Curse

Skye Marin · Dec 01, 2008, 07:32 AM // 07:32

The round of Elite skill buffs back in August was a good start.

Many Elite Skills aren't used because they aren't useful. The most recent update improved a large number of elite skills, but many are still not fulfilling their full potential.

Ideally, a good Elite will set the tone for a build and strongly compliment it without dominating it. If your elite is disabled, and your build is now useless, your build has failed, and the opposite is true. The best Elite skills are versatile, and are good by themselves, but great when complimented by skill and other skills. Elite skills shouldn't be the focus of a team-based same-skill spike. They must be definitively better than their closest non-elite equivalent, otherwise, it's just a waste.

With that in mind, I've compiled a list of Elites that should be buffed or changed to make them more useful, and fill in some thematic blank spaces in certain classes. These buffs have been introduced with PvP in mind. If you have any real issues with these buffs, I'll give some commentary on why they would help the class, or why they aren't especially overpowered, or I'll just change the buff completely. I sent out a list of changes similar to this a few months ago, and simplified and clarified some changes, and toned down some others down after some second thought.

Assassin:

Assault Enchantments - Increased recharge to 8. Now changed to a lead attack. New functionality: "Lead attack. Deals +20 damage. Unblockable. If target foe has more than one enchantment, that foe loses 0..2 enchantments."
Seeping Wound - Added unconditional -1..4 degen.
Locust's Fury - Added +5..25 damage to attacks while not using skills.
Mark of Insecurity - Lower duration to 1..8. New functionality: "Target foe moves 33% slower. The next time you hit that foe with a critical hit, that foe loses his stance and all enchantments and this hex ends."
Shroud of Silence - Lower cost to 5. Lowered recharge to 15 seconds. New functionality: "Half-range Elite Hex Spell. For 1..6 seconds, the next spell that target foe uses, fails and is disabled for +10 seconds."
Siphon Strength - Your attacks also deal +1..10 damage to target foe.
Way of the Empty Palm - You also gain +5..20 armor and +1..5 health regeneration when not attacking. Ends if you cast a spell.
Wastrel's Collapse - Increased cost to 10. Increase recharge to 15. Changed to half-ranged spell. Change functionality: "If foe is not casting a spell or attacking, you knock down target foe and shadow step to their location."

A foe with a stack of enchantments is more than likely to survive. Assault Enchantments now counts as a lead attack, which should help assassins crack pre-protting and block webs at the cost of an elite skill. Mark of Insecurity was changed to a type of bar compression skill to include a snare, and conditional disenchantment. Compare SoS to any 3-second knockdown. While spells can't be cast, the target could still kite or use non-spell skills. Way of the Empty Palm now has a defensive bonus, which gives a welcome second benefit to the under-used elite. The new Wastrel's Collapse is easily triggered when the foe is moving, making it a strong snare, and the low recharge makes it a good opening move for a Falling off-hand. Compare to "Coward!", Bull's strike, or Bull's Charge.

Elementalist:

Gust - Lower casting time to 3/4. Also Knocks down any attacking or moving foe for 2 seconds unconditionally.
Mind Shock - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Exhaustion only occurs if the knockdown interrupts a skill or if the foe is already knocked down.
Invoke Lightning - Lower recharge to 8.
Sandstorm - lower recharge to 25.
Stone Sheath - Also causes weakness for 5..20 seconds on application.
Ether Prism - Lower cost to 15
Master of Magic - "Elite Enchantment Spell. For 1..61 seconds, you gain +0..2 energy regeneration and +1..5 to your elemental attributes (max 15). This enchantment ends if you use a non-Elementalist skill."
Energy Boon - Changed functionality: "Elite Enchantment Spell. For 5..20 seconds, you gain +0..2 energy regeneration and your skills recharge 25% faster. This enchantment ends if your energy level drops below 50%."
Double Dragon - Lowered recharge to 10. Change functionality to: "Skill. For 2 seconds, all moving and attacking foes nearby target ally are hit for 20..80 fire damage each second."
Mind Burn - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Only causes exhaustion when used against foes that are already burning.
Mind Freeze - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Only causes exhaustion when used against foes that are moving, or already under a water hex. Lower slow to 66%.
Second Wind - Lower casting time to 1 second. This skill is no longer a spell.

