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[Atlas]

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[Face]

Yes it should be fixed same with the many shot death attack bug.

[Steve]

This is an alternate suggestion promoting the idea presented:

I have suggested many times—and at one point Luna as 2 seconds away from making this change, but then disappeared into the ether—to increase the Expose Weakness timer to 18 seconds. If you really want to be fair, and also balance out the auto-hit aspect, then increase the Timer to 30 seconds.

It is easy to do—I've been told—and would provide it's bonus, but greatly reduce it's OPness.

[chad878262]

The issue is that the only way to 'fix' EW (due to it being a bug within the code that can't be fixed in the feat itself, as far as I understand it) is to create a custom feat and remove the old one. All custom feats break stealth, making EW useless to the character types that actually are supposed to be using it. There have been some idea's to make stiffer requirements instead of nerfing it, but in all cases there are builds that still should be able to use it that would be left off (for example STR rogue builds, Monks, Rangers, etc. would be at a disadvantage if a stiff DEX requirement was added).

I would love to hear ideas which could spark additional QC conversation around this, but with the caveat that I don't see removing the feat or creating a custom feat as an option since for Rogue Heavy builds and other lower AB, non-magical builds EW is really necessary to be viable. The goal should really be to avoid the high BAB / Melee heavy builds abusing it for additional hits/crits when they are already landing them at a solid rate without EW. Of course any ideas should be posted for consideration, just advising the general path of the discussion in QC and why nothing has been done. It is much more complicated than just fixing the auto-hit bug, because there is no way to fix that without breaking the feat for stealthy builds.

Steve's idea was also discussed, and could be a potential way to go...I honestly don't recall if increasing the cooldown timer can be done within the existing feat, or if it would require a new feat.

[Steve]

He-that-shall-not-be-named-but-starts-with-a-K customized Expose Weakness to have a 30 sec cooldown.

[chad878262]

Pretty sure from what I know Kaedrin can be named now... and it is possible that we could look at that as an option...

[Calodan]

Yep fix it but give me a 100% RCR token first! Too many builds have it! LOL

[Akroma666]

Would someone care to explain what's wrong with it and why it needs a "fix"?
I feel the power is just right considering who its for. Sneaks. You can only have 3 up at once, you get the dot, and the ac. There aren't too many bleed/dot effects in general and if you can actually get 3 up as a sneak, then it should be dealing decent damage, but if you only get one or two its not game changing.

So excuse my ignorance but what's the problem that needs a "fix?"

[Valefort]

You can have up to 5 expose weakness effects up, the bleeding effect is not the big deal it is the AC decrease, -3 AC per use, up to -15 AC. That's why it is used by most melee builds, sneaks and non-sneaks.

[chad878262]

it should be noted that who it's for is not the issue... The issue is -15 AC on a crit build = a whole lot of crits... If you have a WM using a scimitar with keen/improved crit, you crit on 14-20... Through -15 AC and you will confirm every crit, sometimes even on your 6th attack. considering attacks are at BAB / -5 / -10 / -15 / -20 / -25 for 6 attacks per round, and it is generally assumed attacks 1-4 should hit, -15 AC will generally mean those high BAB classes will hit on every attack.

point being that while the feat might be aimed at sneaks, it is a devastating addition to any build with evasion, but can be especially synergistic with builds focused on critical hits.

[Calodan]

You can have up to 5 expose weakness effects up, the bleeding effect is not the big deal it is the AC decrease, -3 AC per use, up to -15 AC. That's why it is used by most melee builds, sneaks and non-sneaks.

Correct me if I am wrong but multiple builds with this could essentially drop a targets ac by 15 per build right? One thing I notice is that even the -3 AC is a decent enough drop to make a build hit a creature. I think the biggest thing that happens is the synergy one can get from this and WM. Seriously though -15 AC when trying to critically hit a high AC monster is great!

[Akroma666]

So Just that I am understanding, the fix is not about the "dot" but more about the AC decrease?

Forgive the ignorance.. just wanted to understand.. I liked the dot..

[chad878262]

Yes Akroma, you understand it correctly. I don't think anyone has an issue with the DoT... even with DEX bonus +10 it's only 50 damage over 5 rounds, though stacking it can be very nice it's nothing Overpowering. The AC stacking to -15 AC and the auto hit is generally the two issues with EW that many do not like.

[Akroma666]

Understood, thanks for the explanation.
Carry on then!

[AlfarinIcebreaker]

There is absolutely no excuse for not fixing this bug for so long, or at least a workaround. Even a simple DEX requirement or aforementioned timer would go a long way to fixing the problem. I know there was talk about the fix two or three years ago, I think that it was decided and still nothing happened. Incredible really.

Edit : It is not my intention to sound harsh or to bash anyone, I just find it amazing that with all the work and fixes which this server implemented (and it is by far the most balanced NWN2 server there is, and finding balance in NWN2 is HARD) that a bug so glaringly OP didn't get the attention it needed.