#Feedback on Spellblade after Arcane Shockwave -> Arcane Surge change

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

cosmic hill
#

I’ve been playing Spellblade quite a bit, including doing Mama Bear runs, and after spending some time with the Arcane Shockwave change into Arcane Surge, I wanted to give some more complete feedback on how the class feels now.
Main issue: stack management feels worse, not better
From what I understood, the goal of changing Arcane Shockwave into Arcane Surge was to lean more into the class’s single-target identity, give it a bit more damage, and make Arcane Instability stacks easier to control.
In practice, for me at least, it has felt like the opposite.
Before the change, the class flow was more straightforward. I could cycle through Arcane Slashes, Arcane Wave, and Arcane Shockwave naturally, and the only time I really had to pay close attention to stacks was when I wanted to line up Siphon Instability into Supernova.
Now Arcane Surge adds another breakpoint to track, because:

Siphon Instability wants 5 stacks for maximum duration
Arcane Surge wants up to 3 stacks for better damage
At 6 stacks, they auto-consume

So instead of simplifying stack control, it feels like I now have to constantly manage around two different “correct” stack counts while also avoiding overcapping. That makes the class feel more fiddly mid-combat, not smoother.
And to be honest, I don’t really feel the payoff. I went back to kill Mama Bear after getting Manafused Mindblades, and despite having better weapons than on previous kills, I didn’t come away feeling noticeably stronger.
Suggestion: make stack payoff easier to control
If the goal is to make stack management less awkward, one idea would be to let Siphon Instability, maybe after Arcane Surge or Arcane Blitz behave as if it were consuming max stacks.
Right now the class asks for too much precision for too little reward and that’s a lot of mental overhead for a class that already has a pretty rigid combat loop.

#

-Secondary issue: the class feels even weaker against groups
This was already one of Spellblade’s weaker areas before, and I don’t think the change helps with that at all.
The class is clearly designed around single-target damage, which is fine, but it struggles too much when fighting multiple weaker enemies. Even when the enemies are below your level, clearing packs feels worse than it should.
The problem is that the AoE tools are either too limited or too awkward:

Arcane Wave has some AoE, but it’s still fairly limited
Arcane Slashes is very small
old Arcane Shockwave at least gave some extra group coverage in certain situations

Now that Arcane Surge is single-target, that weakness is even more noticeable.
Possible fix without changing the class identity too much
If the intention is to keep Spellblade mostly single-target, I think the class could still use a small quality-of-life buff for pack clearing.
My suggestion would be to give Supernova and Arcane Surge a little more range.
Even something small like range 3 could already help a lot.
Personally, I think range 6 on Supernova and Shockwave/Surge would feel much better, but even a more conservative increase would make the class less frustrating when farming weaker mobs.
I’m not asking for Spellblade to become an AoE class. I just think it should be able to farm lower-level groups a bit more comfortably without feeling completely handicapped.

#

Now that i've taken some time to properly voice some of my concerns, here is another:
-Arcane Blitz also feels clunky
Using it mid-combat is clunky, especially now that stack management is already tighter. Since Blitz increases attack speed for a short time, using it well means you also need to predict how quickly your stacks are going to move during that window.
That makes the timing feel unintuitive, especially when the class already wants very deliberate stack control for Surge and Siphon.
Suggestion for Blitz:

I think Arcane Blitz would feel much better if it worked as a targeted teleport/dash directly to the enemy instead of how it works now.
That would help in a few ways:

makes it smoother to use in combat
gives the class better target access
makes the button feel more purposeful instead of just another buff to juggle and need to point to the floor mid combat
reduces some of the awkwardness of trying to line up movement, attack speed, and stack control at the same time

#

The payoff does not feel high enough for the amount of effort the class asks for
Spellblade already asks for a lot:

melee positioning
cooldown tracking
stack tracking
swing timing
not overcapping stacks
setting up Siphon and Supernova properly

That is a lot more attention than many other classes require.
The problem is that the reward doesn’t really feel high enough to justify it.
I went back to do Mama Bear after getting Manafused Mindblades, and since my previous kills were with weaker weapons, I expected to feel noticeably stronger.
I really didn’t.
That’s my main issue with the Arcane Surge change: it added more to track, but I don’t actually feel a meaningful jump in power from it.
So even if the numbers are technically better, the class still feels too high-effort for the result you get.

