Post#16 » Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:50 am
I dunno, wrecking mdps solo with a 1k dps aSW feels soo good, especially since WEs lose to me about 90% of the time, even after opening me with a kd... I just get back, use a pot, shadowstep and then we dance... :p
Skirm aoe is not as good, thus it can deal nice numbers with added crit damage, and perma 45% crit chance from bullseye, while debuffing 15% defenses in zone for allies and kiting the whole time.
Switching ST/AoE is about one tactic set away, you dont even need to respec.
All of that with 850 WS, 1k bal + 1k2 str, 4k armor and 60% parry, without any single renown point into offensive stats (wich mean base zero ctbc, full parry and dd).
Put 3 armor talis, 4 weapon skill and 1 wounds ones and here you go.
Just need 5 warlord + 4 triumphant. Not an easy goal to reach when triumph jewel is 10k crests obviously.
But when you achieve that, you can deal with a wide range of classes solo, and still be a good asset to your team playing in WB, also getting like 60+% of effective damage...
So yes, melee mode lacks spammable aoe (20s cd on the only aoe skill is a bad joke) ans skirmish lacks a bit of punch (thus getting 800+ crits with aoe ranged skills feels good), but I disagree about feeling better with other mdps classes : my assault SW beats my Sov WL by miles when it comes to kill kiting classes, while dealing much more punch in melee. It's even better than my WH when it comes to survival (armor+15% all defenses are a good combo), while getting 13% dodge/parry strikethrough wich I cannot have on WH unless equipping invader set instead of Sov.
And in the end I dont rely on one defensive skill (Repel Blasphemy) or unreliable pet (that can be detaunted by mdps, cutting about 12% of my dps every fight), and far much harder to counter or kite (since the SW can still attack and snare from a distance, while constant debuff heal).
A healer bumping me will not make me uneffective, unlike WL/WH wich are hard-countered (you cant do anything while not in melee range). A mdps cannot escape that easily (shadowstep for speed buff, double snare, ranged attacks to 100 ft to finish them). I can jump into backlines like a WL, ignoring bodyblock and snares, with increased defenses on top, to wreck healers thanks to perma-debuffheal and high sustained dps + kd.
Cherry on the cake, I still can enjoy funnels while attacking from a relatively safe 65ft away, providing mass 15% debuff to block/parry/dodge (and a 8% crit buff to my party). What can you do with a WL/WH in these situations, saving bypassing posterns or waiting for WEs to sneak in ?
Sure, SW is hard to play and master, but in good hands it just can be devastating (solo), while being very survivable (armor, defenses and backdash) so it wont require babysitting, with good kiting tools, group buffs and aoe debuffs...
Yes you wont kill especially much in ranged builds, but man, you can beat most mdps nearly bare-handed with a properly played assault build, and pack an big punch to a healer backline as well.
WL or WH dont have a fraction of the SW polyvalence, at least to my 80+ full sov experience to date with all these classes.
They are good specialized classes, but not as polyvalent and enjoyable as the aSW build I play, by far. Too much counters to pure mdps around (shamans especially).