The Odd One Out--Spark and the Projectile Change

In general, I don't think the projectile functionality update is a bad change. I'm not in love with it, but I can see how it might be the right move. Still, there's one projectile that functions VERY differently from every other projectile--Spark.

Unlike, say, Barrage or Cold Snap or Ball Lightning or Fireball or [insert projectile skill here], Spark doesn't move in a straight line. Spark random-walks around the arena, and firing multiple Sparks at once is often intended to have a chance to hit the same enemy, particularly in the case of its big brother, Vaal Spark. Let's take my lightning witch four-socket setup for VS--Vaal Spark, GMP, LMP, Fork--which fires off 14 Spark projectiles 150 times. Under the current rules, that's 2100 projectiles that all have an equal chance to hit anything that wanders into their paths; under the upcoming adjustments, literally only one in fourteen Vaal Spark projectiles can hit each enemy.

My question is this--due to the very different nature of the projectiles in Spark, does it warrant consideration as an exception to the projectile update?

They simply don't want players to use modifiers(lmp, gmp) that are intended for AoE damage to boost their single target. I think it's silly and not working properly when a character releases hundreds of sparks over the screen to shotgun a boss.

In your particular scenario, you could consider dropping either lmp or gmp(or both) and add support gems that increase their damage, rather than decrease it. VS is already an AoE spell, in the sense that it launches multiple sparks.

with this change, obiously some projectile skills need to be rebalanced on damages.

"

rinleezwins wrote:

They simply don't want players to use modifiers(lmp, gmp) that are intended for AoE damage to boost their single target. I think it's silly and not working properly when a character releases hundreds of sparks over the screen to shotgun a boss.

In your particular scenario, you could consider dropping either lmp or gmp(or both) and add support gems that increase their damage, rather than decrease it. VS is already an AoE spell, in the sense that it launches multiple sparks.

But doesn't this feel artificial? I mean, for other projectiles it might make sense that you can't shotgun, but for Spark it just doesn't feel right :S Why would only one out of 14 sparks be able to hit the same target?

"

Mark_GGG wrote:

Spark already has a mechanic that makes it "forget" everything it's hit on bounce under certain conditions. If anything, we'd need to limit that more so that this change has more effect on Spark, not leave it out, because that "memory" is now for all projectiles, not just one.

So just to make sure I understand--it already only allows one in fourteen Sparks to hit each enemy, and I just haven't noticed because it freezes my screen every time I use it? :P

"

Mark_GGG wrote:

No.

Currently, each spark has it's own memory. When spark 1 hits something assuming it pierces and thus doesn't end there, Spark 1 marks that in Spark 1's memory as a thing it can't hit again. Spark 2 and Spark 3 from the same volley are unaffected by this and maintain their own memories.
Whenever any spark bounces, if it hasn't just hit something immediately before that bounce, it clears it's memory and can now hit all those things again, because it doesn't know it already has any more.

Removing shotgunning means that memory is global for all projectiles in the volley. When spark 1 hits an object, it records that thing in the shared memory, and spark 2 and spark 3 can no longer hit that thing. When any of them bounce, if they haven't just hit something immediately before that bounce, they'll clears that shared memory and all of them can now hit all those things again, because they don't know they already have any more.

When I said this update about projectile was counter-intuitive ...
I play this game since close beta and I am not able to easily understand the mechanism you are describing... This is really a crazy way to nerf Mjolner builds if this is main purpose... Why not nerfing directly the item ?

Why not make all the projectile spell shotgun and balance the spell damage around that ?
What's the point in 2.0 to use Freezing Pulse / Incinerate vs spell that have already an AoE coverage ?
Nobody wants to waste a support gem to be equivalent when the AoE spell can use this support gem for extra damage or leech...
How many players are playing Fireball+GMP in current meta ? 0.00001 % ? ( and today it does shotgun .. ). I let you guess what it will be in 2.0. Should be as rare as a mirror drop.

"

Mark_GGG wrote:

No.

Currently, each spark has it's own memory. When spark 1 hits something assuming it pierces and thus doesn't end there, Spark 1 marks that in Spark 1's memory as a thing it can't hit again. Spark 2 and Spark 3 from the same volley are unaffected by this and maintain their own memories.
Whenever any spark bounces, if it hasn't just hit something immediately before that bounce, it clears it's memory and can now hit all those things again, because it doesn't know it already has any more.

Removing shotgunning means that memory is global for all projectiles in the volley. When spark 1 hits an object, it records that thing in the shared memory, and spark 2 and spark 3 can no longer hit that thing. When any of them bounce, if they haven't just hit something immediately before that bounce, they'll clears that shared memory and all of them can now hit all those things again, because they don't know they already have any more.

Will spark get a re-balance in damage value's since your reducing it's single target ability to 1/3 of its original damage?

And spark was the highest single target lightning spell as far as i know, so with this change storm call will take that position if nothing is done to compensate spark.

Also what does "immediately" mean in your post? Is it 1 second, 0.5 second etc etc? Seems quite relevant for positioning with the new spark.

Not going to lie, i though spark would get an exception rule since it's the only spell i know that has built in lmp(where as EK has built in triplegmp? :D) as part of it's core mechanic.

Peace,

-Boem-

/will deal with it no mater the response <.o

That sounds like... a lot of processing power if vaal spark works the same way... Which would make some sense, given the shudder my computer emits every time I meet that vaal spark caster.