User:Khomet/Paragon skill changes

What's New

(updated 2012-02-03)

• Added section discussing paragon balance issues

(updated 2011-08-27)

• Added long-duration versions of Crippling Anthem.

(updated 2011-08-25)

• Added new suggestions for Anthem of Weariness, Anthem of Flame, Song of Restoration and Song of Power

(updated 2011-08-18)

• Modifications to Defensive Anthem

(updated 2011-07-28)

• Modifications to Lead The Way and Leader's Comfort

(updated 2011-07-27)

• Modifications to Angelic Protection, Hasty Refrain and Soldier's Fury

(updated 2011-07-26)

• Modifications to Awe, Burning Shield, Enduring Harmony, Make Your Time, Natural Temper
• increased duration and recharge on some Anthems
• added PvP version suggestion for Brace Yourself
• added additional suggestion for Incoming
• added note about paragon AI

(updated 2011-07-25)

• Added additional suggestion for Crippling Anthem
• Added +crit functionality to Anthem of Guidance
• Rebalanced Enduring Harmony
• Removed adrenaline cap on Make Your Time
• Reduced duration of Anthem of Disruption
• Reduced duration on Lyric of Purification and Song of Purification

Overview

Major issues to be addressed:

• ineffectiveness of offensive buffs compared with other professions
• many skills are so conditional that they are not suitable for general use
• overall weakness of Motivation skills
• lack of multi-attack skills and area effect damage
• lack of maintainable shouts to power skills such as Soldier's Fury, Soldier's Defense, Soldier's Stance, Centurion's Insignia, etc.
• energy management problems in 4-man environments (both PvE and PvP)

The paragon has a number of deficiencies compared to other professions, this is an attempt to balance the skills without major changes to the profession itself. I have attempted to make the skills more useful and less conditional while respecting the original intent of the skills involved. The changes described below improve Spear Mastery skills so that the paragon is more competitive with the ranger in terms of ranged damage and improve Anthems so that the paragon is more competitive with the necromancer in terms of buffing physical attackers. These suggestions also make many of the Leadership skills more useful and improve the Motivation skills so that they are viable again. Many of the motivation skills provide benefits over time; this means that the motivation skills will provide party support rather than being direct competition to the monk and ritualist. These changes may also help to solve PvP balance issues with paragons because these motivation skills will not stack and teams with multiple paragons would gain no benefit from bringing multiple copies of these skills.

Some anthems were changed so that they provide benefits on every attack instead of ending on an attack skill. This was done intentionally so that paragons can achieve physical buffing similar to what Necromancers do with Orders. Other anthems were changed to provide minor AoE effects so that they are more useful in PvE. In PvP this would mostly be irrelevant since foes rarely cluster within Adjacent range.

Spear mastery skills are mostly the same; some are less conditional, one does minor area effect damage and two of them are copies of existing skills (Volley, S&M Slash) that will allow the paragon to deliver multiple hits and make him more competitive with other damage dealers in PvE. Rangers and melee professions still have more damage buffs available (e.g. preparations, Strength of Honor, Aura of Holy Might) as well as multi-attack skills (Barrage, Triple Shot, Whirlwind Attack, Cyclone Axe, Crude Swing) so they will still be superior damage dealers.

Credits: I'd like to thank Lanier, KotCR, Armond Warblade, Falconeye, Ardangoeswiki, Commander Kanen, Dame Laureline, Smarty, Warcry of Truth, MidnightOokami, belshazaarswrath, bj91x and chuckles79 from Guild Wars Guru for their suggestions and analysis.

Paragon Balance Issues

The paragon is unique among all the professions in that it has a martial weapon and yet has three attribute lines for support skills of various types. This paradox leads to a great deal of confusion regarding the paragon's purpose; is he a support character, or a damage dealer? Obviously the answer is both, since the paragon can deliver damage, conditions, interrupts, etc. with Spear Mastery and simultaneously support the team with skills from the other attribute lines. This is really no different than the Monk or Ritualist who have damage-dealing attribute lines (Smiting, Channeling) as well as healing (Healing, Restoration) and defensive (Protection, Communing) attribute lines. Some commonly cited balance issues are discussed below.

Unremovable/unstrippable effects: There are some paragon skills which only affect a single target but most affect all party members or all allies within earshot. The group-affecting paragon skills closely resemble the ritualist spirits in that they affect party members for a fairly long time and cannot be removed or stripped, though in the case of spirits it is possible to destroy them, either through direct attack or through health loss each time the spirit provides a benefit. This 'natural' end condition should be emulated so that the paragon skills have similar ways to negate them without resorting to additional game mechanics. The single target skills are most similar to the monk's protection prayers or the Ritualist's weapon spells, and should be balanced against those. Unlike enchantments, shouts cannot be stripped or removed, and this is often cited as one of the reasons paragons are 'unbalanced'. However, there are only a few single target paragon skills where this might be relevant, and note that weapon spells cannot be stripped or removed either. The difference is that almost all weapon spells have a natural end or negation condition, and in cases where unstrippability could present a problem the paragon skills should be given a similar ending condition.

