[DEVELOPER PREVIEW] The Tier 4 Sets

[Sacrx]

Putting merc slayer +1 in middle tree is really meh. With either build at 40 you will always use left tree for healing debuff with spellbreaker/deva 2h or ID/shatter. Same with WL not sure why not just have +1 left as main tree is always followed, then the choice of middle/right after. Both merc for SL and WL should be changed to +1 left.

The point of these +1 was more flexibility giving a rr50/60 build.. after all its a 5 piece bonus it should be worth it not just nullifying that flexibility for some classes because it doesn't fit build diversity.

Everything looks decent apart from a few +1 in wrong trees for most flexibility. This patch is gonna be out awhile when you do all the next stuff with server and redesign on systems. Lets hope the sets offer that flexibility to cover the time until next sets which is probably gonna be awhile.

Any word on conversion of old medals at 5:1?. rr50 being added?.

[sanii]

Designing around the terrible RP/ZE mechanic is a pain in the ass, and cloth healers in general already don't suffer from MAD. Getting rid of intelligence completely on their sets would result in them having absurdly high Willpower for the item level, and would create an obligation to continue the trend for Conqueror, Invader, and Warlord. As-is, they already get virtually the same Willpower from the new Annihilator and an untouched Conqueror set.

What do you mean by MAD?. Also im not implying that the excess int needs to be converted into willpower, any other defensive stat (wounds,toughness,initiative ), would also be fine - from a healers perspective at least and is even more important then willpower. Unless my understanding is wrong and cloth healers have a higher stat budget then their medium armored counter-parts , i don't really see why you would keep intelligence.

[deathkylem]

I said I would release this information several days ago, but had not had the time to compile my data.

Here are the stats for the sets that will be available with the release of Tier 4.

You can see what the Mercenary sets will look like here, courtesy of Torque. You can see what the other sets look like with a cursory Google search.

This spreadsheet includes Ruin, a redesigned Annihilator, and the Mercenary set. Ruin has an item level of 37, and is available from PQ gold bags. It is intended to be a stepping stone between Devastator and Annihilator gear, which both have item levels of 40. Unlike Annihilator and Mercenary, Ruin has undergone virtually no changes, nor will it in the near future.

You may also notice that the 5-piece bonus on all sets have been changed from "+2 to Path of _____ abilities" to +1. This is because we are changing the way those bonuses work:

Previously, this bonus was applied to the "level" of all of the abilities in the affected tree. This would increase the tooltips of those abilities accordingly. For example, a level 40 Swordmaster, with 0 mastery points invested in the Path of Khaine mastery path would use Path of Khaine abilities with level 25 tooltips. If that Swordmaster equipped something that gave him, "+2 to all Path of Khaine abilities," he would use all Path of Khaine abilities with level 27 tooltips.

In many cases this is extremely lackluster, because bonus levels are always a "last-piece bonus," so they require a full set of gear to acquire. Moreover, the tooltip values scale differently for every ability. Some abilities might only gain 3 damage in two levels, some might gain 20. On average, this is about equal to maybe +40 melee/healing/ranged/magic power, and only for 1/3 of your abilities

Instead, these bonuses will give you a free mastery point in the indicated tree. This point is already spent by default, and is lost if you lose the set bonus (and any abilities you no longer qualify for without it will be lost). This is best demonstrated in the below video:


Click here to watch on YouTube

Let me answer some questions right away:

1. I want to wear X, but I don't want to spec in this tree. Can you just make the bonus a free mastery point instead?

No.

2. I like this bonus better than X/Y/Z on another set. Can you replace X on that set with a bonus mastery point?

No.

3. I don't want to have to wear 5-piece Annihilator for this, can you switch it with the 2/3/4-piece bonus?

No.

Sorry but i see the the stats and i can understand the bonus point in the tier of KOTBS, because left tree is uselees anyway i all builds, for SnB and 2h builds,tank and dps, KOTBS use middle and right...left tree is useless, annihilator must give point in middle tree and mercenary in right tree...its not the same with IB that 2h dps build needs left tree, and SnB build needs middle and right...i cant understand who will want points in left tree with a KOTBS 2h...

[th3gatekeeper]

Sorry but i see the the stats and i can understand the bonus point in the tier of KOTBS, because left tree is uselees anyway i all builds, for SnB and 2h builds,tank and dps, KOTBS use middle and right...left tree is useless, annihilator must give point in middle tree and mercenary in right tree...its not the same with IB that 2h dps build needs left tree, and SnB build needs middle and right...i cant understand who will want points in left tree with a KOTBS 2h...

Wait..... Knights use 2h?! I didnt think they were allowed due to how abysmal their left tree was....

