Dulrik wrote:
Keep in mind that any criticisms should be of systems and not people.
Therein lies the problem not only with discussing the enchanting changes, but discussing changes in general on the forum now. I will tread lightly in an attempt to shed light on both.
Code:
- Innates no longer count against enchant success
- Reduced max endowments that can be enchanted per item
This is both a mechanical change and a "people" change at the same time. It is reasonable that if innate endowments no longer count against adding enhancement endowments that the maximum capacity of an item would need to be lowered in order to maintain balance. However, this makes us even more dependent on builders (the "people" part of this change) to understand combat mechanics and provision items appropriately.
I have debated how to phrase this next part to avoid being condescending. A lot of your builders are inexperienced about the tactical aspect of the game. If an item was not correctly provisioned before this update, but had other redeeming qualities, like a desirable material type or high armor value, then we could compensate for flawed design by fading an item. That is no longer an option. Therefore, we are now completely at the mercy of builders to understand the tactical elements of the game and provision items correctly.
Finally, this update doesn't really address the issue of end game PvE. As Syn pointed out previously, one of the difficulties associated with defeating bosses like Ephialtes, Somnium, and the Grand General is that not only do you need a group able to invest a significant amount of time to navigate to the encounter and then defeat it, they have to be willing to remain in the area while the items acquired are enchanted. Items can still explode, so while this update might speed up the enchanting process in this scenario - no one can leave the area still.
Overall, these changes are a net neutral.