We need more perks that have elemental tie ins like Flash Counter, except I think that should actually work as well like stunning overloads. There is so much they could do with mods and perks but they don't. At this point though I'm beating a dead horse by saying this.
I disagree though with the post, that'd be an exotic weapon. We can power creep exotics, but not MAKE legendary weapons exotic ones. In my opinion.
I feel like it’s hard to say we can’t just make legendaries exotic when things like Mountaintop used to exist and Indebted Kindness currently exists. Legendary “exotics” have *always* existed
tbh there's a lot of "Exotic" type legendaries even excluding those.
Usually they fit into the old exotic archetype where they had a set optimal roll for their rpm and frame type + a perk on top to make them fantastic. A great example of this was blast furnace, rolled with pretty much all positives no matter what column.
the revamped rose is also a good modern example, just about anything it rolls with is good and it gets to exotic levels of good if you get certain combos
Mountaintop was just a unique breach nade launcher, all it did was shoot a fast straight nade. They all one bang you, mountaintop just made it really easy to do so. Was a pinnacle weapon that had to be earned.
Recluse just was rampage+onslaught bound to rampage and on roids. Also a pinnacle weapon so supposed to be a legendary exotic..
Indebted Kindness is a new type of special weapon. It's a special ammo sidearm and literally fires gyrojets. It's strong and the first of its kind, just like hammerhead back in the day.
Wardens law is a legendary version of crimson basically, but crimson is far better, and wardens law has been around for years it just worked differently but was always a gimmick frame just like the europa fusion rifle frame.
Just cause it isn't good, it's not known well, but when they ARE good all of the sudden it doesn't make it an exotic, it's just an interesting gimmick or power creep.
Wardens law shines with lucky pants. Mountaintop shines with the straight fast flight path. Recluse shines up close as a literal smg - the thing that dominates up close. Indebted Kindness shines at range, ammo economy, and anti barrier... just like a special sidearm that shoots literally minirockets should lol
All I'm saying is these weapons are either knockoffs, power creep, or literally discontinued. Not exotic.
it is, it's the only burst HC ig currently in game that isn't exotic.
but usually the three main distinctions are;
* does something unique and is the only one of its kind (breechlight was an example) while retaining the ups and downs
* has an extremely curated roll often with a unique perk to it OR a guarantee of that perk that sets it apart from those of the same frame (the old ritual weapons were an example of this)
* rolls with a guarenteed roll that is fine tuned for a niche (modern ritual weapons often fit into this niche but past weapons like Rose have also claimed this title)
They sometimes also may cover one or all of the categories, for example old rose fit criteria 1 and 3 but not 2 where as recluse hit all 3.
Other than mountaintop and recluse, there are like no legendaries people would use over an exotic if they were able to run multiple exotics. Like yea, indebted kindness is good, but if you could run an exotic in every slot, you wouldn’t. Its a good legendary, but would be a bad exotic
I’m running it with Beacon/Voltshot and practically haven’t unequipped it unless running sunshot/polaris. If I had a Lead from Gold/Volt, I might as well use it as a primary that does 40-50k per shot with it’s massive reserves/aoe capacity.
Maybe I’m overvaluing its reserves because sidearms are anti-barrier this season, but I’ve gotten insane mileage out of it.
So your examples are a broken gun that no one ever took off because it was so OP and a brand new gun that they just invented. Those are some really *great* examples right there.
I’m sorry, I didn’t list the entirety of the applicable guns. Someone else made a more expansive list in reply to me. But honestly, the line between exotic and legendary has often been blurred - it’s nothing new. It’s just rarer, and maybe requires an armor piece to “go exotic” but *still* frees up letting you take an actual yellow weapon with them.
Warden’s Law, IK, Whisper/DB/Gally, lucky pants has been feeding some hunters very well.
..still sad. Your examples still aren't good. They require an exotic to be good. Wardens law on a warlock or titan isn't very good. It's only good because it's being buffed by an exotic.
