My take on the crit/armor set changes

[Morf]

Firstly this isnt a place to whine about the changes its purely feedback and to try and get the general feelings of the community as to why its a good or bad thing.

My take on the changes are as such, the changes were aimed at classes who benefit from crit more then others and mainly any crit multipliers yet this change affects every single class, while the crit rate has been reduced on classes that have crit multipliers the crit damage remains the same, when you then take into account procs such as resto burst, tzeentch gift,ancestors echo,khaines bounty,divine warding (and likely others) healing resources and def capabilities that also rely on crit (heal crit) have also been reduced and the overall loss of survivability levels due to heal crit proccing less then previously.
Crit damage numbers are the same, heal crit numbers are the same, healing crit chance is lower, damage crit rate is lower so whats the change here ? you could even argue that given the + power stat added to t4 inf weapons crit damage numbers will be higher then before (even if ever so slightly).

This change also has an affect on the possibilities of mixing armor pieces, the common options were as such, 4 piece of a set and then either t4 inf helm, t4 inf boots with either crit/block, ruin shoulder, lair shouldes for dps tanks and many other lair pieces which may suit a certain spec, while this doesnt give you massive options and nearly everyone used the same 2/3 setups its does give a little diversity which can only be a good thing, as of now its 5 piece of merc/anni or nothing.
This change also makes sc weapons less important, 440/880 emblems for 1%/2% crit is massively overpriced compared to other options available.

In the case of mixing armor on my shaman as an example, the change has meant i lose 3% heal crit, 3% reduction in being critically hit and a small about of toughness, now you compare that to enemy dps who have loss 5% crit, you could say it was a bigger nerf for my shaman healer then any dps gaining from crit multipliers.

The long term goal mentioned by Azarael is an exciting one which in the future will have little to no impact on the current items however this is a long way away and in the mean time i dont think this change was the right thing to do, this is a band aid fix to crit damage imo. If the main problems are crit damage/multipliers then i believe the focus should be on the classes that have them not a change to every class where you dont just affect crit multipliers but alot of other aspects.

I would also like to point out i am very grateful that changes are being thought of and implemented ( i dont want to sound ungrateful) however i strongly disagree with a blanket wide change to crit and the change to armor sets in the current state of the game.

[ballnazor]

Agreed, i feel that this change doesnt hit the classes its supposed to affect as much as it does the other classes. My BO used to be able to mix and match sets (3+2 or 4+1inf/lair piece) but now im gonna be forced to run 5piece ruin for the block. We'll see how it turns out but the +1 mastery is useless on some careers.

[drmordread]

Actually these changes to crit really benefit the Witch Elf. With their +3% crit for each archetype resource, they can rule the battlefield with +15% crit, while everyone else is nerfed.

[Hausherr235]

Just get rid of set boni altogether and put the stats on the items themselves.

Personally, I find it super annoying to grind out a full (or previously 4 pieces) set of armor just because I don't want to lose the precious bonus from the lower level set instead of just switching it piece by piece and progressing in a more linear way.

Why should equipping "better" item actually gimp my character instead of improving it?

[Morf]

All this reads is "I got my low hanging fruit which was more desirable than the 5th piece bonus (which is clearly against design intent) and I liked being able to grab it way too early".

Simple fact is if the 5th set bonus is so good its forcing you be locked in and your precious "variety" is effected then its a clear illustration that something is fundamentally wrong with it and needs further work in order to bring the benefit and attraction of certain stats back down to that of the other stats.

Then you didnt read properly, i clearly stated this is feedback you make out its a whine, whats the point of giving feedback if its ignored and not taken seriously ?, i didnt come to this conclusion with no thought and i am not alone in thinking what i wrote.

Crit is more important then main stats and not just for damaging purposes, the reason to nerf all crit was because a select few classes gain more out of it then others, this is why a wide change affecting all classes was the wrong move, if crit is deemed a problem then it should be looked at properly and how to change for the better, the current change is a bandaid that doesnt actually fix or do anything positive, itemisation changes dont fix issues, this should be common sense.

