Defensive builds aren’t any good. I don’t know what the fix is, but it would be nice if one could be found. It would open up new build/playstyle options.
Defensive builds are good for regular content but are awful for bosses. Regardless of how good your defensives are bosses can one shot you. You can learn the boss mechanics and avoid the one shots, but for a build focused on defense it takes a long time to kill bosses. Defensive builds have to be in the boss fight multiple times as long as glass cannons. That means you gotta dodge the one shots over, and over, and over again. Even if you know the mechanics really well the sheer number of times you have to execute makes it less likely you’ll survive. It leaves the game at a state where defensive builds don’t make any sense. You should always build glass cannons. Glass cannons are fun and I’ve definitely built my share, but it would be nice to have some other options.
Please don’t flame me with “git gud” comments. I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have put in 200 hours into the game. I know the boss mechanics and can escape the one shots reliably. I can successfully play a defensive build and get past the bosses, but its so much harder than playing as a glass cannon. So much harder that its not worth doing. The game is great and I’m enjoying it immensely. I just think doing something about this problem would open up additional viable builds and extend the longevity of the game.
I don’t know what you think your complaint is. Focusing on defense at the cost of offense makes it take longer to kill things, and sometimes that means it’s harder? Like, no shit dude. This is a tradeoff in any game where stats are limited.
I know a defensive build is always going to be slower. You kill slower but you have more survivability. I know the meta is to kill as fast as possible, but it’s nice to have alternatives to the meta. I don’t always want to play a squishy character. The game does allow for you to build non-squishy characters. And they work for most of the game. Sure, they are slower, but it’s fun. Except for bosses. The trade off of speed for defense dies at bosses. There are no defensive options that work for bosses. I’m not saying bosses shouldn’t be able to kill you. They should. But it should not be in just as many shots as it takes to kill a glass cannon. It fundamentally makes glass cannons the “right” way to play.
The one shot mechanics are fine. I enjoy the skill it takes to avoid them. But the draw back is there is no point to running a defensive character. I wish there was a to make both. It expands the amount of builds you can have and allows for different playstyles. Right now anything that’s not a glass cannon is punished with more chances to be one shot. I’m not saying get rid of the one shot mechanics. I’m not sure how or if you can fix it.
Maybe you are right, nobody wants defensive characters anyway… but I figured I’d post the feedback since I do occasionally enjoy the slow but tanky character.
Pretty much every medium corruption build is “defensive”. Mitigating damage is a requirement for any build that doesnt generate obscene amounts of ward.
The trick is just finding the right combinations and balance.
