Viper Changes Thread - Share your thoughts

[Aco505]

What is even the point of Dreadw- sorry, Vicewinder -- a name change that feels deeply unneeded

Apparently, the name was changed because the JP name mentions poison, which it no longer applies.

What makes no sense is changing the English name, especially considering how free the translation can be.

[W00by]

Apparently, the name was changed because the JP name mentions poison, which it no longer applies.

What makes no sense is changing the English name, especially considering how free the translation can be.

It's HILARIOUS that in JP, the name of the ability LITERALLY MENTIONS POISON, you know, like a SNAKE?

And they thought this wasn't core to the job identity.

Hilarious. This patch is hilarious(ly sad).

[CKNovel]

They removed the air conditionner because people wanted to keep the tree hanging out on the mirror?
The debuff felt very engaging, being able to move your dreadwinder around to not overcap the debuff was fun.

Why not keep both? Is this how Kaiten-less SAM felt?

[Drachelanze]

Apparently, the name was changed because the JP name mentions poison, which it no longer applies.

What makes no sense is changing the English name, especially considering how free the translation can be.

Ah, did not know that about the Japanese names. Thanks for the insight. But yeah, changing the English names just feels strange.

[Rhael]

job identity.

I mean, let's be real. If they cared about job identity at all to begin with, Viper would've been a fast-paced, melee DoT job built around stacking poisons. The job design team hasn't played a single other non-ff mmorpg in their lives and it shows.

[Aco505]

It's HILARIOUS that in JP, the name of the ability LITERALLY MENTIONS POISON, you know, like a SNAKE?

And they thought this wasn't core to the job identity.

Hilarious. This patch is hilarious(ly sad).

Correct, there were two main things that I found disappointing in VPR:

1- The lack of a poison DoT. Noxious Gnash filled this role but I was expecting an actual damaging debuff.

2- The fact that the dual wield and twinblade combos didn't have any mechanical relevance. I was expecting one of them to be the burst mode and the other one the filler mode but ... you just change stances depending on the action used with no further thought.

Removing the only poison attack from a job based on snakes makes zero sense. I just don't know how they come up with these changes that also affect the aesthetic and lore of the job one month into the expansion.

[Tunda]

Nice.. another job that I will drop

[W00by]

This JUST came to my mind, too, but does this change even ACCOMPLISH anything for accessibility? They cite that people found the alternating combos "harder than average" for a melee DPS, so what they did was:

Replace a timer people had to look at and keep track of...

with a timer people have to look at and keep track of?

Think about it. Anyone who was struggling with Viper because they couldn't handle alternating without staring at the Vipersight Gauge (or didn't LIKE the Vipersight Gauge) will struggle MORE now. You have to look at the Vipersight Gauge MORE OFTEN, since it now has 3 step stages rather than 2, and you'll be alternating the first combo steps MORE OFTEN (since you didn't have to Dread Fangs that often with Dreadwinder anyways). If you are coming out of a Reawaken, burst phase, or boss downtime phase and don't remember if you started with Steel Fangs or Reaving Fangs most recently, you'll have to look at either your Buff Bar (with the dreaded TIMERS!!!! that they wanted to get rid of SO BADLY!!!!) or your Vipersight gauge (which they ADMIT was confusing people!!!).

This change. Accomplishes. NOTHING. It will not help the players who were struggling. And it makes the job more boring for players who were at a higher end.

What the -- pardon my French -- heck, devs?

[Nickypooh]

It's not as bad as I thought it would be personally, I thought positionals would go first when they meant busy but I was wrong guess a debuff is too much.

Noxious Gnash removal ham-strings a core loop of how the job played and it was introduced far better than Reaper's Death's Design which is even more hilarious.

[Rhael]

This change. Accomplishes. NOTHING. It will not help the players who were struggling. And it makes the job more boring for players who were at a higher end.

So... Two things:

1) Hello, you must be new here. This has been SE's M.O. for the past eight years.
2) The players aren't struggling. They never have been. They simply don't want to engage with the game in any meaningful way. It was never an issue of accessibility to begin with.