Guild Wars 2

For awhile now when we are killed there is a thing called “Fight to Survive”, this is also in PVP and WVW, however these skills are really a big disappointment, they don’t work properly, first of all when you are down shouldn’t you be trying to heal, instead the attack is active and there is no heal, next the main one that will heal you the most recharges really slow, this system really needs to be thought out and revamped, it is possibly the most disappointing thing in the game, when you are downed just be killed, get rid of the “fight to survive”, because it doesn’t work.

The #4 skills heals you. #1 will also heal you …. if you happen to be a necromancer or guardian. Killing will usually rally. There are some surprises in terms of what works and what doesn’t (killing the binding roots from the priest of melandru will rally but mobs that do not give exp won’t).

The downed state is more of a last ditch effort not a second chance. It is more useful in a group than solo but even in a group it depends on the group members knowing what to do in the current situation. Rubbing the downed party member is not always the best course of action.

There has been many debates on this. I personally sit on the other side. I see this as a useful tool. Certain classes far excel in their downed skills vs others, but to me its more about the groups ability to save (or abandon) someone in their need. It adds a small penalty of lower dps and loosing focus for the group to prevent some one from going downed to dead. There are now traits with necros to stop the bleed out affect, and there has always been skills to effectively help downed players revive like "Search and Rescue!" though the are not usually worth keeping on your utility skills list. I would be sad to see the downstate go away.

They need to better balance the different proffessions. Aside from that, Downed State is (desperately) fun and well.

For some reason, reading this thread reminds me of the all the times I’ve been chain trampled/mass CC’d while downed in PvE. Oh well.

Khisanth.2948:

The #4 skills heals you. #1 will also heal you …. if you happen to be a necromancer or guardian.

As a necromancer/reaper, spamming that 1 key has saved me many, many times. I’ve often wondered what the last thoughts of my target were.

“That’s Asura’s down, why can’t I kill her? Why is my life draining? AUUGH!”

:)

I would like a skill to give up. A lot of times you know that there’s absolutely no chance of rallying when nobody’s arround so it’s useless to struggle.

That skill belongs to the warrior.... just allows them to relocate their corpse to a better spot first.

Riss.1536:

I would like a skill to give up. A lot of times you know that there’s absolutely no chance of rallying when nobody’s arround so it’s useless to struggle.

That would be handy when the Cliffside hammer bugs out and the whole party has to suicide …

Khisanth.2948:

Riss.1536:

I would like a skill to give up. A lot of times you know that there’s absolutely no chance of rallying when nobody’s arround so it’s useless to struggle.

That would be handy when the Cliffside hammer bugs out and the whole party has to suicide …

to die faster just spam skills that doesnt heal you , it will kill you faster

levelmakerguru.7210:

For awhile now when we are killed there is a thing called “Fight to Survive”, this is also in PVP and WVW, however these skills are really a big disappointment, they don’t work properly, first of all when you are down shouldn’t you be trying to heal, instead the attack is active and there is no heal, next the main one that will heal you the most recharges really slow, this system really needs to be thought out and revamped, it is possibly the most disappointing thing in the game, when you are downed just be killed, get rid of the “fight to survive”, because it doesn’t work.

It does work and adds a satisfying extra mini-game, if you will, to the experience. Rather than dying immediately, you’re presented with options which – if you choose correctly – could save your life. It’s a fantastic concept. But like anything else in the game, it only works if you know how to use it. And like anything else, if you don’t know how to use it, it can seem frustrating and pointless. I suspect that’s the issue here.

There are four options: a basic attack, a stronger attack I think, an interruption and a heal. It’s been a while since I had a sub-80 character but I think you have to unlock the various skills as you level, so maybe that’s another reason you don’t see the heal skill?

When you’re downed, the most obvious tactic (provided you have all the skills unlocked) would seem to be the heal. But as you noticed, it can be slow. It may, in fact, be more effective to attack, especially if your foe is weaker or more injured than you.

And that’s the most exciting part of it: when you’re downed and some critter is charging in for the kill; you attack them and they die at your feet, rallying you. Or in pvp you’re downed and so is your enemy and you’re both attacking each other, seeing who can kill the other first. I’ve been in this situation before and won out with only a sliver of health left. There is nothing more thrilling than this.

As an ele, I also have access to a lava font that appears under me when I’m downed. It’s a beautiful thing to get downed by some beastie only to have your lava font appear and kill it as it tries to attack you, rallying you back. Haha! There’s nothing like running through the jungle as a glass cannon elementalist, living by your wits, getting downed and – with a combination of lava font and the right choices – rallying back, getting downed, rallying back, getting downed, …. this is life on the edge, and it’s fantastic.

Downed state combat has a surprising amount of depth for a situation where you only have 4 skills (and for most classes, no movement ability).

Most obvious in PvP… it can make a huge difference if you choose to attack or heal, and if and when to use your 2 and 3 skills. In a close match, it is the difference between getting stomped, or a teammate being able to revive or rally you. It also forces your opponent to make a tactical choice… quick stomp (but makes them vulnerable to your teammates) vs slowly cleaving you down. Remember, when you revive/rally, you have about half your HP and almost all your cooldowns available… a huge game changer in a close match.

The Downed state doesn’t exist for you as much as it exists to turn you in to an interesting mini-objective for the people around you.

While its certainly possible in some scenarios to rally yourself, the bulk of the down state design comes from left 4 dead, and its purpose is similar in function. It’s there so that in a fast paced and hectic combat situation there’s an extended period of time to bring allies back from defeat. Rally is thrown in there because it makes a lot of thematic sense that if you can take down the last bad guy you should be able to get up and continue fighting (wheras in the game that inspired it, there was rarely a “last bad guy” and the entire game was designed around not having players do things alone)