Developer's Diary – Captain Updates by OnnMacMahal

[Atonu]

I have seen many people say they don't like Heralds.

Well since they already replied that they'll get buffed, it'd be weird to remove them.

[ryanlotro12]

One thing I've always thought would be interesting for BoE is to apply stacks of a 'corruption' on the target (hear me out here). Let's call it 'evil revealed'.

BoE's signature is that it's meant to provide a large amount of teammates with the ability to do a small amount of light damage, sort of like a mini 'flash of light' from brawler. Issue being, it's quite an insubstantial amount of damage in both solo and barely much in a group and is RNG heavy if it procs or not.

On removal the debuff would apply light damage to the target and possibly even heal (or maybe a power heal? ) allies/whomever removed it. Having it apply as a debuff that could be purged would:

1) Give more meaning to your own purge corruption skills (corruption mechanics are often an all-or-nothing, being present as a heavy mechanic or absent altogether. This could give them a more consistent (and completely optional) presence throughout lotro.

2) It's nice flavour, using light to reveal an enemies weakness and allowing teammates or yourself to strike.

3) It removes the RNG component, allows BoE procs to have higher base damage, and also incentivizes other classes to use their purge corruption skills when they normally wouldn't. I know corruption removal is being shifted more towards being a resource (e.g less uptime, higher CD/uses class resource) and this would fit in with that motion nicely.

Just my two cents for an option for its direction. (I understand there could be flaws concerning opponents who already have corruptions on them and you'd essentially be delaying the removal of more important corruptions, in which case maybe the removal of the debuff causes removal of another corruption? Or perhaps it just has a lower corruption 'priority', so it's always removed last? There'd need to be some workaround for this.)

Absolutely love this idea, like teeing up an enemy for your ally to combo. (or you can combo it yourself as a solo player)

[ryanlotro12]

I prefer swords and spears to other types of weapons, they just look better in my opinion. I do not care about thier bonues at all.

Spears in this game need help. (animations)

Your character looks ridiculous using the same exact animation they use for attacks with a one handed sword.
I think a lot of people agree that they look the coolest, but as a solo player, I like to watch my character fight, and it completely takes me out of it seeing them swing it around like its a sword.


Guardians and Captains deserve unique animations when using spear+shield just like the Warden has.

[Aeviternus]

No, Shield of the Dunedain is still an ally-only targeted skill. The identity of the skill is that you're able to use it to save an ally, and the reason it's shifting over to blue-line is that healing captains should be able to use it to save their tank. If you, the healer, need saving, you'll just have to rely on other defensive and healing abilities (Time of Need+RC, Gallant Display, MC, Gift of Spirit, etc).

Whilst I agree with your general sentiment that Shield of the Dúnedain should be useable on allies only, it is important to place the captain's toolkit in perspective. Before trait trees (i.e. lvl 95, update 12), captains had access to:

• Last Stand
• 70% mitigations
• In Harm's Way
• Shield of the Dúnedain

These synergise well with the playstyle: a frontline healer should be tanky, and an ability like In Harm's Way should be coupled with an ability like Last Stand, if it is to have any hope of being useful in practice. Particularly in pvp, the idea was that captains were so tanky that it would be better to focus their party members, and this is where the synergy with Shield of the Dúnedain comes in.

Now, I would not claim that the game should be balanced around pvp. The point is that the class has lost what made it tanky: mitigations are lower, and Last Stand is not baseline any longer (along with other changes of course). Our biggest healing cd (Reform the Lines) does not actually heal us; only our allies. So we have no real way to ensure our own survival, and yet we have access to tools like In Harms Way and (soon) Shield of the Dúnedain. These are nice to have, but they no longer synergise with the rest of the toolkit we have. Sure, Shield of the Dúnedain is a good ability to have as a healer no matter what. But again taking the example of pvp: what is to dissuade the opposition from simply targetting the captain, rendering Shield of the Dúnedain useless?

I think these types of scenarios prompt people to request that Shield of the Dúnedain be made useable on oneself, or Words of Courage, or that Last Stand be made baseline. Hopefully you will consider addressing this in some way.

