Test Discussion Solar Amplifier Bug

I meant “solar amplifier’s non splitting damage”, btw, won’t let me edit.

Exactly, they just need to be buffed super speed doesn’t need to be nerfed

If they're nerfing, I mean ruining, sheesh, auto truth... I mean "fixering" the solar amp, my disappointment level has reached a high.
I have a solar amp on each character, and well unaware of the issue, as I just guessed it was working as intended (by silence of devs).

I would like to be able to take all xp/break through rank/etc from my solar amp and put it on something more useful now.

The La Mort card should likewise have the empowered changeling added to it, since it's basically the power set version of SA. And I'm guessing solar amp is going to be getting tossed aside in many loadouts.
The particular issue, is with lack of acknowledgement from the devs, and they should compensate for this. This is a very EXPENSIVE mistake to the player base.

Solar Amp is still going to be the go to for single target Loadouts. No one was leveling up the artifact JUST for the bugged AoE damage at 200.

Players still Disconnect once entering Phoenix Cannon. Even the regular non Elite version. I had a group of 8 and 4 players disconnected. We managed to pick up all players by inviting them back. Which seems like a feat in itself. I received the blue error screen the next time I went into the raid and so did others. This is definitely not intended and needs to be addressed.

Suggestion: Don't assume someone knows what PCe is and for the sake of communication on the forums, clearly state the name as in this example Phoenix Cannon. Thus the possibility for misunderstandings is less. And even though most people know what DC means, type disconnect. I even have it as a joke in my signature and assume people understand it. I have called it Disconnect universe for sometime as it was just a matter of time before you get that Playstation blue error screen. Especially when using portals in the Patchwork episode, I get to see the blue screen more often. I try to avoid the warp portals, but mostly I hope they work as intended until it does fail and blue error screen and miss out on a bounty boss or can no longer get back in the phase I was once in.

I agree SEALS Of Preservation should be at least be a rare drop in game. There is still a seals tab in the broker which was rendered changed with almost the same amount, NON existent communication that a change was being made like the solar artifact. In the seals case people were left with account bound locked seals that they used to sell on the broker and many who used real cash as a good way to make in game money. That purchase and selling in the broker of seals was no longer allowed and has never been restored. It should be restored. After all the reason given by developers was to stop exploiting and duplicating the seals by glitchers. However, the majority of the community lost a option to upgrade artifacts and are forced to get seals for themselves. That in my opinion was worse, but to a similar extent I understand peoples frustration with the change, because there was no communication.

Also the failure rates of artifact break through are highly questionable. If have seen so many breakthrus at low levels 95, 90 etc. up to the level 80 at 80 percent fail back to back and multiple times that I'm surprised it hasn't failed at 100%. The higher level artifact break through is just way out of whack with the below 20 percent and should be adjusted. 20% chance at 200 should be the worst percentage with better percentages at 180, 160, 140, and 120. Seals of preservation are pretty much required at 140. So another at 160, 180, 200 is $20 right there alone.

I agree with fixing the issues with nature and solar amplifier.

I disagree with miscommunication or lack of communication about these changes. I personally think precision players were getting picked on and nerfed too much with only one sided arguments from might players complaining being the only side listened too.

A nice resolution to help resolve issues in the community would be to: Have another special double XP week so players could swap out their artifact if they choose.

Along with either a catalyst drop chance or double source marks within that week or before or after.

Provide players with at least 4 four unstable seals of preservation so they can increase their new artifact without spending another $20.

That would minimize the fallout from this as players are threatening to quit etc.

To be Obsidianchill or To NOT to be OC... doesn't have the best track record or relationship with the dev.s. Yes he tests a lot, probably more than any1. But that doesn't mean there isn't a better load out out or a better for you as a player load out. There is also the issue of player bias. Like he just doesn't like DW Flurry clipping etc. So if that person doesn't like something and reports it as over performing in one raid or instance, but under performs in other scenarios or instances like duos alerts etc. but deems those as trivial because they aren't elite content, then you have a bias issue. So having a player with exclusive rights is dangerous. The issue is more of when feedback is ignored. Many players Don't go on test. They only test things in game, but at that point it's too late when it makes it in game.

I'm not sure how or if the Dev.s test or determine things.
Are they only listening to certain players on the forums?
Do they objectively test the issues?

I also agree Lamort card should have Empowered channeling at 200 as well. Good suggestion and it should of already had it.

Why is the damage split being fixed, but not the empowered channeling or an explanation on the empowered channeling problem and solution or fix. If one thing is adjusted, all things should be double checked. It's like pr0of reaidng spellllliing fer mistake$ it doesn't seem to happen... all just chalked up to Brainiac corrupted it. If that was the go to response by the dev.s that would be awesome. "Was intended, Brainiac corrupted." LOL!

