Kadoin wrote: »

I think the change is also bad. A tank needs an AoE to pull trash in dungeons. If not, it makes running a dungeon very annoying for a tank. Trust me, I know. I used my templar to tank when solar barrage had a cast time.

Then there is the fact that the AoE uncloaked nightblades, applies frost damage to more than one enemy, etc. in PvP. That has more value than a stun to me...I could always have slotted sellistrix and used it with this skill which would be a better option anyway for both PvP and PvE IMO (AoE damage + stun working reliably).

All the change means is that I will morph it to the other skill and have to find some other way to pick up trash...

The_Last_Titan wrote: »

that target requirement is ruff, like trying to run away and heal = fail

Mojomonkeyman wrote: »

Arctic Blast (AB) in its current form is an enabler for many PvP builds (Frostmage, Healthen, Warden Hybrid Tank) and provides not only healing and damage, but also utility and crowd control:

- AB delivers just enough on-demand (this is the important part, not needing a target) over time healing to be sufficient when layered with trellis
- AB AOE damage is perfect (50% of WOE even on 25-30k HP) as a secondary damage source to be layered with either Winters Revenge or WOE (or both ofc)
- AB functions as a soft counter to cloak (which is very valuable on MagWarden - like a Warden "hurricane" that ticks every 2 sec instead of 1s for Stamsorcs)
- AB is the single largest contributor to chilled into deep freeze stacking (due to its high status effect proc %) which is essential for Frost Mage in PvP

I could go much more into detail on why AB in its current iteration on live is one of the best designed warden skills but the above mentioned points alone hopefully show that the trade-off to the current PTS version is huge and not desirable for many working MagWarden setups (those are not exactly easy to create considering the overall state of the class).

I really want a CC, there is not a single day in my MagWarden PvP life where I don't wish I had one. But I am convinced breaking that one of the very few big assets (AB in that case) the class has to bruteforce a CC into the toolset is not helping the Warden class. We are losing out overall.

Edit:
I really hope threads like this one will help making ZOS reconsider their suggestion and be more sensible about the implementation of a CC.

Gameplay-wise, from a PvP pov, a MagWarden is already forced into manual multi-camera angle targeting (i couldnt find a better wording) - Fissure has to be manually targeted since its a cone, Winters revenge is a manually targeted ground AOE which is always a pain in fast-paced combat situations, Pollen is as well, Trellis is manually single target camera perspective dependant, Growth is another cone.

In Short - we are already really busy with targeting stuff (both, friendlies and opponents)... Wardens have to be very active in that regard compared to other classes. In my perosnal opinion, the CC we need is a CC that won't consume another exclusive global cooldown and targeting maneuver.