Photon and Vox Rebalance + Luke Cage Rework

Axew

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/354542/photon-and-vox-balance-update#latest

I’m glad neither is getting a nerf, they both feel really fun to play.

Also excited about the Luke Cage rework, he has some unique utility for the Science class, his damage was just lacking IMO. But pleeeeease don’t nerf his sig ability, the indestructible safety net is such a nice piece of utility for mistakes/input errors.

Rookiie

Nice so there’s still hope for DDHK

MasterSmoke

I hope Luke Cage gets a design change as well give Luke a hoodie please Kabam

ItsClobberinTime

I'm glad they're both staying the same but I'm mostly excited about Luke Cage. He was in my team when I became UC back in 2017, can't wait to use the buffed version hopefully new animations too since they said moderate rework and not just tune up.

Malreck04

While we’re on the topic, shouldn’t photon be in the six star basic soon?

Axew

Malreck04 said:

While we’re on the topic, shouldn’t photon be in the six star basic soon?

Sometime this week I think. They add champs from the featured pool every ~2 weeks. Last one was kindred a couple weeks ago.

DanielRand

Would love to see a redesign to the original Powerman outfit from the 70s/80s

Adri5846

Dont expect too much of LC, is only a "moderate rework"...

Bendy

Adri5846 said:

Dont expect too much of LC, is only a "moderate rework"...

Thats a good buff though it only be not expected much is if it was a tune up a moderate is like a big change for someone who was already buffed and still is good now as i use him for tb eq science node when u need debuffs

SecondSkriller

Rookiie said:

Nice so there’s still hope for DDHK

I think he’s actually do well as a 7 star, not gonna lie

Chobbly

Rookiie said:

Nice so there’s still hope for DDHK

Let's hope that there's some synergy improvements with Luke Cage for the Defenders, DDHK included. It would be nice if he gave some Bleed Resistance to other members of the Defenders, for example. But quite happy that Luke Cage is getting another look at.

Magrailothos

Adri5846 said:

Don't expect too much of LC, is only a "moderate rework"...

Don't be too sure. Luke has a pretty decent kit already, which could be expanded with a few tweaks. I'm adding a rework suggestion below, if you want an idea for a moderate tune-up that Kabam could take.

Sometimes a lighter touch is all that's needed. Other mild Tune-ups and moderate reworks include Bishop, Kingpin, Angela, Crossbones, Diablo, Falcon, Iceman, Joe Fixit, Masacre...

They're all really decent champs now.

Full reworks can sometimes go the wrong way - whilst I'm sure they've got occasional uses, most of the community is still fairly unhappy about how the reworked Guillotine and Deadpool X-Force turned out.

Bebeto_Corunha

@Rookiie What is the problem with DDHK? I think Kabam did a good job when he reworked it (and later fixed the damage scalability issues). He is a character who went from useless to useful, without being top or breaking the game. He is pleasant to play and interesting in some game modes and a good counter against characters that turn invisible or create debuffs that do no damage.

As for Luke Cage, what a surprise that Kabam seems to have read my mind... This weekend I used Luke on the lower difficulties of the monthly mission (after having fought him quite a bit in last month's super mission) and The whole time I had the same thought: how cool Luke would look with a few changes.

Luke's main characteristic is his immunity to bleeding. In the comics (and the TV series) he also has notable physical strength. In this sense, I think his kit should put a little more emphasis on that strength and not just resistance. Any ideas:
-Every time he makes a perfect parry, he gains a sturdiness bonus.
- Every 5 toughness upgrades become a fury upgrade for 20 seconds when performing a strong blow.
-Every time he performs a heavy hit, he gains a physical damage buff that deals a burst of X physical damage upon ending a medium hit combo.

I do not suggest using all three, but only the first two or only the third. Or maybe some other similar idea. That said, I don't think Luke deserves more than a little love to shine as he deserves, without needing to be a top player in the game (although I won't be mad if he becomes a top player, hehehe).

Magrailothos

Here's another suggestion for a few tweaks to Luke's kit, to enhance his utility and his physical resilience.

One of his current drawbacks is that he requires a really aggressive playstyle to keep up his debuffs, which he needs for his damage (and to take advantage of Masteries like Inequity and Despair).

