Balance Changes Upcoming

[Dadnir.5038]

Meanwhile nobody spot the fact that soulbeast unblockable effect is untouched while the rare skill that could do something against it can't do shit now... Please ANet put a limited number of unblockable stack on unstoppable union if you wish to proceed with this balance patch.

Necromancer: Soul Eater: This trait has been reworked. It now increases the strike damage dealt to all foes within a range of 300 by 10%, and it causes the reaper to heal for 5% of the damage dealt to foes within that range. It no longer reduces greatsword-skill recharge by 20%.

This will most likely make a lot of players cry about to much damage/sustain in sPvP. Please avoid proceeding with this change.

Revenant: Ancient Echo seem a good idea, the focus on healing orbs for the salvation's traitline on another hand creep me to no end.

Thief: not sure about the statement that there was no trade off for picking daredevil. Thought swipe replacing steal have the potential to pack quite a lot of breakbar damage. Not really sure it was necessary.

Warrior: It's unclear how you access primal burst and/or disable berserk if everything is packed on F1.

[Koen.1327]

@steelrage.2904 said:

@Koen.1327 said:

@steelrage.2904 said:How mesmer got nerfed AGAIN is beyond me, scrapper didnt get touched which is actually unreal. Really glad we have our priority straight :)

mesmer got quite a buff with the new blinding dissipation ineptitude combo, which now shatters for 16 confusion by just pressing f2 with clones aloneNo one uses ineptitude, deceptive evasion is by far stronger and before you say well I see it in my gold qs!!!! just remember im the best condi mes in the game and currently the highest rated mesmer on na :)

everybody used ineptitude when mirage had its burst, and after this patch for sure it will be the go-to for burst builds

[Burnfall.9573]

@Zenix.6198 said:How bout some actual nerfs to overperforming specs (PvP / WvW)instead of just adding more powercreep.

[kappa.2036]

@ Irenio CalmonHuang.2048Interesting changes to druid, but i would suggest to give some Stability to the specialization, maybe on a specific Gliph, or when using Verdant Etching. The problem that holds druid from being a good support in pvp/wvw is the lack of stability, and most of the heals are easily interrupted. This is why druid is the worst support in competitive game modes.I also hope that after the nerf to pet's damage Celestial Avatar cooldown will be back to 10 seconds, 20 seconds (PvP) is too much if you have to support your allies in the middle of a fight. Another idea could be that when the druid enters Celestial Avatar, the pet do it aswell, gaining some interaction with the celestial avatar abilities. That would be pretty cool.

About Druid:

Druid: The base attributes of pets have been reduced by 20%.This nerf is not ok and i'm going to explain why. Lower stats on pets means ALSO less vitality and thoughness, not only less damage. 20% less defensive stats on a pet with 15k hp IS HUGE. Pet's already die to everything when not using soulbeast, this is a bad change. I would have preferred a "-20% less outgoing damage" while keeping the defensive attributes. i also think druid should have some ways to revive their pets, as their role should be.

Glyph of Unity: Reduced the radius of this skill from 400 to 360, and increased its duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds. This skill is no longer an elite skill, and it replaces Glyph of Empowerment.This skill is so useless that no one will EVER use it even if will become a non-elite skill. Also the problem was not the duration, but the radius. This skill needs a proper rework in both concept and functionality.

Glyph of Rejuvenation: Increased the healing multiplier across both versions of this skill by 40%. In celestial avatar form, the base healing to the druid and their pet has been increased by 50%. Outside of celestial avatar form, the base healing to allies has been increased by 50%.This Glyph already heals for a good amount when running healing gear. 50% more healing is such a lazy change. This Glyph should help recover Celestial Avatar more quickly, right now We Heal As One, Troll Unguent, and even Healing Spring are better at that.

Glyph of Alignment: Outside of celestial avatar form, this skill no longer inflicts 5 seconds of cripple or 2 stacks of poison for 8 seconds. Instead, it now inflicts 1.5 seconds of immobilization and 3 stacks of bleeding for 8 seconds.This is a nice change, but ranger already have A LOT of AoE immobs (double Muddy Terrain, Drakehound F2, Staff #4, CA #5). This skill lacks identity, and we already have better options to immobilize enemies or healing allies.

Glyph of Empowerment: This skill has been replaced by Glyph of Unity.Removed the unique buff that only druid can apply? Ok.

Glyph of the Stars: This new elite skill heals, prevents allies from being inflicted with conditions, and removes conditions already on allies at range. In celestial avatar form, it heals, prevents downed allies from losing health while being revived, and grants boons at range.This finally seems an Elite Skill. Preventing allies from being affected by conditions is great. I'm also curious about the "boons at range", i hope for some resistance/stability ( NO regen/protection again pls). Duration and cooldown will dictate if this new elite is good or not.

