Next Balance Preview on Friday Feb 3rd

[Xenesis.6389]

Any predictions?

Who's the next spec to get nerfed? (psst anything mesmer)

Who's the next spec to get buffed? (my money is on untamed or bladesworn!)

Will Mirage finally get back two dodges for the price of three nerfs?

Will the long rumored boon application vs boon removal be finally looked at? will it shock us if boons get buffed again? or will it shock us if removal gets buffed after a long list of nerfs last year? or will it shock us if it gets mentioned for a third time and pushed to another update down the line?

Will the blob meta be affected? Here's a hint, nope! Guess who rolls with the blob in WvW.

See you at the salt farm on friday!

 

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Xenesis.6389

[Riba.3271]

If they don't reduce outgoing boon duration (concentration stat) and increase some short cooldowns, the games gonna stay unskilled mess.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Riba.3271

[kash.9213]

1 hour ago, Xenesis.6389 said:

Any predictions?

Who's the next spec to get nerfed? (psst anything mesmer)

Who's the next spec to get buffed? (my money is on untamed or bladesworn!)

Will Mirage finally get back two dodges for the price of three nerfs?

Will the long rumored boon application vs boon removal be finally looked at? will it shock us if boons get buffed again? or will it shock us if removal gets buffed after a long list of nerfs last year? or will it shock us if it gets mentioned for a third time and pushed to another update down the line?

Will the blob meta be affected? Here's a hint, nope! Guess who rolls with the blob in WvW.

See you at the salt farm on friday!

 

 

If my Specter takes a hit, I'm still down for something to happen with that. As long as pulls and area interrupts are a thing, squad security isn't struggling that bad. Boon applications should be more about setting up creative plays. As long as they're almost fully automated, squad comps lean into that hard. 

[SFShinigami.1572]

We just need one class that vomits some sort of boonhate constantly, over large groups.  Like when mesmer glamours threw out near unlimited confusion and groups just blew up instantly.

[bluberblasen.9684]

They nerf catalyst because of the pvp whiners. 😢

My personal small scale view is that we need no nerfs and no buffs.

Maybe change the undieable vindi and give mirage its second dodge back.

 

[Justine.6351]

I'm not too worried, they've always done what is best for the game.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

1. Catalyst nerfs, But still strong
2. Harb untouched
3. Willy untouched
4. Vindicator gets endurance refunds shaved
5. Untamed gets FF nerfed
6. Mechanist gets more stats on the mech nerfed
7. Arms reworked for warrior! (hope)
8. Mirage gets it's second dodge back, but ambush skills are nerfed by 50%

[Kozumi.5816]

More boon buffs and strip nerfs please this game is too hard on my minstrel characters and I need to be  saved by the devs at  Anet.

[Corabelle.3254]

Give scourges 10 target shades back

[Mikali.9651]

I wish for more overall utility and unused weapons/skills buff/redesign. 
At this point in the game I just want more tools to have fun, more variety overall, even if it's not top tier meta

[Dawdler.8521]

1 hour ago, bluberblasen.9684 said:

give mirage its second dodge back.

It would be rather funny since thats one of the few actual condition builds stated for the conditions OP arguments.

So thumbs up from me, I would definetly try staff/staff mirage again if they get a dodge back. I mean its not like mirages just puke out clones at the moment... right?

Edited January 30, 2023 by Dawdler.8521

[Cyninja.2954]

Looking forward to see what the balance update will be.

Not exactly for any specific class changes, I multi-class as do many WvW veterans, but rather to try to figure out what the goal or design ideas behind the changes are.

Hoping for some additional boon removal and maybe some stability adjustments on 1 or 2 classes to mirror(or at least come close) FB (I don't see nerfs to FB as meaningful because stab is a necessity for WvW. Game-play gets very un-fun without it). Or a stab rework. I doubt we will see either this balance patch though, maybe something for future elite specializations.

That said: my guess is this will be a smaller update since it is rather short notice. Maybe working towards a major one down the road.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Cyninja.2954

[LSD.4673]

2 hours ago, Cyninja.2954 said:

Maybe working towards a major one down the road.

At a generous guess of there being as many as 4 WvW devs...what work is actually being done? Do they just "brainstorm" all day every day? Or are they putting their hours down as them learning (i.e., playing) the game?

 

Cos in the past year there isn't even enough work done on WvW to justify one guy's work for 3 months.

[subversiontwo.7501]

Since nothing else has been announced, I would assume that they will continue to work towards the goals they set up before and continue the trends that are in motion.

In the overall balance of content types it feels like the same people on these forums complain about guilds, blobs (squads) and Mag (clouds) at the same time so there is quite alot of noise that may be hard for them to navigate. I have a feeling that things are quite the same in other places that they draw their feedback from now (discs, etc.). Especially how the things revolving around Alliances seems to have lost quite alot of momentum now (players/groups driving discourse and providing different perspectives falling off etc.). Discussions seem stuck on blob vs. cloud and ambush vs. bruiser.

