So, I try to take every patch as level-headed as I can and wrap my head around the changes. Here is my takeaway:
Lunar Impact: I personally never use this skill for an AoE healing. Heck, I’d even be fine with no healing as long as the radius and duration were increased.
“We Heal as One!” and Resounding Timbre: So, it’s hard to rationalize this change but let’s work through it. Before, yes, you could get quite a lot of regeneration just from the single use of this skill; and I could totally rationalize a decrease to the point where you can no longer infinitely maintain it. I would have lowered the duration but increased the heal gain from each tick; making it so you had to use it tactfully instead of spamming it to keep the regeneration rolling. Now if both used in conjunction in PvE it grants about 14 seconds of regeneration. PvP it grants 3! Ow, resounding timbre took a massive hit with this one (a 60% efficacy drop in pvp). I, for one, take Beastmaster line basically for this trait and zephyr speed; so I think we’ll have to look at alternatives to accomodate a massive hit to our regeneration capabilities.
Ancient Seeds: Another druid fan favorite for pvp. Hated by other classes, so I can understand the logistics why. I guess it’s a toss up between GotL and Ancient Seeds now, but Lingering Light is still laughable. Still a disappointing change.
“Strength of the Pack!”: From what I understand, they wanted stability to be easily stripable (and by that logic punishable). And if you think about it, having the stability pulse basically renders boon strips useless if they’re going to come back a moment later. I would have like to see the opposite change happen. If you’re stripped of a boon, you can not gain that boon for a set time. Making both sides have to tactfully decide when to pop their skill. Instead SotP took a massive, massive hit. SotP used to be incredibly synergistic with Remorseless due to pulsing fury granting Remorseless over and over, now they barely interact. Maybe this was an oversight because this once was the entire purpose of Remorseless? Or maybe, as it seems to go, rangers can’t have anything nice, ha.
Smoke Assault: What once was an incredibly overpowered burst skill (smokescale would always use this skill first upon swapping), now is a pretty meager resemblance of its prime. I guess we could see this coming, but it’s always disheartening to have something nice given and then taken away bit by bit. Call it balance, but it just feels like it’s already below ideal dps and keeps being stripped. Maybe the solution would have been to dramatically increase its cooldown, so rangers can maintain their control of this burst skill without it being chronically abused.
Bonfire and Throw Torch: I’ll give them this. Condi across the board is getting out of hand, so I’ll applaud the minor tweaks to these skills rather than their hack-and-slash approach they seem to be using for skills like SotP and Resounding Timbre.
Evasive Purity: -Nods head in approval- Nothing really else to say.
Honed Axes: This in my mind is still an absurdly strange skill. It’s in beastmastery, uh why? It increases ferocity even though it’s a low-end power weapon mixed with wannabe conditions. Axe skills are kind of all over the place imo, so I have no idea how to take this. Now affecting either main or off-hand. Uh, thanks, I guess. I guess my recommendation would be to totally cement what you want your weapons to be about. Ex) Sword -> Vunerability, Shortbow ->Cripple and Poison, Axe ->Bleed, etc. Rather than weapons that try to dabble in different areas but ultimately just end up neglected because why would you use that when there is a clearly better condi or power weapon.
LoYF, Crippling Shot, Poison Volley: -Nods head in approval- (Although LoYF doesn’t work 100% the time.)
Refined Toxins: This is a good update. I guess it’s a poor name for a skill but I use this to maintain poison on a foe, not for its damage, but the bonus benefit of poison reducing healing. I can agree with this.
Strider’s Defence: Although Aragorn would be displeased. This skill was hardly used and it’s benefit even harder to notice, so a change is nice, but limiting it to sword and especially putting it on a line that focuses on condition and shortbow makes me cringe. The same problem with honed axes. Move these traits to better lines!
If I could do it my way, I would redo it again to something like
“While using Sword or Greatsword attack chain (1), as long as you do not hit a foe, you block 100% of incoming projectiles.”
Aragorn would approve as you could charge towards enemy archers slicing their arrows from the sky until you get up close. But I can dream, I suppose.
Troll Unguent: Nothing really to say, random tweak, but fine.