Thread: RK Affinity removal...one potentially disabling consequence

Ok disabling is a PINCH of an overstatement (or under)

For example: If you use Scribes Spark, your “Fall to X” skill will become Fall to Storm. If after using it you use Fiery Ridicule, it will change into Fall to Flame. All other Affinity skills will likewise change. ...notes/dev diary

Now I'm hoping to high heaven there's something I've missed but what does this do to the exceedingly necessary "Do Not Fall to..." (storm, fire, frost)? Scene: Orthanc Lightning Boss, an eludan enters the fight, an rk uses ceaseless then "DNF to storm" and is then locked out of using any fire or frost skills till the ball explodes and the skill does its job, correct? Now an rk locked into using lightning skills only is no hardship you get my point and it swings both ways...if you need DNF to fire you are effectively barred from using lightning skills.

That is unless DNF has gone the way of The Blade Will Not Wound and become a generic tactical defense skill but I don't recall seeing that in the notes.

Unless I've misunderstood the way ZC described the change, or it was programmed in a weird way, I'm fairly sure that once you've put up DNFTX or Armour of X it's not going to change if you use skills from a different affinity... so you're not locked into using just one type of skill.

I think that the real disabling consequence of this change was highlighted by a kinmate a while back - for the Moors RK, putting up DNFTF is pretty important, and now the RK is going to have to finish his previous combat with a fire skill (which many don't normally do) or try to put it up in combat, which may be difficult given that it's an induction skill plus it'll set back his attunement.

You just have to use one lightning skill, use DNFTS, and then continue with your normal rotation. The buff put on the fellowship doesn't change once you use the skill, the skill affinity just changes (which doesn't matter unless you actually use the skill).

Originally Posted by Lestache

Unless I've misunderstood the way ZC described the change, or it was programmed in a weird way, I'm fairly sure that once you've put up DNFTX or Armour of X it's not going to change if you use skills from a different affinity... so you're not locked into using just one type of skill.

I think that the real disabling consequence of this change was highlighted by a kinmate a while back - for the Moors RK, putting up DNFTF is pretty important, and now the RK is going to have to finish his previous combat with a fire skill (which many don't normally do) or try to put it up in combat, which may be difficult given that it's an induction skill plus it'll set back his attunement.

Yes, this is going to be a PITA in the Moors, particularly for 1v1's. I guess I'll just have to use fire on an NPC....

Originally Posted by mmdur1

Yes, this is going to be a PITA in the Moors, particularly for 1v1's. I guess I'll just have to use fire on an NPC....

Will this be equally important once you obtain some Audacity? I don't play in the Moors so I don't know how bad that fire damage is (DNFTx wouldn't do much good against a DoT as the first tick would consume the protection. Granted, you get a lingering tactical defence buff after that so it's not completely useless).

If the BA/reaver fire thingies are like FR, i.e. a hefty up-front hit with a minor DoT, then I can understand why it's important.

The effect does not change once used, just which affinity the skill will use when next used. In my tests, I rarely ended on the right affinity in the last combat for what I'd want at the beginning of the next battle. So you lead with a skill (easier now that Writs are useable at any attunement) but you suffer attunement setback (EDIT: or aggro'ed a mob needlessly when healing) when you cast the Armor of <Affinity>. It's only a few seconds, but it's a few seconds longer between battle starting and unlocking skills.

I've suggested elsewhere a Favour Affinity skill that would just grab the affinity from the next skill used without the skill actually activating. This could work out of combat, and I'm told there's precedent for it with how wardens can build gambits outside of combat. Here's hoping for it in the next patch!