March 29 Game Update Preview

[Arziki.8129]

Quote

Previously, Exposed caused the target to take 30% increased damage from strikes and 100% from conditions. This short window of Exposed overrewarded certain builds with high burst capability in content such as fractals.

I haven't gone into fractals since the release of the addon, and maybe something has changed in the last month, but...

Tell about this "pdps overreward" to those people who kick pdsp from 100cm fractal. And for those who have numerous requests for cdps in lfg for the cm + t4 campaign. They will die of laughter. There is a suspicion that the observation is not working.

[Linken.6345]

9 minutes ago, Arziki.8129 said:

I haven't gone into fractals since the release of the addon, and maybe something has changed in the last month, but...

Tell about this "pdps overreward" to those people who kick pdsp from 100cm fractal. And for those who have numerous requests for cdps in lfg for the cm + t4 campaign. They will die of laughter. There is a suspicion that the observation is not working.

Yea 100cm is the only place condi out preform power in fractals.

Reason people take condi for the rest is inability or to lazy to switch.

[Vidit.7108]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:28 AM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

We are standardizing its applied duration to 10 seconds, which is longer than the previous durations.

Cool, that's great standardization is almost always an improvement.

 

On 3/25/2022 at 10:28 AM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

This short window of Exposed overrewarded certain builds with high burst capability in content such as fractals. Moving forward, Exposed causes 10% increased damage from strikes and 20% from conditions over its longer duration of 10 seconds.

Okay now here is where you've lost me. I'm going to use Power Daredevil as an example because I'm most familiar with it but I'm sure this is going to impact a lot of other power builds.

Activating a skill like Assassin's Signet lasts 5 seconds. Those 5 seconds with the exposed buff are where I do my top damage. After which I am doing less damage than usual for 16 seconds. Most Condi builds are vipers and are going to benefit from both the strike and condition exposed buff more than a straight power build will. Even if after 5 seconds I still had a lot of initiative, I don't have a lot left I can do besides auto attacking. There aren't a lot of utility skills in the game that come off cooldown in under 10 seconds either. I might get an extra weakening charge or something but it won't be doing peak damage.

So it seems to me at least that if before this change if I did 75% more damage with 5 seconds of exposed buff on a boss then after this change I will be doing substantially less damage than that over 10 seconds. My burst damage is over well before then, on some power builds anyway. If there is a weapon skill on a 16 second cooldown it does 65% less damage with exposed after this change unless it's going to last longer than it did before.

 

On 3/25/2022 at 10:28 AM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

We will be keeping a very close eye on the effects of this change.

This phrasing says to me that you don't know what the effects of this change will be. What content was used to play test this, and what were the differences in clear times? Cause right now it seems like this is going to kill off a lot of existing power builds.

[NuggetScout.3782]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:20 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

There is more. As I mentioned above, this is not comprehensive--it's just a preview.  The full update notes will be posted on Tuesday when the game build goes live, as usual. 

So, did i pre-order a preview?

[Ruisen.9471]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:54 PM, Bast.7253 said:

Addressing hammer 3 functionality is a great start but I hope between that and minor tweaks to numbers across the board isn't it. I don't know what kind of metrics they use for these things but I feel like I've seen VERY few catalysts this expansion.

Pre-nerf catalysts was used in raid 1.65% of the time in raids, the last time I checked the charts lol.   

Catalyst was pretty much dead on arrival.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Ruisen.9471

[Gorem.8104]

Why Globally change? You mentioned "In Fractals" but then change it so that "in Open World" everyone will be doing less dps. 

GW2 has always been known as a game that does things differently, changing the bar like this makes it almost a removed mechanic. Ever since EoD its like this game wants to be a wow Clone? Where things are only balanced on instanced content and open world requires raid level skill to compete? 

Why are you removing everything GW2 has always stood for? What's next, removing fashion cause it works too well in fractals? 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Gorem.8104

[Sparky.3672]

Man his is awesome. I just picked up Catalyst and I don't normally play Ele because I enjoy CQ combat. And I was really sad when I couldn't get a build that had survivability AND decent damage. Like it was either slow play and stay alive, or kite enemies (not using the hammer) and do more damage. I also felt the orbs were really underwhelming as I wanted to use other skills but couldn't due to my need to refresh them. Great job and communication! Looking forward to the rest of the update! (Don't let the haters bring y'all down too much ANET, you guys take criticism well, know there's room for improvement and are willing to make changes, that's something special 🖐️😃)

[Izzy.2951]

2 hours ago, Gorem.8104 said:

Why Globally change? You mentioned "In Fractals" but then change it so that "in Open World" everyone will be doing less dps. 

