Thread: After Much Waiting...

I give you the first blog.

http://my.lotro.com/user-55/

War-cry
AoE DoT
AoE HoT; Slightly Improves Evade by a Rating for a moderate duration
+1%Tactical Damage to Nearby Fellowship members for 10 seconds
On Critical, Applies a Lifetap

Will that tap be applied on every crit of the dot? Crit on application? Same question goes for all uses of lifetap on crit.

Edit: Thanks for the teasers!

Looking good so far. The dps looks like we will be applying small buffs to the fellowship as well. This could make us a bit more wanted. Ranged dps looks the most interesting by far changing gambit builders to ranged attacks. Sweet! Glad to see you got rid of the name salvation.
...
looking at tanking. Looks like war cry gives a buff to evade rating. Then brink of victory will give a longer buff if war cry is up. Is the magnitude of the buff increasing or just the duration? Then if Surety of death is stacked again will this increase duration/magnitude again or will it be just as effective if i hit BoV then SoD with the third stack useless? This still hasnt touched mitigation. I am assuming this will not be dealt with at all. Correct?

Edit: am i reading this correct? In determination each builder gives us a 2% chance for FULL B/E/P or is it reffering to partials? If full B/E/P then thats awesome!!! And if it is full B/E/P will it push us over cap temorarily? That would be the icing on the cake! And another thought here. War Cry says it gives off an AoE HoT? So we have more than conviction to heal fellows with?

Agreed, hooray for no Salvation Although I still prefer Concentration to Assailment for the ranged DPS stance, I can live with it

Battle Prep - will there be a cooldown, or can we use this at-will outside combat? Does it mean we can fire off damageless skills like our HOTs and SM/ST out of combat?

Stances - what will the corresponding LI legacies change to? How will WotW work now, in regards to its own bonuses, as well as what stance-effects skills inherit? Obviously, if WotW counts as "no stance", then its going to be really inferior to any normal stance, even if it gives you more bonuses on its own.

I'd love to see WotW become a specifically "boss tanking" stance, since thats basically what its for with a 15m cooldown and expire-out-of-combat, with its own "uber stance-effects" for skills tailored to what you need most in boss fights - crit defense, mitigations, debuffs, group buffs, etc.

All three stances increase ICPR, was the goal to make us largely power-independent in short to medium fights, the way hunters are?

Drool at ranged spear gambits....Hampering Jav and Jav Toss Range legacies just got +++. Does Jav Toss Range affect the range of Spear Gambits too?

The new double-builder buffs are meant to counter our Finesse penalty, I'm guessing, to make up for our cr@ppy mits? You specifically mention common damage for those - Quick Thrust wont inherit your weapon damage type (or Shield damage type, if anyone ever used Spikes)?

Is the range damage bonus on skills in Assailment a buff on us or a debuff on the target?

Will skills remain Ranged jav skills in Assailment, even if we're in melee range, or like Hunters, will we automatically switch to melee mode? If the former, then Assailment might end up being superior to Recklessness even for melee DPS, since Javs have higher DPS ratings than Spears - depending on what bonuses Spear Gambits get in Reck vs A$$ (really need to think about that name again...)

Group buffs are awesome. Wardens should be much desired in groups as a DPS in Assailment.

Does Assailment turn melee Fist skills into ranged ones too?

Lifetap is a single drain, Pulsing Lifetap is a DOT drain, I figure?

So far this is looking good. I think there will be a lot to learn/relearn about playing a Wa(r)den.

I have a lot of questions as well, but until we see more I will hold off as most of it pertains to all the other skills we have and how they will be affected... along with our LI Legacy's ...

Good things come to those who wait.... and wait and are very persistant...

Thanks Orion for this first blog... will be waiting for the future ones...

Blog quote: "Determination remains the tanking stance. Assailment replaces Conservation and becomes the ranged DPS stance."

Is it just me that's a little concerned about this? Currently on live my Determination does 156.1 icpr versus the 662.4 icpr in Conservation. While the 1429.7 icmr and 360 crit defence is nice, I prefer tanking in Conservation for the higher icpr and 600 evade/block which has lead me to choosing that stance over the apparent "tanking" stance for that reason.

