February 14 Balance Update Preview

[Littlekenny.5174]

Aww, the daredevil that is more effective in large scale WvW takes a hit to its extended burst, seems like the GvG build doesn't get any nerfs though...
There is already a problem of people bringing the GvG build to large scale and making people think dd cant be viable in large scale. Now we are getting closer to that actually being true because the time for a berserker or any other class to catch up to the burst damage is shorter with needing to shove a 2 second pause in before the final vault.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Littlekenny.5174

[Grand Marshal.4098]

Sorry but like, am I misunderstanding with their statement on willbender?

Previously, using a virtue removed the active effect of another virtue, as a trade-off.

Now they remove said trade-off? With no nerfs to the virtues whatsoever in WvW??? Are we serious? Rushing Justice under the effects of Crushing Courage is considered balanced? With all actives applying and the virtue itself critting for 10k on glass Willy (you can afford to run glass on WIlly).

 

[SourceOfTrippy.4207]

Are the initiative changes for thief still coming? . I know they were talking about making an increase to initiative recharge or some sort of change when they nerfed specter shroud that time to equal it out iirc. Something of the sort was mentioned on stream last year. Okay thats all. 

[solemn.9670]

10 minutes ago, Jake.7526 said:

The burning speed and earthen rush changes on dagger main hand ele are so cursed for tempest. Because on tempest its not used for dps its used to move away from enemies or evade..

I think they're intentionally nerfing mobility. I feel like some of that is my fault 👼 the only upside is that you can now directly burning speed any target that is in front of you/don't need to ensure they're at that exact range away in order to get the "explosion" damage from it. I'd still rather that they didn't change it, but this isn't terrible.

Making air sword autoattack hit faster/more consistently and buffing weave self was nice of them.

However nerfing Soothing Disruption in order to buff cantrips was a bad move imo. I like what they did to the cantrips overall, but my WvW water/air sword dagger build kind of got annihilated by this; cantrip cooldowns are way too high without a reduction trait, if I run them after this patch I'm just asking to lose. 60s mistform? Yeah how about no, why even use it. Now mist form in wvw is core ele's twist of fate: nearly useless, we will forget it exists at all. The least they could've done was reduce the cd on twist of fate so that running that as a stunbreak instead would be an option (notice I did not even say 'viable option' because 75s is so long it is currently a joke at best). 

As for scepter whatever the kids cried and arenanet gave them some milk. Gonna be hilarious still killing them with scepter and watching them cry when it's already been nerfed. Oops maybe the issue was skill.

[Dumat.1479]

Swipe to steal change is awful.
Thief is all about killing target fast, because it doesn't have sustainability in a normal sence (stealth is kind of sustain). So by removing swipe you let thievs target to block in addtion to kite and other sustain, and easily conterpush, when cds are back. For me personally it is killing thief even more in pvp and wvw. 

[wesly.6497]

maybe finally do something with a legend  Kalla Scorchrazor?she can't use pvp and wvw the most useless legend in a revenan......

the revenant has eternal damnation is to run in the dwarf and Shiro and two swords.

[Khyan.7039]

Nice changes, however I’d also make lighting flash in PVE for elementalists an ammunition skill with 2 charges since it doesn’t break stun or do anything else other than teleport, and its range is not that great. As it is, it’s still one of the worst skill that exist in the game, even with the reduced cooldown.
 

Adding it as ammunition will add more mobility in PVE for ele at least, and could work to avoid aoe while being stunned more efficiently, or just to be used for exploration. 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Khyan.7039

[stormemperor.3745]

Rewarding reapers by letting them die sooner. Could have added easier access to stab

[Tnanever.3192]

Literally 0 changes for scourge.  Do the devs even play this game?

[Jtom.1743]

A big thank you to all of the balance team - this is certainly an exciting set of notes! It would be great if we could get some numbers for the proposed mantra updates - I'm kinda worried that the 'using the last charge is a mistake' will be a big issue across many fb builds, and, while most utility can be retained by avoiding that last charge, I think it will feel too bad to accidentally use that final charge during a lengthy fight (i.e., it doesn't sound like a fun minigame to add).

