A thank you to the Balance and Design teams.

[EvilSnowflake.1453]

For the last few months I've been playing Scourge in WvW with my guild [bAN]. It has been a great experience, though there are some things that bother me, overall I don't believe the wvw experience has ever been better, and I've been playing WvW primarily since launch. The reason it has been so good is because I've been able to identify and enjoy 4 different scourge builds that all perform well, and about equally when compared to each other in a competitive GvG setting. I don't think there has ever been a class/spec with 4 viable builds in WvW. I'll list the Scourge builds here, though not in much detail.

1. Support scourge. - This builds runs blood magic and shamans/apothecary gear. Dealing good damage and saving downed allies with transfusion.

2. Hybrid dps scourge - This build has two viable stat sets, Grieving/celestial and carrion/Sinister. Deals good condition and power damage. Takes curses or spite traitlines.

3. Trailblazer Scourge - Gear is in the name. Deals excellent condition damage and can easily run with the melee train. Takes curses traitline.

4. Power scourge - Marauder/Berserker/Valkyrie in a number of combinations will work. Deals excellent power damage. Takes spite traitline.

 

Our guild usually runs 2-3 of these builds at once, and they all perform well.

It should be noted that scourge is very powerful in WvW atm, however that doesn't defeat the fact that these builds compare well to each other, all being scourge builds.

This diversity is only possible because of the excellent balance of power and conditions in WvW right now.

 

Thank you for a well designed spec, and months of fun.

 

PS. If you are doubtful of the builds effectiveness, or think power or condi is OP, come GvG us in NA t2/t3, we're on Crystal desert. I would offer to discuss balance in this thread but that doesn't solve anything.

 

Cryo - [bAN]

[Mysteriax.6049]

I'm glad you and your guild have had fun. However, the dominance of Scourge is a real issue in WvW - actually making builds on other classes that were once semi-viable unplayable at the competitive level. IMO Scourge's condition burst and boon corrupts need to be tuned down and other "semi-viable" builds improved to give every class (like Scourge) several viable build options.

[primatos.5413]

WTF ? Well designed ? .. ahh this isn´t serious .. so 6,5/10 from me ..

[Aeolus.3615]

Congrats on being carried(due game bad design) and supporting bad gameplay ;) ur playing the game well.

 

Q: How many firebrands???

 

 

And theres no GvG scene on gw2 just a aoe spam fight... that is nothing close has GvG or skill, it is all depandable of build and AOE gimmick.

[Offair.2563]

Support scourge; kill opponents asap with condi spam to support your group!

[Svarty.8019]

You're a cheeky little devil :trollface: , aren't you, Cryo?

[JayAction.9056]

> @"Svarty.8019" said:

> You're a cheeky little devil :trollface: , aren't you, Cryo?

 

 

[DeadlySynz.3471]

> @"Mysteriax.6049" said:

> I'm glad you and your guild have had fun. However, the dominance of Scourge is a real issue in WvW - actually making builds on other classes that were once semi-viable unplayable at the competitive level. IMO Scourge's condition burst and boon corrupts need to be tuned down and other "semi-viable" builds improved to give every class (like Scourge) several viable build options.

 

Scourge dominance isn't the issue, players refusal to jump on other classes that can deal with them is the main issue and crux of the problem. Every time I play scourge and look through the enemy zerg and see no rangers with them, I think to myself "ok this is going to be easy peasy". If however I see a couple of LB rangers in the zerg, I already know it's going to be a long uphill battle unless I hop on another class.

[XenesisII.1540]

Thanking the devs for making one of the op specs for the new expansion.... gg

 

P.S the wvw team is not the balance team, should have posted this in the necro forums.

[Banzie.5248]

This is simply hilarious seeing people say Scourge condi bursts, It hasnt since the condi patch. Yet many of you im sure seemed happy in HoT or Launch PoF when Condi burst was a real thing. A FB could stack and burst you for 15k hp, That was condi burst. Conditions now are more in line with launch Gw2 than they have been for a long time.

 

This thread is a great example, as well as the official forums in general in how absolutely ridiculous you all view the game, and is the reason the devs continually implement bad designs and game changes.

 

Im not defending that scourge and other classes need tweaks to be balanced and are way out of line in many aspects, but his post is thanking the devs for creating diversity and viability in the game again. Since he used a scourge ya'll got the pitch forks. Im not even going to touch on the GvG comments.

[GDchiaScrub.3241]

> @"Banzie.5248" said:

> This is simply hilarious seeing people say Scourge condi bursts, It hasnt since the condi patch. Yet many of you im sure seemed happy in HoT or Launch PoF when Condi burst was a real thing. A FB could stack and burst you for 15k hp, That was condi burst. Conditions now are more in line with launch Gw2 than they have been for a long time.

>

> This thread is a great example, as well as the official forums in general in how absolutely ridiculous you all view the game, and is the reason the devs continually implement bad designs and game changes.

