If we look at how auto-attacking in Re:build changed, we see a huge bias that was not justified in any way till now via an official statement of the developers.
Why is it that ranged attacks have so much better auto-attack buffs than melee auto-attacks, even though you have to move into the danger zone and manually aim at targets to even hit them?
Let us look at the details:
First of all, we will have to differentiate between 2 types of Classes that feature auto-attack buffs.
- a Class whoms skills are ± all focused on improving basic attacks
- a Class that has mainly active attack skills and provides 1-2 skills that affect basic attacks
In the First category, we have e.g. Chaplain, a Class that focuses on stacking buffs to deal more and higher damage by using normal attacks by pressing the attack button. Another example would be Enchanter, who lacks attack skills.
In the Second category, we have e.g. Bullet Marker, who features mainly attack skills, but has Double Gun Stance and Freeze Bullet to enhance basic attacks, or Monk, who has only Double Punch to improve basic attacks.
Let us take a closer look at category 1:
We have Chaplain and Enchanter here only.
The focus is simple, as both Classes have skills that add additional damage lines (Lightning Hands and Aspergillum) and buffs to improve basic damage output (Enchant lightning & Last Rites).
The rest of the skillset is more divergent, while Chaplain improves attack speed and focuses on knockdown resistance, Enchanter improves survival with improved block and movement speed.
Note that every skill has basically only one effect, so you need to invest in many different skills to improve your normal attacks.
Now let us look at category 2:
We have a lot of Classes here, so let us look at the more prominent ones, Monk, Nak Muay, Bullet Marker, Schwarzer Reiter, Musketeer, Cannoneer, Quarrel Shooter.
Monk and Nak Muay are very similar in the basic approach, featuring exactly one skill that changes the attack animation, providing an attack speed boost via skill level and an attack boost via enhancement attribute.
Bullet Marker has a similar approach, i.e. it changes the attack stance, but it provides a basic attack boost and a damage boost via skill level.
Schwarzer Reiter adds additional damage via skill level of Limacon, which also provides a stance change and an attack speed boost, and provides additional damage via enhancement attribute.
Musketeer adds a buff(Grooving Muzzle, which is hilarious since Muskets didn’t have grooving; grooving is basically one of the major differences between Rifles and Muskets) that improves defense penetration of basic attacks and a chance to triple basic attacks as a critical hit.
Quarrel Shooter and Cannoneer provide a 1 skill point static attack speed/range and damage buff to basic attacks (Bazooka/Kneeling Shot), with Kneeling Shot also featuring an enhancement attribute to boost the damage increase additionally.
While category 1 is well-balanced, category 2 seems a bit over the top with the skills that provide many boosts for few skill points & attribute points.
The only well-balanced skills are Monks Double Punch and Nak Muays Ram Muay, which only boost one aspect via skill level and another aspect via enhancement attribute, and require a huge point investment.
I think Re:build would’ve done much better if the developers actually adopted a similar system for all auto-attack buffs that Monk and Nak Muay provide, i.e. one skill that requires huge investment (15 skill points) to improve attack speed/number of hits/attack range/whatever base improvement
and improve the damage of basic attacks only via enhancement attribute.
E.g. a balanced Dual Gun stance would look like this:
Changes stance to split base damage by the amount of hits = 2x 50%.
Skill level improves attack speed by +20.
Added enhancement attribute to boost the damage of each basic pistol attack by 0,5% per attribute level.
A balanced Limacon would look like this:
Skill level only adds +20 attack speed per point.
Enhancement attribute improves basic attack power by 0,5% per attribute level.
If the Monk/Nak Muay formula were to be expanded towards all basic attack boosts of Classes in category 2 (i.e. with a skill focus), we could have a situation that balances attack power and utility.