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Firebrand Specialization Updates for the Path of Fire Launch


Irenio CalmonHuang.2048

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  • ArenaNet Staff

Hail Guardians,

With Path of Fire on the horizon, we anticipate many axes being sharpened and magical tomes being read. Since the Elite Specialization Preview weekend and various stress tests we’ve been listening and reviewing your feedback. We wanted to give you a list of changes, specific to the upcoming Firebrand specialization, that have been made since those game versions.

  • Tome activation skills reduced from 0.75s activations to 0.5s. Added a 0.5s delay before you can use 'stow tome' upon entry into a tome.
  • Tome of Courage: Reduced the cooldown from 90 to 50s.
  • Tome of Justice: Fixed a tooltip display issue. This was inflicting 2 seconds of burning, but was only displaying 1s.
  • Unflinching Charge: This ability now grants 4s aegis in addition to its previous effects.
  • Unbroken Lines: This ability now grants 4s of aegis in addition to its previous effects.
  • Tome of Resolve: Reduced the cooldown from 45s to 40s. Healing scaling of ALL its skills increased significantly.
  • Radiant Recovery: Increased number of conditions cleansed from 2 to 3.
  • Eternal Oasis: Increased the number of conditions converted from 3 to 5.
  • Mantra of Solace: Increased healing scaling for base activation and final charge skills. This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Mantra of Flame: This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Mantra of Truth: This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Mantra of Lore: This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Mantra of Potence: This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Mantra of Liberation: This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.
  • Symbol of Vengeance: Reduced cast time by 0.25s.
  • Burning Edge: Increased radius slightly, from 25 to 30 degrees (mirrored).
  • Legendary Lore: Tome of Courage effect is now 4s protection in place of 5s of aegis.

As you can see, most of the Firebrand changes are aimed at gameplay flow issues that were raised after the demo and stress tests: In particular the cast times for tomes felt a touch sluggish, the impact from Rome of Resolve’s ability to heal in a pinch was on the low side, and mantras that affect allies being cone-based when used by a melee-centric specialization were among the points we wanted to address.

See you in the Crystal Desert!

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Lowered CD and cast time are nice, though need some testing before saying if good enough. (also thanks for huge lowered CD on courage)Good see ToJ was bug, though it is making loremaster even more of a must take trait.

Mantra did improve alot there with AoE change. Though very sad to see no change to mantra of flame and truth. Flame being weak when balt runes and healing mantra is close to out damage it.(Better not go with solution of upping balts 6 set internal cooldown)

Legendary Lore: this change by itself seems bad to me, because burn on block and heal on aegis. But since you putting aegis on 2 most important tome skills, this change is actually great overall.

Changes to resolve seems good. It needed more healing power and bit more condi cleanse never hurts.

One thing i am really sad isn´t there.......Quickfire either needs a buff or changed to work like venom, otherwise Loremaster will always be picked over it.

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"Tome activation skills reduced from 0.75s activations to 0.5s." This is one of the biggest changes that was necessary due to the tomes feeling very clunky. However, if they still don't offer more support than other professions, its going to be a dead spec from the start. Hopefully these buffs will be enough to allow it to at least compete across the game in metas that have mostly settled even with the other new specs coming.

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Tome activation skills reduced from 0.75s activations to 0.5s. Added a 0.5s delay before you can use 'stow tome' upon entry into a tome.

Good change but .5s might still be a bit high. .25s might be the sweet spot but we'll see

Tome of Courage: Reduced the cooldown from 90 to 50s.

Very good change

Tome of Justice: Fixed a tooltip display issue. This was inflicting 2 seconds of burning, but was only displaying 1s.

Tooltip updates are always welcomed to know what we're getting

Unflinching Charge: This ability now grants 4s aegis in addition to its previous effects.

Spammable Aegis output is going to be nutty.

Unbroken Lines: This ability now grants 4s of aegis in addition to its previous effects.

I'm not sure Aegis makes sense on this ability. We have protection and toughness to mitigate damage but Aegis to negate 1 attack.

Tome of Resolve: Reduced the cooldown from 45s to 40s. Healing scaling of ALL its skills increased significantly.

Will have to see what the numbers are because significantly is purely subjective.

Radiant Recovery: Increased number of conditions cleansed from 2 to 3.

I guess you're still putting bandaids on condition control

Eternal Oasis: Increased the number of conditions converted from 3 to 5.

See above

All Mantras: Increased healing scaling for base activation and final charge skills. This skill now applies its effects in a 120 radius around you in addition to a 300 range cone ahead of you. This ability can now be cast while in the air.

How about you standardize the mantras and up them to 240 like the Mesmer mantras? Otherwise, it's a buff but still pretty bad.

Symbol of Vengeance: Reduced cast time by 0.25s.

Good change.

Burning Edge: Increased radius slightly, from 25 to 30 degrees (mirrored).

I assume you mean Blazing Edge but a buff to axe skills is warranted.

Legendary Lore: Tome of Courage effect is now 4s protection in place of 5s of aegis.

A good change.

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Hail Irenio!

Thanks for these little tweaks and changes! The new elite specialization for guardian looks amazing and I love how you guys reintegrated tomes back in the profession!

I love the updates, but I was wondering if tomes could have more of a kit feeling. I will explain myself. What I mean is it seems punishing to go into a tome only for one skill at the moment. Would be interesting to see the cooldown be in proportion to the number of charges remaining or some mechanic that would permit the player to activate an effect from one of the skills without having to be penalized with a full cooldown duration on the tome.

Pardon me if such thing already exists as I had just a little time during betas to try it out. If there is indeed a trait for that, it was unnoticed.

Very excited to try the Firebrand this Friday ! =)

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