Guild Wars 2

i read the notes (as im in eu and i can’t play yet) and they seem mostly a massive nerf to the ranger survivavility:

• nerf bark skin
• nerf SoR
• Instinctive Reaction
• Natural Healing
• Companion’s Might
• Predator’s Instinct
• empathic bond

with various buffs i see them really meh except the one for SoH.

Is that all?
do we have just WS trait and survival utility to cleanse conditions?

No spirits? not traps?

The other bad thing as well as they did next to nothing to actually remove condi from the game to make these nerfs justifiable. Had they removed sources of condi from the game in the form of utilities and abilities then I wouldn’t be as mad about those changes, but literally almost nothing was done to condi based builds across all game platforms.

Yes, they reduced food but PvP doesn’t use food so essentially no condi changes happened there and after testing already, while there is a noticeable duration decrease it’s actually not much at all if you have trailblazer’s.

Really, from this patch across the board condi will be much stronger

I’m completely amazed that they nerfed Instinctive Reaction, and Compassion Training, two traits I use regularly, but I’d hardly call strong in their own right.

Pair that with blanket nerfs to everyone who wanted survivability and for once I can say I’m nothing but upset with the balance patch.

We got no ammo updates, no pet updates, signet of the Wild was just straight up nerfed, but thank god I can now take a trait to give my bear 347 expertise now, for all those condis it provides.

Good PvP buff coming from Stoneform, Signet of Renewal and Signet of the Hunt.

SotP still bad. I don’t even know which Ultimate to get anymore, but will take SotP, because Stability.

Drakes still not fixed. Will do Tail Swipe, then to forever do Bite.

Overall, I’m ok with the patch. Did I expect more ? Yes, of course.

2 weird things : SotW and Winter’s Bite buff but leaving Splitblade behind ?

I rather like the empathic bond change. Another 340 base healing per second with protection (which we have a kittenload of) is intersting. It reduces our base burst resistnace. but lets be honest we fall out of that threshold pretty fast if were fighting someone competent. Atleast this version will keep ticking.

And were forgetting to mention the buffs in this thread. Signet of the hunt now gives 6 seconds of unblockable for both you AND the pet on a 32 second cooldown when traited. while ALSO giving you fury for the duration of that unblockable. Thats pretty good for a burst setup.

Hunters gaze is also a rather powerful source of might. And stoneform is a cool concept that goes under a minute in cooldown once traited while also giving still more fury.

Im fairly satisfied with how this all turned out except for the pet bug. But hopefuly theyl have the fixed soon and I can actually start testing the changes.

From a WvW perspective:

Gonna need to test Melandru runes and poultry soup along with the new Empathic Bond. Need to answer whether it will be a 50% condi duration reduction + 45% (runes and food) = 95% duration reduction. Even at 95% i have my doubts as I hardly notice just the 45% from the food/runes. My previous testing clearly showed condi clears > condi duration reduction. Considering we lost the potential for 4 every 10s I am worried.

Not liking Signet of Renewal passive change but the active could be interesting as we now have a source of resistance. However, it seems using your heal as one right after poping SoR is mandatory so you at least get some resistance back.

It could be a rough two weeks in WvW until we can try out bear stance with soulbeast. Hopefully there is some type of condi defense trait in one of the unmentioned soulbeast traits.

Interesting changes to multiple traits regarding fury generation. May make remorseless build more viable?

As I’m on EU ankitten ot able to play atm, I have a Question:

Do the Lesser Muddy Terrain and Lesser QZ still count as Survival-skills? Or do they belong to no Category and won’t trigger Wilderness Knowledge?

Hepatolith.6389:

As I’m on EU ankitten ot able to play atm, I have a Question:

Do the Lesser Muddy Terrain and Lesser QZ still count as Survival-skills? Or do they belong to no Category and won’t trigger Wilderness Knowledge?

Excellent question and one we need to test. If it does then that helps lessen the blow form losing some passive condi clear somewhat.

