Kovu.7560

> @"Karnasis.6892" said:

> I've been there, it's not that interesting.

That's your opinion, I find the map infinitely more interesting than EBG. While I agree with the rest of your post -- that's all the more reason to discuss the means of making EotM relevant again. The fact that its a "glorified waiting room" that's clearly no longer needed due to lack of queues completely obsoletes its purpose. Why not recycle it into something interesting?

~ Kovu

Don't kid yourselves. They keep gutting Druid and moving it further and further away from being a decent spec that offers either the most of something or something unique that as it currently stands I'd prefer a stance sharing melee soulbeast (in its current form) in my squad rather than a Druid. "Why bring a Soulbeast rather than a Druid?" Because its better in teamplay for support, survivability (through disengage, merged pet skills and better utilities) _and_ damage output. Heck, I watched someone stream a raid the other day and they were running two Soulbeasts and zero Druids, so I can't even say "at least Druids have raids still" anymore. >.>

~ Kovu

> @"Karnasis.6892" said:

> I'm so confused, why does anyone even care about EotM......

> Even before the pip system for WvW I never understood the love of EoTM

Because its a fun and interesting map to play on (more so than deset bl) with unique and non intrusive mechanics, but from a competitive stance has very little influence and very few rewards.

This is a valid thread.

Heck, they could drop a castle onto the upper middle portion of the map and call it a second EBG.

> @"Zephyra.4709" said:

> Eotm is a waiting room for when WvW has queues.

When is the last time _any_ server (server pairing, for that matter) has had all four of their maps queued?

~ Kovu

> @"coro.3176" said:

> It would need other classes' ranged aoes toned down a lot. In WvW, hitting more people for good damage is MUCH preferred to hitting one or two people for great damage. As long as aoe spam exists (scourge, rev), those will be the better choice for WvW, so you'd need:

>

> * all scourge circles heavily nerfed

> * CoR heavily nerfed

>

> Then, there would have to be a lot less projectile hate:

>

> * Defense Field removed or duration shortened

> * FB walls/bubbles removed or duration shortened

> * Winds of Disenchantment no longer blocks projectiles

>

> At this point, Ranger could probably compete on a somewhat equal playing field with other classes in a large fight. Would it be a good pick? Maybe? I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be completely locked out like it currently is.

/thread

Increasing target cap on AoEs to 42 is an awful idea and you should guys feel bad for suggesting it.

~ Kovu

> @"Chaba.5410" said:

> Now more people can drop troll portals **at nodes** and downed players. Lol

Yeah that legitimately upsets people so I stopped doing it.

~ Kovu

To me it thematically makes sense that something with "unstoppable" in the name would remove both hard _and_ soft cc.

But I used fresh reinforcement (as part of the boon stacking rotation) more often anyway.

'spose they could've changed it to make _the next attack_ unblockable -- to prevent longbow spam.

~ Kovu

> @"Duckota.4769" said:

> > @"Kovu.7560" said:

> > > @"Duckota.4769" said:

> > > > @"Kovu.7560" said:

> > > > Range isn't even that big of an issue in small scale pvp because of all of the invulnerabilities/damage mitigation, pre-combat stealths, projectile blocks/reflects, teleports and gap closers. Can't backpedal and maintain that range whilst also continuing to be offensive. Its only a second or two before you're forced to switch into defensive gameplay (in which case you're not attacking) or swap to another weapon.

> > > >

> > > > At least against any half decent player.

> > > >

> > > > ~ Kovu

> > >

> > > Unbind backpedal now. Kite by turning tour body at an angle and running with strafe.

> >

> > Unbind the 's' key? Not sure what you're referring to.

> > If I strafe at an angle longbow will stop firing -- rapid fire in particular is often interrupted. That's why if someone moves through me (often happens with thieves) and I'm in the middle of a rapid fire animation I'll (depending on the situation and incoming attack) take my hand off the movement keys entirely and let my character follow through on the attack on their own because I know that if I don't the attack'll be interrupted by no fault of my own or actions of my opponent, and placed on cooldown.