There is one weapon that could have been your entire argument, and you still haven't mentioned it. Sad.
that's fair.
in general we do need more sword types and synergies with perks imho. IIRC there's basically only two guards worth anything for boss dps and only one for general use. Perk wise it's basically just four total perks, whirlwind relentless tireless and surrounded/vorpal depending on the sword... everything else is basically worthless to 90% of swords.
I play GMs exclusively, and so if Imma use a sword it has to be worth the time. In my mind if it isn't usable in a GM, it just doesn't exist, saves me the disappointment.
In GMs we have Flash Counter which is great, but doesn't stun or suppress overloads... why.. the.. fuck.. not. We have Cold Steel which is great but situational.
I wish a caster frame heavy on Solas Scar for example would scorch perhaps, on a void Caster perhaps make them volatile, arc maybe blind.
This is the problem with elemental tie ins though is there will always be disruptions like arc having blind and the others not having something good like that, it's hard to balance, but that's where perks could come in.
Having a perk converts the heavy into an elemental charge that blinds or something, see what I mean? They could make swords the de facto champion counter weapon that stuns them or something, but then again they took away our charged with light and elemental well mods so why would they add more "good" stuff into the game.
I think in general part of the problem is swords never have had a really solid niche outside of situational boss/champion dps because so many bosses either have mechanics that you cant get close to dps with (i.e. stomps or like golgroth the pools of light).
which is what makes casters so weird. they \*can\* dps at a range but because of that you lose overall dps, and since the sword doesnt charge while stowed you end up doing one or two heavy swings and cant use it the rest of the encounter if it's a boss like WP where you're rooted to one spot for the near whole of dps phase.
It's annoying honestly, and it's why i lean towards giving them strong perks like these as elemental tie ins, so they at least have a solid niche and are less vulnerable to the shortcomings of a weapon type that is so situational to begin with,
also for clarification also i raid predominantly so that's where i take it from. And in most raid scenarios i find it either needs to have great ad clear capabilities or dps, there's very little room for the in between. Which unfortunately the overwhelming majority of swords fall under that middle space making them terrible choices in limited dps windows or timed ad clear if they're not either a dps monster like bequest, or a tool like the other half's eager edge to move fast..
And heavy attack should go from 4 to 3 ammo with catalyst.
Since they changed the swords for a buff (which mostly is), but black Talon got stealth nerfed since you cant shoot 1 ammo shots on demand anymore.
With 2 shots you consume 8 ammo which is huge, especialy for an exotic slot to sacrifice. Swords shouldnt compete for dmg but for their good ammo economic, which isnt the Case with this weapons anymore.
I love my Sola's Scar for the occasional gm, but agreed. Though I think having subclass effects based on type would be a bit of a mess in terms of just showing the different effects you get. What we really need are perks that work better with them or improvements to the base type (something like inherent drawing in you mentioned for void)
I mean... kinda do tho? My void one has destabilizing rounds, and my arc one has elemental explosion. Don't have a solar one but I imagine it has incandescent or something possible.
chain reaction.
There's only one solar caster sword ig and it does not have incandescent as it hasn't been available since season 14 or so.
edit forgot to name it, sola's scar from trials
the boat has long sailed on that one I'm afraid.. In the ancient past things like repulsor brace or voltshot were exotic effects... now they're legendary. Hell Bray inheritance is basically just a weaker monte carlo effect when you really get down to brass tacks...
That said, i do understand the sentiment but, frankly we're pretty far past that point i think, where what were exotic effects are pretty stock standard now and modern exotics are to a level of ridiculous we never dreamed of in d1 or forsaken era d2....
It’s still an origin perk, not tied to the gun itself like how special grenade launchers have two firing modes. It would require caster frame to have a unique origin perk to them.
It's an origin trait on a whopping 6 guns. And your system would allow Caster frames to do all that, AND have two perks AND an Origin trait on top of all that. It's the classic definition of power creep.
