Q:
The purpose of this thread is to facilitate discussion on balancing the warrior’s skills and traits and address current flaws; all while simultaneously accounting for interprofessional balance.
Message to the community
Feel free to drop feedback in this thread. I read everything here and will make changes if necessary. There is a lot of content. Please save your responses as sometimes the forum “bugs out” and eats your response.
Cast a vote on the strawpoll link above after reading the suggestions to share whether you approve or disapprove of these suggestions.
Message to the ArenaNet developers
Please take a look at these suggestions, and consider them for a future patch.
Updates
- 05/10/2016 – Post SQ2016 balance patch, document is outdated.
- 03/10/2016 – Beta revision 2 released. Criticism welcomed / Please vote on the strawpoll link above. Editing put on hold to collect feedback.
- 03/10/2016 – Beta revision 1 completed. Feedback results: 3.06/4 from 45 voters Screen cap
- 02/24/2016 – Beta revision 1 released. Criticism welcomed / Please vote on the strawpoll link above. Editing put on hold to collect feedback.
- 02/24/2016 – Public alpha draft completed.
- 01/05/2016 – Public alpha – Undergoing heavy construction. Please hold off on commentary until document reaches “Beta”
FAQ
Why should ArenaNet be concerned about balance?
A balanced game is a critical aspect that can not be ignored if ArenaNet has any aspirations of making the game successful in the E-sports scene. In order for a game to become a popular sport, there are 2 major requirements: accessibility and consistency.
ArenaNet made a good move to make the game more accessible to the masses by making it free to play, but the game is still inconsistent in terms of balance. This is why the meta-shifting approach to balance is not effective. It’s easier to implement, but yields lower quality results and fails to cultivate the potential profits of a game that’s popularized by the E-sports scene. Why’s that?
Because every time there’s a meta-shift, you force a player to relearn a profession, and it takes away the momentum from the player to build upon, as well as from the audience. Without consistent balance, players can not become masters of their craft and the audience will have a tougher time following it- the game will never achieve the “easy to play, hard to master” aspect many competitive games have. On the flipside, when proper balance is achieved, the game will have a greater chance at succeeding at the e-sports scene.
What’s your approach to dealing with imbalance?
There are many ways to balance a game: Power Creep, Nerf Bat, Meta Shift, and Equalize. (see attached image for visual)
- Power creep: Raise the power of weak abilities to match the strong
- Nerf bat: Reduce the power of the strong abilities to match the weak
- Meta shift: Take turns in what’s strong and weak (Current model for ArenaNet)
- Equalize: Reduce the power of the strong, raise the power of the weak. Achieve equilibrium
I have done my best to avoid the meta-shift, nerf bat, or power creep approach when it comes to balance, and opted to deal with the imbalance issue using the equalize approach. These ideas are cultivated through thorough deconstructions of the profession in order to create an ideal and balanced profession. The suggestions are then presented to the forum for further refinement. I will try my best to collaborate with everyone, but understand that I won’t be able to achieve full consensus on every suggestion.
I intend to give all professions the same treatment so no one profession is stronger than the other.
I disagree with your changes
Tell me why and what should I do to achieve balance? Allow me to gain your perspective so I can refine these suggestions.
Preview (Traits)
Due to the size of the project, a summary won’t fit in this forum post (1500 message limit). Below is a preview of some trait changes. See spreadsheet for more in depth explanations as well as weapon and skill changes.
Strength
- Reckless Dodge – reduce damage slightly
- Death from above – Remove unblockable properties
- Peak performance – remove recharge reduction and damage increases (made baseline.. sorta), reduce recharge for a static amount each time you are hit. Include super armor while casting attacks.
- Restorative strength – Increase might duration, reduce might stacks
- Axe mastery – Critical axe hits gain extra adrenaline. Axe skills deal more damage based on how much adrenaline you have built.
- Forceful greatsword – Decrease modifier slightly, but make part of the damage increase baseline for greatsword.
- Stick and move – Decrease damage modifier slightly
- Absolute control- Foes that break your control will be immobilized and weakened. Removing stability from foes applies cripple per stack of stability removed.
- Berserker’s power – Decrease modifier slightly, make some damage increase baseline
- Resistant Concentration- Increase boon duration. Attempts to steal, rip, or corrupt your boons are reversed.
Arms
- Berserker’s fury – Gain adrenaline while in combat. Gain fury and swiftness when you reach maximum adrenaline.