As for 4th/5th piece bonuses, it depends on your class and your rr, the mastery point does more for my sh then crit as it means finish em off is more accessible without having to be rr60.

[katroulitsa]

Simple fact is if the 5th set bonus is so good its forcing you be locked in and your precious "variety" is effected then its a clear illustration that something is fundamentally wrong with it and needs further work in order to bring the benefit and attraction of certain stats back down to that of the other stats.

Im sorry but to me that doesnt make any sense at all. Its like saying stacking intelligence on sorcs/BWs is wrong because everyone seems to be doing it. Ofc some stats will be prioritized all the time because of their effectiveness and the way they work with each class' basic mechanics.
The -3% crit loss from obtaining 5 piece annih instead of ruin shoulders or influ helm/boots isnt so dramatic imho, but if you combine it with the absurd alteration on sc/influ weapons, you can undersand why everyone is being so salty on forums these days. I call it really bad timing

[Morf]

Also this change isnt something that you can say lets test and see how it goes, if x classes are the problem why crit is deemed to powerful then address x classes, this change has a negative impact on classes that dont benefit from crit tactics.

[georgehabadasher]

All this reads is "I got my low hanging fruit which was more desirable than the 5th piece bonus (which is clearly against design intent) and I liked being able to grab it way too early".

Simple fact is if the 5th set bonus is so good its forcing you be locked in and your precious "variety" is effected then its a clear illustration that something is fundamentally wrong with it and needs further work in order to bring the benefit and attraction of certain stats back down to that of the other stats.

Moving the crit bonus to 5 pieces lowers crit by 2-3% on most classes and RRs because they can't use that last influence/ruin piece of gear and don't get a new specialization ability from the former 5-piece (now 4-piece) bonus. Add in the weapon changes and most classes lose another 2-3%. That's a pretty significant change. All this does is buff classes which already have access to high crit and/or don't rely on crit for damage. BW/Sorc/SW/SH, (AMs/Shamans too, yay!) Slayers, Order in general (leading shots + dirty tricks). Again, it's not a huge change, but it's a significant and not really productive one.

It's also a part of a series of changes which seem to be made in the vein of 'Duuude, wouldn't it be cool if X' without enough thought given to how it will affect the game as a whole. Obvious examples include Engi/Magus range and keep sieges, as well as keep lords killing the NA timezone, discussions about removing armor potions from the game entirely, etc.

On another note you have a tendency to respond to any negative feedback about your personal contributions to the project--even the most well-thought-out, legitimate and constructive feedback--by lashing out and calling people whiners. That's an unfortunate and unproductive attitude for anyone, particularly someone who works on such an open community project.

[Daknallbomb]

Oh rly ppl what the heck are u guys writing... Its not the Letters Worth.... . U lost 3% hell crit? I give an example. With a 2 sec cost that heals 1k with 20% crit. To 17% crit is a diffrent about 1500 heal in 20 sec. 75 per second.... . It impact nothing and ppl say its a diffrent are Just flaming. Its nothing. Same like % crit dmg. And dont forget all all all on dat Server got lower crit now... Not Just u alone. So all will be like IT was Just that The toons who has massive crit dmg buffs will be better balanced. Where The hell is The Problem... Sry 4 my rage But i Cant understand The Things here on Forum in the Last Times...

[katroulitsa]

Oh rly ppl what the heck are u guys writing... Its not the Letters Worth.... . U lost 3% hell crit? I give an example. With a 2 sec cost that heals 1k with 20% crit. To 17% crit is a diffrent about 1500 heal in 20 sec. 75 per second.... . It impact nothing and ppl say its a diffrent are Just flaming. Its nothing. Same like % crit dmg. And dont forget all all all on dat Server got lower crit now... Not Just u alone. So all will be like IT was Just that The toons who has massive crit dmg buffs will be better balanced. Where The hell is The Problem... Sry 4 my rage But i Cant understand The Things here on Forum in the Last Times...

As i mentioned above, you dont just lose 2-3% crit, because armor set isnt the only thing that has been modified.
We may have lower crit chance altogether, but still order side has access to dirty tricks and leading shots; so I wouldn't rly call that balanced.