In the blog it says: "Determination increases Morale and Power Regeneration, Increases Critical Chance Reduction, Increases Block, Parry and Evade and alters many of the Gambits to reflect the goals of tanking."

So fingers crossed the stats will be kept the same that Conservation has currently or be bumped up a bit from the current Determination stance. I'm concerned that power will become more of an issue (for me at least) without the high icpr of conservation. A 500ish drop to current Determination levels is quite alot.

Please correct me on anything if I'm reading his blog incorrectly. I know things will/could change but the last thing I want to do is get or spread the wrong idea about what he currently has planned.

Edit: So I don't cast an entirely dark cloud, I love the suggestions/changes as a whole - despite my minor concerns about some things - and am really looking forward to seeing them go live so I can try it out.

Caranwyn

Originally Posted by Caranwyn

Blog quote: "Determination remains the tanking stance. Assailment replaces Conservation and becomes the ranged DPS stance."

Is it just me that's a little concerned about this? Currently on live my Determination does 156.1 icpr versus the 662.4 icpr in Conservation. While the 1429.7 icmr and 360 crit defence is nice, I prefer tanking in Conservation for the higher icpr and 600 evade/block which has lead me to choosing that stance over the apparent "tanking" stance for that reason.

In the blog it says: "Determination increases Morale and Power Regeneration, Increases Critical Chance Reduction, Increases Block, Parry and Evade and alters many of the Gambits to reflect the goals of tanking."

So fingers crossed the stats will be kept the same that Conservation has currently or be bumped up a bit from the current Determination stance. I'm concerned that power will become more of an issue (for me at least) without the high icpr of conservation. A 500ish drop to current Determination levels is quite alot.

Please correct me on anything if I'm reading his blog incorrectly. I know things will/could change but the last thing I want to do is get or spread the wrong idea about what he currently has planned.

Edit: So I don't cast an entirely dark cloud, I love the suggestions/changes as a whole - despite my minor concerns about some things - and am really looking forward to seeing them go live so I can try it out.

Caranwyn

When i read that i kind of assumed that the current determination/conservation stances were just being combined. The new determination kinda feels like what WotW is now. At least im hoping this is somewhat the case. Ill wait for more from the dev before commenting further tho since at this point im just speculating.

Looks awesome! Love the group support from Assailment, I knew a ranged DPS role could be good with less DPS than a Hunter heh. Can't wait to try all this stuff out, looks like a lot to learn

Originally Posted by Caranwyn

Blog quote: "Determination remains the tanking stance. Assailment replaces Conservation and becomes the ranged DPS stance."
...
In the blog it says: "Determination increases Morale and Power Regeneration, Increases Critical Chance Reduction, Increases Block, Parry and Evade and alters many of the Gambits to reflect the goals of tanking."

I wouldn't worry about it. At least one of the other stances is getting an overhaul, and just the fact that BPE is added to Determination means it is changing as well. I would assume the ICPR is going to be at or near current Conservation level.

for all with the same blog-problem(redirection error) as me:

Wardens: Update 6 Blog #1

Posted On: January 27th, 2012
Posted By:

