[1.2.0] Dreamfeather: Post-Mortem

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themoleium wrote:

Well I totally disagree that it's underpowered. I'm currently playing a level 80 ranger who uses Dreamfeather as an offhand. I got all of her gear and chucked it on the a level 84 character who is not at all set up for using dreamfeather but is set up for dual swords.

Passives for that char

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgIAAF4CEQMnA4cFtQguCVgUUhUgFr8Y2xmOG60dyiP2JJ0mlSjbKk0s6TBxMHwxnjSTNZI17zY9OkI6szrtPydE0kd-Sn1KyEt4TZJN404qUUdVS1b6W69csGHiYlpirGNwZU1noGyMbWxttG5pbqpwcnfXfXV_K4FBhNmHdo19jb-QCpVml3CZK5uNnaqj56ZXpn-xs7TFtUi18rZBvYG-p8APwYvC7NJN037T_NQj1FLWiti926fdDd2o3-_tQe2D7g7veu_j_MX-j_66

In my main hand I use have a slow, 300 pDPS rapier (to scale off the high APS of Dreamfeather). Running a 5L Cleave setup with Hatred and Grace, Dreamfeather gives me 29.6k DPS. When I replace it with another 300 pDPS weapon

I get 30.6k DPS - not much of an increase really, so I wouldn't exactly call it underpowered.

The very fact it can be substituted for a generic rare is a huge blow against its design.
Said rare also is also not reliant on evasion to scale its damage so why would anyone ever use the former?

I don't think tweaking the % increased damage per evasion will help either, you are just moving the scale up and down.

Looking at all good uniques, overpowered or not, they all were able to do something rares could not but did not necessarily have to be numerical stronger, and really they never should be enough GGG failed at the balance game.

I think the point I was trying to make there was that it can be substituted in for a rare without any optimisation whatsoever, which is very impressive for such a low damage weapon.

Whether or not you can simply swap in a decent rare to a specific dreamfeather build and it be just as good is something entirely different. As you point out due to its design this is sometimes the case, but there could be any number of builds that rely on Dreamfeather and wouldn't work with a decent rare (some of which won't haven't been thought of yet or will come up in later versions of the game).

Currently though, the ability to add more evasion to the build increases flexibility in other areas, for example my character picked up the Survivalist and Cloth and Chain notables, which I would normally steer clear of, which helped me overcap my resists and choose jewellery with flat phys and chaos res.
That's what makes it 'unique' for me, not that it does something radically different but that it provides a pathway to building a character in a different way.

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themoleium wrote:

That's what makes it 'unique' for me, not that it does something radically different but that it provides a pathway to building a character in a different way.

This is a really good point. I personally think Dreamfeather's in a good spot right now. You can use it on a budget in place of a 300 pdps sword (although your tree is probably not going to be greatly affected by the unique since you'll be grabbing more physical than evasion nodes anyway), or you can dual-wield Dreamfeathers and take lots of evasion nodes that you might otherwise ignore. The latter case is what makes the sword truly special. No, you're probably not going to be hitting something like 40k dps without gimping your clear speed (Concentrated Effect), but getting between 20 and 30k dps is not unreasonable, and that's solid dps for a mid-tier build. The biggest issue is survivability versus dps. Beyond-viable builds are probably questionable if you want over 20k dps, and there doesn't seem to be a worthwhile way to use a single Dreamfeather with a shield (which is not a downside, it's just a quirk of the unique right now).

Can't wait for the 3D art...

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Nephalim wrote:

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[placeholder] Lyralei's Duskveil
Assassin's Garb
+[50-30]% reduced maximum Life and Energy Shields
+[275-475] Evasion Rating
+[150-250]% Increased Local Evasion Rating
+75% Physical Damage Reduction
[30-55]% Chance to Dodge Spell Damage (stacks with Phase Acrobatics)
Gems in this item are Supported by level 17 Blind
Fluid Strikes: 1% of Evasion Rating is added as Physical Damage

Again, lots of unique modifiers not seen elsewhere and a potentially crippling drawback. this is a 'good' unique in the sense its original, fun, and can open a lot of build opportunities.

If I were to have my way then yes, this would be in the game.

But you need to understand that trying to argue via e-mail for almost a year is the most infuriating thing to do so I just gave up on that after awhile.

Hey Lyralei,

Did the devs happen to give you a timeline on the item's 3D art? Do you know if 3D art for player-designed items is high on the priority list? Considering the amount of time that the design process took, I would not be surprised if they didn't have anything to tell you about this aspect of your unique. Are you able to give input on potential particle effects? Would you like the sword to have any effects? I imagine it could look pretty sleek as-is.

EDIT: nvm

I agree that the finished product betrays your initial design intentions, and I would not have been able to guess even close by looking at it. That said, Dreamfeather ranked instantly among my favorite uniques*. It might not have been your first intention, but the final design is amazing--it is elegant, versatile, powerful, and most of all, not just another stat stick. It has the stats, for sure, pushing a base 2 aps for starters, but it is so much more. It is inspiring. I immediately wanted to jump right back into the game and build around it!

You should be proud to have contributed towards such an incredible piece :)

Cheers (and good night) ^-^

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Tempada wrote:

Hey Lyralei,

Did the devs happen to give you a timeline on the item's 3D art? Do you know if 3D art for player-designed items is high on the priority list? Considering the amount of time that the design process took, I would not be surprised if they didn't have anything to tell you about this aspect of your unique. Are you able to give input on potential particle effects? Would you like the sword to have any effects? I imagine it could look pretty sleek as-is.

It will have particle effects. No ETA on the 3D art unfortunately. Maybe in a year? :(

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CanHasPants wrote:

Disclaimer

To be honest, I'm beat and gearing up for bed, so I am sorry I did not give this thread the thorough reading it deserves. Still wanted to leave a quick note because I'd probably forget by tomorrow.. that's just what a Pants do >.>

I agree that the finished product betrays your initial design intentions, and I would not have been able to guess even close by looking at it. That said, Dreamfeather ranked instantly among my favorite uniques*. It might not have been your first intention, but the final design is amazing--it is elegant, versatile, powerful, and most of all, not just another stat stick. It has the stats, for sure, pushing a base 2 aps for starters, but it is so much more. It is inspiring. I immediately wanted to jump right back into the game and build around it!

You should be proud to have contributed towards such an incredible piece :)

Cheers (and good night) ^-^

*

Along with Saffell's, ac429's, MonopolyLegend's, Charan's, Hirishi's, Zahndethus' and davros' creations, just to name a few.

Thanks for the kind words. I do agree that it betrays the intial design intent..but they did mention they wanted to "solve the problem" by fixing the issue with game systems and not a unique so it leaves to be seen whether or not they'll shake things up.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. I know it's kinda late but I bookmarked this thread when it was posted and then forgot about it till now :P

I definitely like the fact that this unique makes you think of the best way to use (and abuse) it's special properties. While not every unique needs to be build enabling, I very much prefer one that has a unique property to the item itself because that opens up to more theorycrafting possibilities.

That and the flavour text is one of the best in this game, especially the first two lines.

It hit me that we just saw a chance on a chance mechanic get added to the tree... Chance to gain power charge on block. I