March 19 Balance Update Preview

[Shagie.7612]

46 minutes ago, XenesisII.1540 said:

forces certain meta builds

doesn't do that at all, lol
if you show up and pump decent numbers on your off-meta build, nobody's gonna notice or care because you're still pumping and things are dying

46 minutes ago, XenesisII.1540 said:

dps standards

raids do this, to an incredibly light degree, simply so you can't throw on full nomad on everyone and facetank through the entire encounter with very little challenge
that's not bad, nor is it toxic

 

[FalsePromises.6398]

On 2/16/2024 at 12:34 PM, Butterfly Kingdom.8349 said:

Harbinger

• Vile Vials: This trait has been reworked. This trait now causes elixir skills to grant protection. This protection can be shared with Twisted Medicine.
• Wicked Corruption: Increased the damage modifier per blight stack from 0.5% to 1% in PvE only. Increased the critical-strike damage modifier from 10% to 12.5% in PvE only.
• Cascading Corruption: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvE only.

I think one of the issues with harbinger isn't the damage modifiers but rather the coefficients in harbinger shroud. The kit is okay for power (at least when you're using greatsword), the problem boils down to harbinger shroud's power not being competitive against other parts of its own kit, namely greatsword. Without a "second healthbar" as people like to call shroud health, you REALLY need to go all-in on making harbinger shroud the pinnacle of damage. Meanwhile, I go to the testing area and can deal higher DPS with greatsword autos and gravedigger after each chain than I can with harbinger shroud autos (both with 25 blight, soul barbs, no signet of spite), and maybe that's where the problem is. Just for PvE, buffing the power coefficients of harbinger shroud would be a start to making power harbinger feel good and unique instead of just a damage-inflated, lukewarm playstyle.

Side note: buffing power coefficients would also do more for validating power quick harbinger whereas buffing traits that clash with quickness options doesn't help it. 

[ShadowKatt.6740]

2 hours ago, XenesisII.1540 said:

Well what did you expect when they decided to bring in competitive content like raids, that forces certain meta builds and dps standards. Toxicity naturally comes along with any competitive content, whether that's pvp or high end pve stuff, it's the same for every single mmo. 🤷‍♂️

 

We didn't have the problem back in GW1, and GW1 was FAR more focused on PvP (or GvG rather) than GW2 is.
HOWEVER the difference then is that they didn't bloat the game with all the different gear and traits and everything else. It was all very simple. You had your abilities or spells, and some sliding skills you could dump points into. And they watched. If a spell or ability was getting used a lot, it get dialed back. If something was never getting used, it got tuned up. It was very simple. Now however they can't even put in that much effort.

[Apolo.5942]

2 minutes ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

We didn't have the problem back in GW1, and GW1 was FAR more focused on PvP (or GvG rather) than GW2 is.
HOWEVER the difference then is that they didn't bloat the game with all the different gear and traits and everything else. It was all very simple. You had your abilities or spells, and some sliding skills you could dump points into. And they watched. If a spell or ability was getting used a lot, it get dialed back. If something was never getting used, it got tuned up. It was very simple. Now however they can't even put in that much effort.

Dissagree, GW1 system was way more complicated than GW2.

The problem has always been that the people responsible for balance, simply play another game or respond to a small niche public, like when they removed bunker as a strategy in pvp.

[Obtena.7952]

3 hours ago, XenesisII.1540 said:

Well what did you expect when they decided to bring in competitive content like raids, that forces certain meta builds and dps standards. Toxicity naturally comes along with any competitive content, whether that's pvp or high end pve stuff, it's the same for every single mmo. 🤷‍♂️

 

Except raids (and other instanced content) NEVER did that in GW2 because you never needed meta builds or top tier DPS to successfully complete them ... like EVER. If anything, the 'requirement' for meta and DPS has only diminished over time, except for the  most intendedly difficult content like CM strikes.  Certainly the mechanics are no more difficult than any other MMO and in some encounters can be ignored completely, because of things like power creep. 

The toxicity, whatever the reason for its existence, certainly does not originate with how the game is designed ... and never has. It's solely based on the ideals and perceptions of players that impose those mindsets on others. Ironically, it seems that the complaints about balance for PVE commonly originate FROM the people that the content isn't designed around in the first place; I don't see the average scrub complaining that their 'press 1' or 'faceroll'  strategy is messing up their ability to do content.  