• Orion
  • View Profile

Posted in: Class Revision
REMINDER: Everything here can still change!
As with other classes revamp as part of last year’s expansion, I will be breaking down the changes that I am making to the Warden class over a series of days. I do this because there are a lot of changes. I think I mentioned on the forums that it would be somewhere between the Minstrel and Champion in terms of size and I ended up hitting that pretty much on the nose.
Battle Preparations
This is a skill that I have mentioned in a teaser and I glad that we should have this working for the release. Battle Preparations will turn basic gambit builders and gambit mastery builders into skills that require no target and that will be usable outside of combat. This will in turn allow the Warden to build gambits that will remain in the gambit UI until used or 30 seconds has passed - whichever comes first.
Battle Preparations can only be used outside of combat.
Stances
Determination, Assailment and Recklessness
Determination remains the tanking stance. Determination increases Morale and Power Regeneration, Increases Critical Chance Reduction, Increases Block, Parry and Evade and alters many of the Gambits to reflect the goals of tanking.
Assailment replaces Conservation and becomes the ranged DPS stance. Assailment reduces Block, Parry and Evade, Converts all Spear gambits into ranged attacks using the javelin implement, increases in-Combat Power Regeneration, Increases Ranged Damage and alters some gambits to reflect the goal of being ranged DPS.
Recklessness remains the standard melee DPS stance. Recklessness reduces Block, Parry and Evade, Increases Melee Damage, Lowers Attack Duration, Increases in-combat Power Regeneration and alters somes gambits to reflect the goal of melee DPS.
Gambit Builders
These remain the same as a base Warden and in the Determination Stance.
Quick Thrust
Deals nominal common damage in melee
Adds 2% to Block, Parry and Evade on successful hit (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to slightly decrease miss chance for 15 seconds
Shield-bash
Deals nominal common damage in melee
Adds 2% to Block, Parry and Evade on successful hit (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to slightly increase block rating for 15 seconds.
Warden’s Taunt
Deals nominal Light damage to a target at short range
Applies short Light bleed effect
Adds 2% to Block, Parry and Evade on successful hit (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to Slightly increase threat against targets
In Assailment
The gambit builders are altered as follows:
Quick Toss
Deals nominal ranged damage at 30m range
Adds 2% to Range Damage (stacks up to 3x lasts for 20 seconds.)
5% chance to add a bleed effect for 10 seconds
Behind the Shield
Deals nominal ranged damage at 30m range
Adds 2% to Range Damage (stacks up to 3x lasts for 20 seconds.)
5% chance to lower warden threat against the target
Warden’s Aim
Applies a Light DoT at 30m Range
Adds 2% to Range Damage (stacks up to 3x lasts for 20 seconds.)
5% chance to add an effect that will increase ranged skill crit damage against the target by 5% for 10 seconds
In Recklessness
The Gambit Builders are altered as follows:
Quick Stab
Deals nominal main-hand damage in melee
Adds 2% to Melee Damage (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to increase damage from Warden DoTs for 15 seconds
Shield-blast
Deals nominal main-hand damage in melee
Adds 2% to Melee Damage (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to slightly increase the Warden’s lifetaps for 15 seconds
Warden’s Scorn
Deals nominal Light damage to target in melee
Adds 2% to Melee Damage (duration 20 seconds stacking up to 3 times)
5% chance to reduce target’s Cry Resist for 15 seconds
Gambit Changes Part 1 (Fist Gambits)

In this section I want to explain the differences in gambits. To do this, I am color coding the effects that are generated by stance on the Gambit.

No Color Alteration = Standard Effects (All Stances and no stance)

Green = Determination Effects
Orange = Assailment Effects
Red = Recklessness
There will be cases where there are no color-coded entries, it simply means that the gambit functions as expressed in all stances.
Goad
Deals AoE Light Damage with DoT; 25% to Unlock Potency
Slightly Increases Threat
Slightly Decreases Threat
Precise Blow
Low Damage
Threat Gain & Threat Gain-over-time
+1% Ranged Damage to Nearby Fellowship members for 10 seconds
On Critical, Applies a Dot to the Target
War-cry
AoE DoT
AoE HoT; Slightly Improves Evade by a Rating for a moderate duration
+1%Tactical Damage to Nearby Fellowship members for 10 seconds
On Critical, Applies a Lifetap
Brink of Victory
AoE Light DoT;
Slight Threat Increase; Improves Evade by Rating for a short duration if the War-cry evade bonus is present the War-cry evade bonus is removed and replaced with a moderation duration version of this buff
+1% Tactical Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +1% is present increases to 2%
On Critical, Lifetap
Fierce Resolve
AoE Lifetap
Piercing Strike
Main-hand damage and Level dependent Light damage;
Threat Increase
+1% Ranged Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +1% is present increases to 2%
On Critical, DoT
Resolution
AoE Lifetap
Surety of Death
Main-hand damage + DoT;
Bonus Threat; Improves Evade by Rating for a short duration, if the War-cry or Brink of Victory evade bonus is present the War-cry evade bonus is removed and replaced with a moderate duration version of this buff
+2% Tactical Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +2% is present increases to 3%
On Critical, Lifetap
Spear of Virtue
Main-hand Damage and Light Damage;
Increases Threat
+2% Ranged Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +2% is present increases to 3%
On Critical, DoT
Aggression
Low Damage to a Single Target;
AoE Threat Gain
+3% Tactical Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +3% is present increases to 4%
On Critical, Pulsing Lifetap
Desolation
AoE Dot (Chance to apply Fear)
Exultation of Battle
AoE Pulsing Lifetap;
Threat over Time; Increased Threat
+3% Ranged Damage to Nearby Fellows for 10s if +3% is present increases to 4%
On Critical, DoT
This is the first of a few posts. Feel free to comment, I will be reading everything…and by the time that we are done…there will be many, many questions.

