Rashagar.8349

> @"Voltekka.2375" said:

> > @"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

> > Here's a little update for those that really believe that Ranger is useless in a group fight.

> >

> > So many people keep saying that Ranger is a ONE target attacker. Do they even look at the LB specializations and skills?

> >

> > Every one of my longbow skills hits up to 5 targets, (using Lead The Wind in the Marksmanship specialization). When I fire into a zerg I am hitting 5 people at once, not just one! And frankly all this talk about reflect?? I still don't see any issue with it at all while playing my Soulbeast... Once in a while I'm hitting someone 1v1 and they hit me with reflect which knocks me back for a second and that's it. It's not a killer... just an inconvenience.

> >

> > Add: Leader Of the Pack in the Soulbeast specialization and you have a bit of support for team members close to you as well if you're using Stances, which I do.

> >

> > As for those guys running away, keep this in mind:

> > Long Range Shot (Long bow #1) does more damage the further away the enemy is. With my set up if the enemy is 1000 or more away I hit them for at least 953 damage... that's usually multiplied by my 80-100% crit chance and over 200% crit damage, which is why the further away you get the faster you fall!

> >

>

> There are classes that do everything you posted above much more efficiently, with boonsharing /booncorrupting, CC. As for the dps part, well, eles/scourges dominate ranger in that aspect by a mile,in zergs.

Thing is, if the player knows ranger best, then other classes are not necessarily more efficient *for them*.

*edit

Might have gotten confused as to which discussion this was so I apologise if the above is off topic. Can't figure out withiut reading the whole thread again heh.

Basically what I was getting at is you optimise around your own knowledge/limitations, not around some theoretical "optimal" state.

> @"Odinens.5920" said:

> > @"Rashagar.8349" said:

> (This isn't referring to having squad preferences by the way, but you do see people who think that because they have a commander tag they get to dictate to the entire map/server sometimes, or dish out blame etc to those not playing "the right" way).

>

> Most people that play WvW on a regular basis will recognize those commanders, and personally I ignore them (like most people).

>

> Which brings us back to the "do some research on commanders" thing I mentioned. Not every commander is like this, and in my opinion not every commander should even be leading, but I know which ones are which, and also realize that's their prerogative, and depending how I feel like playing on any one night will decide which map to go to and which tag to follow, if any.

>

> I won't sit back and say, "I feel like playing ranger tonight, so I'm gonna join 'comp tag' and make him take me into his squad even if he doesn't want me, because that's what I want to play." I may follow him around sniping his backline for him, but to expect him to put me in his squad, when I know that's not what he wants would be pretty selfish of me, not him.

>

>

>

Again, I don't disagree with anything you said, except when it comes to newer wvw players. Putting the onus on them to do the research on all individual commanders while learning the game mode and also figuring out what the reasonable point of view of the silent majority is and how it differs from that of the loud crankypants, is probably quite a bit to ask.

I think it's much more reasonable to hold commanders accountable to their own actions, since they're the ones that should know better by this stage, and I believe that their unreasonable opinions reigning unchallenged in map chat is almost certainly the main cause of these sorts of threads popping up, rather than some universal personality trait of all of the disparate OPs.

> @"FrizzFreston.5290" said:

> Thinking about it, I wouldnt be surprised most of the stuff being said was more about creating a controversy rather than providing actual information.

Almost certainly yes.

I'm just glad I missed this latest "controversy", for the sake of my own mental well being.

> @"Oldirtbeard.9834" said:

> I do the right thing here and you're giving me grief, just say thanks for doing something decent and drop it.

That's a good point. Thanks OP for this thread. It's much much nicer to have this be how I'm hearing about the issue than only hearing via whatever petered out rumours might still exist in 6 months time.

> @"Odinens.5920" said:

>I suggest people quit trying to force their fun on people that don't think their way is fun.

This going both ways of course. I don't necessarily disagree with anything you said btw, just wanted to emphasise that there have been plenty of instances of metaheads trying to make everyone play in only one way too and thinking it's perfectly reasonable for them to do it heh.

(This isn't referring to having squad preferences by the way, but you do see people who think that because they have a commander tag they get to dictate to the entire map/server sometimes, or dish out blame etc to those not playing "the right" way).

