Guild Wars 2

After months of watching a meta that is bound by tons and tons of boons and no real reverse to it, I’d like to suggest boon removal be added to some additional skills to try and provide the start of some options to try and provide some counterplay.

Feel free to add some Ideas!

Boon Removal Changes:

• Mesmer – Null Field: remove 1 boon on enter/exit field (1s cooldown) and raise the on-pulse to 3 boons.
• Elementalist – Unsteady Ground: If not knocked down -> Remove 3 boons on passing across (This makes Unsteady Ground useful in an opening, where you might remove stability on your enemy if they run in without thinking)
• Ranger – Trap Potency (GM Skirmishing Trait): Remove a specific boon per trap:
  • Spike Trap – Removes Swiftness and vigor
  • Vipers Nest – Removes Regeneration and Protection
  • Frost Trap – Removes Retaliation and Aegis (Becomes Unblockable)
  • Flame Trap – Removes 5 stacks of might and Fury
  • If a Elite trap were ever created this should remove Stability and 3 other boons.
• Thief – Master Trapper could have similar effects given to it. I don’t know the skills well enough to suggest specific boons

What this does, is create more roles and a counter meta to the boonball that really enforces a larger number in zergs/groups across the game.

I’ll also flesh this out into its own suggestion shortly.

Or why not just… you know… reduce access to boons? Make them more meaningful?

Why do we need to do a cold war style arms race?

Because removing access to boons destroys playstyles and classes, adding active counters adds additional play and counterplay.

The general problem is not boons in small scale, it’s boons at 20v20 scale and even moreso at 60v60 scale. at 60v60 it is impossible to remove all the boons from one person before they’re back up. So in small scale, boon removal would be a specific counter to a specific build/class (you lose utility to it)… at larger scale it is a role choice someone could make, and then build around.

I think we need a reliable way to strip stability, rather than random boons. Ranger and Thieves traps could perfectly fit the role, as they are widely underused, especially in WvW. Maybe even Engineer Gadgets could fit.
Removing boons is useful, but the main aim in doing so is to remove stability. This would buff a whole group of underused abilities of some classes that are rarely used in group fights.

While I agree that stability specifically is helpful to strip, I would also like to see more ability to remove protection, retaliation, and regeneration too as they’re a core of what makes the boon meta work as well. I don’t even think the few skills I put in above are going to be enough, but they’d at least provide some capability for classes to control boons.

Don’t Necros get any extra love here? We do have one of the highest numbers of individual boon stripping abilities in the game….

Are these suggestion so that Rangers can be used in GvG’s? Small scale boons don’t really do much it really is stability is the kicker in larger fights but that is because it is doing its job. You use CC to setup big damage they enemy knows you want to use CC to setup big damage so they pop stability to counter your CC. I don’t see a problem with this.

My list is not exhaustive by any means, it’s a list of thoughts of what might be options.

oZii: These are suggested to give classes that don’t see tons of wvw general use options. Stability is a kicker for sure and I’d love to see direct non-immobilize counterplay to it, but at the same time, Protection and Regeneration are the lifeblood of the zerg. Without them, boonballing is less useful to warriors and other frontline specced classes. I think it would make for more interesting fights and while I don’t care at all about GvG, I think it would show the individual skill of the teams better then who can sit inside of their lead’s kitten stronger.

There is already an anti boon sigil, if you don’t like boons, equip it.

emikochan.8504:

There is already an anti boon sigil, if you don’t like boons, equip it.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Sigil_of_Nullification

Removes 1 boon every 10 seconds. If you’re lucky enough to crit right on time, and you don’t try to remove a boon from a person who may not have any.

The point of this suggestion isn’t that there is not boon strip available, it is that it is wholly inadequate as a response to the amount of boons that can be generated even in fairly small numbers.