At first glance, delicious. One surprise: no changes to Desolation? Main idea of that gambit seems to stay unchanged.

So far it looks pretty interesting.

Originally Posted by droid

I'd love to see WotW become a specifically "boss tanking" stance, since thats basically what its for with a 15m cooldown and expire-out-of-combat, with its own "uber stance-effects" for skills tailored to what you need most in boss fights - crit defense, mitigations, debuffs, group buffs,

This.

OMG. I can't express how much i love this idea. This stance would carry the gambit effects of determination, and come with REALLY high B/P/E evade ratings, and add enough mitigation so we average about the same damage as a guard. I love the idea.

I prolly know the answer already, but

With these changes that you've proposed to the class, are there gonna also be changes on our avaiable Legacy pools?

I started my wa(r)den to play a complex and fun class and I did.
Now I've got three classes and I'm more and more excited. Thank god nobody is home right now, it would have been embarassing knowing that my flatmates heard me cheering and shouting.

I hope we won't need an agi-setup for ranged dps, I fear a 3rd set of legendary weaponry is already too much for me.

For the redirect error Milithion mentioned: use IE-tab in Firefox.

These changes sound nice so far. However, I am concerned with mitigations and morale/power regen in determination and how legacies will affect them.

Looks interesting. Guess ranged stance will be best for conviction kiting now. Can fire it off using more than just masteries.

Thanks Orion... see you next month...

Looks great to me so far, more than I hoped for actually. The evade bonuses are most welcome... Buffs to our group is killer.

I generaly like the "improving" gambits idea, altought it is a bit unclear at this part:
- War-cry gives t1 evade with short duration
- Brink of Victory gives t2 evade with short duration if war-cry is presented
- Surety of Death gives t2 or(?) t3 evade (in other words, will the evade bonus for SoD be larger then BoV?) if war-cry and/or BoV buff is active, respectively?

What if the attack fails (missed or B/P/E), will the buff still be applied?

Will there be a way to keep the tactical/ranged fellowship-buffs up at 4% or will you have to start over when t4 (4%) expires (or will it be like RK wriths, it tiers down, either normaly, or maybe with a new trait). Also, will these buffs add to existing buffs (10% from minstrel buffs + 4% from wardens == DPS * 1.14) or mulitplied as a separate source (DPS * 1.10 (10% from minstrel buffs) * 1.04 (4% from warden buffs))?

As another poster questioned; will the buffs from [sp],[sh],[fi] now be pure avoidance or was that a typo?

Most importantly: since it looks like you're taking us along the avoidance path of reducing damage (which aint a bad idea itself), will anything be done to wardens and finesse? if mobs have increasing finesse with difficultness of encounter (which I assume), this will once again make us God-like solo/3-man and then increasingly worse with harder instances (esp. consider how our HoTs work). I understand that you cant remove finesse altogether, but giving us a buff such as <reduce -50% of mobs outgoing finesse> will scale much better with content then pure avoidance.

Originally Posted by Solyaris

What if the attack fails (missed or B/P/E), will the buff still be applied?

Traditionally, self-buffs apply even when the attack misses. Debuffs need the attack to land to stick the effect.

Originally Posted by Solyaris

Most importantly: since it looks like you're taking us along the avoidance path of reducing damage (which aint a bad idea itself), will anything be done to wardens and finesse? if mobs have increasing finesse with difficultness of encounter (which I assume), this will once again make us God-like solo/3-man and then increasingly worse with harder instances (esp. consider how our HoTs work). I understand that you cant remove finesse altogether, but giving us a buff such as <reduce -50% of mobs outgoing finesse> will scale much better with content then pure avoidance.

