2014-11-19, 01:01 PM
PTR 2.1.2 is up.
Patch Notes: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/16802653...11-18-2014
Focused Feedback: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/15269779057
The Hydra nerf was to accommodate a new attack speed buff along with it scaling its speed with your APS. Previously, Hydra would do a constant 10 sets of attacks per full duration (i.e. 30 projectiles), or 7 attacks for Mammoth. The damage would automatically scale itself to your DPS stat. Given how good people are saying it is now, it might still do that.
Marauder is almost a definite nerf since Kridershot is such a low percentile of the playerbase. Anyone using Tasker and Theo should see a nerf. It'll only affect the bolts they shoot.
For example, someone with top of the line Ball Lightning gear will have 4.15 breakpoint. Sentries do 5 shots per second. Now, they'll do at most 2.77 shots per second like you. With Helltrapper, you have 5 Sentries. Now, you can only have 3.
So going from a maximum of 25 shots per second + 2.77 from yourself with a minimal amount of ramp up waiting for your Sentry cooldown (Helltrapper is pretty quick in the first second or two), vs 8.31 shots per second + 2.77 from yourself. Since your own shots are constant, they can be ignored.
The damage difference is 16.69 Ball Lightning per second from Sentries. Since the new set does "100%" more damage for each of their shots, it's really like shooting two Ball Lightnings. So there's still an 8.31xBall Lightning Damage / second difference.
This also assumes you're constantly attacking, which is almost possible with Ball Lightning set up. You have like 5% downtime or something if you're standing still, but with the Smokescreen nerf, you are required to stop shooting to avoid damage, making the damage gap significantly wider. Along with that, the most common Marauder setup is between pure Fire and Frostfire, both of which use 3 spenders, meaning your Sentries will never compensate the damage loss from not having Loaded for Bear/Maelstrom come out.
I have a set-up that's probably going to be okay in the works, but this is a gigantic f'uck you to anyone running Marauder as it stands, especially after the promises at BlizzCon where Marauder would never be nerfed.
I had this typed up before I went to bed and forgot to submit. Hooray.
EDIT:
Taking a look on PTR, the 2-set bonus applies to Sentries and one of them seems to be multiplicative which might be enough to compensate in the optimal situation, i.e. where there's nothing that can fight back like a Zombie GR. DIVERSITY pineapple YEAH.
Just tried one GR33. Died immediately because it was a Hell Rift and 4 different elites spawned at the portal. MUH DENSITY.
Seems okay at this low difficulty, but it ought to be impossible to do any real damage when you get to the point where standing still literally means OHKO regardless of your toughness.
Patch Notes: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/16802653...11-18-2014
Focused Feedback: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/15269779057
The Hydra nerf was to accommodate a new attack speed buff along with it scaling its speed with your APS. Previously, Hydra would do a constant 10 sets of attacks per full duration (i.e. 30 projectiles), or 7 attacks for Mammoth. The damage would automatically scale itself to your DPS stat. Given how good people are saying it is now, it might still do that.
Marauder is almost a definite nerf since Kridershot is such a low percentile of the playerbase. Anyone using Tasker and Theo should see a nerf. It'll only affect the bolts they shoot.
For example, someone with top of the line Ball Lightning gear will have 4.15 breakpoint. Sentries do 5 shots per second. Now, they'll do at most 2.77 shots per second like you. With Helltrapper, you have 5 Sentries. Now, you can only have 3.
So going from a maximum of 25 shots per second + 2.77 from yourself with a minimal amount of ramp up waiting for your Sentry cooldown (Helltrapper is pretty quick in the first second or two), vs 8.31 shots per second + 2.77 from yourself. Since your own shots are constant, they can be ignored.
The damage difference is 16.69 Ball Lightning per second from Sentries. Since the new set does "100%" more damage for each of their shots, it's really like shooting two Ball Lightnings. So there's still an 8.31xBall Lightning Damage / second difference.
This also assumes you're constantly attacking, which is almost possible with Ball Lightning set up. You have like 5% downtime or something if you're standing still, but with the Smokescreen nerf, you are required to stop shooting to avoid damage, making the damage gap significantly wider. Along with that, the most common Marauder setup is between pure Fire and Frostfire, both of which use 3 spenders, meaning your Sentries will never compensate the damage loss from not having Loaded for Bear/Maelstrom come out.
I have a set-up that's probably going to be okay in the works, but this is a gigantic f'uck you to anyone running Marauder as it stands, especially after the promises at BlizzCon where Marauder would never be nerfed.
I had this typed up before I went to bed and forgot to submit. Hooray.
EDIT:
Taking a look on PTR, the 2-set bonus applies to Sentries and one of them seems to be multiplicative which might be enough to compensate in the optimal situation, i.e. where there's nothing that can fight back like a Zombie GR. DIVERSITY pineapple YEAH.
Just tried one GR33. Died immediately because it was a Hell Rift and 4 different elites spawned at the portal. MUH DENSITY.
Seems okay at this low difficulty, but it ought to be impossible to do any real damage when you get to the point where standing still literally means OHKO regardless of your toughness.