Guild Wars 2

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/profession-balance-goals-for-the-winter-2016-update/

This is a very general overview. Details come on Friday on Guild Chat.
(Someone else posted about it already but as they focused in on Ele Scepter I thought a more general thread for discussion might be handy).

This the Tuesday update?

Ranger
“In the future, we’ll continue to explore ways to improve on the ranger’s ties to both their pets and nature.”

I can only hold to hope that this means they actually consider finally offering the option of severing the ranger’s ties to their pets, and instead offering a more nature-oriented playstyle.

Other than pet AI actually being fixed, offering a wide range of skins for the various species, as well as making a larger selection of species able to be tamed, that is really the only change to the ranger that I desire as I consider that option as being an immense improvement to the current ranger > pet/nature relationship.

your vision of improving the ranger relationship with his pet is actually terminating it?
that’s like telling your gf/bf that you want to take your relationship to the next level… by breaking up with him/her. XD
also I love how the changes for thief sound so far. more damage and changes to the acro traits, I sure hope they deliver.

wait? they are buffing offensive capabilities of tempests? wtf?

I’ve heard enough. Stopped reading after that.

edit: heard that they will not even nerf op builds they will monitor them instead. As I expected.

Ragnarox.9601:

wait? they are buffing offensive capabilities of tempests? wtf?

I’ve heard enough. Stopped reading after that.

In lightning it seems but also nerfing their defensive capabilities.

All of this looks great! I’m glad to see so many constructive changes being implemented in the near future.

The only thing, though, is that it doesn’t seem like you’ll be making many positive changes to guardian/DH in terms of damage. I’m extremely sad about DH not being viable in raids (primarily due to mechanical irrelevance – no need for reflects, aegis, condi removal, or stability). If DH’s damage was even remotely comparable to revenant, it would make bringing guardian to raids an option, but right now it’s just not. As a guardian main, it’s frustrating.

DH can be used in raids; they’re just not the optimal choice.

Anything -can- be used in raids. I’d just like DH to be an option that doesn’t get pushed away in pug groups or even serious guild runs. I don’t mean for DH to get so much damage that it’s equal to revenant or ele, just enough that’s it’s not immediately reacted to with, “Why would you bring that?”

Thaladred.1406:

This the Tuesday update?

I doubt it since they aren’t giving us detailed info until Friday’s Guild Chat. I’ll wager on the following Tuesday.

Ayrilana.1396:

DH can be used in raids; they’re just not the optimal choice.

Why not? They can wear full ascended celestial while utilizing burn, traps, and healing.

Agemnon.4608:

Ayrilana.1396:

DH can be used in raids; they’re just not the optimal choice.

Why not? They can wear full ascended celestial while utilizing burn, traps, and healing.

They’re not the optimal choice. Everything they can do, another class can do better.

Thaladred.1406:

This the Tuesday update?

In the first quarter of this year

suggests no. While this Tuesday is in the first quarter of this year it is a slightly weird way to refer to “tomorrow” unless this blog post was written a long time ago.

They said they want to do these balance updates every three months or so, ie roughly once a quarter. A week from tomorrow will be just shy of three months since launch. Thus my prediction that the first quarter update will be next week.

I loved the bit about drastically improving thief auto attacks..it wasn’t enough that they can root you/stun you and burst you down with a macro combo, but now they will do massive damage auto attacking too? Sounds perfect…

And no mention of the broken CoR either- I guess it doesn’t matter as it only really affects wvw and that area of the game had died due to lack of attention and bad decisions..

Baldrick.8967:

I loved the bit about drastically improving thief auto attacks..it wasn’t enough that they can root you/stun you and burst you down with a macro combo, but now they will do massive damage auto attacking too? Sounds perfect…

And no mention of the broken CoR either- I guess it doesn’t matter as it only really affects wvw and that area of the game had died due to lack of attention and bad decisions..

What do you mean? things like Air Defense, and Dragon banner have made WvW fantastic /sarcasm

StinVec.3621:

Ranger
“In the future, we’ll continue to explore ways to improve on the ranger’s ties to both their pets and nature.”

