Accuracy – The Last Remnant of Action?

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Slicer wrote:

Balance... Mark, how about removing the concept of a "spell" altogether? Turn spells into special attacks with wands or staves, based on weapon damage (or both weapons if dual wielding wands). Make accuracy affect them (no separate "spell" accuracy; one accuracy for everything), make Dexterity affect the speed of these and all other special attacks, and make Strength affect all attacks, including bows, wands, and special attacks with those. Same thing with Int and crit rating. Counterintuitive? Maybe. But it'd be balanced according to the structure you just set out, without giving magic users a "Screw your accuracy rating" button, and it would encourage cross-class dipping and more interesting builds.

This is an interesting idea. The fact that you are railroaded into using a very specific weapon for most melee skills and casters aren't is another balance issue.

This would also open up the possibility for some very powerful spells that require either a staff or dual wield wands or even some other kind of caster weapon. And, as stated in the above quote, it would allow for spells to go through some of the same mechanics that the other combat styles have to go through instead of being 100% hit w/ full screen AoE attacks....

I think accuracy makes the development of your character more interresting. Otherwise you could just focus on primary stats instead of these "optional" but needed stats.

Apologies for necroing this thread, but instead of posting my own thoughts on accuracy I figured I'd tack it on here.

I've played a ranger into the mid-20's and a duelist at lv 34 in Ruthless duel wielding swords. I can say that my biggest gripe about how accuracy and its affect on % to hit is this:

Level 1: your chance to hit is 95%
Level 2: your hit drops to 94%

...effectively, every time you level your hit % is decreasing. Sure, you can pump passive skills into +accuracy to bring your hit rating back up, but everytime you level it will drop by around 1%. This almost seems counterintuitive in that you feel that when you level up, you should be stronger, more agile - but your % to hit stat is dropping.

I find it odd that dex-based classes have to decide between passives that maintain your % hit versus choosing other passives that are actually interesting and help make you viable in end-game.

I neglected accuracy for about 10 or 15 levels when I started going after the frenzy passives...now my % hit is hovering around 89% or 90%. It becomes one of those dilemma's where you really don't know what stats you need more: +hp? +hit +dmg w/ weap, +atk spd, +evas?

I'm just now in ruthless and can barely take down 1-2 mobs at a time without dying because I'm either missing like crazy (as other people here have mentioned is a synching issue?) due to my passives being spread too thin across +hit, +frenzy, and not enough in +dmg or +hp/+evasion.

Sidenote/rant:

Spellcaster's don't have to juggle accuracy at all for their spells to hit. Hell, just roll a frost-based character and faceroll the content with mid-range AoE frost spam or ice nova's. 100% hit, every cast, every time.

1) Character screen is inaccurate in general for now

2) Its been said over and over, but Ill say it again. Your accuracy DOESNT decrease on levelling up. You just get an estimate against a one level higher monster now - an average monster of your level. GGG will rework it to show the accuracy against last fought monster, then there should be less confusion.

3)

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It becomes one of those dilemma's where you really don't know what stats you need more: +hp? +hit +dmg w/ weap, +atk spd, +evas?

Working as intended - you actually have to make choices. Thats exacly what GGG wants you to do.

4) As for spellcasters - accuracy is only one of many advantages they have over melee, they also get much higher damage in general, as well as much higher AoE. GGG are aware of it, theres a LOT of feedback on that topic.

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nermind wrote:

1) Character screen is inaccurate in general for now

2) Its been said over and over, but Ill say it again. Your accuracy DOESNT decrease on levelling up. You just get an estimate against a one level higher monster now - an average monster of your level. GGG will rework it to show the accuracy against last fought monster, then there should be less confusion.

3)

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It becomes one of those dilemma's where you really don't know what stats you need more: +hp? +hit +dmg w/ weap, +atk spd, +evas?

Working as intended - you actually have to make choices. Thats exacly what GGG wants you to do.

4) As for spellcasters - accuracy is only one of many advantages they have over melee, they also get much higher damage in general, as well as much higher AoE. GGG are aware of it, theres a LOT of feedback on that topic.

