Well, here we are again. Back in 2004, when we released Omens of War, we also released 16 different epic weapons. Warriors got two activated effects to...
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Well, here we are again.
Back in 2004, when we released Omens of War, we also released 16 different epic weapons. Warriors got two activated effects to use on theirs. Everyone else's epics have a worn effect that gives you a bonus while you have it equipped, and an activated effect that you... activate.
For 10 classes, the worn effect had an explicit upper limit on its effectiveness. For three more, the worn effect worked on a specific ability that was superseded later. Bards got a worn effect that was exceeded by class armor soon after.
Necromancers got an effect that worked forever. If this effect was a child, it would be learning how to drive now. It turned the epic from a "nice to have" to a "must equip forever," and didn't allow players to move on as the game evolved.
Initially there just wasn't a way to limit that effect by level, so we didn't. Eventually the code team made it happen. In the years since it's been possible, there were several occasions where we considered introducing a limit but didn't due to where Necromancers were as a class at the time.
And that is what leads us to this announcement. In the August update, we're going to introduce an effect limiter on the Necromancer epic 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 that starts to decay its effectiveness by 5% per level for spells above level 80.
Originally the plan had been to start the decay at level 75 to match all of the other casters, priests, and hybrids. Some outliers still had effects that worked at full potency up until level 80, though, so that's where we started the decay for Necromancers as well. It means that most of the spells that will be focused less effectively by the Necromancer epic have the full benefit of the DoT consolidation project, and by the time the effect wears off completely necromancers will be in a much better spot damage-wise than they were with the epic before DoTs were consolidated.
Here's what this means in gameplay:
From levels 70 to 80, there's no change. In Omens of War and the six subsequent expansions, the epic 1.5/2.0/2.5 is just as powerful as it was before.
Level 81 spells get 95% of the effectiveness of the epic, level 82 spells get 90% of the effectiveness, and so on. Level 90 spells will get half of the effectiveness of the epic, and no epic will affect a level 100 spell. This slow ramp means that there's no point where upgrading to a new spell will lower your effectiveness in combat.
We understand that this isn't great news for you and it's upsetting to lose an effect that has been part of the class for so long. This isn't something we enjoy doing. It's also important for the long-term health of the game to allow old items to retire. We believe that by placing the cutoff where we did we've accomplished the following goals:
- The Necromancer epic retains its status as the longest-lasting worn effect. It just isn't infinite any more.
- It has a slow ramp-down in effectiveness that is more than matched by increasing spell damage.
- It is no longer a "requirement" for people playing the class to obtain 18 expansions after it was introduced.