Curse

Jeydra · Apr 21, 2011, 11:32 PM // 23:32

According to Developer Updates, this update is aimed at GvG.

Quote:

Dervish
Aura of Thorns (PvP): split for PvP; increased Energy cost to 10.
Avatar skills: increased recharge to 20 seconds.
Avatar of Balthazar: decreased Burning duration to 3 seconds.
Dust Cloak (PvP): split for PvP; increased recharge to 10 seconds.
Harrier's Grasp: decreased Cripple duration to 2...9 seconds.
Lyssa's Haste (PvP): split for PvP; increased recharge to 25 seconds.

Elementalist
Blinding Flash: decreased Energy cost to 10.
Grasping Earth: increased Energy cost to 10; decreased duration to 5...20 seconds.

Mesmer
Fragility (PvP): increased recharge to 8 seconds.

Monk
Divine Healing: decreased recharge to 12 seconds.
Heaven's Delight: decreased recharge to 12 seconds.

From first looks, I like all the changes except the changes to BFlash and Grasping Earth. Unlike other hex-based snares like Freezing Gust, Grasping Earth is close-range, so it is much harder to use. Only characters I've seen it on recently are R/E Rangers. Rangers can already use Cripshot, so they already have a snare. I haven't played many games with R/E Rangers however, so I may be wrong.

BFlash change is absurd, however. Developer updates says ANet is aware it is a good skill, but then buff it even more ... ? With Aura of Resto, Air Attunement and GoLE it's already possible to use BFlash @ 15e without committing the elite slot. With BFlash @ 10e, it'd be possible to use it a few times even with enchantments down. This makes shutting down one of the most powerful conditions around even harder. Why?

Dervishes may not be nerfed enough, but we'll see.

Krill · Apr 21, 2011, 11:40 PM // 23:40

Only accomplishment I see here is lyssa's haste.

Grasping earth change is just stupid as all hell. Correct me if I'm wrong but the skill has been unchanged since May 2005, and now suddenly it's deemed too good because people used it to slow down retardo dervs?

cantalus · Apr 21, 2011, 11:41 PM // 23:41

anet really really fail

FoxBat · Apr 21, 2011, 11:46 PM // 23:46

Grasping earth is a powerful skill with a long history of warrior abuse. I see the issue more as long duration at almost zero spec, cutting that might have kept it somewhat viable instead of removing it from everyone but HA warders.

While the changes aren't terrible this update still feels like a joke or insult that widely missed the mark. I don't favor them playing wack-a-mole with the various dervish enchants and elites which aren't far from being balanced with each other, at best this will just push another set of almost as powerful skills to the fore. The primal-like IAS + IMS needs to die first if you want warrior to be run again, that can be fixed by tweaking just 3 skills.

Killed u man · Apr 21, 2011, 11:47 PM // 23:47

I like how they're slowly nerfing Dervishes to try and reach a state of equilibrium between Dervs and Warriors. (No sarcasm)

I do not like, however, how they're going about nerfing the skills. They're changing the wrong skills in the wrong manners. The Lyssa nerf, however, is a pretty good one.

Energy is not a problem on these dervs bars, so I don't see why they would ever try and touch those skills. The problem still is dervtrains at the hands of AoT and Harrier's Grasp, it's not these skills costing too much energy. If they would, people would simply run Zealous Scythes, as the trade of is definatly worth it.

I would like to see Heart of Fury rework to a "for every enchantment on you, you attack 8% faster (cap 33% obv)" kinda skill so that derv trains can exist, but not with the redicilous enchantment teardown skills we see now. (Twin Moon and Wearying)

Also, Avatar of Balthazar: It's not the burning that's the problem, it's the +33% adrenaline gain.

Make it double adrenaline gain (+100%) against non enchanted foes or something. This way, dervs could build (perhaps even on spears) fast as long as they don't train shit down, and paintrains get punished by "slow" -regular- adrenaline gain, but at the cost of having wasted your elite slot.

Sk8tborderx · Apr 22, 2011, 12:20 AM // 00:20

Yet another skill update that accomplishes nothing. Can't say it wasn't expected.

aga · Apr 22, 2011, 01:01 AM // 01:01

Wow, aura of thorns energy upto 10, that's gonna make a huge difference. I just don't understand why they don't make the cripple range adjacent and/or make bleeding the initial effect.

The nerf to grasping earth was a joke, imo.

Swingline · Apr 22, 2011, 01:08 AM // 01:08

kind of a funny update. no real need to nerf grasping earth and they nerfed it in the wrong manner.