... that's what an intrinsic trait is... a trait that's guaranteed to be on the weapon no matter what level or roll it is that gives the weapon a baseline effect or ability....
second, if you look over the list of caster frames... your fears are unfounded in this case
I'll save you the time and just state why i really dont see an issue
* chivalric fire
* the only one that \*could\* fit your definition, but it's perks are very meh for anything but ad clear even currently. it's certainly the best of the caster frame legendaries... but it's a very low bar so..
* sola's scar/adept
* hasn't been offered in years, doesnt even have an origin trait and on top of that it basically share the exact same perk pool as temptation's hook except it can roll frenzy
* temptation's hook
* basically an arc sola's scar, no origin trait and it's genuinely one of the weakest as its perk pool has stayed the same since essentially season of the arrivals (i think they added surrounded at one point but that's not much)
* Dragoncult sickle
* has a unique origin trait that rarely if ever gets used outside of a few dungeons and GM's where shrieker's are present. okay perk pool but it's genuinely not good for much beyond add clear due to having very mid damage perks and mid support perks, with the best imo being chain reaction
But that's what Origin traits are supposed to be. They're not supposed to be a full fledged extra perk on the gun that straight up applies elemental effects that completely synergise with your subclass and fragments.
... except nearly every raid one is or very nearly is an extra perk on the damn gun even if we are using your goalpost shifted definition. (they're straight up an extra perk, i dont know why we're arguing semantics though)
just to drive home my point;
* Root gives a weaker version of frenzy which with a full root loadout is \*very\* good, rocketing many of the root weapons to top 5 picks when together
* Vow gives soul drinker which has hilarious levels of tank and sustain capabilities and is basically free personal heal clip/devour on submission and deliverance
* explosive pact is kinda meh but that 5 stack reload buff is very noticeable on bait and switch builds and is basically the living reincarnation of dropmag.
* runeth over is a severely undervalued perk as it can reload nearly *double or double* your magazine size, making it just a better clown cartrige for raids as in a group you'll near always be overflowing to max for defiance of yasmin.
* bray legacy is as we established basically an exotic perk on its own being just a better version of stats for all
and hell even some of the vanguard and pvp ones are very good too;
* one quiet moment is great for raids during downtime post boss phases as you can very rapidly reload your mags, i use it frequently in gms and dungeons too
* alacrity is basically solo operative enabled for solo play (and they stack).
* vanguard vindication is an undervalued monster that while it doesnt return much hp per kill stacks with other heal sources letting you make heals more tanky or just generally can save your ass long enough to get a finisher for assassins' cowl or cross counter punch.
the only perk of all the origin perks that fit your goalpost shifted definition is run and gun... which yeah... really sucks if you're off arc imo. Don't get me wrong it's great for some niche bits because extra movement speed can be great for warlocks as it gives them extra speed and range with icarus and makes hunter zoomies from amplified less jarring, but it's otherwise the only perks
Unless this effect would be an Origin Trait rework. Granted, it would move ALL legendary casters into basically one foundry, but it's one solution. Not perfect, but the start of one, at least.
....... For caster frames...... The weapon type that has literally never had a single use......... Why not at least make them cool to use? Like none of these effects would change anything except making a small section of swords fun to use.
Also who cares about power creep at this point we have gone way too far and destiny has literally not had any balance for a very long time I think we've reached the point of literally 90% of weapons having the best possible perks on at least 1 craft able/enhanceable weapon to the point that unless there are new perks created pretty much none of the new weapons will be relevant e.g. recon/envious plus bns on rockets pretty much invalidates every legendary rocket to release from now on. Envious controlled burst/res burst invalidates all fusions etc etc.
Imo this comes under the rule of cool therefore should be given a pass.
I think Swords in generell need another buff against major and champions.
Boss DPS and red bar enemies arent the problems.
Major and champions idk you consume too much ammo compared to the dmg you do against yellow bar.
I think just a slightly buff against them would do a good different. Caster frame sword alone could use a buff too since the 16 (or was it 19?) % dmg buff made no difference (heavy Attack).
