otto.5684

Regardless if it is over performing or not, the fact that condi DH with trapper rune, is the only semi viable DH build says it all about the current state of spvp. A power build cannot play as power and relies on a broken rune and passive burn spam to function. F*****g trash balance and design.

Well, pve did not have a balance patch since... July I think? > @"Nimon.7840" said: > > @"Lily.1935" said: > > Don't expect any major changes until after EoD is released. That's what I'm expecting at least. > > I think there will be one balance patch before EoD to prepare for the new elite specs. Indeed, both core and HoT had major balance patches before next expansion release. Though I doubt the patch before EoD will be anywhere close.

Mirage is good in most pve content. Chrono is also good in most pve content. PvP all Mesmer builds struggle.

> @"draxynnic.3719" said: > > @"otto.5684" said: > > Not all classes are optimal with elite weapons, especially for pve. > > > > DH, does not use LB. > > Warrior uses axe/axe mostly all across, except for condi berserker. > > Power rev uses S/S. Both elites. > > Eng has flexibility. > > Soul beats uses GS and axe/axe. Actually, I do not think daggers see much play anywhere. > > Chrono uses sword/sword. Support still uses the shield though. > > > > It is not bad. I more concerned with weapons that absolutely suck in pve. > > To be fair, spellbreakers often do use daggers, especially in PvP, there are some power and condi renegade builds that primarily use shortbow, and soulbeast dagger is fairly popular on condi soulbeasts nowadays. None of these are cases of being clearly optimal, though, just good with specific builds. And that is good. Not that I think that a specific elite weapon being optimal with most of a that elite builds is a bad thing. It is not a persuasive issue like the OP made it.

Not all classes are optimal with elite weapons, especially for pve. DH, does not use LB. Warrior uses axe/axe mostly all across, except for condi berserker. Power rev uses S/S. Both elites. Eng has flexibility. Soul beats uses GS and axe/axe. Actually, I do not think daggers see much play anywhere. Chrono uses sword/sword. Support still uses the shield though. It is not bad. I more concerned with weapons that absolutely suck in pve.

Goals in GW2? Nothing till EOD. If it is not this year then nothing.

> @"voltaicbore.8012" said: > > @"otto.5684" said: > >We might have a peak around the new expansion, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than 3 months. **It is a death spiral, sadly. And even if Anet puts their act together, it won’t make a difference.** The game is just too old, and clearly lacks the longevity that few other games have. > > It pains me greatly to admit this, but I agree - lately I just can't shake the feeling that the game is in a death spiral, and anything cool we have to look forward to in EoD can't really reverse that. It hurts to watch, because GW2 has so much to give, but I'm not sure we players have the patience left to wait for the devs to draw that out between bungled releases and abandoned game features. > > More than the underlying technology of the game, I think it takes a special kind of vision and management to keep an old product relevant for a decade+. That being said, I'm sure there are things about how GW2 is built (high end machines still struggling to keep FPS steady, for one thing) that make it even less likely that someone with that special vision/management could have pulled it off. > > > > It is not an easy question what maintains players interest for more than 5 years. The only other MMO that managed that level of success is WoW. I personally dunno why. I think GW2 was holding okayish till mid last year. But since, every thing was mediocre, slow and/or receycled. For me, the spvp Feb 2020 patch was a major mistake. Major shifts rarely bring players back to the game or bring in new players. The most definitely alienate many existing active players. This is why these need to be a slam dunk. What Anet did was an air ball. And even if you can argue it hit the board, this cannot be mediocre. It needed to be extremely good, so it would not alienate a big portion of the player base.

