UPDATE - August 6th, 2009

Warriors arent Insanely overpowered, used in very little builds usually only 1 bar aswell.

Dont really care what others say but.

This is friggin awesome for me hero minion masters, it works really well.

Pvp only. PvE version is unchanged.

Because 11 level 21 minions all doing more damage and each with more health and armor then the necro who summoned them is insanely good. MMs were already amazing and they just got even better.

* Golden Phoenix Strike: functionality changed to: "If you are not under the effects of an Enchantment, this skill misses. If it hits, Golden Phoenix Strike deals +10..30 damage and all adjacent foes take 10..30 damage."

nice BUT too bad the description reads 0 dmg to all adjacent foes (currently)

I am very pleased with Divine Boon. Great change tbh.

Bring back tonic sounds please...... or at least add a option/command line to enable them.......

=\ *crying*

Good:

Divine boon ( something that needed to be brought back in the current retard meta )
Some attempts to make bad sin skills less bad.


Bad:

Degenerate changes to dervish line.

Most of these buffs are unnecessary, and done without taking effectiveness VS player skill investment into acount.

Aegis change makes aegis bad in situations EXCEPT for the one situation it was OP: gothspike. GG anet way to fail.

Melandrus shot was not overpowered, it was overrated.

Nerfs to E/me distortionist where?

Nerfs to degenerate hexway teams where?

Nerf to WS where?

lolol wtb moar shadow form nerfs and this petway crap along with other stuff....half of these updates are useless. WHO THE HELL WILL PLAY AN EARTH ELE like for real....sure its okay now but fire is still the best along side water. And this whole elemental flame and earthern shackles is a little silly, why split into fire just for a spell or two, or why split into earth for 1 snare? This really doesnt make much sense....

Ill give them credit though for changing mels shot, it was just starting to be a bit of a pain, but for real here comes crip shot?
But i agree with what is stated above mels was overrated. I just didnt like it hahah

And the derv skills are pretty nice.

2 things...tonics yeah!!
(no more annoying yetis again....now LEAVE IT THAT WAY )

and

* Fixed a missing texture on the Asuran Paragon Raiment.

now if they can fix that...can they PLEASE get around to fixing all the other armor problems????

Thank you Anet, for giving us skill update on the first Thursday of the month when you are still busy tackling other bugs/issues (Xunlai Tournament, content update, etc).

Surprisingly, I no longer see a good reason not to play any particular class in pve. I've dusted off my para and rit with the last update, now I'll be revisiting my derv.

If they want variety in ranger bars, they should buff other (bad) elite bow attacks such as Punishing Shot, Crip Shot, Quick Shot, and Poison Arrow. Nerfing Mshot will just force rangers to be bad and deal with it. The only thing that might see play instead of it is Cripshot.
It wasn't OP or overrated, everything else just sucks! (except BA and Magebane)

Not that anyone will care, but Jagged Strike isn't 1/2 activation.

I wonder if this update is kind of a layup to next month's? Maybe the aren't ready for a huge shakeup just yet.

Tonic sounds removed....
Pets buffed....
Redbar buffs....

I just worked out this update, PvE.

At first look I was impressed... but then I realized... Ritualists and Paragons get neglected yet ANOTHER time in PvP. Why don't they just rename spirits to "Total failure", such as "Total Failure of Union" and the casting time to a laughing smiley face when you cast.

Confusing images also looks pretty stupid too. It lasts barely longer than before, but now costs more energy, casting time, and recharge!?!?!?!? how is that a buff!?

Like the Illusion of Pain and WD improvements though. Thank God WD is now 1/4.

No SF work or improvements against RoJ still dominating JQ as usual.

PvE only yet again. what do they have against pvp people?

Considering that the major content update is going to be focused primarily on pvp, I don't think they need any sympathy.

Next bugfix please: Spirit Siphon. If you target an enemy and cast it it's all f'd up. If the enemy is outside aggro range you walk towards it, and if the enemy is inside aggro range it still doesn't always work. Pretty annoying, because the e-management is great.

Thx for the SoS bugfix though!

