Molten Shell is BEGGING for a Threshold Jewel.

For once, it would be a Threshold Jewel that actually changes how you play the skill - NOT a pure "get more power for cost of jewel socket."

Vulcanised Barrier Crimson Jewel
(10-16)% increased Armour
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Shell's shield does not break after preventing damage
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Shell has (45-60)% increased buff effect


MAKE IT HAPPEN OR I_NO WILL EAT YOUR BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING

EDIT: Even if "does not break" is considered too strong, "x% increased damage prevented before shields break" to the tune of 100% or so would still greatly increase usability of Molten Shell in the end game!

Doesn't this essentially turn it into Vaal Molten Shell though?

Aside from the difference of VMS exploding on any hit rather than after a specific amount prevented via armour/block (Or other physical mitigation).

Honestly, I think the main issue that Molten Shell faces is this:

Like, level 20 Molten Shell is ~1k armour.

A simple Flask is 3k armour.

So defensively it comes up way short... Even without factoring in that it can fall off early and so be a pain in the butt to get uptime of (Especially since it's so reliant on gem levels for that armour that you can't just whack it with a low level CWDT... Unlike Granite Flask which is a flat 3k armour from level 27-100)

An interesting concept might be gaining life based on the damage absorbed as a threshold jewel. So while it might not be best for its armour, it instead becomes a source of life sustain provided you have the mitigation to back it up.

Other possibilities would be adding other defensive stats (Such as Regen or max Life) to it in some way. For example "With at least 40 strength in radius, Molten Shell gives +X-Y(%) max life for Z seconds"

Alternatively, it could be tuned to be more offensive, making it basically like ReflectxVolatile type thing. Bolster its damage done, give it chances to multi-detonate. Maybe even include a Vaal Ice Nova style cascade effect.

Yup, in my imagination, this Molten Shell threshold jewel would be accompanied by a Granite nerf to 1.5k base Armour granted or so instead of 3k.

Vaal Molten Shell is, I believe, more often used for damage. This threshold jewel would tool Molten Shell more for defence.

i would rather see the threshold jewel scale with armor and turn it into a more ofensive skill, say:


armor shatering

limit of 3

10-16% increaced armor
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, +10% to Molten Shell's explosion aoe
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, add 1 fire damage every "x" points of armor

"

caboom a écrit :

i would rather see the threshold jewel scale with armor and turn it into a more ofensive skill, say:


armor shatering

limit of 3

10-16% increaced armor
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, +10% to Molten Shell's explosion aoe
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, add 1 fire damage every "x" points of armor

Username checks out.

But in all seriousness, has no one here noticed Molten Shell has the same damage effectiveness as Discharge? And in some cases even more base damage?

If it is going to be used for defense then its damage needs to be significantly toned down, perhaps around 50% less or so.

Although, if we're going to have another buff like Tempest Shield then perhaps we should round those two out with a cold version? Would have to work on its trigger since damage taken and on block are already used and I seem to recall GGG saying they can't make a trigger on dodge.

molten shell's main issue is simple: it is a defensive tool that does not grant immortality. aka 'meh'

it requires a key press (or high lvl cwdt - aka casts once per few encounters)

it is so not-2.6 that im surprised one actually remembers this skill

as long as the game is centered about one button builds, speed and not giving a damn there is no threshold jewel powerful enough for people to care

people are IGNORING 12% phys damage reduction when the only cost is to press one button once per 10+ seconds (enduring cry). if they are stubborn enough to consider that cost 'too high', then there is no hope they will ever look at molten shell. 'you need to press a button AND then get hit? not worth it'

I would make the special effect:

Limit 1

(whatever small stat gain is appropriate)
With 40 str in radius: Molten Shell refreshes on being broken one time

I find the skill with cast when stunned, life leech/iron will and concentrated effect pretty nice, but dunno if it's worth the sockets in the end.

But yeah, the armor it grants even when leveled is pretty laughable.

"

sidtherat a écrit :

it requires a key press (or high lvl cwdt - aka casts once per few encounters)

"A key press" is a pretty generous approximation of actual playstyle of attempting to conjure a level 20 shield and having it pop literally less than a second later, meaning if you want to sustain the shield for more than a handful of hits, you have to cast a defence spell more than once per second.

Molten Shell has a cool design, but without a way of choosing whether you want to focus on its damage or its defences it is just really clunky (and right now, the damage threshold seems to heavily favour offence, which means that Armour on gear gets underrated by pretty much everyone because you can just pop a Granite for 6,000+ Armour whenever you want).

"

people are IGNORING 12% phys damage reduction when the only cost is to press one button once per 10+ seconds (enduring cry). if they are stubborn enough to consider that cost 'too high', then there is no hope they will ever look at molten shell. 'you need to press a button AND then get hit? not worth it'

Not all people are the same and ECry is miles more useful than Molten Shell right now. Enduring Cry is nearly a permanent fixture in my builds, but I pretty much never use Molten Shell

"

Jackalope_Gaming a écrit :

"

caboom a écrit :

i would rather see the threshold jewel scale with armor and turn it into a more ofensive skill, say:


armor shatering

limit of 3

10-16% increaced armor
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, +10% to Molten Shell's explosion aoe
With at least 40 Strength in Radius, add 1 fire damage every "x" points of armor

Username checks out.

But in all seriousness, has no one here noticed Molten Shell has the same damage effectiveness as Discharge? And in some cases even more base damage?

hahah to be fair that was my first char, a summoner with minion instability.

the catch is discharge has higher aoe and only needs an effective charge generator to go on a rampage, molten shell requires you to get beaten up by phys damage.

may be just increace the numbers so it wont triger that often and change its mechanics to sinergy with increase phys damage taken mods. say:



lv 20
aoe: 25 (from 15)
mana cost: 150 (from 28)
damage: 4000–6000 (from 1962–2943)
absorbed damage: 6000 (from 1500)
armor: 943 (same)
duration: same or slighly increaced

this will aloud some customization, higher triger damage will increace its duration for those who want to use it as a defence layer and those who want to use it in a more offensive way can always use an abysus to increace phys damage taken