> @"Shao.7236" said: > A lot of games out there that are popular have about 5k players or so active at a time so really until we are down to the 3 digits, I can't really call it dead. Also you're judging from what exactly.. This mini-season which was always less active that others? > > Sure there isn't enough players to prevent matchmaking from being a big coin toss most of the time but there's still enough people playing that it's still fun to play PvP normally. > > Besides lots of people don't like to just 1v1 for fun because there's no incentive with the lack of rewards which is a pretty big problem overall with any community, not that they should add rewards for it either, what happened to just having fun, improving or understanding what's going on? > > In turn that leads players to not improve or get good then we get random complains from those who barely play it to change so many things that don't make sense. In my experience, you need around 200-300 players, per region, queing at prime time for match making to work effectively. Probably 500+ for robust match making. If not, the game experience suffers greatly, cuz majority of the games will lack in fairness. Also, when this happens the player pool tend to split into old veterans and new players testing the waters. No middle class. So matches default to which team has more or worse newbies. I have been through this in two games before. It is a frustrating experience. We might have a peak around the new expansion, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than 3 months. It is a death spiral, sadly. And even if Anet puts their act together, it won’t make a difference. The game is just too old, and clearly lacks the longevity that few other games have.

> @"Alatar.7364" said: > Can't remember since when did the definition of word _Puzzle_ became equal to _Obvious_. > > It is supposed to be that way and I have fun doing them. The puzzle should be using your brain to figure out something that is not obvious, not trial and error to figure out which pixel on the ledge I am supposed to land on. To be fair, I do no think the jumping puzzles in GW2 are that bad. However, Anet should make attaching to ledges easier and falling off harder.

> @"Avatar.3568" said: > > @"Math.5123" said: > > > @"Avatar.3568" said: > > > DH f1 is a rly fast spear, I would Consider to make it not unblock able or reduce the projectile speed, it's pretty unfun mechanic but maybe I am just to slow > > > > First off, the only dh build that's the least bit problematic doesn't even use f1. (See permeating wrath) > > Secondly, it's a .75s cast time + travel time. You can't make it slower. > > > > > > You can decrease the cast time by 0.25 and increase the travel time. By 0.25,idk I. Would not change much but the spear travels rly fast and at least I can't tell the animation outside of the spear itself. As I said it can also by a problem With my self Better is to make it blockable. As others mentioned, it kinda is slow already, considering cast time.

Not fully removed. I do expect the next elite to be ranged and power (probably SB). If that is the case, shatters will need to be reworked for something that works well from range. Will see.

> @"Obtena.7952" said: > Let's take a step back: What is the point of improving 'underperforming' things if they don't prevent you from being successful in the game? Diversity you say? That doesn't make sense if you can ALREADY play whatever you want to succeed in PVE. > > Let's call a spade a spade here ... these calls for 'improvement' for underperformance are because people feel their choices are deficient when they are not. So the fix isn't more buffs ... it's more recognizing this game for what it is. > > Now again, SPECIFICALLY for ranged weapons ... they have intrinsic advantages over melee and I'm not making an academic discussion about that ... MOST of the people in this thread, including the OP, recognize this. Should ranged weapons get more buffs because of build diversity? No, because people that don't choose weapons because of optimal DPS already know they have build diversity. By this logic, no game dev should make any balance in any pve game ever. Yet for some reasons they do. I wonder why (cuz efficiency is what drives viability, since you are so smart and do not want to turn this is into academic discussion). See using “not choose weapons for optimal dps,” blows anything else you say out the water. There is no logic or reasoning at this point, it is just accept stats quo bull shit and for... Honestly, I am unsure why. Is it a hypocritical attempt to white knight mediocrity, a narcissistic “I know better,” or just good old ignorance.

