Guild Wars 2

RANGER
After a period of observation, the balance team will be changing the druid specialization’s nature somewhat. In this iteration, we’ll now be making healing types more healing-power based.

We’ve reduced base values of many healing abilities while substantially increasing the overall healing-power contribution. This patch will also upgrade the ranger’s short-bow weapon—a change we’ve been looking forward to doing for a long time.

Shouts

• “We Heal As One!”: The recharge time of this ability has been increased from 20 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP only.
• “Strength of the Pack!”: The recharge time of this ability has been increased from 60 seconds to 75 seconds. The voiceover will now play when the ability completes instead of midcast.

Weapons

• Maul: The recharge time of this ability has been reduced from 6 seconds to 4 seconds. Damage has been increased by about 10%.
• Quick Shot: Rangers will now gain swiftness regardless of whether they’ve hit their target. The recharge time of this skill has been reduced to 8 seconds.
• Crippling Shot: In addition to its existing functionality, this skill will now immobilize your foe for 1.5 seconds if you are behind them.
• Crossfire: This ability will now bleed foes for 1.5 seconds when they’re struck from the front.
• Poison Volley: This skill’s cooldown has been reduced to 8 seconds. Its poison effect will last 2 seconds longer when this skill is applied from behind your target.
• Call of the Wild: This ability now also causes a ranger’s pet to become unblockable for the next 4 seconds.
• Hunter’s Call: This skill’s cooldown has been reduced to 20 seconds.
• Ancestral Grace: The recharge time of this ability has been increased from 15 seconds to 18 seconds. Its base healing power per level has been reduced by 10%.
• Vine Surge: The velocity of the vines has been increased by 50%.

Druid

• Celestial Avatar: The recharge time of this ability has been increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Cosmic Ray: The base healing power for this ability has been reduced by 50%. Healing-power contribution has been increased by 52%.
• Seed of Life: The base healing power for this ability has been reduced by 20%. Healing-power contribution has been increased by 33%.
• Lunar Impact: The base healing power for this ability has been reduced by 34%. Healing-power contribution has been increased by 63%.
• Rejuvenating Tides: The base healing power for this ability has been reduced by 20%. Healing-power contribution has been increased by 43%.

Bug Fixes

• “Search and Rescue!”: Fixed a bug that prevented the ability’s voiceover from playing.
• Lunar Impact: This ability’s tool tip has been updated to display its blast finisher effect.
• Lick Wounds: Fixed a bug that caused your pet to briefly blink away from you if it was attacking an enemy before you activated this skill.
• Sun Spirit: Fixed a bug that caused rangers to lose access to their Solar Flare skill in certain situations.

Unmentioned Changes

• Pink Moa’s Dazing Screech (F2) has been altered from 3 pulses of 1½s Daze to a single 2s Daze. Damage normalized with other Moas that have damaging F2 screeches.
• Lunar Impact cooldown increased from 7s to 8s.

New Bugs

• Crossfire does not apply the extended bleeding duration when attacking from the side or behind.
• Maul tooltip damage is incorrect when traited with Two-Handed Training.

Well we are right, this does nothing to increase build diversity.

the balance team will be changing the druid specialization’s nature somewhat

Not really.

Also why the nerf to SOTP?

On a side note, cool to see they added more flanking bonuses to the other shortbow skills. Unblockable Pet attacks on Call of the Wild is different but works. Buff to Maul is rather strange, but we’ll take what we can get at this point.

Not too crazy about the changes to Celestial Form changes, and I’m definitely not head-over-heals that they still left out a lot of other QoL changes that we wanted, such as addressing the aftercast and cleaving issue on sword’s auto attack.

Also congrats on nerfing the only useful skill on Staff.

Guessing SOTP and WHAO nerfs are due to SB changes. Don’t expect that bleed to stay for very long.

Nerfs outweigh the buffs on this one.

SB buffs are mostly to behind target….when are you EVER behind the target? They alter crossfire to work from front because…oh yeah, because it was useless from the back!

gg

Lmao, they increased the cooldown on ancestral grace by less than a second for me. Love quick draw.

Get wrecked druid clarity/celestial shadow abusers.

I was so confused when I read that buff to Maul. I mean I’m happy as a greatsword user but it just seemed really random? Maul has always been a good skill with decent damage and the cooldown, as far as I’m concerned, was perfectly okay.

