Dulrik wrote:
ninja_ardith wrote:
There's some caveats I have with it. It should be nerfed moderately, and then buffed a little. It certainly doesn't work the way that Dulrik posted about it when he originally introduced it.
Can you refresh me about what I originally claimed and how it doesn't do that?
Also, changed the poll so that the third option specifically states "no change necessary".
Quote:
Your stance determines how you react to combat. Aggressive combatants
are more likely to hit and will dish out more damage but are also more
likely to be hit themselves and expend more energy when attacking.
Defensive combatants are less likely to be hit and can concentrate on using
their shield for increased effectiveness and leg defense but have a reduced
rate of attack with both weapons and spells.
Neutral combatants have neither benefits nor penalties.
Stance also affects rescue.
If there's a boost to leg defense then it is so negligible to not even be noticeable. In any case, this is how I deal with people that use the defensive stance in the first place, by taking advantage of the glaring hole in defense that the legs have even while under defensive or a certain cabal skill. It just seems to rob them of any potency whatsoever. I'm probably shooting myself in the foot though as the outrageous boost to armor protection that defensive provides right now being extended to the legs would just make immovable objects out of people that choose to play the role of tank. It's just reminiscent of how tough it was to kill shield users back around 2005-6. This coupled with the increased chance of a bash missing someone on defensive just makes it really tough to actually kill them without a zerg effort.
The problems with it became apparent to me during the time I played my paladin, and found that I could generally go on easy mode through areas like Cain Techt solo, I went to the wastelands with my paladin, and a barbarian friend and we cleaned it out. I pleveled Syn a warlock in about 20 hours by tanking for her in various areas, my favorite being Owyran against a group of 9 so that she could take out groups with the warlock's AoE spellset. There was further evidence of this with Tragonis' paladin Farine because he was certainly playing more aggressively with the defensive stance. Now it's just sprung up into the flavor of the month combo for mercs and barbs, and it certainly is more appealing to play than a spellcaster right now, I'll admit.
Another problem is that it has completely neutered the concept of ranged combat. I'm sure Lothoriel can attest to effectiveness of it with his cloth wearing priest Baba taking minimal damage from a giant scout shooting him. Most of that is due to the increase in dodge and the increased protection from damage, but I can't imagine ranged combat being very effective at all in a PvP sense.
Ideally, I'd like to see it wimped a bit, so that it is not so bad that players have a difficult time doing damage to these guys, but not that it's not a viable option. And I'd like to see increased leg defense! I mean it's possible to get into a lower stance, which I imagine the defensive stance is, low enough to cover your legs with the shield and it get in the way. I'm thinking of spartans in a phalanx formation here!