Game updates:January 2012

January 2012 updates

• Thursday 26^th of January (talk)
• Monday 23^rd of January (talk)
• Thursday 12^th of January (talk)
• Thursday 5^th of January (talk)
• Tuesday 3^rd of January (talk)

Update - Thursday, January 26, 2012

Festival Update

• Made preparations for the Canthan New Year Festival.

Update - Monday, January 23, 2012

Skills

Assassin

• Fox Fangs (PvP): reduced bonus damage to 10...25.
• Leaping Mantis Sting: reduced bonus damage to 5...15.

Dervish

• Crippling Victory: increased adrenaline cost to 6; removed Cripple from AoE component.
• Onslaught (PvP): removed 25% movement-speed increase.
• Twin Moon Sweep (PvP): reduced damage by 25%.
• Wearying Strike: increase adrenaline cost to 6.

Elementalist

• Blinding Flash: increased recharge to 8 seconds.
• Glyph of Sacrifice: added the following functionality: "Ends prematurely if you use a non-spell skill."
• Obsidian Flame (PvP): split for PvP; reduced damage to 22...92.

Monk

• Shield Guardian: reduced cost to 5 Energy; increased casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Spirit Bond: reduced healing threshold to 50 damage; reduced healing to 30...90.
• Spirit Bond (PvP): reduced healing threshold to 50 damage; reduced healing to 30...90.

Paragon

• Wild Throw: added the following functionality: "All of your non-spear attack skills are disabled for 3 seconds."

Ranger

• Melandru's Shot: reduced recharge to 8 seconds.

Warrior

• Enraged Smash (PvP): split for PvP; increased recharge to 10 seconds.
• Yeti Smash: removed 1 second activation; reduced adrenaline cost to 6.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• This update was explained on Feedback:Robert Gee/Journal#January 20th 2012: Snow Day Skill Update Preview.

Update - Thursday, January 12, 2012

Feature Changes

• Adjusted the AI’s usage of the following skills: Double Dragon, Stone Sheath, Gust, and Mirror of Ice.

Bug Fix

• Fixed a bug that prevented Freezing Gust from recognizing Mirror of Ice as a Water Magic hex.

Update - Thursday, January 5, 2012

Skill Balance

For more information on these changes, please see the Developer Updates page.

Hard Mode

• Reduced the armor level for Hard Mode enemies.
• Raised the maximum Health of Hard Mode enemies.

Exhaustion

• The amount of Exhaustion caused by a skill is now represented numerically next to a gray dot with a downward arrow.

