Guild Wars 2

So the devs are trying to make banners more used. I don’t necessarily like that, but i can understand it. I’d like to point out, though, that the reason I, personally, and i presume more, haven’t been using banners is their static nature. Fighting with the banner is not viable, while both the game and our kit encourages mobility. If you could somehow tackle that, i am sure they would rise in popularity.

One idea, off the top of my head, would be to allow the warrior that used it (and them alone, for a reason bellow) to pick them up and carry them on their backs (a la Samurai-movie generals), with the ability to drop them by reusing the banner skill. Top this with a drawback, like “the area buff is inactive unless standing still for x seconds(2-3 or something)” or simply a slow while carrying it.

Tl;Dr: Make banners allow mobile playstyle and we’ll like them.

In the structured pvp forum I posted something similar. They should function like a backpack and follow you around with the unique skill that they have slotting in where your banner skill was after the summon. Then it WOULD be viable. Not a hard thing to fix either.

I just want to point out that using the Banner as a primary weapon underwater is super powerful.
More underwater content IMO.
Also, how do our ‘static pets’ compare with the Engineers’ turrets?

make banners so that warrior can wear them on the back.

Yup. The way they should work is you cast the banner and it replaces your F1 burst skill. If you use your F1 burst skill it plants the banner and does an AE heal, cleanse, swiftness, and quickness buff around it and puts your burst on cooldown. Only a Warrior can pick it up. Otherwise they’re attached to your back.

What was the point of doubling the stat bonus on banners and not reworking the banner skills or making it easier for the warrior to move the banner around?

This doesn’t change the way banners are currently used in the game as a fire and forget small stat boost in a fire field or aoe swiftness to the 5 ppl around. I may be wrong but warriors are not having problems in pve.

Anet could of boosted the stats by 500% and banners would still be terrible. Hell even the grandmaster regen trait for banners sucks why wasn’t that changed into a warrior specific regen buff that could pulse for more than the regen boon.

make banner like a secondary weapon replacment u can swap back and forth when the duration of the banner activation.

and give banners a burst ability like “impale” or “heart stab”

The banners should give us protection, retaliation and condition removal every x seconds.

Do You Have A Flag?: Banners remove one boon from enemies in range every 20 seconds.

Replaces “Inspiring Banners”. Continues to work if the banner is being held. First pulse starts when the banner is summoned. Found a bunker? Claim the area with your flag banners and let them try and stop you.

these are all far too drastic suggestions/changes.

if you play Warrior in a way that renders banners less viable then it sounds more like you need to rethink the way you are using a banner Warrior instead of requiring banners to be changed to fit how you play.

my potential feedback on banners:
1) maybe you summon it into your hands, instead of needing to pick it up initially?
2) more variety in skills, instead of a banner-specific one and a bunch of clones?
3) holding the banner (vs planted banner) gives some additional/stronger party buff?
4) buffs give more benefit to allies than the banner holder/creator?
5) fix Banner of Tactics 2 skill?

if they want to make banners more viable , get rid of the current mechanic and replace with an aura, what it should be in the first place.

Banner utilities are now Aura utilities that give its benefits to the warrior and X allies around him in X radius when used.

When activating an Aura the warrior gains a F2,3,4 ability depending on how many aura’s they have active. replacing the current banner 2 abilities.

New “F” abilities.
BoT – Grants Regeneration.
BoD – Grants Protection
BoDic- Grants Fury
BoS – Grants X number of Might stacks.

takes 10mins to come up with something like that, took Anet 7 months to come up with…..lets double there stats.

I like how the banners stats arent useless now.
However the mobility of them is an issue. Due to the 2minute cooldown unless traited.

I’d say even a 15second cooldown reduction would make them more viable, however i would like to see more like a 30second cooldown reduction.

That way you can be in a battle, move, replant.

I don’t see a problem as they stand but maybe a trait similar to moving spirits on ranger would be easiest fix. This request does seem more sPvP oriented as in WvW any ally can pick up the banner(and use it’s skills) if the front moves.

How about no???

Has anyone felt like the Banner buff changed anything? Do you feel like the buff increase was significant? It seems to me that it hasn’t really made anything different.

Okay, I know I’m a little late into this conversation but its only because I just started playing this game about a month and a half ago and I’m loving it so far. Back to the banner issue, I believe that banners should have some sort of mobility option that allows Warriors to equip them onto their backs like a Sashimono banner http://www.samoerai.name/samurai-sashimono-big.jpg . This would help banners to become more viable, because lets face it, battles or encounters are always moving from one direction to another and most of the time your banners get left behind or get picked up by someone else who runs with it completely in the opposite direction thus, denying you and your intended allies any buffs or benefits from it. I mostly pve solo, and having a banner equipped to my back would allow me to entirely benefit from its buffs and continue battling without having to worry about leaving it behind and losing out on it’s benefits. I really hope ANET seriously looks into giving banners a mobility option, this would help make banners a viable options for warriors to incorporate into their builds.