Stats Revamp 1.3!

Discussion in 'Stats Revamp Archive' started by Avair, Jan 27, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Avair Administrator

    This is a super long post and I worked really hard on it, BUT if you don't have enough time to read it, Mepps made me put in a TL;DR. Here it is!

    TL;DR

    The first part of the post is an elegantly written, detailed, and well-formatted description from the best writer. It is about the different playstyles we support. If you are interested in what playstyles we are making the mechanics of the game support, read this section. We expect three playstyles:
    • Hybrid - The Standard
    • Play from the Tray - Specialized
    • Weapon Focused - Specialized
    The second part of this post details this round of changes. We have been hard at work visiting the forums, playtesting, and adjusting the Test Server in order to make DCUO the best it can be. We have focused this update on making the game feel more like live, especially in terms of combat pace. We made the following broad changes to make this happen:
    • Greatly adjusted power mechanics to make them much more forgiving
    • Made tanks tankier
    • Made controllers more controlli-er
    • Adjusted healing range and target numbers
    • We are using power mechanics to speed up the pace of the game first, and will revisit further cooldown changes after this is tested
    Thank you to those of you who got through the TL;DR! And thank you to those of you who will now continue to read the rest of the post!

    The Stats Revamp: Status Update

    Hello. It is time to talk stats once again! Previously we made a post that discussed what we were looking into and what we had already accomplished. For a refresher here is the list again:

    On Track:
    • Remove Combat Rating Differential - check!
    • Adjust where player stats come from and smooth progression - check!
    • Adjust NPC stats - check!
    • Revamp skill tress/skill points - check!
    • Remove Advanced Mechanics and Weapon Mastery bonus damage - check!
    • Remove Power Points - check!
    • Adjust specific content as needed - ongoing, but on track!
    • Powerset balance adjustments post-AM/WM - ongoing, but on track!
    Under Review:
    • Supercharges
    • Power over time changes (passive controller PoT)
    • Weapon and passive power regen
    • Ability cooldown adjustments
    • Ability power cost adjustments
    • Role-specific adjustments (related to changes above)
    I’m here to talk to you today about the Under Review portion PLUS give you a look into our process for making changes so that you can be better informed of how we design things. I think the more transparent we are about this update, the more we can collaborate, the better things will be in game and out.

    The Stats Revamp: Playstyles

    First off I want to set the expectations for the playstyles we are designing for, both initially and in the future. I will note right away that the future ones may or may not ever come into fruition, but we are creating outlets and possibilities for them now so that we can have options when it comes time to expand.

    The current playstyles are:
    • Hybrid - The Standard
    • Play from the Tray - Specialized
    • Weapon Focused - Specialized
    [IMG]

    We view these playstyles as a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum you are using abilities from the tray almost completely and on the other end you are using weapon attacks and combos almost completely. In the vast middle of the spectrum you are using both tray abilities and weapon attacks. We are looking to balance each of these playstyles to have similar outputs (damage, for example).

    Hybrid

    The “Hybrid” playstyle is considered our default playstyle. This is what the core game mechanics support and is the most accessible. The basics are that you will, to some degree, spend power via tray abilities and then use weapon attacks to get your power back. Your stat and gear choices are fluid and will determine how much you use weapons versus how much you use tray abilities, but most combinations will work.

    Key Markers of the Hybrid Playstyle
    • You participate heavily in the cycle of dumping power via tray abilities, then regenerating power with weapon attacks
    • Depending on which side of the spectrum you prefer, you would choose to focus on Precision or Might
    • You determine how much Power, Might, or Precision you want based on how you want to customize your gameplay
    • You have the most options for what to fill your ability load out with
    • You use Soders, Orbital Strike, Supply Drop, and Backup when needed
    Play from the Tray

    The “Play from the Tray” style (henceforth to be known as “PftT”) is a specialized playstyle. This means that you must focus your gear choices, skill point choices, and loadout choices on PffT order to make it work.

    Since this playstyle focuses on using tray abilities and tray abilities cost power to use, it only makes sense that you must invest, to some degree, into power in order to unlock this playstyle. The degree in which you have to be invested in power is being tested and is likely to change for the duration that this update is on test.

    Key Markers of the PftT Playstyle
    • You use abilities from the tray only
    • Your primary stat is Power, and your primary resource is Power
      • The more power you get, the higher cost abilities you can cast, the more damage you do
      • You MUST make some effort to get extra power, seeing as how this is your primary resource to cast your abilities
      • Consequently, Controllers also increase your damage (as they refill your Power)
    • Might is a secondary stat that increases your damage, but not as much as getting more power does
      • The amount of Power you need versus the amount of Might you can get is to be determined and will change throughout testing
    • You must take special care of your ability load out so that you can pick abilities that use power at a rate your power stat (or your Controllers) can support
      • We suggest trying out 1 Low Cost, 3 Medium Cost, 1 High Cost and 1 Super Charge
      • If you invest more into power, try upgrading one of your ability cost types (a medium to a high, or something like that) – this is how Power increases your DPS
    • You use Soders, Orbital Strike, Supply Drop, and Backup when needed
    Weapon Focus

    The “Weapon Focus” playstyle is also a specialized playstyle. Again, you will have to focus your load outs, skill points, and gear choices to make this playstyle work. This playstyle uses mostly weapon attacks and combos, but uses tray abilities to bolster your weapon attacks (think: weapon buffs).

