Star Wars: The Old Republic update 1.4 makes class and balance tweaks

September 5th, 2012, 01:41 Posted By: wraggster

Star Wars: The Old Republic senior designer Austin Peckenpaugh has detailed a load of changes coming to the MMO's classes in an upcoming Game Update 1.4.
"For Game Update 1.4, we wanted to address several key issues with class gameplay usability and balance," explains Peckenpaugh. "Foremost among these are adjustments to crowd control and the Resolve system, the subsequent class changes made to harmonize with those control adjustments, and a re-evaluation of stealth spec gameplay."Peckenpaugh issued the below list of changes, split into relevant categories:
Crowd Control and Resolve Changes

• Electro Dart and Cryo Grenade now have a 10-meter range.
  
  
• Electrocute and Force Stun now have a 10-meter range.
  
  
• Overload and Force Wave have been redesigned. These abilities now knock back all targets within a 15-meter 120-degree cone in front of you. Furthermore, these abilities now knock back all potential targets instantly; they no longer wait for an animation note at the end of the ability animation.
  
  Ability Changes
  Mercenaries and Commandos:
  
• Mercenaries and Commandos now have a 30-meter interrupt, Disabling Shot. This ability interrupts the target's current action and prevents that ability from being used for the next 4 seconds. This ability can be trained at level 18.
  
  
• Afterburners/Concussive Force: Rocket Punch/Stockstrike now immobilizes the target for 4 seconds instead of knocking it back. Damage caused after 2 seconds ends the effect. The knockback previously caused by this skill generated enough Resolve that it was actually detrimental to the Mercenary/Commando's ability to further escape the attacker.
  
  
• Tracer Lock/Charged Barrel: Now each stack additionally reduces the activation time of your next Healing Scan/Advanced Medical Probe by 20% per stack.
  
  
• Kolto Residue: Now additionally snares enemies struck by your Kolto Missile/Kolto Bomb by 50% for 3 seconds.
  
  
• New Bodyguard/Combat Medic skill, Peacekeeper/Frontline Medic: While protected by your own Kolto Shell/Trauma Probe, firing Rapid Shots/Hammer Shot at an enemy triggers your Kolto Shell/Trauma Probe to heal you on a separate 3-second rate limit.
  
  Sorcerers and Sages:
  
• Force Speed now has a 20-second cooldown (down from 30) for all Consulars and Inquisitors.
  
  
• New Sorcerer/Sage ability, Unnatural Preservation/Force Mend: Heal yourself for a moderate amount. Only usable on yourself. Instant, costs no Force, 30-second cooldown. This ability is trainable at level 18.
  
  
• Dark Resilience/Valiance: Now additionally increases the healing dealt by Unnatural Preservation/Force Mend by 15% per point.
  
  
• Fadeout/Egress has been redesigned. Now causes Force Speed to remove all roots and snares and grant immunity to roots and snares for the duration.
  
  
• Polarity Shift/Mental Alacrity now additionally grants immunity to interrupts for the duration. Improved visual FX to demonstrate this effect.
  
  
• Backlash/Kinetic Collapse: The incapacitation effect caused by this skill no longer breaks on damage.
  
  Stealth Gameplay Adjustments
  Scoundrels and Operatives:
  
• Disappearing Act/Cloaking Screen now has a 2-minute cooldown.
  
  
• Energy Screen has been renamed to Ghost. Fight or Flight/Ghost: Now this skill finishes the cooldown on Sneak when you exit stealth mode. Furthermore, this skill allows Sneak to be used out of stealth mode, increasing movement speed by 50% for 6 seconds. This skill still removes the healing done and healing received penalty caused by Disappearing Act/Cloaking Screen.
  
  
• Flee the Scene/Advanced Cloaking now additionally reduces the cooldown of Sneak by 7.5 seconds per point. Now reduces the cooldown of Disappearing Act/Cloaking Screen by 15 seconds per point (down from 30 seconds per point).
  
  Shadows and Assassins:
  
• Force Cloak now has a 2 minute cooldown.
  
  
• Infiltration Tactics/Duplicity: Now when triggered, your next Shadow Strike/Maul deals 30% more damage and costs 75% less Force. This cannot occur more than once every 15 seconds, but each rank after the first reduces this rate limit by 3 seconds.
  
  
• Celerity/Avoidance now additionally reduces the cooldown of Force Speed by 2.5 seconds per point.
  
  
• Masked Assault/Darkswell: Now additionally finishes the cooldown of Blackout when you exit Stealth mode. In addition, Masked Assault/Blackout causes Shadow's Respite/Dark Embrace to reduce all damage taken by 25% while active.
  
  
• Fade now additionally reduces damage taken from area effects by 15% per point. Kinetic Field/Entropic Field no longer provides this effect. Now reduces the cooldown of Force Cloak by 15 seconds per point (down from 30 seconds per point).
  
  
• Kinetic Field/Entropic Field has been redesigned. Now critical hits cause you to build a Kinetic/Entropic Field, increasing damage reduction by 1% per point per stack. Stacks up to 3 times.
  
  
• Humbling Strike/Magnetism is a new 1-point skill. Causes the target of your Spinning Kick/Spike to be slowed by 70% for 3 seconds when the knockdown effect ends.
  
  
• Clairvoyant Strike/Voltaic Slash: Using Project/Shock no longer consumes the buff provided by this ability. This change was made to better synergize with Spinning Strike/Assassinate during execute phases.

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