 

Edited February 19 by Obtena.7952

[DeceiverX.8361]

32 minutes ago, Obtena.7952 said:

Except raids (and other instanced content) NEVER did that in GW2 because you never needed meta builds or top tier DPS to successfully complete them ... like EVER. If anything, the 'requirement' for meta and DPS has only diminished over time, except for the  most intendedly difficult content like CM strikes.  Certainly the mechanics are no more difficult than any other MMO and in some encounters can be ignored completely, because of things like power creep. 

The toxicity, whatever the reason for its existence, certainly does not originate with how the game is designed ... and never has. It's solely based on the ideals and perceptions of players that impose those mindsets on others. Ironically, it seems that the complaints about balance for PVE commonly originate FROM the people that the content isn't designed around in the first place; I don't see the average scrub complaining that their 'press 1' or 'faceroll'  strategy is messing up their ability to do content.  

 

The point is that adding things like role-mandated gameplay patterns in raids with integrated DPS meters and group-support-centric stat-check boosts is what causes the community to get toxic in the first place about the decisions being made precluding the attempts to complete the content, and that players can and will hold everyone to optimum performance standards while the game direction increasingly focuses on catering content to this kind of mindset.

These decisions are ones which ANet deliberately made.

So while the community is to blame for being toxic in isolation from a very pedantic POV, ANet is ultimately responsible for enabling it so much.

Had they never allowed Overwolf and stuck with their guns from launch about DPS meters being bad for the community, nobody would be freaking out about DPS benchmarks because nobody would have real numbers.

These were things many of us said a decade ago as being what would become problems in the scope of the community's future.

Since I no longer have any real stake in the game anymore, it's kind of cathartic to be so vindicated every passing year.

[Dinas Dragonbane.2978]

Okay so I normally wouldn't post on this sort of thread, but ever since raids came into existence the balance of the game was thrown into chaos, where raids, pvp, wvw, and unfortunately even open world pve became 4 separate balances. after raid mentality of success or fail seeped into fractals, it then bled into what was left of dungeons, after that it started creeping into open world pve. Once that became a maintstay things got really iffy for pvp and wvw as many of the borderline pve/wvw/pvp players were hesitant to jump into the mode. Do   I have a solution to this? Not right now unfortunately but I feel as if the game in general needs a massive cleanse of boon application and duration at the very least

[XenesisII.1540]

1 hour ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

The point is that adding things like role-mandated gameplay patterns in raids with integrated DPS meters and group-support-centric stat-check boosts is what causes the community to get toxic in the first place about the decisions being made precluding the attempts to complete the content, and that players can and will hold everyone to optimum performance standards while the game direction increasingly focuses on catering content to this kind of mindset.

These decisions are ones which ANet deliberately made.

So while the community is to blame for being toxic in isolation from a very pedantic POV, ANet is ultimately responsible for enabling it so much.

Had they never allowed Overwolf and stuck with their guns from launch about DPS meters being bad for the community, nobody would be freaking out about DPS benchmarks because nobody would have real numbers.

These were things many of us said a decade ago as being what would become problems in the scope of the community's future.

Since I no longer have any real stake in the game anymore, it's kind of cathartic to be so vindicated every passing year.

☝️ 🤔 👏

[ShadowKatt.6740]

1 hour ago, Dinas Dragonbane.2978 said:

Okay so I normally wouldn't post on this sort of thread, but ever since raids came into existence the balance of the game was thrown into chaos, where raids, pvp, wvw, and unfortunately even open world pve became 4 separate balances. after raid mentality of success or fail seeped into fractals, it then bled into what was left of dungeons, after that it started creeping into open world pve. Once that became a maintstay things got really iffy for pvp and wvw as many of the borderline pve/wvw/pvp players were hesitant to jump into the mode. Do   I have a solution to this? Not right now unfortunately but I feel as if the game in general needs a massive cleanse of boon application and duration at the very least

Imagine what would happen if they were removed entirely. No more boons outside of a few like Resistance which just pause condition triggers. No more boonball, no more Qlac/Alacheal/Qheal, no more uptime rotations.

