Greetings all! As before, here are the planned Balance update notes for next week's release! We look forward to your discussions and theorycrafting.

~GW2 Systems Team

Profession Skills

General

When we originally created the alacrity and barrier effects, they were intended to be profession specific, but we've changed this stance after seeing how the game changed and evolved over time. While the original effects were visually iconic to their initial professions, it was a good time to update them with a look that could fit any profession.

Barrier: Updated the visual effects of this effect to be less profession specific.

Alacrity: Updated the visual effects of this effect to be less profession specific.

Special Forces Training Area: Conditions on the Preview Holo-Golem will no longer be removed by player skills.

Low-Health Traits: Updated traits that activate when the user drops below a specified health threshold so that they behave more consistently.

Items

Superior Rune of Antitoxin: This rune no longer removes additional conditions from allies cleansed by the player. Instead, it removes an additional condition from the player whenever a condition is removed from the player.

Elementalist

In this update, we're following up on some of the tempest changes from the previous update. Speedy Conduit has been a lackluster trait for a while, so we're combining it with Harmonious Conduit and creating a new trait that grants concentration. Imbued Melodies is being removed—we felt it wasn't very interesting while also being unnecessarily restrictive by being tied to the warhorn. Its replacement, Transcendent Tempest, provides an effect that is unique among other grandmaster traits, which we hope will provide a more meaningful choice when compared to the other options.

Signet of Air: This skill can now be activated to break stuns without a target. Activating the skill while out of range of a target or without a target while not under control effects will put it on interrupt cooldown.

Glyph of Renewal (Renewal of Fire): Reduced the amount of invulnerability granted when reviving the elementalist from 5 seconds to 1 second.

Burning Rage: Reduced the burning duration from 5 seconds to 4 seconds.

Speedy Conduit: This trait has been removed. Its functionality has been combined with Harmonious Conduit, and it has been replaced with Gathered Focus.

Gathered Focus: This new trait takes the master tier, minor trait slot, and it grants 120 concentration plus an additional 120 concentration while the elementalist is above 90% health.

Harmonious Conduit: This trait no longer increases damage after completing an overload. Instead it grants swiftness in addition to stability. It has also changed positions with Invigorating Torrents.

Invigorating Torrents: This trait has switched positions with Harmonious Conduit. Its functionality is unchanged.

Imbued Melodies: This trait has been reworked, and its name has been changed to Transcendent Tempest. This trait reduces the time it takes to attain a singularity by 33% when switching elements and increases outgoing damage and condition damage by 7% for 7 seconds after an overload completes.

Engineer

When the scrapper's profession ability was changed to an F5 skill, the tool belt skill from Sneak Gyro, Detection Pulse, was replaced. That skill was sorely missed as it provided useful and skilled counterplay if well timed. As the profession mechanic needed to remain on the F5 key, we looked elsewhere and saw that Purge Gyro, an inherently defensive and utility-centric ability, had a tool belt skill that did not fit its intent. Scrapper is also getting a bit of a tune-up with its hammer skills and a reduction to the vitality loss of the Impact Savant trait, which was leaving them a bit squishier than we intended for a bruiser style of play.

Equalizing Blow: Increased damage by 9%.

Electro Whirl: Increased damage by 9%.

Rocket Charge: Increased damage by 10%.

Shock Shield: Reduced recharge from 20 seconds to 18 seconds.

Thunderclap: Increased damage by 6%. Reduced recharge from 24 seconds to 20 seconds.

Corona Burst: Reduced might gained in WvW to the same amount as granted in PvP. Reduced the damage of this skill by 20% in PvP and WvW.

Holographic Shockwave: Reduced range from 600 to 300.

Function Gyro: Increased damage by 100%. Increased land radius to 240 and underwater radius to 360. Added clarification to skill description to clarify that function gyros are destroyed when their skill is interrupted. Reduced recharge from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.

Shaped Charge: This trait now increases damage by 0.5% per stack of vulnerability instead of by a flat amount.

Solar Focusing Lens: This trait now also grants 2 stacks of Afterburner when deactivating photon forge. Increased stacks granted from overheating from 5 to 6.

Chemical Field: This skill has been replaced by Detection Pulse as the tool belt skill for Purge Gyro.

Detection Pulse: This skill replaces Purge Gyro's previous tool belt skill, Chemical Field. The radius of this skill has been reduced from 1200 to 900, and its targeting has been improved in large group settings.

Purge Gyro: The tool belt skill for Purge Gyro has changed from Chemical Field to Detection Pulse.

Sneak Gyro: Increased the cooldown of this skill from 45 to 60 seconds in WvW.