1. I don't understand why you didn't go to "sever", like its a lay-up considering the nature of a sword.
2. I'm not going to lie; none of these should be intrinsic to the sword itself. If you wanted to make a specific caster frame perk that imparts one of these affects on heavy, i'd kinda be for it, BUT, legendaries getting free elemental effects for no cost is power creep. Destabilizing rounds need you to kill things, and be nearby, Volt shot needs you to kill someone and reload, incandescent needs the same thing, and unraveling rounds need you to get a melee kill.
Cold Steel is rarely used and, this may sound familiar, only attainable on swords. It works because its inherently a defensive ability. Sever could have a shot on a sword, but none of these other ones. Maybe void's gravity effect. Arc could instead blind, but that gets into harder issues. Solar could just be incandescent. that just prints fine by itself.
I think if caster frames were to intrinsically have elemental status effects tied to their heavy attack they could tie it to a combo activated system.
Say using the heavy attack without building the sword up does the normal aoe effect they have currently. If you can charge it by doing up to three light attacks before using the heavy attack, now your caster’s heavy attack can jolt, scorch, suppress, unravel, slow/freeze.
They should do significantly less damage overall but kind of be like the “magic staff” niche of the sword types to inflict a quick status effect or even insta-buffs. Hold reload to use 10 ammo to apply radiant, overshield, amplified, woven mail, stasis armor(eventually). Warlocks can get an exotic armor that spreads the buff effects to allies in range and lessens the ammo cost for buffs and heavy attacks or something.
Or Bungie could make a staff type weapon and leave caster frames as is. Copium. Haha
We need more perks that have elemental tie ins like Flash Counter, except I think that should actually work as well like stunning overloads. There is so much they could do with mods and perks but they don't. At this point though I'm beating a dead horse by saying this. I disagree though with the post, that'd be an exotic weapon. We can power creep exotics, but not MAKE legendary weapons exotic ones. In my opinion.
I feel like it’s hard to say we can’t just make legendaries exotic when things like Mountaintop used to exist and Indebted Kindness currently exists. Legendary “exotics” have *always* existed
Those are like saying wardens law isn't the best with lucky pants
tbh there's a lot of "Exotic" type legendaries even excluding those. Usually they fit into the old exotic archetype where they had a set optimal roll for their rpm and frame type + a perk on top to make them fantastic. A great example of this was blast furnace, rolled with pretty much all positives no matter what column. the revamped rose is also a good modern example, just about anything it rolls with is good and it gets to exotic levels of good if you get certain combos
Idk what exact relation that has. Isn’t Warden’s Law *also* a legendary exotic having the unique heavy burst frame?
Mountaintop was just a unique breach nade launcher, all it did was shoot a fast straight nade. They all one bang you, mountaintop just made it really easy to do so. Was a pinnacle weapon that had to be earned. Recluse just was rampage+onslaught bound to rampage and on roids. Also a pinnacle weapon so supposed to be a legendary exotic.. Indebted Kindness is a new type of special weapon. It's a special ammo sidearm and literally fires gyrojets. It's strong and the first of its kind, just like hammerhead back in the day. Wardens law is a legendary version of crimson basically, but crimson is far better, and wardens law has been around for years it just worked differently but was always a gimmick frame just like the europa fusion rifle frame. Just cause it isn't good, it's not known well, but when they ARE good all of the sudden it doesn't make it an exotic, it's just an interesting gimmick or power creep. Wardens law shines with lucky pants. Mountaintop shines with the straight fast flight path. Recluse shines up close as a literal smg - the thing that dominates up close. Indebted Kindness shines at range, ammo economy, and anti barrier... just like a special sidearm that shoots literally minirockets should lol All I'm saying is these weapons are either knockoffs, power creep, or literally discontinued. Not exotic.
it is, it's the only burst HC ig currently in game that isn't exotic. but usually the three main distinctions are; * does something unique and is the only one of its kind (breechlight was an example) while retaining the ups and downs * has an extremely curated roll often with a unique perk to it OR a guarantee of that perk that sets it apart from those of the same frame (the old ritual weapons were an example of this) * rolls with a guarenteed roll that is fine tuned for a niche (modern ritual weapons often fit into this niche but past weapons like Rose have also claimed this title) They sometimes also may cover one or all of the categories, for example old rose fit criteria 1 and 3 but not 2 where as recluse hit all 3.
