Live Update Uproar

Nerfage O' Plenty!

By: Savanja

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With Live Update #24 just around the corner, there is a lot of discussion
regarding some of the serious changes and balances that are going to be
affecting a good number of the classes. If you haven't been keeping up-to-date on
the update notes for the test server, then be sure to give
them a read, and join one of the many discussions on the SOE
EQ2 Forums.

No one enjoys seeing major changes to their class, and even when one seems
over powered, such as the summoners, getting beat down with the nerf bat can be
down right devastating. We cry, we whine, we beg, and we threaten the developers
to take it easy on us, yet they rain death and destruction all over. Each of us
sees things that we perceive as being "wrong" with our class, but no
one really wants to accept the idea that some truly are over powered.

So who's getting the nerf?

The Scouts.

All across the classes, knockdowns and stuns are being reduced. Many that
lasted 2 seconds are being reduced to 1.5 seconds, and a major stun for the
scouts (Cheap Shot) is being reduced from 6 seconds, to 4 seconds. For those of
us that rely on our stuns, this can be very bad thing, especially for the scout
classes. When I solo on my brigand, I need those stuns to be able to effectively
move enough to get in my flanking shots, and to avoid taking as much damage as
possible. Shorter stuns means more hits on my scout, and less time to get in a
high damage shot. Along with reduced stun times, brigands are also getting raised
re-cast timers. These changes can really upset soloing abilities on the scout classes, and effectiveness in groups. Why do we love the scouts? High damage and
awesome stuns make the scout classes so very attractive to play and group with.
We are
known for our stuns! Take those
away and scouts are nothing but flimsy leather-wearers with pointy objects.

The Fighters.

Fighters are getting off easy in this LU, but only because they have
already taken serious beatings in former LUs. We get the same reduction in
knockdowns and stuns, and this will impact those fighters that rely heavily on
them, but I don't believe it will affect them in the same way that it will
affect the scouts.

The guardians and bruiser are seeing a few tweaks, they aren't major changes,
but one thing I found interesting was the change in the combat art,
"Instill Doubt". This combat art is being changed from bruiser ability, to a
brawler ability, which means the monks will get it as well. My main character is
a monk and this baffles even me. I'm used to monks and bruisers displaying
certain traits. Monks are calm, centered beings that rely on their patience and
focus to take care of what needs to be done. The bruisers use brutal force and
fear in their dealings. Instill Doubt is a fear CA, so it seems very
natural for the bruisers to have it, but for the monks? I have to disagree with
that move. It's not a make or break deal for those two particular classes that
have continued to be relatively untouched through out LU history, but definitely
one of those moves that make one go "Huh?

The Priests.

Priests didn't get it all that bad either. Nerfed mezzes and longer recast
times are disappointing, but aren't those silly healers there to just heal?
(Just joking. Really.) And the priests are getting some love as well! Some
spells, such as "Fearful Conversion" for the inquisitors, are gaining
more usefulness. The furies get their "Pact of the Cheetah" to also
dispel the root effect, which is very handy. All in all the priests did okay in
this LU, but I'd really like to see them get a little more love in future
updates. Have you ever seen some of the priests solo? Yeah, it's not pretty.

The Mages.

And there is no doubt about it: This LU is all about the mages.
It's no "Great Ranger Nerf", but it's definitely up there on the
"playerbase freak out" scale. Reading through the update notes on
test, I feel myself getting more than a little nervous for my conjurer, but I
will try to reserve judgment until after the LU. The duration for all
mage roots are being reduced, but they are adjusting the percentage of the chance
of breaking from 20% to 15%. The wizards and warlocks are giving up some of
their damage in favor of hate reducers, and if you've ever played with either of
these classes, you know that hate reducers are very needed. The necromancers and
conjurers are taking it the hardest with a lot of pet damage reductions. The
swarm and dumbfire pets are losing a whopping 17.5% of their damage output.
Several reuse timers are going up, and a few of the scout and a fighter pet's
damage are going down. We are taking a bit of damage loss on some of our own
spells as well. All this damage loss makes me want to cry!

What does that mean
for the summoners? Well, it can mean quite a bit for those that solo and
duo. We depend very heavily on our pets and pet damage to be effective on
our own. I don't believe it will have a huge impact on grouping situations as I
have always viewed summoner's pets to be support in groups rather than the major
beings that they are when a summoner goes solo. I'm truly hoping that the damage
output is not so grossly nerfed that summoners cannot recover from the impacts
of the changes. Huge drops in abilities always scare players, and unfortunately,
will drive them away from their chosen class when they can't operate in the
fashion that they have become accustomed to.

But along with the doom and gloom comes some very nice additions. While most
other classes shed tears over losing out on stun goodness, the illusionists and
the coercers now get stuns, stifles, and mezzes that work on epic targets. This
is huge! Quite honestly, these classes are terribly under played because most
view them as not having any real usefulness. Shun them no more! Having a class
in-group that has a wide array of epic target stuns is going to be a huge bonus
for raiding groups, giving the coercers and illusionists a much-needed shove into the limelight. And
having recently spent some time playing with an illusionist, all I can say
is...It's about danged time!

Is It Really Balance?

Class changes are constantly made in the name of class balance. The
developers toss around phrases like "intended use" and "for the
better of the game", but are all these alterations really doing what they
hope them to do? And is it driving away players when a class gets such
monumental fixes?

I don't believe it's possible to render a class unplayable. It's true that
when one becomes used to the playability of their class and fixes like these in
LU #24 are made, that it can seriously disillusion a gamer. We don't
want to have to alter our play style, or re-learn how to play a class.
Particularly for those of us that are in the higher levels, it can be quite
irritating when we log in after a major LU and find our whole sense of virtual
being all thrown off.

I don't know if these sorts of things truly are for the betterment of the
game. I do realize that certain classes are "over powered", even if we
don't really wish to admit it. And I do believe that the developers make
these fixes with the bigger picture in mind, even if we cannot always see that
bigger picture. After all, it makes no sense that
they would simply nerf a class out of the sheer enjoyment of getting screamed at
by hundreds of angry gamers. They do want the game to be better, and this is the
path that they have chosen to make it so.

I've been seeing a lot of discussion on what this LU means to us
all. I've seen a lot of anger and frustration towards our dev team for
it. I'd ask everyone to withhold judgment on any of the changes until after it
goes live, and we have a chance to view it all in action. A necromancer friend
of mine, (when asked how he feels about the update) told me that it's hard to
understand how it all comes together when all you see is text and numbers. And
that is very true. I haven't had the time, or the will, to sit down and really
figure out the hard numbers on the amount of damage my conjurer does, or how
much time I need on my brigand's stuns to get in a flanking shot when I'm solo,
so I can't really say how this all will affect my game play. The only way I will
truly know is by logging in and giving it a go. And like we saw with The Great
Ranger Nerf of '06, if things go too far the other direction, why, they can fix
that too. Just have a little bit of faith that the developers sort of know what
they are doing. Or, at least they do most days. *wink*

Good luck everyone! Find a hand to hold, and keep your fingers crossed! I
promise it will be relatively painless, and we will get through this one too.

And, as always, happy gaming!

Questions?
Comments? Rotten tomatoes to be thrown? You can always find me via
e-mail.

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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