The three Mind skills have been given conditional exhaustion that match their abilities. The conditional effects also account for teams running several copies of the same skill. By placing all the damage in a single packet, these high damage skills can still be countered with skillfully-placed protection enchantments. Double Dragon gives some potentially dangerous fire AoE damage against a team, but is unfocused enough not to cause balance issues. Any foe that is hit my the first blast and knows the skill's functionality should be tactically aware to either stop moving or attacking, or be punished with damage. Similarly, a team that tries to abuse this skill with several copies will easily be defeated by teams with some degree of battlefield awareness.

Dervish:

Arcane Zeal - Lower cost to 5, triggers on any spell or attack skill.
Avatar of Grenth - Attacks against enchanted foes cannot be blocked, and attacks against or hexed foes do +5..30 damage.
Reaper's Sweep - Deep wound triggers only if foe is hit when below 50..70% health.

For an energy management skill, Arcane zeal's current cost was a bit counter-intuitive. Avatar of Grenth was previously nerfed a generally underpowered version, so adding play with both hexes and enchantments is both thematically sound and should prove to spawn some interesting team builds. When you observe a foe with less than 50% health and no deep wound, the flaw in Reaper's Sweep is apparent. That foe will most likely be healed within the time it takes foe the attack to be triggered and hit, especially with skills like WoH and ZB in play, so the pre-requisite has been loosened a bit.

Mesmer:

Enchanter's Conundrum - Changed functionality to: "Target foe takes four times longer to cast enchantments (maximum 2 seconds), and takes 20..80 damage when casting non-enchantment spells". Lower recharge to 15.
Power Flux - Lower cost to 5 and recharge to 8.
Simple Thievery - The power of the skill stolen is your current domination attribute.
Mantra of Recovery - Increase duration to 10..25.
Stolen Speed - Lower casting time to 1/4, foe takes 50% longer to cast spells.
Symbols of Inspiration - Changed to a stance. Increased duration to 5..35, reduce energy gain to 1..3, add a health gain of 15..45. Reduces recharge of successfully cast mesmer signets by 5..35%.
Recurring Insecurity - Lower recharge to 10, increase degeneration to -1..6. No longer triggers Soul Barbs when refreshed.
Shatter Storm - Lower cost to 5. Moved to Fast Casting line. Reduced recharge disable to +7..3 for each enchantment removed (maximum 15 seconds)

Many buffs here are intended to make overcosted skills a more attractive choice. MoR can now be maintained at a lower Fast Casting spec with it's lower 33% recharge time, allowing for more consistent skill use. Recurring Insecurity has been buffed to make it more in line with similar non-elite degen illusion hexes. Soul Barbs would likely also have to be changed to only trigger on new hexes, but a lower recharge on that hex would make up for it, and be appreciated.

Monk:

Blessed Light - Reduce Cost to 5 energy. If a Hex is removed, you lose 5 energy.
Boon Signet - Increase healing to 20..80.
Peace and Harmony - Effects all allies in the area. Add +1..3 health regeneration. Lower duration to 5..35. Increase recharge to 15.
Withdraw Hexes - Reduce cost to 10, removes 1..2 hexes from each party member in the area of target ally. Change additional recharge to +2.
Healing Light - Lower casting time to 3/4. Change functionality: "Heal target ally for 40..100 health. If ally is under the effects of an enchantment, you heal for 20..50 more and you gain 3 energy."
Amity - Lower recharge to 15. Change functionality:"Elite Hex Spell. For 3 seconds, the next 1..3 attacks from target foe and nearby foes heal for the amount they would have otherwise inflicted (maximum 15..45)."
Life Sheath - Now adds -5..35 damage reduction, which is calculated before the pool of negated damage. Lower Duration to 5 seconds.
Ray of Judgment - Lower cost and recharge to 10. Causes burning for 3 seconds. This skill has no effect against foes that are already burning.
Word of Censure - Lower cost to 5. Word of Censure now takes 20 additional seconds to recharge if the target is below 50% health.

