User:Raine Valen/Musings/Skill Hitlist

At First Glance:
First, let's take the skill as a whole: it's a five-energy, instant-cast, half-range hex snare that also does 175 damage and is tied to critical strikes. That's obviously not (anywhere even REMOTELY CLOSE to) okay, and many would say, right off the bat, that this skill is broken; it's not. No part of this skill is fundamentally broken, and that means that it can be balanced.

As a Snare:
First, let's look at what it does: it's a hex snare with no cast time, and it's a massive degen spell with no cast time. There are a couple of very similar skills already. For the purpose of comparing its strength as a snare, let's look at Caltrops. They both have the same range and cast time, and they both do more or less the same thing. Caltrops is better in that: Seeping Wound is stronger in that: As a snare, Seeping Wound is balanced well against Caltrops, though it is clear here that Seeping Wound is significantly better than "Elite Caltrops" should reasonably be.
 * it lasts twice as long.
 * it is not Elite.
 * it hits AoE (though this is hardly relevant because, in practice, assassins have almost no use for snaring auxiliary targets).
 * it costs half as much.
 * it is a hex (and, therefore, harder to remove).
 * it is in Critical Strikes (which means that it can be run with dagger builds with no attribute split).

As a Degen Hex:
As a degen spell, we'll compare it to Glimmering Mark, since they also do largely the same thing. Glimmering Mark is better in that: Seeping Wound is better because: In this case, too, it is clear that Seeping Wound is significantly better than "Assassin Glimmering Mark" should be.
 * it lasts ~33% longer.
 * it has twice Seeping Wound's range (though this is also irrelevant because, in practice, assassins attack in melee).
 * it does not require a condition (and, again, irrelevant; in practice, Seeping Wound is run with either Black Mantis Thrust or Jagged Strike).
 * it costs half as much.
 * it is an Assassin skill.
 * it is in Critical Strikes.
 * it casts faster (in fact, it is impossible to reflex interrupt, where Glimmering Mark is easy).
 * it does not have an end clause (Glimmering Mark's debilitating drawback).

In Entirety:
Seeping Wound is a better snare than Elite Caltrops, which isn't so bad. It's also a better degen skill than Assassin Glimmering Mark, which isn't so bad. Why is it grossly OP, then? Because it's not either of those things, it's both of those things. I said earlier that it wasn't broken, and it isn't. If Seeping Wound is going to be Elite Caltrops + Assassin Glimmering Mark, it should only be half as good as either of those skills. Compare the reasonable sum of the two skills: With the current iteration of Seeping Wound: See a problem? A skill shouldn't be two other skills rolled into one with the benefits of both and the real drawbacks of neither.
 * Elite Half-Ranged Hex Spell. (10 seconds.)  Target foe moves 50% slower and takes 25 damage per second.  Ends if you use a skill that targets this foe.  (Attribute: not Critical Strikes)
 * Elite Half-Ranged Hex Spell. (7 seconds.)  Target foe moves 50% slower and takes 25 damage per second while suffering from a condition.  (Attribute: Critical Strikes)