[Zexanima.7851]

The core revenant change is nice to see but I'm not really sure it has any affect on the profession after you unlock herald/renegade. Builds for revenant using elite specs will still out class core builds and I don't think adding an F2 ability will change that. It might be worth fooling around with at best if it's on a short cooldown. I just can't think of a case where it would make me want to run core over an elite spec.

[ChronoPinoyX.7923]

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:Wondering if solo druid will still be playable in PvE with the pet nerf.

Might not be as bad as it sounds, though some pets might definitely feel the impact of the 20% reduction.

@Shiyo.3578 said:Thief is already borderline useless in every game mode, why are you nerfing it without compensation?

ANY thief nerf is completely unjustified with the state the class currently is in.

Deadeye is just dead at this stage, trade-off melee capabilities just means they don't want any Thief touching a melee weapon regardless of game mode

[Melian.5368]

Can you also please make it so that when using WvW banners we can mount up? Being able to use elite spec abilities (such as soulbeast abilities or warrior full-counter) while carrying a WvW banner would also be awesome.

[lunaeclipse.6843]

@Irenio CalmonHuang.2048 said:Greetings all!

Irenio

These Rev changes are insane. Giving Revs access to team vigour is exactly what fb-Rev comps were hardcore lacking. Thank you so very much for this. You also made The Salvation traitline usable with the Tablet. Amazing.

The changes to core rev; giving core Revs acess to another profession skill is amazing, especially one that grants 25 Energy.

[Lazze.9870]

Removing Glyph of Empowerment is fine. But Glyph of Unity was rarely worth any spot on your bar for anything else than additional Verdant Etching procs and the occasional healing boost in avatar form. Having it as a regular skill makes it an even harder pick. Betting on an complete overhaul of the skill some patches down the road.

I don't care about the pet attribution changes for druid, as the spec was already pegged down for a pure support role a long time ago. But I do find it somewhat funny that one of the worst direct damage core professions gets a further hit to its damage just for picking what is essentially a healer trait line. And that's ignoring the fact that the trait line choice is a trade-off in itself, as core ranger needs as many modifiers and damage traits as possible to have any relevant damage. Would have made more sense if the pet wasn't abysmal to begin with and ranger weren't already taxed on damage for having pets, considering base ranger has little to offer in the healing department. IOW, a proper trade-off, because as it stands this change doesn't matter. It's just another nail in an already barricaded coffin.

And while we're at pets and druid, why not give the pets additional healing power and concentration while having less of the other attributes when picking druid, so that the pets can be a functional part of the support role? As of right now, it is instead an afterthought.

Pack Alpha, cool. Poison Master, cool. Glyph of Stars competes with spirit in pve and stability in pvp - sounds interesting, but might not be worth it.

Glyph of Alignment: sorry, but bleeding instead of poison is stupid and makes no sense. Poison doubles as both an utility and damaging condi, bleeding is only a damaging condi. This is the equivalent to having random bleed stacks on power oriented weapons. Poison is more in line with what the glyph is trying to be, and is, unlike bleeding on a spec that doesn't try to be condi damage oriented, much more useful.

[Kylden Ar.3724]

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:Wondering if solo druid will still be playable in PvE with the pet nerf.

Will depend on the pet I'd guess. Might need to pick more for utility.

@Shiyo.3578 said:Thief is already borderline useless in every game mode, why are you nerfing it without compensation?

ANY thief nerf is completely unjustified with the state the class currently is in.

I see someone who doesn't play in WvW.

[Solori.6025]

@Koen.1327 said:

@steelrage.2904 said:

@Koen.1327 said:

@steelrage.2904 said:How mesmer got nerfed AGAIN is beyond me, scrapper didnt get touched which is actually unreal. Really glad we have our priority straight :)

mesmer got quite a buff with the new blinding dissipation ineptitude combo, which now shatters for 16 confusion by just pressing f2 with clones aloneNo one uses ineptitude, deceptive evasion is by far stronger and before you say well I see it in my gold qs!!!! just remember im the best condi mes in the game and currently the highest rated mesmer on na :)

everybody used ineptitude when mirage had its burst, and after this patch for sure it will be the go-to for burst builds

Everyone used ineptitude when EM was a thing. Now with all the nerfs in the dueling line ( and mirage) Ineptitude is so far removed it's laughable

[Xyonon.3987]

Blinding Dissipation: This trait no longer blinds foes on the activation of each shatter skill. It will now cause Cry of Frustration to blind every target it strikes. Blindness duration is split between game modes, lasting 1.5 seconds in WvW and PvP and 3 seconds in PvE.

Very smart move to nerf Mirage in PvE. However keep in mind that condi Chrono - again - gets a passive slap in it's face. Maybe give that a heads up next time. :)

Also great job on nerfing Druid a bit more (Empowerment) so other healers are about to have solid spots. Maybe give the others more abilities to stack might tho, for example HGH trait affecting 10 people would be amazing.

[Karob.1729]

I think druid's damage was already low compared to other classes, and they had the tradeoff of dedicating a trait line to mostly healing instead of damage. Solo druid play and most open world PVE doesn't even get much of a benefit from celestial avatar since it recharges so very slowly.

