Heh hemm...
In case anyone's curious, I did give Michi an apology. :P
It seems I snapped at him a little soon, but like I said, I had no idea what he had in store (if anything) for us.
Well, luckily, he did have some nice presents in store. There are a few bugs to iron out, but we are making a good solid step in the right direction for a change.
In case you somehow missed the mammoth-sized patch notes, here they are again.
Nano Technician
Increased the min damage on Garuk's nuke
A certain lunatic is in possession of a particular protective nano formula
Nanodecks have a 28m range
SL nukes all have a 2/1 attack/recharge; some costs were reduced
Lowered the AI requirement for AI DoTs; removed the AI Level requirement to assemble the programs
Nanobot Guard will reduce the nano of the NT to 0 upon ending; if the NT has a Nanobot Shelter nano, it will be cast at the end of Nanobot Guard
Offensive/Defensive focus will last for 2 minutes
Nano Heal is now a team nano heal perk, with a 30 second recharge
Tap Notum source no longer cares if the NT is in the Shadowlands
Flim Focus will provide a pre-defined amount of Nano Initiative, based on the amount of invested perks
Program Overload will provide a 25% damage increase
Enhanced Nano Damage will offer slightly greater increases to damage
Delayed nukes no longer have a capped casting time
Izgimmer's Wealth has a 90 second recharge
Absorb Shields have a 2s recharge with a 5s cooldown
Nano Reist debuffing nukes have had their casting cap removed, with an 8-second cooldown
Added nano "Izgimmer's Blessing," +180 Matter Creation
Nullity Sphere should allow for slightly more mobility
Blinds will only reduce AAO; Optic Plague will not have a cooldown on the target
Overall, a solid QoL improvement that we can definitely all appreciate.
Let's break this down.
The good:
More damage in all forms. I'd nudge our damage up from poor to good now, on my own personal damage rating scale.
Nanobot Guard has been tweaked as we requested.
The delayed nukes actually look almost worth using. I want to explore this idea more...
AI DoT's are easier to use.
NR debuffs are less intrusive to use.
Obviously more, but those are the highlights.
The bad:
Offensive / Defensive focus still exist, but... I think we can make the best of it by exploring other options to make it more relevant. It kind of isn't currently, but I think there are little tweaks that can make it make more sense.
The Ugly:
(these are just bugs really)
Nanobot Guard doesn't have a casting animation.
The Looping Service absorb proc overwrites even Superior Fleeting Immunity. I don't know if it can be an *additional* absorb in its own nanoline, but it's obviously not intended to do that.
Izgimmer's Tactical Nuke does not display as nano damage in the combat window. I mean, it doesn't show "You hit Leet with nanobots for over-9000 points of some-kind-of damage"
Superior Fleeting Immunity's recharge was not included in the line cooldown change. It is still 4.6ish seconds.
So, finally we have things pushing us to a positive position to where NT's are currently on live. I'm still playing around on test, but I can say for the first time in a very long time, it felt good to play NT. I'm so used to complete disappointment and frustration. This was good. Definitely a good step in the right direction, but there's still more loose ends to tie up.
In terms of loose ends, I mean my 220's will be happier which is top priority, but lower levels are still in a pretty rough spot. Froobs have gotten nothing so far, and in regards to that, Rubi Ka nukes are still a huge mess. Most of them just need to go, or something... I personally haven't looked too closely at them all yet.
I would like to explore the idea of Offensive / Defensive focus a little more in the future, also. If we have a few more options in Offensive focus, it will make more sense (hinting toward true glass cannon maybe?) However, I think we could make a few fair trades, since a glass cannon should be a near suicidal approach to playing.
Trades I'm thinking would be losing primarily Dark Movement. As NT's, we don't really evade anything, but if we had a little bump in that area to get another miss here and there, it would be helpful to more well define "Defensive Focus" Adding a few points of evades to the Defensive Focus debuff would be nice. But, if you want to be Offensive, you should be hit more by design, so Dark Movement should be terminated along with the inability to use NS2. However, Offensive Focus should make you hit harder and faster. Why not add a bit more damage and nano init to the Offensive Focus debuff? Although I wasn't a huge fan of the delay nukes at first, it seems like a good concept that can adapt in the future. Maybe other sorts of nukes that work similarly could more well define Offensive Focus, and give it a real purpose. Just another random thought of mine...
Like I said, I'm still playing around on test, but things do appear to be finally moving in a positive direction. It's been a while since we could say that, and I'm quite glad I can.
Last, but certainly not least, a big thanks to Michi for his hard work. I think I speak for everyone when I say we really appreciate finally getting some of the love and attention we've so badly needed.