> > Moreover even if I strafe to the side I don't gain any more distance on someone trying to close the gap than I would moving backwards. On the contrary, they're likely to close the gap sooner. (This is assuming an open plane.) I've been suggesting movement-improvement ideas for the 'skirmishing' line to help mitigate this issue for years.

> >

> > Also, strafing to the side doesn't help with all of the aforementioned counters (in my previous post) any more than backpedaling. Any competent player has negated the range advantage of longbow within a couple of seconds.

> >

> > ~ Kovu

>

> I don't have backpedal bound at all. You can kite by turning your body but you have to use right mouse to turn your camera and keep target centered. Though when someone is really close it can be a nuisance at times. I actually can't think of a reason to ever actually backpedal. You move slower backpedaling than you do with any other form of motion. If it works for you it works, but I think it would benefit you long term to get used to strafing and keeping camera centered ^-^ As difficult as that may be at times. I also think turning with A and D is quite bad. There are separate keybinds for strafing. Just to make sure we're talking about the same keys here. I move with QWE and use mouse to turn.

I mean, I'll give it a try. Its a pipedream of mine to be able to exert continued pressure while limiting an opponent's ability to close the gap _at the same time_. I'll try anything once. I don't suppose you know of any videos of this tactic used in open field or pvp?

~ Kovu

> @"Cyric.7813" said:

> > @"Tukaram.8256" said:

> > My ranger has a greatsword but never uses it. I send in my pet and hang back with my longbow. No reason to go get myself beat up ha ha.

> > I rarely switch weapons on any of my avatars. I find one I like and use it. My ranger likes the longbow.

>

> How boring to be you

Shooting your opponent from over there until they decide to do something about it is a viable strategy. Heck, its part of what a lot of people have been whining about since Sic 'Em Soulbeast became a thing. The real game is being able to deal with a decent player negating your longbow and closing the gap. Enter greatsword.

That said, it sounds like the above player is a pve'er and camping longbow for open world pve is perfectly viable. No need to call them boring because they enjoy a particular playstyle. =p

~ Kovu

Ranger, Mesmer, Thief, Warrior -- in that order.

Revs also aren't as bad on the roaming scene as some people claim.

~ Kovu

> @"Duckota.4769" said:

> > @"Kovu.7560" said:

> > Range isn't even that big of an issue in small scale pvp because of all of the invulnerabilities/damage mitigation, pre-combat stealths, projectile blocks/reflects, teleports and gap closers. Can't backpedal and maintain that range whilst also continuing to be offensive. Its only a second or two before you're forced to switch into defensive gameplay (in which case you're not attacking) or swap to another weapon.

> >

> > At least against any half decent player.

> >

> > ~ Kovu

>

> Unbind backpedal now. Kite by turning tour body at an angle and running with strafe.

Unbind the 's' key? Not sure what you're referring to.

If I strafe at an angle longbow will stop firing -- rapid fire in particular is often interrupted. That's why if someone moves through me (often happens with thieves) and I'm in the middle of a rapid fire animation I'll (depending on the situation and incoming attack) take my hand off the movement keys entirely and let my character follow through on the attack on their own because I know that if I don't the attack'll be interrupted by no fault of my own or actions of my opponent, and placed on cooldown.

Moreover even if I strafe to the side I don't gain any more distance on someone trying to close the gap than I would moving backwards. On the contrary, they're likely to close the gap sooner. (This is assuming an open plane.) I've been suggesting movement-improvement ideas for the 'skirmishing' line to help mitigate this issue for years.

Also, strafing to the side doesn't help with all of the aforementioned counters (in my previous post) any more than backpedaling. Any competent player has negated the range advantage of longbow within a couple of seconds.

~ Kovu

> @"Gop.8713" said:

> The problem with that ofc is if the yak never leaves the camp :p

Fortunately it can be kited out.

~ Kovu

> @"Oslaf Beinir.5842" said:

> You shall not play druid ever again in pvp

Or in any form of wvw or in pve outside of raids.

Honestly don't see why this elite keeps getting hammered.