Shout/chant/anthem chaining: After considering this issue for some time I believe the best way to eliminate the problem is to change the skills so that they provide a continuous benefit over a longer duration (10-20s generally). The advantage of this approach is that two identical skills brought on different characters would not provide any benefit, each copy of the skill would simply overwrite the other. This also reduces the frequency of shouts/chants/anthems ending on affected characters, since each one has a (much?) longer duration, which in turn reduces the potential for abuse of Finales, TPIY, etc. Thus instead of Song of Restoration providing a huge party heal every 30 seconds, the skill should be modified to provide minor healing over a long duration. In this way, chaining of paragon skills generally becomes a nonissue, and would only be of concern for skills like Defensive Anthem which would be too powerful if their effects were continuous. In such cases the effect should be reduced to an appropriate level or else balanced through recharge so that the effect cannot be continuous.

Shout/chant/anthem stacking: Paragons can affect their groups with a large number of shouts, chants, and anthems, which at first may seem unbalanced... however this situation is no different than a group with ritualists whose spirits affect the entire group. Each of the spirits provides its own effect and replaces any existing spirit of that type, and if shouts/chants/anthems are given a longer duration (see above) then paragon skills would similarly replace skills already in effect and eliminate the "chaining" problem. "Stacking" is not really an issue then unless you think that "spirit stacking" is an issue; the mechanics are the same.

Shouts/chants/anthems can't be interrupted: One of the complaints often leveled against paragons is that there are few ways to shut them down. Many interrupts do not work on Anthems, Chants, and Echoes because they are not spells and of course shouts cannot be interrupted at all. I don't necessarily agree with the idea that there are no effective ways to shut down paragons, but I believe that the existing paragon shutdown skills (vocal minority, roaring winds, etc.) are much too focused to be generally useful. These skills could be modified to make them more useful against foes that are not paragons, but I realized that the game already has a solution for this problem. The Dazed condition was originally called 'silenced' and the condition icon reflects this. What if the Dazed condition were changed so that it also prevents the use of shouts and makes anthems/chants/echoes easily interrupted as if they were spells? This shuts down paragons in the same way that it shuts down conventional spellcasters, and the Daze condition can be removed by conventional means; there is no need for any additional game mechanics. This also implies that the paragon's condition removal skills should be improved so that they can deal with covered Daze reasonably well if the appropriate skills are chosen. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Dazed

High armor: This argument is often made by PvP oriented players who feel that melee should naturally be the most heavily armored characters and all others must have weak armor. This point of view is not well supported in the game, as Rangers have 70 base armor with 100 armor against elemental damage, not counting insignia. An armor level of 70/100 compares favorably with 80/80 already, and if the paragon can get higher armor while carrying a shield, remember that the ranger can carry a shield too and often does as an R/P or R/W. Furthermore, Rangers have a variety of defensive skills which make them difficult to kill and the paragon has nothing similar. As another data point, consider the Dervish, which typically has 80-83 armor because of Mysticism and can increase this to more than 100 very easily through skills and insignia. As the final data point, consider the Warrior with 116+ armor against everything, not counting additional armor buffing or blocking skills. In such an environment does it make sense to give the paragon any kind of armor penalty? I think not.

Lack of area effect damage: All other professions can provide some form of area effect damage, whether it is from spells such as Ray of Judgment and Feast of Corruption or attack skills like Barrage or Death Blossom. In a PvE context this deficiency makes the paragon undesirable in most teams unless he is playing a purely defensive role (e.g. Imbagon) since his damage potential is very low. This problem can be addressed by changing some of the skills so that they provide minor area effect damage, either directly or indirectly.

Paragon AI

The AI for heroes, NPCs, and monsters should be changed so that they *never* use an anthem, chant, shout or echo if the target is already affected by that skill. For single-target skills such as refrains and echoes, check to see if the target is already affected by it. For anthems/shouts/chants that affect all within earshot, just check the character activating the skill. This should virtually eliminate the problem with skill chaining if there are multiple paragons in the group.
Additionally, heroes should use Anthem of Weariness in the same way that they use Anthem of Flame (use on recharge) so either of them can be used to maintain refrains on characters within the group.

Command

"Brace Yourself!" 10 20

Shout. (5...17...20 seconds) Allies within earshot that are not moving cannot be knocked down.

PvP version: Ends on each ally after preventing 0...2...2 knockdowns.

Compare to Ward of Stability. Coding for this should be trivial as Stand Your Ground uses the same mechanic. Has the same cost, duration, and recharge as Stand Your Ground.

