Hello everyone, Takeshi here. I've been a Maehwa player for about 3-4 years, With the recent adjustments to movement speed slows and Awakening Maehwa, I feel there is a need to speak up about the situation with the class.

The purpose of this post is to provide feedback on the recent balance changes to movement speed slows, and suggest ways to improve Maehwa as a class to make it more competitive in the current game environment. From a PvP perspective, it's clear to anyone that has spend a significant time in PvP, that Awakening Maehwa is underperforming, lacking unique abilities that set it apart from other classes. As a result, many dedicated Maehwa players have abandoned Awakening in favor of Succession Maehwa or other classes. While Succession Maehwa still has its own limitations, it offers more compelling abilities that make playing Maehwa worthwhile.

To begin I'd like to address a specific statement from the balancing team in the 25 July 2024 Patch notes:

"Conversely, Musa and Maehwa, known for their mobility, will no longer have the speed reduction debuff, as it was deemed unfair compared to other classes. We ask for your understanding and will consider further improvements if necessary."

Experienced PvP players are well aware that Maehwa and Musa are no longer the most mobile classes in the game. In fact, several classes now offer comparable or even superior mobility, along with more utility for themselves and their teams. To demonstrate this, I've put together some comparison clips showcasing the mobility of other classes versus Maehwa. I've tried to maintain consistency by using 5 Movement Speed and no crystals, although stamina levels may vary due to passives. I'll also be using all self-movement speed buffs outside of E buffs, as pre-buffing is now a standard practice. Please keep in mind that I'm not an expert in all the classes in BDO, there are better players out there who could perform even better and outpace my mobility showcase.

My goal is not to advocate for nerfs to other classes, but rather to highlight to the balancing team that mobility is no longer a distinctive advantage of Bladers. In light of this, I believe the removal of movement speed reduction should be reconsidered, and Maehwa specifically should receive further improvements to bring it in line with the current PvP environment.

CLASS COMPARISON

Awk. Warrior

Although Warriors can't match Maehwa's speed and defensive capabilities, they excel at maintaining mobility while conserving stamina. While they may not be able to keep pace with Maehwa in short bursts, they can sustain their performance over longer periods. Additionally, Warriors possess reliable 1v1 skills, with a grab and 360-degree block that opponents must keep in mind when against them.

https://imgur.com/a/i97kJqo

Succ. Berserker

It's no surprise that Succession Berserkers have outclassed Maehwa in terms of mobility, stamina consumption and utility. Lava Piercer, which can be used multiple times without consuming stamina, is a major contributor to this. 

Outside of mobility and virtually unlimited stamina, Succession Berserker has two grabs and flows that still to this day hold you in place while in V “Emergency Escape”. Self-sustain capabilities, a 60DP total buff, and the strongest 200% in the game. Post patch it has even more slows in comparison to other classes.

https://imgur.com/a/i2fLapN

Awk. Nova

Nova's mobility is good before En Garde, but once activated, her speed effectively doubles, enabling her to quickly engage in combat, deal significant damage, and make a swift exit.. While in this state, she still maintains a more efficient stamina consumption compared to Maehwa. Although playing around En Garde’s limitations requires practice, previous buffs have made it easier to manage and maintain.

https://imgur.com/a/ps9ppo5

Succ. Lahn

Lahn's mobility stands out due to her ability to leverage vertical movement, allowing her to cover greater distances, particularly when descending from high ground to low ground. However, she struggles to keep up with Maehwa when ascending uphill. The clip demonstrates Lahn's advantage on a low-angled slope, which provides her with excellent coverage. She achieves this while expending less stamina than Maehwa would in the same scenario.

https://imgur.com/a/nJUU6aU

Awk. Drakania

With just Dragon Flight, Drakania can travel at a faster pace while being protected, all while consuming less stamina in comparison. When Dragon Flight is on cooldown, Drakania still has a range of repositioning tools at her disposal. Refraction provides a reliable iframe with no gaps, while Storm Maul and Fate beckons offer some unprotected movement options to keep Drakania mobile.