No complaints about it getting buffed but it just seems weird considering it was honestly fine as it was. But hey, if they want to buff it alright, I’m down.

Will also be checking out shortbow for most of the day I think. I don’t expect anything great but I always like to try out new adjustments.

EDIT: And the SOTP nerf was a bit unnecessary IMO. Although Druid was able to maintain a pretty consistent flow of supportive boons, SOTP was never a huge issue. It was the mobility, stunbreaks and stealth that made it problematic to pin down. SOTP should have been left alone and I’m not particularly happy about seeing it nerfed.

EDIT 2: Maybe they buffed Maul to make up for all the Druid nerfs, lol. Like “okay we know you guys are getting hit pretty hard here so take a buff to a good skill.”

Yeah the changes are not very interesting, I was hoping for alot more. But sb changes are a good start, maul buff (why?) and SOTP nerf (again, why?) were a bit strange. Also I thought staff 4 would get more condis or higher dmg or smth..

though I have to admit maul buff is still pretty kitten nice even if it was unexpected

Guy guys guys just pull out your warhorn and start hitting peeps with unlockable bristle back/ smokescale

Yeah don’t expect horn buff to last long either. We all know what happened when taunt was unblockable.

So changes I see getting partially reverted are SB1 and CoTW.

This is another patch that has a change for Warrior that should have also benefited the Ranger.

• “On My Mark!”: This skill now applies revealed for 4 seconds in addition to vulnerability.

Seriously? Could we please have “Sic ’Em!” work like “On My Mark!” without requiring a target and applying its effects on the nearest foe when no foe is targeted?

Seems like another suggestion for Ranger that the developers said, “Oh, that’s cool. Let’s buff the Warrior shout to be a better Ranger shout instead”.

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

I was so confused when I read that buff to Maul. I mean I’m happy as a greatsword user but it just seemed really random? Maul has always been a good skill with decent damage and the cooldown, as far as I’m concerned, was perfectly okay.

No complaints about it getting buffed but it just seems weird considering it was honestly fine as it was. But hey, if they want to buff it alright, I’m down.

Will also be checking out shortbow for most of the day I think. I don’t expect anything great but I always like to try out new adjustments.

EDIT: And the SOTP nerf was a bit unnecessary IMO. Although Druid was able to maintain a pretty consistent flow of supportive boons, SOTP was never a huge issue. It was the mobility, stunbreaks and stealth that made it problematic to pin down. SOTP should have been left alone and I’m not particularly happy about seeing it nerfed.

I guess a buff is a buff but maul never had a cooldown problem, the problem has always been the huge tell and the long cast time.
Same goes for shortbow, all these buffs that require you to be flanking the target and the flanking requirement (along with the crappy range) is why the weapon is so bad in the first place.

Sustain for anything non bunker took a double hit with the ancestral grace nerf, making zerk druid even less viable.
What really bugs me though is they nerfed SotP and we still don’t have an instant cast stability.

So no big surprises here, just anet doing what they do best, knee jerk reactions to forum whining with very little understanding of what the changes actually mean for the class.

Jim Hunter.6821:

So no big surprises here, just anet doing what they do best, knee jerk reactions to forum whining with very little understanding of what the changes actually mean for the class.

Seems worse now. I said it before when Roy was promoted to lead of the balance team – replacing Peters – that Rangers (and Druids) were no longer getting anything good from here on out.

Has anyone checked to see if the Call of the Wild buff (which is very sexy), also applies to the pet swap trait in marksman that casts Call of the Wild?

Also, those shortbow changes are going to be brutal since you can now immob someone, get behind them and crip shot to immob longer, and then stun them, etc to maintain a lot of damage and control instead of just having to center your entire build and utilities around having enough immobs to hold them down so you can deal damage.

Sad part is, bad players who still struggle vs. Ranger/Druid will continue to post and ask for nerfs.

Crapgame.6519:

Sad part is, bad players who still struggle vs. Ranger/Druid will continue to post and ask for nerfs.

Well clearly anet doesn’t listen to them, otherwise dragon hunter would’ve been nerfed so hard it would cease to be a spec.

