Here I'll be taking any sort of suggestions from the other threads and post them up so that there can be a more focused discussion instead of people saying things over multiple threads. The focus here is to see what the community thinks should be done.
For reference:
So, I did some simple calculations on the Defense stat just to show that life without 1Vit = 2Def isn't as scary as one may think.
The Defense formula is found here: http://forums.warppo...fence-formulas/
Defense%=Defense/((Defense*.01)+(Level*.35)+8.7)
*Level is calculated from 1-70 so if you are master level you would use 51-70
At Master Level 20 unbuffed, I have 1608 Vit and Osiris set gives 3442 base Def (we also all start with 1 base def I suppose).
My Current Stats (1Vit = 2Def)
Human: 6659 Def = 66.73%
Grizzly: 9988.5 Def = 75.05%
Hypothetical Scenario A (1Vit = 1Def)
Human: 5051 Def = 60.34% (-6.39%)
Grizzly: 7576.5 Def = 69.53% (-5.52%)
Hypothetical Scenario B (1Vit = 0Def)
Human: 3443 Def = 50.91% (-15.82%)
Grizzly: 5164.5 Def = 60.87% (-14.18%)
More people seem to agree that BMs need a slight decrease in this aspect. I suggest that the 2 def per VIT should be changed to an HP boost. A suitable HP boost would be necessary so that this wouldn't be a major buff or nerf as HP scales in a linear fashion. Based on Arbalist's numbers above, we lose roughly 15% defense in both forms with the defense decrease. Going from taking 25% of original damage to 40% in grizzly and 35% to 50% in bear form means that a grizzly means that a grizzly bear will be taking roughly 56% more damage and a dps bear would take around 48% more damage than before the defense decrease. Based on this, we'd be taking around 50% more damage on average so in order to compensate for that loss, the HP gain would need to be increased by ~50%. Here are some suggestions:
1. A ~50% HP boost so 1 VIT= 22-23 HP. This makes sense because we're increasing damage by 50% so increasing damage capacity by 50% would be an even compensation. However, DoTs and damage penetration lower the value of defense so this would end up being a buff because DoTs would still be just as strong, but we have more damage capacity. Armor rips also get nerfed against us because we have less reliance on defense and more on HP. There's also other aspects to this because 50% more HP means 50% more self heals, though outside heals won't be worth as much in comparison. If this is the case then I'd suggest a slight decrease in cruel bite's healing.
2. A change to 1 VIT= 20 HP which would put us at 33% more damage capacity. This one is debatable. One could argue that we have only 33% more capacity to compensate for the 50% more damage taken, but it still shifts reliance from defense to HP which is more reliable. It may even be a slight buff, but there are so many factors and situations that the advantages/disadvantages would vary from situation to situation.
3. Tidus suggested 1 VIT= 17 HP above. That would put us at around 13% more capacity, which is definitely a nerf. This may be appropriate, but it may also be too drastic.
4. Keep it as it is. This is the easiest option for obvious reasons, but most people also disagree with it.
5. Any mix of the above options along with anything in between.
Based on everything up there and my own opinions, the second option would be best as it changes the direction of BMs to a more HP based class without really being a definite nerf. Based on Verinnes' post above, nerfing the damage of cruel bite to reduce it's over-effectiveness in grizzly form would be appropriate, but adding a second component that increases HP gain based on damage would compensate for the much lower heals in bear form because of the higher damage done by the DPS form.
Edited by Turniper, 04 April 2014 - 02:07 PM.