Developer Updates PvP/PvE Skill Balancing - May 21st

So, the differences are:

Shadow Form: 5..30 sec duration (PvE) vs. 5..15 sec duration (PvP)
Assassin's Remedy: 5 Energy cost (PvE) vs. 10 Energy cost (PvP).
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Energy Drain: 20 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 25 sec recharge (PvP)
Energy Tap: 20 sec recharge, 2 sec cast (PvE) vs. 25 sec recharge, 3 sec cast (PvP)
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Discord: 1 sec cast (PvE) vs. 2 sec cast (PvP)
Enfeeble: 5 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 10 sec recharge (PvP).
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Ether Renewal: 5..20 sec duration, 1..4 Energy gain (PvE) vs. 7 sec duration, 1..3 Energy gain (PvP)
Blinding Surge: 4 sec recharge, 4..7 sec blind (PvE) vs. 3 sec recharge, 1..5 sec blind (PvP)
Ward Against Melee: 5..17 sec duration (PvE) vs. 1..18 sec duration (PvP).
Lightning Orb: causes Cracked Armor (PvE) vs. does not cause Cracked Armor (PvP)
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Light of Deliverance: 6 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 10 sec recharge (PvP)
Aegis: 10 Energy cost (PvE) vs. 15 Energy cost (PvP).
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"Watch Yourself!": lasts for 10 attacks (PvE) vs. 1..3 attacks (PvP)
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Ritual Lord: 15..75% reduces spirit recharge (PvE) vs. 15..51% (PvP)
Ancestors' Rage: 0.25 sec cast (PvE) vs. 1 sec cast (PvP)
Splinter Weapon: 5 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 8 sec recharge (PvP)
Death Pact Signet: 3 sec cast (PvE) vs. 4 sec cast (PvP)
Flesh of My Flesh: 4 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 10 sec recharge (PvP)
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Penetrating/Sundering Attack: 5..25 damage (PvE) vs. 3..9 damage (PvP)
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"Incoming!": 1..5 sec duration (PvE) vs. 1..3 sec duration (PvP)
Defensive Anthem: 1 sec cast (PvE) vs. 2 sec cast (PvP)
"Never Surrender!": 15 sec duration (PvE) vs. 10 sec duration (PvP)
Ballad of Restoration: 20 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 30 sec recharge (PvP)
Song of Restoration: 20 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 30 sec recharge (PvP)
Harrier's Toss: 0.5 sec activation (PvE) vs. 1 sec activation (PvP)
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Mystic Sweep: 0.75 sec activation (PvE) vs. 1 sec activation (PvP)
Eremite's Attack: 0.75 sec activation (PvE) vs. 1 sec activation (PvP)

Man, that's a laundry list of differences with the first pass, and for the most part, they aren't all that significant to PvE.

P.S. You might want to cut and paste this into the OP since it's really hard to tell the differences between PvE and PvP after this update.

someone finally says it..

So for the last 3 years people have been crying about skills getting nerfed, now they go and change everything back and people still complain......

Personally i love the ether prodigy buff, now they just need to stop mobs scattering and buff all AOE fire skills into the 100dmg range so i can c+space pve faster.

Agree completely. This buff has really made me wonder what the balancing team is thinking. They want to make farmers stronger, yet they've nerfed farming to the point that it's a pretty big waste of time. Makes absolutely no sense.

Sadly, what he says is most likely true.

It is suspected that the interview is 2 years old (when Factions first came out), so obviously this was the thinking behind the PvE skills in GWEN. Not exactly sure what his thinking is now.

I wouldn't worry about it. After a few days, people will start complaining about how Afflicted Assassins take too long to kill because they have such a long Shadow Form and eventually it will be nerfed.

I don't think this is "random" or "more than the handful they promised".

- This is a structure in testing. Be patient. There will be more changes.

- They've taken two of the biggest nerfed skills - Watch Yourself and LoD - and done something to them. This was asked for by the community.

- Ritualists and Paragons have been giving a careful "first" buff for PvE. You can't fully restore them to their original, otherwise there'd be horrible imbalance.

- Considering the hundreds of skills we have at our disposal, this IS a handful of skills. Remember balance - do unto one skill, and it will affect another. Anet can, because they actually do market research - your research is based on anecdotal evidence.

- For those perplexed about Anet "supposedly" supporting farming - they've never discouraged it. They've only discouraged real world gold trading.

As a whole, I'm really pleased they're trying out this new split system.

And for those of you saying "the majority of players want..." - thank you but no, I can think for myself. You don't speak for me, or anyone else.

Energy Drain: 20 sec recharge (PvE) vs. 25 sec recharge (PvP)
Energy Tap: 20 sec recharge, 2 sec cast (PvE) vs. 25 sec recharge, 3 sec cast (PvP)
WOW!! Now I can spam E-drain and E-tap , ty very much arena net! /end sarcasm

Didn't even think of that. So ANet helped farmers by making a strong skill stronger, yand made killing afflicted assassins more annoying (not hard, annoying). Something tells me little thought went into this buff.

Paragons are already imbalanced. Ever heard of the imbagon?

buffed [Ritual Lord] + lvl28

buffed [Shadow Form] + lvl30 (hardmode)

QQ

I know. Doesn't it make your humanity ache?

- Yes, I can accept that. But are these really the updates majority want to see? So, like ANET buffs Ritual Lord. Great. Too bad the spirits by themselves are really crappy in PvE, because they're stationary, expensive and have you sitting around 5 seconds flat while the Elementalist next to you is having fun with Fireball. If ANET's genuine intention was to make spirits viable in PvE, they wouldn't half-ass every update regarding them like this.

Second thing is the defense web. I have Paragon in PvE. When I have Save Yourselves and There's Nothing To Fear active at the same time, nothing dies. Ever. I've played with PUGs that were beyond terrible and they just commented how good the Monks were. This must appeal to some crowd who likes to watch the repeating attack animation while stoned. I don't know what's the "interesting" or "fun" part of it for anyone else.

This update isn't creating possibilities! Possibilities make good games! They're just taking previously godly skills that were nerfed, turning them back to their former godly glory. Here we go and game becomes dull faster than ever. I really don't give a flying **** how much damage some direct-attack bow skill is causing. It's the kind of skill you spam on recharge against anything you encounter. Spam on recharge against anything you encounter. If the skill has better damage output than similar skill, it's taken. If not, it's left out. What is this game's designer smoking to overlook this?

Yeah, especially since the perma-KD warrior build has been nerfed.

Done, nice work on putting that together.

I think they are refering to this interview.

Izzy Interview

Hey guys I'd like to remind you this is till just a preview....the actual update will be bigger.

I've also had another thought:

For all the discussion (ahem) about balancing Ursan, you've just got it in a round about way.

Yes, making other skills more powerful in PvE gives you the OPTION to be more powerful.

Whether you choose to take that option is another thing, but you certainly can't complain that Ursan is too over powered when this (and future) balancing has powered up other skills and builds.

Please don't scare me like that, awright?

When there's a clearly overpowered skill they shouldn't be buffing other skills but they should nerf that overpowered skill.

And also, none of these changes come even close to the overpoweredness of what's UB.

New moto:

Guild wars: No skill > time.

LMAO 30 Second SF

*runs off to uw*