Ah, thanks for the clarity. As long it all gets addressed, I'm fine. Just wasn't sure what was already 'known' and what wasn't.

I'm really hoping 0.9.3 fixes problems like accuracy. I'm a ranger at around 28 and nothing I do can get me to a decent accuracy percentage without losing a massive amount of DPS and sockets. (gear is very RNG and I've been unlucky) I have 80% and I swear I miss 1/3 of the time and it's infuriating. I can't fix it, I just have to suffer, forever.

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Patchumz wrote:

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I'm a ranger at around 28 and nothing I do can get me to a decent accuracy percentage without losing a massive amount of DPS...

By not putting points into passives for accuracy you are actually losing a massive amount of DPS. I also have a Ranger in the 20's (as well as a melee Duelist and a Marauder -30 and 44 respectively) and I don't find much issue with accuracy. Accuracy is a stat that you can place your points into just like increased attack speed or increased damage with a weapon type. All three contribute to your DPS, and I suspect that a build that balances the three stats well will do far more DPS than a build that ignores one of these primary stats. I have chosen to keep my accuracy at ~90% on each of my characters, and in doing so I have been forced to put points into accuracy that I would much rather have put into IAS or +damage, but when it comes right down to it the ability to hit 10% more often is far more beneficial than an extra 10 points of top end damage.

That is when not experiencing synching issues, of course, but those are another problem entirely. I still experience issues with probably 20-30% of monsters I fight being out of synch. That is with an average of <100 latency. I know they are working on the synching issue, and hopefully getting that resolved will result in a more realistic number of hits to misses. Even at 92% accuracy on the Duelist I will get into positions where I can go for 6 or 7 swings at a time without landing a hit at times due to the synching.

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shadowtwin wrote:

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Patchumz wrote:

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I'm a ranger at around 28 and nothing I do can get me to a decent accuracy percentage without losing a massive amount of DPS...

By not putting points into passives for accuracy you are actually losing a massive amount of DPS. I also have a Ranger in the 20's (as well as a melee Duelist and a Marauder -30 and 44 respectively) and I don't find much issue with accuracy. Accuracy is a stat that you can place your points into just like increased attack speed or increased damage with a weapon type. All three contribute to your DPS, and I suspect that a build that balances the three stats well will do far more DPS than a build that ignores one of these primary stats. I have chosen to keep my accuracy at ~90% on each of my characters, and in doing so I have been forced to put points into accuracy that I would much rather have put into IAS or +damage, but when it comes right down to it the ability to hit 10% more often is far more beneficial than an extra 10 points of top end damage.

That is when not experiencing synching issues, of course, but those are another problem entirely. I still experience issues with probably 20-30% of monsters I fight being out of synch. That is with an average of <100 latency. I know they are working on the synching issue, and hopefully getting that resolved will result in a more realistic number of hits to misses. Even at 92% accuracy on the Duelist I will get into positions where I can go for 6 or 7 swings at a time without landing a hit at times due to the synching.

The problem is, for me, the middle and bottom paths have good bow skills on them, while the top doesn't... So going for accuracy just wastes lots of levels trying to get back around to the bow skills :$.

I'm seeing a lot of frustration in myself and other non-casters that directly or indirectly centers around accuracy. Does anyone feel that PoE would be better and more balanced if it were just dropped completely?

Melee and ranged already have a disadvantage to casters because of it. It seems like an unnecessary non-caster resource. Its annoying when playing and an unnecessary waste of passive skills when leveling. It doesn't really make sense visually. You can't make an accuracy build. Is it just there for tradition's sake?

I understand wanting to keep some traditional aspects of ARPGs, but I think accuracy is one of those things that most people would celebrate being done away with.

I would agree.

To hit is a mechanic you only notice when it fails. It is frustrating, feels like it screws over the player, and is overall simply not fun. And we even have suggestions to saddle casters with it on top of it...

Why? What possible gameplay depth does it provide as is? Considerations like swing speed vs. swing damage have visual feedback, a sense of player agency and choice. Accuracy is something you are forced to keep at a certain level in order not to be annoyed with attacks that evaporate in favor of the RNG Gods.