"Can't Touch This!" 5 20

Shout. (20 seconds) The next 1...4...5 touch-range skills used against allies within earshot fail and are disabled for 20 seconds.

This skill is ineffective in PvE because it doesn't disable anything or even force skills to recharge. Either effect would make it worth carrying against foes like Restless Dead, Restless Spirits, Charged Blackness, Stygian Hunger and Dhuum.

"Can't Touch This!" 5 20

Shout. (20 seconds) Allies within earshot cannot be the target of touch-range skills.

As with the suggestion above, this is designed to make the skill actually do what it was intended to do.

"Help Me!" 5 10

Shout. (10 seconds) Other allies' spells targeting you cast 50% faster. Initial effect: You gain 50...98...110 Health.

Increased duration and healing; balanced against Lion's Comfort. If this is a maintainable shout it can be used to power Soldier's Fury, Soldier's Defense, Soldier's Stance, Centurion Insignia, etc.

"Help Me!" 5 10

Shout. (10 seconds) Other allies' spells targeting you cast 50% faster and you gain 5...13...15 health per second.

This variant has increased healing though it is healing over time. Since this is a maintainable shout it can be used to power Soldier's Fury, Soldier's Defense, Soldier's Stance, Centurion Insignia, etc.

"Incoming!" 10 20

Elite Shout. For 4...9...10 seconds, all allies within earshot move 33% faster, gain 5...13...15 Health per second while moving and cannot be Crippled.

The current version of this skill isn't any better than the non-elite Fall Back, this change makes the skill elite-worthy.

"Incoming!" 15 30

Elite Shout. For 1...3...3 seconds, allies within earshot cannot be targeted by hostile spells and all attacks against them fail.

This is an elite version of Aegis (PvP), credits to KotCR for this suggestion.

"Make Haste!" 5 10

Shout. For 5...17...20 seconds, target ally moves 33% faster. This skill ends if that ally successfully hits with an attack.

Changed from "target other ally" to "target ally".

"Never Give Up!" 5 15

Shout. (15 seconds). Allies within earshot gain +1 energy regeneration. (5e over 15s)

This change means less energy overall, but it has two major advantages over the existing skill... it always works and it can be used to power Soldier's Fury, Soldier's Defense, Soldier's Stance, Centurion Insignia, etc.

Anthem of Disruption 10 1 15

Chant. (0...8...10 seconds) Allies within earshot interrupt an action whenever they use an attack skill.

If this sounds scary consider what Panic and Cry of Frustration do already.

Anthem of Guidance 4 1

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Attacks from allies within earshot become unblockable and have an additional 5...25...30% chance to critical.

The anti-Aegis. If skills like this existed in GvG perhaps there would have been no need for all of the nerfs to defensive teams with Aegis, Ward Against Melee, Weapon of Warding, block stances, etc. Lesser version: attack skills are unblockable rather than all attacks.

Anthem of Weariness 5 1 10

Chant. For 8 seconds, the next attack skill used by each ally within earshot also causes Weakness for 1...13...16 seconds on target foe and all adjacent foes. In PvE heroes tend to attack the same target as the player, so the Weakness condition is simply reapplied to the same target until it dies. Giving this a small AoE effect makes it much more useful though it is still outclassed by skills such as Enfeebling Blood. Also change hero AI so that this skill will be used outside of combat and thus can be used to maintain Aggressive Refrain. Compare to Enfeebling Blood or Ward of Weariness.

Anthem of Weariness 5 1 10

Chant. For 10 seconds, attacks from allies within earshot have +5...25...30% chance to cause Weakness for 1...13...16 seconds.

This version affects every attack and is more useful for characters with multi-attack skills, e.g. Barrage, Whirlwind Attack, Cyclone Axe, scythes.

Bladeturn Refrain 5 1 8

Echo. (20 seconds) Target ally has 10...34...40% chance to block attacks. Has no effect if target ally is enchanted. Renewal: Whenever a chant or shout ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Doubled the block chance to make this worth bringing in PvE. Possibly move this to Leadership.

Bladeturn Refrain 5 1 8

Echo. (10...30...35 seconds) Inflicts 5...17...20 damage to adjacent foes whenever a chant or shout ends on target ally. Renewal: Whenever a chant or shout ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Desert Rose suggested this variant; this is vaguely similar to Whirling Defense.

Bladeturn Refrain 5 1 8

Echo. (20 seconds) Target ally takes 0...12...15 less damage from physical attacks. Renewal: Whenever a chant or shout ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Crippling Anthem 4 1

Chant. (10 seconds) The next attack skill used by each ally within earshot removes a stance and causes Crippling for 5...13...15 seconds.

Added stance removal so that that this can be more useful and elite-worthy.

Crippling Anthem 4 1

Chant. (10 seconds) The next attack skill used by each ally within earshot causes Crippling and Weakness for 5...13...15 seconds.

Credits to Lanier for this suggestion.

