I figured it's a good idea to make another topic to consolidate information once again. This worked very well last time, lets hope we can get some more attention to the remaining issues. I know I am bound to be forgetting something and some issues, but here is what i have come up with so far.
First, Chains and physical builds still lack a source of Vulnerability. I still believe that Chain Snare would be an excellent place for this to be applied. This would give Ghost Rider two viable routes for applying Vulnerability with Chain Snare and Inferno. It also bears mentioning that I don't feel this should be a problem as Both Thor and Blade have two sources of Vulnerability themselves (UV Grenade and Party Crasher for Blade and Hammer Smash and Bring the Thunder for Thor). If it is somehow a problem, even there there really cannot be one, then it could at least be applied to a power when Chains Ablaze is selected as a Spec.
Second, Ghost Rider's Cooldown powers, minus The Penance Stare and Chain Flechette, are all a sorry state right now. I'll get to Judgment first.
Judgement - For starters, it does only slightly more damage on an 8 second cooldown than Burn The Treads does with no cooldown. I literally get 2.8 - 3 million point brutal strikes with BTT and I can basically spam the damn thing. We were told Judgment's damage was gutted because it always deals a brutal strike. I have to directly question the wisdom in this decision in the first place. Why does Ghost Rider need an attack the brutal strikes 100% of the time? I am sitting on 61% chance to brutal strike, it's not uncommon for me to brutal strike. Why do I need a power to brutal strike 100% of the time? This kind of thing needs to be reserved for heroes that do not have a ton of crit/brutal chance in their kit. (See Hulk for instance).
If Judgment's sorry damage is the result of this affix, I for one would like to see it removed and have the damage put back to where it belongs for an 8 second cooldown power. Also, as a comparison to some other powers in the game : Take a look at Thor's Spinning Strike. By Default, Spinning Strike at rank 20 is on a 4 second cooldown and deals a massive 159% more base damage than Judgment. On top of that, it carried an execute tag.
Seriously, how was this allowed to happen? 159% more damage with half the cooldown and an execute tag?! Where is the objectivity in design here?
Flay - This power is almost worse than Judgment, as it deals only slightly more damage than it but without a 100% brutal strike tag. On top of it, this thing shares a cooldown with Chain Flechette for whatever reason. Wouldn't it make more sense for Judgment and Flay to share a cooldown since they serve as the "finisher" move for their respective builds? Or how about removing the shared cooldown altogether? What purpose does it serve in the first place? Either way, both Flay and Judgment need MASSIVE damage boosts to warrant their respective cooldowns.
Hell from Above - This power is a bit of a mess. First, I'll say it's damage is still pretty solid even throughout the years of neglect. That being said, it's mechanic has no use whatsoever. Reducing it's cooldown whenever a vengeance power deals damage is a pointless statement, the only power in the tree that is a reliable attack is Burn the Treads. With it doing all physical damage, shouldn't that mechanic have something to do with his chain powers and not his hellfire powers? As it is right now, the only way this even becomes useful at all is in a hybrid build, completely removing it as a choice from physical builds. But that is another thing, it's design is 100% counter productive to the character.
Ghost Rider is 99% ranged attacks. He has two abilities in a "melee" situation : Whirling Chain and Chain Thrash. Every other power is from half a screen or more away. Wouldn't it make sense for this power to launch the bike at the enemies and have Ghost Rider stay where the attack was initiated? He would ride the bike into the air just like now, but instead of crashing it down on the enemies, he would just launch it at them and then land back onto the ground. That would give Rider another really big bomb attack and keep him out of a melee ranged where he does not want to be in the first place.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I still believe this power should be upgraded to a physical damage Signature power choice. With the changes I have suggested, i think this attack could be a great addition to his kit in general as a signature power choice.
Chain Flechette - I'm going to be giving this ability a pass, it's my favorite thing to come out of the 2016 QoL. I think it is solid for what it does and it accomplishes it's place in a physical build rotation very well.
Third, Specializations - Anyone can look at Ghost Rider's spec options and immediately know they were phoned in. Especially Hell's Angel. As a matter of fact, they are probably the worst in the game. When you compare what Chains Ablaze and Hell's Angel give to what, say any of Spider-Man, Black Panther, Dr. Doom or any decently designed character gets from a spec choice, its appalling how bad these two are. Hell's Angel is, honestly, insulting to look at. It's not even close to being a viable option. It's painful that this has lasted in it's current state for this long. Shameful.
Fourth, Low Health Itemization - We were told months ago that this was "still being worked on", yet here we are! Hey, is this still being worked on or what? Can we at least get a word about this? Hello? Bueller?
If there is anything I am leaving out, as always, lets let them hear it as best we can.