Farrul wrote: Sat Feb 19, 2022 7:30 am
I don't know how Shadow warriors performed in the live version, but if left like it currently is i would consider it a clear balance failure from this dev team.
I play SW since live. I used to like it so much because the class mechanic was fantastically fun with respect to the state of RVR.
But * and please remember this *: the SW was a trash DPS on live. It was so trash that it used to be called "assist dps".
The reason why SW was known, it was because of the "1 minute kill". When the stars were aligned, you could drop your M2+ 5k8 Festering Arrow (when it crit) +FtW, and delete someone (except def tanks).
What the DEV team has done in RoR is a great improvement. The SW is a viable DPS. /salute
But, unfortunately, the state of RVR is different in RoR. The SW isn't well designed with regards to the overall RVR design, which gives the priority to AoE, group play, and where the mDPS get the guard first.
The most appropriate spec is Skirmish. But Skirmish in a <65 feet without the 2x armor is a bit complicated. And if you switch to assault for the 2x armor, you don't have access to your AoE skills anymore. What a dilemma
I hear someone saying "Get a guard !". Yeah, no, mathematically, there are not enough guards on pug or puw. And, in premade, the SW skirmish is designed to be mobile. In assault, you may get a guard, but you'll have to prove that you can do better than WL, Slayer, WH, Engi, BW bomb

.
In addition, if you consider that each stance divides the number of skills available, the set of available skills does not synergize well. For example, with Fell the weak. Another example is the removal of Broadhead Arrow from Assault.
Plus, sometimes the range of arrows makes the sequencing inefficient like Shadow Sting range does not synergize well with Scout skills range, and yet Shadow Sting is SW's signature skill.
Plus, the class mechanic isn't rewarding enough when you switch stance.
Another thing is that the SW is virtually the only class without emergency heal. This is why Destro loves to target them (+ the likelihood they don't have a guard).
But, overall, the class has the rights skills (except ground zone AoE for pinning down people), the rest is about tweaking --> this is where I expect the realm champions to do their jobs. I am open to providing input.
To conclude, the right thing to do is to set a clear role for the SW in RVR. Otherwise, I don't see why you would not pick up a BW or Engi, even more, that Engi has magnet.
Salute