Med Kit: This kit can now be used underwater.

Med Blaster (Med Kit): Increased healing to match tooltip.

Cleansing Field (Med Kit): Fixed a bug that caused this skill to remove more conditions than intended.

Elixir U: Fixed a bug that could cause this skill to give endurance.

Supply Crate: Fixed a bug in which the Healing Turret created from this skill would not overcharge.

Health Insurance: Updated description and tooltips to accurately reflect the functionality of this trait. This trait increases incoming healing by 10% and increases outgoing healing by 20% while using Med Kit.

Mechanized Deployment: Fixed a bug that caused this trait to grant less than the listed 15% recharge reduction.

Mass Momentum: Increased stability duration from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.

Impact Savant: Reduced the vitality loss from this trait from 300 to 180.

Guardian

Firebrand prevalence in group content has been quite strong as they offer significant support options to the point that they were crowding out other builds. In particular, Tome of Courage had a bit more power than was healthy, so we've sought to tweak that down while retaining its overall playstyle by removing some of its boon generation. We're also reducing scepter damage and increasing sword damage in PvE as the best melee damage option should not be a ranged weapon.

Orb of Wrath: Reduced damage by 10% in PvE only.

Symbol of Blades: Removed the double strike that occurs when the symbol is first created. Increased damage of each strike by 20% to compensate. Overall damage is unchanged.

Zealot's Defense: Increased PvE damage by 20%.

Sanctuary: Increased number of enemies that can be knocked back by this skill before it expires from 10 to 20. Decreased duration from 6 seconds to 5 seconds. Decreased recharge from 75 seconds to 60 seconds.

Tome of Resolve—Chapter 2: Radiant Recovery: The existing split of cleansing 2 conditions in PvP has been brought to WvW as well. This skill continues to cleanse 3 conditions in PvE.

Tome of Courage—Chapter 2: Daring Challenge: This skill now grants retaliation for 3 seconds instead of aegis.

Tome of Courage—Epilogue: Unbroken Lines: This skill no longer grants retaliation. The existing split of a 15-second cooldown in PvP has been brought to WvW as well. This skill retains a 12-second cooldown in PvE.

Purging Flames: This skill no longer reduces the duration of incoming conditions. Instead of removing 3 conditions from allies when cast, it now removes 1 condition from allies and 1 additional condition every second the skill persists. Fixed a bug that prevented this skill from being properly extended when Master of Consecrations was equipped.

Eternal Armory: Changed burning from 2 stacks for 2 seconds to 1 stack for 4 seconds.

Stoic Demeanor: This trait now inflicts burning for 5 seconds in addition to inflicting slow. Reduced the internal cooldown from 5 seconds to 3 seconds. Cooldown is now determined per target instead of globally.

Mesmer

Chaotic Interruption has been reworked as a trait that offers a dynamic and skillful form of play by giving savvy players a means to use their abilities to recharge weapon skills. Some chronomancer tweaks are also in to offer another means of granting group quickness and to clean up some functional redundancy between Delayed Reactions and Lost Time.

Illusion of Life: Reduced the amount of time a resurrected ally is invulnerable from 5 seconds to 1 second. This skill should now target more effectively in group situations.

Power Break (Mantra of Pain): This skill now requires mesmers to face their target and respects line of sight.

Power Lock (Mantra of Distraction): This skill now requires mesmers to face their target and respects line of sight.

Chaos Storm: This skill now always dazes on the first strike but can no longer randomly daze on other strikes. This change also applies to Lesser Chaos Storm. Added a skill fact to show Chaos Storm's duration.

Chaotic Interruption: This trait has been reworked. When interrupting a foe, it now recharges one of your currently recharging equipped weapon skills by 5 seconds. This trait has a 1-second internal cooldown.

Delayed Reactions: This trait no longer grants alacrity but now triggers on any control effect rather than only on interrupts. Added a 3-second cooldown per target.

Lost Time: This trait has been reworked. It now grants 3 seconds of alacrity to the mesmer when applying slow to a target. This effect has a 3-second cooldown.

Seize the Moment: This trait now applies quickness in a 240 area-of-effect radius around the mesmer and can hit 5 targets (including the mesmer).