I can only hold to hope that this means they actually consider finally offering the option of severing the ranger’s ties to their pets, and instead offering a more nature-oriented playstyle.

Other than pet AI actually being fixed, offering a wide range of skins for the various species, as well as making a larger selection of species able to be tamed, that is really the only change to the ranger that I desire as I consider that option as being an immense improvement to the current ranger > pet/nature relationship.

When they first announced Druid as Ranger elite spec, I was half-hoping they’d change the pet/ranger relationship so that you could (if desired) forego the pet, but take on some aspect of that pet – their power, their toughness, their vitality. As a trait, as an elite skill that offers something else as well, etc. Basically a way to “banish” the pet temporarily while gaining something in return.

I’m very happy with the current aspects of our Avatar State and find that Druid is a great support character, but there does still seem to be a little something lacking in the pet department.
Oh, and PLEASE make it possible to hide the pet permanently until called upon. If it’s put in passive state and then hidden, it’s safe to say we don’t want it coming out if we catch a stray projectile.

I’ll be amazed if they can make warrior elite usable. As it stands it’s complete junk.

Improving Thief dps? Really? A good thief can 2-3 shot people. Hardly lacking in dps. More getting killed by someone you can’t see but even faster, nice……..

Nerfing rev sword? So taking the only good dps weapon we have. Nice.

Appreciation :

Elementalist : why not?…

Engineer : Errr… really? You clearly overestimate gyro…

Guardian : “they’ve been a tad too effective in the areas of burst and disruption” Thanks we all know.

Mesmer : As a fervent scepter user I must say thanks

Necromancer : Shroud auto becoming an combo projectile will not be enough to make it worthwhile… Beside core necro traits need love, Reaper’s are in a pretty good spot.

Ranger : You really focus on shout? I can’t help stupidly laughing.

Revenant : you seem to understand the issue here.

Thief : While I’m overjoyed to see that you finally care for the acro traitline, I can’t help being affraid by what you said about auto attack… I mean… What’s the revenant’s issue that you try to fix??

Warrior : “Lastly, we’ll improve the warrior’s ability to sustain themselves in combat.” I hope this doen’t mean what it seem to mean… I still remember the healing signet fiasco.

The core issue with these balance updates is that they base them largely off of the PvE world which ultimately breaks the PvP game modes. For example, the condi changes, burning and confusion. And for thief auto attack.. that “dps sustain” is directed to PvE right? A thief that spams autos in PvP generally ends up on the ground. A change to initiative sustain might be better.

Balance needs to start in PvP where balance between classes actually matters in a competitive environment. Every build is viable in PvE, although some may perform better than others. And in PvP, only a handful of builds are actually viable in order to remain competitive and this is what needs to be fixed. I’d like to see a larger, balanced variety of builds in the game modes where you actually notice the variety. Without variety in PvP, we’re playing the same game with the same builds on the same maps over and over and this current meta is terribly dry.

Curt.7963:

The core issue with these balance updates is that they base them largely off of the PvE world which ultimately breaks the PvP game modes. For example, the condi changes, burning and confusion.

Balance needs to start in PvP where balance between classes actually matters in a competitive environment. Every build is viable in PvE, although some may perform better than others. And in PvP, only a handful of builds are actually viable in order to remain competitive and this is what needs to be fixed. I’d like to see a larger, balanced variety of builds in the game modes where you actually notice the variety. Without variety in PvP, we’re playing the same game with the same builds on the same maps over and over and this current meta is terribly dry.

I’ve actually seen the opposite.

I think the thief change is a safe way to go, but one that will ultimately not assist the class where it lacks in PvP.

Upping auto damage is a solid way to give the thief a leg up in PvE DPS so it is desired again for its massive damage without also making it over the top in PvP, as unlike PvE, players don’t stand around and just suck autoattacks. This means that they can give thief overall more damage, but make that damage less reliant on spamming heavy initiative attacks, making the thief’s squishiness actually counterbalance against high damage potential as is the intended design without also giving the thief so much burst it can’t be counterplayed at all.

