Battlegrinder
09-26-2012, 04:42 PM
Ok, so having blasted my way to the level cap (thank you STS and double XP enhancer), I can now sit back, look over my experiences with the new expansion, and state my thoughts on it. Much of this will be from a commando viewpoint, since that's the class I play and have experience with.
Reaction: While Crusade is smaller than previous caps, with only four levels, it feels much larger than the other levels because its a much more diverse array of settings, one of which is entirely new to SL. The new items have much higher liquidation prices than Voleria items, which is nice and helps pump more credits into the SL economy. The new kill tornadoes are annoying, but the ability to recruit a drone follower in the same level is cool (though it raises the terrifying prospect of an escort mission at some point in SL's future :nightmare:) The new armor for commandos is awesome, and managed to dethrone my level 20 Ironite set as my favorite armor of all time. The helmet is a unappealing, but its not too bad. The armor for the other two classes also looks nice, but I was hoping for something more original then recycled Scorn armor, especially in light of how well the commando stuff looks. The new weapons are pretty cool, and have put the last few nails into pistol+shields coffin. I especially like the new particle effects, and the unique designs of the lvl 46 weapons.
The addition of gear for players at the level cap is a nice addition to the gameplay, and will hopefully keep players who've reached the cap online and playing. The astronomical rarity of pink armor is irritating, though at least in SL, when armor is legendary, they mean it. I've heard rumors of people with a full set of pinks, but I've never seen anyone with more than three parts myself.
Enemies in the new expansion are challenging for a decent party that's above level 43 or so, though this means that they are murderously hard for low level and inexperienced players. Secondly, while the Scorn don't feel more difficult than they did on Voleria, they are vastly more rage-inducing, at least for me. The knockback abilities of the Scorn are ludicrously OP, and being thrown back several dozen yard a few times in a row is maddening.
Analysis: Thanks to the massive armor boost given by new class weapons, the new armor itself, and the substantial boost to dodge stats, engineer survivability has increased dramatically, which makes tanking a little easier now that my support can take a few hits.
Actually, now that all class weapons have a huge armor boost, they are finally returning to the state where they see usage :triumphant:, instead of pistol+shield. They new pistols themselves seem underpowered as well, with oddly deceptive stats (the executioner claiming to have AoE damage when it does not being the best example). And while I might take joy in the demise of pistol+shield, I'm also saddened that rifles have taken a hit too. With the exception of the Napalm Carbine, I've seen very few rifles in use. I've attempted to employ a rifle several times, but have struggled to compensate for the penalty to armor and the poor dodge of commandos. I'm also saddened by the loss of the Flux cannon type rapid-fire cannons.
Speaking of commandos and dodge, the recent loss of dodge ability in epic tier armor has made our lives much harder. Given we are supposed to tank for the party, that means we need as much survivability as we can get. The removal of much of commando's dodge stat basically forces us to use cannons to survive hostile attacks. While Commandos who focus on DPS and damage instead of tanking (:disgust:) are doing just fine, the rest of us are having to deal with much more powerful enemies and a reduced ability to withstand combat.
The new implants are also a bit of a sticking point. While they are useful items, they are also eclipsed in usefulness by the earlier plat implants. Regarding commando implants, while a boost to crit is nice, we have growing rage (And if you don't have it ranked, you're doing something wrong), so the level 44 implant is redundant. At level 46, the extra health Regen is weakened by the greater accessibility of stimpacks (thanks to higher liquidation prices) and 2% dodge is a lot less than what we need.
While I'm also wishing there was a new skill, I don't mind the lack of one too badly at this point, since I still don't have all the hotbar skills maxed out.
Feedback: I have a few suggestions for what can be done to improve the Crusade Expansion, as well as some general feedback.
1. Nerf Scorn knockback skill. Throwing someone across the map is only fun when the player gets to do it.
2. Increase drop rate of Legendary armor. They are absurdly rare, and as they pink armor is set best able to allow commandos to actually tank, we need more of it available. One way this could be accomplished would be to have armor be given out from the weekly quest station in STS-25.
3. Give rifles and pistols a moderate armor bonus, so that they can still be used in heavy combat, instead of forcing players to equip an armor boosting class weapon. Something in the range of 200 to 300 should be good.
4. New implants, with a wider range of granted bonuses. New damage implants would be particularly nice.
5. If it can be done without trashing balance, giving the new cannons the same rapid fire as flux cannons would be nice.
Some General suggestions
1. Make the lvl 46 rifle and shotgun louder, they seem too subdued now. The shotgun in particular seems dinky sounding.
2. Related to the above, swap the skins for the Rare grade and Legendary grade rifles and shotguns, the darkened metal Rare ones look much cooler than the red and light blue Legendary versions.
