Patch Notes: NW.290.20230424a.8
Release Notes
Combat and Powers
Companions
We’ve standardized how companions provide shield to players. There are a few key changes that have occurred to make the results more predictable, balanced, and hopefully fun!
- Companion shields stack with Player shields
- Companion shields do not stack with themselves, or, with other Companion shields
- Companions always provide Shields (blue bar), and not Temporary HP (yellow bar)
- Companion shields have a rough baseline of 5% of max hit points, for multi-target shields
- Companion shields have a rough baseline of 10% of max hit points, for single-target (summoner) shields
- Weaker Companion shields do NOT replace a stronger Companion shield
- A 10% shield will not be replaced with a 5% shield (uses current shield HP, not max)
- Note that this means you are unable ‘refresh’ a companion shield by applying a weaker one, even if the duration on the stronger one is about to expire
- We are testing this change with the intent of rolling it out to more shields if it’s liked
- Recharge time, Radius, etc. are less standardized, so some companions will have higher shield uptime, more reliable shields, etc.
- We may change baselines and such or make variations based on pet specifics going forward, but this is our starting target.
This has resulted in significant changes to the following shield-providing companions:
- Barbarian Shaman
- Nature’s Wind provides a 5% shield to nearby allies
- Protecting Strike healing increased
- Deva Champion
- Shielding Light provides a 5% shield to nearby allies
- Smiting Blows’s Critical Severity reduction no longer stacks with itself
- Elminster Aumar
- Effulgent Epuration (active skill) can now be used at the start of combat
- Effulgent Epuration is a 10% summoner shield
- Cooldown and Duration adjusted as well
- Erinyes of Belial, Avernus
- Devastating Opportunist power now displays on their companion info
- Devastating Opportunist update to be more reliable and usable in melee range
- Bloody Spiral provides a 10% summoner shield and 10% companion shield
- Bloody Spiral cooldown decreased to 15s -> 10s
- Bloody Vengeance passive reworked to add a small summoner heal to Bloody Spiral
- Rebalanced as a Single Target Support companion
- Stronghold Cleric
- Reinforced Aid provides a 5% shield to nearby allies
- Reinforced Aid healing slightly decreased (to offset shield changes)
- Reinforced Aid radius increased
This has also necessitated a change to two companions’ player bonus powers:
- Angel of Protection – Angel’s Insight
- Provides a 10% shield
- Elminster Aumar – Effulgent Epuration
- Provides a 10% shield
Lastly, we took the time to clean up a few miscellaneous bugs with shields, such as making them consistently target all nearby friends (for multi-target ones) and having them behave consistently when exiting combat and a few other edge cases. Please let us know if you spot and odd behaviors with companion shields.
Other companion changes in this update:
- Cleric Disciples
- Healing Word healing increased
- Fawns and Fireblossom Zealot
- Healing on Spring of Life and Fireblossom Bloom reworked to prevent excessive healing at low item levels
- Healing should be slightly higher at higher item levels, but more comparable to other heals at lower item levels
- Scarecrow
- Horrid Gaze reworked; when buffed by Fearful Loathing passive, provides a 2s stun every 8s.
- Rebalanced as a Single Target companion
- Skeleton
- Bonemeal and Tenderizer damage bonuses and stacking reworked and rebalanced
- Tenderizer now stacks and is consumed per Skeleton, rather than one big shared stack
- Rebalanced as a Single Target companion
- Bonemeal and Tenderizer damage bonuses and stacking reworked and rebalanced