Guild Wars 2

There is no issue of greater importance in the game today than this problem.

Well, maybe that isn’t so, but this shouldn’t be hard to fix. Most, maybe all, of the epaulets in the game that only affect one shoulder are on the WRONG SIDE. This means when in combat stance, the epaulet guards the BACK shoulder, serving absolutely no purpose in combat where the point is to protect your front-facing shoulder from incoming blows. This problem plagues all Asura cultural light armor and much more.

See the screenshot below:

I agree, that’s about as useful as only having back armor.

Even then it helps against spies.

As an owner and user of swords, that’s incorrect on all counts.

If someone attempts a cut the way you’ve described, they simply don’t know what they’re doing. The lead shoulder is at virtually all times more exposed during an attack because a heavy blow comes from the the back shoulder across the body in the direction of the lead shoulder. If you’re right-handed, the direction of the blow will knock opposing weapon(s) to your left, effectively clearing your back shoulder of threats. If you’re too slow and the opposition is also in an orthodox stance (most swordsmen are right-handed just like most boxers, and in the orthodox stance the left foot leads), he will counter with a blow on the lead side of your body where you lack shoulder protection when wearing armor on the wrong side as GW2 characters currently do. Using the shoulder armor offensively is Hollywood fantasy or a product of watching too much NFL.

The shoulder protection on the wrong side is a simple oversight that needs to be corrected. It cannot be rationalized.

Galneon.5096:

It cannot be rationalized.

It can be: this is a game.

Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m not even against the change, but overreaction and hyperbole is unnecessary. We do fantastical, irrational things in the world of GW2. This is the least of them.

Cinder: It isn’t important, as I tried to make obvious with the first sentence of this thread, but I do want to make it clear that it is indeed a mistake so that it isn’t shrugged off by anyone at Anet who may actually read this. That’s why I presented an argument against the rationalization that it makes sense on the wrong shoulder. I mean no offense to Byrko.

This is just a game, yes, but while there is a gameplay reason why our characters can be resurrected once killed, there isn’t a gameplay reason for this particular design decision. I don’t think “just a game” is relevant in this case.

Anyway, I don’t expect this to be fixed, but it would be nice. If anyone cares, what we’re talking about really pertains to spaulders and pauldrons as epaulets are merely decorative.