The Decline of Individual Viability in ST Items

[@aphrow]

As a precursor I want to say this as I just have a small feeling this is something people will bring up: I didn't want to go in too much detail about the strength of the Storm Caller Bard and Earthern Bulwark Summoner because I want to save those for seperate videos. I'm fully aware of how strong the Earthern Wand is, I left that part out intentionally x)

[@one_guestdream1772]

i know certain individual st items have been mostly really bad recently but i feel like that was the point all along, and just wasnt done properly until now, like i feel like st items were actually supposed to be terrible individually but actually kinda overpowered with 3-4 pieces of the set, for example the angelic bard set feels like a really good example, specifically the angel's fanfare lute where it gains bonuses with other st items of the same type. the angel's fanfare alone is pretty pointless only giving inspired for 4 seconds and an 80 hp boost for 4 seconds (which is instantly beaten down by a paladin's seal) all of this for 120 mana, a T6 lute has inspired for 4.5 seconds and a 7 def boost for 5 seconds making actually more useful with only 100 mana cost, also i think bard is the only class where its main support ability is to boost defense, which would made the T6 lute more useful. but if you combined angel's fanfare with the other angel st items, it beats the T6 lute in pretty much every way, since you can also boost attack, defense, health, range AND give the healing buff with the full ST, let alone the really good dps bonus from the full set, giving you 15 dex and some other stats. but after all, opinions are opinions and some people may not agree

[@aphrow]

god damn lol

[@chrisdawson1776]

🤓

[@sodazonerotmg9511]

good video, liked the pace and editing, over all quality content!

[@aphrow]

Much appreciated, thanks a lot :P

[@Ahegoo]

My only real concern is them "overbalancing" St sets. That is to say going so hard on the synergy thing that the individual pieces are just legitimately worthless. There's a reason people think the kensei set is kind of... well. Not that great. And it's literally JUST the katana. Which they tried so hard to not make it a pixie that it's just kind of bad flat out. I know what I said prior and I do absolutely still love the kensei set, it's beautiful and really fun, but the katana is actually just... terrible. It needs a buff. At the LEAST it needs a projectile speed increase. You're already basically never hitting 4 shots, I don't know why you can also quite literally outrun your own bullets(as well as enemies) while ALSO not even getting the best possible dps by default. The rest of the set is fine, it's great and cool and such. But the katana is actually so terrible that I've seen several people drop the ENTIRE set and that's my real concern. I don't want more Mercy's Banes or Pixie's. But doing a complete 180 seems bad as well. There should be a good middle ground between "mindfuckingly broken" and "this fucking sucks, I spent 5 hours grinding for this?"

[@SoldierBlox]

fungal tome is ut not st, therefore priest best class

[@somegalnamedseelpit3713]

As an additional food-for-thought part, I think it might also be worth considering UGC-made sets vs Deca-made sets. From the sets mentioned in this video, the Daeva Trickster and Nordic Knight sets were the only ones made by members of the UGC. All other sets were done by Deca's design team. Very nice video, by the way. Loved the smooth animations and transitions through music!

[@kelvincha5492]

back then I shared equipment ideas on Realmeye forums but I had some replies saying it's too 'complex' when it only does 1 thing but now that I look at the recent whites/STs...

[@aaroncamacho2144]

this is such high quality content for such a flawed game lol where u been man

[@aphrow]

profit margins are incredibly low for realm content but i'm just so god damn passionate about it. there is so much to talk about and with my nack for yabbering on about random garbage to my friends/guildies, I thought why not turn it into videos. I edit videos as my job, I'm a university student.. studying editing.. haha. I love editing, being able to make a video and people actually COMMENT on the editing? That's an amazing feeling.

[@catalyze_]

See this is all well and good and then you have the whole killing individuality thing. I disagree. Dalvar stacking with a battle god seal can prove extremely useful in oryx 3 and void, and then there’s earthen bulwark (which im just gonna call wand ep) which will result in wand EP summoner ALWAYS outdamaging EP wizard (both in max gear so, tablet/incu, vesture, crown). Should wand EP be removed from the game? Yes. Does this mean item individuality is always bad? Not necessarily, I do love where dalvar’s is, it’s niche but rewarding. Generally though I do like that deca has been considering synergy more. If almost every ST set had this I wouldn’t mind.

