[Zealot] Corpearal resitance debuff

[Valfaros]

The Issue with the lack of a single target corp. resi debuff (introduced 1.3.6)


Currently the single dps zealot (witchcraft/alchemy) strongly lacks dmg or utility to be a viable option in team fights (6v6 or 6vx). While he works in Zerks (alchemy/darkrites, usually one per warband) as a heal debuff bot he lacks dmg for focused fights.

The DMG he can deal with the single Dps-tree can be used as a assist dd (for focus SC setups) but is often minor to any other dps class even with the provided heal debuff.

Further when facing other premades with high resistance, a class without a useful or accessible resitance debuff get's close to useless. Now this wouldn't be a problem if other classes could provide a useful corp. debuff while bo has a strong one it requires him to gut his own build which isn't a option. Therefore it's essential when we want get dps zealot more viable that the zealot get's a way to deal with high resitance players himself atleast to some extent.

Earlier in the game (pre 1.3.6) the zealot offered a extremely strong corporeal resistance debuff. Spect into intelligence he could deal a reasonable amount of dmg and together with a timed "Doombolt" could annihilate an enemy. Now why was it changed:

Let's start by clarifying the main issue and the proposed change. Currently, the other healing careers (Archmage, Shaman, Warrior Priest and Disciple of Khaine) have their mastery paths organized by the role which they might play (i.e. damage focus, healing focus, etc.); whereas, the Zealot and Runepriest don't. Their mastery paths are organized by the delivery method of their healing (i.e. over time, direct, or area). The problem is, after deciding whether to specialize offensively or defensively and gearing to that role (a freedom of choice that they should be given), the Zealot and Runepriest are left with only one-half of an effective skill-set -- the other half of their skills being rendered ineffective by role choice and gear itemization. To bring these careers in line with their archetypical cousins, a new mechanism is proposed which gives Zealots and Runepriests a chance to retain some effectiveness in skills that are outside their chosen role.

The idea didn't took into account that a dmg zealot is going to use divine fury (and other dmg tactics) which makes him nearly useless for healing even when changing his intelligence into willpower. For healers it was the same issue. In a game where tactics/abilities are a main part of a class specification you won't change your role by just changing your stats.

So what did they change exactly? While the correct values for the corporeal resistance debuff are somewhere lost in the internet (it was a very strong debuff for the first 10s, medicore for the next 20 and small for the last 40) this is what they proposed and finally did:

First, the existing Zealot skill "Harbinger of Doom" (which currently debuffs a target's corporeal resistance) would be reworked to become this stance toggle and renamed to "Harbinger of Change" when in healing stance, or "Harbinger of Doom" when in damage stance.


As a note this was the general impression of said change at that time in their forums:

Zealot players are generally against the proposal (with the loss of their current Harbinger and corporeal debuff)


Some zealots who already played back then are still pretty sad about this change^^

Solutions

Option 1: I propose an additional resistance ignore while the Harbinger of Doom is active. While I think it would be nice to offer additional utility by an resistance debuff I think it should only effect the zealot itself. The benefit here is that this will cause less change for other classes and won't push any class unintentionally.

Option 2: Change the tactic transference in the whichcraft tree (focused on dots and hots) to additionally debuff the enemys corperal resitance when warp reality is applied. The benefit of this option is that a weaker mastery tree will be pushed while warband zealots which are already in a good spot won't be affected.

Both options could be either done by a static value or a percentage. In my opinion a percentage would be more balanced since dps zealot already does decent dmg against low resi targets so it's not a good option to push that further. This would also solve later equipment changes (with more resistance).

Option 3: Add an additional skill close the original Harbinger of doom.

Benefit

It will solve some of the problems the dps Zealot currently has in teams (especially with all the KoTBs running around) and move them closer to viability in some group setups. It will additionally build a baseline for further balance changes of specific lackluster abilities which should be talked about in the future.


Komment
This is a edited previously posted proposal after identifying the issues with the post together with former community manager Natherul. Hopefully it was done correctly now.

[Penril]

Declining. Zealots HAVE a Corp debuff. Just because it isn't in the tree you want does not justify giving them a new one; that's like a Carnage/Treachery Witch Elf asking for Black Lotus Blade (the heal debuff in Suffering tree) to be moved to Carnage.

Also, like you mentioned, BOs have a Corp debuff as well, so you have the tools.