Archived Post
09-03-2009, 08:35 AM
Figured I'd make a post just to consolidate all my thoughts on changes I feel could benefit PvP. I am by no means a 'pro' or expert, and have only played since OB. These are based only on impressions of balance, not facts.
The notorious one first, Teleport (and possibly vapor form, haven't tried it yet):
Yes, it's beatable, but the things which counter it also counter every single other travel power.
The only change I would make, would be to have charge-up attacks hit the teleporter if you start the charge before he phases in, and release it after he has started teleporting. The graphic already reflects that this is the case, but you deal no damage. Right now, timing it isn't feasable due to the unavoidable ~200ms lag you get in mmo's.
You could still use teleport to get out of sour situations, but it would be a proactive decision rather than a reactive one.
Currently the 15 second penalty is pretty sketchy as well, and I know for a fact that people are chain-teleporting even when I land a DoT on them.
Craft-container buffs:
When you open a component container, you get a pretty lengthy buff. Energy regen for mysticism, health regen for science (I'm getting 68 per tick I think at level 13), and damage for arms.
The health regen one especially makes a significant difference for me in pvp. I've never died for it's duration since you can combine it with a passive, and it lasts about half the match.
If these are intended to be used in pvp (which I doubt), it would make more sense to automatically grant them as a passive when you enter the arena. Otherwise I would just obviously clear them (along with any other buffs you could get from outside pvp) upon entering the match.
This would have no effect on PvE.
Crippling Challenge:
A single player can maintain this non-stop, which quickly removes blocking from being a factor entirely. I think it would make sense to have the duration be shorter than it's recast, so that you'd need more than one player to keep an opponent from blocking for any significant amount of time.
Chill (or acrobatics, your pick):
I actually thought this was a huge problem at first, but realised it was because I experienced it on my acrobatics character. It brings him down to a near stand-still, while barely having any effect on any other travel power.
Regardless of if chill itself is overpowered or not, it shouldn't completely dominate an already so-so travel power, while having virtually no effect on others.
Level design:
It's really frustrating to fight around the ceiling, especially in UTC Cage. It has all those ridges and beams which makes it unclear whether you can fit through or not. A lot of the time when being chased I can fly up there and lose people as they try to navigate all the little awkward invisible walls.
Additionally I'd put more powerups in the spawn room, just to give the losing team that little boost.
Consumables and activated items:
I don't strictly mind 'potions' themselves, but I don't like how expensive and powerful they are. They really give me the sense that I should spend the better duration of a day to farm to increase my chances in pvp.
I'd have the vendor sell a singular type of pvp-only heal - maybe one for each tier - which was 'free enough' so that you didn't have to worry about farming to afford it. Obviously cooldown rules would still apply so it would be an issue of timing rather than the depth of your pockets.
I'm unsure about activated items because I've seen some really drastic ones. I got a -100% psi resistance thing with infinite charges, for example. I agree that they add a little flavor, but I'd hate it if once the game matures and people discover a few 'must-haves' for pvp, let alone if they have limited charges and are a pain to farm.
In short, I don't want pvp to become a matter of farming for victory rather than fighting for it. I'm fine with the actives available to us right now, but I'd be the last guy to complain if they disallowed them entirely.
The notorious one first, Teleport (and possibly vapor form, haven't tried it yet):
Yes, it's beatable, but the things which counter it also counter every single other travel power.
The only change I would make, would be to have charge-up attacks hit the teleporter if you start the charge before he phases in, and release it after he has started teleporting. The graphic already reflects that this is the case, but you deal no damage. Right now, timing it isn't feasable due to the unavoidable ~200ms lag you get in mmo's.
You could still use teleport to get out of sour situations, but it would be a proactive decision rather than a reactive one.
Currently the 15 second penalty is pretty sketchy as well, and I know for a fact that people are chain-teleporting even when I land a DoT on them.
Craft-container buffs:
When you open a component container, you get a pretty lengthy buff. Energy regen for mysticism, health regen for science (I'm getting 68 per tick I think at level 13), and damage for arms.
The health regen one especially makes a significant difference for me in pvp. I've never died for it's duration since you can combine it with a passive, and it lasts about half the match.
If these are intended to be used in pvp (which I doubt), it would make more sense to automatically grant them as a passive when you enter the arena. Otherwise I would just obviously clear them (along with any other buffs you could get from outside pvp) upon entering the match.
This would have no effect on PvE.
Crippling Challenge:
A single player can maintain this non-stop, which quickly removes blocking from being a factor entirely. I think it would make sense to have the duration be shorter than it's recast, so that you'd need more than one player to keep an opponent from blocking for any significant amount of time.
Chill (or acrobatics, your pick):
I actually thought this was a huge problem at first, but realised it was because I experienced it on my acrobatics character. It brings him down to a near stand-still, while barely having any effect on any other travel power.
Regardless of if chill itself is overpowered or not, it shouldn't completely dominate an already so-so travel power, while having virtually no effect on others.
Level design:
It's really frustrating to fight around the ceiling, especially in UTC Cage. It has all those ridges and beams which makes it unclear whether you can fit through or not. A lot of the time when being chased I can fly up there and lose people as they try to navigate all the little awkward invisible walls.
Additionally I'd put more powerups in the spawn room, just to give the losing team that little boost.
Consumables and activated items:
I don't strictly mind 'potions' themselves, but I don't like how expensive and powerful they are. They really give me the sense that I should spend the better duration of a day to farm to increase my chances in pvp.
I'd have the vendor sell a singular type of pvp-only heal - maybe one for each tier - which was 'free enough' so that you didn't have to worry about farming to afford it. Obviously cooldown rules would still apply so it would be an issue of timing rather than the depth of your pockets.
I'm unsure about activated items because I've seen some really drastic ones. I got a -100% psi resistance thing with infinite charges, for example. I agree that they add a little flavor, but I'd hate it if once the game matures and people discover a few 'must-haves' for pvp, let alone if they have limited charges and are a pain to farm.
In short, I don't want pvp to become a matter of farming for victory rather than fighting for it. I'm fine with the actives available to us right now, but I'd be the last guy to complain if they disallowed them entirely.