After a much needed vacation, I landed back in the United Kingdom last night and jumped back into Guild Wars 2 this morning. I ended up reading the patch notes abroad in a sweaty internet cafe and although I spent a long time reading, it's still hard to know exactly how the changes will pan out. With some hesitation regarding the changes to conditions and mobility skills, I'm pleased to say that - for the most part - it all seems for the better. Although I'll share my thoughts on the update in more detail later this week after playing more, I wanted to share a few thoughts.

When I logged into the game this morning, my first reaction is that the new user interface is nice but I dislike the tiny buttons to change your Core Specialization. Other than such a minor gripe, I absolutely love the new trait system. Removing attributes linked to a trait line is brilliant and has been needed for so long. The instant result being that the Meta is up in the air and players are choosing some crazy builds. For the first time in months I've actually encountered a Warrior using a Greatsword and hordes of Mesmers are suddenly crawling out of the abyss.

My first impression when it comes to the aftermath of the changes is that damage is seemingly insane at the moment and mobility is fantastic. I hit harder on my longbow Ranger and certainly on my condition Necromancer, players melt instantly. I suspect damage numbers might need tweaking here and there, especially where condition damage is concerned. I'm also not entirely sure at this point how I feel about mobility skills bypassing conditions because it does feel too easy to escape. Cripple and chill pose very little threat right now. Perhaps it's simply a case of me having to get used to the change and adjusting my skill timing. 

I still need more time to fully analyse all the trait changes but there's definitely a fair few builds that excite me. I'm not entirely sure however that traps will ever be viable for Ranger. Even in their current form, with the new trait, they're all still garbage (with the exception of Spike Trap). 

Now that I've got my first thoughts out the way, are you playing the update? What are your first impressions? I'll let you know mine in more depth later next week when I've got to grips with the impact this update has had on balance.