Nerf Lightning Arrow

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Xendran wrote:

My job is a game balancer and mechanics designer. I don't want to keep the OP build and i complain about OP things all the time. My issue is not flat out with the nerfing of skills, but the WAY that 99% of people do it contributes to poor game design.

Sure.

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Xendran wrote:

Other multitarget and aoe skills need to come up to the level of lightning arrow, not the other way around. The other multitarget and aoe skills require way too much to make them useful, which is not an indicator that they should stay the way they are.

It seems alot easier to nerf LA than to buff almost every other skill in the game. As some have pointed out, the other skills work. It's just that LA works far better.

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Sickness wrote:

It seems alot easier to nerf LA than to buff almost every other skill in the game. As some have pointed out, the other skills work. It's just that LA works far better.

Keep in mind that easier is not always better, and that there really arent that many skills in the game.

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Xendran wrote:

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Sickness wrote:

It seems alot easier to nerf LA than to buff almost every other skill in the game. As some have pointed out, the other skills work. It's just that LA works far better.

Keep in mind that easier is not always better, and that there really arent that many skills in the game.

As some have pointed out, the other skills work. It's just that LA works far better.

Yeah nerf LA ill just use Ice shot that deals same lightning dmg, will shock, and slow enemies.

OP sound like, "i made a phys build with my ranger and ele is better QQ"

Nerfing LA is not a solution.

70% dmg effectiveness is standard and even on the low end for AoEs, and LA already has capped targets and limited area.

If you nerf LA, then you require it to be supported by LMP/Chain to be effective (or have godly gear).

Split Arrow was a real contender with LA until Chain got nerfed into the ground.

Ice Shot has 100% effectiveness on an AoE.

The reason LA is more powerful is not the skill alone, but the interaction of LMP/Chain, ele scaling way better than physical, and the ridiculousness of shock stacking.

One thing i DO agree on is giving LA 75% Less (Multiplicative) shock chance.
Having a quarter of the shock chance makes sense, since the skill is intended to hit 4 targets.

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Xendran wrote:

One thing i DO agree on is giving LA 75% Less (Multiplicative) shock chance.
Having a quarter of the shock chance makes sense, since the skill is intended to hit 4 targets.

This could help. However, I feel that it definitely needs to be changed to only AoE on the last hit with chain or the first hit as was suggested earlier in the thread. I think the main problem with LA is how well it synergizes with lmp/gmp and chain. This is due to the lightning arrow triggering on every target rather than just the first/last target hit. In addition to this I do also believe that some of the other bow skills are in need of some buffing.

Relevent: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/183141

LA is not the problem. LMP/GMP/Chain are the problem, but only when combined with the aoe mechanics of certain projectiles (LA, Ice Shot, Fireball/Arctic breath to a lesser extent). See linked post for an explanation of why these skills work that way and others don't.

The reason LA in particular stands out from those is because shock stacking is completely overpowered. It needs to be toned down by a massive amount- 15% per stack would not be unwarranted, it still makes shock the most powerful status effect. Or remove stacking and make it a flat boost. Or something. Regardless, not only does LA benefit from the power of overlapping AOEs, it doubles the damage taken by the target as well. THAT's the biggest problem.

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Sickness wrote:

To all those who think LA is fine, what skill are you comparing it to, exactly?

Every other skill on all the characters I built and shelved before I finally found this one that actually worked.

It's a PVE game, why should we nerf LA? It's extremely powerful, but it's also arguably not faceroll, 1-shot everything.

Hell, even in PvP, LA is an aoe skill, so it's not applicable there.

In ARPG's, good builds that exploit game mechanics should be encouraged, not nerfed on site. It's not League of Legends.

One should wonder why no one uses other arrow skills lategame; because they are completely lackluster endgame.