Thoughts on Viper

[DemonicDem]

Hello!

First of all, the flavor and whatnot of Viper is very funny.

Various Downsides:
Relies on spell gems, which you won't have a lot of money to get at first level. Considering how bad first level is for casters, this is a real shame.

Spell Circuit:
Spending an action to use a spell gem without a hand is pretty mediocre. You can keep holding that two-handed gun, but who care? You're a caster. Mostly the same as just swapping/pulling out the item. Viper's associated Jailbreak makes this part double pointless, because you then need a free hand to pull out the grenade.

Dynamic Frequency Scaling:
DFS, the other hand, means a Technomancer really wants to already be holding a Spell Gem, because pulling out a Spell Gem then using Dynamic Frequency Scaling on it is really rough. In addition, the Jailbreak aspect of it doesn't make any sense and needs to be completely changed.

Overclock Lattice:
Compared to the initial weakness of Viper, this one might be way too strong. Being able to spam chips and gems such that they are only rank-2 is way too strong at later levels, and even more so when you use Jailbreak Spell with it to make it your maximum level. Can just pull out a level 3 Chip of Thunderstrike, use it for two turns, then swap to another one, pretending you have unlimited maximum-level spell slots for 600 credits for two turns. Once you have this spellshape active, you wouldn't have any reason to use any other Spellshape (since you can only have 1 Spellshape applied to a spell at a time), or use Overlock Gear, or anything else.
This is especially odd because it seems to break all the rules of Spellshapes, lasting for a minute, not needing to cast it directly before using a spell, etc.

I look forward to see the final version of this class.

Best,
-Dem

[Xenocrat]

DemonicDem wrote:

Dynamic Frequency Scaling:
DFS, the other hand, means a Technomancer really wants to already be holding a Spell Gem, because pulling out a Spell Gem then using Dynamic Frequency Scaling on it is really rough. In addition, the Jailbreak aspect of it doesn't make any sense and needs to be completely changed.

I think the jailbreak meant to reference spell chips, not gems, and destroyed, not broken. That would sort of make sense, but still not be fully integrated into the normal use of the ability that doesn't reference spell chips at all.

[Arachnofiend]

Yeah I'm pretty sure the jailbreak is for chips. It wouldn't be the only hack with a different use case when you jailbreak it; Virtualized Data Transmission applies to different kinds of spells for its normal and jailbreak versions.

[DemonicDem]

Arachnofiend wrote:

Yeah I'm pretty sure the jailbreak is for chips. It wouldn't be the only hack with a different use case when you jailbreak it; Virtualized Data Transmission applies to different kinds of spells for its normal and jailbreak versions.

Yeah, just even if it is it should be reworded to specify that its talking about Overcharging.

[Lonesomechunk]

I really love the flavor of Viper and the idea of really focusing on spell gems and chips since its a surprisingly underutilized space for a caster class but I do agree with some of the observations here on the mechanics needing to be cleaned up. I feel like early on there's definitely a sense of awkwardness that comes with your overclock and spellshapes being reliant on spell gems and chips which means you can run out of your class resources a lot more easily than say DPS++ or Fortrun can. (I also do agree that Spell Circuit feels a bit underwhelming. Its not the end of the world but I feel like the benefit is kind of niche). That being said it is super cool that you can do some weird stuff like casting an off-tradition spell as arcane when you overclock, its really cool. I love the concept and vibe of Viper.

[25speedforseaweedleshy]

spell grenadier playstyle does sound fun

if only technomancer have access to free scroll and wand feat like scroll adept and ceremonial knife