Guild Wars 2

it detracts from the combat experience when you have to stop and do something. not to mention if you accidentally move and cancel the charge. they should all be replaced by slow movement speed like guardian greatsword #2

Skyline Crash.6254:

it detracts from the combat experience when you have to stop and do something. not to mention if you accidentally move and cancel the charge. they should all be replaced by slow movement speed like guardian greatsword #2

This ^

It’s the reason I seldom use Churning Earth. It’s just annoying having to stop, take your fingers off the movement keys and press skill 5. Slowing the movement speed as you suggest is a better idea than what’s there.

Ironic, how the sword autoattack for rangers uses attacks that inherently require a lot of movement, yet it roots you.

Yeah, there are a few skills which are very frustrating to use because you can’t move whilst using them.

The first one that comes to mind is the number 2 skill on Mesmer Sword (Blurred Frenzy). I often seem to get the range wrong (which yes, is my fault) but it means that none of my attacks hit and my attack is wasted and 2.5 seconds of combat time is gone.

But I understand that there is a reason why “rooting” is important. Imagine being able to use Blurred Frenzy in PvP- you can follow somebody/chase somebody whilst using it, do damage AND be invulnerable all at the same time on a 12 second cd. It would make a lot of skills OP.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

But I understand that there is a reason why “rooting” is important. Imagine being able to use Blurred Frenzy in PvP- you can follow somebody/chase somebody whilst using it, do damage AND be invulnerable all at the same time on a 12 second cd. It would make a lot of skills OP.

Surely, they could come up with a smarter compromise. Maybe allow the skill to function as-is if you stand still, but if you move you incur a longer cooldown or lost invulnerability or something.

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

Crimson Clouds.4853:

But I understand that there is a reason why “rooting” is important. Imagine being able to use Blurred Frenzy in PvP- you can follow somebody/chase somebody whilst using it, do damage AND be invulnerable all at the same time on a 12 second cd. It would make a lot of skills OP.

Surely, they could come up with a smarter compromise. Maybe allow the skill to function as-is if you stand still, but if you move you incur a longer cooldown or lost invulnerability or something.

I honestly wouldn’t mind it if they nerfed the skills in some way. Maybe longer CD or less damage or less whatever.

It’s a risk vs reward balancing. Generally all the skills that have long cast times and root you are also very powerful and can do some serious dmg if you get caught in it. I would hate to see skills like meteor shower, hundred blades, barrage get nerfed just so you could move while casting them.

I’d very much like to at least be able to spin in place while using, for instance, flurry or hundred blades

Most if not all self-root skills are quite powerful damage or utility wise or both. Self-rooting is just another mechanism to balance these skills without having to make them useless or less powerful while another layer of strategic element is added.

Same goes for offensive rooting of enemy players. It’s a counter to speed and dodge mechanics, which is essential in an active combat game such as GW2.

To ask for roots to get removed is to take away a significant strategic aspect of the combat system, no matter how frustrating it can be. So no, I disagree that we need more streamline in this department.

Cyninja.2954:

Most if not all self-root skills are quite powerful damage or utility wise or both. Self-rooting is just another mechanism to balance these skills without having to make them useless or less powerful while another layer of strategic element is added.

Same goes for offensive rooting of enemy players. It’s a counter to speed and dodge mechanics, which is essential in an active combat game such as GW2.

To ask for roots to get removed is to take away a significant strategic aspect of the combat system, no matter how frustrating it can be. So no, I disagree that we need more streamline in this department.

I don’t think he’s asking for the removal of the immobilize ‘condition’, just for skill activation not to force immobility.

Taku.6352:

It’s a risk vs reward balancing. Generally all the skills that have long cast times and root you are also very powerful and can do some serious dmg if you get caught in it. I would hate to see skills like meteor shower, hundred blades, barrage get nerfed just so you could move while casting them.

It may be risk v reward, but it is really annoying to have say 4/5 skills have mobility but one that don’t. u get used to being mobile then have to continually reverse ur thinking in split second and stay still.

One of the reason i hate warrior GS is due to 100 blades being rooted, especially since more and more enemies are being designed to deliberately move out of melee range just as u begin to execute your skill. I would rater deal less dmg with these type of skills than waste them entirely and do none. I lost count how many times i got frustrated with these skills and avoid using them if i can. 100 blades is especially frustrating since it’s really the only skill on GS warrior that deals any appreciable dmg.

Somewhat on a related note: The other thing i’ve always found /confusing/annoying with gw2 skill system is that many weapon skills have to many range variations. Among ur 5 weapon skills u can have anywhere from 3-5 range variations and they are all over the place. So instead of focusing on the enemy, u have to keep checking ur skill bar all the time if ur within range b4 u use a skill. If at least they’ve been placed in order of the range on ur skill bar, it would be better but they’re not, forcing u to jump in all directions and some don’t make sense at all. Like for eg #5 on warrior rifle is melee range on a ranged weapon.

I don’t know why this isn’t currently possible (but I suspect it’s because self-roots share some functionality/coding with immobilise, which prevents dodging) and it’s probably exasperated by my ping, but needing to hold a movement key and wait for the channel to break (because it isn’t instant) before pressing dodge actually does anything is very irritating and hindersome.

