Earlier this evening a skill update preview landed on the Guild Wars wiki for an update expected to go into effect next Thursday the 25th. From the look of the notes, it's the big one we've all been waiting on.
The notes begin by asserting that Shadow Form, Obsidian Flesh, and a few 600/Smite skills will be getting some changes. However, this won't be a general nerf that causes players to simply move on to the next overpowered flavor of the month build. The team has taken a long look at the underlying issue of overpowered builds in general, so it will be very interesting to see what comes of it.
Moving beyond that, the notes gave much more specific information on other skills and builds that will be getting updates. Many of the things we've come to accept as a cliche -- Spirit Spamming Rits, weak Hammer Warriors, and more -- will be getting shaken up next week.
The notes are of course preliminary and subject to change, but for now they serve as a good indication of what will happen next week, so take a look here, and gather ye DTSC groups while ye may.
Reader Comments (6)
Posted: Feb 19th 2010 9:56PM GaaaaaH said
Have they changed Sliver farming yet?
Posted: Feb 20th 2010 4:22AM Nmaster64 said
I finally, FINALLY get a working Shadow Form build and they're gonna end up killing it before I get the chance to really use it.
LEAVE SHADOW FORM ALONE (in pve)
LEAVE SHADOW FORM ALONE (in pve)
Posted: Feb 20th 2010 8:27AM (Unverified) said
Yesterday was a low point for Guild Wars. I read about the lore (new article at another site) in Guild Wars 2, and I didn't like it. I disliked it very much actually. I also read about the pending nerf. It's disappointing. I wasn't a Shadow Form Assassin, but I thought that it was cool. How does nerfing Shadow Form help the community? With titles taking years to accomplish, I think it's good that players found a way to speed things up.
The wording on the wiki annoyed me too. It was like, "We have a vision for the Assassin, but we're not going to tell you what that is."
ArenaNet, as a long time supporter of your game, I'm losing patience with you. What's with all these secrets? Are you worried that Blizzard will steal your thunder again? Well... it might be too late...
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/
That sounds similar to GW2... no?
So instead of an expansion or sequel in 2010, we're getting more secrets and more nerfs. In 2011, will it matter or will I simply be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Maybe it's not too late. Maybe you can be more open with the community, like you once were... and while we wait for the sequel, maybe you can make the original Guild Wars more fun. I'm doubtful that either will happen.
ArenaNet, why not balance things that matter?
FACT: The game is called Guild Wars, but it's actually less expensive to form a guild, get a cape and buy a guild hall than to buy ONE black dye. Why are you so cheap with the good loot, but neglect the community aspects of an online game? How about you balance that?! It's more important that people have a reason to play together. Instead, I can play through most of the game without having to group with anyone.
FACT: If you used one Zaishen key per day, you'd complete the related title track in about 55 years... FIFTY FIVE YEARS... do you hate your players? Why would you design something like that?
We get this micromanagement of skills, but what about the big picture?
The wording on the wiki annoyed me too. It was like, "We have a vision for the Assassin, but we're not going to tell you what that is."
ArenaNet, as a long time supporter of your game, I'm losing patience with you. What's with all these secrets? Are you worried that Blizzard will steal your thunder again? Well... it might be too late...
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/
That sounds similar to GW2... no?
So instead of an expansion or sequel in 2010, we're getting more secrets and more nerfs. In 2011, will it matter or will I simply be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Maybe it's not too late. Maybe you can be more open with the community, like you once were... and while we wait for the sequel, maybe you can make the original Guild Wars more fun. I'm doubtful that either will happen.
ArenaNet, why not balance things that matter?
FACT: The game is called Guild Wars, but it's actually less expensive to form a guild, get a cape and buy a guild hall than to buy ONE black dye. Why are you so cheap with the good loot, but neglect the community aspects of an online game? How about you balance that?! It's more important that people have a reason to play together. Instead, I can play through most of the game without having to group with anyone.
FACT: If you used one Zaishen key per day, you'd complete the related title track in about 55 years... FIFTY FIVE YEARS... do you hate your players? Why would you design something like that?
We get this micromanagement of skills, but what about the big picture?
Posted: Feb 20th 2010 11:21PM cray said
Your spewing hate, not a thing you said was remotely in context. You make assumptions that you can only get one Zaishen key a day. I've seen Youtube vides of players getting at least a a hundred at a time.
Black dye is only as expensive as the market swings, one day it might be worth more than a guild, another day it might be less than that. It's all about supply and demand. There are ways to acquire black dye without large sums of money. Some people will trade dye for certain things,
Your post sounds like a lot crying because things are as easy as you like. Sorry but if you can't succeed in casual MMO like GUILD WARS then you don't belong playing an MMO. PvE is the easiest part of GUILD WARS. The PvP which where most these skill balances are going to be applied is the toughest and most competitive MMO outside of EVE. No other game is more constantly balanced than GUILD WARS PvP.
Reply
Black dye is only as expensive as the market swings, one day it might be worth more than a guild, another day it might be less than that. It's all about supply and demand. There are ways to acquire black dye without large sums of money. Some people will trade dye for certain things,
Your post sounds like a lot crying because things are as easy as you like. Sorry but if you can't succeed in casual MMO like GUILD WARS then you don't belong playing an MMO. PvE is the easiest part of GUILD WARS. The PvP which where most these skill balances are going to be applied is the toughest and most competitive MMO outside of EVE. No other game is more constantly balanced than GUILD WARS PvP.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2010 8:15AM (Unverified) said
I wrote a lengthy reply, but it didn't get posted.
Heh, so I'll sum it up... How will these changes help sell copies of the game?
There's a drought of new content, so why waste time on this? I think it's more important that ArenaNet give players a reason to play. Nerfs usually do the opposite.
Reply
Heh, so I'll sum it up... How will these changes help sell copies of the game?
There's a drought of new content, so why waste time on this? I think it's more important that ArenaNet give players a reason to play. Nerfs usually do the opposite.