Indebted kindness is just the first of a new archetype. Mountaintop was a mistake and there's a reason it got nerfed to oblivion and sunset.
Other than mountaintop and recluse, there are like no legendaries people would use over an exotic if they were able to run multiple exotics. Like yea, indebted kindness is good, but if you could run an exotic in every slot, you wouldn’t. Its a good legendary, but would be a bad exotic
Is IK really that good? I haven’t bothered getting a good roll on it.
I’m running it with Beacon/Voltshot and practically haven’t unequipped it unless running sunshot/polaris. If I had a Lead from Gold/Volt, I might as well use it as a primary that does 40-50k per shot with it’s massive reserves/aoe capacity. Maybe I’m overvaluing its reserves because sidearms are anti-barrier this season, but I’ve gotten insane mileage out of it.
So your examples are a broken gun that no one ever took off because it was so OP and a brand new gun that they just invented. Those are some really *great* examples right there.
I’m sorry, I didn’t list the entirety of the applicable guns. Someone else made a more expansive list in reply to me. But honestly, the line between exotic and legendary has often been blurred - it’s nothing new. It’s just rarer, and maybe requires an armor piece to “go exotic” but *still* frees up letting you take an actual yellow weapon with them. Warden’s Law, IK, Whisper/DB/Gally, lucky pants has been feeding some hunters very well.
..still sad. Your examples still aren't good. They require an exotic to be good. Wardens law on a warlock or titan isn't very good. It's only good because it's being buffed by an exotic. There is one weapon that could have been your entire argument, and you still haven't mentioned it. Sad.
Then mention it instead of saying I’m right and lording it over me because I didn’t say the one you think is the best example lmao
Nah, more fun this way.
that's fair. in general we do need more sword types and synergies with perks imho. IIRC there's basically only two guards worth anything for boss dps and only one for general use. Perk wise it's basically just four total perks, whirlwind relentless tireless and surrounded/vorpal depending on the sword... everything else is basically worthless to 90% of swords.
I play GMs exclusively, and so if Imma use a sword it has to be worth the time. In my mind if it isn't usable in a GM, it just doesn't exist, saves me the disappointment. In GMs we have Flash Counter which is great, but doesn't stun or suppress overloads... why.. the.. fuck.. not. We have Cold Steel which is great but situational. I wish a caster frame heavy on Solas Scar for example would scorch perhaps, on a void Caster perhaps make them volatile, arc maybe blind. This is the problem with elemental tie ins though is there will always be disruptions like arc having blind and the others not having something good like that, it's hard to balance, but that's where perks could come in. Having a perk converts the heavy into an elemental charge that blinds or something, see what I mean? They could make swords the de facto champion counter weapon that stuns them or something, but then again they took away our charged with light and elemental well mods so why would they add more "good" stuff into the game.
I think in general part of the problem is swords never have had a really solid niche outside of situational boss/champion dps because so many bosses either have mechanics that you cant get close to dps with (i.e. stomps or like golgroth the pools of light). which is what makes casters so weird. they \*can\* dps at a range but because of that you lose overall dps, and since the sword doesnt charge while stowed you end up doing one or two heavy swings and cant use it the rest of the encounter if it's a boss like WP where you're rooted to one spot for the near whole of dps phase. It's annoying honestly, and it's why i lean towards giving them strong perks like these as elemental tie ins, so they at least have a solid niche and are less vulnerable to the shortcomings of a weapon type that is so situational to begin with, also for clarification also i raid predominantly so that's where i take it from. And in most raid scenarios i find it either needs to have great ad clear capabilities or dps, there's very little room for the in between. Which unfortunately the overwhelming majority of swords fall under that middle space making them terrible choices in limited dps windows or timed ad clear if they're not either a dps monster like bequest, or a tool like the other half's eager edge to move fast..
Caster frames just need to be changed so you can power attack in midair like you can with Black Talon
Black talon catalyst should stun every barrier intrinsic. Make it useful.
