Kovu.7560

> @"DeadlySynz.3471" said:

> Yes but a caveat

>

> - Remove boons obtained from other people

> - Allow boons you can place on yourself

Oh boy! Boonbeast week! =D

(... and I guess scrappers and mesmers.)

~ Kovu

> @"spectrito.8513" said:

> > @"Anput.4620" said:

> > > @"steki.1478" said:

> > > Why do you keep comparing cheese builds with dueling ones? With that logic I can say that holo is underpowered because it's bad in blobs and you should l2p if you're struggling against it.

> >

> > Because cheese builds aren't actually good, they are cheese, hence no need to balance around poeple that won't L2P being cheesed.

> >

> > > @"Doug.4930" said:

> > > Once again everything is about 1v1's. Game isn't balanced soley around 1v1's. I think glassbows are wayyy too good at their role, killing people in less than a second, you think its fine because in an honorable duel they can be beaten. Agree to disagree. I'm not gonna quit the game over this build, but I will continue to criticise it.

> >

> > Then where are you talking? 1v2? Should have lost that anyways, blobs? They suck there, what are you even talking about here? It is about objective performance in combat, where relatively it doesn't objectively overperform compared to other builds.

>

> Cant dodge in 0.5 sec with protection? clearly l2p issue

>

>

>

The player in the video, clearly not invested in any toughness, was down to ~10k health when the volley started, though they did have both dodges available. Moreover, that ranger clearly ran out and stood there for a couple of seconds before even firing. Not saying the damage wasn't too high, just that the player in question needed to improve their peripheral awareness. (Keep buffs were also a thing, based on the targeted ele.) Not sure why they were expecting an honest duel next to the gate of SMC.

~ Kovu

I had my account stolen and stripped when yahoo (the site I had my email on at the time) was compromised back in the day. Though no fault of my own, these things do happen. Fortuantely I was able to recover it and change the email associated with the account. Today, all three of my accounts have to go through my phone to be accessed. Haven't had a problem since.

~ Kovu

> @"XenesisII.1540" said:

> Much as I hate how out of control boons are, and those boon balling guilds that requires an army of scourges to deal with, it's still needed for the high damage being thrown around. So who wants to run around a week without their protection, stability and resistance? **It'll be pirate ship week.**

To be fair it kinda already is. Boons were at their most potent during the early days of HoT, but at least groups _engaged_ each other back then -- rather than staring at each other across a field waiting for the other group to make a move as they do now.

~ Kovu

Can we remove conditions, too? =D

> @"Jski.6180" said:

> > @"Kovu.7560" said:

> > On my soulbeast I'm getting a good amount of utility out of the elementalist's cantrips. The burning, raw damage, ohfuc-teleport, AoE damage elite and (especially) the various condition cleanses synergize well with my build's defenses versus power damage and traited damage multipliers. On the flip side I picked up the ranger skills to see how they'd compare to the utilities I use, and they're all kinda trash. (Traps? Really?)

> >

> > Haven't killed a warrior or engineer yet, so I'm not sure how well those skills would work for me.

> >

> > ~ Kovu

>

> JI and bull rush are way better then Lighting flash. Nado is nice for melee only classes but only just. I am just shock they did not have arcain blast or arcain wave in there as these are more ele like skills then just well carbon copy of war skills.

To be fair I was using them to their full potency on a melee zergbusting spec. I'd never take those cantrips over my usual utilities for pew pew roaming. I haven't killed a warrior yet and tested out their skills but I'm enjoying how lightning flash is non-targeted (unlike JI). Rangers don't get non targeted teleports, non-Soulbeasts don't get teleports at all and ranger mobility is tied to their weapons and/or profession mechanics, not their utilities. Admittedly I feel LF should probably break stun or have 1,200 range for the cooldown it has (to compare to either blink or shadowstep), but I don't know the ins and outs of elementalist so I don't know if that'd be too powerful.

