Returning after about a year and have questions about the state of PvP and the "meta"

[Dizzbudd.6452]

I have been playing GW2 on and off since about 2013 and there have been quite a number of changes over the years. Initially I found gw2 to have the best PvP system, or at least to my liking because nothing was "meta". Any build was viable for any profession but each build required a unique play style in order to be effective and I LOVED it. To my dismay over the years updates to the game started narrowing down exactly what is and what isn't a good choice for a build in PvP and although disappointed, I dealt with it and continued to play the game and participate in PvP whenever I wasn't looking for new cosmetics. However, at the point I stopped playing a year ago, PvP matches went something like:

 

*Invuln, invuln, invuln, immune, immune, immune, 2 second burst, dead* (not always in that order but you get what I mean). The deadeye that's positioned on a pillar out of range and almost impossible to get to without taking some huge detour is invisible the whole time up until they one-shot you with all the stacks of malice or whatever they have built up. The mesmer you're fighting can't be touched the entire time you're fighting them but you're dead within a few seconds thanks to the M E T A B U R S T and then if you've somehow got the upper hand on them they just teleport a mile away and that burst will be ready again as soon as all the buffs you popped to avoid getting insta-bursted have expired. The "meta" then became the only thing that was viable in PvP because anything deviating from it was simply a worse choice and you were crippling yourself if you didn't do the same cookie cutter build as everyone else (i.e. forced to use a build that uses instant skills that can't be removed via buff removal).

At first I thought "Well, it's probably just me. Over my time playing the game I must have missed something that was obvious and now I'm just noticing it isn't in my favor." Then, I found this article actually mirroring how I felt about the direction PvP had taken:

https://massivelyop.com/2020/02/10/fight-or-kite-examining-the-state-of-guild-wars-2-pvp-ahead-of-the-big-balance-patch/

PvP used to be a lot slower paced, but it has become something like whoever reaches who with their meta burst cooldown build first wins. PvP USED to be about a more slowed down play style, requiring you to think first how you need to deal with the opponent in front of you, making the first move or countering theirs on a single skill by skill basis, rather than just burst, counter burst, twiddle your thumbs a little, repeat. There weren't burst builds that took your opponent out within seconds (or instantly) or a stale skill rotation that was the optimal way to play. Game mechanics like that are what caused me to drop every previous mmorpg before gw2 and then inevitably gw2 because this game went the same direction as every generic mmorpg out there.

 

I'd like to know anyone's thoughts on the current state of PvP and if it has gotten away from what I had left a year ago in any capacity. Am I just returning to the same thing if I get into a PvP match today?

[Ragnar.4257]

Funny, because if you ask most people on this forum, they'll say that damage has been reduced way too much, and that things were better in the "good old days" when damage was way higher. According to them. Even though, as you point out, stuff will still 1-shot you right now if you don't always have an invuln/evade/block up your sleeve.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

> @"Ragnar.4257" said:

> Funny, because if you ask most people on this forum, they'll say that damage has been reduced way too much, and that things were better in the "good old days" when damage was way higher. According to them. Even though, as you point out, stuff will still 1-shot you right now if you don't always have an invuln/evade/block up your sleeve.

 

Nah the problem is glassy high burst specs don't one shot anymore but tanks high sustain builds almost do. Balance is all screwed up and all over the place.

Tanks now match the bursts of glassy builds or specs, some classes that are innately designed to be tanks now can just build for high bursts and still remain very tanks.

Good times, surprising the population is abysmal in pvp.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

If you build full glass in some vain attempt to recreate the old; imo, more fun meta then yes you will get 1-shot like @"Ragnar.4257" said.

You will also be able to 1-shot other people trying to do the same thing.

 

Once you run into one of the bunkery meta builds(and almost all the meta builds right now are bunker or high sustain) and you find yourself doing the same damage you would have been doing with demolishers a year ago; only with full zerks now, then you'll probably give that up super quick and join the tickle party.

 

That middle ground between 1-shot and bunker is long gone. You could argue that the pendulum swung more towards the unhealthy 1-shot side for a while, but now its swung over to the bunkery nothing ever dies side.

[Dizzbudd.6452]

Thank you for the responses! Although disappointing to see, I am not surprised at the direction the game seems to have taken. I'm going to try to play some matches before I reach a final conclusion.

[Fueki.4753]

PvP is in The Gutter right now.

And that's not just any regular gutter, it's the Gutter from Dark Souls 2.

 

Unless Arenanet turns around and fixes every single pebble in the broken landscape of sPvP, the mode is beyond saving.