ArenaNet:Skill feedback/Warrior/Sever Artery

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Sever Artery

Symbol's Issue 10:12, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

• Issue: This only reliable non-elite means of inflicting bleeding on a sword warrior, and as such a requirement for deep wound. However this skill is bad by itself, since it has no +damage and no utility, and it makes your spike slower and more prone to failure. Sword is already the least popular of the three damage lines, which is unfortunate since it offers the most build diversity and more skills that reward skill like Disarm and Final Thrust. A buff to sever artery will help push it into play more often.

• Suggestion: Raise the adrenaline cost to 6a. Lower the activation to .5s. This will allow sword warriors to compress their damage a bit better without putting them into competition with axe on a three hit spike.

Discussion

I think this skill is fine, a ton of people bring it and it does have some play of how you spike, or spread bleed, there is a lot this skill has to offer and part of the gain you get out of it is a deep wound with gash. Izzy @-'---- 02:49, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

This skill will NEVER be balanced unless barbed spear is nerfed.

Alternate Suggestion

• Issue: Let's accept the premise that sever is about spreading bleeding. Here's the problem...it sucks at it. A 4 adrenaline melee attack is not a good platform for spreading conditions. This isn't a ranger that can throw on a prep and tab through targets, this is a warrior that has to close and build adrenaline through kiting, blinds, and blocks. You can't just lower the cost either, because spamming will gimp your other adrenaline skills.

• Suggestion Lower adrenaline cost to 3. Add a "gains 1 adrenaline upon hitting," clause. Now you have a completely costless skill that you can throw out _every_ time you switch targets. Bleeding is weak, but at least you have a shot at straining the enemy backline's condition removal this way. --Symbol 17:42, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Overshadowed by Barbed Spear

Issue

Barbed Spear has almost the same Bleeding duration for half the cost. Plus it's ranged. What do you call a warrior who doesn't use Gash with Crippling Slash? Someone without Nightfall.

Suggestion 1

Decrease adrenaline to 2 strikes, increase Bleeding duration to 10...22...25

Suggestion 2

Decrease adrenaline to 3 strikes, add damage of +5...15...18

Another suggestion 86.31.57.0 16:36, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Issue

This skill is not that good, definitely worse than Barbed Spear, it's just that people are forced to take it for Gash. Now that's OK (part of balancing skills is how well they synergise) but once you've used it it's just a dead weight on your bar until you charge up Gash again. You can still spam Bleeding with it but that's not much good since it does so little damage (though it's OK as a cover condition) and with so much blocking and kiting and the fact that it's melee it's not like you can just tab through targets and spread it like a Paragon or Ranger could.

Suggestion

Add a "target foe loses 0...2...3 energy" clause. Or just a straight one or two.

Reasoning

This might not seem good but it buffs the skill without adding +damage or anything imba, gives it utility no other melee skill has and also fits with the rest of the skill because the energy loss of a single point or two, even with Sever's quick recharge, would not be significant enough to do anything other than be used for pressure just as the Bleeding is used for pressure (well, and also to allow Gash).

If that was too much off a buff, a good idea would be to add a recharge of a couple of seconds to stop overspamming. This would limit its use on its own but still be fine in a chain because since Gash needs twice the adrenaline you have to wait until that's filled up anyway, during which time Sever Artery would be just as dead as with the recharge.

Weird suggestion but I'm posting it anyway

Issue

Weaker than Barbed Spear. This skill is supposed to spread bleeding.

Suggestion

Attack target foe and adjacent foes. Each one begins Bleeding for 5...15...17 seconds. Reduce adrenaline to 3 strikes. The stats should be better than Barbed spear because this is not ranged.