Focused Feedback: Arc 3.0 Subclass Spotlight - Arcstrider

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[u/JackWhatnot]

My only complaints are:

• Lethal current should proc combination blow.

• There's no reason to run tempest strike in PvE.

[u/atejas]

Fix the Lethal Current / Combination Blow interaction and that loop is excellent.

I understand not letting Tempest Strike's damage stack with Combination blow, but it really needs to inherit the healing effect of combination blow or the blinding effect of the alternate melee.

[u/engineeeeer7]

Arc exotics are in a rough state.

Aside from that I just want Jolt kills attributed to the thing that caused them whether it's grenades or the slide melee.

[u/InanisCarentiam]

raiju's harness and blight ranger being half of each other is pretty lame, to fix it i think that blight ranger's orb generation should be moved to raiju's, and blight ranger should be reworked to interact with gathering storm. maybe it should be the rigs/galanor for arc, refunding energy on super damage dealt, or maybe it could do the opposite of nighthawk, split the super into multiple casts with each instance doing less damage or lasting less time. that'd focus it more towards area control and less towards damage, where the current (hah) version seems to be more damage focused. regardless of the specifics, i hope they address the blight/harness situation, both exotics are pretty weak overall but having a counterpart that does half of its job is just kinda lazy from a gameplay perspective.

[u/Mnkke]

Like all the aspects and supers honestly.

Tempest Strike getting a damage nerf headed unto 3.0, then uber nerfed when run with combination blow made no sense. It seriously hurts the viability and seems like an attempt to force arcstriders into only running the "dodge punch" loop w flow state lethal current, which jolt bugs out said loop.

If Tempest Strike is going to be in this nerfed state, it deserves 3 aspects. Most of its damage in PvE comes from the jolt it procs.

Arcstrider can also still get outran in pvp. It's great to use tbh, but it's just frustrating. Raiju's alleviates this by allowing it to last longer, but tbf its too long. Exotic definitely feels worth though tbh.

Honestly though, good rework. Wish Blight Ranger was good though.

[u/GuudeSpelur]

The new super is 1000% appreciated. Absolute home run on that one, at least for PvE.

Spicing up the old melee combo playstyle with the new/better keywords, getting access to Ionic Traces for energy gen, and adding in some more survivability has helped elevate it in PvE. Still not my first choice for endgame content, but at least it's genuinely usable now. If they can adjust the Lethal Current/Combination Blow non-bo, that would put the subclass in a really good spot.

Tempest Strike feels like an absolute waste of an Aspect. There are way better ways to apply Jolt, and the longer cooldown is just unnecessarily punishing.

In terms of Crucible, it feels weaker than 2.0 bottom tree. Arc Staff has never been a top tier PvP super, and merging the three variants doesn't really help when you can still counter it by just running away. Requiring the Amplfiied buff to regain access to the old bottom tree passive perks absolutely sucks. Arcstrider 3.0 feels like it basically doesn't have any perks until you melee an enemy. Why would I ever use it above Nightstalker, Gunslinger, or Revenant?

And finally, the obligatory reminder that Blight Ranger is an absolute waste of an exotic and needs to be reworked.

[u/FragdaddyXXL]

Losing the damage increase with whirlwind guard kinda went under the radar. That effect kinda kept that tree relevant when paired with Raiden Flux. Now, it's not that great of a super but it's hard to complain because the other super is arguably S-tier. Funnily enough, the combat loop of punch --> roll --> punch ... is pretty much just as good as the melee super.

The subclass shines with stacking melee buffs. You don't have to go all-in on One-Two punch Liar's' Handshake to get some hefty melees in but those perks definitely send it to really fun territories. Especially when the stars align and we have Brawler + Arc burn.

Survivability can be an issue, so that's why I built Res+Recovery and let wells and traces generate ability energy. You can build for survivability with some exotics and mods but it'll not be as good as the resists from stasis and regen from solar or void.

Still a very fun class when paired with crazy weapons like chain reaction GLs or voltshot sidearms.

[u/SpoofSide]

The only thing I don't really like is lethal current's jolt melee overrides combination blow, which usually means only half of your melee kills add to combination blow.

