Dirt kick in my opinion is one of the most op abilities Melees get that mages have 0 counter for. I find it hard to believe that Warriors just need to stand in the room kick some dirt and have all their AUTOMATIC abilities just do the work for them, wait.......some of them get blind fighting too. Like mages are so dumb they don't know how to fight blind. A protective shield can stop you from slamming into me, but can't stop a piece of dirt from going in my eyes. Wait let my blind my opponent. FAILED....try again FAILED....Blind.......FInally......quaff red/Gyvel/eat eye.
I truly don't get it. Casters will destroy any player that does not have saves. Thats the persons fault for having no saves. I run around with about -600 ac on my mages which is very hard to get now. Never see a dirt kick really miss.....How accurate are you to actually hit me in BOTH my eyes with dirt. How is the ground so muddy? As far as I am concerened Casters have a tough time fighting Vets players that know how to dress appropriately. Get a bit of saves stack your HIT DAM=Dead mage.
As I come back to play I see only a few successful mages (Psions and Clerics seem to be it), and I watch as soon as a good melee comes on....they leave. Is this really what we call balance. To me things are not balanced. I do notice that double rounds are not happening. That is nice to see. So cudos to that.
Mages have the same counter everyone else has for it. Adeptus face and picking your battleground. Fighting indoors drops their chance to land it and to a lesser degree the cities, too. Fighting in desert rooms increases the chance to land. Then there's the water rooms.
Dirt kick is a pain, but the truth is it is more the reliability of their damage. Meaning, blinding you doesn't cost the melee damage potential mainly, it gains them it. Whereas a mage attempting to blind means they lose damage potential.
Eh, dirt kick was a pain as it allows the melee to get away, but I'd rather them keep it as at least it gives me two rounds to do something while they can't do anything but wait. Now, the magic resist........that another story entirely.
Mages have the same counter everyone else has for it. Adeptus face and picking your battleground. Fighting indoors drops their chance to land it and to a lesser degree the cities, too. Fighting in desert rooms increases the chance to land. Then there's the water rooms.
Not complaining annoyed by it and like I said it would be nice to be able to armor for it like a melee saving for spells. I do not know the ins and out about the game either, so to laugh at me is just silly.
Fine, I'll be serious even though I think the mentality this thinking encourages is not great.
To consider something broken, you have to consider it over all of its instances. Is dirt kick 'broken' when you fight every class that has it every time?
If the answer is no, then its not broken.
Instead we then need to ask ourselves, fine, it seems broken because 'this scenario' seems a bit OTT. So its not dirt kick? What is it that is actually hurting me/making me lose.
Keep going till you start identifying what the problem is. To claim that dirt kick - a literally unchanged skill in at least the 15 years I've been here - is now broken, seems a little far fetched.
Mages are not supposed fight blind. Flee and reset. Beat them to the opener. If someone wants to trade dirt kicks for your hell stream, acid blast, sear, totally play that game. Just remember to watch the clock. Them dirting you after mid tic, is a waste of time on their part. If they land it right after the tic, dance.
It is amazing how frustration always becomes, this needs fixed, as opposed to I need to learn. As for those suggesting gear, dumb. Just dumb. Do not become dependent upon a rare item to compete. Learn to avoid, adapt, and overcome.
To balance this so its not a nerf but is actually a net neutral change to mages & melees, we'd need to buff dirt kick when it works. What if dirt kick lasted alot longer....6 ticks? But (and hear me now), you can try to clear the dirt by rubbing your eyes. If you fail, it lags you 2 rounds in combat, 1 round out of combat. If you succeed, the effect goes away and no lag. So sometimes...dirt kick gets rubbed out of the eyes and has little effect. Other times, it proves really hard to rub the dirt out of your eyes, and there's a strategy for when/how you try. Rubbing dirt out of your eyes in a desert area is nearly impossible. Works almost every time in a water room. Works pretty well in city/indoors, and only half-decent in forests/plains/etc. Having a water container open in your inventory improves chances. At a fountain greatly improves chances.