LM Community: Boycott Improved Air-Lore

[Veraci]

As a software designer (different field), I'm constantly looking at the collected usage stats of the applications I manage. If I was on Lotro's design team, I would be looking closely at the usage of the new level 64 level skills. If one skill on these new skills is dramatically underused, I'd be certain to bring it up as a discussion point in the next design meeting.

Proposal
- Do not train the skill, Improved Air-Lore once it is launched with Volume III: Book 1.
- If you read this after you have already trained the skill, remove it from your skill bar and discontinue its use.

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Lore-masters need to unite and make a stand against this clearly underpowered skill. Boycott, Improved Air-Lore!

Be sure to reply with a "/sign" if you plan on boycotting the skill.

[Skullfisher]

/sign

only because I won't waste my money on a useless skill

[LagunaD]

/signed

I haven't trained AKoC either.

If we keep getting equally lame skills, I'll be FILTHY RICH by the time we get to Mordor!

[brasswire12]

/Signed

Just taking an existing buff and making it a toggle is a major disappointment. Turbine has some very talented and creative people working for them, and I expect more than this from them. We don't expect miracles, but we want something that we can at least look forward to, and this ain't that.

[xkatox]

/sign
...........

[cwswim03]

/signed.

I didn't buy AKOC either. Mostly out of laziness but it speaks volumes if I won't even bother to train it. Someone had a good idea, make improved air lore sort of like a mini call to greatness. His ideas were way overpowered, but he was on the right track.

[Chav]

I'm pretty sure that the devs are aware of the usefulness of the skill and generally not as ignorant of the class as some seem to think. In which case, how much the skill is used by players won't change anything.

Also, they seem to be opting for small, incremental changes these days as they attempt to maintain/restore whatever balance is on the agenda, rather than the sweeping changes we've seen in the past (op creeps and CJs withstanding).

So although air-lore does need a generous upgrade and this change really doesn't achieve anything, maybe it's better to maintain a bit of status quo at this point, rather than dropping a potentially OP skill into the mix. LMs aren't too bad right now, after all (except in the moors with no more CC working).

I'll be getting the skill and probably using it more than I have previously; and I think you're all overreacting.

[tjgodbold]

I don't care about this... I just wish they hadn't made diminishing returns in the moors, cjs to go through sop:r, test of will stun shortened, man heal nerfed by 1k, burning embers duration shortened, sop:wizardry duration shortened, sop:v not usable on pets... ****ing nerfs.

I didn't train our disease wound combo skill and I won't train our koa only skill that improves nothing.

[cnrsnl]

/signed

And also WTB the minstrel dev for LM community. Minis seem to get the most useful upgrades among all classes.

[Herellomar]

I'll be getting the improved Air-Lore as soon as I can.

[cwswim03]

I'll be getting the skill and probably using it more than I have previously; and I think you're all overreacting.

It's called character progression. When you don't get it over long periods of time, people think their money is going to waste and leave. Reflect 16 common damage? How could you have missed that wonderful skill?

The only thing it's good for is looking cool before pulls.

[LagunaD]

Reflect 16 common damage?(*)

(*)Terms and conditions may apply.

[Wehex]

didn't I mention this in another thread?

/signed

Lets see how they like our "level 64" skill when the whole community doesn't use it

EDIT: Hey - OP, make sure you add in the fact that if they don't train it, they aren't losing anything, the skill is a downgrade, not an upgrade. Remember, its a 1 minute buff that is basically free, the drain of power is very annoying. Also - we BURST use our power, giving it to other people, so anything that drains our MP for so little a bonus is a problem for our class.

[LooseTheJuice]

/signed

60+ LM skills are both below average...and the average sucks. They're both useless in 97.863%[] of situations.

Give us a break. Good ideas are easy: +1 targets SoP:C, better pet buffs/mitigations, +eagle icpr, another melee skill with a cool animation and debuff (thwack...thwack, thwack)...etc.

/sigh, wish I was a game dev!

I'll not buy, while hoping that others do the same.

[nelar]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the aggro from the reflected damage goes to the person the buff is on. As such, a large buff in the amount of reflected damage would also increase the amount of threat generation for the tank, which would in turn increase the amount of DPS/Healing that can be done without fear of pulling aggro. Or put another way, if you change the amount of threat a tank can generate, then you in turn make content easier if not trivial. Since all the current instances are designed around the current threat-generation ability of tanks, I can understand Turbine being unwilling to risk messing up that balance by allowing one class to change threat generation.

One thing I have not seen in any of the threads about this is how LM's are doing so poorly that they need some kind of buff -- with air-lore being the preferred buff. Yes it's a skill we rarely use, if ever -- but we are not the only class with unused skills. Sure it would be nice if all our skills had value, but unless we are already doing poorly and are in need of a buff, I don't see the value to buffing a skill when you risking upsetting the way instances are currently designed.