 

Also, could we get a 0.5s cooldown for herald's F2 ability as well? Maybe my setup is somehow awry, but I would sometimes unintentionally use the active skill of the F2 when activating the passive ability just like how tomes would sometimes be reentered.

[Mixchimmer.7230]

Regarding Thief Balance - I have some thoughts:

 

There were some great changes here, but I continue to worry about the Acrobatics traitline.  It's been one of the worst traitlines in the entire game for years, but it doesn't really seem to be much of a priority.

 

Now I totally understand that there are certain things that will take priority over others, but is there any kind of indication that Acrobatics is going to be looked at any time soon?

[Delrago.2098]

The reverting of  Mesmer mantras actually has me excited. Mantras really did lack a bit when they didn't need to be charged, how ever i feel like pain mantra could benefit from little change. The might isn't worth taking the mantra and the dmg it produces leaves much to be desired in terms of small scale WvW. Give the mantra some boon hate or something that gives me a reason to take it over Daze mantra. Daze mantra just out shines pain mantra from the utility, trait synergy, and sigil synergy.

 

"Time Warp: This skill now also grants superspeed" confused me as well I don't see why a skill that is placed down and remains stationary while pulsing boons and conditions should give super speed. I would much rather see super speed added to mass invis as it makes more sense to me.

 

"Master of Manipulation: This trait no longer reduces the recharge of manipulation skills, and it now grants aegis to nearby allies instead of superspeed." This I would rather of kept the super speed instead of the aegis as Mesmer does struggle with mobility as more mobility focused specializations come out. 

 

These are all from the view point of small scale or roaming inside of WvW.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Delrago.2098

[Yerlock.4678]

22 hours ago, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Counterblow: Reduced cooldown from 8 seconds to 7 seconds in PvP and WvW.

• Pommel Bash: This skill now grants barrier if it strikes an enemy that is using a skill.
• Savage Leap: Increased power coefficient from 0.75 to 1.15 in PvP and WvW.
• Final Thrust: This skill now inflicts a reduced amount of bleeding to targets above 50% health. Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Dolyak Signet: Increased base healing from 1,000 to 1,640. Reduced stability duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvP only. Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
• Balanced Stance: Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 50 seconds in PvP only.
• Signet of Stamina: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds. Increased endurance gain from 25 to 50 in PvP only.
• Frenzy: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
• Banner of Defense: Increased cooldown from 30 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
• Fierce Blow: Increased cooldown from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP only.
• Adrenal Health: Reduced base heal per stack from 87 to 70 in PvP only.
• Martial Cadence: Reduced quickness duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.

Berserker

• Arc Divider: Increased power coefficient per strike from 1.4 to 1.5 in PvE only.
• Shattering Blow: Reduced cooldown from 20 to 15 in PvP and WvW.
• Sundering Leap: This skill now grants aegis on activation. Reduced cooldown to 15 seconds in all game modes. Reduced power coefficient from 2.33 to 2.0 in PvP and WvW, and from 3.0 to 2.5 in PvE. Decreased berserk mode extension from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
• Outrage: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Dead or Alive: Increased Blood Reckoning duration from 2.5 seconds to 3 seconds.
• Eternal Champion: This trait has been reworked. It now grants stability and endurance when entering berserk mode, and it causes all traits that trigger when entering berserk mode to also trigger when exiting berserk mode.

Spellbreaker

• Full Counter: This skill will now trigger traits that trigger on burst skill usage when striking an enemy instead of when absorbing an attack.
• Breaching Strike: Reduced bonus damage against enemies with no boons from 50% to 5% in PvP and WvW.

Bladesworn

• Swift Cut: This skill now fires an additional projectile after the melee slash. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Steel Divide: This skill now fires an additional projectile after the melee slash. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Explosive Thrust: The secondary explosion portion of this skill is now a ranged attack. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Blooming Fire: This skill no longer causes explosions along the length of your strike. Instead, this skill now launches a projectile at your target, shattering on contact and causing multiple explosions.
• Artillery Slash: This skill now consumes all ammo when used, gaining bonus damage and different effects based on the amount of ammo consumed.
• Cyclone Trigger: This skill now applies aegis to the caster in addition to its other effects. This skill now blocks missiles as soon as it is activated. The total duration of the block remains the same.