~ Kovu

Range isn't even that big of an issue in small scale pvp because of all of the invulnerabilities/damage mitigation, pre-combat stealths, projectile blocks/reflects, teleports and gap closers. Can't backpedal and maintain that range whilst also continuing to be offensive. Its only a second or two before you're forced to switch into defensive gameplay (in which case you're not attacking) or swap to another weapon.

At least against any half decent player.

~ Kovu

Also, who gets the points for the keeps? The people camping it? Nobody? How is this gameplay refreshing? Once all of the walls are broken down how are they ever repaired? Are towers affected?

~ Kovu

> @"Trevor Boyer.6524" said:

> * **Ancestral Grace: This skill no longer evades attacks. Increased recharge from 18 seconds to 20 seconds. If at least 1 ally other than yourself is healed, the recharge is reduced by 5 seconds.** = _"Ok, as the last person who even plays Druid at a plat 2 level, just why? Why nerf Druid further? This is the stupidest and most unwarranted change in this entire list of patch notes. Let me explain why: First of all, making the recharge 20s from 18, just completely screws up the synergy of weapon swapping with the staff. The staff is generally used as a defensive measure and the #3 staff skill is the largest part of that defensive measure. Being able to evade while using it, allows the Druid to do what it does, and that is survive and disengage. So quite often, when a Druid swaps to staff they are able to use #3 immediately alongside of an effect such as sigil of escape. 18s CD scales perfectly for this purpose while weapon swapping back and forth between a damage weapon side and staff escape side. Now with a 20s CD, the player can no longer immediately use staff #3 escape, which is an enormous nerf to the already Renegade level gameplay in competitive modes. Secondly, having the recharge reduced by 5s if at least 1 other ally is healed during the use of staff #3? That's ridiculous for so many reasons. The Druid is a side node mainly in spvp, which means it is usually alone, and it doesn't have realistic reason to keep teleporting to its pet for the 5s reduction either. It needs to use the #3 to stay away from things, as far away as possible. Furthermore, the 5s CD would put it to a 15s recharge, which is meaningless because it doesn't matter if it is a 15s CD or an 18s CD, because weapon swapping takes 18s anyway to rotate, and Druid's DO NOT CAMP STAFF SIDE. So this effect granted of a 5s reduction is completely useless not only in competitive modes, but also in pve, where Druids are weapon swapping as often as possible to warhorn and back to staff, meaning it will take them at least 18s to be able to use staff #3 again. This change is a completely lackluster nerf to the Druid in competitive modes and pve. Why is there no one in the Arenanet office that is capable of recognizing skill trait practicality issues like this? <- This change needs to be reverted ASAP. I seriously do not understand why Arenanet would aim at making something like Scrapper an inordinately powerful force to be reckoned with, defensively, offensively, and now even with its mobility, but then continue to nerf the batshit out of something that quite seriously has a class representation of 1 person in the top 100."_ <- It's these kinds of changes that make gameplay feel funky & wonky, and not smooth.

> * Upon all this ^ I'd just like to add that Druid is a class that needed significant straight flat buffing, not nerfing. The CA kit is a joke compared to FB kits. And now with Scrapper buffs, Scrapper is going to be a clear upgrade from Druid play in literally every aspect. Scrapper will have A LOT more sustain than a Druid, A LOT more damage, A LOT more CCs, waaaaaay better support, waaaay better kill securing power, it'll rotate fast as hell for disengage factor due to mass superspeed buffs, and still be able to front tons of stealth if it chooses. What are you guys doing? I mean who makes these decisions? I don't normally get enraged by patching just maybe a bit confused, but this time I'm actually pissed off about it. These changes are like Arenanet dropped a few weird suggestions into a hat that didn't make sense to begin with, shook them up, and then began drawing them out see what would randomly happen next.

Pretty much this. I want a reason to play Druid again. =(

~ Kovu

By "AI NPCs" do you mean the core ranger pets?

I would like to see an improvement to the AI of core ranger pets.

This thread is now a spid-- core ranger pet thread.