Necromancer

The Death Magic specialization has had a significant rework this update, revolving around a new effect and various means of gaining additional defense while bringing together a more cohesive set of playstyles. The scourge elite specialization has also undergone a significant change such that its shade skills will only fire around them when they do NOT have a shade up. If they do have a shade present, then those skills will happen around their summoned sand shades. Alongside this change, the scourge and each sand shade now affect an increased number of targets by default, which can be increased further through the use of the grandmaster trait Sand Savant. This change leans into the dependence a scourge has on their unique elite specialization mechanic, shades, and opens up the specialization to future potential improvements across its kit. This change creates a choice between whether scourges expose themselves to some melee risk but charge in to affect foes around them, or whether they hang back and summon a shade near their foe and are unable to affect themselves with shade abilities (unless they also place one on their own location). We'll be keeping a close eye on the results of this change and making adjustments accordingly.

Scourge: Shade skills no longer affect the area around the scourge while they have a shade present in the world. Increased the number of targets affected by shade skills from 3 to 5.

Manifest Sand Shade: The duration of sand shades in WvW and PvP has been increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds.

Minion Summoning Skills: Fixed a bug that could allow minions to persist after the skill was unequipped.

Oppressive Collapse: This skill now requires line of sight.

Feast of Corruption: Reduced damage by 20% in PvP and WvW. The existing split of corrupting 2 boons in PvP has been brought to WvW as well. This skill continues to corrupt 3 boons in PvE. This skill now queues behind other skills rather than interrupting them.

Devouring Darkness: Reduced damage by 20% in PvP and WvW. The existing split of corrupting 2 boons in PvP has been brought to WvW as well. This skill continues to corrupt 3 boons in PvE. This skill now queues behind other skills rather than interrupting them.

Grasping Darkness: Fixed an issue that could cause the claw effect to pop out of existence before the skill completed. Removed misleading legendary projectile effects from this skill due to it not being a projectile.

Blood Bond: Fixed a bug that caused this trait to heal the necromancer when it activated.

Sand Savant: Increased the number of targets affected by the larger shade from 2 to 5 so that it now affects up to 10 targets.

Death Magic: This trait line has been reworked. Many traits now revolve around a new effect called Death's Carapace that increases toughness by 20 for each stack up to a maximum of 30 stacks. Death's Carapace stacks are applied for 10 seconds from all traits except Flesh of the Master. Minor: Armored Shroud: This trait now gives 5 stacks of Death's Carapace when entering shroud. Soul Comprehension: In addition to its previous effects, this trait now also grants 1 stack of Death's Carapace for each kill the necromancer participates in. Beyond the Veil: This trait has been reworked. It now reduces condition damage by 10% while the necromancer has at least 10 stacks of Death's Carapace. Adept: Flesh of the Master: Instead of granting armor for each minion, this trait now causes the necromancer's minions to grant them 2 Death's Carapace stacks as long as the minions are alive. Putrid Defense: This trait has changed positions and its functionality has changed. It now causes poison to deal 15% more damage and grants 1 Death's Carapace stack when applying poison. Shrouded Removal: This trait has changed positions. In addition to its previous effects, it now grants 3 Death's Carapace stacks when a condition is removed. Master: Necromantic Corruption: This trait is unchanged. Dark Defiance: This trait is unchanged. Deadly Strength: This trait has been reworked. It now causes Death's Carapace to grant an additional 10 power per stack. Grandmaster: Death Nova: Updated skill facts and description. Updated attack name from Lesser Poison Cloud to Poison Nova in order to indicate that it has different behavior from Corrosive Poison Cloud. Fixed an issue that caused this trait to use the minion's stats instead of the necromancer's. Fixed various issues that caused this trait to behave inconsistently with certain minions. Increased damage by 60% in PvE only. Corrupter's Fervor: This trait has been reworked. It now grants 1 Death's Carapace stack when applying any condition. Additionally, at 25 Death's Carapace stacks or above, the necromancer gains pulsing protection for 3 seconds every 3 seconds. Unholy Sanctuary: This trait is unchanged.



Ranger

In this update, we're making a major change to sword skills in order to better improve their flow during combat. Monarch's Leap, Hornet Sting, and Serpent's Strike are all shuffling around into new slots, which should make the weapon a little easier to understand. We're also including some enhancements for the off-hand dagger, which has been a pretty weak weapon that hasn't kept up with the pace of the game very well. Finally, we're simplifying the greatsword's Counterattack skill and taking some power out of the chain-attack sequence. We hope these changes will make the weapon feel a little smoother while removing some of the frustrating random dodges that happen when fighting against it.

Long Range Shot: Reduced the minimum damage of this skill by 14% and the maximum damage by 11% in WvW only.

Sword Chain-Attack Sequence: Updated icons for Crippling Thrust and Precision Swipe.

Stalker's Strike: Base damage of this attack has been increased by 200%. This attack now deals double damage and inflicts 2 additional poison stacks if it strikes a foe with a movement-impairing condition.