> @"cobbah.3102" said:

> Rules Rules ,join a map follow the tag and when you have enough leave and do other things ,you don't need to be in a squad to follow a tag .same as TS or Discord you don't need to use that only if you want to get yelled at if you slip ,being deaf alleviates that problem . But at the end of the day what you do in WvW is entirely up to you. as for one tag per map poppycock to that.

Oh god, you just reminded me about a thread on the old forum about squads, TS and deafness. It's funny when you see something and just get reminded of a whole batch of weirdness you'd forgotten about encountering heh. Anyway, it's almost certainly a bad idea to go too much into it again, just mentioned it because another thread here has me in a reminiscent mood.

Unless I have the weekends mixed up my first character for that weekend was a female charr mesmer. I remember spending about 15 minutes trying to outdamage a skale's regeneration. It wasn't even veteran or anything.

Was that the weekend where there were hundreds of dead players around that starting area flame legion shaman and just a constant stream of players throwing themselves at him and dying?

> @"Blocki.4931" said:

>Oh and trust me. I died a dozen times in that fight as well, my armor completely broken and essentially just spamming downstate 5. The second time playing it I didn't die once.

I found this too, I think it's because half my brain is busy enjoying the spectacle the first time around, and the second time around I'm a bit more pragmatic as well as more experienced.

"Aw wow the boss looks cool! And look you can see the dragon in the background! I love that colour. Huh that's an interesting pattern of orange triangles I wonder why they chose OW OW OW JESUS" *some amount of frantic dodging and dying later * "What has that npc been prattling on about for the last 10 minu... ooohhh"

> @"IndigoSundown.5419" said:

> > @"Rashagar.8349" said:

> > > @"IndigoSundown.5419" said:

> > > > @"Rashagar.8349" said:

> > > > May as well ask for some clarification on mechanics here since it's tangentially related. When *not* in a squad and performing a support type role (eg. giving boons to 5 nearby allies), is it just based on the 5 nearest or does it take any other factors into consideration, eg. the targets' squadedness or lack thereof, or prioritising people without boons over people with them? I had always assumed healing prioritised those who were damaged for example but never thought to check how (like does amount of damage taken get factored in when deciding targets, or only a binary damaged/undamaged state, or not even that?).

> > >

> > > Boon distribution priority

> > > Boons that are given to other players are distributed in the following order based on proximity:

> > >

> > > Party/Subgroup

> > > Squad

> > > Allied players (Players not within your party/squad)

> > > Your kennel (Pets, minions, illusions)

> > > Allied players’ kennels

> > > All other allies (such as NPCs)

> > >

> > > per the wiki,

> > > https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Boon

> >

> > So is it only when proximity is equal that this priority list comes into play then? It never skips over one closer target in favour of a higher priority target further away? I can't figure out how to phrase the specific question, when it says "based on proximity", to what extent is proximity factored in?

>

> I believe the above order applies as long as the targets are in range of the skill, etc. which applies the boon. Thus, if 5 party members are all in range, they get the boon even if an allied player, say, is closer. If there are not enough of the highest priority targets in range, then the game checks for the next priority, and so on, until the maximum number of targets benefits.

Ah ok, thanks for the clarification then. =)

> @"IndigoSundown.5419" said:

> > @"Rashagar.8349" said:

> > May as well ask for some clarification on mechanics here since it's tangentially related. When *not* in a squad and performing a support type role (eg. giving boons to 5 nearby allies), is it just based on the 5 nearest or does it take any other factors into consideration, eg. the targets' squadedness or lack thereof, or prioritising people without boons over people with them? I had always assumed healing prioritised those who were damaged for example but never thought to check how (like does amount of damage taken get factored in when deciding targets, or only a binary damaged/undamaged state, or not even that?).

>

> Boon distribution priority

> Boons that are given to other players are distributed in the following order based on proximity:

>

> Party/Subgroup

> Squad

> Allied players (Players not within your party/squad)

> Your kennel (Pets, minions, illusions)

> Allied players’ kennels

> All other allies (such as NPCs)

>

> per the wiki,

> https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Boon

So is it only when proximity is equal that this priority list comes into play then? It never skips over one closer target in favour of a higher priority target further away? I can't figure out how to phrase the specific question, when it says "based on proximity", to what extent is proximity factored in?

