Another round of balance updates are making their way to Guild Wars 2. This round of changes are a bit different this time, as they are specifically targeting boon support roles and how they work operationally and mechanically. There has long been some controversy among how some of these supports play; with many of them feeling “samey” or “spammy”.
With the preview stream now done (you can find the VOD here!), let’s jump right into it:
- General changes: Improving the feeling of moment-to-moment gameplay for many boon support builds
- Alternate playstyles for some specializations
- Tuning up some underutilized weapons and solidifying their roles within their professions
- Removing additional Skill-type-specific recharge-reduction traits and rolling the reduction into baseline skills where it makes sense to do so
- All effects that benefit when the player strikes from the flank or behind now always apply their benefits when striking defiant foes
- Confusion damage change: Increased the base damage from 11 to 18.25. Damage on skill activation: Reduced base damage from 49.5 to 16.34, Reduced condition damage scaling from 0.0975 to 0.0325
A lot of this is to be expected, but the removal of skill type specific recharge reduction traits is also a welcome change. Classes like Untamed, while powerful previously, were completely hinged on their cooldown reduction, and if this doesn’t shout a rework for that specific class, I don’t know what is. Additionally, the confusion damage change is noted to allow for more consistent damage dealing, which may hurt confusion condition damage classes a bit on the very high end, but allow for much more consistent damage against foes that don’t attack as quickly.
Ranger:
Sword rework
Spirit rework
Untamed switched to be a quickness provider
Druid given a DPS spec
The Sword rework aims to give a bit more evasion, some nice vigor and poison, while also giving a lot of CC. Strider’s Strength replaces Strider’s Defense, giving power, and more power with a Sword. Spirits will no longer give alacrity, but will instead function like the Warrior banners of old. Note that the Stone Spirit specifically was seen providing Aegis. This is a very good change, as it’s been made pretty clear that Quickness and Alacrity boons shouldn’t have been tied to core spec abilities. Grace of the Land will be the trait that provides Alacrity, solidifying Druid as the Ranger spec that provides Alacrity. Additionally, there’s a lot more baked in Might for Druid, as well as some solid damage improvements. The Nature Magic traitlines are a lot more focused on support, including additional healing to those who you give regeneration to. There are also a lot of nice cooldown changes to Spike Trap and Sic ‘Em, which is a nice buff for Soulbeast. As far as DPS Druid, it appears to be solidly a condition build, with poison and burning being the primary conditions. They also appear to be doubling up on the conditions, by giving a slight nudge to dagger as well.
Untamed looks to be completely reworked, with Fervent Force being replaced by “Let Loose”, which grants boons to nearby allies when you use an unleashed skill, and also recharges your unleashed ambush when you swap weapons. They appear to make things up even more by reducing the cooldowns and damage of Untamed across the board. This sets Untamed up to be a very solid burst damage class.
Thief:
Acrobatics updates
Daredevil improvements
Quickness Deadeye
Alacrity Specter rework
Specter support rework
Endless Stamina has been replaced with Endless Strikes, which gives the Thief a damage bonus when using a movement skill or shadowstep. Pain Response now removes a damaging condition when dodging. Guarded Initiation has also been reworked, giving the thief resistance when using a movement skill on a five second internal cooldown. Additionally, we have some more buffs to traits involving initiative, base healing with Assassin’s Reward, and a major buff to Improvisation, reducing the cooldowns of all your utility skills upon stealing.
Daredevil just got straight up power buffs and some cooldown reductions, which honestly was all it needed.
Deadeye is the hot topic of this stream, and there’s a whole lot. Stolen Skills now provide AoE benefits. You will always steal time with Fire for Effect, and you don’t need a target to apply quickness as well. It was specifically stated that they do not want you to be required to take a bunch of Cantrips to make this work, and will allow more flexibility in utility choices. To be expected.
Specter is being moderately reworked, with a target on their support skills. Shadestep will now apply an AoE effect around your tethered target, to a lesser effect. You no longer apply Alacrity when applying a well skill, and instead you will apply it when you use a Shadow Shroud skill. Again, this is targeting the playability of boon support classes, lessening the stifling effect of spammability of said skills.
Engineer:
Mechanist mech range rework
Scrapper quickness rework
For Engineer, there are some slight changes to the sustained healing of Med Kit, with buffs to Super Elixir. There are also some cooldown reductions to some more niche core Engineer skills, but a nice one here is a six second cooldown to A.E.D., allowing more leniency when cheesing mechanics. From this, there are a ton of Elixir cooldowns that would probably take a whole ‘nother article to write, but the most noteworthy thing is that elixirs that do not affect enemies are unblockable. A big buff for WvW.
Scrapper gets a bit of a nerf to its superspeed in WvW, it now applies boons whenever you successfully complete a blast or leap finisher (called it). Function Gyro is now a blast finisher.
Mechanist gets a rework to Mechanical Genius. Your mech now receives a cooldown increase if the mech is further away from you. Barrier Burst also receives a buff to the barrier provided.
