My LM Skills Wishlist for the new patch

[beldevoch]

Here are a list of the changes I would like to see to the LM skills set in the coming update. I tried to keep the class balanced, while at the same time adjusting things I thought needed tweaking. What do you all think?



Skills

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4) Inner Flame
- This skill is pretty lackluster: long channel time for lousy pay-off, even when it’s fully traited and AoE. The only purpose right now is the threat dump, which is still often to slow to do anything. So, in order to breathe life into this skill, heal roughly 50% more over 10 second channel, with each healing pulse transferring 5% threat.
- Also reduce cool-down to 2 minutes, traitable to 90 seconds. (right now, it’s 3 minutes, traitable to 2)

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8 ) Gust of Wind
- This skill is primarily debuff, since the damage is minimal. However, the debuff is mild at best. Sooooo

- Either make the miss chance 15%, traitable to 25% or 30%.

OR

- Make the debuff stack up to three times. (This will utilize the peculiar combination of long durations (2mins) and short CD (10 seconds)

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8 ) Beacon of Hope
- Sort of a lame healing skill, especially since it’s our only base one. Long induction, killer cooldown and costs moral. Further, this can heal about 1/3 of a persons total moral, but as the characters level it loses a lot of its “umph”. Soooooo

- Make the skill improve more with leveling, so that at level 75, it heals about 50% more than it currently does.

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12) Fire-lore
- A little underpowered, when compared with Wind-Lore and SoP:C Improve to -40% damage and 5% miss chance. Also, of the three main debuff skills (Fire-Lore, Wind-Lore and SoP:C), this is the only one that can’t be sustained 100% of the time. Reduce CD to 30s. To compensate, increase power cost by about 50%.

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14) Cracked Earth
- The root function is important, but not very realistic; it should be an instant effect. If the earth cracks underneath me, I’m not going to walk around un-phased and then suddenly be stuck to the ground. So, proposed changes: Instead of root, gives 5 targets the slow debuff from BE (So the slows don’t stack) for 20-30 seconds.

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16) Power of knowledge
- Not really useful later game, when power pools are huge. If uninterrupted, this skill should drain roughly a third of the amount of the LM’s power pool. (For example, if the LM has 6000 power, this skill should drain around 2000)
- 16s channel does murder to our DPS. Like inner flame, lower channel time to 10s.

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22) Share the Power
- In the past, this was effected by healing bonuses. Bring that back
- To avoid OP, add a cooldown of 6 seconds. (This will also take some pressure off us from other players. We’re not energizer bunnies people!)

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29) Non-combat pet skills
- Add some more, and let us summon more than one, like maybe five . Also, sometimes they are hard to select in order to dismiss them. Make it so we can dismiss all with one click (like the dismount button that appears when we are riding)

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32) Back from the Brink
- Can’t they beef this a bit? Right now it’s the worst rez…

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32) Sign of Power: Vigilance
- Make the potency increase with leveling (like, +1 stealth detection every 15 levels, making +5 at level 75)

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36) Herb-lore
- Lower cooldown to 90 seconds, to compensate for changes in Cracked Earth. Costs a ton, so still not really a spammable skill

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40) Frost Lore
- Have it naturally increase induction time of spells by 20% (instead of with traiting). Right now, pretty much too situational to be useful skill … When do we really use it? So let’s sweeten the pot.

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44) Air-lore
- Sort of pointless. Reflect is minimal, and mitigation is 1% of the time? Make mitigation 100%, and instead increase the potency with traiting. (At level 75, my mitigation is like 20, so hardly overpowered when MOBs deal upwards of 150 damage per blow.)
- To compensate, increase power cost by 50%

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60) Sticky Gourd
- Make un-traited slightly better. It should have a DoT anyway, just not AoE. After all, you’re throwing a gourd filled with fluid that ignites. It’s bound to stick on someone

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64) Continual Air Lore
- To compensate for increased effectiveness listed above, make upkeep around 8 power per second.

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74) Improved Burning Embers
- Add the DoT duration to 15 seconds. Right now, un-legacied, the DoT won’t last long enough to have more than 2 embers ticking.

