ArenaNet recently shared its latest studio update for Guild Wars 2. Inside the update there was a lot of information and you can read it in full on the official website. However, I wanted to provide some highlights. Be sure to share your favorite thoughts and news in the comments. Also, keep in mind that most of these will go into effect with the June 28 patch.
First, the Lead Systems Designer Cameron Rich shared an update on Strike Missions in End of the dragons. In short, all of them doubled the amount of gold given as a reward for completing them. There is also the change that when you complete the weekly challenge mode you will get an Ancient Summoning Stone for each Strike mission and the challenge mode will reward you with the Everbloom Imperial Infusion. It seems the community is overall very excited about these changes.
Afterwards, we were informed of how the restructuring of the development team created a small group that did not have immediate tasks and therefore were able to go to work on projects that had remained in the backlog. The special forces training area and dungeon rewards changes since earlier this month are apparently due to this team. That same team has been working hard on a few other improvements for players to enjoy. One not talked about enough is that they are adding contrast modes for your slider (Off, Low and High) to make it easier to see your slider in the game! This will look especially good in crowded events. They are also getting rid of the current repair system. The armor will no longer break and will need to be repaired after being hit. Instead, you can use repair canisters and anvils to gain small health and defense bonuses that last 12 hours. This upgrade will work in PvE and WvW, not PvP. The team is also making it easier for players to enter Raids with the Emboldened system and revamping the LFG tool. Finally, Senior Game Designer Nick Hernandez shared that they had exceeded and renewed the instance limits for all previous instances End of the dragons. The revamp will no longer trigger you if you accidentally jump over the invisible boundary, but you will simply be pushed back into the instance boundary.
The update concluded with Lead Skills and Balance Designer Solar talking about updates to professions. The team has tweaked the cumulative attribute bonuses from Spotter and Banner of Discipline to now provide perks. They also made alacrity and haste support a big part of the update and made it easier to share the fury and a little easier to use too. Finally, the team pointed out that with the June 28 patch, every profession receives a “gift” which I have copied below for you. You can read the full professions patch notes now on the official site.
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Elementalist: Tempest will now be able to provide alacrity to the party, with a reworking of their great master trait Lucid Singularity.
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Engineer: We’ve updated more Shotgun weapon abilities to better support Engineer Enhanced Damage builds, and adjusted the minimum and maximum ranges on several limited range traits (such as Aim Rocket, High Caliber, and Scope-free) so that there is an effective range in which all can work together.
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Guardian: We’ve updated the Guardian’s Seal abilities, including a significant improvement to the Seal of Resolve.
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Mesmer: Timers will be able to effectively choose to deliver haste or alacrity based on their master stroke selection and do so more easily, with greater range and application methods that are easier to keep up with moving groups .
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Necromancer: Updates to Warhorn and its Banshee’s Wail trait will improve the Necromancer’s ability to provide healing to allies.
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Ranger: Spirit abilities have been revised to provide perks and allow rangers to choose to provide alacrity with the Nature’s Vengeance trait.
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Revenant: The Centaur’s Legendary Stance abilities and Salvation traits have been updated to better support healing roles, while the Herald will now be able to provide haste to allies with the Draconic Echo trait.
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Rogue: The Shadow Arts line of traits has been updated to provide better support options for ghost synergy, as well as updated options for stealth and defensive gameplay.
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Warrior: Banner abilities have been revised to provide perks. Through the deployment of banners, an update to the Warhorn Charge skill, and the Martial Cadence Tactics trait, warriors can provide haste to allies.
by Tommy Williams
Source: Geek Tyrant