These shortbow changes are awesome! Very happy about it. This will mean a lot, will become a much more used weapon

Durzlla.6295:

Has anyone checked to see if the Call of the Wild buff (which is very sexy), also applies to the pet swap trait in marksman that casts Call of the Wild?

Yes, the new buff is applied to Carrion Bond.

Meh it aint so bad … still bad tho but hey just requires more skills less spamming does not mean ill switch to menders tho … yet … ill keep playing diviners with the regen and runes of the dolyak CA recharges rather quickly thus giving the opportunity to use it more often sure u heal less but meh ppl wont have to complain anymore but of course ppl will still complain but i still think druid is top tier pvp class and 1v1 wise i think its still at the top so yeah its a nerf but we are still in a good place but yeah still on the first day lets see in a month or so if my opinion changes lool

Finally some SB improvements that are worth it. Mainly the buff on #3 is important.

May not last long though, betting we see a hot fix by days end.

Is it just me or is the shortbow “crossfire” buff bugged out at the moment?

Seems like it’s applying the short 1.5s bleed regardless of if you’re flanking or not.

AnariiUK.7409:

Is it just me or is the shortbow “crossfire” buff bugged out at the moment?

Seems like it’s applying the short 1.5s bleed regardless of if you’re flanking or not.

Edit: Nevermind, I miss-read what you said. Yeah, it’s bugged.

It’s applying the front bleed regardless of position.

Pink-Moa nerfed as well, down to a single 2-second daze.

AnariiUK.7409:

Pink-Moa nerfed as well, down to a single 2-second daze.

It’s always done this, the tooltip has just been wrong since launch…

Durzlla.6295:

AnariiUK.7409:

Pink-Moa nerfed as well, down to a single 2-second daze.

It’s always done this, the tooltip has just been wrong since launch…

No, it hasn’t. The last patch improved Pink Moa to applying 3 pulses of 1½s Daze. Now it’s been reverted back to before with only the reduced cast and aftercasts remaining.

Kind of a bummer. Guess they really want us trying to use Electric Wyvern.

Edit: So, the Black Moa remains unchanged. Congrats, Anet. The Hall of Monument Pets were supposed to be considered a cosmetic side-grade reward, but now, if you have the Black Moa, you have one of the best CC pets in-game.

Good job on that consistency.

Durzlla.6295:

AnariiUK.7409:

Pink-Moa nerfed as well, down to a single 2-second daze.

It’s always done this, the tooltip has just been wrong since launch…

It was a 3 × 2 second daze before this patch.

AnariiUK.7409:

Is it just me or is the shortbow “crossfire” buff bugged out at the moment?

Seems like it’s applying the short 1.5s bleed regardless of if you’re flanking or not.

If I’m understanding the update notes correctly shortbow should bleed in all cases now, hitting from front, side or behind. Only difference is the duration. Front: 1.5 s. Behind or side (flanking): 3 s.

Durzlla.6295:

Has anyone checked to see if the Call of the Wild buff (which is very sexy), also applies to the pet swap trait in marksman that casts Call of the Wild?

Also, those shortbow changes are going to be brutal since you can now immob someone, get behind them and crip shot to immob longer, and then stun them, etc to maintain a lot of damage and control instead of just having to center your entire build and utilities around having enough immobs to hold them down so you can deal damage.

If this is true, then we could be seeing insta-unblockable smokescale assaults.

Wondrouswall.7169:

AnariiUK.7409:

Is it just me or is the shortbow “crossfire” buff bugged out at the moment?

Seems like it’s applying the short 1.5s bleed regardless of if you’re flanking or not.

Edit: Nevermind, I miss-read what you said. Yeah, it’s bugged.

It’s applying the front bleed regardless of position.

Imo, this is how it should be.

Updated the main post so it’s easier to read and included some extras.

it seams maul did not get a damage buff. I am comparing the new in game maul at 2050 power and no modifiers to the maul on the gw2skills.net editor which is still under the old patch.

EDIT: it seams the gs trait is bugged and lowers the damage of maul if you slot it, or maybe the tool tip is bugged and shows lower damage numbers when you have the gs trait on. Something is definitely bugged here

Lunar impact cooldown seems to have increased from 7 → 8 seconds. Lot’s of hidden nerfs/changes it seems!

