4.10 Fighter Buffs

[BallotBoxer]

Patch 4.10 brings balance adjustments for 11 lucky fighters. Some (like the 3 bronzes) have been dwelling in the bottom of tier lists waiting to shake off the "worst of the worst" and "not worthy of investing" titles their various flaws have brought them. It is difficult to remember how things were so I'm using this thread to document and discuss the changes.

FIGHTER​	BEFORE​	AFTER​
Mummy Dearest Eliza	SA1: Using a SPECIAL MOVE sacrifices 20% of Eliza's MAX HEALTH to gain 25/35/50% BLOCKBUSTER METER and HEAVY REGEN for 10 seconds. SA2: Gain BLESSING for 20/25/30 seconds when entering SEKHMET MODE.	SA1: Using a SPECIAL MOVE sacrifices 10% of Eliza's MAX HEALTH to gain 15/25/35% BLOCKBUSTER METER and HEAVY REGEN for 10 seconds. SA2: Gain BLESSING and IMMUNITY for 20/25/30 seconds each when entering SEKHMET MODE.
Wind Stalker Ms. Fortune	SA1: While near Ms. Fortune's head, opponent's lose 3/4/5% BLOCKBUSTER METER per second. SA2: Inflict DEATHMARK, DISABLE TAG INS, and DOOM for 15 seconds each when an opponent's HEALTH drops below 25/30/35%. DOOM is removed if the opponent uses a BLOCKBUSTER.	SA1: DRAIN 3/4/5% BLOCKBUSTER METER per second while the opponent is near Ms. Fortune's head. SA2: no change
Terror Byte Robo-Fortune	SA1: Inflict SLOW and POWER SURGE for 5/7/10 seconds after every 5 seconds not suffering a hit (includes blocked hits). SA2: HEADRONE HITS inflict INVERSE POLARITY for 5/7/10 seconds, reversing the effects of all healing.	SA1: no change SA2: HEADRONE HITS (includes blocked hits) inflict INVERSE POLARITY for 10/12/15 seconds, reversing the effects of all healing.
Pyro-Technique Valentine	SA1: Inflict 2 stacks of WITHER for 5/7/10 seconds when HITTING an opponent with a CHARGE ATTACK. SA2: Gain ENRAGE for 5/7/10 seconds when HITTING an opponent with a fully depleted BLOCKBUSTER.	SA1: BLOCKBUSTER and SPECIAL MOVE HITS have a 20% chance to inflict WITHER for 5/7/10 seconds. SA2: 20% chance on HIT to gain ENRAGE for 5/7/10 seconds if the opponent is suffering from WITHER.
Freedom Fighter Beowulf	SA1: While below 50% Health, inflict CRIPPLE and ARMOR BREAK for 5/7/10 seconds each when BLOCKING any normal HIT. SA2: When BLOCKING a BLOCKBUSTER or SPECIAL MOVE attack, DISABLE opponent BLOCKBUSTERS for 10/12/15 seconds and inflict STUN for 4 seconds.	SA1: 10% chance to inflict ARMOR BREAK and gain AUTO-BLOCK for 5/7/10 seconds each when HIT (includes Blocking). SA2: no change
Blood Drive Painwheel	SA1: 5% chance on HIT to inflict BLEED on yourself and HEAVY BLEED on opponent for 5/7/10 seconds each. SA2: When using a BLOCKBUSTER, remove all BLEEDS and gain ENRAGE for 5/7/10 seconds per BLEED removed.	SA1: 15% chance on HIT to inflict BLEED on yourself and HEAVY BLEED on the opponent for 5/7/10 seconds each. SA2: When using a SPECIAL MOVE or BLOCKBUSTER, remove all BLEEDS and gain ENRAGE for 5/7/10 seconds per BLEED removed.
Treble Maker Big Band	SA1: Heal for 5/7/10% of your MAX HEALTH after every 10th COMBO HIT suffered. SA2: BLOCKBUSTER damage is increased by 1/2/3% of your current HEALTH.	SA1: no change SA2: When HIT while above 50% HEALTH, reflect 15/25/35% of the incoming damage.
Dead Heat Squigly	SA1: BLOCKBUSTERS and SPECIAL MOVES become UNBLOCKABLE while below 15/20/25% HEALTH. SA2: If your opponent has a fully charged BLOCKBUSTER and you do not, gain 1/2/3% BLOCKBUSTER METER per second.	SA1: Gain 2 stacks of ENRAGE for 5 seconds every 10 seconds while below 25/35/50% HEALTH SA2: 50/75/100% chance for SPECIAL ATTACKS to be UNBLOCKABLE while benefitting from ENRAGE.
Scrub Valentine	SA1: Instantly recover 15/20/25% HEALTH when TAGGING OUT. SA2: Teammates in reserve regenerates SCRATCH DAMAGE and gain BLOCKBUSTER meter 50/75/100% faster.	SA1: All teammates instantly recover 5/10/15% HEALTH when Valentine TAGS OUT. SA2: no change
Decrypted Eliza	SA1: Inflict 25/35/50% bonus damage against an opponent with BUFFS. SA2: Inflict 15/20/25% bonus damage for each of the opponents living teammates.	SA1: Inflict 15/20/25% bonus damage for each of the opponent's living teammates. SA2: Transfer 1 enemy BUFF to yourself and inflict WITHER for 5/7/10 seconds when entering SEKHMET MODE.
Rough Copy Fukua	SA1: Any teammate below 25/35/50% HEALTH gains permanent HASTE when facing an opponent with the same ELEMENT. SA2: Any teammate below 25/35/50% HEALTH inflicts permanent SLOW when facing an opponent of the same CHARACTER TYPE.	SA1: Any teammate gains permanent HASTE after facing an opponent with the same ELEMENT for 10/7/5 seconds. SA2: Any teammate inflicts permanent SLOW after facing an opponent of the same CHARACTER TYPE for 10/7/5 seconds.

