(edited by eozturk.7205)
[PvX][Scepter][Mesmer] Jack of All Trades
I believe we as players should have the choice to customise each weapon as we see fit – with obvious limitations.
Take iCounter for example
- a player who wants more condition focus can have the reduced direct damage with torment stacks.
- a player who wants more power focus can have the increased direct damage it used to have in the past but no torment stacks.
That’s a very simple two choice customisation for one weapons skill – ideally I would like to see that kind of thing extend to all weapon skills, with necessary limitations in place to minimise risks of making overpowered specs.
Of course this would be a huge undertaking and based on the last two years of feature and balance patches, I would not expect anything like this to happen within the next 5 years, if ever.
Anet has pretty much established the scepter as a condition weapon at this point, there’s no hope in changing it back. Maybe one day mesmer will get a main hand pistol as a replacement though.
I completely agree that the shift to making scepter a condition weapon was very stupid and I get annoyed when I think about all the Mesmers who relentlessly pushed for it.
I’m not sure how to go about making scepter the hybrid fin de siècle, perhaps scepter #1 could deal bonus damage to confused targets, increasing per stack?
I do not get the rational of pushing to make a weapon a “hybrid”. Why harm both sides, and never let one side specialize in it. You want to lessen its value as a condition weapon and hurt it effectiveness in condition builds for the sole agenda of your power builds. That seems greedy to me.
A video on what weak PvPer’s and WvWer’s want.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q3em9s5I4c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q3em9s5I4c
Current condition situation on scepter is fine and staff does better condition pressure with 3 clones up compared to scepter. Scepter condition pressure is kinda easy to avoid. If you hit icounter, just dodge or hit icounter with blind attack, so it will miss. scepter 3 is such joke skill for condition wise. 5 stacks of confusion with obsolete telegraph attack. that beam can hit AOE but good luck with make it work with poor enemy targeting. I still don’t get why that spell cast direction shouldn’t be like warrior gs3 (aim to direction then release the spell). This weapon don’t have any soft and hard cc, but its strength is punishing mindless gameplay.
well it seems you guys misunderstood my proposal. I am not saying make this weapon to hybrid weapon. I say scale this weapon for better according to stat wise and make it more active gameplay instead of waiting someone (referring npc) to hit your icounter.
I sorta like increased damage on targets who has confusion. It makes people to use more than 1 skill to make a proper burst.
customisation sounds like more expansion issue where PvP and PvE are separated. customisation may yield balance problems in PvP, especially high level.
Takes a pro to use a scepter (scepter focus/pistol condi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gfWL1DWnvg
That’s it’s only real major downfall. It’s no Ranger longbow, or warrior Hammer or GS. You can’t just spam spam spam for profit.
(zerk/rabid)
Instead of flailing around trying to tweak the scepter into something that suits your needs, it’d be far better and easier to introduce a new weapon. KISS.
As for full zerk power, it still hits hard and provides a ranged option for the mainhand when wanting to run two OH options. But it’s no Greatsword and isnt going to give you that burst. If you want that burst though, GS is available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9zUSHO0HQo
Instead of dropping takes time or you have to be pro to specialise, I expected more constructive criticism, your video is irrelevant to this topic and use torch with sword so you can do proper spike. Also, your claim is invalid in dungeon situations and thats why this topic has PvX title instead of WvW or PvP only. Greatsword is not preferable for dungeon wise where you have to be close range or midrange (some bosses). Shifting scepter to both stats will make you ability to choose which phantasm to go depends on the situation instead of sub-optimal phantasm for dungeons aka izerker.
The suggestion I offered on icounter probably won’t have any practical effect for PvP/WvW except nerf on direct damage of icounter but will bring damage on PvE or where you plan to be more aggressive instead of someone hit obsolete animation or waiting point blank AOE to trigger it. Confusing images is horrid way (too slow) to apply 5 stacks of confusion and after perplex rune change (confusion on struck change instead confusion on hit), this skill can became totally ineffective. Practically you use for dodge bait or cover your strong conditions, but does good total direct damage when you have assassin or berserker gear. The problem is number of channels makes it less effective for pressure and dropping numbers of channels from 5 to 3 won’t make ranger longbow effect. For Ether clone, it is just weak last chain of AA. Clone generation from AA is just bad choice where this profession needs phantasms for damage (excluding shattering, you don’t need scepter for shattering – old scepter/sword build weak compared to today’s builds ). For PvP, not big deal to have clone AA or not, because you don’t have to worry about keeping 3 phantasms to do proper damage.
