So today I would like to go throug a harsh point, I would like to discuss about what is commonly known as "Debuffing" using our skills to weaken our enemies and to maximize our effectiveness.
As I said elsewhere (discussion reported below in another post), and in many other posts here and there on forums, the Herald of Xotli still has its issues (also) on the "debuffing" side of life.
Let's begin:
5m radius up to 12 targets
-15% Fire/Cold/Electrical Invulnerability
-415 Combat Rating
Casting Time: 1.5 seconds
Recast: 45 seconds
This is the first skill I'm trying to analyze, it's an AoE debuff lowering the elemental resistances (not all though) and the combat rating of the enemies, the amount of combat rating penalty can be boosted by the perk "Expanded Inferno Curse" (+20 at the combar rating debuff for each rank).
This is a good debuff to be used against melee opponents, the debuff will produce a reduced damage on hit for melee fighters and an increased susceptibility to elemental damages based on fire cold and electricity.
This SHOULD make us more effective against melee fighters, but there's a little problem: Long casting time.
In the frenzy of a melee fight stopping and standing still for 1.5 seconds it's a problem, it's like if we are saying to our enemies "Hey Nabzor, i bet you don't noticed what i'm doing, i'm so HAWT!".
Too bad that on 90% of cases we will CCed (mostly Knocbacked) to death in the meanwhile, so we will lose both the CC and life.
Still if managed properly it can be a good skill.
Molten Steel Slash!!Combo!!
Recast time: 20 seconds
Starter: +95 damage per second
-10% Cold/Fire/Electric Invulnerability
Finisher: +187 damage per second
This is our combo-debuff, to cast it you will go through a 1 step combo to apply the debuff.
This could have been our best debuff being it melee debuff, unfortunately the insane lenght of the animation makes it almost unused.
Only exception to this is when we are able to approach the enemy from a relatively safe spot, having the time to chose a good position e to start the cast before the enemy can turn and counter us.
SpitfireRecast time: 45 seconds
Casting time: Instant
3m radius up to 12 targets
-25% Received Healing Modifier
-100 Stamina/Health/Mana natural regen
99-125 damage fire each 2 seconds (13 seconds lenght)
Probably our best debuffing skill, accessible through the possession tree (tier 2 - 5 points).
The debuff to regen and incoming healing makes it extremely annoying, also the ticking damage, even if not extremely high, it's really nice, most important thing, it's Instant, so unless you are really unlucky you won't miss it!
I use it whenever i can, but could be nice to save it sometimes to use it against healers even with the aid of some "heal-removers rogue" or against some enemies with high rates of health regen.
Conclusions:
Debuffing as a HoX could be difficult, the extreme slowness of the skills that are giving elemental weakness it's a bound, Spitfire remains actually the best debuffing skill also due to the DoT it unleash.
So, debuffing it's rarely a unrenounceable duty for us, if you are lucky enough you'll be grouped with a ToS and you won't be in need to debuff you target.
Take it as a general assumption, all the other classes can debuff better than we can do, so don't rely on your debuffs (excluding Spitfire), you will waste precious time, time that sometimes can draw the line between your life and death!
Stay tuned!
Arcalimon
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