How to take IS back to competetive from bottom tier

Drunken has two effects. First it causes the champ to be intoxicated for 6 turns on deployment. That effect often wears off before you benefit from it. Second, whenever the champ is intoxicated, it also has Fearless and Iron Will. That takes effect any time it is intoxicated, not just from the initial intoxication.

 

thanks! i didnt know that

 

I have removed that part from my main post earlier.

 

Power right now revolves around two things: a full deck of efficient runes and some great champ kill combos (minimum 4) by non champ rune assist.

This is how wins are played right now: your over efficient runes give you nora access to your champ kill combos earlier than your opponent.

Catalyst: nora gen. Nora gen can take the two above aspects of gameplay from top 50 to top 10.

Nora gen can also make a deck competitive that is otherwise deficient in the above 2 areas.

Create a deck with all 3, profit.

So, you want to make IS more "powerful" (because we are already competitive, just not top teir)?

Increase the faction in those three areas:
1) create efficiency bordering on or into the realm of over efficiency.
2) create champ kill combos, example Hammerstrike and baneblast are subpar but ED and fist are not.
3) create/increase nora gen potential.

Hint: we have great champs, but not enough efficient champs on the level of other efficient champs but if you're going with half IS I'd say use our champs. Split for kill combos and nora gen.

Hint 2: if you want the most competitive (only tier 1.5 FF deck) IS deck, it starts with 2 geos.

 

I was on the council following the utter failure that was shock trooper then alchemist release and until DOG took over.

Most all of IS power has always been tied up in our champs. Champs are easy to understand singularly. So when our power rises they seek to cut it out of champs for balance, rightly so.

When there is no council willing or able to temper the ire, this is what you get.

It's nothing close to how bad IS was the last time we were bad 4(?) years ago.

It just feels that way since right now much of meta effectiveness is tied up in champ efficiency and that where we got nut kicked. Additionally, our nora gen was squashed and we have no champ kill combos other than Geo to fall back on.

Presently, in all three buckets, we are hurting.

 

Also, for the ******** troll that will follow this with lololololotalgarlololo or something similar, go Firk yourself.

Continue Firking yourself until you show me a sub 100 rank raised to top 10 with only FF IS not using geos.

 

IS is missing the element that makes factions uniquely difficult to deal with.

UD is smashing your face in with very high damage champs. FS is wiping you out with the best damaging spell line up paid for with free nora gen. SP has an extra champ on the board swamping you. ST is negating an attack with free hp's. SL champs just wont die, drones and sand all over the place, freeking Quickening and DB. You can only hit the FW champ with magic damage and unable to hit them with spells while they sit in their DMZ. KF has capped or contested all the fonts on the map. IS USED TO be able to get to a font sooner with a little extra ap, no longer.

If you want to make pox a more chess like game than it has been in the past where IS is at at this moment is where all the factions should be. Everything in IS is reasonable. Even my man Talgar. You unequip him and he goes down the same as any other champ in the game. The spell line up is reasonable. Well costed. Nothing to crazy via effect or damage. Champs and equips are all reasonable. Even Geo is fine. With good play Geo can be taken care of without to much trouble. The IS bonus only effecting a few runes in opponents decks and being completely predictable and controlled by your opponent is not fine though.

Now lets hop over to FS. Pygme hippos doing tons of damage on demand. It is incredibly rare for those hippos to not get 3 attacks off on the rune the player that cast it wants to hit. Blink relic was removed from the game but drown is somehow just fine? Even though with blink relic you had an opportunity to get your champ back, not the case with drown. Poison cloud on the cheap, hasn't changed in nearly a decade and is 1x auto this entire time. Very strong FF bonus, to strong IMO. FS has very strong mechanics that can dominate an opponent.

ST has very strong mechanics as well. An incredibly strong spell set. Call of the tundra doing 30 damage when 4 champs are on the board, a substantial discount in theme. Gale Force brining massive utility and damage potential. Very strong synergistic themes.

Its to late for me to go through all the other factions. Needless to say they all have over powerful mechanics available to them. IS is rocking the hammer strike. 10 damage and stun for 40 nora. Woo hoo. Not nearly as nice as that psychic boomerang smacking you for 30 or so damage.

The point is IS has been de-OP'd. Unfortunately it is the only faction to have been brought in line.

I'd love to see the other factions brought to the same power level. Some example of things that would even the playing field would be:

Drown removed from rank for example, or changed to do 30% damage to a champ on water with a cost decrease. Pygmy hippos damage reduced and made much less reliable than they currently are by increasing the area they can spawn in by 2. Reduction in the FS FF bonus. For ST Gale force KB to 2 spaces instead of 3. A freeking duration on snow blind already so its not so brainless to cast. How long will drones be so OP?? UD FF bonus toned down by 1/2. SL bonus streamlined to plus 2 def for FF. The KF bonus finally addressed.

