Upcoming Balance Notes - 10/1/2019

[Za Shaloc.3908]

The % modifiers on that Warrior barrier trait...what in tarnation.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

@"Pterikdactyl.7630" said:The % modifiers on that Warrior barrier trait...what in tarnation.

Yeah another sic em like bs that will take forever to get shaved down, zero surprise.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

@"Pterikdactyl.7630" said:The % modifiers on that Warrior barrier trait...what in tarnation.

Well it is one way to break up a Zerg. Barrier has needed counter play for a while. Maybe 50% is high, but it is also eating through a barrier so we'll see in practice how it plays out. The 25% while target is above 90% health may take precedence over the barrier modifier though.

[Delofasht.4231]

Appears to me that the feedback we have given on Mesmer changes have been thoroughly ignored, business as usual. Not really worth the time spent giving input anymore.

[Ouk.5914]

I don't understand the point in half of these changes. What was the point in nerfing certain classes that were fine but buffing or leaving other specs unchecked?

Where's the nerf/check on Staff and Condi thief? Why are spec's that are allowed to spam certain damage skills/conditions rewarded for such passive game play? Why are Spec that require more "skills" nerf and while the "unskiled" specs get buffed?

lowering the skill level of this game isn't helping the balance for spvp/wvw at all, Matter fact it's actually making it a lot worse if anything.

Staff ThiefCondi ThiefWeaverProt HoloRifle HoloRev

those 6 specs / builds alone should be completely checked out and re-looked into. With Scrouge getting a major Nerf and possibly removed completely from the Conquest Meta Most of those specs are going to just run wild without fearing their boons getting ripped apart.

New meta gonna be all about Boon Up time and how to maintain it for such a long time to hold node against X amount of players...... no necro means side noders are going to be able to run wild and just stack on health/toughness.

I really don't understand what's so hard to actually get an idea on how to properly make changes to the spvp/wvw community without gutting 1 of the 2 so bad...... Like changes like these is what everyone starts questioning and wondering as to why it's so hard for the "devs" to actually do a solid job instead of a half ass job but why does it matter? Ya'll interested in Beetle Races now and giving out 50k cash price pool to the winner then you guys are supporting 2 game mode that been bleeding players because of the empty promises and updates we keep getting told.

[Aeolus.3615]

Warriors and revs to counter sea of barrier and scourges, rather than continually spam barrier, scourges need to learn when team needs barrier or not.

I like he changes.

[SkyShroud.2865]

Wvw priateship is coming.

[Crab Fear.1624]

Looks good to me.

I always wondered why there was a boost put into the game without a polar counter.

I thought adding something like deep wound would be appropriate, but MOAR damage sounds just as good.

[Arkantos.7460]

Still no renegade improvments .... poorest elite of all with shortbowand the nerf to True Nature (Assassin) where clear visible because it was to good to land dps on range .... you know how to destroy good stuff

do we get build templates now with next patch?

[SeikeNz.3526]

Delayed Reactions: This trait no longer grants alacrity but now triggers on any control effect rather than only on interrupts. Added a 3-second cooldown per target.Lost Time: This trait has been reworked. It now grants 3 seconds of alacrity to the mesmer when applying slow to a target. This effect has a 3-second cooldown."

currently lost time: triggers on any control effect apply slow 0s cdNEW Delayed Reactions: triggers on any control effect apply slow 3s cdNEW Lost time: triggers on slow apply alacracy 3s cd

they turned delayed reactions into lost time with a 3 seconds cd

Nice job with this ninja nerf

[Hoon.1524]

Hello, i'm a main mesmer and i cry at each balance patch for getting nerfed and cry on the forums that i didn't deserve them even if mirage is the most broken class since PoF was released

[Durzlla.6295]

Overall I like the ranger changes, even though that evade on Gs 1 getting removed is going to suck. But please please please tell me you’re going to make that last attack in the GS be faster than a full 1s cast now.

The only reason it being a 1s cast was ok was because it was an evade, but now it won’t do enough damage or provide enough defense to actually work at that speed.

[perilisk.1874]

@Bellefon.1259 said:

@"Irenio CalmonHuang.2048" said:

Necromancer

The scourge elite specialization has also undergone a significant change such that its shade skills will only fire around them when they do NOT have a shade up.

This change creates a choice between whether scourges expose themselves to some melee risk but charge in to affect foes around them, or whether they hang back and summon a shade near their foe and are unable to affect themselves with shade abilities (unless they also place one on their own location). We'll be keeping a close eye on the results of this change and making adjustments accordingly.

This change seems to punish scourges for using their unique elite specialization mechanic. It discourages using shade skills at range, and seems to favor scourges as melee fighters without having good melee skills. Fighting that ranger? — don’t shade them or lose significant defense from arrows and pets. Chain stunned by warrior/engi? — won’t be able to activate shade on yourself due to cast time, therefore locked out of all F shade skills until other shades disappear.

