I really, really like my beastmaster, but he is so broken. I say that not in comparison to other classes, just by playing the BM.
I can easily grind mobs on my own just by cycling through Fury Strike (to get 30 Beast Power), Cruel Bite (regenerating 30% HP instantanously) and Beast Tornado.
The DPS of Beast Tornado isn't that bad at all - considering that the animation time of a Warrior's Brandish Storm is twice as long. It feels like 280% for BeTo vs. 443 / 2 = 222% for the Storm.
However, the healing capabilities of the Beastmaster are really, really broken. Whereas the Warrior can spend 100 Rage Roints to heal up to 90% every 120sec, the Beastmaster can spend 90 points for three Cruel Bites every 3~9sec. So basically it's 120sec vs. 9sec. So it's really, really funny to see the VCRs stating that this is 'just fine'.
Suggesting to replace defense for even more HP just goes the same route. The VCRs simply noticed that even 1000 more defense isn't worth anything, if you've already refined your gear. So more HPs would just 'improve' the BM without anyone noticing.
The other skills of the class are either stupid or lame and really need an overhaul. What I really miss on the Beastmaster is the ability to switch between multiple forms at will. Due to the fact that the Grizzly Form increases the hitpoints by such a huge amount, it makes no sense to switch to a Tiger form. It would be much better, if the HP boost would derive by most parts from a different skill and the three forms only increase the passive stuff:
Human: haste & vigor
Bear: attack power
Tiger: speed & dodge
Grizzly: defense // damage reduction
_________________________________________
My suggestions are:
Name: Rage Smash
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: The damage of this skill should be similar to the bread-&-butter skills of other classes, even without lvl 6~10.
Suggestion: Increase damage by ~40% to => 174% / 188% / 202% / 216% / 230% / 244% / 258% / 272% / 286% / 300%. Starting cooldown to 1sec (see Bash)
Name: Fury Strike
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: The non-linear damage increase makes the skill too complex. The output is by far too high for hitting up to 3 targets, especially if compared to Swordsman's Magnum Break or a Thief's Meteor Assault. The 10 Beast Points per target also makes the Cruel Bite too efficient, because it requires only 1 Fury Strike to generate the 30 points required.
Suggestion: Maximum skill level = 6; Damage should be reduced => 160% / 188% / 216% / 244% / 272% / 300%. Hits up to 3 targets and generates 4~6 beast points on every level.
Name: Cruel Bite
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: The heal effect is by far too powerful. It seems that the description of the skill deluded some devs. The Heal isn't based on the damage dealt, but on your maximum HP. Other effects are unnecessary on such a powerful skill.
Quick Fix: My real suggestion would be more complex, so the 'easy' fix is to reduce the healing to a maximum of 20%. In combination with the Fury Strike suggestions, this would be more balanced. That 'spreads' the healing over a 20sec duration (unless Frenzy is used), which is still VERY, VERY powerful.
Name: Beast Roar
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: Rather than gaining the top rank in threat, this skill and all similar skills should get another side effect to make additional levels more useful.
Suggestion: In addition, confuses (no skill use) the target for up to 3sec and reduces the defense. Cooldown: 60sec / 54sec / 48sec / 42sec / 36sec
Name: Survival
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: For a non-healer skill, the effect is quite powerful. Due to the overwhelming effectiveness of Cruel Bite, it's hard to choose this skill however. For a Werebear/Werewolf hybrid, a constant recovery would be more flavorful as an activated ability. So it's preferable to change it into a 30min buff instead.
Suggestion: Reposition; Adds two buffs (similar to Bless [Acolyte] and Water Emblem [Magician]) for 30min
- Increases VIT (you): 6% / 12% / 18% / 24% / 30%
- Increases VIT (allies): 3% / 6% / 9% / 12% / 15%
- Constant HP recovery every 10sec (you): 2% / 4% / 6% / 8% / 10%
- Constant HP recovery every 10sec (allies): 1% / 2% / 3% / 4% / 5%
The overall effectiveness stays the same (orginal Survival: 30%; min. cooldown 30sec = 10% every 10sec). Increases VIT instead of HP to include other bonuses as well (f.e. defense boost).
Name: Beast Tornado
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: As I've already written, the skill is quite useful due to the low animation time. Due to the addtional targets for Fury Strike, the limitation to 3 targets feels odd. The additional threat generation is unnecessary.
Suggestion: Affects up to 10 targets on every skill level; no additional threat generated.
Name: Frenzy
Type: Skill feedback / suggestion
Feedback: Due to the high cooldown of this skill (120sec) and the short duration (20sec), the bonus is only worth 1/6 of the stated value on average. An average Rage Point increase of ~20% at lvl5 isn't worth 5 skill points (the Warrior's Tension control grants an average boost of 10% per skill point).
Quick Fix: Decrease cooldown to 90sec; while active, it also increases threat generation by up to 100%.
Proper Fix: Replaced with Falcon Assault (see Ranger). The falcon is like an alternative to other DoT skills. The original effect should be included in to Bear Form.
Name: Brutal Strike
Type: Skill feedback
Feedback: The fact that is hits multiple targets is stays hidden and is 'unnecessary', whereas unnecessary means that the Beastmaster is still a tank class. I would forgo the additional targets and add the 'healing' special here (see Cruel Bite). The already high damage and high cooldown of this skill keeps the heal in check.
Name: Feral Defense
Type: Skill feedback
Feedback: The maximum 100% damage reduction made no sense before AoV because the Beastmaster already had a low threat level and the most hitpoints... and it doesn't make much sense now either. In addition, the Beastmaster should focus more on heals than on damage reduction. I would love to see this skill replaced by another pet skill similar to Bear Carnival, Aqua or Falcon Assault.
Name: Ymir Form / Bear Carnival
Type: Skill feedback
Feedback: Totally unnecessary. All the bonuses of the Ymir form could be included in a 'usual' transformation (Bear / Tiger / Grizzly). The pet animation of Bear Carnival is too large and it doesn't state if / how the damage is related to your attack power (like other pet skills do).
Edited by Greven79, 22 July 2014 - 07:54 AM.