Thanks for sharing! I really like the style of the first few minutes of the first video, going to have to come back to look at the actual content when I have time.

Complete aside, I always worry that my "whatever I happened to have equipped last too lazy to check" build will end up on the receiving end of someone else's super serious wvw video compilation haha!

I remember similar frustrations during LS1 in the base game, but my frustrations were based on me being a necromancer and everyone else being almost exclusively greatsword warriors and thieves heh. Tagging worked differently back then too, so there were lots of times when even getting hits in and dealing damage wasn't enough to guarantee credit for a kill. All the normal mobs would die before I could get a hit in (between comparatively terrible mobility and achingly slow projectile speed) and I wasn't doing comparatively enough damage to champions to get xp for them before they died. So I can definitely empathise with your situation. But in saying that, I don't think separate map instances is the solution. (Much as I would have liked back then for all the warriors and thieves to be consigned to their own map and let me play in peace at my own pace haha!)

May as well ask for some clarification on mechanics here since it's tangentially related. When *not* in a squad and performing a support type role (eg. giving boons to 5 nearby allies), is it just based on the 5 nearest or does it take any other factors into consideration, eg. the targets' squadedness or lack thereof, or prioritising people without boons over people with them? I had always assumed healing prioritised those who were damaged for example but never thought to check how (like does amount of damage taken get factored in when deciding targets, or only a binary damaged/undamaged state, or not even that?).

Yay, silly brainstorming time.

> @"InsaneQR.7412" said:

> Dont worry, mine is basically a love child if ventari healer and scourge ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In fairness, the main way for non-devs to know what's possible with the current game engine is by basing ideas on things that already exist within the game. That's my excuse anyway haha =D

> @"InsaneQR.7412" said:

> @"Zin Dau.1749"

> The extrem of my idea could be that the totem replaces the pet entirely and can be infused with different pet spirits, so there would be a pet swap. You would sacrifice the AA kinda but the Totem could pulse dmg and condis depending on Pet AA. And the thing that would be traded off is the F2 of the pet. The totems could give boons/bonusses depending on archetype.

I think I like your extreme best, the spirit totems that instead of fusing the animal spirit with your soul you bind it to affecting an area. Basing it fully on ventari's tablet isn't a bad thing, when I read it I was imagining a movement skill and pulse effect based on archetype (balanced with each other since same cooldown) followed by a couple of skills based on pet family that affect an aoe around the totem and are balanced by individual cooldowns.

> @"Zorpi.5904" said:

> Shroud form for pet, that turn them something like warberast. In this form pet gets four new skill, that are different debending which pet is in use. When shroud is active ranger have full control over three of thos skills(fourth of them is aa of course).

I remember justifying ranger getting a rifle before by suggesting a specialisation that gives their pet scrapheap power armour haha!

On the more natural side of things, there are options like a ranger themed around the echovald forest giving their pets a stone/wooden form (I imagine this one really focusing on the pet as a source of tanky cc), or a ranger themed around plants in a different way (mordremoth?nightmare court?) getting plantform versions of all the animal families that are a bit more versatile in effect (it's easier for me to associate a variety of effects with the more exotic plants, can still contain the ironwood toughness as well as bleeding thorns, toxic/mind affecting spores, mimicked carrion smell that attracts a cloud of insects, etc.), or emphasising the ranger's attunement to the weather/elemental portions of the natural world and giving their pets elemental attunement forms and the ability to call wind/storms/hail etc..

There's also inverting the soulbeast concept somewhat and giving the ranger something like the ability to channel a berserker fury through their pet, allowing the pet/ranger to share an adrenaline mechanic and make use of twinned physical utility skills, sort of a different take on the "one soul sharing two bodies" kind of closeness. (This might actually pair quite well with the echovald forest theme).

But these are still all more about enhancing the pet mechanic rather than replacing it, because try as I might I can't really think of a way to replace it beyond the ventari tablet thought without making it lose the rangerness. (In my mind, mobile aoe effects centred on yourself are basically just a different delivery method of the same ventari tablet thought).