Our double-builder gambits will apply 2% BPE, stacking up to 3 times. That will negate up to 18% of enemy Finesse. As long as you're using at least one double-builder gambit every rotation (which you probably are for BM already), you should be able to keep this up at Tier 3 at all times.

I have no idea how much Finesse endgame bosses have right now, someone else might be able to give an estimate based on how much they actually BPE right now, but I have to imagine 18% will erase a sizeable chunk of that.

In non-boss fights, I assume we're going to be god-mode again. 50% phys mit and capped BPE across the board without needing to change our rotations at all? Yes thank you! We'll still be vulnerable to tactical damage since we cant boost or protect our Resistance, though.

Of course thats assuming over-capping your BPE will actually mitigate Finesse. If the calculations subtract Finesse penalties from your over-capped values, we're golden. If the calculations cut off your over-capped values, THEN apply Finesse penalty, we're still boned.

Originally Posted by droid

Traditionally, self-buffs apply even when the attack misses. Debuffs need the attack to land to stick the effect.



Our double-builder gambits will apply 2% BPE, stacking up to 3 times. That will negate up to 18% of enemy Finesse. As long as you're using at least one double-builder gambit every rotation (which you probably are for BM already), you should be able to keep this up at Tier 3 at all times.

I have no idea how much Finesse endgame bosses have right now, someone else might be able to give an estimate based on how much they actually BPE right now, but I have to imagine 18% will erase a sizeable chunk of that.

In non-boss fights, I assume we're going to be god-mode again. 50% phys mit and capped BPE across the board without needing to change our rotations at all? Yes thank you! We'll still be vulnerable to tactical damage since we cant boost or protect our Resistance, though.

Of course thats assuming over-capping your BPE will actually mitigate Finesse. If the calculations subtract Finesse penalties from your over-capped values, we're golden. If the calculations cut off your over-capped values, THEN apply Finesse penalty, we're still boned.

I have looked the blog over for this double mastery thing you mentioned and i do not see it. The buffs you described look like the ones that appear to coming from the gambit builders. I may have missed it tho.

Before we get too excited let's make sure this wasn't just a typo.

Orion, is it supposed to be +2% BPE on each builder or +2% partial BPE? If it's the former, I'm with droid this is awesome!!1!!1!

Originally Posted by thunderchickn

Before we get too excited let's make sure this wasn't just a typo.

Orion, is it supposed to be +2% BPE on each builder or +2% partial BPE? If it's the former, I'm with droid this is awesome!!1!!1!

Exactly, wait for confirmation before this goes off on a 10 page discussion.

Personally, unless it busts the BPE caps, I'd rather just have the partial buffs.

Originally Posted by Erasluindor

I have looked the blog over for this double mastery thing you mentioned and i do not see it. The buffs you described look like the ones that appear to coming from the gambit builders. I may have missed it tho.

You're right, sorry, I misread - I thought these were on the double builders, not the single builders in Determination. If its just partials, then yeah that doesnt solve our mitigation gap/finesse penalty problem. Sad sigh

If it is full and not partial BPE though, I think we'll see a bit of "stance dance", and I dont know if I like that...jump to Recklessness, build a Spear gambit and refresh your T3 Melee Damage timer, jump back to Determination for the rest of your build and keep your BPE timer refreshed.

Maybe not so much in group play where the small Melee damage isnt worth it, but in solo/3-man play it definitely would be worth it to keep both buff timers up. Just a bit of a nuisance to have to stance-dance every rotation. Afraid it might lead to more macroing...

Guess we'll have to wait till Monday and see if O checks back in...

I'm not gonna lie this update looks more awesome then the Champ and Mini update I'm completely psyched. Awesome job Orion!!!!!!!!!

I adore the serious ranged role you add to Warden. This looks like a blast!

Originally Posted by horus418

Exactly, wait for confirmation before this goes off on a 10 page discussion.

Personally, unless it busts the BPE caps, I'd rather just have the partial buffs.

