October 4 Balance Update Preview (WvW only)

[Dagger.2035]

Full notes: 

Elementalist

• Earth's Embrace: This trait has been reworked. It now grants barrier when attuning to earth.
• Final Shielding: This trait no longer grants Arcane Shield when dropping below 50% health. Instead, it grants Arcane Shield after using an elite skill.

Tempest

• Gale Song: This trait has been reworked. It now grants protection to nearby allies after using a healing skill.
• "Eye of the Storm!": Reduced cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only.

Engineer

Skills

• Magnetic Shield:. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and WvW.
• Static Shield:. Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvE and WvW.
• Utility Goggles: Increased resistance duration from 3 seconds to 5 seconds. This skill now removes one damaging condition in addition to its other effects.
• Throw Mine: Reduced number of boons removed from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
• Mine Field: This skill no longer removes boons. Instead, it cripples enemies that it strikes.
• Fumigate: Increased cooldown from 12 second to 20 seconds in WvW only.
• Cleansing Field: Increased cooldown from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in WvW only.

Traits

• Over Shield: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of shield skills.
• Medical Dispersion Field: Reduced healing conversion percentage from 10% to 7% in WvW.
• Mechanized Deployment: This trait now removes a condition after using a toolbelt skill, in addition to its other effects.
• Reactive Lenses: This trait no longer triggers Lesser Utility Goggles when disabled or blinded. Instead, it triggers after using a healing skill.
• Lesser Utility Goggles: Increased resistance duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. This skill now removes one damaging condition in addition to its other effects.
• Takedown Round: This trait has been reworked. It now grants increased outgoing strike damage while endurance is not full.
• Kinetic Battery: Increased quickness duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.

Scrapper

Skills

• Defense Field: This skill is now ground targeted. The spell area of effect created by this skill is now stationary. Increased cooldown from 25 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only.
• Scrapper wells are now stationary ground-targeted skills with a range of 900.

Traits

• Impact Savant: This trait no longer reduces vitality.
• Gyroscopic Acceleration: Superspeed is now applied on the first pulse of wells instead of the final pulse.
• Kinetic Accelerators: This trait no longer grants quickness in PvP and WvW. Instead, it grants might and fury.

 

Holosmith

Skills

• Coolant Blast: Increased base healing from 4,740 to 5,250 in PvP and WvW.
• Cauterize: Reduced burning duration from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. Reduced the number of conditions removed from 3+3 to 2+2 in PvP and WvW. This skill now activates instantly.
• Prime Light Beam: Increased power coefficient from 0.01 to 1.0 in PvP and WvW.

 

Guardian

Dragonhunter

Skills

• Test of Faith: Reduced passthrough power coefficient from 2.22 to 1.87 in WvW only.

Traits

• Hunter's Determination: This trait no longer grants aegis and casts Shards of Faith when disabled. Instead, it grants aegis and stability and creates aegis fragments after using an elite skill.

 

Firebrand

Skills

• Mantra of Liberation: Reduced ammunition count from 3 to 2 in WvW only. Increased ammunition recharge time from 25 seconds to 30 seconds.

 

Mesmer

Skills

• Mantra of Concentration: Increased stability from 3 stacks for 3 seconds to 5 stacks for 5 seconds in WvW only. Increased ammunition recharge from 30 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only. Increased range from 240 to 600.
• Phantasmal Disenchanter: Reduced number of boons removed from 5 to 2 in WvW only.
• Null Field: Increased cooldown from 25 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only.

 

Chronomancer

Skills

• Continuum Shift: This skill has been moved to slot 5 of the profession mechanic bar. Distortion is now accessible in slot 4.

 

Virtuoso

Skills

• Bladeturn Requiem: This skill has been moved to slot 5 of the profession mechanic bar. Distortion is now accessible in slot 4.

 

Necromancer

Scourge.

Skills

• Punishment skills no longer inflict crippled when removing a boon. Increased number of torment stacks applied when removing a boon from 1 to 3.
• Trail of Anguish: This skill can now affect a maximum of 10 enemies.

 

Ranger

Traits

• Shared Anguish: This trait no longer transfers incoming crowd control to pets. Instead, it grants stability to the ranger and their pet when swapping pets.
• Stoneform: This trait no longer grants Lesser Signet of Stone when dropping below 50% health. Instead, it grants Lesser Signet of Stone after using an elite skill.