[tansquare]

Absolutely love this idea, like teeing up an enemy for your ally to combo. (or you can combo it yourself as a solo player)

Thank you for the encouragement! I'm a huge fan of the corruption mechanic being explored just a little bit more (aside from things like reflect stacking). Of all the classes that could 'reveal' the inherent corruptions from foes using light damage, captain feels the most eligible. Not only flavour-wise, but as you say, it'd be a 'set-up' which also fits captain nicely.

I'm excited that corruption removal uptime is being monitored closely, so I figured adding a theoretical way to encourage more consistent engagement with it would be fun. Also, good point with solo play, captain has always integrated cleanse into rotations thanks to their longer skill CDs so if cleanse corruption is getting lengthened, BoE getting this effect could heartily assist in solo play and fill that old role.

There's plenty more things you could theorize to occur from the removal of a BoE corruption specifically but my biggest wish is that each class gets a bit of extra incentive when they actually remove a corruption using their respective skill, (whether that be an immediate return or a short-term buff). It'd ALSO be really fun if the captain could enable that ability too (by being the class to apply a corruption), giving others like a miniature 'Call to Greatness' from minstrel. Things like Beorning's "Turn the tides" for example. Nothing game-breaking, but just a little thing if you successfully remove one:

- Beorning; Nature's vengenace: current effect from "Turn the tides" if specced, but also +10 wrath

- Brawler; Helm's Hammer: a free "hasten powerful techniques" but only for 6-8 seconds, stacking if specced.

- Burglar; Purge corruption, Startling twist: +3% crit chance for 5 seconds

- Captain; Cleanse corruption: 3% morale aoe heal

- Champion; Feral Strikes: -3% attack duration for 5 seconds

- Guardian; Sting: (Sting already does loads, maybe just give it a basekit chance (~25%?) for a block/parry response on removal, and have the current Relentless assault trait up to current 25% on general use, removal or no?).

- Hunter; Improved dazing blow, Blood arrow: +3% damage for 5 seconds

- Lore-Master; Dispel corruption: 5-10% power aoe heal and personal small tactical mastery buff for 5 seconds

- Minstrel; Piercing Cry, Cry of the Valar, Dissonant Strike: -8% skill inductions for 5 seconds

- Rune-keeper; Improved final word, Speak no evil: next attunement skill use receives +1 of that direction (eg writ of health would do 3 green, ridicule would do 2 red) expires when used/out of combat for a few seconds. No stacking.

- Warden; Reversal: Next DoT or HoT has +1 pulse, expires when used/out of combat for a few seconds. No stacking.

On the other hand, I understand the side of "corruptions are meant to always be deficits, so their removal should be the benefit and for consistency's sake should only ever be applied by enemies", but this just seems fun and could get people clicking their removal skills.

[ryanlotro12]

Our biggest healing cd (Reform the Lines) does not actually heal us; only our allies. So we have no real way to ensure our own survival, and yet we have access to tools like In Harms Way

.

Did they change that? or has it always only healed allies. In that case, I agree that Last Stand should go back to baseline captain.

[Aeviternus]

Did they change that? or has it always only healed allies. In that case, I agree that Last Stand should go back to baseline captain.

This has always been the case. In fact it used to be worse for a long time: Reform the Lines used to cost 30% of the captain's maximum health.

[OverlordGate]

So without really following the discussions here before the update I just tried some specs:

- The Master of War Crit Chance for me and my Brother after Using Inspire is displayed with 25% in the tooltip of the trait. The changelogs say it should be a 50% Crit buff
- When choosing the red line and traiting all the way down in blue to the Word of Courage Self Heal Option I encountered a bug: When using Stand alone, Words of Courage wont change to Courageous Heart and neither is it useable on myself. It is useable on myself when I leave Stand Alone stance but Courageous Heart is just not existent when traiting this self heal option. I don´t think thats intended. To allow both, I would really like to see the effects of Courageous Heart on Muster Courage while in the Stand Alone stance.

With the parry buff AND Muster Courage self heal removed I feel like Courageous Heart and Cry of Fury wont make up for it survivability wise