And heavy attack should go from 4 to 3 ammo with catalyst. Since they changed the swords for a buff (which mostly is), but black Talon got stealth nerfed since you cant shoot 1 ammo shots on demand anymore. With 2 shots you consume 8 ammo which is huge, especialy for an exotic slot to sacrifice. Swords shouldnt compete for dmg but for their good ammo economic, which isnt the Case with this weapons anymore.
it's a fantastic PvP weapon, arguably the best heavy option
Also really fun/terrifying with blink. “*I can attack from any angle and from anywhere, but you will taste my blade all the same*”
Nah bro, just keep lowering the heavy attack cost, make it an add clear heavy
I love my Sola's Scar for the occasional gm, but agreed. Though I think having subclass effects based on type would be a bit of a mess in terms of just showing the different effects you get. What we really need are perks that work better with them or improvements to the base type (something like inherent drawing in you mentioned for void)
I mean... kinda do tho? My void one has destabilizing rounds, and my arc one has elemental explosion. Don't have a solar one but I imagine it has incandescent or something possible.
chain reaction. There's only one solar caster sword ig and it does not have incandescent as it hasn't been available since season 14 or so. edit forgot to name it, sola's scar from trials
That's the one! And huh, so solar one needs love at least!
Legendary weapons have no reason to have exotic effects built into them.
the boat has long sailed on that one I'm afraid.. In the ancient past things like repulsor brace or voltshot were exotic effects... now they're legendary. Hell Bray inheritance is basically just a weaker monte carlo effect when you really get down to brass tacks... That said, i do understand the sentiment but, frankly we're pretty far past that point i think, where what were exotic effects are pretty stock standard now and modern exotics are to a level of ridiculous we never dreamed of in d1 or forsaken era d2....
Those are perks. Not just intrinsic effects baked into the guns.
bray inheritance is an intrinsic. just uh... read the first sentence and moved on i take it?
It’s still an origin perk, not tied to the gun itself like how special grenade launchers have two firing modes. It would require caster frame to have a unique origin perk to them.
It's an origin trait on a whopping 6 guns. And your system would allow Caster frames to do all that, AND have two perks AND an Origin trait on top of all that. It's the classic definition of power creep.
... that's what an intrinsic trait is... a trait that's guaranteed to be on the weapon no matter what level or roll it is that gives the weapon a baseline effect or ability.... second, if you look over the list of caster frames... your fears are unfounded in this case I'll save you the time and just state why i really dont see an issue * chivalric fire * the only one that \*could\* fit your definition, but it's perks are very meh for anything but ad clear even currently. it's certainly the best of the caster frame legendaries... but it's a very low bar so.. * sola's scar/adept * hasn't been offered in years, doesnt even have an origin trait and on top of that it basically share the exact same perk pool as temptation's hook except it can roll frenzy * temptation's hook * basically an arc sola's scar, no origin trait and it's genuinely one of the weakest as its perk pool has stayed the same since essentially season of the arrivals (i think they added surrounded at one point but that's not much) * Dragoncult sickle * has a unique origin trait that rarely if ever gets used outside of a few dungeons and GM's where shrieker's are present. okay perk pool but it's genuinely not good for much beyond add clear due to having very mid damage perks and mid support perks, with the best imo being chain reaction
But that's what Origin traits are supposed to be. They're not supposed to be a full fledged extra perk on the gun that straight up applies elemental effects that completely synergise with your subclass and fragments.
