Let me just say I don't care about PvE. You can build around stuff in PvE most the time or simply practice and learn the consistencies. I do PvE so I don't want to absolutely screw Magblade in PvE but frankly I could are less about being top tier. PvP is where changes are necessary.
So how can magblade can actually be fun in non-PvE applications?
For starters I actually like the changes to strife but it's just missing 1 thing. A cost reduction. The identity of the skill is a lower damage spammable that will sustain you as a filler skill in-between merciless. On live Strife does too much damage yet also costs too much. It's just supposed to do a bit of damage and keep us alive inbetween merciless procs. Now that Merciless hits our sustain even more we need something to compensate. You also nerfed our "replacement" Elemental Weapon wit a cost increase.
Let me remind you that in PvE I can stop, do a heavy attack, and I won't loose tha fight most of the time. In PvP if I do a magicka heavy attack I'm basically asking people to screw me as you leave yourself vulnerable and magicka has more expensive skills anyways. Why does stamina get access to the best heavy attack (DW) yet also have cheaper skills? This isn't saying nerf stam, I just want magicka heavy attacks to not be garbage if you are going to hit people's sustain like this.
Refreshing path feels so lackluster. The healing is less than most AOE healing skills so and increase would be nice but not immediately necessary.
Even further while I like the change to mark, said change makes it so other things need to be addressed. Paramount of these issues is snipe gankers or just snipe spammers. For starters remove the defile. The stun from stealth is buggy and shouldn't be in the game anyways (bonus damage is fine). So if you refuse to address snipe the CC from stealth will need fixing. I'm not even going to get into the BS with the scattershot change.
Flawless Conqueror ~ Grand Overlord
She/Her ~ PC/NA | I record things for fun and for info