User:Raine Valen/Mass Balance/Dervish/Skills/Scythe Mastery

Index

Scythe Mastery

Aura Slicer

Current:

• 5, 10 Scythe Attack. Deals +10...22...25 damage. Removes one enchantment from foes with Cracked Armor.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 8. Scythe Attack. If this attack hits, it inflicts a Deep Wound (3...13...15 seconds). If that foe was Enchanted, this attack misses and that foe loses one Enchantment.
  • An expensive, dual-purpose attack with the capacity to inflict a clean - though fairly conditional - Deep Wound (something that dervish non-elite skills have lacked since creation), or remove a prot or utility enchantment (while doing no damage). In practice, I expect to see this remove more enchantments than it inflicts Deep Wounds. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Banishing Strike

Current:

• 5, 6 Melee Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Deals 10...70...85 holy damage to nearby foes if this attack hits a summoned creature.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 15, 20. Scythe Attack. If this attack hits, target foe loses 1...4...5 Enchantments. Target foe and adjacent foes take 10...26...30 damage (maximum of 20...84...100) for each Enchantment removed in this way.
  • From its previous niche design, this skill has been converted into a skill designed to blow through Enchantments, dealing devastating damage in the process. However, with this skill, you get what you pay for: it's extremely expensive, with a cost equal to thrice that of Rend. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Chilling Victory

Current:

• See Wind Prayers.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 10 Scythe Attack. Deals 10...26...30 Cold damage to target and adjacent foes. Deals an additional 15...51...60 Cold damage to target and adjacent foes if it hits a foe with less Health than you. If you hit a foe with more health than you, you take 15...51...60 Cold damage.
  • As far as functionality, it does the same thing, more or less, but no longer does damage if it doesn't hit and also punishes badness (let's face it - a skill that can do +90 damage needs some kind of drawback). However, you'll notice that this skill has been moved back into Scythe Mastery. This is for one reason and one reason only: Dervishes haven't been present in high-end PvP since this skill was moved to Wind Prayers. With the removal of VoD, the nerf to this became, frankly, unnecessary (it wasn't nerfed because it's a good spike skill, it was nerfed because it insta-wiped NPCs at VoD), and so this has been restored to its previous splendor. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Crippling Sweep

Current:

• 5, 6 Scythe Attack. Inflicts Crippled condition (7 seconds) for each enchantment on you (maximum 10...18...20 seconds).

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 6 Scythe Attack. Inflicts Crippled condition (4...9...10 seconds and an additional 2...6...7 seconds for each Enchantment on you, maximum 10...18...20 seconds).
  • Same usage, but is no longer unusable without enchantments. Its functionality has been hampered at low specs, but I don't expect this to have any effect on its use. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Crippling Victory

Current:

• 5, 12 Scythe Attack. Deals +5...9...10 damage. Inflicts Crippled condition (5...13...15 seconds) if you have more Health than target foe.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 8 Scythe Attack. Deals +10...22...25 damage and inflicts Crippled and Weakness conditions (5...13...15 seconds) if you have more Health than target foe.
  • Weakness covers cripple. This attack has been buffed to compete with its sister, Crippling Sweep. The longer recharge and conditionality are (hopefully) offset by the additional damage and covered cripple. Oh, and crippleweakness is good for linebacking. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Eremite's Attack

Current:

• 5, 1, 4 Melee Attack. Deals +5...9...10 damage (maximum +30) for each adjacent foe.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 1, 4 Melee Attack. You block all incoming attacks while activating this skill. This attack deals +5...9...10 damage for each attack blocked in this way.
  • This is another change designed to emphasize awareness. Designed primarily for split/gank situations, this allows an alert user to block key attacks like Pin Down and Gash, with the additional incentive of extra damage if used properly. However, if used mindlessly, this attack does nothing more than base damage - in fact, it should be fairly difficult to get the proper block out of this skill. Raine - talk 23:01, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Farmer's Scythe

Current:

• 5, 12 Scythe Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Instant recharge if you hit more than one foe.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 10 Scythe Attack. Causes 1...4...5 Energy loss. Gain 1...4...5 energy for each Enchanted foe you hit.
  • A melee version of Debilitating Shot with conditional energy return. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
• 5, 10 Scythe Attack. If this attack strikes a fleeing, crippled foe, that foe is knocked down and begins Bleeding for 5...13...15 seconds.
  • The baddie's version of Irresistible Sweep (#2). Not nearly as effective, but not nearly as difficult to be proficient with. Call it a training-wheels skill. Raine - talk 23:21, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Irresistible Sweep

Current:

• 5, 4 Melee Attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Remove one of your enchantments. Removal effect: unblockable.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposals:

• 5, 4 Melee Attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. Unblockable.
  • "Lose one Enchantment" skills are bad for dervishes because dervishes don't have good cover enchantments; they lose something valuable when they lose an enchantment, and yet their skills are designed as if their enchantments are suitable for throwaway. Skills that would be good cover enchantments, like Vital Boon, Grenth's Fingers, and Aura of Thorns, all suffer from a debilitating cast time or recharge, which is extremely impractical for a frontline class (imagine warriors having to stand still for a almost two seconds to Frenzy). Because of the costliness of that clause, it's been removed from instances where it outweighs the effect of the skill. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
• 5, 1, 6 Melee Attack. If this attack hits moving, non-fleeing foe, that foe is knocked down and takes +10...26...30 damage. If this attack hits a non-moving foe, you are weakened (5 seconds).
  • The idea here is a skill that forces the user to pay attention to positioning. It does absolutely nothing on a player training their target, but can be deadly in the hands of an alert player who can effectively move around their target. Raine - talk 22:46, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Lyssa's Assault

Current:

• 10, 8 Scythe Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. If you are enchanted, gain 3...10...12 energy.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 8 Melee Attack. Interrupts a skill. Interrupt effect: deals +10...26...30 damage and causes knockdown.
  • Think Disrupting Chop: stupidly hard to reflex normal casts with, beautifully effective if timed properly. Raine - talk 23:38, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Pious Assault

Current:

• 10, 12 Melee Attack. Remove one of your enchantments. Deals +5...17...20 damage and inflicts a Deep Wound (5...17...20 seconds).