>

> Im not defending that scourge and other classes need tweaks to be balanced and are way out of line in many aspects, but his post is thanking the devs for creating diversity and viability in the game again. Since he used a scourge ya'll got the pitch forks. Im not even going to touch on the GvG comments.

 

I can agree this is a great example...of something more "Hue hue hue" related.

[Arheundel.6451]

> @"EvilSnowflake.1453" said:

> For the last few months I've been playing Scourge in WvW with my guild [bAN]. It has been a great experience, though there are some things that bother me, overall I don't believe the wvw experience has ever been better, and I've been playing WvW primarily since launch. The reason it has been so good is because I've been able to identify and enjoy 4 different scourge builds that all perform well, and about equally when compared to each other in a competitive GvG setting. I don't think there has ever been a class/spec with 4 viable builds in WvW. I'll list the Scourge builds here, though not in much detail.

> 1. Support scourge. - This builds runs blood magic and shamans/apothecary gear. Dealing good damage and saving downed allies with transfusion.

> 2. Hybrid dps scourge - This build has two viable stat sets, Grieving/celestial and carrion/Sinister. Deals good condition and power damage. Takes curses or spite traitlines.

> 3. Trailblazer Scourge - Gear is in the name. Deals excellent condition damage and can easily run with the melee train. Takes curses traitline.

> 4. Power scourge - Marauder/Berserker/Valkyrie in a number of combinations will work. Deals excellent power damage. Takes spite traitline.

>

> Our guild usually runs 2-3 of these builds at once, and they all perform well.

> It should be noted that scourge is very powerful in WvW atm, however that doesn't defeat the fact that these builds compare well to each other, all being scourge builds.

> This diversity is only possible because of the excellent balance of power and conditions in WvW right now.

>

> Thank you for a well designed spec, and months of fun.

>

> PS. If you are doubtful of the builds effectiveness, or think power or condi is OP, come GvG us in NA t2/t3, we're on Crystal desert. I would offer to discuss balance in this thread but that doesn't solve anything.

>

> Cryo - [bAN]

 

I see what you're doing there..I get it..though many may think otherwise

[Jski.6180]

I realty think this is anet actively trying to make a class unbalanced. If the point of scorge was to be a non death shroud necro why would they give scorge a death should in f5? As well as making the scorge class a stronger melee version then reaper who should be the strongest version of melee necro. It not a lack of understanding of game balancing this is a chose anet is making for scorge to be unbalance in pvp settings.

 

When you remove a skill effect like plague from the game only to added it as an elite spec tool on a far lower cd IS a blunt chose of anet saying we want scorge to be a melee class who can take hits better then the core and even reaper necros.

[EvilSnowflake.1453]

You are right XenesisII, this should have gone in the Necro forums, if a mod would like to move it there that would be great.

 

Its sad to see that there are people so full of anger that they can't fathom the idea that I actually enjoyed playing this game and would thank the designers for it, so they decide to believe that I'm trolling or secretly complaining.

 

I meant every word I said.

 

I was hoping that this thread might bring out more people who would also thank the designers, but what I didn't realize is those people are probably playing the game right now. While the people full of anger are complaining about balance on the one thread that's praising balance.

[Milkshake.4719]

I think it's great when scourge players think they are the bomb for spamming massive aoe fields damn must take some serious skill

[Celsith.2753]

I too would like to thank Anet for making scourge such a balanced class that I can play it however I want, regardless of traitlines or gear! Finally a class where none of that matters and I can even choose whether to roll my face left to right across my keyboard, or vice versa if i'm feeling adventurous.

Games beautifully balanced.. as long as you play scourge.

[Deniara Devious.3948]

LOL. Was this sarcasm? Stating that one elite spec outperforms almost everything else and fills many roles in WvWvW, just tells us how BAD the balance is!!!

 

We have a lot of specs, which have NEVER been meta in WvWvW e.g. core engineer. Then we have a lot of classes which are either under performing or struggling, like ranger. PoF introduced yet another power creep, making several HoT specs irrelevant e.g. spellbreaker > berserker.

 

Guardian have always been meta in WvWvW. Since 2012 they have been the favored child of Arenanet. The core guardian and firebrand are still great and form the basis of any zerg besides scourges and hammer revenants. Do you think such over representation of few builds and professions is healthy?!?

 

 

[GDchiaScrub.3241]

> @"EvilSnowflake.1453" said:

> You are right XenesisII, this should have gone in the Necro forums, if a mod would like to move it there that would be great.

>

> Its sad to see that there are people so full of anger that they can't fathom the idea that I actually enjoyed playing this game and would thank the designers for it, so they decide to believe that I'm trolling or secretly complaining.

>

> I meant every word I said.

>

> I was hoping that this thread might bring out more people who would also thank the designers, but what I didn't realize is those people are probably playing the game right now. While the people full of anger are complaining about balance on the one thread that's praising balance.