*lemming* · Apr 22, 2011, 01:29 AM // 01:29

The Grasping Earth nerf was a long time coming. It's been really really good for years.

gooeydark · Apr 22, 2011, 02:30 AM // 02:30

This update accomplished nothing.

Aura of Thorns needs to be adjacent, and have more of a recharge added to it.

Avatar of Balthazar should not have the added adren gain (at all).

Dust Cloak needs a harder recharge nerf. This skill combined with Ebon Dust Aura is quite ridiculous at linebacking.

Harrier's Grasp is an awful idea for a skill. Punish people for kiting?

Grasping Earth: lol, The energy cost was a problem I suppose, but the biggest concern here is the duration of the hex. This was not addressed enough.

urania · Apr 22, 2011, 07:53 AM // 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemming

The Grasping Earth nerf was a long time coming. It's been really really good for years.

and it was the sole thing that could save you from things like multiple fear me warrs or help beat crap like shove spike.

i rarely saw it actually be abused anywhere thou, apart from CA.

anyhow, the only nerf that actually did sth was the upped recharge on lyssas...rest is just a joke.

Missing HB · Apr 22, 2011, 08:22 AM // 08:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

According to Developer Updates, this update is aimed at GvG.

All updates are aimed at GvG anyway... it's not like any recently did concern HA only or other....You get the proof with grasping earth...They nerf it coz it's annoying in GvG whereas people had to deal with iway warriors , RaO , bbwars , wotas for years in HA.....

Anyway , some comments on update : I just don't think it will change anything concerning dervish skills... Nerfing faster move skills is quite useless , i guess people could mod bars a little by playing D/El with djinn haste....Avatar of baltazar burning won't change a lot since , like Borat said , it's more likely the adrenaline gain that's quite a problem.....

Blinding flash is so pathetic i won't even argue about it ( have fun in RA)

Jeydra · Apr 22, 2011, 08:32 AM // 08:32

Not every update is aimed at GvG ... some, like the big Mesmer update a while ago, was more focused at PvE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooeydark

Harrier's Grasp is an awful idea for a skill. Punish people for kiting?

There're plenty of skills that punish people for kiting, including but not limited to: Bull's Strike, "Coward!" and Lightning Bolt. Are you proposing all of them get nerfed to the ground?

And lemming, before the R/E Rangers started using it, I haven't seen Grasping Earth consistenly for months if not years. If it's so good, why wasn't it used more?

fowlero · Apr 22, 2011, 08:45 AM // 08:45

Halfway there lol.

Hit the right skills, but with a tissue not a baseball bat...

We Play ''Fragway'' Alot · Apr 22, 2011, 08:55 AM // 08:55

Dude who is/are doing the skill update's . plz Fire him/them their bobs. Only good thing i see is lyssa haste. And i dont mind the grasping earth change . anyway rangers stil laugh at the energy cost for it.

pinkeyflower · Apr 22, 2011, 08:55 AM // 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

There're plenty of skills that punish people for kiting, including but not limited to: Bull's Strike, "Coward!" and Lightning Bolt. Are you proposing all of them get nerfed to the ground?

And they can be used how often compared to Harrier's Grasp?

Arnold Killmachine · Apr 22, 2011, 08:59 AM // 08:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

(...) I haven't seen Grasping Earth consistenly for months if not years. If it's so good, why wasn't it used more?

I used it as a backup snare only to survive against quad derv teams at HA.
Also, often at RA.
Now the cheap snare, that could ease the pressure, is no more.

@thread
The Update is a joke.
I totally agree that, apart from Lyssa's haste and Dust Cloak, this update changes nothing.
And a random buff to bflash is just silly.
How many times blindbots gonna get buffed?

Warriors rest in peace.

Edited
Don't be silly and don't compare Bulls to Harriers Grasp.

Ariena Najea · Apr 22, 2011, 09:21 AM // 09:21

Bull's requires skill to land reliably, whereas with Harrier's Grasp you auto-attack and win.

Jeydra · Apr 22, 2011, 09:23 AM // 09:23

I agree it's silly. It's just that if the argument against Harrier's Grasp is just "it punishes people for kiting", then that would imply that all the skills I mentioned need to be nerfed, too. In other words, "it punishes people for kiting" isn't sufficient reason to convince me that a nerf is necessary.

cantalus · Apr 22, 2011, 09:35 AM // 09:35

anet think like wammos