GU 43: Mental Advanced Mechanics

Please use this thread to discuss and give feedback about Mental Advanced Mechanics. Preliminary update notes:

• Mental Power Points Reset: Due to changes in the Illusion tree, Mental users will find their power points reset and fully refunded.
• Psychic Resonance: This ability has changed significantly. It is now a beneficial buff applying a heal over time and beginning a brief cycle of Resonance. Certain abilities may amplify Resonance up to three times. Resonance increases the damage of certain abilities.
• Mass Terror: This ability no longer applies a damage over time effect, has a faster animation, is vulnerable to interrupt, gains Block Breaking properties while Resonance is active and causes scaled damage based on how much Resonance has been amplified. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active. It now hits enemies within a 12.5m sphere around you.
• Mass Levitation: This ability no longer has an activation time, applies a 50% damage buff in Damage role, gains Block Breaking properties while Resonance is active and causes scaled damage based on how much Resonance has been amplified. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active. Corrected an issue with visual FX that would prevent them from playing if the target resists the Levitate effect.
• Telekinetic Bolt: This ability no longer has an activation time, is no longer vulnerable to interrupt, no longer destroys player created objects, applies a 50% damage buff in Damage role, amplifies Resonance and causes additional damage when you have Resonance in addition to existing effects. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active.
• Telekinetic Push: Although still knocking down enemies in a thin cone it now causes damage in a larger area of effect around your target. It also amplifies Resonance and causes additional damage when you have Resonance in addition to existing Power Interactions. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active.
• Phantom Flames: In addition to existing effects it also amplifies Resonance and causes additional damage when you have Resonance in addition to existing Power Interactions. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active.
• Psychic Shock: In addition to existing effects it also amplifies Resonance and causes additional damage when you have Resonance in addition to existing Power Interactions. A portion of the power cost is restored while Resonance is active.

Well it makes me very happy to see that the way I currently play mental [dps] will be mostly unaffected. Always a good fallback in case the AM doesn't live up to expectations.

Thank you for finally changing Mass Lev and TK Bolt.

As far as the Advanced Mechanic goes... how often is Mass Terror supposed to crit? One out of maybe 5 rotations (if not more) will it crit, and I don't really know how to feel about its damage when Resonance is fully amplified. Fully amplified, Mass Terror will hit anywhere from 5k to critting over 16k with ~6200 might.

And I hope to be corrected here, but is Mass Terror's range smaller than EMP's? It kind of seems like it is.

Why are you messing with Mass Terror anyway. This move is a primary move in a potential WM loadout that does a tonne of damage over time, now it's no longer usable in anything other than the AM.

Why can't another move be used as the final move within the AM, such as cryokenisis which needed re-working anyway, you could even remove reflect pain and replace it with a new AM move.

Now that Mass Terror is no longer a dot nor long range, Menace might be considered even more useless. Its damage wasn't that great to start with. And moving it down in its tree (up a tier?) won't help its cause.

So I have a suggestion-

Make Menace a group Might buff. Or heck, just make it a self Might buff. Anything to make it worth spending two power points to get.

I think I'm on the fence again.. I might try to run an alert of a raid or something and then give more constructive feedback

It is a general trend that any self buff that procs does not gain a might/prec buff. just look at ice bash and intimidate and compare them with fiery weapon, annoint, wired, reinforce, etc.

Intimidate yeah, but doesn't Ice Bash give crit chance/damage?

Got a chance to test this AM.
Mass Terror = EMP
Mass Lev = Dart
There is currently nothing equal to distract or stealth for extra damage.

I hate to say it, but Gadgets currently still can out DPS Mental's AM if you throw in a distract hit when it's off cool down. The mechanics are equal in damage, but the fact Gadgets can get one more big hit in every time distract is off cool down adds up.

Also, to see if Invisibility worked like Stealth, I put Mass Terror on it and it does no damage out of the tray.

1 - Doing a preliminary test on this, the very first thing I want to say is that there NEEDS to be more powers capable of triggering the final burst of damage in the AM. As is at the moment, there are only 4 powers that can trigger the extra damage, which will lead to loadouts with extremely limited variations.

I know we shouldn't fully compare, but if we look at Gadgets (which has a similar AM), the choices given to the players are far greater.

My suggestion: Telekinesis, Thought Bubble and Terror Tendrils should also amplify Resonance, to offer more variety. Cryokenesis could also be used to amplify it, but on this one I'd further suggest a switch in positions in the Telekinesis tree, between that and Pyrokenesis (seeing as Phantom Flames already applies the burning PI).

2 - Not really relevant, but in these notes, it is said that Telekinetic Bolt applies a 50% damage buff; on Test, that value shows 40%. One of them is wrong, looking at the power tree and the position of the power, I'd say the notes are wrong.

3 - Again comparing to other AMs, Mental is still missing its moves to immediately trigger the extra damage (similar to Burning Determination, Distract and Stealth). Invisibility seems to be a good candidate on the Terror tree and I'd look at Telekinetic Shield for the Telekinesis variant, but (again a suggestion...) I'd say it should be swapped with another power, to be more easily accessed... Again, think Gadgets and where Distract and Stealth are located.

Will add more after more testing.

I think their reason for that is because using Mass Terror or Mass Lev will refresh Resonance, so you only need to hit PR once.

The power return from Battle Display is also refreshed with EMP and Dart. So you only have to hit BaD once too.

True, but its just a trend I noticed when they revamp powersets. It'll be good if intimidate and menace in this particular thread, to get the same number of buffs ice bash has to be worth the investment.

He doesn't mean that Bob.

Gadget had 3 additional methods to get to our AM Finisher.

3xPi, Out of Stealth, and Distract.

Out of stealth and Distract is our instant PI that lets us use Emp and Dart right away to get our burst.

Anyways, Mental is different.

Anyone who plays Mental AM, have to have resonance, the 3xPI power, shock, flame and bolt, and either mass levitation or mass terror or both. So it's very cookie cutter.

Typical rotation would be to start off with Resonance, WM>Flame, shock, bolt, to Mass Terror then rinse and repeat. Very cookie cutter.

The only thing different, is that Flames/shock/bolt has higher damage potential itself then Gadgets powers in general.

Mass levitation and Mass Terror does match Emp and P Dart, but the damage from the 3xPI itself hits a lot harder.

In a test I did, within 41 seconds just using 3xPI to Mass Terror, I did 9.5k Effective DPS. On test I'm wearing full end game gear. This test was done on League Base Sparring dummies just to test the aoe side.

Ahh I see what you're saying. Mental only has one way of doing heavy damage with its AM, while gadgets essentially has 3.

I dont' know their reasoning behind it, but Mental should be on the same boat as Gadgets. Grandeur can be used like Distract. And we both have out of stealth.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

I forgot to mention that the damage by itself from the 3xPI for mental is actually strong burst.

https://forums.station.sony.com/dcu...n-pc-test-game-update-43.227834/#post-2930834

Is this in PvE? Controller shields are not supposed to break after 3 hits.

We just had this discussion last month after you guys broke the Quantum shield!

Stop breaking troller shields!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.

The 3 power used for 3xPI, are high bursting powers. Gadgets doesn't have a high of a burst within their 3xPI like that. That's something I would say is nice for the Mental side.

I just read the notes so i dont know if there is any changes but Devs should look at some powers:
-Bolt Barrage and Mass Hysteria: both SC doesnt worth to be used;
-Cryokinesis and Horrific Visage: both powers are just too weak.
-Reflect Pain:useless.