Items Balanced around Channeling = 1% Spell Crit

[Silosobi]

So long ago, Channeling gave +1% Spell Crit to all spells, DDs, DOTs, Heals, HOTs, etc. Everything with a damage or heal number had a chance to do that number x2.

When Channeling was changed/nerfed (don't get me wrong, the new effect is neat, but it doesn't really add power to anyone, it just potentially lets people recover from mistakes).

At the time of the change, Admin-Slaar posted: Please post a list of items that are now ruined from this change. (High tier items balanced around their Channeling stat are VERY RARE but I know they exist so let's get them all done at once.)

I provided such a list, but nothing was ever done about it.

More recently, in Taryth's Dev discussion, once again, Admin-Slaar said the folloing in response to the suggestion that a number of items were balanced around channeling = spell crit: "well show me the proof you have that that is a real thing and then we can discuss it at another time not during taryth's talks"

So once again, I will detail the proof that items were balanced around Channeling being spell crit:
Yellow is pertinent item stats.
Green is suggested stats if normal raid item progression continued.
Blue is items worth comparing to

March of Strife (T13)
275HP 275MANA, 1FT, Clicky Outdoor Runspeed that drains mana.
275HP 325MANA, Focus 9

compare to...
Spires Shield (T11)
210HP 265MANA, 25 Magic Damage, RI8, 5 Divination, 2FT
Abyss (T9)
235HP 275MANA, Clicky Mana Drain


Focus of the Possessor (T12)
205HP, 240MANA, CE4
225HP, 255MANA

compare to...
Spires Neck (T11)
195HP 225MANA, RC8, 3 Divination, 3FT
Id, Barbed.. (T10)
220HP, 240MANA, 47% Haste, CSI7,


Refusal of Guilt (T13)
215HP 215MANA, 40 Magic Damage, MC8, 2FT
245HP, 275MANA, Focus 9

compare to...
Saitha Shoulders (T11)
210HP 245MANA, AE8


Wildfire Vambraces (T14)
180HP 250MANA, FI8, 5 Fire Damage, Bad damage clicky (worse than many other options in game)
250HP, 300MANA, Focus 9, 35 Fire Damage, Clicky Cast Reduded, or Effect Changed

compare to...
Spires Arms (T11)
210HP 235MANA, CSI8, 1FT
Other Spires Arms (T10)
175HP 255MANA, 7% Fire Focus, Rune Clicky

Some of these items are upgrades, others are not, but they all share the painfully obvious fact that they were balanced around having the amazingly powerful effect of adding 1% spell crit that stacked with everything else. Without this, some of these items are DOWNGRADES to things from two plus tiers lower.

Go look at any random raid tier. Then go up two tiers and look at items for the same slot. You generally see gains of ~50hp, ~50 mana, and a full tier of focus effects. This is how I came up with suggested stats. They aren't anything I actually expect to see in game, but they are what we would expect to see if item progression continued at a normal rate.

There seems to be a lot of resistance to more powerful items entering the game, for fear of mudflation, or w/e other reasons. The problem is if you want to continue adding more content, players have to get more powerful in one way or another. Channeling, and all the other weird Marza effects that got nerfed were a way to give players more power outside of the normal gain of stats and focus effects, but now that all of that is gone we are left with a bunch of items that are not appropriately powerful for the content that drops them. This is especially obvious in the items that were once balanced around Channeling.

 

[taosanterior]

Quoting a relevant post here

Does this mean we can expect +Channeling mods to be re-allocated to more items now that this overcap bonus will no longer be "broken," similar to how Spell Ward's change was carried out? With how ordinary this skillmod is now, tiers 1 through 9 and 11 could probably do with a bit of attention if the stat is to be added to new (in other words, old) items.

Here's an organized list of all documented +Channeling items by tier in case it is helpful:

Pre-Tier & TMap

• Azakiael's Focus -- Channeling +1
• Channeling Crystal -- Channeling +2
• Mystic's Skullcage -- Channeling +2
• Spongy Sage Beard -- Channeling +1

Tier 1

• Field Medicine Belt -- Channeling +1

Tier 2

• None

Tier 3

• None

Tier 4

• None

Tier 5

• None

Tier 6

• Alakazarr, Grand Summoner -- Channeling +1

Tier 7

• None

Tier 8

• Silky Undergarment -- Channeling +1

Tier 9

• Mantle of Incantations -- Channeling +1

Tier 10

• Aujir, Sleeves of Restraint -- Channeling +1
  
  Of all the items, the above is the only one that was never usable by any healer or caster; they are usable by RNG BRD ROG only.​
• Infernus -- Channeling +1
• Olaghar's Ingenuity -- Channeling +1

Tier 11

• None

Tier 12

• Focus of the Possessor -- Channeling +1

Tier 13

• Fel'Talla, Path of the Stars -- Channeling +1
• March to Strife -- Channeling +1
• Refusal of Guilt -- Channeling +1

Tier 14

• 
  Icis, Precusor to the Endless Winter -- Channeling +1
• Scintillating Phoenix Feather Cap -- Channeling +1

 

[sabuti]

Wildfire Vambraces (T14)
180HP 250MANA, FI8, 5 Fire Damage, Bad damage clicky (worse than many other options in game)

it makes me want to shoot myself how bad these arms are relevant to how hard that stupid mob is

 

[Nwaij]

Jenrok loot is subject to adjustment.
Also it makes my enchanterly self frown that your suggested version of Focus of the Posessor appears to have lost its CE4.

 

[Silosobi]

I was not suggesting the loss of anything, the stats I posted were just the specific things I thought needed to change. I was suggesting the other stats were okay as-is

 

[Nwaij]

I misread you then. Nevermind me.

 

[Tevinter]

this is where i would post a link to the three or so march to strife suggestion threads that exist.