Follow Up to May 11 Balance Preview

[Demon Puppet.6873]

When is Purity of Purpose going to get an ICD of 1-3 seconds in WvW? Theres no way you guys can't see its busted and a huge crutch

[LucianTheAngelic.7054]

2 hours ago, Fire Attunement.9835 said:

Revenant

 

• Diabolic Inferno: Poison and Burning stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1 in PvE only. This matches the number of stacks applied in PvP and WvW.

Diabolic Inferno changes are very much an over-nerf.  The torment changes are only a 30% boost to Torment damage on targets standing still which only makes up about 30% of Condi Ren's damage potential.  This means the torment changes are really only about a 9% damage increase overall if the target is stationary 100% of the time.  There is no reason to remove damage from non-torment damage sources (Diabolic Inferno) when cRen already struggles with having the longest ramp up time of condition based classes.  Additionally, the 40% damage nerfs to the torment on mace autos as well as the other shaves proposed in this post and the previous one should be enough to keep the benchmark about the same level without needing to remove 50% of the damage from Inferno
 

Quote

• Pain absorption: Now also applies resolution to the caster with a duration of 5 seconds.

 

 

This is better than what was initially proposed, but still won't solve the issue of pulling huge amounts of stacks from people.  33% damage reduction from condis is great, but ending up with, for example, 30 stacks of Torment on Dhuum during Soul Suck, is still going to be a near insta down for the rev.  This skill and the whole gameplay of Mallyx really needs to be looked at further and refined given that it has very few ways to deal with damaging conditions now and the "hoard condis" gameplay is now tantamount to suicide

I would also propose Soulcleave gets changed to 1/2s interval or even 1/4th, as 1s is far too long and not worth the energy spent on it.  Shiro's 10 man Facet of Nature will be stronger than Soulcleave after the patch

Edited May 5, 2021 by LucianTheAngelic.7054

[Erikmcq.7061]

Hi Scrapper main here purity of purpose is rather broken it should probably have a 1-2 second icd whens this gonna get looked at?

[Demon Puppet.6873]

OH Hi also when is the skill " Epidemic" going to get fixed in WvW? It does not work on Down State enemies anymore and there was never ANY patch notes or word on this. Was this intentional? Or has the skill just been broken for 4 years?
Clarification would be appreciated  Anet 💖

[Dahkeus.8243]

Very happy to see these changes made and more importantly to see the communication and cooperation with the community.  

 

Here's hoping this all shakes out to be a good meta.  I'm still concerned that Soulcleave Summit is too far and hurts more than just the healing that needed the nerf, but I'll wait and see how it plays out.

[Zyreva.1078]

5 minutes ago, Demon Puppet.6873 said:

OH Hi also when is the skill " Epidemic" going to get fixed in WvW? It does not work on Down State enemies anymore and there was never ANY patch notes or word on this. Was this intentional? Or has the skill just been broken for 4 years?
Clarification would be appreciated  Anet 💖

+1

With the changes to resistance there is also no reason for epi to not function on targets with resistance, so that should get fixed too (was a dumb change anyway).

[Demon Puppet.6873]

1 minute ago, UmbraNoctis.1907 said:

+1

With the changes to resistance there is also no reason for epi to not function on targets with resistance, so that should get fixed too (was a dumb change anyway).

Yeah Resolution should be a strong enough change to warrant Epidemicing on Downs State enemies again(I still believe this is a bug and was just never really checked due to WvW Meta changing) As well as being able to use it on enemies with Resistance

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

1 hour ago, Fire Attunement.9835 said:

A message from the Guild Wars 2 Systems Team:

 

Last week we posted a preview of the May 11 Skills and balance update and have since been keeping a close eye on the discussions (and memes) regarding the planned changes. Now that we’ve had time to read and discuss your feedback, we want to share some of our observations and the changes we’re making as a result. This goes without saying, but we do truly appreciate the feedback and your passion for the game!

 

Most notably, we’ve seen concerns that Firebrand will negatively impact group composition diversity – especially in Fractals. We’ve also observed that Condition Firebrand is an outlier as a condition build with the ability to deal burst damage nearly as fast as power build, largely due to the current functionality of Ashes of the Just, which would lead to it ‘double dipping’ from the changes to the Exposed boss debuff. Finally, there have been some good questions about how the Firebrand trait ‘Weighty Terms’ will function with mantras, Ranger’s ‘Clarion Bond’, and concerns about Condition Revenant builds outperforming in PvE with the changes to Torment.
 

After taking the time to investigate these concerns, we have prepared the following changes and clarifications for the May 11 Balance Update.

Guardian

Firebrand

• Ashes of the Just: Now may only activate and consume a stack with an interval of once per second.
• Chapter 2: Igniting Burst: PvE only changes - Burning stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1. Base duration of Burning increased from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
• Weighty Terms: Now occurs on any Mantra use, not only the final charge. Now inflicts Slow instead of Immobilize. (1.5s, 10s ICD)
• Stoic Demeanor: Now also procs on inflicting Slow.

