Entwickler-Tracker: Spielbalance-Update 19. März 2024 und Waffen-Kenntnisse

Hi, everyone,

Welcome to the preview for the March 19 balance update! As always, the goal of previewing these changes is to gather your feedback before the live release. We’ll be following the conversation and making further adjustments as needed.

Thanks,
Cal „cmc“ Cohen
Skills and Balance Lead

General

• Relic of Fireworks: Fixed an issue that could prevent some projectile skills from triggering this relic’s effect.

Elementalist

This release includes some updates to arcane skills. Arcane Blast and Arcane Wave have a bit too much overlap with each other, and we wanted to give Arcane Wave a more unique identity by adding a movement component. We’ve also reworked and renamed the Elemental Surge trait, giving it some more powerful bonuses to individual skills instead of all of them inflicting bonus conditions.

• Water Trident: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.25 in PvP and WvW.
• Updraft: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to display a warning area for allies.
• Flame Uprising: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to inflict less burning than intended in PvP and WvW.
• Polaric Leap: Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Earthen Vortex: Reduced the cooldown from 18 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Rust Frenzy: Players can now move while casting this skill.
• Arcane Brilliance: This skill now grants additional healing when used as a combo finisher.
• Arcane Power: This skill no longer grants bonuses to allies. This skill now grants a flat amount of ferocity for 5 seconds instead of the ferocity bonus being linked to the critical-strike stacks. Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
• Arcane Wave: This skill now leaps to the targeted area before dealing damage and now dazes enemies that it strikes. Reduced the range from 900 to 600. Reduced the attack radius from 360 to 240. Increased the power coefficient from 0.6 to 1.7 in PvP and WvW. Reduced the ammunition recharge time from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
• Elemental Surge: This trait has been renamed to Arcane Lightning. This trait no longer causes arcane skills to inflict conditions and instead enhances each arcane skill as follows:
  • Arcane Brilliance: Grants protection to the user.
  • Arcane Wave: Immobilizes enemies that it strikes.
  • Arcane Shield: Grants stability to the user when the shield expires.
  • Arcane Power: Grants additional critical-strike stacks to the user.
  • Arcane Blast: Blinds enemies that it strikes.
• One with Air: Increased the superspeed duration from 1.5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP. This trait still grants a reduced superspeed duration in PvP when the Fresh Air trait is equipped.
• Aquamancer’s Training: Increased the outgoing healing modifier from 15% to 20%.

Tempest

• „Wash the Pain Away!“: Increased the radius of the first pulse from 180 to 240 and the radius of the second pulse from 240 to 360.
• Lucid Singularity: This trait now applies might instead of alacrity in PvP and WvW.
• Elemental Bastion: Increased the healing coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in WvW only.

Weaver

• Bolstered Elements: This trait now causes stances to grant protection instead of barrier.

Engineer

In this update, we’ve made improvements to power-based holosmith builds in PvE to make them a bit more competitive, alongside some reworks of less-used traits in the inventions specialization and some minor improvements to rifle in PvP.

• Glue Shot: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.5 in PvE only.
• Blunderbuss: Reduced the cooldown from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP only.
• Jump Shot: Reduced the cooldown from 18 seconds to 16 seconds in PvP only.
• Gleam Saber: Reduced the cooldown reduction from 3 seconds to 1 second.
• Refraction Cutter: Reduced the cooldown from 9 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
• Radiant Arc: Reduced the cooldown from 14 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only. Increased the power coefficient from 1.8 to 2.5 in PvE only.
• Med Blaster: This skill can now autoattack allies. Increased the angle of the skill.
• Bandage Blast: Increased the missile velocity and the angle of this skill. Fixed an issue that caused missile angles to be incorrect when shooting at allies with full health.
• Infusion Bomb: Fixed an issue that caused the boons from this skill to have a lower duration than intended in PvE.
• Grenade Barrage: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from triggering Relic of Fireworks.
• Automated Medical Response: This trait has been reworked. Grant regeneration to nearby allies when you use your healing skill’s toolbelt skill.
• Mecha Legs: This trait has been reworked. Gain resistance on dodging.
• Bunker Down: This trait now triggers when disabling an enemy instead of when critically striking. The mine now spawns at the enemy’s location instead of near the player. Reduced the internal cooldown from 4 seconds to 1 second. Increased the mine power coefficient from 0.77 to 0.95. The bandage now cleanses a condition, and its base healing has been increased from 502 to 598.

