Yes, precisely so- particularly point #3. The original post essentially turns Celestines into a class that can only kill in groups with the Sacraments instakill outlined. Which...they can already do with Absolve. So while it may be slightly *easier* to kill with an ego instakill as a Celestine, it doesn't solve the core problem, which seems to be that it can not overcome any amount of healing to keep a target from simply ignoring your offense or leaving the area at will.Daemel said:Sulwh said:Celestines already have multiple viable killpaths: Judgment, Absolve, Inquisition (it is an instakill in the same sense that toad curse is one - the person that is being inquisitioned should die unless mistakes happen or they are rescued), Meteor (especially with the new wondercenser), Cauterise, and Soulless (but let's be real, why would you ever use it when Judgment is Soulless but a thousand times better?). They have tools to hamper someone and keep them in the room for meteor: carcer, shieldstun, web. If the meteor is timed well and you are able to drop the meteor immediately before the opponent uses balance/equilibrium, then shieldstun/web has a great chance of lasting until the meteor falls.Absolve is already an amazing pressuring tool even though it is not viable for solo kills (there are other killpaths for solo: judgment and meteor). If there is a Celestine in a group, then you have to watch your mana usage for clotting. The Nihilism equivalent, Wrack, at least requires the target to be bound or paralyzed. Absolve only requires 50% mana.I think it is neat that class reworks are being done, but I do not understand the rationale in removing 2 conditional viable group instakills and replacing it with, on paper, an extremely strong killpath.
1. The thing about Absolve is that while yes, it is a killsteal move-it is only that. A Celestine can't reliably pull it off without a Tk mage/Nekotai and wiccans to a lesser degree meaning that they having to reach outside their org to achieve the method as Celest typically don't have TK mages. They are predominantly dreamweavers or runists to a lesser degree. Also, Wrack is nowhere -near- as equivalent as absolve. Wrack may have an extra requirement, but it can be pulled off without help because of the way Nihilists are set up greatly for success even with the recent upgrade they received in the last two or three years. You can't amissio/powersink your way to absolve with afflictions that cure at the speed of light that is given actively ~4s or passively at ~8s with the angel. So the removal of absolve makes sense to me here.
2. Tools to hamper like carcer/web/shieldstun/tower(fall) card are negligble because of some artifacts make those tools lolzy irrelevant. Understandably they're not meant to be 100% inescapable which is correct, but they can also use a much-needed upgrade in proc rates in blocking escape to allow them more use for necessity.
3. My concern is the reduction in stun duration because for balance reasons, the new mech -has- to take into account of Soulless and Meteor kills. I get the impression that this new suite of affs MIGHT be good for cauterize, but I don't know. However, I think the stun needs to be at least 6 or 7s which is still a reduction from what it is now, but it should be baby steps in duration reduction to see how viable it is to pull off those two. It is already bad that you can't do anything while Soulless is being channeled, but also within that time and stun, the angel will only pull off one set of affs-which if wrathed, that's literally only 2 afflictions (within the current 8s) and that won't be enough to "hamper" in the current meta of how simple it is to walk out of anything short of a crux, pfifth or a climax stun. At 4s, it's a simple cure a possible aff that prevents movement and it's a reset or a reset and forced to go for <25% ego or max holyfire to be slain.
The only Celestines I've seen in recent months on Shadowlight have complained about how terrible Absolve is, so I feel like a viable instakill in the guild primary to work towards sounds like a great idea. (Or is it usually in the secondary? Institute gets it in Aeonics but I guess that's kind of their main stick.) Likewise, even in groups (admittedly we might not be the best coordinated at times) I know that I see people living through inquisition stun and running after coming out the other end so I would venture that a kill condition stuck onto the end would be preferable than just a stun/def strip. Certainly, going by deathsights Meteor (super popular all round) and Soulless (less popular? I think I've seen it once) have been done more outside of inquisition than because of it. In my opinion the fact that Meteor and Soulless being the fun kill routes that stand out in your memory is a sign of the lack of flourish in Celestineism itself. Come back and throw space rocks at people with @Azula and friends in the meantime, it still works - and rocks!Talkan said:I guess I'm confused about why moving kill routes away from tertiaries is a net positive for the class. Meteor and Soulless are really fun kill routes to achieve. Moving the class away from those doesn't seem like it's inherently better.Furies said:Thank you all for the feedback so far.@Talkan
What we are trying to do here is shift the focus for the Celestine kill route back to Celestialism and away from tertiary abilities, as these should be the primary kill methods for the class. The idea behind the 6p for CELESTIALRAY isn't to stack afflictions, it's to assist in the generation of HolyFire. The concept is that there is just enough time between Inquisition starting and finishing to use CELESTIALRAY as a means to secure more HolyFire and execute the kill condition.