dry gorge
#

On the last point, Would it feel bad to lose the mobility outside of combat?

cosmic hill
#

it is more of a gimmick at this point, you use it and move a bit faster
i have some more walls of text incoming i did a document to properly voce all of this

dry gorge
#

For arcane surge, rather than giving it a stack reduction effect, it could add 3 stacks and be an accelerant

Then we can make supernova splash aoe as well

cosmic hill
#

but you can use it as well to close in

#

that being said you will most likely have it in cooldown since it is a melee speed buff, so you might not even have it when needed

dry gorge
#

Quick thoughts are:

  • we can switch arcane surge to be an accelerant
  • we can add supernova splash for actually substantial damage to low levels, then finish them off with arcane wave
  • will look at the dps and make some adjustments to make sure it’s competitive with other top dps
cosmic hill
#

just wanted to give me 5cents about the class i have spend already 200 hours in since i started playing a few weeks ago

#

last point

#

-The class also feels too squishy for a melee with this much setup

Spellblade has to play in melee range, manage stacks carefully, and commit pretty hard to its combat rhythm, but it still feels very squishy.
Even defensive tools like Arcane Aegis don’t really solve that feeling. You can still end up in a spot where the class just doesn’t have enough sustain to stay comfortable in prolonged melee, especially compared to how much effort it already takes to play well.
That’s why I think the class needs a bit of sustain, not necessarily raw tankiness.
Possible direction
Something like:

a way to steal mana
a mechanic that lets mana act like a secondary health bar
or some kind of defensive sustain tied into the class’s arcane identity

That would fit the class fantasy a lot better than just giving it flat durability.
I think this would help a lot, because right now Spellblade feels like it has:

the risks of a melee class
the micromanagement of a high-execution class
but not enough survivability or sustain to make that feel worth it

#

-I want to be clear here: I’m not asking to remove the stack gameplay or make the class braindead.

I like that Spellblade has a higher skill ceiling.

#

and that would be it

dry gorge
#

the mana thing might work but i fear it'll end up being worse than a flat immunity shield for 4s in practice

#

bc as an int class you will have a substantial mana pool

#

also the squishiness comes from the fact that it's oriented around damage reduction for magic - if you're fighting pure magic damage dealers, say in maps - cloth armor is going to be bis

cosmic hill
soft bronze
#

did that bear for reference this morning spellblade in its current state is doing about 15k more than the button mashing zerk and completly skipping over phases with worse gear completing mamabear in a single hp pot.

soft bronze
#

so maybe 20-25% more dmg on spellblade vs zerker no idea what the intended balance is for the skill ceiling so theres some numbers xD

cosmic hill
#

Vs when i did it

soft bronze
#

i didnt get to test it since patch was pushed while i sleep but i suspect it wouldnt have made much of a difference since i generally only push it in that 10sec window

#

you proc so many stacks there it should have been minimal

#

i am using daggers though not sure what kind of attack speed you have

cosmic hill
#

Manafused mindblade

#

It the last tries

#

As said, i was doing a bit less damage and could not reliable skip phases that when i was doing mama bear with scholar's saber

#

So it did make a difference for me

soft bronze
#

atleast with the overnight changes though it doesnt change the rotation at all ^^

cosmic hill
#

I will try this after work

deft otter
#

Sharei how do your mama bear runs feel? And do you go about them?

cosmic hill
#

Previously i cleared mana bear with a single sovereign potion, int potion of +32ish and an infinite apple. If I did a good rotation i could skip the mechanic

#

Lv 30 int medium armor and lv 25 scholar sabers

#

All of them with +int enchantment t7

#

Yesterday i did mama bear with the same set up, except the weapons where that of mana bear, mana infused (but infused for sustain t8 vamp) they already have enough int to compensate for the enchantment int loss

#

I know i would not heal in there with mama bear with those enchants

#

Anyhow, i could not skip a single time the mechanic

#

Even with a good rotation, which was more difficult to mantain

#

I have not cleared it now with the changes yet

#

Will check after work

cosmic hill
#

oh wow

#

not used a single potion vs mama bear

#

what i've noticed is that the 3 stacks you gain from mana surge, do not go over 6. if you already had 4-5 it makes the stacks explode and you do not get the other 1 or 2 you should be applying for the next