Contributed by DQ Testing Admin Clogon
With the introduction of many features in 1.9, game balance is one of the many things we will be reviewing. We are looking through all current and new affixes, 370 and counting. Some will only have numerical changes or bug fixes. Others will be reworked completely. In this article, we will be detailing the upcoming changes to Leech. Since it is such a widely used Affix, we hope this article will help you prepare for its upcoming changes.
Currently Leech brings up several problems due to how it scales. Since you leech based on the damage you deal, the affix is not so strong early game but becomes the undisputed king of late game healing. Coupled with the powerful Bloodmagic Set, late game players are able to fully heal by attacking without consequence. Due to its sheer power, it has become to the go to combination for almost every player. There is little need for thought or decision making in regards to character builds about including this combo. It even makes some people forget that this game has potions.
With 1.9, we will be replacing Leech with 2 different forms of Healing, “+HP on Hit” and “%HP on Hit”. “+HP on Hit” will give a specific amount of HP when you hit enemies, while “%HP on Hit” (Boon Mythstone) will heal a % of your HP. MP Leech will be replaced with similar affixes, but for MP of course. Any HP/MP Leech related affixes on your gear will be automatically converted to these new affixes.
Unlike the previous Leech, these new ones will not fit into all builds. You will have to choose which affix will meet your needs. When you only have low HP, a single HP on Hit Crystal affix recovers more than Boon’s % HP Heal. But with high enough HP, Boon’s % HP heal will eventually surpass the Crystal affix.
With these changes, hitting many enemies at once will give you similar benefits as before. While if you are only hitting single targets, the heal is not as strong. Hopefully, this will encourage players to kill mobs more efficiently while making bosses more challenging to beat.
Speaking of challenging opponents, another player will be the most difficult enemy you will face in 1.9. With these changes, Leech is not only more balanced in PVE but remains a viable option PVP. Overall damage will be scaled back to prevent evenly matched players from constantly being killed in 1 hit. With leech no longer dependent on damage, the affixes will provide enough sustain to prolong the fight but not enough to single-handedly make people immortal.
I know many players are dependent on leech for indefinite sustain. I hope this article will help you try out other ways to heal yourselves in preparation for 1.9. Please look forward to the upcoming changes to Regen and Potions to help you in your quest.