A handful of elites were simply outclassed by better non-elite skills, or overcosted due to their abusable nature in certain conditions. Simple buffs make some skills more attractive, while some skill re-works prove unique and fun. The smiting skills have been changed to make them useful and strong skills, but ultimately unwieldy in a team spike build.

Necromancer:

Cultist's Fervor - Change sacrifice to a flat -10% health loss. Lower recharge to 20.
Ravenous Gaze - Change Functionality: "If you have less health than target foe, you steal 10..25% of target foe's remaining health (maximum 120)."
Feast of Corruption - Lower cost and recharge to 10. Change functionality: "Deal 10..80 shadow damage to target foe and all nearby foes. For each foe that would be damage that is also hexed, steal 10..80 health instead. This spell has no effect on foes with less than 50% health."
Lingering Curse - Lower cost to 15.
Order of Apostasy - Change health loss to 15..8%.
Signet of Suffering - Lower recharge to 5, Lower casting time to 1, lower maximum damage to 80.
Weaken Knees - Lower casting time to 1/4. Causes 33% slower movement during the hex, and weakness for 5..20 seconds when it ends. Lower duration to 3..12.
Contagion - Lower recharge to 15. Change functionality: "Hex Spell. Target Foe is poisoned for 20 seconds. For 5..20 seconds, whenever target foe uses a skill, Contagion spreads all current conditions and their remaining durations from target foe to all foes in the area."
Toxic Chill - Poison is now unconditional.

Skills like Signet of Suffering and Feast of Corruption have been changed to make them useful as strong pressure and complementary damage skills, but less effective as team-spike skills.

Paragon:

"Incoming!" - Lower recharge to 12. Change functionality: For 1..3 seconds, target ally and up to 2 nearby allies take 50% less damage from all sources and have a 50% chance to block incoming attacks.
Cautery Signet - Lower Recharge to 10. Up to 3 foes in the area are also set on fire for the same duration.

Incoming has been changed to help counter incoming team spikes, but is not chainable by a team. Cautery Signet has been given a useful buff in light of the MoI hit, and adds a semi-useful effect.

Ranger:

Strike as One - Increase damage to +5..20, add a 25% speed boost to both you and your pet.
Archer's Signet - Moved to Marksmanship. Reduce recharge to 30.
Poison Arrow - Unblockable, also deals poison to adjacent foes.
Quick Shot - Deals double damage to moving foes.

Poison Arrow has been outclassed by Burning Arrow and Incendiary Arrows combined with Apply Poison recently, so adding unblockable and adjacent-poisoning clauses makes to more comparable.

Ritualist:

Clamor of Souls - Change functionality: "Spell. All other spirits in the area of target spirit are destroyed. For 10 seconds, target spirit can hit up to 3 foes in the area, and does +1..10 damage for each ally in the area (maximum +30)."
Signet of Ghostly Might - Increase duration to 20 seconds, add IAS of 33% to that creature.
Weapon of Quickening - Lower casting time to 1.
Spirit Channeling - Renews itself if you successfully summon a spirit.

Signet of Ghostly Might has been gravely underpowered. A viable Weapon of Quickening would spawn some creative team builds, and put communing Rits on the map. Spirit Channeling previously was not an effective Elite Energy Management, so making it renewable adds risk and reward to it's functionality.