IS needs to be able to compete with the game as it currently exists. FS players cant live with out drown? Well then blink relic should be a thing. Or terrain generator should still be a thing for example. Right now IS is the poster child for what Pox could be but what nobody wants it to be. An incredibly fair and balanced faction is all areas. We don't want that though. We want swallow whole on several meta champs at once. We want champs that can move 10 spaces a turn. We want free 55 nora drones all over the map. I'm fine with all this. What isn't fine is when every other faction has these thing but the faction I like to play has none of it. Being the reasonable faction while all the rest are OP is a recipe for an unplayed faction and a loss of player base.

Baskit is correct in comparing IS to the state it was in 4 years ago. There just isn't a satisfying/fun reason to play the faction. IS, just like all the other factions, needs strong mechanics to make playing the faction fun.

 

Nothing personal dresnar, but this is one of the biggest reasons Ive decided to let Pox go.
Because in all honesty, most people dont want a balanced game, they just want to be able to run OPed Bane Shift.
So instead of lobbying for toning down other things, you expect the faction to be buffed to the same level as others.
As said, though, I dont think you need to be bashed or something - I think 90% of the community thinks as you do.
For the other 10%, though, that is a pain to deal with, specially in this post revamp Pox where themes are non existant and goodstuff is what is being ran. Just look at Devils bgs he put on general discussion, its like a proof that to be top tier you need to run only goodstuff bgs.
Just dropped by to say this, because I dont really care anymore. Just go get it buffed and see if it will be fun - I think not, but hey, to each his own.

 

I agree with you pede. I'd like to see all factions at the same level as IS. Problem is they aren't.

For example ST should have its bonus reduced to 6/3. Call of the Tundra should lose fuel rage. Gale should go to kb 2. A turn limit should be applied to snow blind.

Problem is when you suggest these things people lose their minds. The player base doesnt want chess. They want op mechanics that have large impacts. It's fun to use. I understand this desire for the game. I have no problem with it. If this is the way the game goes then each faction needs access to these types of mechanics.

Right now IS is missing it's share of strong mechanics.

 

Yeah, I see where you are coming from. Prior to completely quitting, which happened this weekend, I dropped ST entirely a few months ago, though, because I felt it was/is underperforming compared to other factions.
For example, in my alt account I played UD and FS, both with a tremendous higher win percentage than ST, and I have no idea why.
Might have to do with me playing themes in ST and goodstuff in UD and FS, but either way I just felt the champs were just a big pile of stats if they were cheap, and too costy if they were remotely fun/interesting.
But I feel your pain and I can relate to it. Balance is terrible atm anyway, so expecting things to be toned down is unrealistic.
Lets just hope KF bonus gets nerfed, that will help a lot.
In fact, if Sok implemented with one swing all those proposals in Cactuar Crate, it would help the game a LOT, but I dont think its the case, since theres an expansion coming and all.
Either way, good luck.

 

I agree with constructs and pallys and wings. Other than that barbs are pretty decent, trolls are very good, and dwarves are op. So is is basically experiencing the same thing every faction is experiencing right now? Every faction has like 2 good themes and the rest are not "top tier" but can still be competitive. K'thir for example really only has elves as it's meta. Fw really only has cheap meat spam, and forglar has the firk Every faction seems to be just about in the same place at the moment, besides ud because ud is op as hell right now.

On top of that the new is font bonus is absolutely incredible and easily the best in the game right now.

 

If dwarven axeguard and defender aren't buffed to be playable soon i am gonna lose my god damn mind. I have asked like 12 times for them to get buffs to see them ran again. I will continue to ask to buff those runes until it happens just like my fly catcher buff suggestions.

 

It has been like this for a long time, probably since way before the revamp. Recently this has gotten a lot better. Many themes have been greatly improved, the options of runes to use in meta have been expanded, and many super broken/ridiculously op champs have been nerfed. This game was way way more unbalanced just a few months ago. I don't understand why you are complaining a lot now and are mad now when the game is in a much better place than it has been in a long time balance wise and is looking like it is only going to get better from here.

 

I bet this thread brings joy to people like burnpyro who swore to get IS assassinated.

Its like they took the faction rivalry thing to a whole new mufo'in level...

 

IS was thoroughly nerfed, thoroughly.

The tears of IS players is what fuels jyx the shadesworn's blade.

 

Playing helps

everyone should be like that tbh. pick a faction and fight for it. when your own councilmember just keeps asking for nerfs, the faction is doomed.
Good thing dresnar started fighting before they nerfed what we had left

 

Who said we were done nerfing IS? I have heard nothing of the sort. Believe me the nerfs are coming.

 

yes yes, geomancer and talgar incoming right? np

 

the nerf to talgar ironfist will be the final dagger into the hearts of IS players. Only then will you be completely crushed and defeated.