[b]This topic is meant to be for PVE purposes, not PVP. Though PVP discussion of possibilities is welcome, my opinions pertain to the PVE side of Destiny. Yes, I know Arcblade has historically been pretty good in PVP.[/b]
One of the things that's always struck me about how great many of the supers are in Destiny is the fact that in PVE many of them are useful, and many are versatile. They're useful against ads, they're useful against bosses, they defend, they enhance, they even resurrect. The two new supers for warlock and titan both have melee and ranged capabilities, and one has defense and the other aerial capabilities. But the one super that always seemed like the rawest deal, especially as a Hunter main, is the Arcblade. It's low output over a long time, and it's melee range. I've seen every other super used effectively against bosses, but Arcblade was never quick enough or ranged enough to do a sufficient amount of damage without getting killed.
And now with Arcstrider... I'm a bit nervous. From what we've seen, it looks to be about the same, just a little faster (which... I mean, so was Arcblade and they nerfed that). So I got to thinking, how could you actually make this work? I mean, throwing multiple spears would make for some range, but it would make it the same as every other super, so probably not that. Is it just stuck as an extended melee ability?
And then it occurred to me. Like I was being struck by lightning. Like I was a lightning rod.
Lightning rods.
If that moment at the end of the Arcstrider super, where the Hunter smashes the staff into the ground not only does AoE damage, but also implants the staff in that area to do consistent damage, you could place it by a boss and escape, and do a considerable amount of damage. This would take it from being an extended melee to an extended arcbolt grenade, or probably more accurately an arc equivalent of a sunspot, but that leaves time for the hunter to escape, and maybe put in other damage elsewhere. And just think about where you could put it. You could block a door to kill ads that enter, you could create bottlenecks, you could place it in the middle of a more open area to scatter enemies, and place it at the feet of a boss to do damage over time, then turn and hit that boss with gun damage as well.
If you're curious what moment in the stream I'm referring to, just watch from 38:50 to 39:05 of the reveal stream. Here's a link for the stream on Destiny's youtube channel: https://tinyurl.com/khj95be
So my question is... what other ways are there that people can think of that might make this super useful and versatile. The discussion is going to start when the beta hits anyway, but by then it may be drowned out by everything else. Why not get this one started early, when Bungie might notice and actually have time to implement something useful like this. Also, it's better to converse about possible solutions than to complain and get nowhere.
Please try to keep the discussion... constructive? Maybe? I know these forums usually... aren't, but... it's worth a shot.
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I think they could actually utilize the fact that blade dancers could blink as part of the super. Throw the spear at the enemy, press (insert button here) and close the gap between you and your enemy. This way if the enemy is running, you will be able to close the gap to finish them off. Just my 2 cents