Questions about testing on PTS (Yeah some ION related stuff in here)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Destromathe

Hey All,

A "nerf" would constitute something that was changed after it went live. In this case, we put a shield on PTS for testing, and found in that testing that it was a bit too strong comparatively. The final product that you see on live is where we intend to keep it, and if that changes we will be sure to let everyone know!

As always, remember that PTS content is never final, and can change prior to Live release.

---

When you say "a bit too strong comparatively" what was it compared to? Has the Darkest Hour been put through this same type of rigorous testing? Was it to strong in PvE or PvP or both? How many people took part in the testing?

Last one for now..

When you take advice from people (especially when it come to something being OP) do you bother to check that they use PTS and have tested the things they claim?

I really like you Destro and hate that your new position means you're the go to guy for flak on these things, but this wasn't handled properly and should be resolved before everyone vendors their Ion Shields.

If your solution is to make all shields the same cap as their basic counterparts fine so be it, but if DH is considered fine cap wise then Ion was too.

Well if the Ion had a capacity that was too high then why hasn't the Darkest Hours capacity been reduced?

There's absolutely no reasoning to their decisions in this game.

Hopefully when morning rolls around and Destro see's this thread he can provide us with some insight.

Well this reminds me of when Ocho replaced Kiwi as community manager and the team went silent..sadly I don't think Kiwi will be coming back to the rescue this time :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chump Norris

Well this reminds me of when Ocho replaced Kiwi as community manager and the team went silent..sadly I don't think Kiwi will be coming back to the rescue this time :(

---

It actually reminds me of way back when we got that letter from Trick.
Kiwi was brought in to quell the storm I believe well now we're in the doldrums and becalmed.

mind you before they changed it the ion shield would have had an even higher capacity than the DH with a resistance at that... also... exl items dropped with a unique buff thats been present since the first exl, the darkest hour has no more than 2k more capacity than your normal ironclad at supreme and 6ke. but with no resistance at all the darkest hour isnt all that hard to break in a normal sense, though mind you the 3 synergies darkest hours can be found in 2 of which rely on shield break for their perks.

I'm still trying to find where it is written that no shield can have a higher cap than EXL shields. Personally I don't buy that this or the Piper shield nerfs had anything to do with the EXL shields but rather an extremely vocal minority that live in PvP and Trion making sure that people use more Hunter Reqs in expeditions.

Hey All,

I would be happy to comment on this. We strive very hard to keep everything as balanced in game as we can. The EXL shields were implemented several years ago, and was also a very limited time item. The main issue with shields that are being referenced here, is the ease at which they are obtained, and in regards specifically to the Piper shield, an actual bug in the capacity calculation. Defiance is a game where you are fighting to obtain the best weapons and items in the game. When those best items are awarded for easy pursuits or missions, there is no feeling of accomplishment, which leads to no feeling of reward.

We are always looking at balance, and one of the balance topics we absolutely want to touch on is shields. It is on our list, and absolutely something we want to get in line. But rather than lower the capacity on an already existing rare shield, we would prefer to introduce new shields, that drop in the world rather than from pursuits or missions, that are on par. Keep an eye out for changes like this in the future.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Destromathe

Hey All,

I would be happy to comment on this. We strive very hard to keep everything as balanced in game as we can. The EXL shields were implemented several years ago, and was also a very limited time item. The main issue with shields that are being referenced here, is the ease at which they are obtained, and in regards specifically to the Piper shield, an actual bug in the capacity calculation. Defiance is a game where you are fighting to obtain the best weapons and items in the game. When those best items are awarded for easy pursuits or missions, there is no feeling of accomplishment, which leads to no feeling of reward.

We are always looking at balance, and one of the balance topics we absolutely want to touch on is shields. It is on our list, and absolutely something we want to get in line. But rather than lower the capacity on an already existing rare shield, we would prefer to introduce new shields, that drop in the world rather than from pursuits or missions, that are on par. Keep an eye out for changes like this in the future.

---

The ion shield isn't balanced at all though, it is a limited time event item, and is worse than literally any ironclad shield in the game. It has 3.6s less delay (?) But half the recharge rate, has the same cap, and comes at t4.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Destromathe

Hey All,

I would be happy to comment on this. We strive very hard to keep everything as balanced in game as we can. The EXL shields were implemented several years ago, and was also a very limited time item. The main issue with shields that are being referenced here, is the ease at which they are obtained, and in regards specifically to the Piper shield, an actual bug in the capacity calculation. Defiance is a game where you are fighting to obtain the best weapons and items in the game. When those best items are awarded for easy pursuits or missions, there is no feeling of accomplishment, which leads to no feeling of reward.

We are always looking at balance, and one of the balance topics we absolutely want to touch on is shields. It is on our list, and absolutely something we want to get in line. But rather than lower the capacity on an already existing rare shield, we would prefer to introduce new shields, that drop in the world rather than from pursuits or missions, that are on par. Keep an eye out for changes like this in the future.

---

Well, if those changes don't happen before October.. it'll be an even easier decision letting my XBL Gold subscription expire.