[@aphrow]

Counter argument being that I’m more referring to items that are mained, the issue isn’t dalvars with battle seal or things like that. The issue is Tenne, Pixie, Mercy’s etc.

[@slimkriby]

Oh shittt this video looks like it’s about to be a banger!

[@leaflotus6726]

I dont care what people say, golem dagger best dagger

[@jendi56]

Top notch editing as always! Can't wait to see the videos about the Bard and Summoner STs. ;)

[@aphrow]

i spent $90 trying to get them from the ST Crates lmao I'll just wait for them to start dropping.

[@viking8410]

Could you please do a shatters mace review?

[@spacewizardpip1111]

Honestly, I’ve never really like ST sets, especially since they have gone from an unapologetic attempt to be op and make money to relatively underwhelming while trying to make us open the wallet. STs can’t be best in slot items since they seem drop them via campaigns 1st before having them drop in game but then they’re basically not desirable enough. I think STs should just be introduced in the game as drops 1st maybe with an event that gives them increased drop rates or whatever if they’re from a dungeon. People would buy keys anyway, and it’d be more desirable than a campaign for me anyway fucking cannot stand campaigns that are basically selling a ST set for a class I may not play much if at all.

[@Zombarakh]

I couldn't live without sts., I think many are effective Examples: Fallen one's blade, C.L.A.W., harp, reikoku, crystalline kunai, lumi armor, magic wand, scorchium stone, hollyhock+lotus, brain of golem, squaroid, pixie, tricorne high helmet, geb tome, deathless, resplendent. Explanations: Fallen one's blade - I would use it as a swap out with colo and divinity. C.L.A.W. - As a burst weapon, it can be abused by halving it's cooldown by swapping wands. Harp - I can't think of a better dragging+piercing weapon in general than harp. Reikoku - With the inspire buff, reikoku is so satifying to watch and with two shots you have a decreased chance of missing 100% of shots by hitting one shot with 50% dps if the enemy moves. Katanas are some of the weakest weapons so reikoku does not have that big of a competition. Crystalline kunai - ranged effect dps boosting star and one of the best. Luminous armour: 200 hp and 5 spd looks viable to me. Magic wand- the deathless for wands. Brain of the golem - the only prism that has a long duration like tiered and you don't have to aim it. Scorchium stone - 2182 armor piercing damage after the first curse it applies. Has a shorter delay than primal arcana's bullet effect and has a direct point of fire, unlike primal arcana's wide shots. Hollyhock + lotus - Self berserk isn't too important but +16-26 dex and +6 spd are good stats. Squaroid - has good dps. Pixie - nothing to be said more. Tricorne High - Good by itself or you can use it as a swap out while another helmet is using its ability. Geb tome - healing, burst heal, 5 defense, and speedy. Deathless and resplendent - Bard seems good with resplendent and other classes may prefer a huge projectile speed over a 1.9 range boost.

[@jubeat4451]

I think Book of Geb, Deathless Crossbow, and Symbiotic Ripper deserved mentions. I remember players sinking hundreds of dollars into the archer box to get a better version of void bow. Maybe Soul of the Bearer for causing DECA to remove Conflict's cooldown. as far as individual viability goes, i think it's unfair for best-in-slot items to drop from anything except exaltation dungeons or realm whites, and it's even more unethical for DECA to sell exaltation dungeon or realm white drops than , say, Davy's drops.

[@darwolf6986]

The edits go crazy as always

[@rudifield5894]

I miss the alchemist 😭

[@chad2869]

i didn’t even think about how much i would pay for skins if they were cheaper LMFAO but fire video bro really interesting

[@mirpcow]

Banger video

[@swordsfaith8761]

love the content

[@chocokrispis1153]

god tier video

[@zzayy8282]

There should be an ST set that has a standalone best in slot ring and that should be the new ST meta, every release for about 5 sets should just be focused on the ring, only getting a slight buff from the set bonus.

[@teoriefortnite5768]

Bruh, realm exalt music is so disrupting i couldn't understand a word and had to rewind.