Druid

Skills

• Astral Wisp: This skill can now target allies. After attaching to a target, this skill will now pulse healing to allies around that target instead of creating a circling projectile that heals allies.
• Glyph of Alignment (Base): Increased immobilize duration from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds.
• Glyph of Alignment (Celestial Avatar): Increased number of conditions removed from 2 to 3. Increased base healing from 2,585 to 3,076.
• Glyph of Equality (Celestial Avatar): Increased range from 360 to 600.
• Glyph of the Stars: This skill is no longer channeled and instead creates the spell area of effect after an initial casting time.
  • Base: Reduced the number of pulses from 7 to 6. This skill now grants stability instead of preventing condition applications to allies in the area.
  • Celestial Avatar: Reduced the number of revive pulses from 18 to 6. Increased the revive percentage per pulse from 4% to 12%. This skill now grants stability instead of protection, in addition to regeneration and vigor.
• Glyph of the Stars: Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 48 seconds.
• Seed of Life: Increased range from 180 to 240. Reduced blossoming time from 1.32 seconds to 0.66 seconds. This skill now activates instantly. Reduced the number of conditions removed from 3 to 2 in PvP and WvW.

Traits

• Celestial Being: This trait no longer reduces pet attributes.
• Natural Mender: This trait no longer uses a stacking effect. Instead, it grants a flat amount of increased outgoing healing. This trait also now grants astral force every few seconds while not in Celestial Avatar.
• Druidic Clarity: This trait now also removes conditions from nearby allies. Reduced number of conditions removed from 13 to 3.
• Cultivated Synergy: Increased healing attribute scaling from 0.2 to 0.75.
• Verdant Etching: This trait now grants protection to nearby allies after using a glyph skill instead of its previous effects.
• Lingering Light: This trait no longer grants astral force while not in Celestial Avatar form.

 

Soulbeast

Traits

• Elevated Bond: This trait no longer prevents pet swapping while in combat. Traits that trigger when swapping pets no longer trigger when entering Beastmode.
• Eternal Bond: This trait has been reworked. It now grants healing when using a merged skill. You can swap pets while merged.
• Leader of the Pack: Increased range from 240 to 600.

 

Revenant

Skills

• Fiendish Tenacity: Increased base healing from 132 to 165 in PvP and WvW.
• Echoing Eruption: Increased ammunition from 1 to 2 in PvP and WvW.

Herald

Traits

• Draconic Echo: This trait now grants might instead of quickness in PvP and WvW.

 

Vindicator

The single dodge that vindicator has access to has been a long-standing point of negative feedback, and for this update we've adjusted the timing and endurance cost of the vindicator jump so it's more in line with regular dodges.

We've also made some small usability improvements to the vindicator's group stun break Awakening, increasing the range and removing the casting time.

• Vindicator no longer consumes all endurance to dodge. Reduced endurance cost of dodging from 100 to 50. Reduced dodge evade window from 1.6 seconds to 0.8 seconds.

Traits

• Awakening: This skill now activates instantly. Reduced energy cost from 35 to 30 in WvW only. Increased range from 360 to 600.

 

Thief

Traits

• Hard to Catch: This trait has been reworked. It now grants endurance when shadowstepping.
• Instant Reflexes: This trait no longer grants evasion when dropping below 50% health. Instead, it grants evasion after using an elite skill.
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Specter

 

Skills

Well of Bounty is another skill we wanted to make into a more reliable source of group stability, and to do so we've adjusted how it applies boons. Instead of picking from boons that the target doesn't already have, the skill will consistently apply the same boons on specific pulses, starting with stability on pulse 1.

• Well of Bounty: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW. This skill now applies the following boons:
  • Pulse 1: Stability
  • Pulse 2: Might
  • Pulse 3: Fury
  • Pulse 4: Vigor
  • Pulse 5: Resistance

 

Warrior

Skills

• Earthshaker: Increased power coefficient from 0.01 to 0.682 in PvP and WvW.
• Skull Crack: Increased power coefficient from 0.01 to 0.75 in PvP and WvW.
• Whirling Axe: Reduced power coefficient per strike from 0.373 to 0.298 in WvW only.
• "Shake It Off!": Reduced ammunition count from 2 to 1 in PvP and WvW. Reduced recharge from 75 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW. This skill now breaks allies out of stuns in addition to its other effects.
• Signet of Rage: Reduced casting time from 1 second to 0.25 seconds. Increased might duration from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Hammer Shock: Reduced cooldown from 10 seconds to 8 seconds.
• Counterblow: Reduced cooldown from 10 seconds to 8 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Pommel Bash: Reduced cooldown from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.