Lesser QZ does indeed work with WK. so when you swap pets, you get instant 2-condi cleanse. if you swap to a bear, you get a near-instant 4-condi wipe, which is not bad.

edit: holy kitten, i didnt see Soften the Fall includes the use of a healing skill. with WK traited, now you can wipe condis with WHaO >.<

If that works for Soften the Fall too… That means i can cleanse 4 Conditions by Pooing my Pants and slow Enemies? \o/ what a time to be alive

3 secs of pet being unresponsive upon pet swap while in combat?

Great job ANET!

Staff 3 locking all your skills and dismissing pet? Resulting in the inability to combo staff 3 into smokescale’s F2 for stealth AND having another 3 secs of ur pet not responding to commands.

Great job ANET!

Worse balance patch ever. Making a pet class’s pet unresponsive in combat… pure genius ANET! Way to go!

Really impressive stealth nerfs!

Hepatolith.6389:

If that works for Soften the Fall too… That means i can cleanse 4 Conditions by Pooing my Pants and slow Enemies? \o/ what a time to be alive

it’s actually insane, and MT is hella strong now.

mistsim.2748:

Lesser QZ does indeed work with WK. so when you swap pets, you get instant 2-condi cleanse. if you swap to a bear, you get a near-instant 4-condi wipe, which is not bad.

edit: holy kitten, i didnt see Soften the Fall includes the use of a healing skill. with WK traited, now you can wipe condis with WHaO >.<

Mmmm what?
We are still locked down into WS but that doesn’t sound bad.

anduriell.6280:

mistsim.2748:

Lesser QZ does indeed work with WK. so when you swap pets, you get instant 2-condi cleanse. if you swap to a bear, you get a near-instant 4-condi wipe, which is not bad.

edit: holy kitten, i didnt see Soften the Fall includes the use of a healing skill. with WK traited, now you can wipe condis with WHaO >.<

Mmmm what?
We are still locked down into WS but that doesn’t sound bad.

plus MT is actually worthwhile slotting now. it’s a serious aoe debuff.

Actually, I have to say that most of these changes are pretty good! I’m genuinely surprised. Thanks anet!

Guys why the tears? Sig/ marksmanship rework is amazing, ws is fankittening tastic now (death to guardians) too, hell im dropping druid for that sweet sweet double stone. plus 2 extra ws skills for some more cleanse and the abiltity to group cleanse and not insta kill your pet,

skirmishing grand master might even see some play with remorseless and in any case is a dps boost for power ranger,

And the pet thing deff a bug report and be patient sheeeeetz

Eleazar.9478:

Guys why the tears? Sig/ marksmanship rework is amazing, ws is fankittening tastic now (death to guardians) too, hell im dropping druid for that sweet sweet double stone. plus 2 extra ws skills for some more cleanse and the abiltity to group cleanse and not insta kill your pet,

skirmishing grand master might even see some play with remorseless and in any case is a dps boost for power ranger,

And the pet thing deff a bug report and be patient sheeeeetz

That Double Stone can take its kitten ass back to the garbage can it crawled out of. The invulnerability was more of a Warrior thing – I want my kitten Stability back.

Good. Interesting. And Odd.

Still more testing to do.

Roll bm and or weapon stow with boon duration with skill 5 in druid form and Don’t worry it’s coming back in a month and a half with dolyack stance. While you cry in corner Im gunna take my dps increase roll glass and eat gurdians, scrappers and eles for breakfast.

Hepatolith.6389:

If that works for Soften the Fall too… That means i can cleanse 4 Conditions by Pooing my Pants and slow Enemies? \o/ what a time to be alive

Internal cooldown of 20s. You can’t trigger the fall damage one and then use the healing one before the cooldown is up.

The most serious nerf in this patch is that you can not get 3 might from “Zephyr’s Speed”.
For the ranger that is difficult to get Might, 3 might from “Zephyr ’s Speed” was valuable.
It was the main combo of shout ranger to amplify that might by the synergy of Fortifying Bond and “We Heal As One!” And to get 9 might.
In other words, this nerf means 270power has decreased from the shout ranger.
This nerf will have a major impact on PvP and WvW.