GW2 has always been known as a game that does things differently, changing the bar like this makes it almost a removed mechanic. Ever since EoD its like this game wants to be a wow Clone? Where things are only balanced on instanced content and open world requires raid level skill to compete? 

Why are you removing everything GW2 has always stood for? What's next, removing fashion cause it works too well in fractals? 

For me i like the change and i think it will be healthy for the game, it was too OP and you didnt see the mechanics in a lot of bosses cos that thing.

[Blackmon.1903]

Instead of nerfing things, have there been any thought of buffing the other classes  to bring them up to the level of the supposed overpowered class?  This is a win win for everyone.

Also, I don't know about anyone else but after having done the daily fractals everyday without missing a day the past few months, you can't help but to start wanting to just finish them as fast as possible every day at reset after you've been at it for a long time.  Just saying, I doubt forcing people so that they'd kill the bosses slowly and do mechanics is going to make them feel fresh.

Also, not everyone can or belong to a group that could easily kill bosses in just a short amount of time so for the groups who are having difficulty already, it'd be even more difficult and take even longer to finish bosses.

[Reig.8173]

Nerfalist

[Gorem.8104]

3 hours ago, Izzy.2951 said:

For me i like the change and i think it will be healthy for the game, it was too OP and you didnt see the mechanics in a lot of bosses cos that thing.

Op? It gave a reason to break the bar, they had only just recently buffed the break bar expose recently, like a few months ago. It was not OP, it required skill and the bar it self has been a part of gw2 for years. Its something that makes it stand out from other mmo's. How can something that literally benefits everyone be op? After this nerf YOU will be doing less damage at all times. Everyone will be. Classes are currently bugged, SB is not getting its damage increases, and yet we focusing on destroying a defining mechanic of GW2? 

In order to maximise your damage with expose you had to play well. Or is that the issue here? Now its just something there that no one will notice. 10% and 20% values are too low. it was made high for Condi because Power Burst was much stronger and Condi needed the support as it was harder to pull off but you still could. Don't have short memories here, it seems weird their reasoning after just recently having changed it. 

Again its just another step towards killing the game instead of making the game grow and be better. 

[ilMasa.2546]

lel they are only showing what they gonna buff...prepare for a masive nerf hammer. 

[wolfyrik.2017]

18 hours ago, LadyKitty.6120 said:

Kitty personally likes Spheres as is. Yes, it might be convenient if they followed you but hammer 3 projectiles kinda do that already. Closest equivalent of Spheres might be guardian's symbols which pulse boons, too, but Sphere's can at least be positioned freely. Chronos are also familiar with similar booning. That free positioning also allows booning the squad when you're not in the stack due to some mech or kiting. If other classes can manage similar stuffs, why eles wouldn't? 

I'm not sure how I feel abut the jade spheres, honestly, but in this instance I was talking about the hammer 3 projectile orbs. It's the orbs that are being changed isn't it or did I misunderstand? I just feel that the hammer needs a revamping into something like Scrapper hammer or Ranger Greatsword (saying that, they are basically the same weapon) but with Ele Flavors. I'd love for it to have an elemental block which gives different effects, such as reflect on earth or a multi-hit blatent rip-off of scrapper H#4 on Air.

 

The Jade Sphere skills are kinda bizarre because they seem awkard and tacked on. The fields last too short a time but they kinda do the job? As you say, they act kinda like the Guardian Symbols but, I don't know, I kinda feel they need something. Just not sure what that is. Maybe the Orbs?

 

I dunno. The whole spec needs simplification. It doesn't feel like it knows what its trying to be and frankly, I don't think ANET know either.

[Shadowwaka.1952]

"Moving forward, Exposed causes 10% increased damage from strikes and 20% from conditions over its longer duration of 10 seconds"

 

I think it's kinda weird that power gets less of a bonus than condi during exposed. I feel like they're always saying that they want power to be the burst side of damage, so wouldn't it make sense to let power have the higher benefit during this window of damage opportunity?

[melodyspectrum.2980]

On 3/25/2022 at 9:11 PM, Castiel.9048 said:

 

100% true. This needs more emphasis for the Developers in the back.

