Clockwork Armor Crafting Ballance

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by DungeonDragon, Sep 10, 2012.

  1. DungeonDragon

    DungeonDragon Member

    Good day!

    I absolutely love crafting so I chose Clockwork Knight and played as one for a while now I have some ballance suggestions.

    As you progress as a Clockwork Knight you gain extra recipes which are quite useful and powerfull armor pieces.
    They are:

    Imperial Clockwork Helm (requires lvl 6 Tinkering Skill)
    Imperial Clockwork Plate (req. lvl 7 TS)

    So in oder to craft them you need to be a Clockwork Knight of the 6 or 7th lvl and a Tinkerer of 6 or 7th lvl. So it roughly is a 12-13th character lvl and also if we decide that we are going to create a Full Plate Mail ourselves than we have to be a lvl 5 Smith, so it's 16 lvl character totaly(if we have tinkering googles). Now of course it is expected that those armor will be if not high end then at least very close. But here the thing there is Imperial Boilerplate armor:

    Imperial Boilerplate Helm (req lvl 7TS) (hidden recipe)
    Imperial Boilerplate (req lvl 6 TS) (normal recipe)

    The difference between Clockwork and Boilerplate quipment is amost none(I put by what one piece of armor is superiour to its counterpart in parentheses):

    Imperial Boilerplate Helm (+3 :block: Block )
    Imperial Clockwork Helm (+1:resist_blast: BS res)
    None of which will make a great difference at lvl 16

    Imperial Boilerplate (+2:resist_acidic:+2:resist_toxic:+2:resist_aphyxiative: +5 :block: )
    Imperial Clockwork Plate (+4:resist_blast: +4:melee_power: )
    Again I see no real difference and also I think resistances 3 different resistances and block chance are more important than just a blast resistance and melee power.

    My thoughts are that Clockwork equipment is not rewarding enough and is redandant because of the Boilerplate equipment. First of all I think Imperial Boilerplate should require 7 Tinkering Skill to create, second I think this recipe should be hidden and the last one I think Clockwork should be a more superiour armor(compared to Boilerplate) giving how long it takes to get those recipes.
     
  2. Kazeto

    Kazeto Member

    Actually, clockwork stuff is superior if you are using a lot of self-harming things that explode. Outside of that, it's just a matter of preference.

    And I don't think it should be changed to level 7, really. Outside of people who take a crafting skill and something to supplement it (like Clockwork Knight), it really is very hard for players to get a crafting stat to 7 points unless they get really lucky, but we do not want something like crafting to be too luck-based.
     
  3. Kyrie

    Kyrie Member

    Boiler plate is clearly superior than Clockwork, since :armor_asorb: reduce the damage types that Boilerplate do not, and the bursting, explosions and crushing from clockwork knight are reduced by :armor_asorb:.

    The helms are only ok, and that before you find an Aeternaut Helm, that is uber.

    Ah yes, Clock Armor is only cool because of +4 :melee_power:.
     
  4. Ruigi

    Ruigi Will Mod for Digglebucks

    This is not true, the only way to avoid the self damage from clockwork knight abilities is to have blasting/conflag resist.
     
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  5. Nikolai

    Nikolai Member

    To elaborate, this is because CK spells directly scale off of :armor_asorb:. So, while you will deal a point of damage based on :armor_asorb:, you will receive one as well, which is then mitigated by it. Thus, you will always take 15:dmg_blast: from Rocket Jump, unless you get that Blasting Resistance.

    Parabolic mecha stomp, on the other hand, scales with :melee_power: and deals :dmg_crushing:, so :armor_asorb: will take care of that.
     
  6. DungeonDragon

    DungeonDragon Member

    Well my main point is that even though Boilerplate is superior(or at least the same) it requires. 6lvl Tinkering, Clockwork Plate requires lvl7 Tinkering and lvl7 CK it's not that it's unfair but it's an unrewarding recipe for maxing two skills.



    @Nikolai

    Are you Russian by any chance? :)
     
  7. Nikolai

    Nikolai Member

    Honestly, I can sympathize with these points. But then you have to keep in mind the resource costs. Clockwork gear also gives you valuable melee power, and the blasting resistance synergizes heavily with all your self-blasting damage, so I don't think you should devalue that. Otherwise, yes, I could see giving Clockwork Gear some love, but not too much.

    And no, sorry, I'm an American mutt. No Russian ancestry, even. I just liked the name, really.
     
  8. sam12six

    sam12six Member

    I agree that it's a little unfair to invest twice the skill points to craft a comparable suit of armor. That said, the armor in question is geared specifically as a complement to the CK's activated skills.

    I'd personally love to see more variety in the light armors. At this point, the only real decision that you need to make is whether you're going to use magic as a primary source of offense/heals. If not, heavy armor is the way to go. We have armor geared to mages and warriors, I'd enjoy having more meaningful decisions when forced to choose between that plate that gives a huge boost to defense or rogue armor that doesn't but gives a huge boost to :counter:, :crit:, :caddishness:, :nimbleness:, or even :trap_sense:.
     
