Test Discussion Episode 45: Artifact - Ebon's Untethered shadow

Howdy everyone, with the release of Episode 45, we also have a new artifact in what I refer to the "Finisher" series of artifacts.

This artifact is relatively simple to use but should have some fun interactions if you build your character properly.

Using a superpower grants a Shady Loan, up to a maximum of (5/5/10/10) Shady Loans total. Each Shady Loan increases the power costs of future abilities(excluding [Finisher] abilities) by (20/15/10/5) and increases might by (1/2/2/3)for 6 seconds.
Casting a [Finisher] burns all stacks of Shady Loan. Each Shady Loan grants (1/2/2/3) damage reduction when burned, when burning Maximum Shady Loan gain increased incoming power and a burst of power.

Please let me know your thoughts on our latest artifact.

Question
Is the power scaling feature working? I've been casting Taser Pull several times in a row and I'm not seeing any Power Cost increases. I do see the damage mitigation and Might increases that are supposed to be associated with the artifact.

How does this artifact work with rage tank? A finisher that cancels rage crash and gives a damage reduction seems broken to me.

This artifact for DPS, not for Tank. And btw, dealing damage is not a Tank main job...
Also this artifact will be not a best choice for combo powersets like Rage\HL\Celest because >>> Each Shady Loan increases the power costs of future abilities(excluding [Finisher] abilities) by (20/15/10/5). And obviously not for fast clipping without good Troll(maybe 2 not at max rank).

It doesn't say you need to be in DPS role to get the buffs, just using a superpower/finisher. Why I think about Rage:

. Heal from your powers scale off might (or damage dealt), so more might means more heal.
. Power cost is not a problem since it's pretty low to begin with.
. E-Chain is a finisher so technically it will trigger the damage reduction buff (not defense buff) which is decent for tank.

Please note while its not "best choice" but its still a choice. As a Rage Tank we have more flexibility when it comes to our Artifacts mainly because we can still do our job without them versus other Tanks. I use Amulet in everything I do becuase I like the self healing and my Finisher is always used in my rotation. I'll be testing Ebon to see the synergy with and without Amulet. Keep in mind, The damage component is only part of it. As Tanks, we are looking to see that Shield strength. Sure there are other viable options but folks also dont like to do Cookie Cutter Builds. The purpose of Artifacts is to help explore different Builds and Loadouts.

Yep, it doesn't. But:
1. Not only Rage Tanks use Finisher
2. In game is a lot more better options for increasing damage(and healback for lich type abilities)
3. Increasing power cost for 200 and 300 abilities(Ire and Shields) is not a good idea even if you mostly spam Rage Bringer... RB>Clip RR>RB>RB>Clip Ire>E-Chain>Clip Shield>...

Yes, it still a choice... Choice where you add more work and problems to Troll like most Amulet users do it to Heal. Ofc it's not a big problem when all people are experienced and know what they are doing. I know, you are exp player and can do things without coockie cutter build. But from a single player's point of view which 99% of the content run through blind queue and almost every day see atleast one Amulet user that killing himself and acting like it's Healer's problem... Oh man... I just don't want this, my ignore list isn't endless.
And about "we can still do our job without them versus other Tanks". All Tanks can do their job without artifacts and all Tanks have some choices...

I don't like the idea of abuse to the controllers. This is an artifact that will either not be used because it's not worth the powering up, or create a toxic gameplay. (Like 3 trolls during OC time period.)

Just went back troll on my main and leveled claw to 160, have the feeling that my lower sp wont hold up with this artifact & im gonna have to go back tank… not downing the idea, im sure the higher sp / max gear grinders will enjoy this. But as someone who plays casually just running the content weekly im really hoping this doesn’t become meta,, if it does ill just hop roles again.. no biggie

Will this work with LeMort?