[AliamRationem.5172]

1 hour ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

The point is that adding things like role-mandated gameplay patterns in raids with integrated DPS meters and group-support-centric stat-check boosts is what causes the community to get toxic in the first place about the decisions being made precluding the attempts to complete the content, and that players can and will hold everyone to optimum performance standards while the game direction increasingly focuses on catering content to this kind of mindset.

These decisions are ones which ANet deliberately made.

So while the community is to blame for being toxic in isolation from a very pedantic POV, ANet is ultimately responsible for enabling it so much.

Had they never allowed Overwolf and stuck with their guns from launch about DPS meters being bad for the community, nobody would be freaking out about DPS benchmarks because nobody would have real numbers.

These were things many of us said a decade ago as being what would become problems in the scope of the community's future.

Since I no longer have any real stake in the game anymore, it's kind of cathartic to be so vindicated every passing year.

As far as I can tell, most of the toxicity in this community comes from entitled casuals, but you only really see it on the forums where they come to talk about how toxic the community is.  I suppose you could blame ANet for allowing a tool like arcdps when it's so clearly a trigger for their toxic behavior, but I don't believe it's right to remove a valuable tool from other players because a few bad actors can't control their anxiety.

[DeceiverX.8361]

1 hour ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

As far as I can tell, most of the toxicity in this community comes from entitled casuals, but you only really see it on the forums where they come to talk about how toxic the community is.  I suppose you could blame ANet for allowing a tool like arcdps when it's so clearly a trigger for their toxic behavior, but I don't believe it's right to remove a valuable tool from other players because a few bad actors can't control their anxiety.

It's really more that GW2 has always been marketed as a game that featured no roles and a "play your way" ad campaign as part of its central vision and game's manifesto.  Those "entitled casuals" come in here expecting most things to be comparable in nature and to be able to generally approach endgame with what they want to play and enjoy playing versus the community expectation and much of the recent content being focused on playing for optimal numbers due to just how ingrained these tools are now into the zeitgeist of profession balance and design.

This is especially relevant to boons.

[bq pd.2148]

Quote

Mesmer

• Desperate Decoy: This trait has been reworked. Gain vigor when you evade an attack. 

 I like this change, not neccesarily for PvE where Phantasmal Fury will often remain better and vigor can be provided by others, but it will have its uses for WvW roaming/clouding.

Quote

• Sympathetic Visage: This trait no longer affects nearby allies and only pulls conditions from the player.

this basically kills the trait in my eyes as the line has enough cleanse, only for a support build i would consider slotting it and it already competes with mantra heal so i don't see a need for a nerf here.
 

Quote

• Well of Precognition: This skill now grants allies 3 stacks of stability for 5 seconds on its first pulse.

reducing core mesmer stab just to give it back on chrono which also locks chrono more into using this aegis spamming skills, not a fan of this change. especially as it increases stab frequency. generally i would prefer longer boons with less frequency so that strips gain a bit more value and the gameplay becomes less spammy.
 

Quote

Mirage

• Split Surge: Increased the power coefficient from 0.45 to 0.85 in PvE only.
• Dune Cloak: This trait has been reworked. Gain Mirage Cloak when you shatter 2 or more clones.

i would prefer to give up Elusive Mind for such a new trait.
Dune Cloak could however use a radius increase so it can be used more reliably in competitive modes.
in WvW large scale power mirage is not a meta damage dealer mainly because holo overheat is able to oneshot players, but any other classes burst usually wont down a target in a single hit so you will need multiple damage dealers to hit the target anyway.
with maybe a bit of that split surge increase from PvE and a more reliable Dune Cloak power mirage could be a more viable pick once holo will be nerfed. In the more Pug blobs we have on EU mirage has the advantage that it can better pressure clouds and has its damage on a longer range than berserkers, for less focused burst.


while not part of the current changes:
mantra of pain and distraction that now can be cast without a target (completely wasting the skill except for mantra heal trait) would be nice if they applied their effect around the mesmer when nothing is targeted.

Edited February 19 by bq pd.2148

[Xion.5694]

Hi Cal,

I'm wondering why we see another buffs to willbender? Have you seen how the wvw gameplay on willbender currently looks like? Could you elaborate, why it needs more buffs? 

