First ranked match in 3 days

[Bast.7253]

Against a core necro, a reaper, a firebrand, a condi rev, and a deadeye.

 

It would be nice if even the slightest effort was put into fixing this meta.

 

But I guess that's too much to ask.

 

And obviously, I'm referring to the necro, rev, and guard stacking in every match.

 

 

How long have we been dealing with this? Almost two seasons now?

[Trevor Boyer.6524]

We have the strangest split in build usage between low/mid/high tiers that I personally ever remember. Usually there is a couple builds in a meta that are great low tier and suck high tier, or bad low tier but good high tier, and then everything else is sort providing the same relative skill floor/ceiling rewards outside of the outliers.

 

But right now in this meta... things are weird man. Classes/Builds being used are greatly varying between low/mid/high tiers. I kind of notice this it seems:

 

Builds that are spotted most often during higher tier play:

 

1. Power Shiro

2. D/P Thief

3. Tempests & various Ele build swaps

4. Prot Holo

5. SOMETIMES other classes/builds if wielded by the better players in the game. Even FB hasn't been as potent in high tier lately. Thing are turning towards a very rotational meta rather than a team fight meta in higher tiers.

 

Builds that are spotted most often during mid tier play:

 

1. Random Burn Guardians & strange Dragonhunter variants, and of course Firebrands

2. Core Necros & Reapers

3. Condi Mallyx

4. Deadeyes

5. Core Rangers & Soulbeasts

6. Spellbreaker

7. Weird Mirage variants

8. Scrapper variants

 

Builds that are spotted most often during low tier play:

 

1. Core Warrior

2. Weird Ranger builds that don't work that people still complain about because the pets deal damage

3. Condi Thieves trying to hang onto the dream

4. Returning Scourge players who haven't played in several seasons, and a ton of Minion Master Necromancer variants

5. And then an amalgam of other things that encompass the very idea of "Not viable" but they feel viable to low tiered players because many of these builds are easy to understand and easy to run.

 

But to sum up the point being, I just don't see many low to mid tiered players on Power Shiro, and I don't see many mid to high tiered players on Condi Mallyx, as example. Right now there is a very large margin of difference between classes/builds in terms of the skill floor/ceiling outputs & rewards for risk. This aspect of the game needs some serious polishing after that big recent game-wide nerfing.

[Luthan.5236]

I have seen the matchmaker trying to make teams with the same core professions on each side. (But maybe different elite specs used.) That's at least how it seemed to me in the lower tiers where there is more population of players in the queue. (Still sometimes not working perfect there.)

 

My guess is that at the top levels it just is not possible to do so ... because of the lower population. (Queue's might take ages then and I heard they are alraedy taking longer.)

Now if these certain builds and elite specs are considered overpowered and the top players are playing more ina professional way ... shouldn't it lead to a higher percentage of players playing them. (-> While lower pouplation at all at the top ... still a good chance to have them in the own team if more pople are playing them?)

 

Allowing team queue would solve the problem though. People could just queue as team and make their own strong combination instead of having to rely on the matchmaker (that might match them with players playing "weak" elite specs cause they have not trained playing on the stronger ones and can't just switch to a stronger one).

 

But then people not willing to search for a team might cry cause they alwas are in a weaker spot. (Well with duo queue you can at least make 2 of the 5 players strong if you chose a strong spec and get a partner with strong spec.) People playing also only a "weak" elite spec might not willing to learn another one (and not getting a spot in a team until they play a strong spec). It might lead to 100 percent of the playerbase at the top only playing the builds and elite specs known as strong.

 

---

 

The thing Trevor mentions is true though. In the tier I play I don't even see many Firebrands. More Dragonhunters and core Guardians. Heralds are there sometimes though. (Most almost no core revenant or the other elite spec.) And I as a noob personally find the Scourge necro most annoying when he makes the whole capture note covered in AoE permanently making my health go down super fast in a few seconds. Most annoying enemy together with weaver that is commonly played here most instead of core ele or other tempest.

