Azarael wrote:Bolt of Change and Snipe were brought down because of complaints about the ease of putting out repeated burst rotations and repeated undefendable attacks at 210ft range. Something had to give to make adjusting the other turrets and daemons viable and avoiding complaints, and that was it.
If a better solution is adjusting the range bonus from the Gun Turret and Pink Horror, then let me know.
I can empathise with your concerns, and the last thing I want to do is come across unappreciative towards the changes (god knows there's already enough of that).
However, I would postulate and say the following: it isn't easy to put out a burst rotation that is on-par with a Sorcerer's (still not as good nor easy to do, it must be noted), given the plethora of prerequisites that must be fulfilled to do so.
Sure, in a keep defence the class is king due to the stationary nature/slowpace, allowing the class to achieve full stacks and maintain them relatively easy: though I don't enjoy this type of PvP, there are Magi who do it a lot (such as Nuclearpotato) who regularly top KD in the zone. However, this is because stationary PvP is where the Magus/Engi excels and so it is merely a case of people utilising the strengths of the class. Similarly, city sieges favour AoE bomb classes, and roaming favours classes such as SH/SW due to their mobility (Jurki and Zeromancer being good examples of players utilising the strengths of the classes in such environments).
I would also take caution in heeding to complaints made by people who simply can't adapt to how the classes now function, i.e. those who are adamant that the class should still be free renown pinata. I think you, more than anyone, know that there is a particular subset of people who seem to complain incessantly about any change that is implemented, without having dedicated the time to test it out/develop counters. As Nuclear has said already, there are various ways in which the magus burst can be shut down; but, alas, it seems people prefer to ignore this.
If anything, nerf the range slightly if you must; but without a reliable nuke to initiate a burst rotation, the ST DPS will suffer and the class will, again, be outperformed by its other ranged counterparts. The only other nuke available to the class will be Mutating Blue Fire, which is relatively weak, and Flickering Red Fire (which gets outdamaged by a DPS AM's Radiant Lance).
Again I reiterate: I don't want to come across whiny, but I think most Magi would prefer to have the bolt range nerfed/pet range nerefd, and for the 5 sec CD to be left in place so that the ST variants of the class can maintain pressure and keep up (somewhat, at least; in mobile fights - which are the majority in a fast-paced PvP game - the Magus is still far behind) with the SH and Sorc in terms of putting out the hurt. Must also take into consideration that the only pet you'll be using as a Havoc/Rifleman is the ST long-range pet, so you won't be benefiting from any of these juicy new changes.
just my 2c. keep doing what you're doing, regardless!
Also: I agree with the aforementioned. Tanky Engineers are a nuisance, but after the immunity timers are up they offer very little else except a group HoT that can be covered by an actual healer.