Here's How To Fix GGG's Newly Teased Channelled Skill

A couple people did suggest this in the thread, but I'll say it too - a really nice way to fix this skill would to make it a base whose damage type is determined by the added damage gems we add to it.

So this would work like this - the base skill does physical damage (as only that type doesn't have any added dmg support gem). With added fire dmg attached to it, it would do its base dmg as fire. Same with added cold, lightning and chaos. So what if we added multiple of them? Well, then it follows the gem order - the first in the order would determine the damage type and the rest of the added gems just add more to that damage type (alternately, they could simply add more of their own damage types, as they do on all other skills, but that would be less distinctive).

Obviously, the graphics of the beam would change accordingly - a white base beam for physical, this flame art for fire, a blue one for lightning, purple for chaos and...a green (Frenzy) beam for cold?

Why is this a good idea? Because it satisfies BOTH demographics! There are people excited for this skill because they wanted lasers. However, there are others who don't like that fire is getting all the channeled love and also feel it's too similar to Incinerate. Finally, there's those who want lasers of different damage types, but NO ONE wants FIVE versions of the same skill (and GGG has only said they're releasing 3 atm, so two are left out) just to cover each of the damage types.

So with this version of the skill, you can satisfy everyone - the ones who want lasers get their laser, the ones who want different damage types get to pick their preference and the ones complaining that it replaces (or loses out to) Incinerate see that it actually has its own thing going for it. GGG covers all the bases with just one skill and the two other ones can be made with their own different mechanical approaches so that they're distinctive (I have my own suggestion for one of them - see my other thread).

I hope the guys at GGG see this and take this suggestion on-board. Thanks for all your work. :)

Also please check out my other thread for a concept on another type of channeled skill (remember that GGG will be releasing three new channeled skills). You can find it here - https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1750357

Unless this skill has built-in armor/all res and a proximity shield the longer you channel it, there will be no reason to ever use this skill.

Channeling doesn't work in a game with low drop rates where clear speed = decent loot. Furthermore, oneshot mechanics ensure that standing still = death in this game.

This is a gimmicky leveling skill at best.

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Prisus wrote:

Unless this skill has built-in armor/all res and a proximity shield the longer you channel it, there will be no reason to ever use this skill.

Channeling doesn't work in a game with low drop rates where clear speed = decent loot. Furthermore, oneshot mechanics ensure that standing still = death in this game.

This is a gimmicky leveling skill at best.

The same could be said about Flameblast and Incinerate, both were Metaskills until nerfed.

Also depending on the damage interval those skills are actually more mobile than others, considering not all might need a long time to reach full power like Incinerate or Flameblast.

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Prisus wrote:

Unless this skill has built-in armor/all res and a proximity shield the longer you channel it, there will be no reason to ever use this skill.

Channeling doesn't work in a game with low drop rates where clear speed = decent loot. Furthermore, oneshot mechanics ensure that standing still = death in this game.

This is a gimmicky leveling skill at best.

Flameblast exists (it was used even before you could stick it on totems). As does Incinerate, which until recently was quite popular. I'm not even counting Wither, since that's a support and is usually put on a totem. You can very well get by with channeled skills. I have myself in the past. So have top-tier streamers, if you wish for visual proof.

I don't care much for the 'max clear speed or GTFO' attitude and there's plenty of others who feel the same. My intention here was to deflect a lot of flavor criticism this skill is getting, not the complaints of those whose only desire is to run infinite Gorges (pre-AoW) with Tornado Shot, Blade Vortex or some other max clear speed build. Their criticisms I see for almost every skill in the game (and usually just ignore them).

A skill simply needs to be viable and fun. Channeling is viable (depending on the damage, of course). And the responses to that skill teaser mean that quite a few people are liking it for its fun value (all the "Kamehameha!" and "Imma firin' ma LAZOR!" comments). This post was meant to address those concerns expressed on its fun value due to it being tied to fire and overlapping with Incinerate, not changing it completely so as to suit some clear speed agenda (we might as well have just 4-5 skills in the game if we did that...).

bump

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Emphasy wrote:

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Prisus wrote:

Unless this skill has built-in armor/all res and a proximity shield the longer you channel it, there will be no reason to ever use this skill.

Channeling doesn't work in a game with low drop rates where clear speed = decent loot. Furthermore, oneshot mechanics ensure that standing still = death in this game.

This is a gimmicky leveling skill at best.

The same could be said about Flameblast and Incinerate, both were Metaskills until nerfed.

Also depending on the damage interval those skills are actually more mobile than others

I think Incinerate was overrated.

Still, it does all come down to cast time / damage interval for this new skill. If you can perform a quick mouse circle and hit everything - and I mean everything - on the screen, that'd be pretty solid. Not sure if that'd be enough damage to clear everything, but hitting everything on the screen is very meta, and generally GGG gives new skills way too much damage initially.

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Exile009 wrote:

A couple people did suggest this in the thread, but I'll say it too - a really nice way to fix this skill would to make it a base whose damage type is determined by the added damage gems we add to it.

