Guild Wars 2

After seeing games like SMITE and more recently Wildstar taking the concept of “skill shots” – or ground targeted attacks like Earthshaker, Marks, or Nades – I started to feel that GW2 didn’t go far enough with the number of attacks that use this sort of mechanic. Right now all we really have is circles of varying sizes and effects with the infrequent cone shape, it would interesting to see more interesting shapes on skill shots. I’m going to use some Warrior skills as examples because a) It’s my main and b) it’s a class that has a low barrier to entry yet doesn’t offer much advancement and has a lower skill ceiling.

Rush/Throw Axe/Bolas/Impale/Bull’s Rush/Longbow/Rifle – These skills that are either bursts of speed or involve throwing/shooting something would feel much more satisfying if you had more control over them. Pressing tab and pressing a number (or w/e it’s bound to) and having it auto-lock is quite frankly not that interesting. Some skills could get buffs with the increased difficulty while skills like Impale could stay at their current strength. I wouldn’t mind having to aim the bow and rifle 1 skill if it got a bit of a damage boost since it would probably have a slower rate of fire.

I play other classes but it would be redundant to keep going because you get the point. Giving the players more control is generally a good thing, not to mention it may make watching good players way more interesting than it currently is (…and if the particle effect were more contained – not less flashy – just not taking up half the screen…).

I know that something like this is unlikely to ever happen to the extreme I’m suggesting, but even if we just got a few more skill shots It would make gameplay even less MMO-like than it already is, which I think is a good thing. This concept could also be applied to mobs as well. Having more oddly shaped attacks could lead to more boss variety then we currently see.

The thing is that it is difficult and frustrating to use those kinds of abilities in the heat of the battle. At the moment I’m practicing staff wielding on my guardian and the fifth skill is more trouble than it’s worth.

I have to spend long seconds correctly positioning the line before casting while the enemies casually maul all of us to death. While most skill shots don’t seem to be so complicated as this one, I find the aiming system a bit of a hassle when we are urged by the game to be constantly on the move.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Line_of_Warding

Skillshots are not worth it unless i can be 100% sure that where i point the camera is where the shot will go. If not i am fighting the UI and not the enemy.

Slowpoke.2749:

The thing is that it is difficult and frustrating to use those kinds of abilities in the heat of the battle. At the moment I’m practicing staff wielding on my guardian and the fifth skill is more trouble than it’s worth.

I have to spend long seconds correctly positioning the line before casting while the enemies casually maul all of us to death. While most skill shots don’t seem to be so complicated as this one, I find the aiming system a bit of a hassle when we are urged by the game to be constantly on the move.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Line_of_Warding

Are you using the press-and-release option? That makes placement much easier. Also, placing that skill correctly can totally turn the tide of battle or at least deny someone access to something for a few seconds.

If people are having trouble with skill shots that’s unfortunate. I personally find them more reliable then most lock on skills. So frequently they’ll miss for no clear reason, having more control over it would hopefully reduce that.