This is a problem on Revenant because rev has passive suriviability tools to sit there and autoattack people while sucking up damage. Thief doesn’t have that ability. You can’t lean on “all autos” with thief simply because you can’t stand next to a person for that long and still be alive. You have to break your chain regularly with dodges and stealth just to stay alive.

This is the problem with upping autos for thief. While it may technically increase their lethality, in order for it to sufficiently counteract their squish factor in PvP it would have to be completely through the roof. to such a degree they’d be broken in PvE. I’m guessing we’re going to see an upgrade to thief autos that puts them at the top of the pile in PvE DPS, but only marginally helps them in PvP. The acro rework, and the nerfs to the current massively OP bunker meta builds are really what’s going to determine how usable thief is in PvP.

It’s a good direction, but we’ll have to see how the implementation works. Also, no word on venoms and how useless they are outside of a VS build. That makes me kinda sad.

Acro NEEDS a rework if base thief is going to have viable builds (or if future elite specs are going to see any play at all, as people have to give up daredevil for them) and it’s a long time coming. Any thief that’s geared for anything but full glass cannon can’t rely on SA as their only defensive trait line. SA is a good defensive line, but it’s only good on stealth builds. Acro is awful alone, and needs to do for non-stealth builds what SA does for stealth, otherwise they’re going to be hamstringed in to making every future thief elite spec highly defensive, and remove a lot of otherwise fun design options.

Guardian traps nerf inc.

~ Kovu

And of course no mention of WvW in spite of the fact that the whole game mode was destroyed by their incompetence.

They are so tied to their “metrics” that they have forgotten what fun is. Pathetic.

I am amazed at how far the GW2 devs have come. From top of the world so bottom of the barrel in less than a year. Good Job!

WvW got a lot of mention in Colin’s 10 minutes on Guild Chat last Friday. This blog, titled “Profession Balance Goals for the Winter 2016 Update,” talks about how each profession is getting changed. It’s not about any game mode, just how the individual professions are to be affected regardless of mode.

One might as well complain that WvW wasn’t addressed in the lore blog about the Itzel and Nuhoch. It’s simply not part of the article’s subject.

When they rarely mention WvW, it is the same old BS they have been saying for years. Nothing has come of it except disaster for WvW. It’s all hot air at this point. Trusting them is a losing proposition, they don’t have the talent or will to do right by WvW.

Esports and more craptastic pve grinds are all they care about. They talk about them incessantly and release patches whenever something drastic is needed.

But WvW is DEAD because of their idiotic decisions, and they have done NOTHING to fix it. Pathetic.

Kovu.7560:

Guardian traps nerf inc.

~ Kovu

Hopefully with nerfed visuals -_-

it wont be much of a balance update, what is weak will continue weak, and they will make what is stronger even stronger just make a small rotation of desirable weapons and one or two traits changes.
they will increase damage even more for some classes that already have a very strong damage ouput, while defensive boons will increase form 5 to 8 in intensity and 3 or 4 seconds more duration.
It will force players to use even more defensive stats, due more power creeper from meta classes against non meta classes, CC spam will be the same, but damage optimized builds on some classes might do more damage also.

This is what im expecting.

Kovu.7560:

Guardian traps nerf inc.

~ Kovu

I only use one trap. There’s a reason there is no single DH in the Pro League: traps are a one trick pony which only works against mediocres (I mean: you known that the -very bad- DH in the middle of the point had already place 2-4 traps in the floor, and has already another 2-4 in cooldown, so instead of using a invuln + evade to null all those damage and turn him in a easy prey, why you chose to just walk in to the traps and get melted?).

StinVec.3621:

Ranger
“In the future, we’ll continue to explore ways to improve on the ranger’s ties to both their pets and nature.”

I can only hold to hope that this means they actually consider finally offering the option of severing the ranger’s ties to their pets, and instead offering a more nature-oriented playstyle.

Other than pet AI actually being fixed, offering a wide range of skins for the various species, as well as making a larger selection of species able to be tamed, that is really the only change to the ranger that I desire as I consider that option as being an immense improvement to the current ranger > pet/nature relationship.

