Hello, my name is Tadeshi, but most people know me as Alice or Lacie back from Killian days.
I've been playing since 2015, back then maining sorc, mostly pve, but I always had an interest in pvp.
Then I became a devoted simp for 3v3 and the mystic class, around mid/late of 2016.
Yes, I am a filthy patch mystic player. I started doing pvp "seriously" on mystic when the mystic rework went live, I believe around September or October of 2016 (late vm6 patch? Brawler was already released back then).
Then I started doing 3v3 and became a filthy toxic elitist fan of said battleground.
I regretted not playing the BG earlier more, as I did a few on sorc before, but you can imagine the results as a pve player.
Then as a game evolved more and more into the pve area, the more the pvp scene suffered in various ways.
So when will I get to the actual topic of the thread?
Well, as much as I don't want to admit it, a pvp-oriented "classic" server will never really happen officially anymore.
The game is dead, and so is it's community - especially the pvp side.
I talked recently to a few pvp players on the server, and I asked them what patch would they find most ideal for a pvp server:
- None of them said vm5 (33.08 - Go Berserk)!!
- None of them would want lvl 60 classic either, as it's residentsleeper and boring.
- Some said Conflate patch.
- Some even said Stormcry patch was their most ideal time for pvp.
- Some said vm6, post Brawler release.
Now let me convince all of you why they're wrong and why 33.08 is the most ideal *BASE* for a pvp-oriented server:
- Honestly, it could be Fate of Arun - lvl 65 extension, vm4 (Patch 29.3) by itself, but for the sake of Berserkers I thought the Dstance would be a blessing, and I'm not even a berserker player.
- With that said, maybe they could just add Dstance files to vm4, and then they wouldn't have to bother with deleting Gunner either.
- Yes Gunner was introduced one patch before 33.08, and that's when the worst changes started to occur.
- Gunner is a class that cannot be reworked in a way that wouldn't break the "meta" of vm5 -> 18m(+-?) kd, healing robot pet, tanky as a lancer, dmg of a sorc, BALDERS. Nope.
- "But Tadeshi, you donkey, noone cares about fair PVP and everyone only wants to play the broken classes!" - Yes you're absolutely right. I can't do anything about those people. Especially since they know that their "favourite" OP classes exist in the future, of course they'd want them in. But this is not about what they want, this is about what I want. And what I want is balance.
- "But Tadeshi, you donkey, vm5 was far from balanced even if there's no Gunner! Like what about Reaper!" - Yes, you're absolutely right. Which is why I said *BASE* for pvp-oriented server. Adjustements to most, if not all, classes would probably need to be done. However, vm4/5 balance patch is where I think the game could be probably most enjoyed for all pvp players: not too slow, but not the ADHD induced diarrhea that the game became pvp-wise far into when I quit (early 2019, before lvl 70 cap).
- "But Tadeshi, you donkey, the community will never come to an agreement on what should be changed or left as it is!" - Yes, you're absolutely right. Which is why only a few key-changes should be made, by the suggestion of a very few, selected pvp players, who know what they're talking about. Does that include me? P-probably.
- "But Tadeshi, you donkey, you said yourself you started pvp in late 2016! How can you say all of this with outmost confidence!?" - Yes, you're absolutely right. But I did a lot of 3v3 on the GF event classic server, as well as doing pvp on a vm5 ****** server. I gained quite a lot of insight and experience.
- Things I deem necessary to change for vm4/5:
- Fix stun durations and resists. (Make lancer leash 100% to leash when hit, please, they were always suffering with the leash resists) (Also vm5 patch is notorious for random stun durations, for example on Mystic Shara's Lash. Fix the rng of that.)
- Nerf Sorcerer Nerve of Exhaustion (silence effect goes away on hit) and Lightning Trap duration. (6s -> 4s)
- Probably increased cooldown on Warp Barrier for Sorcerer? By a few seconds only.
- Nerf Fear of Confusion on Mystic. (Instant cast -> 1s cast?)
- Buff Arun's Tear Mana restore for Mystic. (250Mp COST can stay but BUFF the 639Mp RESTORE to either % baed or a fixed 1000-1200 Mp)
- Nerf Staggering Strike on Berserker. (This was deemed busted back in the day, afaik 30% reset chance and 3s stun duration? Change it to whatever it was changed to on later patch - need the insight of Berserkers here.)
