Sword #4 Skill. Would you see that change work?

Hey there,

There was and still is a lot of controversy around Revenant's Off-hand Sword. In the past it was very underused due to its clunky mechanics and little usability (though in my opinion this was a great concept).I'd want to suggest some changes for the OH Sword that could make the weapon feel a lot more distinct from Axe's mechanics and provide something that Revenant could make use of. Sword is a great weapon in terms of DPS and Burst damage but I find it rather a tool to fill the damage gap that Revenant had. So, what if?

Would you see this change in game?Sword #4 is now a 2-cast skill (as it used to be)

• First, you block the incoming attacks for (let's say) 2 seconds - clear visual indicator, so the enemy can see that you are preparing for the second cast
• Then, you can instantly use the second cast which is what we have now but witha bit lowered damage (the ability to block and cast an instant Immobilize to compensate for the samll damage loss of this skill)

ADDITIONALLY - Do you like the way the Sword #5 works? Do you think it's readable or needs adjusting?In my opinion there could be an animation to Sword #5 but there should be something that would also compensate this. Not additional buffs but rather something that would make you feel that you're actually preparing for a big burst.

So, what do you think?

Please keep it cool

Jesus no stop with these animations and tells with instant cast abilities. Sword 5 is perfectly fine.

The amount of revenants that want to neuter their own class is laughable

I'm good with 4 and 5 as they are.

I'd like the block (duelist's preparation) on 4 back and say it blocks for a duration of say 3 seconds, the more attacks it blocks for that duration the more damage the follow up shackling waves could do (max being the current amount + pre-nerf cast time) but if you don't block anything and choose to use the follow up straight away then it should have reduced damage or deal less strikes

Keep 5 as is.

@NaiveBayes.2587 said:I'd like the block (duelist's preparation) on 4 back and say it blocks for a duration of say 3 seconds, the more attacks it blocks for that duration the more damage the follow up shackling waves could do (max being the current amount + pre-nerf cast time) but if you don't block anything and choose to use the follow up straight away then it should have reduced damage or deal less strikes

Keep 5 as is.

^ this please!

@NaiveBayes.2587 said:I'd like the block (duelist's preparation) on 4 back and say it blocks for a duration of say 3 seconds, the more attacks it blocks for that duration the more damage the follow up shackling waves could do (max being the current amount + pre-nerf cast time) but if you don't block anything and choose to use the follow up straight away then it should have reduced damage or deal less strikes

Keep 5 as is.

This is something I was thinking in terms of making shackling wave do more damage based on what duelist blocks. It would make it into an interesting counter attack skill, to set it apart from Shield 5. One idea that would be cool is Shackling wave only does one strike by default if you instantly press sword4 twice to skip to it. But as you block attacks, shackling wave does more strikes.

Changing Deathstrike?!?!? Please don't say such blasphemous things outloud--don't even think them within 100 miles of a game dev... It's like, the best pvp skill revenants have, and it has nothing to do with the second strike, because nobody with two eyes and any game knowledge is getting hit by that. It already has a monumental windup and a super blatant tell. Like, if you see the Revenant instantly shadow step somewhere, it's coming. lulz.

And if you lowered sword 4's damage in addition to leaving it's gross cast time, it wouldn't even be worth casting. Even if you made it insta-cast and made it do less damage, it wouldn't be worth the energy 90% of the time. And for what? A block? One tiny block doesn't even make a difference in the scope of the current meta for revs. (I do think the True Damage --> Damage Boost is a cool mechanic tho. They should put that on Shield, or on a trait to modify Infused Light.)

If you have such a problem with axe and sword being similar, why protest to change the good one? Why not make a thread asking for an Axe 4 rework or something... It's like the worst skill in the entire game after all.

What's wrong with OH sword being a damage weapon? It's really good at its role, it helps rev has a good spot in pvp, why gut it? Why not make the change to something else? Sword 4 is fine - yes it's more clunky now but it still has the damage and range at least.

Sword 5 is so good - shadowsteps and deals huge damage. It's not like it doesn't have a tell - the first skill has .5 second cast time, second skill has .25 second cast time for a total of .75 second cast time - same as Maul, Holographic Shockwave, Holo Leap, Flame Uprising, etc. It's fairly obvious to a person familiar with OH sword, and in addition its range is only 130 which makes it harder to hit sometimes.

Sword is a fantastic addition to the class and, beyond potential small numerical adjustments, should be left alone. It is our go-to power offhand and gives Revenant relevance. It is good at what it does and should remain as such.

I'm like a broken record in saying this, but I'd really like for a defensive offhand to be added to the core spec. Currently if you want a defensive offhand you need to spec Herald. This poses build limitations to core, Renegade, and any future e-spec if it is to receive a mainhand weapon. This also gives more space for shield to potentially become a more powerful support weapon. Ideally, I would like for a new offhand (I selfishly would like focus so I can use Binding of Ipos) to provide self-defense and offensive utility (such as boonrip. I would kill for a skill like Necro's Spinal Shivers), and for shield's healing/group support capabilities to be expanded upon.