 

My worry with Bladesworn is that the Tactics traitline won't be a tempting enough option due to the easy condition cleansing route if Defense is taken. With (a very good and healthy) buff to Dolyak and Balanced, Shake it off will seem minute compared with the lack of defense.

One way to alleviate this is to buff the master trait "Shrug it Off" cd from 60 seconds to 50 seconds. That way, Blades can go Tactics and have an extra stun break if they wanna have that smidge bit more cleanse and potential stun breaks, as well as a bit more healing incentive. Also buffing the conditions cleared from 1 to 2 on that trait wouldn't go too far.

 

Also, the Artillery Slash slash change really should be justified for eating up all your ammo. Cuz that is a main dps source for Blade right now and we'd potentially lose damage if that wasn't justified with an attack that damages way more and cc's with three ammo being used at once.

 

The Spellbreaker nerfs are not overly done imo and warranted. My only concern here is that Strength will still be overshadowed by Defense, even when going Greatsword.

 

The Berzerker usability changes look like it's going in the right direction to make the qol better. My only nitpicks here are that:

A) Primal burst skills have not been touched up on in competitive game modes and might be lacking. (Arc Divider for example leaves you super exposed with not a massive amount of damage in pvp) 

B) Some Rage skills still won't be a worthwhile pick. Mainly Wild Blow, and even Sundering Leap and Outrage after these listed buffs. Outrage needs a very usable cd to be picked over other skills (Endure pain, Shake it off), and Sundering Leap even after this listed change will still feel lacking just by imagining it.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by gmmg.9210
ddd

[crazyhusky.2985]

It is nice to some buffs for Staff on Elementalist

But could you rework "Eruption" (Earth staff - 2)

As it takes WAY too long for skill to damage, could you speed up to 0.25 or 0.5 seconds or re-work it to be a pulsing AoE of earth spikes or something like Fire Staff 2

So we have reliable damage option on staff while in the earth attunement. It feels so slow and clunkly to use Earth with Staff right now.

[Waffles.5632]

Where Mirage at?

[wesly.6497]

6 minutes ago, wesly.6497 said:

maybe finally do something with a legend  Kalla Scorchrazor?she can't use pvp and wvw the most useless legend in a revenan......

the revenant has eternal damnation is to run in the dwarf and Shiro and two swords. Now this class can be renamed from revenant to herald 

 

[CalmTheStorm.2364]

CMC and Roy:  Thanks for this.  As always, I appreciate your hard work and transparency.

 

Some feedback on Warrior Changes:

 

Bladesworn:

1) Ranged attacks on Auto Attacks: GOOD.  Nice change; will add a lot of value.

2) Blooming fire being ranged: BAD. 
We now have an overabundance of ranged attacks, and if an elementalist drops Swirling Winds I can't even auto attack without shooting myself in the face.  Blooming fire is currently a terrible skill because it does no damage and has a very long cast time; reduce its cast to 1/2s and increase its damage by 25%.  Bladesworn Needs a powerful melee attack to combo with stunning people with dragon slash (with unyielding dragon); Blooming Fire would be the natural skill to do this. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE IT RANGED; MAKE IT A REALLY GOOD MELEE ATTACK.
 

3) Artillery Slash Changes: PROBABLY BAD. Artillery slash is currently the only truly good skill on Gunsaber.  Please do NOT take it away.  BS already has good CC output thanks to Unyielding Dragon; it doesn't need to upgrade AS into CC.  What BS needs is strong, reliable damage.  Leave AS the way it is and buff Blooming Fire as above.

 

4) Cyclone Trigger gaining Aegis: GOOD.  Gunsaber desperately needed some defense; this helps.

 

5) Break Step: Please let it cleanse immobilize.  Being Immob'd is one of BS's biggest issues; please give it some countermeasures.

 

6) Bladesworn desperately needs stability in Dragon Trigger. Loss of stab is one of the biggest reasons BS fell off in competitive.  Warrior is built around its burst skills (see: Berserker's power, Adrenal healing, Burst mastery, etc....) and BS is already at a disadvantage because it only has one burst.  It is at a further disadvantage because it needs to stand still and channel in a warzone.  The least that could be done is to let it have some stability while attempting the charge.  Please return stability to Dragonscale Defense in competitive modes.  If 3s stab on 8s CD is too much, let it be 1.5 or 2s of stab.  That would be enough to cover a partial charge of Dragon Slash, forcing people to either fire a weaker, protected burst or risk getting interrupted if they charge for the full 2.5s for a max-powered burst.