~ Kovu

> @"Zetsuei.8942" said:

> should give something like 100% flat damage and like 75% damage reduction.

As someone who enjoys smallscale roaming on outnumbered maps I would love this for small scale and think it would be completely balanced. =)

... In all seriousness if they're going to do something to truly provide an advantage for outnumbered players with regards to the mechanics of the gamemode they should grant folks with the outnumbered buff +25% siege damage vs. structures, or something. It would improve the potential of ninja'ing unscouted structures and keep the more numerous defenders on their toes.

That said, with the way the balancing crew over at Anet functions, they'll probably add something weird to the buff, like 100% downstate health and +15% damage against the mobs associated with the Veteran Creature Slayer daily.

~ Kovu

Edit- That first line was sarcasm. Doesn't translate well with text.

If its possible to rework the waypoint so that as soon as you've clicked on it you're committed to that location (even if the waypoint disappears) that would reduce the need for a longer duration on the waypoint itself. That way people with longer load times are not (well, less) screwed.

~ Kovu

The soulbeast nerfs ricocheted and hit druid, too. I am a sad panda, I miss druid being decent. =(

~ Kovu

Oh hey. More Druid nerfs absolutely nobody asked for. o.o

~ Kovu

If you're solo roaming and get ganked by 3 people, find 5 friends and gank that group back.

That's the Blackgate solution.

That being said, take it in stride. It should be less of an issue with mounts being a thing and in the end, what're you losing exactly for dying?

~ Kovu

> @"SinisterSlay.6973" said:

> Nerf everyone damage by 80%, boost crafted weapon emplacement player damage by 300%. It should not be possible to 1 hit kill a player by another players basic attacks. This will allow less optimal builds from beginners to actually survive more than 5 seconds and not get so discouraged. However, a trebuchet to the face or a cannon to the groin absolutely should at minimum knock you down and cause you to bleed out. An entire zerg attacking a wall should absolutely be able to be wiped out by a couple cannons. This would force some actual strategy and force the invading army to have to actually set up their own ranged siege weapons.

>

> Pretty sure everyone will hate my idea, but these were the things that drove me nuts and made wvw thoroughly unenjoyable for me.

Holy crap no

This isn't real life. Enjoyable gameplay should take priority over your proposed realism. Nobody wants a couple of guys on cannons to be able to wipe out entire zergs, from both fun and balance perspectives.

~ Kovu

> @"Anput.4620" said:

> ...The build isn't broken when the other builds are broken because balance is relative so what is broken and what isn't considered broken...

I was done with this thread on the last page, but this quote could be a song.

Final thoughts on the matter are that while Sic 'Em could do with a tone down, the general potency of Soulbeast in its niche role should not be gutted, and I feel the profession could be improved upon elsewhere. Reworking ranger damage to not be so reliant on stacking multipliers to be relevant could also be a thing.

~ Kovu

A big reason many people want open world pvp is because the comparatively limited and unchanged mechanics of wvw don't scratch that itch anymore. They keep releasing new pve content with interesting and fresh mechanics, but wvw almost never gets the same treatment. Admittedly I'm finding this core week event quite enjoyable, but these occasional events and odd occasional content updates (new skins, warclaw etc.) don't really grow the root concept of the game enough for many people to remain interested after 7~ years. They're band-aid solutions.

The only way people are going to get their open world pvp is if the developer chooses to invest a legitimate amount of time and resources into improving and evolving (and possibly outright changing) the core mechanics. The purists will hate them for it, too, but I suspect they're part of the vocal minority.

I've sunk over 6k hours into the gamemode (which I know for a fact are peasant numbers compared to some people who've sunk 20k+ hours) and admittedly at this point the primary reason I hang around is for the chance to enjoy gaming with the people I play with and not to throw down catas next to south wall of Bay for the 2,735th time.

tl;dr: the only form of open-world pvp is stagnant, but slapping pvp onto the existing type of pve content won't work to fix the problem, nor is it really even viable with the way this game's pve is designed.

~ Kovu

edit- ..."vocal" minority, not local minority. Pretty sure the ethnics in my neighborhood don't care about this game.