[@aphrow]

When exactly? I'd like to know if this was an error on my part so I can improve with audio mixing in the future! :P

[@teoriefortnite5768]

3:16 I don't think its a mixing issue, I just felt like the rotmg window just opened somewhere

[@princemannic]

I love the candyland music so much and that transition was perfect

[@aphrow]

thanks! :D

[@marshrotmg8059]

While I think you bring up a lot of good points, I'd argue that the individual viability of ST items has gone up over time (However, this may very well just be powercreep increasing the power level of individual ST pieces). Most importantly, I'd like to make a distinction between an item that is "viable" and an item that doesn't stand out in the item metagame (not best-in-slot). STs by design can't really be the most powerful items that exist because it would essentially make the game P2W. Selling players the strongest items is a monetization practice that is extremely unhealthy for the game, and even Kabam has acknowledged this during their reign(following it is a different story...). Since their takeover, DECA has learned from their past mistakes in ST set design and have overall gotten a lot better at item balancing. For items like Mercy's Bane, and the Oryx's Battle Attires Set in general, the entire set does in fact have a synergy, but this wasn't tied well to the other items. Mercy's low defense was supposed to be compensated by Champion's Bastion's defense boosting capabilities, and I don't believe that DECA created the armor specifically to cater to the DPS meta. Regarding individual viability, I'd say that the newer STs are great standalone items. While they're definitely not endgame material(and really can't be by design), most are decently powerful for where they drop from in the game(more on this next). Newer STs such as Cuband and Vortex Plating are great standalone items. It's important to consider where these ST items drop from and how they're intended to be used. For example, let's consider Dalvar's Battle Axe. It drops from the Ice Cave, which lies in a similar place in the game as a Sword of Acclaim, and both have around the same DPS. Overall, I understand that what you're trying to say is that newer ST sets have done much better jobs at splitting the power balance between items and adding better integrated synergy through passives that require using multiple parts of the set, which contrasts the old ST set design.

[@aphrow]

But realistically we are never going to see another ST mirroring the strength of the Mercys Bane/ Hirejou Tenne. DECA has learned from this. thanks for your input it was a nice read.

[@aphrow]

And something I regret not including in this video is the fact that I'm referring to end-game viability. As pretentious as it sounds, I am an end-game player, when script-writing I sometimes forget that my wording should be inclusive. Of course in terms of general usability, Cuband is usable, but not for a moment in an end-game scenario. Mercy's Bane on the other hand. If you watch the video in that perspective you might understand what I'm saying a bit better. But trust me that's nothing bad to you, it's my bad. I'm not the best scriptwriter yet I'm still learning, thanks for helping me realise my mistake! :D

[@TomimokaDiyuu]

Oh shit a rotmg video?!? I haven't played this game in months

[@dementor9945]

damn the title hit hard

[@Kacper42PL]

Huh now that's somethingI didn't think of thinking about before. Kinda makes sense that they want sets to actually be used as a whole instead of just one piece like with pixie, though most sets are harder to grind than items that beat them completely (new st sheath though)

[@sherbase]

Aha! Ik you from RotMC (Not a bot)

[@CandyShi]

mercys paine

[@1541Gabriel]

I havent played rotmg in about 3 years. Is this how the game looks now or is it a private server??? I might have to get back into it

[@aphrow]

The game is great, give it another try :)

[@hasrsal]

Zoo

[@aphrow]

Zoo! :D

[@PRCSakura]

It's more than just ST's getting powercrept by others (like you mentioned MBane vs GGuard) but also UT's in general. Warmonger powercrept pretty much all bows (even Bow of the Void) really hard (not only more DPS, longer range but also true range is the same as the max range). Endgame accessories literally says "Fuck you" to tiered rings :/ The list goes on. Speaking of which, video for Exaltation process when????

[@aphrow]

yeah power creep is a mess and exaltation progress soooooon asdashdasu

[@akanta5746]

warmonger is actually a pretty balanced item, the reason why its so broken now is because of the bug with mad god horn preventing you from losing dex when getting hit. in terms of endgame uts obviously they need to be better than tiered rings. Endgame ut rings like omni or horn take hours of grinding dungeons to get (and even if you forge it you still need 3 other endgame uts). Meanwhile, i can literally go to use2 rn and buy an ubhp for a couple of life pots.

[@aphrow]

@@akanta5746 omni takes hours to get? Years.. rather.