https://imgur.com/a/v4V9gzT

As I have commitments outside of this game, I’ll only be able to cover five classes mentioned above. We urge the balancing team to conduct thorough comparisons between Maehwa/Musas and other classes before implementing significant changes. Additionally, Awakening Maehwa changes introduced in the 25 July 2024 patch seem like a lateral move, feeling clunky and failing to address the current problems that has been present since class reworks. Below, we've compiled the Maehwa community's collective suggestions for balancing the class.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASS IMPROVEMENT

Awk. Maehwa

Currently, Awakening Maehwa is essentially a weaker version of Awakening Musa. While it boasts more CC options, it falls short in terms of AoE capabilities, lacks Super Armor for trading, and doesn't have Fiery Angel for sustained movement. Moreover, it deals less damage overall. The only distinguishing features of Awakening Maehwa are its -10% Guard Break and ease of movement with Chase. Given its lack of uniqueness and inferior performance compared to other classes in its role, we hope the balancing team could consider a full rework of the class or at the very least, implement the following suggested changes.

Sleet Step

I-frame Off CD (150 Stamina), SA On CD (250 Stamina) (7s > 5s CD) 

We propose that Awakening Maehwa be given an on-demand iframe dodge for grabs, as her current Dash iframe is unreliable and Evasion Arrow has an awkward, uncancellable gap. Super Armor (SA) should be kept on cooldown, allowing for safe repositioning of Petal Bloom. To make this dodge more effective, the cooldown could be reduced. But this should also come at the cost of increased stamina consumption and locked stamina regeneration.

Petal Drill

-10% to movement speed & -10% to attack speed

We suggest restoring the slows that were removed from Ice Fang to Petal Drill, but capping them at 10%. Currently, Awakening Maehwa lacks attack speed slows for dueling purposes; this change would help improve her in 1v1 scenarios.

Ice Fang

Revert Stamina Cost to WP on Use (Lock Stamina)

Post changes, Ice Fang is the Awakening version of Dragon Bite. However, it is clunky and slow to link to other skills. While the protection changes is great, the stamina cost is problematic for Awakening Maehwa, which is already stamina-hungry and lacks a movement extending option like Awakening Musa’s Fiery Angel. We suggest reverting Ice Fang’s stamina cost back to its original WP cost, but with the added restriction of locking stamina regeneration while using this skill.

Tip of an Iceberg

Increase Tip of the Iceberg 2nd animation speed

Currently, the second hit of Tip of the Iceberg feels delayed and slower compared to the previous combo flow of Frost Flower > Ice Fang. To improve the combo's fluidity, we suggest increasing the speed of the second hit.

Cloud Stab

Allow Cloud Stab to be quick-slotted/ linked from more skills

Before the changes, Cloud Stab could be used after Frost Feint, providing a convenient float option in 1v1 situations. Currently, it can only be used after Moonrise and Redmoon (Awakening), which results in stacking two Floats consecutively. To increase the skill's versatility, we suggest allowing Cloud Stab to be quick-slotted, enabling more opportunities for its use.

Petal Bloom Change & Damage Changes

Instant Charged by Default

While Petal Bloom deals great damage, the charge requirement substantially reduces Maehwa's overall DPS. To address this, we suggest that Petal Bloom should always be in its fully charged form, even outside of General's Might buff, with a slight damage reduction as a trade-off (68% to 72% in PvP).

Damage Increase for PVP
Overall Damage increases to PvP for the below skills

Frost Pillars (62.5% > 58%) FG

Tip of the Iceberg 1st Hit (65.6% > 61.6%) FG

Tip of the Iceberg 2nd Hit (82% > 75%) FG

Moonrise (64.1% > 61.1%)

Petal Drill (68.4% > 65.4%) SA

Before the damage reduction (DR) and accuracy changes, Awakening Maehwa dealt respectable damage and had a unique advantage in dueling evasion targets, thanks to her massive accuracy buffs and evasion removal. However, with the changes, she now lacks overall damage and has lost her accuracy benefits. The suggested changes above aim to enhance her effectiveness as a duelist assassin class, allowing her to deal damage and provide CC utility. Furthermore, skills with Forward Guard should be rewarded with increased damage, as they carry more risk when used in large-scale scenarios or against classes with quick repositioning skills, which are becoming increasingly common with new class releases

Succ. Maehwa

Succession Maehwa is currently in a good position, boasting great protection, solid CC options, and decent damage. However, there is still room for improvement, as several issues persist. The main problems lie in buggy skills and lengthy cooldowns. Specifically, the Red Blade skill needs to be reworked, as it currently discourages players from using skills outside of Red Blade mode, which is disadvantageous. 

