May 2 Balance Update Preview

[SoulGuardian.6203]

On 4/21/2023 at 7:44 PM, Khlori.6209 said:

 

It doesn't, it's just budget necro in disguise, everything "Thief" was thrown out of the window in this spec.

Quite funny.

 

The utility skills would have been better being magic casted around the player rather than wells.

Those shadows should fly around player, not the undead walking.

The spectral mode should be something only necromancers should have.

This spec seems like a fusion of leftover concepts for other classes.

Imo thief should never be a healing or support class of any kind.

This ES needs to go back to the drawing board.

Could do with a different weapon other than scepter too.

Perhaps a Great Sword would suit it better.

 

[SoulGuardian.6203]

On 4/21/2023 at 8:33 PM, Dahkeus.8243 said:

The elementalist changes here are far from significant enough to address the performance of Catalysts in small group/roaming scenarios.  Fresh Air is far from the only problem with this over-performing because even without the Air traitline, a celestial scepter catalyst can quickly stack 25 might and 10-20 stacks of burning on a target with most of that coming from the auto attack. 

I would suggest at the very least reducing the burn stacks on scepter or at least slowing the cast time.  The power damage could even be increased to offset this to some degree if needed.

I agree that eles are overpowered in competitive modes. 

I wish I had the patience to make such a build.

But I'm not. I just slam in what I like and hope for the best. Then change accordingly, improving what it lacks. 

I tend to be stubborn and play the way I want, and not get chain bound to a strict rotation.

 

I hope nerfs don't effect pve though.

These two modes should always be sold separately. 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by SoulGuardian.6203

[Relco.2708]

You don't realize even tho you can dodge every 3 sec you have to keep dodges for yourself to dodge important mechanic and its not good to optimise spec around 3 confusion bosses where the problem is the condition itself not just this spec Because it applies it. If they don't like the performance on SH etc nerf confusion and add more torment or bleeding. Right now staf/staf perform well in few scenarios (preferably not moving target for bonus DMG from torment and fast attacks for confusion.) On other bosses your dps is same or less than other support specs. Not mentioning staff is not bursty at all and need time as your DMG comes from AA and ambush skill, comparing to qfb that just run in press 1 button for way longer quickness and instantly can thrown so many burnings the enemy freaks xD

For post on page 16 can't make the quote work 😄

Edited April 27, 2023 by Relco.2708

[Katary.7096]

My post is only refering to PvE.

Guardian
I don't know that the Dragonhunter changes are going to be hugely impactful but they're nice to see nevertheless.
The Firebrand nerfs seem pretty substantial, are condition damage focused Guardians supposed to run Willbender for pure DPS builds? And what is the deal with the buff to "Unrelenting Criticism"? That is going to make bleeding relatively more important which will likely lead to players having to get new gear, sigils and runes for a pure DPS Firebrand (if Firebrand does not become pointless as a DPS option). Also the master tier major traits in Firebrand look rather underwhelming going forward, "Weighty Terms" is probably going to be the general best choice.

Necromancer
Another round of power Reaper buffs, let's see if it is going to be enough this time.

Ranger
When you announced that you will be taking a look at "Fervent Force" I was expecting you to change the functionality of the trait. I'm not sure the current nerf is going to be a positive decision in the long term.

Revenant
Wait, Renegade is supposed to be a good power damage option? To be fair, condition alacrity Renegade is notably better than power alacrity Renegade so you do have a point. However I would prefer if you found a way to close that gap without hurting the condition damage pure DPS Renegade build.
Also I'm still hoping that you might consider changing the way in which Herald applies quickness. Spamming facets is not exactly great.

Thief
I like the idea of buffing support builds on Specter and allowing Deadeye to apply groupwide quickness but it is still sad to see that Thiefs are effectively skipping this update.

Warrior
The bonus critical strike chance applies only while in berserk mode? I recognize the idea is to maintain Berserk for as long as possible by extending the duration with Rage skills, I'm not a fan. I suggest you turn "Smash Brawler" into a Berserker version of "Pure Strike": Deal increased critical-hit damage. This bonus is doubled while in berserk mode. Critical Damage Increase: 7,5%
That would put the Berserker golem benchmark at roughly 41k DPS, which isn't to say that I would drop Hammer Spellbreaker to play Berserker instead, but at least it would put Berserker back on the map.