 

On a related note: Dragon Trigger remains bugged.  If you are interrupted in DT it goes on an 8s CD, not a 4s CD like everything else in the game.  Please fix!

 

Berserker Changes:

1) These largely look good.  The utility skills still largely suck, but aegis on Sundering Leap is nice.

2) Eternal Champion re-work looks promising.  However, I think a manual exit from Berserk Mode should be baseline and not locked behind a GM trait.

3) Please commit to making Berserk Mode a Rage Skill and eliminate the adrenaline requirement. Or make it a burst again and keep the adrenaline requirement.  But currently it is the worst of both worlds.  However, I think eliminating the adrenaline requirement is the way to go; making Berserk Mode a regular skill on a 12s CD would make it much easier to utilize Berserker's Mechanic and free it from having to take signet of fury or similar adrenaline boosting utilities in order to get into Berserk on demand.  

 

Sword Changes:

1) Flurry still sucks.  Please reduce its cast to 1.5s.

2) Savage Leap: good change, but does nothing for condi builds

3) Final Thrust: good change.  However, please reduce cast to 1/2s.  It currently requires a CC to reasonably land, which is unreasonable for 3-6 bleeding, especially since most of the damage/bleeding is conditioned on the target being <50% health.  Most other professions are able to do their damage without nearly as much headache and set-up.  Heck, even look at Warrior's Axe 4...

 

Adrenal Healing:  BAD change.  Please Revert.  You're nerfing AH to less healing per second than it was even before the Defense Rework, all because of Spellbreaker.  Do NOT nerf core traits to target an elite spec.  As for Spellbreaker nerfs...

 

Spellbreaker:

FC change: good.  Honestly, you should probably fix the bug in Discipline which makes FC an 8.75s CD instead of 10.25s.  That's really the biggest nerf that Spellbreaker needed.

Dagger F1 nerf: overnerfed.  A 50% mod was high, but a measly 5% buff for actually ripping enough boons to make a target boonless?  Do you realize how rare that is?  A 15-25% damage mod would be much more appropriate.  

 

Shield Master:

You didn't actually touch this trait in this patch, but back in October you removed the CD reduction of the trait  but left the CDs of the Shield Skills the same.  Everyone else is getting the CD reduction built into their skills; please do the same for shield!!!

 

Thank you for your time and consideration!!

[Orabusu.6085]

I like the changes that are brough forth but I am missing the pistol buffs for thief, hammer buffs for revenant and the rework of necromancer minions and death magic traitline. Regarding 10 sec on mechanical genius it's a nice QoL change and now we only need the radius to be a bit longer for when you play powermech.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

@Cal Cohen.2358 and Roy (sorry, don't know your tag on the forums), Thanks again for all the hard work. Scanning through the whole list I saw some great work, there are some gems in there that some people may not realize are potent.

EDIT: @Cal Cohen.2358 FINALLY had a chance to watch the stream so I'll update my comments below. One feedback, there are some important bits that you guys left out of the forum post. Come on guys, post all the relevant stuff on the forum. Most of my new commentary is on Eternal Champion and Gunsaber.

I'd like to provide some feedback on the warrior section specifically:

On 2/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

 

Warrior

For this update, we focused on improving the gunsaber skills. As it essentially replaces one of bladesworn's regular weapons, we want to make sure that the gunsaber is a flexible kit that can play well with a broad number of other weapons. To that end, we've added a ranged component to a lot of gunsaber skills, as well as a potential crowd control to Artillery Slash. The gunsaber will still maximize its potential when in melee range, but now it will have a bit more flexibility in midrange situations and a broader set of tools to draw from.

Spellbreaker has become a dominant force in PvP over the last few months, and in this update we're targeting some of its sustain potential with adjustments to Banner of Defense and Adrenal Health. We've also adjusted the way that Full Counter interacts with traits like Adrenal Health, which now requires a successful strike instead of triggering when blocking an attack; our goal is to introduce the same counterplay that many burst skills have.