Warrior:

Cleave - Increase damage to +10..35
Decapitate - Change Functionality: "You lose all adrenaline and energy. You strike your foe twice. The first attack causes a Deep Wound for 5..20 seconds, and the second attack deals +5..20 damage and is always a critical hit. If you a kill a foe in this way, you gain 2..10 energy and 1..4 strikes of adrenaline."
Whirling Axe - Also causes critical hit.
Enraged Smash - Increase damage to +5..15 per recharged skill.
Charging Strike - Add +0..3 adrenaline on hit.
Headbutt - Target foe's action is interrupted, and both you and the target are dazed for 2..6 seconds.
Magehunter Strike - Increase damage to +10..35.
Primal Rage - Only non-attack skills are disabled. This skill is no longer a stance.
Shove - Only lose your adrenaline if you interrupt a skill. Also removes a stance from target foe.
Soldier's Stance - Add an unconditional 25% speed boost
Hundred Blades - Added +5..20 damage. Add 1 adrenal gain per foe hit.
Skull Crack - Lower cost to 5 strikes.

Many Elites here have been given damage buffs or adrenaline sources to compensate for their general lack of utility. Decapitate has been reworked to mesh well with the limitations of how a Deep Wound works, and extra reward is given toward skilled use. For a skill like enraged smash, it's easy enough to make a skill bar with 5 adrenal skills, but it's very limiting, that is, it's not efficient to build around around the skill in it's current state. A similar comparison could be made with Symbolic Strike. Instead of +12 damage with a limit of 70, try +15 damage with a limit of 40. 3 of any one type of skill on a bar is more than enough in most cases.
Compare the new Headbutt to Beguiling Haze. Adds some damage, but not the shadow step.
I added a scaling unconditional speed boost to Soldier's Stance, but for this not to be overpowered, Symbiotic Bond and "Can't Touch This!" would have to have their zero-spec durations reduced. Also note that Solder's Fury (The Paragon +33% IAS and +33% adrenal gain) already has a 10 second duration at 0 Leadership, and can be coupled with any stance.

Keep the comments coming.

Owik Gall · Dec 01, 2008, 08:20 AM // 08:20

Didn't pay any attention to the other skills that didn't concern with my class combo. :P

Anyways, I rather have [Life Sheath] the way it is now over your Life Sheath. Seems something I can tolerate the most with it's higher duration. Although I would like that it recharged faster. Heck, maybe this would seem better:

[Life Sheath]
5e 1c 5r
(whatever time the original elite has) The next (same damage as the original) damage target ally receive is negated. If this enchantment ends before its full duration, it instantly recharges. [Disabled for 5 seconds if this enchantment lasts its full duration]

I like what you put for [Hundred Blades] [Primal Rage] [Shove] [Magehunter Strike] [Cleave] And maybe [Skull Crack] as well. [Soldiers Stance] I'd like it be non conditional entirely. A warrior doesn't have many shouts that would last throughout the skill. That's the Paragons domain. Take out the condition that you have to be under a shout for crying sakes! The rest are edgy, for lack of a better word on my part.
[Decapitate] looks way different than what the word suggests it would happen (decapitation. Hello.)
Does [Whirling Axe] really cry out for critical hits? Does it? I think not. Especially when you just spin and hit spots on your target randomly.
[Charging Strike] Ok, not really a problem with this.
[Enraged Smash] I don't know. I don't pay attention to hammers either. I guess that's nice.

That's all I got. Nice effort. If you get any of this in the attention of anet and have it implemented on the game, you will be awesome. Then, what are the odds of that?

IronSheik · Dec 01, 2008, 11:09 AM // 11:09

To pretty much all sin skills, overpowered, [locust's fury]+[conjure fire]

Assault enchantments, Ever hear of [shattering assault]

[mark of insecurity] Dumb idea

Derv, [arcane zeal], Um, Hi, Ever hear or [zealous vow]

[enchanter's conundrum] Meh, still crap, like VoR+Frustration, little OP

[recurring insanity] when isn't this used with soul barbs? You made more useless

Every other mes skill=still unused, rend>shatterstorm, add damage and maybe it'll be ok

[life sheath]=OP, Put prot spirit on=Invincible, whut?