Holosmith

• Laser Disk: Increased the damage bonus when above 100% heat from 10% to 50% in PvE only.
• Blade Burst: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
• Photon Wall: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
• Launch Wall: Increased the damage increase when above 100% heat from 10% to 50% in PvE only.
• Particle Accelerator: Increased the power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.0 in PvE only, and increased the damage increase when above 100% from 20% to 50% in PvE only.
• Prismatic Converter: This trait now triggers when swapping from Photon Forge to a kit.
• Solar Focusing Lens: This trait now triggers when swapping from Photon Forge to a kit.

Mechanist

• Mechanical Genius: Reduced the recharge penalty for Mech Command skills when far away from the mech from 50% to 20%.

Guardian

The guardian changes for this update are focused on improving some underutilized skills and traits for both core guardian and willbender.

• Zealot’s Defense: You can now move while using this skill. Adjusted the projectile behavior to interact better with gaps in terrain.
• „Feel My Wrath!“: This skill now grants superspeed in addition to its other effects.
• Vigorous Precision: This trait now triggers when dodging instead of when critically striking and no longer has an internal cooldown. Reduced the vigor duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
• Focus Mastery: Protection from this trait will now apply when Shield of Wrath expires instead of when it activates.
• Redemption: Increased the duration of Lesser Litany of Wrath from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
• Glacial Heart: This trait no longer chills and damages enemies that you disable and instead heals the user when disabling, immobilizing, or chilling an enemy.

Willbender

• Flash Combo: You now gain access to Repose as long as you complete the skill, even if you do not land all 5 hits.
• Repose: This skill is no longer an attack. This skill now heals and removes conditions from you after shadowstepping back to your original position.
• Roiling Light: Reduced the roll duration from 0.75 seconds to 0.5 seconds. The roll distance is unchanged.
• Heaven’s Palm: This skill now evades attacks and finishes your targeted foe if they are downed and no other enemies are nearby.
• Deathless Courage: This trait no longer removes aegis from Courage, reduces the duration of Courage, or causes enemy deaths to increase the duration of Courage. This trait now grants the guardian strike damage and condition damage reduction while Courage is active.

Mesmer

We made some adjustments to mesmer support builds in WvW in the January update, but it’s clear that they’re still a bit stronger than we’d like them to be, and we’re making additional changes to reduce their effectiveness. We’ve also made some small improvements to power-based mirage builds in PvE.

• Null Field: Reduced the field duration from 5 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the number of pulses from 6 to 3 in WvW only.
• Mantra of Concentration: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW only.
• Power Break: Reduced the stability duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in WvW only.
• Desperate Decoy: This trait has been reworked. Gain vigor when you evade an attack.
• Master Fencer: This trait now gives increased personal fury duration.
• Chaotic Transference: Reduced the shared chaos aura duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only.
• Temporal Enchanter: This trait no longer increases the duration of glamour skills.
• Sympathetic Visage: This trait no longer affects nearby allies and only pulls conditions from the player.

Chronomancer

• Well of Precognition: This skill now grants allies 3 stacks of stability for 5 seconds on its first pulse.

Mirage

• Phantom Razor: Increased the power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in PvE only.
• Split Surge: Increased the power coefficient from 0.45 to 0.85 in PvE only.
• Mirage Thrust: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 3.0 in PvE only.
• Dune Cloak: This trait has been reworked. Gain Mirage Cloak when you shatter 2 or more clones.

Virtuoso

• Sword of Decimation: This skill now applies its bonus damage and inflicts additional defiance damage on defiant foes.
• Infinite Forge: This trait now refunds two blades after casting a Bladesong skill with 5 blades in addition to its previous effect.

Necromancer

Support scourge in WvW also received a hit to power in the January update with the change to Transfusion, but we feel that the build is still overperforming, so we’re increasing the cooldown of some of its barrier sources to make them a bit less potent. We’ve also tuned up power-based harbinger builds in PvE to bring them more in line with other DPS builds.

• Plague Signet: This skill no longer passively transfers conditions from nearby allies to the user and instead grants reduced incoming condition damage to the user.
• Signets of Suffering: This trait now also causes signet skills to steal life from enemies they strike.
• Well of Power: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW.

Scourge

• Serpent Siphon: Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only.
• Sandstorm Shroud: Increased the cooldown from 30 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only.
• Sand Cascade: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 18 seconds in WvW only.
• Desert Empowerment: This trait now grants vigor instead of alacrity in PvP and WvW.

