Guild Wars 2

Hands down got to be RIFLE! It’s not used by anyone except warrior and engineer (2/9 classes) and there are currently no meta builds in either sPVP, PvE, Raids, or WvW which use it.

Last time it was used was season 2 sPvP warrior gun flame build – now obsolete

Thief Rifle elite spec would of addressed this. Make Rifle Great again Anet FeelsBadMan

gotta love staff though everyone gets a staff – necro, thief, ranger, guardian, mesmer, elementalist, revenant, that’s 7/9 classes ggwp

But then Thief would have to be deleted from the game due to being too hax.

Jumpin Lumpix.6108:

Hands down got to be RIFLE! It’s not used by anyone except warrior and engineer (2/9 classes) and there are currently no meta builds in either sPVP, PvE, Raids, or WvW which use it.

Last time it was used was season 2 sPvP warrior gun flame build – now obsolete

Thief Rifle elite spec would of addressed this. Make Rifle Great again Anet FeelsBadMan

gotta love staff though everyone gets a staff – necro, thief, ranger, guardian, mesmer, elementalist, revenant, that’s 7/9 classes ggwp

It’s would have, not would of.

And if anyone should get a rifle it should be the mesmer.

Marksman elite spec? Headshots from stealth for the insta win? Maybe.

Aquatic
because underwater mode.

Jumpin Lumpix.6108:

Hands down got to be RIFLE! It’s not used by anyone except warrior and engineer (2/9 classes) and there are currently no meta builds in either sPVP, PvE, Raids, or WvW which use it.

Last time it was used was season 2 sPvP warrior gun flame build – now obsolete

Thief Rifle elite spec would of addressed this. Make Rifle Great again Anet FeelsBadMan

gotta love staff though everyone gets a staff – necro, thief, ranger, guardian, mesmer, elementalist, revenant, that’s 7/9 classes ggwp

I’m not a fan of the rifle on the engineer. It’s slow and the jump shot is the only reason I have one. Off-hand pistol isn’t that good on the engineer either.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Lyp Sao.1375:

Aquatic
because underwater mode.

Agreed. Most useless weapon is trident.

In PvE maybe. In WvW on a Necromancer, Trident is amazing. So much Life Force generation if there are multiple targets, you can troll people for quite a while under water.

My thinking on why thief did not get rifle was because it would have devalued the pistol. Other than the engineer, the pistol is only really useful on the thief. I agree that the rifle is most useless, but giving it to the thief would have just been trading rifle for pistol for this dubious honor.

Shortbow – Ranger shortbow could use some love.

The cattlepult. Bovine triangulation would baffle even the Asura.

(image from the wiki)

~EW

#makeriflegreatagain

Always found it a little silly that staff is used by the vast majority of classes… and then there’s the rifle, sitting alone in the corner, currently unloved by any class whatsoever.

I main engie, and rifle is my favorite weapon, because CC, jumping ability and general animations. It is FUN. Pistols bore me to death, and hammer is good, but I prefer a more mobile playstyle.

UW weapons are no doubt the weakest, since Anet don’t give a dim for their own UW.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Lyp Sao.1375:

Aquatic
because underwater mode.

Agreed. Most useless weapon is trident.

… but spear is melee underwater, so it’s probably that.

On land I would say Torch.

Svarty.8019:

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Svarty.8019:

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

As well as Scepter/Torch Guardians in raids.

I agree with rifle being the most useless followed closely by the shortbow.

Azoqu.8917:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Svarty.8019:

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

As well as Scepter/Torch Guardians in raids.

I agree with rifle being the most useless followed closely by the shortbow.

Killshot Warriors and … ALL Thieves would like to have a word (are condi rangers still a thing?).

Svarty.8019:

Azoqu.8917:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Svarty.8019:

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

As well as Scepter/Torch Guardians in raids.

I agree with rifle being the most useless followed closely by the shortbow.

Killshot Warriors and … ALL Thieves would like to have a word (are condi rangers still a thing?).

nah, they’re right.

rifle is okay on killshot warrior. but it’s only okay, on one build, in one gamemode. that’s not a good place to be.

as for shortbow condi ranger shortbow is okay, but generally outclassed by axe/torch. throw in that many condi rangers are now combo condi druids, staff has mostly replaced shortbow there.

on thief, shortbow was never a good weapon. it was a good utility item. it was used for movement and blast finishers. with daredevil, thief now has a decent innate movement, and the blast finishers are rarely that necessary.

overall, the shortbow was never great. it was used on ranger because it was the only other (and only ranged) condition weapon they had. it was used on thief because they needed the mobility. it’s never been a good weapon in it’s own right, and it’s seen less use since the HoT elite specs rendered it less relevant still.