General
I like the rather large volume of bug fixes, keep it up.
 

[Gaiawolf.8261]

5 minutes ago, Katary.7096 said:

he Firebrand nerfs seem pretty substantial, are condition damage focused Guardians supposed to run Willbender for pure DPS builds? And what is the deal with the buff to "Unrelenting Criticism"?

This really makes zero sense to me. The only build that was even close to overperforming in DPS was doing so using axe/torch. But instead of nerfing axe, they push a nerf that hurts every other weapon more than axe, and they buff axe with the trait? WHAT?

Why not not just nerf axe burning or auto-chain skills, then use the trait to get some of it back in bleeds instead? What did scepter FBs do to deserve this nerf for those that like to play with a bit of range? It certainly wasn't overperforming.

[PetitQuark.9214]

 

It would be nice to have the virtuosos recover all of their blade when it takes their fractal singularity.

[SoulGuardian.6203]

14 hours ago, Relco.2708 said:

You don't realize even tho you can dodge every 3 sec you have to keep dodges for yourself to dodge important mechanic and its not good to optimise spec around 3 confusion bosses where the problem is the condition itself not just this spec Because it applies it. If they don't like the performance on SH etc nerf confusion and add more torment or bleeding. Right now staf/staf perform well in few scenarios (preferably not moving target for bonus DMG from torment and fast attacks for confusion.) On other bosses your dps is same or less than other support specs. Not mentioning staff is not bursty at all and need time as your DMG comes from AA and ambush skill, comparing to qfb that just run in press 1 button for way longer quickness and instantly can thrown so many burnings the enemy freaks xD

For post on page 16 can't make the quote work 😄

This is what my post in mesmer forum is about.

Is mirage fun?

Yes. No doubt about it.

But at the same time it feels like a chore or a task running one, with the amount of things you have to do, for little pay in return.

 

You have to use specific runes and sigils to constantly regain endurance, as the whole entire spec relies on dodges to do something constructive; and most of the time you can't. 

 

Just the other day, I just barely managed to escape a huge zerg, twice, only because at that time I managed to keep my nerves, but had to use all my dodges and teleports, and stealth to get away.

 

I really really like this spec, it's one of my favourites; but it defo needs buffs.

One of them, if not the most important of all is to do more damage on the special attack when you gain distortion. 

This is the key move in this spec.

Distortion.

So we need lots of it, and the special attack we gain from it has to do more damage and apply conditions such as confusion, or stun.

 

So the last thing mirage needs now us a nerf when it should be the opposite. 

 

I really hope the devs read this and consider.

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by SoulGuardian.6203
Distortion

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

The overall feeling from the warriors is that critical chance increase while in berserk mode would be better as a critical damage increase instead like how Pure Strike functions.

[Nightara.1804]

18 hours ago, Relco.2708 said:

You don't realize even tho you can dodge every 3 sec you have to keep dodges for yourself to dodge important mechanic and its not good to optimise spec around 3 confusion bosses where the problem is the condition itself not just this spec Because it applies it. If they don't like the performance on SH etc nerf confusion and add more torment or bleeding. Right now staf/staf perform well in few scenarios (preferably not moving target for bonus DMG from torment and fast attacks for confusion.) On other bosses your dps is same or less than other support specs. Not mentioning staff is not bursty at all and need time as your DMG comes from AA and ambush skill, comparing to qfb that just run in press 1 button for way longer quickness and instantly can thrown so many burnings the enemy freaks xD

For post on page 16 can't make the quote work 😄

As a matter of fact, I do. I was merely showing that "you need more than 100% BD to get 100% Alac uptime" is utter nonsense. Mathematically speaking, without factoring in anything (Lag, mechanics, clones dying, mistakes, etc., all the stuff you were mentioning, and even more), the 16.7% you get from Chaos is almost enough to get you to 100% Alac uptime.

Does that mean you should only run 16.7% BD? No. Absolutely not. In fact, I suggested/estimated something around 25-30% BD in one of my earlier posts where I also did the maths to prove that "One dodge every three seconds" isn't exaggerated.

