Buffing some traits and utilities

[Swagg.9236]

Main goals:  Core is bad for no reason (outside of it being a marketing scheme), but naturally, buffing stuff like crazy is just going to make Tempest and Weaver easier and easier.  There are, however, also a lot of flatly bad traits and traitlines which don't necessarily have any sort of continuity within them.  There are also a number of bad utility skills within this category.  This is an attempt to give them a little more room to have an impact without consistently forcing the user to either be very hands-off or throw themselves against a wall just to get a single hit in.

ARCANE (specialization)

Spoiler

[Arcane Precision] (Arcane Adept 1)

• Burning [PvP/WvW] duration increased from 1s to 1¼s.
• Bleeding [PvP/WvW] duration increased from 2s to 5s.
• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait grants +150 ferocity.

[Arcane Resurrection] (Arcane Adept 1)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, [Geyser] revives allies faster.
• Revival Rate Increase: 2%

[Renewing Stamina] (Arcane Adept 2)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, vigor also makes your attunements recharge faster.
• Attunement Recharge Rate Reduced: 15%

This mechanic borrows the same effect from alacrity.

[Elemental Lockdown] – name changed to [Aura Prism] (Arcane Master 2)

Recharge: 30s

You deal increased strike and condition damage while under the effects of an aura.  When you transmute an aura, unleash an [Aura Prism Strike].

• Damage Increase: 3%
• Condition Damage Increase: 3%
• Healing Skill Recharge Reduction: 100%
• Combat Only

[Aura Prism Strike]

Strike all nearby foes with an attack that inflicts a condition based on your current attunement. Struck foes lose all auras and are revealed.

Number of Targets: 5

Damage: (0.3)

Revealed (5s): You cannot stealth

Fire Attunement Burning (4s): [damage]

Air Attunement Blindness (5s): Next outgoing attack misses.

Water Attunement Chilled (2s): -66% Skill Recharge Rate, -66% Movement Speed

Earth Attunement Bleeding|3| (6s): [damage]

Radius: 240

Cannot Critical Hit

[Final Shielding] – name changed to [Arcane Bastion] (Arcane Master 3)

Arcane skills grant barrier. While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, Earth Attunement becomes [Arcane Bastion] when you attune to it, and using a healing skill reduces the recharges of both Earth Attunement and [Arcane Bastion].

• Barrier: 778 (0.18)
• Healing Skill Recharge Reduction: 100%
• Combat Only

[Arcane Bastion]

Recharge: 60s

Block the next attack with an energy shield. If it blocks an attack, it explodes for critical damage.

Lesser Arcane Shield|1| (5s): Block attacks. Explodes after blocking 1 attack.

Number of Targets: 5

Damage: (0.3)

Radius: 180

Breaks Stun

This skill does count as an “Arcane” skill for the purpose of associated traits.

FIRE

Spoiler

[Burning Precision] (Fire Adept 1)

• Recharge reduced from 5s to 3s.

[Pyromancer’s Training] (Fire Grandmaster Minor)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Fire Attunement by 15%.

[Persisting Flames] (Fire Grandmaster 1)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Fire Attunement by 15%.

[Pyromancer’s Puissance] (Fire Grandmaster 2)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Fire Attunement based on the amount of Might stacks consumed for [Flame Expulsion].
• Fire Attunement Recharge Reduced per Flame Expulsion Might Stack: 10%

[Blinding Ashes] – named changed to [Searing Flames] (Fire Grandmaster 3)

Recharge: 10s

Cast [Searing Flames] on your foe when you inflict burning stacks that matches or exceeds the threshold. While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, burning you inflict deals increased damage.

• Burn Stack Threshold: 5
• Increased Burning Damage: [PvP/WvW] 10% | [PvE] 20%

[Searing Flames]

Recharge: 10s

Burn and damage nearby foes with an explosion that removes boons and briefly leaves them unable to gain boons.

Number of Targets: 5

Damage: (0.3)

Burning|2| (6s): [damage]

Boons Removed: 3

Scarred (3s): Unable to Gain Boons

Radius: 240

AIR

Spoiler

[One with Air] (Air Adept 2)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, gaining Superspeed now also cures movement-impairing conditions (trait still grants superspeed when attuning to air).

