Game updates/20050929

Balance Changes

 * Capped attack speed adjustments at 133% of normal attack speed, down from 150% previously.
 * Changed Enchantments so that if you cast an Enchantment with an upkeep cost and you already have -10 Energy regeneration, you will now lose the last maintained Enchantment you cast.

Mesmer

 * : decreased casting time to .25 seconds.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5.
 * : increased recharge time to 15 seconds.
 * : increased Energy cost to 15.
 * : Skill reworked. New description: “Target foe loses 4..10 Energy. You then gain 2 Energy for each point of Energy target foe lost.” Also increased recharge to 30 seconds.
 * : Skill reworked. New description: “Target foe loses 4..7 Energy. You then gain 2 Energy for each point of Energy target foe lost.” Also increased recharge to 30 seconds.
 * : increased casting time to 3; Increased recharge to 10 seconds.
 * : decreased Energy stolen to 3, increased Health gained per Energy stolen to 17..47
 * : increased casting time to 2.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 10; decreased recharge to 5; decreased damage to 5..20.
 * : decreased duration to 30 seconds. Decreased recharge to 15 seconds.

Necromancer

 * : removed delay before teleport.
 * : only affects party members within radar.
 * : only affects party members within radar.
 * : only affects party members within radar.
 * : now steals 5..50 Health from up to 1..5 foes.
 * : decreased casting time to 1 second.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5, decreased recharge to 20.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5, decreased recharge to 20.
 * : increased damage to 20..65.
 * : decreased Energy to 10.
 * : decreased Energy to 10; decreased casting time to 2 seconds; decreased recharge to 20; decreased duration to 15..45; removed “half healing” from description.
 * : now removes 5..9 Enchantments and you lose 55..25 Health for each.
 * : decreased recharge to 10 seconds.
 * : decreased recharge to 2 seconds.
 * : decreased sacrifice cost to 25%.
 * : decreased casting time to 1 second.
 * : increased recharge to 8 seconds.

Elementalist

 * : decreased duration to 7 seconds; decreased the amount of Energy you gain to 1..3 per Enchantment.
 * : increased Energy cost to 15.
 * : decreased recharge to 10 seconds.
 * : increased armor gained to 20..80.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5; decreased casting time to .25; increased duration to 5..20.
 * : decreased duration to 5..20 seconds; increased Energy regeneration to 6.
 * : increased damage to 20..80.
 * : removed Exhaustion.
 * : increased duration to 15 seconds.
 * : now instantly recharges next spell.
 * : recreased recharge time to 30 seconds.
 * : increased slow to 90%.
 * : increased damage to 20..110.
 * : increased damage to 5..65.
 * : increased damage to 10..60.
 * : increased slow to 66% and increased radius to all foes in the location.
 * : increased duration to 5..11.
 * ,, , , and : fixed a bug that prevented these spells from slowing more than 50%.
 * : decreased casting time to 3.

Monk

 * : increased conditional damage to 5..35.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 10; decreased casting time to 1 second; decreased duration to 6.
 * : decreased casting time to 2 seconds.
 * : decreased recharge time to 45 seconds.
 * : decreased Energy to 10.
 * : decreased recharge to 30 seconds.
 * : decreased casting time to .75 seconds; increased recharge to 2.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5.
 * : increased duration to 1..14 seconds.
 * : increased conditional damage to 10..55.
 * : increased recharge to 2 seconds.
 * : increased casting time to 2 seconds.
 * : decreased Energy cost to 5; decreased casting time to 1 second; increased recharge to 10; added additional effect of removing a Hex when it expires.
 * : increased casting time to 2 seconds; increased recharge to 25.
 * : decreased damage to 5..35.

Warrior

 * : increased damage to 10..30.
 * : increased duration to 7..18 seconds.
 * : decreased swing time to 1 second.
 * : lowered adrenaline to 8 strikes.
 * : increased armor to 10..40.
 * : decreased recharge to 20 seconds.
 * : increased Energy maximum to 5..25.
 * : increased damage to 15..60.
 * : increased damage to 5..50.
 * : increased duration to 12 seconds.
 * : lowered adrenaline to 9 strikes.
 * : decreased area of effect to all nearby foes.

Ranger

 * Pet Attacks: each attack functions just like a Shout.
 * : increased recharge to 10 seconds.
 * : decreased Energy to 5 and recharge to 3 seconds.
 * : increased damage to 10..25.
 * : increased duration to 24 seconds.
 * : decreased recharge to 30 seconds.
 * : decreased recharge to 45 seconds.
 * : decreased damage to 10..25; now pulses 5 times.
 * : duration now scales 5..11 seconds.
 * : added a delay after skill is used before another can be used.
 * : added a delay after skill is used before another can be used.
 * : added a delay after skill is used before another can be used.
 * : added a delay after skill is used before another can be used.

Changes to Ladders and Matchmaking

 * Removed option for rated challenges with selected (named) opponent.
 * Removed the boost that previously caused guild ratings to rise and fall more quickly during the first 30 rated games played.
 * Updated guild matchmaking so that the system attempts to match guilds that are close in rankings for a longer period of time before falling back to matching two guilds farther apart in ranking.

Skill Monitor Improvements

 * The skill monitor now displays skill warm-up using a progress bar.
 * The skill monitor can now display two skills being cast simultaneously, such as a Stance or Shout plus a normal skill.
 * The skill monitor now uses animations to indicate when a skill completes successfully or is interrupted during casting.
 * When you select a new character, you now immediately see which skill that character is currently casting.
 * You can now control+click on the skill monitor to announce the skill being cast to your team.

Display Improvements

 * When you cast a Hex or Enchantment that stays on a character and deals damage or performs healing, you can now see floating numbers showing the result of that damage or healing.
 * When your pet damages another character, you can now see floating numbers showing that damage.
 * When you cast a spell that boosts or drains the Energy of another character, you can now see floating numbers showing the Energy change.
 * The "Drop Item" button and the skill warm-up progress bar are now customizable UI elements.
 * The regional groups in the Quest Log will now remember their open/closed state between viewings of the Quest Log.
 * The "(Completed)" tag in the Quest Log now displays correctly when viewed in French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

Miscellaneous

 * You can now remove your pet's name by typing "/petname" and not providing a name.
 * Shift now disables click-to-walk, making it easier to select targets without accidentally running.
 * Clicking on the ground while auto-running now works properly.
 * Removed old-style chests from Riverside Province and Gates of Kryta.
 * Healer henchmen now prioritize healing party allies whose death would result in mission failure.
 * Fixed a problem with the "Wrenches in the Gears" quest in Sorrow's Furnace where the Spirit Keepers could be killed prior to the player arriving.
 * Fixed problems with the "Wisdom of the Druids" and "Trouble in the Woods" quests.
 * Fixed pathing problems in Grenth's Footprint, D'Alessio Arena, and the Warrior's Isle guild hall.
 * Fixed display glitch in Score window that appeared when first opening the window.
 * Fixed orphaned scrollbar buttons that would appear on the login screen while changing languages.
 * Updated skill descriptions to more accurately describe their effects.
 * Expanded in-game music.
 * Fixed miscellaneous rare crash bugs.