Rogue - Skorpikis Blade line given a hit limit by mistake?

Discussion in 'Melee' started by mmats, Jun 9, 2018.

  1. mmats Augur

    TLDR: I believe a mistake was made back in VoA when Toxic Blade took over disc timer 8. It was erroneously given a max hit limit similar to the previous discontinued line that was on disc timer 8, and this limit has persisted until today with Skorpikis Blade. I am suggesting the hit limit be removed and the duration adjusted down to 1 minute (which is about how long it takes to reach the hit limit currently). This wont change the dps output of Skorpikis alone, but it will allow it to be amplified by Aspbleeder/Aculeus in the way that I believe was intended.

    Lets start by looking at Skorpikis Blade:

    [56294/12722] Skorpikis Blade
    Classes: ROG/108
    Casting: 0s, Recast: 10m, Timer: 8
    Duration: 6m+ (60 ticks) Song, Dispelable: Yes
    Max Hits: 16 Offensive Proc Casts
    6: Add Melee Proc: Skorpikis Blade Strike with 400% Rate Mod

    By itself, very unimpressive. 6 minute duration for a song that probably wont last more than a minute? You will be lucky to add 1k dps in that time.

    Next we have Aculeus Discipline, which is supposed to enhance Skorpikis:

    [56321/12728] Aculeus Discipline
    Classes: ROG/109
    Endurance: 0, Upkeep: 33 per tick
    Target: Self
    Casting: 0s, Recast: 10m, Timer: 15
    Duration: 60s+ (10 ticks), Dispelable: No
    10: Increase Worn Proc Rate by 569%
    11: Limit Spells: Skorpikis Blade Strike

    Increasing the proc rate of a 16 hit limit proc that already has a 400% rate mod? Totally useless for Skorpikis. Aculeus only makes sense if there is no hit limit on Skorpikis. So what could be the reason for the hit limit?

    If we look through the progression of disc timer 8, we see that it started with the Toxicity line - a single target buff that a rogue could toss on the nearest necro/shaman. No hit limit, just a spell damage mod:

    [10911] Guide of Toxicity Effect
    Target: Single
    Duration: 3m+ (30 ticks), Dispelable: Yes
    1: Increase Spell Damage by 1% to 15% (Before DoT Crit, After Nuke Crit)
    2: Limit Effect: Current HP
    3: Limit Min Level: 71
    4: Limit Max Level: 75 (lose 5% per level)
    11: Limit Min Mana Cost: 10
    12: Limit Resist: Poison

    It received standard level limit upgrades until its final upgrade when it had a hit limit added:

    [26121/26121] Instruction in Toxicity Effect
    Target: Single
    Duration: 7.5m+ (75 ticks), Dispelable: Yes
    Max Hits: 12 Matching Spells
    1: Increase Spell Damage by 1% to 15% (Before DoT Crit, After Nuke Crit)
    2: Limit Effect: Current HP less than -100
    3: Limit Min Level: 81
    4: Limit Max Level: 90 (lose 10% per level)
    11: Limit Min Mana Cost: 10
    12: Limit Resist: Poison

    It was discontinued at this point and Toxic Blade was added to disc timer 8 the very next expansion. It was also given a hit limit despite being completely different in nature, probably by mistake:

    [29219] Toxic Blade Effect
    Target: Self
    Duration: 3m+ (30 ticks) Song, Dispelable: Yes
    Max Hits: 16 Offensive Proc Casts
    6: Add Melee Proc: Toxic Blade Strike with 400% Rate Mod

    Another reason I think the hit limit was copied in error is that monks and berserkers received very similar lines that same expansion with no hit limits:

    [29012] Tiger's Balance Effect
    Target: Self
    Duration: 60s+ (10 ticks) Song, Dispelable: Yes
    4: Add Melee Proc: Tiger's Strike with 500% Rate Mod

    [30469] Steel Frenzy Effect
    Target: Self
    Duration: (replenishable) 18s+ (3 ticks), Dispelable: Yes, Persist After Death
    12: Add Melee Proc: Steel Frenzy Strike with 400% Rate Mod

    Hoping a dev can look into this and make Aculeus affect Skorpikis in a meaningful way.
    Daedly likes this.