August 23 Balance Update Preview

[WelshCat.1306]

I'd like to see GS skill 5 on the Necro be fixed in some way. The pull is too slow and sometimes will appear above targets if there's something above them so 9 times out of 10 is just straight misses.
Chilled to the bone shout I'd like to see the stability applied to the start of the skill. It needs something to make it feel like an elite skill in pve I feel. Cause you get blinded it does nothing but give 2 stab every 90 seconds or you're interrupted before it goes off cause the stab is at the end.

[Soilder.3607]

Arenanet,

 

I am begging you. For the love of God, please allow Glyph of Equality to grant Stability in  to allies WvW as well.

 

Druid: Improving Squad Viability - World vs. World - Guild Wars 2 Forums

 

I literally just made that exact skill suggestion in the WWvW forums a few weeks ago. It would be extremely helpful towards getting Druids accepted in squads. Please I am begging you. It would not break anything in WvW at all. Druids are not meta picks in squads and probably still wouldn't be with that change to Glyph of Equality BUT they would become much more justifiable. And right now the majority rangers roam as Soulbeasts and Druid roamers, which are few compared to Soulbeasts, mostly play the stealth trapper build. Giving stab to Druid in WvW would not break anything and would be hugely helpful please please please do it.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Soilder.3607

[Khenzy.9348]

3 minutes ago, Narayana.1485 said:

Bringing back the gameplay of pre-HoT gw2 pvp.

 

This is the dream, yet it wont ever happen, the game has powercrept too much, they would have to do a massive balance rework, there are no resources, no time, nor interest in any of that. Balance on PvP and WvW (their supposed 'cornerstone' gamemode) is getting omitted yet again on another patch cycle.

 

This is my opinion and I will make a hot take: Mighty Teapot, the 'Discord club' and others that have a very apparent influence on balance in this game are kittening it all up with terrible ideas (and the devs behind the implementation, obviously). To just give boons to kittening everyone and let these boons dictate viability. I call kitten. 

 

How can a proximity/point blank AoE buff (boon) meta dictate class roles and the way this game is played so much? It's all about everyone staying together in a tight spot at all times for maximun 100% uptime on buffs or else if you don't recieve buffs, your damage and survivability plumets. The mechanics of most of the skills are relegated or in the background depending on the boons it gives you. When you're expecting 100% boon uptime they become maintenance and therefore non-interactive, they become part of a static rotation (Why do boons even exist in the first place at that point?).

When every class does everything, eventually, those with the most game changing utility (portal) or ease of play with big numbers (mecha rifle) shine the most so if you're striving for equal representation you're going to have to dumb everything down and/or start spreading all that utility between all classes. When every class does everything, roles don't really matter anymore, classes start devouring eachother, flavour, class fantasy and uniqueness goes out of the way as well (Have you seen the movement creep of this expansion?).  How the kitten are people happy with this direction?

[Shade.8971]

A lot of these buffs to pDPS don't seem like enough.  These numbers will probably put them close to what they were before power Armageddon a few months ago.  We have been asking for pDPS to be competitive to cDPS, but I guess this is better than nothing.

[Za Shaloc.3908]

*cries in WvW*

[PseudoOAlias.4279]

Clearly a (PvE) patch, but still:

a) Thank you for following through on adding a real additional follow-up patch. It means a lot.

&

b) Above all else thank you for posting this more than 3 days in-advance. It gives people more time to give constructive feedback, and means a lot to theory-crafters who want to brainstorm builds & ideas!

Super stoked now for whatever's in store for PvP & WvW! 😄

Edited August 13, 2022 by PseudoOAlias.4279

[Bookah pls.9352]

On 8/11/2022 at 3:59 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Engineer

Harpoon Gun

• Homing Torpedo: Animation time reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1 second. Damage multiplier increased from 0.84 to 1.0. Applies 1 second of burning. This is now an explosion.
• Scatter Mines: (PvE only) Recharge reduced from 10 seconds to 6 seconds.
• Timed Charge: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.75 to 3.5.
• Net Wall: (PvE only) Immobilize duration increased from 3 seconds to 6 seconds.