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Suggested Skills

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76) Improved Beacon of Hope
- Adds a HoT, which heals for roughly 70% more over 12 seconds
- Huge buff, I know, but we need something with a bit more “umph” for healing. Note that this is not a second spell, so the long cooldown and high morale cost still hurt us

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78) Sign of the Wild: Agility
- Increases pet’s movement speed by 5% and lowers skill cooldown by 10%

OR

78) Improved Sign of the Wild: Protection
- Now also improves Block and Parry ratings

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80) Fury of the Anduin (Hat tip to PsychobabbleJJ for this skill. This is basically a tweaked version, but the idea was his. See: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p…n=1&sp_login=1)

- Max Targets 6; Frost damage; 5 min cooldown.
- Sends forth waves of water against an area; 6 waves 1 second apart, each wave dealing as much damage as Gust of Wind (roughly). Each wave has a 30% chance to daze for 15 seconds, unbreakable for 6 seconds. (So the skill can’t break its own daze)
- Also adds a chilling effect, like lowering movement speed by 30% and increasing attack duration by 25%.
- Other effects can include putting out all fires, making this and ISG not possible together.

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82) Sign of Power: Fortitude
- Dispels fear and protects from fear for 30 seconds
- Roughly the same cool down and induction stats as SoP: Righteousness

OR
82) Improved Sign of Power: Fortitude

- Now also removes fear

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84) Improved Ancient Wisdom passive
- Increases Will by [1.5 x level]

OR

84) Improved LotRD

- Blinds target, giving a 15% chance to miss for 15 seconds. (We hit them with a beam of light so strong, it stuns them. It should have some residual effects :P)

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All this is part of a permanent journal entry I have here, should you have nothing better to do with your time:
http://my.lotro.com/user-1859746/201...e-next-update/

[Sanve]

Isn't the gameplay already easy enough? Even the LM is not that tough to play, but at least, he requires a little bit of tactics, planning and a certain cautious playing style. If the changes you suggest, would be implemented, it will even get easier.

I don't think, healing abilities should be increased, LM is not a healer. And why would you want to give up a root (Cracked Earth) as a crowd control class? Also rezzing should be something unusual, not every class should be able to do it. The LM can bring a character back to life virtually from the brink of death; I think it adds a certain level of reality to the game.

But obviously there are players, who want a class that has instant rezz, high damage, healing others for 50%, CC and Debuff.

[djheydt]

32) Back from the Brink
- Can’t they beef this a bit? Right now it’s the worst rez…

Holy Valar. At first LMs didn't have a rez at all. Then we had to carry around Shire Sweet-leaf in order to use it.

I wish we had a couple more heals, but I don't think we're likely to get them any time soon.

(And where I'd put them on my crowded skillbars if I had them, I'm sure I don't know.)

[Notaforumguy007]

why not just ask for god mode, i mean if i want to be pick the worst thing its the river thing hits 6 times for a fair amount of damage with a slow and a chance to stun for 15 sec which would make it the longest stun in the game, I say stun because the fundamental difference between stuns and dazes is that dazes break so asking for it not to break makes it a stun. Not to mention its aoe, on another note theres a reason why fire-lore isn't as strong as wind-lore its because melees have to cover distance to do damage so letting you be able to lower their damage considerably... I'd say alot of these changes are pretty much taken from the perspective of wanting to be more awesome without any respect to balance between classes or pvmp.

I'd say LMs are pretty good they have a bunch of CC and debuffs, along with a CC block. If anything they need a few straight damage skills with no stuns or debuffs since it'll give them something to use other then burning embers when the other skills are on CD, or when you're waiting out diminishing return, no debuffs because they already have enough to hamper their opponent pretty good.

[Graycient]

14) Cracked Earth
- The root function is important, but not very realistic; it should be an instant effect. If the earth cracks underneath me, I’m not going to walk around un-phased and then suddenly be stuck to the ground. So, proposed changes: Instead of root, gives 5 targets the slow debuff from BE (So the slows don’t stack) for 20-30 seconds.

I think cracked earth should slow -10% as if roots are growing on your feet until it roots you.

64) Continual Air Lore
- To compensate for increased effectiveness listed above, make upkeep around 8 power per second.

I think Air-Lore should just reflect a little bit more damage (would be more useful in Raids when on the Tank, if you know what I mean...)

Interesting wish-list. Some of them sound too close to "God Mode", but, I do agree with a few.

[dragerslayer]

very much OP but good intentions, healing needs buff CC needs to be refocused buffing aswell, frost DPs is ever good

[pinkfae]

Holy Valar. At first LMs didn't have a rez at all. Then we had to carry around Shire Sweet-leaf in order to use it.

I wish we had a couple more heals, but I don't think we're likely to get them any time soon.