Crippling Anthem 4 1

Chant. (10 seconds) Attacks made by allies within earshot have 5...25...30% chance to remove a stance and cause Crippling for 5...13...15 seconds.

This is a long-duration version of the suggestion mentioned above.

Crippling Anthem 4 1

Chant. (10 seconds) Attacks made by allies within earshot have 5...25...30% chance to cause Crippling and Weakness for 5...13...15 seconds.

This is a long-duration version of the suggestion mentioned above.

Godspeed 10 20

Shout. (5...17...20 seconds) Allies within earshot move 25% faster while not enchanted.

I think this fits the paragon much better than the original. Paragons don't have any enchantments, and other paragon skills (signet of synergy, natural temper) don't work if the paragon is enchanted, and there aren't any generally useful and maintainable party-affecting enchantments to power this. Instead what we see is all-assassin perma-shadowform speedclear teams using this to breeze through dungeons, like the speedclear I was in last night. :-\

Godspeed 15 15

Shout. (0...12...15 seconds) Allies within earshot attack 25% faster while not enchanted.

This is an interesting idea that Lanier and I developed together. Paragons already have numerous skills which increase running speed, probably too many. This change would make Godspeed a unique type of skill and could be very interesting. The restriction against enchantments will help prevent abuse by some gimmick teams (shadowform, vow of silence, etc.).

Song of Concentration 6 1 5

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot are uninterruptible with their next 0...2...2 skills.

PvP version: 2s activation time

Lowering the adrenaline cost and activation time makes this a viable general purpose skill that the paragon can use to gain energy, and increasing its effectiveness makes it useful in PvE situations.

Leadership

"Lead the Way!" 5 20

Shout. Target ally moves 33% faster for 0...4...5 seconds (maximum of 30 seconds) for each ally in earshot and cannot be crippled or knocked down.

PvP version: remove immunity to knockdown.

The paragon already has several ways to increase movement speed and I am suggesting changes for this skill to make it useful and different from the others. The movement speed and duration have been increased and the energy cost reduced so this is more equivalent to Make Haste, but the recharge has been increased greatly; the idea is that Lead The Way is a superior running skill that is used on one character (say, a puller or runner) and its recharge prevents it from being used on more than one person. Cripple and knockdown immunity have been added to differentiate this from other running skills. This is useless for secondary paragons because of the scaling; secondaries should use Make Haste instead.

"Make Your Time!" 5 15

Shout. (10...18...20 seconds) You have +10...50...60 maximum Health. Initial effect: you gain one strike of adrenaline for each ally within earshot (maximum 1...5...6).

I have made this skill functionally equivalent to the warrior skill "To The Limit". The new version of this skill has a long duration that can power Centurion's Insignia, Soldier's Stance, etc.

Aggressive Refrain 15 2 20

Echo. (5...21...25 seconds) You attack 25% faster. Renewal: whenever a chant or shout ends on you.

Removed armor penalty and decreased energy cost. Rangers have a skill called Rapid Fire which provides +33% IAS with no drawbacks, dervishes have Heart of Fury which provides +25% IAS with no drawbacks, and I see no reason why it would be imbalanced for the paragon to have a similar skill. The high energy cost of the existing Aggressive Refrain is meaningless in PvE since it is maintained forever, it only annoys the player and causes problems if the character or his heroes acquire death penalty.

Angelic Bond 15 1 15

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot cannot lose more than 10% maximum Health from a single attack or spell; ends for each ally after preventing damage 0...3...4 times on that ally.

This is balanced against Shelter plus Armor of Unfeeling and provides similar spike resistance to the entire group. This change would make this skill generally useful and help to lessen the ubiquity of the Imbagon.

Angelic Bond 15 1 15

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Damage and life steal received by allies within earshot is reduced by 3...15...18. When Angelic Bond ends, each ally is healed for 5...41...50 health. This is an alternate version that works like mass Shielding Hands. Compare to Shielding Hands and Union.

Angelic Protection 5 15

Shout. (10 seconds) Target ally cannot lose more than 10% max Health due to damage from a single attack or spell. Ends after preventing damage 0...3...4 times.

This works like Protective Spirit, it costs less but has longer recharge so that the paragon cannot protect more than one person with it.

Angelic Protection 5 15

Shout. (10 seconds) Damage and life steal received by target ally is reduced by 3...15...18. When Angelic Protection ends, target ally is healed for 5...41...50 health. This is an alternate version that works like Shielding Hands.

Anthem of Envy 10 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot deal +3...13...16 damage whenever they hit a foe with physical damage. Has no effect on allies that are enchanted.

Moved from Command to Leadership to prevent use by other professions and because the elite version of this skill (Anthem of Fury) is also in Leadership. This was balanced against the Necromancer skill Order of Pain, and this change would allow the paragon to deliver the same damage buffing to physical attackers instead of being completely outclassed by the Necromancer. The restriction against enchantments prevents this from stacking with Orders.

