- Sun Nov 26, 2023 8:39 am
#17015869
Just some thoughts on Archon.
2 of the 3 skills require you to stand in a small area in a game that wants to to be constantly moving and dodging. One of which makes you take more damage.
Reality Rune is an interesting defensive skill, giving you more time to react to enemy attacks by slowing projectiles and melee attackers. There is 2 main issues though. One, some enemy "projectile" attacks simply ignore it such as the lasers from the eye robots in Nerud. Two, larger melee bosses can and will still hit you easily as it doesnt slow down until they enter it, but their weapon might touch you before that happens - like Annihilation or Venom. I do not like this skill, as I am very mobile. The only really good use I have found for this is to place it in a choke point - which works great.
Chaos Gate's damage and mod buffs are nice, dont get me wrong. It just can be hard to see out of - especially against root enemies - because of the red. Making me take more damage and stay in onr spot for a mere 15% damage boost is just not a good tradeoff. Especially against aggressive melee enemies - such as the buzzsaw elites in Losomn or the Root Knight elites that can dig underground in Yaesha.
Havoc Form is a ton of fun, but buggy as all hell and totally contradicts the rest of Archon's kit. As of writing this, it rarely actually does damage in mutiplayer. Movement Speed also has zero effect on Havoc Form - but Aim Down Sights movement speed while firing lightning makes Havoc Form move at super speeds. I have found that it is the definition of consistant damage. In my particular build, I get about 1100 DPS with it. Fairly low to be honest, but combined with an incredible dodge that is instant and damages targets and some skill duration it can be very consistant. With the ADS Movement Speed bonuses, it is perfect for area exploration because of the arcing effect on the lightning. Opposite to the Enigma, it arcs farther and does not lose damage for each subsequent target. Cast Speed effects the DPS output as well, moreso than Skill Damage - simply making the damage tick more often. The issue with Havoc Form is the same as the rest of the Archetype.
The Skills contradict the rest of Archon's kit. Archon is all about mod damage! You pick it to shoot all your mods all the time. However, only 1 of the 3 skills boosts or interacts with Mods in amy way - Chaos Gate with 25% boosted Mod Generation and the 15% All Damage. Havoc Form wants you to ditch your mod boosting equipment in favor of Skill. If you use Elemental mods, you can boost them both, and cast speed boosts them both, but it really feels like a missed opportunity to not give Archon a Gunslinger Bulletstorm style skill for Mods, or by giving it a perk that allows Mod boosting stats to effect the skills. With all that said, subjectively, it is a blast of an Archetype. Tons of fun, and 100% worth the headache to acquire.
