Consolidating/reworking traits to make room for new ones

[Tempest.8479]

With the June balance patch coming in a few months, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to go through the existing trait lines on ele and see where traits can be consolidated/reworked in order to free up room for new traits that could help add new options to bolster different play styles. This thread won't be focused so much on what to replace traits with, but rather on the process of freeing up room for more interesting traits to be added in upcoming balance patches. I've come up with a few to start:

 

Remove Stormsoul and merge some of its functionality with Lighting Rod

• Stormsoul: This trait has been removed
• Lighting Rod: This trait now increases strike damage against disabled foes by 5% in addition to its previous effects.

I feel like Stormsoul feels like a trait that doesn't really compete well with Raging Storm, and the increased stun duration is pretty niche for a profession with little access to stun as a whole. I think Lightning Rod, which is already a pretty strong trait in its own right, getting a boost to damage that synergizes with disables would be an easy place to consolidate some functionality. I also don't think it would push LR too far with only half of Stormsoul's damage bonus.

 

Remove Earthen Blessing and combine it with Rock Solid

• Earthen Blessing: This trait has been removed
• Rock Solid: this trait now decreases the duration of movement-impairing conditions by 20% in addition to its previous effects.

While aoe stab on earth attunement is nice, I don't think 1 stack for 3s warrants an entire master slot. Combining Rock Solid with shorter movement-impairing conditions would fit thematically and create a more universal defensive trait that isn't so reliant on earth attunement. The energy gain on Earthen Blessing feels superfluous to me and therefore doesn't really need to carry over.

 

Consolidate Diamond Skin and Stone Heart

• Stone Heart: This trait has been replaced
• Diamond Skin: This trait now inflicts 3s of weakness after applying 5 or more stacks of bleeding to foes in addition to its previous effects. This can only affect the same enemy once per interval (6s).

This one might not be as well received, but I think Stone Heart is too focused on earth attunement to be worthy of a gm slot. Making this change would still retain some of Stone Heart's crit reduction and thematic defense via weakness' glancing blows, while making it less dependent on camping earth attunement to achieve. The new effect would also synergize with the bleeding from earth traits/skills, while introducing counterplay through condi cleanse.

 

Combine Cleansing Water and Powerful Aura

• Cleansing Water: This trait has been replaced
• Powerful Aura: This trait now cleanses 1 condition from allies you grant regeneration to in addition to its previous effects.

I feel like this one is a no-brainer. Combining these traits would help boost aura-share builds while freeing up a gm slot to fill a different niche for the water specialization. If it became too strong, they could add an icd to the condi cleanse.

 

Possible Replacements

While I'm not sure what I would replace the deleted traits with, I know I'd want them to fill a different niche for each spec than what's already there. I think for air that would mean some type of direct healing tied to crits or even disables if the devs wanted to keep the theme of Stormsoul. For earth there should be more traits that are utility/barrier focused, with a secondary emphasis on condi damage/duration. Water is actually the only one that I have an idea for, which would be a damage boost to create a cryomancer/chill build:

 

Water GM: Chilled to the Bone

Inflict chill when you inflict vulnerability. Deal increased strike damage to chilled foes. 6s ICD

Chill (2s)

Damage increase: 15%

 

So what do you guys think? Are there any other places you feel traits can be consolidated/reworked to make room for new traits? Do you have any ideas for what they could add in their place? Let's discuss.

[SeTect.5918]

36 minutes ago, Tempest.8479 said:

So what do you guys think? Are there any other places you feel traits can be consolidated/reworked to make room for new traits? Do you have any ideas for what they could add in their place? Let's discuss.

"Renewing Stamina" and "Arcane Restoration". Arcane spec Adepts.

Renewing Stamina deleted. Arcane Restoration also grants vigor on attunement swap now (not sure if to allies or only yourself). 

No clue with what to replace traits tho. But i found "Renewing Stamina" always pretty useless, would be nice to pair it with "Arcane Restoration". 

Edited April 12, 2022 by SeTect.5918

[Forgotten Legend.9281]

the tempest adept major trait that gives vigor when attuning to water needs to go. it should be rolled into one of the core water or arcana traits, but a buff for a single attunement has no place in an e-spec. i had thought of possible replacements, but can't remember any of them right now.

also, catalyst: i agree with another poster on the forums that some. if not all, of the aura traits should be changed to be more directly based on combos in general, not limited to auras, because auras really are a core mechanic, a result of less than half of combo combinations, and catalyst is designed to focus on creating combos.

and 4 core master minor traits (sorry for the broken record) really should be cast on target, with possible siphon effects for the caster. (whether health or boons)

new traits brainstorms:

~ torment foes when you chill them.

~ poison foes when they have x bleed stacks.

~ arcane skills siphon health (instead of granting the same-old-same-old boons)

~ gain a barrier when you change attunements.

brainstorm:

new core F5: detonate all auras you've granted. (would have to balanced by cooldowns, which could be changed by traits, such as" grant allies an aura when you grant yourself that aura, but increase the cooldown of F5 by x", or "detonating auras removes conditions, but also increases the cooldown of f5 by y", or "reduce cooldown of F5 by z for every aura that lasts its full duration."

Edited April 12, 2022 by Forgotten Legend.9281

[Jski.6180]

I realty want to see all on aura applied traits get an transmutation effect as well even if its just the same effect (though i would like an different effect). Over all we need more transmutation traits if that part consolidating trait effects i am all for it.