I like how Beast abilities were snuck in there. Looks like soulbeast will benefit pretty heavily from beast mastery

Edit: Beast tooltip for abilities I should say

Best skill in the game for 5 years, SoR, just got obliterated. I’ve lost any desire to play for a while.

zakununi.9527:

The most serious nerf in this patch is that you can not get 3 might from “Zephyr’s Speed”.
For the ranger that is difficult to get Might, 3 might from “Zephyr ’s Speed” was valuable.
It was the main combo of shout ranger to amplify that might by the synergy of Fortifying Bond and “We Heal As One!” And to get 9 might.
In other words, this nerf means 270power has decreased from the shout ranger.
This nerf will have a major impact on PvP and WvW.

lol, what ? Did I miss a /s ? It’s even easier for Ranger to stack 25 might now. Major Impact for pitiful 9 might !?

Predator’s Instinct and Companion’s Might got buffed. I’ll take a traited WK Zephyr’s Speed over 3 might on swap any day.

Krispera.5087:

zakununi.9527:

The most serious nerf in this patch is that you can not get 3 might from “Zephyr’s Speed”.
For the ranger that is difficult to get Might, 3 might from “Zephyr ’s Speed” was valuable.
It was the main combo of shout ranger to amplify that might by the synergy of Fortifying Bond and “We Heal As One!” And to get 9 might.
In other words, this nerf means 270power has decreased from the shout ranger.
This nerf will have a major impact on PvP and WvW.

lol, what ? Did I miss a /s ? It’s even easier for Ranger to stack 25 might now. Major Impact for pitiful 9 might !?

Predator’s Instinct and Companion’s Might got buffed. I’ll take a traited WK Zephyr’s Speed over 3 might on swap any day.

Ya dude peeps really aren’t opening they’re minds right now, outside of the bugs there’s some pretty interesting stuff in the patch, and when the pets get fixed I wonder how much of a dps increase ranger got with the feroicty buffs

Krispera.5087:

Predator’s Instinct and Companion’s Might got buffed. I’ll take a traited WK Zephyr’s Speed over 3 might on swap any day.

Predator’s Instinct definitely was buffed. Companion’s Might, now Potent Ally, is a mixed bag. The 1s ICD is bothering and overall condition damage from pets with high precision is much lower this patch due to the changes in Expertise Training and Companion’s Might bleed removal on critical hits with basic attacks.

Granted, we can all see this is in prep for Soulbeast, so… we’ll just have to wait it out until PoF.

Fluffball.8307:

Best skill in the game for 5 years, SoR, just got obliterated. I’ve lost any desire to play for a while.

What? Signet of Renewal just got a major buff. The passive condi clear never procced when you needed it, and the active just killed your pet.

Sartharina.3542:

Fluffball.8307:

Best skill in the game for 5 years, SoR, just got obliterated. I’ve lost any desire to play for a while.

What? Signet of Renewal just got a major buff. The passive condi clear never procced when you needed it, and the active just killed your pet.

People are being dramatic over the 1 condition clear on a 10 sec ICD…

This new SoR is way better : shorter cooldown and your pet won’t die from getting all the condis.

In PvP, it opens up the slot SotW took to generate Astral Force. Now you’ll only need SoR.

I really dislike the Signet of Renewal change, the passive condition removal was a lot more valuable than Anet seems to realize. They should have made it remove more conditions per tick, not removed it altogether.

I really wish that they’d made some pet changes, but they clearly don’t see any need to fix a mechanic they intend to make obsolete…

Krispera.5087:

Sartharina.3542:

Fluffball.8307:

Best skill in the game for 5 years, SoR, just got obliterated. I’ve lost any desire to play for a while.

What? Signet of Renewal just got a major buff. The passive condi clear never procced when you needed it, and the active just killed your pet.

People are being dramatic over the 1 condition clear on a 10 sec ICD…

This new SoR is way better : shorter cooldown and your pet won’t die from getting all the condis.

In PvP, it opens up the slot SotW took to generate Astral Force. Now you’ll only need SoR.

Plus combo that with heal as one and some resistance

Fairly New to the game. So is viper’s totally useless on ranger? or is it more or so even with power now? Or is it just best to switch to power ranger?

Jav.8439:

Fairly New to the game. So is viper’s totally useless on ranger? or is it more or so even with power now? Or is it just best to switch to power ranger?

Power Ranger got nerfed into the ground. Stick with Viper.