The last round of changes favoured range over melee (and control over mobility), at least in the ways we players responded and adapted, with the iniative to spread important party roles out across classes. Rather than a spread of options for roles they seem more to have achieved certain roles spreading out more over spots (eg., more spots in a party needing to share the workload of securing stab). Not surprising, given the continued state of communities and mode-wide norms (meta) vs. community norms (squads-parties, private-public; guild-builds, alliance-builds, server-builds etc.).

Summed up:

I see more clouds and fewer small-medium guilds, while more groups or players that I know fall back to hiatus or just waiting with less commitment. They play less, care less and speak less as a result. Valuable voices being silent lowers the quality of feedback and few examples pop up that drive/change norms.

I think both those things (range-melee and roles-required in a party) are things to be mindful of going forward. I would assume that they will continue to poke at that and track it.

Spoiler

As classes/specs/builds change within certain roles it is also important to be mindful about how at least the different classes sit in terms of finding roles (viability vs. popularity etc.). Engineers being dethroned as 2nd supports relative their access to alternate roles or Revenants surging as 2nd supports relative the rather broad envelope of roles they already had is something they may be looking at. The same goes for Elementalists, as someone mentioned early on the thread. They have been surging up in various different roles. They are a likely candidate to be looked closer at, even if that does not have to mean outright heavy-handed nerfs. They may just poke at some things and track that too.

Then there are the typical outliers in specific subcontent which I assume they continue to track (eg., Thief and Ranger in small scale vs. large scale) or other classes where they may be unsure in which direction to take the class in its role conceptually (eg., what is a Guardian meant to be? It has seen some recent trimming and it is interesting to see if they are considering in which direction to take it; especially relative the overarching boon/stab discussions). Then there is the whole Cele discussion too which I am sure that they track and it can see adjustments. That can be approached shallow or with depth (as has been mulled over in discussions here too, many times), but from the devs perspective there are some pitfalls to consider (uniform minor/major stat amounts etc.) so I don't expect any major changes there. I guess we will see.

Summed up:

So, err, yeah, heal vindi (large) and catalyst (small) are low odds. It is so much harder to speak about individual changes. They obviously tend to go class-by-class every balance pass and adjust *something*. However, it is harder to tell what they may be looking at: Mostly because that approach kind of frames choices (forcing themselves to change things on every class) and because there is a bigger difference here between what I think they will do and what I think they should do. The larger overarching balance concerns are easier to discuss (and more interesting or important as a result, imo): Like following up the spread- and balance of stab. They will likely do that. Exactly how is both harder to tell and less interesting for me to comment on.

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by subversiontwo.7501
Length, added spoiler

[Mell.4873]

4 hours ago, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

1. Catalyst nerfs, But still strong
2. Harb untouched
3. Willy untouched
4. Vindicator gets endurance refunds shaved
5. Untamed gets FF nerfed
6. Mechanist gets more stats on the mech nerfed
7. Arms reworked for warrior! (hope)
8. Mirage gets it's second dodge back, but ambush skills are nerfed by 50%

5: They said Fervent Force won't get a nerf untill they buff the rest of Elite

8: I agree with this one though

[Infusion.7149]

1. Catalyst nerfed due to PVP
--- Scepter nerfs because hammer isn't the "abused" variant
--- Focus offhand invuln nerfs maybe
--- Elemental celerity nerfs most likely , relentless fire (unblockable)
--- Nerf to shock aura and magnetic aura if deemed necessary due to Catalyst
2. Spellbreaker nerfed due to PVP 
--- Resistance
--- Full counter recharge or something related to full counter : the nerf to Winds of Disenchantment showed they will leave things "usable" but far weaker
3. Vindicator nerfed due to PVP and never originally designed for two dodges

4. Mirage still not given two dodges because mesmers are "mostly chrono" in WvW
5. Druid still not given pet stow in combat because "sneak gyro was nerfed" and veil is 2s
6. Ranger pets still a meme (except maybe siege turtle on avoid)
7. Playing non-deadeye thief and relying on stealth when things have watchtower still remains annoying
8. Most EoD specs still a meme due to projectiles or self rooting: virtuoso (projectiles, psychic riposte bug), harbinger (projectiles and condi), bladesworn (Dragon Slash not even on par with core burst and self root), mechanist (projectile or pet spec), specter (single target support mostly and terrible heal scaling), untamed (a bad version of spellbreaker when in largescale), willbender (Dragonhunter without the pull or traps)
9. Virtuoso loses distortion because mesmer
10. Boon priority for removal probably still not addressed
 

 

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

4 minutes ago, Mell.4873 said:

5: They said Fervent Force won't get a nerf untill they buff the rest of Elite

They can do both. I don't want Untamed to be nerfed to nothing.