Caps have always been to Avoidances from ratings. That's the way Guards would go over the caps (+5% Block from Block Stance). Also, DR apply to Ratings Conversions, not straight %s.

So what will be the point of Recklessness if Assailment is 30m and Recklessness is... 5? This will be the first class with ranged/melee DPS specs, so the distinctions better be significant or ranged will dominate the scene every time, and I sure hope it won't just be "melee is more dps than ranged, with the price being you have to be in melee and suffer more potential damage and requires more mobility", because since Wardens are tanks, that's not really a price to pay at all.

Gotta hit this one right or we're looking at another Ardour (which is still mostly unused btw, and Champs have ideas to help with that, but this is not a Champion thread).

(speaking of champion threads we have one or two over there patiently awaiting dev feedback. just sayin.)

Originally Posted by bacho

I started my wa(r)den to play a complex and fun class and I did.
Now I've got three classes and I'm more and more excited. Thank god nobody is home right now, it would have been embarassing knowing that my flatmates heard me cheering and shouting.

I hope we won't need an agi-setup for ranged dps, I fear a 3rd set of legendary weaponry is already too much for me.

For the redirect error Milithion mentioned: use IE-tab in Firefox.

With the changes to ranged damage (physical mastery) I am assuming this won't be the case.

Originally Posted by Feybobiam

So what will be the point of Recklessness if Assailment is 30m and Recklessness is... 5? This will be the first class with ranged/melee DPS specs, so the distinctions better be significant or ranged will dominate the scene every time, and I sure hope it won't just be "melee is more dps than ranged, with the price being you have to be in melee and suffer more potential damage and requires more mobility", because since Wardens are tanks, that's not really a price to pay at all.

Gotta hit this one right or we're looking at another Ardour (which is still mostly unused btw, and Champs have ideas to help with that, but this is not a Champion thread).

(speaking of champion threads we have one or two over there patiently awaiting dev feedback. just sayin.)

Ha! Nice plug there. You raise some good points that I am curious about myself. I am assuming a more in depth look at the gambit bonuses for each stance will give us an answer.

Originally Posted by cmal

With the changes to ranged damage (physical mastery) I am assuming this won't be the case.



Ha! Nice plug there. You raise some good points that I am curious about myself.

except for maybe the missrate. Mine is still pretty high but admittedly i have neglected agi pretty bad.

Originally Posted by Feybobiam

(speaking of champion threads we have one or two over there patiently awaiting dev feedback. just sayin.)

Shoo Bobion!

In all seriousness though, I'm not too worried about the different DPS roles. I don't think it's going to be the same as Champs with Ardour/Fervour just because those seemed to be two ways to do the same thing. Warden Assailment seems to be all about group support and buffs, with obviously some DPS. Recklessness seems more about just pure DPS without much else of a benefit.

Just my opinion though, it could turn into that type of situation with Champs but I hope it doesn't. Although Ardour is a lot better now, fun to use in lots of AOE instances like Foundry

Originally Posted by KahnyaGnorc

Caps have always been to Avoidances from ratings. That's the way Guards would go over the caps (+5% Block from Block Stance). Also, DR apply to Ratings Conversions, not straight %s.

Doh! I should have thought of that... I just can't see that being the case though, if so I'm all for it so long as we don't become too OP.

Originally Posted by Feybobiam

So what will be the point of Recklessness if Assailment is 30m and Recklessness is... 5? This will be the first class with ranged/melee DPS specs, so the distinctions better be significant or ranged will dominate the scene every time, and I sure hope it won't just be "melee is more dps than ranged, with the price being you have to be in melee and suffer more potential damage and requires more mobility", because since Wardens are tanks, that's not really a price to pay at all.

Gotta hit this one right or we're looking at another Ardour (which is still mostly unused btw, and Champs have ideas to help with that, but this is not a Champion thread).

(speaking of champion threads we have one or two over there patiently awaiting dev feedback. just sayin.)

Well, unless he changes capstones and legacies, we'll still do more damage in Recklessness because of -attack duration and melee damage bonuses from capstones. I see this as giving us 3 solid options depending on the group make up.