Anthem of Flame 5 1 10

Chant. For 10 seconds, the next attack skill used by each ally within earshot causes Burning for 1...3...3 seconds and 5...17...20 fire damage to target and all adjacent foes.

This skill has been modified to deliver minor AoE damage; the effect is based upon the ranger skill Ignite Arrows.

Anthem of Flame 5 1 10

Chant. For 10 seconds, attacks from allies within earshot have +5...25...30% chance to cause Burning for 1...3...3 seconds.

This suggestion is from bj91x from guildwarsguru. This version affects every attack and is more useful for characters with multi-attack skills, e.g. Barrage, Whirlwind Attack, Cyclone Axe, scythes.

Anthem of Fury 10 1 10

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot deal +3...13...16 damage and gain an additional strike of adrenaline whenever they hit a foe with physical damage. Has no effect on allies that are enchanted.

This is a blend of Dark Fury and Order of Pain. You could argue that Order of the Vampire is still better but I think this would be a great addition to the game. The restriction against enchantments prevents this from stacking with Orders.

Awe 5 ¼ 10

Skill. Inflicts Dazed condition (5...13...15 seconds) if target is knocked down, or Weakness condition (5...13...15 seconds) if it is not.

Added weakness to make this skill more useful, reduced the energy cost and removed range restriction; knockdown is a difficult condition for paragons to meet as it is. Compare to Overbearing Smash.

Burning Refrain 10 1 10

Echo. (20 seconds) Target ally's attacks inflict Burning (1...3...3 seconds). Renewal: Whenever a chant or shout ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Paragons and Warriors are likely to have more health than anyone else on the field which makes the previous version of this skill much less effective than it should be; this change makes the skill useful in almost any situation and provides good synergy with They're On Fire and Glowing Signet. Compare with Mark of Rodgort, Blazing Finale, Balthazar's Rage, etc.

Burning Shield 5 15

Skill. (0...12...15 seconds) Inflicts Burning condition (1...3...3 seconds) on foes that attack you, and you take 5...17...20 less damage from foes that are Burning. Has no effect if you are not using a shield.

This suggestion is very similar to the dervish skill Armor of Sanctity; unlike Armor of Sanctity this can't be abused by secondary paragons.

Defensive Anthem 15 1 20

Elite Chant. (5...11...13 seconds) Allies within earshot have 50% chance to block. Has no effect on allies that are enchanted.

PvP version should have 2s activation time.

This version is similar to the existing Defensive Anthem, but it has increased duration and lower recharge to justify its elite status. Unlike Aegis, this cannot be echoed or lengthened and HSR mods do not apply to it; compare to the non-elite skills Aegis and Displacement. The duration is the same as Aegis with +20% enchanting mod. The restriction against enchantments might make this workable in PvP since you would have to choose to rely on enchantments or Defensive Anthem, you could not have both. Attackers with sufficient anti-blocking countermeasures could completely ignore Defensive Anthem and exploit this vulnerability. Also, the new Anthem of Guidance is a natural countermeasure to Defensive Anthem and other forms of blocking.

Defensive Anthem 15 1 20

Elite Chant. (20 seconds) Allies within earshot have 75% chance to block. Ends on each affected ally after blocking 1...4...5 hits. End effect: Allies in earshot are healed for 10...34...40.

PvP version should have 2s activation time.

Blocking is counted separately for each ally. This suggestion is loosely based on Displacement and the new Shield Guardian; the number of blocks is based on the health of a displacement spirit with 15 communing, 13 spawning, and Armor of Unfeeling, and Falconeye suggested adding the healing factor to make this an elite version of Shield Guardian. This chant has a natural end condition so you can power through it even if you can't defeat blocking through other means.

Enduring Harmony 5 1 20

Skill. (5...17...20 seconds) Your shouts and chants have 10...30...35% longer duration. Has no effect if you are hexed.

This will make all shouts and chants more useful; balanced against Blessed Aura and Vocal Was Sogolon.

Glowing Signet ¼ 15

Signet. You gain 5...13...15 energy if target foe is burning.

Reduced recharge slightly to make this more attractive. At 12 Leadership this might give the paragon 26 energy in two uses (30 seconds) if the target is burning. By way of comparison, Glyph of Lesser Energy @ 12 Energy Storage makes the next 2 spells cost 16 less energy, so the net energy gain is 27 (32-5) over the same 30 seconds. This change would make the two skills almost evenly matched though Glowing Signet's energy gain is still conditional.

Hasty Refrain 5 1 10

Echo. (0...24...30 seconds) Target ally moves 25% faster. Renewal: every time a chant or shout ends on this ally.

Increased duration so that this refrain has a decent chance of being refreshed before it ends.

Hexbreaker Aria 6 1

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot lose one hex when activating their next 0...2...2 skills.