Everything else monk besides withdraw hexes is still crap

[feast of corruption] and elite you cant used on foes below 80? Whut? AoE Life steal? PvE only Tbh

[contagion], eh, useless

Every ranger you said, still useless, quick shot+poison arrow=major crap

Ghostly might, actually like that

Spirit channeling=OP

Hundred blades, make unblockable, then Ok

Whirling=Crap

Decapitate=OP

Primal Rage=Still Meh, either OP or underpowered

Zera Fang · Dec 01, 2008, 01:29 PM // 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Assault Enchantments - Increased recharge to 8. Now changed to a lead attack. New functionality: "Lead attack. Deals +20 damage. Unblockable. Target foe loses 0..2 enchantments."

Sins have enough enchant removal, to be honest, as well as unblockable skills. Anyway, could you imagine dealing with this? Monks would be uber-pissed, no more guardian to protect against a massive sin spike, and other casters would just be screwed. Assault Enchantment + Wild Strike + Assassin's Remedy. Only way to shut that down is with hexes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Locust's Fury - Added +5..25 damage to attacks while not using skills.

In PvE this skill is decent enough, in PvP it is... Well, not used that often. This buff would make it insanely bothersome. Any conjure element on the weapon would allow a sin to go to town on a caster. Combine this with a Crit Scythe build and you'd have the new overpowered wiki.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Shroud of Silence - Lower cost to 5. Lowered recharge to 15 seconds. New functionality: "Half-range Elite Hex Spell. For 1..6 seconds, the next spell that target foe uses, fails and is disabled for +10 seconds."

Sins don't need diversion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Wastrel's Collapse - Increased cost to 10. Increase recharge to 15. Changed to half-ranged spell. Change functionality: "If foe is not casting a spell or attacking, you knock down target foe and shadow step to their location."

NO! This would be abused to hell and allow for massive spike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Mind Shock - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Exhaustion only occurs if the knockdown interrupts a skill or if the foe is already knocked down.
Mind Burn - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Only causes exhaustion when used against foes that are already burning.
Mind Freeze - Bonus damage is added into the first packet of damage when triggered. Only causes exhaustion when used against foes that are moving, or already under a water hex. Lower slow to 66%.

Umm... Let's see. Mesmer + Mind Shock that is inexhaustible. They could easily interrupt a spell of someone's and then transition right into Mind Shock for instant knockdown and damage. I could see this abused in other ways. Mind Burn and Mind Freeze are fine the way they are, they don't need change.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Mesmer:

Mesmers are hard to balance, so please don't try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Blessed Light - Reduce Cost to 5 energy. If a Hex is removed, you lose 5 energy.
Boon Signet - Increase healing to 20..80.

Agreed with, just because energy management is the hardest thing to do as a monk in PvP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Word of Censure - Lower cost to 5. Word of Censure now takes 20 additional seconds to recharge if the target is below 50% health.

Just... No. This skill was a gimmick when it came out and is now a waste of energy. Let. It. Die.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Feast of Corruption - Lower cost and recharge to 10. Change functionality: "Deal 10..80 shadow damage to target foe and all nearby foes. For each foe that would be damage that is also hexed, steal 10..80 health instead. This spell has no effect on foes with less than 50% health."

Making it functionally useless now? I don't get it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Lingering Curse - Lower cost to 15.

Lingering + Defile Flesh + Deep Wound. We do not need to make this combo cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Weaken Knees - Lower casting time to 1/4. Causes 33% slower movement during the hex, and weakness for 5..20 seconds when it ends. Lower duration to 3..12.

Yeah, more snare, just what we need. Make it a knockdown the next time target is hexed by a necromancer hex, that way Fetid Ground would actually have some use... Toxic Chill would still be better... But, yeah, fail either way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Toxic Chill - Poison is now unconditional.

Umm... No? This skill is balanced as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't need changed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Archer's Signet - Moved to Marksmanship. Reduce recharge to 30.
Poison Arrow - Unblockable, also deals poison to adjacent foes.

