Ability balance: Evade Melee

[Karn]

Just a quick note about this Templar ability. With the way the AI works, it's not well placed. Since the AI seems to know about all of your immunities, they simply never melee attack someone with this passive equipped. Templar is a tank class. You want the enemy to attack your templar. So having this be a templar passive, it's more than useless, it's a negative. Yes, you can learn the templar skill as a frail class and equip it, but that's not really the point. It's partly an "issue" with the way the AI targets, implicitly knowing they can't hit this target so outright ignoring it.

Anyway, just a thought. The idea behind it is understandable, templar avoiding hits. But in practice, with game mechanics, it's a terrible skill for a tank class to have. It'd be more at home on scoundrel or gambler.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Important note: Evade Melee is a Counter, not a Passive. You can simply choose not to equip it on your Templar - like you've noted, Counters like Counterattack, Absorb MP, etc. that benefit the Templar's bulk or ones like Evade Magic that compensate for its weaknesses usually serve it better. How actually useful a Counter is to the class that unlocks it can be treated with a lot more flexibility, because of that.

However, I don't disagree with the principle - if you want to play an "out of the box" Templar with its default Counter command, it's not really useful to the Templar's strategy. Evade Melee in general isn't a great Counter option, honestly, past a certain point in the game. But since Counters are still optional, their unlock pacing and flavor tie in are (probably) considered more important to their end-performance when used by their unlocking class. Eg, like you said, Scoundrel would get a lot more mileage out of it - but being available that early would cause balance issues as the AI won't have many answers unless the player's overleveled. Plus, then there's the issue of there being no intuitive class to inherit Counter: Steal, as all classes only have one Counter Ability. Etc.

I'm pretty sure this is just one of those times where the flavor and game-balance needs win out.

[Snuggy Serian]

"but being available that early would cause balance issues as the AI won't have many answers unless the player's overleveled."

You're right with that, but not sure if that still works like that. Most if not all enemys have some basic skills and they would surely use them.
Even with all your characters using Evade:Melee, just a few level after the new game it is not relevant anymore.
So giving the scoundrel the Evade:Melee counter (maybe about level 5 in the skilltree?) wouldn't change much.

But overall, yeah, what Raven said.

[ButtatakiBuddha]

Evade: melee is actually a lot better than people think. If you cause your enemies to be beserk, they'll melee attack. Also, you can use silence or cripple to prevent them from using skills or magic, so they can only attack.

[Snuggy Serian]

Using with taunt seems really like a good idea.

[Conan The Librarian]

Originally posted by ButtatakiBuddha:

Evade: melee is actually a lot better than people think. If you cause your enemies to be beserk, they'll melee attack. Also, you can use silence or cripple to prevent them from using skills or magic, so they can only attack.

It also causes enemy [Counterattacks] to miss, so you can hit someone with that counter and face no consequences.

[76561198280615747]

Another potential use for Evade Melee ~
Choose Chivalry as your second ability and 'Protect' another toon in your party. You'll evade the hit they'd take!

[Snuggy Serian]

Originally posted by vwjetta1997:

Another potential use for Evade Melee ~
Choose Chivalry as your second ability and 'Protect' another toon in your party. You'll evade the hit they'd take!

Not sure if the current AI will even attack him then.