Feedback:User/MA Anathe/TGENP - Dervish
TGENP - Dervish
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| User | MA Anathe |
| Categories | Skill feedback → Dervish → Other |
TGENP: The Great Elite Niche Project[edit]
The TGENP is a set of skill suggestions intended to support and create new build possibilities through unused Elite skills, rather than to obtain balance within the existing environment. For an explanation of the TGENP and its underlying design goals, please see my main user page.
This is a pilot page. The content here is not intended to be final, but rather, to serve as a stepping stone for additional content. This note will be removed when the content is presented as intended.
Dervish (Main) - Designer Notes[edit]
The Dervish is a complicated beast to handle, but the first one I started looking at. What they do well, other professions tend to do better. Part of this is because half of their early class-exclusive identity was spamming PbAoE enchantments for insane nearby-range damage and conditions. That role was gutted out of necessity, but that left them with a very narrow scope. The following suggestions seek to restore their identity, and accordingly, they're some of the tamest suggestions.
The Avatars are one of the defining class features of the Dervish, and aside from the Mysticism attribute itself, the only Dervish-exclusive one. Thus, I feel the Avatars should be embraced as "Class Identity" - the first thing people look to when they think of a Dervish Primary. However, they obviously shouldn't be the only elite in consideration. The principles for designing each of the new avatar functions are as follows:
- Retain elements of the current functioning to keep them familiar, and to allow players who already use the Forms to continue to do so in their builds.
- Elaborate on the Power of Three. Several of the avatars already do three distinct things. I want to build on that to make it a thematic tie between the avatars to develop their identity. That is, if someone asks what an avatar is, another player should be able to say, without prompting, "A skill that lets you turn into an incarnation of a God with three cool features."
- Continuing from the above line, the avatars don't have to be optimal - They need to be "cool." They each need to make you feel like you're truly embodying a small portion of the respective God while you use the skill.
- Accordingly, they need to be PvE/PvP split. Unremovable buffs along the lines of Dervish Forms are probably not healthy for high-end PvP, especially if they are comparable to the likes of Wounding Strike in that environment.
All other skills in the Mysticism line were left as is. Excepting Pious Renewal, they each have their own niches. The fate of Pious Renewal remains in question. Without further ado;
Earth Prayers offer only two elites to tinker with. To the best of my knowledge, neither sees much play anywhere. The tweaks were minor and unexciting, but may promote their use in some PvE builds.
Both elite scythe attacks see competitive play. Neither was altered.
- (No change = No link)
Wind Prayers has three elites, but only one sees much play (Zealous Vow). Both other Wind Prayers were amended with the goal of supporting the uncommon PbAoE Dervish builds.