Still crap. Why aren't you tackling Expert's Dexterity? It's functionally pointless in PvP now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Signet of Ghostly Might - Increase duration to 20 seconds, add IAS of 33% to that creature.

Sure, okay, no one will use it in PvP, but, fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Spirit Channeling - Renews itself if you successfully summon a spirit.

So, it's like Lyssa's Aura... except with Health Degen and you have to cast a 2 second or more spirit to renew it? I don't see this very effective, not with all the interrupts running around. Make this into a fast cast for all binding rituals. Ritualistic actually need an enchant/stance like that. 5 second binding ritual? Gods, just make it easily interuptable, why don't you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Decapitate - Change Functionality: "You lose all adrenaline and energy. You strike your foe twice. The first attack causes a Deep Wound for 5..20 seconds, and the second attack deals +5..20 damage and is always a critical hit. If you a kill a foe in this way, you gain 2..10 energy and 1..4 strikes of adrenaline."

Overpowered much? This. Would. Rape. PvP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Soldier's Stance - Add an unconditional 25% speed boost

All 'Soldier' skills need buffed OR Anet needs to give warriors an easily managed chain shout/chant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Also note that Solder's Fury (The Paragon +33% IAS and +33% adrenal gain) already has a 10 second duration at 0 Leadership, and can be coupled with any stance.

Also note that it is an ECHO, not a shout/chant. I assume you were thinking you could couple this with the 'Soldier' skills, well, you can't. Wait, you can, but you won't get the bonus from them. And having a warrior or any other class waste five energy every ten seconds, with a one second cast, for 33% attack speed boost and a 33% more adrenal gain is... inefficient.

Good try. But, Anet fails at balancing skills and, for that matter, the game, as well as us, the player. It's best just to play with what we have and pray they don't make things any worse.

Slash From The Shadows · Dec 01, 2008, 05:19 PM // 17:19

[QUOTE=Zera Fang;4379203]NO! This would be abused to hell and allow for massive spike.
imo your kind a worng about that, it's not SUCH overpowered, a monk with shield bash/ block stance/guardian will still be hard to kill, it's only kd+shadowstep :P , nothing else, if you still think it's overpowered, let's see your OWN version for wastelars colapse, because imo, this version isn't bad, you can't say current version is good, NEVER saw ANYONE using this skill.

