I’m consolidating some of my other posts on the normal SoD forum here since this is the place for PTR feedback. I should have posted here initially, so I apologize to those rereading my thoughts on this.
The buff to Improved Volley on the PTR increased the damage of Volley by 100%, which now makes the AoE respectable, but Volley still feels weird to use in the context of the Hunter kit.
There is never a point in any part of Hunter gameplay where they have the necessary 6 seconds of downtime to fully channel the spell. Even in AoE situations - where Volley is ideal - you never have that full channel length of time to spare.
Removing the channel requirement for Volley when using the Improved Volley rune would solve many problems and make the rune competitive with others in the slot. I’d recommend that this work just like the Warlock Lake of Fire rune in the sense that Volley becomes an instant cast, but has a cooldown equal to the duration of the spell to prevent spamming.
Here’s a short list of reasons why removing the channel on Volley would be a good call:
- Removing the channel of Volley would no longer lock the Hunter out of all other abilities and auto attacks for using it, making it an addition to the Hunter toolkit rather than an alternative. While the channel remains, Improved Volley will only be used if it eclipses the power of all other AoE and auto attack damage combined. I don’t think this is a healthy bar to need to clear.
- With the (justified imo) Lock and Load nerf, there is a dead global in the ranged hunter rotation. Volley could fill this global if it didn’t have a channel, and it already scales off of Ranged Attack Power.
- Volley can be used by both melee and ranged hunters. No channel means melee hunters gain access better AoE capabilities - an area they currently struggle in.
- Because volley does periodic damage, it offers another way to trigger the melee hunter T2 6-piece bonus if the player opts into it.
- PvP hunters that take Improved Volley will inherently be using less traps due to it sharing a slot with Resourcefulness. Though this doesn’t solve the complaint of Hunters being able to take down other players in a low number of globals, it would help reduce trap fatigue.
If the removal of volley’s channel means that the PTR 100% damage buff to Improved Volley needs to come down or entirely disappear, I’m willing to take that trade. I’d rather have a weaker ability that’s an addition to my class toolset than a stronger ability that is the eclipsing alternative to the rest of my abilities.