Combat Balance Changes - Rogue Frontier Patch 5 - Version 28.050.1 - April 7, 2025
2025년 4월 7일
Combat Balance Changes - Rogue Frontier Patch 5 - Version 28.050.1 - April 7, 2025
Axes
Despite multiple nerfs, Infernal Scythe has continued to dominate as the ZvZ damage dealer of choice, crowding out alternatives. The damage of the second swing has been increased but converted into a DoT to disincentivize zergs from running five per party.
Energy Shaper has remained a niche pick in ZvZs. Its total channel duration has been reduced, while the damage per tick has been increased to make accurate beams deadlier in a shorter time.
Because Demonfang has been a menace in ZvZ, it has received multiple nerfs to damage and resilience penetration over previous patches. Some of that damage has now been restored.
Raging Flare’s damage has been condensed and increased to provide Fire users with a quicker, more impactful long-range damage option.
Frost’s spell stack requirement has been reduced, as it felt too high on builds using less spammable abilities like Frozen Surge and Frost Nova. This will help Frost players keep enemies locked down more consistently.
Grovekeeper has fallen out of favor as both an engage and peel tank option. The bonus resistances for hitting targets have not felt impactful to Grovekeeper players, so they have been removed in favor of an instant knock-up, making engages more deadly, even against enemy cleanses.
To help Exalted Staff feel more responsive and succeed in its intended role of clearing hostile ground areas, its long cast time has been reduced.
Dreadstorm Monarch has struggled to find a strong foothold in the meta. As a result, the value of Eye of the Storm’s uncleansable resistance reduction has been increased, to help it compete with alternative pierce options.
Protection of Nature has been a strong defensive tool with a very high uptime. Its high damage reduction, paired with the bonus healing received, has resulted in targets having too much survivability too often in smaller-scale group fights, so its resistance has been reduced somewhat.
To help Fatal Blades counter fast ZvZ engages, its damage reduction now stacks higher and faster, but with reduced duration.
While Cripple has been a good tool to counter swords, adjustments have been made to help it feel powerful in more situations, more often.
The previous buff to Blade Cyclone has been reverted, as it became the default option and outperformed all other options, particularly for Carving and Infinity Blade players.
To help Ursine Maulers find more success, the damage reduction from a previous nerf, originally paired with a significant resilience penetration decrease, has been reverted.
To make Protection of the Fiends more risky, its negative resistance penalty has been increased, making it more important to combo with allies or cancel the channel early.
The Fort Sterling Cape has had its cooldown significantly reduced at higher tiers to justify its price increase and enable players to rely on it as a consistent cleanse option.
Invisibility Potion’s damage reduction has not been significant enough or lasted long enough to give opponents a fair chance to react to fully undetectable engages. Damage reduction has now been changed to reduce all damage dealt by players, making it harder to bypass the penalty with stacked damage buffs. The effect also lingers for 2 seconds after exiting stealth, rather than starting from the moment of use, giving players a chance to fight back if revealed early.
This round of balance changes is set to shake up the ZvZ battlefield ahead of the new season.
Axes
Despite multiple nerfs, Infernal Scythe has continued to dominate as the ZvZ damage dealer of choice, crowding out alternatives. The damage of the second swing has been increased but converted into a DoT to disincentivize zergs from running five per party.
- Bloody Reap (Infernal Scythe)
- 2nd swing now deals damage in 3 ticks over 2 seconds (doesn’t stack)
- Damage per tick below 40%: 85 (total damage 220 → 255)
- Damage per tick above 40%: 47 (total damage 120 → 141)
- 2nd swing now deals damage in 3 ticks over 2 seconds (doesn’t stack)
- Raging Blades (all Axes)
- Radius: 6m → 5m
- Radius: 6m → 5m
Energy Shaper has remained a niche pick in ZvZs. Its total channel duration has been reduced, while the damage per tick has been increased to make accurate beams deadlier in a shorter time.
- Divine Engine (Energy Shaper)
- Channel duration: 3.3s → 2.6s (Total ticks 11 → 9)
- Damage per tick (vs players): 96 → 117
- Damage per tick (vs mobs): 57 → 70
- Initial tick: 0.2s → 0.1s
- Channel duration: 3.3s → 2.6s (Total ticks 11 → 9)
Because Demonfang has been a menace in ZvZ, it has received multiple nerfs to damage and resilience penetration over previous patches. Some of that damage has now been restored.
- Blood Ritual (Demonfang)
- Damage per cast: 106 → 112
- Damage per cast: 106 → 112
- Ring of Death (Twin Slayers)
- 1st cast cooldown: 25s → 15s
- Energy cost: 12 → 10
- 1st cast cooldown: 25s → 15s
Raging Flare’s damage has been condensed and increased to provide Fire users with a quicker, more impactful long-range damage option.
- Raging Flare (all Fire Staffs)
- Cast time: 0.6s → 0.4s
- Impact damage: 186 → 205
- DoT ticks: 6 → 3 (1s interval unchanged)
- DoT damage per tick: 7.2 → 21.4
- Total DoT damage: 43.2 → 64.2
- Cast time: 0.6s → 0.4s
Frost’s spell stack requirement has been reduced, as it felt too high on builds using less spammable abilities like Frozen Surge and Frost Nova. This will help Frost players keep enemies locked down more consistently.
- Frost (all Frost Staffs)
- Stack requirement: 5 → 4
- Stack requirement: 5 → 4
- Frozen Hell (Icicle Staff)
- Hit delay: 0.7s → 0.3s
- Hit delay: 0.7s → 0.3s
- Ice Crystal (Permafrost Prism)
- Damage: 184.69 → 173
- Stun duration now ignores diminishing returns (but does not apply it)
- Stun duration no longer refreshes by consecutive Ice Crystal stuns
- Damage: 184.69 → 173
Grovekeeper has fallen out of favor as both an engage and peel tank option. The bonus resistances for hitting targets have not felt impactful to Grovekeeper players, so they have been removed in favor of an instant knock-up, making engages more deadly, even against enemy cleanses.
- Ground Pound (Grovekeeper)
- Removed: Increased resistances per targets hit
- Added: Knocks up all targets for a duration based on the amount of enemies hit
- 1, 2, or 3 enemies hit: 0.4s knock up
- 4, 5 or 6 enemies hit: 0.8s knock up
- 7 or more enemies hit: 1.2s knock up
- 1, 2, or 3 enemies hit: 0.4s knock up
- Removed: Increased resistances per targets hit
To help Exalted Staff feel more responsive and succeed in its intended role of clearing hostile ground areas, its long cast time has been reduced.
- Sanctify (Exalted Staff)
- Cast time: 1s → 0.6s
- Cast time: 1s → 0.6s
Dreadstorm Monarch has struggled to find a strong foothold in the meta. As a result, the value of Eye of the Storm’s uncleansable resistance reduction has been increased, to help it compete with alternative pierce options.
- Eye of the Storm (Dreadstorm Monarch)
- Resistance reduction: 0.15 → 0.18
- Resistance reduction: 0.15 → 0.18
- Vendetta (Camlann Mace)
- Hit delay: 1.5s → 1.2s
- Hit delay: 1.5s → 1.2s
Protection of Nature has been a strong defensive tool with a very high uptime. Its high damage reduction, paired with the bonus healing received, has resulted in targets having too much survivability too often in smaller-scale group fights, so its resistance has been reduced somewhat.
- Protection of Nature (all Nature Staffs)
- Resistance: 0.24 → 0.2
- Resistance: 0.24 → 0.2
To help Fatal Blades counter fast ZvZ engages, its damage reduction now stacks higher and faster, but with reduced duration.
- Fatal Blade (Black Monk Stave)
- Damage reduction (vs. players): 22% → 30%
- Duration: 6s → 5s
- Initial tick: 0.25s → 0.1s
- Projectile speed: 30 m/s → 35 m/s
- Damage reduction (vs. players): 22% → 30%
- Soul Shaker (Grailseeker)
- Area duration: 4s → 3.5s
- Root duration: 3s → 3.5s
- Area duration: 4s → 3.5s
- Tornado (Soulscythe)
- Standtime: 0.7s → 0.4s
- Standtime: 0.7s → 0.4s
While Cripple has been a good tool to counter swords, adjustments have been made to help it feel powerful in more situations, more often.
- Cripple (all Spears)
- Damage type: magical → physical
- Added: Auto-attack speed is reduced by 25% for 4s
- Cooldown: 20s → 18s
- Move speed buff duration: 5s → 4s
- No longer gives bonus damage when purging a sprint
- Damage type: magical → physical
The previous buff to Blade Cyclone has been reverted, as it became the default option and outperformed all other options, particularly for Carving and Infinity Blade players.
- Blade Cyclone (all Swords)
- 1 charge damage: 70 → 60
- 1 charge damage: 70 → 60
To help Ursine Maulers find more success, the damage reduction from a previous nerf, originally paired with a significant resilience penetration decrease, has been reverted.
- Hundred Striking Fists (Ursine Maulers)
- Damage per tick: 32.4 → 36 (vs players)
- Delayed damage: 27 → 30 (per stack)
- Damage per tick: 32.4 → 36 (vs players)
- Infernal Boulder (Hellfire Hands)
- 1st boulder damage: 199.5 → 177
- 2nd boulder damage: 133 → 126
- 3rd boulder damage: 66.5 → 76
- DoT tick damage: 14 → 18
- 1st boulder damage: 199.5 → 177
To make Protection of the Fiends more risky, its negative resistance penalty has been increased, making it more important to combo with allies or cancel the channel early.
- Protection of the Fiends (Demon Armor)
- Caster resistance reduction: 0.34 → 0.37
- Caster resistance reduction: 0.34 → 0.37
- Taunt (all Plate Armors)
- No longer distinguishes between target types
- Bonus Damage vs All: 10% → 20%
- Defense vs Players: -10% → -20%
- No longer distinguishes between target types
The Fort Sterling Cape has had its cooldown significantly reduced at higher tiers to justify its price increase and enable players to rely on it as a consistent cleanse option.
- Untouchable (Fort Sterling Cape)
- Base cooldown: 139 → 168
- Cooldown reduction per 100 IP: 3s → 8s (118s → 112s at 700 IP, 91s → 40s at 1600 IP)
- Base cooldown: 139 → 168
Invisibility Potion’s damage reduction has not been significant enough or lasted long enough to give opponents a fair chance to react to fully undetectable engages. Damage reduction has now been changed to reduce all damage dealt by players, making it harder to bypass the penalty with stacked damage buffs. The effect also lingers for 2 seconds after exiting stealth, rather than starting from the moment of use, giving players a chance to fight back if revealed early.
- Invisibility Potion
- Ability damage reduction → Damage vs All reduction (-50% value is unchanged)
- Duration: Fixed time on cast → While Invisible, and remaining for 2s once revealed
- Ability damage reduction → Damage vs All reduction (-50% value is unchanged)
- Judgment (Lightcaller) visuals have been updated to be more readable in large-scale fights