Preview Balance patch -Thief

[saerni.2584]

I think P/D will still be viable.

All I lost is a shave off my damage and some of my sustain...but I’m in the process of theory crafting to still be able to absorb damage effectively (more so after the patch with the damage reductions it may be enough).

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

@saerni.2584 said:

@babazhook.6805 said:

@Bern.9613 said:And the other shoe falls;Additional

changes

thief nerfs (minus the previously mentioned stability skills)

Concealing Restoration: Reduced stealth duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.Rending Shade: Reduced number of boons stolen from 2 to 1.Assassin's Signet: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds.Leeching Venoms: Reduced maximum stacks of spider venom provided by this trait from 6 to 2.Malicious Backstab: Reduced power coefficients from 1.2/2.4 to 0.9/1.8Smokescreen: Increased cooldown from 35 seconds to 45 seconds

Slow clap

Pretty well hit thief with everything. The first run through went a long ways towards weakening thief. I do not think these adds were warranted until into the launch as it merely listening to the loudest complaints.

A few changes make sense but I’m starting to get the feeling they want to remove the venoms entirely.

Two stacks of venom is barely anything and I’d rather take Flickering Shadows at this point. There isn’t enough trade off between defense (33% reduction while revealed) and two stacks of venom (which can whiff and do no damage) to make both a viable option.

Likewise with Smoke Screen. I’m not sure why they are not just cutting the radius/duration rather than increasing the cooldown almost 100%. Builds that can reset cooldowns will get a lot of use out of this and otherwise it may simply be too long to justify the utility slot. I may end up swapping out for an alternative utility at this point.

Which is not to say that I mind “my build” being nerfed with Smoke Screen. I’m just as excited for the new meta and the opportunity to reformat to a new build. I’m just sad because I feel like this was a good skill that may be relegated to the “non-viable” bin.

I kinda get why they're nerfing this tbh. Poking with rifle to build malice, swapping to P/D, stealthing for a few vnom stacks and sneak attacking into shadowstrike & repeater is pretty much a tactical nuke in WvW, whether you go hybrid or full condi. We'll have to see where the new baseline for cleanse and damage is, as honestly it's anyone's guess atm.

[saerni.2584]

@Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

@saerni.2584 said:

@babazhook.6805 said:

@Bern.9613 said:And the other shoe falls;Additional

changes

thief nerfs (minus the previously mentioned stability skills)

Concealing Restoration: Reduced stealth duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.Rending Shade: Reduced number of boons stolen from 2 to 1.Assassin's Signet: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds.Leeching Venoms: Reduced maximum stacks of spider venom provided by this trait from 6 to 2.Malicious Backstab: Reduced power coefficients from 1.2/2.4 to 0.9/1.8Smokescreen: Increased cooldown from 35 seconds to 45 seconds

Slow clap

Pretty well hit thief with everything. The first run through went a long ways towards weakening thief. I do not think these adds were warranted until into the launch as it merely listening to the loudest complaints.

A few changes make sense but I’m starting to get the feeling they want to remove the venoms entirely.

Two stacks of venom is barely anything and I’d rather take Flickering Shadows at this point. There isn’t enough trade off between defense (33% reduction while revealed) and two stacks of venom (which can whiff and do no damage) to make both a viable option.

Likewise with Smoke Screen. I’m not sure why they are not just cutting the radius/duration rather than increasing the cooldown almost 100%. Builds that can reset cooldowns will get a lot of use out of this and otherwise it may simply be too long to justify the utility slot. I may end up swapping out for an alternative utility at this point.

Which is not to say that I mind “my build” being nerfed with Smoke Screen. I’m just as excited for the new meta and the opportunity to reformat to a new build. I’m just sad because I feel like this was a good skill that may be relegated to the “non-viable” bin.

I kinda get why they're nerfing this tbh. Poking with rifle to build malice, swapping to P/D, stealthing for a few vnom stacks and sneak attacking into shadowstrike & repeater is pretty much a tactical nuke in WvW, whether you go hybrid or full condi. We'll have to see where the new baseline for cleanse and damage is, as honestly it's anyone's guess atm.

I’ll still be a tactical nuke.