Dev diary: Isengard Champion

[Roatrux]

Fervour Cost with Two-handed Weapons

The extra fervour required for 2h champs to execute skills is gone: example-brutal strikes requires 4 ferv consumes 3 ferv , from now on skills require as much as they consume , in this case 3 ferv.

The Shield-less Tank

While tanking the champion seemed much like a guardian but with a lot less survivability; with isengard things will change , shields are going away for champs and they will get a few improvements and changes to certain skills to adapt to the use of glory stance and the stance itself will get some love.

Legacy Changes

There have also been some changes to legacies to ensure that we are not making some skills become infinite use and the like.

Sudden Defence Cooldown Mod: This legacy formerly increased the duration of the Sudden Defence skill effect. Now it reduces the cooldown on the skill by a max of 30 seconds.

Hedge Armour Points Mod: We replaced the Sudden Defence Parry and Evade Modifier with a legacy that will actually affect the Champion skills. This will now increase the amount of armour points granted by hedge.

Battle Acuity Duration: Formerly the Rising Ire Cooldown, this legacy now increases the duration of the Battle Acuity skill effect.

Other Skills and Legendary Traits

I have highlighted the skills and stance specific alterations, but now let’s look at some of the other skills and legendary traits that have also undergone transformations.

Second Wind: Second Wind no longer requires a defeat response effect. The skill now restores power to the Champ every 2 seconds for 10 seconds and can be used every 10 seconds. The skill can only be used while you are in combat.

Heroics/True Heroics: The baseline version of the skill has had its cooldown reduced to 5 minutes. The advanced version of the skill now reacts differently based off the stance that the Champion is using. When in Glory, the skill will taunt enemies in the area surrounding the Champion and apply a damage preventing bubble to them. In Fervour, the skill will increase their critical hit chance and their chance and apply a damage preventing bubble. In Ardour, the skill will apply a combat and speed slow to targets within range of the Champion and apply the damage preventing bubble.

Seeking Blade: Formerly Blocking Blades, this skill no longer requires a defeat response effect. It now increases the critical chance of Relentless and Remorseless Strike. This effect lasts for 10 seconds and has a 120 second cooldown.

Raging Blade: Raging Blade no longer generates high threat in all stances. Instead the stance influences what the skill does. In Ardour, Raging Blade has an increased chance to critically hit. In Fervour, the skill increases the critical magnitude. In Glory, the skill generates high threat.

Ferocious Strikes: Ferocious Strikes now deals stepped damage. The first attack deals the lowest and increases the damage dealt on each successive hit.

Fight On: The buff applied by the skill now applies regardless of whether or not there were targets nearby to grant the power restoration portion of the skill and the cooldown was reduced to 5 minutes.

Controlled Burn: Controlled Burn has undergone a major change and one that is certain to be unpopular. The skill will no longer pre-empt stances. Instead it will increase damage dealt, speed attack duration, grant 1 fervour for each enemy defeated and provide a bonus fervour every 5 seconds. This will only last for 45 seconds. The cooldown is 5 minutes.

These are the general changes. In order to avoid a wall of text i will make separate posts with the major and more detailed changes to each stance style and the respective traits and skills that will get changed.