Gengar
Hypnosis > Dreameater (its a reset)
Id like to have a thread discussing the specifics and strategies surrounding Firestorms trait. I think that his trait has to be integral to the character, and as such it deserves attention that doesnt get lost in the endless ramblings of the 'general discussion' thread.
First, id like to just put out some facts that may be unknown to some.
Firestorms trait appears to be the longest naturally recharging trait, 36 second recharge time base. Firestorms trait also does not charge between rounds like the majority of the cast, I believe only Canary also suffers from this.
While the trait does have a fairly long recharge time, you can charge it faster with various moves. It appears that all fire based specials, which is all of his specials with base gear, will charge the trait up a small amount on hit. Additionally, landing a throw will charge the trait up quite a bit (by comparison at least.) Throw seems to give about 50% of a bar of trait, give or take. Molten trap restands, in the corner particularly, are great opportunities to throw the opponent as well to take advantage of this.
Now lets get into some properties. First, the trait has 3 levels, each level increases the rate that you heal and I also believe that it increases the damage buff on fire based moves, however lvls 1 and 2 are so useless that i havent done enough testing to figure the exact damage increase differences. lvl 1 and 2 trait do not change the properties of any moves aside from damage, however lvl 3 changes the properties for all sorts of moves:
b2 becomes a launcher that can be followed up very easily for combos.
b12 also becomes a bit of a pop up, tho the timing is fairly strict for following up after this mid screen.
f1332 knocks the opponent full screen now instead of just a HKD
113 becomes a launcher that is also easily followed up
All specials do more damage and apply more knock back
MB versions of all specials apply a dot
bf3 does not have a MB, so it applies the dot to the regular version
bd2 has significantly increased hit stun, allowing for guaranteed throw attemps as well as 50/50s between another trap and b2
while not relevant for comp play, abilities also add the dot without requiring MB, but i havent played with enough to confirm this.
Also worth noting, it does not appear that the fire shield (db1) is affected by trait lvls, the shield applies a 20% damage reduction across the board at all times.
The trait has its own share of problems however. Firstly, the long recharge time means that in many fights it wont hit lvl 3 til the tail end of the 1st life bar. You dont want to activate it before either of you lose that bar either, because you lose precious trait time between rounds. So unless the fight is slow you are not going to find time to trait up before one of you loses a life bar. Now, if you lose your life bar first you wont wanna use it right away because you waste the heal, and if they are close to death you will waste trait time when you win. If the inverse happens its still alot of the same scenario, if you beat them but dont have a solid life lead then you may waste trait time when you end the round.
So its hard to get it out on the first life bars, unless the round is slow. So now its the 2nd life bars, your trait should be charged, lets use it right? not really. On the 2nd bar, soon as you hit them alot of players will clash and eat your trait. Clashing completey removes your trait and you have to start all over from zero charge. Same goes for transitions and super moves.
I think thats my biggest problem with the trait, it doesnt feel like it activates often enough for it to be really useful. First round its not a factor, and 2nd round if i still have it then they have means of just nuking it off me. I have had way too many games go without me actually being able to use the trait, other than to throw a few fireballs. All the fun stuff about the trait, the combos it opens up and damage, is too easily nullified by basic defensive options built into the system. It should recharge between rounds or start at half charge so i can actually use it consistently each round.
technically this is just my excuse to bitch about the traits flaws, but it also can serve as a resource for players to better understand the trait, seeing as NRS chose did not bother to detail how it works, as well as a place for people to figure out some answers to the problems his trait faces.
First, id like to just put out some facts that may be unknown to some.
Firestorms trait appears to be the longest naturally recharging trait, 36 second recharge time base. Firestorms trait also does not charge between rounds like the majority of the cast, I believe only Canary also suffers from this.
While the trait does have a fairly long recharge time, you can charge it faster with various moves. It appears that all fire based specials, which is all of his specials with base gear, will charge the trait up a small amount on hit. Additionally, landing a throw will charge the trait up quite a bit (by comparison at least.) Throw seems to give about 50% of a bar of trait, give or take. Molten trap restands, in the corner particularly, are great opportunities to throw the opponent as well to take advantage of this.
Now lets get into some properties. First, the trait has 3 levels, each level increases the rate that you heal and I also believe that it increases the damage buff on fire based moves, however lvls 1 and 2 are so useless that i havent done enough testing to figure the exact damage increase differences. lvl 1 and 2 trait do not change the properties of any moves aside from damage, however lvl 3 changes the properties for all sorts of moves:
b2 becomes a launcher that can be followed up very easily for combos.
b12 also becomes a bit of a pop up, tho the timing is fairly strict for following up after this mid screen.
f1332 knocks the opponent full screen now instead of just a HKD
113 becomes a launcher that is also easily followed up
All specials do more damage and apply more knock back
MB versions of all specials apply a dot
bf3 does not have a MB, so it applies the dot to the regular version
bd2 has significantly increased hit stun, allowing for guaranteed throw attemps as well as 50/50s between another trap and b2
while not relevant for comp play, abilities also add the dot without requiring MB, but i havent played with enough to confirm this.
Also worth noting, it does not appear that the fire shield (db1) is affected by trait lvls, the shield applies a 20% damage reduction across the board at all times.
The trait has its own share of problems however. Firstly, the long recharge time means that in many fights it wont hit lvl 3 til the tail end of the 1st life bar. You dont want to activate it before either of you lose that bar either, because you lose precious trait time between rounds. So unless the fight is slow you are not going to find time to trait up before one of you loses a life bar. Now, if you lose your life bar first you wont wanna use it right away because you waste the heal, and if they are close to death you will waste trait time when you win. If the inverse happens its still alot of the same scenario, if you beat them but dont have a solid life lead then you may waste trait time when you end the round.
So its hard to get it out on the first life bars, unless the round is slow. So now its the 2nd life bars, your trait should be charged, lets use it right? not really. On the 2nd bar, soon as you hit them alot of players will clash and eat your trait. Clashing completey removes your trait and you have to start all over from zero charge. Same goes for transitions and super moves.
I think thats my biggest problem with the trait, it doesnt feel like it activates often enough for it to be really useful. First round its not a factor, and 2nd round if i still have it then they have means of just nuking it off me. I have had way too many games go without me actually being able to use the trait, other than to throw a few fireballs. All the fun stuff about the trait, the combos it opens up and damage, is too easily nullified by basic defensive options built into the system. It should recharge between rounds or start at half charge so i can actually use it consistently each round.
technically this is just my excuse to bitch about the traits flaws, but it also can serve as a resource for players to better understand the trait, seeing as NRS chose did not bother to detail how it works, as well as a place for people to figure out some answers to the problems his trait faces.
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. My bad everyone will move this to another Thead