Oh, I also haven't killed a rev yet and tested their skills. Still, I'm having fun with this. =)

~ Kovu

On my soulbeast I'm getting a good amount of utility out of the elementalist's cantrips. The burning, raw damage, ohfuc-teleport, AoE damage elite and (especially) the various condition cleanses synergize well with my build's defenses versus power damage and traited damage multipliers. On the flip side I picked up the ranger skills to see how they'd compare to the utilities I use, and they're all kinda trash. (Traps? Really?)

Haven't killed a warrior or engineer yet, so I'm not sure how well those skills would work for me.

~ Kovu

edit-

Actually disregard this post.

If nothing else, you're right that this isn't the place for three year old guild drama.

This forum desperately needs a delete post option.

> @"Shifty.4985" said:

> Convert people to play 1 shot rangers, then when anet sees everyone playing it, the will see it as too strong and will nerf

Problem is that its a one-trick-pony build that blows up as soon as an opponent playing an even remotely damaging build looks in their general direction. The prospect of "burst and if that doesn't work hope you can run away" doesn't appeal to everyone. Those builds don't survive in sustained fights. Its basically glass thief lite, except with damage immunity instead of evasion uptime.

I find it amusing that some people claim that they avoid playing a certain build because its too cheesy and they're above that. Give me a break.

I'm not saying Sic 'Em doesn't need to be smashed -- just that glassbow soulbeast on the whole isn't the one build to end them all. (Unless they're all necros.)

~ Kovu

> @"Zephyra.4709" said:

> but it looks like a _Mist Opportunity_.

Ohoho!

Wow. That shield is a real beaut.

Its a shame I don't use shields.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, I voted.

~ Kovu

> @"LaGranse.8652" said:

> Think people are overcomplicating what ANET has really done here. When you pick up an orb you get a special skill. If you use the skill your heal/utilities and elite change to predetermined skills from the profession whose orb you used. This sounds like ANET has created 9 transformations, 1 for each class, that you just swap to to gain the skills.

To add to this point, they released the information on the thief healing, utility, and elite skills and I can't think of any situation where I'd prefer those five skills over my own profession's bar. If the other professions have as lackluster skills, I can't see it being game breaking. On the contrary, I expect a lot of free bags next week from people trying out subpar skill selections.

~ Kovu

> @"Ubi.4136" said:

> As much as I wished the game had just launched with dual-classing and ALL the original classes, I really, really, really hope they aren't trying to put dual classing back in to the game. The balance is so out of whack, and this seems like a beta test of a really bad idea.

Its partially _because_ the balance is so out-of-whack and there being only a small number of viable builds for both the large scale and the small scale roaming scene that introducing this event might actually make things _interesting_ for a week. Having there be new and interesting build combinations for a week is worth skewing the balance that much further. Plus if the thief skills are any indication, they're going to pull from utilities and elites that usually garbage anyway.

Plus those polls don't tell us anything, they always boil down to "I hate change unless its _my_ change" regardless of the proposed event. No wonder things get so stagnant around here.

~ Kovu

I like it.

I think it'll be interesting.

Obviously not balanced, but its just for one week. Who knows, maybe this is a warmup for potential multiclassing down the road.

~ Kovu

FA isn't double teaming with anyone. We're just hitting the server that actually has players to fight.

With the exception of that nomo guild, nobody on _any_ server is even playing the desert map.

~ Kovu

> @"steki.1478" said:

> Cast maul, inventory swap to x/wh, cast 5, weapon swap to lb, continue with your combo. All of these precasts are done outside of combat so you can abuse all modifiers with ease. However, maul isnt even necessary on longbow combo, it's mostly used for winters bite or other one hit skills.

That's certainly an option, I actually don't rely on the unblockable so heavily so I keep a warhorn at the time of my inventory for additional boons pre combat and go in with longbow and greatsword. I guess keeping a greatsword at the top of your inventory for a maul->winter's bite is an option. If they changed it so that effects like maul's AoO or Warhorn's unblockable are removed if the relevant weapons are unequipped that'd at least force the ranger to commit to those weapons.