I also never claimed that Alac Mirage is the most stronkest build around (Which you seem to have taken away from my post). I said Alac Mirage is STRONG (And if you go by raw benchmark numbers, which do have the flaws you pointed out, but are ONE way of comparing DPS), then Staff/Axe is definitely too strong, even without factoring in Confusion (And Confusion would be another 4k DPS if we assume one attack every three seconds, which is definitely a good estimate for a median, as seen here: https://i.imgur.com/W03XC65.png).

For Staff Mirage, if you assume 4k DPS from Confusion again, you'll end up at 34k DPS, which moves it into a comfortable third place among support builds (Not counting Staff/Axe), which is far from bad. Yes, Mirage is pretty bad on some bosses, but pretty kitten OP on others, which averages out quite well if you ask me. We're not just talking about the "three mystical Confusion bosses" everyone keeps mentioning, Mirage is a pretty good Alac DPS on most bosses, and definitely outperforms its most used contender (Power Alac Mechanist), who sits at an embarrassing 26k, pretty much anywhere. Just because people don't play it, that doesn't mean it's not strong. SC has a gameplay guide for Alac Mirage covering 13 out of 17 raid bosses, meaning someone at SC sat down and thought "Alac Mirage is not only good enough to be played at these thirteen bosses, but actually good enough that I would be willing to put in the extra effort of writing a guide for all of these".

And yes, Mirage suffers from phases. But so do several other classes. That's not a reason to buff it. To rework it? Maybe. But not to buff it. And especially no reason to not to hit it with a nerf that barely even touches Staff Mirage. I already mentioned it multiple times, but the Staff Mirage benchmark has 2k power DPS. 2k. The only thing you lose, and I repeat: The only thing you lose by swapping from Viper's to Ritualist's is power damage (And approximately one stack of Bleeding uptime due to Sharper Images if you go full Ritualist's, which is WAY more than you need), so it is physically impossible for the Staff Mirage benchmark to drop any lower than 28k / 32k with Confusion (Every three seconds). And it is equally physically impossible for anyone in any raid to lose more than 2k DPS on Staff Mirage because of this nerf. In reality, these numbers will be significantly lower. Going full Ritualist's  (And I repeat: This will absolutely not be necessary, this is merely a worst case calculation) will bring your Power down from 3k to 1.7k, which is less than 50% damage loss on the power portion, aka 1k DPS loss.

And now, please explain to me how this 1k DPS Loss (In a, and I repeat, completely overtuned attempt to counteract the missing Alacrity and overcap it way beyond heaven and earth) is anything close to relevant.

TL;DR: Alac Mirage is absolutely playable on almost every raid boss, if you need more dodges for mechanics, just grab some Ritualist's pieces, and the DPS loss you get by doing that is a joke. And now please go back to your game and stop spreading nonsense about Mirage.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Nightara.1804

[Burnfall.9573]

On 4/27/2023 at 7:23 AM, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

Quite funny.

 

The utility skills would have been better being magic casted around the player rather than wells.

Those shadows should fly around player, not the undead walking.

The spectral mode should be something only necromancers should have.

This spec seems like a fusion of leftover concepts for other classes.

Imo thief should never be a healing or support class of any kind.

This ES needs to go back to the drawing board.

Could do with a different weapon other than scepter too.

Perhaps a Great Sword would suit it better.

 

Exactly this!

From the look of things, If Anet continues with this ideology of allowing Professions to  hijack and steal other Professions Roles and their Identities...Guild Wars 2 grave is closer than we think.

One Important Aspect In Human Nature, Is Decision Making

Anet is making our decision making and forcing us to play 1 Profession to be everything and to do everything.

 

Decision Making Is Power

Taking Away The The Players Power To Choose A Profession For Everything To Play...Is Toxic

Forcing The Players To Make One Decision To Win or Loose...Is Toxic

"Our Power Is  In Our Ability To Decide"

Edit: 

In addition; I also want to add this podcast video to support my post with adding more clarity to how the game removes "the thrill to lose" by making everything easy to win. 

By removing any insensitive for challenges, competitions, learning and growth...for the players. 

With the disconnect with the Community concerns.

How there is no goal or positive feedbacks, impact with the game modes.

How our experience seem to not matter at all and pushes dedicated, loyal and caring players away.

