Balance Patch Appreciation Thread

Seeing all the people complaining about this change or that change made me start this thread.

I for one think the changes are a step in the right direction (with the exception of the Scourge tune up, that I feel should've been limited to PvE, but I could also be wrong about that one).Yea there's more to be desired and I'm sure we'll see a few more balance patches before the next major expansion but this addresses a lot of the fundamentally broken skills and traits and will definitely make the game more enjoyable for those of us that prefer trying new builds and specs instead of sticking to the so called "Meta" which is just another word for FOTM in my eyes.

So for that a big, heartfelt THANK YOU @ArenaNet Dev Team. Now get back to work and keep the fixes rolling!

No.

edit: perhaps I was being a bit too flip. I'll elaborate. The patch did not fix hardly anything that was broken, broke ten times as many elements that were working better yesterday, and adding a cruel RNG lootbox system for mount skins that would be shameful even from EA.

EA.

We were hoping for a balance patch that would improve the game, and yet instead it apparently makes the game worse for the majority of players. ANet needs to be better than this. They CAN be better than this.

@Ohoni.6057 said:No.

edit: perhaps I was being a bit too flip. I'll elaborate. The patch did not fix hardly anything that was broken, broke ten times as many elements that were working better yesterday, and adding a cruel RNG lootbox system for mount skins that would be shameful even from EA.

EA.

We were hoping for a balance patch that would improve the game, and yet instead it apparently makes the game worse for the majority of players. ANet needs to be better than this. They CAN be better than this.

Pretty sure nothing can be more shameful than EA, it's just not possible!

@Arlette.9684 said:

@Ohoni.6057 said:No.

edit: perhaps I was being a bit too flip. I'll elaborate. The patch did not fix hardly anything that was broken, broke ten times as many elements that were working better yesterday, and adding a cruel RNG lootbox system for mount skins that would be shameful even from EA.

EA.

We were hoping for a balance patch that would improve the game, and yet instead it apparently makes the game worse for the majority of players. ANet needs to be better than this. They

CAN

be better than this.

*I said EA, sir! EA!"

Apparently my comment was "rude towards the company" and got removed when all I was saying was a sarcastic remark that maaaaybe Anet didn't really change anything about WvW balance nor the actual Spellbreaker problem. (Is this gonna get removed too? I'm accepting bets now! [This is a joke! Do not bet!])

I'm just gonna assume that we'll see an additional patch for WvW with specificly WvW balance changes for every class.

plsdontbanme

I honestly love that they finally fixed some bugs with mesmers. The axe 3 fix <3 Im soooo grateful for it. I also love the new UI.Im thrilled that druids can now share might and that their spirits work for 10 people. Now we're not forced to always take 2 druids and other healers will be allowed into meta too :)I just hope theyll solve core mesmer mechanic problems (shatters, phantasms, clones) soon too :).

Unlike other patches this was full of good changes. I won't comment on the loot boxes, because they are not "Balance" so let's see:General: 18/19 positive changes. To be more specific (excluding only bug fixes):Players asked for more collections, they added more collectionsPlayers asked to reduce double clicking, they reduced it on karma itemsPlayers asked for better rewards, they overhauled the rewards of the meta eventsLots of crafting enchantments, new recipes, ascended grieving crafting, what is not to like here really?OK, I disliked this part:

The monster-specific Elegy Mosaics now can be consumed for a single Elegy Mosaic currencyBecause sadly I already deleted all of mine.

Profession skills, GeneralGood changes overall, the addition of the new Runes in PVP requires testing and evaluation, we'll see how it goes

ElementalistOnly good buffs, Sword was underwhelming and it got some attention, for good reason.Earth Shield was never used, we'll see what happens after adding Barrier to it

EngineerSimilar to the Weaver Sword, the Holosmith Sword was worse than auto attacking with the Bomb kit, so it got a buff, and looks like a good one. We'll see after testing but Holosmith looks even better. The inability to use a good power off-hand is what is limiting Sword now (because no such off-hand exist)

GuardianMantra overhaul was requested since day 1, overall good changes, nerf to Quickfire to bring back in-line the overperforming Firebrand in PVE.I expected some nerfs to Firebrand sustain because they are nearly unkillable in PVP, but maybe with the next patch.

MemserHaven't played Mirage enough. However it looks like Axe buffs, Mirage Axe, like the two earlier Swords, was underwhelming and got some buffs

NecromancerLooks like a Reaper boost, we'll see how effective it is to bring Reaper to a better spot in PVE. Scourge PVP power wasn't affected much, because the previous patch nerfed them already, I guess they didn't want to nerf Scourges two times in a row with so little time between them.

RangerAlthough the buffs are ridiculous... they will force the Raid meta to change, which is a good thing!

