Arzoth

You asked for pics... here you go

Yes, it's the same hat graphic...

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frodex

Why would you provide an ass shot...

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Arzoth

cause I got it like that

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RogueFrequency

Cool downs don't start til the spell ends, so its more like:
old: 17 of every 52 (33% of the time)
new: 24 of every 84 (29% of the time)

New has more dmg and haste I assume, so doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Another bonus is since the skill isn't 12 levels under cap, the stat cap won't effect it as harshly and we are able to keep our self-buff on all the time, so there is another boost to it's damage.

The stupid thing now is that our self-buff takes no conc, neither will PoS in set gear, this leaves 8 buffs to fill 5 conc spots. Noxious and Elusion are only run in a few, dire situations. Basically it will be a toss up between Hyran's and Harl's depending on what group you are in.

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Chemist

if I remember correctly the Chimes had 5 more haste than Cacho at master 1

Can't remember the damage increase between the 2 offhand.

so without any changes to the ROK Set, looks like 3 EOF/3 ROK combo

RogueFrequency

You'd prefer gimping your stats and hp so you can have the old CoB up 33% of the time as opposed to having the new CoB (which I am sure will do more damage and has 5 more haste) up 29% of the time. Sorry that just sounds kinda dumb to me.

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Kall

Those numbers are off.

First the new CoB has 10 more haste.

Second:

17s every 35s vs 24s every 60s = 1020s every 2100s vs 840s every 2100s

Which leads to:

Old CoB up 48.57% of the time vs New CoB up 40% of the time.

WillyWonka

Unless it has been changed recently, the RoK Bonus does not apply to Cacophony but only to Chimes.
So why use a skill that does less damage per hit, less haste but comes up a little bit more often?
I'd rather have the extended duration in all situations.

Arzoth

---- THIS IS A COPY/PASTE FROM BETA BOARDS TO HERE MADE BY ME ----
---- This is a justification (or my version of it) as to why dirge's utility in raids is being situationally removed by this new CoB and subsequent armor bonuses ----

Seeing as how this ability has made a dirge into a defining class in almost every raiding guild, from helping tanks keep aggro to making scouts and other melee do happy dances when it's up, I find this upgrade to be a little lack luster

With around the same STR buffs rolling on both my live and beta character, the upgrade to Cacophony doesn't seem to be an outright replacement as with all the other spells and CAs from this new expansion.

** CoBv1.0 = Cacophony of Blades **
** CoBv2.0 = Chime of Blades **

The proc's damage is about a 35% increase:
CoBv1.0 92-154 -> 154+92/2 = 123
CoBv2.0 125-208 -> 208+125/2 = 166.5

166.5/124 = ~1.354 so 35%

The haste is a 23% increase
CoBv1.0 52
CoBv2.0 64

64/52 = ~1.23 or 23%

Every thing is in what seems to be great shape with the spell and how it's upgraded. The proc is better, the haste is better, but wait, what's this?

CoBv1.0 CoBv2.0
Duration 17 17+7=24 (w/ 5 RoK set)
Recast 60-25=35(w/ 3 EoF set) 60
Casting 2s 2s

So, with the average epic named monster (I'm only counting epic monsters because I raid to get better gear to use on raiding encounters, I don't raid to get better at doing group instances. That's counter intuitive to me) taking anywhere from 6-10 minutes, using CoBv1.0; I can have group haste and spike DPs for:
ins-and-outs on AEs
adds that recently spawned
proc interrupts
every 37 seconds (including recast) vs every 62 seconds.

So yes, the DPs maybe marginally better with CoBv2.0 once you get the 5pieces of RoK set gear (I will not use Chime of Blades until I have 5 pieces of set gear, because 17s with 60s recast is rediculous compared to 17 @ 35s, even if the proc and haste is a less than 40% increase). Even then, I may not use Chime of Blades at all, it would seem that having the ability to increase my group's spike dps against adds and named alike at a nearly a whim vs every 60 seconds seems worth it.

IF you are a developer and are skeptical of my posting, I invite you to imagine yourself in a situation where you, as a dirge, can be situationally useful and benefit your raid once every 35 seconds vs every 60 seconds.

Know that in a named fight of 6-10 minutes, you can cast CoBv2.0 approximately 6-10 times (If you cast it first when the mob is engaged (which you rarely do 'cause you're debuffing)) vs having CoBv1.0 up approximately 10-17 times.

I am greatly anticipating the expansion's launch and look forward to hearing back on this thread.

P.S. PLEASE, if you notice any mistakes in math or errors otherwise, please post here.
P.P.S. THIS IS NOT A THREAD ABOUT CLASS BALANCE. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH CLASS BALANCE TAKE IT TO www.eq2flames.com, I want this thread to be about the spell and it's upgrade.

Thanks again,
-A-

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RogueFrequency

First: I was going on haste that chem posted.

Second: I was going on the fact that I was and am still almost positive that the cool down doesn't start until the spell has finished. I say this because I have a custom timer set up in ACT that I run sometimes for CoB that is set at 49 seconds (Ring of Four Winds). If I am correct, which I am fairly certain I am, then you will see how I got 29% and 33% in my above post.

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