For what it’s worth, I disagree with the OP’s premise that the usefulness of a weapon is predicated on some combination of meta builds and profession availability. That might be a measure for popularity… but not usefulness.

~EW

Gray.9041:

Svarty.8019:

Azoqu.8917:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Svarty.8019:

On land I would say Torch.

Zerk warrior and PU mesmer would like to have a word.

As well as Scepter/Torch Guardians in raids.

I agree with rifle being the most useless followed closely by the shortbow.

Killshot Warriors and … ALL Thieves would like to have a word (are condi rangers still a thing?).

nah, they’re right.

rifle is okay on killshot warrior. but it’s only okay, on one build, in one gamemode. that’s not a good place to be.

as for shortbow condi ranger shortbow is okay, but generally outclassed by axe/torch. throw in that many condi rangers are now combo condi druids, staff has mostly replaced shortbow there.

on thief, shortbow was never a good weapon. it was a good utility item. it was used for movement and blast finishers. with daredevil, thief now has a decent innate movement, and the blast finishers are rarely that necessary.

overall, the shortbow was never great. it was used on ranger because it was the only other (and only ranged) condition weapon they had. it was used on thief because they needed the mobility. it’s never been a good weapon in it’s own right, and it’s seen less use since the HoT elite specs rendered it less relevant still.

You’re quite wrong on the SB on Ranger being outclassed by A/T. SB + A/T has been the top choice for Condi DPS on druid since the April patch, as it gains a bigger bonus from Alacrity than purely A/T.

The Mobility afforded to Thief on SB is absolutely vital in sPvP and WvW last I checked, still filling the utility role like a boss.

What we need is a new Elite Spec that takes SB in another direction. Like a Melee/Range hybrid Trickster for mesmer that shoots illusionary arrows at distant targets and summons an illusionary dagger to stab with in melee, or a Heal spec for Engi that fires off elixir arrows at allies filled with healing and boons. Stuff like that.

Yeah, rifle is not the worst one yet the most unused one for sure. On the side note, giving it to a thief would make it no risk high reward and kitten off many players, with thieves overall “hit and run” BS style of gameplay. (I’d still want to see it though xD)

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

For what it’s worth, I disagree with the OP’s premise that the usefulness of a weapon is predicated on some combination of meta builds and profession availability. That might be a measure for popularity… but not usefulness.

~EW

For the times when it would actually be necessary to use a ranged weapon warrior’s rifle has 20% fewer skills. That makes it less useful. In some circumstances it might have 40% fewer.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Lyp Sao.1375:

Aquatic
because underwater mode.

Agreed. Most useless weapon is trident.

Except that i wrecked a guy with my trident in wvw the other day.

Short bow for sure. Only 1 prof is using it. Followed by rifle, where both war and engi skills are decent.

It may be the least accessible weapon right now but that does not mean it is useless. For engi it is still one of the best sources for breaking bars of champions for example. I prefer that over Shield any day!

Besides 3 words – future Elite Specs.

The most useless weapon is the one you don’t like. Someone else may like it quite a bit but if you don’t then they are dumb cause in your eyes it’s useless.

Pfff skill 5 of rifle for engi during JP is amazing. ^^

Condi hammer? I don’t think anything would use those stats on a hammer.

skullmount.1758:

Condi hammer? I don’t think anything would use those stats on a hammer.

But hammer in PVP is strong, and is used in meta DPS/Support for guardian in raid

From a warrior who uses it a lot in PvE, it does have some good uses, but not the strongest weapon in terms of builds and damage.

It has uses like extra dodge and aim shot can cripple. Volley is nice b/c you can move and shoot (great against those Mordrem vine volleys) and lastly rifle butt is good in specific situations (honeycomb trolls in SW and south lane AB are the two that come to mind).

That said I don’t feel it’s as deadly as the longbow and hence isn’t used as much. Also the Kill Shot, while powerful, it really slow to get off. Many a times where I can’t get it off in time (typically b/c of something interrupting or people downing the monster before I can get it off).

Kind of hard to compare it to one-handed weapons since one-handed you combo with the off-hand? Maybe what you get for using both hands makes the rifle the most useless? (PvE that is, usually running around on my own)

Khisanth.2948:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

For what it’s worth, I disagree with the OP’s premise that the usefulness of a weapon is predicated on some combination of meta builds and profession availability. That might be a measure for popularity… but not usefulness.

