[Slayer] Retribution

[Bozzax]

It would even make sense to test this ability wo icd and possibly up range to 20-30ft.

Unlike other passive reflects it is active channeled and has numerous obvious counter plays (taunt, aoe punt stop attacking etc) w a 1min cd.

Could be a neat aoe bomb counter like that

[Grock]

The discussion is closing tomorrow, so i decided to re-read the entire topic and share a bit more detailed opinion on what was said before me.

Regarding original proposal - Removing channeling part and making it into a buff:
I strongly disagree. The idea of this ability is to convince the enemy to stop attacking you. The fact that Slayer/Choppa has to channel it and cannot attack or use abilities during it is precisely what makes that possible as it gives clear message: if you don't attack - you are safe.
If the channeling was removed and Slayer/Choppa could continue to attack - the ability in question becomes just a bland dps boost and extra punish for your opponent with no counterplay other than complete disengage via burning escape/CC abilities.
Also it gives us yet another buff that we have to use before engage, while we already have 4 (of different levels of usefullness)

Regarding original extra suggestions - Parry from behind, Parry buff, Removal of ICD:
- Parry from behind - I disagree. It sounds pretty cool, but it breaks game 'rule' about parry and makes parry extra good in larger scale. Also it would further encourage boring Riposte meta in solo play, which already has little counters and would have even less.
- Parry buff - Not yet. I really like the idea of adding extra avoidance during the channel as it comes in line with the concept of this ability how i see it. Also quite a few other people seem to like this idea as well.
However, i believe there are other changes needed be done before any new functionality is added. For example the ability currently does not proc if attack was parried, so adding extra parry during channeling with current implementation would simply make reflect damage redundant.
- Removal of ICD - Agree to a degree (i believe ICD should stay, but changed to work per-enemy). The current ICD implementation is one of the biggest issues with this ability. It can proc only once per second regardless of how many enemies are hitting you. This is terrible and leaves the ability "useful" only in 1v1 situations, but even then it is worthless due to other issues (your parry prevents proc, the proc can be parried by enemy)
Complete removal of ICD may be too much (or it could be just what the ability needs). It could turn out to be too potent against against DW users with AA haste, but im not sure if thats a bad thing really.
Regarding Peter's fear that it could make the ability too good in large scale - in my opinion that's unlikely, remember its a channeled reflect on a squishy glass cannon that prevents the class from actually attacking. Also keep in mind that the whole topic of this discussion is to make the ability useful, and denying a suggestion because it will make the ability useful is a bit illogical here, its better to come up with a way of limiting its potential than denying the much needed change entirely.
I see one potential problem in large scale - multiple Slayers/Choppas walking into AoE abilities and killing the caster with multiple reflects before anyone could react, AFAIK thats how it was used back on Live.
One way to circumvent this is to add distance limit on damage proc as Tesq and Bozzax suggested. The ability has very noticeable animation and VFX so it shouldn't be too troublesome to react accordingly when you see it in close range.

Regarding suggestions to make it work like Loudmouth - Procs always hitting offensive target (in conjunction with removal of ICD).
I kinda like it, but i disagree. The reasons: with complete removal of ICD it would have absolutely explosive burst potential in large battles and in general it would scale too much with number of enemies. While this does fit my vision of the ability, i don't like how much it would "scale" with number of enemies. If the damage was reduced to accommodate for overpowered large scale potential then the ability will suffer in smaller scale, especially because Slayer/Choppa are usually squishy and can't take many hits in general. If the ICD was to be preserved then the ability will remain mediocre at best.

Regarding suggestion to change its functionality completely - buffs on proc, aoe damage channel, etc
I completely disagree. There are no reasons for that and I believe the ability could be made potent and useful in its original functionality. Despite all the attempts to balance this broken game we should strive to preserve the original whenever possible.

In the end i'll just reiterate on my own suggestion:
1. Change the ICD to external one - to make it usable against multiple foes.
2. Make its hits undefendable - to make it reliable and equally good on both Slayer and Choppa.
3. Make it proc on attacks that were defended - this class can't afford to trade hits, avoidance is crucial and it shouldn't diminish ability's effectiveness
Thats the ideal minimum that should be made before any further discussion IMO.

4. Allow it to proc on ranged attacks, but also do one of these if technically possible:
a) Implement proc distance limit (30-45ft)
b) Longer ICD and/or lower damage when procced by AoE ability

And then let it be tested for a couple of months before discussing any further changes (like adding avoidance)