    Key Markers of the Weapon Focus Playstyle
    • You spend skill points in weapon trees and get weapon mastery
    • You focus on using weapon attacks and combos
    • You use your power to buff your weapon attacks and for utility
    • You spend skill points and use gear mods for Precision
    • You use Soders, Orbital Strike, Supply Drop, and Backup when needed
    The Future

    We have spoken for a while about how this update will allow us to expand into the future and will give you more options. Well, one of the major choices that we are giving you is the functionality to choose between different playstyles and have these playstyles be supported by the dev team. When I say supported, I mean that we will make items for them, make sure they have similar outputs, and are engaging. I want to take a second to point out some stubs we are putting in right now that we can build on in the future after our changes. All of these are specialized playstyles, btw (again, meaning you will have to make choices in order to “unlock” playing these). Now, some of these may not work out in the future (I can’t read the future) but we are making steps to make these options for growth. These playstyles are:
    • Supercharge
    • Iconic Powers
    • Proc
    • Melee Weapon
    • Ranged Weapon
    • DoT
    • Burst
    • Pets
    The Stats Revamp 1.3

    Alright, now we can get into the changes we made based on feedback. This will mostly be directed at three major things, with a smattering of other changes in the mix for good measure. The three main things we focused on in this update were game pacing, expected roles in a group, and the “Play from the Tray” (PftT) playstyle.

    Combat Pacing and PftT

    We recognize that there is a significant amount of feedback regarding the pace change of combat and PftT. We hear what you are saying and we are working on bringing it closer to what is on live, while still trying to retain unique aspects for each ability.

    Our initial goal was to more clearly differentiate abilities for each power set by using the tools at our disposal (namely output, cost, cooldown, and targeting). These all matter to each other and we use them to balance. For instance, if you increase the cooldown or cost of an ability, you can increase the output accordingly. We realize that during our adjustments to both ability cost and cooldowns, the overall pace of the game was slowed down too much.

    We do not want to upset the applecart on this one. We are 100% behind tackling this issue. The pacing on test right now is not what will make it to live. We are looking at tackling this issue one step at a time. Here is where PftT comes in with pacing. They are intertwined via power. If you are out of power constantly, then you cannot use abilities like you want, and then your gameplay is slowed down. Since we are working on the PftT playstyle as well, we decided to take a look at power mechanics and kill two birds with one stone. Here are the significant changes for power that will help increase the pace of the game and also enable the PftT playstyle:
    • Lowered how much Power we expect PftT players to get through mods and skill points
      • This changes all sorts of projections internally, which in turn changes how things scale, how many mods you need, and of what type, etc
    • Lowered power costs overall
      • Low =100 (was 135), Medium = 200 (was 270), High = 300 (was 450)
    • Increased passive power regeneration rate by roughly 15%
    • Generally decreased effectiveness of Skill Points by 33% (everything but Dominance and Defense)
      • This means you need fewer skill points spent a certain way to achieve PffT
    • Lowered the cooldown on Galvanize from 6 to 3 seconds
    • Lowered cooldown for Psychic Empowerment and Defibrillator from 3 to 1.5 seconds
    • Adjusted many low-cost abilities to have slightly lower cooldowns
      • Spord ensured me that this would make them feel “right”
    We also want to note that we are working carefully and deliberately to make changes. We want to test the power changes before we move on and test cooldown changes. Like I said before, these mechanics are inherently linked to each other, so changing one will require changing another, but we don’t want to make giant and sweeping changes all at once. We want to change power, see how much it changes pacing and PftT, and then look at addressing cooldowns.

    Combat Roles!

    We made significant changes to our expected group role makeups. During the whole of the Stats Revamp, we have been aiming for every group to be made up of 2 of each role for Raids (we affectionately call it 2 by 4). This has always been our goal, but has rarely reflected how players actually choose to or prefer to play. The changes in the revamp that were expected to make this more of a reality - closer to requiring a second role for success - saw much negative feedback. Individual roles were not feeling impactful. So, we have changed our assumptions and goals to better reflect how you play. We will now expect it to be possible for groups to consist of one of each role (Controller, Healer, Tank) and five Damage IF each role-player is quite skilled. If you still struggle with content using the 5/1/1/1 makeup, you should roll in with the 2x4.

    This change has a giant ripple effect across the singular roles and powers:
    • Increased the amount of Dominance you get from Skill Points, Items, character levels, and Mods by 45%
    • Generally decreased NPC damage
    • Increased overall tank effectiveness by increasing shields and self-heals
    • Increased the range for many heals
    • Non-boss NPCs will now CC much less often
    • Increased power healing from Controllers
    • Defense and damage debuffs from controllers have been doubled (effectiveness)
    For further specifics, visit the update notes and each powersets' testing feedback thread.

