Guild Wars 2

I had a pretty solid build and was happy with it. Now that it has changed my build is pretty much messed up. So I was just wondering if it is going to stay the way it is now or if there is a possibility that it will be changed again and if so how far into the future. I want to start working on a new build with the way things are but it would really suck if I do and then it is changed again and I have to make another build again. Don’t want to spend all this gold and time obtaining new stats for my armor and weapons and new accessories for nothing. Thinking maybe condition guardian, not sure though.

There’s always a chance.

I’m not in the same boat as you because I enjoy creating new builds and do so without too much regard for whether they’re the absolute best. Your sentiment is easily understood, though. Since MMOs often change aspects of their combat, which is usually what they’re built around, it would be extremely unlikely that you wont see more changes. This is especially true if you build around one aspect or trait, as even individual tweaks to a skill, cooldown, and so on, can make or break a build.

My solution has been to try and find fun, fairly effective builds that have their foot in at least a couple of traits. This also makes it possible to adjust a few things on the go for a different experience every now and again. If you’re the kind of person who picks one thing and optimizes it as much as possible, I think you’ll suffer more if you simultaneously also don’t enjoy when changes are made to the system.

If you build a condition guardian you’re a bit limited because their access to a multitude of conditions is a bit sparse, but I think you could still come up with something that would be interesting and allow for tweaks. The key, I think, is to ask yourself “what if they downgrade this key trait, what simple changes could I do instead to this build?”. If there’s no answer, try do something else. Should you happen to be one of those people who are immensely in tune with how other people perceive your build and effectiveness, you can always keep exotic gear and a “boring” build as backup if you want to play with them. It’s easy to change out traits and skills, after all.

Thevoidiscold.4910:

I had a pretty solid build and was happy with it. Now that it has changed my build is pretty much messed up. So I was just wondering if it is going to stay the way it is now or if there is a possibility that it will be changed again and if so how far into the future. I want to start working on a new build with the way things are but it would really suck if I do and then it is changed again and I have to make another build again. Don’t want to spend all this gold and time obtaining new stats for my armor and weapons and new accessories for nothing. Thinking maybe condition guardian, not sure though.

If it does change, it’s not going to be a a substantial overhaul like this last time. After all, THIS change was laying the groundwork for elite specs and HoT. In other words, to stay.

Not to mention that, unfortunately, kitten changes. It really is simply a matter of adapt or move on. Besides, how is being forced to remake a build due to trait optimizations any different to needing to make a new build because you got bored with the old one?

I will let you in on a wisdom of life. Nothing stays the same. Ever.

There were two reasons for the recent change.

1. Make old traits into core specs to dovetail with the new Elite Specializations coming in HoT
2. Address the massive backlash against the prior iteration with regard to how traits unlock

There will still be players who will complain about the new iteration, but the backlash against it is much less than that against the prior iteration. So, it’s my take that the new unlock methods are here to stay (unless they decide to re-invent the game yet again). I think we may see some tweaks to the individual trait choices, but I doubt the system itself will change.

Then again, if you’re buying HoT, you’ll get access to the Elite Specs. It’s possible that you will want to make build changes when that happens. Since that is possible, I’d recommend changing your current gear as little as possible now.

If your goal is to recreate the stat allocation you had before, change out a few trinkets. Laurels are not that hard to come by, and a few changes to trinkets may get you back somewhere near where you were. Be aware, though, that players lost anywhere from ~0 to 400 stat points due to the change (figures approximate).

While I imagine there will be more balance changes I believe the structure of three standard trait lines or 2 standard and 1 specialization will be with us for a long while. It allows ANet to extend professions without the need to design a new one from scratch by making a variation on the existing 8 soon to be 9.

Currently we are on the 3rd or 4th iteration. It would be very foolish to think it will never change again.

Thevoidiscold.4910:

I had a pretty solid build and was happy with it. Now that it has changed my build is pretty much messed up. So I was just wondering if it is going to stay the way it is now or if there is a possibility that it will be changed again and if so how far into the future. I want to start working on a new build with the way things are but it would really suck if I do and then it is changed again and I have to make another build again. Don’t want to spend all this gold and time obtaining new stats for my armor and weapons and new accessories for nothing. Thinking maybe condition guardian, not sure though.

In the context of your question, I would recommend that you do spend the effort to adopt a new build sooner rather than later. Consider using rare gear to test it out instead of exotic or ascended.

Also, remember that if you have ascended weapons or armor, you can change the stats using a new Mystic Forge recipe: the original gear, 5 ecto, an exotic insignia/inscription for the new stats, and an “Anthology of Heroes” (costs 10 spirit shards, which you should have in bulk for now). Ends up costing 4-10g + the spirit shards, depending on your target stats. (There’s no parallel recipe for trinkets or back items, because: reasons.)

The only comment I’ll make on your previous build is: I think most of us had to change our builds (which some welcomed the change and some did not). I found that, across my eight L80s, I ended up with better builds because I was forced to re-evaluate each. Even when the ‘new’ build was just the specialization variation of the old one, I am still happier with the new version. (There are some some minor losses, in convenience or utility, nothing major). So I’d recommend that you approach the new build with an open mind about whether you’ll end up with a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ build for your particular style.

Signet elementalist was one of the builds hit the hardest. The idea was to keep a fire aura up by using a trait which granted you one for a few seconds whenever you used a signet skill.

The trait that they were based around was completely removed.

Shattered Aegis builds were hurt too, as the spirit weapon cooldown trait and shattered aegis were made mutually exclusive, thus weakening one of their more consistent sources of aegis application (The spirit shield command ability).

Some builds benefited, while others were damaged, or completely destroyed.

Khisanth.2948:

Currently we are on the 3rd or 4th iteration. It would be very foolish to think it will never change again.

This.