Harbinger

• Vile Vials: This trait has been reworked. This trait now causes elixir skills to grant protection. This protection can be shared with Twisted Medicine.
• Wicked Corruption: Increased the damage modifier per blight stack from 0.5% to 1% in PvE only. Increased the critical-strike damage modifier from 10% to 12.5% in PvE only.
• Cascading Corruption: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvE only.

Ranger

Condition-based druid has been overperforming in PvP, and we’ve brought down some of its defensive tools with the goal of making it a bit easier to take down. We’re keeping an eye on the strength of Evasive Purity, but we want to see how the reductions to Healing Spring and Glyph of the Stars impact the build’s susceptibility to conditions before making further adjustments. We’ve also made a few improvements to the wilderness survival specialization to make it a more appealing defensive option for power-based builds as well as condition-based builds.

• Wild Swing: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvE and from 0.8 to 1.1 in WvW and PvP.
• Overbearing Smash: Reduced the casting time of the second hit by 0.2 seconds.
• Unleashed Overbearing Smash: Reduced the casting time of the second hit by 0.2 seconds.
• Savage Shock Wave: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.2 to 0.45 in WvW and PvP.
• Thump: Increased the radius from 180 to 240.
• Unleashed Thump: Increased the radius from 180 to 240. The first enemy struck by this skill will grant a greater number of boons.
• Healing Spring: Reduced the duration from 10 seconds to 5 seconds and reduced the pulse interval from 2 seconds to 1 second. Reduced the number of conditions cleansed per pulse from 2 to 1 in WvW and PvP.
• Refined Toxins: This trait has been removed and replaced with Survival Instincts. Gain increased outgoing strike damage and reduced incoming strike damage. Increased outgoing strike damage when above 50% health and increased incoming strike reduction when below 50%
• Empathic Bond: This trait has moved to the master tier, replacing Shared Anguish. This trait now cleanses conditions when swapping pets instead of when using a Beast skill.
• Carnivore: This trait has been added to the grandmaster tier slot previously held by Empathic Bond. Steal health from enemies when you or your pet disable them.

Druid

• Grace of the Land: This trait now applies might instead of alacrity in WvW and PvP.
• Natural Balance: This trait no longer reduces incoming strike damage. This trait now grants boon duration.
• Glyph of the Stars: Increased the cooldown of this skill from 48 seconds to 60 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the number of conditions cleansed per pulse from 2 to 1 in WvW and PvP. Reduced the revival percentage from 12% to 8% in WvW only.

Untamed

• Unleashed Ambush skills will no longer be automatically used when autoattack is enabled.
• Unnatural Traversal: This skill now grants quickness instead of might. Increased the vulnerability stacks applied from 2 to 10.

Revenant

Our major initiative for revenant in this update is a rework for the legendary renegade stance. While the stance is actively used in PvE modes, it has struggled to exist in a healthy state in competitive modes due to the underlying mechanics. Our goal for this rework is to reduce some of the visual clutter and increase the counterplay of many of these skills, while still maintaining its viability in PvE. Soulcleave’s Summit will still have a potentially long duration due to being an upkeep skill, but the other legendary renegade stance skills have all been adjusted to have more immediate impact, granting an immediate effect on summon and having quicker secondary skills instead of long channels. These skills can also quickly combo with a mechanic that we’re calling Band Together: using a skill other than Soulcleave’s Summit will cause your next renegade stance skill to activate instantly with a bonus effect.

• Energy Expulsion: Lowered the stability duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in WvW only. Increased the cooldown from 2 seconds to 15 seconds in WvW only.
• Serene Rejuvenation: Reduced the Energy Expulsion resistance duration from 4 seconds to 2.5 seconds in WvW only.
• Drop the Hammer: This skill now has a shorter casting time to summon the mist hammer, which still strikes after a delay. This skill now also recharges Coalescence of Ruin if it hits.

