Guild Wars 2

Now these are leaked/unconfirmed, so be aware of that. They sound like typical arenanet patchnotes.

Mesmer:

• Descent into madness: Fixed the Chaos Storm created by this skill to match the actual Chaos Storm skill functionality.
• Illusionary Defense: Fixed this trait to properly decrease damage taken by 3% per illusion.
• Feedback: Added a radius skill fact. Updated the skill facts to display changes from traits.
• Medic’s Feedback: Increase the duration of the feedback bubble created by this trait to match the actual duration of the feedback skill.
• Winds of Chaos: Fixed the bleeding skill fact to display the proper duration when the Chaotic Dampening trait is equipped.
• Mender’s Purity: This trait now functions with racial skills Healing Seed and Prayer to Dwayna.
• Power Cleanse: This skill now removes 2 conditions from up to 5 allies in a 240 radius.

Source: http://pastebin.com/sXHq6fZt

If true, Mantra of Resolve will become 100% awesome for teamfights.. Also, I didn’t know that Illusionary defense was bugged, can anyone confirm that?

/edit

Official Mesmer Preview:

Mes
To stay in line with the support theme, we wanted to find ways the Mesmer could support allies. We looked at Mantras, and just didn’t feel they were quite strong enough to do this, so we made some improvements.
Power Cleanse: We wanted to add some condition support, and made it so that this skill can remove 2 conditions from 5 allies.
Power Break also saw an improvement, as it now grants stability to nearby allies.

Source:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/October-15th-balance-skills-updates-preview/

I have a dire build I am testing that is based off of ID and it’s cousin (The one that increase damage) and I didn’t think ID was broken. I am not sure how exactly you would test to see if it is broken. But if it is then that mean a lot of Mesmer builds just got a little bit more defense.

We could test it with a buddy and the consistent damage weapons in the mists. I’m currently not home, but I’ll maybe test that when I’m back.

There’re other changes that aren’t exclusive of mesmers, but that they can have some impact in the game:

- Aoe spells with that have a maximum number of targets will now count combatants that block or evade the attack towards that maximum.

- Stun breakers now break blowouts and launch as well.

- Tab targeting now prioritizes players over npcs (including minions)(mesmer clones are an exception).

- All duration stacking boons(Aegis, Fury, protection, Regeneration, Retaliation, Swiftness, and Vigor) and conditions(Blind, Burning, Chilled, Cripple, immobilze"now stacks duration", and Poison) now stack to a maximum of 5 times.

- All player controlled minions. excluding Mesmer phantasm and clones because they were already increased in a previous patch, now have 71.43% more hit points in a PvE map.

- Skills that buff allies in an aoe now prioritize party members.

PD: Note that these are UNOFFICIAL, and I haven’t seen them on reddit.

If this is true.. Thats some good stuff

Dat MoResolve. MoConcentration could use the same kind of love.

Chaos, one question.

How this change would affect the boon storm??

All duration stacking boons(Aegis, Fury, protection, Regeneration, Retaliation, Swiftness, and Vigor) and conditions(Blind, Burning, Chilled, Cripple, immobilze"now stacks duration", and Poison) now stack to a maximum of 5 times.

That’s probably going to require some testing if such a change goes live. It would depend if Signet of Inspiration copies the accumulated boons as one large one or retains their internal stack counts. Also, will higher duration boons be able to intelligently push lower duration ones off the stack? Speculation is pretty much impossible without these kinds of specifics. Though I suspect it’s safe to assume Boon Storm will go from being able to eventually maintain the current cap on every boon to maintaining the new cap on every boon.

I think protection, regeneration and vigor would take the biggest hit there. It’s easy for a support mesmer to rack up to a minute of each of those in longer fights. Say, from PU, you get 3s base protection. With 100% boon duration you’ll only be able to maintain 30s at any one time (if I’m reading that right). Still not bad, but I’m not sure how that will work with boons/durations gained from different sources, like chaos armor, etc.

Another biggie there is the AoE spells change. That would be a fairly big nerf for us (think iZerker attacks, Imbued Diversion, GS push, focus pull, etc).

I would take those with a grain of salt. Seing “throw Elixir S” (engi toolbelt skill for Elixir S) getting 5s of AoE stealth is… weird. It is basically our elite MI on a 60s CD. Plus all the added benefits of elixirs/TB skills (static discharge, CD reduction, condi cleanse…).
I won’t cry wolf, we will have to wait till the patch is live to see how much of that, if any, is true.

