The is supposed to be a PVP update cycle and these are supposed to be Succ Sorc updates and my comments are under that context.

Dark Flame CD: Some gain from having them in sync at 8 secs.  But it is of zero impact.  Prime: Dark Flame at 6 secs offered a nuanced build of applying add-ons at range via an FG.  Also as BackStep is a 3sec (?) CD an advanced sort of manuever in no stam, no shard situations was to do a Released -> Backstep and shortly thereafter a Dark Flame -> Backstep.  This is no gone.  Overall Effect: NERF

Dark Tendrils: CD lowering is nice, but in reality gains nothing.  Typically I am doing my thing in close quarters and when the skill tree is on cooldown I will create distance and go into Tendrils to get some HP, Stam and Shards. Thing is I rarely experice an oh crap moment because Tendrils is on CD.  It is pretty much always up when I go to use it, so the CD change just doesn't matter.  The SA -> FG is HORRIBLE.  As again, I usually will carefull position and create some separation and I want to HOLD the Tendrils as long as possible for resource recovery.  As Tendrils also has a heal, I just don't every really suffer big damage in Tendrils.  If I do start to get too much damage I cut the skill and run.  Also, Tendrils is a key skill against the Auto-Play CC crowd because of its length of holding the SA.  e.g. When facing a Succ Nova or any Block-Jump-ish situation I can go into Tendrils.  And finally because Tendrils is a loooong, sllow animation that is very sluggich to break we are now a sitting duck for an easy opening CC.   Overall Effect: FG change is HORRIBLE, CD change doesn't matter. Big NERF

Shadow Ignition CD: Nice, but it should be substantially lower.  Why?  Because it is a double/triple duty skill in a tiny skill tree.  1) It is a high skill play, unprotected CC Float Catch especially when passive/defensive. 2) Key combo damage skill with the Downsmash and/or Float to extend a combo.  But if you use it to get the catch, you lose a key skill in your combo as well as Downsmash or Float re-CC.  Overall Effect: Tiny Improvement but really needs to be 6 secs.

Crow Nightmare CD: This along with a with actually most of the changes here is only an Awak Sorc buff.  It does nothing for Succ Sorc.  Overall Effect: Nada for Suuc, nice change for Awak which will actually slot this skill.  But this is a Succ PVP patch ...

Prime: Dream of Doom Charge Speed: When PA standardized movement and cast speeds on skills for all classes weeks back this was a HUGE NEFT for Succ Sorc as the verticle movment lifting up the Doom Ball while charging was considered a "movement".  As a result of this slowing  to DoD dying in DOD increased dramaticlly for Succ Sorc.  While I haven't tested on GL, I suspect this only reverses that nerf to restore DoD overall cast time to its original value. Overall Effect: Reverses a brutal (unintended) nerf, but is not a buff. Needed FIX.

Prime: Violation FG->SA: The problem here is again the dual use of Vio because of our tiny skill tree and pretty long CDs. Succ Sorc doesn't have a protected melee combo so it is constantly suffering when there is a CC'd opponent opportunity.    This helps in that situation, but the problem is the entire combo is rife with unprotected skills. Ignition, TBS, Stinger, Beak etc.  So making Vio an SA doesn't help this situation as you are still going to get CC'd every time.  The second use of Vio is a close the distance skill where you really need that FG.  A classic situation is the terrible match up of a Succ Sorc against 1-shotting range and mid-range.  To have even a SLIM chance a Succ Sorc must carefully "stalk" the ranged class down with Rushing to move, a cross your fingers and pray Stinger, then VERY careful rotations of Vio, Crow and Claws to keep an FG up.  You are still going to be just burned down because of their overwhelming damage.   But at least there was something to at least try.  With VIo and Crow Flare now SAs there is nothing to do but put your weapons away and just die. Any ranged skill can now be free fired at a Succ Sorc and I have no FGs to protect myself. Rotating an SA just means taking all the Archer/Ranger/Maegu/Awak Zerk/.... damage full on and these are all one shots to a Succ Sorc (recall PA removed Succ Sorc's DR buff AND our Eva buff).   Overall Effect: Slight situational improvement at the cost of now being completely helpless against range because we are now a FG class without any FGs. BIG NERF.

Prime: Crow Flare FG -> SA:  I don't understand this at all.  It makes zero sense.  In fact, it is because of this change right here I am convinced that PA cluelessly is just making random uneducated changes.  THIS IS OUR BLOCK.  This is why it is on a 2 sec CD.  This is why it does no damage.  This is why it has no range.  This is why you removed shard regen from it (wrongly).  This why it is a slowish skill with a slight linger to simulate a Block with an FG.   I can iframe and then Crow Flare to simulate the behavior of Awaks Iframe (iframe with a lingering FG).  Making it an SA does absulutely nothing beyound giving the opponent a free animation lock to apply damage to me.  I can not think of a single situation why I would ever do a Crow Flare beyond doing a Beak Kick.   WHY WOULD ANY ONE USE AN SA SKILL WITH ZERO RANGE AND ZERO DAMAGE???  All you do is give the opponent a long animation of free damage.  You can't do an SA trade when you SA skill has nou range and no damage. Overall Effect: Horrible Nerf.