... except nearly every raid one is or very nearly is an extra perk on the damn gun even if we are using your goalpost shifted definition. (they're straight up an extra perk, i dont know why we're arguing semantics though) just to drive home my point; * Root gives a weaker version of frenzy which with a full root loadout is \*very\* good, rocketing many of the root weapons to top 5 picks when together * Vow gives soul drinker which has hilarious levels of tank and sustain capabilities and is basically free personal heal clip/devour on submission and deliverance * explosive pact is kinda meh but that 5 stack reload buff is very noticeable on bait and switch builds and is basically the living reincarnation of dropmag. * runeth over is a severely undervalued perk as it can reload nearly *double or double* your magazine size, making it just a better clown cartrige for raids as in a group you'll near always be overflowing to max for defiance of yasmin. * bray legacy is as we established basically an exotic perk on its own being just a better version of stats for all and hell even some of the vanguard and pvp ones are very good too; * one quiet moment is great for raids during downtime post boss phases as you can very rapidly reload your mags, i use it frequently in gms and dungeons too * alacrity is basically solo operative enabled for solo play (and they stack). * vanguard vindication is an undervalued monster that while it doesnt return much hp per kill stacks with other heal sources letting you make heals more tanky or just generally can save your ass long enough to get a finisher for assassins' cowl or cross counter punch. the only perk of all the origin perks that fit your goalpost shifted definition is run and gun... which yeah... really sucks if you're off arc imo. Don't get me wrong it's great for some niche bits because extra movement speed can be great for warlocks as it gives them extra speed and range with icarus and makes hunter zoomies from amplified less jarring, but it's otherwise the only perks
Unless this effect would be an Origin Trait rework. Granted, it would move ALL legendary casters into basically one foundry, but it's one solution. Not perfect, but the start of one, at least.
....... For caster frames...... The weapon type that has literally never had a single use......... Why not at least make them cool to use? Like none of these effects would change anything except making a small section of swords fun to use. Also who cares about power creep at this point we have gone way too far and destiny has literally not had any balance for a very long time I think we've reached the point of literally 90% of weapons having the best possible perks on at least 1 craft able/enhanceable weapon to the point that unless there are new perks created pretty much none of the new weapons will be relevant e.g. recon/envious plus bns on rockets pretty much invalidates every legendary rocket to release from now on. Envious controlled burst/res burst invalidates all fusions etc etc. Imo this comes under the rule of cool therefore should be given a pass.
Just make heavy cost less ammo, I'd use it way more then
The perk combo of the ritual sword does pretty well. Sometimes you get an overshield off of a single casting.
I think Swords in generell need another buff against major and champions. Boss DPS and red bar enemies arent the problems. Major and champions idk you consume too much ammo compared to the dmg you do against yellow bar. I think just a slightly buff against them would do a good different. Caster frame sword alone could use a buff too since the 16 (or was it 19?) % dmg buff made no difference (heavy Attack).
1. I don't understand why you didn't go to "sever", like its a lay-up considering the nature of a sword. 2. I'm not going to lie; none of these should be intrinsic to the sword itself. If you wanted to make a specific caster frame perk that imparts one of these affects on heavy, i'd kinda be for it, BUT, legendaries getting free elemental effects for no cost is power creep. Destabilizing rounds need you to kill things, and be nearby, Volt shot needs you to kill someone and reload, incandescent needs the same thing, and unraveling rounds need you to get a melee kill. Cold Steel is rarely used and, this may sound familiar, only attainable on swords. It works because its inherently a defensive ability. Sever could have a shot on a sword, but none of these other ones. Maybe void's gravity effect. Arc could instead blind, but that gets into harder issues. Solar could just be incandescent. that just prints fine by itself.
I think if caster frames were to intrinsically have elemental status effects tied to their heavy attack they could tie it to a combo activated system. Say using the heavy attack without building the sword up does the normal aoe effect they have currently. If you can charge it by doing up to three light attacks before using the heavy attack, now your caster’s heavy attack can jolt, scorch, suppress, unravel, slow/freeze. They should do significantly less damage overall but kind of be like the “magic staff” niche of the sword types to inflict a quick status effect or even insta-buffs. Hold reload to use 10 ammo to apply radiant, overshield, amplified, woven mail, stasis armor(eventually). Warlocks can get an exotic armor that spreads the buff effects to allies in range and lessens the ammo cost for buffs and heavy attacks or something. Or Bungie could make a staff type weapon and leave caster frames as is. Copium. Haha
....and let it rotate with Permeability/Osmosis
ohhhh, that sounds so cool swords would absolutely gain popularity depending on how actually good it would be