]

Then maybe don't do this change. Keep Hunt's End as is and not make it AOE. SSG is making nerfs to accommodate unnecessary changes. IPS is fine as is. The AOE range is not very big from what I can tell. This is a huge nerf and not sure why more people are not seeing it that way.

Do you hate bows? Like actually? It feels SO bad to use improved presice shot 90% of the time. The AOE ranged attacks are a good change, hunts end change is a means to let us actually use them without breaking the game.

 

[rabidfox]

Oh, small additional thing on chain cure: it currently can't bounce back to the caster, any chance it can be made to do that too?
edit: opps, wrong thread.

 

[Toprak]

Preview 2 is a natural progression from Preview 1. I'm looking forward to the day that IPS turns into an AoE attack, so ranged damage can be adjusted properly.

I like that idea, since they've got ranged AoE together (by the looks of it). Then I'd have a reason to switch between stances probably fairly often.

Big drop in damage but everything is AoE, then switch to single target for focused damage and some bursts of AoE from special attacks if you need them

 

[Ying]

• NEW: AOE Ranged Attacks are always fired as a single shot, regardless of weapon type. This is to help prevent multi-shot ranged styles from becoming disproportionately strong compared to single-shot styles with these changes.

That's fine, if the doubleshot penalty for repeaters and dual-shooters is removed from AoE ranged attacks. Given the history of the dshot penalty with those playstyles, players assume the dshot penalty still applies with AoE strikes until you clarify otherwise. It's not exactly easy to test if the dshot penalty applies. So help us out here and clarify for us what the intention is with AOE ranged attacks, dshot penalties and repeaters/dual shooters.

 

[Oliphant]

So Preview 2 takes away HE boost and nerfs the direct boosts to the ranged AOE attacks in Preview 1? Am I reading this right?

 

[Oliphant]

The last thing I'd ever want to happen in DDO is for ranged singled target DPS to get nerfed for some lackluster ranged AOE. Why didn't you just make Scattershot good?

 

[Rincewind]

My two cents
Inferno Shot: first the damage need to scale with range power to be useful in end game, the stacking and CD are too high considering that you need 1 minute to get full charges or more and most fight doesn't last more than a couple seconds even in end game, my recommendation would be to add improvement to this skill in the cores, like at core 12 you add 2 stacks per-hit and maybe 4 stacks at rank 18 and let you stack up to 30 stacks in the capstone. Let's make the arcane archer feel more arcane.

Final Strike: This should't have a dc, it's a t5 ability in a tree with no other reason to get sunder dc, in exchange the duration can be lower to let's say 3 second. There should be a philosophy in all trees not to spread too thin in what a player needs to invest into to play the character. and having this skill a sunder dc would just make it so that nobody would want it.

 

[Fisto Mk I]

So Preview 2 takes away HE boost and nerfs the direct boosts to the ranged AOE attacks in Preview 1? Am I reading this right?

Yea. DOA.

 

[Woodyrocker]

I am testing the changes on my "forever arcane archer" character and i suport the changes! the shiradi tree is a lot more usefull now! every point helps my build! i dont mind not doing the super ultra high criticals i used to shot using the old hunts end, but with the new AOE stuff the gameplay feels better than ever! I dont want to be broken! I want be usefull and have a lot of fun! Eager to see this on the live servers! thank u SSG!

 

[FixBows]

Do you hate bows? Like actually? It feels SO bad to use improved presice shot 90% of the time. The AOE ranged attacks are a good change, hunts end change is a means to let us actually use them without breaking the g

Do you hate bows? Like actually? It feels SO bad to use improved presice shot 90% of the time. The AOE ranged attacks are a good change, hunts end change is a means to let us actually use them without breaking the game.

Short answer... No, I do not hate bows. I understand your position as IPS is not easy to master. However, that being said, it still is a massive nerf to damage by changing Hunt's End. For my build, which is admittedly not a full dps build, I am looking at 50-75% less damage capabilities with the nerf to Hunt's End. This is game changing. Also, the AOE hit box is miniscule. You cannot hit much unless they are tightly packed. I am testing on Lam now and cannot hit more than one training dummy on the side where the red named ones are.... and they are not that far apart.

All in all this is a terrible change as implemented in preview 2. Less damage, poorly designed hit box, and changes that were basically not needed imho. Just another nerf to ranged from what I can see. Put it on top of the mountain of ranged / bow nerfs. Massive DPS nerf but hey, you get pin to be AOE in a tiny circle. Yeah, I hate bows