I know, you like to play boonball, but please consider voice of the community, that seem not to share your love for it. Nerfing the only counterplay (that is already weak, as you can pump buffs instantly) is not the best idea. 

Also, I still don't see nerfs to infinite projectile hate skills. 

Love to hear your feedback on this! 

[mitri.3842]

Dittoing some of the previous posts on here regarding Mecha Legs on engi. As much as  it is nice to see more access to resistance (currently ONLY available on Utility Goggles), completely losing the move speed on the trait doesn't feel great. Would be nice if at the very least some of the % was kept.

Though main reason why im posting at all i my small concern about the changes to Engi Sword/Gleam Saber; trimming the cooldown reduction to Refraction Cutter on auto attack loop completion from 3 second to 1 feels a bit drastic. On stream it was mentioned that the reason behind this change is to stop players from camping auto attack since too much of swords power budget was put on there. As it is now camping auto with quickness alone allows us to proc Refraction Cutter twice before heat dips down to 100 from 150, and with cutting the base cooldown on Refraction Cutter from 9 seconds to 6 in pve.... with all of these changes we still get to use Refraction Cutter twice in that time, so camping auto likely wont change.
Although in pvp and wvw that does cut it down to the point where we won't be able to get enough auto chains in to use it again before dropping too low in heat, to the point where the whole cooldown reduction on the auto feels a bit pointless.
Squeezing as much of the autochain to max out the Refraction Cutter output before hitting lower heat levels felt like the entire point of holo sword, especially with the 3rd sword skill providing quickness to speed up the auto chain further. If the point of this patch is to make other sword skills more enticing to use, as they get cooldown reductions and damage buffs then it does feel (at least to me) like a bit of a swing and a miss. As is, the Radiant arc (pve only) buffs (more dam to sword 3 that gives quickness) are nice but the skill itself always felt pointless to use in pve (and wvw zerging) since in open world zergs and instanced groups the meta is to have perma quickness uptime, with just drowns out any boons that skill provided.
What im trying to say, as nice as damage buffs are nice and all they do feel hollow if they render the point of the weapons skills line up a bit blander (number buffs all around but the mechanics of the weapon(1-2 skills) take a hit while skill 3 stays bland in organized group content). 

A bit of a wall of text for a change this minor that essentially won't really kill anything or anyone but, here's some ideas that could entice folks to add more holo skill loops to their rotation:
Add some gimmick to Refraction Cutter that rewards successfully landing more/all the projectiles on the same target, be it cooldown reduction to Radian Arc (more mobility and self quick uptime in pvp) or just more interaction with forge/exceed skills or the sword skills themselves if the weapon is supposed to stay consistent across all engi specs and not just holo.
Even sillier idea: some tiny bit of heat generated per hit outside the forge mode, not too much to lock out of the forge for longer but just a bit so we stay at higher heat lvls for a slightly longer time outside the forge, with boosts the damage altogether (honestly might be a neat gimmick for radiant arc, deffo would get more use then in all gamemodes)

Other note is on the rest of Exceed skills, Using them with the 150% heat trait feels fun as hell, but with the upcoming raw dmg buffs to em it feels like Hard Light Arena is lagging behind.
It would be nice if it got *something* extra to it, since it does seem to be a quite an underused skill in general. Maybe come extra condi(?) damage from holo player to enemies who stay within its aoe? really spitballing here since its a raw support skill on a dps focused spec so it doesn't get used much; unless heal holo is a thing and i just haven't heard of it.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

i'l try not to be too harsh about this, but there's only so nicely i can put this..

 

here we are, its now 2024 and many boons like protection, regeneration, swiftness, alacrity and quickness still stack in duration instead of by intensity. the original stability change was made for good reason, and it seemed like back then the developers understood having just one stack of a boon to give full potential wasn't a good idea, so why is it that all these years later you can still instantly cast a full set of boons at maximum power (except might, of course) in all game modes?

 

take alacrity for example, instead of simply removing it in wvw you could make it so one stack is just 5%, and it doesn't extend duration but instead stacks up to 10% when you use it again and so on, making it very difficult for healers to maintain it at full power and full uptime but still allowing it to be of some use during fights. similarly, all of the boons that stack in duration have an issue like this, especially those related to movement and attack speed.

