Following the first phase of Content Streamlining on Jul 28, we've made another round of improvements.

We've streamlined several activities that required ongoing participation throughout your progression.
To ensure key rewards remain accessible, we've redistributed them across other content.

We've also introduced a rotation schedule for Arena content with similar styles, following the changes made to World Bosses. This helps reduce the time commitment while keeping each mode rewarding and engaging.

To support these changes, we've updated the related Achievements and adjusted ranking and score rewards so they can now be earned on a weekly basis in line with the new rotation schedule.

We'll continue refining older systems and streamlining existing content to help you spend more time enjoying your adventures.

We've been closely reviewing your feedback on Ranger while testing a variety of improvements internally.
Based on what we've learned, we'd like to walk you through the goals behind today's changes and explain the direction we've taken.

First, let's talk about her PvE performance.
We're well aware of the concerns many Adventurers have raised about Ranger's hunting performance, and our internal testing confirmed that the class was underperforming compared to others.

Before settling on these changes, we spent a lot of time discussing one piece of feedback that came up again and again: the backward movement that occurs when firing her bow. Unlike classes that fight with swords, spears, or axes, Ranger's combat animations are built around archery, which naturally leaves less room for varied attack motions. Removing that backward movement would have required us to significantly rework many longbow animations, making a large number of skills feel visually similar despite having different effects. Rather than sacrificing one of Ranger's defining characteristics, we chose to preserve that movement and instead look for other ways to improve the class's hunting performance.

We considered a number of options, from increasing skill range and damage to introducing additional area-based attacks. Ultimately, however, we decided to focus on improving Blasting Gust so it could become a core skill in both PvE and PvP.

It is one of her core longbow skills, with multiple charges, a short cooldown, and a Radiant Skill Sigil slot. However, its lengthy casting animation and single-hit attack limited its effectiveness while hunting. To address this, Blasting Gust now fires continuously while the skill button is held. During Auto-Combat, it will also continue firing in place as long as charges remain.

With Blasting Gust replacing Razor Wind, we tested the class in areas such as the Mountain of Eternal Winter. The results showed that Ranger now ranks among the strongest classes in overall hunting performance.

Next, we'd like to talk about the longbow and Kamasylven Sword passives.

Our data shows that the longbow currently accounts for roughly 70–80% of weapon selections across all content, including PvE. While some of that comes down to player preference between ranged and melee combat, we also felt the Kamasylven Sword had lost some of its appeal after several of Windwalker's original passive effects were removed and the way Guidance of Wind worked was changed. We also recognized that alternating between movement and attack skills to trigger its effect wasn't as intuitive as we'd like. To make the weapon more approachable, we've changed Guidance of Wind so that, after using three movement skills, its effect now activates on the next skill you use.

We also wanted Ranger's mobility to feel more reliable during combat. Because the class relies on chaining short movement skills together, even a brief interruption could leave you vulnerable. To address this, sprinting after using a movement skill now grants Accelerate, which briefly provides Super Armor.

We've also added Max Critical Hit Damage +30% to both the longbow and the Kamasylven Sword, improving the effectiveness of both weapons.

Next, let's talk about Skill Sigils.

True Shot is primarily used in hunting areas with lower-HP enemies, while Evasive Explosion Shot is most often used for mobility and avoiding incoming attacks. After reviewing how both skills are actually used, we felt True Shot's Faint Skill Sigil slot and Evasive Explosion Shot's Refined Skill Sigil slot didn't fully play to each skill's strengths.

To better match those playstyles, we've changed True Shot's Faint Skill Sigil slot to Defined Skill Sigil slot, allowing players to improve hunting efficiency by increasing the skill's range or the number of targets it can hit. We've also changed Evasive Explosion Shot's Refined Skill Sigil slot to Defined Skill Sigil slot, allowing players to take advantage of effects such as reduced cooldown and increased Move Speed that better complement the way the skill is used.

Lastly, we'd like to talk about Enhanced Evasion, an effect of Chaser's Instinct.

Previously, Chaser's Instinct activated Enhanced Evasion after using three movement skills. While alternating between short and long evasions worked well for covering long distances, we found that it also made the class more difficult to control during combat. It became harder to consistently manage positioning and chain skills at the intended range, especially during intensive battles.