So, you want to "fix" something you haven't even used? What a nice opening, let's see where this goes...

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Exile009 wrote:

So this would work like this - the base skill does physical damage (as only that type doesn't have any added dmg support gem). With added fire dmg attached to it, it would do its base dmg as fire. Same with added cold, lightning and chaos. So what if we added multiple of them? Well, then it follows the gem order - the first in the order would determine the damage type and the rest of the added gems just add more to that damage type (alternately, they could simply add more of their own damage types, as they do on all other skills, but that would be less distinctive).

Yeah, so... What you're basically saying is, that stacking added dmg to a damage over time skill is preferable to stacking more multipliers, is that right? This is just golden...

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Exile009 wrote:

Obviously, the graphics of the beam would change accordingly - a white base beam for physical, this flame art for fire, a blue one for lightning, purple for chaos and...a green (Frenzy) beam for cold?

Not that this is ever going to happen, but dark blue for lightning and a bright blue for cold has worked for this game so far....

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Exile009 wrote:

Why is this a good idea? Because it satisfies BOTH demographics! There are people excited for this skill because they wanted lasers. However, there are others who don't like that fire is getting all the channeled love and also feel it's too similar to Incinerate. Finally, there's those who want lasers of different damage types, but NO ONE wants FIVE versions of the same skill (and GGG has only said they're releasing 3 atm, so two are left out) just to cover each of the damage types.

Who said this is a good idea to begin with?

Oh, nobody wants five versions of the same skill, I see... Then why do you come up with 5 versions of the same skill, only cramped into one gem?

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Exile009 wrote:

So with this version of the skill, you can satisfy everyone - the ones who want lasers get their laser, the ones who want different damage types get to pick their preference and the ones complaining that it replaces (or loses out to) Incinerate see that it actually has its own thing going for it. GGG covers all the bases with just one skill and the two other ones can be made with their own different mechanical approaches so that they're distinctive (I have my own suggestion for one of them - see my other thread).

I hope the guys at GGG see this and take this suggestion on-board. Thanks for all your work. :)

Alright so, you want to "fix" a skill by being able to alternate its dmg type, when the dmg type isn't the actual problem with the skill at all.

The skill-reveal footage shows two problems only, none of which did you adress at all.

1st: The area covered is too small to justify standing still for longer periods of time, that's dangerous, let alone not feasible in this game.
The reason this doesn't apply to flameblast is that it covers a wider area, and you can cast it so it hits all the things near you.

2nd: The speed at which the beam could be aimed is too slow. When you look at the footage you'll notice that the turning speed while channelling is very low. You can see the templar in the video turning at low, but constant rate thoughout the entire video. Neither flamblast, nor incinerate ever had this issue. This new skill is too clunky for its own good.

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Exile009 wrote:

I don't care much for the 'max clear speed or GTFO' attitude and there's plenty of others who feel the same. My intention here was to deflect a lot of flavor criticism this skill is getting, not the complaints of those whose only desire is to run infinite Gorges (pre-AoW) with Tornado Shot, Blade Vortex or some other max clear speed build. Their criticisms I see for almost every skill in the game (and usually just ignore them).

And here's the problem with you: You discard criticism towards this new skill as the usual 'max clear speed or GTFO' attitude, and in doing so you deny whatever valid arguments are being presented. Let me be clear about this: If you want to discuss skills thouroughly, you want to include as many opinions as possible, so you can actually come up with some ideas that are more than dmg-type swaps and recolours. OK?

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Exile009 wrote:

A skill simply needs to be viable and fun. Channeling is viable (depending on the damage, of course). And the responses to that skill teaser mean that quite a few people are liking it for its fun value (all the "Kamehameha!" and "Imma firin' ma LAZOR!" comments). This post was meant to address those concerns expressed on its fun value due to it being tied to fire and overlapping with Incinerate, not changing it completely so as to suit some clear speed agenda (we might as well have just 4-5 skills in the game if we did that...).

OK, so a skill needs to be viable. Viable for what? Dried lake farming? Uber lab farming? Shaper farming? (Uber) Atziri farming? Looking awesome while firin' mah LAZOR?

And you want a skill to be fun. Why is a phys based beam more fun than any other dmg type? Why is a skill that (so far) has shown clunky behaviour fun? Look, nobody's used this thing so far, we've only seen footage with a skill that behaves unresponsive, and unless the behaviour doesn't improve, or the skill comes with significant perks while channelling, it won't be fun for long.

Isnt a much better way to implement an elemental choice for a skill to make it a white gem (like portal) and have it deal the damage type depending on the gem socket color it is in?

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Gravethought wrote:

Isnt a much better way to implement an elemental choice for a skill to make it a white gem (like portal) and have it deal the damage type depending on the gem socket color it is in?

Yes, that would be another potential way of doing it. The main issue with that is that it'd then be hard to get a physical beam (which would need a white socket) and pretty much impossible to get a chaos beam (since there are no purple sockets). Hence why I chose to start with a base physical beam and change it according to the added dmg gems attached to it (which cover all the other damage types and are all equally as easy to obtain).