[@258thHiGuy]

4:02 You really turned into a different person just to record this line

[@aphrow]

my mic broke and i needed to re-record this line LOL

[@aetmud]

one note: they cant be forged. they are the only normally accessible equipment items that cant be forged. but they are generally shit on their own now like you said the ONE thing i want in this game is very good endgame items that CANT be forged. the forge is fine, and its fine if you want to forge lower white and even event whites, but being able to forge o3 whites really doesnt sit right with me. idk thats just my take

[@samcarson420]

I miss flash and old abby

[@BPP_PPB]

This is why everyone cheats, spend money once buy a set and bam never die never lose anything

[@seniordan12]

Hey aphrow, what do you think are the ideal pet stats for a intermediate level player (someone who isn't at endgame level yet)?

[@daisyrose5787]

Crazy 😈😈

[@fincy3461]

your realm content is amazing, keep it up

[@esloc8889]

fire video as always man keep it up

[@aphrow]

:P

[@XxguaxinimxX.]

nice video, with great edits!

[@princemannic]

Kinda surprised you started with the daeva trickster and not the angelic bard set because it seemed like a more chronological video but that kight just be me

[@aphrow]

Angelic Bard grants bonus stats. Daevite Trickster actually has enhancements to the ability apart from just stats :P Also i just love that trickster set ;3

[@HellBlade-od2mf]

I think another thing we can talk about is where the items are dropped and how it affects ST sets being used. I personally thing that the biggest "disaster" of drops is easily the Void/Corrupted Paladin Set. The fact that the seal drops from the King makes the void paladin set one of the hardest to get and its probably the most useful item in the set especially when soloing since you can now both Curse and Damaging at the same time. This can affect how ST sets take so much more longer to obtain and aren't as worth it to use in combat. A nice comparison are sets like Swarming Huntress Set or the Dragon Tamer set where all set pieces drop from the same dungeon VS other sets like Pirate King Warrior Set. And some sets basically being not used at all cos of their position like Magician Sorcerer set. I personally think that items losing their individuality is a bad thing especially if the sets are mid-game. Items such as the orb of the soul bearer are one of the best orbs to get as a Mystic if you don't have many good DPS orbs like Primal Arcana or Conflict or Oryx's great sword being a good armor break weapon for things like Nightmare Colony. There are also cases where items are not mutually exclusive enough such as ancient eminence and the forgotten ring giving wizard a perma slow or Storm Caller Bard needing the ability and the ring for the best damage etc.

[@MeadowEdits]

Yo this video is niiiice

[@aphrow]

tysm!!! :D

[@aaajakee]

LETS GOOOO

[@x0j]

nice cheat client

[@aphrow]

caught

[@Minecraftxpo]

loved the video, very to the point. I think the pay-to-win in realm is so egregious and poorly executed, realmgold (or the boxes you can get either way) is severely overpriced having to sink in $12 minimum to get much mileage and upwards of $30+++ for any of the guaranteed item boxes. Its too much to ask for so little content and as a free player iv still been grateful for the vault chests and character unlocks i got for free (i think im on like 300 item space for chests and 15 characters and iv not put a penny into it). Especially with the upcoming valentines campaign being a pay-to-enter and being super grindy so not only is it demanding but theres a fucking entrance fee. Deca needs to shape up a bit more with these things since the industry is growing in two directions: Pro players- they actually consider what the average player who likely wont put money in and their experience while still maintaining a paid aspect that wont be pay to win but appeal to the audience that wants to pay. Pro capitalism: monitize everything, fuck the player experience, this is only a business and nothing more, fun? What fun?

[@eggdudeoce7645]

Amazing as always!

[@aphrow]

thank you

[@molestingmoss5883]

I don't like how double edge most st items are, they're either cool but situational or usefull but in synergy with the complete set, which just forces you tu grind for it, pay or wait with the item taking up space. Having a lot of meh st sets doesn't help either, I allways just end up waiting to complete a "viable" set and attempt an STPE, feeding it or throwing it away

[@molestingmoss5883]

What do you think of adding ST Blueprints? Wouldn't mind printing out Soulless Robes, Golem Brains, Radiant Heart s or the new Abyssal Insignia seal

[@aphrow]

im too tired for an explaination but on paper it sounds right but i feel like there would be issues/