Hey Ranmaru,

I'll start with the positive, saying I love that you and the team are searching for creative ways to give finishers some TLC

I'm a bit confused with this 1 though as you said it's supposed to work in sync with the amulet. If the amulet deals damage based on our power cost & this artifact constantly increases our power costs (and effectively damage received) how are these even supposed to work together? Healers will just get mad & nobody using them will ever come close to max stacks for either.

I know this is mainly for a bunch of channeled abilities & then the Finisher but instead of damage reduction (as it can't work with the amulet anyway) can it give some kind of spreading dot to nearby enemies to make it & the la mort card more in sync?

Also can the power consumption be reduced a bit as well?

La-Mort Card + The Batman Who Laughs Ally friendly?

There are many ways to make it work.

Omegahedron will help a lot with sustaining power (and will synergize perfectly with it). At least for powersets that arent extremely powerhungry and couldnt make use of omegahedrons latest changes in the first place.

Power trolls. Its still possible to put out more power at the cost of buffs. This won't be more beneficial (unless the whole group uses it) but this artifact won't cause a 2nd troll to be demanded.

So this is an alternative to Amulet. Give up health with Amulet or give up power with Ebon. Use both artifacts and give up both. High risk, potentially high reward.

I assume the stacks function the same as Amulet? Each stack refreshes the overall Might buff for 6 seconds and each stack adds to the percentage Might buff, up to 30% (at Rank 200)?

You give too much faith in the community that will just follow the damage. A group of leaguemates or people who communicate and coordinate well, will have no problems running this. The problem comes from the people mimicking those builds. It's the same reason why we ended up with 3 trolls in the first place. Just takes one person showcasing it and the community copies.

The question however is why does might based artifacts & loadouts make you have to give up anything when prec ones have no weakness, prec is faster, can clip consistently, can buff themselves without an artifact & then gets buffed again by the troll without artifact power.

It's starting to seem outlandish that everything for might is being crippled. (This isn't a nerf prec remark) but saying we need start stepping away from this give & take mentality when one playstyle never had to deal with it (& I don't see a problem that prec never had to). Just reinforcing that might shouldn't have to either.

although, yes.

If a dps runs eog right now without having an eog heal in the group, he will be outperformed by non-eog Dps'. The same goes for this artifact. You end up without power so you have to swap your artifact or loadout to make it work.

Just like with lernaea, having a heal that cant keep up doesnt force a 2nd heal. It forces the dps to cancel his stacks earlier, or use a different artifact until he groups up with a heal that can sustain it.

On top, you gain power back at max stacks, so if you commit to it you will be rewarded.

Let me ask you, what percentage of players use lernea's artifact now? Not many. It tends to be too much risk for reward compared to other artifacts that have strong utility.

Who knows, I might be overthinking this, but I really do think it will be either toxic group play or just not really popular.

I have yet to test it, but if the dots my brain connected overlap with Ranmarus thought process, this artifact will synergize with lernaea and therefor lower the risk of dying through having less damage taken from it in the first place.

Also, with the recent eog nerf, it may be more viable to run two healers with 50% sc's than one with 3x 25%, reducing the risk of dying further. Will have to do the math on that one before i fully support this argument though.

Lastly, there are many artifacts that can result in "toxic" moments. Sparring AI: Tank steals your lunges so you do less dmg. Trolls buffing only one stat (might or prec). Dps' evading your dmg EoG. All of those things are not pleasant but also no deal breaker in the grand scheme for an artifact in my opinion. ^^

It's quite late so maybe I'm reading something wrong, but wouldn't it be more damage taken from it?

For Lernaea's, you take damage based on power cost.

Stacks from this artifact increase the power cost of your abilities...which in turn would increase the damage from Lernaea's.

I can see the potential for trying to juggle risk/reward, since now you have the ability to have might increases from both. But I'm in agreement with others, Lernaea's already isn't seeing all that widespread use, even for powersets with good finishers. I definitely think if the goal is synergy between the two artifacts, there's a lot to be desired.