Hyper Cutter.9376:

I really dislike the Signet of Renewal change, the passive condition removal was a lot more valuable than Anet seems to realize. They should have made it remove more conditions per tick, not removed it altogether.

It never ticked when you had a serious condi (That 1 Vuln+Cripple) wasn’t really a threat), and it did nothing against the follow-up bomb that killed you before the next one.(While SoR was cooling down after clearing that 1 vuln, you’re burning to death from 8 Burning, 13 bleeding, 10 confusion, 10 torment, and 12 poison. And Chilled.)

I love the changes to marksmanship, like the change to Signet of Renewal, and am eager to try the new muddy terrain. I actually quite liked the old Most Dangerous Game though, but this new replacement could be fine.

Sartharina.3542:

Power Ranger got nerfed into the ground.

Wut?

The new traits are almost all focused toward power builds.

Literally the only thing we lost is the active from Wild Signet which was never used in pve and mostly used in pvp for stomping.

I hate the loss of our extra stability (old Signet of the Wild active) and two condition removal sources (old Signet of Renewal and old Empathic Bond). Those are major losses.

The new Rugged Growth trait with Companion’s Defense, Protective Ward and either Earth or Grove runes is kind of cool. It’s a very strong heal and seems to scale very well with healing power. Along with Stoneform, Brutish Seals and Signet of Stone; it makes for a durable as hell core ranger.

Traiting WS with Troll Unguent and the new Soften the Fall trait is awesome. Four cleared conditions, 12+ seconds of Fury and an awesome heal. Evasive Purity and a few other WS utilities makes for really great condition removal that doesn’t rely on Druidic Clarity.

Anet removing the + pet stat traits kittenes me off. I know they wanted the traits to work while in BEASTMODE, but didn’t want to be giving out tons of free stats. This, however, screws people that aren’t interested in that spec and gives no compensation what-so-ever.

I want to understand the Signet of the Wild change. The hopeful side of me wants to believe that Soulbeast has some very high damage coefficients and this was done to keep those in check. Seriously, though, more roots? Seems like a kitten idea.

I actually like the new Signet of Renewal; I dig regen-y builds and this allows me to get more of that and some condi clear at the same time.

I’m also going to presume most of these changes were brought about because of the upcoming expansion and new elite spec. But, again, I want to see these in effect before I make an overall judgment.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

I’m also going to presume most of these changes were brought about because of the upcoming expansion and new elite spec. But, again, I want to see these in effect before I make an overall judgment.

It’s a safe presumption to be sure. Today’s update is an odd one, since the changes are like puzzle pieces, but only half of them until PoF releases. At that time, everything should start to click (or not).

Honestly guys, the only things we need to mad about are the bugs. The Staff 3 stowing pets and pets being idle after swap.

Everything else is pure gold:
- lesser signet of stone is amazing
- the new signet trait is better then the old one
- Clarion bond perfectly applies itself with every pet swap
- Zephyr swap actually gives super speed and can be traited to grant fury and clear conditions
- The pets actually did not JUST lose stats, they gained some and WE gain some via those traits.

But my favorite three changes:
- new bark skin healing under protection
- new Skirmishing GM trait providing extra 10% crit chance while under fury along with 250 ferocity
- Soften the fall being casted with heal AND using the trait

Do not fuss too much about losing 1 clear every 10 seconds. It was good a long time ago in sustained condi application meta, but now we are getting bombed and pets were dying outright on Renewal usage or EB procs.

This is better. It works with Druid better as it clears up a utility slot. We lost some auto might spam but we also got some of it back.

Also keep in mind!!

• PoF is going to be ANTI BOON meta** and even though we lost some of them, in PvP it will not matter as we have a lot of non-removable effects

