In depth, *realstic playtest and rant

[WarBlade]

My feeling is that somebody, though, isn't watching for total damage output at Blizzard. In many ways, total damage output is a good variable to balance between characters. Several posters have mentioned that 'Zons seem to be relatively viable soloing hell, even in Players 8.

After being one of those people who have been able to take a 1.09 "players 8" Amazon straight into 1.10 "players 8" I'd have to say you're missing a large part of the issue there.

The damage output does get ridiculous, this is true, but at the same time it comes with some nasty downsides, like being leech dependant in some cases. Consider the lack of all round leeching now and think how that's going to modify an Amazon's ability to take down a stone skin boss in Hell. In my case I found a snake boss that I couldn't halt the life regen on and it took me a while to get through it with only Mana enough to tap at it with Magic Arrow. So there are pros and cons insofar as Amazon damage output is conerned.

One of my biggest beefs in 1.09 was the overpowered nature of Pierce when combined with the likes of Freezing Arrow. I demanded a nerf. In a way I got what I wanted because of a mechanical change and this brings Piercing stupidity back to a reasonable level. It also ultimately plays into damage output . . . which is long overdue and seems much better balanced now.

The real issue I still have however is the Valkyrie. This thing needed a major overhaul - less life, more damage but unfortunately it seems to be a tougher brick than ever now. With any luck, someone at Blizzard will wake up to this and do something about it. If the Valkyrie loses a little of its lifespan we'll be spending more time retreating and recasting rather than shooting, which also ultimately curtails any damage output issue.

It's hard for me to say though. I don't play Amazons enough to accurately gauge the entire class.