Sorc and BW were both meta for a long while even after the proc tactics were nerfed in the past, and even after CF no longer affected IW. Their viability didn't, and shouldn't hinge on these affecting group. The beginning of the end was more so that the melee classes kept getting buff after buff, some justified, others completely misguided. The melee utility picks were turned into throughput picks, while retaining more utility than the ranged dps ever had.Sever1n wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2024 1:41 am Im pretty happy with that bw and sork are finally part of wb and give extra power to it in uniq way. Always was rooting for every class be in wb meta not just boring melle blobs of slays and other axe fetishists. If staking procs is such big problem, remove dmg from covenants into utility effects, like buff stats, increase healing, etc. In that way they will be utilized equally, and no need to ruin working classes. Like #removecovenantofcelerity reworked in something like little speedboost/ap buff without dmg part. U will get rid of staking, and give bw and sork some boost in terms of WB utility, so they will not go back into oblivion. Would be great if wb consisting of diferent dps classes will become meta and each of dps classes have something to offer for wb. I remember spellcleaving sork wbs with that cd redusing (it was strong as fk, but still was interesting bit of fresh air), maybe nerf it a little and rework prock tactis into tactics that make infernal wave/breath into spamable aoe like other classes have.
All this while magus and engi were improved at a snails pace after being completely scrapped as utility picks, only to end up loosing almost all the progress made eventually. SW and SH were both solid meta RDPS bomb picks back then. SH filled in as a lower throughput option than SW, but with excellent utility on line with SL at the time. SW had less upfront throughput than BW, but was more mobile and had better range which made it incredibly solid. Both were nuked into oblivion, SH later turned into a MDPS.
The state of covs is a contributing factor at the moment, but at the end of the day, they aren't the main culprit behind the overwhelming stacking of melees. It's quite simply a result of increasing throughput on certain classes without doing so relative to their inherently higher defenses, mobility and utility compared to rdps, while nerfing (in some cases effectively deleting) their ranged counterparts.
Removing/adjusting certain throughput buffs made to melees should go a long way. Most of the buffs were done at a time where channels hitting twice a second wasn't a major factor. These buffs can now be removed, as melees gain throughput from procs instead.
Add: Oh and zdps RP/Zealot were also burned to the ground, of course, after having a solid slot for ages. The meta was wild back when the game was actually good, so varied.