Traits

• Berserker's Power:  This trait now grants one stack of Berserker's Power, plus one additional stack per bar of adrenaline spent. Increased maximum stacks from 3 to 4. Bonus damage per stack reduced from 7% to 5.25%.
• Aggressive Onslaught: This trait has been moved to the Grandmaster tier slot formerly filled by Merciless Hammer. Gain quickness when you disable a foe. While you have quickness, your movement speed is increased.
• Thick Skin: This trait has been reworked. It now grants protection to the warrior when using a healing skill.
• Adrenal Health: This trait now grants one stack of Adrenal Health, plus one additional stack per bar of adrenaline spent. Increased maximum stacks from 3 to 4. Healing per stack reduced from 100 to 87 in PvP and WvW.
• Shield Master: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of shield skills. Blocking an attack or reflecting a missile now grants adrenaline instead of might.
• Cull the Weak: This trait no longer applies weakness when striking an enemy below 50% health. Instead, it applies weakness when striking an enemy with a burst skill.
• Defy Pain: This trait no longer grants Lesser Endure Pain when dropping below 50% health. Instead, it grants Lesser Endure Pain after using an elite skill.
• Armored Attack: This trait has been removed and replaced with Resilient Roll.
• Resilient Roll: Gain resistance at the end of your dodge roll.
• Sundering Mace: This trait has been removed and replaced with Merciless Hammer.
• Merciless Hammer: This trait now also increases damage from mace skills when striking a disabled foe. Reduced adrenaline gain from 10 to 7. This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of hammer skills.
• Last Stand: This trait no longer grants Lesser Balanced Stance when disabled. This trait now applies barrier in addition to vigor when using a stance skill.
• Cleansing Ire: This trait now removes one condition, plus an additional condition per bar of adrenaline spent. Burst skills still must hit an enemy to remove conditions.
• Rousing Resilience: This trait has been removed and replaced with Stalwart Strength.
• Stalwart Strength: Disabling an enemy grants stability. While you have stability, your strike damage is increased.

 

Berserker

Skills

• Blood Reckoning: Reduced berserk mode extension from 5 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. Increased adrenaline gain from 10 to 30 in PvP and WvW.
• Outrage: Reduced bonus berserk mode extension from 5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW. This skill now grants adrenaline: 10 base adrenaline, plus an additional 10 when breaking stun in PvP and WvW.
• Shattering Blow: Reduced bonus berserk mode extension from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. This skill now grants adrenaline (10 in PvP and WvW).
• Sundering Leap: Reduced berserk mode extension from 5 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. Increased power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.33 in PvP and WvW. This skill now grants adrenaline: 10 base adrenaline, plus an additional 10 on hit in PvP and WvW.
• Wild Blow: Reduced berserk mode extension from 4 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. This skill now grants adrenaline (10 in PvP and WvW). This skill now removes blind, weakness, and slow upon activation, and it knocks enemies down instead of knocking them back.
• Head Butt: Reduced berserk mode extension from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvP and WvW. This skill no longer removes stability from the user, and it no longer deals increased damage when removing stability.
• Rupturing Smash: Increased attack area from 180 degrees in front of the player to 360 degrees around the player. Increased daze duration from 1 second to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Flaming Flurry: Increased projectile speed.
• Blaze Breaker: This skill now creates a blast finisher at the initial casting location. Increased ammunition count from 1 to 2 in PvP and WvW.
• Flames of War: Increased the number of conditions removed from 2 to 3 in PvP and WvW.

Traits

• Fatal Frenzy: This trait no longer reduces toughness.
• Dead or Alive: This trait has been reworked. It now grants 2 seconds of Blood Reckoning when entering berserk mode.
• Bloody Roar: This trait now grants resistance when entering berserk mode in addition to its other effects. Reduced damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvP and WvW.

 

Bladesworn

Skills

• Tactical Reload: This skill now only recharges bladesworn skills instead of all warrior ammunition skills.

Traits

• Dragon Trigger: Fixed a bug that caused this skill to have a shorter cooldown than expected.
• Dragonscale Defense: Fixed a bug that caused this trait to have a shorter cooldown than expected in PvP and WvW. This trait now grants protection instead of stability in PvP and WvW. Reduced internal cooldown from 60 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.

Edited September 17, 2022 by Dagger.2035