Do some skills need rebalancing?

[Necrite]

I've been going over a few skills, both for my current build and to help adjust the skill value on my spreadsheet, and I noticed something odd.

Weapon Accuracy gives 12% AC per Skill point. One level up gives 5% AC. Therefore, WA gives 2.4 levels of AC per Skill point.

Dodge gives 9% BC per Skill and a level up gives 3%. So Dodge gives 3 level ups per skill point.

Hard Hit only adds one damage per skill, same as a single level up.

HP can't really be compared; Increased Fortitude doesn't work the same as a level up bonus.

I personally think that skills should be better than level ups, since we get fewer, so reducing all to one level sounds bad to me. Boosting all to three levels (15% AC, 9% BC, 3 Damage) seems good for the first two, but overpowered fir Damage. Setting all three to two levels (10% AC, 6% BC, 2 Damage) is OK for AC, a nasty nerf to BC, and a decent level for Damage.

So what about a minor buff to WA and HH to bring them in line with Dodge? I would think changing WA to 15% would be an acceptable change. For HH, change it from a fixed single point to a 1-3 boost. On average, it would add 2 points, which is the target I said felt fair to me.

The only issue I see is that for people who invest heavily in HH, the damage range can get huge. For example, a 1-6 weapon, two Villain's Rings, and 10 ranks in HH gives a range of 17-48. The wide range seems odd to me, but on the other hand, the same setup now gives 17-28, so it's a straight buff.

Thoughts? Are things good as-is? Would a buff be overpowered? Is a nerf (heaver forbid!) desirable to the current setup?

[Piggy the Slayer]

No. Skills are really fine as they are. Some can get a little overpowered but you have to miss out on other skills to do that. Quests maps..content. and more skills. Not changing something that works well. Although you have obviously thought this out.

[Necrite]

I guess my biggest objection to HH is that I can't think of a good reason to take it, other than as a prerequisite to other skills. If I want more damage, I can get it via level ups quicker and easier. Not so with WA and Dodge.

[Mino]

I agree that hard hit its only useful as a prerequisite for cleave, but I think cleave makes it worth it.
I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it given a small boost, but I'm also ok with it as is.

[nyktos]

Scott said something crazy in the meeting...
and i think there was some sense behind it.

[crazy in the sense that we're pretty sure everyone would object...]

but, he said something about weakening the level-up bonuses...
to make the skills more powerful.

we didn't go into detail, like numbers or anything...
but agreed it was a good idea & although we quickly dropped it.

partially because we were pretty sure it would get negative feedback,
but also because we were missing a few people at the meeting...

any thoughts?



[dear god, they are grabbing torches!]

I agree that hard hit its only useful as a prerequisite for cleave, but I think cleave makes it worth it.

maybe make Hard Hit a prerequisite for more skills?
[the new v0.7.0 skills, not the current ones]

[sdevaney]

Scott said something crazy in the meeting...

Wow look how easily you tossed me under the bus.

In all seriousness I think it would be a good idea.

With that being said this is not a decision we will take lightly or come to quickly. There will be lots of debates and plenty of warning before anything as game altering as that is ever implemented.

[Necrite]

As I understand it, this game is still in pre-release beta state. That means that, technically, nothing can be nerfed, because nothing is live in a finished state yet, right?

You still probably wanna grab that flame-proof, fire-retardant suit though...

[Necrite]

I agree that hard hit its only useful as a prerequisite for cleave, but I think cleave makes it worth it.

maybe make Hard Hit a prerequisite for more skills?
[the new v0.7.0 skills, not the current ones]

You mean like that Piercing Strike skill I proposed?

[Sarumar]

Scott said something crazy in the meeting...
and i think there was some sense behind it.

[crazy in the sense that we're pretty sure everyone would object...]

but, he said something about weakening the level-up bonuses...
to make the skills more powerful.

we didn't go into detail, like numbers or anything...
but agreed it was a good idea & although we quickly dropped it.

partially because we were pretty sure it would get negative feedback,
but also because we were missing a few people at the meeting...

any thoughts?



[dear god, they are grabbing torches!]

I agree that hard hit its only useful as a prerequisite for cleave, but I think cleave makes it worth it.

maybe make Hard Hit a prerequisite for more skills?
[the new v0.7.0 skills, not the current ones]

No worries im not one with torches ... I like this..... IMO AC level bonus is too high.. etc some rebanlancing is ok. btw Hard hit schould give +2 AD

[Pyrizzle]

Scott said something crazy in the meeting...

Wow look how easily you tossed me under the bus.

Looks like we got a new speed bump...

That wasn't a speed bump...

RUN FOR IT!!!!!

You still probably wanna grab that flame-proof, fire-retardant suit though...

They have quite a few laying around from having to deal with me all the time.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staying on topic here:

I agree that the skills could use a lil more power.