I am a ranger since GW1 and i survived every single update/nerf Anet did so far. That one just killed me. We figured that out, Anet hates us (rangers) and just give us hatred while warriors and guardians receive love.
First: our stability is gone. Signet of the wild doesn’t give stability anymore and enlargement has been replaced by Stoneform. Everyone knows that invulnerability for 5 seconds could not replace 5 stacks of stability for 8 seconds. All we have left is the elite “strenght of the pack”, that offers nice stability…every 75 seconds. Thanks, but no thanks.
Bark skin is gone. You replaced damage reduction by some low budget healing, that apply only when you have protection on. We don’t do much dmg with berserker gear and we have low hp. Now we still don’t do much damage and we take more damage.
Alpha focus: no…just…no
Natural vigor: Give us at least 33% to be fair
Signet of renewal: 2½ seconds of resistance. When you pull 20 stacks of every condition, you just dont care about that 2½. Since you can’t purge it from your pet, he will just die 3 seconds later. Plus it pulls now only 13 condition from nearby allies.
Empathic bond: we rely on our pet, even if we don’t want it. That trait will just keep killing it even faster. What will happen is that we will lose a pet, swap, lose the next, run petless, like most of the time we already do.
I tried it in WvW, and my pet now gets killed by 2~3 veteran from camp.

tl;dr: Anet killed our core rangers for good this time.

Chokolata.1870:

Honestly guys, the only things we need to mad about are the bugs. The Staff 3 stowing pets and pets being idle after swap.

Everything else is pure gold:
- lesser signet of stone is amazing
- the new signet trait is better then the old one
- Clarion bond perfectly applies itself with every pet swap
- Zephyr swap actually gives super speed and can be traited to grant fury and clear conditions
- The pets actually did not JUST lose stats, they gained some and WE gain some via those traits.

But my favorite three changes:
- new bark skin healing under protection
- new Skirmishing GM trait providing extra 10% crit chance while under fury along with 250 ferocity
- Soften the fall being casted with heal AND using the trait

Do not fuss too much about losing 1 clear every 10 seconds. It was good a long time ago in sustained condi application meta, but now we are getting bombed and pets were dying outright on Renewal usage or EB procs.

This is better. It works with Druid better as it clears up a utility slot. We lost some auto might spam but we also got some of it back.

Also keep in mind!!

• PoF is going to be ANTI BOON meta** and even though we lost some of them, in PvP it will not matter as we have a lot of non-removable effects

This.

Very weird update. I can’t make head nor tails of most changes. That said, taking away our only non-elite source of Stability to lock it into an elite line is a low blow…

People that play Druid shouldn’t be allowed to whine about getting hit by nerfs. Druids are the main reason the Ranger has been getting nerfed for the last 2.5 years. Also this weird change is nothing new, We had the same thing happen 2.5 years ago when they announced HoT and we got a lot of our skills and traits changed to fit a certain ideal that Anet wants the Ranger to have. They just pushed the Ranger even further into that ideal this time around.

Although the staff 3 stow has an interesting side effect that might help with condi stuff. That being transfer the condis to pet and then use staff 3. Since it is a stow all those condis just…go away.

I figured an eventual signit update would be used to give dps upgrades to power dps build, these took me by surprise. I think they are going to be pretty useful for WvW and PvP.

Dissapointed that sword, and some traits didn’t get buffed but we know have a crazy amount of good traits spread about and some great synergy, though mostly tied to wilderness knowledge.

Shame about stab from Signet ot the wild but I never thought it was a good source anyway.

Already having a tough choice for what traits/line I want for which mode. When Soulbeast gets added build diversity is going to be insane.

The Flaminator.3879:

People that play Druid shouldn’t be allowed to whine about getting hit by nerfs. Druids are the main reason the Ranger has been getting nerfed for the last 2.5 years. Also this weird change is nothing new, We had the same thing happen 2.5 years ago when they announced HoT and we got a lot of our skills and traits changed to fit a certain ideal that Anet wants the Ranger to have. They just pushed the Ranger even further into that ideal this time around.

Rangers have been getting hit by nerfs since launch back in 2012 though, so nothing new here.

We got some seriously great stuff this change, but there are also things I am upset about.

Pros:

• Muddy Terrain Change is great, finally it’s got enough to use it.
• Finally merged Opening Strike and Alpha Training after asking for it for 5 years.
• Stoneform is great, finally a viable alternative to Clarion Bond.
• Predator’s Instinct is finally gone and adding the cripple functionality to Opening Strikes is great. Hunter’s Gaze looks good too.
• Clarion Bond changes to sync with pet swap, we asked for this exact change a couple of years ago and finally got it. This tier now has 3 great choices!
• I’m kinda meh on Brutish Seals, the long duration Might was pretty great imo.
• MDG gone is amazing, they finally listened, or at least checked their metrics for it’s usage, I’d like to see those stats lol. Vicious Quarry looks great for DPS builds and Remorseless.
• Vigorous Training I’m on the fence about, more fury on pet swap is kinda redundant, it’s 3 sources of that we have now. I’d have preferred something else, like the Might from Zephy’s Speed back.
• Rugged Growth looks pretty cool, certainly more useful than Bark Skin.
• Rejuvenation, great, thanks for that… More Regen…
• Instinctive Reaction now gives a bit more sustain to Power Builds which I like, could be a higher % though.
• Zephyr’s Speed losing the Might is a big hit imo. Was especially good in WHaO/Shout builds, seems now I’ll be using survival skills quite a bit more than shouts. Although since it also grants Super Speed and has synergy with WK, so will grant Fury and remove conditions, I’ll call it a pro.
• Soften the Fall is a great change.

Cons:

• Removing the stability from SotW is a nerf in my book.
• The bleed taken off Companions Might is pretty annoying, it having a 1s ICD means it is only good for 6 might, maybe.
• Expertise Training is a straight up nerf, perhaps if it was scaled from power or condition damage, but vitality?
• Lingering Magic is a nerf.
• Empathic Bond I dunno, why couldn’t they just change the numbers so it actually removed more frequently and it would have been decent. Now, it doesn’t even remove them… I don’t know what the %’s are, can anyone enlighten me?
• Go For the Eyes. Nerf.
• Traps untouched, I simply cannot fathom that.
• SotP CD remains 75s, why?
• No pet changes or improvements, like making them take advantage of quickness.
• Opening Strikes could deal with the stack charge mechanic, since we have so many fury applications for Remorseless, make it stack up to 3 times like Adrenal Health or Berzerkers Power. Not intensity, but charges.
• They have added a TON more synergy with WK in this patch, further reducing the likelyhood of Poison Master being used when it could definitely use a buff itself. Also, since WK and Survival skills are so very good when built around now, I think Empathic Bond is still going to gather dust.

Yeah, the Muddy Terrain/Soften the Fall updates are great.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

We got some seriously great stuff this change, but there are also things I am upset about.

Pros:

• Muddy Terrain Change is great, finally it’s got enough to use it.
• Finally merged Opening Strike and Alpha Training after asking for it for 5 years.
• Stoneform is great, finally a viable alternative to Clarion Bond.
• Predator’s Instinct is finally gone and adding the cripple functionality to Opening Strikes is great. Hunter’s Gaze looks good too.
• Clarion Bond changes to sync with pet swap, we asked for this exact change a couple of years ago and finally got it. This tier now has 3 great choices!
• I’m kinda meh on Brutish Seals, the long duration Might was pretty great imo.
• MDG gone is amazing, they finally listened, or at least checked their metrics for it’s usage, I’d like to see those stats lol. Vicious Quarry looks great for DPS builds and Remorseless.
• Vigorous Training I’m on the fence about, more fury on pet swap is kinda redundant, it’s 3 sources of that we have now. I’d have preferred something else, like the Might from Zephy’s Speed back.
• Rugged Growth looks pretty cool, certainly more useful than Bark Skin.
• Rejuvenation, great, thanks for that… More Regen…
• Instinctive Reaction now gives a bit more sustain to Power Builds which I like, could be a higher % though.
• Zephyr’s Speed losing the Might is a big hit imo. Was especially good in WHaO/Shout builds, seems now I’ll be using survival skills quite a bit more than shouts. Although since it also grants Super Speed and has synergy with WK, so will grant Fury and remove conditions, I’ll call it a pro.
• Soften the Fall is a great change.

