The Melee Proc

[Llyssa]

I know that melee 2.0 is supposed to be the beginning of a brave new world for melee.

 

One thing I didn't notice anyone mentioning is the proc.

 

In damage 1.0, melee was amazing, as a "rainbow" build would allow you to swiftly incapacitate an enemy and then chop them apart.

 

Since the advent of d2.0 and the accompanying proc rates, melee is extremely hard to use effectively.  It practically never procs, and between attack rates and dismal percentages, that should be to the surprise of no one.

 

It really should, however. That alone would be a massive buff to melee.

 

I can understand how having a bullet might not deliver poison or bleeding as it rips through someone quickly, as it's relatively small and has little surface area.

 

However, when a massive blade swipes through someone, the idea that the relatively large wound track and relatively massive surface area fails is as likely, or less likely, than a single bullet, to cause any effect.

 

As far as balance is concerned, it takes a lot more risk and effort to get up to someone to stab them than it does to stand down the hall spraying bullets. You'd think the danger and effort would be rewarded.

 

So, really, more than anything, as a primarily melee user, the thing that helps most, the thing I miss most, and the easiest way to make it "more viable" would be to up the percentages on procs to a place that matches with logic and balance.

 

That tweak alone would radically increase the number of people willing to use melee--a reliable stat effect application would be worth the effort.

 

So while you're rolling out transition moves and counter-attacks and whatever else that I'm already thinking "that's cute but I'm not sure I'll use it"(DESPITE being a melee-centric player), I'd like you to really look at making the proc chances count.

 

tl;dr: If I chop someone with a 6 foot sword and they don't start bleeding, there's either something wrong with the sword or the person didn't have blood to begin with.

[Verryn]

Realism is great in a game but too much ruins the fun. If weapons became like this everyone would throw on elementals and start spin n' slashing their way through everything. We just have to see what happens in the next patch...

Edited January 30, 2014 by Verryn

[Llyssa]

Realism is great in a game but too much ruins the fun. If weapons became like this everyone would throw on elementals and start spin n' slashing their way through everything. We just have to see what happens in the next patch...

To be technical, that was, in fact, the point of the melee overhaul, is that they want it to be something players see as a "valid go-to option", rather than something that no one but me uses. So your "if" is actually exactly what they've stated they want.