I played around with it a little on a low level(2x) and a high level Warcryer(7x). I was expecting to be blown away...I wasn't. When I was solo'ing while killing 2x mobs I really didn't see the point and 1x die quickly so it's(in my mind) a waste of mp. My knee jerk reaction is that, given the failure rate and the precious mp being used, it was a total disappointment.
As per usual I have no hard numbers.
I wanted to be awed and I left feeling thoroughly unimpressed with the changes. Why awed? Come on folks, this is L2. Burst damage is where it's at, so if a DoT is in the game then why can't it be a brutal spell that actually makes people fear Orc casters? What's the harm in giving DoT's a NOTICEABLE boost when people are being one-shot from archer range?
/sigh
Then again, I came from WoW where DoTs/HoTs were king(and possibly overpowered depending on who you asked) so anything short of making me jump out of my seat was going to leave me feeling unsatisfied. I guess it's a taste/balance thing. It really comes down to what the players want and in this case no one was really clamoring for DoTs to be powerful anyways so there's really no harm in keeping them weak.
Added: I did not stack DoTs. I was only using Freezing Flame.
Remember the scarlet salamanders in cave of trials? I want a DoT like theirs.
Or the one some mobs in VoS do (don't remember the name). It blew my HP away. If my DoT had even half of it's efect, they would be great. Wishful thinking didn't hurt anyone, right?
I just couldn't help but comment on the "significat" increase NC spoke about, but I wanted other opinions too.
I dont have seen any boost in my Freezing Flames damage but i have noticed it now lands better in CT1 against opponents with s grade jewels etc, not sure if its true but it is my experience so far
I still have not seen the same effect though as the DoTs were when I was pre 52 and I was using them.
I understand they won't do the pure damage that the 1v1 skill does, but actually, shouldn't it? The only drawback should be the landing rate itself. I only ask this because the sleep cloud seems so much more effective.
Freezing flame in open PvP is almost useless. Any GHP can make it's damage negligible. But let's leave PvP aside. Freezing flame can be more useful when exping (2-3 man parties) but as it is, it's still a waste of MP. Landing rate of freezing flame can also be a problem. Unfortunately, this skill does not level every time you do, so it is somewhat ineffective in between levels. Specially from 68 (64 is when you get level 3) up to 72 (when you get level 4). Since landing rate is level of skill vs level of mob (add the low Matk) and the result is not great. I don't think it will land very well on 76+ toons (PC or NPC). If anything, freezing flame's MP cost and casting time should go down or it's effectiveness should really go up.
What made me angry about it is NC's claim (the "significantly increased" part).
Freezing flame in open PvP is almost useless. Any GHP can make it's damage negligible. But let's leave PvP aside. Freezing flame can be more useful when exping (2-3 man parties) but as it is, it's still a waste of MP. Landing rate of freezing flame can also be a problem. Unfortunately, this skill does not level every time you do, so it is somewhat ineffective in between levels. Specially from 68 (64 is when you get level 3) up to 72 (when you get level 4). Since landing rate is level of skill vs level of mob (add the low Matk) and the result is not great. I don't think it will land very well on 76+ toons (PC or NPC). If anything, freezing flame's MP cost and casting time should go down or it's effectiveness should really go up.
What made me angry about it is NC's claim (the "significantly increased" part).
Yes going from 4%chance to land to going to 8%chance to land is a significant increase, I mean that's like going up by 100%!!!!!!
I tried Seal of Flame/Poison quite a lot while AoE with a warlord (yes, they do exist!) and mages (Hero Rift, 70s Rift, FoG).
It's still a piece of crap. Landing is ok, but it just doesn't show any effect on mobs with times X HP. Any. At all.
good to grab agro in catas from the social mobs etc. I use it to train NoS and heretics with my shammy. By the time i reach the first room where the party is the skele's have half hp. i like it.
Isn't it sorta... slow? I mean - yes, this might work, but the time it takes to munch down the HP of times-X mobs any normal AoE DD might have taken the same mobs down 5 times. I do a lot of AoE in FoG these days and really... I try do see a point in using Flame or Poison but I can't find any arguments for it. Root all the way. Winter/HoP. Then buffs every 20 minutes. The rest is just wasting MP. Same in any AoE party I'm in (or may it be that happens because I'm in a mage-oriented clan?)