How would you assume it’s working as intended it’s not like the description of the artifact changes at 200 to anything else except now granting you empowered channeling mod. And if anybody through the game happened to tell you it’s intended you got fed the wrong info. If it worked a certain way at 120 and 160 and magically started doing something different that’s not in the artifact description then it was never intended in the first place.

It’s not like this artifact hasn’t been out for awhile now.. players very well knew how the artifact works well before 200 existed and when 200 did happen there was never anything changed in the description that happened to say “eye beam explodes damaging enemies near your target and enemies near your target now receive the same damage as the target

Ice Live Server
79603 might
Setup #1 Transformation – Strategist – Solar Amplifier
Rotation Heat Vision-Freezing Breath-Frostblast-Ice Boulder Strike-RSK

12,634,293 total 105,286 dmg/s



Ice Live Server
79581 might
Setup #2 Solar-Strategist-Tetra (150,000 health) 89310 buffed
Rotation Heat Vision-Freezing Breath-Frostblast-Ice Boulder Strike-RSK
11,281,032 total 94,009 dmg/s



Ice Live Server
79560 might
Setup #3 Solar-Trans-Tetra (150,000 health) 89240 buffed
Rotation Heat Vision-Freezing Breath-Frostblast-Ice Boulder Strike-RSK
11,056,057 total 92,134



Ice Live Server
78030 might
Setup #4 Trans-Strat-Tetra (163,000) 88433 buffed
Rotation Ice Boulder-Tempest-IBS-Avalance-RSK
NON SA ROTATION
10,807,570 total 90,063 dmg/s



Ice Test Server
74906 might
Setup #1 Transformation – Strategist – Solar Amplifier
Rotation Heat Vision-Freezing Breath-Frostblast-Ice Boulder Strike-RSK
10,003,737 total 83,365 dmg/s



Ice Test Server
74906 might
Setup #2 Trans-Strat-Solar
Rotation Ice Boulder-Tempest-IBS-Avalance-RSK
10,145,628 total 84,547 dmg/s



8-Target Summary Live Server
BiS: 12,634,293
Strat replaced: 11,056,057 -> 12.5% DPS loss vs BiS
Solar replaced: 10,807,570 -> 14.5% DPS loss vs BiS 14.5% DPS Drop HV Rotation vs Non-HV Rotation
Trans replaced: 11,281,032 -> 10.7% DPS loss vs BiS


8-Target Summary Test Server Post SA Nerf
BiS After SA Change: 10,003,737
Non-HV Rotation After SA Change: 10,145,628 -> 1.4% DPS Increase vs BiS After SA Change


Conclusions:

• I appreciate your detailed response AVTV and felt like it deserved a reply, it is however a shame you didn't want to share your testing statistics with us and simply only videos, I would only assumed you would have respeced your skill points between tests as interchanging artifacts will change your base might which would have obvious impacts on the results. I, just as I always do, showed my stats and made sure to spec as close as the game allowed me to have a baseline comparison. Each artifact tested is during a set duration of time and taken at the exact same increments using the combat log and the combat log anazlyer.
• I ran the same comparisons you did switching the same artifacts you did, except I was Ice might and saw the same drops, except for Transformation card across each example vs the "BiS" artifact setup.
• Looking at the actual breakdown of the damage which you won't see in your setup we can clearly see that the top overall damage from each and every rotation with Solar Amplifier + Heat Vision that the Amplified Heat Vision is the number one source of damage for the entire rotation.
• Taking that one step further, looking at Nature Gorilla Ranged AOE which will be the highest damage presently available for ranged aoe topping that of electric, munitions and fire where do you think the damage comes from for that Nature Gorilla? is it the perma refreshing dots? is it the finisher Impaling Thorns now that it is an aoe ability? nah not even close

nope all that damage that Nature deals is coming from Amplified Heat Vision dealing 8x more overall damage than Impaling Thorns.

• You have a warped sense of looking at balance when you say Solar Amplifier is balanced presently, you are saying that every might player requires to level Solar Amplifier to Rank 200, not rank 80-160 but 200 just so that player can have balanced ST and Ranged AOE and even viable melee options for dpsing? How is that balance when you require an artifact at a certain level or you lose 10%+ damage vs another player who has it and 14%+ damage against not running Heat Vision at all?
• I went to the test sever and tried the BiS rotation vs my Setup #4 artifacts at the same might and guess what AVTV? It was an actual increase of 1.4%, completely marginal indeed but imagine that now the difference between using Heat Vision and Solar Amplifier at Rank 200 for Ranged AOE is marginally +/- vs not running it instead of it being a 14% damage loss. That is what I would refer to as balance much more than your perception of it is.
• You say its under false pretense that Solar Amplifier at Rank 200 is overperforming for AOE but when each and every single power that uses it for Ranged that is the number 1 source of total damage? yea ok we must have a vastly different idea of false pretense from eachother.
• All the points about Solar Amplifier being like this for 1 year + etc is absolutely irrelevant, AVTV I don't know when you started playing this game, the census api shows your toon doesn't have character image data attached so at least the AVTV toon is not old at all. So I don't know if you recall the crystals in south gotham park where you could smash them and gain supercharge. That was there since the BETA, for years that is how it worked and even was a huge source of open world pvp because of the population density around the park. Then Mepps said after 3 years it wasn't intended and took the SC regeneration from them, something that was 3+ years since the very start of the game and all of a sudden its a bug.
• How about breaking Orange Barrels for SC regen? That was there since the BETA too. Going to Intergang Penthouse to smash the 3 barrels before raids, having 4 players que A51 alert and smashing the barrels in the towers on the 2nd phase and then 4 years later POOF nope sorry DCUO artificial SC regeneration wasn't intended.
• So all this nonsense about something changing well after the fact is nothing but nonesense because that is how it's been in DCUO for the past 10 years.