Cons:

• Removing the stability from SotW is a nerf in my book.
• The bleed taken off Companions Might is pretty annoying, it having a 1s ICD means it is only good for 6 might, maybe.
• Expertise Training is a straight up nerf, perhaps if it was scaled from power or condition damage, but vitality?
• Lingering Magic is a nerf.
• Empathic Bond I dunno, why couldn’t they just change the numbers so it actually removed more frequently and it would have been decent. Now, it doesn’t even remove them… I don’t know what the %’s are, can anyone enlighten me?
• Go For the Eyes. Nerf.
• Traps untouched, I simply cannot fathom that.
• SotP CD remains 75s, why?
• No pet changes or improvements, like making them take advantage of quickness.
• Opening Strikes could deal with the stack charge mechanic, since we have so many fury applications for Remorseless, make it stack up to 3 times like Adrenal Health or Berzerkers Power. Not intensity, but charges.
• They have added a TON more synergy with WK in this patch, further reducing the likelyhood of Poison Master being used when it could definitely use a buff itself. Also, since WK and Survival skills are so very good when built around now, I think Empathic Bond is still going to gather dust.

For the empathic bond I am not sure about that, at least with a current bug from staff 3. Staff 3 is now acting as a pet stow, which also removes condis on the pet, so it acts as a condi clear. So any condi transfer to pet with a staff is actually pretty strong. It actually might make using Primal Echoes really useful.

Neutra.6857:

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

We got some seriously great stuff this change, but there are also things I am upset about.

Pros:

• Muddy Terrain Change is great, finally it’s got enough to use it.
• Finally merged Opening Strike and Alpha Training after asking for it for 5 years.
• Stoneform is great, finally a viable alternative to Clarion Bond.
• Predator’s Instinct is finally gone and adding the cripple functionality to Opening Strikes is great. Hunter’s Gaze looks good too.
• Clarion Bond changes to sync with pet swap, we asked for this exact change a couple of years ago and finally got it. This tier now has 3 great choices!
• I’m kinda meh on Brutish Seals, the long duration Might was pretty great imo.
• MDG gone is amazing, they finally listened, or at least checked their metrics for it’s usage, I’d like to see those stats lol. Vicious Quarry looks great for DPS builds and Remorseless.
• Vigorous Training I’m on the fence about, more fury on pet swap is kinda redundant, it’s 3 sources of that we have now. I’d have preferred something else, like the Might from Zephy’s Speed back.
• Rugged Growth looks pretty cool, certainly more useful than Bark Skin.
• Rejuvenation, great, thanks for that… More Regen…
• Instinctive Reaction now gives a bit more sustain to Power Builds which I like, could be a higher % though.
• Zephyr’s Speed losing the Might is a big hit imo. Was especially good in WHaO/Shout builds, seems now I’ll be using survival skills quite a bit more than shouts. Although since it also grants Super Speed and has synergy with WK, so will grant Fury and remove conditions, I’ll call it a pro.
• Soften the Fall is a great change.

Cons:

• Removing the stability from SotW is a nerf in my book.
• The bleed taken off Companions Might is pretty annoying, it having a 1s ICD means it is only good for 6 might, maybe.
• Expertise Training is a straight up nerf, perhaps if it was scaled from power or condition damage, but vitality?
• Lingering Magic is a nerf.
• Empathic Bond I dunno, why couldn’t they just change the numbers so it actually removed more frequently and it would have been decent. Now, it doesn’t even remove them… I don’t know what the %’s are, can anyone enlighten me?
• Go For the Eyes. Nerf.
• Traps untouched, I simply cannot fathom that.
• SotP CD remains 75s, why?
• No pet changes or improvements, like making them take advantage of quickness.
• Opening Strikes could deal with the stack charge mechanic, since we have so many fury applications for Remorseless, make it stack up to 3 times like Adrenal Health or Berzerkers Power. Not intensity, but charges.
• They have added a TON more synergy with WK in this patch, further reducing the likelyhood of Poison Master being used when it could definitely use a buff itself. Also, since WK and Survival skills are so very good when built around now, I think Empathic Bond is still going to gather dust.

For the empathic bond I am not sure about that, at least with a current bug from staff 3. Staff 3 is now acting as a pet stow, which also removes condis on the pet, so it acts as a condi clear. So any condi transfer to pet with a staff is actually pretty strong. It actually might make using Primal Echoes really useful.

This is kinda a double edged sword though since swapping pets, and by extension bugged staff 3, is effectively a 4s stun on your pet where it’ll just sit there doing nothing upon coming in.

Also, Empathetic Bond is a 50% Condi duration cut on you, which is pretty fantastic tbh, now pair that with some melandru runes and you might forget what a condi is…