[Inscription] (Air Master 1)

• Glyph usage now grants different effects based on current attunement:
  • Fire Attunement: Quickness (2½s)
  • Water Attunement: Cure up to 2 conditions.
  • Air Attunement: Alacrity (8s)
  • Earth Attunement: Aegis (10s)

[Aeromancer’s Training] (Air Grandmaster Minor)

• While you have no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Air Attunement by 15%.

[Bolt to the Heart] (Air Grandmaster 1)

[Electric Discharge] removes defensive boons from struck foes. Deal increased strike damage for each stack of vulnerability on your target.

• Boons Targeted: [Stability], [Regeneration], [Protection], [Resolution]
• Boons Removed per Electric Discharge: 2
• Damage Increase per Stack: [PvP/WvW] ½% | [PvE] ¾%

WATER

Spoiler

[Soothing Ice] (Water Adept 1)

Whenever you grant Frost Aura, you heal and grant regeneration to affected allies.

• Healing: 404 (0.125)
• Regeneration (3s): [healing]

[Piercing Shards] (Water Adept 2)

Recharge: 5s (per target)

Whenever you strike a foe that is at or above the vulnerability stack threshold, you inflict bleeding.

• Vulnerability Stack Threshold: 8
• [PvP/WvW] Bleeding|3| (6s): [damage]
• [PvE] Bleeding|3| (10s): [damage]

[Stop, Drop, and Roll] (Water Adept 3)

Dodging removes damaging conditions from nearby allies. For each condition removed in this way, you gain endurance.

Number of Allied Targets: 5

Conditions Removed per Ally: 1

Conditions Targeted:  [Bleeding], [Poisoned], [Burning,], [Torment], [Confusion]

Endurance Gained per Condition Removed: 5

Radius: 240

[Aquamancer’s Training] (Air Grandmaster Minor)

• While user has no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Water Attunement by 15%.

[Soothing Power]

You gain stacks of [Soothing Power] whenever you apply Soothing Mist to an ally.  When leaving water attunement or successfully completing a water overload, unleash a [Healing Burst].  While user has no equipped Elite Specialization, your maximum stack total of Soothing Power is increased.

• Soothing Power (10s): +2% Outgoing Healing (maximum 3 stacks)
• Maximum Soothing Power Stack Increase: 7
• Combat Only

[Healing Burst]

After a short delay, consume stacks of [Soothing Power] on yourself and release a torrent of healing water. Nearby allies heal and cure conditions based on stacks of [Soothing Power] consumed.

Delay: 1s

Number of Allied Targets: 5

Healing: 130 (0.125)

Additional Healing per Soothing Power Stack Removed: 130 (0.125)

Conditions Cured per 3 stacks of Soothing Power Removed: 1

Radius: 240

Effectively the same mechanic as [Flame Expulsion].

EARTH

Spoiler

[Earth’s Embrace] (Earth Adept 1)

Recharge: 15s

Gain barrier when you enter combat. You deal increased strike and condition damage while under the effects of barrier.

• Barrier: 778 (0.18)
• Damage Increase: 3%
• Condition Damage Increase: 3%

[Serrated Stones] (Earth Adept 2)

• No longer increases bleeding duration. Bleeding you inflict now deals 25% more damage (trait retains its +5% strike damage bonus vs bleeding foes).

[Elemental Shielding] (Earth Adept 3)

• No longer grants protection. Instead grants barrier: 523 (0.125) Now has a recharge of 3s.

[Earthen Blast] (Earth Master Minor)

• No longer inflicts crippled. Now inflicts bleeding (1 stack; 8s).

[Strength of Stone] (Earth Master 1)

Recharge: 1s

Gain might whenever you strike a foe that is at or exceeds the bleeding stack threshold. Might grants you more power and condition damage.

• Bleeding Stack Threshold: 10
• [PvP/WvW] Might|2| (6s): 70 Power, 70 Condition Damage
• [PvE] Might (15s): 35 Power, 35 Condition Damage

This trait increases Might's stat bonuses by 5 respectively.

[Rock Solid] (Earth Master 2)

• No longer grants stability. Instead grants barrier: 523 (0.125)

[Earthen Blessing] (Earth Master 3)

[Stone Flesh] lingers after you switch from earth attunement. Blast Finishers you perform while under the effects of [Stone Flesh] grant barrier and remove movement-imparing conditions from allies in the area.

• Stone Flesh Duration after switching Attunements: 5s
• Number of Allied Targets: 5
• Barrier: 523 (0.125)
• Conditions Removed: [Crippled], [Chilled], [Immobilize]
• Radius: 300

[Geomancer’s Training] (Earth Grandmaster Minor)

• While user has no equipped Elite Specialization, this trait now also lowers the cooldown of Earth Attunement by 15%.

