Forum Links 

Click to return to main page
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile  Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages    Log inLog in 
 Current Top Rated Killers 
 Next Event   Voting Links 


The event "The Assault on Taekir" is beginning in 1 day, 7 hours.

Dark-Knight Balance

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Abandoned Realms Forum Index -> The Battlefield
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Ergorion



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Posts: 2156

PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 8:33 pm    Post subject: Dark-Knight Balance

I'm going to assume that the issues with dark-knight balance are predominantly bubbling up because Eurayel is kicking ass and wiping the floor with everyone.

I'd like to start this balance discussion by pointing out that the top tier players will make any class seem overpowered. The tried and true method to having a great pk ratio is to press your advantage and run either (1) as soon as you lose the advantage or (2) at 80% health if you're even. The super conservative style of pk wins every time. The other component is making sure you get decked eq and if you do not have diesel armor, avoiding fights with well-equipped opponents.

Next, I'd like to point out how the nuke damage dk feeds precisely this style of play. The unholy strength bump gives the dk an immediate boost to steamroll their opponent in the first couple rounds. You're dead in 6 rounds instead of 10 rounds. If the uber-conservative dk gets knocked down to 80% hp in the first or second round, they're running away and resetting. If you outlast their unholy strength, they're running away and resetting.

The "answer" to a front-loaded dk is to weather the storm which is easier said than done.

Remember how Lorne had an undefeated duel record for the longest time because he was in a suit of 40/60 and would only duel people in the arena? That's playing to your class's strengths. That's what the best pk'ers do. And they avoid the class's weaknesses.

I'll start doing some class by class breakdowns later tonight but got to go right now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
 
0 0 0
Davairus
Implementor


Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 10344
Location: 0x0000

PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 4:07 am    Post subject:

I'm not paying much attention considering the thread showed up at the same time as a bunch of new Knights.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
 
0 0 0
Ergorion



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Posts: 2156

PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:31 pm    Post subject:

General Anti-Demon-DK Strategies

(1) If they've used unholy strength, don't fucking fight them. Run around a while to drain their mana and wait for it to fall. What's the dk response? Run away as soon as their unholy strength falls. This leads to a stalemate and nobody should die ever, so the moral of the story is "whoever is impatient and fights with the disadvantage loses."

(2) Wear your saves. Yes, it decreases your damage output, but getting spelled up will fuck you. If you want to roll the dice and try to out-nuke the dk, go for it but realize it's higher risk and will end up with you dying more than you have to.

(3) Fight in crowded areas. Fireball is a lot of damage. You can very easily neutralize fireball by fighting in emerald or drkshyre or standing next to Rin.

(4) Avoid the charmie. Nobody is forcing you to fight in the same area as that charmed mob (though a dk justice with ensnare would be real tough). If you start getting hit with that triton, run a couple areas away and fight there.

(5) Gangbang a decked character. If somebody has a stacked suit and is rolling with 35/50 hit/dam pre-unholy strength, you're getting killed no matter what race/class combo you're going up against. The answer to this is to gangbang them. Oh, you say enough people don't play for a good old-fashioned gangbang anymore? That's too bad, then quit out.

Class Breakdowns

The overall strategies for the classes are going to be the same regardless of whether you're good/neutral/evil. Goodies will obviously have a tougher time against dks because of protection but that's the way the whole fucking system is designed. It's just like how evils get bum-raped against paladins.

Warrior Classes

Dirt kick is your best friend. DKs don't have blind fighting. If you're not leading with dirt kick, you're doing it wrong. Unless your hitroll is at like 45 and you're landing every blow against the dk and the dk's hitroll is also 45 and landing every blow against you even while blinded, then you've got to blind the dk.

Once they're blind you could go with your weapon skills and that just gets you back to traditional fighter-style pk. Or you could go the traditional flee/murder approach to pk, which is probably the way to go. You get your free round of attacks and avoid another round of nuke damage. A non-drow dk will probs be in two-handed or defensive style all day so you really don't have an excuse for being in a combat style disadvantage. Drow dks with an offhand dual parry item complicate the picture a little bit, but that actually opens them up to a worst-case scenario.

Berserkers are kind of an inverse of the demon dk. You save your nuke damage for the end of the fight. Fight like a traditional warrior to outlast the unholy strength and rage to unleash your nuke damage at the opportune time and seal the deal.

Eurayel specific advice: warriors and rangers need to get a badass bow and rock some silver/mithril arrows. If you're getting dual wielded against, lead off some skirmishes with a bow and dirt kick. If you get lucky and catch them dual wielding, you've just eviscerated their defenses and will wollop them with vuln damage. You also need to have silver/mithril javelins equipped every single time you go defensive. Flee/murder to maximize your javelin volleys.


Illusionists/Necromancers
This is just going to be a dps battle. Can your army deal enough damage to kill this badass before they kill you? Blindness and dispel are your two best weapons here. Flashfire can't be cured with a gyvel so if you land that, your army should go to town. Wear saves so that you don't get summoned away from your army. If you get summoned away from your army, run.

Invokers
I mean, is there really any variation in how invokers fight any class? Use your spells.

Healers/Shamans
These are the perfect outlast and outsurvive classes. Keep the dk close enough so that they fight you and just wait for their unholy strength to drop. At that point they should run away. Healers should always be a stalemate because they're not going to be able to dish out enough damage to finish off a half-way competent runner, but they should also not die to a dk because they can't lag you. Enhanced damage with shamans at least gives them a damage boost so they could be a little more offensive.

Thieves/Ninjas
Thieves are just a pain in the ass to play generally. Be annoying. Blackjack and steal their shit. Once you decide you're actually ready to fight, dirt kick. For thieves especially, I think the flee/murder strategy has to be the way to go unless you can get a two-handed uncanny to double disarm, a one-handed shaft to clobber and piggyback a dirt kick, OR you use sidestep as an end-game pk-shot.

Eurayel specific advice: I need to check the codex, but if there are decently averaged silver daggers, load up on damroll, blackjack the mofo and dual backstab to try to get a one-hit wonder pk.

I am not super familiar with the revamped ninjas, but dirt kick and blindness dust ftw.

Paladins
Paladins are the anti-dk and I'm going to import Nadrin's complaints about DKs to discuss them here to show that dks and paladins are fairly similar. But the general message is the same: don't fight the dk while unholy strength is up and you should then just fight like a normal fight.

Holy armor bonus? Check.

Third attack? Check.

Enhanced damage? Check.

Protection? Check. Unholy strength counteracts that? Boohoo, wait for unholy strength to fall.
Anti-dk protection? Divine might. Guess what, that's a permanent effect.

Heavy damage spell? Wrath. Check. Granted protection will reduce wrath damage a little bit, but you can avoid the dk damage spells completely by fighting in crowded areas. Well, they still have lightning bolt but that's probably like a reduced wrath anyway.

Mount? I don't think demon dks fight on mounts. Devil dks are a whole different kettle of fish. Plus, if you're a knight, you get a mount.

Maledictive spells? Perhaps slight edge to the dk, but (1) saves just mean the dk blows some mana casting them; (2) paladins can heal those effects
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
 
0 0 0
Mikoos



Joined: 03 Nov 2012
Posts: 474

PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:45 pm    Post subject:

What about bards?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
 
1 0 0
Ergorion



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Posts: 2156

PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 4:13 pm    Post subject:

Bards are op.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
 
0 0 0
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Abandoned Realms Forum Index -> The Battlefield All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group