PvP version should have 2s activation time.

Lowering the adrenaline cost and activation time makes this a viable general-purpose chant for paragons to use to gain energy, and making any skill trigger this means the paragon can benefit from it as well. Secondary paragons cannot abuse this since it has no effect when they use it. This skill would help to counter hexway teams in PvP as well as helping to deal with hex heavy areas in PvE. The current version of the skill is ineffective at both.

Leader's Comfort 5 1 8

Skill. You lose one hex and gain 30...66...75 health. For each ally within earshot, you also gain +10...18...20 health (maximum 140).

Added minor hex removal to make this more attractive. Hexbreaker Aria implies that the paragon should be able to remove hexes but this concept is poorly implemented in the skills we have today. Compare to Lion's Comfort, Natural Healing, Pious Restoration, Shadow Refuge.

Natural Temper 3

Skill. (8...18...20 seconds) You gain 50% more adrenaline and deal +5...11...12 damage with physical attacks. Has no effect if you are hexed or enchanted.

I have increased the duration and adrenaline gain and added bonus damage to make this more attractive. The intent is to give the paragon something similar to ranger preparations. This is loosely based on the ranger skill Natural Stride, both are powerful skills but they are also easy to shut down.

Soldier's Fury 5 1 5

Elite Echo. For 10...30...35 seconds, if you are under the effects of a chant or a shout, you attack 33% faster, gain 33% more adrenaline, and have +5...25...30% chance to critical.

This has three benefits like the dervish skill Onslaught; the paragon does not need IMS so I suggest +crit chance instead, and this seems appropriate for the paragon. Also the armor penalty has been removed; I don't feel that there is any justification for an armor penalty, especially in PvE. All other physical attackers have permanent IAS skills with no drawbacks (Soldier's Stance, Onslaught, Way of the Assassin, Expert's Dexterity, Rapid Fire) and I see no reason why the paragon should be punished with inferior IAS skills.

Motivation

"It's just a flesh wound." 5 2

Elite Shout. Remove all conditions from target ally. That ally becomes immune to conditions for 1...8...10 seconds if a condition was removed.

This gives IJAFW a unique and interesting effect. Compare to Peace and Harmony and Restore Condition.

"The Power Is Yours!" 4

Elite Shout. (6 seconds) Allies within earshot gain 0...2...2 Energy regeneration.

Balanced against Blood Is Power. At 15 motivation this would give up to 4 energy to each ally over the 6s duration. The duration has been doubled so that this will not end as quickly, having it end every 3 seconds just encourages Finale abuse. This could give up to 8 energy per person in 12 seconds whereas BiP @ 15 blood magic will give 24 energy to one person in the same 12 seconds. Duration can be adjusted to fine-tune the energy gain.

Aria of Restoration 10 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot are healed for 100...180...200% of the Energy cost of any spells they cast while this chant is active.

This is a weaker version of Aura of Restoration that affects all within earshot; balance-wise it could be better because this version prevents chaining. Best case: 2 high energy spells (25e), 3s casting time for each plus aftercast: heals for 100. Worst case: 5 low energy spells (5e), 1s casting time each plus aftercast: heals for 50. We assume that no spells are interrupted. The original skill heals for 90 @ 15 motivation, so we might need to play with the numbers on this one, such as healing for X plus a smaller percentage of the spell cost with each spell that is cast, that way the minimum and maximum benefit are more similar. Alternatively we can just heal for X (say 0...18...22) with every spell cast, but this favors spell spamming while providing less benefit for normal spell usage.

Aria of Zeal 10 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot gain 0...1...1 energy each time they cast a spell.

This provides a small amount of energy when a spell is cast, similar to Aura of Restoration. In the best case scenario you can cast about 5 spells within 10 seconds (remember aftercast), so this might give up to 5 energy. More likely it will affect only 3 spells, giving up to 3 energy. This benefit is roughly comparable to the existing version of the skill.

Ballad of Restoration 10 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot are healed for 0...12...15 each time they take damage. (max 0..x..y?)

This is similar to Healing Hands or Union; it provides healing over time instead of a larger mass heal.

Energizing Finale 5 1 15

Echo. (10...30...35 seconds) Target ally gains 1 Energy whenever a shout or chant ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Reduced cost and increased recharge so that this can only be maintained on a few characters.

Inspirational Speech 10 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot are healed for 0...12...15 each time they attack.

This is a weaker version of Vigorous Spirit but it affects everyone in the group; it provides healing over time instead of a larger mass heal.

Compare to Blood Bond.

Lyric of Purification 5 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) The next 1...3...3 signets used by each ally within earshot remove 1 condition from that ally.

Increased effect to make this more similar to Song of Purification. The difference is that Song triggers on any skill whereas this only triggers on signets.

