RADIANT WILDS PRE-PATCH 4 (MY OPINION)
​
I've been playing Albion Online for about three months, almost exclusively in solo content (mostly Mists), and I wanted to share my thoughts on the latest balance changes.
The Infernal Shield nerf feels like a lazy solution. Instead of simply nerfing the only competitive option, I think it would've been much better to buff the weaker alternatives so players actually have meaningful choices. Right now, it feels like we're losing options instead of gaining build diversity.
The biggest disappointment for me, though, is the Hammer Q nerf.
That Q was never overpowered. It was strong in PvE, sure, but in PvP it was far from guaranteed damage. Experienced players in the Mists predict it all the time because it doesn't deal damage in a full 360° area. Dagger players, for example, can simply dash backwards—or even through you—to avoid it completely. On top of that, it was already easy to counter with Hunter Hood, knockbacks, stuns, or other defensive tools.
Because of that, this nerf feels completely unnecessary.
What makes it even worse is that we're being compensated with a buff to the first W ability, which, honestly, I don't see many people using. One of the biggest strengths of Hammers, especially in solo PvP, is their mobility, and most of that mobility comes from the other W abilities. Trading a meaningful Q for a buff to a rarely used W just feels like a bad exchange.
On the positive side, I really liked the War Bow changes. I actually main War Bow, so I'm happy to see it getting some attention. I especially like that its damage is now consistent regardless of distance.
That said, I honestly think the rest of the buffs are too much. Even as a War Bow main, I think they went a bit overboard.
Overall, I feel like this patch solves some problems by simply nerfing popular options instead of making underused ones more attractive. I'd much rather see more viable choices than fewer.