> There's a massive difference between a build that suicides for a chance to kill and a build that can kill from safety while still having a way to escape (or you can simply do it from a cliff/wall or other safe spot). Not to mention that literally no one does that on ele (too much effort, not much reward) compared to at least 50% of all soulbeasts in the game. Besides, even if they nerfed churning earth it wouldn't achieve absolutely anything because the skill is useless already.

The elementalist example is just one of many where players see big numbers and assume they're constant, and call for nerfs without digging deeper into how those numbers are achieved and how often. I wasn't specifically intending to compare an augmented churning earth to an augmented rapid fire. Though with that in mind, its true that a soulbeast can use sic 'em, might, AoO, and the traits in marksmanship, skirmishing and soulbeast that outright increase damage, but all of those modifiers are not going to be up _all of the time_. It _is_ easy to do and I do feel the ceiling on soulbeast damage could do to be lowered with minimal effect to their average output. I can't speak off the top of my head what I'd do to change these traits that are basically "+x% damage", but I feel no sympathy for people who demand they be deleted with no constructive suggestions.

People put too much value in ranged attacks as a form of _defense_. Its easy for the opposition to close the gap against a ranger with either leaps or teleports and then all of a sudden that benefit of range has been entirely negated leaving the ranger with three options. Turn tail and run, in which case the ranger is not an offensive threat; continue attacking with that ranged weapon at which point whatever mobility the ranger has is not being utilized and they're at a dps disadvantage or switch to a melee weapon and hope the they can outsustain whoever they're engaged with (which isn't going to happen on a spec achieving 10k longbow autos).

> I'm all for having less attacks that deal >15k damage, regardless of how hard they are to pull off. But of course, priority should always be on easier/more popular ones.

Yeah, this game needs to lower the cap on damage potential _and_ the ability to tank. My necro got sniped by a 24k gunflame from the enemy zerg the other day, that was a sad moment.

~ Kovu

edit- sorry for the late reply, I pretty much only ever check this forum during my lunch break out of boredom. cheers.

> @"Twilight Tempest.7584" said:

> The difficulty when discussing why Soulbeast is problematic is that the overtuned mechanics lie beneath the surface and are usually the sum of multiple synergies. Below are links to two comments by knowledgeable players as to why SLB is busted. I didn't really see these issues covered here. They're in PvP context, but they apply in WvW just as well.

>

> [best in game damage multiplier stacking](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/941977/#Comment_941977 "Best in game damage multiplier stacking")

>

> [Too much unblockable](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/948011/#Comment_948011 "Too much unblockable")

>

> I know links are annoying, but they're within this forum, and I didn't want to create a text wall here.

Soulbeasts spamming rapid fire and maul do not have access to call of the wild, clarion bond doesn't work because it requires an unmerged pet swap (also you'll be using marksmanship without stoneform which is kind of silly on a build that dies when its breathed on) and that unblockable signet is a reeealy trashy way to waste one of your two non-sic 'em slots.

This might come as a surprise, but all the soulbeasts you come across are not going to have access to every tool available to the profession at once. People need to stop plucking the best options from a profession to make it seem like its overperforming. Sic 'em needs a nerf, ranger otherwise does not.

Also (directed at everyone, not Twilight), don't base profession balance off of cherry picked montage videos. A while back people were calling for elementalist nerfs because of a video where a player was one-shotting groups of players with churning earth.

~ Kovu

I didn't even know it provided an aura. o.o

But that looks pretty cool.

~ Kovu

Just putting it out there, a single soulbeast is almost never going to pluck a player out of a group of players running a wvw comp. Even if their unblockable is up (which is hardly always the case) to negate the pretty much permanent AoE reflection a wvw comp generally has going, the odds of their being able to drop someone with protection among other boons surrounded by scrappers, firebrands and scourges is negligible. (Catching someone off tag is of course a different story.)

