Daresso's Defiance
" Honestly, I do not find this big deal, out of all the unique items I felt that was designed properly last year was this item, blood dance, and a few other I do not remember correctly. The rest either landed in vendor land or broken land. When I first saw Daresso's Defiance drop in Nov/Dec patch last year, I was already coming up a way to build around it I felt it was going to be niche item that i was going to enjoy. DW dagger block evasion build. I never IR in mind since that would defeat the purpose of Evasion, and the amount of Evasion in the chest piece was still plenty enough to reach the 45% chance to evade threshold (got like 46/47%) to have a 90% chance to evade projectiles (Ondar). Add evasion + Ondar + 60% chance to dodge attacks + 30% chance to dodge spells + 44% chance to block attack + 22% chance to block spells (Stone of Lazhwar) = barely ever getting hit. Also, it is fun getting Onslaught to boost my DPS more and my movement speed. Feels like I drank a quicksilver. Overall, I really like the design of the item. May feel weird having it in an hybrid armor, but the conflict ain't that bad compared to Hyrri's Ire. This is my build setup using Daresso's Defiance Sometimes you can take the game out of the garage but you can't take the garage out of the game. - raics, 06.08.2016 Last edited by JohnNamikaze on Nov 26, 2014, 8:38:47 PM
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" I actually just saw this, so I apologize for the delay in response, but I really appreciate your kind words. Daresso's Defiance took up almost a year and a half of time, with the email chain between Erik, Rory, and myself totaling up to almost 100 emails. It was not actually my first submitted item, which was supposed to be a Brace of Wands, much like pistols, designed to be matching wands that would occupy both weapon slots. I don't think I've ever posted this but when I came up with the idea, I did a rough concept art to make sure the "Wandslinger" intent was heard loud and clear. Concept for the Wand/Pistol Hybrid:  Yet time and the game release buried the idea and by the time we discussed things again we moved on to what would eventually become Daresso's Defiance. You would probably be shocked at how many times the chest changed as the game was updated each previous version was relegated null or broken. So we'd go back to the drawing board and start all over again. The design goal behind the chest was to have it show how a skilled duelist can detect and then predict their opponents fighting technique so that when a hit must be taken that they can ensure it does the least possible damage and then strike back to overwhelm them. For instance, taking an opponents thrust along the shoulder of your non-sword arm while driving your blade into his torso. As they did not want to create a new effect to illustrate this, we got inventive with the existing mechanics. I will admit I am endlessly amused at the discussion behind the Dodge modification and the confusion on why it was not made to be spell dodge - the dodge was added on entirely by Rory as flavor for the item, I was under the impression that we had exceeded the available mods that could be put on the item personally. When he showed it to me, I thought hey, that's just extra goodness and I can't argue with that. Initially I had planned to have Increased Physical Weapon Damage to mirror the Shield and Amulet but we had maxed out the item before that was placed on it. I wrote the flavor text myself and the writers did not want to change it, which is rare according to Rory as the chest is for a primary storyline character and they have to make sure that the quotes fit their established history. Also, the icon art for Daresso's Defiance is really amazing and I don't know if it has ever been posted in high resolution, so now is as good a time as any!  Let me know if you have any questions, comments, etc. and I'll be happy to discuss them here. I can post the variations we went through as well in case anyone is curious to see the evolution of the chest and where design choices were made. As for Daresso's Courage, I use one myself. Those resist rolls were found by a guild member of mine and he traded for my existing lower rolled version. My main character, Audemus, was built around Daresso's Defiance as I was trying to get into the head of Daresso and needed to create my idea of his fighting style to really make the item hit the mark. I'm hesitant to post the build, as he'll be in the Hall of Heroes, but I might PM it. :) Thanks again for the kind words in this thread. Last edited by Fiveby5 on Dec 2, 2014, 5:16:58 PM
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Fiveby thanks for the writeup and the art. Interesting to hear your thoughts since you helped design the item.
