When it comes to dishing out raw combat damage a Martial Artist outshines all other professions!
That is the description of the Martial Artist in the character generation hall. While it holds reasonably true in PvM, that statement is reversed in PvP. I will try to outline the problems MA's have in PvP and in doing that I will compare to other professions. Please note that I do not wish those other professions to be nerfed to the MA level.
14.6 had two big changes in the game mechanics of Anarchy Online.
* Roots were made unbreakable except by taking a large amount of damage or using a special nano/item.
* Crit percentage was halved in PvP.
Presumably as a bonus to the players, the recharge time of specials (aimed shot/burst etc) was dramatically decreased with high skill in the appropriate special. There also appeared a number of high-damage non-crit reliant weapons and a fixing of weapon initiatives was started.
The Martial Artist is per definition a fast hitting, high-crit% melee profession with the option of using a bow as a ranged weapon. The changes in 14.6 hit MA's flat on the head, being melee and rooted equals no damage output at all and when/if the MA is able to get in melee range, the damage output is dramatically lowered due to the reduction of crits. The bows currently in game generally have lower damage then the melee weapons at an MA's disposal, are quite a bit slower and also lack special attacks except aimed shot (and fling shot on the bows with even lower damage and longer equip time). From all the boosts given to weapon special attacks, MA’s can utilize one: Aimed shot.
Let me postulate a few other things of interest:
* Slow weapons outdamage fast weapons over time.
5 x 500 damage is far less then 1 x 2500 if you take AC into account. With 2500 AC the 5 x 500 is reduced to 1250 damage while the 1 x 2500 damage is reduced to 2250.
Consider this in the light of the init fix.
* Melee should outdamage ranged.
Core game principle that has been true since the old paper RPG’s. Since you have to close to an opponent, you should be able to dish out serious damage at point blank. It might be true for Enforcers, but MA’s (and quite often melee Adventurers) are outdamaged by easily available ranged weapons. The weapon arsenal of Martial Artists are quite limited. Fists are fast, crit reliant weapons: Ql200 fists is 68-260 (500) 1.45/1.45. All MA melee weapons follow the same principle; fast, small damage range with a distinct crit bonus. The Torture Tool, considered the "best" MA weapon, has a damage of 111-111 (666) at QL200. (highest availabe in game is QL149) None of the MA weapons have fast/sneak attack.
Consider this in the light of the crit reduction and the superiority of slow weapons.
* Melee should have other special benefits.
And indeed it does. In AO, melee users can hit while moving and melee hits can interrupt a nanoprogram being “cast”. The advantage of hitting while moving is neglible considering that you need to be close to the opponent to hit, and interrupting in PvP is very rare.
Consider this in the light of how powerful roots are have become.
So: MA’s are stuck with fast, crit reliant weaponry while the game mechanics changed and gave more bonus to slow, non-crit reliant weaponry. MA’s do not have access to any weapon specials except aimed shot, and can reap no benefit from the improved recycle time on the others. Brawl/Dimach, the two specials MA’s use, were not changed. The ranged arsenal of bows (all 11 of them, not counting the howling bow since it has not been found) perform poorly and the best bow buff/item in the game drops from Oscar the Reet, meaning that a MA’s attack rating with a bow will be low.
When a Martial Artist enters a 25% suppression gas zone, he steps through the looking glass. All his strengths, which make him very capable in PvM, are heavily reduced and the compensating items (the Wave MA special attack) does effectively nothing except offering an means to run away from the battlefield.
To give you some idea of how poorly a MA performs in PvP after 14.6/14.7 let me give you some examples I’ve personally experienced. These are all with 1100+ MA skill and UVC running, on full def with 750ish nanoresist.
Agent, Crat, Fixer, Trader, NT (I.E all rooting professions) can kill a MA without risk.
Enforcer reflects alone outdamages a MA.
Doctor DoT’s alone outdamages a MA at point blank.
Personally, I’ve lost against all professions even in a test environment where I was allowed to initiate combat at melee range. That might just be me being a lousy PvP’er, but the most experienced MA PvP’ers seem to experience the same thing.
So, basically this is a plea to all of you.
Help.
There is a plethora of options on how to make a MA viable in PvP again, the details aren’t interesting, but with the Notum Wars focusing heavily on PvP something needs to be done.
When it comes to dishing out raw combat damage a Martial Artist outshines all other professions! Currently, in PvP, it’s the complete opposite.