    What's Next

    Now, it's again time for you to test and tell us what you think! We have made a ton of changes that take us closer to the pacing that is on live. We will continue to make more. We have also addressed tank, healer, and controller role specific feedback, as well as that from the individual powersets. In short, we are working towards making the Stats Revamp update one where we can add many cool features to the game and still retain what makes all of us love it. Thanks!

    Oh, by the way, we also updated movement abilities, added more stats to the stat screen, AND put cooldown and cost amounts in the ability tooltips. Information! You got it. *drops the mic*
    • Like x 35
  2. Mepps Sr. Community Manager

    Powerset-specific information and update notes will be available in their own threads when the test server again opens. We expect the server to be back online later this evening, and will update you if that changes.
    • Like x 1
  3. ChillCat Loyal Player

    SUPER GREAT!!!! I need to get my reading glasses......
    • Like x 7
  4. Fatal Star 10000 Post Club

    Spord was right
    • Like x 4
  5. Harlequin Devoted Player

    I'll be wringing out Ice and Atomic dps plus looking at Sorcery without the pets pretty closely this round. Thanks for the updates.
    • Like x 4
  6. Sage-Rapha Steadfast Player

    Gonna need to test Sorc mental and elec thoroughly this time.
    And thank you for buffing the debuffs! And lowering the cooldowns on IPH for trolls.
    • Like x 2
  7. hotsizz1e03 Committed Player

    SUPER GREAT!! Good job team. Im hoping to test out this new update asap! Sounds real promising.. Kind of hyped for electric and DOT LOADOUTS to come back! Excellent.


    Now as far as, wanting players to play 2-2-2-2 roles for content.. CONTENT has to be driven to force players create groups with that.. If you create the same types of content over and over, all raids will be run as 5-1-1-1.

    Give multiple NPC variety throughout the raids and not just during boss fights..

    For example
    Take LAW last bosses(vexer mechanic)
    Forge Master - Halls of hades (tank mechanics)
    Avatar of SIn (Dot mechanics which would need 2 healers)

    These mechanics are examples that it can be done.. Devs need to push consistent creative content that force that 2-2-2-2 makeup
    • Like x 5
  8. Only Forever Level 30

    how about
    • Power Focused - Specialized?
  9. Jacob Dragonhunter Steadfast Player

    R.I.P pug groups. 5-111 will be do-able if the team is skilled enough, yikes.




    As far as the rest of the update sounds...

    [IMG]
  10. Karasawa Loyal Player

    [IMG]
    • Like x 10
  11. Lord Jareth Steadfast Player

    Avair this is how you drop a mic sir:

    [IMG]

    But this does look good cant wait to test it out.

    [IMG]
    • Like x 1
  12. Fatal Star 10000 Post Club

    Majority of pugs aren't skilled. Sorry to say it but it's the truth. I think 3221 will still be general standard, then skillful leagues will be able to run 5111
    • Like x 4
  13. XFuriouSGamming New Player

    This seems to be awesome! Gonna test it right now!
    Good Job devs!
  14. Lord Jareth Steadfast Player


    o_O gonna have to wait till test gets back up.
  15. BumblingB I got better.

    Great! I read the whole thing and I appreciate your attention to detail.

    Two questions:
    Is it possible to give us a ballpark for 166CR numbers for each of the 3 builds on your sliding scale? This is where we had issues with the last sets of updates, we heard what you said, but certain aspects just couldn't figure out what you actually wanted us to do. General idea of builds is good and I appreciate the start of 1L 3M 1H 1SC starting point. But I feel we need more in regards to it, ie, stats itself.

    So for the PFtT aspect, Power is what we go for first, but Might is what decides how strong your powers are. Do you feel that this would cause a conflict with builds? What I mean is, if I chose to put power over might in some areas, it would result in less damage than a hybrid build utilizing the same powers, but being able to "freely" regen power quicker.
    • Like x 4
  16. Fatal Star 10000 Post Club

    I'll assume how a hybrid player would spec into both prec and might, a PFtT player will spec into both power and might. Weapon based seems to be the only build that can really get away with just overdosing on one stat.
    • Like x 1
  17. Mepps Sr. Community Manager

    This will take some experimentation based on how each person plays. The general idea is that putting more power into your build allows you to slot better (higher cost, more damage) abilities into your loadout.
    • Like x 2
  18. Ringz Dedicated Player

    Hmph. We will see.
    • Like x 3
  19. Mystere Well-Known Player


    Thank you for the detailed post and information. I know I have given harsh feedback but I do appreciate you taking the time to engage so clearly with us. I encourage more of this as the changes continue. I am also heartened by the apparent willingness to change directions - this is new for us to see and also encourage more of it.

    Now I know this piece of feedback isn't for you per se, but now that it appears that we have the revamp going in the right direction, can we now see the end of monetization of core game mechanics like feats in time capsules, cooldowns etc from time capsules.

    Finally, I still believe a lot more needs to be added for subscribers. Right now, I think many don't see a big enough advantage to make subscribing worthwhile. Maybe make core desired pieces like the PHX material only available to subscribers etc.
    • Like x 2
  20. Lord Jareth Steadfast Player

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.