Quote Originally Posted by whiskeybravo View Post
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The main problem with invulns as they stand is that you're bringing two tanks, each of which has their own. So you're easily knocking off 4+ tankbusters per fight. So either you need more tankbusters per fight, or you need certain tankbusters that flat out ignore the invuln. Now that I think about it, the latter would be a really interesting solution to the problem - your invuln would be something that you use to rescue a run, rather than simply being used to take a mechanic out of the fight.

From a balance perspective, it really doesn't make sense that you have invulns that can be used twice as much as that of another tank. But if you make them too long, then it's a button which you just press once per fight. I think the 5-7 minute range is the best compromise.

I also think that you need a bit of consistency when it comes to the design of these. If you want it to be about trade offs (i.e. you gain the benefit, but it comes at a price), then this needs to be consistent. At the moment, GNB and DRK are the only ones who have drawbacks, and it's to achieve an inferior effect. Likewise, if the point is to give you invuln + another benefit (like it is on WAR), then that should also be consistent.

In the case of Living Dead, the duration is often quoted incorrectly. The active time is Walking Dead, because that's the only time that you're actually mitigating damage. So that will always be some duration less than 10 seconds (i.e. whenever the effect gets cleansed). And if you're busy healing the DRK, their HP is greater than 1 and they're not mitigating any further damage. So outside of a timed benediction, the effective duration of Living Dead is usually shorter than Holmgang.

I think if they wanted to keep Living Dead as it is, they should have incorporated it into the gauge system. If they were able to rework the bars for shielding, they could have at least made it obvious how much remaining healing was required to cleanse the effect. This was pure laziness.