(And where I'd put them on my crowded skillbars if I had them, I'm sure I don't know.)

very much OP but good intentions, healing needs buff CC needs to be refocused buffing aswell, frost DPs is ever good

I agree with you both very over powered. I can remember the lore-master being on of the toughest classes to play, but it got easier when Moria came out and then easier and easier with each update. Yet, that's true with other classes as well. I should roll a new LM and just see what it is like leveling one from the start again.

I would like to see some more non-combat pets, maybe a different look for the same pet like we do with combat pets. Heck, they could put this a LOTRO Store exclusive and no one would be complaining about it, since it is cosmetic and not gaming changing.

If they do beef up anything it should be what makes a lore-master different then other classes: the ability to crowd control, debuffing and sharing power. I would love to see an AoE power over time skill similar to what captains can do with healing. It could also be on boss defeats with a longer cool down and very low pot (power over time) maybe in tune with the Inner Flame as it is set up now.

[djheydt]

...I would like to see some more non-combat pets, maybe a different look for the same pet like we do with combat pets. Heck, they could put this a LOTRO Store exclusive and no one would be complaining about it, since it is cosmetic and not gaming changing.

Except, as I may have said already on this thread (I've said it a lot elsethread), the more pets in a given area, the more lag. Similarly, the more player characters in a given area, the more lag ... but that, we just have to live with.

If they do beef up anything it should be what makes a lore-master different then other classes: the ability to crowd control, debuffing and sharing power.

And yet somebody was saying yesterday ... I just skimmed back over this thread and didn't see it, so it must've been somewhere else ... that Share the Power was unnecessary once you got out of the lowest levels. I don't have much grouping experience; mostly I duo with one of whh's Hunters. They almost never need a power buff; what they need is an occasional heal. (If they need a LOT of heals, I bring in my Minstrel instead of my LM. )

I would love to see an AoE power over time skill similar to what captains can do with healing. It could also be on boss defeats with a longer cool down and very low pot (power over time) maybe in tune with the Inner Flame as it is set up now.

In situations where repeated power buffs are needed -- which, as I said, I don't see while duoing -- a cooldown time a lot shorter than one minute for Power of Knowledge might solve the problem. After all, if people are fighting, there's something there for them to fight, and therefore, to drain.

Now, the LM's ability to re-power his fellows is limited not by the characterstics of Share the Power -- I just looked at my skillbar and I didn't even see a cooldown time for Share the Power -- but by the LM's own Power resources, which can be restored over time (food helps), or by taking a Celebrant potion, or by draining the nearest Power-ful mob. A thirty- or fifteen-second cooldown for PoK would provide a rich opportunity for recharging early and often.

[pinkfae]

Except, as I may have said already on this thread (I've said it a lot elsethread), the more pets in a given area, the more lag. Similarly, the more player characters in a given area, the more lag ... but that, we just have to live with.

I wasn't talking about the ability to summon more then one pet at a time, but rather the availability of more non-combat pets that could be summoned.

And yet somebody was saying yesterday ... I just skimmed back over this thread and didn't see it, so it must've been somewhere else ... that Share the Power was unnecessary once you got out of the lowest levels. I don't have much grouping experience; mostly I duo with one of whh's Hunters. They almost never need a power buff; what they need is an occasional heal. (If they need a LOT of heals, I bring in my Minstrel instead of my LM. )

I use my Share the Power skill mostly in long boss battles. If Turbine took this away I would be upset. This is one of the things lore-masters were originally able to do that other classes were not. The reason why hunters don't have to have power shared with them is due to a change that I believe made them a little too over powered.

Yet, with that thought aside, I can understand why in many situations (like not fighting a boss or just playing with someone that can either manage power or has an ability to regain it for example) it is neccessary.

In situations where repeated power buffs are needed -- which, as I said, I don't see while duoing -- a cooldown time a lot shorter than one minute for Power of Knowledge might solve the problem. After all, if people are fighting, there's something there for them to fight, and therefore, to drain.

I would disagree with shorting the cooldown of Power of Knowledge skill. I believe that would make the LM a little too over powered. Rather just give the lore-master a different way to recover power, like an AoE skill and make it over time since the Share the Power is a single target skill and instant recovery.

[Celt_Ainvar]

I think the pet idea would be userless if they dont have anything to do with Combat. So /not Sign on that one. People would complain about lag and such.

[Maxal]

I agree these update would make even a bad LM a GOD! Way too much increases of everything that a LM does.