> @"Obtena.7952" said: > > @"Twilightmage.8309" said: > > I know that weapons with range should do a bit less damage than melee because of the risk vs reward factor, but staying at range and kiting has its own issues like pulling extra mobs, and stuff with lots of gap closers. In fractals and raids you already want everyone stacked up in melee for buffs so the range doesn't really mean much there at all either. So can we bring the underperforming ranged weapons up to a point where they are considered in higher end pve or even open world in some cases? For example, can we make the big dragon slaying DH longbow good again? How about Warrior rifle, sc/f ele, or the many other ones that barely get touched. > > > > I know for some of these buffs have been asked for forever, and Anet probably wont ever read this but I figured why not try and get some more build diversity out there without making new elite specs or an expansion. > > Buffs to ranged doesn't not necessarily result in build diversity. You are right though ... ranged has it's own intrinsic advantages will rightfully results in generally less damage on ranged weapons ... and that shouldn't change ... because doing so would actually DIMINISH whatever build diversity does exist. Lol... what? How is buffing some ranged weapons slightly in pve would result in less build diversity? You do not have to white knight Anet devs logic for no reason. If you think ranged weapons have advantages list them. If you think buffing them will decrease diversity list how (and in case you do respond, no one says or wants them to better than melee weapons). OP, talking strictly from pve, some do and some do not. Example, Mesmer scepter is fine, Mesmer staff does need a buff. Guardian scepter and staff are fine, just need fast AA projectile. LB needs damage buffs, but not as much as people expect. Rev SB is pretty good. Hammer should be thrown in the trash (it needs a full redesign). Warrior rifle surely needs buffs. LB, I am not as sure. I think it does. Ele scepter is okay. Staff needs a bit of buff. The rest I am not certain.

Expansion. New well designed maps. Good masteries instead of the garbage in LWS5. More options for build diversity in open world, including possible cross classes and unlocking elite weapons to core.

> @"Ragnar.4257" said: > > @"Dantheman.3589" said: > > Note- I tested the healing applied from empower. It seems it not only heals only per pulse but for each stack of might that’s x12 x80 healing per person x5 which is almost 5k healing in addition to the very high healing. This is absolutely insane personal sustain being put ontop of high team sustain and constant boon application > > Raw healing is never as potent sustain as actual defence mechanics like block/evade/invuln. 5k healing sounds impressive, but 1 hit from any DPS class will completely negate it. In the time a staff-guardian stands still to channel that 5k heal (which, remember, assumes all 4 team-mates are in close proximity, which is not likely in PvP, and 2nd reminder has a 2.5s cast time), any competent opponent will do twice that much in damage. It's why Ventari or Druid aren't good supports, because raw healing really isn't everything. Back in the good old days, when support FB was a thing, I used staff successfully all the time, in 5v5. There are many tricks to pull it off: You can use it under stability. You can use behind walls. You can put the line on the ground, and cast it from the other side. It has a 600 range, so you can use it from a distance. You can mix and match between these for optimal results. You can pull it off most of the time. However, it is not a weapon that works in small skirmishes. Nevertheless I do not think core support guardian is competitive, but it is not bad either. Without the FB part it does not do much, and FB is so nerfed that using another core line is better most of the time.

Speaking purely from PvE, I find the term “trade-off” silly. If you consider the elites, as a package, they are typically stronger by quite a bit. Even if you leave something behind, when taking an elite, you are usually in a much better position.

@"Marko Welder.3547" I agree that Druid is over rated. But it still offers a unique buff, the bonus damage. It is bad design, but why it is used. FB might is not as consistent. The mantra aoe is small. Renegade also suffers from the same issue to a lesser extent. It is easier to just use a Druid in raids.

> @"Infusion.7149" said: > > @"draxynnic.3719" said: > > > @"Infusion.7149" said: > > > Old chrono distortion needed much more timing and it isn't balanced overall in that sense. > > > > I think the problem ArenaNet had with party distortion is that it protected against skills that were unblockable and undodgeable, allowing the group to flat-out ignore some mechanics. I think ArenaNet is happy with the mesmer themselves avoiding this mechanic, but not the whole party. > > > > Aegis only allows blocking attacks that ArenaNet intended to be blockable, so it's more controllable from their perspective. > That hasn't been relevant ever since distortion was changed to be on the mesmer only. > https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Inspiring_Distortion > December 12, **2017**: _Updated this trait to now grant Aegis to allies instead of distortion_ > > Firebrands can put out aegis in less than 10 second intervals. Anyone that has the option of using firebrand or chrono with inspiration will choose firebrand because even if you are full DPS firebrand you can stack mantra of solace. See 100CM groups. > > That basically nullifies the purpose of mace if the healing output of the auto isn't required and makes the "Retreat" skill basically unused. > > Arenanet had the foresight to make 25 seconds cooldown for the stability on Mantra of Liberation yet Mantra of Solace is 12 seconds base ammo/charge cooldown even before Weighty Terms or alacrity. I too always viewed the 12 sec CD on MoS to be broken, even in pve. With exception of mace and shield, which are defensive weapons, anything that provides aegis has 30+ sec CD. Then Anet decides to put on FB on a heal with no cast time and 9.5 CD traited. This is just... bizarre. Of course it has balance galore issues. I like FB, but I always felt it is way too generous in the support department, while playing dps. Still, it is not the out of the world monster the OP makes it to be. Its damage is inline and DH damage is good, but also inline. Nothing works in sPvP nowadays though :/