Renegade

• Legendary Renegade summons are no longer targetable.
• Soulcleave’s Summit: Reduced the casting time from 1 second to 0.5 seconds. Reduced the energy cost from 10 to 5. Reduced the energy upkeep cost from 6 to 5. In addition to its current effects, Lieutenant Ofela Soulcleave will now strike nearby enemies and heal nearby allies whenever another warband member is summoned.
• Breakrazor’s Bastion, Darkrazor’s Daring, Razorclaw’s Rage, and Icerazor’s Ire have been reworked. These skills will now grant an initial effect when summoned, then they perform a new skill. Activating these skills also triggers Band Together.
• Band Together: Your next Legendary Renegade skill activates instantly and is enhanced. Activating a Legendary Renegade skill in this way does not trigger Band Together again.
• New skill behavior is as follows:
  • Breakrazor’s Bastion: Grants resolution to nearby allies when summoned, then performs a skill that heals nearby allies with three small pulses and one large pulse. The final pulse grants resolution to nearby allies and additionally grants barrier to nearby allies when enhanced.
  • Darkrazor’s Daring: Grants protection to nearby allies when summoned, then performs a skill that dazes nearby enemies. This skill also grants resistance to nearby allies when enhanced.
  • Razorclaw’s Rage: Enhances nearby allies‘ attacks with bleeding when summoned, then performs an attack that inflicts bleeding on enemies in the area. This attack also inflicts torment when enhanced.
  • Icerazor’s Ire: Inflicts vulnerability on nearby enemies when summoned, then performs an attack that throws three projectiles at nearby enemies, inflicting torment, vulnerability, and immobilize. These projectiles also inflict chilled when this skill is enhanced.

Vindicator

• Imperial Impact: This skill no longer extends boons on allies. Increased the protection duration from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE and from 0.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the might duration from 9 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE and from 5 seconds to 8 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the might stacks from 2 to 3 in PvP and WvW.

Thief

Quickness deadeye was significantly overtuned when it was introduced but got brought down a bit too far from that point. This update includes a few tune-ups for the build’s damage to hopefully bring it more in line with other options. We’ve also made usability improvements to some traits in the critical strikes and daredevil specializations along with some minor improvements to acrobatics.

• Double Tap: This skill now pierces.
• Three Round Burst: This skill now pierces.
• Tactical Strike: This skill now dazes for 1 second instead of blinding when striking from the front. Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.33.
• Larcenous Strike: Increased the power coefficient from 1.3 to 1.4 in PvP and WvW.
• Shadow Portal: This skill no longer breaks stun.
• Keen Observer: Reduced the health threshold from 75% to 50% in PvE only. This trait now gives base critical chance that is increased above the health threshold.
• Twin Fangs: Reduced the health threshold from 90% to 50% in PvE only. This trait now gives base critical damage that is increased above the health threshold.
• Deadly Aim: This trait no longer reduces damage and now increases damage from pistol and harpoon gun attacks by 10%.
• Vigorous Recovery: This trait has been reworked and renamed to Pumping Up. Gain might when you dodge.
• Upper Hand: This trait now additionally restores initiative when you dodge.

Daredevil

• Havoc Specialist: This trait now gives a flat damage bonus when your endurance is not full instead of scaling with remaining endurance.

Deadeye

• Stolen Skills: Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 1.25 in PvE only.
• Shadow Meld: Reduced the count recharge from 45 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
• One in the Chamber: Increased the damage bonus from 10% to 25% in PvE only.
• Mercy: Increased the ammunition count from 1 to 2 in PvE only.
• Collateral Damage: Increased the damage coefficient from 1.5 to 2.5 in PvE only.

Warrior

In this update, we’ve tuned up a few of warrior’s lesser-used options in competitive modes. We’ll also be keeping an eye on how support builds perform with the introduction of staff and may rework some underutilized traits in a future update to give them additional tools if necessary.

• Arcing Slice: Increased the power coefficient from 1.213 to 1.36 in PvP only. The power coefficient when striking a low-health target is unchanged.
• Hundred Blades: Increased the power coefficient per strike from 0.35 to 0.4 in PvP only. Increased the final strike power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in PvP only.
• Rush: This skill now tracks moving targets better.
• Savage Leap: Increased the power coefficient from 1.15 to 1.35 in PvP and WvW. Reduced cooldown from 8 seconds to 7 seconds in PvP and WvW.
• Final Thrust: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvP and WvW. The power coefficient when striking a low-health target is unchanged.
• Last Stand: Increased the base barrier from 1,715 to 1,960.

Berserker

• Wild Blow: This skill is now unblockable and inflicts dazed instead of knockdown. Increased the power coefficient from 0.01 to 1.7 in PvP and WvW.
• Slicing Maelstrom: Increased the power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.5 in PvP only.
• Rupturing Smash: Increased the power coefficient from 1.14 to 1.3 in PvP only.
• Skull Grinder: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.33 in PvP and WvW.