Will @rexturtle1120 's wish be granted and Decrypted Eliza get her powers back? (SA2 could convert buffs to bleeds when entering Sekhmet mode)

Will some of these supporter types get strength to stand on their own? Will Mummy Dearest, Freedom Fighter, and Blood Drive get a free ice cream for visiting the rework shop multiple times?

Any predictions or demands?

 

[ZeoW]

Ooh goodie, some changes I wanna see:

1. Mummy Dearest: HEAVY REGEN --> Two stacks of Regen

2. Wind Stalker: 35% DOOM --> 50% DOOM

3. Terror Byte: Include another way to inflict Inverse Polarity like BEAM attacks. Relying purely on HEADRONE is inconsistent.

4. Pyro: Honestly, surprised she's here. Perhaps simply inflicting WITHER when she charges? (Like how HHanded gets ENRAGE).

5. Freedom: Remove "While below 50% Health". It'd be cool if he could gain AUTO-BLOCK somehow to be a more threatening defender.

6. Blood Drive: Significantly higher than 5%. It's a ridiculously small chance for a skill that is supposed to be a double-edged sword. Buzzkill has a higher chance for a skill with no drawbacks. I'd say 15-25% or something.

7. Treble Maker: I suspect a rework on SA2 for a better damage boost or a different ability altogether (something more defensive?).

8. Dead Heat: Hoping for a complete rework here on the conditions for both her abilities. Right now, she only gains them when the opponent is ahead which is really bad. Also, maybe a bit of a damage boost?

9. Scrub: Also surprised that Bronzes are getting tweaked. Would be cool if SA1 worked for all her teammates instead of just herself.

10. Decrypted: A simple damage bonus sucks for a Bronze. I'd love to see her old SA back, but given how easy it is to trigger Sekhmet, I would suspect a simple "Convert 1 BUFF to BLEED" should suffice. Perhaps a random debuff instead of bleed? Or maybe a new ability altogether?

11. Rough Copy: Remove "below 50% HEALTH".

 

[Dusty00]

I wonder if any of the buffs will have to do with Prestige Abilities. Would make sense to have some synergy with PA. They didn’t say buff only but “balance change” right? I wonder if some are unintentionally stronger due to PA but we just haven’t discovered.

