Beta feedback. English its not my main language i hope this is readable.
Good things.
The combat and combat pacing its great, the world atmosphere in this first zone its great(I hope it don’t get lost in the oter maps with half baked fetch quests).
Itemization its kinda fine, the type of affixes etc, but all the power comes from items, and that sucx
Problems skill twig and passive.
First thing I noticed the skill twig and its problems. Its bad, not because its small and have few nodes, but because majority of things are USELESS. To many nodes mostly passives that are plain and simple useless, mostly of the lucky hit ones(for everyone but sorcs) to little chance for things to happen, and 3 points to get 15% lucky hit chance of something happen its bad, not worth 3 points its to much. Example drain vitality: Luck hit have 25% chance to fortify you for 8% life. This with 3 points. If you’re using bone splinter(everyone will use it’s the best), its 17% chance to have 25% chance to fortify. And to access that node you need to expend 2 points and 3 to max it. Its just a example but we have plenty of examples like that across all classes. Others are not ever worth the 3 points(example reapers burst, dark skills increase your move speed by 5% per point for 3 seconds) Not worth no one will ever expend 3 points. And there’s no fix for it. Make it a one point max that gives the max amount.
Another one that every class have max resource plus 3. 3 points for 9 resources. Not worth. Make it 1 point or increase it massively.
Other luck hit ones on crit… those need to be locked. 3 tiers of rng to trigger a effect.
I can make a list if needed.
Another ones for skill upgrades are a no brainer its literally 1 choice. Because 1 its incredible superior the other have no use.
Lets get a spell no one uses with 2 useless root to exemplify.
Sorc Ball of lightning. 50 mana cost low lucky hit, VERY SMALL DAMAGE. The 2 twigs.
Mage ball lightning: After 50 hits in close ranged you next ball stun for 1.
Second twig: After a enemy its hit 4 times with ball lightning a crackling lightning its formed.
Well both branchs never work. 1 because ball of lightning NEVER hit 4 times unless the enemy its RUNING backwards. And because the first options that increase the activation by the attack speed its definitely not working and even if it was with the max aspc I could get this did no proc. The first one 50 hits its just to much, in close range ball of lightning hit 1 time at best. I was playing melee sorc and this never procced.
This happen with multiple skills from all classes. Plain and simple useless skill or useless upgrades. Going to get a list later.
DOT PROBLEM.
Every single skill that deal damage over time, other than hydra, blizzard, fire wall ice blades and barbarian bleeds(to a small degree) are useless.
How so? They literally deal less damage after the end of the time than other skills does at activation.
Plenty of examples… but lets go with the 2 best ones.
Necromancer corpse explosion. The branch blighted corpse explosion. Creates a area of dot that the end of the time deal less damage than 1 explosion with 5 point. And well with point corpse explosion deal 75% so 2 corpse deal more damage than a enemy stuck for 6s over the blighted are(that don’t count has blight by the way for other benefits).
Druid Hurricane don’t remember with 5 points but with 1 its 97% over 8s and necromance ultimate bone storm 18% per second(180% over 10s). The damage its so mediocre if you stick to the enemy for all this time the usually a enemy same level wont die. They have huge cooldowns, in this case very low uptime and the damage its so small its not worth to be in your bar.
And like I said every single one works poorly like that, other than hydra blizzard, fire wall ice blades. Those simple work and have much better uptime and additional effects.
My fix make minimum tick per sec 30%.
The elephant in the room DRUID AND BARB
First and foremost barbarian 200k crit its not a build it’s a Gymmick. Second every class can do that to a degree. I did 400k crit with necro using the same setup and bone spirit. And could throw then faster than a barb did because necro don’t have the barb and druid problem (RESORUCE).
Well lets say barbarian and druid early game it’s a disgrace. Because of 3 simple things mostly core expenders are TRASH, and the biggest issue basic skill for those 2 classes are the wort in the game, and they need then more than any other class because both classes have a HUGE resource problem.
So the core loop becomes take forever to fill your resource:
Why because all melee in case of barbarian and majority melee or useless in case of druid are slow, melee so they have small up time(you have to walk at the enemy hit him AND USUALLY ONLY HIM for pitiful damage and explosion yourself to melee danger, and he probably will leave if he’s ranged); To recovery in the best case scenario 15 with storm strike(but melee druids wanna shapeshift so 9 for claw or 11 for maul). Or for barbarian 10 with bash or 4 with frenzy. But lets be real everyone used lunge strike 9, and flay for the bleed thorns and DR.
So you need around 10 SLOW attacks to get to full resources. That will take huge time, with the low uptime of melee hit only 1 mob for pitfull damage. And then you will use it in your CORE EXPENDERS.
Barbarian you can use 3 rends for 12% damage and 95% bleed over 5s. So around 33% damage. You swing 3 times hit a VERY SMALL area in you front, and with luck the damage was enogh to kill the weaker elite minions becouse the elite you will need 2 of those painful rotations or Upheaval you can throw 2 and half of those for 175% damage, in a cone aoe (that’s decent) and a very slow animation. The oter 3 expenders well whirwind its decent but only works with plenty of legendarys that you will not have acess at the release, so you can maintain the fury regen. Hammer of the ancients deal far less damage than upheaval in a smaller area, and the 3 twigs of the skill are borderline useless(by the way the legendary that give HoTA area should be the skill default area). And double swing it’s a utter and complete joke in every single aspect. From damage, AoE, cost, Speed, and secondary effects. With the legendarys to support it its TRASH.
