Guild Wars 2 Rolls Out A Big Balance Update For Elite Specializations

ArenaNet has rolled out a major balance update for Guild Wars 2 that tweaks multiple specializations and passive defensive skills. The update also buffs several elite specializations by removing the existing tradeoffs from branching out of the base classes.

“Many elite specializations have some mechanical weaknesses compared to the core profession, commonly referred to as the ‘tradeoff’ for the specialization’s new mechanics,” the studio explained. “In some cases, these tradeoffs feel natural, like when a reaper loses access to Death Shroud and gains access to Reaper’s Shroud, but in other cases, these tradeoffs feel unnatural and can contribute to making a specialization feel less fluid to play. For this update, we’ve started to look at these unnatural tradeoffs and evaluate whether they’re still necessary for the balance of the game. In many cases, we’ve simply removed the tradeoff, with the expectation that these specializations can still be balanced in other ways.”

The patch also introduces a new legendary skin collection and bug fixes for several known issues including the salvage feature. The full patch notes can be found on the Guild Wars 2 official forums if you want to dive into the details of the latest round of balance changes.