Firebrand. And. Harbinger. Were. Never. At. Risk. For. Quickness. Replacement. 

Maybe when Catalyst can provide Aegis, things will be shaken up.

Aegis on Catalyst when?

Love how Quickness Scrapper is already so obsolete that nobody even remembers to mention it as  a quickness applicator :'|

BUFF SCRAPPER OR NERF THE OTHER QUICKNESSES TO PAR YO

[Sploogesque.2801]

9 hours ago, Shadowwaka.1952 said:

"Moving forward, Exposed causes 10% increased damage from strikes and 20% from conditions over its longer duration of 10 seconds"

 

I think it's kinda weird that power gets less of a bonus than condi during exposed. I feel like they're always saying that they want power to be the burst side of damage, so wouldn't it make sense to let power have the higher benefit during this window of damage opportunity?

You do realize that power has no ramp time, right? This is why condi should have a have increase in damage. 

Edit: Yes a few condi builds also have a low ramp time, but its not the majority of classes. 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Xunlai.3460

[Ronnie Hu.1694]

i look forward to see what they going to show us later

[Khaldris.9026]

On 3/26/2022 at 5:48 PM, LadyKitty.6120 said:

Kitty personally likes Spheres as is. Yes, it might be convenient if they followed you but hammer 3 projectiles kinda do that already. Closest equivalent of Spheres might be guardian's symbols which pulse boons, too, but Sphere's can at least be positioned freely. Chronos are also familiar with similar booning. That free positioning also allows booning the squad when you're not in the stack due to some mech or kiting. If other classes can manage similar stuffs, why eles wouldn't? 

 

But Chronomancers don't lose out on anything (other than the boons, of course) by standing outside their wells. Augments have a pretty sizable chunk of their power allotment stuck in activating them within the correct Sphere field.

[Waywolf.9357]

I hope the catalyst is finally playable with these changes without be in Downstate every Fight xD
Even the Weaver has much more surviveability 

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

Mrs, Rubi, Are you allowed to post the rest of the classes preview patch yet? Why only Catalyst changes? Don't you love the rest of us Q_Q?

[Astralporing.1957]

15 hours ago, Xunlai.3460 said:

You do realize that power has no ramp time, right? This is why condi should have a have increase in damage.

You do realize that most power builds are built around burst damage peaks followed by lower damage phase where you wait till your big damage skills get off cooldown? With the burst windows generally far shorter (and cooldowns far longer) than 10 seconds? And that the "condi needs ramp up time" argument is false, because bosses generally do not start with breakbar up, so by the time it shows condi has already managed to push its damage up?

[Sploogesque.2801]

4 minutes ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

You do realize that most power builds are built around burst damage peaks followed by lower damage phase where you wait till your big damage skills get off cooldown? With the burst windows generally far shorter (and cooldowns far longer) than 10 seconds? And that the "condi needs ramp up time" argument is false, because bosses generally do not start with breakbar up, so by the time it shows condi has already managed to push its damage up?

I see you don't do fractals, which were the main goal of this change.

[Shadowwaka.1952]

Sure, I think I see what you're saying. Condi definitely needs time to ramp and a higher percent helps to keep it on par with power during exposed even if the player isn't fully ramped up.

 

I think the problem in my mind comes from trying give each damage type an equal bonus for this duration - it kinda blurs the lines of each type's identity. The way I see it, a power rotation should be able to potentially pop off harder during exposed because it's the burst damage type. On the flip side, condi's persistent damage would give non-exposed power a run for its money (and then some) just about always, but to counteract this, it wouldn't be able to hit the same highs power could during exposed.

 

Edit - lol woops, I meant to quote your initial response, Xunlai

Edited March 28, 2022 by Shadowwaka.1952

[kurosy.1384]

Last patch Anet broke my heart :'c  I wasn't expecting some balance this quick!  Hope is back :DD
Maybe leggy hammer is actually an option :3

[Leaa.2943]

On 3/25/2022 at 11:39 PM, KeoLegend.5132 said:

Uhhh, Guardians has 11k HP too. But Ele has much better sustain, specialy weaver.

 

I guess you missed the point of my post being about Catalyst 

 

On 3/25/2022 at 11:39 PM, KeoLegend.5132 said:

 

Uhhhh. Us Dragonhunters have to use it too.

 

 

Then make a post about it, why does this change anything?