Today Turbine has announced new Developer Diary: Volume III: Book 1 Skill Upgrades by Brian "Zombie Columbus"
The goals for this project were:
- Enhance underused skills.
- Give bonuses that are exciting.
- Don’t greatly alter relative class balance.
Burglar: Mischievous Delight replaces Mischievous Glee and gains a 20% chance to add a Power over time restoration in addition to the heal over time. All buffs that increase Mischievous Glee’s healing, will also increase the Power restoration!
Captain: Watchful Shield-brother replaces Shield-brother and gains a buff to morale and power regen. The skill now provides a moderate amount of in-combat morale and power regeneration. This buff is not massive, as it is on a maintenance free toggle skill, and will assist with both healing and power costs on a lucky fellowship member!
Champion: True Heroics replaces Heroics and gains a self-buff based on your active stance. In Book 1, True Heroics will also grant the Champion 30 second self buffs, based on the stance they are in.
- Fervour - +30% incoming healing
- Glory - +15% melee damage
- Ardour - +60% to in-combat Power regeneration
PS: Using this skill with no stance will give no buff. So don’t do that
Guardian: Warrior's Fortitude replaces Warriors Heart and gains a self-buff based on your stance
- Block – Increase block and partial block by 1% each (not rating, a flat increase that will stack with everything!)
- Parry – Increase parry and partial parry by 1% each
- Threat – 2% decreased incoming damage from all sources
- Overpower – Increase melee critical by 2%
Hunter: Beneath Care replaces Beneath Notice. The power cost of the skill has been removed and now restores power over time.
Lore-master: Continual Air-Lore replaces Air-lore. This skill is now a toggle skill with a power upkeep cost. For the level 64 version of the skill, Turbine removed the need to remember to re-apply the buff by making it a toggle. To keep the skill balanced, an upkeep cost was added which is lower than the power cost of re-applying the skill once every minute.
Minstrel: Lyric of the Hammerhand replaces Lay of the Hammerhand and will now negate all induction knockback. Note this does not prevent interruption effects. Remember that Lay has a long cooldown, drains a lot of power to keep active, drains even more power when you are hit and is turned off if you are stunned.
Rune-keeper: Armaments of “Element” replaces Weapon of “Element” and adds a bonus to tactical and ranged damage. You can now choose to spend some power on upkeep to gain a bonus in tactical damage.
Warden: Unerring Strike is a new 5 Spear gambit that is difficult to block, parry or evade and leaves a damage over time effect that stacks with other Spear gambits. This skill is very much an upgraded version of Mighty Blow. It has the same Gambit requirements, with one more spear on the end to make it 5 (Spear, Shield, Fist, Spear, Shield). It bypasses enemy avoidances, and leaves a common damage DoT on the foe. This damage over time effect will stack with the other two spear-based DoT’s, Mighty Blow and Power Attack, to help fulfill all your DoT stacking desires!
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