The issues i have and see with stealth are a small handful that could easily be adjusted but let me explain the issue first. Allthough the major issues with it are more or less Bugs (#6087 or #5166) i can see a few fixed in the same go as my proposed changes could be done.1. Identify the issue.
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2. Explain why it's an issue.
Nonbug related issues with the Stealthmechanic are simply the missing mobility other MeleeDDs can provide and it was already mentioned multiple times that this is a huge lackluster because you're most of the time a sitting duck.
People may now claim that WH/WE do not need mobility since they have 'sustained high damage' once they reach their target, but even that is not true since other DDs have first of all similar or even higher numbers, while being more tanky and more mobile at the same time. To top this off their dmg is most of the time not bount to having to backstab people either.
Other people may call their selfkick to be a movement tool that is strong enough, but the kick as it is right now (and supposedly it will remain that way) is extremely finicky in terms of repositioning, as well as completely counterable by receiving a root/kick or knockdown while you begin casting it. This is no assumption, this is live RoR gameplay.
Ad.2)
I can just say its more the opposite of the overpowered statement here. Virtually every group either prefers double Slayers/Marauders or a mixture with Choppa/Lion and rarely a WE/WH but certainly not any setup with 2x WE/WH at all. Allthough this definitely has different reasons as well: Be it the lack of armordebuffs, no certain specific debuffs like CD increasers, disortients, melee slows and whatnot. Besides the obvious missing tools other Mdds can provide, why is that specifically? As i mentioned above WH/WE are definitely not the praised classes that run in, oneshot someone while hes knocked down and then just walk out as if nothing happened. Definitely not, because everyone would run them if they were. They're squishy, immobile, have AP issues, need to use positionals on top of that and just overall dont perform as well as all other melee classes do, because of a combination of everything coming down to one class. This might change with higher gear, but i want to remember everyone that we do not balance by items and we wont have those endless stat stacking LotD items or Warpforged gears either.You need to demonstrate why exactly the issue you've identified is such a problem, with reference to the metagame. To use an overpowered strategy as an example...
I will try it with a small comparison to how Charge! works.3. Propose a viable solution to the problem.
Also its not just one change, but a few more alltogether.
Charge! : 30sec CD, 50% speed boost for 7 seconds until skill usage.
Stealth could be changed to behave similar to that:
The first ~5 seconds after its activation could increase the movement speed by 25-35%. In the same haul the cooldown and duration need to be looked at. Stealth with a duration of 30 seconds is quite long, but the cooldown of 30 seconds after X seconds of stealth is too long as well (since the CD doesnt start upon activation, but upon spell break). If the duration was cut by 15 seconds and the cooldown by 10-15 seconds it would greatly improve the availability in fights. Nonetheless there also really needs to be a proper destealth immunity of at least 2-3 seconds after entering to prevent any random stuff from breaking it (looking at the Bugreports on the Top here). Remember i am not talking about damage immunity here, it is just about being immune to become visible again through AoE spells, Proccs and the likes. If someone manages to get his initiative check and sees you in your greyed out shadow, he can still unstealth you as well.
So to sum it up:
Stealth: 15-20sec CD, 25-35% speed boost for 5 first seconds, 15 sec duration (max) until skill usage.
It could or rather should be discussed if speed also breaks upon using skills or not. If you look at charge it should be broken on skill usage. On the other hand speed proccs from weapons or tactics (Shamy,Chosen,BG or IB for example) do not break at all. So these exist as well.
Things to note and not forget: Stealth openers will be a lot more frequent (while Marauder/Chosen/IB for example can still spam the same spells without prequesite - Touch of Rot/Instability/Palsy). Openers AP reduction needs to be nerfed to 25% from 50% most likely as well. Stealthspeed will be up more frequently compared to Charge, but will be significantly slower as well as shorter to compensate.
Also stealthactivation will be still interrupted upon receiving damage, so you need to properly disengage, or blow parry/disrupt stuff to restealth unlike charge+root breaker that can be used at will.
Looking at my statement of
What should overall happen to WH/WE with this change to stealth?
*A more consistent AP reduction possible, making the class less AP starved. This is to normalize the damage a bit more and counteract to the dmg loss due to positionals.
*A bit of mobility added to their whole kit.
*Better availability of stealth. having stealth up more often,hopefully makes the class a bit less predictable for the enemies, which is the an advantage they should have.
*Stealth itself becomes a bit more reliable in terms of breaking.
What should my group get out of that compared to using a WH without the changes (.ab ex)?
*Potentially better survivability if you manage to stealth in fight more often. In other words it is more compatible with the cooldown of the Selfkick, making this a better "Combo" , while it will remain counterable.
*Potentially a better damage output, due to having the extra damage from openers+AP reduction up more often.
*Having less CD and a speed on stealth will allow your WH to better rejoin battles if theyre being punted away, or allows them to better escape if they were punted into a bad spot, making them less of a liability to take with you.
