i would suggest to replace knockout with entangle and create a new tier 5 skill for theatrics, but only just in case
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i would suggest to replace knockout with entangle and create a new tier 5 skill for theatrics, but only just in case
Flash has indeed been around for a long time :)
Also, I ran only 2 gladiators for over a year, so it's pretty easy for people to have more fights than me :P
To be fair, for a long time Blood Gods was a round robin format, and it was Speed Theatrics on top (with KO trained), with Speed Rage and 2H Rage still making a good showing. Towards the end of round robin, Tanks were also starting to make their way to the top.
The new format does lead to some stratification, but the way pairings are being made and the monthly reset does a lot to prevent this.
TL;DR 2H rage was already near the top of the game. Also, all this argument of XYZ style is now poop because it isnt #1 coincides with SOTC taking a break. His incredibly dominant stable caused gladiators of each style to take the #1 spot, and also presented a big shakeup in the metagame when he was playing.
I agree that it is a lazy skill, and you can ride it to victory with speed based weapons, which is how Arrrrrghpirate won a lot of his otherwise unfavorable matches.
I do not believe it to be a game breaking skill, but I will agree 100% that it is a skill that leaves you feeling like the fun was taken away from the fight. It just simply ends the fight when it triggers. People liken DFA and Rampage as other culprits, but those often do NOT get the job done. There is still a "I hope I get to swing back and claw this fight back" when you're scrolling down and see DFA and Rampage trigger because you can only hit for so much damage with those, and a lot of players stack HP. You cant really stack "resist KO" except for Iron Jaw, which is 10 skill points, not some stats on armor/achievements.
TL;DR: KO is not broken. It just isn't fun.
I like Flash's suggestion that Entangle be moved to tier 4 to replace Knockout (always seemed odd that Entangle was a tier 5 for theatrics and a tier 4 for shadow...)
Not sure what to replace it with though...
The theatrics ineffectiveness vs. tanks could be due to nobody having found that right formula yet. I've changed build strategies on my own three theatrics so many times that they are still a long ways away from being gear-optimized compared to my other glads (which makes fair comparison more difficult).
But when you've got a theatrics with near 300 agility and running with +150 attack power, +200 armor penetration, and 150 endurance yet they still can't beat an elite tank, it starts to get a little discouraging for the style. The only times I've seen theatrics beat an elite tank these days (excluding knockout) is because those tanks aren't running the best strategies to counter theatrics. Those theatrics always lose to the tanks running the right strats.
I suppose stacking +700 armor penetration might help...maybe I'll try that next.
I agree that KO certainly isn't fun when it's successful against you - especially when it happens when the match just starts, or right before you finish your opponent off. It is quite binary in nature - it's either yes or no, compared to many other skills that have more of a degree of effect.
Hmm... with the tank issue brought up... maybe if the trug's weakness was changed from low initiative to being more susceptible to KO's (while KO effectiveness is dialed back a bit for the others) and iron jaw was replaced with something else that could shift things to a more exciting meta game? That way you could still build one of those tanks, but the theatrics would have a build more capable of taking those lumbering behemoths down.
There are plenty of things it can be replaced with but I'd go with a reintroduction of Second Wind. If you remember Last Stand, you'll remember this one too. It was pretty useless before the skill tree changes but I can certainly see it in use now. I suspect that Nate has reserved it for another class though.
Well...ignore everything I've been saying about tanks owning theatrics. My theatrics just took out a tank without knockout...as did Smoking Bob...
I don't see it as cheapening a fight. It's a SKILL, to knock the other fighter out. Yes some are random, but to get a higher percentage KO rate you forgo a bigger hit and accuracy by setting your strat more in favor of the knockout.
Anyone remember Mike Tyson?? He knocked out 17 mofo's in under 2 minutes of the 1st round in his 50 something pro fights. People use to go nuts watching him knock the crap outta dudes.
How much of a emotional swing is it to watch your glad get pummeled down to his last 200 health while barely getting a swing on target and then laying a temple buster that puts the opponent on the ground.....feels real nice. It also feels real sucky when you lighting someone up cruising to easy victory and then BAMM! The lights go out....
KO is no guarantee to happen but there are ways to increase its chances...
As for Second Wind and Last Stand..I really don't miss those skills at all. Not one bit.
I don't think anyone misses Last Stand, that thing was nearly game-breaking. Second Wind though - I can certainly see it implemented in a Never Say Die fashion - not always triggering but giving a good boost when it does. Getting additional endurance to keep fighting, relying on bleeding or another strategy trigger sounds much better to me than to just drop the opponent because it's that cool to end the fight in a sudden.
I think, You are confusing the name and ... the content of this skill. The name is Knockout, yes. But it's a skill not to knock the fighter out, but to win a fight instantly.
So, sounds funny.
// That content has no analogy among other skills...
Knockout is just that, it is a Skill that Knocks the opponent OUT..fight over..lights out..see you tomorrow.
It is not called KnockDown...it is Knockout---KO!!
KO is basically a passive dice rolling skill of each hit, maybe it will KO the opponent, maybe it won't. It is not a stacking passive skill such as Total Carnage or Brute Force among others that just stack on power bonuses on every swing. Iron Jaw and Grim Determination are always passively active, there is not dice roll for them to maybe work.
Each skill tree has its own devastating skills, DFA from a War and Rampage from Rage, Theatrics has KO. Shadow's seem the only without that massive single skill, but they do have a multiple of awesome skills that work together offensively and defensively making a Shadow a pretty nasty fighter.