Skills

Elementalist

• Armor of Frost: reduced recharge to 20 seconds; added the following functionality: "You have +1 Water Magic." Removed "Ends if you use Fire Magic."
• Blinding Surge: added the following functionality: "This spell has 25% armor penetration. If this spell strikes an attacking foe, all adjacent foes are also struck and this spell deals 50% more damage."
• Celestial Storm: improved description.
• Chain Lightning: now always causes 5 Exhaustion instead of conditionally causing 10 Exhaustion.
• Churning Earth: reduced casting time to 2 seconds.
• Double Dragon: increased casting time to 1 second; increased cost to 10 Energy; increased recharge to 20 seconds; changed functionality to: "Invoke the power of the Dragon. For 8 seconds, you and target ally are enchanted with Double Dragon. Adjacent foes are dealt 5...30 fire damage each second. Additionally, when you or your ally use skills that target a foe, that foe is set on fire for 0...3 seconds."
• Elemental Attunement: rescaled duration to 25...60 seconds; reduced recharge to 20 seconds; added the following functionality: "You are attuned to Air, Fire, Water, and Earth and gain +1...2 to these attributes."
• Energy Blast: reduced casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Energy Boon: changed skill type to enchantment spell; increased casting time to 1 second; increased cost to 10 Energy; reduced recharge to 20 seconds; changed functionality to: "For 36...60 seconds, Energy Boon raises the maximum Health of you and target ally by 1...3 for each point of your respective maximum Energy. When this enchantment is first applied, you and your target gain 1...12 Energy. You gain an additional 1 Energy for every 2 points you have in Energy Storage."
• Ether Prodigy: increased duration to 8...20 seconds; reduced damage per point of Energy to 2.
• Fireball: reduced casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Freezing Gust: increased recharge to 8 seconds.
• Glimmering Mark: added the following functionality: "For 10 seconds, target foe and all foes adjacent to your target take 5...25 damage each second. Foes using attack skills are Blinded for 3 seconds."
• Glyph of Energy: increased recharge to 25 seconds; now affects your next 1...3 spells; reduced Energy savings to 10...25; added the following functionality: "Your elemental attributes are increased by 1...2."
• Gust: changed functionality to: "For 5...11 seconds, both you and target ally move 33% faster. When you cast this spell, all foes near you and your target take 15...70 cold damage. Foes struck by Gust while attacking or moving are knocked down."
• Ice Prison: removed the following functionality: "This effect ends if target takes fire damage."
• Ice Spikes: reduced casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Invoke Lightning: now always causes 5 Exhaustion instead of conditionally causing 10 Exhaustion.
• Lightning Surge: reduced cost to 10 Energy; reduced casting time to 1 second; added the following functionality: "Target foe has Cracked Armor for 5...20 seconds. This spell has 25% armor penetration."
• Master of Magic: reduced recharge to 10 seconds; changed elemental attribute scaling to 8...14; removed Energy regeneration; removed the following functionality: "This enchantment ends if you use a non-Elementalist skill." Added the following functionality: "Your elemental spells return 30% of their Energy cost."
• Mind Burn: changed functionality to: "Target foe and all adjacent foes take 15...60 fire damage. If you have more Energy than target foe, that foe and all adjacent foes take an additional 15...60 fire damage and are set on fire for 1...8 seconds." [sic]
• Mind Freeze: increased damage to 10...60; increased additional damage to 10...60; reduced Exhaustion to 5; reduced recharge to 5 seconds; reduced duration to 1...5 seconds.
• Mind Freeze (PvP): split for PvP; reduced Exhaustion to 5; reduced recharge to 5 seconds; reduced duration to 1...5 seconds.
• Mind Shock: reduced Exhaustion to 5.
• Mind Shock (PvP): split for PvP.
• Mirror of Ice: reduced casting time to 0.75 seconds; reduced Energy cost to 10; reduced recharge to 12; changed functionality to: "Shatter a Mirror of Ice. All foes near you and target ally take 15...70 cold damage and move 66% slower for 2...6 seconds. If you strike a foe hexed with Water Magic, Mirror of Ice recharges 50% faster.
• Mist Form: reduced cost to 5 Energy; changed functionality to: "For 10...45 seconds, you take 33% less damage from foes under the effect of Water Magic hexes. Whenever you cast an elemental spell, all non-spirit allies in earshot are healed for 50...250% of the Energy cost of the spell."
• Mist Form (PvP): split for PvP; reduced cost to 5 Energy; changed functionality to: "For 10...45 seconds, you take 33% less damage from foes under the effect of Water Magic hexes. Whenever you cast an elemental spell, all non-spirit allies in earshot are healed for 50...250% of the Energy cost of the spell. This spell does not heal allies above 80% Health."
• Obsidian Flame: reduced Exhaustion to 5; reduced casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Ride the Lightning: reduced Exhaustion to 5; reduced damage to 10...70; you can now teleport to allies as well as enemies; added the following functionality: "All adjacent foes are Blinded for 1...5 seconds."
• Ride the Lightning (PvP): split for PvP; increased cost to 15 Energy; increased recharge to 10 seconds; reduced Exhaustion to 5; reduced damage to 10...70; you can now teleport to allies as well as enemies; added the following functionality: "All adjacent foes are Blinded for 1...5 seconds."
• Sandstorm: reduced recharge to 25 seconds.
• Second Wind: reduced casting time to 1 second; reduced Exhaustion to 5; changed functionality to: "You gain 1 Energy and 5 Health for each point of Energy restricted by Exhaustion. You lose all enchantments."
• Shatterstone: reduced cost to 10 Energy; changed functionality to: "Target foe is struck for 25...100 cold damage and is hexed with Shatterstone for 3 seconds. When Shatterstone ends, that foe and all nearby foes are struck for 25...100 cold damage."
• Shockwave: changed functionality to: "All foes in the area take 15...60 earth damage and are Weakened for 1...10 seconds. Nearby foes also take +15...60 earth damage and have Cracked Armor for 1...10 seconds. Adjacent foes suffer the previous effects, take +15...60 earth damage, and are Blinded for 1...10 seconds."
• Star Burst: reduced recharge to 7 seconds; changed functionality to: "Target touched foe and all foes in the area are struck for 7...112 fire damage and set on fire for 1...4 seconds. For each foe you hit, gain 2 Energy."
• Stone Sheath: reduced recharge to 12 seconds; changed functionality to: "For 5...20 seconds, you and target ally have +1...35 armor and are immune to critical hits. When you cast this spell, all foes near you and your target take 15...70 earth damage and are Weakened for 5...20 seconds."
• Teinai's Prison: removed the following functionality: "This effect ends if target takes fire damage."
• Thunderclap: reduced recharge to 8 seconds; reduced damage to 10...50; added 25% armor penetration; changed functionality to: "Create a massive shockwave at target foe's location. Deals 10...50 lightning damage to target and all adjacent foes. Struck foes are interrupted and suffer from Cracked Armor and Weakness for 5...20 seconds. This spell has 25% armor penetration."
• Unsteady Ground: reduced recharge to 15 seconds.
• Ward Against Harm: changed functionality to: "Create a Ward Against Harm at this location. For 5...15 seconds, non-spirit allies in this area have +1...3 Health regeneration, +12...24 armor, and an additional +12...24 armor against elemental damage. This spell is disabled for 20 seconds."
• Ward Against Harm (PvP): split for PvP; increased recharge to 30 seconds; changed functionality to: "Create a Ward Against Harm at this location. For 5...15 seconds, non-spirit allies in this area have +1...3 Health regeneration, +12...24 armor, and an additional +12...24 armor against elemental damage. This spell is disabled for 30 seconds."
• Water Trident: changed functionality to: "Send out a fast-moving Water Trident, striking target foe and up to 2 adjacent foes for 10...90 cold damage if it hits. If it hits a moving foe, that foe is knocked down."