The druid changes might be good for balance in group situations in which the druid is filling a dedicated healing role, but in all other situations it feels like a nerf to an already weak specialization.

If astral force was adjusted to generate better in solo play, I think the trade-off would be more balanced.

[Doggie.3184]

Hmm, so Pistol/Dagger Thief has been useless in both PvP and PvE since launch so lets focus on the skill that requires a Pistol with an empty offhand. Cool beanz.Lets make Melee Daredevil spec harder to get into Melee range. Neat I guess. Does Swipe do anything else? I don't get it.Lets continue to not add Ricochet back to the game to make dual pistols and rifle not the same exact weapon set just with different ranges.Nothing really interesting about the rest of the Thief stuff I read so whatever butters your muffins I guess.

[Stale.3527]

Cool but can we fix Woven Stride on Weaver thanks zzz

[Abelisk.5148]

These changes are a good start! I like the creativity put into Revenant, Daredevil, and Berserker the most. I was hoping Dagger Weaver would be addressed but I'm happy with the other changes. The trade-off idea is exactly what we need ATM.

I'm also grateful that Mirage got tuned down. The power damage on Scepter 3 was more than welcome and Evasive Mirror was disgustingly broken. It acted as a Rune of Earth but on a much-reduced cooldown.

I really like the Confounding Suggestions change as there is now a power spike choice between shattering with Mind Wrack or Diversion, or both if you can manage it.

Finally, Blinding Dissipation, which has also been clearly overtuned due to its unpredictable utility, has received a nerf. Very happy to see that.

It's safe to say Mirage (and Chronomancer) in a balanced state.

Very excited about the core Revenant change, and I'm sure people will come up with exciting builds. Perhaps Salvation can now replace the elite specializations in a meaningful manner, and we could see more bruiser Revenants around.

Dark Aura also seems like it would be useful in tanking conditions.

[Manuhell.2759]

@Kylden Ar.3724 said:

Finally, Mass Invisibility has fallen behind other mesmer elite skills—as well as other sources of stealth over the years—so we're giving it a boost to help it compete.

And yet it's still clearly inferior to Sneak Gyro.

It targets 10 players in a large radius and gives stealth in a single pulse (unlike the Sneak Gyro, that's capped at 5, in a small radius, and needs multiple pulses to apply that stealth). And when traited it now gets a comparable cooldown and, in WvW and PvP, same stealth duration. The cast time was even reduced to 1.25s. And the traited version even gives superspeed for 3s to all those 10 allies.

So to recap, It targets double the players, in a larger radius, for the same amount of stealth (given in a single pulse, unlike the gyro) and the only things that are worse are that added 0.5s of cast time and 3s cooldown.

If anything, scrappers are the ones that should complain about it.

[LucianDK.8615]

Soul Eater is a GOOD trait change for Reapers. Reapers already have low damage and poor mobility, Hopefully it can bump them up from underpowered levels.

[Shiyo.3578]

@Xyonon.3987 said:

Also great job on nerfing Druid a bit more (Empowerment) so other healers are about to have solid spots. Maybe give the others more abilities to stack might tho, for example HGH trait affecting 10 people would be amazing.

Druid is already useless in every game mode not raids, the nerfs to the spec are also unjustified. It will probably be useless in every single game mode next patch.

[Khisanth.2948]

@"SilverMoonFlare.2984" said:Please, while you're at it - reduce the casting time of Symbol of Faith. There is no point to it being such a clunky and tedious skill to use.

That would have been nicer than the 30% damage increase ...

[AlexndrTheGreat.8310]

@Dadnir.5038 said:

Warrior: It's unclear how you access primal burst and/or disable berserk if everything is packed on F1.

It looks like now, berserker will have no base burst skills. F1 will be the enter berserk mode and upon entering it F1 becomes your primal burst button like normal. It doesn’t seem like you will be able to exit berserker mode. I’m not aware of any situation in which you would want to, anyway.

[Blocki.4931]

Those are some fantastic changes. Loving the thematic redesign of Berserker. Will be fun to buildcraft once more

[Krzysztof.5973]

What will be the cooldown for Generous Abundance for creating healing orbs?

[Nebilim.5127]

In this update, we're leaning into the dagger's close-range area-of-effect damage and burst attacks.

Lightning Whip: The range of this skill has been reduced from 300 to 240.Swirling Winds: Reduced the radius of this skill from 400 to 360. The visual effect of this skill now displays a red ring for enemies and a white ring for allies.

isn't the first thing contradicting with the second?

[Magolith.9412]

Illusionary Counter: This skill now uses an 8-second cooldown in all game modes.Confusing Images: The physical damage of this skill has been split and reduced by 50% in PvP and WvW.

This is a pretty terrible change that makes scepter shit-tier. It will have nothing to compensate for it's terrible AA seq.

Meanwhile, invincible scrappers and LB memebeasts go untouched.