If this was clearly made for an IR build - I still don't understand the 6% dodge mod and why that was used and at such a small value if the whole theme of the chest was to take a hit, mitigate with Endurance Charges (and armor), and rapidly retaliate with Onslaught. Having the small dodge mod just feels incongruous on this chest and doesn't fit the theme nor does it fit the other mods of the chest; I believe something different should have been added like extra HP or something. But whatever, that's just my take. Last edited by Ceryneian on Dec 2, 2014, 8:20:12 PM
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" As I said, it was put on in the final hour (Last Month of Editing on the item) and I didn't think it would be there at all honestly but I wouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth either. Keep in mind my item went through the longest development cycle of any unique made (at least as of its release, that may have changed) and when you say "helped design" it should be more like "stubbornly stood by my initial idea." Prior to this there were two submissions that were both overshadowed by the approaching release and I let go as they did not fit the climate of the game by the time we got down to discussing things. The Brace of Wands was a lost and a pair of steampunk-esque goggles which focused all projectiles into a single line (aka Ethereal Knives would only hit things in a direct line but all projectiles would strike the same a spread). I'm going to attempt to timeline the item here, I don't know that any other Diamond/Eternal has shown all possible variants of their item but it's been out long enough that I feel comfortable revealing the metamorphosis the item went through. ============ May 2013 ============ My item initially had Erik working on it but as his other duties took over, I was handed off to Rory for completion. The item was drastically different at this point as I think you will see below. Initial Submission by myself: " Returned Item with Stats filled in by Rory with his notes in bold. " Problem: The game cannot support On Dodge/Evade Effects as Rory found out from the programmers. It's pretty fascinating but what it basically boils down to is this - if a mob can perceive you, even if it not direct visual line of sight, it is constantly making evade/dodge checks on you. So with the above chest on you would magically max out endurance charges by just...walking anywhere with hostile mobs. :D =========== June 2013 =========== On the tail end of an email I received the following from Rory: " So this got me thinking and I came up with what would sadly become a good but engine breaking idea.  My Explanation of the points noted on the bottom of the image in the spoiler below (Rather long)
Spoiler
1. Unable to Generate Power, Frenzy, or Endurance Charges
This is the primary restriction on this item. It locks down the ability to generate any charges while wearing it *except* through its effect. It limits the use of the item with certain skills and prevents the use of said skills and/or items from causing the chest piece from being used outside of its intended purpose. It also allows the programmers to not have to worry about building in checks/balances against 'how' the endurance charges were generated, as otherwise you could use the item as a charge converter which is not its intended purpose. 2. Set Maximum Power and Frenzy Charges to Maximum Endurance Charges (Up or Down) While designing this effect I thought that it might become unmanageable when accounting for the conversion of the Endurance Charges to randomized Power/Frenzy Charges if the maximum number of charges was not standardized. As the original idea and the primary component of this item were both designed around Endurance charges, I thought that this would provide a good baseline for it and it would allow for the visuals to always match up. If Endurance Charges converted into Power/Frenzy Charges and there were less or more total charges after the conversion it would not look right from an aesthetics stand point. 3. 25% Chance on Hit to Gain Maximum Number of Endurance Charges The 25% here is arbitrary and I've put it here just to indicate that there's no way we could make this effect 100% of the time as the item would be entirely unbalanced. The idea is for it to give a chance of greatly mitigating an attack and then allow for a devastating counter attack. The idea is not to allow for someone to become an invincible titan! So we'll have to figure out the percentage, more likely on your end as you'll be play testing it per your earlier email. This is also when you're comment: " Our programmer mentioned that we can have endurance charges appear on hit but take effect before you take the hit, so you mitigate damage that you would be taking... " ...comes into play. As these Endurance Charges would be appearing after the hit was calculated to be successful and then upon the actual application of damage.... 