I think this is more an issue of the TREE itself not the gear. The left tree is supposed to be the 2h dps tree. So I suggest you take your issue up on the forums (like I tried to) with Knights needing some 2h love.

[adei]

What do you mean by MAD?.

M.A.D - Multi-attribute-dependency.

[sanii]

What do you mean by MAD?.

M.A.D - Multi-attribute-dependency.

So how do cloth healers suffer less of MAD then DoK/WP healers in their respective sets. Cause its literally the same stats they use for the job . I still don't get it ( And im referring to exclusively the healing sets in the healing trees obviously , melee healers have their own sets)

[deathkylem]

Sorry but i see the the stats and i can understand the bonus point in the tier of KOTBS, because left tree is uselees anyway i all builds, for SnB and 2h builds,tank and dps, KOTBS use middle and right...left tree is useless, annihilator must give point in middle tree and mercenary in right tree...its not the same with IB that 2h dps build needs left tree, and SnB build needs middle and right...i cant understand who will want points in left tree with a KOTBS 2h...

Wait..... Knights use 2h?! I didnt think they were allowed due to how abysmal their left tree was....

I think this is more an issue of the TREE itself not the gear. The left tree is supposed to be the 2h dps tree. So I suggest you take your issue up on the forums (like I tried to) with Knights needing some 2h love.

The tree is not the problem, left tree is viable, but middle and right tree are still op... the damage with the survival make the KOTBS so so OP in 2 hand, better than his mirror chosen
http://waronlinebuilder.org/#career=kot ... 0:;0:0:0:0:
You can own all with this

[deathkylem]

The same with SH and SW... 240 armor for SW is more usefull than 240 armor for SH

[magicthighs]

Putting merc slayer +1 in middle tree is really meh. With either build at 40 you will always use left tree for healing debuff with spellbreaker/deva 2h or ID/shatter. Same with WL not sure why not just have +1 left as main tree is always followed, then the choice of middle/right after. Both merc for SL and WL should be changed to +1 left.

The point of these +1 was more flexibility giving a rr50/60 build.. after all its a 5 piece bonus it should be worth it not just nullifying that flexibility for some classes because it doesn't fit build diversity.

Everything looks decent apart from a few +1 in wrong trees for most flexibility. This patch is gonna be out awhile when you do all the next stuff with server and redesign on systems. Lets hope the sets offer that flexibility to cover the time until next sets which is probably gonna be awhile.

Let me answer some questions right away:

1. I want to wear X, but I don't want to spec in this tree. Can you just make the bonus a free mastery point instead?

No.

2. I like this bonus better than X/Y/Z on another set. Can you replace X on that set with a bonus mastery point?

No.

3. I don't want to have to wear 5-piece Annihilator for this, can you switch it with the 2/3/4-piece bonus?

No.

Any word on conversion of old medals at 5:1?. rr50 being added?.

No.

[th3gatekeeper]

Sorry but i see the the stats and i can understand the bonus point in the tier of KOTBS, because left tree is uselees anyway i all builds, for SnB and 2h builds,tank and dps, KOTBS use middle and right...left tree is useless, annihilator must give point in middle tree and mercenary in right tree...its not the same with IB that 2h dps build needs left tree, and SnB build needs middle and right...i cant understand who will want points in left tree with a KOTBS 2h...

Wait..... Knights use 2h?! I didnt think they were allowed due to how abysmal their left tree was....

I think this is more an issue of the TREE itself not the gear. The left tree is supposed to be the 2h dps tree. So I suggest you take your issue up on the forums (like I tried to) with Knights needing some 2h love.

The tree is not the problem, left tree is viable, but middle and right tree are still op... the damage with the survival make the KOTBS so so OP in 2 hand, better than his mirror chosen
http://waronlinebuilder.org/#career=kot ... 0:;0:0:0:0:
You can own all with this

Ummm... First, you are using 40/70 which likely wont be out. I doubt itll go to 40/60 atm (which then +1 will let you do this build) so this build wont be available for a LONG time and subject to change.

ALso, why even bother with a 2H then.... You can do all this exact same setup with a SNB and your damage output/in ratio will be much higher as your damage outgoing isnt really much more with a 2h...

Also Bellow Commands (Knight) and Power from the Gods( Chosen) are not staying as is.... They will be nerfed and we have yet to find out exactly how they will work (unless I missed this). So you are (again) probably better off SNB and then slotting dirty tricks and stacking Block % with Shield Rush.

You are also losing out on Encouraged Aim which is pretty crazy OP as well... Which brings is RIGHT back to the standard Knight Build: waronlinebuilder.org - Knight of the Blazing Sun build and then your choice of the final tactic.