Game Mechanics: Channeling is broken

[compulsion]

Not contributing any "classic" input since r99 is only remotely classic, but as far as server history goes...

During red beta, you could literally channel through 50+ hits nearly every time. If you remember all of Lovely's screenshots of channeling ice comets through 2+ mobs and melee damage, etc. As a fix, we got the custom code where it was 5%(?) less chance to channel per melee hit, and the channeling chances were really good through classic and early Kunark.

The better haste and better weapons for melees later in Kunark really compounded the melee hit ratio problem, and the flat 5% could probably have been adjusted down slightly to keep balance, except...

Some months ago there was some sort of adjustment made to channeling chances for both servers, and I believe that it compounded with reds custom code to significantly decrease our channeling rates. Casting root with a level 55 I was getting interrupted 50% of the time from 2-3 melee hits. I was interrupted very often by only 1 hit, and if I took more, 5-7, I would almost never channel.

If the old code was a flat 90% chance to channel, no matter how many hits were taken like it seemed to be in red beta, and it was dropped to a flat 60% chance(or calculations were adjusted to put it in a similar range), our chances on red would be ~45% after 3 hits currently, where it used to be ~75%. When you consider that melees on red hit 90% or more of the time, your odds of channeling a 3-4.5 second spell are low to non existent.

As an example, a few weeks ago when I was running around on a 56 epic rogue and found a solo cleric(epic'd and near full EM), he only channeled 1 of 3 remedies and died when my backstab recycled. Similarly on a druid, I ran to a corner with DS up to out heal the damage of a dual wielding ranger and instead had to zone and cheetah since I couldn't channel even 1 sup heal. As someone who usually mains a caster, having played that rogue, I have absolutely zero desire to play a(higher level and better geared) caster for PvP.

[Smedy]

Originally Posted by compulsion [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Not contributing any "classic" input since r99 is only remotely classic, but as far as server history goes...

During red beta, you could literally channel through 50+ hits nearly every time. If you remember all of Lovely's screenshots of channeling ice comets through 2+ mobs and melee damage, etc. As a fix, we got the custom code where it was 5%(?) less chance to channel per melee hit, and the channeling chances were really good through classic and early Kunark.

The better haste and better weapons for melees later in Kunark really compounded the melee hit ratio problem, and the flat 5% could probably have been adjusted down slightly to keep balance, except...

Some months ago there was some sort of adjustment made to channeling chances for both servers, and I believe that it compounded with reds custom code to significantly decrease our channeling rates. Casting root with a level 55 I was getting interrupted 50% of the time from 2-3 melee hits. I was interrupted very often by only 1 hit, and if I took more, 5-7, I would almost never channel.

If the old code was a flat 90% chance to channel, no matter how many hits were taken like it seemed to be in red beta, and it was dropped to a flat 60% chance(or calculations were adjusted to put it in a similar range), our chances on red would be ~45% after 3 hits currently, where it used to be ~75%. When you consider that melees on red hit 90% or more of the time, your odds of channeling a 3-4.5 second spell are low to non existent.

As an example, a few weeks ago when I was running around on a 56 epic rogue and found a solo cleric(epic'd and near full EM), he only channeled 1 of 3 remedies and died when my backstab recycled. Similarly on a druid, I ran to a corner with DS up to out heal the damage of a dual wielding ranger and instead had to zone and cheetah since I couldn't channel even 1 sup heal. As someone who usually mains a caster, having played that rogue, I have absolutely zero desire to play a(higher level and better geared) caster for PvP.

yep that's exactly it, the 5% needs to be removed, it was a quick fix early on but right now it's more or less fucking casters hard who are already gonna have a struggle vs the gear coming in velious.

[derpcake]

Originally Posted by Smedy [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

yep that's exactly it, the 5% needs to be removed, it was a quick fix early on but right now it's more or less fucking casters hard who are already gonna have a struggle vs the gear coming in velious.

Have to agree.

Situation being what it is, when BD gear comes out, casters are going to be worthless when it comes to doing damage in pvp. People sitting on stacks of blue diamonds isn't going to help that either.

[Nirgon]

Originally Posted by Mac Drettj [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Meaning a lvl 8 spell has a better chance of landing AND successfully channeling versus say a level 40 spell of the same type?

Landing yes, channeling not sure.

No idea where I'd even be able to find evidence for that... but its the only thing I can come up with that explains why.

Chance to channel a spell in pvp is brutally close to classic, maybe a little too much on the chance to interrupt side but... its dayum close.

[compulsion]

Originally Posted by Nirgon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Chance to channel a spell in pvp is brutally close to classic, maybe a little too much on the chance to interrupt side but... its dayum close.

Not even remotely close. On live I could rely on gate channeling even if I got caught by a rogue or monk. On here I have to juke and dodge just to channel one against a Paladin. On live I never had a problem keeping my shaman up with sheal; overall geared shaman and clerics were tough as hell to bring down. On here they can be pushed defensive or locked down by a single melee and YT'd in a few seconds when they get trained.

The differences are the most obvious in PvE, where stuff that I camped easily on live can be really tricky on here when one mob does 60% of my health when 1-2 melee hits interrupts 2-3 root attempts in a row.

There is a reason that monks, rogues, and warriors are wildly over represented on this server while guilds have to search for active wizards and druids(the top killers on SZ). Velious is only going to make this worse.

[derpcake]

Given the high hit rates for melee classes and the extremely large hitboxes R99 has, it seems logical that channeling is better then on classic also.