Shroud is the infamous "second health bar" that compensates necros for their lack of mobility/blocks/evades. Scourges don't have shroud, but rely on barrier, the 5-second health bar topper. Placing a shade anywhere but on top of the scourge is a 15-second lockout from having any local use of shade skills = less barrier = less defense.

Hoping this gets a harder look before release, but if not, then please also consider:

1. removing the 1/2 sec cast time to Manifest Sand Shade (F1), allowing faster re-positioning, making the choice one of "here or there but not multiple locations";
2. removing the 1/2 sec activation delay that was later added to shade skills (F2-F5) to compensate for time needed to reposition shades; and
3. maybe modifing Manifest Sand Shade (F1) to be a single-shade toggle (eliminating 3 shades): press once to place, and while shade still exists, press again to remove shade, thus making necro act as the shade — thus giving a controlled choice about where shades activate.

One more thing: I have to assume, without testing, that since Garrish Pillar (F4) won’t activate near the scourge if they are not on an active shade, or have no shades active, seems like traited Transfusion won’t activate either?

Experimentation is fine. I can’t judge Death Magic yet, so I'm open to exploring. Maybe it will be awesome, maybe a one week experiment to experience baseline leather-class armor.

Rather than have to think about sitting in my shades, thus limiting mobility further, sadly, I’ve already begun to train myself to never press F1 again.

I think it would have made more sense to shrink the PBAoE effect in size and target cap for each shade deployed. No shades=big PBAoE, 1 out=medium PBAoE, 2 out=small PBAoE, 3 out=no PBAoE. If the tech permitted, just having all shades and the local effect share a target cap would be ideal.

[SeikeNz.3526]

another chrono nerf?

Delayed Reactions: This trait no longer grants alacrity but now triggers on any control effect rather than only on interrupts. Added a 3-second cooldown per target.Lost Time: This trait has been reworked. It now grants 3 seconds of alacrity to the mesmer when applying slow to a target. This effect has a 3-second cooldown."

currently lost time: triggers on any control effect apply slow 0s cdNEW Delayed Reactions: triggers on any control effect apply slow 3s cdNEW Lost time: triggers on slow apply alacracy 3s cd

they turned delayed reactions into lost time with a 3 seconds cd without the damage proc, unless lost time now proc alacracy+slow

Nice job with this ninja nerf

[TheGrimm.5624]

@Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

@TheGrimm.5624 said:

They are only removing the adrenaline gain on harpoon.

Thanks, my brain did cover the extra bit up.

[Jables.4659]

@azzardome.9184 said:nerfing base thief and daredevil while deadeye is left untouched. same goes for condi drd. some real big brain balance here

To be fair, the Improvisation nerf was long overdue. To give you an example of why, I often ran Withdraw, Shadow step, Signet cleanse, Roll for Initiative, and Dagger Storm as my utility line. It wasn't terribly uncommon for me to get multiple trick recharges in a row from stealing, which led to me being able to use dagger storm 3 times within a 30 second period. It was luck based bullshit that could immediately turn the tide of a fight regardless of player skill.

[TheGrimm.5624]

@Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

@"Pterikdactyl.7630" said:The % modifiers on that Warrior barrier trait...what in tarnation.

Well it is one way to break up a Zerg. Barrier has needed counter play for a while. Maybe 50% is high, but it is also eating through a barrier so we'll see in practice how it plays out. The 25% while target is above 90% health may take precedence over the barrier modifier though.

I think if it only applied to the barrier it would be fine, but since it sounds like it will act as normal and then apply to health than it's kind of a near death sentence to players running rune of sanctuary or anyone getting minor barriers.

[Bear.9568]

@"Hoon.1524" said:Hello, i'm a main mesmer and i cry at each balance patch for getting nerfed and cry on the forums that i didn't deserve them even if mirage is the most broken class since PoF was released

You honestly have no idea what you are talking about. OP clearly stated "Chrono" which is a totally different elite spec than "Mirage".

Stop copy/paste what other people say and actually read the comment.

[aymnad.9023]

General : Need to see it in game.

Item : Good

Elementalist : Cannot tell how this will impact the profession

Engineer: Holo nerf is good but might not be enough. Scrapper needs buff sure. But the hammer seems like a lot to me. At least for sPvP. Thunderclap takes a full node on most of the sPvp maps and rocket charge is also an evade.

Guardian: Nerf to fb is ok. It will still be the n1 spec.

Mesmer: Good. Still instant lock but the LoS was needed. The chrono changes look good for teamplay.

Necromancer: The new death magic almost sound like an e-spec concept. I think core terromancer will like this tanky aspect. No idea if it will be good/bad but it sounds fun. Scourge seems like a weird change. I know it comes from the WvW patch but it still looks strong there and not too good for the rest.