4 minutes ago, Mell.4873 said:

8: I agree with this one though

It's the obvious way to do it. They couldn't balance it properly before and took the dodge as a stop gap. If the dodge + ambush combo was that powerful, but they are removing the tradeoffs, then they'll have to nerf the ambush skills when they give the dodge back.

[Xenesis.6389]

Just now, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

It's the obvious way to do it. They couldn't balance it properly before and took the dodge as a stop gap. If the dodge + ambush combo was that powerful, but they are removing the tradeoffs, then they'll have to nerf the ambush skills when they give the dodge back.

Which is how we told them to handle it back around when the dodge nerf happened. But they think cloak is too powerful defensively, usable under cc, you can't dodge roll when immobilized but you can mirage cloak, so I would assume something defensive about it will be nerfed as well.

So instead of capping it they could slow roll endurance, like give back the 50% total endurance and maybe instead place an endurance regen penalty on the spec where you can only regen like 10% per sec, which would affect stuff like foods and vigor(nomad's endurance may even get a nerf), sigil of energy, runes of the adventurer. As long as it's not spammable, only boons are allowed to do so!

[DanAlcedo.3281]

They gonna try and make Bladesworn a WvW Zerg Build.

They will fail but they will try. 😐

[Infusion.7149]

11 minutes ago, DanAlcedo.3281 said:

They gonna try and make Bladesworn a WvW Zerg Build.

They will fail but they will try. 😐

It is workable (but still unlikely to overtake spellbreaker) if they make the damage actually worth charging the Dragon Slashes... so tier 1 = core tier 1, maxed out = core tier 3 + damage in melee. I can't see the damage on the unblockable ranged Dragon Slash - Reach jumping up that high in base damage on the contrary because it has unblockable and unlike in PvP the telegraph isn't as obvious.

Imagine if charging Dragon Slash Force (a melee skill) and instantly using it hit for at least 4-5k instead of hitting for just 7K full charge on full glass. Needs to match arc divider at least (if you run Tactical Reload).

Right now the number one problem is the payoff on dragon slash - force, since you lose the boon rip of spellbreaker you'd need at least 30% + more damage in comparison (protection's reduction in damage) to be even remotely worth using.

[prototypedragon.1406]

Warrior stealth on offhand weapons 😂

[Zikory.6871]

Organized groups will get buffs. 

Roamers will get nerfs. 

Everyone will complain because Anet ruining thier game mode. 

[Jijimuge.4675]

15 hours ago, Xenesis.6389 said:

Any predictions?

Who's the next spec to get nerfed? (psst anything mesmer)

Who's the next spec to get buffed? (my money is on untamed or bladesworn!)

Will Mirage finally get back two dodges for the price of three nerfs?

Will the long rumored boon application vs boon removal be finally looked at? will it shock us if boons get buffed again? or will it shock us if removal gets buffed after a long list of nerfs last year? or will it shock us if it gets mentioned for a third time and pushed to another update down the line?

Will the blob meta be affected? Here's a hint, nope! Guess who rolls with the blob in WvW.

See you at the salt farm on friday!

 

 

And just in case people wonder what's under the shading....

 

 

[Jski.6180]

10 hours ago, Infusion.7149 said:

1. Catalyst nerfed due to PVP
--- Scepter nerfs because hammer isn't the "abused" variant
--- Focus offhand invuln nerfs maybe
--- Elemental celerity nerfs most likely , relentless fire (unblockable)
--- Nerf to shock aura and magnetic aura if deemed necessary due to Catalyst
2. Spellbreaker nerfed due to PVP 
--- Resistance
--- Full counter recharge or something related to full counter : the nerf to Winds of Disenchantment showed they will leave things "usable" but far weaker
3. Vindicator nerfed due to PVP and never originally designed for two dodges

4. Mirage still not given two dodges because mesmers are "mostly chrono" in WvW
5. Druid still not given pet stow in combat because "sneak gyro was nerfed" and veil is 2s
6. Ranger pets still a meme (except maybe siege turtle on avoid)
7. Playing non-deadeye thief and relying on stealth when things have watchtower still remains annoying
8. Most EoD specs still a meme due to projectiles or self rooting: virtuoso (projectiles, psychic riposte bug), harbinger (projectiles and condi), bladesworn (Dragon Slash not even on par with core burst and self root), mechanist (projectile or pet spec), specter (single target support mostly and terrible heal scaling), untamed (a bad version of spellbreaker when in largescale), willbender (Dragonhunter without the pull or traps)
9. Virtuoso loses distortion because mesmer
10. Boon priority for removal probably still not addressed
 

 

Hehe no one trust anet to balance one game type at a time.

[Infusion.7149]

6 minutes ago, Jski.6180 said:

Hehe no one trust anet to balance one game type at a time.

Hey they asked for predictions.