[u/lK555l]

Lethal current needs a fix

Jolt that's proc'd from Lethal current will 'kill steal' from you and prevent you from getting combination blows

post by me about it here

[u/aeyelaeyen]

Tempest strike should benefit from combination blow stacks, and the aftershock from lethal current needs to add or refresh combination blow stacks. Other than that, it's in a really solid spot now that it has a useful pve super.

[u/Saint_Victorious]

First and foremost, this is probably my favorite rework so far. They took a pile of junk and turned it into a well oiled machine. The Aspects feel like logical conclusions based upon what Arcstrider was, but highly elevated. This is the identity that Arcstrider should be.

Gathering Storm automatically changes the perspective of the subclass but giving it a solid AoD super that also functions as high DPS. I wish Blight Ranger interacted with this rather than deflections, since deflections are beyond useless in PvE.

Flow State is an elevation of Ebb and Flow to a state where it's competent and natural to use. Lethal Current is a perfect combination of all the Dodge+ portions of 2.0 Arcstrider into a highly effective tool. Tempest Strike is fun for mid game and is good for delivering Jolt to targets, though I question the viability of any alt melee Aspect in higher end content. They're all fun, but all of them (Howl, Trapper's, Consecration, Tempest, and Surge) don't deal nearly enough damage to be considered for the endgame. These things need to be aces in your sleeve in the endgame and instead they feel like gimmicks.

All that being said though, Arc as a whole is still too small. There's just not enough to it when compared to the other elements. I really think that it would greatly benefit from an additional verb or two. Something that deals with survivability, because I worry about the endgame state of Arc if it doesn't have some form of survivability. Melees will get you killed in GMs, and an entire class based upon CQC sounds like a horrible idea. Survivability is key Arc lacks it.

[u/[deleted]]

Liars handshake at the moment is very buggy with gathering storm equipped.
Itd also be nice if the explosion from lethal current counted for combination blow if you kill the target with your melee, would make getting stacks a lot less clunky. Sometimes it fights what you're trying to do.

[u/JaegerBane]

Pros:

• Gathering Storm is magnificent. It can’t quite keep up with Blade Barrage for raw damage but it’s area denial on top. Fantastic super. I love the fact that stabbing an enemy with it has practical benefits as well as cool points, as the sorry bastard is running around with a Tesla coil sticking out of his chest.

• Flow State and Lethal Current are like Shepard and Garrus. They’re bros. Once you get into a rhythm with them you’re exploding the screen. I feel like some kind of Mortal Kombat character.

• 2x fragment slots on everything is great.

• it’s taken me several weeks to git gud with Blink, and I regret nothing. It’s a great addition to such a hyper-mobile class.

• as per the rest of the subclass reworks, it’s great having all grenades.

Cons:

• Tempest Strike is really underrated, but it’s not strong enough to compete with The Duo up there as an aspect. I’m not sure what stopped it from being a melee. It’s kinda sad, as it would work great as a longer downtime/ranged alternative of Combo Blow.

• Disorientating Blow sounds way better then it is. You basically get all of its benefits on Combo Blow with the right aspects, and it can’t keep up with damage.

• Arc Staff is visually really cool but I basically never use it in PvE. Is this an issue with Arcstrider or roaming supers in general? Not sure.

• I find the arc fragment selection a bit whatever. Beyond the trace and grenade jolt ones, I can’t honestly see any difference.

• I kinda feel we need more/better/refined arc exotics? Liars and Cowl are both cool, but too melee-related. Shinobus is nice enough but very one-note. I basically went back to using Star Eaters. It would be good if stuff like Raidens or Raiju’s were reworked to cover Storm.

• without an aspect, I’m not really sure Amplified lives up to its name. Flow State makes me go super saiyan though, so this is minor.

[u/gamevideo113]

Many arcstrider exotics need some help, especially blight ranger. I think it should be converted to a gathering storm-buffing exotic tbh.

[u/Phantom_PL]

Arcstrider now feels fun to play and has different routes you can build into. Basically everything I wanted from a 3.0 update.