Why tho?

Honestly considering what's been going on with engineer every balance patch lately while some specs are begging to be resurrected by even a sniff of a buff it's actually extremely frustrating to see that Anet actually gave priority to buffing an underwater weapon of all things. Like for reaper do you understand just how much of a spit in the face it is to see kitten engineers harpoon gun get more attention than the main weapon of a spec benching lower than a boon support???

Oh wait nvm, figured it out. Balance dev that plays mech probably got overruled about buffing mechs even more by letting them fight underwater....

[TwoTongues.5163]

There is more to this game than just PVE ANET. Stop picking the low hanging fruit every kitten time and pay attention to the entirety of this game...........................................

[illuminosity.8537]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:59 AM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Elementalist

Weaver

Sword

Fire

• Fire Strike: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.66 to 0.8.
• Fire Swipe: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.77 to 0.9.
• Searing Slash: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.25 to 1.6.

Water

• Seiche: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.33 to 0.5.
• Clapotis: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.45 to 0.6.
• Breaking Wave: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.66 to 1.0.

Air

• Charged Strike: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.77 to 0.8.
• Polaric Slash: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.88 to 0.9.
• Call Lightning: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.2.

Earth

• Crystal Slash: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.66 to 0.8.
• Crystalline Strike: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 0.66 to 0.9.
• Crystalline Sunder: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 1.4.
• Earthen Vortex: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.25 to 1.8.

 

I love that sword weaver is getting buffed, but I feel a bit iffy about it being on autos. The skill rotation already has a lot of things to pay attention to, and the more you buff autos, the more complexity you add by having to monitor auto chains, and the more it hurts players who don't do so. I think it'd make the spec a lot more friendly to newer & less skilled players to reduce auto attack damage and increase the damage on active skills like the dual skill attacks, which is naturally what a person will be looking at and paying attention to while attunement dancing.

 

Quote

Tempest

Shouts

 

• "Feel the Burn!": (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.0 to 2.5. Might stacks applied increased from 3 to 5.
• "Eye of the Storm!": (PvE only) Cooldown reduced from 40 seconds to 30 seconds. Now also applies 1 stack of stability to allies for 5 seconds.
• "Aftershock!": (PvE only) Cooldown reduced from 35 seconds to 30 seconds. Now also applies aegis to allies for 5 seconds.

 

It's great to see tempest getting some more defensive tools in their kit, but I find the placements a little odd. Eye of the Storm is a skill you want to use *after* people have been CCed, so it's a little odd to see it now having reasons to use it both before and after. I'd suggest a different way of making Eye of the Storm more of a consideration to bring, such as having it provide fury, or lean into its defensive role a little differently by having it daze nearby enemies when used (ie, enemy CCs you, use you eye of the storm to recover and have a short period of daze and superspeed to help you escape or turn the tables).

 

I see the thinking behind aegis on aftershock, but I think it's actually counter productive. If someone hits you with a ranged attack, won't we now block it instead or reflecting it? It seems a bit odd. I would suggest putting stab on aftershock, making it the skill you use when you anticipate incoming ranged damage or CC. I would then put aegis on to Flash Freeze to enhance its protective effects.

[kamikharzeeh.8016]

ok, before we start: YOU guys review NOTHING at all...  "Our player community develops builds that are considered the gold standard for effective play, so we review them regularly"

 

and all these pvE changes are so dead pointless... idk how u can waste so much time on player versus engine, even a child could do the balance on it, while Wvw balance is literally in shambles since many years

 

far too much cc with absurd range and nuts spike dmg of either absurd range and random high dps builds imported blatantly from spvp and pvE even by now

 

and then u freaking dare to nerfs firebrands elite stab with cd and charge reduction? in a meta full of random pulls and other cc? learn your own game, this is just disgusting

 

and spare us with talk about "the future", you balancing messes up Wvw since feb20, which is by now over 2,5 years. empty shells of promises, dead and cold as corpses, nothing more

[Ensity.2164]

It is supposed that the changes will concern only PVE...Why all the time changes has to be affect wvw and pvp part?Don't get it.

