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In this section you can give feedback and share your opinions on what should be changed for the Return of Reckoning Project. Before posting please make sure you read the Rules and Posting Guidelines to increase the efficiency of this forum.
I am bringing to the community's attention a suggestion regarding a topic many heal WPs have pondered in the late stages of the game - the balance of available weapon options and the place of the Fortress Tome and Smiter in this discussion.
The Problem
The Fortress weapon set for a healing WP feels a bit like a let down, when you consider its price and its suggested status as a highest-grade weapon set. It feels like it is not a worthwhile investment, if you can get the equally good (if not better) set of Apostle of Glory weapons at RR 45 for 800 crests and 100 gold less.
Context and Justification
Here I have outlined some context and justification why I feel a small tweak is necessary. Feel free to skip it, if you are already familiar with this topic:
Spoiler:
Normally, the weapon choice topic is a straight-forward one for a lot of other characters - Fortress weapons, Purple SC weapons, Bloodlord weapons etc. However, for a heal WP, it is not such a clear-cut decision.
At level 40 with RR 45, players gain access to what many players consider the best weapons for a healing spec WP at the ridiculous combined price of 800 war crests. Of course, I am talking about:
Now, what makes these two weapons so good are two very sought-after perks: Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit and Healing Power. Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit in particular is such an important statistic that basically all renown abilities discussions start with the question - 'How many points in Futile Strikes should I put in?'.
Furthermore, the pure Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit bonus from Apostle of Glory weapons has no diminishing returns, which makes it superior to Initiative stacking in the late game. Finally, the +39 Healing Power combined bonus of Apostle weapons is the highest you can get from any WP weapon combination. All this for 800 War Crest at RR 45 - unbelievable!
While the higher tier sc weapon Apostle of Reverence (purple weapons) could be better than Apostle of Glory (blue) for very specific and niche WB plays involving morale drops, it is mathematically worse than Apostle of Glory (blue) for everything else.
When compared to the high-end Fortress weapon set, the Apostle of Glory weapons are at least as good, if not better. A lot of players will argue that +2% Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit is worth at least as much as the 2% Heal Crit Chance in late game. In fact, from my experience playing in WB and especially in Ranked, the Apostle X of Glory weapons are by far the preferred equipment for WPs, which is a bit ridiculous considering you get them at RR45 for a total of 800 crests!
With the right equipment (Exquisite Gunbad Diamond, Triumphant Set items, Genesis 3-item bonus), these two percent could be just enough to push you over the point where you can invest safely in level 4 Healing Crit from the renown abilities at the expense of a level in Futile Strikes.
The Fortress Weapons' small attribute perks to Toughness and Initiative and the passive abilities Aid X (not very useful since most WP healing comes from HoT and also the chance is very low) and Spike X (also not very useful since you are healing from the backline) are mostly filler stats to fluff up and make the Fortress weapons look better than they actually are.
Balance Suggestion
Replace the +11 Initiative bonus of Fortress Tome with +1% Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit
Replace the +14 Toughness bonus of Fortress Smiter with +1% Reduced Chance to be Critically Hit
Comment
This is a relatively small tweak, which is aimed at improving the late game viability and attractiveness of Heal WP's Fortress Weapons. Many people put Reduced Chance to be Crit highest in the priority order when it comes to survivability, and especially so in the late game when you have already stacked a lot of Initiative. The proposed tweak will just shift the type of defensive bonus from these weapons in a direction that may be more relevant in the late game.
This change will not dramatically change the dilemma of choosing your weapons set - you will still have to choose what you want depending on the situation:
1. Added Morale Gain from Apostle of Reverence
2. Added Healing Power from Apostle of Glory
3. Added Heal Crit Chance from Fortress Weapons
This change just props up the attractiveness of Fortress weapons in this discussion, which is necessary because they are supposed to be high-end weapons, but are in fact routinely ignored by well-geared veterans across many game modes in favour of the lower-tier Apostle of Glory Tome and Battlehammer.
