[1.2.381] The Wind

Dark Flare is a party skill. That out of the way, I don't see why you say it doesn't work well w/ other aspects of the NL class. It doesn't actually have anything to do with the NL class at all. It's completely reliant on the other people in the party for it to do damage. Are you saying that the skill itself shouldn't be in the NL skillbook because it doesn't really fit well with the supposed lore of the class? As for it not working well with the majority of other classes, I can only chalk that up to a misunderstanding of the skill on your part. The purpose of the skill is to do damage is it not? If it accomplishes that goal, i'm unsure where the problem lies. As for bosses, lemme go through the main ones that come to my mind at 4am in the morning. HT/CHT, stationary, irrelevant. Zak/Czak, stationary, irrelevant. PB, always pinned so for all practical purposes, stationary and irrelevant, Statues are stationary. Toad, stationary and irrelevant. Guard Ani, not stationary, somewhat relevant. Grandpa, best solo'd but if he's not solo'd, he's pinned and thus like PB, essentially stationary and irrelevant. Krexel, stationary and irrelevant. Scar/Targ, just like PB unless players are goofing around hitting it back and forth, in which case optimal damage isn't a priority and thus Dark Flare isn't really a relevant thing. Anego, exactly like grandpa. The only boss I consider that your claim gives credence to is Van Leon, but I can't really address that as i've never actually gone to Van Leon. Pap, Crow, CWKPQ, Pianus, these are all bosses that are either best soloed, pinned or stationary.

Dark Flare has everything to do with NL's and the class itself. The fact it's a party skill doesn't automatically exclude NL's from that aspect. However, despite it being a party skill, I've already proven in this post that it lacks synergy with other classes in addition to itself. While the purpose of the skill is to do damage, the amount of damage it produces is reduced by the fact that many classes have damage mitigation skills or high avoid (which reduces its ability to deal damage period). This is negative synergy.

The fact it works only within a set area until planted elsewhere means it functions best at stationary and pinned bosses. This I won't argue with. However, not all bosses are stationary, not all bosses will be pinned either through either lack of ability to do so or other disturbances. This is the negative synergy with the game itself through no fault of the game itself and through no fault of the skill. However, it is still negative synergy.

Hopefully not any more. How many times do I need to repeat that i'm fully supportive of NL's getting their skills fixed up so that they don't have as many useless ones, and i'm totally on board with more synergy for the class? My problem has never been with synergy for NL's. It has merely been me addressing my concern that in fixing up skills to have more synergy, more damage will be added which I don't feel is necessary as NL's are already strong.

So you don't want NL's to become stronger, but you want them to have more synergy, which in your opinion, is for them to become stronger? Sorry, but that's what I'm reading here.

SE of course, echo usually, mw30 is standard, and stews or apples, not sure which.

Those buffs are to be expected in a run of only 180+ characters.

So that's not NL's being strong. That's NL's depending on items and on others to be strong that's normally outside their scope of normal damage capabilities. Okay.