I’m curious how frequently people like seeing the stats that give them an extra skill point for some skill they’re using. Initially I’d assumed they’d be really good just because usually these kinds of things are big bumps in other games, but in Last Epoch because it interacts with the tree you’ve already had a chance to put 20 points into, it seems like in a lot of builds this would just give you a little bit more of whatever wasn’t good enough to be in your top 20 skill points. Maybe sometimes if you get one of the really high affixes for that you could end up with like +3 and perhaps that gets you to some big node that you’d otherwise not be able to feasibly reach with your build?
So what skills/builds have you found where this makes a big impact? Where is it not so useful?
It really depends on the build, but there are several builds that need those extra points to get all their key nodes, while other builds simply use those few extra points to get a little bit more multiplicative more damage from the tree.
Some skills/builds definitely can’t use them at all, or at least not on every skill.
I would say usually most builds can use one or two of any of their skills, but not necessarily the “main skill”, sometimes they just need the extra points for their utility or defensive skill.
Other than for endgame builds, those affixes are really good for leveling though, because they give you all teh important nodes earlier.
I often find myself only putting one +skill shard for that desired skill into an item to leave it at t1 and focus on the other 3 affixes bringing them easily to t5. Especially when some guys and i had a 1 week community event. The % increased dmg secondary buff doesnt feel too rewarding considering you have to bring it to t5 to get +2 for that skill. This is just a personal thing when i craft items. So i definitly like to have the +1 because it often becomes really handy for every build, but the crafting effort to put it to t5 is too much for me with ssf chars.
Probably builds or skilltrees that have alot of dmg multipliers. I never really had that moment when i said ‘‘shit, i really need that extra +2 skillpoint to feel the difference or to get a new mechanic’’
As a matter of design I think I like the spirit of this implementation better than the general generic scaling on +levels in other games. I think something that drags games like these down is when you have a lot of stats which sort of just boil down to doing the same thing but in ways that are hard to compare at a glance. The +levels in this game have a relatively intuitive value once you know what your tree is going to be. That said, it does feel weird that it could be as bad as the 2st skill point you just didn’t pick or as good as getting you to a node that would be impossible to access on your build before that.
My Spriggan Form Druid or Summon Raptor Beastmaster would both love exalted +level items
Bone Nova Golem Necro doesn’t really care about extra skill points at all.
In general if you can get extra ‘MORE’ damage modifiers the skill points are very strong
Yes, finding a t6, t7 +skill item is always a good eyecatcher and satisfying feeling first. But once you realize its a bad base item with “wrong” implicit or terrible suffixes it immediatly becomes a shatter item for me. Sure, 4 extra dmg multiplier nodes feel amazing, but in LE i always go defense>offense. Imo suffix slots or in general defensive stats are too important especially in endgame when you really wanna push your character. I rather have 2x t5 defensive affixes on body armour for example, since the stat numbers can roll higher there than a t7 +skill with bad rolls on suffix. Like i said, always a personal choice for me because i never had that moment to say: yep, thats the 4 extra skillnodes i need.
Edit: only example where i remember to choose the other way around was a exalted +fireball pierce chance items. Pierce chance on fireball makes such a big difference on your defensive playstyle because it really helps you as a strong offensive/defensive mechanic to kill trash mobs faster. But pure dmg multiplier or increased dmg +skill rolls you can avoid if you already doing enough dmg.
Welcome to the forum btw.
Like you Jerle, I was not impressed with the benefits of + skill affixes. I think the biggest problem with it is that +1 skill points while leveling makes little difference compared to damage increasing stats that go with said skill. The increased damage affixes allow for more versatility in your build. I know there is something to be said for hitting a key skill tree component early, however its only a slight delay(obviously 1 level worth of skill exp:P) That coupled with the fact that you wont get plus 2 until at least tier 5 makes + skills essentially a very very end game only affix. I’ve been playing a lot of ssf lately and i only use the + skill affixes if i happen to be lucky enough to find one for my main skill. Even then sometimes i find damage mods or better bases that replace that very quickly.
It’s an affix that takes careful planning and calculation to make it worthwhile based on the skill involved. This is because of the valuable affix slots it takes up. If it was on a non body armor piece of gear it wouldn’t be a big deal, but there are so many great affixes on body armors. So it becomes a very niche affix that for some builds is game changing but for most is pretty meh. It requires huge amounts of luck to get a t6 or t7 on a good endgame base to make it useful. So building an armor through crafting basically requires the related skill to need only 2 more skill points to reach another tier of awesomeness in that skill. Maybe an example of this a hammerdin using void aura. But those are few. Its extremely hard to plan around getting a usable t6 yet alone a t7 because of how unlikely it is to drop for your build. Since you cant craft t6+. I agree with Boardman that t4 +2 would make it a lot more usable in the mid late game.
Even then it’s only very useful compared to other end game body armor affixes for a smallish number of skills. I think it would be better if they had a more diverse amount of side bonuses to the + skills that fit very well with the given skill especially for lower level skills. For example: instead of increased damage on fireball, have the lower tiers give fireball pierce chance or something like this. This would make it useful on lower level armors for a wider variety of skills and then you can always shatter them later. Cheers.
TLDR: Have the side bonues of the + skills be more niche and impactful instead of just increased damage. Increased radius for aoe skills that have trouble scaling aoe, increased fall speed for meteor, increased pierce chance for projectile skills etc. Basic examples, im sure the devs could get much more creative than I can:)
While I can understand the points people raise here, I’m happy that it is not a mandatory stat. People seem to struggle with the coice between a +skill affix or something different. And that’s cool.
If these affixes were better in any circumstances, it would decrease build diversity.
I like @Sirris suggestion for more utility with the secondary stats instead of just damage (like Flame Ward adding a charge) But it would have to be stats that benefit all build styles of a skill and not favour a specific branch.
In general I think the Skill affixes are in a good spot because they are not obviously OP.
Maybe it’s a good task to rate skills in regard to the usefulness of +skill affixes and identify the skills where these are objectively underwhelming.
