Guild Wars 2

So, with the announcement of the next xpac, came the annoucement of a new balance update for this next tuesday. I’ve seen a few people guessing that this will introduce the barrier mechanism on a few core profession.

If this is true :

- We could probably expect the elementalist to gain 1% of it’s health point as a barrier when it by a condition (1s ICD) as a change for Diamond skin.

- Warrior could be hitten hard with a change to endure pain which would grant a 20% of max health point barrier. Along with adrenal health becoming adrenal barrier and granting up to 1% max health point barrier (each stack granting 0.33%) instead of health, every seconds.

- Ranger’s signet of stone would grant him and his pet a 5% heath point barrier every second for 6 seconds. Bear’s defy pain granting a 20% health point barrier.

- And lastly (but not least), necromancer’s vampiric presence becoming blood aura and granting a 0.2% of the necromancer’s health point as a barrier on hit to player affected by the aura.

All of this would make the whole barrier concept a lot more viable and put the scourge into a really good place as a potential “healer”, allowing the barriers to constantly refresh themselve up to the cap and the necromancer to stand it’s groud as a damage dealer that also provide “healing”.

PS.: I guess rangers would cry tears of blood and die a little more inside due to the loss of their signet of stone.

If that come true, Immunity Skills will recive a Huge nerf and there will be more space for a necromancer in PvP.
We fight with “this mechanic” since the game release using the meatshield Shroud, then we already have things to come along with it.
If the other classes lose they’re Immunity skills in favor of Barriers all the game should be re-balanced.
The necro will be able to fight at the same level of a warrior in terms of defence.

I doubt theblood aura change will be able to happen or anything that gives barrier super frequently.
Say you are put up to max barrier (maybe by the scourge ‘healer’) this barrier will start to degen after 2 seconds, but this cooldown is reset whenever new barrier is applied. Blood Aura would allo you and your party to maintain barrier as long as you are fighting. Meaning everyone gets +50% HP. And if you get hit and it gets low then the main barrier giver will just top you back up.

The main reason I dont see this happening is barrier looks to be a preeptive and active defense against incoming hits not a passive bonus HP. But if it does happen Necro would probably finally have a trait people what them for.

Yes but as a pre emptive bonus HP it will fail at making into a reliable support if it decay. Having something like that blood aura is the only way for such a support to be competitive. This mean that with blood aura you really become a support while without, most of it will go to waste.

Look at the val guardian (I take it because it’s the fisrt boss we got from raids). It got a mechanism that pulse 2k damage every 1 or 2 seconds. There is no way that a decaying barrier, as high as it could be, could allow the necromancer to support throught that. If you got a mechanism to prevent the decay it instantaneously become viable. And the fact that it force you into a support traitline make this even more valid.

We litteraly need to be able to constantly build up barrier and burst it a bit from time to time in order to be competitive as a healer. 50% HP look like a lot but in front of the damage dealt by bosses and even just elite mobs, it’s nothing, it can very easily disappear in one hit. The scourge just don’t have the means to only rely on pinpoint barrier application. If you need pinpoint protection, just ask a mesmer with it’s party wide blurr or a guardian with it’s aegis, it will work hundred time better than barriers.

Barrier isn’t supposed to be an alternative to healing.

barrier will be useless if it deteriorates in combat.

Sublimatio.6981:

barrier will be useless if it deteriorates in combat.

Its already been shown it does and I doubt it will be useless.

i know it does, i meant in my message it will remain useless until it’s changed and it’s just my opinion of course.

most of the barrier will be removed due to degeneration rather than enemy attacks. especially if it’s a slowly attacking boss and you need to use some shield generating skills for either dps rotation or might upkeeping rotation if it becomes a thing.