- Mighty expertise: Might increases applied condition duration.
- Signet mastery – Signets recharge faster. Cast signet of might when one of your attacks is blocked. Increase precision gain.
- Blademaster – Swords have an increase critical hit chance against bleeding foes. Critical strikes with a sword grants endurance. Reduces recharge on sword skills.
- Deep strikes – Fury grants increased condition damage. Fury you apply lasts longer.
- Concussive strikes – Stuns, dazes, knockbacks, pulls, pushes, and launches inflict bleeding and weakness. Cause confusion when you interrupt a foe’s skill. Increase critical hit chance against disabled foes.
- Burst precision – Remove blind and weakness before using burst skills. Burst skills have an increase critical hit chance.
- Dual wielding – Critical hit chance and attack speed is increase when wielding a sword, axe, or mace in your off hand.
- Furious – Include ferocity increase with effect.
Defense
- Thick skin – Increase toughness for each foe you are currently in combat with.
- Cull the weak – increase damage to weakened foes. Pulse weakness to nearby foes when you stay in combat for extended periods of time.
- Dogged march – change regeneration to vigor
- Adrenal health – gain health when you gain adrenaline.
- Defy pain – Activate endure pain for 1 second when you are hit for more than 10% of your maximum health. Does not break stuns
- Sundering mace – Mace auto attack have a chance to apply vulnerability and daze your foe.
- Last stand – Remove increased stance duration and vigor gain, decrease recharge of stances
- Rousing resilience – Gain fury when interrupted. Heal and gain stability when you break out of a stun. Gain protection whenever stability negates incoming control.
Tactics
- Determined revival: Add increased revive speed
- Empowered – Increase damage per boon on you. Damage nearby foes when you receive a boon from an ally.
- Leg specialist – Immobilize a target when you cripple them. Gain superspeed if you strike a foe from behind.
- Vigorous shouts – Removed adrenaline gain
- Burning arrows – Longbow skills deal more damage to burning foes. Longbow skills recharge faster.
- inspiring presense – Allies healing skills are more effective when they are near you.
- Powerful synergy – Combo finishers are twice as effective.
- Inspiring battle standard: Banners deal damage when summoned. Wielders of your banner are granted protection after a brief delay. Banners pulse regeneration.
Discipline
- Crack shot – Increase range of rifle and harpoon projectiles. Reduce recharge on rifle and harpoon skills.
- Vengeful return – Include a reduced cooldown on vengeance
- Reckless abandon – Damage nearby foes when you swap weapons.
- Brawler’s recovery – Include a incoming condition damage reduction effect when you swap weapons
- Destruction of the empowered – About the same, reduce incoming damage if foe has more boons
- Quick breathing – Converts conditions into boons
- Heightened focus – Gain boons and adrenaline when striking a foe below health threshold.
- Merciless hammer – Hammer reach is increased and hammer skills are given special effects based on adrenaline level.
Berserker
- Primal rage – remove attack speed boost, replace with crit chance
- Heat the soul – Incoming burning gives regeneration when you wield torch. Mainhand burst inflicts burning when wielding torch. reduce torch cooldown.
- King of fires – When you use a rage skill gain a fire shield. Gain adrenaline when a foe strikes your fire shield. reduce rage cooldown.
- Smash brawler – Reduce multiplier to 6% / 12%
- Burning fight – Chance to cause fire nova when striking a foe in berserk mode.
- Blood reaction – % of outgoing hits converted to healing. Primal bursts heal you.
- Dead or alive – Taking fatal damage while in berserk mode will end berserk mode, but heal you and damage + burn nearby foes.
- Dragon punch – Automatically enter berserk mode when you fall below health threshold. Stay in berserk mode for extended period if you maintain might threshold. Gain adrenaline when leaving berserk mode.
- Fatal flame – Defeated foes trigger a fire nova.
- Bloody roar – Taunt and bleed nearby foes when you enter berserk mode. Increase damage in berserk mode.
- Eternal champion – Break stun when entering berserk mode. gain stability and vigor in berserk mode. Reduce incoming damage in berserk mode.
- Savage instinct – Activate berserk stance when you enter berserk m ode. Gain increaesd condition damage in berserk mode.
Other Balance Discussions
Attachments:
(edited by TheBravery.9615)
I still have slightly differring opinions about arcing slice but whatever, its fine if we can’t share the same opinion. I’ll focus on traits this time.
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