I don’t think pets should be nixed, I think the pet system needs to be adjusted. Pets have abilities that make no sense, or don’t make use of the pets’ specific stat spreads (like condition inflicting abilities, with like…400 condi dmg stat), the A.I., etc.

I do agree that some more skins should be available, if not different species (like when they added the reef drake). Some minor things like retaining names (PLS) and making pets like the black wolf not look like it is made of a plastic tarp would also be appreciated.

I can hardly wait for ineffective and crappy changes that nobody likes. 3 years of experience tells me this will be the case. Also they didn’t mention classes by HOT classes just plain vanilla…so basically leave the HOT classes as OP as they are.

I’m not too concerned. I’m not… much of anything, really.

The blog post was fluff. It was a gigantic tray of compliment sandwiches, complete with no-calorie content substitute.

Astra Lux.2846:

StinVec.3621:

Ranger
“In the future, we’ll continue to explore ways to improve on the ranger’s ties to both their pets and nature.”

I can only hold to hope that this means they actually consider finally offering the option of severing the ranger’s ties to their pets, and instead offering a more nature-oriented playstyle.

Other than pet AI actually being fixed, offering a wide range of skins for the various species, as well as making a larger selection of species able to be tamed, that is really the only change to the ranger that I desire as I consider that option as being an immense improvement to the current ranger > pet/nature relationship.

I don’t think pets should be nixed, I think the pet system needs to be adjusted. Pets have abilities that make no sense, or don’t make use of the pets’ specific stat spreads (like condition inflicting abilities, with like…400 condi dmg stat), the A.I., etc.

I do agree that some more skins should be available, if not different species (like when they added the reef drake). Some minor things like retaining names (PLS) and making pets like the black wolf not look like it is made of a plastic tarp would also be appreciated.

To reiterate, I do not desire for pets to be nixed, I desire for there to be an option to play ranger in a way where it is not forced to use a pet.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

I’m not too concerned. I’m not… much of anything, really.

The blog post was fluff. It was a gigantic tray of compliment sandwiches, complete with no-calorie content substitute.

Pretty much this. It didn’t really give any actual info, just headlines of what they are planning. I mean, that’s not bad per se, but once you read it again, you really just feel like “meh, so I am half a step toward knowing more info”.

StinVec.3621:

Astra Lux.2846:

StinVec.3621:

Ranger
“In the future, we’ll continue to explore ways to improve on the ranger’s ties to both their pets and nature.”

I can only hold to hope that this means they actually consider finally offering the option of severing the ranger’s ties to their pets, and instead offering a more nature-oriented playstyle.

Other than pet AI actually being fixed, offering a wide range of skins for the various species, as well as making a larger selection of species able to be tamed, that is really the only change to the ranger that I desire as I consider that option as being an immense improvement to the current ranger > pet/nature relationship.

I don’t think pets should be nixed, I think the pet system needs to be adjusted. Pets have abilities that make no sense, or don’t make use of the pets’ specific stat spreads (like condition inflicting abilities, with like…400 condi dmg stat), the A.I., etc.

I do agree that some more skins should be available, if not different species (like when they added the reef drake). Some minor things like retaining names (PLS) and making pets like the black wolf not look like it is made of a plastic tarp would also be appreciated.

To reiterate, I do not desire for pets to be nixed, I desire for there to be an option to play ranger in a way where it is not forced to use a pet.

Don’t be surprised if this option is possible with a specialization

Its fun to watch Karl dance around trying to rephrase “we’re gonna nerf the crap out that” in 2-3 places .

I look forward to seeing Revenants get beaten back into line. They were hogging way too much role-space and functionality.

Serophous.9085:

Pretty much this. It didn’t really give any actual info, just headlines of what they are planning. I mean, that’s not bad per se, but once you read it again, you really just feel like “meh, so I am half a step toward knowing more info”.

Why tell people exactly what’s going on when you can imagine you’ve building a hype train with a bunch of fragmentary information drops?

The cure is simple — polite interest, but don’t get hyped.