void wrote:but overall i would disagree with melee sorc being close where she needs to be this patch, its a bit too early for that imo. despite the good buffs like fbr on baneblade (its a significant help, i will not deny this fact, and credit where credit is due that was a good idea), she is still a low tier melee char and i would attribute that to the lower than average clearspeed with the basic skills (low amount of sword missilies compared with something like harbinger and much less overall dps as well, even for single target its not overwhelming)...
Fair enough. I was just glad she even got this much attention so I didn't want to be greedy with my wishlist and risk a backlash.
I also try not to compare one class/build to another anymore b/c doing so just pisses me off, so I was just comparing the build's performance in this patch to the last. But if you wanna compare it to other melee builds, then yeah, Melee Sorc is still at the bottom-tier.
combined with going into block animation as a melee char (in general its not nice in a game like median to be melee range and max block but a char like batsin does it better and packs more damage as well, batsin also got the sweet 50% shower of rocks on kill claw rw)...
Yup. You can see in the demo video I posted in the guide that she just stands there at certain points (Fauzt and Vizjun especially) for a second or two. That's not me just standing there like a dumbass, she's locked in place--unable to attack, move, or do anything.
combined with the restrictions you have of damage vs defense (fire dance for damage but lower defense, ice elementals for defense and dr but no damage increase, and look how other chars get way of the phoenix, dragonfire oil, elfin weapons etc that are more useful than just damage%)...
I wouldn't mind so much having to choose between damage or defense if you could
actually get superior damage or defense.If you go the damage route (which I prefer), you still need super expensive items that are entirely impractical to get just to give her a chance at competing with other melee builds. And if those other builds also have those same super expensive items, then Melee Sorc isn't even a factor anymore. Also, if you go full damage, max block and Warp Armor's small %Avoid bonus are your
only means of survival. You've got no defense and no %DR b/c your gear choices need to focus on anything that can add flat damage. And even with Moonstrike's max life buff and +%Max Life items, you're lucky to get 14k life, which makes you incredibly vulnerable to all the spellcasters in Median.
If you go full defense, you
can pull off 800k defense, max block, passible %DR, and some %Avoid, but you'll have no damage. And in order to maintain that defense and %DR, you need to constantly resummon your weak Ice Elementals. On top of that, you still have no life or even any regen if something gets through your defenses. This works fine early-game, but end-game, with all the high-life Uber bosses and their regen, killing as quickly as possible is a much better strategy than hoping your defense alone will keep you alive. And again, all the defense, block, and %DR in the world won't help against casters.
As for Firedance, the skill CD lockout thing and the
much lower radius (this especially) really hurt its effectiveness for this build. Like with summons, I never even bother with it end-game b/c you're not standing in one place long enough to take advantage of it. Plus, I dislike not having access to Fusillade or Divine Apparition if I get into some shit and need quick burst damage or a quick escape, since again, you don't have the skill points to waste on reducing its CD timer.
And I have no idea why Melee Sorc doesn't have access to any good oskills that make already top-tier builds even moreso. But that's a whole other rage-inducing can of worms that I'd rather not open rn.
combined with the extra hoops you have to jump through such as resummoning (usually low hp) ice elmenetals to use the trees full potential, which doesnt feel very rewarding considering the relative weakness of the spec.
Again, Sorc summons are practically useless for a Melee Sorc end-game without significant skill point investment (which she cannot spare). And focusing on minion-boosting gear/MOs to make up for the lack of skill points just leaves your own character that much more vulnerable.
doesn't look natural to me, even if players using better/other throwing weapons this still needs to be corrected.
but yea overall our views on this are consistent with one another.