 | Upcoming Change: 2-Handed Weapons(1) | Category: PTR FeedbackJuly-18-2014 1:35 AM PDT (8 years ago)  |
We’ve been discussing 2-Hander buffs for a while now. Right now on live, 2-Handers are almost always less powerful than dual-wielding 1-Handers for a few different reasons, and we wanted to rebalance them for Patch 2.1. We had two options to address the issue:
After trying both options out internally, we decided to go with option 2. This solution has two desirable benefits: 1) it’s immediately noticeable to all players when they pick up a 2-Hander and see the DPS number both significantly higher than a 1-Hander and higher than pre-Patch 2.1 2-Handers and 2) changing 1 passive is less of a jarring overall change for players than changing/adding 4 passives. In the upcoming PTR patch, you should see the DPS of 2-Handed Melee Weapons increased by 23-26% across the board. The goal is to get the raw DPS of a 2H build to be close enough to the raw DPS of a Dual-Wield build that the weapon choice is mostly determined by the legendary powers on the item and by the build you are using. Some of the tradeoffs of 2-Handers vs. Dual-Wielding are that 2-Handers are intended to make more efficient use of resources and hit harder for skills with cooldowns while Dual-Wielding is intended to generate more procs, Life on Hit, and give more of certain stats. Currently, the raw DPS gap is large enough that Dual-Wielding feels like it is always the right answer. To summarize the changes:
We are still considering additional changes if needed but this should be a solid step towards making 2-Handers viable again for all classes. | ||
| Upcoming Change: 2-Handed Weapons(44) | July-21-2014 4:39 AM PDT (8 years ago) |
| Game Designer John Yang has commented on some of the questions and concerns that have also been raised in this thread. I will quote his comments below for increased visibility: In regards to 2-handed Crossbows and Bows not getting the same treatment as all other 2-handed weapons; this is due to Quivers that compliments 2-handed Crossbows and Bows with additional stats: Posted by jkcheng122 As for bows not getting the same treatment, no reason for it since DHs have quivers to add stats. You hit the nail on the head here. Currently, 2-Handed Crossbows/Bows are very competitive with 1-Handed Crossbows because Demon Hunters can use a quiver with any bow type and as a result, 2-Handed Crossbows/Bows do not require a rebalance. In regards to 2-handed weapons not getting an additional socket or additional stats; this is a solution that was considered, but it is not an optimal solution as it would have a number of undesirable consequences (more details on that in the quote below): Posted by BruceWayne The only thing left unanswered is the extra socket, which is such a large DPS boost, does warrent concern. Posted by Ariâel I'm guessing the reason they don't add the 4 stats and extra gem slot is ... Crusaders. They still get to use a shield and get the 4 stats and a gem slot, no second crit gem but still. Increasing the stat rolls on 2-Handed weapons so they are equal to two stat rolls of a 1-Handed weapon is a common suggestion and one we’ve definitely considered. Unfortunately, this solution would have the undesirable consequence of enabling only one class – Crusaders – to have the highest possible amount of certain stats from gear (e.g. Cooldown Reduction) when using both a 2-Hander and a Shield. Adding an extra socket to a 2-Hander effectively translates into more DPS. Yes, we could do that, but as some players have begun to point out, Critical Hit Damage is a problematic stat for us. Because it multiplies with Critical Hit Chance, it causes both of those stats to feel overly mandatory. We would much rather further increase 2-Hander base damage than give out more Critical Hit Damage. To give an extreme example for this topic, if we increased the base damage of 2-Handers by 10x, 2-Handers would definitely not need an extra socket or higher stat rolls in order to be competitive. That example tells us that we can continue making the distinction that 2-Handers hit harder and make more efficient use of resources while 1-Handers generate more procs and have more of certain stats, and not have to settle for a solution that unfairly gives a higher cap of certain stats to Crusaders or exacerbates the issue with Critical Hit Damage. The current 2-Hander buff is a safe first approach. We don’t want to swing the pendulum in the other direction and make 2-Handers the only option, so we are moving carefully. Thanks for all of your feedback, suggestions, and number-crunching – keep it up. As John Yang mentioned in his post, the current 2-Hander buff is a safe first approach, which means it is subject to further iteration. Additional testing is required though, so we would certainly appreciate it if you would post about your experiences using 2-handed weapons on the PTR :-) | ||
| Upcoming Change: 2-Handed Weapons(47) | July-21-2014 5:58 AM PDT (8 years ago) |
| Just wanted to thank people for the continued constructive discussion in this thread btw. It is a pleasure to follow this thread due to the great feedback you guys are providing :-) | ||
