Test Discussion Mental Midrange Adjustments

Checklist:

1. 126 CR
2. Full VII Mods (Might)
3. Might 6.2 Generator Mods
4. LH Proficiencies: Damage Out, Critical Attack, Might & Precision
5. HT Mods: Escalating Might, Core Strength, Max Damage
6. Might: 10426
7. Prec: 3457
8. 30 parses at 10 second intervals

Mental Close Range
Loadout: Psychic Shock, Phantom Flames, Telekinetic Bolt, Mass Terror, Grandeur, Psychic Resonance
High: 51007
Low: 23799
Mean: 36804

Mental Mid-Range
Loadout: Psychic Shock, Phantom Flames, Telekinetic Bolt, Mass Terror, Grandeur, Psychic Resonance
High: 37861
Low: 23008
Mean: 29633

Loadout: Psychic Shock, Phantom Flames, Telekinetic Bolt, Mass Terror, Pyrokinesis, Psychic Resonance
High: 38867
Low: 24851
Mean: 29603

Mental Long Range
Loadout: Phantom Flames, Telekinetic Bolt, Telekinetic Push, Mass Levitation, Grandeur, Psychic Resonance
High: 33667
Low: 16787
Mean: 24262

Test 2 (same loadout)
High: 32846
Low: 19248
Mean: 24358

Comments
Close range is over the target but still within acceptable range at +3.67%. Midrange is pretty much spot on. Long range is just barely within the 5% margin for error at -4.85%. I'd be happier with something closer to baseline so perhaps a slight boost to Mass Levitation is in order.

Bug Report
There is a problem with Menace doing extremely low damage if it procs at point blank range while using the AM.

Repro Steps:
(1) Use the standard 126 CR Live Test spec (listed above).
(2) Equip Psychic Shock, Telekinetic Push, Telekinetic Bolt, Mass Terror, Menace, and Psychic Resonance.
(3) Stand at point black range to Sparring Target (so you're touching it).
(4) Perform rotation (Psychic Resonance>Psychic Shock>Telekinetic Push>Telekinetic Bolt [clip] Menace>Mass Terror).
(5) Observe that Menace does 3 ticks of damage for 39, 84, and 82 when it procs with Mass Terror:

Can they install a Resonance counter :

You use the shortcut - > AM style damage, but instead of the massive (50-100K+) range on instant hit, the output is adjusted to reflect the use of the shortcut;

If you have all three Resonance counters active, it's the full effect.

Because I do like the idea of the 'shortcut' as a damage recovery option (because I use Grandeur as a defensive maneuver instead of looking at it solely as a means of inducing another instant large hit) but I don't like the idea of having to change my current output cycle entirely to make it center around the 'Invisibility shortcut damage cycle' option in order to maintain a high output.

That's exactly something along the lines that would be fair, something like having invis/granduer"spell check" in your loadout weakens Mass Terror but not having it in your loadout does nothing.

Except that Gadgets has usable while controlled powers to keep the AM going. Mental does not.

Yeah, right now the Mental solution to that is 'Keep Grandeur in your loadout - > Clip with PR when Controlled', which is... less than elegant.

hmm really? that is true. havent been mental for a while. last time was when the superclip was out and that was for like a week lol but either way putting a power thats important for power back into stealth/invs isnt smart in my eyes

What many here fail to realize, is that Grandeur has a very long cool down. So the shortcut can only be used occasionally.
So any gain from the occasional shortcut use, will be easily lost to the nerf of Mental sole damager. Mental is already our powered by a number of powers. Nerfing MT will kill Mental.

Imo i don't like the "short cut" idea for powers, it unbalances things for powers with longer setup times. Just cause power A and power B put out roughly the same numbers on the parser doesn't mean that one won't be better and become the go to power. The way powers work needs to be taken into more consideration because there is still a lot of imbalance because of thing like this.

Gadget players who use distract and stealth on the same l/o do massive dmg, but that's literally all the do is dps. No pickups and no objectives. That loadout don't give you time to do anything else. Your movement is lunging and poppin powers, it keeps you busy.

Gadgets is the top dps power, and it looks like mental will be right there with them, but it might be the worse type of dps to play with. Sometimes you gotta be careful about what you ask for

I think both powers should have the shortcut removed, I don't know why they think of these things and not how it will impact balancing other powers. Think down the road when it comes time to balance Electric and Nature... The whole reason both of those powers are so far behind right now is from decisions like these.

Maybe they should have balanced gadgets, and should balance mental around the 3 emp/MT l/o. It's a high skill high risk l/o though. If they die at the wrong time, it's nothing they can do, but spam weapon attacks. I know for sure gadgets can get between 40-50k of dps using the 3 emp l/o, not the 35k it's suppose to be at.

I remember someone asking for Mental to be more like Gadgets. I see these changes making that happen and now players are split between being more like Gadgets and just adjust mental a bit.

I tell you Devs, you cannot win no matter what you do. I feel for you guys as you try to balance the powers to be similar in damage.

I do want to point out that regardless of how you do damage, all powers should not only be able to produce similar max damage but by the 20th second in combat, all powers should also be producing like damage. That is my ask, not just max damage balancing, but balancing powers within the first 20 seconds of combat.

If you want to be gadgets, get a respec token and go Gadgets. Leave Mental alone!

That was my point. I'm already gadgets. I have no desire to be mental.

I actually like shortcuts, it's better then brainless 123 omg big damage. What I don't like is the massive damage they do, they are still top in most cases.
Quantum and Atomic I believe do more damage at the end because they lack the shortcuts. Celestial is still low compared to these, except the WotP spam...

It'll be interesting for Nature, Elec and HLs updates, that's when we can really compare.

thats why its generally better to not run the stealth load out and just the grandeur or distract one your more active to the rest of the raid and not so vulnerable to running out of power

But players do run it, and is at an advantage. I thought the whole balancing thing was suppose to revolve around top damage? Not damage based on loadouts people should run? Maybe all powers should have high skill high risk loadouts, not just 2? Those are the real questions imo

I don't wanna derail this tread but did you really just use the work skill and associate it to either of these powers lol.

All the powers still won't be balanced when they are done cause there are to many factors left out of the equation. I hope they get more into things other then this power does this on the parser

people complaining about the shortcut but ice and other powers keep up and pass "shortcut loadouts". theres nothing wrong with the shortcut lol its not overly OP

Gadget has had its shortcut for a while lol if anything is unfair then its ice's AM. but back to gadgets. its nothing wrong with the shortcut..