Guardian:
Utility skill cooldown reduction traits
Perfect Inscriptions will no longer reduce the cooldown of signet skills. In exchange, signets across the board will receive significant cooldown reductions. Contemplation of Purity, Judge’s Intervention, Merciful intervention, Smite Condition, Receive the Light, Advance, Hold the Line, Save Yourselves, Litany of Wrath, amongst many, many other skills will all have their cooldowns reduced significantly.
Revenant:
Quickness Herald rework
Core Revenant will be getting some WvW changes, but there are a few notable splash effects for PvE, such as Aggressive Agility giving resistance, and Demonic Defiance removing a condition on trigger. Herald’s quickness application is through Elevated Compassion now, which will provide quickness as long as you’re using six upkeep or more. Draconic Echo will now give passives when they’re in use.
Warrior:
Quickness Berserker
Alacrity Bladesworn
Offhand Dagger buffs
Rifle buffs
Rifle Warrior might be a thing? Ammo skills will now have a 1 second time in between recharges. Solid cooldown reductions across the board will be coupled with a quality of life change to Brutal Shot specifically, providing a back dodge upon use. Martial Cadence will give stability, and Soldier’s Comfort will also give protection. Doubled Standards will now grant resolution, and all of these traits that provided quickness no longer do so. Instead, Berserker will be the quickness provider. Most signets and shouts have had their cooldowns reduced as well. Berserker’s Heat the Soul will be the trait that will provide quickness, which happens when you use a burst skill. Spellbreaker gets a little bit of a touch up on its boon removal on offhand dagger and barrier application. Bladesworn’s Daring Dragon now gives Alacrity when you Dragon Slash.
Elementalist:
DPS Tempest
Quickness Catalyst Quality of Life
Offhand Dagger improvements
Elementalist will have improvements to offhand dagger. Fire Grab and Updraft have a bigger radius, and Churning Earth now leaps forward instead of charging for 200 years. Inscription is getting the Guardian treatment, removing the cooldown reduction from glyphs, and providing resistance. Arcane Brilliance gets more healing, lowered cooldown, and slightly less bonus healing per strike. Arcane Power gets a bit of a cooldown reduction as well. Most signets get a cooldown reduction. Tempest will now have a viable DPS build. Tempestuous Aura will now provide a bonus to outgoing damage instead of causing shouts to inflict weakness. Sword receives a few quality of life improvements with Shearing Edge’s projectile speed being improved and Gale Strike getting a slight float duration. Catalyst’s Spectacular Sphere will now provide quickness upon deploying your jade sphere, no matter the attunement, at the slight cost of quickness duration reduction.
Necromancer:
Alacrity Scourge(!!!)
Necromancer’s Well of Blood now gives regeneration every pulse. Ritual of Life’s Revival percentage has been nerfed to 2% from 7%. Banshee’s Wail will no longer increase outgoing healing. This trend will continue, further nerfing its revive potential in exchange to introducing alacrity to the build. Quickening Thirst will now gain life force when you strike with a dagger skill. The same signet cooldown reductions apply here as well. Some of the boon rip abilities have been moved around, and shifted more into trait investments as opposed to on demand.
Scourge will now provide alacrity. Desert Empowerment is now a grandmaster trait, and will give alacrity when you apply barrier. Sandstorm Shroud now pulses barrier around the Scourge. Abrasive Gift will now give might hen you apply barrier, and Sand Flare’s barrier application has been slightly reduced. Sand Cascade has had its base barrier application slightly reduced and its healing scaling reduced. Manifest Sand Shade’s duration has been nerfed. Serpent Siphon will now send a serpent to a target, and provide barrier, regeneration, and aegis to allies, and poison and a boon converted to torment, along with a cooldown reduction to the trait itself. Harbinger will receive a slight nerf to its damage.
Mesmer:
Virtuoso defense nerfs and dagger buffs
Alacrity Chronomancer rework
Mesmer’s Signet of Humility, a.k.a. “Moa” got its cooldown cut in half. Mesmer’s pull has been nerfed a bit, and Escape Artist will give your phantasms distortion. Chronomancer will grant alacrity with Stretched Time whenever you summon a Phantasm. Seize the Moment will now grant quickness when you summon phantasms (note, you have to choose between these traits, you cannot give both quickness and alacrity). Distortion will now be 3/4th of a second instead of 1 second, and Virtuoso’s Bladeturn Requiem will no longer block, but instead cleave. Blade Renewal has been slightly nerfed in duration. Bladecall will receive a bit of a quality of life improvement, locking on to your target if one is in range. Unstable Bladestorm will now be a ground AoE. Twin Blade Restoration will always cleanse conditions when healing, and the first blade will give aegis and the second blade vigor. Psychic Force is now a 25 second cooldown, and Psychic Riposte will always give one blade and an unblockable effect when dodging. Mirage gets the Vindicator change; It can no longer dodge when hard CC’d.
That’s a lot of changes to so many classes in Guild Wars 2, but I’m certainly excited to give many of these a go. Which class update are you looking forward to the most?
