Below are three spitball takes on how Flayed Shot might be revised to see use in more than just relatively single-target situations and/or BM or SV PvP.
Let me know which you prefer, which suck, what gameplay elements you like or dislike, etc., or come up with your own.
Current Version, for context
Flayed Shot
30 second cooldown.
— Fire a shot at your enemy, causing them to bleed for (112.5% of Attack power) Shadow damage over 18 sec. Each time Flayed Shot deals damage, you have a 15% chance to gain Flayer’s Mark, causing your next Kill Shot to be free and usable on any target, regardless of their current health, and deal 25% increased damage.
Flavor 0 — Just the obvious functionality fix
Flayed Shot
30 second cooldown.
— Fire a shot at your enemy, causing them to bleed for (112.5% of Attack power) Shadow damage over 18 sec. Each time Flayed Shot deals damage, you have a 15% chance to gain Flayer’s Mark, granting an additional charge of Kill Shot which costs no Focus and can be used on any target, regardless of their current health, and will deal 25% increased damage.
- This would allow Flayed Shot not to be dependent upon Deadeye among Marksmanship. It would still lack any and all AoE scaling, but it’d at least no longer be a dependent.
Flavor 1 — Largely Focus-target
Flayed Shot
30 second cooldown
— Flay your enemy’s spirit, dealing (200% of Attack Power) Shadow damage to it and enemies within 8 yards over 15 seconds while causing your Kill Shots to refund their Focus cost. Each time Flayed Shot ticks, it has a 15% chance to grant an extra charge of Kill Shot that can be used within the next 10 seconds on any target regardless of their current health.
(Analysis)
- Benefits
- The DoT is now instead an uncapped AoE and its damage has been increased, dealing 200n% AP [a Kill Shot’s worth] as magic damage.
- Normal Kill Shots likewise refund their Focus cost. This, code-wise, allows Flayer’s Mark not to necessarily be consumed (when the normal Kill Shot would have already been available).
- Balances
- Duration reduced from 18 to 15 seconds, losing 1 tick.
- Damage bonus to Aimed Shot removed, costing 50% AP per proc.
- Gameplay Implications
- You’re now obliged to hold this for add phases and to place it upon a lasting target near the center of the crowd of enemies.
Flavor 2 — Funnel Damage
Flayed Shot
30 second cooldown
— Flay your enemy’s spirit, dealing (200% of Attack Power) Shadow damage to it and enemies within 8 yards over 15 seconds while causing your Kill Shots to refund their Focus cost. Each time Flayed Shot damages an enemy, it has a 15% chance to grant an extra charge of Kill Shot that can be used within the next 10 seconds on any target regardless of their current health.
Changes from Flavor 1
- Fired into a group of 7+ mobs, at least a few procs are damn near guaranteed. However, even if there were 100 mobs off which to proc, it still would be unable to exceed 6 total procs, as in 15 seconds and at 3 seconds per tick, there are only 6 ticks total including the on-application tick.
- This would still produce up to a whopping 200n% AP (e.g. 1000% AP across 5 targets) atop up to another 1200% AP in free Kill Shots across the full duration.
- Note that Wild Spirits will deal 192.5% AP across 5 targets with every strike dealt within 15 seconds to an enemy within its circle atop 125% AP upon activation. Given sub-GCD interactions as via Trueshot or bonus procs as per Stomp this could amount to up to some 13 procs for a total of 2627.5% AP damage.
- Still, it’s also worth noting that Wild Spirits is truly AoE; it cannot control which enemies are focused. Dealing nearly as much damage with full control over to whom that damage is dealt would make the above overtuned. Still, let’s focus on just the concept for now
- Regardless, players might not wish to hit so many Kill Shots in AoE, nor would it necessarily be worth doing so. After all, 2.67 GCDs spent to perform a Trick Shot - Aimed Shot renders 380% AP per GCD over 6 targets, against which Kill Shot’s 200% AP per GCD would be irrelevant outside of Focus shortage.
- Note that Wild Spirits will deal 192.5% AP across 5 targets with every strike dealt within 15 seconds to an enemy within its circle atop 125% AP upon activation. Given sub-GCD interactions as via Trueshot or bonus procs as per Stomp this could amount to up to some 13 procs for a total of 2627.5% AP damage.
Flavor 3 — Flayed Shot makes Kill Shot AoE
Flayed Shot
30 second cooldown
— Flay your enemy’s spirit, dealing (200% of Attack Power) Shadow damage to it over 18 seconds. While this effect is active, your Kill Shots are changed to Reaper’s Bolt, which costs no Focus and deals 200% Shadow damage to a target beneath 20% and up to 5 additional enemies nearby.
— Additionally, each time Flayed Shot, itself, deals damage you have a 15% chance to generate an additional charge of Reaper’s Bolt which can be used on any target, regardless of their current health.
- In this version, procs don’t go out of control, but the funnel capacity has been replaced by pure (6-capped) AoE.