[Diamond Skin] (Earth Grandmaster 1)

While under the effects of barrier and above the health threshold, you cure conditions at every interval.

• Health Threshold: 80%
• Conditions Removed: 1
• Interval: 3s

[Stone Heart] (Earth Grandmaster 3)

While under the effects of barrier and attuned to earth, you take less incoming strike damage and cannot be critically hit.

• [Stone Heart]:  While attuned to earth and under the effect of barrier, you gain toughness and cannot be critically hit.
• Incoming Strike Damage: -10%

GLYPHS

Spoiler

[Glyph of Elemental Harmony]

• Boons granted now also affect to up to 5 allies in a 300 radius.
• Swiftness duration increased from 10s to 15s.

[Glyph of Elemental Power]

• Now also grants stability (1 stack, 5s) and has an ammo count of 2 (Skill Recharge: 15s | Count Recharge: 45s) in all game modes. Effect stack duration reduced from 25s to 20s.
• Damage increase while under stack effect increased from 25% to 33%.

[Glyph of Storms]

• Activation reduced from 1¼s to 1s; range increased from 900 to 1200.
• [Firestorm] duration reduced from 10s to 8s; recharge reduced from 25s to 20s. Damage per pulse increased from (0.5) to (0.55). Burning duration per strike increased from 2s to 3s.
• [Ice Storm] chilled duration per impact reduced from 3s to 2s.
• [Sandstorm] duration reduced from 10s to 6s (pulses thereby decreased from 11 to 6); recharge reduced from 40s to 30s. Bleeding duration per strike increased from 3s to 6s.
• [Lightning Storm] duration reduced from 9s to 6s (total impacts thereby reduced from 36 to 24); recharge reduced from 60s to 45s.

[Glyph of Elementals]

This skill is now ground-targeted, and it now summons an elemental (based on current attunement) at the targeted location where it will immediately strike the targeted location with what is currently its “command” skill (i.e. while using this skill in Fire Attunement, a Fire Elemental will now appear at the targeted location and immediately strike it with [Flame Barrage]). After this initial attack, the summoned elemental will attempt to attack the user’s current target (if one is selected). Due to this rework, once summoned, an elemental can no longer be commanded to use any skills.

• Elemental duration reduced from 120s to 15s. Glyph activation reduced from 1¼s to 0 (instant; can be used while CC'ed). Range set to 1200. Recharge set to 10s; Now has an ammo count of 2 (Count Recharge set to 60s).
• [Flame Barrage]: Ground-targeted, AoE (240 radius; 5 targets). Current damage reduced by 15%.
• [Crashing Waves]: Ground-targeted AoE (240 radius; 5 targets; 5 allied targets). Conditions removed increased from 1 to 2. Healing reduced from 6410 (1.0) to 1307 (1.0). Current damage reduced by 50%.
• [Shocking Bolt]: Ground-targeted AoE (240 radius; 5 targets). Stun reduced from 1½s to ½s. Now unblockable.
• [Stomp]: Ground-targeted AoE (240 radius; 5 enemy targets; 5 allied targets). Now grants barrier instead of protection: 1618 (0.5). Cripple duration reduced from 5s to 3s. No longer inflicts Immobilize; the elemental now taunts foes (½s) within the target area.

[Glyph of Renewal]

• Range reduced from 900 to 450; Now imposes a debuff on the user which causes the current elemental attunement to recharge 100% slower after switching into another.

ARCANE (utility skills)

Spoiler

[Arcane Power]

• Recharge reduced from 45s to 20s (duration of effect stacks reduced from 30s to 15s). This skill now breaks stun, however, it recharges 100% slower when used to break stun.

CANTRIPS

Spoiler

[Lighting Flash]

• Recharge reduced to 30s in all modes.

[Mist Form]

• Now cures movement-impairing conditions. Duration reduced from 3s to 2s.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Swagg.9236

[Jski.6180]

They seem good i like the core ele added effects a lot. I am not so sure if the cdr on swaps are needed but its a good way to make a core ele to get swap cdr with out needing to go arcane.

Any though on adding on transmutation effects to all on aura apply effects? Its always buged me that anet only added in one trait that effects transmutation but it seems like a core effect to the ele class.