Prime: Shadow Eruption SA -> FG: HORRIBLE CHANGE This is our only viable protected catch which is a weak Float. Eruption has a really nice animation cancel off of the Iframe.  It is also an extremially low range, highly directional skill.  The only way to use it effectively is to iframe into the ball and hope to get a catch or two.  It is literally the only thing we have to threaten even slighty another class.We have NO Grab, NO FG ignoring CC. NO Block Jump.  And we have a PA combat team that is making everone all SA all the time even it makes no sense. The ONLY thing we have is every 7 secs we can get into the ball, fire off SA Eruption and get the hell out and hope we got a catch.  Eruption is commonly done right in the middle of the chaos of stuff firing off all around. No it makes no sense at all.  Close in to the ball and try and pull off an Eruption and you now going to be insta -CCd and dead.  Making this an FG does nothing and removing the SA removes the only tiny threat we have against an opponent.  What is Succ Sorc supposed to do with no grab, no block, no FG ingoring CC and no Block Jump, no movement and now NO PROTECTED CC.  WE HAVE TO HAVE AN OPTION TO DO SOMETHING. Overall Effect: God awful NERF.

Succession: Dark Backstep FG -> SA:  You generally Release->Dark Backstep in PVP to just try and get the heck out a situation and are low on HP, Stam and Shards.  It is a real crappy disengage that almost never works out on a class that has no movement whatsoever.  At the end of the day this is a nothing change.  Currently when I Backstep with low HP the FG was really needed.  If I'm already surronded, I'm already dead as I have no movement.  Making this an SA just means I move directly away from the opponent in a long animation while taking damage the entire time I am moving without doing anthing to the opponent.  Overall Effect: Nothing Noticable.  For every 1 time I'm glad it is now an SA, I'll be pissed off 2 or 3 other times that it was not kept an FG.

Shard Explosion SA: Overall Effect Who cares..  Doesn't help at all beyond HC server.

If we had not been given a massive Eva nerf to our survivability some of the FG->SA _might_ make sense, but probably not even then.  The protection changes are terrible.  IF we had damage output increases to match our now taking much larger damage via do nothing skill, Backstep and  Flare,  I'd save give the changes a chance, but we only to 2 changes to PVP damage: Doom and Calamity which are both longish CD skills with negligable impact to DPS.

The rest of the changes are all PVE damage changes we are getting in a supposed PVP cycle change.  WHY ARE WE NOT GETTING ANY PVP CHANGES?   WHY WERE THESE PVE CHANGES NOT GIVEN IN THE PVE CHANGE CYCLE?  IF YOU ARE GIVING US OUT PVE CHANGES NOW, WHY ARE PASSING THEM OFF AS OUR PVP CYCLE CHANGES.

Bottom Line:  Once again the same ol' Succ Sorc story of Nerfs and No Buff for no understandable reason.

Last AoS Seaon in NA the HIGHEST ranked Succ Sorc was Rank 800-ish.  SInce there were only 5,000 players that means the HIGHEST ranked Succ Sorc was behind 20% of ALL players on ALL classes.  And this what we get for our PVP cycle.  Two modest damage increases and screwing up our proections?  FWIW, he only popped into the 800-ish rank during the last few days of the Season where everyone who playes at that time get good gains. This means the TOP SUCC SORC AoS PLAYERS where at 75% of all players.  Two tiny damage increases and out protection scheme torn apart.    Crow Flare as an SA?!?!?!?  I can't think of ANY circumstance or play style where this makes ANY sense.

There are horrible changes.  Simply terrible, especially where there are numerable good changes that are obvious.

Please DO NOT make the Proctection changes.  Please give us the PVE changes, WE SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED in the PVE cycle and we will thankful you bothered to give Succ Sorc anything at all.   Give us the two modest PVP damage changes to Calamity and Doom or don't give it to us.  They won't change anything.  

Clearly the whole "we will risk doing bolder PVP changes to long suffering marginal claases" was just bullshit.  The Protection changes are nerfs and the two modest PVP damage changes will have no impact whatsoever.

Funny, down voted when it is point for point matching the other posting on Succ Sorc GL feedback. Again point-for-point identicl.  

I only did a second post to emphasis how bad this update is for Succ (beyond the PVE damage increases, but this is a PVP patch).  And also to try and give additional color as to WHY the changes were so terrible.

It is honestly a horrible patch for PVP and the PVE patch Succ Sorc should have had a loooong time ago.