In Re: Locked and Loaded Patch Notes

[Cerebrophage]

I main Psyker, and let me tell you about the things I thought were most compelling and exciting that I can’t WAIT to try out…

This. Now that this is coming in… I can’t wait to use this baby that I KNEW would someday have some viability:

This should inspire people people to use the shockmaul with Psykers (though I think it already applies electrocution on heavy hit? Unsure.) But, now I expect a lot more smiting in the future. Surprised there’s been no changes to how smite works.

I thought of a suggestion that might balance it for everyone and make people happy so that it’s not a “noob trap.” Instead of charing up to unleash the attack. I thought an interesting idea would be to have the charge up duration be the time when the lightning is unleashed, but force the lightning off once the channel is finished. During the channel, make it so that you don’t need to wait for the lightning to jump from target to target, make it instant. This will make psykers think about who and what they’re trying to smite and if their channel will hold the target long enough to keep them at bay for whatever reason they need to do so. Have the LMB be a smaller one that does higher focused stagger. Minimal damage on both attacks. And disengage the safety from popping yourself by overusing smite.

So, let me ask you, does this mean that 100% cleave means that your force staff primary will cleave headshots based on peril? Also, loving the innate exorcism, will we be able to stack exorcism the blessing with this for further peril quelling?

Oh my lord. So if I use a recon lasgun (the rapid firing one I’m thinking about) does that mean if I see a horde and I just unload my magazine into them during scriers gaze, all those non-crits from the weapon will quell peril, thereby allowing me to stay in Scrier’s gaze longer?!

This is great, but can you enter perils of the warp through reloading? Is the idea that you want the tradeoff for the reload speed below 75% peril, but regardless of what peril you have, you still generate peril? I like how this encourages Psykers to keep their weapons loaded and ready. Further, using this with the stubber will be good as you choose how many times you “reload” as you can stop the animation if you need to by swapping or aiming.

Changes to psyker look fantastimazing.

I love how much build variety this will introduce to the game. I’m gonna be experimenting for a while now and I can’t wait to get started. On paper, these changes look wonderful. Great job FS!

[CobaltNinja]

Good question about whether you can explode via reload. That would be hilarious (but unfun) if it happened.

The new gunpsyker buffs look like a lot of fun and it seems like you could go on a rampage for the full duration of a horde with how much peril reduction we’re going to get. Combined with the new TacAxe blessings, I expect Tactical Axe + Recon Lasgun Psykers to be the new Gaze meta come the update.

@Cerebrophage

Further, using this with the stubber will be good as you choose how many times you “reload” as you can stop the animation if you need to by swapping or aiming.

I believe the Mk2 Revolver only counts a reload once at the start of it. I experimented with Tactical Reload for the Veteran, and it only kicks in if you start the reload with at least one round in the chamber.

The idea of the balls from primary staff attacks being more interesting than just “the suppression button” is neat as well, although I don’t know how much folk will actually use it compared to spamming secondaries.

@Cerebrophage

I thought of a suggestion that might balance it for everyone and make people happy so that it’s not a “noob trap.” Instead of charing up to unleash the attack. I thought an interesting idea would be to have the charge up duration be the time when the lightning is unleashed, but force the lightning off once the channel is finished. During the channel, make it so that you don’t need to wait for the lightning to jump from target to target, make it instant. This will make psykers think about who and what they’re trying to smite and if their channel will hold the target long enough to keep them at bay for whatever reason they need to do so. Have the LMB be a smaller one that does higher focused stagger. Minimal damage on both attacks. And disengage the safety from popping yourself by overusing smite.

This is an interesting idea that I hadn’t considered! An expensive “flash smite” that’s difficult to chain meaningfully together, making the idea of switching to your melee/staff/gun to finish them off more obvious… like Zealot stunbombs, I guess?

I’m still worried about how spammable it could be. I’m thinking it would be trivial to quell back to 0% peril with a staff equipped and a 100% quell speed stat and you could still just spam it to kingdom come. Change how it works all you like, but it’s the availability that’s the problem, not the strength IMO.

[Cerebrophage]

I’m looking at the three blitz, and I three three different blitzes, each less spammable the more power they hold. Brain burst being the highest in single target power, highest stagger; but the hardest to spam. Assail, less single target power, but moderate horde damage on assail, minimal stagger, has a limit on how many you can throw, easy to spam. Then smite, requires full charge for full benefit, easy to spam once charged, requires resource management options when at high peril to maintain effectiveness. Minimal damage, moderate stagger.

Something would have to be the trade-off for the nerf to keep smite alive. Merely adding electrocution to heavy attacks, while interesting, is hardly a buff for the trade. Not unless there’s more blessings for shock. I would imagine that without needing to quell peril, you could get three charges out of a channeled smite. I think to avoid spammability. It would be a charge up like it is now, instantly link to all targets that it can/would reach but it has 4-5 second channel time.5/2/5/2/5/quell peril/5/2/5/2/5/quell peril. This way, Smite keeps its power and intended effect, we reduce spamminess of it, and it provides enough cover to stop the battlefield to pick up allies/hold enemies in place to trim down particularly beefy waves.