Edit: wrong CD

Cant say for sure. The first thing that comes to my mind is the potential that we’ll be getting protection more often from Chaos Armor since clones pulse Regen and curtain/storm proc swiftness (not to mention Swiftness/Regen is one of the most common boons granted by allies). Prismatic Understanding may also proc protection more often since Regen will likely be overstacked. It looks like the change would make our RNG less random and more predictable.

If you have sword/focus – staff then you already snag 3 procs of retaliation from comboing off temporal curtain (sword 3 is a double leap >> phase retreat) so Chaos Armor is more likely to grant Aegis/Swiftness in the six boons it gives.

I could be totally off the mark though. Assuming any of this is true it could be a complete fail if Anet decides the RNG abilities will still proc boons that are already at full stacks, thus making them a complete waste.

Nothing too amazing by the looks of it. Even with a mantra buff I still won’t be likely to use them until they change how they work.

“Tab targeting now prioritizes players over npcs (including minions)(mesmer clones are an exception)” did jump out at me though. This is a huge nerf/fix against minion necros. Minion necros are pretty popular in pvp and omg it’s impossible to find them amongst their horde. When you tab it currently cycles through them starting with the closest opponent. If they move around it’s possible to cycle over the actual necro forcing you to tab like 20 freak’n times to get him. This then forces you to mouse click him which, in the middle of a battle, can be very challenging. This was an unintending advantage for necros and, honestly, they shouldn’t have a better “confusing” aspect over mesmers. They can produce 5+ minions when we can only have 3. Theirs are more permanent as well and kitten near every one of these minion necros is a tiny Asura who dresses up to look like a minion…

After this (hopeful) change it will be a rough wake-up call for these necros. The same goes for engineers actually. I’m not as familiar with engineers, but some seem to have a macro that dumps 5 turrets at the same time on a pvp point.

I would love the extra duration on Medic’s Feedback. It’s already on my bar nearly all the time when I’m doing dungeons/fractals with friends, can’t count how many times I’ve prevented a wipe by blinking to a downed ally and popping a feedback bubble while I rez.
Or just tapping F on the downed NPC in dungeons to get a couple of seconds of bubble at no cost. I think I get more overall feedback duration from that trait than from having the actual skill on my bar — usually only ever swap it out for Glamor cd reduction when I need portal or Null Field more often.

I’m more concerned about the boon stacking nerf.

Seems pretty meh to me.

Dev posted a skill/balance change thread.
Not listing quite as in depth but some mentions of things being changed at least.
Mantra’s might see more group use at least (though its still just 2 seconds protection…meh)

Ansau.7326:

- Tab targeting now prioritizes players over npcs (including minions)(mesmer clones are an exception).

Also: Mesmer clones spawned from Deceptive Evasion will still see rabbits and moose as top priority targets. We are also working hard to include mice in this rotation.

Lux.6490:

Ansau.7326:

- Tab targeting now prioritizes players over npcs (including minions)(mesmer clones are an exception).

Also: Mesmer clones spawned from Deceptive Evasion will still see rabbits and moose as top priority targets. We are also working hard to include mice in this rotation.

This made me giggle.
+1 for the funny.

You laugh, but one day the Legendary White Bunny will return. Judgment Day. We’re training. We can only pray that we’ll be ready.

Yeah I saw the “leaked notes” and then saw J.Sharp’s thread with what Anet is working on as far as the different aspects for all the professions.

When reading the two sources, I didn’t even have energy to sigh. It’s underwhelming, but at the same time expected. When the devs say that the Mesmer is in a good place then that tells me not to expect much for the Mesmer.

And as far as mantras, I don’t think the group support thing will be enough because the effects of the mantras aren’t great. 2s of stability or protection really doesn’t do anything. However, if it were something like, gain an extra 2s per the number of allies that the matra’s effect is applied to, then it would be appealing.

Xovian.8572:

Lux.6490:

Ansau.7326:

- Tab targeting now prioritizes players over npcs (including minions)(mesmer clones are an exception).

Also: Mesmer clones spawned from Deceptive Evasion will still see rabbits and moose as top priority targets. We are also working hard to include mice in this rotation.