We also compared Ranger's overall evasion performance with other classes. When equipped with the Kamasylven Sword, she had an evasion distance of 6.22 meters, well below the average of 7–8 meters and significantly shorter than some classes that can cover more than 10 meters.

Rather than keeping Enhanced Evasion as part of Chaser's Instinct, we've increased the Kamasylven Sword's evasion distance to 8.51 meters over the same amount of time.

We'll continue monitoring the class's performance and listening to your feedback as we make further adjustments.

Following the Transcendent Hashashin update, we received a great deal of feedback that the changes to the number of Sandstorms generated by Solar Strike made Hashashin's signature fast-paced combat feel less satisfying. We'd like to take this opportunity to explain the goals behind the changes in this update and how they're intended to reinforce his unique combat style and mobility.

First, let's talk about enhancing Solar Strike.

Before Transcendence, Hashashin had several skills that generated Sandstorms. However, those Sandstorms could sometimes obscure important combat effects, making battles harder to read. To improve visibility and overall performance, we adjusted several Sandstorm-generating skills as part of the Transcendence update.

One of those changes limited Solar Strike to generating three Sandstorms only on its final hit. As a result, you had to commit to the entire skill to generate Sandstorms. If you canceled the final hit by evading or using an instant activation skill, it became much harder to take advantage of his signature tactical playstyle of creating openings from within the Sandstorms.

After reviewing the changes internally, we concluded that the Transcendence update had already reduced the overall number of Sandstorms generated during combat. Because of that, restoring Solar Strike's Sandstorm generation to its previous level would no longer cause the performance concerns we were originally trying to address.

To bring back the combat flow that defines Hashashin, Solar Strike now generates three Sandstorms when the skill is used and another three when its final hit lands. At the same time, the increased number of Sandstorms also led to a noticeable increase in PvE performance, particularly in fields and open-world monster zones. To keep that performance in check, we've reduced the PvE damage increase provided by Shamshir from 15% to 10%.

Next, we'd like to explain the skill replacement.

One of Hashashin's defining strengths is the ability to weave in and out of combat while keeping opponents off balance. During the Transcendent Hashashin update, however, Sand Nova, Hashashin's primary engage skill, was changed to an instant activation skill, and its number of uses was reduced from two to one. This also reduced Hashashin's overall mobility.

To address this, we've removed Geo-Pulse, which saw relatively little use, and replaced it with Sandstorm Slash, giving him a new way to close the distance to enemies instantly. Geo-Pulse was originally introduced to support stationary area hunting, but because it saw limited use in actual combat, we felt it was the best candidate for replacement. We hope this change makes engaging and disengaging during combat feel smoother, more dynamic, and more rewarding.

Lastly, we've adjusted Hashashin's Skill Sigil slots.

With Geo-Pulse removed, its Guardian Skill Sigil slot previously assigned to that skill has been moved to the core skill Serpent Strike. We've also changed the Flawless Skill Sigil slot to a Guardian Skill Sigil slot, giving him greater survivability during intense combat.

We'll continue monitoring gameplay and listening to your feedback as we keep refining Hashashin. Our goal is to ensure the class continues to play the way it's meant to and fully deliver on its unique identity.

As mentioned during the Heidel Ball, we've been closely reviewing World Boss damage, rankings, and class performance.

While reviewing recent World Boss data, we found that Witch's damage output was higher than intended.
We then conducted internal testing using the skill and Skill Sigil setups used by Adventurers.
Based on those results, we adjusted Witch's damage multipliers to reduce the gap in damage between classes during World Boss encounters.

The Temple of Serrett is home to stronger Monsters than the other temples.
We noticed that new Adventurers were having difficulty with desert quests, so we've reduced the HP of monsters in the Temple of Serrett.

We've consistently received feedback through various channels, including our Discord community, that the Dark Fissure schedule starts too late.

As part of this content streamlining update, we've adjusted the Saturday content schedule. As a result, Dark Fissure will now begin earlier, at 19:00.

We'll continue to monitor your feedback and make adjustments to improve your gameplay experience.

As announced during the Heidel Ball, we're targeting an August update to make Skill Sigils stored in the Chest of Sigil available to all characters in your Family.

We'll continue working to improve your gameplay experience.