Ranger: Great dagger changes. Sword not sure. The new playstyle makes sense but I do not like having serpent strike, a fast dodge, hidden behind a rush. Seems like losing control. Greatsword. Great change to the instant counter. Losing power stab dodge is going to affect ranger so much in a bad way. Crippling throw is ok in PvE but we will miss it in sPvP to stay on target because hilt bash is missing 80% of the time on a moving target.

Revenant: No idea how it will impact rev. But I like the idea that they can be a source of stab instead of just guardian.

Thief: More rewards for stealth. Not a thief so not a fan of the idea.

Warrior: This looks impressive. Need to see the numbers for support Tactics warrior but if I have to guess the Tactic damage will be nerfed.

[Tazer.2157]

Hello Anet, Please do not change the ranger sword design. It is a weapon that is very versatile once used properly. The main problem with the change is that now we cannot combo chain the leap back and forward to gain distance from the enemy. The higher cd now ruins it. Also why is the leap chained with the evade now? The evade should be a separate skill that is really necessary during combat. The chance to evade a warrior or holo leap is really necessary for a ranger and having the evade behind a leap really makes the sword a very slow weapon and its a change for the worse. A leap required to get the serpent strike breaks the flow of combat and its not just a really good change.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Tazer.2157 said:Hello Anet, Please do not change the ranger sword design. It is a weapon that is very versatile once used properly. The main problem with the change is that now we cannot combo chain the leap back and forward to gain distance from the enemy.

Tdlr: can run away xD

joking asside, i ope in future it opens to more gameplay styles actually.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Aeolus.3615 said:Warriors and revs to counter sea of barrier and scourges, rather than continually spam barrier, scourges need to learn when team needs barrier or not.

I like he changes.

Spamming barrier is still fine with this around as long as you are actually providing enough barrier and not just tiny bits. In this regard Superior Rune of Sanctuary is probably a bad thing to use. Rune of Weaver, Scourge and Rebirth are also going to be dubious.

@Randulf.7614 said:If I read it right, it's +25% if health is also above 90%. Double bubble..

We'll probably have to test this when the patch comes out. Usually the higher mod would take priority but in this case it could go either way. The 25% taking priority makes sense if they don't want the trait being too powerful and it allows more counter play. If that is the case then hopefully they reword the description to something like

Increases damage by 25% against foes with health above 90%. Increases damage by 50% against foes that have barrier and less than 90% health.

This also removes the need for the note about not stacking since you can't be above and below 90% health at the same time. It also gives an extra knob to tweak. That 90% could be higher or lower or split between game modes

[Tazer.2157]

@Lalary.3561 said:What the hell is even a point of giving total makeover to ranger weapon skills????

This is another example of anet making the game simpler. In the process they have destroyed such a unique weapon. T> @Aeolus.3615 said:

@"Tazer.2157" said:Hello Anet, Please do not change the ranger sword design. It is a weapon that is very versatile once used properly. The main problem with the change is that now we cannot combo chain the leap back and forward to gain distance from the enemy.

Tdlr: can run away xD

joking asside, i ope in future it opens to more gameplay styles actually.

Actually they have nerfed the weapon that its lost what made it special. The sword was very powerful in capable hands. the leaps could get the ranger out of awkward situations, now that is spoiled because of the added cd. Second there are clips on you tube where pro ranger players have used the evade skill to bait enemies in the Colosseum and have them fall off the platform. Now anet that ruined that too. In the process of making the weapon "simpler" they have made it such that no one will even bother using it now. The sword was always a weapon that was designed with evade in mind. Now it is not even that nor it is a dps weapon. What is it? I don't think even anet knows at this point.

edit: Il explain:

With the smokescale smoke field, you could leap back into it and then leap out gaining stealth. Now the leap out has a 7 second additional cd. So you cannot do that anylonger.

Second, anet actually reworked the skill in a completely brain dead fashion. They made it so that hornet;s sting would reset monarch's leap. The trouble with that is you will always use the leap after the hornet's sting and now that hornets sting have to do dmg for the reset to work, it limits the potential of the leap combo, that means the reset is completely meaningless.

Third: the evade in sword was very useful in dodging stuns, dmg, etc. Now you have to waste a leap which breaks the flow of combat just to use it.

Who even made these changes? It seems like the devs picked up a ranger last week and couldn't figure out how the sword works to they remade it in a completely illogical manner.

[crazyhusky.2985]

Warrior gets Barrier and Guardian doesn't.Despite Guardian is supose to be the "defensive" class.

I think the balance team really need to re-review this balance patch,

[Sigmoid.7082]

@"crazyhusky.2985" said:Warrior gets Barrier and Guardian doesn't.Despite Guardian is supose to be the "defensive" class.

I think the balance team really need to re-review this balance patch,

Guardians get aegis and stab share?