 

instead we've gone back to just nuking fun things from orbit or just outright deleting them as the only viable balance situation, why? you already tried this in pvp with the amulets and it pretty much destroyed all build diversity in the game mode and probably lead to the death of the mode long-term.

 

it's not just the competitive modes it hurts, its also why there's so much monotonous support builds in pve instead of interesting ones, and it contributes alot to why both the damage and healing/sustain numbers have simply become too high, or even too low and some builds just aren't played at all. if you want to fine tune the balance then you need to have more granularity and not just have everything either be "on"  or "off".

Edited February 19 by SoftFootpaws.9134

[Chyro.1462]

7 minutes ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

i'l try not to be too harsh about this, but there's only so nicely i can put this..

 

here we are, its now 2024 and many boons like protection, regeneration, swiftness, alacrity and quickness still stack in duration instead of by intensity. the original stability change was made for good reason, and it seemed like back then the developers understood having just one stack of a boon to give full potential wasn't a good idea, so why is it that all these years later you can still instantly cast a full set of boons at maximum power (except might, of course) in all game modes?

 

take alacrity for example, instead of simply removing it in wvw you could make it so one stack is just 5%, and it doesn't extend duration but instead stacks up to 10% when you use it again and so on, making it very difficult for healers to maintain it at full power and full uptime but still allowing it to be of some use during fights. similarly, all of the boons that stack in duration have an issue like this, especially those related to movement and attack speed.

 

instead we've gone back to just nuking fun things from orbit or just outright deleting them as the only viable balance situation, why?

 

it's not just the competitive modes it hurts, its also why there's so much monotonous support builds in pve instead of interesting ones, and it contributes alot to why both the damage and healing/sustain numbers have simply become too high, or even too low and some builds just aren't played at all. if you want to fine tune the balance then you need to have more granularity and not just have everything either be "on"  or "off".

I find the idea quite interesting to have more boons stack in intensity instead of duration. As a support, it could lead to more reactive gameplay with being able to 'burst' multiple stacks of regen at once in a situation with heavier sustained damage or multiple stacks of protection against an incoming big hit instead of just keeping both boons up at all times. Though of course if the design went in that direction, they'd have to watch out that it isn't possible to just get full uptime of the intensity stacked boons, else we're back to square one with a new higher baseline.

[Obtena.7952]

14 hours ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

The point is that adding things like role-mandated gameplay patterns in raids with integrated DPS meters and group-support-centric stat-check boosts is what causes the community to get toxic in the first place about the decisions being made precluding the attempts to complete the content, and that players can and will hold everyone to optimum performance standards while the game direction increasingly focuses on catering content to this kind of mindset.

These decisions are ones which ANet deliberately made.

So while the community is to blame for being toxic in isolation from a very pedantic POV, ANet is ultimately responsible for enabling it so much.

Had they never allowed Overwolf and stuck with their guns from launch about DPS meters being bad for the community, nobody would be freaking out about DPS benchmarks because nobody would have real numbers.

These were things many of us said a decade ago as being what would become problems in the scope of the community's future.

Since I no longer have any real stake in the game anymore, it's kind of cathartic to be so vindicated every passing year.

That wasn't their point at all. They made a general statement that Anet creates content like raids that results in toxicity. It doesn't. How people interact with each other in the game that creates that toxicity.

The irony is that when this game was released, it was designed in a way that should have caused the LEAST toxicity among players because as long as you knew the encounter and could execute the mechanics, you could literally play whatever you wanted. And you know what? We STILL had a significant fraction of people that brought their toxic behaviours to bear on others, even without the things like role-mandated gameplay patterns in raids with integrated DPS meters and group-support-centric stat-check boosts.

So the bottomline here is that there is no game anyone can make that removes toxicity. It's up to players to be inclusive and accepting of how others want to play to ensure they don't encounter it. When that breaks down, that's because players break it down because they have been given freedom by the game to play how they want. In otherwords, some players CHOOSE to be exclusive in an open, freeform team environment ... that tends to toxicity. 

