Boneshatter needs help.

"

xenigmatica#6388 wrote:

Consider this for me, let's go back to something previously:

"

Also, please make the trigger icon appear instantly over enemy heads. Right now there is a delay of about 1 second and it feels really bad. I almost always end up triggering Boneshatter out of mechanical habit without seeing the icon.

Consider for a moment if this updates in the proper time, instead of having the weird delays it's having right now. You now know the moment something is in Boneshatter window. How many more slams do you think you'll accidentally hit before you react, if this gets fixed?

When I first wrote this line, I meant when I do trigger Boneshatter on purpose it is not because I reacted to the icon but rather because I preemptively used it before the icon appeared. It is done out of guesswork and skill cancelling instead of reacting (e.g., first hit of Rolling Slam > cancel into Boneshatter). However, I would prefer to actually react instead of guessing it's ready, as is the current case.

That all being said, I don't think it would change much in terms of accidentally stunning an enemy or not. I think it would help a bit, but it wouldn't change the larger issue of Boneshatter's proc condition being overshadowed by other skills being too easy to consume the stun prime/heavy stun. It's more of a QoL thing than anything, a tangential issue.

I'll bump this as I do agree it feels weird that stunning too much hinders the skill. Sure, I can use a different play style to accommodate my stun buildup but I just like the idea of Boneshatter gameplay. To each their own; what people wanna do is subjective, there's no harm in suggesting something. They either take it into consideration, or they do not.

To contribute further on potential improvements: I'd like to see consideration to having Boneshatter swing in the direction of the mouse pointer, not the closest target.

Several times I leap slam into a pack and the closest creature is either:
1. A smaller creature that gets hit with a full stun
2. A larger creature/elite/stun-resist that doesn't even prime.

As they are closest, my Boneshatter targets them while the creatures in the direction my mouse is pointing at were primed, and I end up dying because I have to swing 2-3 times until it hits the primed targets that I was trying to hit and get overwhelmed. My only solution to this so far is to just leap slam again and hope I get lucky, but it makes it feel clunky.

Other than that? Fun skill, love it. Smash.

"

ChosenForWar#6547 wrote:

I'd like to see consideration to having Boneshatter swing in the direction of the mouse pointer, not the closest target.

Several times I leap slam into a pack and the closest creature is either:
1. A smaller creature that gets hit with a full stun
2. A larger creature/elite/stun-resist that doesn't even prime.

As they are closest, my Boneshatter targets them while the creatures in the direction my mouse is pointing at were primed, and I end up dying because I have to swing 2-3 times until it hits the primed targets that I was trying to hit and get overwhelmed. My only solution to this so far is to just leap slam again and hope I get lucky, but it makes it feel clunky.

Other than that? Fun skill, love it. Smash.

I don't know exactly how targeting for Boneshatter works but I will say I've also found myself in situations where it didn't hit the target I wanted, namely a non-primed target instead of a primed one. If it works according to closest target having priority then I could see situations like the one you described being really frustrating. Imo, if there's any primed target remotely close to you (within short walking distance) it should always be targeting them and never a non-primed target.

Also, yeah. Smash.

Don't listen to any of these spastic fuck wads in here telling you it's great design and to just get less stun.

Anyone with half a brain cell realises the entire combo is meant to be stun skill > boneshatter.

When enemies all have different stun thresholds and defences, it's impossible to plan your stun buildup around that.

+1 ignore the retards.

I agree with the OP. Boneshatter is very effective and a lot of fun when the stun power/enemy stagger ranges allow you to use it consistently. The problem is that this "Goldilocks zone" constantly and inconsistently shifts. It's particularly hard to maintain in the early game, despite Boneshatter potentially being the 2nd skill a new player ever receives. PoE heavily rewards leaning into synergies and stacking multipliers, so a skill that specifically punishes you for doing that with Stun is actively teaching bad lessons about the game's fundamentals.

The blanket defending of how the ability currently works is a bit weird and reminds me of superfans on Apple forums. This is Early Access; now is the time to provide feedback on what feels good and what doesn't.

Separately, the "Primed for Stagger" visual indicator could use some improvement. It takes a moment to manifest, it can be obscured by visual effects like Infernal Cry or the angle that the target's "head" body part is, and certain enemy dormancy animations can suppress it entirely.

edit: Oh, and almost forgot to mention that the ability in its current form is a massive pain to use in group play. As soon as you introduce more players applying their own staggers, trying to keep track of valid targets becomes unmanageable.

I am using Boneshatter Titan build, it is excellent. Works amazingly well. Currently, I'm in T5 maps, but it works for lower levels and Cruel content just as well.

In order to not damage packs of mobs too much, I use Earthquake with a huge area of effect, out of 10-20 mobs 50%-90% of them will be primed for Heavy Stun. When the mob level is too high for Earthquake, I put down an Ancestral Totem with Leaps, and it creates lots of prime targets after one jump.

Agreed that the Titan ascendancy skill which makes Boneshatter useless is an issue that needs to be resolved somehow.

Supports for Boneshatter are Devastate, Armour Explosion, Impact Shockwave and Magnified Effect.

And for Earthquake, I use Heft, Life Thief, Ruthless, and Despoiler.

Herald of Hash probably also helps with the huge explosions. And all the Area of Effect stacking.

During leveling, I was able to get primed for stuns using just Leap Slams, and there was no issue with landing in the middle of a large pack. In maps it doesn't work for me no more, so had to switch to Earthquake. At the moment Leap Slam has Holy Descent, Overpower, Splinter and Demolisher as supports.

"

Scorned#6104 wrote:

(...) the early game, despite Boneshatter potentially being the 2nd skill a new player ever receives. PoE heavily rewards leaning into synergies and stacking multipliers, so a skill that specifically punishes you for doing that with Stun is actively teaching bad lessons about the game's fundamentals.

This is another way of saying what I was trying to express earlier about the two styles of a stun build and Boneshatter mechanics are antithetical. It's implicitly teaching new players bad lessons.

"

This is Early Access; now is the time to provide feedback on what feels good and what doesn't.

/nod

"

Separately, the "Primed for Stagger" visual indicator could use some improvement. It takes a moment to manifest, it can be obscured by visual effects like Infernal Cry or the angle that the target's "head" body part is, and certain enemy dormancy animations can suppress it entirely.

Agreed on all of those points. I didn't even mention how the indicator itself is obscured but it often is.

Bumping this, because i also want to underline that it a fun skill to use, but misses one of the main design goals of PoE 2: Transparency. It is not intuitive to regulate your stun power depending on your enemy level and or buffs and debuffs they get. It is really tiresome. I am juggling 3 different levels of Shield Charge to adjust to the situation and for pinnacle bosses i have to even respec ascendencies otherwise i hit like a wet noodle and stuns take for ages. But when i skill crushing blows, everything gets overstunned.
I hope this mechanic gets changed. Stun should be knocking over enemies by exceeding the stun buildup and this should prime them for boneshatter heavy stunning. Everything else is simply not intuitive and awkward to use.