Guild Wars 2

Asuras obviously have the smallest models. That brings several advantages for them in PvP that should be fixed IMO.

1.
The Asuran skill animations are much smaller and therefore harder to percieve. As a necromancer, who interupts healing skills with DS#3 it is very important for me to see the skill animation (especially healing abilities). On Norns, it is very easy to react to healing skills since you can’t miss the blue light. On Asuras however you can barely see that light. This is a VERY big advantage. Maybe healing skills could get a bit brighter.

2.
Asuras can hide much better and are better suited for surprise attacks than Norn. On capricorn there are several rocks, where you could easily hide behind as an Asura but you will be seen immediately as a Norn. Even if you can see the name on top of both, in a battle it is more likely that you will take notice of a model than a name. I don’t know a fix for this one.

3.
Asuras are often psychologically underestimated since they are very small. This maybe considered a disadvantage, however “weak and small” enemies are more likely to provoke a silly assault. This may be banal but you should be free to chose your race without any consideration of advantages.

4.
Since Norn and Asura share their range for any skill, you can hardly tell if you are in melee range or not. 100b for instance has the same range on Norn as on Asura, however a greatsword looks more like a toothpick on an Asura. A Norn wields like a whole bole. This means there has to be a range where the sword model from the Asura is not visible but nevertheless deals damage. This is very counterintuitiv and again provides unwitting advantages for Asuras. Maybe there could be some kind of slash animation that indicates the actual range.

There are some additional minor points but i won’t list them since they aren’t as important as the ones above. This is of course irrelevant in PvE and in low-level PvP but i think the higher you get the more you try to get even the smallest advantage you can possibly gain. Races should be about storytelling or aesthetics, but not about having advantages/disadvantages regarding game mechanics.

Raph is Chilled.8304:

There are some additional minor points but i won’t list them since they aren’t as important as the ones above.

I am really curious as to what these additional minor points are. I find all of the points stated to be quite minor, to be blunt.

The only one I think is even remotely reasonable is point number 1. But, in a fight where you can see your enemy, you can still see the asura animations. In a fight where things are blurred by particle effects, it is very difficult to see any animations regardless of race. So, seems to be a bit of a moot point at best.

If we were talking about them having smaller hit boxes, or things like that, I would agree entirely. But subjective advantages needing dev attention? I have my doubts, and I mean no offense by that.

I don’t know why people are acting as if they have some sort of revelation when they realize that the Asura are the superior race. It is a well known fact that only the most stubborn of bookahs won’t care to admit.

Tuluum.9638:

But, in a fight where you can see your enemy, you can still see the asura animations. In a fight where things are blurred by particle effects, it is very difficult to see any animations regardless of race. So, seems to be a bit of a moot point at best.

It’s not that hard on Norn, Charrs, Humans and Sylvary. Once you get used to it, you’ll see key animations (like healing, moa, 100b etc.) even in a 4v4 fight. But on Asuras it’s different.

Tuluum.9638:

But subjective advantages needing dev attention? I have my doubts, and I mean no offense by that.

I think alot of people would agree that fighting an Asura is harder than fighting a Norn. And IMO this is not negligible but more important than it should be.

It’s not that much of a big deal making certain animations more noticable on Asuras. The people who care will consider this change positiv and the people who don’t care won’t notice. It won’t affect actual balance.

You could make an argument that norn mesmers have an advantage with their larger illusions being a bigger smokescreen to hide behind.

I have a norn warrior lvl 80 and decided to make an asura warrior just to see myself. I think I landed 100b more times in 3 games on my asura than I had in the previous 30 with my norn. Maybe not telegraphing your moves to the entire map in advance helps.

I plan on keeping the asura.

Lol at third point, tbh I underestimate almost all norms because they’re usually Pve guys who are terrible at pvp

1. If you can’t see them, I don’t know what you’re looking at. I clearly see healing skills being activated on Asuras. Also, it really isn’t that hard to see their animations, you just need to pay attention.

2. I’ll concede that Asuras may have a little easier of a time hiding, but it’s extremely negligible considering the fact that everyone can utilize an environment to their advantage. I repeat; Anyone can do this, not just Asuras. And before you come out with “It’s easier for Asuras because they’re small”, anyone with moderate PvP experience knows that environmental awareness is a key to being successful. Whether it’s a Norn or an Asura hiding somewhere, learning that X opponent could be there can save your life from ANY opponent; Not just an Asura. This example is absolutely absurd. You have to be aware of everyone regardless. Instead of blaming the ability to conceal, blame your environmental unawareness and actually learn what to look out for. Don’t you think that knowing that Opponent ABC hides at XYZ locations gives you the upper hand to confront them? Exactly. Debunked. Experience > Nitpicking.

3. This is really bollocks. I don’t think that a lot of people look at the small stature and consider Asuras to be underdogs. The worst part about your example is that this argument can be reverse-engineered to work against you. Norns have a considerably larger stature than many other character models. Charr have more vicious, animalistic features. By your logic, wouldn’t that also give a psychological advantage as more intimidating? Does that give them a psychological advantage over Humans and Asuras? Are these really huge advantages anyways? Do you see how disingenuous this is starting to sound?