Self-destruction of your own game.

[MuscleBobBuffPants.1406]

No PvP/WvW updates, goals, direction, balance? 

Where does feedback from the community come from?  How is the feedback processed?

Feel free to contact NCSoft West to let them know your thoughts and opinions!

https://us.ncsoft.com/en-us

Public Relations Email

NCWPR@ncsoft.com 

 

 

[Salt Mode.3780]

I think the last 2-3 balance patch has been PvE focused? So the cornerstone of your game is just words? I would expect some competitive play balance considering you guys are undergoing another beta for alliance. 

FYI for those who think they might have something later for other game modes, note that this is a overall balance patch considering Firebrand got changed not only for PvE but for WvW as well.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Salt Mode.3780

[Oraxis.9705]

Overall these are good changes, but you really, really need to address WvW and PvP. I hope that y'all are intending to see how these changes shake out it PvE before moving them to other game modes, but I fear this is merely a sign of you continuing to ignore other game modes. The WvW meta has grown very stale, and all you do is change PvE. Please give WvW some love, and PvP for that matter.

[Linken.6345]

58 minutes ago, Abyssisis.3971 said:

“Firebrand and healing Mechanist are currently dominating group compositions. In this update, we're improving support-role diversity by adding stability and aegis toTempest's shouts and giving Druids increased access to those boons as well.”

What happened to giving druid access to aegis as well? The only druid change was to give stability to glyph of equity…

Well to be fair they did by lowering white tiger f2 cd by 5 seconds and cast time by 0.6 sec.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Juvenile_White_Tiger

Guardian's Roar: (All game modes) Casting time reduced from 1 second to 0.4 seconds. (PvE only) Cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.

[iNaddict.8021]

3 hours ago, Parpage.9867 said:

So are we really going to keep the power Mechanist press 1 go afk and deal almost 30k? Please don't.

this isnt really the problem.. its easy to play sure.. 

[Leaa.2943]

Why can't the Aegis and Stability on Support Tempest be added to WvW. I don't get it. I had a biref moment of oh kitten finally they heard us, but then the PvE only hit me hard. Support Tempest is falling behind in WvW too, please add this changes in WvW.

I understand that you might not want to up the damage in WvW i mean i would love for that too but i can undeerstand if that is too much at least in the PvE version, but help us Support Tempest and give us the Stab and Aegis to WvW too!

[Labjax.2465]

22 minutes ago, illuminosity.8537 said:

It's great to see tempest getting some more defensive tools in their kit, but I find the placements a little odd. Eye of the Storm is a skill you want to use *after* people have been CCed, so it's a little odd to see it now having reasons to use it both before and after. I'd suggest a different way of making Eye of the Storm more of a consideration to bring, such as having it provide fury, or lean into its defensive role a little differently by having it daze nearby enemies when used (ie, enemy CCs you, use you eye of the storm to recover and have a short period of daze and superspeed to help you escape or turn the tables).

 

I see the thinking behind aegis on aftershock, but I think it's actually counter productive. If someone hits you with a ranged attack, won't we now block it instead or reflecting it? It seems a bit odd. I would suggest putting stab on aftershock, making it the skill you use when you anticipate incoming ranged damage or CC. I would then put aegis on to Flash Freeze to enhance its protective effects.

I was thinking along the same lines, though I couldn't think of alternatives. I like your suggestions for alternative placement: stab on aftershock and aegis on flash freeze.

I think that'd make way more sense. Please consider this, anet!

[itspomf.9523]

A very good start, and it's nice to see a lot of underperforming weapons receive a bit of love.  Staff might finally have a place as a strong hybrid ranged weapon on necromancer, and warrior, thief, and guardian are seeing some much-needed polish as well.

