Archived Post
08-28-2009, 07:28 PM
Alright. I'm getting sick of seeing what SHOULD be a totally awesome power sit on the list of powers that nobody uses (for more than an hour without retconning it away). We've made thread after thread where Thunderstrike has been mentioned and yet after all these months it hasn't gotten any better. So I'm going to step up and put my two electrically-conductive copper monetary pieces in and explain how to make the power awesome.
First off, we need to go over the basics of WHY Thunderstrike, as it stands, is not worth using. Based on its tier and function, I would say the closest thing you can compare it to is the Rocket Launcher from Munitions. At least, I think they're on the same tier... close enough, at any rate.
Both are long-range charge-up heavy damage AoE attacks that do most of their damage to their primary target and only half as much to any other targets in their field of effect..
But of course, the Rocket Launcher does twice as much damage and has three times the AoE radius. Unlike the Thunderstrike which has a medium-length cooldown, the rocket launcher doesn't really have a cooldown period. Or if it did, it was so short that I didn't notice it.
Thunderstrike has a two-point advantage that lets it root the one or very rarely two guys you hit... Oh joy. Rooting. That's so useful for a power in a framework almost entirely comprised of ranged attacks. For that matter, if you're using it among powers of other frameworks, in a melee-heavy build, well... I just would have picked something other than Thunderstrike advantaged to root in the first place. For instance, Snowstorm without an advantage lets me chill and sometimes ice-cage a guy... and every other guy near him.
Rocket Launcher has an advantage that turns it into a massive knockback explosion that scatters enemies alllllll over the place. It's just hard to say no to that...
I say they get rid of the pointlessly tiny AoE radius alltogether and make Thunderstrike a single target attack. Make it do MUCH more damage, which a slightly larger charge up. In other words, closer in function to the Sniper Rifle than to the Rocket Launcher, but I would say put the damage at about halfway between the rifle and the rocket, so that Thunderstrike can keep the same range it has and not need an "interrupted by everything" feature to balance it.
Make it always do a brief stun or a weak hold or something along those lines. Something that can be used to interrupt someone's actions. Generally, having all of your nerves and muscle control overridden for a second tends to interrupt anything you were doing at the time, right?
Keep the 30s cool-down.
Change the advantage to be the following:
Voltage Gradient: If Thunderstrike is charged over 50%, then two seconds after the initial strike this effect deals a smaller amount of electrical damage (let's say.. if the thunderstrike did about 1500 on a full charge-up, the Voltage Gradient should do about.. 300? Something like that.) and the same stun/hold/whatever effect to up to five enemies within a 20-foot radius of the initial target. This effect occurs whether or not the initial victim of Thunderstrike is KO'd by that attack.
Another possible advantage, which could be offered in addition to the first one because they would work equally well combined or separate:
Go with the Flow: The activation of Thunderstrike will be delayed for a short period after the player finishes charging it. During that period of delay, the player will disappear (very strong stealth effect and maybe damage immunity?). At the same instant that the Thunderstrike finally activates, the "disappeared" player will be moved directly above the target of the strike and re-appear.
So, in summary I'm suggesting that Thunderstrike be changed to a powerful single-target damage attack, with one advantage that lets it also gain an AoE damage + minor crowd control effect, and another advantage that turns it into a very brief "escape danger" power followed by a leap-to effect.
I feel that all of these suggestions would make Thunderstrike infinitely more useful and more attractive both to pure Electricity users and custom builds, while keeping it different enough from not only the powers I compare it to, but more importantly other powers in the Electric framework, without it becoming TOO powerful.
Questions? Comments? Awards to bestow upon me for my cleverness?
First off, we need to go over the basics of WHY Thunderstrike, as it stands, is not worth using. Based on its tier and function, I would say the closest thing you can compare it to is the Rocket Launcher from Munitions. At least, I think they're on the same tier... close enough, at any rate.
Both are long-range charge-up heavy damage AoE attacks that do most of their damage to their primary target and only half as much to any other targets in their field of effect..
But of course, the Rocket Launcher does twice as much damage and has three times the AoE radius. Unlike the Thunderstrike which has a medium-length cooldown, the rocket launcher doesn't really have a cooldown period. Or if it did, it was so short that I didn't notice it.
Thunderstrike has a two-point advantage that lets it root the one or very rarely two guys you hit... Oh joy. Rooting. That's so useful for a power in a framework almost entirely comprised of ranged attacks. For that matter, if you're using it among powers of other frameworks, in a melee-heavy build, well... I just would have picked something other than Thunderstrike advantaged to root in the first place. For instance, Snowstorm without an advantage lets me chill and sometimes ice-cage a guy... and every other guy near him.
Rocket Launcher has an advantage that turns it into a massive knockback explosion that scatters enemies alllllll over the place. It's just hard to say no to that...
I say they get rid of the pointlessly tiny AoE radius alltogether and make Thunderstrike a single target attack. Make it do MUCH more damage, which a slightly larger charge up. In other words, closer in function to the Sniper Rifle than to the Rocket Launcher, but I would say put the damage at about halfway between the rifle and the rocket, so that Thunderstrike can keep the same range it has and not need an "interrupted by everything" feature to balance it.
Make it always do a brief stun or a weak hold or something along those lines. Something that can be used to interrupt someone's actions. Generally, having all of your nerves and muscle control overridden for a second tends to interrupt anything you were doing at the time, right?
Keep the 30s cool-down.
Change the advantage to be the following:
Voltage Gradient: If Thunderstrike is charged over 50%, then two seconds after the initial strike this effect deals a smaller amount of electrical damage (let's say.. if the thunderstrike did about 1500 on a full charge-up, the Voltage Gradient should do about.. 300? Something like that.) and the same stun/hold/whatever effect to up to five enemies within a 20-foot radius of the initial target. This effect occurs whether or not the initial victim of Thunderstrike is KO'd by that attack.
Another possible advantage, which could be offered in addition to the first one because they would work equally well combined or separate:
Go with the Flow: The activation of Thunderstrike will be delayed for a short period after the player finishes charging it. During that period of delay, the player will disappear (very strong stealth effect and maybe damage immunity?). At the same instant that the Thunderstrike finally activates, the "disappeared" player will be moved directly above the target of the strike and re-appear.
So, in summary I'm suggesting that Thunderstrike be changed to a powerful single-target damage attack, with one advantage that lets it also gain an AoE damage + minor crowd control effect, and another advantage that turns it into a very brief "escape danger" power followed by a leap-to effect.
I feel that all of these suggestions would make Thunderstrike infinitely more useful and more attractive both to pure Electricity users and custom builds, while keeping it different enough from not only the powers I compare it to, but more importantly other powers in the Electric framework, without it becoming TOO powerful.
Questions? Comments? Awards to bestow upon me for my cleverness?