3. Please make vanity versions of the new armors available from the store. I really don't want to lose this look when the next expansion comes out.
Reaction: While Crusade is smaller than previous caps, with only four levels, it feels much larger than the other levels because its a much more diverse array of settings, one of which is entirely new to SL. The new items have much higher liquidation prices than Voleria items, which is nice and helps pump more credits into the SL economy. The new kill tornadoes are annoying, but the ability to recruit a drone follower in the same level is cool (though it raises the terrifying prospect of an escort mission at some point in SL's future :nightmare:) The new armor for commandos is awesome, and managed to dethrone my level 20 Ironite set as my favorite armor of all time. The helmet is a unappealing, but its not too bad. The armor for the other two classes also looks nice, but I was hoping for something more original then recycled Scorn armor, especially in light of how well the commando stuff looks. The new weapons are pretty cool, and have put the last few nails into pistol+shields coffin. I especially like the new particle effects, and the unique designs of the lvl 46 weapons.
The addition of gear for players at the level cap is a nice addition to the gameplay, and will hopefully keep players who've reached the cap online and playing. The astronomical rarity of pink armor is irritating, though at least in SL, when armor is legendary, they mean it. I've heard rumors of people with a full set of pinks, but I've never seen anyone with more than three parts myself.
Enemies in the new expansion are challenging for a decent party that's above level 43 or so, though this means that they are murderously hard for low level and inexperienced players. Secondly, while the Scorn don't feel more difficult than they did on Voleria, they are vastly more rage-inducing, at least for me. The knockback abilities of the Scorn are ludicrously OP, and being thrown back several dozen yard a few times in a row is maddening.
Analysis: Thanks to the massive armor boost given by new class weapons, the new armor itself, and the substantial boost to dodge stats, engineer survivability has increased dramatically, which makes tanking a little easier now that my support can take a few hits.
Actually, now that all class weapons have a huge armor boost, they are finally returning to the state where they see usage :triumphant:, instead of pistol+shield. They new pistols themselves seem underpowered as well, with oddly deceptive stats (the executioner claiming to have AoE damage when it does not being the best example). And while I might take joy in the demise of pistol+shield, I'm also saddened that rifles have taken a hit too. With the exception of the Napalm Carbine, I've seen very few rifles in use. I've attempted to employ a rifle several times, but have struggled to compensate for the penalty to armor and the poor dodge of commandos. I'm also saddened by the loss of the Flux cannon type rapid-fire cannons.
Speaking of commandos and dodge, the recent loss of dodge ability in epic tier armor has made our lives much harder. Given we are supposed to tank for the party, that means we need as much survivability as we can get. The removal of much of commando's dodge stat basically forces us to use cannons to survive hostile attacks. While Commandos who focus on DPS and damage instead of tanking (:disgust:) are doing just fine, the rest of us are having to deal with much more powerful enemies and a reduced ability to withstand combat.
The new implants are also a bit of a sticking point. While they are useful items, they are also eclipsed in usefulness by the earlier plat implants. Regarding commando implants, while a boost to crit is nice, we have growing rage (And if you don't have it ranked, you're doing something wrong), so the level 44 implant is redundant. At level 46, the extra health Regen is weakened by the greater accessibility of stimpacks (thanks to higher liquidation prices) and 2% dodge is a lot less than what we need.
While I'm also wishing there was a new skill, I don't mind the lack of one too badly at this point, since I still don't have all the hotbar skills maxed out.
Feedback: I have a few suggestions for what can be done to improve the Crusade Expansion, as well as some general feedback.
1. Nerf Scorn knockback skill. Throwing someone across the map is only fun when the player gets to do it.
2. Increase drop rate of Legendary armor. They are absurdly rare, and as they pink armor is set best able to allow commandos to actually tank, we need more of it available. One way this could be accomplished would be to have armor be given out from the weekly quest station in STS-25.
3. Give rifles and pistols a moderate armor bonus, so that they can still be used in heavy combat, instead of forcing players to equip an armor boosting class weapon. Something in the range of 200 to 300 should be good.
4. New implants, with a wider range of granted bonuses. New damage implants would be particularly nice.
5. If it can be done without trashing balance, giving the new cannons the same rapid fire as flux cannons would be nice.
Some General suggestions
1. Make the lvl 46 rifle and shotgun louder, they seem too subdued now. The shotgun in particular seems dinky sounding.
2. Related to the above, swap the skins for the Rare grade and Legendary grade rifles and shotguns, the darkened metal Rare ones look much cooler than the red and light blue Legendary versions.
3. Please make vanity versions of the new armors available from the store. I really don't want to lose this look when the next expansion comes out.