Gunsaber being so weak has been one of the reasons BSW hasn't been as well received as it could have been. One of our collective criticisms is that it isn't utilitarian enough as a forced weapon. So I'm glad you are revisiting this.

For Spellbreaker there is a bug on Versatile Power that over reduces FC's CD. That is something you should have fixed before touching anything else. I encourage you to look back at that and rethink the extent of some of your changes below.

On 2/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Core

• Counterblow: Reduced cooldown from 8 seconds to 7 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Pommel Bash: This skill now grants barrier if it strikes an enemy that is using a skill.
• Savage Leap: Increased power coefficient from 0.75 to 1.15 in PvP and WvW.
• Final Thrust: This skill now inflicts a reduced amount of bleeding to targets above 50% health. Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Dolyak Signet: Increased base healing from 1,000 to 1,640. Reduced stability duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvP only. Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
• Balanced Stance: Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 50 seconds in PvP only.
• Signet of Stamina: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds. Increased endurance gain from 25 to 50 in PvP only.
• Frenzy: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
• Banner of Defense: Increased cooldown from 30 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
• Fierce Blow: Increased cooldown from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP only.
• Adrenal Health: Reduced base heal per stack from 87 to 70 in PvP only.
• Martial Cadence: Reduced quickness duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.

 

This are all good except the last one. Final Thrust specifically is a change we've all been requesting for a while. THANK YOU SO MUCH for that! For Martial Cadence, please consider moving it into the GM tier so that it can be used with Vigorous Shouts. Please also increase the quickness duration on the warhorn trait. These two changes would allow better warrior support builds without relying on banners. OH Mace still needs to be looked at. Please also consider adding back in Confusion on Interrupt that warrior lost in 2018, either directly on Maces or via a trait like Unsuspecting Foe.

Also, I can see some serious barrier game happening with Mace/Horn + Stances. Are you guys sure this is how you want to address Mace? Because you are asking for perma barrier builds to happen. It is already very defensive what it lacks is pressure. Let Hammer be the power CC weapon and change Maces into confusion CC weapons. We had confusion on CC up until 2018, so it is a part of Warrior's identity. Put some confusion on the AA chain on Pulverize, put some on pommel bash with more if it interrupts, put some on skull crack that scales with adrenaline, and put some on Crushing Blow that doubles if the target is CCd. This is the sort of change that the warrior community wants for maces, not barrier if we interrupt a single target every so often. 

On 2/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Berserker

• Arc Divider: Increased power coefficient per strike from 1.4 to 1.5 in PvE only.
• Shattering Blow: Reduced cooldown from 20 to 15 in PvP and WvW.
• Sundering Leap: This skill now grants aegis on activation. Reduced cooldown to 15 seconds in all game modes. Reduced power coefficient from 2.33 to 2.0 in PvP and WvW, and from 3.0 to 2.5 in PvE. Decreased berserk mode extension from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
• Outrage: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Dead or Alive: Increased Blood Reckoning duration from 2.5 seconds to 3 seconds.
• Eternal Champion: This trait has been reworked. It now grants stability and endurance when entering berserk mode, and it causes all traits that trigger when entering berserk mode to also trigger when exiting berserk mode.

 

These are all good changes. For Eternal Champion I can see some very interesting gameplay, but we do not have a means of exiting Berserk on our own. Please consider a mechanic that allows us to exit Berserk at will.  So, having a chance to watch the stream, this is one of those times where you really need to include such important details on the forum post. This is a REALLY good change. I can see some very strong defensive Berserker builds coming out of this.  However, the fact that Berserk Mode exists in a quasi state of being a rage skill but requiring adrenaline still exists. Just make it a T3 Burst that procs traits on use and is instant cast, or bring back the previous version of it. If you do that don't let Eternal Champion proc the burst traits on exit. Again, this is a very interesting change.

On 2/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Spellbreaker

• Full Counter: This skill will now trigger traits that trigger on burst skill usage when striking an enemy instead of when absorbing an attack.
• Breaching Strike: Reduced bonus damage against enemies with no boons from 50% to 5% in PvP and WvW.

 

Please fix the CD reduction on Versatile Power to reduce the CD on FC to the proper amount. When you do so please consider the interaction of Breaching Strike and Destruction of the Empowered. I believe @oscuro.9720 had a good write up on that on the warrior forums after you put the bonus damage in originally. It is worth your time to go read that.