ac1inferno · Dec 01, 2008, 05:34 PM // 17:34

- Nothing wrong with [[Assault Enchantments].
- Change [[Seeping Wound] to "For 5...17 seconds, if target foe is suffering from Bleeding or Poison, that foe loses 2...6 Health every second."
- Nothing wrong with [[Locust's Fury].
- Nothing wrong with [[Mark of Insecurity].
- Revert [[Shroud of Silence] or delete it.
- Nothing wrong with [[Siphon Strength].
- Nothing wrong with [[Way of the Empty Palm].
- [[Wastrel's Collapse] only knocks down after 5 seconds w/o using a skill, does no damage, cannot be easily reapplied, and inferior to most non elite knockdown skills. Fix any of those.
- Gale > [[Gust]. It requires a different attribute hex and does pitiable damage. Fix any of those.
- Nothing wrong with [[Mind Shock].
- Nothing wrong with [[Invoke Lightning].
- Nothing wrong with [[Sandstorm].
- [[Stone Sheath] has elite status, 15 second recharge, only works on attacks, and is Inferior to Stone Striker. Fix any of those.
- Nothing wrong with [[Ether Prism].
- Nothing wrong with [[Master of Magic].
- Nothing wrong with [[Energy Boon].
- Nothing wrong with [[Double Dragon].
- Nothing wrong with [[Mind Burn].
- Nothing wrong with [[Mind Freeze].
- Nothing wrong with [[Second Wind].
- Nothing wrong with [[Arcane Zeal].
- Nothing wrong with [[Avatar of Grenth].
- Nothing wrong with [[Reaper's Sweep].
- Nothing wrong with [[Enchanter's Conundrum].
- Nothing wrong with [[Power Flux].
- Nothing wrong with [[Simple Thievery].
- Nothing wrong with [[Mantra of Recovery].
- Nothing wrong with [[Stolen Speed].
- Nothing wrong with [[Symbols of Inspiration].
- Mending > [[Recurring Insecurity]. It is elite, only -3 and 25 second recharge. Fix any of those.
- Nothing wrong with [[Shatter Storm].
- Nothing wrong with [[Blessed Light].
- Nothing wrong with [[Boon Signet].
- [[Peace and Harmony] is inferior to just about any other energy management skill, has a narrow focus, and elite status. Fix any of those.
- Make [[Withdraw Hexes] into Extinguish for hexes (minus healing) and lower cost to 10 energy.
- Nothing wrong with [[Healing Light].
- Reduce Recharge Time and Duration for [[Amity] and make all targets immune to all damage except for holy damage.
- Nothing wrong with [[Life Sheath].
- [[Ray of Judgment]'s recharge is too long, disabling other skills is too harsh of a side effect, and has elite status. Fix any of those.
- Nothing wrong with [[Word of Censure].
- Nothing wrong with [[Cultist's Fervor].
- Nothing wrong with [[Ravenous Gaze].
- Nothing wrong with [[Feast of Corruption].
- Nothing wrong with [[Lingering Curse].
- Nothing wrong with [[Order of Apostasy].
- Nothing wrong with [[Signet of Suffering].
- Nothing wrong with [[Weaken Knees].
- Nothing wrong with [[Contagion].
- Nothing wrong with [[Toxic Chill].
- Nothing wrong with [["Incoming!"].
- Nothing wrong with [[Cautery Signet].
- Nothing wrong with [[Strike as One].
- Nothing wrong with [[Archer's Signet].
- Nothing wrong with [[Poison Arrow].
- Nothing wrong with [[Quick Shot].
- Nothing wrong with [[Clamor of Souls].
- Nothing wrong with [[Signet of Ghostly Might].
- Nothing wrong with [[Spirit Channeling].
- Increase bonus damage for [[Cleave] to at least +40 @ 12.
- Nothing wrong with [[Decapitate].
- Nothing wrong with [[Whirling Axe].
- Nothing wrong with [[Enraged Smash].
- Nothing wrong with [[Charging Strike].
- Nothing wrong with [[Headbutt].
- Nothing wrong with [[Magehunter Strike].
- Add an inherent +25% IAS and speed boost for [[Primal Rage] or make this a Skill and not a Stance, increase Armor penetration to +5...41 (yes, 5...41), disable only non-attack skills and/or don't disable, just make unuseable like Vow of Strength, so the adrenaline can charge up.
- Nothing wrong with [[Shove].
- Nothing wrong with [[Soldier's Stance].
- Nothing wrong with [[Hundred Blades].
- Nothing wrong with [[Skull Crack].

Edit to clarify: Nothing wrong with it does not mean I am agreeing with the OP. It means that the skill is fine as it is. No changes or buffs are needed. Most of the skills listed are not severely underpowered enough to warrant a buff to see usage. Each have their own unique uses that another skill cannot match. If it is not used, it just means that a build for it that uses it effectively have not been thought up yet. But it does not mean a buff is needed to make people think up of one.

Xsiriss · Dec 01, 2008, 06:22 PM // 18:22

Guess what trolls,change is good, atm anet only bother looking at unused elites every now and then with their main concentration being on non-elites and nerfing. Sure some of what the OP has said isn't too good, like Toxic Chill but I agree with most of it, especially the warrior and sin stuff. Sins are broken no matter what people say.

IronSheik you're an idiot, firstly you have to have a combo to get shattering assault up as its a dual attack, there's nothing wrong with having new options of an ench stripping lead. Fail troll fails through lack of any intelligence.

FlamingMetroid · Dec 01, 2008, 06:30 PM // 18:30

While alot of these skills are in need of a buff/change; Anet has shown us that whenever they try to do something like this, they just end up creating a bunch of skills that need to be re-nerfed, so /notigned.