~EW

For the times when it would actually be necessary to use a ranged weapon warrior’s rifle has 20% fewer skills. That makes it less useful. In some circumstances it might have 40% fewer.

On the other hand, it’s faster and stronger than Longbow, with an effective Autoattack. The Rifle also pairs extremely well opposite Greatsword, providing long range pressure (For kiting or softening up targets before melee), rapid adrenaline generation, and a decent amount of CC of both hard (Gunflame’s interrupt and Rifle 5) and soft varieties (Cripple and immob).

The biggest problem with Rifle, IMO, is Killshot. Not fun to use (That cast time and root SUCK), not fun to be used on (Sudden spike of damage from where?), and it’s an adrenaline-building weapon, so you’re expected to use it whenever possible, but… that root and cast time >:(. Killshot is a relic from back when Warrior had Adrenaline-camping abilities (That one heal skill, the old adrenal health, and old Berzerker’s Power) and Rifle had a bleed-inflicting Autoattack (Making it kinda functional-but-not-really-because-rifle standalone skill, instead of the killshot-feeding AA it has now.)

Gunflame, on the other hand, is exactly what Rifle needed as a Burst – It’s fast to cast (While still uninterruptible and telegraphed, allowing counterplay), and highly versatile (It packs a solid-but-not-obscene burst of damage, a lingering strong damaging condition to clean up slivers of health or take down condi-vulnerable foes, an AoE to provide area pressure, and a quick interrupt/Defiance-hit)

That said – I really, really wish they’d give the Rifle its “Pierce when traited” back for warrior (Heck, they could even remove the baseline pierce from Killshot and Volley if they do this). Every other class I’ve played (okay, really just Ranger and Engineer) have piercing autoattacks.

Sartharina.3542:

Khisanth.2948:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

For what it’s worth, I disagree with the OP’s premise that the usefulness of a weapon is predicated on some combination of meta builds and profession availability. That might be a measure for popularity… but not usefulness.

~EW

For the times when it would actually be necessary to use a ranged weapon warrior’s rifle has 20% fewer skills. That makes it less useful. In some circumstances it might have 40% fewer.

On the other hand, it’s faster and stronger than Longbow, with an effective Autoattack. The Rifle also pairs extremely well opposite Greatsword, providing long range pressure (For kiting or softening up targets before melee), rapid adrenaline generation, and a decent amount of CC of both hard (Gunflame’s interrupt and Rifle 5) and soft varieties (Cripple and immob).

The biggest problem with Rifle, IMO, is Killshot. Not fun to use (That cast time and root SUCK), not fun to be used on (Sudden spike of damage from where?), and it’s an adrenaline-building weapon, so you’re expected to use it whenever possible, but… that root and cast time >:(. Killshot is a relic from back when Warrior had Adrenaline-camping abilities (That one heal skill, the old adrenal health, and old Berzerker’s Power) and Rifle had a bleed-inflicting Autoattack (Making it kinda functional-but-not-really-because-rifle standalone skill, instead of the killshot-feeding AA it has now.)

Gunflame, on the other hand, is exactly what Rifle needed as a Burst – It’s fast to cast (While still uninterruptible and telegraphed, allowing counterplay), and highly versatile (It packs a solid-but-not-obscene burst of damage, a lingering strong damaging condition to clean up slivers of health or take down condi-vulnerable foes, an AoE to provide area pressure, and a quick interrupt/Defiance-hit)

That said – I really, really wish they’d give the Rifle its “Pierce when traited” back for warrior (Heck, they could even remove the baseline pierce from Killshot and Volley if they do this). Every other class I’ve played (okay, really just Ranger and Engineer) have piercing autoattacks.

I definitely agree with most of this, the most notable exception of the return of pierce… that would likely mean a loss of the extra adrenaline, and that traited adrenaline is well worth more to me. With pierce the adrenaline generation would only match/exceed the current trait if you were always lining up 2-3 hits with every shot… which is rarely going to happen. The traited adrenaline gain is much more reliable. Rifle is an adrenaline generating machine, as well as a good ranged CC weapon (as was stated in the quote above). Even if the warrior’s rifle is a primarily a power-based weapon, it is not primarily a dps weapon… it is a utility weapon… and a very useful one when considered from that angle.

