Hey all, First off, just want to say I am [b][i]l-o-v-i-n-g[/i][/b] Forsaken so far, especially the new subclasses. Last week I got each of my characters a new subclass branch (Thousand Cuts, Grace, and Commander if you're curious) and love them. However, I got my second Seed of Light (Blind Well, if you're wondering!) on my Hunter and unlocked Way of the Wraith for Nightstalker. I was super hyped but after putting some hours into it, I'm afraid to say I'm a little disappointed. And I think that its balance and overall power level are the issue. So here are some discussions synthesized from the forums and my experience and some suggestions for improvement that I've come up with: -[b]The Way of the Wraith's [i]Flawless Execution[/i] perk is not practical/useful[/b] [spoiler]The issue here is that this perk is awesome thematically yet lacking in gameplay power. While the truesight effect looks amazing and access to long periods of invisibility is great, the perk itself does little for the Hunter given how much set up it requires (compare this to Code of the Commander which applies the Demolition passive just by landing abilities). In general, I think the idea of crouching and carefully aiming is a fresh take on Hunter gameplay, but ultimately is really at odds with the high-mobility style of play that Hunter is otherwise made for. [u]SUGGESTIONS[/u]: The [i]Flawless Execution[/i] effect needs to have a slightly bigger payoff, and/or more access to it. --- Have the [i]Flawless Execution[/i] effect occur only briefly (a couple seconds or so) on non-crouched precision kills, but keep the extended duration (~8 seconds) for crouched precision kills. The idea here is that this would give the Wraith a brief moment of invisibility, truesight, and even melee range on [i]any[/i] precision kill, which would be great for either quickly finding a new target or pouncing on a nearby enemy. Of course, the prize is even bigger if you pull off a crouched kill, allowing for more set-up / hunting time as deserved. --- Have the Wraith gain increased precision damage while [i]Flawless Execution[/i] is active. The motivation behind this is that while Flawless [i]Execution[/i] is a very cool ability and lends melee range, stealth, and truesight, it ultimately doesn't increase the Wraith's damage at all. Couple that with the melee ability which lacks almost any damage appeal and this subclass is actually the weakest DPS-wise subclass path for Hunter.[/spoiler] -[b]The power level of the subclass is relatively low[/b] [spoiler]This is more implied in what I've been reading, but I feel strongly about this. To rival (or even just be in the same ballpark of) the PvE power of Shadowshot or PvP power of other guardians' subclasses, Wraith needs a bump. Its four perks pretty much boil down to the following: -One of the weakest supers in the game (more on that below) -A melee that is a less useful version of the melee for the normal Nightstalker subclass paths and far weaker than the new Hunter Arcstrider and Thousand Cuts melees -And two perks solely for the hard-to-proc [i]Flawless Execution[/i] effect. Compare Way of the Wraith to Way of a Thousand Cuts, Attunement of Grace, or Code of the Commander (the new subclasses I've tried so far), all of which have the power to either heal allies from the brink of death or clear entire hoards of enemies with just melees, and it's clear that Wraith is pretty lackluster. [u]SUGGESTION[/u]: Double down even further on the super high potential of [i]Flawless Execution[/i] to the point where it is like the Commander's Demolition priming ability: a real bread-and-butter kind of effect. Here's some ways to add synergy to the kit that would make the Way of the Wraith a bit tighter in gameplay: --- Have the melee ability either give Truesight on enemies it hits, and/or have the Wraith gain the [i]Flawless Execution[/i] effect if enemies under the effects of the smoke are slain. This would give the melee ability much more depth in gameplay as it could be a window into tracking enemies or gaining [i]Flawless Execution[/i]. It would also be sick to have this ability behave more like powdered paint (as in, the smoke behaves more like a projectile on contact with a surface than just a static cloud), but I understand coding and making the graphics needed for that is a tall order. --- Have the fourth perk (sorry, the name escapes me) renew [i]Flawless Execution[/i] if the melee attack kills its target, or perhaps even if the target dies while weakened. This would make for some pretty godly [i]Flawless Execution[/i] chaining and really deliver that "unseen assassin" fantasy while still allowing for a high mobility playstyle. --- Alternatively, kills on enemies weakened by the fourth perk could grant grenade and/or melee and/or Dodge energy. Although this resembles Code of the Commander's Resupply, this additional effect would drastically help the Wraith's damage-potential (and zoning potential, with grenade/melee energy) and would really incentivize the Wraith player to go for melee attacks with this perk active. [/spoiler] -[b]The super is underpowered / buggy / worse than other supers[/b] [spoiler]This is the bulk of feedback I've read, and I agree completely. Aesthetically and thematically, I absolutely love Spectral Blades. It is a perfect fit into the game. However, balance-wise, it is far from where I (and others) believe it should be. Between the relatively low duration for a roaming super and close range it requires, its buggy hit seeking / registering, the awkward heavy-attack stagger animation (which I've noticed frequently in PvE), and lack of mobility compared to Arcstrider or Nova Warp, this super feels pretty impotent. [u]SUGGESTION[/u]: Aside from the must-have hit fixes, I think that this super could use a host of tweaks: --- Give it dodging. I was shocked to find that you can't dodge in any special way when in Spectral Blades. I was expecting Arcstrider-level evasion, but I would even settle for a low-cooldown dodge roll, perhaps with a brief Shadestep (D1) effect! --- Let invisibility from the super spill over after it expires. Again, I was shocked to see that if you try Heavy attacking just before Spectral Blades expires, you'll turn invisible in that sick animation only to immediately lose your stealth as your super runs out. In D1, Bladedancer (an incredibly similar super) allowed you to stealth with one of its perks, but that stealth carried over once the super ended. I see no real reason why this shouldn't be the case. This could even count as a [i]Flawless Execution[/i] state, for synergy and consistency. --- Give a significant increase to Sprint speed if the Wraith is in stealth. I could be mistaken, but I don't think this is currently how Spectral Blades works, and having this buff would not only help this very close-range super close distance (in a very dangerous close-range PvP scene packed with shotguns) but it would also encourage the Wraith to be in stealth mode as much as possible, thus reinforcing the theme of the subclass. This also would be a more efficient alternative to quick movement than spamming light attacks, as was the case with Bladedancer in D1. [/spoiler] _______________ I know I may sound really critical here, but I want to be clear that it is because I love the theme and idea of this subclass and truly want to [b][i]want[/i][/b] to play it. Again, I have loved Forsaken so far and am incredibly excited to see what Season 4 and Year 2 as a whole have in store, and I just want to have our feedback heard and realized so that I can take on whatever comes next as a Wraith :) Thanks for reading! If you have feedback (on the current state or my suggestions), feel free to post it in the comments!