[October 4 Balance Update Preview]

I would like to talk about the DH changes, when cc skills were made to do 0 damage then to compensate for that longbow 3 the damage of test of faith was increased. With Nerf to ToF damage again I think you guys should look into long bow 3(deflecting shot) deflecting shot is super clunky at the moment and you can't hit anyone's unless your enemy is a potato.

[What rune and or sigil adds more to block?]

Superior rune of defender :(6): +10% Maximum Health; heal for 5% of your maximum health after blocking an attack. (Cooldown: 1 Second)

[Understanding Firebrand build/armor variants?]

@Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

When it comes to gear choices, you'll want Harriers for PVE, and Minstrel for WvW. The reasons for this are simple: Additional toughness will PVE aggro, and with all of the healing/aegis you have it will matter very little for your survival. >You have explained most of stuff right but i disagree on running harrier gear . Toughness matters in raids where boss agro you.but with harrier u have 11k hp , in fractals u often get oneshoted because of instabilities like boon overload or outflanked . Even some strike missions like boneskinner it's easier with minstral.talkong about damage if u want more damage , why would u run healer in fractals , u don't need a healer to do fractals and also harrier gives u power and fb's most damage comes from burn so it's not much damage difference.with minstral gear u can carry pug groups in fractals as you are tanky and can't die easily.

[Test of Faith bugged? Or may need a rework to fit into the latest balance patch?]

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:Right now I have lots of trouble getting any dmg out of test of faith, I have pulled someone fully though the trap (as in both sides of the ring) and then shield pushed them back in and because of lag/player sync they will take zero dmg. Not fun cutting someone down and baiting out their stab for a burst trap rotation only to be denied the dmg and a big skill going on CD for a bug to totally negate it.It sometimes bugs out yes , u don't deal pass through dmg

[Potential Future Balance Changes]

@Irenio CalmonHuang.2048 said:Greetings fellow Tyrians,

We've been thinking about implementing the following changes and wanted to share them with you to hear your thoughts and feedback. We’re aiming to bring into line some of the more dominant builds and compositions of the current WvW meta so that new options can be brought to the table, so the bulk of the changes shared here are WvW-centric. This is not the full list of changes that are being considered for the next balance update.

This is not a call for general profession feedback. Here are a few questions to think about while looking over the potential changes:

• Would your gameplay change as a result?
• Do you feel these changes would improve or worsen the state of the game?
• Are you looking forward to these potential changes?
• What are your concerns with this set of changes?
• What consequences do you expect would come from these changes?

With those types of questions in mind here's some of what we're looking at.

Engineer

• Chemical Field:Guardian

• Sanctuary: Increase number of enemies that can be knocked back by this skill from 10 to 20 before it expires.

• Tome of Resolve, Chapter 2 - Radiant Recovery: The existing split from PvP of cleansing 2 conditions is brought to WvW as well. This ability would continue to cleanse 3 conditions in PvE.

• Tome of Courage, Chapter 2 - Daring Challenge: This skill grants retaliation for 3 seconds instead of aegis.

• Tome of Courage, Chapter 5 - Unbroken Lines: This skill no longer grants aegis or retaliation.

Mesmer

• Illusion of Life: Increase the cooldown of this skill from 75 to 90 seconds in PvP & WvW and reduced the duration from 15 seconds to 8 seconds of its effect in PvP & WvW.
• Power Break (Mantra of Pain): This skill now requires you to face your target and respects line of sight.
• Power Lock (Mantra of Distraction): This skill now requires you to face your target and respects line of sight.
• Chaos Storm: This skill now always dazes on the first strike but can no longer randomly daze on other strikes. This change also applies to Lesser Chaos Storm. Added skill fact to show chaos storm's duration.
• Chaotic Interruption: This trait has been re-worked and now reduces the cooldown of one of your weapon abilities by 5 seconds when you interrupt a foe.

Necromancer

• Feast of Corruption: Reduce damage by 20% in PvP & WvW. The existing split from PvP of corrupting 2 boons is brought to WvW. This ability continues to corrupt 3 boons in PvE.
• Devouring Darkness: Reduce damage by 20% in PvP & WvW. The existing split from PvP of corrupting 2 boons is brought to WvW. This ability continues to corrupt 3 boons in PvE.
• Sand Cascade: Reduce the barrier granted by this skill by 33% in WvW & PvP.
• Sand Flare: Reduced the barrier granted by this skill by 25% in WvW.

Ranger

• Long Range Shot: Reduce the damage range of this skill from 0.7-0.9 to 0.65-0.75 in WvW only.

Revenant

• Coalescence of Ruin: This skill would no longer deals increased damage with successive impacts; instead it deals damage equal to what was previously the middle impact damage. Damage remains split between game modes. A red warning rectangle visible to enemies has been added to this skill.
• Gaze of Darkness: This skill would reveal stealthed enemies up to 600 range away in addition to striking enemies within its 360 radius.

Warrior

• Charge: This skill would only removes movement impairing conditions and then increases the damage of affected allies' next 2 attacks by 25% in addition to its previous effects. Increase swiftness duration from 10 seconds to 15 seconds. This skill becomes a blast finisher.
• Call to Arms: Removes 3 conditions from affected allies instead of specific conditions. Grants barrier in addition to vigor.
• Sight Beyond Sight: Increase the radius of this ability to reveal hidden enemies up to 600 range away.
• Quick Breathing: Thinking of kicking re-working it a bit to pair with the warhorn skill changes so they feel more cohesive. Continues to increase number of targets for warhorn skills from 5 to 10 and causes warhorn skills to grant an additional boon instead of reducing the cooldown (Fury for Charge and Resistance for Call to Arms). Grant +120 Concentration.

We look forward to seeing your thoughts and feedback!

Sincerely,GW2 Systems TeamWhile I totally agree with changes to number 5 skill in f3 tome and F2 tome 2 , I don't think removing aegis from f3 tome 2 is good idea as it leaves the tome completely aegis less .there will be only one aegis when u enter f3 and then u won't be able to apply aegis using tome skills .Rather you should focus on dragon hunter , reworking heavy light will make the profession lot better.it doesn't need any damage buffs (buffs are always welcome) but making lb3 knockback baseline will provide Dhs opportunity to run big game hunter for more damage .if heavy light will improve lb (as many others suggested)then it will be option for lb build anyways ,so changing its location can give better options for traits selection as well. The trait which removes condition on block in Dh(forgot the name) is not that great and some rework would be awesome .

[Staff or Longbow for Open World Tagging?]

I think firebrand tome of justice (F1) skill 5 is really good for tagging mobs .also there is trait to recharge F1 whenever a mob dies in radiance trait line .as weapon I always use longbow as staff feels weak .

[BUG: Is Absolute Resolution Bugged?]

The 428 is per 3 seconds that is u get 143 every second resulting in 428 every 3 seconds .

[Arken's Discussion on Guardian Weaponry]

@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

Hey,I agree with few of stuff but I don't really agree at all that greatsword is terrible .it is pretty strong weapon.about focus 4 being dodged you can weapon stove to bait dodges using it .sword 3 root doesn't matter as it gives projectile block + heavy damage .mace aa still slow but it's supposed to be support weapon .may be they should nerf damage on mace and make it supportive .DH longbow if in good hand is really good except longbow 5 I don't really think DH longbow is that weak . (Edit:i forgot main thing that longbow 3 knockback is needed to traited which is not good . It should be baseline)