Personally I’d like to see changes in two areas across the game:

- More supportive SAs like Sketchy, HQ, Surgeon General, and even Pea Shooter.
- More access to some of the newer/rarer debuffs like Hex, Inverse Polarity, guard break and Immobility.

1. Mummy Dearest: I really liked how she used to take HP from teammates because that’s like the reference character. Hope they could make her more like SI but at the cost of teammates.

2. Wind Stalker: Change SA2 to inflict randomly either death mark, curse, hex, or 30s doom when using a BB.

3. Terror Byte: Agreed with Zeow to include another way to inflict Inverse Polarity like BEAM attacks.

4. Pyro: Would be cool if she could inflict some other debuffs instead of wither. Maybe hex, inverse polarity, or guard break? Random one?

5. Freedom: Agreed with Zeow to simply remove "While below 50% Health"

6. Blood Drive: Bleed is one of the oldest debuffs so I wish to see her able to inflict other types of debuff at the cost of her health. How about hex? It would be risky to use her in rift like a double edge sword - access to hex but lose points from health.

7. Treble Maker: Hoping for SA1 to do more. Maybe gain a random buff as well as gain life back?

8. Dead Heat: Never used her. Hoping to have her as another character to inflict inverse polarity.

9. Scrub: Agreed with Zeow more support to the team would be nice.

10. Decrypted: Her old SA would be nice but we can probably do better. Maybe access to newer buffs/debuffs?

11. Rough Copy: Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to “copy” something from the opponents? Would love to see her as a more viable support character like Sketchy

 

[BallotBoxer]

Decrypted Eliza:
Another example of SA conflicting with PA. Just as a Neuromancer Painwheel's need to gain meter from blocks is hindered by a PA that inflicts guard break, the current Decrypted Eliza needs an opponent with buffs, but the PA chomps them first:

Eliza PA "Feast and Famine"
Eliza gains a 5/20% chance on each NON-BLOCKBUSTER HIT in SEKHMET MODE (including blocked hits) to REMOVE 1 opponent BUFF and gain 5% HEALTH.

I like the calls to use unused debuffs. Like maybe cast permanent INVERSE POLARITY when going into Sekhmet mode.

Mummy Dearest Eliza:
Would it be too messed-up if she turned into a Bio-Exorcist Valentine?

New SA1: A living teammate will die when Eliza dies. At the cost of one teammate, Eliza resurrects with 25/50/75% health.
New SA2: A 25-Hit combo will resurrect one teammate and grant Eliza 3 stacks of permanent ENRAGE.

Rough Copy Fukua:
Maybe matching both character and element should grant an extra bonus?

 

[Erick Draves]

Mummy Dearest Eliza:

New SA2: A 25-Hit combo will resurrect one teammate and grant Eliza 3 stacks of permanent ENRAGE.

I think that 3 perma stacks of enrage for 1 combo its too much. Maybe 1 stack per combo, or 3 enrages for 10 seconds?

 

[Dusty00]

I think that 3 perma stacks of enrage for 1 combo its too much. Maybe 1 stack per combo, or 3 enrages for 10 seconds?

This sounds too strong for sure. Maybe once per game only, and 50hit combo will res both plus 5 stacks of enrage at cost of losing 50% hp.

 

[BallotBoxer]

4.10 patch notes have been added to the first post in this thread.

First impressions:
Mummy Dearest - I wonder if the less self-hurt and same heavy regen means "free" meter gain?
Wind Stalker - the drain tweak is good for the vampire theme
Terror Byte - the inescapable inverse polarity makes TB a hard counter to ICU Valentines
Pyro-Technique - rewards aggressive play rather than niche parameters
Freedom Fighter - learned to auto block from Annie
Blood Drive - the special move add to SA2 is a good "eject button" if things get too bloody
Treble Maker - budget Dread Locks Filia
Dead Heat - will thrive where there are enrage catalysts/modifiers
Scrub - a friend to all Cast Party MA Peacocks
Decrypted - "Inflict 15/20/25% bonus damage for each of the opponent's living teammates." So she's hitting 50% (2x enemies on the bench) at the start of the match?
Rough Copy - no more silly health requirements! A good support for BB meter is a concern... whenever that is.