Crippling Talon: This skill now uses the ammunition system and has 2 ammo with a 15-second count recharge time and a 1-second recharge between uses. Reduced cripple duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds. Reduced bleeding duration from 8 seconds to 6 seconds.

Hornet Sting: This sword skill has moved to weapon slot 3. It now recharges Monarch's Leap if it hits. Its recharge has been increased from 8 seconds to 15 seconds.

Monarch's Leap: This sword skill is now the primary skill in weapon slot 2. Using this skill flips it over to Serpent's Strike for 5 seconds. It now has an 8-second recharge.

Serpent's Strike: This skill is now the follow-up skill to Monarch's Leap. It no longer has a recharge.

Swoop: Fixed an issue that prevented the casting bar for this skill from matching the actual casting time of the dash.

Counterattack: Removed the Crippling Throw follow-up skill. This skill no longer automatically uses Counterattack Kick when blocking a foe within the range threshold. Instead, blocking any attack flips the skill to Counterattack Kick for 5 seconds. Increased the number of targets for Counterattack Kick from 1 to 3. Counterattack Kick now evades for its duration and activates faster.

Power Stab: This skill no longer evades for its duration. Its name has been changed to Enduring Swing. This skill now grants 15 endurance if it hits.

Quick Draw: Fixed a bug that prevented this trait from reducing recharge time.

Revenant

In addition to some changes to Coalescence of Ruin and Gaze of Darkness aimed at WvW play, we are also tuning up a few of Mallyx's Legendary Demon Stance skills from the last update as we felt they ended up on the weak side. Jalis's Legendary Dwarf Stance skills are also seeing some improvements aimed at making them more powerful and easier to use to better warrant the use of your energy.

Coalescence of Ruin: This skill no longer deals increased damage with successive impacts; it now always deals damage equal to what was previously the second-impact damage. Its damage remains split between game modes. Added a red warning rectangle visible to enemies.

Embrace the Darkness: Lowered the recharge from 10 seconds to 3 seconds.

Gaze of Darkness: This skill now reveals stealth enemies up to a range of 600, inflicting blindness and vulnerability.

True Nature (Assassin): Reduced radius from 600 to 360.

Call to Anguish: Decreased energy cost from 35 to 30. Reduced recharge from 5 seconds to 3 seconds. Increased radius from 240 to 360. Damage increased by 33%.

Inspiring Reinforcement: Increased pulsing stability duration from 1.5 seconds to 3 seconds. Increased initial stability duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. Increased the speed at which the road is built by 100%. Increased road length from 600 to 900.

Forced Engagement: Increased damage reduction from taunted targets from 20% to 33%. This skill now also throws chains at up to 4 additional targets within a range of 360 of the selected target.

Focused Siphoning: Increased base healing by 88% in PvE.

Elder's Respite: Added a 10-second internal cooldown to this trait.

Thief

The previous Shadow Arts update landed pretty well overall, but we think that the siphons ended up a little weak. We're tuning these up a bit, as well as touching up a few other traits that didn't feel quite right. In addition to these changes, we're updating Improvisation to recharge a random utility skill on the skill bar rather than a random utility skill type. This change is intended to lower the variance on the trait and to allow for more flexibility in utility selection. Finally, stolen bundles now use the ammo system in order to help with readability.

Steal: Fixed a bug that could cause the shadowstep to fail in rare situations.

Swipe: Fixed a bug that could cause the shadowstep to fail in rare situations. Reduced recharge from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.

Hidden Thief: Fixed a bug that could cause this trait to activate even if Steal failed.

Leeching Venoms: This trait now immediately grants a stack of spider venom when the thief first enters stealth and every 3 seconds after.

Improvisation: Instead of recharging an entire skill category at random, this trait now recharges one of your equipped utility skills at random.

Stolen Bundles: Stolen bundles now show their number of uses as ammunition.

Shadow Siphoning: Increased base healing by 62%.

Cloaked in Shadow: Increased base damage and the damage multiplier by 100%. Increased base healing by 100% and the heal multiplier by 60%.

Lead Attacks: Fixed a bug that caused this trait to grant less than the listed 15% recharge reduction.

Warrior

In this update, we're focusing on changes to the Tactics trait line and warhorn skills. We've removed the traits related to reviving allies in order to make room for new traits and improvements to old traits that focus more on ways warriors can affect allies while they are still in the fight. The new Tactics traits are focused around empowering allies through boons and effects, helping allies who are taking a beating, and a selection of warrior-enhancing battlefield strategies.