Background
- Buffs no longer prevent the acquisition of durational buffs they would nullify (e.g. Astral Fire or Darkside preventing Ewer or Refresh). Rather, they simply nullify the individual ticks from those effects. Additionally, the latest tick is banked and will be immediately received upon removal of the nullifying effect (thus UI and/or mana ticks now always instantly grant mana upon shifting out of AF).
- Animation Lock of certain rate-increasing or preparatory abilities decreased slightly, including Swiftcast, Sharpcast, Surecast, Presence of Mind, Lightspeed, Emergency Tactics, and Thin Air.
Monk
- The Damage bonus attached to Greased Lightning has been returned to late-ARR levels of 7% (total of 21% Damage, 15% Attack Speed bonus, down from 30/15). The potency of all skills has been increased by ~9% to compensate. In effect, this simply returns previously siphoned Monk damage at lower levels of Greased Lightning, which had inadvertently doubled the Damage costs of GL loss relative to its original state (5% each per stack).
- Greased Lightning now fades by 1 stack at a time. GL-I lasts 18 seconds, GL-II lasts 16 seconds, and GL-III lasts 14 seconds.
- The Forbidden Chakra and Meditation have been delinked. Purification replaced by a trait of equal acquisition level, Tacit Flow, which causes Chakra generated while already at maximum Chakra to instead generate 2.5% MP and 5% TP. (*See changes to Fists and Riddles.)
- Monk/Pugilist base piety increased by ~40%. This is to devalue Refresh and Mana Shift while allowing them to again use Mana as a granular resource.
- Chakra maximum increased to 7. The Forbidden Chakra now consumes all available Chakra for 50 potency each. (Each has a 10% chance not to be consumed during Fists of Wind.)
- Meditation now causes a global cooldown equal to half a GCD, to a maximum of 1.2 seconds.
- Form Shift now causes a global cooldown equal to 2/3s a GCD, to a maximum of 1.5 seconds.
- Tornado Kick now has a cooldown equal to 4 GCDs (further decreased by Fists of Wind), to a maximum of 10 seconds.
- Tornado Kick now triples the effect of the Monk's current Fists stance for its use and 5 seconds thereafter, deals 300 potency to the initial target (note the potency adjustments to devalue GL3 dependence, above) and 150 to all other enemies within 5 yards. Still consumes all stacks of GL, buts its synergy with the revised FoW (below) allows for much more rapid regeneration. (Each stack also has a 10% chance not to be consumed during Fists of Wind.)
- Fists of Wind, Earth, and Fire now have a slight mana cost to activation and slowly consume mana over time, but their CDs have been reduced to half a GCD, to a maximum of 1.2 seconds, and their animation lock has been greatly decreased.
- Fists of Wind now increases attack speed by 5%, decreases recast times by 10%, and increases movement speed by 15%. (Resource abilities instead have a 10% chance not to consume their resources.)
- Fists of Earth now decreases damage taken by 10%, increases the duration of your Monk buffs generated by 20%, and decreases the duration of most debuffs received by 40%.
- Fists of Fire now increases damage dealt by 5%, critical strike chance by 10%, and critical strike bonus by 15%.
- All elemental Tackle abilities now have their own secondary stage. This second stage is determined by the stance used during the first, and is not disabled by changing Fists.
- Earth Tackle -> Avalanche - Earth Tackle now deals 140 potency. Avalanche charges your target up to 15 yards away, knocking back all enemies in your path; does no damage.
- Wind Tackle -> Double of Wind - Wind Tackle now deals 100 potency + a 6-second DoT at 20 potency per tick; Double of Wind only inflicts the same DoT, non-stacking.
- Fire Tackle -> Red Lotus - Fire Tackle now deals 100 potency. Red Lotus then deals 30 potency to all enemies within 5 yards of the Monk.
- Riddle of Wind is now its own skill. Riddles no longer force the player into their related Fists stance, nor end upon leaving it, but still cannot be used simultaneously. Their mana costs are such that unless dropping Fists between uses (viable for burst requirements, but far from optimal for sustained damage), they can only afford RoF to be wholly maximized once every 50 seconds.
- Riddle of Fire - 60-second recast time. Causes damage dealt to generate attack power. Drains mana over time, increasing as % of attack power embonused does.
- Riddle of Wind - 60-second recast time. Allows offensive abilities (SP, ST, EF, TK) to be used even while cooling at cost to mana based on potency and % cooldown time remaining.
- Riddle of Earth - 60-second recast time. Causes damage received to have a chance based on damage taken, dodged, or absorbed to generate Chakra and refresh your buffs. While active, no Monk buff can fall below 4 seconds' duration. Consumes mana based on the number of buffs frozen and per Chakra generated.
- Brotherhood now generates effect from all skills used during its effect, including heals.
- Perfect Balance recast time reduced to 90 seconds.
BLM
- By default, Enochian, Fire IV, and Blizzard IV are combined into a single key (separable options still available).
- Astral Fire and Umbral Ice returned to a 12-second duration, but Enochian now has a hidden timer of 3 seconds from after the loss of AF/UI before it actually fades.
- (See background changes.) UI/MP ticks now granted instantly upon shifting out of AF.
- Transpose recast time reduced to 10 seconds.
- Manaward recast time reduced to 90 seconds.
- Make the advantages/disadvantages of Astral Fire and Umbral Ice in themselves and unto each other consistent per stack. Astral Fire and Umbral Ice now decrease the cast times of the opposite element by 20% per stack, rather than 50% only at 3 stacks. Each stack of Astral Fire now decreases the mana costs of Ice spells, and each stack of Umbral Ice of Fire spells, by 25%. Astral Fire no longer decreases the damage of Ice spells, nor Umbral Ice of Fire spells.
- The damage bonus to Fire spells of Astral Fire has been decreased to 20% per stack, to a maximum of 60% (previously 40/60/80). ALL elemental spell potencies have been increased by ~20% to compensate. (This results in roughly identical Fire damage, and significantly increased Ice damage.) This allows for greater symmetry, a less punishing ice phase, and slightly improves upon the value of Umbral Heart rotations.
Actual potencies:
- Fire - 220 potency. [+4]
- Fire II - 110 potency. [+14]
- Fire III - 290 potency. [+2]
- Fire IV - 310 potency. [-2]
- Flare - 310 potency. [-2] Now diminishes at 15/30/45/60%... damage over targets, or a minimum of 198 relative potency, up from 140.
- Blizzard I - 220 potency. [+40]
- Blizzard II - 80 potency. [+30]
- Blizzard III - 290 potency. [+50]
- Freeze - 160 potency. [+60] This still generates damage just 16 short of Fire II spam, or 40 short of the minimum damage of the here-revised Flare, or 20 potency more than the minimum damage of current Flare.