Checking on the GS bug and going to list the Lunar Impact nerf. Thanks for pointing that one out!

Interesting notes for sure

Gonna test with CA and see how they did with it

foste.3098:

EDIT: it seams the gs trait is bugged and lowers the damage of maul if you slot it, or maybe the tool tip is bugged and shows lower damage numbers when you have the gs trait on. Something is definitely bugged here

Did a bit of testing and it seems that only the tooltip becomes bugged when Two-Handed Training is slotted. The damage increase is there.

foste.3098:

it seams maul did not get a damage buff. I am comparing the new in game maul at 2050 power and no modifiers to the maul on the gw2skills.net editor which is still under the old patch.

EDIT: it seams the gs trait is bugged and lowers the damage of maul if you slot it, or maybe the tool tip is bugged and shows lower damage numbers when you have the gs trait on. Something is definitely bugged here

I think it’s the tooltip that’s bugged with the trait. After some small tests I seem to hit higher mauls with the GS trait equipped than without.

Someone recheck pet damage? There were some pretty persistent rumors that pets were going to get nerfed.

Well, Lunar Impact has been officially reduced to being a single-shot use. 1-second extra cooldown has it now so you can use it 1 time per CAF, 2 times if you Quick Draw, and 3 if you Quick Draw and have alacrity.

Really bummed out about this since before, you could fire it off twice due to the cast time, which further lowers our healing capabilities. Lunar Impact suffered a reduction across the board, even with high healing power values of 1500 and above.

At this point, I hope that they increase the Daze back to 2s as a minor compensation, or just revert it back to 7s and reduce the Daze from 1½s to 1s since they seem to be cutting back on the CC (which is a good thing).

Pity SB didn’t see a restoration of the 1200 range. Still, the buffs it received are nice enough this time round. Nice to see WH getting some love too

No idea where that Maul buff and SotP nerf came from though.

Wondrouswall.7169:

Well, Lunar Impact has been officially reduced to being a single-shot use. 1-second extra cooldown has it now so you can use it 1 time per CAF, 2 times if you Quick Draw, and 3 if you Quick Draw and have alacrity.

You should be able to use it at least twice? CA lasts 15 seconds if you use full duration. Before you could cast it 3 times, now it’s down to 2 times (not counting quick draw).

8 × 2 = 16

Not mathematically possible to use it twice in one CAF now.

Why they nerf pink moa which has no real impact in pvp and wvw, and only serve as a break-bar tool?

What’s wrong with having a good break bar pet? What is anet thinking?
Why do they expect pets to be useless?

Why’s electric wyvern ok to do cc, but not pink moa?

Gotejjeken.1267:

8 × 2 = 16

Not mathematically possible to use it twice in one CAF now.

You cast it when you enter CA, 8 seconds cd follows – you’re now at ~9 seconds, then you cast again?

OGDeadHead.8326:

Gotejjeken.1267:

8 × 2 = 16

Not mathematically possible to use it twice in one CAF now.

You cast it when you enter CA, 8 seconds cd follows – you’re now at ~9 seconds, then you cast again?

Yup, that’s 2 pops instead of 3. In addition to the base healing nerf, that’s a serious hit to the healing output there. One less blast finisher too.

Ah, yeah your right. I wasn’t considering casting it right when you get in the form.

Aomine.5012:

Why’s electric wyvern ok to do cc, but not pink moa?

Who knows. Guess instead of making the Wyverns Wing Buffet knockback opponents on every gust, they reverted the Pink Moa to make Wyverns have some sort of purpose.

But as I said before, PVE-wise, if you have a Black Moa, you’re better off slotting it instead of a Wyvern.

business as usual from anet. thanks for all changes!

I may be in minority; I know Druid heal nerfs in Raid tbh is the biggest issue as forced into HP gear/runes; tho zerk healing needed a nerf; already plenty used full magi and stuff, I get it, but I prepared myself for the druid nerfs. But I am like why SotP? That was a severe one.

Idk – SB – COULD be something; I doubt it, but could at least be a fun niche roaming thing. WH got a nice buff, devs really want to replace axe off-hand! Random GS buff, eh so much disappointment; some perks of ok cool but – eh. And they didn’t fix a lot of other things. I WILL SAY I appreciate the SB attempt hopefully it at least is okay now over trash.