 

[ZeoW]

Decrypted - "Inflict 15/20/25% bonus damage for each of the opponent's living teammates." So she's hitting 50% (2x enemies on the bench) at the start of the match?

Yep, they just moved her SA2 and made it an SA1.

 

[rexturtle1120]

well okay the balances are out so let’s see what I think. Of note, It’s been a long time but I’m glad their finally doing them again. Things like this really keep the game alive.

Mummy Dearest - I think for all her benefits, the SA should have stayed the same. If there was a way to specifically tweak Mummy’s AI, then that would be better. But of course Eliza’s AI is broken across the board so forget about that.

Wind Stalker - As ballot said, drain is nice. Although wouldn’t being caught in a ground combo also constitute as being near the head? I mean if Mrs.Fourtune has her head on and she stands near the opponent…

Terror Byte - Terrific buff. Still the “worst” robofortune, but that’s okay. One of them has to be in last place, but I have a personal like for her. Hopefully she won’t get mergers for her newfound power. Headrone is almost always blocked, I’ve found.

Pyro-Technique - I’m not against her SA2, hitting a opponent with a fully depleated blockbuster is harder to do than you think. You won’t benefit from a combo. I am a little sad to see that the charge attack was removed. I think valintine has the best charge attack in the game. It always hits and the old SA had her buffs guaranteed. I’m torn on this.
Freedom Fighter - Not a big Beowulf user. So no comment on this.
Blood Drive - MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT. No need to suffer bleed for longer than necessary. On a separate note, blood drives heavy bleed infliction used to be annoying to me but now I appreciate it. BD is the perfect counter to that one modifier that only allows one debuff on the opponent and deflects all others to you. Thanks BD.

Treble Maker - This will make TM a monster for lower leveled players who make the mistake of going against a player whose really prioritizes TMs stats. Imagine saving a BB3, only to have TM not only regain all his health, but reflect all your damage back at you. Thank god for bleed. Although, I sure how the devs don’t decide to make Bleed reflect too.

Dead Heat - i miss the unblockable bbs, but I understand it. I know the balance is supposed to make her better, but I don’t want the solutions to always be “put enrage on it”. We need more unique solutions.

Scrub - excellent buff! But I’d like it even more if the 15% health back not only applied to calorie tagging out, but her tagging in as well.

Rough Copy - Better, but still too situational. I think a better idea is to combine her existing SA into one, and then give her a complete new SA2. Maybe somthing along the lines of dealing more damage to those not the same charecter/element.


Decrypted - "Inflict 15/20/25% bonus damage for each of the opponent's living teammates."
I will never understand this. WHY?! Bronzes are already weak enough, why make one get weaker as the match goes on? Her new SA2 is better than the “old new SA2” but it’s still bad. Buff thievery does nothing big if it’s ONE at a time, and wither is starting to get overused. I still think she needs her original SA2 back. Bleed is a prolific debuff, but only for painwheels and Fillias. Hardly anyone else really gets it, and that’s intentional. I complete agree with the devs on that point, which is why giving decrypted back her GUARENTEED 3 BLEEDS, is so crucial. It gives her somthing unique. Honestly, with the “gimmick” the devs have in mind for her SA, I don’t think we’ll ever see her leave the balance board. Not without her old SA2.

So those are my thoughts, what did you think? I know your probably all tired of hearing my harp on and on about Decrypted, well to that I say…. TOO BAD! I will die on this hill, if my precious Decrypted can regain any sense of dignity. But anyway, I’ll see ya later!

 

[Disasterrr19]

Disasterrr19 reporting.

Finally, a balance update that was desired for such a long time! Some updates are really good, some are more controversial IMO.

LONG READ WARNING!!!

Mummy Dearest - I still don't see her being great, even though long Immunity is always good. She is meant to be a defensive variant, but no Eliza works on Defence right now due to her awful AI behavior. During hundreds of battles in Peacock Master Boss node, how many times did you see Mummy using her BBs? Without Eliza AI rework, I can't see her becomig good, no matter how many buffs you put on her, as long as they are granted on Sekhmet activation... Probably, adding more profit for usage of Special Moves could help?