  9. Kyrie

    Kyrie Member

    Huh... I didn't knew about the :armor_asorb: effect on CK skills, sorry for the missinformation.

    PS: Basting isn't mmitigated by :armor_asorb:?
     
  10. Lorrelian

    Lorrelian Member

    It is. The problem is, the CK Rocket Jump blasting damage hurts harder in direct proportion to your AA, so more AA results in more damage and you wind up always taking the same ammount of it unless you have the correct resistance.
     
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  11. Kyrie

    Kyrie Member

    Ah! Got It! Thanks!
     
  12. Kazeto

    Kazeto Member

    Blasting damage is mitigated by armour absorption, it is just that every possible Clockwork Knight effect that made you explode dealt damage which scaled with your armour absorption, so increasing it gave you nothing outside of the potential damage if you ever happened to be on the same square as another monster (which, theoretically, should not happen).
     
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  13. impishacid

    impishacid Member

    Really though, if you're already decked out in full heavy plate-type armors, quibbling over a few points of block chance is pretty pointless; you may well be at over 100% chance to block either way.
     
  14. FelixDrake

    FelixDrake Member

    Another option for 7 tinkering skill is to have rogue scientist, tinkering, and CK.
    1 point for the goggles (something of a given)
    2 points for RS up to second highest level
    1 point from CK up to rocket jump (which is the point at which you might actually WANT clockwork plate)
    1 point from your initial level of tinkering.
    This gets you 5 of 7 levels of tinkering. It takes 8 level ups, and includes a wide assortment of long range damage CDs to soften up/kill your foes.

    That leaves 2 levels to get from either 2 points of tinkering (if you are primarily taking CK for the salvage and the jump), or 1 point into tinkering skill and max CK.

    2 tinkering means 10 total level ups needed. Max CK means 13 level ups.
    Only a few more levels than if one of your maxed skills is tinkering, and you get SO much more from it.
    You also get both alchemical ooze and tech salvage to feed any ranged weapon or other crafting addiction you may have.
    You can make 2 clockwork orbs(tinkering), a trapper's toolbelt(tinkering), and a pair of thieving gloves(2 alchemy, which RS gives at that level) for a total of +7 trap disarm. 2 levels of tinkering gives you +2 trap disarm. That gives you +9 trap disarm (the other reason people go up the tinkering tree).
    More levels of tinkering are basically just there for more trap disarm and more damage to the 3 (between RS and CK) abilities, which can wait until later, as they are primarily there to 'tenderize' your prey before you take it out with tinker weapon of choice (ranged or melee).

    So 13 level ups, 3 skill slots taken up, and you get (with crafting) +9 trap disarm, 5(!)tinkering/alchemy/armor/attack based ranged attacks (all heavy armor friendly), several jump in their face (or away from their face) and smack them around powers, including one with a very short CD, several knockback powers, and the ability to craft pretty much anything tinkering based, amongst other benefits.

    If you go in this direction, getting to 6 tinkering before goggles by the time you find your first suit of plate mail is a fairly simple task most days if this is your first focus (and it can be, because you are leveling 'kill things' trees, not crafting trees with minimal other benefits). The tinkerer's goggles not showing up issue will, I hope, get fixed, but even if you need one more point, it's just more damage for 3 different powers.
     
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  15. Psiweapon

    Psiweapon Member


    Am I the only panda who loves smuggler vests, bandit mail, brigandines et al ?

    The brigandine is kind of heavy, with :resist_piercing:, malus to :magic_power:, but IIRC is only -3 :nimbleness:, which makes it compatible with :dodge: and :sneakiness:. One of my current characters is a sword-and-dagger sneaky jumpy meleer with swords, daggers, dual-wielding, artful dodging, burglary, assassination and tinkerer. My last three armors have been bandit mail (pretty nice) -> brigandine -> ring mail.
     
  16. Lorrelian

    Lorrelian Member

    Yeah, I agree with Psiweapon, with the increase of Nimbleness-relevant skills (Trompement, most Daggers stuff) and the changes to Stealth, including making it more relevant to certain skills like Assassination and Daggers, ect, light armor's lack of penalties to Nimbleness and Stealth is more and more relevant.
     
  17. FelixDrake

    FelixDrake Member

    True, but when you get right down to it, CK is a skill which does not scale off magical power, but has damage dealing that scales off your attack power and armor level. As such, it is optimized towards a "full plate and packing steel" (-Minsc) loadout, with the mighty power of clockwork, steam, and the occasional aether powered whachamagizit.
    That does not limit the CK skill set to heavy armor, but it does mean if you are bowling into people at high speed or jumping on their heads wearing, say, a poncho with no name, the synergy may be less than optimal.