*Because the other topic turned into a flame-filled mess between me, Jar, and Afro that spanned over a few full pages, I have recreated the topic and took the proper procedures to make sure I don't get caught up in that childish mess again. I have added a Notes section for any interesting suggestions and who made them, starting with the relevant posts from the previous topic.*
Seems many people have gotten through to SE developers in regards to Weapon Skills. So in order to make it easier for them, I wanted to make a topic dedicated to Scythe and Great Sword Weapon Skills. Not just Guillotine, not just Quietus, not just Torcleaver. All of our main ones.
As always, with all of the topics I make, please be respectful towards opinions. Not everyone will feel the same way you do about something, but the fastest way to look like an idiot is to treat someone else like an idiot. So please, be respectful.
Note: There will be people who ignore this and will proceed to completely flame you for your opinion. Don't do what I did and flame back. Instead, completely ignore them and only respond and hold conversations with people who are mature enough to agree or disagree with someone's posts in a calm and grown-up way.
Now then, here are my opinions on the top Weaponskills we have for Scythe and Greatsword, what their problems are and how to fix them without ruining balance.
[SIZE="5"]Scythe[/SIZE]
Guillotine
The Problem: Our only consistently good Scythe Weapon Skill.
The Solution: Adjust one of the other Scythe Weapon Skills so we can have something stronger than Guillotine that we go out of our way to earn.
Insurgency
The Problem: Time-Consuming to get, even without getting the Weapon itself. Delivers a fourfold attack like Guillotine but uses weaker modifiers and has far more inconsistent damage overall, making Guillotine a better overall choice. Requires 300TP to show any real noticeable damage but 3 100TP Guillotines would do far more damage.
The Solution: Strengthen the modifiers and TP damage multipliers in order to make a 100TP Insurgency have damage consistently stronger than Guillotine. Insurgency was crafted to be a pure damage Weapon Skill so it should reflect that.
Catastrophe
The Problem: I personally do not see any other than it requires Apocalypse.
The Solution: I don't recommend any.
Quietus
The Problem: Requires Redemption or Penitence. Damage does not reflect the modifiers and TP effect for the kind of Weapon that uses it and the difficulty to obtain it.
The Solution: Damage should be adjusted to be higher than it currently is. Most of it is in regards to the amount of Defense it ignores. I feel Quietus should reflect the properties of Twilight Scythe, but in Weapon Skill Form.
*Overview: I feel Quietus should be ideal against high defense monsters with defense boost skills and traits while Insurgency should be ideal against everything else. Guillotine has been a nice WS so far, but it's time to move on. Both Insurgency and Quietus should be noticeably stronger than Guillotine by now, especially considering they're quested Weapon Skills.
[SIZE="5"]Great Swords[/SIZE]
Torcleaver
The Problem: It's DRK's only strong Weapon Skill that can keep up with other job Weapon Skills. Exclusive to Caladbolg and it's Walk of Echo's alternate (forgot the name).
The Solution: None. It's a fantastic weapon skill for Great Sword, even if it's the only good one we have.
Scourge
The Problem: Damage and Effect do not reflect the power of the weapon and difficulty to obtain. Basically, might as well just get Caladbolg with Torcleaver.
The Solution: The weaponskill itself needs to be a lot stronger than it already is, though not as strong as Torcleaver. The aftermath effect should offer a stronger critical hit rate as well as a boost to critical hit damage. To further boost Scourge, it should become a critical hit weapon skill so it's own aftermath boosts it's critical damage even further.
*Overview: I think both weapon skills should have their uses so that there is more freedom of choice between weapons. Since Ragnarok is harder to obtain (by a lot), making Scourge a critical hit weapon skill so the aftermath boosts it even more, Scourge should do damage that rivals Torcleaver in the end, yet still boosting normal melee swings.
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[SIZE="5"]Notes:[/SIZE]
*Urteil suggested a Greatsword Weapon Skill that's similar in properties to Catastrophe.
*Rezeak suggested boosts to our magic-based weapon skills such as Infernal Scythe. Also agrees that Insurgency needs a boost.