dragonmaster.5286

Hey and thanks again for letting the community take part in balancing the game! First off, It's very nice that you leaving aegis in Tome of Courage, it's the only aegis boon in the whole tome which would be odd if the tome lacked it. It will still give ppl the opportunity for a more interesting gameplay than just spamming 1st skill of the tome and leaving it. Next, I like the shout change. Sadly it wont change a lot in current meta and it's still a powerful utility. It gives 10 ppl a total cc immunity for major part of an encounter, since having stability in the start of fight is a deciding factor how the fight will go and probably end (of course assuming it wont be corrupted or stolen). I know we should mostly discuss the changes you make but I had an idea about shouts in general. I know some time ago there were few big updates about making less useful traits more useful without really nerfing the top picks we have today. What if the trait in honor line "Pure of Voice" additionally to reducing cd by 20% also increased the number of targets by 5 people? Of course that means nerfing "Stand your ground" back to 5 man (and also slighty nerfing "Feel my wrath" so it won't become too op in pve, but this would allow people to decide if they want to run "Force of will" for more hp and increased healing or this for support. Of course I don't expect this to be reviewed but if that idea helps in future changes I would be glad. Anyway most important thing about shout nerf is that it will still be picked cause its one of the best sources of stability since it has no cast time, it's not a stationary aoe and also has a lot of stacks. I agree with the nerf but to make ppl stop using it you would need to add similar skills to other classes best if those classes were the ones rarely picked in zergs so they also can find a purpose in it :)

I think 50 stacks of stability for 12 sec (assuming you have 9 other ppl next to you and maxed boon duration) and with a personal stunbreak is an overtuned skill no matter how you look at it, it was been powerfull before anet even changed it to 10 man. You can think ppl will stop using firebrand if they nerf the spec but everyone will be still taking it for that shout + heal scrappers/ heal eles if fb will be useless. Im all for nerfing too op classes but even tome on 75 sec cd (without trait since we talking here about shout without trait as well) gives max 8 pages x 1 stab x 5 targets = 40 stab for max 8sec with cast time where the shout doesn't have one.

First off, thanks for letting the players give some insights and opinions about future balance chances, its our shared goal to make the game a more balanced environment for both new and old players. Sanctuary: In all game modes this skill isn't widely used as you might have probably known, although in pve it might be used as a long casting cc if you place it on a boss or mob with a break bar. With the "Master of Concentrations" trait it does a few more knockbacks adding up to the cc. The main downsides start in WvW and PvP. The skill is stationary and easy to evade after you spot it, its great for blocking enemy projectiles but reflecting is always better. This change will help a bit making the skill more useful in a zerg vs zerg scenario where it will stay for longer before expiring. It's a welcome change but it wont convince a lot of ppl to run it if they havent before. What I think should be done would be reduction of the duration of the skill, nerfing the cc output in pve which is huge if the boss wont move and at the same time making it more flexible to use with a lower cooldown. It would add a bit of gameplay by increasing the amount situations in a fight where it could be used for smart and short actions like pushing the enemy away or ressing someone more often. Daring Challenge: This skill is interesting cause it doesn't share the aegis to any nearby allies as opposed to any boon sharing skills in the third tome. As the name suggests we player taunt the enemy to attack us, the aegis is there to block the attack of the taunted person. Problem is the skill is on a low cooldown making the player be able to use it to block most of enemy attacks if timed properly. I agree the aegis should be replaced by retaliation but it would also mean a nerf towards it and would make it in most ways useless. What I suggest on top of the change would be also making the taunt aoe "mantra like" (higher range when facing the opponent) to have an easier time hitting the enemies as the skill should be used in the 1st place. Unbroken Lines: I must disagree with removing aegis from the skill. We all can agree firebrand might be sometimes too tanky or the boon output might be too high but the skill is on a 12 sec long cooldown. It's just single aegis and it probably wont change how tanky the class is but it will for sure remove a lot of fun ways and gameplay changing aspects it delivers, at least in pve. A well timed aegis for the team might sometimes prevent a wipe or a member of the team dying. The skill wont be probably used twice while holding the tome so lets face it: it would be used once a minute or saved for a risky situation. It's also the only skill in f3 book that actually shares aegis to allies. Earlier in the past aegis was part of the tome autoattack skill "Unflinching Charge" and I do agree it was too strong. Firebrand should have at least have 1 aegis in its support book and im pretty sure it wouldn't make it too overpowered. If the skill does really need a nerf I would suggest either halving the aegis duration or decreasing the toughness gained to 200 in pve and 150 in wvw. Even splitting the Aegis duration in WvW and PvE gamemodes would be enough if the skill doesn't need a nerf in pve. In all the skill provides a gameplay aspect and removing aegis would make the skill be pretty useless/boring in pve.