Why is it that of all the changes made to Solar 3.0, Titans are the only class not to receive a third Class Ability option? Dawnblades can now trade in their traditional rifts for Phoenix Dive, which both heals allies and Scorches enemies in a decent radius. This also gives Dawnblades the ability to have both Phoenix Dive and Icarus Dash equipped at the same time; and Icarus even got its second doge back under Heat Rises. So Dawnblades have a whole extra ability to use in the field that neither other
solar class does.
Meanwhile, Gunslingers were given a new third Dodge type that instantly grants Radiant to themselves and any allies in a decent radius. That is incredibly useful; and neither of these abilities require any mods, fragments, or exotic armors. In order for Sunbreakers to give themselves or an ally a damage buff from their subclass -- ie Radiant -- they must equip the correct Fragment, and land a hit with a charged melee. And their class abilities? same old two flavors of vanilla barricades.
To the Point of Charged Melee abilities: why did Gunslingers get a 4th one? Sunbreakers have the 2 options they had before (minus the tree that just had a punch), and Warlocks replaced their two non ranged burning melees with Incinerator Snap, bring their total to 2 melee options. But Gunslingers not only had 3 unique ranged melees to begin with (one of which was and still is a one-shot in pvp), but now they get an additional 4th ranged melee which is an additional way to become Radiant without spending a Fragment slot to do it. So Dawnblades have 2 ranged melees, one of which Scorches, Hunters can choose from 4 ranged melees to OHK, become Radiant, Scorch/Ignite, restore the dodge instantly, or just explode if anything gets near it like a Tripmine. But Sunbreakers -- well, Hammerstrike got fixed up a bit and can Scorch now and has some aoe, but its not ranged. Throwing Hammer though...nerf city! It went from being able to proc health regeneration when you pick it up after hitting a target, to now just granting a very small Cure effect. It no longer procs Linear Actuators from Dunemarchers. And apparently even if you have Roaring Flames x3 AND Heart of Inmost Light active, its still not a one hit kill in pvp (reference: Fallout Plays Solar 3.0 breakdown video). so it cant even be used to proc Roaring Flames or Sol Invictus in pvp unless the target has already taken other damage and just wasnt finished off by it. Oh, and it doesnt even Scorch. Who cares if it can refresh itself by picking it up if its almost useless? About the only thing its good for is procing radiant when you have that Fragment equipped, even taking out trash mobs to proc Aspects can be done more easily with Ignitions from a weapon, or any other source. At this point, the Titan's first, and for a long time, only ranged melee is all but a novelty. Thank goodness theres a whole Aspect that Sunbreakers need to use to get a better ranged melee of some kind dedicated to it.
to Aspects: Consecration is one of, if not the coolest thing Sunbreakers have going for them. Its a modification to the melee ala Howl of the Storm from Behemoth. This basically turns a Sunbreaker into a super charged wave frame grenade launcher that Scorches and Ignites everything in its path. So whats the problem? It only has 1 Fragment slot. so if you want to take advantage of this with either Sol Invictus (sun spots) or Roaring Flames, you are limited to 3 Slots, as both other Aspects have 2 each. Dawnblades are guaranteed to have 4, as with Shadebinder; and Gunslingers can have 3, 4, or 5 depending on their Aspect combo.
Speaking of Gunslinger Aspects: they too have one for a big, flashy special attack that only allows for 1 Fragment slot. But Gunslingers have the option to pair this with an Aspect that grants 3 slots, for a total of 4. For Sunbreakers to get 4 slots, they must forego their awesome explode-all-the-things enhanced melee in favor of the other two; which means many of your ignitions will likely be from a weapon, rather than part of your subclass; unless you can do a very good job of rapidly regenning your grenades, which will probably require an exotic. (And lets be honest; that Roaring Flames boost will really be meant for your grenade, and not your Scorch-less Throwing Hammer). There is no option for 5 (not for Dawnblade either, but that also has no option for being limited to 3).
Now, I wouldnt complain about Gunslingers getting 5 slots, seeing as Behemoth has 5 already. (Hopefully Stormcaller 3.0 is granted a way to get 5 Arc Fragment slots next season.) But in this case, Gunslingers get 4 ranged melees, are able to instantly recharge melees and dodges, can ohk with a melee in pvp, get a flashy special attack, AND get a third dodge type. Then to top it all off, one Gunslinger Aspect (On Your Mark, the one with 3 slots) basically grants Outlaw, Quickdraw, and Snapshot Sites, all just for dodging -- which can also grant Radiant in the process now; and all without any mods, fragments, or exotic armors.
So dodge: now you're Radiant and have super weapon handling and reload. Grab a quick precision kill with your knife throw. Now your dodge and melee are completely recharged, and thats from one Aspect alone that grants 3 slots. This sounds like pvp god mode to me, and thats just one thing Gunslingers can do.
To sum up: ~Dawnblades are made to be the kings of aerial combat, are generally the best at healing, and have two kinds of special moves to do in the air; one of which is a third class ability which allows you to use both together. Oh and their Daybreak super has absurd levels of tracking now without using a Fragment. (Sunbreaker must use a Fragment to get tracking, and it doesnt come close.)
~Gunslingers are great at spreading Radiant around, have the most melees and ranged melees, the most supers, a special enhanced move AND a third class ability, and are tailor built for pvp, as well as having a super that grants extra damage resistance.
~Sunbreakers had their only ranged melee nerfed to the ground, are the best at....Scorching and Igniting? Kinda sorta? But this is a thing all of Solar 3.0 is made to do, every class does, and even the right weapons can do in spades. They lack a third class ability entirely. And just as with Sentinel 3.0, using the coolest new Aspect combo means having the least number of Fragment slots. So how is Sunbreaker better at Scorching than, say, a Calus Mini Tool with Incandescent? I would say that Sunbreaker is the best at regenning abilities thanks to sunspots, but Gunslinger can instantly refresh two of them so long as they get precision kills, and loop that. Maybe it can be said that Sunbreaker is best at setting the whole battlefield on fire? I suppose you can say they are the best at profiting from Scorching and Igniting; but Gunslingers can too with Gunpowder Gamble. (That technically only needs solar kills of any kind though.) Maybe the point is to be the best tank while moving from sunspot to sunspot. If that's the case, then having some form of solar enhanced third barricade version would have been very nice. (Khepri's Horn exists; but that's not a subclass trait, it takes the exotic slot, and the fire wave doesn't Scorch)
Now dont get me wrong; I think all three Solar 3.0 classes are cool, and that there's plenty of potential and fun to be had with all three. I just wish that Sunbreaker was given a third Class Ability like the other two, and that its ranged melee wasn't nerfed so badly. Dawnblade and Gunslinger got ranged melee buffs/ new versions without nerfing their other ones. It seems Gunslinger can do everything the other two do in some form or another (except command the air like Heat Rises Dawnblade), and only Sunbreaker misses out on some things. (you could argue that Dawnblade doesnt have a big flashy move, but it has enhanced grenades and commands the sky. that's pretty flashy.)
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fyi the new gunslinger class ability is only useful in pvp and the new melee isnt useful at all