[Reillan]

/Not signed.

I'm looking forward to this skill.

[LagunaD]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the aggro from the reflected damage goes to the person the buff is on. As such, a large buff in the amount of reflected damage would also increase the amount of threat generation for the tank, which would in turn increase the amount of DPS/Healing that can be done without fear of pulling aggro. Or put another way, if you change the amount of threat a tank can generate, then you in turn make content easier if not trivial. Since all the current instances are designed around the current threat-generation ability of tanks, I can understand Turbine being unwilling to risk messing up that balance by allowing one class to change threat generation.

Dude, it is a maximum of *16* Common damage per mob about once every 4 seconds (when avoidances are taken into account); that is 4 DPS per target. And only if the mob is doing Common damage itself (i.e. not a boss mob).

It is useless in any fight where the tank holding aggro matters.

One thing I have not seen in any of the threads about this is how LM's are doing so poorly that they need some kind of buff -- with air-lore being the preferred buff. Yes it's a skill we rarely use, if ever -- but we are not the only class with unused skills. Sure it would be nice if all our skills had value, but unless we are already doing poorly and are in need of a buff, I don't see the value to buffing a skill when you risking upsetting the way instances are currently designed.

The so-called upgrade adds *zero* new utility to the skill. If you like Air-Lore and think it's the best skill ever, you can keep it up continuously *now*.

[quikgamer]

/not signed

I run full KoA, this skill will be very useful for me.

[DougHillman]

/not signed

I run full KoA, this skill will be very useful for me.

Explain how.

The people who think it'll be useful seem to be under the misapprehension that it's actually useful now. They're taking away the only minutely passable reason for it now, which is that you can essentially apply it for free (power regens immediately) just before a fight starts. The new version removes that, so there will always be something more useful you can do with the power.

[nelar]

Dude, it is a maximum of *16* Common damage per mob about once every 4 seconds (when avoidances are taken into account); that is 4 DPS per target. And only if the mob is doing Common damage itself (i.e. not a boss mob).

It is useless in any fight where the tank holding aggro matters.



The so-called upgrade adds *zero* new utility to the skill. If you like Air-Lore and think it's the best skill ever, you can keep it up continuously *now*.

Exactly -- it does not currently have a significant affect upon threat generation, and the change on Monday won't change that. But the OP as well as a few other posters in other threads are asking for it to do significantly more damage (or in one case, specifically buffing the tank's threat), and that I would think would break the current instance design.

[brasswire12]

Exactly -- it does not currently have a significant affect upon threat generation, and the change on Monday won't change that. But the OP as well as a few other posters in other threads are asking for it to do significantly more damage (or in one case, specifically buffing the tank's threat), and that I would think would break the current instance design.

They're adding and/or upgrading skills for every class.

The problem from my perspective, is that this isn't any sort of upgrade, as the skill is receiving no buff at all. If it's a skill upgrade, then the skill should actually be upgraded in some way, not just have it's delivery method changed to be more convenient, but arguably worse than before. I don't think it's needs to be upgraded in a huge way, some of the ideas I've seen on here are absolutely over-powered, but I do expect *some* sort of buff when I purchase a skill upgrade, and we're not getting that. We also didn't get it with our last "upgrade". And that is the heart of the matter for me.

[ericlewis]

/signed, it dont matter for me anyway I have logged a total of 2 hours since 2/1/10.

All this does is give me another excuse to no longer log in.

[cwswim03]

/Not signed.

I'm looking forward to this skill.

Good for you. For those of us that understand the way this skill works, we'll continue to not use it and not even waste the ~300 silver on it.

So on anything not doing common damage (most of the upper level stuff), your skill is going to do nothing. Congrats. I had hoped someone with more posts would have a greater knowledge of how things worked.

[willwheels]

Also not purchasing it. Insulting dev diary aside, if I wanted to keep Air-lore up, I could add it to my skill rotation.

It's called character progression. When you don't get it over long periods of time, people think their money is going to waste and leave.

Exactly.

[Wehex]

Good for you. For those of us that understand the way this skill works, we'll continue to not use it and not even waste the ~300 silver on it.

So on anything not doing common damage (most of the upper level stuff), your skill is going to do nothing. Congrats. I had hoped someone with more posts would have a greater knowledge of how things worked.

Most people are looking at this as an upgrade because they get to apply the buff at the beginning of the instance and it will unapply at the end.

Since this buff is channeled, I wonder how close you have to be to your target for it to work? THAT's gonna be the "ROFLROFLROFL!" because I'm betting it breaks at a set distance.