Channeling That Isn't Terrible

[Rehtael7]

The pathetic selection of channeling mods aside, channeling is almost exclusively used for Life Strike.

 

I suggest simply taking the Stamina meter of the olden days, recoloring it, moving it down below the weapon name and making channeling consume a slowly-refilling energy meter.

 

Alternatively, you could have channeling-energy be a separate pickup from power-energy which would keep the scarcity aspect of using channeling in-tact.

 

Any alternative to the current Energy-Drain system would be nice. Due to the impressively underwhelming channeling mods and usage of energy, as well as lack of channeling multiplier variance and costs within weapons, there is so little reason to use it as is.

[Jaypalm]

Yes. All of this.

 

I would love to see a weapon that is designed for a channeling build. 20% crit or more? Crit build. Less than that? Elemental build. 25% status or more? Status build. Yet every single weapon has a base 5 energy cost and 1.5x multiplier. It's especially useless on weapons that have lower damage with individual strikes like Obex or Ankyros Prime. The damage from a single channeled Scindo Prime costs 3 times as much for Ankyros to achieve.

[Rehtael7]

Now, importantly, this would need to be coupled with an overhaul to channeling mods.

 

Problems with most current channeling mods:

-Very small benefits

-Increased channeling cost

-Requires channeling

 

Now compare to let's say... Molten Strike.

+90% total damage

+Elemental type

+Does not require channeling to take effect.

[Naftal]

What actually is needed is:

 

-Seperate combo counter and channeling multipliers so they are multiplicative and not additive to each other

-Make +channeling damage mods multiply your total damage when channeling and not only the bonus damage while you are channeling

-Quickening: Make it decrease channeling cost instead of increasing it OR remove the increased channeling cost and increase the attack speed bonus

-True Punishment: Increase the crit chance bonus enough to deal guaranteed crits with channeled attacks.

-Enduring Strike: Increase the status chance bonus enough to deal guaranteed procs with channeled attacks.

-Corrupt Charge: Increase the channeling damage multiplier to at least +200%. The mod needs to be strong enough to have a good effect after using Killing Blow and/or strong enough to be used without Killing Blow and still be worth the downside.

[SubjectL]

we need this..

[Rehtael7]

What actually is needed is:

 

-Seperate combo counter and channeling multipliers so they are multiplicative and not additive to each other

-Make +channeling damage mods multiply your total damage when channeling and not only the bonus damage while you are channeling

-Quickening: Make it decrease channeling cost instead of increasing it OR remove the increased channeling cost and increase the attack speed bonus

-True Punishment: Increase the crit chance bonus enough to deal guaranteed crits with channeled attacks.

-Enduring Strike: Increase the status chance bonus enough to deal guaranteed procs with channeled attacks.

-Corrupt Charge: Increase the channeling damage multiplier to at least +200%. The mod needs to be strong enough to have a good effect after using Killing Blow and/or strong enough to be used without Killing Blow and still be worth the downside.

The question with Enduring Strike is what about red crits? 

 

And while I sort of agree with most of your proposed changes, I have a multitude of problems with current mods which you can find out more of here: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/548209-why-the-current-mod-system-is-horrible-how-to-improve-it-why-it-may-be-too-late/

 

And I think your proposals would make channeling more than a little bit overpowered.

[Naftal]

The question with Enduring Strike is what about red crits?

Maybe make it not increase crit chance at all but it guarantees a critical strike and getting a red crit depends on whatever crit chance your weapon actually has.

[Rehtael7]

Maybe make it not increase crit chance at all but it guarantees a critical strike and getting a red crit depends on whatever crit chance your weapon actually has.

Again, I think that would be absurdly broken. That mod would then basically read +200% Damage for most weapons. For some it would mean +300%. There's really no point in crit builds if ONE MOD can guarantee crits. 

[Naftal]

Again, I think that would be absurdly broken. That mod would then basically read +200% Damage for most weapons. For some it would mean +300%. There's really no point in crit builds if ONE MOD can guarantee crits. 

They can balance it with the increased channeling cost.

 

There's no point using a mod that increases your channeling cost while it doesn't guarantee you to get a bonus when you actually channel and pay that increased energy cost.

[Rehtael7]

They can balance it with the increased channeling cost.

 

There's no point using a mod that increases your channeling cost while it doesn't guarantee you to get a bonus when you actually channel and pay that increased energy cost.

There's plenty of point if the chance increase is substantial enough. Simply guaranteeing it is truly pointless because it in that instance is a flat damage bonus scales with crit damage.

[Naftal]

There's plenty of point if the chance increase is substantial enough. Simply guaranteeing it is truly pointless because it in that instance is a flat damage bonus scales with crit damage.

Then maybe make it increase crit chance by +200% which is multiplicative to True Steel.

 

This way it isn't a good mod on weak crit weapons and improves crit builds. With multiplicative +200% it'll almost guarantee base 20% crit weapons to crit and makes it possible for 25% weapons and Tekko to get red crits.