 

Revenant
Corruption

• Invoke Torment: Torment stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1 in PvE only. This matches the number of stacks applied in PvP and WvW.
• Diabolic Inferno: Poison and Burning stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1 in PvE only. This matches the number of stacks applied in PvP and WvW.
   

Mace

•  Anguish Swipe: Reduce Torment duration from 5s to 3s in PvE only.
• Misery Swipe: Reduce Torment duration from 5s to 3s in PvE only.

Legendary Demon Stance

• Pain absorption: Now also applies resolution to the caster with a duration of 5 seconds.

 

Ranger

Marksmanship

• Clarion Bond: Lesser Call of the Wild does not Daze targets.

 

We’ll continue to monitor balance between now and End of Dragons and make additional adjustments as needed.

 

Until next time,

 

-The Guild Wars 2 Systems Team

What is the Systems Team's response the the 300s CD traits that have been placeholders for replacements for over a year now?

[Oranji.6802]

I still feel like the changes to warrior accomplishes nothing.
You will never want to swap out of Discipline because Axe is literally the only viable power warrior weapon. (ok maybe gs too)
The proposed change to Doubled Standards (5 man to 10 man) gives you more of a reason not to swap out of it.

A standard power warrior is all about axe, maybe a mace for cc, a gs to feel less boring and nothing else.
Rifle seems hype, hoping that it'll be an alternative to axes but I have my doubts.
Hammer is a discount mace.
There's still no point in using Spellbreaker in PvE btw, because berserker "axes" are simply better.
 

[Nebilim.5127]

Could you guys clarify wha'ts going to happen to mantra animation/voice lines? it is just gone? Are they in somehow?

[RainbowTurtle.3542]

I didn't even think about Clarion Bond as a ranger main lol.  I can understand it from a PvP and WvW sense, but I'm hearing more worry about Druid's CC potential, which is already high (to the point where a 1 second daze likely won't affect much). Maybe keep it in PvE for those who utilize it, see how largely it affects the player base within a day or two (in cases where you'd take the trait normally, it's simply because it's the best support option. If you're constantly swapping pets there's either a really fast mechanic, they keep going down, or you're potentially doing something wrong. We have better CC options than swapping pets would likely provide with this skill).

[RainbowTurtle.3542]

13 minutes ago, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:

What is the Systems Team's response the the 300s CD traits that have been placeholders for replacements for over a year now?

Good question. Maybe they're hoping it'll be like Factions, and that one near extinct race that's been branded over. Forgotten.

[Blood.5607]

Very good follow up!

[Leaa.2943]

I appreciate the facts that you are changing so that you can move with Torment on you and not take more damage whilst doing os for Torment. But this does not change the fact that condi reve will still kitten out stacks and stacks and stacks of it like there is no tomorrow and very obnoxious to deal with in smaller fights. And the fact that reve reve have Torment on anything and everything is not making it any better.

But there is only changes to PvE, nothing is adjusted for WvW which tells me it will take a good few more months of this until someone finally realise it is so unfun gameplay and make some changes finally instead of giving even more conditions to left and right.

[RainbowTurtle.3542]

1 hour ago, Lizardguard.2860 said:

First of all, a big THANK YOU to listen to some feedback. It really feels good to have concerns adressed and in such timely manner as well.

All i can add is what others have already written and suggested, some of which is easy to change, some of which you can keep in mind for the next balance patch:

1. Soulcleave nerf feels a bit heavy, it probably kills of rev heal in raids. Maybe try 0.75 or 0.5 icd. (it used to be 0.25, and the nerf was good, don´t get me wrong).

2. Banner warrior feels very awkward with such low amounts of Precision. Dps Warri feels awkward in general.
Some people suggested moving the banner trait into tactics, since this would make thematically sense as well as split up the build paths of banner and Dps Warri. No way ever is banner Warri taking tactics over discipline right now. Therefore BS and DPS Warri still play much the same and both are sad.

3. Power Soulbeasts feel bad. Maybe consider nerfing sustained damage instead of the class defining burst. Also the cooldown increase of OWP hurts not only power, but the already rather weak condi slb as well in addition to screwing the previously pretty smooth rotation. Nerfing the on-hit damage of dagger and maybe sword in addition to only a light touch on sic em (like down to 35% maybe) would probably have led to a more positive response from the community in that regard.

4. Heal Eles feel bad, since heal scrappers have gotten quickness (which was a really good change for PvE at least), and mirages have gotten alacrity (?), while the Eles get nothing. Many agree that Heal Eles would have deserved the Alac more.