Leader's Zeal 5 15

Skill. You gain 0...8...10 energy plus 1 energy for each ally within earshot (maximum of 16 energy).

This has been modified to work more like Leader's Comfort; the original skill used a range of 'nearby' which made it nearly useless in many situations including 4-man PvP where it is needed most. Leader's Comfort draws power from allies within earshot and logically this should as well. Additionally Leader's Comfort gives about half of its benefit unconditionally with the remaining part being based on number of allies. I have emulated this behavior in this suggestion for Leader's Zeal. With these modifications Leader's Zeal should be able to provide a maximum of 32 energy gain over 30 seconds, minus 10 energy to activate it two times, for a net energy gain of 22 in 30 seconds. For comparison, Glyph of Lesser Energy at 0 energy storage gives a net energy gain of 15 in 30 seconds. Compare to the dervish skill Eremite's Zeal.

Lyric of Zeal 4 1

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies in earshot gain 1...7...8 energy the next time they activate a signet.

Reduced adrenaline cost.

Mending Refrain 10 1 8

Echo. (20 seconds) Target ally has +2...4...4 health regeneration. Renewal: whenever a chant or shout ends on that ally. Cannot target spirits.

Duration and effect increased slightly to make this more attractive; in other words, revert Mending Refrain to its pre-nerfed state. ZOMG it can counteract poison or disease :-\ I tested this along with Aggressive Refrain and Burning Refrain with the intent of having heroes maintain all of the refrains indefinitely by using Anthem of Flame on recharge. The hero AI was unable to maintain Mending Refrain over a long period of time because the duration is too short. The refrains with a duration of 20 seconds or more (burning, aggressive) were maintained without human intervention.

Compare with Mending and Recuperation.

Signet of Synergy 1 8

Signet. Heal target ally for 40...88...100. You are also healed for 40...88...100 if you are not enchanted. Cannot self-target.

Reduced recharge slightly. The conditional effect still makes this less desirable than Signet of Rejuvenation and Ghostmirror Light.

Song of Power 15 1 20

Chant. (5...17...20 seconds) Allies within earshot gain +4 Energy regeneration when not using a skill.

Reduced energy cost and recharge. The energy is regenerated before the chant ends (even on a paragon) so the high energy cost is a needless annoyance. Also removed the 'ends on skill use' clause because it makes the skill worthless in most situations. Recommend splitting this for PvP if necessary.

Song of Power 15 1 20

Chant. (5...17...20 seconds) Allies within earshot gain +1 energy when using a skill.

This version gives energy on skill use in the same way that Aura of Restoration gives energy when casting spells. Recommend splitting this for PvP if necessary.

Song of Purification 5 1

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) The next 1...3...3 skills used by each ally within earshot remove 1 condition from that ally.

This is the current version of the skill with reduced activation time.

Song of Restoration 10 1 10

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot gain 0...24...30 Health when activating skills. (max 0...3...4)

A variant that provides healing over time instead of a large mass heal.

Song of Restoration 10 1 10

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot gain 5...13...15 Health per second. Initial effect: Allies within earshot lose one hex.

A variant that provides hex removal and healing over time instead of a large mass heal.

Song of Restoration 10 1 10

Elite Chant. (10 seconds) Affects all allies within earshot. Ends on each ally that activates a skill while below 50% health. End effect: Ally gains 10...70...85 health.

This is based on a suggestion by bj91x from guildwarsguru. I balanced this against Protective Was Kaolai; the reduced recharge and increased efficiency justify the skill's Elite status.

Zealous Anthem 5 1 10

Chant. (10 seconds) Allies within earshot gain 0...1...1 strike of adrenaline and 0...1...1 energy when dealing physical damage to foes.

This would be useful in areas with energy denial, including environmental effects; it triggers on every attack so it is useful even if allies don't have enough energy to activate an attack skill.

Spear Mastery

Chest Thumper 5 5

Spear Attack. Inflicts Deep Wound condition (5...17...20 seconds) if target foe has Cracked Armor; otherwise inflicts Cracked Armor condition (5...17...20 seconds).

Aside from making the skill more useful in general, this change allows Chest Thumper to satisfy its own condition with multiple hits.

Cruel Spear 6

Elite Spear Attack. Deals +5...25...30 damage and inflicts Deep Wound and Bleeding conditions (5...17...20 seconds).

Reduced cost slightly and removed conditional effect; this version is similar to Wounding Strike.

Disrupting Throw 5 ½ 10

Spear Attack. Interrupt an action and deals an additional +5...17...20 damage if target was casting a spell.

Removed conditional effect and added conditional damage. Compare with Savage Shot and/or Savage Slash.

Harrier's Toss 5 ½ 10

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage and deals an additional 5...25...30 damage if target is moving.

Reduced energy cost.

Holy Spear 4

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Deals 15...75...90 holy damage and inflicts Burning condition (3 seconds) to nearby foes if target is a demon, a summoned creature, or undead.

