User:Borotvaltgandalf/update may 14

PvE and PvP

Assassin

• Shadow Fang: added an after-cast delay.

This skill was only used because WE warriors had enough energy to use it. Nerfing Both it and WE was unnecessary. It's only a little worse than Augury of Death anyway

• Heart of Shadow: functionality changed to: "You are healed for 30...126...150, and you Shadow Step to a nearby location directly away from your target."
• Viper's Defense: functionality changed to: "All adjacent foes are Poisoned for 5...17...20 seconds, and you Shadow Step to a nearby location, directly away from your target."

These skills were useless for assassins, and are useless now. Assassins don't want to shadow step directly away from foes, since they are a melee profession. Now after successfully nerfing Stance tanks, you gave monks 15 and 10s recharge shadow step and selfheal/poison.

Noticeboard: Shadow Form and Palm Strike - both causing serious problems in the game - didn't get nerfed. The first one has been broken for a year.

Elementalist

• Mirror of Ice: functionality changed to: "For 5 seconds, plus 3 additional seconds for every rank of Energy Storage, you deal an additional 5...29...35 cold damage whenever you cast a Water Magic hex."

This skill was useful only because mesmers used elementalist skills with fast casting. The nerf was needed, although a simple functionality change could be more approppriate.

• Steam: functionality changed to: "Target foe is struck for 5...41...50 cold damage. If target foe is on fire, Steam Blinds that foe for 5...9...10 seconds."

Steam was used because of a 8 second cheap blind. The nerf was unnecessarily strong 5...61...75 would have been more approppriate.

Noticeboard: Fire Magic AoE, which has been causing serious problems in HA wasn't nerfed.

Mesmer

• Illusionary Weaponry: decreased Energy cost to 5.

Illusionary Weaponry isn't used because it doesn't increase DPS.

Noticeboard: Visions of Regret, a game breaking change was left unnoticed.

Monk

• Castigation Signet: increased recharge to 20 seconds.

The problem with castigation signet was that it gave the monks the ability to damage and maintain their energy supply even when maintaining two SoH-s. Nerfing both it and Strength of honor was unnecessary. (Protip: think about what is causing problems before making changes)

• Peace and Harmony: decreased duration to 3 seconds; increased recharge to 12 seconds.

This nerf was needed, BUT not nerfing hexes' recharge was a bad idea.

• Word of Healing: decreased non-conditional healing to 5...81...100; increased conditional healing to 30...98...115.

No meaningful changes. This won't change WoH usage.

Noticeboard: Ray of Judgment wasn't changed, the game AI doesn't recognize it as an AoE spell.

Necromancer

• Foul Feast: increased recharge to 5 seconds.

The problem with the skill that it breaks inter-profession dynamics. Necromancers should have never given a draw.

• Lingering Curse: decreased healing reduction to 20%.

The main problem with lingering curse that it's AoE, long-lasting, cheap, can be cast quickly and has no meaningful energy cost for a necro.

Noticeboard: Long-lasting necromancer hexes still homogenize PvP. It wasn't addressed.

Ranger

• Hunter's Shot: functionality changed to: "If this attack hits, your target bleeds for 3...21...25 seconds."

5 energy Screaming Shot without the range part. One more mindless fire-and-forget skill.

• Melandru's Shot: functionality change to: "If this attack hits, your target bleeds for 5...21...25 seconds. If it hits a foe that is moving or knocked down, that foe takes +10...22...25 damage and is crippled for +5...13...15 seconds."

Unconditional bleeding... it will still have it's old effect in KD-spikes and vs moving foes.

• Keen Arrow: decreased conditional damage to 5...21...25.

Okay: Forked arrow

Noticeboard: Mindless ranger interrupt spams and ranger spike left unaddressed.

Ritualist

• Protective Was Kaolai: increased recharge to 25 seconds.

2 second casting time would have been better.

Noticeboard: Ritualists still heal for more than monks. And they have an useless attribute, which was also not addressed.

PvP

This was when I almost went head vs wall mode...

Monk

• Strength of Honor (PvP): decreased damage to 1...4...5.

This skill was BOONED

• Aegis (PvP): reduced casting time to .25. Functionality changed to: "For 1...3...3 seconds, hostile spells and attacks against 'target other ally' fail."

Okay: You killed blockwebs, but you didn't kill the need for blockwebs.

Noticeboard: Aegis(PvP): Second worst idea ever implemented... the first one was Shadow form around 1 year ago.

Warrior

• Warrior's Endurance (PvP): this skill is now a stance.

PvE

Dwarf

• Low Blow: functionality changed to: "Strike target foe for 45...65...70 damage. If target foe is knocked down, that foe takes an additional 30...46...50 damage and suffers from Cracked Armor for 14..20 seconds."

This idea is good, but it should be a melee attack (with the appropriately reduced bonus damages.

Faction Skills

• Elemental Lord: functionality changed to: "For 40...56...60 seconds, your elemental attributes are boosted by 1, you gain 1 Energy for every 10 ranks of Energy Storage, and you are healed for 100...260...300% of the Energy cost each time you cast a spell."

Good! AoR + old elemental lord. What a shame that RoJ Criers still deal more armor ignoring damage than searing flames, the only skill which one's usage was affected with this change.

• Summon Spirits: decreased recharge time to 5 seconds.

idea: Good. actual effect: Nothing because spirit spamming takes too much time. Communing&spawning power needs to be tweaked.

Vanguard

• Tryptophan Signet: this skill no longer requires touch range.

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|O_O|

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Noticeboard: PvE skills still promote grind which is bad for a Game of Skill.

Mesmer

• Fragility: this skill now also affects adjacent foes.

/agree.

Monk

• Strength of Honor: increased damage to 5...21...25.

Pff... more smiting love? Anyway Physicalway will never be famous thanks to Shadow form's perma invincibility and 600/smite runs (one man clearing whole dungeons and end-game areas). Which - like most of serious game breaking problems - weren't addressed by the balance department. Boro 12:21, 26 May 2009 (UTC)