Vine arrrow's slow feels pointless (and my suggestions on how to fix it)

[Adsarth]

1. Monsters are either too slow or too fast for it to be relevant in general. You don't need slow for big monsters and faster ones will get to you before it lands. So it has to be prediction rather than reaction or is primarily for close quaters.
2. In close-quaters kiting movespeed slow is irrelevant. Current balance between attack and movespeed of monsters suggests moving away is almost always a better option than dodge roll. So your attack window is based of how long will a monster attack rather than how fast wiil it turn or run to you.
3. You can't buff vine arrow's CC capabilities by hinder or chaotic freeze support gems since they can only be applied to spells, and vine arrow is an attack.

Every other CC option for ranger is better, being it either pin, freeze or even walls or minions. So if there was an idea that vine arrow is a CC tool, I dont think it's working right now.

My suggestions are:

1. Skill's slow effect should depend on how poisoned a flower is, based on ratio between base and added damage. It would emphasize it's role as a set up and kiting tool. Also for phys/poison builds it can provide substantial effiency without being completely busted for cold damage builds. Or even better, it should not stack with chill whatsoever.
2. It should build up pin. Inherently, or via support gems. It would compliment skill's aesthetics and be a good combo for snipe, toxic growth or rain of arrows.
Or it could apply a brief one second or so pin upon landing.
3. Hinder and chaotic freeze should be able to buff vine arrow. Pure chaos damage builds with cultist bow would benefit greatly.

Important notice: it's not like you going to struggle without it. You can always just run around enemies and shoot them until they dead, without any CC. Even fast enemies attack very slowly and have zero track. So it's more about "how to make vine arrow feel better to use". I like the idea of choking my enemies to death with vines, but they don't really look being choked right now.

[ministrog]

but have you tried https://www.poe2wiki.net/wiki/Maim_(support_gem) ?

[Adsarth]

Originally posted by ministrog:

but have you tried https://www.poe2wiki.net/wiki/Maim_(support_gem) ?

I did. Aoe chaos damage doesn't hit, so it applies maim only on landing which doesn't really make it better at CC.

Also you get 30% chance of maim on poisoned targets anyway from passives so you will apply it with other source like rain of arrows. So you need pin and/or hinder to compliment vine arrow, not maim.