Thief Profession Brokenness and their Toxicity to roaming

(I hope this video can be taken into consideration in May - June Balance update)

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Burnfall.9573

[PookieDaWombat.6209]

Can't wait for the next big balance pass where Reaper gets more damage again because they apparently aren't hitting things hard enough.  

[Burnfall.9573]

Just now, PookieDaWombat.6209 said:

Can't wait for the next big balance pass where Reaper gets more damage again because they apparently aren't hitting things hard enough.  

 

Necromancer Profession is a condition role Profession. I look forward to their power damages decrease and their conditions increase more.

[PookieDaWombat.6209]

1 minute ago, Burnfall.9573 said:

 

Necromancer Profession is a condition role Profession. I look forward to their power damages decrease and their conditions increase more.

Reaper was always meant to be a bruiser, but its as if every time they do these passes Reaper gets even more damage lumped into it.  One of my necros has been a power reaper ever since they introduced it into the game and I spent about a year exclusively maining her.  The last thing she needed back then was more damage and yet here we are, years on from that and Anet keeps piling it on.  I just don't understand the mentality.

[Burnfall.9573]

1 hour ago, PookieDaWombat.6209 said:

Reaper was always meant to be a bruiser, but its as if every time they do these passes Reaper gets even more damage lumped into it.  One of my necros has been a power reaper ever since they introduced it into the game and I spent about a year exclusively maining her.  The last thing she needed back then was more damage and yet here we are, years on from that and Anet keeps piling it on.  I just don't understand the mentality.

 

I truly miss Lich Form and right now, it sits at 150 seconds. I would like for Anet to decrease its cooldown to 90 seconds and to buff it.

 

As I said before, Anet is intentionally holding Necromancer Profession back to their full potential.

Any positive changes or improvement for Necromancer Profession are always welcome.

(Guild Wars 2 is Necromancer Profession home not Thief Profession. Necromancer Profession are forced to give up their identity and role, just to survive. Necromancer Profession are the only Professions who who are Punished with self-inflicted conditions, for casting conditions)

Conditions are Necromancer Profession identity and they are Punished for it. Can you imagine giving up everything to be who you are and being punished for it?

 

As for Thief Profession

Anet allowing Thief Profession to go Broken and Toxic for 11 years and on top of that, they equip Thief Profession with Mesmer Profession Portal. Can you imagine other game company giving their fastest Profession in their game access to Portal? Why would they? It would be Unacceptable and Toxic to their game base and to their players base experiences.

From May preview, it look like Anet is going to stirp conditions across the board from all Professions except Necromancer Profession. 

I also expect Portal to be removed from Thief Profession and to make it exclusively to Mesmer Profession and also for their 3rd dodge to be removed and to be returned to Mesmer Profession 1 dodge.

As for Thief Profession 11 years Uncontrollable,  Destructive, Toxic Dominance in the game and for having negative experiences for the Community. I expect Anet to nerf them to the ground for its Punishment and, for years to come including reworking their Stealth Mechanic.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Burnfall.9573

[Dahkeus.8243]

On 4/27/2023 at 6:55 AM, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

I agree that eles are overpowered in competitive modes. 

I wish I had the patience to make such a build.

But I'm not. I just slam in what I like and hope for the best. Then change accordingly, improving what it lacks. 

I tend to be stubborn and play the way I want, and not get chain bound to a strict rotation.

 

I hope nerfs don't effect pve though.

These two modes should always be sold separately. 

 

Cele scepter catalyst (in WvW at least) is actually pretty easy to play.  Spam 2 and 3 in every element and go air for quickness, then swap to fire and your auto will melt more than any Cele build has the right to.  
There’s more to it, of course, but that much will allow you to win most matchups.

[FreshF.5793]

On 4/21/2023 at 6:39 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Phoenix Protocol: In PvE only, this trait now reduces the duration of resolve by 1 second instead of increasing it by 2 seconds.

Really? Almost nobody is even playing this build because giving alac is based on the amounts hit instead of just pressing one button (e.g. mech or renegade).

Reward people who play this build instead of forcing them again to play other "more reliable" alac-classes.

[Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497]

18 hours ago, Burnfall.9573 said:

 

As for Thief Profession

Anet allowing Thief Profession to go Broken and Toxic for 11 years and on top of that, they equip Thief Profession with Mesmer Profession Portal. Can you imagine other game company giving their fastest Profession in their game access to Portal? Why would they? It would be Unacceptable and Toxic to their game base and to their players base experiences.

From May preview, it look like Anet is going to stirp conditions across the board from all Professions except Necromancer Profession. 

I also expect Portal to be removed from Thief Profession and to make it exclusively to Mesmer Profession and also for their 3rd dodge to be removed and to be returned to Mesmer Profession 1 dodge.

As for Thief Profession 11 years Uncontrollable,  Destructive, Toxic Dominance in the game and for having negative experiences for the Community. I expect Anet to nerf them to the ground for its Punishment and, for years to come including reworking their Stealth Mechanic.

Something tells me a thief hurt you, and you never bothered to learn how the profession works or its weaknesses. You're just one of the people that screams nerf because they can't be bothered.

 

Thief's portal is not as powerful as a mesmer or scourge portal. It's not useful in ambushes because of the short duration. And it's one way, rewind only. So you can't use it to advance troops in wvw without having the thief run to the intended spot. Drop port, and run back.

 

In WvW it also has a limitation of five players, and one in PvP.

 

Thieves primarily use it as an escape in WvW, and to quickly move back to a fight after decaping in PvP. It's almost never used in a combat capacity. And it's rarely used in team play beyond ferrying a single ally back.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497

[Burnfall.9573]

28 minutes ago, Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497 said:

Something tells me a thief hurt you, and you never bothered to learn how the profession works or its weaknesses. You're just one of the people that screams nerf because they can't be bothered.

 

Thief's portal is not as powerful as a mesmer or scourge portal. It's not useful in ambushes because of the short duration. And it's one way, rewind only. So you can't use it to advance troops in wvw without having the thief run to the intended spot. Drop port, and run back.

 

In WvW it also has a limitation of five players, and one in PvP.

 

Thieves primarily use it as an escape in WvW, and to quickly move back to a fight after decaping in PvP. It's almost never used in a combat capacity. And it's rarely used in team play beyond ferrying a single ally back.

 

I have been here long enough and I used to main Thief Profession and I find it Disgusting and Ant-Competitive in its design especially for it to still being allowed to have negative experience for the players is beyond Disgrace.

 

It was never about Thief Profession "portal" being not powerful or not. It was about stealing another Profession skill which it has not business in doing so. 

 

Once again, Anet had absolute no  reason to equip the highest  mobility and with the highest escapable Profession in the game with having access to Perma-Stealth, evade, blind, teleport, scorpion wire- to pull targets toward them beyond 1200 range by giving it more ways to escape with stealing another Profession-Mesmer Profession; who relies on their escape-Portal as a last resort.

 

Toxicity is all over the wall with Thief Profession design. 

 

Seriously, what other means of escape or other more ways of anything does the most Toxic Profession in the game need?

"How Much More Add-On Does The Most Over-Perform Profession In The Game Need!!"?

Edited April 29, 2023 by Burnfall.9573

[Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497]

38 minutes ago, Burnfall.9573 said:

 

I have been here long enough and I used to main Thief Profession and I find it Disgusting and Ant-Competitive in its design especially for it to still being allowed to have negative experience for the players is beyond Disgrace.

 

It was never about Thief Profession "portal" being not powerful or not. It was about stealing another Profession skill which it has not business in doing so. 

 

Once again, Anet had absolute no  reason to equip the highest  mobility and with the highest escapable Profession in the game with having access to Perma-Stealth, evade, blind, teleport, scorpion wire- to pull targets toward them beyond 1200 range by giving it more ways to escape with stealing another Profession-Mesmer Profession; who relies on their escape-Portal as a last resort.

 

Toxicity is all over the wall with Thief Profession design. 

 

Seriously, what other means of escape or other more ways of anything does the most Toxic Profession in the game need?

"How Much More Add-On Does The Most Over-Perform Profession In The Game Need!!"?

No... No I don't believe you.

 

Every class was given mobility and shadow steps that could match thief - which beyond guardian hammer - was a thief only feature. And many can actually outrun thief as long as thief doesn't have terrain features to abuse.