On 2/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Bladesworn

• Swift Cut: This skill now fires an additional projectile after the melee slash. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Steel Divide: This skill now fires an additional projectile after the melee slash. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Explosive Thrust: The secondary explosion portion of this skill is now a ranged attack. Enemies hit by the melee attack take reduced damage from the projectile.
• Blooming Fire: This skill no longer causes explosions along the length of your strike. Instead, this skill now launches a projectile at your target, shattering on contact and causing multiple explosions.
• Artillery Slash: This skill now consumes all ammo when used, gaining bonus damage and different effects based on the amount of ammo consumed.
• Cyclone Trigger: This skill now applies aegis to the caster in addition to its other effects. This skill now blocks missiles as soon as it is activated. The total duration of the block remains the same.

These sets of changes are very interesting. I missed the live stream, so it isn't clear to me here, but what will the ranges of these AA chain projectiles be? Will they fire only if we hit with the melee swing, or will they fire after the melee swing automatically? Will we be able to execute the AA chain from 600 or 900 or 1200 range using the projectiles as DPS? For the projectiles that hit at range, will they have respectable damage or weak sauce like the Rifle AA? Will Bladesworn become the new Rifle Mech? Inquiring minds want to know. Again, you need to put the relevant information in the forum posts.  I assume it is 900 range from the context of the stream. We didn't see the amulet/runes equipped, but hitting for 800 on a crit on an power AA is weak. Please consider making sure the full ranged AA is at least as powerful as the melee version. Warrior on the whole really suffers from lack of good ranged pressure, but it is okay for an elite spec to alleviate that. Please strongly consider making sure these full ranged attacks on AA, Gun2, and Gun3 are threatening. I'm not asking for Reaper Shroud levels of AA damage, but at least a normal 2 hander levels of damage. Make it the daka daka of choice for warriors.

For Blooming Fire, it has an evade on the underwater version of the skill. Please consider adding that to the land version of the skill. Otherwise I like that it is becoming a ranged attack.

The changes to Artillery Slash fix an issue with people in PvP being unable to dodge, but not knowing what the different effects are it is hard to provide adequate feedback for you. Please elaborate (I'll get to watch the stream later, so if you mentioned it there I'll update this).   Seeing the stream I get where you are going. There is going to be a lot of trait synergy going on here that will help BSW in the long run that I think some warrior mains are missing on the forums. I'd advise moving the 3rd ammo and it's stun into PvP and WvW anyway. This would lessen the need for UD and open up build diversity  for ID and DD to come into play in competitive.

For Cyclone Trigger I think the Aegis is unneeded, but that is because I'd prefer the UW evade on Blooming Fire to be placed on the land version of the skill. After seeing the stream I see your concern, but other classes have several abilities that full block, evade, or have distortion while attacking. Don't make warrior be the sole one that has to be skillful about it. I highly encourage you after watching the stream to go look at Blooming Fire's underwater evade and put that onto the land version in lieu of this Aegis change.

I still think you need to clean up the traitline. The Master tier would be more thematic if they triggered off of using an explosion.

Also, PLEASE give Arms a refresh.

Again, thanks for all the hard work. There are a lot of good changes in this patch.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Lan Deathrider.5910
Updates from having seen the stream finally

[Nightara.1804]

Please fix Alac Chrono.

The wells pulse their Alacrity on the final pulse (Which is, as you pointed out on Specter, horrible design). Why does Specter get to do Alac on the first pulse, but Chronos have to predict where the group will be in three seconds to provide Alacrity?

The wells still feel extremely unsatisfying and weak, their only purpose is to provide Alacrity, and any random utility like Daze or Superspeed doesn't really help bc we have to use them on cooldown just to keep up Alacrity, so we can't "hold" them for when the utility is actually needed.

Please increase the Alacrity duration, Quickness Chrono can provide Quickness with basically zero Boon Duration, but Alacrity Chrono has to pack a shitload of mostly useless utility skills AND a lot of BD just to provide a single boon.