For druid the cycle repeats itself. Only shred kind works without legendary support and still its too slow 120% damage and you can cast 3 with a full bar. Pulverize deal little damage for a total of 3 casts with full resources(it gets decent with legendarys just like whirwind). Tornado its LITERALY USELESS WITHOUT LEGENDAY AFFIX. Lightining storm… the same of everything else, cost to much for to little damage. Landslide its useful but its basically a single target spell it need a área of effect something a bit bigger than pulverize.
What makes necro and sorc good to play… they don’t have resource problems because they passively generate resource FASTER than the other 2(barb LOSE resources with time, and druid don’t regenerate passively) And they have the BEST BASIC skills in the game.
Every single of sorc and necro basic skills deal 3 times the damage of druid/Barb basic skills while hitting multiple opponents and making the resource needed.
Lets compare the melee ones. ARC LASH it deal 42% and in critical swipe twice in a AOE, that increase size with staffs. REAP HUGE aoe, recover 4 per enemy hit, gives 15% damage reduction AND gives 30% attack speed if you kill for 3 s. Basically 2 reap in a pack and you’re full resources. And the king of basic skills Bone splinter, massive aoe, makes vulnerable, gave critical and the damage literally OUTDPS everything barb and druid can do without legendary combos dealing 66% to 110% per cast.
With both classes I did not expend more than 2 s using resource generators for what I needed. Simple because they are better in every way. Compare with barb and druids melee that have no aoe, recovering 1/3 of the resource or less, and dealing 1/3 of the dagame on average on single target while the others did far more damage on AOE and single target while recovering much more resources.
The they expend resources on skills that well WORK. And you instead of barb and druid that 3 skils with lowdamage and its over.
Lets compare against the best expender of each one.
Uphaeval: 2.5 casts for 175% damage in a aoe smaller than reap, and slow animation.
And shred: 120% damage per cast can do 3, but the time it takes its enogh to empty the bar for other classes.
Lets get bone spear… 4 casts in a fraction of the time for 340% damage in aoe/line. Plus useful twigs for specialization.
Or Blood nova. For a minimum of 210 in a huge aoe around you. That’s hitting 1 enemy.
Or sever for 415% minimum damage for aoe again in far less time than you will cast 2 uphaveal or sweeps.
Don’t even need to compare with sorc because she has less issue with resource and well everyone knows chain lightning ice shards, frozen orb fire ball and how they perform better than anything a druid/barb can do without huge stack of legendarys.
How to fix it
Simple fix all the basic skills mostly melee ones. And make the expender better.
At end game resource for barb and druid stop become a issue(resources comes from other sources instead of basic skills). So make Basic skill early strong wont affect end game every single melee skill should be arc lash aoe and damage MINIMIUM. Plus recovery around 3 times more resources. Remember the uptime its smaller for melee you have to get over the enemy and worry about damage and dodge.
And he expenders need to be buffed.
Uphavel lower cost 33 increase speed.
HOTA. Aoe should be the basic aoe with the legendary affix. The affix increase. Luck hit increase, cost decreased 25 tops.
Rend. Basic hit damage increase, cost decreased 25% tops.
Double swing: Reap aoe,10 cost. And maybe maybe it will be useful.
Pulverize, damage increase atleast 70% on first level, cost decrease 25.
Shred animation increased, cost decreased 25
Lightning storm cost decrease 5 and maybe it becomes usable.
Land slide, AOE increase, similar to pulverize, cost decreased 25. The damage its kinda ok.
Tornado: Its in a hard spot. Its to good with legendary and useless without it. Make it don’t roam, but stay still by default, and seek enemy’s with the legendary.
Rogues basic skills should receive the same treatment. But make other useful.
Melees deal damage in small aoe. Puncture primary puncture node, ricochet all time not every third. Forceful should pierce period. And the primary forceful arrow node make it be other thing, instead of pierce vulnerable.
LAST but very important
Level scaling its terrible. But I understand. How to fix the feeling of be weaker when you level up?
Make your crafting system not a mobile piece of %¨&*&. Right now the whole upgrade and crafting system its TOO expensive. Really 400k for upgrade? 2 bags of loot to get the mats for 1 upgrade. This is completely mobile design. Make it cheap, we will need to upgrade gear with the whole way itemization was designed (get one affix hunt for it again to put on your higher level item, and the fact that majority of the power comes from affixes).
The reroll Affix should be very cheap too, period. You roll only one let we roll till we get what we want. Make it a bit expensive in legendays. And ultra expensive like it is now if we want to roll a secondary affix. Again 20k for 1 roll its to much. And the upgrade can reduce de feeling of become weaker with the level up with the leveling scaling thing.
Anyways… when the class that don’t have resource problems have the best resource generators, when 1 basic skill of a sorc plus hydra alone, or bone splinter and skellys outdamage and plays better than barbarian and druid with 6 skills used together without a bunch of support affixes to make it playable and functional something its clearly wrong