Is the Runaway still useless?

[Neveri]

Haven't played the game since launch, but put around 200 hours in it and the Runaway always felt terrible, have they buffed that character at all or is it still awful?

[RopeDrink]

Originally posted by Shalai:

Originally posted by Kotamine:

Also, my point wasn't that there aren't blight/bleed resistant enemies, it's that characters like HWM/GR/FLA/HWM/HEL/JES aren't one trick ponies relying solely on their DoTs and debuffs. If an enemy is resistant to bleed, you can just Wicked Slice instead of Open Vein. Meanwhile there's very little that the Runaway can do against an enemy that's resistant to burn and debuffs, since her raw damage output is very poor.

That's why I said to run Arsonist. There are only 3 enemy types (excluding boss) in the Sprawl who will have a 42% to resist. Everything else is almost a 100% to land even in Sprawl. I run 3 burn skills (no Ransack because Arsonist has better moves), Cauterize + Smokescreen and I never have issues with her damage.

I've also never cared about flame resistance, not even in the sprawl.

The vast majority still eat dots, especially with +33% res-pierce (if any), so my only concern is Librarian -- a fight where RUN can simply prolong the fight via book management, help move people back into position after Categorize, resist and regenerate through the flaming damage, apply Blind/Combo through his Dodge tokens, and chip away as needed.

EDIT:
The above videos were GR-RUN-FLA-MAA (pre-nerf & pre-DLC) -- but now that CRU has dropped, it's time to replace the MAA via -- Banner - Arsonist - Deadeye - Scourge.

A comfortable mixture of flaming-blight via two self-sustainers, and flaming-blight via two Healer/Soother/Tanks, all with triple mobility and access to every position. If desired, CRU can play up front as a regenerative guard with front-rank flames instead, but it's better to stack back-rank projection -- static Zealous/Firefly nukes, or dancing via Lance/Ransack combos.

Gonna be a fun evening.

[kotamine]

Originally posted by Shalai:

Originally posted by kotamine:

Any party with Alchemist PD can crush the game, especially if you also have Vanguard MAA. You're not really making a good case for the Runaway here.

I'm not making a case for anyone. Dude asked for good comps where she is viable and I shared.

Literally anyone is viable with Alchemist PD and Vanguard MAA, is the thing. You're not sharing any good comps where Runaway actually stands out or provides anything meaningful. She's just getting carried by the busted characters.
Meanwhile RopeDrink gave a really nice example, with Lance/Ransack dancing and Zealous/Firefly carpet bombing.

[Guzu]

Originally posted by kotamine:

Originally posted by Shalai:

I'm not making a case for anyone. Dude asked for good comps where she is viable and I shared.

Literally anyone is viable with Alchemist PD and Vanguard MAA, is the thing. You're not sharing any good comps where Runaway actually stands out or provides anything meaningful. She's just getting carried by the busted characters.
Meanwhile RopeDrink gave a really nice example, with Lance/Ransack dancing and Zealous/Firefly carpet bombing.

What are you on about? I literally gave comps where she would shine. She needs help at start but then absolutely wrecks bosses, even more so than Alchemist. Reason being is that burn trinkets are stronger than blight trinkets therefore an Arsonist scales better with gear and combat items. Not to mention that she has one of the best boss killer moves in the game: Controlled Burn. I have multiple pictures of confessions dying turn 3 with >35 burn stacked on them only thanks to RW.

She needs help early, she will carry late.

[calderon]

Runaway will be more useful when her Cauterize combat skill could heal both bleed and burn (instead of bleed).

[Jinxedster]

Originally posted by calderon:

Runaway will be more useful when her Cauterize combat skill could heal both bleed and burn (instead of bleed).

Nothing like putting out a fire using fire. Love it, but I'm not sure you can use backfire this way. ;)

[TheVampire100]

Runaway is fun to use with a Aggressor Crusader. I used Controlled Burn and Firestarter to get burn damage going and Crusader uses Tenacity und Reap to heal himself. If you give him Firestarter, he will also reapply burn without the need for Zealus Accusation

[calderon]

Originally posted by calderon:

Runaway will be more useful when her Cauterize combat skill could heal both bleed and burn (instead of bleed).

I would add advantage while in stealth mode. She has no boost on any skill (after using Run&Hide skill or specific trinket) like Grave Robber. Runaway and Grave Robber are the two heroes who can go in stealth mode via skills but only GR can make use of it (Lunge&Thrown Dagger).

[RopeDrink]

Setups and prerequisites are the sort of thing that dissuade most skills - starting with the 'stealth' rework in DD1-COM.

They nerfed the raw damage of GR's Lunge and various other buttons to tie power behind blight and stealth requirements, yet the best approach was simply to ignore the bonuses and use a raw Lunge anyway, because in a game where fast and efficient battles reign supreme, very few skills are worth multiple turns of setup.

Heroes like RUN aren't going to get better by having X skill get Y bonus when you use Z skill first. She already does similar via Firestarter, which not many people use -- despite allowing you to buff other people, including the RUN herself.

Secondly, Stealth is already its own reward - with almost all stealth skills being tied to self-sustain or mobility while hiding them from mechanics and non-AoE targeting.

RUN gains a solid regen via back-move, GR has a self-heal and self-soothing corpse-clear, and another as back-move, leaning into her need to move backwards for Lunge - particularly when using her stealth path -- so tacking more functions onto them will likely cause more mess.

[calderon]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

Secondly, Stealth is already its own reward - with almost all stealth skills being tied to self-sustain or mobility while hiding them from mechanics and non-AoE targeting.

Going into stealth mode you incur an opportunity cost. You lose one round to inflict dmg to enemy. Personally I never use it with Runaway because it's a pure waste of round.

The mechanics of DD2 prefer inflicting dmg than make the enemy lose its round (no stuns and blindings).

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

so tacking more functions onto them will likely cause more mess.

I meant only a tiny buff on Runaway not Grave Robber.

[Jinxedster]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

Setups and prerequisites are the sort of thing that dissuade most skills - starting with the 'stealth' rework in DD1-COM.

They nerfed the raw damage of GR's Lunge and various other buttons to tie power behind blight and stealth requirements, yet the best approach was simply to ignore the bonuses and use a raw Lunge anyway, because in a game where fast and efficient battles reign supreme, very few skills are worth multiple turns of setup.

Heroes like RUN aren't going to get better by having X skill get Y bonus when you use Z skill first. She already does similar via Firestarter, which not many people use -- despite allowing you to buff other people, including the RUN herself.

Secondly, Stealth is already its own reward - with almost all stealth skills being tied to self-sustain or mobility while hiding them from mechanics and non-AoE targeting.

RUN gains a solid regen via back-move, GR has a self-heal and self-soothing corpse-clear, and another as back-move, leaning into her need to move backwards for Lunge - particularly when using her stealth path -- so tacking more functions onto them will likely cause more mess.

There are layers of RNG mixed into everything in the game and that RNG decides what skills you master sometimes to make most of the paths, quirks other trinkets. But then you have heros that are in direct opposition of that design and I think there might be reworks down the line.

Duelist is cool to use but I cannot take her seriously at this point compared to the other heroes. You better hope BH is available for you in the first inn otherwise she is a trap.