 

The matchmaker can't just recognize the stuff seen as "META" by the top players. ArenaNet would have to manually feed them the data like "don't alloe Firebrand, Reaper, Rev" in one match. With class/char swapping disabled it still would need to block the whole profession to be matched together with the other ones in a team. (If it only looked at the elite then players might just switch build to a different elite since build switching is not locked before the match.)

 

And then ... we'd have in other (lower) tiers players complaining about other builds.

 

Just make team queue. So anyone can queue up into a full team at any tier they play going for team combination they'd like to play. Might encourage more team playing and maybe open up the tournaments for lower tiered players if they can team up with other lower tiered players and try 5 vs. 5 as team in ranked games already for training and maybe finding nice team members.

[Bast.7253]

> @"Luthan.5236" said:

> I have seen the matchmaker trying to make teams with the same core professions on each side. (But maybe different elite specs used.) That's at least how it seemed to me in the lower tiers where there is more population of players in the queue. (Still sometimes not working perfect there.)

>

> My guess is that at the top levels it just is not possible to do so ... because of the lower population. (Queue's might take ages then and I heard they are alraedy taking longer.)

> Now if these certain builds and elite specs are considered overpowered and the top players are playing more ina professional way ... shouldn't it lead to a higher percentage of players playing them. (-> While lower pouplation at all at the top ... still a good chance to have them in the own team if more pople are playing them?)

>

> Allowing team queue would solve the problem though. People could just queue as team and make their own strong combination instead of having to rely on the matchmaker (that might match them with players playing "weak" elite specs cause they have not trained playing on the stronger ones and can't just switch to a stronger one).

>

> But then people not willing to search for a team might cry cause they alwas are in a weaker spot. (Well with duo queue you can at least make 2 of the 5 players strong if you chose a strong spec and get a partner with strong spec.) People playing also only a "weak" elite spec might not willing to learn another one (and not getting a spot in a team until they play a strong spec). It might lead to 100 percent of the playerbase at the top only playing the builds and elite specs known as strong.

>

> ---

>

> The thing Trevor mentions is true though. In the tier I play I don't even see many Firebrands. More Dragonhunters and core Guardians. Heralds are there sometimes though. (Most almost no core revenant or the other elite spec.) And I as a noob personally find the Scourge necro most annoying when he makes the whole capture note covered in AoE permanently making my health go down super fast in a few seconds. Most annoying enemy together with weaver that is commonly played here most instead of core ele or other tempest.

>

> The matchmaker can't just recognize the stuff seen as "META" by the top players. ArenaNet would have to manually feed them the data like "don't alloe Firebrand, Reaper, Rev" in one match. With class/char swapping disabled it still would need to block the whole profession to be matched together with the other ones in a team. (If it only looked at the elite then players might just switch build to a different elite since build switching is not locked before the match.)

>

> And then ... we'd have in other (lower) tiers players complaining about other builds.

>

> Just make team queue. So anyone can queue up into a full team at any tier they play going for team combination they'd like to play. Might encourage more team playing and maybe open up the tournaments for lower tiered players if they can team up with other lower tiered players and try 5 vs. 5 as team in ranked games already for training and maybe finding nice team members.

 

I don't think scourge runs the large shades anymore though? Tempest though for sure will take up a whole point with lightning overload, and firebrands/guards with burn fields. I can't say I've been too bothered by scourge but nobody really plays it anymore. I've maybe seen one in a game outside of cheesy minion builds that seemed to be really threatening and have good sustain.

 

I mean, I'm not sure how high of a level we're talking, but I'm just barely above plat. Last I looked Trevor was slightly higher than me. But I'm still seeing four necros in nearly every match between both sides. Firebrand not as much, but there are still necros everywhere, and somehow I seem to always get the ones that get insta-downed at mid each match.

