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Mental Alac could change to be a proc


Ycoga

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Mental Alacrity (MA) is a viable way to help increase a sage's DPS, but its short duration (10 sec) and long cooldown (120 sec) makes it difficult to plan for and utilise this ability in both pve and pvp. One possible solution is to make MA a proc instead of an activated ability - and have it occur more often.

 

It could stay at the same tier. it could proc off Telekinetic Wave.

 

MA 1/2: grants 5 seconds of interrupt immunity. Grants 10% alacrity for 10 secs. Can proc every 1.5 mins. 50% chance to proc when TKWave is cast.

 

MA 2/2: grants 10 secs of interrupt immunity. Grants 20% alac for 10 secs. Can proc each minute. 100% chance to proc when TKWave is cast.

 

(The second ability point could be taken from Reverberation, meaning that Reverb would be a 4/4 skill instead of 5/5).

 

I think that the increased alacrity would improve the class in a meaningful way because it affects most abilities (including heals, damage and GCD), and that removing 1 point from Reverb would have mimimal impact, as it affects only 3 abilities, and those abilites' crit damage bonus only; plus that Reverb is high in the TK tree and many sage builds are hybrid anyway.

 

The final benefit would be that the class would only be interruptable for 55 to 50 seconds each minute, which is important for a class that relies on cast and channeled abilites.

 

The factor that mitigates the risk of this being too powerful is the complexity of setting up the most efficient trigger event:

TK Throw > Proc disturbance > Proc TKWave > Proc MA (this could happen quickly, but relies on random chance to set up the required procs).

 

An alternative way to trigger the proc is to cast TKWave, which has a slow cast time and is vulnerable to being interrupted when it's not procced by disturbance.

 

(Note that the pve set bonus which increases alac by 5% is an indication that alacrity is beneficial to sages; however a pvp sage would have to utilise these pve armourings in order to achieve the same effect - this implies an imbalance between pve and pvp alac design that this change might help correct).

 

Thoughts?

Edited by Ycoga
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On an analytical level, I assume the devs have MA the way it is because they did some calculations and determined that it'scooldown and on-use effect are intended to keep it in check with what it was intended to do.

 

In reality, though, and from the surface (where I admit I'm likely not thinking logically enough), MA seems incredibly underwhelming in its current state. In ther words, the eyeball testing I've done suggests that MA simply does not justify the point it requires that far up with its long cooldown and very short duration. It's a nice bonus because there isn't anything better to spend it on, basically.

 

I admit I dont play a tk sage; I'm a seer. I have played around with the spec though. Maybe some experts (longtime tk sages or devs) can give good explanations how it's powerful in its current state. Im very open to the fact thqt maybe im just not smart enough to figure out how to utilize it best. Until then, I have to agree with you that MA could use some reconsideration in its design.

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Your way of revamping the skill would actually hurt dps more. If it were a proc effect, there would be no control over when it goes off, and even one minute is a steep cool down for a proc. What if it goes off right when a boss goes into a phase where you can't damage it? Its utility is really nice for those moments when you do need it, so being able to call on it is important. Stacking it with an adrenal can create some massive burst. As for the cool down of two minutes, I like it because it forces you to meticulously plan fights for maximum output.
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Your way of revamping the skill would actually hurt dps more. If it were a proc effect, there would be no control over when it goes off, and even one minute is a steep cool down for a proc. What if it goes off right when a boss goes into a phase where you can't damage it? Its utility is really nice for those moments when you do need it, so being able to call on it is important. Stacking it with an adrenal can create some massive burst. As for the cool down of two minutes, I like it because it forces you to meticulously plan fights for maximum output.

 

This.

 

I'd be much happier if BW slightly nerfs the damage from TK tree while reducing the CD of mental alacrity to 1min or even 40 sec...

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Your way of revamping the skill would actually hurt dps more. If it were a proc effect, there would be no control over when it goes off

... except when you cast TKWAve. :/

 

As for the cool down of two minutes, I like it because it forces you to meticulously plan fights for maximum output.

Please justify how alac every 2 mins is superior to alac every minute.

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... except when you cast TKWAve. :/

 

TKWave is part of the standard rotation, so forcing its use only when the alacrity is desired causes reduced damage output.

 

Please justify how alac every 2 mins is superior to alac every minute.

 

Sorry, you would gain overall dps with the proc every minute, but I just would rather it be a controlled thing.

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I disagree. Making MA a proc would result in a severe loss of control, particularly if the internal cooldown were as long as would be required to maintain balance in the face of such a change. As it stands, I can pop MA to achieve on-demand burst for the parts of the fight which require it, or I can just pop it on cooldown and see a substantial (albeit short-lived) boost to my DPS. The point is that I can control when and if I see the effect. That's quite valuable to me.
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