Mesmer

• Mistrust: reduced damage to 10...100.
• Mistrust (PvP): reduced damage to 10...75; reduced recharge to 12 seconds.

Ritualist

• Ancestor's Rage: [sic] lightning damage from this skill no longer ignores armor.
• Ancestor's Rage (PvP): [sic] increased damage to 1...41; lightning damage from this skill no longer ignores armor.
• Cruel was Daoshen: [sic] reduced damage to 15...85.
• Destructive was Glaive: [sic] reduced damage to 15...85.
• Destructive was Glaive (PvP): [sic] reduced damage to 15...85.
• Signet of Spirits: reduced spirit damage to 5...20.
• Spirit Rift: reduced damage to 25...125.

Automated Tournaments

• Updated the 2012 Automated Tournament Series Trophy [sic] in the Great Temple of Balthazar.
• Updated the Automated Tournament map rotation.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• The gray dot that represents the amount of Exhaustion caused by a skill does not contain a downward arrow.
• The descriptions of Arcane Languor, Aspect of Exhaustion, Crystal Haze, Exhausting Assault, and Sheer Exhaustion were changed to note they cause 10 Exhaustion.
  • The skill description and functionality of Equinox was changed to add 10 Exhaustion whenever a spell that causes Exhaustion is used, instead of doubling the amount of Exhaustion.
• Despite stating that Blinding Surge and Thunderclap had 25% armor penetration added to their functionality, those skills already had 25% armor penetration prior this update.
• Does not mention Mind Burn having its Exhaustion reduced to 5. Also incorrectly states Mind Burn's burning duration as 1...8 seconds when it is actually 1...10 seconds.
• The 2011 Automated Tournament Series Trophy was actually updated, not the 2012 Automated Tournament Series Trophy.
• Fixed a bug that allowed 14-member parties in certain PvE areas. (Source.)

Update - Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PvP Updates

• Added support for the January Flux.