4. When Damaged All Endurance Charges are Converted into Power and Frenzy Charges. (Randomized) ...the Endurance Charges would then randomly turn into Power or Frenzy Charges equal to the number of existing Endurance charges. This would provide a large short term spike of damage but it is kept in check by the fact that the wearer has no way of refreshing these charges unless they happen to get hit and re-trigger the effect. This should prevent any abuse of the item as it is still built around an Evasion base with Acrobatics. The Acrobatics alone will mitigate chances to take damage and then the percentage chance for the effect to occur will stack on top of that. I think the most difficult thing here will be determining if damage can be coded to trigger the charges to change and finding the sweet spot for the percentage chance of the effect occurring. The new unique neck Voll's Devotion put the idea in my head for allowing the charges to convert to match the original flavor of the item but it is based on the duration of the charge or expenditure of the charge, not necessarily the application of damage. If the charges cannot *convert* upon taking damage, with Voll's Devotion in mind, perhaps it can be coded so that the Endurance Charges are consumed upon taking damage and then tying that to something like: "Gain either a Power Charge or a Frenzy Charge when an Endurance expires or is Consumed" Problem: Charges cannot be locked down as I proposed and the chance for exploitation with discharge was to high. ============== July 2013 ============== So I decided to try another tact as the first Onslaught items had just been found and the idea of a named "effect" on items was unseen until that point. I proposed the effect "Daring" for Daresso the Daring: " Which led to the following item, spoiler below due to vertical size:
Spoiler
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Rarity: Unique Daresso's Defiance Exquisite Leather -------- Evasion Rating: 502 -------- Requirements: Level: 62 Dex: 170 -------- 20% Increased Physical Damage 80-100% Increased Evasion Rating 150-250 to Evasion Rating +40-60 to Maximum Life Acrobatics. 15% Reduction to Physical Damage Taken 50(+)% Chance to Gain Endurance Charge when Hit 5% More Physical Damage Taken per Endurance Charge All Endurance Charges Expire Upon Reaching Maximum Charges (Tried wording this a few times but really couldn't think of a way to keep it short.) Gain Daring Equivalent to Amount of Charges Lost. =============== Daring: ===================================== Daring: Gain 0.5% Life Leech and 5% Physical Damage for 1 second per Endurance Charge. ===================================== Concerns: I am not sure if there is a way that a player could be prevented from using enduring cry to stack charges and then 'pop' the endurance charges to stack with a diamond flask etc and try to fast burn something. Maybe we could tie the damage increase to the effect to avoid it from being dodged. Daring: ===================================== Daring: Gain 0.5% Life Leech, 5% Physical Damage, and Take 5% more Physical Damage for 1 second per Endurance Charge. ===================================== Problem: Unfortunately making new effects like this, for a single item, is not in the cards. So the idea was scrapped. Still in July, Rory proposed one of the the following three items:
Spoiler
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160-200% Increased Evasion Rating (rolling in the flat evasion rating mod into this) +40-60 to Maximum Life Acrobatics 50% Chance to Gain Frenzy Charge when Hit 4% Physical Damage Reduction per Frenzy Charge you don't have (Based on your maximum frenzy charges) 0.5% life leech per Frenzy Charge =============== or =============== 160-200% Increased Evasion Rating (rolling in the flat evasion rating mod into this) +40-60 to Maximum Life Acrobatics 50% Chance to Gain Endurance Charge when hit When you reach maximum endurance charges, you gain Onslaught for 10 seconds When you reach maximum endurance charges, lose all Endurance Charges You can't gain Endurance Charges while you have Onslaught 2% Life Leech from Physical Attacks =============== or =============== 160-200% Increased Evasion Rating (rolling in the flat evasion rating mod into this) +40-60 to Maximum Life Acrobatics 3% increased physical damage reduction per Endurance Charge 3% increased Elemental Resistances per Endurance Charge You lose an Endurance Charge when Hit 2% Life Leech from Physical Attacks =============== I then proposed, based on the above given options: =============== 160-200% Increased Evasion Rating (rolling in the flat evasion rating mod into this) +40-60 to Maximum Life Acrobatics 50% Chance to Gain Endurance Charge when hit When you reach maximum endurance charges, you gain Onslaught for 10 seconds When you reach maximum endurance charges, lose all Endurance Charges You can't gain Endurance Charges while you have Onslaught 2% Life Leech from Physical Attacks =============== ============== August 2013 ============== I was greeted with the following image in my email:  Unfortunately play testing was not working out for the item and we shot a few email ideas with nothing much panning out. ================ September 2013 ================ I received another revision to the item:  ============== October 2013 ============== I was updated on the items process after emailing to touch base and Rory explained:
Spoiler
So we've been playing with your item, and have found that you're much better working around the Acrobatics and just having a heavy life with a little bit of armour character than it is to have an Evasion character using it. It's also got a lot of complex mechanics that end up having weird ways to exploit them (Immortal Call, Enduring Cry, removing the armour when almost at max endurance charges, etc.)