This made me giggle.
+1 for the funny.

:D The other day after spiking an opponent on Kyhlo I dodge absentmindely and my DE clone ran purposely off to kill some boxes.

Expansive.3716:

Yeah I saw the “leaked notes” and then saw J.Sharp’s thread with what Anet is working on as far as the different aspects for all the professions.

When reading the two sources, I didn’t even have energy to sigh. It’s underwhelming, but at the same time expected. When the devs say that the Mesmer is in a good place then that tells me not to expect much for the Mesmer.

And as far as mantras, I don’t think the group support thing will be enough because the effects of the mantras aren’t great. 2s of stability or protection really doesn’t do anything. However, if it were something like, gain an extra 2s per the number of allies that the matra’s effect is applied to, then it would be appealing.

this j. sharp didnt even take the time to spell mesmers out he simply wrote mes. shows me his hate for the class. very underwhelming. i dont see any change for wvw for us any time soon. i did not sign up for a kitten support class. i chose mesmer and would like to do something else then only support in wvw.
sry on strike: i wont portal any golems anymore, no more tw, no more veil from me. i will take all the stunbreakers with me i got instead!

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

Intensity Stack =/= Duration Stack.

Totally different, people.

1 Bleed 1 sec +
1 Bleed 1 sec +
1 Bleed 1 sec +
1 Bleed 1 sec +
1 Bleed 1 sec =
5 Bleeds on 1 sec

1 Burn 3 sec +
1 Burn 5 sec +
1 Burn 4 sec +
1 Burn 1 sec +
1 Burn 3 sec =

1 Burn 16 sec, whatever burn stack comes after this doesn’t add up burn duration until one stack is gone.

phokus.8934:

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

Duration stacking… So say you got an engi a necro and a guard on a team. They all have skills/traits that apply burn… You can only get the duration stacked 5 times. Intensity stacking will still be capped at 25. There is only one boon that is intensity stacking (might) all others are duration stacking. This is more than likely an intentional nerf to classes/team comps that amp up on boons.

jportell.2197:

phokus.8934:

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

Duration stacking… So say you got an engi a necro and a guard on a team. They all have skills/traits that apply burn… You can only get the duration stacked 5 times. Intensity stacking will still be capped at 25. There is only one boon that is intensity stacking (might) all others are duration stacking. This is more than likely an intentional nerf to classes/team comps that amp up on boons.

Possibly also an intention to put more emphasis on lengthening the duration of the duration-stacking conditions. Right now burn/poison are supposed to be duration stacking thingies but instead people always spam the application of the conditions. It makes burn/poison duration sigil/runes/traits more logical.

phokus.8934:

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

I don’t see confusion, bleed, or torment listed. Thieves and Guardians aren’t going to be happy though.

Change on mantra won t be enough to see more utilities in group imo. the problem is that u won t have any access to combo, ( beginner or finisher ), for group it s not enough.

jportell.2197:

phokus.8934:

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

Duration stacking… So say you got an engi a necro and a guard on a team. They all have skills/traits that apply burn… You can only get the duration stacked 5 times. Intensity stacking will still be capped at 25. There is only one boon that is intensity stacking (might) all others are duration stacking. This is more than likely an intentional nerf to classes/team comps that amp up on boons.

Ah OK. With that, it has me thinking that Lemongrass and Hoelbrak will be even better against conditions.

phokus.8934:

jportell.2197:

phokus.8934:

More importantly, are Confusion and Bleed stacks going to be capped at 5? From the leaked notes, they’re not listed but from what j.sharp wrote, it sounded as if all boons/conditions were being capped at 5.

Duration stacking… So say you got an engi a necro and a guard on a team. They all have skills/traits that apply burn… You can only get the duration stacked 5 times. Intensity stacking will still be capped at 25. There is only one boon that is intensity stacking (might) all others are duration stacking. This is more than likely an intentional nerf to classes/team comps that amp up on boons.

Ah OK. With that, it has me thinking that Lemongrass and Hoelbrak will be even better against conditions.

Yeah, to some degree it may calm down or at least try to better control the current condition meta, which is probably one of the intended side effects of the change.

Power cleanse on a mantra mesmer would mean the potential for 4 conditions removed (6 when traited)… That, in my opinion, is pretty beastly and it seems like it might get toned down.

