Overpowered or powered-up fun? Lord of the Rings Online’s Minstrel class was a fan favorite for many, but its strong performance, especially at low levels, earned a hearty whack with a nerfbat this week.
While Standing Stone Games made it sound as though it was doing nothing more than giving the Minstrel lots of love in Monday’s update, the truth is that the studio also slipped a massive stealth nerf into the proceedings. Many of the class’ strongest burst abilities saw a hefty decrease, especially at low levels.
Minstrel players have noted that some of their key damage abilities have suffered on the order of a 30% to 70% decrease. “You nerfed the living hell out of Calls and Cries, oh and Coda — that’s just sad now,” said one player on the forums. “It’s slow and boring and there is no opportunity for burst now, NONE.”
Yeah, that seems a bit much for a damage reduction. That's more than a 50% blow to red line dps.
— Nath ♠🏳️🌈 (@Nathrien) February 5, 2019
On the off chance, I did do some actual testing today. There may not be raw numbers, but the feedback is a little more detailed. Here's the thread if anyone would like to read it. https://t.co/NT7byO6tks
— Nath ♠🏳️🌈 (@Nathrien) February 5, 2019
It wouldn’t be a song reference title without a song from Eliot, so here you go.
I met an elf who sang the blues and asked her to burn down some dudes,
But she just sighed and turned away.
I went to the lutemaker’s store where I learned my music skills before,
But the Man there said the Minstrels wouldn’t play.
And in the streets the Captains preened,
Beornings roared and the Wardens schemed,
But not a word was spoken
Our DPS was broken
And the Minstrel skills I admire most,
The Calls and Cries and the Coda toast –
They’ve been tuned down and I can’t boast
The day the music died