A smart player can make sure their adrenaline is always at full stacks when the burst cooldown is finished… whether using berserker or vanilla. And, if one does not like kill-shot, then so be it… your adrenaline is filled and ready for a weapon-swap and burst from your second set. Because of this the warrior rifle pairs well with any power or hybrid weapon set . Versatility is a far better measure of usefulness to me.

~EW

I seem to recall one of the devs saying that Chronomancer was originally going to get a ‘time rifle’ as their new weapon. A shame really as that sounds like such a cool concept and would’ve helped bring the rifle back into the game a bit.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Sartharina.3542:

Khisanth.2948:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

For what it’s worth, I disagree with the OP’s premise that the usefulness of a weapon is predicated on some combination of meta builds and profession availability. That might be a measure for popularity… but not usefulness.

~EW

For the times when it would actually be necessary to use a ranged weapon warrior’s rifle has 20% fewer skills. That makes it less useful. In some circumstances it might have 40% fewer.

On the other hand, it’s faster and stronger than Longbow, with an effective Autoattack. The Rifle also pairs extremely well opposite Greatsword, providing long range pressure (For kiting or softening up targets before melee), rapid adrenaline generation, and a decent amount of CC of both hard (Gunflame’s interrupt and Rifle 5) and soft varieties (Cripple and immob).

The biggest problem with Rifle, IMO, is Killshot. Not fun to use (That cast time and root SUCK), not fun to be used on (Sudden spike of damage from where?), and it’s an adrenaline-building weapon, so you’re expected to use it whenever possible, but… that root and cast time >:(. Killshot is a relic from back when Warrior had Adrenaline-camping abilities (That one heal skill, the old adrenal health, and old Berzerker’s Power) and Rifle had a bleed-inflicting Autoattack (Making it kinda functional-but-not-really-because-rifle standalone skill, instead of the killshot-feeding AA it has now.)

Gunflame, on the other hand, is exactly what Rifle needed as a Burst – It’s fast to cast (While still uninterruptible and telegraphed, allowing counterplay), and highly versatile (It packs a solid-but-not-obscene burst of damage, a lingering strong damaging condition to clean up slivers of health or take down condi-vulnerable foes, an AoE to provide area pressure, and a quick interrupt/Defiance-hit)

That said – I really, really wish they’d give the Rifle its “Pierce when traited” back for warrior (Heck, they could even remove the baseline pierce from Killshot and Volley if they do this). Every other class I’ve played (okay, really just Ranger and Engineer) have piercing autoattacks.

I definitely agree with most of this, the most notable exception of the return of pierce… that would likely mean a loss of the extra adrenaline, and that traited adrenaline is well worth more to me. With pierce the adrenaline generation would only match/exceed the current trait if you were always lining up 2-3 hits with every shot… which is rarely going to happen. The traited adrenaline gain is much more reliable. Rifle is an adrenaline generating machine, as well as a good ranged CC weapon (as was stated in the quote above). Even if the warrior’s rifle is a primarily a power-based weapon, it is not primarily a dps weapon… it is a utility weapon… and a very useful one when considered from that angle.

A smart player can make sure their adrenaline is always at full stacks when the burst cooldown is finished… whether using berserker or vanilla. And, if one does not like kill-shot, then so be it… your adrenaline is filled and ready for a weapon-swap and burst from your second set. Because of this the warrior rifle pairs well with any power or hybrid weapon set . Versatility is a far better measure of usefulness to me.

~EW

It doesn’t need to lose the adrenaline gain, though they may have to tie bonus adrenaline to “Made contact with at least one target” instead of a per-target thing (So it doesn’t lose adrenaline gain, without it being obscene either)

I just wish they’re rework Killshot into something useable. Perhaps have it have lower damage, a fast cast time (Same as gunflame), highly-visible projectile, and knockback (Further and more damage with adrenaline) so you can go bowling with bullets.

Sartharina.3542:

I just wish they’re rework Killshot into something useable. Perhaps have it have lower damage, a fast cast time (Same as gunflame), highly-visible projectile, and knockback (Further and more damage with adrenaline) so you can go bowling with bullets.

A knockback would be cool… I think a bounce would be cool, too…. or even a 1s daze (though that’s not thematic with the idea of a ‘killshot,’ it does compliment the interrupt CC of the weap).

I do enjoy killshot on Teq, though… with the way his hitboxes are lined, if you’re in the right position you hit him a couple times with one shot.

~EW

I would have said mace before HoT.

Now? Probably spear.
The balance on those skill bars is out of whack. Most do no dmg but lots of movement skills. The revenant being the except on dmg, it has no defensive skills and a lackluster movement one.