Petal Swirl

15s CD > 12s CD

Petal Swirl in Awakening has a 10-second cooldown, dealing decent damage and providing accuracy. In contrast, the Succession version has a 15-second cooldown, with lower damage and slow effects in Super Armor. To improve its usability, we suggest reducing the Succession Petal Swirl cooldown to 12 seconds, aligning it more closely with the Awakening version, as this skill is primarily used to extend combos and apply slows in Super Armor.

Frost Feint

SA while moving backward to Iframe > FG when stabbing (3s CD > 4s CD)

While Frost Feint is a valuable tool in Succession for repositioning and cancelling skills, its use can be frustrating due to the significant gap in protection that cannot be quickly cancelled. To address this, we propose a change to Frost Feint's protection: instead of having Super Armor while moving backwards, it should have an iframe while moving and then transition to Forward Guard when stabbing. This adjustment would allow for counterplay against classes that can easily utilize Grapple, while still providing an opportunity for Grapple to succeed if the stabbing animation is timed incorrectly.

Red: Blooming

15s CD > 12s CD

One of the common challenges faced by Succession Maehwa players in PvE is the limited uptime of Red: Blooming. When attempting to rotate skills on the second group of monsters, Red: Blooming is often still on cooldown, leading to awkward combo flows and damage rotations. Reducing the cooldown of Blooming would not only alleviate these skill rotation issues in PvE but also provide more uptime in PvP scenarios.

Red: Carver

Red: Carver unusable during cooldown

The current input system can lead to accidental double casting of Red: Carver due to input conflicts with Red: Blooming. To resolve this issue, locking Red: Carver on cooldown would provide a simple and effective solution.

Red: Divider

Reintroduce Red: Divider last hit from the first iteration of Prime: Dragon Bite

The current Divider skill can be challenging to judge, particularly when determining the end of the Divider. To improve this, we suggest reverting to the original Divider iteration, which featured a wider AoE slash on the final hit.

Red Blade Mode

Since Prime skills for Succession Maehwas are rarely utilized outside of Red Blade Mode, a rework is proposed to offer more significant benefits when exiting Red Blade Mode, making these skills more viable and appealing to use in various combat situations.

Suggested Changes for Red Blade

Enter Red Blade immediately when using a new skill Prime: Maehwa’s Will (3s CD). This provides the current buffs that Red Blade provides, with some changes below:

Red Blade Mode (Infinite duration)

10 AP

6% Accuracy

10% Attack speed

Red: Maehwa’s Will - Cooldown refresh upon entering Red Blade Mode, when used again, deactivates Red Blade Mode, and provides 600HP 200WP. When deactivating Red Blade Mode, this skill goes into a base cooldown of 3 seconds.

Force of the Sword

5% Crit Rate > 10% Attack Speed

Maehwa is able to achieve 100% Crit Rate through Blind Thrust, Frost Pillars, and Add-ons, which renders this passive skill ineffective. To enhance her combat capabilities, it would be beneficial to replace this passive skill with a 10% Attack Speed boost, enabling Maehwa to rapidly execute her skills in combat.

CLOSING STATEMENT

I hope that the developers of PA will seriously consider the majority of these suggestions for Maehwa. For the longest time, this class has been overshadowed by Musa, and even more so when compared to other classes in BDO. Hopefully with these changes, loyal Maehwa players will have a more enjoyable PvP experience and feel more confident about their class overall, and not feel like they are intentionally playing an underwhelming class that they enjoy.

Thank you everyone for reading this post.