Now after this change to Solar Amplifier (just at Rank 200) we can actually work towards real balance and expose powersets that actually struggle with ranged aoe because we don't have one artifact "over performing" and completely carrying that powerset in total damage output. Balance isn't achieved through forcing players to level one specific artifact to one specific rank. This is what numerous players in this thread cannot comprehend the notion that all players won't level an artifact to rank 200 so they are already placed at that giant disadvantage in damage output just because they aren't.

True, but I also wasn't leveling mine up "just" for ST usage also. I was leveling for both usages.

Agreed with you here ObsidianChill.

For too long Solar Amplifier was THE required Might DPS artifact.

It was a band-aid fix to allow weak Might powersets to be more or less on par with each other regardless of the powerset's weak might dps abilities, solely because of the super-duper carrying-power of Amplified Heat Vision.

The glaring thing here is because Rank 200 Artifacts cost money to break through, by their silence and inaction on this glaring no-split damage bug which has been publicly made known on the bug forums, the Devs actually gave the impression that this WAS intended. So guess what? Players levelled up Solar Amplifier to Rank 200 to be competitive and keep up with the meta.

Maybe a compromise would be to allow players with a Rank 200 Solar Amplifier to transfer Artifact XP over to another Artifact without any loss in Artifact XP and with the necessary break-through seals of completion and Catalysts.

You act like this game so complex that you need a N.A.S.A. specialist lol is why I commented what I did. Because if you have a functioning brain and know how to DPS then you know full well what damage splitting is.

Is it annoying asf that this happening? I'm sure it is because you thought rank 200 was supposed to do x damage but now that you know it's not you can change it out next NTH metal weekend or whatever you choose to do.

And btw they did explain how damage would split when they were doing revamp

solar amp still is needed for might single target,
Nobody was relying on it for aoe dmg, no power needed solar amp for aoe dmg, none

Im not acting like anything lol
Im just attempting to continually address the “everyone knew” BS while diverting the conversation back to the issue.
The issue is the timeline. The devs knew an were happy cashing in. They were negligent at best (their fault) and decietful at worst (again their fault).
Ppl try an keep layin this on the players an its not our job to fig out whats intended. Devs own this!

But damage splitting has been apart of dcuo for 10 years now, so for anyone who has played for years again should know that things were screwy/not splitting. Yes fixes for issues that are tied to IRL $ should get fixed asap and not linger but you nor I know what it takes them to get approval for pc,ps4,switch,xb1 nor do we know how much it cost to implement.

We can give all the feedback and reports til we're blue in the face, but if things dont line up, guess what? Things dont happen.

Reposting this reply in case you didn't get notification since you keep saying this and it's wrong:

You are incorrect. The game has four fundamentally different split rules: "Splits after 1," "splits after 2," "splits after 3," and "no-split." "Splits after 2" is merely the most common. "Splits after 1," which is what the devs intend to change Solar Amp into, is the least common. "No-split" is the most common after "splits after 2." These variations have existed in the game for, to the best of my knowledge, as long as DCUO has existed.

Of the 40 unique LPVE characters, 33 (82.5%) have at least one non-split AoE power with many having multiple non-split AoE powers and some having entirely non-split AoE powers (ie every single one of their powers are non-split). As I just demonstrated above, a powers' split behaviour has no intrinsic value in determining its overall balance or performance. Most of those powers, as with the case of Electricity and just like Solar Amp, only do well in very specific scenarios and are nothing to write home about aside from their toolbox utility. They also have no bearing on whether a rotation is better or worse than any other rotation. Overall potency is not a direct function of split behaviour.

If people could refrain from posting baseless opinion derived from how the feel instead of based on reality or how the evidence actually demonstrates something to be, it would be a lot more useful to the devs... Especially in the "testing feedback" section. I just definitively demonstrated' with actual testing and not unquantified hyperbole, that this was in no way overperforming and that the nerf effectively breaks the artifact, so we really don't need to spam the devs with baseless conjecture... Which is probably how this bs started in the first place.

I followed revamp and how it was handled closely, damage starts splitting after 3 and 8 in pve.

Since after all that's what we're discussing is pve content with solar amp.