 

It just makes for pretty bleak gameplay seeing the same things over and over again with little hope at a balance patch making other things more viable. I'm guessing most of the really high rated players are revs, at least from what I can tell in the free for all in the lobby where everyone gathers.

[Trevor Boyer.6524]

> @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> > @"Luthan.5236" said:

> > I have seen the matchmaker trying to make teams with the same core professions on each side. (But maybe different elite specs used.) That's at least how it seemed to me in the lower tiers where there is more population of players in the queue. (Still sometimes not working perfect there.)

> >

> > My guess is that at the top levels it just is not possible to do so ... because of the lower population. (Queue's might take ages then and I heard they are alraedy taking longer.)

> > Now if these certain builds and elite specs are considered overpowered and the top players are playing more ina professional way ... shouldn't it lead to a higher percentage of players playing them. (-> While lower pouplation at all at the top ... still a good chance to have them in the own team if more pople are playing them?)

> >

> > Allowing team queue would solve the problem though. People could just queue as team and make their own strong combination instead of having to rely on the matchmaker (that might match them with players playing "weak" elite specs cause they have not trained playing on the stronger ones and can't just switch to a stronger one).

> >

> > But then people not willing to search for a team might cry cause they alwas are in a weaker spot. (Well with duo queue you can at least make 2 of the 5 players strong if you chose a strong spec and get a partner with strong spec.) People playing also only a "weak" elite spec might not willing to learn another one (and not getting a spot in a team until they play a strong spec). It might lead to 100 percent of the playerbase at the top only playing the builds and elite specs known as strong.

> >

> > ---

> >

> > The thing Trevor mentions is true though. In the tier I play I don't even see many Firebrands. More Dragonhunters and core Guardians. Heralds are there sometimes though. (Most almost no core revenant or the other elite spec.) And I as a noob personally find the Scourge necro most annoying when he makes the whole capture note covered in AoE permanently making my health go down super fast in a few seconds. Most annoying enemy together with weaver that is commonly played here most instead of core ele or other tempest.

> >

> > The matchmaker can't just recognize the stuff seen as "META" by the top players. ArenaNet would have to manually feed them the data like "don't alloe Firebrand, Reaper, Rev" in one match. With class/char swapping disabled it still would need to block the whole profession to be matched together with the other ones in a team. (If it only looked at the elite then players might just switch build to a different elite since build switching is not locked before the match.)

> >

> > And then ... we'd have in other (lower) tiers players complaining about other builds.

> >

> > Just make team queue. So anyone can queue up into a full team at any tier they play going for team combination they'd like to play. Might encourage more team playing and maybe open up the tournaments for lower tiered players if they can team up with other lower tiered players and try 5 vs. 5 as team in ranked games already for training and maybe finding nice team members.

>

> I don't think scourge runs the large shades anymore though? Tempest though for sure will take up a whole point with lightning overload, and firebrands/guards with burn fields. I can't say I've been too bothered by scourge but nobody really plays it anymore. I've maybe seen one in a game outside of cheesy minion builds that seemed to be really threatening and have good sustain.

>

> I mean, I'm not sure how high of a level we're talking, but I'm just barely above plat. Last I looked Trevor was slightly higher than me. But I'm still seeing four necros in nearly every match between both sides. Firebrand not as much, but there are still necros everywhere, and somehow I seem to always get the ones that get insta-downed at mid each match.

>

> It just makes for pretty bleak gameplay seeing the same things over and over again with little hope at a balance patch making other things more viable. I'm guessing most of the really high rated players are revs, at least from what I can tell in the free for all in the lobby where everyone gathers.

 

A lot of what I am referencing is organized AT teams though.

 

I've actually been more active ATs than I have ranked lately.

[Revolution.5409]

They are the best professions and work really well if put on the same team.

Already from Meta 2vs2 it was foreseeable that the Meta of 5vs5 would go in the same direction, I am only sorry that Anet does not balance the game based on the impact that the professions have on the game modes