IronSheik · Dec 01, 2008, 07:07 PM // 19:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xsiriss

IronSheik you're an idiot, firstly you have to have a combo to get shattering assault up as its a dual attack, there's nothing wrong with having new options of an ench stripping lead. Fail troll fails through lack of any intelligence.

Nom nom nom can't believe I'm going to bother with blindness

[Assault enchantments] <-Can remove all enchantments 4 times after a dual attack

[shattering assault]<-Removes 2 enchantments, Dual Attack, Unblockable

Idea for new Assault is this, Lead attack, Unblockable, Removes two Enchantments. All you are doing is taking [Shattering assault], making it a lead attack with a longer recharge, may as well use [rend enchantments] if you need it for a lead.

If you're going to fuss about saying it's unblockable, just use an unblocking chain with SA as it is, or even, use the old Assault.

Reverend Dr · Dec 01, 2008, 08:49 PM // 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlamingMetroid

Anet has shown us that whenever they try to do something like this, they just end up creating a bunch of skills that need to be re-nerfed, so /notigned.

AND they still haven't bothered to address some of the bad changes from the last batch.

And as bad as Anet has been about balance, I sure am glad that the OP isn't doing it.

Skye Marin · Dec 02, 2008, 02:16 AM // 02:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronSheik

Nom nom nom can't believe I'm going to bother with blindness

[Assault enchantments] <-Can remove all enchantments 4 times after a dual attack

[shattering assault]<-Removes 2 enchantments, Dual Attack, Unblockable

Idea for new Assault is this, Lead attack, Unblockable, Removes two Enchantments. All you are doing is taking [Shattering assault], making it a lead attack with a longer recharge, may as well use [rend enchantments] if you need it for a lead.

If you're going to fuss about saying it's unblockable, just use an unblocking chain with SA as it is, or even, use the old Assault.

SA and AE, currently, preform about the same role. They both remove enchantments, and both have the flaw where you need to set up/land a dual attack for them to be effective. AE has the extra downside of not compressing your skill bar like SA does.

When you remove enchantments as an assassin, you primarily want to remove Guardian and Aegis so that you can use your better non-unblockable skills on your target. If you have to use a chain otherwise crappy unblockable attacks to be able to use your blockable attacks, then you're doing it wrong. Your bar is crowded, and there isn't much utility to it. That is, why do I want to strip block enchantments if all my attacks are already unblockable? That is the main flaw behind AE, and why I proposed the change.

If you think that my AE is too strong, that's a fine opinion. Currently, I think the downside to my AE is that it forces a LOD chain, because your elite is your lead, and that's a pretty strong balancing factor to it. There could be a condition to the enchant strip, like require the foe to have more than one enchantment, which would punish enchantment stacks, which I think could use some punishment. Suggest something that makes sense, and support it, and I'll make the change.

Saying my AE is like SA, but lead and with a longer recharge is like saying [Enraging Charge] is like ["You will die!"], but a running stance, and not needing a target under 50% health. They are two completely different skills, and one is obviously more versatile than the other.

IronSheik · Dec 02, 2008, 02:36 AM // 02:36

Not even going to address that block, all i'm saying is, you're making a dual, a lead, not talking about running stances and charging adrenaline. You seem to miss the point of SA in RA and HA teams

Off Topic, isn't this the third thread you make like this, with almost the same exact text?

Reverend Dr · Dec 02, 2008, 05:01 AM // 05:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

If you think that my AE is too strong, that's a fine opinion.

Its a correct opinion. It allows 1,2,3,4,5 solo chains that will remove all benefit of pre-prot. This removes any skill required in target selection, and provides a monk no benefit of pre-prot. And its not like its a skill used in addition to an attack chain, its part of the attack chain and recharges every 8 seconds.

You do not understand the game well enough to make any balance decisions. If this was posed in the PvP forum it would have been long closed because there are so many horrible ideas in the original post.