AoC 23/06 patch notes: ToS and Necro AoE nerfs steal the headlines
The delayed notes for today's Age of Conan patch have now hit, and there are some significant changes in store for a couple of classes. The headline of this post pretty much spoils the suspense as to which two classes they are, but we'll discuss them in detail after the break. Other big changes include a doubling in size of all bags, performance fixes (including the option to limit/disable particles) and some tweaks to NPC aggro. Hit the jump to get into the meat and potatoes of this patch -- the Necromancer and Tempest of Set changes!
We'll start with the Tempest of Set. Many will argue that the ToS changes were much needed, and they are probably right. Storm Field, a commonly used area of effect spell that passively "pulses" away mobs hitpoints after being cast, has had its maximum number of targets reduced to 3. Lightning Strike, a direct damage AoE spell, will now only deal 40% of its damage to 3 additional targets.
These changes severely limit the former ability of this class to AoE down enormous groups of mobs at the same time, which was used as a way to level or powerlevel at a super-fast pace. To help ease the pain, Lightning Strike has had its recast timer removed, and you can get a little of your AoE power back by training your feats accordingly (but don't expect to get anywhere near pre-patch levels).
The other class to feel the AoE nerf is the Necromancer. Their AoE spells Parasitic Soul Swarm and Unholy Hands have had their damage reduced. As well as this, their AoE-damaging pet Archmage has also seen a decrease in damage. To add to this, the spell Despoil the Soul was nerfed too. Having these three spells toned down will necessitate a change in playing style for a lot of Necromancers, and early reports are that a free feat respec has been granted to assist with this.
However, they did get a few goodies as well. This patch makes it so that Necros will get all of their pet points by level 20, instead of level 70, allowing them to amass their full army much earlier in their career. A lot of the pets have had their abilities buffed, to help make them more useful than they were before. Necros will also gain a new snare spell at level 5 called Ice Shackle. As a whole, the changes are intended to reinforce that "you are a pet class reliant on pets for a significant amount of damage". How this will turn out in practice remains to be seen, but a look at the Necromancer forum shows that people are not happy.
Taken together, the changes to these two classes show that Funcom is looking to stop the current practice of AoE grinding and leveling in AoC. This was the path of least resistance to get to level 80, and was especially popular in the higher tiers where the quests don't really cover you the entire way. Now that people are forced to stop and smell the roses a bit more, can we expect some extra content to lessen the severity of the grind?