It's hard when I go from spec for to the forums, I sometimes miss little words that end up being very huge; I apologize. HEre is the first FAQ on the blogs. For the record - I will be checking in again on Monday.

War-cry and other Lifetaps on Crit

If all goes well, the Lifetaps will trigger with each critical success. Now, we have been a little more conservative with the damage and health transfers from the Lifetaps to ensure that these are not overpowering. There are some hurdles to clear here, but I am hopeful that I can get this working - as with everything listed herein it could change.

Tiering Buffs

Specifically the Evade buffs you gain from War-cry, Brink and Resolution. War-cry applies a small bonus to Evade Rating that will last for a fair amount of time. When you use Brink of Victory you will gain a larger bonus to Evade Rating for a short period of time, if you have War-cry active - it is removed and replaced with the bonus of Brink and the duration is extended to last match the duration of the War-cry buff. The same holds true as you move up the chain.

The goal is to reward you for using lesser gambits, but not punish you for using higher tiered Gambits. If you leap directly to Resolution you will get the best possible Evade bonus, with a short duration - but if you use Resolution again you will replace the buff with the long duration version of Resolution.

You got that?

Gambit Builders

BPE bonuses are still partials only. They will now allow for +6% for each of Block, Parry and Evade.

War-cry HoT

Typo - it is just a normal HoT.

Battle Preparation

The skill will enable use of Gambit Builders and Masteries for 30 seconds. Any Gambit Builders or Masteries used while under the effects of Battle Preparation WILL NOT apply boosts or bonuses. Battle Preparation has a short cooldown, can only be used out of combat and upon executing a Gambit Battle Preparation is dispelled. Additionally, if Battle Preparation expires before you execute the Gambit you have built it will be removed from the Gambit UI. (This may not end up this way.)

Questions about Legacies or other skills

Answered in a later Blog - promise.

Javelin Range

This legacy I will talk about - I have to reduce the max range to meet the range on Hunters.

Spear Gambits

Spear Gambits that have been altered into ranged Gambits will be affected by the range legacy.

Fist Gambits

Because Fist is now the "ranged" line we are making the Range on many of the skills 25 meters - of course anything that is AoE will still require you to be close, but if the skill is single-target you can be at medium range.

Stances

Stances are getting ICPR in all cases, this is because you burn power quickly and we want you to remain an active participant in battles.

Determination takes the best parts of Conservation and Determination and incorporates them.

Assailment damage buff is on you. Assailment name is not changing. Assailment skills are always at range - now, this is something that I have not nailed down but unlike Hunter ranged skills I might impose a min distance on Javelin-based skills, this would be 100% based on where the DPS ends up.

Way of the Warden != Stance it will now enhance each stance for a period of time.

Conviction Kiting in Assailment

Considering that the stance is also built around drawing less threat...this may prove difficult. Wait and see how Conviction is changed is my advice on this one.

I will update as we move forward.

Awesome stuff so far.

Originally Posted by Orion

Converts all Spear gambits into ranged attacks using the javelin implement,

What is this javelin implement you speak of, or did I miss something?

One slight concern, though: isn't the class becoming a bit difficult simply due to the amount of stuff one needs to remember (re. skill/gambit effects)? Yes, it is an advanced class, and that is one of the things I enjoy the most about it, but it seems as though we'll now have to remember approximately three times the info.

Overall, really good ideas. Thanks for the info, and keep it coming!

After hearing great revamps i have only two questions:
-warden traits will be revamped? (will we have only one for tanking , one for ranged, and one for melee? If we have only 1 tanking trait set what will be made with two legendary traits (way of shield;way of fist)?)
-The orthanc raid set will also revamped (fist set is now useless i think :S)?

Originally Posted by thunderchickn

Shoo Bobion!

In all seriousness though, I'm not too worried about the different DPS roles. I don't think it's going to be the same as Champs with Ardour/Fervour just because those seemed to be two ways to do the same thing. Warden Assailment seems to be all about group support and buffs, with obviously some DPS. Recklessness seems more about just pure DPS without much else of a benefit.

Just my opinion though, it could turn into that type of situation with Champs but I hope it doesn't. Although Ardour is a lot better now, fun to use in lots of AOE instances like Foundry

I'd be worried. Here's a couple scenarios that come to mind immediately.

