I would really like to see a generic blessing pool, like for example: 1x cleave, 1x rending, 1x crit chance, 1x bleeding on every melee weapon and then some weapon specific blessings.
Also blessings have a ridiculous power span, like 200% cleave/100% rending in contrast to 20% damage on your second to fourth shot in a salvo.
You know, I’ve been mulling this over, and they already have blessings with different values for different weapons, this is probably another case where that approach makes sense.
Your shovel case also makes me wonder whether uncanny working on dots really ought to be outright removed or if there’s a more elegant middle ground. Perhaps there is a state where it would be fine, like if the uncanny values were significantly lower and it only applied to dots that are generated by the actual melee weapon with the blessing on it.
I haven’t used the shovel setup you’re describing, do you think it would be killed if uncanny was at like 60% rending at max stacks and it still applied to serrated blade but not nades or anything else?
I know they said for the purposed Dueling Sword changes that the uncanny strike nerf would only apply to that weapon. Personally I think this is generally bad, as it’s still incredibly op on both the Force Swords and the Combat Blade but whatever.
I assume there is some sort of code jank that is causing the DoT interaction, and if it was easy to fix I assume they would have done so already (it’s FS though so that’s a big maybe). While I think an interaction like that could be cool, maybe also through an additional talent or blessing, if I had to choose between it working on the shovel but also shredders and soulblaze or no interaction at all, I would choose no interaction at all.
Also unintentionally another somewhat more nuanced and cool interaction (although still broken as hell), is the Ogryn brittle on push paired with a friend on vet shredders. It requires a 2 player set up which is more fun but the result was decimating an armored horde easily which is still a bit lame.
The bleed interaction being nerfed would not kill the weapon at all. The uncanny part being nerfed even just for base shovel damage would suck, but if it was paired with increased pen and maybe damage to the base shovel it would be fine.
To rant for a bit, it’s really hard for me to try and discuss balance at the moment because I don’t know what the frame of balance for Darktide is supposed to be anymore. Thunder Hammers are a perfect example of this. Them having the self stun and bad horde clear times is an interesting trade off for supposedly high damage, but on higher difficulties they become more annoying than interesting. Should Thammers get super easy 1 shots on Crushers? Other weapons have stupidly high ttks on them without the downsides. Should they get better horde clear? Other weapons have great single target damage and horde clear. Should they remove self stun? When density is as high as it is, it really punishes using the weapon into groups of enemies, especially compared to other weapons. Do we really need to power up a weapon so much to make it fun now? Etc etc. It gets even worse when comparing ranged weapons to each other. What are we even balancing towards anymore?
The past couple weeks this has been continuously annoying me, paired with Havoc just not really being enjoyable anymore for me with the current state of the game. I’m kind of waiting to see the direction of the next big patch FS makes to see if DT has anything more to offer me, because right now it doesn’t feel like it does.
I feel like those weapons are wildly strong regardless and it’s sort of pick 2 on them. If you like rending great. Precog crit heavy or strikedown light will dumpster mauler and crusher just like max rending the rest of the light combo on force sword. Or slaughterer + crits from riposte, you do not want for more armor piercing ever with Deimos. Same on the knife, it’s so crit busted and already dumpstering unyielding and maniac. Who effing cares about doing like 20% more damage to crushers on non crit which you will have way less of or hitting them with the non strike lights. Or buffing bleeds. Who is still using bleeds on the knife? There are other options.
Its bleak ones like shovel that just need a general pass to feel less gimmicky in general but especially with the current number of elites. You shouldn’t need 8 skullcrusher stacks a crit like every melee buff on the tree and +carapace to kill an Auric crusher in the current game in 3 push attacks. And that is the absolute best case scenario, it’s like 7-10 heavies routinely in practical terms because only 2 stamina regen delay node vet can really afford to use push attack to fight elites. Obviously i lost you and you’re just going to run rending and be more mediocre on the whole #shovelgang. But are there still so many weapons that bad against armor, that is the real loadout oppression. Chain weapons are laughable on armor even before you remember you’re fighting like 6 at a time regularly by auric let alone beyond. Why.
The Arbites effect.
Last year’s OP weapons were never touched, they’re just far and away less OP than today’s meta.
Yah the blessings rarely have any unique feel and rarely synergize with the weapon or other blessings. Just small situational stat pads for most. They could even do simple things like “after special activation, do X”, like with chain weapons and movement speed, but that’s like the only one, and it’s freggin movespeed.
Yeah I don’t like the + damage blessings and really love the ones that change weapons. Heck the ones that do buffs based off of stagger or electrocution or what have you are some of my faves rn.