Change Request: Hard Light Arena

Hi @all,

i have a change request for the Hard Light Arena utility skill.

I play WvW most of the time and i have a huge problem with this light field. In 90% of the cases you will blast fire or water in a group fight. Since I think that the main reason for the the light field is to remove conditons i changed it in a way where you could use it without overwriting the other field in a regroup situation.

Current State

Hard Light Arena

Create a holographic arena that grants you boons while inside of it. When activated above the heat threshold, the radius and duration are increased.

Heat Threshold: 50Fury (2s): 20% Critical ChanceProtection (2s): -33% Incoming DamageRegen (2s): 260 HealBoon Application Interval: 1sDuration Increase: 4sDuration: 8sRadius: 240Radius Increase: 120Combo Field: Light

Suggestion

Hard Light Arena

Create a holographic arena that grants you boons and remove conditions with each pulse while inside of it. When activated above the heat threshold, radius, duration and number of pulses are increased.

Heat Threshold: 50Fury (2s): 20% Critical ChanceProtection (2s): -33% Incoming DamageResistance(2s): Conditions currently on you are ineffectiveRegen (2s): 260 HealBoon Application Interval: 1sPulse Interval: 2sDuration Increase: 4sPulses: Increase: 2Pulses: 2Duration: 8sRadius: 240Radius Increase: 120Combo Field: Light

I think Engineers have other ways to get fury and regen is not worth at all. With this change i would be a nice support skill for PVE and PVP. Resistance could be swaped for stability, but i thought in this condition heavy meta it would be the better choice.

Feel free to say what you think about it or if you have a better idea but at its current state i dont think many player will consider this skill as an option for pvp and maybe not even for pve.

12s of immunity to conditions seems awfully overpowered. So does 8s for that matter. Removing conditions in top of that is just Overkill. I like that the light field allows you to blast to remove conditions. Gives the ability to clear some condis without requiring other parts of it to be nerfed

I think this skill will be used a ton in PvP. Engi has always been great at point control this makes them even better. And aoe pull!? Yes please! In PvE less so but the constant fury is great for a profession that doesn't get a ton of fury. And more aoe pulls are never a bad thing in fractals.

I think this is one of the best if not THE best Holosmith utility.

While it seems PoF will introduce a lot of condi spam (which might change, we don't know the final balance), I think it's a little bit overpowered. Altough, I'd love to see Hard Light Arena giving boons to allies as well.

@Samug.6512 said:While it seems PoF will introduce a lot of condi spam (which might change, we don't know the final balance), I think it's a little bit overpowered. Altough, I'd love to see Hard Light Arena giving boons to allies as well.

Totally agree, it would be great to give Engi group support like that.

HOWEVER... how much would it have to be nerfed? I'm thinking a pretty large nerf would be required to keep it balanced. If we're talking a huge cooldown and only a few seconds duration... I'd rather remain selfish and keep the boons for myself.

Only change this needs is for it to affect allies. It's silly that you have this giant area that pulses boons but you're the only one who benefits.

This change wouldn't make it any more powerful than guardian shouts, especially since you have to stay within the area to keep getting boons.

^ yea, this thing should affect allies. If not in its "cool" form then atleast in its 50% heat form

I'm really coming around on the sharing part of this... it just "feels" off to have a skill called Hard Light Arena, give a big AoE visual of some sort of fighting pit or coliseum, and somehow only benefit one person standing in it. From other players perspective doesn't it just look like a skill that you want to stand in? We have hard to see purple circles on the ground that are some of the best AoE buffs in the game (Chrono), but a giant light construct arena does nothing!?

Based on other skills throughout the game I have a feeling that whatever their "balance formula" is, Protection has a pretty high value. For that reason maybe the Protection can just be for us but we can share the other boons? Or make the Protection 1s duration per pulse?

Bottom line to me is does it overlap with what other Professions can do? Sure. Does it risk replacing other Professions filling a support role? Not even close. This would be a nice boost to give Engineer some sorely lacking group support but not nearly enough to step on any toes.

I still maintain I don't want the personal effects nerfed too severely just to allow it to help our allies... but I'm starting to think that HLA should definitely be doing something for allies standing in it.

@Adamantium.3682 said:I'm really coming around on the sharing part of this... it just "feels" off to have a skill called Hard Light Arena, give a big AoE visual of some sort of fighting pit or coliseum, and somehow only benefit one person standing in it. From other players perspective doesn't it just look like a skill that you want to stand in? We have hard to see purple circles on the ground that are some of the best AoE buffs in the game (Chrono), but a giant light construct arena does nothing!?

Based on other skills throughout the game I have a feeling that whatever their "balance formula" is, Protection has a pretty high value. For that reason maybe the Protection can just be for us but we can share the other boons? Or make the Protection 1s duration per pulse?

Bottom line to me is does it overlap with what other Professions can do? Sure. Does it risk replacing other Professions filling a support role? Not even close. This would be a nice boost to give Engineer some sorely lacking group support but not nearly enough to step on any toes.

I still maintain I don't want the personal effects nerfed too severely just to allow it to help our allies... but I'm starting to think that HLA should definitely be doing something for allies standing in it.

Agreed. It should affect 5 allies as it is now, it would not be even close to OP just by adding ally boons, if anything its a little underpowered in the context of group play taking this ability. Though everything about Holosmith is cool there are some things that will be disappointing if they don't get changed for the better, not unplayable but disappointing.

Needs affects allies.