With the upcoming revision of Runes and Sigils I wanted to take a moment to talk about stacking Sigils like Bloodlust, Perception and Momentum.
In my opinion these Sigils aren’t very interesting in terms of game-play, aren’t an interesting choice and don’t encourage compelling game-play.
1. Having a stacking Sigil is the optimal choice for all classes. The stat boni outweigh any other potential bonus by far, especially since you can keep the stacks even after replacing the stack-weapon. So everyone has to have a stacking weapon of some sort.
2. The only choice you’re making is what stat you want to stack. Toughness, Healing Power, Power, Condition Damage or Precision. And that choice is often already made by the build you play.
3. The stacking itself isn’t a compelling mechanic. In PvE it just means you use a certain weapon to gain the stacks and then replace it. In WvW it encourages you to go out of your way and farm mobs and NPCs for a while before attaining your maximum efficiency. It also has a minor snowballing element to it as the victor of a zerg-fight will come out with a tangible stat-advantage thanks to the stacking Sigils. Not a biggy but something worth considering.
4. Stacking Sigils have very little in terms of interesting skill-interactions. They don’t change your build or play-style in any way and don’t interact with any class mechanics. They are just stat-sticks.
5. They also happen to make downed-state, map-switches, and death that much more annoying because you lose you stacks.
So with all that said I rest my case. I for one don’t think stacking-sigils make for very compelling game-play as they aren’t interesting choices and don’t encourage positive game-play.
I for one would not miss them if they were to be removed/replaced with the upcoming Sigil revision.