[lLobo.7960]

I think there is a lot of work that could be done on traits and traitlines for ele to bring it up to par with current game mechanics. I've done a post a while back (a bit outdated now) with ideas:

A few things:

 - Each minor adept trait in elemental traitlines should give a bonus to a major and minor attribute (when in that attunement):

Fire: Power and condition dmg

Air: Precision and ferocity

Earth: Toughness and expertise

Water: soothing mist and healing power

Water not giving vitality (and instead giving soothing mist) is an issue with HP changing due to lower vitality.  

 - Each elemental traitline should have 2 aura traits, one that gives boons to all auras on aura application, one that makes specific auras of that element to pulse boons. This makes not only providing auras beneficial, but managing aura application to maximize duration (and therefore improving use of traits and runes that extend aura duration). 

I think here we need to look at fire removing conditions. Cleansing should stay in water, fire should provide resolution on aura application (and fire auras pulsing might), so that fire has a way to deal with conditions, but it does not fully substitute water as a source of cleansing. It becomes a different way to deal with conditions. 

 - Arcane traitline should make arcane shield an aura, in this way it would proc aura traits and could even be shared with tempest, providing tempest a great group defensive tool.

 - Arcane should have a minor trait that gives "leaser arcane power" (next 2 hits are critical and provide higher ferocity). It should also bring back the lingering attunements trait that extend the attunement bonuses for 5 secs after leaving an attunement. This is very useful to keep those "on attunement" traits going while you rotate. 

 - Aura share should be a tempest trait, and aura heal should be a water trait. This would let other specs use auras for sustain (on the above item, it could be that frost auras pulse healing while active), while it would let tempest use other traitlines and be an offensive or defensive support spec depending on what aura traits and traitlines it focus (with the new aura traits).

 - A lot of traits that provide flat bonuses, in arcane, tempest, weaver, and now Catalyst, should be more flexible and attunement driven. So, bountiful power in arcane, should give a %bonus depending on attunement (air - crit dmg, fire - condi dmg, earth - dmg reduction, water - healing). This would allow more varied gameplay and different roles.

 

[SeTect.5918]

1 hour ago, lLobo.7960 said:

 

A few things:

 - Each minor adept trait in elemental traitlines should give a bonus to a major and minor attribute (when in that attunement):

Fire: Power and condition dmg

Air: Precision and ferocity

Earth: Toughness and expertise

Water: soothing mist and healing power

 

Binding Precision and expertise to attunements is a bad thing.

Because the 100% crit chance would only be there in air then.

Same with 100% condi duration. 

This leads to that players are using Equipment or runes/sigils to get the 100% crit chance also while in other attunements Because you want max dps. 

And this then leads to it, that the crit chance from air just overcaps while being in air and then it is a useless bonus. 

Same goes for expertise Because you dont want to have the 100% condi duration only if you are on earth, but also if you are on other attunements. This leads to people using Equipment to get the expertise also on other attunements and this leads to condi duration overcapping while on earth. 

Better dont bind expertise and precision to specific attunements. Also not concentration. For other stats its fine, because they are not capped.

Edited April 14, 2022 by SeTect.5918

[lLobo.7960]

1 hour ago, SeTect.5918 said:

Binding Precision and expertise to attunements is a bad thing.

Because the 100% crit chance would only be there in air then.

Same with 100% condi duration. 

This leads to that players are using Equipment or runes/sigils to get the 100% crit chance also while in other attunements Because you want max dps. 

And this then leads to it, that the crit chance from air just overcaps while being in air and then it is a useless bonus. 

Same goes for expertise Because you dont want to have the 100% condi duration only if you are on earth, but also if you are on other attunements. This leads to people using Equipment to get the expertise also on other attunements and this leads to condi duration overcapping while on earth. 

Better dont bind expertise and precision to specific attunements. Also not concentration. For other stats its fine, because they are not capped.

This is true only for some high-end PvE builds.

For others it can help a lot as they do not have means (like in pvp or open world / wvw builds) to achieve 100% stats.

For precision in air, it can help fresh-air builds have 100% crit for their burst (when casting slow cast spells from fire and swapping to air before they land to get the precision and ferocity bonuses. For expertise it can help achieve higher bleeds/weakness durations when going into earth.

Furthermore, having lingering elements in arcane also helps keeping those bonuses while rotating other attunements.

For those overcaping, it would be no different from what they do now (since they don't have the bonuses). So it is not a buff to min/max builds (mostly pve dps builds) but a nice bonus to other builds.

[The Boz.2038]

8 hours ago, SeTect.5918 said:

Binding Precision and expertise to attunements is a bad thing.

Because the 100% crit chance would only be there in air then.

Same with 100% condi duration. 

This leads to that players are using Equipment or runes/sigils to get the 100% crit chance also while in other attunements Because you want max dps. 

And this then leads to it, that the crit chance from air just overcaps while being in air and then it is a useless bonus. 

Same goes for expertise Because you dont want to have the 100% condi duration only if you are on earth, but also if you are on other attunements. This leads to people using Equipment to get the expertise also on other attunements and this leads to condi duration overcapping while on earth. 

Better dont bind expertise and precision to specific attunements. Also not concentration. For other stats its fine, because they are not capped.

Ditto Toughness, too, tbh. Just to not complicate tanking mechanics in some encounters.
Concentration, actually, can be used. Getting more of it allows for a more relaxed rotation, or more time in a DPS attunement, etc. 100% isn't the "efficiency goal" benchmark as much as the one for expertise and precision is.