(edited by eozturk.7205)
while we’re at it make necro scepter autoattack and skills have a higher power coefficient. gotta 111111111111111 fast and hard.
edit: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Feast_of_Corruption
this skill is fine, as it can actually do alot of burst damage for a power build!!!!!1
champion magus
previously rank 2 on old leaderboards
EG.secret.OG.NAVI.sorrychief
previously rank 2 on old leaderboards
EG.secret.OG.NAVI.sorrychief
Strength of necro AA chain is fast but it does less damage compared to mesmer scepter and it is mostly used for stacking bleeding (especially bleeding stacking supported by grandmaster trait – increased bleeding duration by scepter skills). Also, Necros as axe as power range 1 handed weapon and Necro can benefit from DS. Instead of comparing to other classes, I think comparing scepter skills to mesmer’s other weapon skills is much better. Scepter AA chain is single target dps instead cleave that sword has it. Thats why I say 3rd chain should be a bit high or somewhere near to sword 3rd AA chain. You will still use sword when facing more than 1 enemy but against some bosses where you have to be at mid range ( staying max range with GS prevents you to get boon sharing from your party), I think scepter should be better alternative instead of GS where can’t provide proper phantasm for it. But first, that kitten clone on AA 3rd chain needs to be removed.
I am completely fine with mesmer scepter skills (it is sloppy but ok) but it needs some tweaks to make it efficient outside of condition gameplay and those changes are not that big for it.
(edited by eozturk.7205)
and use torch with sword so you can do proper spike.
I mean, there’s so much that could be responded to but I’m just not feeling why anyone needs to go to all the effort to go over all your personal preferences. But, I did want to bring out this little bit just because, why not?
As though nobody knows sword/torch makes a decent burst. Mostly it allows you to land a burst thanks to the stealth component. That said, a sword/focus, curtain pull into iWarden summon + sword 2 imob + blurred fenzy, MoD interrupt if you’re running it followed by mind wrack is stronger.
But why stop there since you’re such a master of Mes weapon setups, combos, and bursts. Scepter/torch sword/focus, run your scepter rampup first into torch 4, then swap to sword/focus for the remaining burst instead.
Let’s level. If you want more power and burst on the scepter, awesome, great, im all for it. But to say it’s not effective right now is to say either you personally lack the skill with it, or it’s to difficult to use for the g-pop who like LB rangers and Warrior auto spam for maximum effect. I’m not going to argue with you on that point, so I’ll validate your thread and say, ok, make it more user friendly for the masses. It’ll only increase the skill ceiling for pros anyway, which is good.
appreciated your answer ross, but I am not a mesmer who plays this class since yesterday and posts stuffs in forums about skills that I don’t like and compare mesmer to other professions and ask for a balance. scepter always been good potential weapon for mesmers but couldn’t reach its top because of it has always something missing in that weapon set. I assume you stucked at the efficiency part because I said scepter 3rd skill is not efficient. well scepter 3rd is not efficient because confusion nerfed by %50 which was roughly 1 and half year ago in wvw, 2 years ago in pvp and casting 5 stacks of confusion with 5 seconds (0 condition duration) on enemy with 3 seconds channeling ( the actual damage starts between 1.75 and 2 seconds) time is way too much . for power, damage ticks are decent but it is too much to have 5 damage ticks when you have that precast animation. If developers can’t shave the time spend on doing casting animation, it is better to have that spell do some real damage in short interval. The time between cast and actual damage is too much and it has obvious telegraph. this will make this weapon preferable in dungeons or open pve content (open pve mostly gs but variety should be motivated instead being stuck on something)
The builds excelled scepter usage was Kylia’s build, seven shatterer and old school glamour build (excluding blackwater – which was mainly staff or other hybrid variants)and those builds are dead now because of constant trait changes. I appreciate your efforts about showing combos but doing them against bad players don’t shows that combos good and those combos can ruined easily by single dodge or invuls. The problem that scepter lacks soft and hard cc on main weapon to do those combos or you have to count dodges and do it when they have no dodge. with pistol or with CI traited focus or sword, you will have cc on weapon set, but sword/x will have 2 cc and not everyone runs sword/x , scepter/y setup. also being pro is not spamming every stuffs you have in certain time limit. Noone says make scepter like LB rangers or Warrior spam, I say make this weapon more user friendly and more variety gameplay instead of forcing to only condition weapon.
(edited by eozturk.7205)