Wind Stalker - very good and logical change. Probably would finally force me to learn headless gameplay when I pull her. Now, if I see her detaching her head on Defense team, I would have a strong urge to just push "Quit" to save time (but not dignity)...

Terror Byte - a very good update. With a reliable way to apply Inverse Polarity, she is what I consider a full-fledged counterpick variant. My previous attempts of using her were botched by the fact that you have to land multi-hit combos to secure a Headrone hit, and that would be most likely interrupted by a Burst or my sloppy fingers. ICU Valentines beware!

Pyro-Technique - mixed feelings, but mostly positive. I always loved Pyro. She was my first Gold Val, my first Elemental-specific variant, my second evolved Diamond. And I was always frustrated by her inefficiency. Before Tres Chic was introduced, she looked like the only attack-oriented Val and still was worse at it than SG (who is also a great support) and SK (who has no damage boosts)... New SAs make her much more damaging and useful, but I would miss the Charge Attack part - it made her gameplay more unique and allowed guaranteed Wither. Now she would be played the same way every other Val is - CVs all the way... Also, I would give her the same stats SG has - attackers should have high ATK!

Freedom Fighter - I love this change! Makes him much more useful on Defense (finally, a proper defensive Beo), goes very well with the reference character, fits him perfectly into current defensive meta. Bravo!

Blood Drive - she was already OK, now she is even better! Still cannot compete with Freaky because Heavy Bleeds do not stack, but provides a very solid attack potential. Now I would say that she is a good investment for a low-level player, just remember that pairing her with SG or Sketchy takes away a lot of damage output.

Treble Maker - finally, going fully defensive now, I like it. I would dare to say that TM might really compete with Dreadlocks now, since he reflects the damage without providing bleeds to feed ICU healing. Nevertheless, he is still going to give trebles only to mid-level players, and RE is still better at that. Diamond Rifts meta still has no valuable place for a Sax in a Trench. Is it time to De-nerf Futile Resistance?

Dead Heat - to be honest, I never even tried to use her. Faced her on defense, got hit with unblockable BBs, but her damage was never enough to make it somewhat dangerous. Now that she gains enrages, she poses more threat, but I would keep the unblockable part for BBs too, not only Special Moves. Yes, that would make her similar to Risky Ginger, but it's not really a comparison, is it? Let's see if my opinion changes when I face Dia Heat at Fire Boss Rift node.

Scrub - a step further towards support direction, but not big enough to change the picture. She still helps those sitting on the bench while getting beaten up. With her awful stats, she should never be a frontline fighter, even if she only comes there to quickly tag out. As @rexturtle1120 said, enabling the healing on the tagout for all fighters in the team would make her significantly better.

Rough Copy - a great update, she is now much more reliable as a support. An additional thing that I like is that now I can be more inventive with team compositions, using the variants that I rarely take out to the field just to play around with some Haste/Slow. Gives some more diversity to the game if you're looking for it.

Decrypted - very, VERY mixed feelings... Poor, poor Decrypted sitting at the bottom of tier lists for so long! She deserved an improvement, she really did. And she gets... half of it. Don't get me wrong, Buff Transfer is great, Wither is great, Sekhmet spamming is essential, Eliza's PA makes her an excellent anti-buff fighter. Steal whatever you can, remove what you did not steal, the epitome of jealousy! But seriously, SA1 looks like a mockery. While a whole bunch of attacker variants snowball their power during the match, Decrypted LOSES IT! It would be much better if she would deal 25/35/50% additional damage against opponents without buffs - goes so well with her personality! "Look, I've taken what's yours, made it mine, stripped you of everything you had! Now it is time to roll over you, puny weakling!"

As for @rexturtle1120's complaints about giving her back Bleeds - I would have to disagree. Bronze fighters are inherently weak due to their stats, so they should have something really unique to be chosen instead of higher tiers. Cold Stones provides insane stuns. Sheltered gives Crit Chance to everyone. BHD and Rusty already exploit Bleeds, with the latter actually using the Buff Conversion gimmick. Buff Transfer and Wither make Decrypted unique, and I appreciate that very much.

That's it for now, let's see if reality changes my opinions next week. Time to boost my Pyro, TB and Cap!