I would like to also see Glyph of Elemental Power at least work with aoe and not eat all of its charges on one skill different from Arcane Power. Your next 5 skills not your next 5 hits.

[fuzzyp.6295]

A lot of fun changes in here. Some are nice, but some are just overpowered. I do find the idea of limiting effects to core classes interesting, but I wonder how letting that genie out the bottle would be. Surely we'd have to go through and apply that to all the classes haha.

I don't see a point in trying to nitpick at much of these skills since these changes will obviously never happen. Overall, they're all interesting but some seem like that would be stupidly broken. Stone Heart for example?  Unless you forgot to add the only core descriptive to that one. One small thing I do wanna say though is Mist Form needs to stay 3 seconds since its only practical use is safe stomping nowadays.

Otherwise, sure, I'm all here for making Ele an OP god. We can all dream, right?

EDIT: Oh, Stone Heart said Barrier and Earth, I thought it was just while under Barrier. Nevermind.

Edited January 7, 2022 by fuzzyp.6295

[Swagg.9236]

On 1/7/2022 at 11:36 AM, Jski.6180 said:

They seem good i like the core ele added effects a lot. I am not so sure if the cdr on swaps are needed but its a good way to make a core ele to get swap cdr with out needing to go arcane.

Any though on adding on transmutation effects to all on aura apply effects? Its always buged me that anet only added in one trait that effects transmutation but it seems like a core effect to the ele class.

I would like to also see Glyph of Elemental Power at least work with aoe and not eat all of its charges on one skill different from Arcane Power. Your next 5 skills not your next 5 hits.

Unfortunately, I don't see Glyph of Elemental Power ever working on AoE because of how the GW2 engine works, and how I don't think that anybody at anet is willing to make a simple workaround for it.  If you really wanted it to work that way, you'd probably just end up turning the glyph into its own AoE attack with a bunch of charges (which may or may not just be a better idea, but glyphs absolutely suck aside from the degenerate rez one, so it might be better to just "improve" its current iteration).

Auras in generally need a massive re-work if you ask me.  I had a big thread on it in the PvP section at one point, but basically, they're WAYYY TOO PASSIVE right now, but even if we added some bonus effects to auras, it would probably just make them even more oppressive and passive than they are now.  I'm all for adding different and unique transmute/application effects to auras, but if they get that, then auras need to become something that actually involves input from the user aside from just bathing themselves in them via instant skills or passive traits.

On 1/7/2022 at 3:36 PM, fuzzyp.6295 said:

A lot of fun changes in here. Some are nice, but some are just overpowered. I do find the idea of limiting effects to core classes interesting, but I wonder how letting that genie out the bottle would be. Surely we'd have to go through and apply that to all the classes haha.

I don't see a point in trying to nitpick at much of these skills since these changes will obviously never happen. Overall, they're all interesting but some seem like that would be stupidly broken. Stone Heart for example?  Unless you forgot to add the only core descriptive to that one. One small thing I do wanna say though is Mist Form needs to stay 3 seconds since its only practical use is safe stomping nowadays.

Otherwise, sure, I'm all here for making Ele an OP god. We can all dream, right?

EDIT: Oh, Stone Heart said Barrier and Earth, I thought it was just while under Barrier. Nevermind.

The problem is that I wanted some unique and player-controlled elements to break-up and manipulate the flow of how elementalist plays, but in the end it would just further powercreep the e-specs.  The other weird issue is (because of how GW2 sort of lacks any real holistic design philosophy), letting this genie out of the bottle might actually be terrible because a number of classes kind of don't deserve it lol.  Like, core necro/warrior/guardian/ranger would probably be entirely too oppressive if they got a bunch of extra random bonuses to what they can already do, and even a few other core classes like thief/engineer/rev are probably only a hair's breadth away from being entirely too overtuned if they get a handful of passive, core-only bonuses.  It'd just be another patch note shuffle that would invalidate other elements of the class without any real effect on the global game skill ceiling.  More direct upgrades rather than side-grades.

