Hi Everyone,
As always, thank you for all the work you do for the server. Here is my point of view:
The style changes bring some needed balance to 8v8 and other assorted group play, which I can appreciate. However, for Assassins, especially in the realm of solo play, I think the changes have serious consequences and I think a partial or full revert of those changes (just to Assassins) would benefit the solo community.
Essentially, the problem lies in homogenization. Before the changes, Slash Infiltrator and Thrust Infiltrator were so different it was like playing a different class almost. Slash was all about damage type and shredding through people, while Thrust was about thrifty use of 3 different stuns. Both were very competitive (take a look at Mcnasty's comparison video for proof). Shadowblades were similarly versatile. Shadowzerkers relied on a 2 part evade stun, which was difficult to land, but when it landed, they had a very good win condition (3-part AB chain), while Critblade spec had good defense bonuses and was a little less of a "race to zero health".
Additionally, more side-styles for more classes becomes an issue in solo play with the ping variance on this server. It was already frustrating to fight Valewalkers (the most prominent side stunners) because you can literally track them the whole way with mouselook and still get hit with a sidestun. This is a reality of playing DAoC. However, this is basically the meta with all assassins having a side stun now. I really think this will negatively affect solo play.
Overall, I think the real issue is that these classes are no longer unique, and therefore are less interesting to play. Playing a Shadowblade was very, very different from playing an Infiltrator or a Nightshade, etc. Now, they are all very similar, and this not only creates a less interesting play experience, it also doesn't result in more balance in my observation.
Additionally, I think the VW and Friar changes (side stun) cause some real issues in 1v1, for the aforementioned reasons regarding issues with ping variance with our playerbase.
Thank you for your time. I appreciate your attention on my post and hope that we can have a civil discussion regarding the future of these style changes for assassins.
As always, thank you for all the work you do for the server. Here is my point of view:
The style changes bring some needed balance to 8v8 and other assorted group play, which I can appreciate. However, for Assassins, especially in the realm of solo play, I think the changes have serious consequences and I think a partial or full revert of those changes (just to Assassins) would benefit the solo community.
Essentially, the problem lies in homogenization. Before the changes, Slash Infiltrator and Thrust Infiltrator were so different it was like playing a different class almost. Slash was all about damage type and shredding through people, while Thrust was about thrifty use of 3 different stuns. Both were very competitive (take a look at Mcnasty's comparison video for proof). Shadowblades were similarly versatile. Shadowzerkers relied on a 2 part evade stun, which was difficult to land, but when it landed, they had a very good win condition (3-part AB chain), while Critblade spec had good defense bonuses and was a little less of a "race to zero health".
Additionally, more side-styles for more classes becomes an issue in solo play with the ping variance on this server. It was already frustrating to fight Valewalkers (the most prominent side stunners) because you can literally track them the whole way with mouselook and still get hit with a sidestun. This is a reality of playing DAoC. However, this is basically the meta with all assassins having a side stun now. I really think this will negatively affect solo play.
Overall, I think the real issue is that these classes are no longer unique, and therefore are less interesting to play. Playing a Shadowblade was very, very different from playing an Infiltrator or a Nightshade, etc. Now, they are all very similar, and this not only creates a less interesting play experience, it also doesn't result in more balance in my observation.
Additionally, I think the VW and Friar changes (side stun) cause some real issues in 1v1, for the aforementioned reasons regarding issues with ping variance with our playerbase.
Thank you for your time. I appreciate your attention on my post and hope that we can have a civil discussion regarding the future of these style changes for assassins.