Here are a few options for alternatives; These are just the special bonuses, and the fewer of these special bonuses we have on the item, the more useful powerful stats we can have! All of these suggestions have Acrobatics removed from the item; It really worked against the item especially now that it doesn't completely remove armour and energy shield. From the ideas that are easiest and are more likely to work to those that are riskier, in order: Gain an Endurance Charge on Kill Lose all Endurance Charges when hit The next idea: 12% physical damage reduction 5% chance when hit to gain Onslaught for 6 seconds You have no Physical Damage Reduction while you have Onslaught The last idea, closest to our most recent plan but still potentially problematic: 20% chance to gain an Endurance Charge when Hit You gain Onslaught for 6 seconds at maximum Endurance Charges At maximum Endurance Charges, lose all Endurance Charges You have no Physical Damage Reduction while you have Onslaught ============== November 2013 ============== I pretty stubbornly stuck to avoiding a purely defensive chest, my initial idea for the retaliation type effect was important to me. As the decision had been made that the item should no longer have Acrobatics as an innate drawback, it was at this point that I decided to give the nod to the lore for Daresso, as his shield is AR/EV, and have the chest be moved to the AR/EV base from Exquisite leather. If you had one a copy of Daresso's Defiance before the graphic went live, you'd find that it looked like Exquisite Leather. I may or may not also still have over 10 stash tabs of Exquisite Leather that I had squirreled away for an Orb of Chance marathon once the item was released, so trust me, the decision was not an easy one. :) It was also during this month that the dodge mod was mentioned as part of the stats, as it was a "freebie" so to speak and never part of the items balancing process, I was pleased with it. You can't really hate on something that you weren't even going to get in the first place. At the end of November the item did not reflect the Dodge mod and looked as follows:  ============== December 2013 ============== Chris' video regarding the upcoming patch mentioned the chest and I received an email with the items max rolls.  The rest is history! | |
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I appreciate that you gave us the backstory behind the making of your unique item. I personally thought from the initial submission, it would been a rich man Hyrri's Ire, which is still not a good item because of the redundancy of acrobatics from the chest piece to the passive tree. Especially, if the item is pure evasion then phase acrobatics is a must for EV builds.
I think the issue here is that most people associates AR/EV armor with IR for more armor, and I do not think they are wrong. However, in the situation where your unique item has a decent amount of evasion, it is not wrong to go quasi-evasion with this item as you can see from my build setup (the first post of this page). I have enough evasion to make Ondar's Guile show it's magic. I do not mind taking the drawback of Acrobatics from the tree to get more dodge/spell dodge since I would barely have armor to begin with. I was able to accomplish 60% chance to dodge attacks thanks to your chest piece. I rarely ever get hit, so it is easy to max out my endurance charges to gain more phy dmg reduction, and have Onslaught last up to five seconds, which is nice. Though, it would had been nice to have current mods from your unique item be in the base item from your initial submission, then your unique item would make more sense logically from a theorycrafter's point of view. I will not take away the accomplishment you made from Daresso's Defiance, it is one of my favorite unique items in the game. I can feel all that work put into the item, and the 3D art is exotic. ;) Sometimes you can take the game out of the garage but you can't take the garage out of the game. - raics, 06.08.2016 Last edited by JohnNamikaze on Dec 3, 2014, 12:17:42 AM
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" Hey man, wanted to say a big thank you for this chest! Currently my main has three main chest I tend to rotate between depending on my minor node/gem/gear etc setup. They are Belly of the Beast, Light coil and Daressos Defiance. They all have various useful purposes and on equal footing in my book (life=belly, defense= coil, dodgy dps= Daresso) but all of them have one thing in common: Daressos Defiance unique 3d art has been skinned on them. Really nice and sleek design: looks lightweight yet noticeably armored compared to usual EV chest. Special mention to the leather coat tail around the waist: shows a practical design (as in how it would work in reality) where the more heavy leather gives a little extra protection for the tights around the back while also providing protection against the weather elements. Not to mention the dark color scheme that fits well with other similar themed gear artworks (like the Thousand Teeth Emu shield). Last edited by Sig556 on Dec 5, 2014, 11:31:07 AM