It's probably most accurate to say my main is "norn" to be honest.

I love the spirits of the wild aspect, and my norn ranger just felt complete when they released soulbeast, so that's the norn I'll pick for this poll.

> @"Shagaliscious.6281" said:

> > @"Imperadordf.2687" said:

> > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > @"Shagaliscious.6281" said:

> > > > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > > > @"Shagaliscious.6281" said:

> > > > > > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > > > > > @"Shagaliscious.6281" said:

> > > > > > > > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > > > > > > > @"Shagaliscious.6281" said:

> > > > > > > > > > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > @"Samnang.1879" said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > @"Samnang.1879" said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Then don't play those classes or don't join their squad.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Why are you acting so self-entitled?

> > > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > > What are you supposed to do when they monopolize the only maps with enemy zergs in them?

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > You can still follow the commander... it's not like they have the power to kick u off the map. I'm all for inclusion, fairness and kindness blah blah blah. But there is a legit reason why they don't want rangers and thieves, those classes don't provide any boons for the squad.

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > I'm the type of person to play any class i want in wvw... so i accept that fact, why can't others? Stop labelling everything as "toxic" and "abusive"... when things don't go the way you want.

> > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > Oh so we should have to compromise and not get the benefits of a squad because a commander tagged up and is being exclusionary, when they should be leading everyone. I'm very convinced now that if Anet had decided to make it so that squads were forced open in wvw from day one (like I suggest), that you would all be advocating that, that's the way it should be instead of what it is now.

> > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > So now you are being selfish because you just want boons and party support, but not give any out yourself.

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > Lol how do you know I don't give out boons?

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > What class/classes do you play in wvw?

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > I guess I proved my point.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Not really, since you didn't say which classes you play.

> > > > >

> > > > > Oh well certainly not any classes that give any buffs right? You should know.

> > > >

> > > > Ok, I don't know if you do or don't, since you can't answer a simple question of "what classes do you play in WVW?"

> > >

> > > Well your the one who said I don't give out any buffs lol

> >

> > Just answer the question for ducks sake.

> >

> > If you give out boons-support for the squad, you are accepted.

> > If you don't, you better go roaming. That's it.

> >

> > I think you're just trolling people at this point.

>

> Yea, I really think he is. Doesn't answer the question that has been asked multiple times, just deflect, deflect, deflect.

Speaking of deflection... demanding a specific answer to an irrelevant question and then trying to make the topic about said lack of specific answers instead of the real topic at hand springs to mind... =P

It's unfortunate that a commander's "voice" can have such an effect on the atmosphere of a server.

I have a lot of respect for a lot of commanders, but that respect is never based on their squad micromanagement capabilities, or their ability to "win".

Commanders are people, people have biases, and in general are very slow to change their biases, if even capable.

People tend to selectively reinforce their own biases rather than register the information that challenges them.

Don't let commanders' squad preferences get you down. Trying to show someone on the internet that their opinion isn't as objective as they believe is not a useful use of your time.

Shared slots at the top (copperfed, mystic, lily of elon, portal scroll, selection of tonics/toys).

Invisible bag at the bottom (for alternate weapons and occasional story item I want to keep, on non-main characters some piles of 250 of things).

Everything in between is where the slowly expanding wad of clutter lives.

Rare/exotic items that I'm not in the mood to figure out what to do with yet, crafting materials whose storage slot has reached the cap and I haven't dealt with yet, things like unfinished book items that I have to go back to get the last pages of some day, those "choose a reward" type chests that I haven't been able to make myself choose yet, 1-3 rare runes waiting for a 4th (because mystic forging them is fun), skins that have been added to wardrobe on acquire but still have a physical item that could save me a single transmutation charge some day...

Yeah I wouldn't model your method off mine...

And this isn't even touching on my overflowing bank/guild bank slots...

Is what I voted for, but just echoing the wishes for the Echovald. All my friends loved the jade sea and I could never understand how anyone could pick anything other than the Echovald.

Oh, thanks for pointing that out. I never got to buy any in the end (income/free time too limited right now) but maybe I'll have more fluid funds next time they come around.