I really dislike the Mesmer Mantra changes for PvE. Forcing us to precharge the Mantra while simultaneously refusing to give us a third charge makes it extremely hard to use Mantras properly - if I press my button to early, I lose my final charge and have to channel the entire thing during combat all over again. And if I wait for too long, I'm effectively wasting cooldown bc it's fully charged and every second I wait just delays the next time I get to use a charge. Please just give us three charges on Mantras already, Firebrand has it, and it allows for much more flexibility - as long as the third ammunition is still recharging, you can freely use or delay the Mantra to whenever you see fit without wasting cooldown or risking to lose the entire thing.

The additional Might is a good start, and the interaction fix between Tides of Time and Continuum Split is a nice bonus, but especially Alacrity Chrono is far from viable, and imo the Mantra change makes Chrono just worse overall, at least for PvE.

Edit (Especially talking about Mantra of Pain here, since it is by far the worst offender, but imo the same issue applies to other Mantras as well): I know you're trying to make losing the final charge and recasting the Mantra in combat worth the time spent on it, but if the past is any indication of what's to come, we will be stuck in the recast for 2.25 seconds, and all we get in return is a few stacks of Might. In comparison: Rejuvenating Tides has a similar casting time, and provides insane amounts of healing on top of five stacks of Might for ten seconds (Assuming no Boon Duration and Grace of the Land). Assuming the eight stacks of Might we currently get for five seconds will simply be party-wide instead, the effect simply isn't even remotely worth the time spent on the cast.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Nightara.1804

[mungozen.2379]

29 minutes ago, Surelia.2651 said:

So nothing Mirage specific.

On this: "Mesmer mantras now require an initial casting time to prepare the mantra charges."   Elaborate meaning here --- how much time?

Mantra - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)

Scroll down and you will see the original Mantras below the Trivia section.  I'd expect them to simply revert these for Mesmer.  These changes were made with Guardian in mind and had little to do with Mesmer QoL, both when they took away the charge up and now reverting it.

Pretty sad that the idea of profession balancing is to just add or remove items from one profession to suit the QoL of a different profession.

[Khyan.7039]

1 hour ago, Omg Im Target.3095 said:

Lol at the power weaver buffs. It's already in a decent state and now they increase the damage by like what 20% or even more? Ridiculous.

 

i wish they added more buff to sword for condi builds instead.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Khyan.7039

[FShoppe.6572]

Re: Bladesworn changes

A) Thank you for the ranged attack.

B) For what it's worth I would MUCH RATHER you fix all of the bugs with this class >> PRIMARILY THE NERFED FLOW GENERATION / [Daring Dragon] bug introduced with the Oct. 8th "fix" << for being able to no longer nudge your dragon trigger to put it on a reduced cd.

*(Which just changing Dragon Trigger stance to rooting /unrooting you like the old deadeye kneel would have done anyway, as it always should have been, imo.)

 

...So that the class can be ACTUALLY PLAYABLE, before any existing skill tune-ups.

 

But again thank you, I'll take what I can get lol

[Trigarta.3841]

I don't wanna go back to the old mantras. I prefer how they work at the moment. I never liked the preparation mechanic. 😒

[Cekay.2614]

Am i the only that is kinda dissapointed by the Engineer changes?

Dont get me wrong, i'm happy for bugfixes but i kinda expected a bit "more"?

 

21 hours ago, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

We've also tuned up some of the cantrips that don't see as much play to solidify them as solid defensive options.

 

- What about Engineer turrets? They dont see much play since forever either...

- Same with the kits, grenade kit is the only one that is being used (and medkit if you are a support/heal, but what about mechanist and medkit? i have no selfheal on mechanist with medkit! F1 is missing))

- The Flamethrower kit autoattack does near no damage and trying to blast my firewall field (skill #4) with skill #2 works only 50% of the time.

- I really miss the old core pianist playstyle with 3 kits and your weapon set, good times 🙂

- The Tools traitline could really use a second look and some changes to make it a more desirable pick

- Any plans on finally letting us customize our Mech? having 2 or more mechanists in your party makes it pretty difficult to actually see what your Mech is doing and where exactly it is. (A few different models and being able to use dye's on them would go a long way!)

- What about the Underwater issue for Mechanist? half of my traits simply straight up dont work as soon as i enter any body of water...which is, suboptimal to say the least...