> @"Leonidrex.5649" said: > im not sure if trolling or not, hmmm Does not that make him a successful troll ??

I check patches for buffs. No buffs? Okay, 3 more month I won’t play pvp. I doubt I will ever will, aside from occasional games here and there. SPvP needs a Feb 2020 level patch to be playable. I do not think that will ever happen. It is easy for devs to fuck up. It is far harder for them to admit they did and correct mistakes. SPvP in GW2 is done.

> @"memausz.7264" said: > The number of people defending 30,000 burn dmg per death for every single death here is unconscionable. No skill should be able to output THAT much damage in ANY scenario. You can at LEAST dodge high spike direct dmg attacks. You can't do that with burns once they've been applied, and dodging the first two spikes means there are still burn spikes that will happen because of the passive application of burns. And there's no anti-condi dmg state in the game available to all classes aside from Hoelbrak Rune - and Resistance Rune doesn't protect you from the spike once your actual resistance boon goes out. YOu will still die to 30K burn dmg. Literally nothing else in the game can spike damage that high. Hmm... honestly, if you died to 30k burn damage you should not be on the forums complaining, but either looking at videos or reading guides to L2P.

> @"Opopanax.1803" said: > > @"otto.5684" said: > > Core condi does not have CC, unfortunately. You can go FB for CC, if necessary. > > > > What weapons have the most break bar on them? I'm pretty happy with camping sword/torch with Zealot's Flame procs... tons of aoe burning from that. I would be open to a second weapon that was just used for Break Bar damage. > > It looks like Hammer with Banish could be my best option. Ring of Warding: do they actually have to cross it, or can you get a proc if you just lay it on them? I find hammer CC to be inconsistent. 4 has a long CD and 5 does not work well in pvp or PvE. And of course it is a power weapon. I usually stick it out with sword/torch and scepter/torch and forgo CC. If something absolutely needs CC I would respec to FB. You can also use utilities, bane signet and hammer specter weapon.

Core condi does not have CC, unfortunately. You can go FB for CC, if necessary.

Outside of PvP nothing would be unbalanced.

> @"Obtena.7952" said: > Nothing I see happening is different than what has happened over the last 8 years. It's always had it's ebb and flow, better or worse. > > Even if you are right and there is a clear decline over the last 2 years ... so be it. That's the reality of LOTS of MMO's in this stage of their lifecycles. I mean, you say you don't even spend a dime since PoF release ... so you aren't exactly part of the solution here are you. > > The bottom line is that anyone 'expecting' something not based on the reality of the game is just setting themselves up for disappointment ... EVERY time. EVERY balance patch has resulted in the "WTH were they thinking" moments. This one is no different. See, me not spending money is the issue for Anet, since I do have the expandable money and I did pre PoF do so. The issue is Anet is failing to deliver good quality content, so I see putting money in the game is rewarding mediocrity. As for expectations, you are not correct here either. There many patches in the past the improved the game, game play or balance. Sure, no patch is going to satisfy everyone. But I have issue with doing overhauls that Anet clearly lack resources, vision, or both, to complete. Again, the Feb 2020 patch was exactly that. The Ice Brood saga is another example. It started fairly strong, but very quickly fizzled. It was supposed to be an expansion level content, which it clearly was not. Then Anet announced an expansion and started spending siphoning resources from the saga to the expansion, even though they are supposed to be developed in parallel, as they did in the past.