Nerfs to Vantus Runes in Season 2 - 12.1 PTR
Vantus Runes are getting some nerfs in Season 2, and the cost to craft them are getting more expensive.
Vantus Rune: Tides
Season 2 has a brand new Vantus rune: Vantus Rune: Tides. As with Season 1, there are two different ranks with Rank 2 being more powerful.
Vantus Rune: Tides — Item Level 278
Use: Once per week, attune yourself to the energies of the targeted Ula'tek Temple raid boss and gain the following aura:
Vantus Rune: Tides — Increase your Versatility by 130 when fighting the targeted raid boss. This effect lasts the entire week.
Requires Level 70 | Max Stack: 1000 | Sell Price: 85060
Rank 1 Vantus
Vantus Rune: Tides — Item Level 278
Use: Once per week, attune yourself to the energies of the targeted Ula'tek Temple raid boss and gain the following aura:
Vantus Rune: Tides — Increase your Versatility by 162 when fighting the targeted raid boss. This effect lasts the entire week.
Requires Level 70 | Max Stack: 1000 | Sell Price: 85060
Rank 2 Vantus
The best Vantus Rune in Season 2 is equivalent to 3% damage done and 1.5% damage reduction. Interestingly, on the Patch 12.1 PTR, the Season 1 Vantus Runes have also changed in value and the Season 2 Vantus Runes are actually nerfed and provide less stats when compared to their Season 1 counterparts.
Here's a chart of the Rank 2 Vantus Runes on Patch 12.1:
| Vantus Rune | Versatility Amount | Damage Done |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 (12.0) | 270 | 5% |
| Season 1 (12.1) | 324 | 6% |
| Season 2 | 162 | 3% |
You'll notice that the Season 1 Vantus Runes were actually buffed and give 1% more damage (and 0.5% more damage reduction) on the PTR. However, the Season 2 Vantus Runes are actually a nerf of 2% from the Season 1 Vantus Runes that players used this tier. This may be because 5% was a very big buff from a consumable that could only be used on one boss a week, and there were some players who felt like if they Vantus'ed the wrong boss, they were hitting a brick wall.
Crafting Cost
There's also been an interesting change to the Crafting Cost of Vantus Runes. In previous expansions, Vantus Runes between seasons required the same crafting reagents, and Scribes were just using a new recipe that they had to learn. For example, Vantus Rune: Manaforge Omega, Vantus Rune: Liberation of Undermine, and Vantus Rune: Nerub-ar Palace all required the same materials of Viridescent Spores, Shadow Ink and Apricate Ink.
In Season 2, Vantus Rune: Tides has the same crafting cost as last season, plus one additional material: Vantus Rune: Radiant. That's right! In order to craft the new Vantus Rune, you need to have the old Vantus Rune. Since the crafting costs are the same with the Season 2 Vantus Rune having the extra cost, this essentially doubles the crafting cost!
Crafting Cost:
