Being at the crit and focus cap with sharp weapons and 60% enchantment power gems, I expected the nerf to hit a lot harder than it did. I was saving essences anticipating having to rebuild, and while moving out of crit to physical damage etc might make the build stronger now, I don’t feel like I need to rebuild to enjoy the game. I can still easily get through pestilent zones, but I can no longer straight up ignore the combat system by deleting everything. Lifesteal definitely took a hit because of the damage output reduction, but still feels like a viable way to sustain if you can avoid getting hit all the time. I actually have to eat food every once in a while now. Weekly bounties actually put up a bit of a fight. Completing the crucible without using echos is actually a challenge. I need the max housing buff to reach focus cap and to have a decent health pool, so I don’t feel like I can just ignore it now. The buff also stays around after death, which was a nice QOL improvement. Survivability definitely took a hit, so it’s even more important now to respect the combat system, and I didn’t have any issues getting one shot at 700 armor with the old damage reduction + durability set up.
Stormpiercer still slaps for me, so with 900 focus, deleting a boss is still pretty feasible with prep or things like midnight blade/falsteeds barrier, but I suspect focus cap builds are not that common. Getting 300+ focus on a parry, or 90 on a block, is still really strong, but at least require some interaction with the combat unlike old rod or bcr. AOE knockdown runes have value beyond the AOE now that things don’t die immediately.
At least for my maxed out build, the nerf wasn’t so bad and feels like a move in the right direction.
look forward to your perspective on bows since the range nerf. i haven’t had a chance to try yet but eager to see what it’s like now
Well my bow build was also a crit cap build with sharp weapons, but it also focuses on physical damage increases with bleed, so that would mitigate the crit nerf a bit compared to being entirely crit focused.
I feel like the update made bleed even more useful on ranged. Before I was really only using it for the lifesteal, which has taken a massive hit now, where before sustain was brainless and now it feels almost absent. Bleed actually has a chance to finish off enemies now which I like.
The damage drop off definitely hurts some runes, specifically multi shot since it was also nerfed, and now at max range has trouble killing stuff. It’s definitely impossible now to clear an entire crucible room from the starting location, which I think is good. I was able to still clear parts of the room from the starting point with some things being just barely within range. You can still kill stuff at max range, it just takes a lot more patience.
Damage feels comparable to old damage at point blank ranges. This creates an interesting dynamic where you do a little damage to start the fight, but then blow them up when they get close, for example with a charged attack that you know will be beefy because they are close now. It creates a sort of risk vs reward feeling which I like. Bows feel more like a mix of melee to midrange combat, which I like. The short ranged running attacks now feel more useful rather than an after thought. With the evasive running attacks, it’s still really easy to play keep away.
I think where the range damage drop off really hurts is on bosses. The trash can generally be kept within mid range without you getting hit. Bosses however have much larger hitboxes on their attacks, so to stay out of their attack range, you are stuck doing some of your worst damage. I was able to complete the crucible without any echos, but echo knight was definitely a chore compared to before.
From a maxed out build perspective, I think I like the changes, and it feels just about right. It’s not too easy or too hard. But that makes me worried for anyone using bows without a max build. I think this is going to feel like bows are useless. I know I already felt that way trying to level up with one before this patch, so I can only imagine how much worse it is now.
my experience leveling up with a bow was that i just entered a state of absent-mindedness while kiting everyone to death with my shortbow
so i immediately dropped it because i realised i was bored because i wasn’t engaging with any of the game’s mechanics except… kiting
sounds like i will be forced to stay nearer mobs but my shortbow kiting was never that far away - that’s what i was hoping these changes would bring
from what you say it seems like it’s the long range big charge bows that got most affected
Leveling up I just felt like bows weren’t doing enough damage for the amount of stamina they consume. Once you get the stamina stuff sorted they are much better.
I haven’t been a fan of the pure dex bows. My favorite are dex and faith, so Answered Prayer is my chargeable bow. I felt like the charge attack is still strong, just not for sniping. Sniping is tedious now. I like the fact that it pierces which works better medium range with the drop off changes. The running kick shot feels decent too.
I felt like the power levels pre patch made bow boring. It’s a lot more fun for me now.