I think the distinction needs to be made here, are we talking about (1) PvP in General or just (2) the PvP Ladder?
I think the latter is more of a concern here, though both can be argued on. So I'll just add my own opinions to fuel the discussion.
Are these "Super Potions" available to all?
The big question. In short yes, of course they are. But the real question is whether they are an available option to all. You need to acknowledge that this game fundamentally revolves around economic trade-off. Unless you truly enjoy something you wont take part in it if its just for profit when you can make much more in other ventures. I dont think anyone can deny that these potions have not actually added more to the strategic element of the Ladder, but really only serve to add an extra cost.
For a moment consider all the costs to play the ladder as is:
- Stamina (For attacks and Self Buffing)
- Xp (lost from incurred defeats)
- Gold (Buying buffs, Potions, Repair Costs)
- Inability to Wear Epics/ Scrub Gear (or at least very limited to from a competitive angle- stamina loss)
- Time (You got to check in quite a bit to stay competitive- hitting, micro manage buffs, do repairs, ect)
As you can see its already quite costly to play in comparison to other game aspects which require far less dedication or time. All these costs only drive away new players from potentially trying out the ladder. Lowering the costs would definitely make the ladder more appealing again to those that want to give it a shot but are on the fence. Id say the biggest cost turning people off is the cost for composing pots.
Do "Super Potions" take away the "Strategic Element"?
Questionable, but I would have to argue strongly in favour of yes. These potions primarily serve to inflate players stats, as Luis mentioned. Gameplay or personal enjoyment wouldnt change if stats were halved or even doubled from what they can currently reach. Because the stats are already so far ballooned, it is effortless to hit your opponent when they are offline and unbuffed when youre buffed. This does nothing but make PvP more boring since all someone needs to do is pot up with a few min duration composing pots to smash thru effortlessly while your offline. It promotes more backdoor and sleazy approaches to Ladder gameplay where you can gaurantee a win if they are offline + unbuffed.
Not only does it make attacking someone offline effortless but it also make defending while buffed (online) effortless. Imagine someone running a suicide set in tandem with composing SH, CoA, Entrench, with Terrorize and Ageless + Chi Strike. This is extremely hard to crack through that massive HP/Armour wall even with Wither 500. Defending with Defense is even more effortless. Consider someone running a specialized defense set that utilizes an Antarius Egg tandem to your staple defensive myriad of composing defensive buffs. With NMV and Barricade you can definitely reach levels where a player can not accumulate enough attack to crush through your stats without DC. But when you throw in Dispel Curse you almost always guarantee a win while defending over a third of the time, coupled with Shame and this is not going to be a good time for anyone willing to gamble it. And the ladder has become just that with all these high level chance buffs, a gamble- mere luck/chance.
The ladder as it is with these super buffs promotes early hitting at reset and hiding behind buffs for as long as you can, knowing your opponents will have to gamble on hitting you at some point if they want to win. Not fun if you ask me, but the leading strategy right now.
What are the "Suspect Buffs?"
As already mentioned, stat inflating buffs dont contribute anything but extra cost. By extension, reducing your opponents stats (Flinch/Terrorize) do the same thing. That encompasses alot of composing potions. Specifically KE, SH, CoA, Shield Wall, Entrench, Terrorize, Flinch and Dispel Curse are all suspects in my opinion.
If were talking about specific potions, the Antarius Egg is massively overpowered, no need to expand since Im sure everyone knows it. It just a prime example of how the envelope keeps getting pushed with buffs without considering the consequences of how it works with other buffs or for certain ranges.
What is the solution?
There are two main issues, they inflate the cost to play the ladder and they reduce the skill needed (the real issue).
To remedy the cost, simply taking strides to reduce the cost (like the cost of super potions) can solve this. Improving rewards is definitely not the answer. All the ladder chests served to do were further add more overpowered potions to repeat the cycle.
To be honest the real issue isnt actually the cost but the impact on gameplay theyve caused. I dont think that tweaking buff levels or descriptions would be the right action here to lower the effects of these potions on the Ladder. This would just leave too many that have already invested in composing or stocking super potions feeling slighted.
What I would suggest for a solution would be to put a cap on the skill levels that activate during a ladder attack. Nothing would be changed outside the ladder, you can still have these high buff levels active but when it comes to a ladder attack the game could check your buff levels and lower them just for the ladder attack to a level cap decided on by the community. This prevents ballooning and doesnt make buffs the only deciding factor in PvP. As it is, chances are who ever can sustain the highest buffs for the longest every reset will win, which makes winning the ladder more of an auction for ladder tokens. A bet to see whos willing to spend more. This hopefully remedies this.
TLDR- Impose a reasonable level cap when it comes to buff calculations (ladder combat only) for suspect buffs determined by the community (players who play the ladder would have a better idea than those whove never played).
Edited by Achub, 20 March 2017 - 22:38.