[Rehtael7]

200% is kind of absurdly high. I'd say give it a value similar to True Steel, with no cost modifier. That way you have another means of drastically increasing your crit chance without going overboard, but it does require that you be in channeling mode.

 

+200% crit chance better be a corrupted mod with like... -50% melee damage or something if that's going to be a thing.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Rehtael7

[Naftal]

200% is kind of absurdly high. I'd say give it a value similar to True Steel, with no cost modifier. That way you have another means of drastically increasing your crit chance without going overboard, but it does require that you be in channeling mode.

60% is not "drastically". Which is why I don't really use True Steel even on crit weapons.

[Urlan]

I do quite well with Channelling damage most of the time, I am just sad some weapons like my Galatine lost their special charge and later, extra channel damage modifier that they had right after the change to channlling. Basically, its like an extra critical modifier if you like using it regularly.

[Rehtael7]

I do quite well with Channelling damage most of the time, I am just sad some weapons like my Galatine lost their special charge and later, extra channel damage modifier that they had right after the change to channlling. Basically, its like an extra critical modifier if you like using it regularly.

Only it costs 5 energy per swing, which badly punishes high-speed, low damage weapons which try to use it, and doesn't scale up nearly as well as crits.

 

60% is not "drastically". Which is why I don't really use True Steel even on crit weapons.

I think +80% would be reasonable for a channeling mod with no downside other than requiring channeling. That way between the two of them, you're gaining +140% crit chance, which for 25% chance melee weapons is about 60%. So 2/3 swings are crits. That's not bad for something which doesn't need to reload and is ALSO gaining the bonus damage of channeling. Combine that with Berserker and Organ Shatter, and you've got some insane damage scaling with highly reliable speed buffs.

[Rehtael7]

I just thought of a much better approach to a new channeling meter.

 

One that fills up with regular melee hits. This way, rapid-attack weapons still drain channeling meter at a faster rate, but replenish at a faster rate as well.

[chrischaos]

Love this idea, make it so :D

[(PSN)Akuma_Asura_]

So how about the people that channel all the time ?? Wouldn't this be counter productive to them . Unless there's an option to still mod channeling

[Rehtael7]

So how about the people that channel all the time ?? Wouldn't this be counter productive to them . Unless there's an option to still mod channeling

Channeling is in all instances horridly inefficient. You'd think that +120% Channeling Damage means +120% damage while channeling, but it ACTUALLY means that it modifies the base increase from channeling by that much, and since all weapons have a base of 1.5, this means that with the channeling damage mod, you're paying 5 energy per swing to do 110% more damage. Alternatively, you could just use elemental mods with increase your base damage by 90% and exploit elemental weaknesses, which results in about a 115% - 165% increase in overall damage, AND doesn't cost you energy which would be better spent on powers.

 

People who channel all the time don't realize how bad it is.

[(PSN)Akuma_Asura_]

Channeling on a crit melee, btw with focus energy which makes it 3 energy per hit , actually makes it worth it . My valkyr rips through lvl 80 eximus heavies with

Kogake , warcry, berserker, arcane strike, arcane guardian, channeling,

110% more damage wouldn't be worth it if it was by it self but if you add other multiplicative elements with it really helps

Edited October 28, 2015 by (PS4)Akuma_Asura_

[(XBOX)Master4733]

Channeling is in all instances horridly inefficient. You'd think that +120% Channeling Damage means +120% damage while channeling, but it ACTUALLY means that it modifies the base increase from channeling by that much, and since all weapons have a base of 1.5, this means that with the channeling damage mod, you're paying 5 energy per swing to do 110% more damage. Alternatively, you could just use elemental mods with increase your base damage by 90% and exploit elemental weaknesses, which results in about a 115% - 165% increase in overall damage, AND doesn't cost you energy which would be better spent on powers.

People who channel all the time don't realize how bad it is.

People who don't channel all the time and try to sound like they know don't know how invalid they sound, guess what melee is endgame, I want more damage on a certain hit I channel, when I want life from life steal I channel, you can't say they don't know how bad it is because it's their playstyle

[Rehtael7]

Again, that damage is better amplified by elemental mods.

[(PSN)Akuma_Asura_]

You could have both elemental dmg mods and the dmg channeling mod

[Rehtael7]

Again, that damage is better amplified by elemental mods.

I've run channeling builds. They aren't very good. I've tried time and again to make it work, and even with Trinity who has an endless source of energy, while using steel charge and abating link, it's not that good.

[Rehtael7]

You could have both elemental dmg mods and the dmg channeling mod

Or you could run Pressure Point, all of the silver Elemental mods, and (Assuming this is a crit-capable weapon) use True Steel, Organ Shatter and Berserking to get a more powerful damage output, a chance at elemental procs, AND be able to get the same damage output from quick-melee AND get that damage output without draining energy which is better spent on powers.

 

Channeling is currently AWFUL.