This skill is fantastic when it triggers, unfortunately the trigger condition is fairly rare in PvE. Making this trigger when hitting any demon or undead as well as summoned creatures makes it into a more general purpose skill. PvP would be unaffected since players are all human.

Holy Spear 4

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage and deals 10...34...40 holy damage to all adjacent foes. Inflicts Burning condition (3 seconds) on all nearby demons, summoned creatures, or undead.

This variant gives unconditional holy damage to all adjacent at the cost of less overall damage. PvP should be unaffected since players are all human and rarely cluster within Adjacent range.

Maiming Spear 5 5

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Inflicts Crippled condition (5...17...20 seconds) if target foe is Bleeding.

Added bonus damage. Compare to Axe Rake and Black Mantis Thrust.

Merciless Spear 6

Spear Attack. Inflicts Deep Wound condition (5...17...20 seconds).

Removed conditional. Compare to Dismember.

Mighty Throw 4

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage to target and 10...34...40 damage to all adjacent foes.

Removed 3s activation time, halved bonus damage, added AoE damage, increased cost slightly. This is less than half of the damage delivered by Death Blossom but it does give the paragon some area effect damage capability.

Slayer's Spear 5 2

Spear Attack. Deals +1...8...10 damage. Hits up to 3 foes adjacent to your target.

This is a clone of Volley; it gives paragons the ability to attack multiple targets like the ranger.

I chose Slayer's Spear for this functionality because the original skill is useless and the skill icon fits this idea pretty well.

Spear of Redemption 3

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage and removes a condition.

Removed conditional condition removal.  :-)

Stunning Strike 5 ½ 10

Elite Spear Attack. Deals +5...25...30 damage and interrupts target and all adjacent foes. Inflicts Dazed condition (4...9...10 seconds) if target has a condition.

Added AoE interrupt capability and changed this to be an elite form of Disrupting Throw. Making Stunning Strike cost energy instead of adrenaline gets rid of one of the biggest problems with this skill, the huge adrenaline cost makes this difficult for the paragon to use without elite adrenaline boosting skills which themselves preclude the use of Stunning Strike. This also allow a paragon do to a decent job of interrupting targets if paired with Disrupting Throw and a condition, as the paragon will be able to interrupt right away.

Swift Javelin 5 6

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. This spear moves twice as fast and is unblockable if you are under the effects of a shout or chant.

Reduced recharge time and gave it a condition that is more suitable for paragons. The previous version encouraged abuse by non-paragons, e.g. assassins, dervishes, ritualists. Compare to the ranger skill Crossfire.

Unblockable Throw 8

Spear Attack. Attack target foe twice. These attacks cannot be blocked.

Removed 3s activation time, removed bonus damage completely, changed to deliver two hits instead of one. Compare with Sun & Moon Slash or Nine Tail Strike.

Wild Throw 6

Spear Attack. Deals +5...17...20 damage. Unblockable. Ends target's stance.

Reduced cost slightly. This skill is great but it takes too long to charge it without elite adrenal boosting skills.

No Attribute

Cautery Signet 1 10

Elite Signet. All party members lose all conditions. Target and nearby foes begin Burning (one second for each condition removed).

Aside from removing conditions from the party, this punishes enemies that use condition spam and has good synergy with They're On Fire, Glowing Signet, etc.

Cautery Signet 1 10

Elite Signet. All party members lose all conditions and one hex. You begin Burning (one second for each condition and hex removed).

MidnightOokami from guildwarsguru suggested this. I like it because it would be an elite version of one of the proposals for Remedy Signet (see below).

Remedy Signet 1 4

Signet. You lose 1 condition and 1 hex.

This option would make this skill interesting and unique. It would also allow the skill see some use.  :-)

Remedy Signet 1 4

Signet. Removes 1 condition from target ally and 1 condition from you. (If targeting self, removes 2 conditions.)

This is similar to Signet of Synergy, providing minor condition removal on the target and on self. If used on self it will remove two conditions. The paragon does not currently have any direct non-elite condition removal skills and this suggestion would fill the gap.

Remedy Signet 1 4

Signet. Removes bleeding, burning and deep wound from yourself plus one additional condition.

This last suggestion was made by Bathory some time ago; I like it a lot so I am reproducing it here. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Feedback:User/Bathory/Remedy_Signet

Signet of Aggression 1 10

Signet. You gain two strikes of adrenaline and gain two additional strikes of adrenaline if you are under the effects of a Shout or Chant.

This change makes the skill partially effective even when not affected by a shout or chant. The overall benefit is doubled while the recharge is also doubled; this means that the paragon will not waste as much time activating the skill because it does not need to be activated as frequently. This should help paragons gain adrenaline more quickly without resorting to elite adrenal boosters. Warriors have many useful non-elite skills to gain adrenaline and this will help to bridge the gap.