What I think he needs most is something like a She-Hulk-style provocation ability to help him take control of the fight, and maintain an aggressive tempo.

This version of Luke should feel all about beating the opponent into submission, and keeping them there; whilst having broader utility (especially against Mystics), better damage, and some measure of control of the fight.

Luke Cage

Attack 2324
Health 33227

Passive Abilities
Physical Resistance +2150

Critical Resistance +650

Luke's impenetrable skin grants Immunity to Bleed and reduces the potency of Physical Vulnerability effects by 70%.

Luke gains +1045.8 Attack for each debuff on the opponent. Additionally, each debuff on Luke's opponent increases the chance they will throw a Special Attack by 10%, in an attempt to escape his relentless attacks. Max+80%.

Class weakness/class advantage
Luke's Personal debuffs gain +25% Potency against Mystic opponents, and suffer -25% Potency against Skill opponents.
Additionally, Luke is immune to Rupture effects inflicted by Mystic opponents.

Basic Attacks
Luke has a 30% chance to Inflict Exhaustion on all basic Attacks. This gains +30% chance (flat) on critical hits
Exhaustion debuffs last ten seconds: they reduce Ability Power Gain by 25% and reduce Critical Damage Rating by 125.

Heavy Attacks
Inflict a non-stacking Debilitate debuff for six seconds, increasing the duration of subsequent debuffs by 40%.

Special Attacks
Special Attacks gain +120 Critical Rating for each debuff on the opponent.
SP1 - If this attack strikes the opponent, Pause all Exhaustion debuffs for four seconds. 60% chance to stun the opponent, plus flat +10% Stun chance per Exhaustion, to a maximum of three.
SP2 - Each hit inflicts a Physical Vulnerability debuff (-550 Physical Resistance for ten seconds).
Exhaustion debuffs are paused during this attack, and on the final hit they are converted to Concussion debuffs. Concussion debuffs reduce the opponents Ability Accuracy by 25% for 12 seconds.
SP3 - Refresh any active Exhaustion debuffs, and inflict four Suppression debuffs, each reducing Combat Power by 15% for ten seconds.

Signature Ability -
Tough it out:SP1
After being re-exposed to the Power Man treatment, Luke's Physical Resistance is increased by an additional +1575, and he gains full immunity to Rupture.
Additionally, when struck, Luke has a 100% chance to activate an Invulnerable passive lasting 3.7s. This passive can be refreshed after 25s.

Axew

Magrailothos said:

Here's another suggestion for a few tweaks to Luke's kit, to enhance his utility and his physical resilience.

One of his current drawbacks is that he requires a really aggressive playstyle to keep up his debuffs, which he needs for his damage (and to take advantage of Masteries like Inequity and Despair).

What I think he needs most is something like a She-Hulk-style provocation ability to help him take control of the fight, and maintain an aggressive tempo.

This version of Luke should feel all about beating the opponent into submission, and keeping them there; whilst having broader utility (especially against Mystics), better damage, and some measure of control of the fight.

Luke Cage

Attack 2324
Health 33227

Passive Abilities
Physical Resistance +2150

Critical Resistance +650

Luke's impenetrable skin grants Immunity to Bleed and reduces the potency of Physical Vulnerability effects by 70%.

Luke gains +1045.8 Attack for each debuff on the opponent. Additionally, each debuff on Luke's opponent increases the chance they will throw a Special Attack by 10%, in an attempt to escape his relentless attacks. Max+80%.

Class weakness/class advantage
Luke's Personal debuffs gain +25% Potency against Mystic opponents, and suffer -25% Potency against Skill opponents.
Additionally, Luke is immune to Rupture effects inflicted by Mystic opponents.

Basic Attacks
Luke has a 30% chance to Inflict Exhaustion on all basic Attacks. This gains +30% chance (flat) on critical hits
Exhaustion debuffs last ten seconds: they reduce Ability Power Gain by 25% and reduce Critical Damage Rating by 125.

Heavy Attacks
Inflict a non-stacking Debilitate debuff for six seconds, increasing the duration of subsequent debuffs by 40%.