 

I wouldn't blame peoples' response simply because they didn't agree to thank the balance designers.

 

1. _First_, you are praising just a single class amongst the grand scheme of things. While I want to think you mean to give small victories to ANET this isn't the case given the next few things.

 

2. _Second_, you listed off gears and traits (both being passive stat gains) as build variety without giving any context to active things (weapon and utility choice). Meaing, you are trying to state passive allocation is significant build variety. If you played GW1 you would disagree here since there where there wasn't passive statistical adjustment to the degree present in GW2, but purely skill choice. About the only build that could perform different within the gameplay is probably a scourge running [Transfusion](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Transfusion "Transfusion"). The others you mentioned (because they lacked detail) can be dismissed as playing the same...just another flavor of aoe spam. Again, that's a valid criticism given your lack of more information that supports people's reluctance to praise ANET's balance team.

 

3. _Third_, this is where we really get deep in the pickle jar of nails.

 

> @"EvilSnowflake.1453" said:

>

> PS. If you are doubtful of the builds effectiveness, or think power or condi is OP, come GvG us in NA t2/t3, we're on Crystal desert. I would offer to discuss balance in this thread but that doesn't solve anything.

>

> Cryo - [bAN]

 

I'll reserve my thoughts on the GvG scene, and how it's hindered by server design...but **you essentially stop discussion**. So, you established that the only valid thing to do in this thread is to thank ANET. Fair warning. Don't expect people to play nice on the forums when you do this. While I can agree this should be put in the Necromancer forums, it still doesn't promote discussion. Just pandering, and almost chest bumping with the GvG thing. Which is why this is still a great example of "Hue Hue Hue."

 

Cheers.

[Jasmine.8195]

Click bait> @"Milkshake.4719" said:

> I think it's great when scourge players think they are the bomb for spamming massive aoe fields kitten must take some serious skill

 

Actually, it's exactly where it should be. It does need a dash for Firebrand though, but funny and accurate otherwise.... haha.

[Aedaryl.3195]

Guys, it's a troll, no one even with a half brain can thanks devs for the meta scourge created ;)

[Aeolus.3615]

> @"Aedaryl.3195" said:

> Guys, it's a troll, no one even with a half brain can thanks devs for the meta scourge created ;)

 

probably OP is one of the guys that does the skill balance, and that is how really they want some classes to be played...

 

Dont forget... classes are made with an ideal of how a pve players needs to feel strong playing them(the class theme and their elite trait).... reason its a cleave/aoe keyboard bashing game ;) just play what takes less effort to win.

[arenta.2953]

> @"EvilSnowflake.1453" said:

> For the last few months I've been playing Scourge in WvW with my guild [bAN]. It has been a great experience, though there are some things that bother me, overall I don't believe the wvw experience has ever been better, and I've been playing WvW primarily since launch. The reason it has been so good is because I've been able to identify and enjoy 4 different scourge builds that all perform well, and about equally when compared to each other in a competitive GvG setting. I don't think there has ever been a class/spec with 4 viable builds in WvW. I'll list the Scourge builds here, though not in much detail.

> 1. Support scourge. - This builds runs blood magic and shamans/apothecary gear. Dealing good damage and saving downed allies with transfusion.

> 2. Hybrid dps scourge - This build has two viable stat sets, Grieving/celestial and carrion/Sinister. Deals good condition and power damage. Takes curses or spite traitlines.

> 3. Trailblazer Scourge - Gear is in the name. Deals excellent condition damage and can easily run with the melee train. Takes curses traitline.

> 4. Power scourge - Marauder/Berserker/Valkyrie in a number of combinations will work. Deals excellent power damage. Takes spite traitline.

>

> Our guild usually runs 2-3 of these builds at once, and they all perform well.

> It should be noted that scourge is very powerful in WvW atm, however that doesn't defeat the fact that these builds compare well to each other, all being scourge builds.

> This diversity is only possible because of the excellent balance of power and conditions in WvW right now.

>

> Thank you for a well designed spec, and months of fun.

>

> PS. If you are doubtful of the builds effectiveness, or think power or condi is OP, come GvG us in NA t2/t3, we're on Crystal desert. I would offer to discuss balance in this thread but that doesn't solve anything.

>

> Cryo - [bAN]

 

.....in NA t2/t3?

 

....i'm pretty sure Jade Quarry vsed you just last week....in tier 4....and while we went up to see Henge of Denaravi and Maguuma in tier 3

 

 

your still in tier 4......not tier 3 or 2......

 

so....try again.

 

also so glad scourge is balanced with.....scourge.

 

now try playing other classes. specially those with limited condition cleanse. and tell me how they compare to various types of scourge.

 

or heck. scourge vs other forms of necromancer.

[reikken.4961]

10/10 quality post

but apparently satire is too hard for people to grasp