For all the improved point-efficiency, this seems a net loss for Survival.
No more Wildfire Infusions (replaced with KC instead reducing WFB CD by 2 seconds).
No more manual Serpent Sting, a downtime and mid-gather tool synergetic with Wildfire Infusions.
No more Poison Injector management available, and Hydra’s has been slightly nerfed.
Fury of the Eagle is now locked behind uninteresting and ineffective bloat that is now even more pointlessly weak.
Our capstones are even more gated by 2-point-nodes than before.
Harpoon is now even out of the way and delayed in access during leveling.
MM and SV both seem even more distinctly ST | AoE | Hybrid split in their capstones, effectively seeing MM and SV limited to just 1-2 gameplay-adding capstone choices for M+ or a given raid fight.
The new Mastery is literally Versatility… but without the mitigation, and requiring now that you don’t use Intimidate on distant enemies nor Growl-Move LoS if that’d take your pet more than 25 yards away from you. (The mitigation doesn’t scale with Mastery. You effectively just get a straight 3% mit as a spec aura-buff, doubled while near to your pet.)
- Even a tuning buffed old Mastery would honestly have felt better, as at least then we could pop a Mastery trinket (almost 50% off a maxed Puzzle Box) just before going ham on a focus target. I’d far rather have a more narrowly targeted but high-scaling damage stat than a universal but low scaling one (i.e., a Versatility, but even more dull).
Like, I want to be happy that we’re getting changes, but… despite a couple novel gimmicks I do quite enjoy (especially, new Bombardier and, to a lesser extent, Grenade Juggler), too… I’m probably going to be having less fun if this goes live like this.
I’m okay with its loss, if only because new Bombardier largely hits the same spot, but there is currently a pretty big issue in that Bombardier makes Relentless Fury (one half of the new CA-augmenting choice node) a non-option.
Quick Accordant Suggestions:
- Baseline Raptor Strike.
- Baseline Harpoon.
- Guerilla Tactics made optional or a choice node… or baselined.
- Blood seeker moved to Row 3 directly below Kill Command, and feeding into Quick Shot and Mongoose Bite.
- Wildfire Infusions returned, even if as a choice node against KC giving WFB CDR. Ideally with an improved Shrapnel Bomb (e.g., causes your attacks to penetrate half of enemy armor) that can better scale with ST instead of being useful only as an uncapped AoE source.
- Replacements/rehauls for Outland Venom, Killer Companion, Explosives Expert, and Sweeping Spear.
- Buff or replacement for Sic’ Em.
- Stronger baseline Coordinated Assault if it is to remain gated behind a bloat-node.
- A real Mastery, instead of just Versatility-but-without-defensive-scaling.