4. This is simply a matter of learning your opponents by continuous exposure. Once you get enough experience, learning the range to connect simply becomes intuition.

This thread is absurd. Most of these so called “important advantages of an Asura” are simply negligible and can easily be outdone by acquiring the most basic experiences of PvP.

Any strategy you learn from PvP situations in general; Environmental Awareness, Range, Knowledge of Skills and Weapons, they’re all applicable to Asuras as well as everyone else. I’ll say that their small stature does lend them some miniscule tricks here and there, but it’s so unimportant in the grand scheme that you might as well just not even consider it as a serious advantage.

They’re fine the way they are; they don’t need “fixes”. This is simply nitpicking instead of actual things worth concern.

If you’re complaining that your giant, fatkitten, morbidly obese norn can’t hide behind a pebble on the ground, you should rethink everything that you’ve ever thought you knew.

Raph is Chilled.8304:

I think alot of people would agree that fighting an Asura is harder than fighting a Norn. And IMO this is not negligible but more important than it should be.

It’s not that much of a big deal making certain animations more noticable on Asuras. The people who care will consider this change positiv and the people who don’t care won’t notice. It won’t affect actual balance.

I certainly dont agree. I dont see “a lot” of people agreeing either. Its more the player than anything else. I have just as good of a chance at losing to a skilled norn of any class as a skilled asura of any class.

If it wont do anything to balance, then what is the point of investing time and money into something that wont actually change anything? If thats the case, you should be plenty capable of making the changes in your own mind and start to own those asura.

Bluntly, it sounds like you are your own worst enemy on this one and it has nothing to do with anything other than your own limitations that you have self-imposed.

Asura sizes have no advantage. Infact everything is the same between all races. I hear a lot of complaints with jumping Puzzles being easier with Asura than Norns, but in reality its just a psychological thing. They can all jump, attack, dodge the same. Asura have an advantage? They have a disadvantage if anything. Have you ever played and Asura? The camera is so low to the ground you can hardly see crap. Now that you Can’t fix. The other things you mentioned, takes practice. And so you know. I have at least one of each race, and I don’t have any of those problems you have mentioned before.

I just wish ANet would implement paid race changes. Reset the personal story and convert cultural armor/weapon skins as necessary.

Then people who care about armor aesthetics can reroll Asura -> Norn (as another frontpage thread is complaining about), and ones who care more about PvP advantages can reroll Norn -> Asura, and ANet makes even more money. Everybody’s happy.

That said, this thread is exactly why I’m rerolling my Guardian from Norn -> Asura. I thought having a big old meat shield drawing fire away from my allies would be a good idea, but turns out overall Asura is a much better option for both WvW and sPvP.

Sabelle.2159:

Most of these so called “important advantages of an Asura” are simply negligible and can easily be outdone by acquiring the most basic experiences of PvP.

This. Racial abilities have a more significant impact than racial size. And racial abilities are “meh”.

Racial abilities are disabled in sPvP, so racial size has a more significant impact there.

“Asuras are often psychologically underestimated since they are very small.”

That is your own failure, not the game.

kurtosis.9526:

Racial abilities are disabled in sPvP, so racial size has a more significant impact there.

It’s still less than “meh”.

Oliver.4017:

Asura sizes have no advantage. Infact everything is the same between all races. I hear a lot of complaints with jumping Puzzles being easier with Asura than Norns, but in reality its just a psychological thing.

While it’s true the hitboxes and animations and all are the same for skills, it is demonstrably not true that jumping puzzles are easier on a norn for the simple reason that while the model, speed, jumping height, etc are all normalized, the CAMERA is significantly different.

Yes you can get used to it, and I do pretty well on my charr on jumping puzzles, but there is a distinct advantage to not having your character model clip through rocks, beams, tree limbs, and so forth.

There is potentially some slight disadvantage as well. Since the model is so close to the centerline in height and width, it is very easy to forget that the box model for some surfaces extends WELL past the graphical visible edge. You do get used to this on larger models because you have to get used to it (i.e. norns standing completely off of a platform yet not falling, etc). In a few occasions, I’ve had to remind myself on the asura to run well past the visible edge before triggering a jump for particularly long hauls.

An Asura size complaining in tPvP being posted in an Asura home where all the Asura lover gathered. I don’t know if the guy get the mental ready for all the counters we will throw at him…

Still this is the vert first time ever in any MMORPG I have ever played that people complain about a Race for being small. I play WoW Dwaf and see no complain. Playing Tera, the tiny race with 2 ears (forget the name), not even one gamers complain about these things?? I mean srsly????

I’d like to know Arenanet’s thoughts on this matter.

camera angle is a disadvantage often though
- try looking up at a wall – say on; khylo or wvw as an asura