I am running a pretty light ward build, 2.5k static, maybe 5-7k max with generators. Nothing like the 10-20k ward builds that are breaking the game. My worry is how much a low ward build like mine is going to get dinged cause mega ward abuse?
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Not sure.
I think mike said something on stream about it being brought down to where HP is. Or at least close to it.
I could be wrong.
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There are many “legit” Ward Builds that use ward in a way how it was intended.
I do think EHG has the awareness to do balancing in a way to not impact these kind of builds too much.
I think there will be either a systematic change to the ward formula (ward retention) and/or specific changes to certain interactions, like low health/ward generation unique and Twisted Heart.
Ward retention is a formula that has quite the room for adjustments too affect build in the higher ward ranges(5k, 10k, 20k) more than builds using just 2 or 3k ward.
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Most of the overpowered Ward builds stem from specific skill interactions. You didn’t say what you’re using to generate Ward, so we can’t talk specifics. For example, if you’re primarily using Heart of Uhkeiros, then it is very likely that nothing will change for you 
Best course of action now is to wait for the second blog post:
QoL should be about loot filters, transferring stash tabs and other stuff like this
Event post about lore hunt(today?)
And, finally, post with full patch notes. As necrolog for some broken builds (oh sorry, corrupt pushers call them ‘viable builds’) and as hope for underperforming builds and classes
I’m hoping it’s not too bad, but that they mainly focus on some of the broken interactions that made it over the top. I was running it with my Lich doing Decay aura, but without the busted uniques.
I was just stacking Ward per second, ward retention, decay threshold, etc. I then used drain life to gain me ward while casting it as a channel for long periods. I was using the ghosts skill with the node from drain life letting me maintain it for as long as drain life was active, then got the passive so ghosts that fade out give me mana. I was able to sustain while stationary pretty well, got up to like 10k ward max.
They did say “and other changes”, so ward changes might conceivably be referred to in that post. Not the specifics, since that will be for the patch notes themselves, but what they changed in general with ward.
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Not sure but I think that the amount of ward players can achieve should not be higher than how much life can you achieve on other builds.
Ward needs to be higher because it decays over time, unlike life which regens over time (both by default).
@DaddyLuvsYou 10-20k ward wasn’t breaking the game, it was the 100-200k ward that was breaking the game, no idea whether the decay tweaks will give enough of an impact at the high end but your level of ward will be fine.
10-15-20k ward provides more EHP than 2-3-4k hp with high endurance. Maybe even twice as more.
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Yeah, but you still need to obey one shot mechanics with that much ehp, 100-200k is a different beast.
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Agree, but it’ll still take higher ward than hp numbers to be comparable for mechanically ward feels like ass compared to hp. With hp I have a full red ball that always reflects my danger status and if it goes down, I know that I have to (re)act.
Ward doesn’t provide much visual help, only the number itself and that is constantly running down. Could be damage, could be natural decay.
I would guess that double to triple the value of hp could provide a similar experience. Though there are obviously a few more factors than just the raw max value.
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Hopefully the nerf is bad enough so that people cannot simply cheese content by facetanking everything.
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To be fair this is mostly just the broken ward values. 25k is what id say is the “peak” of “fair” ward and is still probably gonna get knocked down a peg, this is stuff like Frost claw rune master, which is just getting too much ward from passives still.
But most low life builds end up at 10/15/20k depending on gear level and they cant face tank everything. they just have really good 1 shot buffers.
Passive ward generation is really good for 1 shot protection/ehp, but not as good as leech at just standing in a spot and eating blows.
But honestly these days outside of t4 and higher then 300c, most builds with some effort can face tank everything at 300c. You need some insane ward values to face tank julra. I think I took something like 25k damage from her timebomb on t4, but because I had you know 100k ward it was nothing, but it was still a huge hit i dont think any non bugged build is tanking.
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Not when you consider that you can leech health (and most health builds have a way to leech) but you can’t leech/speed ward recovery, other than the mod that gives ward on potion use.
the nerf is for ward builds that get over 10k, for those below 4k there is even a buff in ward retention, they only boosted decay rate, for particular changes on ward gain that has to be looked in final patchnotes
My big generator is zombies.
Ok… just looking at the new ward rules seems i will get a minor buff. I run 2.5k stable ward. and get up to about 5k with my generators. Just in the sweet spot for the proposed changes.