Evidently, in this point in time, there hasn't been any change to Gem of Horus recently (at least to my knowledge). But this is moreso a thread dedicated to an artifact that doesn't get much attention. I've been spending a little more time in the test server, specifically testing different options for prec dps since I personally prefer it over might dps. As it stands right now, the meta for prec dps is in an awkward spot in my opinion, that may being because the artifacts that produce the best results aren't exactly precision-focused (Transformation card, Strategist Card, and Grimorium). I don't exactly have a "problem" with this but it definitely raised the question as to why precision-based artifacts don't produce the greatest results. Firstly, I wanna say Gem of Horus provides one of the most interesting ways of doing dps in DCUO history. Keeping track of your hit counter is something very different and this introduces something slightly more difficult, keeping me really engaged in how the game develops. The idea of Gem of Horus is definitely something to admire, but I'm sure we can all agree that the execution side of the coin was slightly more lackluster. As the artifact states, Gem of Horus grants a new precision-based and single target ability called Talon Strike. This is pretty good because as it stands right now, prec dps performs the best at single target dps (feel free to correct me, I'm not entirely sure about this claim). Unfortunately, the ability comes with a whopping power cost of 400, which I consider to be a bit too much. Power for prec dps is still very essential since the power pool that comes with it isn't exactly very vast. The cooldown for Talon Strike is 5 seconds. This isn't a very long cooldown, but i think it's slightly too long because it provides hiccups in rotations in the midst of fights compared to the initiation of a rotation. For more clarity, I'm referencing Dual Wield Flurry Shot weapon mastery as the source of prec dps, since it stands as the best single target option for prec. Here is where things get slightly more complicated: the hit counter allocation. Gem of Horus states that between a hit counter of 8-12, upon casting Talon Strike you administer an effect called Bleed, which is a damage over time. After achieving 13+ hit counter and upon casting Talon Strike, it will deal an additional 200% damage, which also increases to 300% if the artifact is at rank 200. The hit counter of 8-12 in my opinion is a bit too shallow. To justify, what the shallow hit counter numbers do is essentially cause for the player to "play for Talon Strike" instead of play for the prec dps. This isn't good because Talon Strike isn't the main source of damage, which will cause you to deal less damage than what would be considered to be plausible. Ultimately though, the hit counter of 8-12 can be managed if the cooldown of Talon Strike itself is changed. To reiterate, it's not very long, but is actually pretty extensive exclusively for trying to provide fluid dps rotations, and in time resulting in lackluster dps. To summarize, I think Gem of Horus is a very unique artifact that has great potential. It provides surprisingly good damage but trades off consistency with it. Personally, I feel that the hit counter for Bleed should be extended to 4-12 and the base cooldown for Talon Strike to be 3 seconds. I'd also like to reiterate that the power cost is expensive and I think 300 would be more ideal. I realize that each and every opinion I've stated can be proven wrong and I'm open to all suggestions on how this artifact can be made better. Evidently, I didn't divulge into damage numbers at all and I'm definitely open to providing damage numbers and comparing them to what is more feasible.