Edit: Merged, really? Asking to be able to interrupt self-rooting skills by pressing my dodge key instead of having to spend half a second holding a movement key first isn’t the same as asking for all self-roots to be removed.

Serval.6458:

I don’t know why this isn’t currently possible (but I suspect it’s because self-roots share some functionality/coding with immobilise, which prevents dodging) and it’s probably exasperated by my ping, but needing to hold a movement key and wait for the channel to break (because it isn’t instant) before pressing dodge actually does anything is very irritating and hindersome.

Edit: Merged, really? Asking to be able to interrupt self-rooting skills by pressing my dodge key instead of having to spend half a second holding a movement key first isn’t the same as asking for all self-roots to be removed.

If we are simply talking about adding the ability for dodge to break self-roots on skill use, then I might have misunderstood. yes, that would be a cool option and allow for more fluent combat.

As is, some self-roots sometimes feel a bit clunky (then again, 100b does a lot of damage if all hits connect when looking at its cooldown and all other factors included). Not sure how this would work on selfroot skills that deliver conditions with their first hit, the condition might have to be moved towards the end of the combo as to force the full extent of the skill.

RedSpectrum.1975:

Ironic, how the sword autoattack for rangers uses attacks that inherently require a lot of movement, yet it roots you.

At least let us dodge halfway through it, if you’re auto’ing a boss you’ll get stuck in your auto attack animation and wont be able to dodge that important nuke that 1 shots you.

I cant imagine how funny an unrooted hundred-blades would look on a charr.

That aside, some skills need to be rooted, especially ones that make you invuln or cause long evades.

Cyninja.2954:

Serval.6458:

I don’t know why this isn’t currently possible (but I suspect it’s because self-roots share some functionality/coding with immobilise, which prevents dodging) and it’s probably exasperated by my ping, but needing to hold a movement key and wait for the channel to break (because it isn’t instant) before pressing dodge actually does anything is very irritating and hindersome.

Edit: Merged, really? Asking to be able to interrupt self-rooting skills by pressing my dodge key instead of having to spend half a second holding a movement key first isn’t the same as asking for all self-roots to be removed.

If we are simply talking about adding the ability for dodge to break self-roots on skill use, then I might have misunderstood. yes, that would be a cool option and allow for more fluent combat.

As is, some self-roots sometimes feel a bit clunky (then again, 100b does a lot of damage if all hits connect when looking at its cooldown and all other factors included). Not sure how this would work on selfroot skills that deliver conditions with their first hit, the condition might have to be moved towards the end of the combo as to force the full extent of the skill.

That was the OP of a thread I recently made asking for dodges to be usable to break self-root skills, but it got merged into this thread about removing self-root skills entirely.

Hundred blades is the primary reason I made the thread; a melee range self root with 3.5(ish?)s cast time and then a 6.4s cooldown is about 1/3 of your time spent rooted with a melee weapon. The more annoying thing is that you (or I, since I think it’s dependant on ping) have to spend probably 0.3-5 of a second holding a movement key in order to break the channel before pressing dodge does anything. I tried re-enabling double tap to dodge, but even that doesn’t bypass the delay.

I’m fine with self-rooting channels. They’re almost always massive damage and would need to be nerfed if you didn’t have to set them up first.

Serval.6458:

Hundred blades is the primary reason I made the thread; a melee range self root with 3.5(ish?)s cast time and then a 6.4s cooldown is about 1/3 of your time spent rooted with a melee weapon.

Hundred Blades also has some of the highest damage potential in the game. Would you be ok with losing, like, 25% of that damage to allow you to move? The animation would also have to be changed, and would probably look much less awesome.

Blaine Tog.8304:

I’m fine with self-rooting channels. They’re almost always massive damage and would need to be nerfed if you didn’t have to set them up first.

Serval.6458:

Hundred blades is the primary reason I made the thread; a melee range self root with 3.5(ish?)s cast time and then a 6.4s cooldown is about 1/3 of your time spent rooted with a melee weapon.

Hundred Blades also has some of the highest damage potential in the game. Would you be ok with losing, like, 25% of that damage to allow you to move? The animation would also have to be changed, and would probably look much less awesome.

I don’t overly mind that it’s a root, I mind that I can’t press dodge to stop it and have to hold a movement key until it breaks before dodge works (which means I’ve already been hit by all but the slowest of telegraphed skills.)

Think of Greatsword Symbol, the animation involved stabbing into the ground, that makes no sense while moving.

Also Hundred Blades would look weird while moving, hard to put power into swinging a sword while moving.

If they all of a sudden changed all the rooting skills to the alternative, then they would be a lot weaker.
I disagree completely. Most of the skills that root you are high risk high reward. They need a basic understanding of strategy to pull off.
If we didnt have any self root skills, then this game would be a lot easier. Its already pretty easy. I would not want to play as much if this was put into place.

Pistol Whip makes me sad.

Serval.6458:

I don’t overly mind that it’s a root, I mind that I can’t press dodge to stop it and have to hold a movement key until it breaks before dodge works (which means I’ve already been hit by all but the slowest of telegraphed skills.)

I’ll have to test it but I’m pretty sure you can dodge out of channels as long as you specify a direction (so if you’re using WASD, press a direction key and then dodge). And I suspect it tries to keep you locked in because otherwise people would constantly be canceling their animations by accident. Might be worth a menu option, like with instant casting.