 

You have necromancer, your beloved, with a "mesmer portal" and I have yet to see you complain about it. And since you want to say that noticable differences don't count with thief portal, I won't accept an argument that it's different.

 

You want to complain about a class that gives themselves condi... The class that is the condi god? That's not a punishment. It's a feature given the number of ways that necro can simply convert condi into boons and corrupt boons. Maybe you don't know the profession as well as you claim? Most necros I see actually abuse this to their advantage.

 

Additionally, if you've played thief as long as you complained, you would know why thief has some of the strongest escapes in the game. The thief CANNOT fight other professions toe to toe, because they don't have the same level of survivability.

 

Necromancer shroud? It doesn't scale off vitality as well as necros and the skills aren't powerful enough to justify staying in it as long as necro.

 

Daredevil block? It's a channeled skill that stops you from doing anything else on a cool down.

 

Dodges? You can no longer dodge while immobilize outside of init burning skills. All skills thst burn init are costly. Something you would know... But ignore.

 

Stealth? If you played thief long enough in PvP modes you'd knoe that experienced players aren't bothered by it. They know hoe to handle it. Keep their distance, spin wildly, or throw down AOEs roughly where the thief appeared. The smart ones AOE smoke fields immediately to zone thief out of them and force them to burn more init - or reengage. Smarter ones with no AOEs carries protection, ageis, and regen so getting backstabbed isn't an issue. 

 

Stun breaks? Thief is mobile. Use condi as they can't discard them as quickly.

 

Now you want to talk about toxicity? At least Thief has counterplay and checks and balances.

 

Lets talk about necromancer for a bit.

 

How long was Reaper back in HoT release allowed to be unkillable and dominate sPvP? Almost a full year.

How long has Scourge been allowed to absolutely dominate WvW because of their wells? Almost three to four years. And they are still amazing in WvW.

 

Meanwhile thief's only contribution to a team is just roaming capabilities. Something Mesmer does better - lagging in only mobility vs terrain heights. And specter hardly brings anything good to the table because they can't stay safe when using support functions, and they can't heal for kitten because their healing power scaling is low.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497

[Player.2475]

I like how I read through this entire balance preview without seeing a single one of the builds I think are overperforming get any nerfs other than Stone Heart, and none of the specs that are underperforming get touched at all. The only meaningful changes are to one Elementalist trait and damage coefficients on a Reaper, which already does insane damage.

You might as well have left the balance as it is, because other than bunker elementalists, no one is going to see a difference.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Player.2475

[Soochy.3948]

More dmg for rangers, only class that burst 80% of your hp in one second from 1500 range. 

 

Tempests are insane in wvw/pvp and needs nerfs. Their cleansing is just infinite. And they are buffed AGAIN. 

 

My cat would make better "balance" changes. Looks like devs has got no clue and make changes for stuff they play -.- 

[Flow.2947]

Thx for the preview again 🙂

No change in WvW--> "Metha" is still the same as before... Which is sad. 

 

I wish thief has a viable option in big scale 

I wish there was a support boon option (stab/stun brake) other than Guardian.

The rest of the changes for wvw are fine and I like the direction.

[Mewone.3247]

Why do you keep ignoring the Mechanist bug where you keep your toolbelt skills when you only unlock the Mechanist elite spec? This is very similar to the elementalist bug, but much less gamebreaking. Still seeing buffs for condi Holo but no bug fixes or a new strike mission just feels underwhelming to say the least. You really need to step up your game.

[Zepoolpe.9217]

Seeing GW2 and balance in the same sentence always make me chuckle...

These guys have no kittening idea of what balance is.

In WvW everybody said there is a boon generation issue and what was done? increase the boon generation and reduce the boon strip/corrupt. Meanwhile aura share is not addressed and you have a proliferation of gunflamers, a skill that can one-shot you while being unblockable.

This game started as a great game with lots of interesting features like dodge, conbos, the lack of role trinity, but as the orginal team left, you really have the impression that they were replaced by a lot of people that have the skill and understanding close to the amount of fun you can have in WvW right now: zero.

[BatelGeuce.3591]

On 4/21/2023 at 6:39 PM, Rubi Bayer.8493 said:

Hbut it didn't quite have the impact that we wanted

I like this, it sums up the balance changes very neatly.