Hello,this is Lake from the old forum and I'm still getting used to this place as I've spent my last years on the other one,which was much simpler and faster to use.Please be patient since there's a long one incoming,but I am really trying...It's been a long year with this weapon and I'll do my outmost best to help fix it.
@Alexander You might already know,but I was always that one guy who bragged about this item the most and wished it was changed from Day 1 of its existence,since such an item has nothing to do and should have no tangency with a strategy game.I am very glad that there is developer initiative on this issue now and will do my best to objectively explain and then leave some suggestions regarding it.
ARGUMENTS!
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First of all,the Frantic brute is an Epic-tier top weapon,capable of delivering very low,average or very high blows to the opponent.What makes it unbalanced and unfair in a way that the previous devs failed to consider is that afct that,given its damage range and the usual average damage,it tends to have a much higher percentage towards hitting much,*much* higher than average.And so,the chance to crit is always higher than the chance to miss in theory and,in most case,also in practice.
Second of all,the item is unfair in the inventory as well as it is unfair (especially) in the Arena,which is why I consider a ''damage straightening'' inefficient.The weapon is a combination between NightFall and Spartan Carnage,yet it deals more damage than both of them.If you tweak the damage,the percentages wouldn't really change and it'd still tend to crit,and thus...It will remain a weapon with the rarity of an Epic,the range and essential functionality of an L-M and damage still above them.In other words,it'll still be a budget Spartan that's actually harder hitting than the original in general.And so,the situation will be ameliorated since there won't be 800 crist anymore,yet 700/650 crits will continue to go on and thus the situation is still there.FUndamentally,nothing has changed;thorns are smaller and easier to swallow but still hurt.
If you tweak the damage properly,however,then it's not a viable solution,either.Because then it'll be the same with weapon we already have.It's just going to be a longer-range NightFall or a direct downgrade to a Spartan variant...And nobody needs item duplicates.Or else what'd the purpose of getting a NightFall be or what value would a little extra damage from a Spartan have?Almost none,so hard-fixing Frantic isn't really do-able since it'll make it ''just another copy''.
And then adding backfire or double energy costs to it would be obsolete...Because giving 100 HP against a phys mech to inflict 800 at least twice is quite the bargain.And then the energy cost is irrelevant when fighting phys or heats,so this would only offer a slight advantage to energy mechs (that will still die before they drain the enemy,since 3 crits are enough to finish any electric and 700 energy isn't so easily drained in 1 turn).
So sorry,Alexander,but it seems at least to me that the changes proposed are...Still underwhelming compared to the massive denting capability of that thing.It's one beast impossible to tame like that.
SUGGESTIONS!
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After much though over many months of enduring this,I could only come up with two suggestions that I would dearly like you to consider and think about.
Since there is no ''middle way'' to make this balanced and still retain its purpose,I though it may as well go ''full luck mode''.
My first suggestion it to (maybe) raise the damage a little (even though it already hits 2x as hard than usual E-Ms but hey,fine,there's that) BUT! give it one use.
Like this,it's a total luck weapon.High risk-high reward (as where now there's little risk with super abusable reward) weapon.I'm thinking like 0-900 (with Arena Buffs) instead of 100-800 and the same 50kgs of weight and costs (maybe),but JUST 1 use.Because 2 uses is too much,especially when they come in 650/700+ rows,during which you just want to uninstall the game and yourself from life and cuss at how unfair and unbalanced that was.Seriously,not even Magmas or Bunkers when drained can hit that high and that constant.With that,you'd risk doing 0 damage or killing your enemy in like 1 turn if you dual-weild them (like most abusers do,anyways,so no change there).
It's either that or...removal.
Rather than taming the damage from 800 to around 700,as suggested above,and not fixing but rather just simply ameliorating the issue a little,I think it's better to delete it.Rather than live like that,still a nightmare,then it's better off gone.
And it's not even that big a deal.The users have had a long and good time to abuse it so there they go.They still gained more than they lost.And if compensation is still in order,it's just an E-M item anyways that doesn't cost much.I reckon it costs at most 1 million gold (if you buy Silver Boxes to upgrade) to fully max it.So it can be *very* easily compensated since it's pretty much just a glass cannon and there's no real loss.But one thing is to gain:balance and fairness.
Especially in lower ranks,when R15s with 800 HP go against people that chose Frantics as a first myth and maxed item.Nonetheless,in R1,when Frantics kill you before you have any chance to drain and defend yourself or when your Spartans,Magmas and Bunkers,again,are clearly outclasses by the damage.
Thank you and I hope this has been helpful.We've has enough of this weapon and I'm sad to see that those biased users will do everything they can to keep abusing it and evade a fix.
EDIT:
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Wow,it seems I'm clearly not the only one that thinks that the suggested changed are not enough.
I think there needs to be further discussing on this theme and maybe more options in the poll.