While they’re fun for launch, I think the full potential of aspects is not being realized in the game yet.
Overview of suggested changes
1. Make aspects apply to as many skills as possible for interesting interactions and build diversity.
2. Take damage buffs off of aspects and put them in skills themselves.
3. Take specific skill modifiers off of aspects and add them to the skill tree as skill modifiers.
A problem with how specific some legendary aspects are, is that they become required to use certain skills, especially when they apply a massive damage buff to a specific skill. Build diversity and interesting choices with aspects could be improved by taking damage buffs off of aspects, and making aspects a utility bonus only, allowing people to really have choices in their skills. Many of the skill specific aspects that don’t apply massive damage buffs are really cool, and work great. However, the generalist aspects are the ones that contribute to buid diversity and player choice.
Examples
Nighthowler’s Aspect: Blood Howl increases crit chance by 5-10, and applies the skill to nearby companions and party members
Change: Using a defensive skill increases crit chance by 10% for 5 seconds. Your defensive skills apply to nearby party members and companions for 50% of their duration.
Shockwave Aspect: Pulverize creates a shockwave that travels forward, dealing 60-100% damage to enemies in it’s path.
Change: Wearbear Skills create a shockwave that travels forward, dealing 60-100% of your damage.
Aspect of Grasping Whirlwind: Whirlwind periodically pulls enemies towards you.
Change: All Channeling skills periodically pull enemies towards you. Channeling skills besides whirlwind are weak right now. This could help skills like Incinerate not be bad.
Metamorphic Stone Aspect: Boulder is now a core skill, costs 60 spirit and deals 80-100 % of it’s normal damage.
Change: Your Wrath skills are now Core skills that cost 50 spirit. take the buff off and move it to the base skill. No one uses boulder in it’s current form anyway. No one uses any wrath skill as a damage dealing skill endgame, including rabies. Trample is used as a movement skill, and cyclone is used a defensive skill. Boulder could also seek enemies if stormchaser’s aspect was expanded, as one example of a new viable build that could possibly come from this type of change.
Stormchaser’s Aspect: Tornado seeks 1-3 enemies.
Change: Projectiles seek 1-3 enemies. If that’s too powerful, make it druid specific. Druid skill projectiles seek 1-3 enemeis. This could open up Boulder, Lightning Storm, and wind shear, which aren’t utilized much at the moment.
Runeworker’s Conduit: Crits with storm skills that you cast charge the air around you for 1-2 seconds causing a lightning bolt to periodically hit enemies around you for X damage. Can be extended with more critical strikes.
Change: Crits with elemental damage causes an elemental rift for 1-2 seconds which periodically hits enemies for x damage with the same element.
Stormclaw’s Aspect: Crits with shred deal 20-30% damage as lightning to surrounding enemies
Change: Crits with core skills deal 20-30% area damage of the same type.
New Aspect Suggestions
Ultimate Aspect: You can select 2 ultimate skills. Each point in ultimate skills uses 2 skill points.
Key Aspect: You can select 2 key passives. Key passive effects (numbers in gold) are reduced by 40%
I know this type of itemization is very difficult to balance when modifiers affect skills across different classes, and changing the specificity of aspects would require a lot of work. I still think it’s the best thing for the game to make more skills and builds viable, reduce the cookie cutter effect created by the current system. It doesn’t have to be done all at once.