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Compared to other classes, Wardens haven’t changed too much from their current build.  There were two primary changes which pretty much can be seen as one buff and one bug fix that some were using to their benefit.

The good news is we got a pretty nice reduction in our power costs overall as the various carvings are no longer just limited to power reduction on gambits they’ll reduce the power on the builders as well.  Some will argue on how much of a difference this really makes but any reduction is a welcome one especially if you’re leveling and don’t have all the masteries available.  The other side benefit of the power reductions is that we don’t have to throttle back nearly as much which allows for more DPS or more threat depending on what you’re trying to do.  Your mileage may vary, but for me I was able to complete skirmishes with a low power level about twice as high on Bullroarer as compared to Live while doing about 10% more damage.

The downside to the update is a change that many of us saw coming and something I never really talked to much about as I saw it as a potential “exploit.”  I put that in quotes as it isn’t something blatant but certainly not the expected usage of the skill.  What I’m referring to is our gambit recovery skills and with the upcoming changes they will be changed to “Fast” speed as opposed to “Immediate.”  This isn’t much of an impact for their normal use, but many were using them to interrupt the animation of Defiant Challenge such that they could get it off quicker.  This does open back up the discussion on whether Defiant Challenge is a worthwhile gambit let alone a Legendary one but I’ve made it a point to do more investigation on it as I will admit I haven’t used that gambit much at all.

The other big addition for all classes are the new armor sets available from the new scalable instances.  I’ve posted some screenshots and stat comparisons for Wardens, Captains, and Minstrels for those of you at the level cap.

Next week I’ll post my take on traits, but until then enjoy Wardening!