I remember people suggesting to tie minipets into a return to the game of polymock. Which inspired me enough that I then went away and put a silly amount of time into thinking about how that could be implemented, but ah well.

> @"Frozey.8513" said:

> > @"Headcase.4618" said:

> > What I'd like is for the next elite spec legend to be an asura Golemancer (mainly cuz my only rev, so far, is an asura) but I couldn't decide if it should Oola or Zinn that they channel. But recently, I decided why not both? Your rev would would channel two golemancers at once who, given their shared history, would occasionally bicker at each other while the rev tries to play mediator and gets them to try to work together. The weapon I'm considering would be either a scepter, a focus, or both and their utility skills will involve controlling a golem hologram that hovers above the player when active.

>

> No no, I do hope they won't be bringing up another non-GW1 legend like they did with Kalla. Even if that would somehow justify bringing Scepters or Focuses for Revenant.

>

> Since most of the people here, myself included, seem to be hoping for the Greatsword, here are some amazing options for Legends with some actual background that would work very well with it;

>

> -Turai Ossa: Great option, lot of history and lore in the background, already wielded a sword.

> -Jora: A character whose history is sadly forgotten by many in GW2 so bringing her up would at least make Norns seem more relevant as a race, also mighty warrior who wielded a blade.

> -Devona: Similar arguments as Jora although not being a Norn. She walked with us through whole GW1, would be more than happy to see some of that to be brought back again.

> -Dhuum: The previous god of death, would make awesome option for another darker themed Revenant besides Mallyx. His profession was Dervish and since Revenant's upkeep skills are reminiscent of that class, it would be a logical choice for a Legend.

> -Balthazar: Fits for Revenant perfectly, wielded a Greatsword rather than just a sword, anyone who has played the story will understand why. Perhaps even the best choice among all of them.

>

>

>

I really, desperately want Owl to be the new legend we get to channel.

> @"TheGrimm.5624" said:

> If you think about WvW is one of the few spots that build, class, playstyle, gear, rotations all really matter.

Funnily enough the reason I always loved wvw so much was because it was the one place where build/gear/playstyle etc didn't matter haha!

You could use any gear stats that you wanted and still contribute effectively (not just Berserker or gtfo), you could try fun niche builds and interesting rune choices instead of Scholars/"max dmg omg" type approach, it let you actually explore the depth of the game instead of being subjected to the sort of "this encounter has been solved already and if you don't conform to the preexisting solution then you're a selfish player who's playing wrong" mentality that was infesting pve.

It was just such a different atmosphere from the rest of the game. Nobody cared about taking a few minutes longer than some "optimal" time, nobody cared about the gear anyone else had, everybody was grown up enough to understand that losing/dying in a computer game wasn't the end of the world. Generally just everything felt more chill there. Which in turn let me experiment with builds in peace. Maybe at the cost of a few extra deaths, but who's counting? =)

Yeah I gave up on trying to make my charr thief look good a while ago.

I love it. It just seems to push my "instant joy" button.

I'm also terrible at it. The ninjas mess me up to no end and I will never touch tribulation mode for the sake of my sanity. But it's still great and I'm really hoping I'm not in the mood for a break by the time it comes around.

Or another way of thinking of the question, what one effect would you like to see if WvW had GW1's monthly flux effects as a feature?

For me, I'd love to see what would happen if you completely remove (/heavily disincentivise/make extremely difficult) the ability for players to stack on a commander/on each other in wvw. How they'd accomplish this I don't really mind so much. Hide commander tags on the main screen and only have the commander tag's position update every 30 seconds on the mini map, remove squads/parties entirely, turn the commander tag into an area placement skill similar to ventari's tablet, mess around with skill target limits, it doesn't really matter to me.

The reason I'd like to experience this is simple; I prefer large scale disorganised combat to organised. The moments of heroics feel more heroic, everything is more spontaneous and adaptability is key. It's like watching a more violent brownian motion.

Anyway, what would your change be, and why? It doesn't have to be for a lofty goal, it doesn't have to be a permanent change. I know it's been asked before but new discussion isn't necessarily a bad thing (and if it's been discussed very recently then my apologies, I didn't notice). I'm just curious.