Edited February 19 by Obtena.7952

[tablet.4675]

please do not the energy expulsion. there are much more problematic skills and this change will simply annihilate duelist builds using tablet. this feels like a personal attack 😞

energy expulsion is a 35 energy skill, you do not need to increase the cooldown. a rev can throw out two back to back once every 9 seconds if and only if they use literally nothing else on the tablet. seriously, i can't overstate how important the short cd is on energy expulsion. I understand that you are likely trying to reduce stab gen on large groups but a rev looking for stab gen will just spec into dwarf with roads. i am confused by this change as it literally just seems like this is an anti-tablet duelist change. did i fight a dev or something???

straight up just take the stab off the skill if it's really a problem. you could bring back the old tranquil effect of extended knockdown duration. or you could put a partial revive on it and finally let healer revs do something about down state. or you could have it leave behind a water field. infinite things you could do with this elite skill but the short cd knockdown is so so so important please please please don't remove it i am on my hands and knees begging you here mx. anet, i am literally praying to the shrine of ventari rn do not! please!! please do not!!! no no no!!!!

Edited February 19 by tablet.4675

[Heatsink.5794]

Engineer needs far, far more improvement than what's in the notes. If there's no work there, how about implementing a railgun kit so engineers aren't so kitten by running with a melee weapon equipped?

[sanguigasm.1325]

People are right, yall don't know what to do with your own game fr. Let's just start making gw3... 

Edited February 19 by sanguigasm.1325
Grammar

[Mini Crinny.6190]

1 hour ago, sanguigasm.1325 said:

People are right, yall don't know what to do with your own game fr. Let's just start making gw3... 

are you sure they would know how to make a new game?

[Nepster.4275]

32 minutes ago, Mini Crinny.6190 said:

are you sure they would know how to make a new game?

Well, they still haven't figured out how mesmers work

[Burnfall.9573]

45 minutes ago, Nepster.4275 said:

Well, they still haven't figured out how mesmers work

 

I did my best 

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/48028-stop-mesmer-never-ending-nerfs-rework-save-mesmer/

 

[PrinceValentine.9320]

All these Mesmer fan boys here complaining about the upcoming nerfs when the class needs more toning down than mentioned. Smh

[Titan.7853]

I would like to chime in here regarding the changes to Guardian, specifically the bellyaching regarding Heaven's Palm, and to remind you why all those moaning are in fact wrong.  For reference, I have 2700 hours played on Guardian, and over time it has become the main class that I play.  I rotate between all three elite specs, and have approximately 1500 ranked PvP matches with Willbender.

I love Heaven's Palm, and I am one of the rare people who actually takes it in PvP and WvW.  Despite all my matches, I can count on one hand how many times I've been knocked down by it in PvP or WvW.  Seriously.  If you have been effected by it, congratulations, it's quite possible we've met before.  Why is that?  Why is it that seemingly nobody takes Willbender's elite skill, outside of PvE?  It does 1500 damage, has a 3 second knockdown on target, a knockback on up to 5 people, and a 20 second cooldown.

The main reason nobody takes Heavens Palm for their elite skill, is because most Willbenders take Renewed Focus instead.  For reference for everyone who doesn't play Guardian, Renewed Focus is a three second invul, that also recharges all of Willbenders virtues - you know, the thing that actually makes Willbenders deadly.  For everyone moaning about how Willbenders are ruining WvW (lol), they should in fact be thanking ANet for this change, because they are introducing an alternative to Renewed Focus.  In order for a Willbender to take this new version of Heaven's Palm, they will be giving up their only invulnerability, AND giving up a recharge of all their virtues.  That is a huge sacrifice to make, and no, most people will probably not be taking it.  Or they would be giving up Feel My Wrath, which some Willbenders take, that gives them the quickness needed for a fast kill.

If they do give up Renewed Focus, they will need to gain sustain from somewhere, lacking invul and a 2nd Crashing Courage, which means they will have to take Valor as a traitline, further sacrificing damage.  I should know, I tried to make platinum while taking Heaven's Palm, and despite all of my attempts, I never did with it.  Perhaps others better than myself did, but I couldn't.  I ended up switching from Virtues to  Zeal and later to Valor in order to get close, again for the added sustain at the cost of damage.  In the end, I quit caring and just had fun with it.