5. Revenants Legend Mallyx Utility skills needs to be looked at with the resistance changes. A skill that literally kills you whenever it should be the most effective is a huge feels bad.

As an additional remark, i feel like Elementalist as a whole could actually benefit from a bit more love from the balance team.

But once again, thanks for the update from you guys. It is really appreciated.
Lizard

I feel that alacrity does not really fit elementalist (*maybe* water with it often being used as a metaphor for the flow of time but still), maybe stability or a rebalance and consistent use of Auras would work better. It already has decent aura usage as a whole.

[Goat.4627]

Engineer's A.E.D. doesn't work on 100cm. Is it possible for you guys to fix this? Thank you for your time.

[reapex.8546]

4 minutes ago, Goat.4627 said:

Engineer's A.E.D. doesn't work on 100cm. Is it possible for you guys to fix this? Thank you for your time.

You should post this in the game bugs section of the forums

[Khaldris.9026]

2 hours ago, Fire Attunement.9835 said:

Guardian

 

Firebrand

• Ashes of the Just: Now may only activate and consume a stack with an interval of once per second.
• Chapter 2: Igniting Burst: PvE only changes - Burning stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1. Base duration of Burning increased from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
• Weighty Terms: Now occurs on any Mantra use, not only the final charge. Now inflicts Slow instead of Immobilize. (1.5s, 10s ICD)
• Stoic Demeanor: Now also procs on inflicting Slow.

 

Is there any way you could take a look at Glacial Heart as well? Chill just... doesn't with the Guardian kit as a whole.

[Vova.2640]

while u r at it, can u delete purity of purpose. thx

[Infusion.7149]

1 minute ago, RainbowTurtle.3542 said:

I feel that alacrity does not really fit elementalist (*maybe* water with it often being used as a metaphor for the flow of time but still), maybe stability or a rebalance and consistent use of Auras would work better. It already has decent aura usage as a whole.

Textbook definition of alacrity: "brisk and cheerful readiness"  ; "promptness in response : cheerful readiness" 

How doesn't that fit elementalist , which has 4 attunements on tap no matter what build is run? Not that giving alacrity and quickness to every class is a great idea, but I think elementalists would be one of the prime classes to receive alacrity as a shared boon if there is such a sweeping change.

Similarly the nerf to boon thief was baffling when instead trickery's Bountiful Theft could have shared quickness (and split to negligible in competitive) ; unlike engineers which would need to rely on turret for fury in 5 man situations thief could give it out with Thrill of the Crime if necessary. It is not as though Holosmith is underwhelming as DPS (both power and condi). DPS Scrapper isn't unplayable right now, Lucky Noobs has it at 33K and with the proposed Glass Cannon it would be middle of the pack DPS on par with what Reaper and Daredevil are right now.

[Asur.9178]

I'm curious to know.

 

Judging by the notes and the lack of changes (0 changes) to the thief's Acrobatics traitline, does the balance team actually deem the traitline to be at an acceptable state?

 

Also, does the balance team feel that sword, as a weapon, on thief performs adequately in PvE at any relevant level?

[Lizardguard.2860]

6 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:

Textbook definition of alacrity: "brisk and cheerful readiness"  ; "promptness in response : cheerful readiness" 

How doesn't that fit elementalist , which has 4 attunements on tap no matter what build is run? Not that giving alacrity and quickness to every class is a great idea, but I think elementalists would be one of the prime classes to receive alacrity as a shared boon if there is such a sweeping change.

I agree with this.
You could just make it like the new engi trait, give tempest the ability to apply alac with every application of an aura, like 1 or 2 seconds each.
Would be even better if you could combine it with rr alacs, aka, make it 10 man, but not 100% uptime.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Lizardguard.2860

[djmasa.9123]

I appreciate all of the changes that arenanet is doing and that they're actively listening to our feedback. In spirit of this, can we please have the Elementalist/Weaver class fixed so that we can swap weapons in combat with a a cool down like every other class can? It really sucks that we can't move from sword to staff for example when the situation calls for it. We're locked to a single weapon for the duration of the battle which seems a bit unfair. This would make playing this class a little bit better.

 

Thank you for listening!

[Shao.7236]

 

3 hours ago, Fire Attunement.9835 said:

Revenant
Corruption

• Diabolic Inferno: Poison and Burning stacks applied reduced from 2 to 1 in PvE only. This matches the number of stacks applied in PvP and WvW.
  

It's still concerning that Empowering Misery will get penalized whenever used with Poison. The Resolution is all well and good combined with all sort of other things such as Dark Aura or the latter Dwarf/Kalla benefits but wanting to stack as many conditions to get the most out of the skill which only get ruined by a single one that is fairly common does contradict the intend.

 

Is Resistance still going to nullify the effect of Poison or not? There hasn't been a word on that quite yet.

[zLofty.4837]

No PoP nerf for engis.... Anet hates WvW