Only thing to directly affect me is the Melandru's Shot nerf. Everything else is pretty much unimportant skillwise. I didn't see any other nerfs or buffs to skills that I've heard discussion on recently, but there sure were a lot of unnecessary power boosts to unused or unappreciated skills.

Looks like I'll come back next month.

But if the AI is programmed to go after the weakest targets in your party, wouldn't having lvl 21 minions be some what counter-productive? The enemies would rush your party as opposed to the minions now wouldn't it? I'm just theory crafting at the moment. Haven't got the time to check the update out yet.

I think its funny that some people watch the world of GW each from their narrow angle and if it doesnt suit them they think its uber crap, i actually laughed at some of these posts.
well, I might be guilty of the same since im not much interested in pvp.
I tested out the masochism, and its nice, but i think mm is strong enough already.
My friend is happily exerimenting on his derv.
I took my ranger to Scoundrels rise (nm) and had my pet clear all of it pretty easily.
That means its now a viable option to be a beastmaster. For 4 years I have been wondering why you could have pets, but they werent much more useful than a mini.
Now its time to experiment with it. New combos and skills to be used, maybe new team builds. I like that.
I have a feeling that the pvp people are very hard to please, I just hope there is something they like, if not maybe it will come in next update?

New update just now, fixed Golden Phoenix and Jungle. Not sure if Jungle was bugged though. Jagged is also now 1/2 activation.

But it could help keep the enemy off fiends. Having, say, 4 lvl 14 bone minions and 7 lvl 20 fiends could could be a nice middle ground.

Masochism was a freaking amazing skill until this update, now it's just Awaken the Blood Part 2 that lets players achieve a little bit bigger numbers and add another level to their minions.

Needless to say I'm quite bitter about the whole thing.

Masochism went from being an awesome skill for a niche build and turned it into something anybody can just haphazardly throw on their bars for bigger numbers. Agreed, not great.

Sad but true.

I remember that too. Will be fun running that again.

Generally I agree with Arktantos. An okay update... It's always fun to play around with new skills/abilities. Ie, I haven't played a pet bar in PvE in years. But still, doesn't really address any real issues.

Edit: @Star Gazer: No, we who want a nerf to an invincibility skill KNOW we are in the minority. After all, people want their shinies. The masses will obviously not want that removed. We are just the small few who know that it is better for people in the long term (via deflation) and are willing to actually be harmed for our own good.

the skillz having issues where fixed

No, you reduced the energy cost of the skills no one used. No one cares that Demonic Flesh or Dark Pact are 1 energy. Sure Enfeebling Blood was changed from 5 energy to 1 but I was hardly bringing Masochism to fuel it considering I was using Enfeebling Blood long before Masochism was introduced. If I have a necromancer sacrificing health it's because they're using Dark Fury and Order of Pain, neither of which were reduced with the sacrifice update.

Let me put it another way. Minions didn't exactly need another buff and neither did Discord. Dark Fury and Order of Pain can get expensive, especially if nothing is dying. Masochism helped maintain Dark Fury and Order of pain even when Soul Reaping was not going off which made it useful. Now it no longer serves that purpose.

Right because 50% more of 17% is the same as 3% flat, 10 energy cost to 5, and maintainable if I hit on recharge with 12+ blood magic and enchanting mod vs. "I have a 20 second window to recast this thing".

PWWWEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE Bring Tonic Sounds Back!!!!!~~~!!~!~!!~!!!

I is sad until they are back or an option to enable them is added. Why remove content thats just counter productive. =\

yay lava arrows and elemental flames!

So boonprot is still bad, ArenaNet buffs assassins and dervishes, and takes good skills (masochism) and turns them into shite.

I reinstalled, found all this out, and uninstalled again.

Also - why did you not touch fire eles? OH OK I FORGOT THAT BUFFING LAVA ARROWS WAS A CRITICAL PART OF THE BALANCE. UPGRADING THE RANGE OF A CRAPPY LOW-POWER AOE FLARE VALIDATES MY EXISTENCE AS A GUILD WARS ELITIST. THANK YOU ARENA NET.

