Gem balance concerns

General Discussion
1

I find it concerning how for years now just about every top solo build has used trapped and stricken. They’re simply too good to pass up. Does anyone have ideas on how to make other gems more appealing?

2

The game needs a season focused around new and updated gem function.

  1. Solo and group should have their own specific tagged gems. Group leveled gems should not be usuable in solo GR runs.

  2. There needs to be more options through gems like area damage or pixeling monsters.

  3. Ancient and Primal Ramaladni’s needed to be a thing 10 seasons ago. Allowing a crafted socket on rings and amulet respectively

3

Not every build uses those gems, for example LoD Darts uses neither.

Trapped also can be dropped by builds which have lesser means to apply crowd control. Some gems provide equal or even better damage than it does.

4

I’ve said for years that the gem design is uninspired and flawed. Since most of them do nothing but add a flat % boost to your damage, it becomes a simple mathematical matter of choosing those gems that provide the biggest boost. If Stricken and Trapped were to theoretically be removed from the game, players would simply opt for the next best gem in line (for example Zei). If another gem was to be improved, it would simply replace one of them as best in slot. If you make all gems equivalent it entirely defeats the point of having them in the first place.

I fear there is no answer short of a rework of the entire system, and that’s not gonna happen.

Personally though I believe they should do away with the plethora of defensive gems and roll them into one. I’d rather have one owerpowered defensive gem that is a serious competition to Trapped and Stricken than five different ones that no one uses. Keep Wildebeest and Moratorium for their unique effects and replace the entire rest with a flat % damage reduction and be done with it.

By the way there was a point in time, when the Necromancer was released, where Mirinae was a serious contender for massive damage. Blizzard’s response was to nerf it into uselessness. That shows that the current state is exactly what they intend for.

1 Like
5

there is a simple way to rework that gem.
Just look at Krysbin’s Sentence. I think this is how this gem was originaly meant.

You deal (old scaling bonus/2) increased damage against slowed enemies.
lvl25: You gain a slowing aura and you deal 2,5 times this bonus against enemies afflicted by any other type of control-impairing effect.

But there are already long topics on legendary gem rework ideas :slight_smile: