Combat Balance Changes - Abyssal Depths Patch 4 - Version 29.040.1 - August 26, 2025


Arcane Staffs

Protective Beam has been made more reliable and less energy-consuming to make it more appealing to groups. A VFX circle has been added around the target to improve readability.

• Protective Beam (Enigmatic Staff)
  
  • Shield range: 5m → 6m
    
  • Energy cost per tick: 6 → 5
    

Time Freeze’s duration has been reduced in both PvP and PvE, slightly lowering the impact of its crowd control and shortening the follow-up window.

• Time Freeze (Great Arcane Staff)
  
  • Duration vs players: 3s → 2.5s
    
  • Duration vs mobs: 4s → 3.5s
    

Starfall’s radius has been reduced to make positioning more important. Additionally, its large-scale ZvZ damage output has been lowered through reduced resilience penetration.

• Starfall (Astral Staff)
  
  • Radius: 9m → 8m
    
  • Resilience penetration: 35% → 30%
    

Because Cleanse’s low cooldown made it too readily available, it has been increased to make the decision of what to cleanse more meaningful.

• Motivating Cleanse (all Arcane Staffs)
  
  • Cooldown: 15s → 18s
    

Cursed Staffs

Cursed Tar’s cooldown has been increased to reduce ground spam and make other Q-slot options more viable.

• Cursed Tar (all Cursed Staffs)
  
  • Cooldown: 4s → 5s
    

Daggers

Blood Ritual’s self-damage previously scaled with item power, but to ensure consistency across all tiers and armor types, it is now a percentage of total health instead. Since this is likely to increase self-damage, its damage output has been increased slightly.

• Blood Ritual (Demonfang)
  
  • Damage: 112 → 120
    
  • Self-damage: 180 → 20% of total health (over 3s)
    

The elapsed cooldown between Ring of Death’s first and second casts is now always refunded. This allows a greater window to activate the second cast without wasting any cooldown time.

• Ring of Death (Twin Slayers)
  
  • Elapsed time before casting Recall Daggers is now refunded
    

Frost Staffs

Previously, Freezing Wind rooted almost instantly. To make the interaction more interesting for both sides, the root effect now occurs after a short delay but rewards successful hits more significantly, increasing the importance of aiming and positioning.

• Freezing Wind (Frost Staff)
  
  • Damage: 174 → 150
    
  • Slow: 15% → 40% (only while inside the area)
    
  • After 1s inside the area the player gets rooted for 2.5s and receives 50 magical damage
    

Holy Staffs

Salvation has long been overshadowed by other Holy Staff options, with its two-second charge offering too little payoff. To make it more valuable, it now grants a two-second damage immunity.

• Salvation (Fallen Staff)
  
  • Max targets: 10 → 20
    
  • Now applies a damage immunity for 2s. The damage immunity is purgeable.
    
    • Affected targets can’t receive immunity from Salvation again for 5s.
      

Since Exalted Staff has seen little use in recent times, its cooldown has been reduced to make it more viable.

• Sanctify (Exalted Staff)
  
  • Cooldown: 68s → 65s
    
  • Cooldown reduction per 100 IP: 2s
    
    • 1200 IP: 44s → 41s
      
    • 1700 IP: 34s → 31s
      
    • 2000 IP: 28s → 25s
      

Nature Staffs

In group play, Nature Staffs often fall behind Holy Staffs in terms of healing output. To strengthen their role, Rejuvenating Flower’s instant healing has been increased.

• Rejuvenating Flower (all Nature Staffs)
  
  • Max targets: 10 → 15
    
  • Direct heal
    
    • After 0s: 17 → 20
      
    • After 1.5s: 41 → 49
      
    • After 3s: 70 → 84
      

Circle of Life’s max targets have been increased to make it a more viable option in larger fights.

• Circle of Life (Nature Staff)
  
  • Max targets: 10 → 15
    

Well of Life’s max targets have been increased to make it a more viable option in larger fights.

• Well of Life (Wild Staff)
  
  • Max targets: 10 → 20
    

Spirit Animal now removes damage-over-time effects to give large groups a better tool against them.

• Spirit Animal (Rampant Staff)
  
  • Now removes damage-over-time effects on players the animal touches
    

Swords

Galatine Pair has been outshone by other weapons recently and doesn’t fit well with the current Ambush playstyle. To help it find its place in large-scale fights, its damage output has been increased.

• Soulless Stream (Galatine Pair)
  
  • 0 stack damage: 90 → 95
    
  • 1 stack damage: 145 → 152
    
  • 2 stack damage: 215 → 226
    
  • 3 stack damage: 305 → 320
    

Claymore has not been played much lately, so to make it more interesting to use, its overall damage has been increased, with an emphasis on pass-through damage. This change increases the weapon's skill ceiling, as players are rewarded for effectively lining up multiple targets.

• Charge (Claymore)
  
  • Pass-through damage: 33% → 66%
    
  • 0 stack damage: 81→ 85
    
  • 1 stack damage: 130 → 137
    
  • 2 stack damage: 195 → 204
    
  • 3 stack damage: 276 → 290
    

Armors

Wild Magic is a versatile ability with both defensive and offensive options. To make other Cloth Armor choices more competitive, its cooldown has been increased.

• Wild Magic (Feyscale Robe)
  
  • Cooldown: 30s → 40s
    

Everlasting Spirit has seen less play recently, since Wild Magic or Energy Emission are often preferred. To make this armor more attractive again, its cooldown has been slightly reduced.

• Everlasting Spirit (Cleric Robe)
  
  • Cooldown: 50s → 45s
    

Since Fear Aura’s effect can only be applied once, this armor ability was often outshone by Energy Emission. To strengthen its unique advantage over Purity Robe, its fear duration has been increased.

• Fear Aura (Fiend Robe)
  
  • Fear duration: 1s → 2s
    

Purging Shield has long struggled to find its place in the meta. Therefore, a defense bonus has been added to make resistance stacking on top of this buff a viable option and to improve its value in group play.

• Purging Shield (Mage Robe)
  
  • Removed the resistance increase
    
  • Added defense vs players: 0% → 33%
    
  • Added defense vs mobs: 0% → 33%
    

Wind Wall has made the user too tanky once some stacks are built up, so its impact has been reduced to make it more punishable if used in a bad position.

• Wind Wall (Knight Armor)
  
  • Resistences per stack: 0.2 → 0.1
    
  • Crowd control resistance per stack: 0.3 → 0.15
    

Ambush is a core ability in current oneshot playstyles. Its range has now been reduced to make it easier to spot and to make counterplay more reliable.

• Ambush (Assassin Jacket)
  
  • Radius: 15m → 13m
    

Shoes

Position Swap is not often used anymore. To make it more useful, it can now save team members with a damage immunity, opening room for high skill expression at the top end.

• Position Swap (Fiend Sandals)
  
  • Added: Immunity now also applies to ally target
    

Spectral Run hasn’t been used much recently. To make it more viable, its energy cost has been reduced.

• Spectral Run (Specter Shoes)
  
  • Energy cost: 3% per tick → 2% per tick
    

Capes

Smuggler Cape is an extremely strong defensive cape thanks to its cooldown reduction. To increase the gap between some double-potion use cases, the cooldown refunded on the potion slot has been reduced.

• Smuggler Cape
  
  • Cooldown reduction on potion slot: 90s → 80s
    

Potions

Healing Potion has often been used back-to-back with the Smuggler Cape, so its cooldown has been increased to widen the gap between double-potion uses.

• Healing Potion
  
  • Cooldown: 90s → 105s
    

Mounts

Low-tier Transport Oxen have been very hard to kill and often used for scouting. Their speed, resistance, and health have therefore been reduced, making them easier to chase down. High-tier Transport Oxen, which previously had no real use cases, have been made much more valuable to make up for this. Oxen now stand out as dedicated transport mounts that heavily rely on group protection to move safely through dangerous areas.

• Journeyman's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 35%
    
  • Gallop speed: 75% → 60%
    
  • Carry weight: 1058kg → 1503kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 1702 → 1123
    
• Adept's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 40%
    
  • Gallop speed: 80% → 70%
    
  • Carry weight: 1165kg → 1655kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 1804 → 1190
    
• Expert's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 45%
    
  • Gallop speed: 85% → 80%
    
  • Carry weight: 1338kg → 1901kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 1913 → 1262
    
• Master's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 50%
    
  • Gallop speed: 90% → 90%
    
  • Carry weight: 1574kg → 2237kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 2027 → 1337
    
• Grandmaster's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 55%
    
  • Gallop speed: 95% → 100%
    
  • Carry weight: 1876kg → 2667kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 2149 → 1418
    
• Elder's Transport Ox
  
  • Base speed: 50% → 60%
    
  • Gallop speed: 100% → 110%
    
  • Carry weight: 2252kg → 3200kg
    
  • Crowd control resistance: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Resistances: 1 → 0.5
    
  • Health: 2278 → 1503