Deer; Suggestions and discussion

[Hoxard]

I've been playing deer a lot lately and really enjoying it, and I'd like to give some feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Things I like about deer
-The fact that I am an adorable, majestic stag. The cuteness factor is a large one, especially with the hats.
-The amazing mobility. Deer have two very lovely mods that give huge passive bonuses to out of combat sprint, bounding escape (which is not only an excellent sprint boost but also an insanely powerful jump boost), and access to deer shoes which complement these quite nicely. Deer are crazy fast and can jump over almost anything, which is great for someone who does a lot of travelling and crafting. Deer may not be the fastest skill, but it's among them and is the only one that is a passive bonus.
-The AoE damage. I pair deer with mentalism, which gives me both king of the forest and panic charge as options for AoE attacks. Both of these attacks can be really strong when geared for. When paired with the doe eyes mod that buffs up your next attack, they can be incredibly powerful. Again, I doubt they're the best AoE potential, not while archery and battle chemistry and such exist, but it is one of deer's strong points and I like that.
-All the usual charms that animal forms imply. Beast speech, animal town, those cool badges, etc. I really like playing as an animal.

Things I don't like about deer
-Only seven main bar abilities. Antler slash, deer kick, pummeling hooves, deer bash, king of the forest, cuteness overload, doe eyes, plus bounding escape and summon deer on the sidebar. It doesn't allow for much customization or variation between deer.
-The fact that deer kick and pummeling hooves feel like the same skill. The have the same power cost and very similar similar damage and cooldown. The only noticeable differences are the mods. Deer kick gets the cool ones(Nature DoT, AoE combo, rage reduction and armor damage), while pummeling hooves gets some boring but potent +taunt ones(which deer kick gets too, although weaker). I use them both, since I opt for mindreave over antler slash, but they really don't feel very different at all.

Things I think should be changed about deer
-Mark doe eyes as a survival-utility ability. I have no idea why it's not, since it's a textbook example of one.
-Differentiate between deer kick and pummeling hooves more. Decrease the damage on pummeling hooves and increase the taunt. Make it the button you want to press when you want need to get aggro. Meanwhile, increase the damage on deer kick(slightly, or maybe not at all, it's decent enough as is) and remove the taunt mods, cementing it as deer's primary damage source, as any core attack should be.
-Increase the fall damage reduction on bounding escape. Right now if you jump to full height and land back where you jumped from, you take fall damage. At max level, it's a pretty significant chunk, enough that you can suicide with it very easily. I think it would make more sense if you needed to land on a lower surface and/or wait for the buff to wear off midair in order to take fall damage. It's not a big deal though, and I kind of enjoy being able to save on fuel oil.
-Add some more main bar skills and mods to promote diversity and refine deer's strengths somewhat. I have some ideas for some that I will detail below.


I would like to preface this with what I feel deer's intended role is. My understanding is that deer is intended to be an AoE tank skill, but can also be built in a squishier, more damage focused fashion. These abilities are designed to fit that image and to further differentiate between defensive deer builds and offensive deer builds, because build diversity is fun.
These are just my ideas of additional skills that could help round out deer's options. With the three abilities listed and the seven additional mods that improve them, it would allow an individual deer to customize their build to focus on pure tanking power, AoE threat management, or just straight up damage output. I didn't put too much thought into the mod slots, but ideally a deer would be forced to choose between damage increases or tanking power(taunts, self-healing and mitigation) on each slot. Not that tank deer shouldn't do damage or damage deer shouldn't be able to tank, but just that you need to focus on one instead of grabbing the best of both worlds.

Crashing Charge
Charge an enemy with great force and impale them on your antlers.
This would be deer's epic attack, and would deal heavy piercing damage to a single target.
Mods
Cause the target to suffer additional trauma damage over time(Mainhand and Offhand)
Increase the target's vulnerability to crushing damage(Feet and Offhand)
Increase direct damage of Crashing Charge(Mainhand and Head)

Champion of the Wilds
Pose majestically, invigorating allies and intimidating your foes.
This would be deer's signature support ability, restoring power in an AoE and greatly increasing the deer's taunt for a short time.
Mods
Increase taunt (Head and Chest)
Gives a buff to self and allies that increases Nice and Basic Attack damage for a short time (Necklace and Ring)

Stag Stomp
Rear up and slam your hooves down with all your might, stunning enemies with your magnificence.
This would be a powerful AoE stun, with a massive taunt attached and some decent crushing damage. This would be your panic button when the group is about to be overwhelmed by a pack of mobs.
Mods
Increase taunt (Feet and Legs)
Grant a buff that mitigates damage taken and reflects it into your next Deer Kick or Pummeling Hooves (Feet)