If you ask me, it'd be way too easy to just fold all the good parts of every specialization into the core elements of every class and just expand the baseline options that every class has.  Anet would never do that because the e-spec "distinctions" are how they drum up hype for an expansion, and they're also kind of the main driving force behind what people consider "skill" in PvP (i.e. you're bad if you play core ele vs just giving in and playing weaver or support tempest).  But to give you an example, it'd be like how, in order to mimic tempest without a traitline, you could straight up just make a new glyph skill that gives the user access to all the overloads (give it the stunbreak and MAYBE a stack of stab), and then add more aura synergy and generation options to existing, standalone utility skills that are already terrible.  And then ele just gets baseline access to warhorn.

tl;dr:  Ele deserves core-only buffs.  Most other classes don't.  If I had my way, we wouldn't have e-specs at all; just more utility skills, better weapon kits, and profession mechanic (F1-F4) options.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Swagg.9236

[Swagg.9236]

I'm also not saying that Elementalist shouldn't be the only one considered for "core-only" buffs to traits, but it's important to consider how core ele actually operates within GW2 right now--which is to say, more accruately, that it doesn't.  Core ele is basically barred from playing the video game.  It doesn't have the extra, freebie buttons to crank out the numbers you get with weaver or tempest in PvE, and it is entirely walled in PvP by classes that walk over the core ele weapon options and trait set-ups with boon spam and protracted damage/effect negation.  Core ele has ZERO AGENCY.

However, core set-ups for warrior, ranger, guardian and necro (in particular) would be ENTIRELY OVERTUNED if they suddenly got "core-only" buffs because they already have niches right now.  Moreover, giving a bunch of random core-only buffs to classes like engi, mesmer, rev and thief would probably just start causing the core set-ups to mimic or arbitrarily outperform the especs.  That's not to say that such a thing would be particularly bad per se, but more that you're just going to create more random bloat and artificial contention among class options.  I'm all for people suggesting core buffs for the other classes, but I feel like you'd end up very quickly seeing people either run out of ideas or people starting to realize that all of their buffs just make the core set-up into something that an espec already does.  GW2 has never handled side-grades well after all.

Core ele might very well be the only class that might see something remotely unique out of a series of core-only buffs without it ultimately just becoming a copy of one of its especs.

[Downstate.4697]

There is a bit of power creep in there for elites, but overall I liked these changes. It does enough to give core ele that buff without overdoing it. The loss of protection in earth is not a good channge imo.

[Swagg.9236]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:54 AM, FrownyClown.8402 said:

There is a bit of power creep in there for elites, but overall I liked these changes. It does enough to give core ele that buff without overdoing it. The loss of protection in earth is not a good channge imo.

I'll admit that removing passive protection from earth might hurt ele on the whole, but I argue it's better in the long run to force people to either build teams around making up for lost passive effects or make people take certain active skills in order for certain bonuses in order to increase global opportunity cost.

Reading over this big laundry list again, I think I see what you say could cause elite powercreep, and I did a few touch-ups.  Probably not really enough, but it at least limits a few things.

[Jski.6180]

@Swagg.9236

"Skills and traits that grant the unblockable status now use a unified effect. This effect is intensity stacking, and stacks are lost whenever attacks hit or miss. Single strikes that hit multiple foes only consume 1 stack. Skills that grant the unblockable status for a duration have been updated to use a number of stacks instead."

This was what i was hopping they would do to a lot of ele charge on skill effects. Make them consume 1 stack of there effect per attk even if they are aoe. Being unblockable is much stronger then say GoEP effect and maybe even stronger then arcain powers effect. Seeing how they where able to make it work here then anet NEEDS to do this for ele effects.

[Swagg.9236]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:37 AM, Jski.6180 said:

@Swagg.9236

"Skills and traits that grant the unblockable status now use a unified effect. This effect is intensity stacking, and stacks are lost whenever attacks hit or miss. Single strikes that hit multiple foes only consume 1 stack. Skills that grant the unblockable status for a duration have been updated to use a number of stacks instead."

This was what i was hopping they would do to a lot of ele charge on skill effects. Make them consume 1 stack of there effect per attk even if they are aoe. Being unblockable is much stronger then say GoEP effect and maybe even stronger then arcain powers effect. Seeing how they where able to make it work here then anet NEEDS to do this for ele effects.

The only work-around I could think of would be something more like:  "Stacks are lost whenever attacks hit or miss.  You cannot lose more than once stack per ¼s interval."  That way, you would get an AoE-like effect tied to each stack considering that it would all update based on the time interval, and people would just have to live that MAYBE, on SOME OCCASIONS, a dude might get an extra unblockable attack or two from a single stack depending on how much passive/layered stuff was blowing up at a location.  I suppose the same effect could be applied to any sort of skill which employs a  "gain X charges/stacks of [effect]" mechanic in order to buff the user.