Buff Dragon Trigger [PvP/WvW]

[CalmTheStorm.2364]

Shoutsworn got nerfed!  (And there was much rejoicing....)

Defense got buffed!  (Yay....)

Adrenal Healing and Berserker's Power are now easier to gain and maintain!  (Yay....)

 

Making these traits more viable is awesome for warrior.  However, bladesworn, by its very design, is disadvantaged from taking full advantage of many of these changes.  In particular, it struggles to max/maintain full stacks of BP and AH because it needs to stand still for 2.5s to get a full charge (T3-equivalent burst).  That's rarely realistic in competitive modes; you're usually firing it off after 1s or sooner.  That's less of a problem for other specs, since they a) don't need to charge their bursts, and b) can burst/swap/burst to get multiple procs of AH/BP even if each burst is only T1.  BS, of course, only has 1 burst.

 

Additionally, since the bug that allowed BS to fire off a 0-1 charge DT and only put it on a 4s CD has been fixed, BS struggles in its mobility as it cannot spam DS boost as much to help it get around the map (2x break step doesn't help much). 

 

So, here are a few ideas for how Dragon Trigger might be improved.  Please note that #s 1 and 2 are NOT mutually exclusive.

 

1)  Reduce base CD of DT to 6s.

 Again, BS only has one burst and needs to charge it to get anything done.  It only is fair, therefore, that that burst be more readily available.

 

2) Change the way DT interacts with traits like AH/BP.

I'd suggest making 0-2 charges =T1,  3-5 charges = T2, and 6+ charges = T3 burst.  The damage and stun duration still scales based on the actual number of charges, so there is no functional change to the DT skills.  But they will be able to more easily "get credit for" higher levels of burst for the purpose of triggering traits.

 

3) [Alternative Take] Remove the CD from DT altogether and instead put individual CDs on the Dragon Slash skills.

An off-the-wall idea--bear with me.  In this alternative, there is no CD to enter DT (just pay the flow cost, although I'd be fine with getting rid of this, too).  However, there IS a CD for each Dragon Slash skill.  Example: you enter DT and use DS-Boost.  Assuming you have enough flow, you can re-enter DT (immediately, if you like); DS-boost will be on its 8s CD, but DS-Force and DS-reach will be available.

 

This would, of course, have some downstream effects that would need to be accounted for.  There might need to be number tweaking (particularly related to flow cost per charge and DT flow entry fee) to keep the damage output in line in PvE.  Daring Dragon would function by removing the CD from the DS skills; i.e., as long as you can pay the flow costs, you can keep spamming your DT skills.  However, you would not longer automatically enter DT like you do now.  

 

Thoughts?

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

I'd say number 3. Have Daring Dragon halve the CDs. I would also remove the flow cost/threshold to enter DT entirely.

[Infusion.7149]

No damage buff to Dragon Slash - Force? I guess people would think it is fine with 1.3 coefficient due to the might stacks? I feel as though it should have Flurry / Arc Divider level damage given its drawbacks (maybe 2.0 coefficient or 1.6 if you factor in might stacks?) at least in WVW. Right now it has Arcing Slice level damage coefficients.

A change to the damage would fundamentally change bladesworn in competitive modes since charging it would be more meaningful. Most players I have seen are just using Dragon Trigger for mobility (Dragon Slash - Boost) of all things.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

Force should be 2.0 at 10 bullets, Reach at 1.2, and force at 0.6.

[Azure The Heartless.3261]

Im in Lans boat, mostly.

As long as stab isn't guaranteed immediately on dragon trigger and you have to market that aegis to land it, I would argue damage should get a considerable buff based on how long its charged.

Getting a proc of stab on disable, entering DT, and hitting people with half cartridges charged or beyond should be progressively more painful,  up to a cap thats tailored to how easy the move is to land. (Force being the hardest and reach being the easiest, to me)

Less (but still concerning) damage on artillery slash, more on blooming fire, less damage on instant DT and more on charged would make it more engaging,  imo.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Azure The Heartless.3261

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

2 hours ago, Azure The Heartless.3261 said:

Im in Lans boat, mostly.

As long as stab isn't guaranteed immediately on dragon trigger and you have to market that aegis to land it, I would argue damage should get a considerable buff based on how long its charged.

Getting a proc of stab on disable, entering DT, and hitting people with half cartridges charged or beyond should be progressively more painful,  up to a cap thats tailored to how easy the move is to land. (Force being the hardest and reach being the easiest, to me)

Less (but still concerning) damage on artillery slash, more on blooming fire, less damage on instant DT and more on charged would make it more engaging,  imo.

Right on all points mate.

The coefficients that they shipped in Competitive are too low for it's costs. Now that TR isn't obfuscating this anymore from the sustain bloat, maybe CMC will look into it.

[JTGuevara.9018]

Here's a better idea. Redesign it from scratch. Remove the self-rooted mechanism. That way, warriors can actually MOVE in combat. They're not restricted to standing still to take advantages of bladesworn's ham-fisted, so-called "tradeoff". (handcuff is more like it)

[Aaron.1294]

1st combat stimulant, river's flow and unshakable mountain need to be adjusted to be resonable. Then bladesworn can actually get some meaningfull changes to it's core gameplay (which rn mainly is just a statcheck class)

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

4 hours ago, JTGuevara.9018 said:

Here's a better idea. Redesign it from scratch. Remove the self-rooted mechanism. That way, warriors can actually MOVE in combat. They're not restricted to standing still to take advantages of bladesworn's ham-fisted, so-called "tradeoff". (handcuff is more like it)

Honestly I think they will redesign it in the future, but not this soon. The time for that was after the first beta with the overwhelming quantity of the exact same feedback that they ignored 90% of.

[DanAlcedo.3281]

2 hours ago, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

Honestly I think they will redesign it in the future, but not this soon. The time for that was after the first beta with the overwhelming quantity of the exact same feedback that they ignored 90% of.

 Im sad for CmC to have to rework something that should never made it past the concept level.