And while I haven't played one in years, thank you for addressing the evident ranger pet bugs!

[Adotiln Urthadar.1823]

Ele changes look good, nice to see staff getting some attention, even if I'm sad that the fire auto is retaining its clunky animation.

 

While holo and scrapper are thankful for the buff, I don't understand how you can justify another buff to power mechanist - it's already having a devastating effect on group diversity and now it's going to be even worse. Additionally, I don't understand the condi mech nerfs at all. They should end up putting cMech really close to pMech in terms of damage so why would you ever play it?

Very happy to see that Blast Gyro is no longer able to sabotage people who've neatly grouped up enemies!

 

It's good that Mirage is finally getting nerfed, though I wonder if the axe build has been hit too hard.

 

pVindicator buffs feel like they're in the wrong place? It's already barely a DPS increase to use swords in addition to greatsword and now it might even be a DPS loss. Sad to see higher skill-ceiling play get no reward.

 

Similarly, it seems that the pDeadeye buffs help out dagger more than they do rifle? So we might end up in a situation where the much more complex rifle build is barely better to the very simple dagger builds so again... why bother?

 

 

While I think there's more good than bad in this patch, I don't understand why some classes get sweeping buffs whereas others get the tiniest increases (seriously, why on earth are you scared of letting reaper be viable?). I would have also liked to see some more actual condi buffs. Adding 10% to the power damage of warrior's sword seems incredibly pointless.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Adotiln Urthadar.1823

[Gunther Clone C.6742]

4 hours ago, Pati.2438 said:

"PvE only"  okay seems that anet loves that EoD specs actually smash everything Else into the ground when it comes to pvp xd

I mean .. they gotta sell the expansion somehow. 😬

[Gibson.4036]

I get that staff mirage is one of the safest things to play, and why it shouldn’t put out a ton of damage because of that.

No idea why you needed to hit axe, though.

[Aureus.2590]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:59 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Chronomancer

• Stretched Time: Alacrity on well cast increased from 4 seconds to 5 seconds.
• Tides of Time: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.2 to 1.5.

 

still waiting for an answer why there's no vulnerability stacks in Tides of Time when Domination Trait [Dazzling] should be on effect due to the [stun] effect.

 

Quote

Dazzling

Dazing or stunning a foe also applies vulnerability.

 5 Vulnerability (8s): +5% Incoming Damage, +5% Incoming Condition Damage

— In-game description

 

[Aureus.2590]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:59 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Chronomancer

• Stretched Time: Alacrity on well cast increased from 4 seconds to 5 seconds.
• Tides of Time: (PvE only) Damage multiplier increased from 1.2 to 1.5.

 

still waiting for an answer why there's no vulnerability stacks in Tides of Time when Domination Trait [Dazzling] should be on effect due to the [stun] effect.

 

Quote

Dazzling

Dazing or stunning a foe also applies vulnerability.

 5 Vulnerability (8s): +5% Incoming Damage, +5% Incoming Condition Damage

— In-game description

 

[Sirius.4510]

I'm not really sold on the Druid stability stuff. Yes, it gives a reason to take a glyph, and yes, we have room to drop a spirit and still maintain alacrity, but it's a stability source that may not be there when you need it, because it relies on having Celestial Avatar available. In most group content, you're expected to use CA fairly liberally - especially if you're needed to apply might - and not hold it back for emergencies like that.

Heal Mech doesn't have this problem. (Nor does it need to sacrifice a utility slot to get access to stability!)

 

I think it is a good idea to make glyphs worth taking, but unless you want to throw out the CA/non-CA element, it probably needs to be easier and more reliable to get access to the right "side of the card" when you need it... perhaps by allowing you to switch into CA even when the gauge isn't full?

And then the other glyphs probably need revisiting to ensure they have enough utility to justify taking them over just another spirit. I guess they can have situational uses, e.g. Tides is already used on Soulless Horror among other things - but there are 2-3 that are pretty much ignored.