- Reaper needs some major rework but it's doable. Since Reaper was introduced in vm2 afaik, the vm4 patch helped some of the balance issues probably, as later patches always do, which is why I said Gunner cannot be reworked to non-stupid for vm5 patch. In later patches, Gunner eventually became rather weak because every other class in comparison got a buff or a rework that made them overshadow Gunner. Same goes for Brawler and so on.
- Some Reaper rework suggestions I have for vm4/5 standards: Remove stagger from Double Shear, decrease damage a little bit on Whipsaw and delete the first hit of Whipsaw (or just remove the stagger on it), decrease the radius (to 2m) and the dmg a little bit of Shadow Burst - the skill gives anti-kd to the reaper and it kds everyone in the radius! should NOT be a major damaging skill! And lastly, delete their 2nd life passive altogether.
- I'm not sure about other classes, Priest seems fine, Slayer and Archer is OK? People would argue with me on that... Warrior is okay too I think. I'm sure more people would have more insight on these matters. I only can say from what classes I played as (mystic main, priest alt, sorc alt) and what I experienced playing against a lot in 3v3.
- "But Tadeshi, you donkey, your suggestions seem so random! We'd want more radical changes, such as Corruption Ring buff for Mystic! That class can't survive! Iframe on Breakaway Bolt for Archer as well as buffed Thunderbolt! Why nerf Reaper to the ground? Should add the cooldown reset buff on Shadow Reaping for Reaper as well as Sundering Strike chaining from Death Spiral! Make Adrenaline Rush a team buff!" - Look, I can't argue with the masses, but I know what I'm talking about for the most part, and if a change seems too good or too bad, it can always be reverted.
- So what else 33.08 has to offer?
- The introduction of Gridiron (boo, I know).
- Tensus gear still only has a maximum of 2x cdr roll. That means kdchain classes can actually fulfill their roles as kdchain-based classes, as well as no 20s Guardian's Sanctuary with 10s uptime (same for Kaia's Shield).
- Crusade and Skycastles were introduced between Fate of Arun (29.03) and Go Berserk (33.08) patch, in February of 2015.
- Though I think tier III Etchings are far into the game by this point, can just remove them and make tier II etchings the highest, as to not break the game too much.
- Dyads same (or can keep them?)
- Also, since no reworked/revamped or new classes, that means fps will be mostly stable for most people. Tera optimisation is bad, but the flashy new skills of the flashy new classes only made it worse. Though this is only a personal dilemma.
33.08 would be I think the epitome of fun for honest pvpers who want a fair fight because:
- No new classes (besides reaper)
- No 3x cdr
- No Mystic standing 30m away, healing and cleansing allies with additional permanent power and aspeed buff from the crit aura.
- No Valkyrie's doing better Giga's than Lancers.
- No buggy knockup mechanics thanks to no Gunner, no Brawler, no Ninja, no Valkyrie! That means Priests who Arise don't have to feel bad for making their teammates stuck in one place.
- No class oneshotting you from max HP, in a same-gear situation. (probably? I think so?)
- Lancers actually relevant still, especially if Leash isn't resisted unless Tenacity or Guardian Sanctuary (or other shenanigans like that).
- Mystics can actually still CC-chain.
- Priest actually has to rebuff multiple things if the team gets plague'd/regressed - bigger punishment for not dodging or getting caught off-guard. Difference between a decent and a good priest - how fast can they rebuff or how well can they manage their mana - among other things.
- Priest-Lancer-Sorc memes for team 3v3.
- Believe it or not, all classes requiring some minimal skill to be relevant or decent at.
- I'm not a Fraywind enthusiast or genius, but I assume it would be more fun without Balders and all them meme classes. Same with open world PVP and GVGs.
- Speaking of which maybe even Slayers and Warriors can still make a difference in FW.
- Oh yeah Alliance existed too this patch...
- OG Kumasylum - for the memes.
And with all that said, a server like this will never happen, and even if a pvp-oriented server would happen, it won't be this patch, because it's not what most people want or would make the most money, to which I can't blame anyone really.
Cheers.
