An Uggh update change

Palantir

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So, the wife & I are deep in Mirkwood with our 65's (My Hunter, her Champ) trying to get some specific quests completed before we head towards Dunland when we are faced with a Elite mob with 45K in hit points plus his minions.

I suggest to her as we crept in close to switch her Champ from "attack mode" (two-handed weapon) to go to "defensive mode" using her shield to hold aggro while I burn them down.

No problem right, however, as I'm gearing up for the fight selecting target order, traps & movements she discovers she can no longer equip her Hvy Shield. What?

Seems the developers decided that Champions no longer use shields... too bad I didn't read ALL the update changes. Since we were already in position & deep in the mobs area we attacked anyway and soon we're Rez'ing beaten & bloody back at camp... (skip that quest.)


Well, I guess she'll just have to get used to being strictly an "attacker" now. Which means, that the Guardian & Warden are now THE tanks of the game.

That seems to be a fairly critical change to a class that was once a Tank/off-tank to now a no-tank. It did change our play style a bit as I started dropping traps at every encounter & using my fear & stun shots a LOT MORE since her character could no longer just stand there alone in a pack & take them on & a beating; while I knocked them off. I had to send a note to my trap making alt for another shipment! :bite:

Moral of the story- it pays to read all the update notes before heading out.
:p
 
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Redwolf

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Moral of the story- it pays to read all the update notes before heading out.
No. The moral of the story is that they shouldn't have messed with this.

Nobody wants the Champ to be as guardy as the actual tank classes. But the proper fix is in appropriate levels of mitigation with the shield. And obviously all the shield skills and block reactions that guard and warden have are missing anyway. Fix a problem that wasn't there.
 

BlitzCanuck

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Nothing has really changed.
True, they can't use shields now but they've been compensated in other ways that allow them to tank if traited properly.
Still not as effective a tank as a guard or warden but then they never were.
The difference is that you can't quickly switch into tanking mode by virtue of changing a piece of equipment.......you have to visit the bard first.
 

BlitzCanuck

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Personally, i love all the changes to the Champion.
As with all the other classes, they really made an effort to revamp skills so that they are all used instead of having a handful of really useful ones and a bunch that you never use.
Same with the slightly revamped trait lines.
 
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