User talk:96.233.11.248

Note to everyone

My IP changes a lot so if you see a different IP editing this to make it even funnier it's probably me. Feel free to leave comments here for teh lolz.

Thanks for your support, PuppetX and ShadowFog.

Developer update, what you didn't see.

→ moved from ArenaNet_talk:Developer_updates

March 2009 PvE and PvP Skill Balances

This month's balance update is focused on PvP issues. PvE will be shoved into the dirt as usual. In cases where we believed the changes would be bad for PvE play, we modified skills in PvP only. Everything else is a deliberate oversight. The skills that were weakened used to be useful for stance tanks in PvE, and we expect that players won't mind the improvements to the skills that were made more powerful.

There were a few different issues were wanted to address: We felt that some of the more versatile creative spike builds needed to be toned down, so we blamed rangers instead of nerfing Searing Flames. We also wanted to make split tactics more effective and viable in GvG, so we weakened key skills that can shut down attempts to split and improved a few skills that help characters be more self-sufficient. Thirdly, we've seen a few skills become problematic in 4v4 play, such as Wail of Doom, and we have flat out nerfed them instead of spending half an hour programming a real fix. Finally, we destroyed Primal Rage so that it's as useful as it was before it was changed.

Let's go over each issue in more detail.

Reducing Spike Effectiveness

• Feed the Wind
• Fail

Rangers had been outshining spellcasters at dealing damage and could do so while being much more resistant to pressure damage. This made them ideal for spike builds less problematic than Searing Flames Spike, which we forgot to nerf yet again. By removing the damage bonus on Read the Wind, we're throwing half of a profession into the garbage bin, and by dropping the minimum duration on Flail we've introduced our first intelligent decision of the month. (Rangers can't put points into the Strength attribute, and anyone who sets up a Ranger with Strength will be suspended from the game. Warriors who use this skill should be unaffected by this change.)

• Worse than Distracting Blow

Distracting Strike was being used as a powerful follow-up in spikes. This gave spikes a versatile follow-up and interrupt. We want spike builds to choose between versatility and raw spike power. Instead of adding a conditional "If you don't interrupt a skill, this does no damage", we just shoved it into a trash bin and forgot about it.

• Rend Enchantments
• Gaze of Contempt

Removing enchantments from the target is a big part of a successful spike. We increased the casting time of these skills to make mesmers better than necros at using these skills. We did not change the Elite enchantment-removal skill Pain of Disenchantment, and Shatter Storm is still worse than these.. Teams can still choose a more effective spike-oriented skill, but at the cost of sacrificing an Elite.

• Ancestor's Rage(PvP)

As part of toning down powerful spike builds, we thought this update over and also adjusted Ancestors' Rage. The skill was damaging foes with greater than 1 second reaction times trouble even though the AoE is only adjacent, so we made it last longer while doing less damage. This spreads the damage out over time, which gives bad players more time to heal and react to the damage. Spikes are bad for the game and we just figured out how to start fixing them.

Encouraging Split Tactics

To split effectively, characters typically need more self-sufficiency than they do when fighting in a big group, even though these skills do everything. With that in mind, we've kept Troll Unguent, Blood Renewal, and Leader's Comfort in a garbage bin so they can suck even more.

• Hidden Caltrops: now removes your secondary profession.
• Illusion of Haste: is actually useful now.

Mobility is key to split tactics. Hidden Caltrops, which has always been badly designed, has been a powerful way to reduce the mobility of split characters, who rarely have the ability to deal with both hexes and conditions. With that in mind, we rolled dice and decided to do a completely retarded nerf instead of reworking it. Along those same lines, the 15 second Crippled duration when Illusion of Haste ended was a severe penalty for Mesmers, who lack condition removal options. This shorter duration should give Mesmers the option of waiting out the Crippled rather than feeling like they have to recast the enchantment simply to move at a reasonable speed, even though Illusion of Haste is never going to be useful until it has 1/4s cast.

• Weapon of Warding:removed from PvP

Ritualists have been too good at preventing physical attackers from killing NPCs, primarily because this skill is broken. By destroying Weapon of Warding, we save ourselves the effort of programming GvG NPCS so that weapon spells do not work on them.

Addressing Problematic 4v4 skills

• Wail of Doom:needs to have 0 recharge and disable itself for 10 seconds.

In 4v4 game types, shutting down a single enemy character is extremely effective. When this skill was combined with offhand and main hand equipment that provides up to a 40% chance to recharge your skills 50% faster (and sometimes a 40% chance to cast faster), it had a strong chance to shut down an opponent for 10 seconds. Since we don't know how to program anymore(all of our decent programmers are working on Build Wars 2), we just flat out increased the recharge.

• Disciplined Stance
• Defensive Stance
• Shield Stance
• Soldier's Defense

These stances were originally balanced with 8v8 combat warriors in mind. In 4v4 play, Monks were abusing these skills. Instead of making these skills end when you use a skill targeting another ally, we decided to fail even more at programming and just throw these skills into a trash can.

General Imbalance Changes

• Primal Rage: is now useless again.

Despite a power reduction in a previous update, this skill continues to outshine other Warrior Elite skills, mainly because we are leaving 80% of warrior elites in the trash. Even though Primal Rage makes you take double damage while in effect and Rampage as One doesn't, we decided to nerf this instead. We like this tactic, but the skill's extremely short recharge also made it too easy to immediately activate Primal Rage again when the threat had passed. To make stance swapping a more effective drawback to using this skill, we threw this skill out the window and watched it shatter. 96.233.11.248 22:04, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Discussion section

Discuss here.

tl;dr, you're a funny gai. ---Chaos- 22:02, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. 96.233.11.248 22:04, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

I would recommend you post your skill feedback where it belongs at ArenaNet:Skill feedback. It might actually do something other that just add yet another QQ wall that few will care to read. -- Wyn 22:12, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

I already did, but Anet doesn't listen. Thanks for trying to help out anyway. 96.233.11.248 22:13, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Not funny, and poster obviously lacks knowledge about true game balance (a.k.a. those that have more information and think beyond a metagame). 145.94.74.23 22:18, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

I'm thinking outside the metagame. In fact, the metagame needs to be turned upside down.

ǝɯɐƃɐʇǝɯ ǝɥʇ Biscuits 12:56, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

You, sir, are a genius.71.174.20.188 20:05, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Nice article, very comedic I might add. They really need 2 lern how 2 nerf and for fudging sake, buff some skill so we can change meta and builds.--ShadowFog 16:00, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

LOL WUT

who did this? This is BRILLIANT!

Well, with the Searing Flames gripe in it, you get 3 Guesses but you should only need 1.

Guess you don't know how to use stances

So now you can't use stances early, BAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWPika Fan 14:37, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Disciplined stance only protects you for 3 seconds and then palm strike-trampling ox owns you. How about nerfing overpowered melee before nerfing defense?

I find no difference in how Disciplined stance works now to before. It's just 2 seconds compared to 3 seconds before. Honestly, people should lrn2pvp. There are other mods and runes in the game other than +hp and +energy. How about reducing cripple to 40%? Warrior in your face? Disp -> Guardian -> Shield Bash -> Guardian -> Disp.... usw. usw. (210.8.191.97 04:07, 16 March 2009 (UTC))

Decrease cripple duration = worthless against palm strike. First, I don't even see the option for that in PvP equipment. Second, 40% of 4 seconds rounded down is 2 seconds, enough to get hit by trampling ox.

Not if you use a stance. :)--80.192.149.50 01:00, 29 March 2009 (UTC)