Dani - is she actually good at what she's supposed to do?
Magrailothos
Member Posts: 5,973 ★★★★★
So there's been a bit of chat about Dani's buff, recently: https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/357010/so-whats-the-deal-with-danis-buff
https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/356784/dani-moonstar-rebalance-info-thoughts
It got me thinking. I've stood up for Dani before in threads like that, saying that she's a decent champ. And I think she is. Just. She's beautifully animated, and she's fun to play; even if she's got a little rigidity to her rotation, if you want to maximise damage. Her passive Slow is very useful; and her illusions are incredibly useful as a means to give you openings. Those abilities are worth standing up for. I'm not saying she's a bad champion: she isn't. If you like her, I'm happy for you. But this might be a good point for you to stop reading. Because I just don't think she's great at something she's supposed to be uniquely good at.
As a character, Dani is a Valkyrie who is supposed to usher souls to the afterworld; and so Dani was designed and presented to us as a champion who can beat "Cheat Death" mechanics. That's literally one of her strengths, in her spotlight.
But does she, really?
I've been testing her Signature Ability "Marked" out a bit; in a few story quests and Practice modes. This turned out to be... Disappointing...😕
Dani's Marked Passive does work against:
It doesn't work against:
I haven't tried Dani against Clare Voyant, because basically it's too much hassle to test. Still, has Clare's Death Immunity ever been triggered by an attacking champion, ever? And there's no easy way to test Dani against some of the "Cheat Death" synergies - Thor Rags/Ghulk, Heimdall/anyone, Dormammu/Hood.
Let's assume that it does work on those; but (because they're synergies) if you're Attacking, they'll only actually matter in Arena or AQ, as synergies won't be active anywhere else in the game.
So outside of Arena/AQ, in competitive areas like War, Battlegrounds, etc... Dani's supposedly great ability to "bypass cheat death mechanics" actually works on just four champions in the game. And none of the "cheat death" nodes. Apart from Nick Fury, none of those champions or nodes mentions not being affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction in their description. And apart from Nick, none of the champions really poses any defensive threat.
Is that really it? Reliable against four not-very-tricky-anyway champions, and partially effective against a fifth (Nick Fury) if the Neuroshocks are active at the right time.
Having done a bit of research, I'm disappointed. I still quite like her, and I'm happy to have her Awakened at r3. But I wanted to love her. And I can't, because sadly, she's basically pretty rubbish at the one thing that's supposed to be her unique, niche ability.
Did I really expect her to counter several tricky nodes from Act 6/7 - Lazarus, Do Not Go Gentle, Life Cycle? No, not really. But I hoped that she would, because if she could, then that could have been enough to give her a unique piece of utility in the game. So, it's a shame that she can't 🤷♂️.
https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/356784/dani-moonstar-rebalance-info-thoughts
It got me thinking. I've stood up for Dani before in threads like that, saying that she's a decent champ. And I think she is. Just. She's beautifully animated, and she's fun to play; even if she's got a little rigidity to her rotation, if you want to maximise damage. Her passive Slow is very useful; and her illusions are incredibly useful as a means to give you openings. Those abilities are worth standing up for. I'm not saying she's a bad champion: she isn't. If you like her, I'm happy for you. But this might be a good point for you to stop reading. Because I just don't think she's great at something she's supposed to be uniquely good at.
As a character, Dani is a Valkyrie who is supposed to usher souls to the afterworld; and so Dani was designed and presented to us as a champion who can beat "Cheat Death" mechanics. That's literally one of her strengths, in her spotlight.
But does she, really?
I've been testing her Signature Ability "Marked" out a bit; in a few story quests and Practice modes. This turned out to be... Disappointing...😕
Dani's Marked Passive does work against:
- Hela
- Hercules
- Punisher (Classic)
- Immortal Hulk
It doesn't work against:
- Phoenix
- Kindred
- Nick Fury*
- Corvus
- (Luke Cage - does he count? It says that it's supposed to counter Indestructible...)
- Do not go gentle node (tested in 6.2.5)
- Lazarus node (tested in 7.3.2)
- Life Cycle node (tested in 6.2.1)
I haven't tried Dani against Clare Voyant, because basically it's too much hassle to test. Still, has Clare's Death Immunity ever been triggered by an attacking champion, ever? And there's no easy way to test Dani against some of the "Cheat Death" synergies - Thor Rags/Ghulk, Heimdall/anyone, Dormammu/Hood.
Let's assume that it does work on those; but (because they're synergies) if you're Attacking, they'll only actually matter in Arena or AQ, as synergies won't be active anywhere else in the game.
So outside of Arena/AQ, in competitive areas like War, Battlegrounds, etc... Dani's supposedly great ability to "bypass cheat death mechanics" actually works on just four champions in the game. And none of the "cheat death" nodes. Apart from Nick Fury, none of those champions or nodes mentions not being affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction in their description. And apart from Nick, none of the champions really poses any defensive threat.
Is that really it? Reliable against four not-very-tricky-anyway champions, and partially effective against a fifth (Nick Fury) if the Neuroshocks are active at the right time.
Having done a bit of research, I'm disappointed. I still quite like her, and I'm happy to have her Awakened at r3. But I wanted to love her. And I can't, because sadly, she's basically pretty rubbish at the one thing that's supposed to be her unique, niche ability.
Did I really expect her to counter several tricky nodes from Act 6/7 - Lazarus, Do Not Go Gentle, Life Cycle? No, not really. But I hoped that she would, because if she could, then that could have been enough to give her a unique piece of utility in the game. So, it's a shame that she can't 🤷♂️.
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Comments
What's frustrating is that 'Marked' is just a very specific AAR; so half the Skill class are better than Dani at countering the same 'cheat death' mechanics.
In the mutant class, Gambit inflicts an 85% concussion on his SP2 and Mr Sinister inflicts a 100% concussion on his SP2; so both of those champions can pretty much do what Dani does; as well as shutting down other defensive abilities like Evade and Arc Overload.
Given that the effects of Marked are so limited and specific, it's a shame they don't work against the other 'cheat death' nodes and mechanics I mentioned above. If she countered Lazarus or Life Cycle, that would be something. As it is... It's a really damp squib of an ability.