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 1, 12 Melee Attack. Remove one of your enchantments. Removal effect: deals +10...26...30 damage. Inflicts a Deep Wound (5...17...20 seconds) if you are still Enchanted.
  • Unlike Irresistible Sweep, Pious Assault was a strong skill that was balanced by the enchant removal clause. However, it fell from glory by way of a series of nerfs (due to rangers, no less), and was steadily worsened until Sway rangers went out of style. It has, like Chilling Victory, been reinstated with minor changes: it's no longer an unconditional Deep Wound (Multiple enchantments? Only in DervishLand. Sorry, Sway.) and the additional damage is now conditional (though it has been increased slightly to compensate). Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Mallyx's Proposal:

5 ¾ 12 Melee Attack. Strike for +1...13...16 damage. If it hits a foe using a skill, it inflicts Deep Wound for 5...17...21 seconds, otherwise it inflicts 50% less damage.

• • This skill has several major problems. First of all, 10 energy is too much for a dervish, promoting escape-scythes. Second of all, energy deep wound on demand in a non-elite is broken. This fixes the problem by lowering the energy cost and rewarding skillful use. If used badly or as a spike skill, it does low damage.

Radiant Scythe

Current:

• 5, 6 Scythe Attack. Deals +2 damage (maximum 5...41...50) for each point of Energy you have.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• Moved to Mysticism.
• 10, 0.25¼, 12 Enchantment Spell. Your scythe attacks deal an additional point of damage for each point of Energy you have (maximum +5...17...20). Ends if your Energy drops below 15...7...5. No effect unless you are wielding a Zealous weapon.
  • Previously, this skill fit into a niche that the attribute already offered plenty of skills for - big damage. It's been reworked into a weapon buff. Due to its short cast time, quick recharge, and infinite duration (yes, it lasts until your energy drops below x) it also makes a good cover enchantment. My biggest concern was attribute control - having a buff for a weapon in its own att could be problematic (see Marksmanship), so this has been moved to Mysticism. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Reap Impurities

Current:

• 10, 8 Melee Attack. Deals +10...26...30 damage. You gain 15...63...75 Health for each foe you hit that has a condition.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• See Earth Prayers.

Reaper's Sweep

Current:

• 5, 8 Elite Scythe Attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage. Inflicts Deep Wound condition (5...17...20 seconds) if target was below 50% Health. Removes one enchantment if target foe was above 50% Health.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 1, 4 Elite Scythe Attack. Deals +10...34...40 damage if target foe was above 50% Health. Otherwise, steals 15...51...60 Health.
  • Previously, this skill trailed behind Wounding Strike as a Deep Wound skill: WS was more accessible, covered, and generally leagues beyond RS for that purpose. Reaper's Sweep later had an enchantment removal tacked onto it to make it more attractive, but the implementation of that fell off spectacularly: it packed a different spike helper to for targets above and below 50% Health, which, for obvious reasons, didn't work out so well. Instead of being made to compete with WS in its domain, it needed to be given its own niche. This functionality is like an elite Mystic Sweep, with the exact same activation statistics. The operative difference is that it does more damage in the form of life stealing on foes with low health. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Rending Sweep

Current:

• 5, 10 Melee Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Removes one enchantment if target foe is hexed.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 12 Melee Attack. Lose one enchantment. Removal effect: removes 1...2...2 enchantments.
  • A slight buff. It's comparable to the "cheap" version of Banishing Strike. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Twin Moon Sweep

Current:

• 5, 6 Melee Attack. Remove one of your enchantments. Removal effect: attack twice and gain 20...44...50 Health.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 6 Melee Attack. Attack twice. These attacks do 60...28...20% less damage.
  • Dual Shot, but with a scythe. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
• 5 Skill. Your next attack skill does nothing. Twin Moon Sweep ends after two attack skills. When Twin Moon Sweep ends, your first attack skill strikes.
  • A way to compress damage. This skill creates a delay between skill activation and skill connection, effectively pushing two attack skills into the time frame of one. Combinations like Wounding/Mystic, Sever/Gash, or Hammer Bash/Crushing Blow can be made to hit at the same time, allowing for stronger spiking. However, because it negates the effect of the first attack, it doesn't actually increase net DPS at all. Raine - talk 23:12, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Wearying Strike

Current:

• 5, 6 Scythe Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Inflicts Deep Wound condition (3...9...10 seconds). You are Weakened (10 seconds).

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 10, 6 Scythe Attack. Inflicts Deep Wound condition (3...9...10 seconds). You are Weakened (10 seconds) if you are not Enchanted.
  • Scythe attack. Dismember target foe for half as long. If you are not Enchanted, you wield daggers for 10 seconds. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Zealous Sweep

Current:

• 5, 10 Scythe Attack. Deals +10...22...25 damage. You gain 3 Energy for each foe you hit.

Proposed:

Raine's Proposal:

• 5, 6 Scythe Attack. Deals +10...22...25 damage. You gain 3 Energy for each foe you hit.
  • Just a minor buff. Raine - talk 03:33, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
• 10, 0.5½, 8 Melee Attack. If this attack hits, gain 5...13...15 Energy. No effect unless target foe is knocked down.
  • Rewards successful disruption with energy management. Raine - talk 23:31, 12 August 2009 (UTC)