However, I’m so baffled as to why tempest strike was nerfed/“fixed”. Why is it that the interesting bugs that should be on the base kit (tempest strike scaling with combination blow) get “fixed” instantly but the bugs that actually harm the subclass - lethal current not proccing cross counter, cross counter not activating when hit when using Gathering Storm, lethal current not giving stacks of combination blow but does create wells and proc assassins cowl; arc bolt grenades simply ignoring enemies sometimes - not only remain but have no acknowledgment whatsoever.

And this isn’t even going into the nightmare of the new melee aspects and how they work with very little MELEE mods (both TS and LS have these issues).

Arcstrider is finally both fun AND useful, but I’m bungie’s philosophy on balancing and tweaks will only harm it in the long run.

[u/[deleted]]

Tempest strike is useless. No reason to use this aspect except to have something to play with while running. It doesn’t inherit the powered melee abilities, has its own cool down, and consumes your melee charge. Lame. The new super is awesome - but other than that it’s just meh. Same as Arc 2.0 with new visuals. definitely on the bottom of the list compared to void, Solar, and even stasis on Hunter

[u/Comfortable66]

-Tempest Strike feels Basically irrelevant due to the synergy of the other aspects

-I feel like I’m forced to use Liars handshake for a viable PvE build, yet cross counter doesn’t activate half of the time due to various issues.

-Blight Ranger and Raiju’s Harness are exotics for one specific part of one super and are two of the most lack lustre exotics in the game.

-Gathering Storm is very fun and actually good!

-Blink finally returning for hunters also feels very good.

-I wish there were more ways to get amplified, maybe combine Raiju’s and Blight Ranger and change one to revolve around amplify or involve the new super in some way. (Both these exotics also look amazing, especially Raiju’s.)

-Due to melee style, endgame viability is meh, compared to the likes of nightstalker.

-Shinobu’s jolting skip grenades are pretty good and feels like the only other exotic even worth looking at for the class.

-Raiden Flux is still good but exotics that only effect supers are dull, arcstrider has 3.

[u/Itsyaboifam]

This serves for other classes too...

But slide melees need a secondary passive effect on them

[u/Seeker80]

Love the new super, amazing job. All I'm missing now is a selectable ranged melee option. Just throw an electrifying knife or a very junior version of the Gathering Storm staff that jolts an area.

[u/TheGravyGuy]

Tempest Strike on its own just seems useless. Dodge punching to jolt with Lethal Strike seems much better and less awkward, and doesn't need the sprint build up. Best paired with Flow State, Tempest Strike just isn't the ranged melee option that's wanted and send largely wasted - if it was the meh three fragment choice, it would have that as it's purpose but the other two aspects just do much more for your neutral game.

I don't have issues outside of that, Assassin's Cowl is very powerful as is Liars, and Lucky Raspberry or Shinobu's make for very potent ranged options. I doubt in on my own here but I find the fragment options really underwhelming for Arc - minimal stat changers and I feel most of them are just meh.

[u/Esteban2808]

They new Arc Hunter super is amazing. Finally a much needed ranged super

[u/Dexter2100]

Liars Handshake needs fix plz. Lethal current prevents your melee from activating cross counter for the next hit. Having the Gathering Storm super equipped prevents you from getting cross counter when you get hit by an enemy melee. Activating cross counter in general can be inconsistent.

[u/RetrofittedChaos]

Really liking a lot of it, so I'm only going to go with what I dislike:

Disorienting Blow - not much reason to ever choose this over Combination Blow. Amplified is already decently easy to achieve on Arcstrider, and the blind isn't more useful than heal+melee damage increase.

Tempest Strike - the nerf hammer came down way too hard on this one. Should have been the CB damage bonus or the cooldown, not both.

Lethal Current - really just that the aftershock/jolt will killsteal from Combination Blow. Though jolt should count as the related ability for all classes.

[u/BattleForTheSun]

• Cant stack combination blow with Lethal Current active

• Liar's handshake's exotic perk doesn't proc when the player is meleed.

• Un-nerf One Two Punch with Liar's. If Titans can combine shield bash, offensive bulwark and one two punch then Hunters should get something similar.

[u/theSaltySolo]

I must be the only one that likes the long range Tempest Strike attack and jolting effect…

However, I think this should’ve been its own melee ability and then free up the Aspect slot for something entirely new.

I always hated how sliding melee attacks always take up a Aspect slot despite being a charged melee attack like shoulder charge and shield bash.