If Assailment is meant to compete with Recklessness in terms of equal DPS, we'll be facing a situation similar to RKs had previously with Lightning and Fire. Lightning provided better or equal damage without the necessity to remain rooted for the sake of inductions, and didn't need to worry about DoTs getting wiped (before RKs had a tool or two to deal with that). The price they paid was shorter range (20m vs 30m), increased power consumption and bigger spikes and harder to manage threat, but RKs were okay with it because it was simpler. You had free mobility and didn't have to deal with the #### that Fire put on you. Fast forward to today, and Assailment will have a bigger range than Recklessness (which is certainly not 10m against Assailment, it's actually 25m FOR Assailment), deal assumedly (a perhaps big assumption) equal damage, with... well, zero drawbacks. At least that we yet know of. The biggest thing to me would be power, which would imply ranged burst vs melee over time, which is one of the smarter routes. As a quick little addition, I hope we all remember how ranged and melee worked in the LT boss of BG.

Another one is if Wardens can figure out how to master ranged vs tanking (and they will, you can never stop the player - just how long was the Watcher Hunter-tanked?), we could have another big problem on our hands - legitimate, seemingly dev-encouraged ranged tanking, with a class that was designed with both abilities from the ground up. Players will treat it like Minstrels buffing AND healing, or Burglars DPSing AND mezzing, and they'll scream bloody murder if it gets mucked up. "The only thing a Warden is good for," they'll say (and they may be right!). This one has to be monitored carefully. The solution is obviously let the Assailment Warden just take more damage, but... Wardens are tanks, and they take way too much damage as it is, even in their most survivable stance.

Of course, like you mentioned, Glorno, if we're dealing with a spec/stance that is mainly focused on group-helping abilities and buffs and stuff (not that I know what in the world that could mean aside from group heals and javelin debuffs, which they already have), and the Gambits are focused on that more than DPS, allowing Recklessness to take a clear lead in DPS without taking all of Assailment's lunch money, that's not so bad, and I'll be interested to see how it works out. But really... I think we can all agree that has potential to be worse than Trapper of Foes for Hunters. Who brings a melee tank class with worthwhile melee DPS to... debuff and try to group heal? The Gambits better focus on that a lot, and if they focus more on DPS... then see the above two points.

I don't have an answer or a solution. But Wardens could be going somewhere worse than they are now.

Originally Posted by horus418

Well, unless he changes capstones and legacies, we'll still do more damage in Recklessness because of -attack duration and melee damage bonuses from capstones. I see this as giving us 3 solid options depending on the group make up.

If this is true, why would anyone use Assailment? Recklessness deals more damage, and both stances offer ICPR. It'd get left behind and be Ardour 2.0.

Originally Posted by Altwine

Awesome stuff so far.


What is this javelin implement you speak of, or did I miss something?

Takes javelin for damage calculations rather than main hand weapon.

Originally Posted by Orion

[...]Tiering Buffs[...]

I see! What about the tiering buffs of melee and ranged dmg bonus to fellowship? Can you keep them at t2 (4%) by reusing the t4 gambit before the buff expires or will it start at 1% (or maybe tier down to 3%?) again?

while is assailment some gambits provide a ranged damage increase to nearby fellowship members... did the warden just become a semi support class???

regardless Orion you sir deserve some serious kudos, this stuff is freaking amazing. nice work. now just make sure it all works please lol, good luck to you.

Originally Posted by Feybobiam

I'd be worried. Here's a couple scenarios that come to mind immediately.

A couple of your concerns seem to be shared by Orion and are being addressed already. There are quite a few Gambits just in the Fist line ones that we have seen that lower threat when in Assailment. I'm sure this is to deter any prevalent form of ranged tanking.

The other thing is the buffs. We are getting new stuff not just relying on what we have now. Ranged DPS is not just coming from the current javelin skills we have. We are able to buff our group (up to at least +3% ranged/tactical damage, and we've only seen less than 1/3 of our Gambits!).

I think Recklessness = pure DPS and Assailment = DPS/support. I don't think either will step on the other's toes too much, at least from this preliminary information they don't look like they will.