So, good to see the awesome changes to skills such as:

Distortion
Aura of Restoration
Rip Enchant
Corrupt Enchant
Patient Spirit

Also glad the crip reduction stacking was fixed. Aegis was fixed for TA, and necros didn't get the ability to spread poison.

All in all, great update!

The fact that these people meet about balance and actively decide to ignore some of the blatant imbalances amazes me.

I'm going to be trying some new sin builds with these changes and with the rework done for pets, I can't wait to solo splinter barrage again.

Just topping it off with tonics being silenced is pure bliss! I don't have to do my business in districts anymore with half of my time screaming "SHUT UP YETI!!!!"

Just yesterday I came up with a Signet of Midnight/Sand Shards dervish build that I was hoping to take to UW.

Today, I find Sand Shards completely overhauled. Well, so much for that thought.

I find myself liking more of the fixes thandisliking them, overall. Pet buff = great, SoS fix = great, the mesmer skills they fixed = great. Don't like the Restoring Finale nerf, though, as that really was the only way Paragons had to go for a soloing build. Assassins also got a bit overbuffed, considering SF is still running around just fine.

love the selfless spirit buff

To continue your SF discussion, please keep it out of the update thread. It's been moved here:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...39#post4788239

What gripes me the most is that the Dev team are spoon-fed the current problems in GvG via the Balance forums - Yet somehow , time after time , manage to ignore them completetly.

The last quarterly update was focused primarily on PvE - You then stated the next major update would be focused on 'PvP Love'. So this quarterly update we have been anticipating consists of 3 Skills that are currently seeing play in GvG - none of which will stop them seeing use.

Here's a novel idea , use the Balance forums izzy setup - you know the one you set up specifically to help you balance the game. Read the problems they are presenting you, Then work towards fixing them.

I was very satisfied with the update, especially since skills like sand shards, vow of piety, and armor of sanctity were extremely impractical. The AoE on sand shards looks VERY fun, and like it will be very useful in PvE, due to not having to be ripped off. Combining it with some cripple so enemies stay in your death zone I imagine will be very effecient. Vow of Piety alone makes wind prayers more appealing for PvE. And Armor of Sanctity looks like a great anti melee skill, with all around damage reduction.

HOWEVER, in all honesty the Conviction PvE update looks terribly OP'd. Personally, I think Conviction served a fine purpose before, and buffing it in the way they did opens it up for E/D's to run around with it and laugh at melee with the 50% block. Although, I guess it is PvE so balance doesnt matter to anet in it.

I also greatly appreciate the ranger PvE pet update. However, in all fairness I think this ability should have been reserved for Ranger primaries. IMO.

I'm very delighted at both the skill updates and the detailed dev notes that specifically address why and what they did to EACH AND EVERY SKILL. They also stated a goal they had for each class in this update, which I found very professional and encouraging for what Anet will do.

10/10 for creativeness with the skills
10/10 on presentation
?/10 on the skill updates themselves - I won't be able to log on till next week, so although the updates LOOK very good, I'll reserve judgement until I actually see the results of these changes.

Great job Linsey and live team. I was very peeved that you held off on an update for the whole month of July because the update you delivered before that was later in the month than normal, and therefore you "needed a few weeks to see the skills play out," but I must say that pumping out this quality and descriptive skill update made the month wait worth it, and makes me eager to see what you will do with the quarterly update. Of course, now that you reminded me you can deliver when given time, I will wait patiently for that quarterly update.

PS: I've been b**ching for well over a year about the tipeetoeing around substantial derv skill updates that changed some of the weaker mechanics (wind prayers) and am finally vindicated.

PPS: Anet's one blatant fault this update... they buff sin skills so they can "run into the thick of things" but all those updates are pointless because you can still perma Shadowform, GG.

* Comfort Animal: decreased Energy cost to 5. Functionality changed to: "You heal your animal companion for 20..104 Health. If your companion is dead, it is resurrected with 10..58% Health. If you have Comfort Animal equipped, your animal companion will travel with you."

OMG, I TOTALLY MISS this, thank you arena net! Thank you! and you too Linsey, I saw you lurking

This is NOT the quarterly update........

I tend to agree. Masochism powered Orders. The new form is decent, but the functionality of the old form will be missed.