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" You forget about gems. Evasion = green gems. Evasion and armour = green and red gems. Opens up more build choices. Edit: Thanks for the insight fivebyfive. Very interesting to read. Last edited by kompaniet on Dec 5, 2014, 12:31:03 PM
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" Absolutely right about the gems, albeit I am a bizarre person with gem colors in that I'm stubborn enough to turn just about anything into the colors I want. :) Example: Really the primary reason for the move to AR/EV was strictly due to the design of Daresso's Courage. It would make no sense, from a character continuity standpoint, to have Daresso be using a slightly armored shield and an evasion chest. That would make the shield or the chest look entirely out of place in the grand scheme of things. The armor at least allows for a variation in the use of the chest so that it's not isolated strictly to evasion only characters. As for my own defensive stats, they look as follows:  With Daresso's Courage equipped, I have escaped death on multiple occasions after a particularly heavy hit brings my hp low and my healing pots are emptied out. I've also been told I'm an absolute bastard to kill in pvp by people who routinely destroy high end maps and Atziri, simply because they can't manage to get through the wall of 100% mitigation/avoidance that my block/dodge/evasion. It should be noted that I utilize Spectral Throw in a very specific way that usually confuses people but everyone eventually admits it's extremely handy to have me around with it. I've been hesitant to post it because of the way things trend and then get nerfed but perhaps other people are doing this and my anti-social tendencies have made it slip passed me. So here are my gloves: My active curse is Enfeeble so you can imagine, with the amount of avoidance and block in my build, with Enfeeble debuffing and then 20/20 blind spread rapidly on absolutely everything that gets close to me, there are times where I will begin to get this feeling of invincibility as my life leech over-mitigates any incoming damage and my mana leech covers my DPS output. There are a few things that give me pause, Vulnerability is certainly one of them, but I accept my deaths when they happen and move on. I used to get annoyed by them but I've been playing at this point since April 2012 and just don't see a reason to care now, as long as I'm having fun that is. Do I still manage to get stomped so hard, on occasion, that I kinda stare at my screen blinking? Sure. Yet people who know me also know that most of my deaths are due to me falling asleep at the keyboard mid-dungeon due to health reasons. Can't beat RL health problems no matter how good your gear is. =) Thanks again for the kind words everyone, I'll keep an eye on the thread in case there are anymore questions! | |
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Yeah Acro/phase acro+Daressos+ block+ ev+ blind+ enfeeble combo is extremely potent. Too bad block is gonna get nuked now with acro having a 30% penalty on top of the already severely reduced block.
Fiveby5, do you also use Darkrays and/or atziri step with high frenzy charge count? Also since you have some insight into the unique set development a small lore related question- perhaps you know why are Darkrays called that instead of something like Daressos steps? I mean the armor and boots both are dragonscale and both complement each other very well. Just seems like a natural pair and something Daresso would have worn. Last edited by Sig556 on Dec 7, 2014, 2:34:47 AM
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" It is because of that massive combo, block is getting shafted by the tree AND Acrobatic. It is that potent when using those combo. If you still happen to be around 40% block, you should be fine. Besides, +60% chance to dodge attacks is nothing to scoff about. Your only issue would be spells, but you should use Atziri's Step in that situation where spells are everywhere. It should increase your odds dodging spells. Spell block might be the bigger issue since it will be harder to stack once patch 1.3 comes by. Sometimes you can take the game out of the garage but you can't take the garage out of the game.
- raics, 06.08.2016 |
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