RevenantI like the Revenant changes, although I still feel like Renegade is too Energy-starved to work well. Unless you don't use half your abilities

ThiefBut Unhindered Combatant had been my go-to Grandmaster trait for years. Both in open world PVE/exploration and PVP it was one of the best traits ever, not anymore, so RIP UC. Otherwise it looks good and Fire for Effect looks like a clear attempt at a Thief might stacker. Will it work? Testing will tell us.

WarriorRIP PS, fortunately the damage of the Warrior wasn't affected and they are still top dogs in damage. The Spellbreaker nerfs finally arrived, too much? Too little? We'll see.

OtherOgrewatch change is great, now they need to change Mendon's to be more easily defended, because Red side is now at a clear disadvantage.

Outside the black lion changes (for another thread) this patch was a step to a good direction, so I approve of it.

I appreciate the balance. I just wish they balanced the other elite specs also so they are equivalent. You could be excited to use one or the other. Just somethings in the other elites I wish they changed but it's ok. As long as they do one patch. They might do another.

Still does very little to actually shake things up.

Still waiting on them to address Scourge's support, remove barrier being effected by Agony/Poison since it's not a HEAL. Waiting for the reversion to UC for thief now because that was about as sloppy as you could get. Waiting on the reversion to Bandits Defense as well, because why was that even touched to begin with.

and i guess i'll continually wait for the day when Engineers have viable weapon choices, because there's none. It would be nice if you know Kits weren't completely overbearing.

@TwilightSoul.9048 said:Apparently my comment was "rude towards the company" and got removed when all I was saying was a sarcastic remark that maaaaybe Anet didn't really change anything about WvW balance nor the actual Spellbreaker problem. (Is this gonna get removed too? I'm accepting bets now! [This is a joke! Do not bet!])

I'm just gonna assume that we'll see an additional patch for WvW with specificly WvW balance changes for every class.

plsdontbanme

I got something similar for "derailing the topic". I guess balance threads in general discussion aren't the place to talk about poor balance changes and wvw?

Revenants are still unfinished and cobbled together. I really don’t understand the purpose of the class, they’re half-baked buff bots that don’t do anything another class does twice as well. They need a full rework.

Might Reaper and most of the other changes were a welcome surprise.

great balance that arenanet did, unfortunately Guild Wars 2 players want their op class and unbeatable to find tops, I now with my soulbeast depending on how I use each skill and do combo with my pet I can kill any of the classes or also die , scourge is not so immortal nor spellbreaker now.

The rest of the classes like Holo and Mirage are a matter of paying attention when they attack.

Renegade skills still suffer from the same issues talked about since we first got to try them in the demo weekend. Not sure what's to be thankful for here.

@Rap Tiger.1257 said:great balance that arenanet did, unfortunately Guild Wars 2 players want their op class and unbeatable to find tops, I now with my soulbeast depending on how I use each skill and do combo with my pet I can kill any of the classes or also die , scourge is not so immortal nor spellbreaker now.

The rest of the classes like Holo and Mirage are a matter of paying attention when they attack.

It's not about wanting everything to be OP it's about having viable choices. Since you play ranger I'll pick an example that you may be able to relate to:Did you know you can use Axe in your offhand?

• Yes? Then you probably know how god damn irrelevant the dmg buff on axe 5 was, Axe Offhand is almost entirely useless if we can't move while using 5.
• No? Wouldn't surprise me, it's useless.

That's an example of how they don't do a good job balancing things.

Also, yes, as Soulbeast you can beat almost everything but you can't do that with every class and many traitlines and weapons are entirely useless (I like to call them noob baits) And let's not get started on revenant :P Oh and they didn't adress the WvW situation at all so here's hoping we'll see an additional balance patch specificly for WvW. (I'm talking about 1 single spellbreaker beeing able to remove all boons thanks to enchantment collapse and conditions having way too little counterplay since they can be reapplied so fast)

@TwilightSoul.9048 said:

@Rap Tiger.1257 said:great balance that arenanet did, unfortunately Guild Wars 2 players want their op class and unbeatable to find tops, I now with my soulbeast depending on how I use each skill and do combo with my pet I can kill any of the classes or also die , scourge is not so immortal nor spellbreaker now.

The rest of the classes like Holo and Mirage are a matter of paying attention when they attack.

• Yes? Then you probably know how god kitten irrelevant the dmg buff on axe 5 was, Axe Offhand is almost entirely useless if we can't move while using 5.
• No? Wouldn't surprise me, it's useless.

I used two axes before and I liked it very much, although I did not move with ax 5, if someone approached I took a lot of damage, but it would be nice if I could move, I come back to the question again, I agree that some things need improving, I improved a lot on PVP.