Also, with rare exception, longbow rangers are only going to drop mounted players if those players have already wasted their dodges before noticing the ranger. Its probably the best class to do the job, but the expectation is still low.

~ Kovu

How to fight Scourges?

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From over here. Their mobility is nonexistent.

edit- Oh, are we talking about a 1v2? Well, rough. Hope to burst one down quick, otherwise backoff until a more favorable scenario presents itself.

> @"Strider Pj.2193" said:

> Maybe.... Make it

> - for toons that are sub level 60. Anyone higher than level 59 aren’t allowed in.

> - give minimal leveling experience.

> - Give limited reward track progress

> - No skirmish track progress

>

>

> Would give a limited (very limited) introduction to some basic mechanics of WvW (with obvious differences), while allowing people a chance to level their toons there.

>

> It wouldn’t draw toons from WvW as they would be sub level 60 but would possibly create a little interest

>

Every single one of those points is an excellent way to have the map see even _less_ play.

~ Kovu

> @"steki.1478" said:

> > @"Kovu.7560" said:

> > > @"Stand The Wall.6987" said:

> > > I love how people try to use other classes strength as an excuse for soulbeasts insane damage. classic straw man action.

> >

> > I think they're just suggesting that ranger burst potential isn't the only burst potential that needs addressing, or even the worst. I doubt they're all denying it's overtuned.

> >

> > ~ Kovu

>

> No one said that mentioned builds arent strong or overpowered, they just arent as effective/popular/easy to play as soulbeast and this thread isnt about those classes it's about soulbeast.

Did you see my first post? _Every_ thread is about Soulbeast these days and I'm while I'm sure some people enjoy the salt, others are probably getting annoyed by it. Also, just because the thread is about Soulbeast that doesn't mean players can't draw comparisons with other professions.

~ Kovu

> @"Stand The Wall.6987" said:

> I love how people try to use other classes strength as an excuse for soulbeasts insane damage. classic straw man action.

I think they're just suggesting that ranger burst potential isn't the only burst potential that needs addressing, or even the worst. I doubt they're all denying it's overtuned.

~ Kovu

> @"sephiroth.4217" said:

> Red is dead.

>

> Saw 2 people hitting the vet boar for thier daily, killed them both but not the Boar..

> Oh man, the rage whispers.

>

> I tried explaining that its an open world pvp map but to no avail. They got aggressive so I camped the boar for a while refusing them thier dailies.

>

> Unfortunately most people are going to read this and instantly think I was being an kitten but this is what happens when the roaming scene gets gutted.. You take what ever scraps you can get and it applies to all ranks and all players.

Well, I'm not _this_ much of a jerk (I usually kill the warg 'cause w/e I'm there for my daily too), but ↑ has the right of it. Its open world pvp, you get what you signed up for. The only time I won't attack someone is if I'm told _in advance_ its an intentional 1v1 (or 2v2 etc. w/e), or the clearly set up fights in areas like north of the south camp bridge -- and mostly out of respect for my own server mates.

Those people fighting east of SMC tho? They're dead - that's a god-awful place to set up for scrims.

~ Kovu

edit- I've been known to murder duelists to refresh participation. >.>

> @"DemonSeed.3528" said:

> Dev input would be great.

If you or anyone manage to get an Anet dev to post in this thread, I will mail you 50 gold.

Anyway, I use taco for pve map completion. Its neat the first time, but a slog afterwords. _I was assured that it was allowed as its an overlay and not a mod._ I enjoy being able to put map completion on mental autopilot while I watch anime, or something.

I wouldn't be against a feature that outlined anything that would reveal you or put the marked debuff on you. Might make for more strategic sieging with less of the guesswork. I suppose the counterargument would be that that information grants an inherent visual advantage compared to those who don't use the program. But then, the same is true of a lot of the other features in pve.

~ Kovu