So, why do I take Heaven's Palm?  Heaven's Palm is slow, telegraphs like crazy, can be interrupted, is easily dodged, and is generally worthless outside of PvE.  I took it for one simple reason, because Heaven's Palm (600 range) into Judge's Intervention (1200 range teleport) is just so kitten fun.  It's the best opener in game.  It's a kockdown with a combined 1800 range, that puts your heavy mobility meelee class right on top of someone doing damage.  If they are good though (i.e. stun breaks fast), or if you are in a group fight, you may find yourself lacking the invulnerability, damage and sustain that you would otherwise have while taking Renewed Focus with Virtues or Zeal, and you will lose some fights.

So, are the Heaven's Palm changes necessary?  Yes!  Yes they are.  Making Heaven's Palm an evade makes it actually worthwhile to execute, if for nothing else than an evade.  As often as not if you tried Heaven's Palm in a group fight outside of the teleport combination, by itself, you would be interrupted, because you are hanging in the air for 1.25 seconds.  Which brings me to my 2nd point, even with an evade it's easy to dodge.  It telegraphs like crazy, and even when I time Judge's Intervention perfectly, to teleport when I am already halfway through the animation and falling, skilled players can still dodge around 50% of the time (once they catch on to my ways).  So in order for people to get caught by it within 600 range (without Judge's Intervention) for the full 1.25 second it hangs in the air, they will have to be either disabled, or out of dodges, evades, and blocks.

Lastly, omg, oh no, Heaven's Palm gives the Guardian a faster finish on downs.  How do we counter it, if it is also an evade?  Well, to that I say, several classes can move in a downstate, but I'd say that's missing the point.  In a game that has rapid revives of downed players by support classes, how do you counter that rapid revive ability?  You give some classes the ability to finish faster.  That is, in fact, actual balanced gameplay.  To even have the skill ready to finish someone, it must be unused or off cooldown, and that alone will nerf the frequency.

For all the measurebators out there, Scrapper has Function Gyro (3 target finisher, 3 ally revive) on a 25 second cooldown with a 1/4 second cast time.  Daredevil has Finishing Blow (multi-target finisher) with 1.5 second cast time and a 25 second cooldown.  Warrior has Battle Standard (5 target finisher, 5 ally revive) at 600 range with a 2 second cast time.  Have any of these ruined the game?  Willbender can have a *single* target fast finisher (so long as nobody else is in damage radius), with a 1.25 second cast time on a 20 second cooldown.  That's a good thing, not a bad thing, as it counters some instant revive gameplay, and gives Heaven's Palm a raison d'être outside of PvE.  The only question is, are these changes good enough to take Heaven's Palm over Renewed Focus or Feel My Wrath?  Myself, I am elated, but for most Willbenders, I'd wager probably not, but we'll see.  

In summary, all the Willbender haters out there should be welcoming this change, because in order to take it, Willbenders will have to sacrifice other elite skills that provide them with a lot of their damage and sustain.  If you see a Willbender drop Heaven's Palm, dodge and wait out their virtues, because you know there is no invul and recharge coming.  Guardians should welcome this change, because they have greater optionality.  As with all changes, however, I suspect we'll hear a lot of grumbling as people who rarely get hit by Heaven's Palm start getting hit in future, or as downstate players get finished in a new unexpected way. Shocker right?  That an elite specialization actually uses their elite skill.  I would only ask that if the cooldown has to be extended for balance reasons in competitive gameplay, which I doubt will be necessary, that it not exceed the cooldown of Judge's Intervention.  

Thank you to the devs for the commonsensical changes to Willbender's utility skills, making them viable options to take, and for the changes to Heaven's Palm, which were very needed, and are very much welcome.  Will anyone take Flash Combo over Judge's Intervention?  Maybe, maybe a few will, but at least Roiling Light and Flash combo are more viable now and won't suck.  I look forward to giving Flashing Combo a shot again.  Thank you for fixing the animation lock on Zealot's Defense (is Ring of Warding next I hope?).  If you actually read through the traitline changes, they are again very commonsensical and moderate changes.  Will I prefer the new Glacial Heart that heals instead of chills?  I don't know yet.  I suppose it depends on how much it heals for, but I can say that I doubt that any of these changes are going to dramatically change the balance of Guardian much one way or another, aside from making it more fun to play, and I for one truly appreciate that.