TOPIC: Changes to the Havoc Rings

We have a lot of + damage to Ranged items this year which also improve Spell damage. To keep things from getting too out of hand, I have altered the Relic and Legendary items so that the "Ranged" is changed to "Missile". The "Ranged" is still on the Ultra Rare Ring of Havoc, though.

Without this change, 1st level spells could be getting a +11 points of damage boost...which is problematic.

Thank you for your understanding. Spellcasters will have to make due with the possible +7 damage per spell.

NO CHANGES WERE MADE

Good call. Even +7 is a fair amount.

Jeff Martin wrote: We have a lot of + damage to Ranged items this year which also improve Spell damage. To keep things from getting too out of hand, I have altered the Relic and Legendary items so that the "Ranged" is changed to "Missile". The "Ranged" is still on the Ultra Rare Ring of Havoc, though.

Without this change, 1st level spells could be getting a +11 points of damage boost...which is problematic.

Thank you for your understanding. Spellcasters will have to make due with the possible +7 damage per spell.

Given how far behind melee spells currently are is this a necessary change? As designed initially since iteration two these tokens would help bridge the gap between melee and spells. Please revert this change, it's incredibly unneeded

This seems punishing to Spells for little gain. Melee already does a huge amount of damage and letting the rings apply to spells will balance it some.

Considering the post design change last year against the Mad Evoker's Charm this is the second time a major change has been made after design has closed that is specifically negative for spellcasters. Certainly feels like spellcaster players are being singled out by the changes the last two years.

Please revert this change

This change makes the transmute path a lot less enticing. Before the change, I was probably going to pick up 2 havoc rings to transmute. One for my caster-Druid wife and the other for me as a Sonic Dart tossing Bard.

Now, the transmute path is unhelpful to either build.

Also the UR ring is weaker than every current spellboosting UR+ ring in print so it won't see use by pretty much any classes.

Is it really necessary to deny the Spellcaster classes 4 extra spell damage this year?

Especially given STR and DEX getting +6 to each stat for +3/+3 as well as +6 damage from tokens this year?

+9 at melee vs +11 at spell, when spell trails behind melee seems like a perfectly fine level.

I'm not sure I'm convinced that someone who has invested in two Legendary tokens 8 years apart having +11 to spells is all that horrible of a thing, especially given how much TD has grown in that 8 years and how many newer players would not have had the chance to make the rings the first time around.

Add in the fact that missile users can combine this Legendary with a recent UR (Ring of the Yeti) and get +9 damage from the same slot and melee could add a Ring of the Eel for the same +9 while double-sliding melee hits and it feels off.

Rob F wrote: Good call. Even +7 is a fair amount.

Agree. Seeing the amount of damage wizards were doing in run I was in was significantly more than last year even using just the relic. Looking forward to seeing the legendary in use during VTD 5b.

With this change, a spellcaster now has no reason to chase a Ring of Havoc when the Ring of Storms grants the same bonus.

It also makes the Ring of Havoc much worse compared to the Ring of the Drake

I think I'm trying to understand how I will get +7 next year on spell damage. The +2 Ring of Havoc is at best a +1 damage gain over what I have today (Relsa's Ring, Greater Ring of Focus, SRoEC). I'm not sure the +1 is worth giving up other benefits from the Eldritch ring. The Belt of Deadshot is only a +1 gain over the Arcane Belt. The Lenses of Hunting is only a +1 gain over the Lenses of Focus. Even if I equip Cranston's, I have to give up the 15 damage from Psyferre's if I want to equip Lenses of Focus and Lenses of Hunting. The Bead of Focus seems like the only clear gain. I think at best I'm getting +4 damage improvement and have to give up other things to do so.

And yeah, why are last second changes always impacting wizards? Don't get me wrong, I'm not angry, just puzzled. It just seems like the divide between spellcaster damage and melee damage got a little bigger.

Edit: Yeah, forgot about the Ring of the Drake. I guess I didn't see a need to pick that up compared to existing rings for my wizard, so getting the Ring of Havoc is probably not going to happen.

To double check- this is the same set that has a +2 melee damage charm, +2str ring, +6 melee damage ring, 2x +2str ISs, 2x +2str charms, 2x +1str charms, 2x +1str ISs, +2str armor, yet +11 to spell damage needs nerfed? Big oof. I don't even play casters and somehow that decision still hurts. Hoping this was a 28 day late April fools' day joke.

Melee gets +8 to hit and +16 damage (+32 damage a round for ranger, +30 for monk since they can't use the armor), but wizards and their 3 damage fire darts are somehow the problem. What a wild world we live in.