Special Attacks
Special Attacks gain +120 Critical Rating for each debuff on the opponent.
SP1 - If this attack strikes the opponent, Pause all Exhaustion debuffs for four seconds. 60% chance to stun the opponent, plus flat +10% Stun chance per Exhaustion, to a maximum of three.
SP2 - Each hit inflicts a Physical Vulnerability debuff (-550 Physical Resistance for ten seconds).
Exhaustion debuffs are paused during this attack, and on the final hit they are converted to Concussion debuffs. Concussion debuffs reduce the opponents Ability Accuracy by 25% for 12 seconds.
SP3 - Refresh any active Exhaustion debuffs, and inflict four Suppression debuffs, each reducing Combat Power by 15% for ten seconds.

Signature Ability -
Tough it out:SP1
After being re-exposed to the Power Man treatment, Luke's Physical Resistance is increased by an additional +1575, and he gains full immunity to Rupture.
Additionally, when struck, Luke has a 100% chance to activate an Invulnerable passive lasting 3.7s. This passive can be refreshed after 25s.

Love the rework, my only complaint would be the debilitate lasting 6 seconds. That’s only enough time for maybe 1 combo. Double the duration would make it easier to use so you don’t have to throw heavies after every combo to keep it up. But looks great overall

CosmicGuardian

While I’m excited to see how the Luke Cage buff turns out, I think what really gets me excited is that buffs will now be subjected to a review period like regular champ releases. While this might not seem like a lot, it shows to me that they’re willing to put extra effort into buffs going forward to ensure that they’re actually improving champs. How many times have we seen buffs that have been a little underwhelming, that could’ve been fixed with just a few slight adjustments? To me, this is a great change that I don’t think has received enough attention yet.

GinjabredMonsta

Even though I now have my photon counter and don’t struggle as much with her…I still think a time down wouldn’t be bad

iDestroyerZ

I wonder if he's getting some animations change as well, he has the same combo hits and heavy attack that a lot of other og champs do

FlareKing

Why is Luke getting buffed again there are champs who have not been buffed yet that need a buff for example iron patriot iron fist (both) doctor strange etc.

Rookiie

Bebeto_Corunha said:

@Rookiie What is the problem with DDHK? I think Kabam did a good job when he reworked it (and later fixed the damage scalability issues). He is a character who went from useless to useful, without being top or breaking the game. He is pleasant to play and interesting in some game modes and a good counter against characters that turn invisible or create debuffs that do no damage.

It takes him 60 seconds to ramp up for a 12 second damage window, where nothing overly crazy happens in that window.

BigPoppaCBONE

FlareKing said:

Why is Luke getting buffed again there are champs who have not been buffed yet that need a buff for example iron patriot iron fist (both) doctor strange etc.

They're vigorously dodging that BPCW rework like

Rasilover

Watch Luke cage still be cheeks

Bebeto_Corunha

Wow, @Magrailothos! Your proposal is, without a doubt, much more complete (and ambitious) than what I had proposed. It's clear that you know what you're talking about and that you love the character. I don't know much about Luke's comic, but in the series (I stayed on season 1 and didn't watch The Defenders) he doesn't worry much about defending himself (because he trusts, sometimes too much, in his strength) and he usually hits first without thinking. a lot. My approach was based on that and also that Luke Cage's playstyle (or MY playstyle WITH Luke Cage) is aggressive, a bit like Juggernaut, to take away the most advantage.

I understand you, @Rookiie. It's sometimes a bit frustrating when a character's damage peak takes a long time to arrive... But I frequently use DDHK in BG and 90% of the fights are resolved in my favor, despite the time it takes to reach his peak. best result. I usually use it as a counter to Hood, Ebony Maw or... (surprise!) Kitty. Generally people use Hercules for these fights, but when I can't select him, I use DDHK and it works very well for me. Other characters who take a long time to reach a good damage spike are Star-Lord, Hulkling, Hulk... And I think all of them are currently in a good spot.

EdisonLaw

@Magrailothos You always make the best champion redesigns, hope Kabam listens

Odachi

Do we think there was a nightcrawler buff hint at the end of that kabam post too?

EdisonLaw

@Odachi Kabam was hinting at it