Mesmer is already least played profession.
Not viable in tPvP
Time warp bot / Veil bot in WvW

Warriors / Guardians keep being uped.
Ok I am done. I stop now my mes. It is middle/long term dead.

Greatsword
Mindstab would be great if it could be used as a blast finisher to add to its overall potential and supportive abilities.

Scepter
The auto attack doesn’t fit with the theme of the weapon – it applies a power modifier. It should apply some conditions such as bleeding if possible.

Torch
Phantasmal Mage, projectile speed should be increased – which will allow it to hit moving targets more effectively.

Sword
iLeap – pathing needs to be fixed or reworked, unreliable especially on uneven terrain

Pistol
Magic bullet – I think this also needs a slight increase in projectile speed

Just some small changes that I would like to see possible

Kicast.1459:

Mesmer is already least played profession.
Not viable in tPvP
Time warp bot / Veil bot in WvW

Warriors / Guardians keep being uped.
Ok I am done. I stop now my mes. It is middle/long term dead.

know the feeling. it sucks when your class is not viable apart from a few utilities. im not ready to give up just yet though. anet needs to look at group wvw balance in order to see all the issues. they need to get away from their spvp balance.mesmers are much better off in spvp then in a zerg.
im tired of op warriors, unbeatable guardians, op necro mark spam and also the balance issue forces us to erg as small groups cant make a change anymore. during glam times 10 coordinated mesmers had at least a small chance vs an uncoorinated big group. now u just get c’ed to death and your 2sec stability from mantras arent helping at all.
darn i wish our class would suck in 1v1 so we could at lest get some buffs for wvw groupfights. if anet allows mass cc, mass retal, massheals, mass condi spam, then mesmers should get their glam back and bb unnerfed.

I wonder how many more months until they fix iElasticity and Siren’s Call clones boon problem

Option:
a) one month
b) three months
c) half a year
d) 2015

This is kittening ridiculous not seen with any devs but them

While I am glad for the 2 mantras getting some support love, I’m still wondering when they will balance/fix the scepter and torch. Right now, many mesmers consider them as “pure condition weapons” where as the rest can be used in any spec (some are slightly more towards one aspect – power or condition damage – but they can still do both). There are some issues with some weapons, however:

Scepter – it’s autoattack could use some sort of condition – maybe weakness, poison, bleed – or make it a AoE “splash” or hit adjacent mobs to target. Confusing Images could use a slightly quicker casting animation while keeping the AoE line (maybe close to speed of how the Risen/Enchanter mobs have theirs).

Torch – Phantasmal Mage projectile speed could be buffed a bit and maybe have a little bit more direct damage so that it can also be seen in some power builds. If not these, then maybe a shorter cooldown, like 5-10 secs shorter.

MH Sword – Sometimes the iLeap is a bit buggy based on elevation/terrain so it could use some fixing/rework.

Greatsword – Mind Stab could either have a bigger radius and/or make it not ground targeted and be nearby the target.

OH Sword – Seems very power oriented (unless you go clone spammer). Maybe similar to how Illusionary Counter, half damage and inflict perhaps immobilize or cripple.

In general, mesmers also need another option of granting swiftness, whether by trait or skill. Also, would be nice to have another torment application.

Now, these are just looking at making each weapon viable in any build and it’s all opinionated.

Edit: Though I had erase the OH Sword part when writing this since it was a bad idea, but now makes me some idiot/noob. >_< Sorry about that.

why would you want OH sword changed? its perfect as is. i don’t want damage halved for stupid cripple of other condis. the phantasm is 100% power oriented so leave the weapon at that, power based

Yeah OH sword is a great power weapon and in the clone spammer build you get the condition through the traits. It is just that scepter/sword has and always will be our illusion machine making set up. Don’t touch OH sword damage its amazing.

i add some simple things as well https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/October-15th-balance-skills-updates-preview/2838128

What I see in the “duration stacking boons” is a possible fix to temporal curtain’s (and symbol of swiftness’) stacking. I don’t know the current implementation, but with the limit of 5 stacks, it could be fixed.
Instead of TC to grant 1 stack of 12s swiftness, they could make it stack 5x 2.4s of swiftness. Once you ran through, you couldn’t get swiftness from another source for 2.4s, but well … After that, it’d work.