[PvX] Ranger Greatsword Proposal
I assumed the reason for it’s relatively poor auto attack damage was due to the fact that the third strike is an evade giving it a boost in defense if you have the timing set up correctly.
Keep in mind that Sword’s rotation is mostly auto attack with horn thrown in because the other skills lower DPS whereas GS’s rotation is actually the auto+maul combo. Once you factor those in, the DPS between the 2 weapons is very close. This means increasing the auto chain or maul’s damage will likely invalidate the existence of the sword. From PvE anyway.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Ranger has a fair bit of room to make up for before it encrouches on the top 5 classes so there is room for increase in sword and GS.
Now that all said, I do agree with you on counter attack. I also agree that if you move vuln off maul you could beef up its damage some to compensate and it may not overtake Sword in PvE because you’ll want to use Swoop in your rotation at that point which is a DPS loss over the auto attack chain.
Personally, I’d much rather see Maul turn into a blast finisher than a Weaken though. Could always attach the weaken to hilt bash if you really wanted it on the set.
Keep in mind that Sword’s rotation is mostly auto attack with horn thrown in because the other skills lower DPS whereas GS’s rotation is actually the auto+maul combo. Once you factor those in, the DPS between the 2 weapons is very close. This means increasing the auto chain or maul’s damage will likely invalidate the existence of the sword. From PvE anyway.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Ranger has a fair bit of room to make up for before it encrouches on the top 5 classes so there is room for increase in sword and GS.
Now that all said, I do agree with you on counter attack. I also agree that if you move vuln off maul you could beef up its damage some to compensate and it may not overtake Sword in PvE because you’ll want to use Swoop in your rotation at that point which is a DPS loss over the auto attack chain.
Personally, I’d much rather see Maul turn into a blast finisher than a Weaken though. Could always attach the weaken to hilt bash if you really wanted it on the set.
But the sword has its own advantage in staying on target due to the two leap skills.
And isn’t the point of a great sword to be a high damage burst weapon? Why is sword the best dps we have when it should be great sword?
If by some miracle anet did decide to implement these changes, I really don’t think the sword would become invalidated from a PvE standpoint. Its damage is still totally consistent and it has the pet might advantage as well as the WH for offhand.
(edited by Soilder.3607)
This means increasing the auto chain or maul’s damage will likely invalidate the existence of the sword. From PvE anyway.
I think quite a few rangers would be very happy if they didn’t have to use the sword anymore.
Sword isn’t the best by much though. GS is about even with it. I also consider the sticking mechanic of Sword more of a hindrance than an aid. Especially in some PvE encounters that require quick evasion and such. I can’t imagine too many players would complain if it was removed from Sword#1.
It’s probably also worth mentioning that there’s nothing wrong with one weapon being better than another so long as the 2 weapons are unique and have their own niche. Even if GS were better, Sword would still have its role. While it’s a strong power weapon, more people probably use it on condi builds than power builds for example.
Personally, I think the whole class is a mess and ANet has let their desire to force the Ranger into a sustained damage role (which it sucks at) override their better judgement and it has choked all life out of the class. Deep down they probably don’t want GS to be a burst weapon. They said as much in the CDI thread.