[Engi/Magus] Tzeentch's Firestorm & Phosphorous Shells

[Orontes]

The Issue


The cooldown for Tzeentch's Firestorm and Phosphorous Shells (PH).


Why is this an Issue:


The Path of Changing and The Path of the Grenadier are AOE focused mastery lines. Both are generally considered the weakest of each classes' mastery options. This is because the bulk of their damage is superfluous. Tzeentch's Firestorm and PH were recently added to the Changing and Grenadier mastery lines. With these additions, there is potential to improve both masteries, but it is prevented by the cooldowns of these two abilities. For any Changing focused Magi or Grenadier Engineer, the potential is with combining of Mist with Tzeentch's Firestorm or Napalm Grenade with Phosphorous Shells. Any targets within the area these abilities effect, could suffer sustained pressure damage, but this is prevented because Tzeentch's Firestorm and PH have a long cooldown that blocks that pressure from being maintained. Therefore sustained pressure damage is not possible.


Proposed Solution


Add in a 10 second cooldown reduction to the 11 point tactics Wild Changing and Bandolier for Tzeenth's Firestrorm and Phosphorous Shells respectively. Both abilities would retain their current modifiers, but would now include additional augments in reducing the cooldown for Tzeentch's Firestorm and PH.


Using a tactic to reduce an AOE ability's cooldown currently exists with Bright Wizard's Rain of Fire via the 7 point tactic Fiery Reserves and the Sorcerer's 11 point tactic Neverending agony. This was also the case for Magus' Tzeentch's Firestorm with the 11 tactic Chaos Unleashed when it was part of the Havoc Mastery.


Both Mist and Napalm Grenade are by and large superfluous damage and hardly warrant their 13 point mastery placements. This is because they require such a long build up. With the potential of adding Firestorm and PH on top of the location affected by Mist and Napalm, the caster could bring real sustained area pressure to bear. Unlike Firestorm, PH requires a target who then affects those around them, but should that target stay in the area of a napalm grenade the effect would be the same: sustained pressure damage.


Only those magi or engineers willing to specialized significantly up the Changing/Grenadier masteries would be able to double up these abilities, but the benefits would be helping to establish zones of sustained damage pressure for their respective sides.


This does not solve all issues with the Changing and Grenadier Mastery lines, but it makes both better and would be welcomed by the engineer and magus populations.


Responding to possible rebuttals


Would this make either Tzeentch's Firestorm or Phosporous Shells (PH) OP? No. Both Sorc and BW Pit of Shades and Rain of Fire hit harder and are not considered OP, therefore neither Firestorm or PH could be OP. Further, there was no large number of threads on the forums complaining Firestorm was OP when it was part of the Havoc Mastery line. Lastly, the AOE damage does not stack, one simply has to move to escape the damage or the potential of stacked damage from any combining with area AOE.

[peterthepan3]

PS is currently in line for a buff/possible rework, so I'm going to put this on the back-burner for now while we assess public reaction to improved versions in due time.