Howdy everyone, Ranmaru here!
As part of our ongoing efforts to monitor game balance, we occasionally get the opportunity to revisit certain powersets, buff and rebalance them, and ensure they feel competitive and fun compared to other options. Today, I’m excited to announce that the Water Powerset Rebalance is now complete!
This update focuses on making Water faster, stronger, and more synergistic overall. Players will notice improved responsiveness, more satisfying feedback, and a playstyle that rewards skillful combos.
For those interested in the broader changes, we’ve summarized the high-level updates below. For a detailed breakdown of every ability, check out the Individual Changes section.
Overall Changes
- All-new descriptions for every damaging ability.
- Damage increases across most moves.
- Combo abilities now deal more damage on combos rather than reducing damage.
- More moves interact with or apply Crushed status.
- Damage splitting hit cap increased from 2 targets to 4 on most abilities.
Water Combos
- All Water Combo abilities have faster animation speeds.
- Waterspouts is now a combo ability.
- All Water Combo moves grant Hydro Bubble stacks.
- Dehydrate has been redesigned to consume Hydro Bubble stacks, dealing more damage per stack.
High Tide
- High Tide duration increased.
- Crashing Wave & Drown now synergize with High Tide.
- Shark Frenzy & Aqualance can now reduce High Tide cooldown under certain conditions.
Individual Ability Changes
| Crashing Wave |
- Damage increased by 50%
- Splits damage across 4 targets instead of 2
- Grants a damage instance block (1 without High Tide, 3 with High Tide)
- Reduces High Tide cooldown by 5 seconds
- Does not consume High Tide
|
| Aquatic Arsenal |
- Increased animation speed
- Added damaging projectile on all swings
- First swing damage +14%, second +73%, third +80%, final +44%
- Splits damage on 4 targets
- Combo moves grant Hydro Bubble
|
| Waterspouts |
- Faster animation
- Damage now 4 hits, +52% damage
- Splits on 4 targets
- Can be recast once; second cast 12% stronger
- Combo grants Hydro Bubble
|
| Shark Frenzy |
- Cooldown 6s, Power Cost 300
- Damage +60%, splits at 4 targets, deals extra to Crushed targets
- High Tide synergy: guaranteed crits, short buff reduces High Tide cooldown by 4s (max 4 per cast)
|
| Depth Charge |
- Damage +10%, splits at 4 targets
|
| Tsunami Strikes |
- Faster animation
- First strike +9%, second +243%, final +9%
- Splits damage on 4 targets, now Crushed
- Normalized damage for healers & DPS
- Combo moves grant Hydro Bubble
|
| Drown |
- Damage +157%, splits at 4 targets
- High Tide increases damage by +83% without consuming it
|
| Ebb & Flow |
- Faster animation
- Damage flow reversed for smoother scaling
- Splits at 4 targets, combo grants Hydro Bubble
|
| Dehydrate |
- Rebalanced damage based on Hydro Bubble stacks (0–10)
- Now removes all Hydro Bubble charges instead of Supercharge
- Icon updates dynamically as stacks are consumed
|
|
Aqualance
|
- Initial hit +26%, DoT +44%, splits at 4 targets
- High Tide synergy: DoT grants cooldown reduction (max 8 per cast)
|
| High Tide |
- Duration increased from 6s → 8s
|
| Call of the Deep |
|
| Whirlpool |
|
Dive In!
With these updates, Water offers a more dynamic and competitive experience. Hydro Bubble adds depth to rotations, High Tide uptime feels more impactful, and the overall set rewards smart timing and ability chaining.
Players can now enjoy a Water Powerset that is faster, stronger, and more fluid, delivering a combat experience that truly reflects the power and versatility of the element.
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