Class Discussion: Wyrm Master

[Klapaucius]

I wanted to make a WM this breath, but I just didn't feel like they had enough going for them, so I didn't.

In previous breaths, I saw WM as having a low preparation raiding niche, because you could raid from the void, break in, DH enough MP to summon some hounds and leave with a decent number of pets and a flag. This was always appealing to me. Now, DH just isn't good enough compared to other mp options for this to make sense. Lich with duplicating ghouls is great, as always. Elementalist can summon a couple of titans and do very well for themselves, while also doing great bash. On the good side of the spectrum LS with just prayer is about as good at pumping out pets from the void, and an advo+LS combo is significantly more efficient. And that's all specifically for the void-raiding case: with downtime/preparation, the difference is even more pronounced.

I think a lot of the skills don't adequately synergise, or are just straight over-costed/under powered, and often just straight up worse than something another class has access to which should be comparable.

- Acid spittle is a pricey way to get something comparable to just buying acid spells. Compared with death touch it's a lot worse. Even keepers crook has something interesting going for it.
- tentacles take a lot of cp. They have some nice features but... compared to skeleton tokens, they're just not as good
- imps are okay... but compared to foo lions, they have a significantly worse spell list and cost more cp, do way less damage per mp and are about as squishy as it gets. They have more of an offensive focus compared to foo lions, but not enough to justify summoning them over hounds in most scenarios. Seriously... putting up a slowing vs evil against ANY incoming raid is a amazing. Putting up a pain vs good is situational at best. Their only really great feature is dismantling enemy fortifications if they're getting rebuilt, and that is also highly situational.
- Mutagenic touch isn't particularly good for WM pets, compared to say elementalist titans or lich titans. Just summon more hounds/tentacles instead


In terms of my interactions with WMs in B5, as a non WM:
- I've never seen much effect from mutagenic touch, that seems like something you seem more as a wyrm master/ally of a wyrm master. Even when it's doing work, it's not particularly visible to your enemies which is a bit disappointing I think.
- It's always nice to see tentacles around the place

[TheGoof]

If you've played a Wyrm Master in the current breath...

>When making your Wyrm Master, what did you want your character to be in 1 sentence? How did you envision them when planning out the character?
A self-sufficient and slippery trouble maker.

>What parts of the class did you identify as 'cool' and worthy enough to build a character around?
Translucency and acid blood are grotesque and fun, and tentacles provide opportunities for all manner of mischief

>What nuances about the class' gameplay that you like the most, and why?
Leap is a great way to get around, dropping tentacles around is endless fun, translucency/acid blood makes for a frustrating target, and unguis/pets is enough offense to be useful.

>What aspect about the class' gameplay that you like the least, and why?
Perhaps not "like the least", but the mutagenic tree makes for heavy investments which don't mesh with my more fickle methods. Previously mentioned damage typing issues make it that much less attractive, while also making pets seem comparatively "incomplete".

>What do you think is the most important ability of the class?
Mutagenic touch is the cornerstone of the class as it's presented now, even if I'm not drawn to use it.

>Were there any surprises (good or bad) about the class that you noticed as you played it?
Resource collection is a breeze on any decent combatant with access to Defiler skills, though that's now available to everyone with dark pacts.

>What QoL features do you think Wyrm Masters need?
Perhaps there is discussion elsewhere on this, but setting a default pet stance for critters as they are summoned rather than manually switching them from passive after creation.

>Do you think the class is "good" or "bad" overall? Why?
Pet Masters are inherently on a different level than most other classes, but among it's peers I don't think Wyrm Master has the most effective tools in any particular area.

[RKBBQ]

Now that my WM is almost maxxed out, I can think though some thoughts!

When making your Wyrm Master, what did you want your character to be in 1 sentence? How did you envision them when planning out the character?

A low-effort all-rounder with more support capabilities.

What parts of the class did you identify as 'cool' and worthy enough to build a character around?

Always liked the idea of tentacle traps

What nuances about the class' gameplay that you like the most, and why?

Tentacles interact with fonts in a great way - I'm assuming it's even better with ley lines

What aspect about the class' gameplay that you like the least, and why?

Lots of pet variety compared to other PMs I've played, but none of them feel particularly good. Tentacles are fun, but easy to dispatch. Hounds are severely nerfed compared to last breath. Imps got a buff, but they're still clearly a very situational pet.

What do you think is the most important ability of the class?

Maybe I'd think otherwise if I was planning on a mutagenic touch-forward build - especially with the newfound power of titans and 5-titan corrs, but I still kinda just appreciate that tentacles opens up a whole new asymmetric playstyle behind enemy lines

Were there any surprises (good or bad) about the class that you noticed as you played it?

I didn't think I'd like leap that much, but it's really great for short-haul trips!

What QoL features do you think Wyrm Masters need?

QoL feels fine for now, I guess. There doesn't seem to be much synergy between the pet trees, but that's more a design issue than QoL

Do you think the class is "good" or "bad" overall? Why?

Definitely one of the weaker front-line PMs - won't do much good pet-tanking with nerfed hounds, but WM feels like it was always built with defense in mind between the innate off-aura, translucency and tentacles. It's a different niche, and one I'm really enjoying so far.