Feeding on Weakness' weaknesses

[Deadpoet]

ISSUE: The lifetap component of Feeding on Weakness is an interesting concept, perhaps intended originally as a way to complement a toughness boost that doesn’t in turn debuff the enemy’s and only applies to the BG and his/her Dark protegé, and therefore vastly inferior to other tanks’ auras or stat steal mechanics. That’d be the concept. The realization is absolutely underwhelming.
To begin with, it will only benefit certain very offensive heavy BG specs as the damage of the ability must be really high in the first place for the lifetap to be meaningful. The average 2handed BG with a mix of beastlord and other sets and around 450str unbuffed will not produce significant damage to get enough from the lifetap, (when the ability isn’t blocked/parried/absorbed/high armor mitigated) also because he will have most points in Malice for Crimson Death and not many skill points left in Anguish after stopping to grab parry tactic and maybe toughness tactic to go high enough in the tree to boost FoW’s base damage. At 75% of damage returned as health in the best case the returns are not great.
Moreover, you can theoretically use the ability every 5 seconds to try and provide some sustained support, but the sheer amount of buffs and debuffs that you have to apply precludes the use of FoW with such a short frequency. For this class even more than for other classes every gcd must be spent on a different ability than the previous one as you need to individually and methodically apply every single debuff and buff.
FoW is arguably more important than other abilities of this class because it is one of the abilities that the DP benefits from. The lifetap component of FoW being meaningful would improve the BG’s defining job as Dark Protector.
It would also make Bolstering Anger, right at the top of the right hand tree, less mandatory for defensive BGs, opening up different skill point allocations and specs.

SOLUTION:
Make FoW’s lifetap component match the duration of the toughness buff (20 seconds):
WITH TWO POSSIBILITIES:
After hitting a target with FoW, for 20 seconds every time you hit an enemy with any ability or attack you and your DP have a 10% chance to return damage as health based off hate (up to a maximum of 75% of damage as health at 100 hate).
or
After hitting a target with FoW, you and your DP will be healed for (insert an appropriate amount of hps) over 20 seconds. As the HoT would only affect you and your DP the amount should be higher than mirror abilities from the Black Orc and Swordmaster arsenal that affect all group members.

[Penril]

I don't think the first option is doable without client control.

Moving to Discussions; focus on option 2: "After hitting a target with FoW, you and your DP will be healed for (insert an appropriate amount of hps) over 20 seconds".

(Unless a dev tells us option 1 is also doable)

[Lektroluv]

Spoiler:

I always considered feeding on weakness, one of the most underpowered tools in BG (on paper looks like a good ability, but once you use it, notice the buff is overwrite by auras, by potions, by buffs, and the relation betwen damage and selfheal ratio it is laughtable at best)

The attack can be parried,can be blocked, it is beign mitigated twice by armor and toughnes and even after that you need 100 hate in a complete chaotic mechanic very hate starving... i seen healing myself for 6 hitpoints with 100% hate randomly.

i don't see your proposal about a 10% chance of heal yourself, like a buff, more like another nail in coffin... 10% seriusly? even other tanks bubbles are 25% chance, isn't it?

My proposal about Feeding on weakness would be making it more simply, and making the class less button sufering syndrome:

The proposal would be mix two blackguard abilities (Absorv shield + feeding on weakness)

Right now the feeding on weakness ability is underperforming at all levels, as damage and as self heal in my opinion.

I consider the Absorv shield in direct combar it is looking better in paper than in real combat, because the global cooldown spent in cast the ability withouth cause any damage in enemy, has not any effect in battle...all the times, with autoattacks, area attacks, DoTs, etc the bubble has disapeared before you can even use a new ability.
You cause zero damage with it, you have zero chance of use abilities during the duration because it disapear, and it is not automatic like Swordmaster bubbles.

My idea is mix both abilities changing it in a self buff which give you a 25% chance of proc the bubble in YOUR attacks, giving both the dark protected and yourself the bubble in a 50 feets range, and add internal cooldown of max one proc each 5 seconds like the feeding on weakness ability has and lowered from the original 10 seconds cooldown absorv shield has (the reason because i think internal proc must be 5 seconds instead of 10, it is because this change will make you unable to take benefit of absorv shield if your target it is out of your combat range)

This would be interesting, because could make BG more play style friendly (let's face it, even the best Blackguard, has the self buffs down 60% of time, because he is busy using other abilities and those willpower and toughness buffs are only 20 seconds duration).

This could help you to proc bubbles from attacks like Swordmaster does, not needing to spend one cooldown in an absorv shield which disapear before you are able to use next ability and get ride of feeding weakness ability which right now is not damaging, is not buffing and it is not healing.

Debunk OP, or refrain from posting. If you have different suggestions, make a new proposal on a different thread.

[roadkillrobin]

Spoiler:

Would probobly change it to heal a % of maxhealth of the tank rather them damage dealt.

1-5% or so depending on hate.

Debunk OP, or refrain from posting. If you have different suggestions, make a new proposal on a different thread.

[Toldavf]

I dislike the idea of giving the most resilient tank more resilience.

It has self heal in its tool kit, and i would say it doesn't need more.

[Theseus]

I dislike the idea of giving the most resilient tank more resilience.

It has self heal in its tool kit, and i would say it doesn't need more.

One could argue about that, but even as you are probably right about that, I see a bad ability and therefore would like to change it.

I personally like the second option way more. It sounds way more effective. You even can define different amounts of healing depending on hate.

[Bozzax]

Spoiler:

It is not bad in the right context / playstyle / spec

Unless you explain the "right" context / playstyle / spec, this post is irrelevant.

[Toldavf]

I dislike the idea of giving the most resilient tank more resilience.

It has self heal in its tool kit, and i would say it doesn't need more.

One could argue about that, but even as you are probably right about that, I see a bad ability and therefore would like to change it.

I personally like the second option way more. It sounds way more effective. You even can define different amounts of healing depending on hate.

For my mind its not that its a bad ability, its just that aoe debuffs/buffs actually compete with single target ones making them seem lacklustre.

They also have to compete with potions.

Those for me are the real problem.

[Theseus]

I dislike the idea of giving the most resilient tank more resilience.

It has self heal in its tool kit, and i would say it doesn't need more.

One could argue about that, but even as you are probably right about that, I see a bad ability and therefore would like to change it.

I personally like the second option way more. It sounds way more effective. You even can define different amounts of healing depending on hate.

For my mind its not that its a bad ability, its just that aoe debuffs/buffs actually compete with single target ones making them seem lacklustre.

They also have to compete with potions.

Those for me are the real problem.

Well nothing to argue there. But wouldnt it be good to give such abilities an effect, which wont be affected by such things?

[Brutinho]

I dislike the idea of giving the most resilient tank more resilience.

It has self heal in its tool kit, and i would say it doesn't need more.

One could argue about that, but even as you are probably right about that, I see a bad ability and therefore would like to change it.

I personally like the second option way more. It sounds way more effective. You even can define different amounts of healing depending on hate.

For my mind its not that its a bad ability, its just that aoe debuffs/buffs actually compete with single target ones making them seem lacklustre.

They also have to compete with potions.

Those for me are the real problem.

It is not about the toughness buff, which is the part of the skill affected by potions. OP is talking about improving the secondary effect ,or added value if you will, of the BG single target buff.

At the momment the skill is lackluster, specially considering that it is an ability on the tanking tree and is dependant on damage output. Making it a flat amount over time would actually bring more impact to the gameplay it was meant for (tanking/supportive rolls as Dark Protector gets the HoT effect as well).