Zerker build has ruined this game !
The problem is the content design and lack of any type of trinity.
The problem is not the gear set.
When you design a game based solely on dps – what did you really think would happen? The highest dps set would become the most used/desired and required.
No one should be surprised.
The game wasn’t never design base on solely on dps, The gamer’s made it that way after they discover how OP the zerker build was that going for something else was making it harder and every 1 know how the majority love taking the easy path over the challenge one
I am not sure how you can defend or say the game wasn’t designed as solely dps based.
Look at the last LS encounter if you think otherwise.
Look at most PvE content if you need further affirmation.
Most encounters in this game are DPS checks.
I will agree players will always gravitate to the easier path. But, when you don’t give them another path to go to at all – then the decisions become even easier.
I don’t per say have an issue with this because I am well aware of what it is. Sure, I wish it was different but at the end of the day unless they change mob ai, redesign all the content in the game and all the newly released content is not dps checks – then sure I would love to agree with you.
Though I don’t agree with the OP, in that statement he speaks the truth-the game wasn’t designed to be a max-DPS fest. It only appears to be this way because the game does have too may DPS checks, as well as many encounters who favor DPS. It wasn’t ANet’s intention, even though it all boiled down to that-and that’s for them to fix.
No trinity never meant DPS-only role. It meant Professions could be self-sufficient, being able to provide all elements by themselves if they so wished. It’s just often too rewarding to go full-offense, because you can still use some key support abilities (besides dodging) that will keep you alive regardless any other stats (and for many Professions, even Healing Power isn’t necessary to stack for most PvE situations, as useful as it could be on other formats.)
I do agree that something needs to be done for people to better appreciate other gear choices for PvE, but really can’t agree that nerfing Berserker’s itself offers any kind of long-range solution. However, this may only be the beginning for other subsequent changes (hopefully encounters or AI)-we really don’t know.
And yes, ANet did say that they don’t agree the “best support” must be killing things as fast as possible-even if it has come to that in practice. No offense intended, and feel free to disagree, but they did say whatever they said.
The counter argument is this.
Players play in the systems that the developers designed.
We are using the rule set they made and playing it at it’s most optimal setting – which is what happens in mmorpgs.
Azreell – Mesmer
Loyalty To None
Loyalty To None
(People do have a point in that even now it still requires good ability/experience to play as a Berserker character-especially when things don’t die as fast. That said, despite “video proof”, every sort of build will benefit from dodging, as well they should, as it’s an important mechanic of the game-wearing Soldier’s/Knight’s is no excuse to avoid dodging at all, and there should always be repercussions for “lazy dodging.”)
The problem is the content design and lack of any type of trinity.
The problem is not the gear set.
When you design a game based solely on dps – what did you really think would happen? The highest dps set would become the most used/desired and required.
No one should be surprised.
The game wasn’t never design base on solely on dps, The gamer’s made it that way after they discover how OP the zerker build was that going for something else was making it harder and every 1 know how the majority love taking the easy path over the challenge one
I am not sure how you can defend or say the game wasn’t designed as solely dps based.
Look at the last LS encounter if you think otherwise.
Look at most PvE content if you need further affirmation.
Most encounters in this game are DPS checks.
I will agree players will always gravitate to the easier path. But, when you don’t give them another path to go to at all – then the decisions become even easier.
I don’t per say have an issue with this because I am well aware of what it is. Sure, I wish it was different but at the end of the day unless they change mob ai, redesign all the content in the game and all the newly released content is not dps checks – then sure I would love to agree with you.
Though I don’t agree with the OP, in that statement he speaks the truth-the game wasn’t designed to be a max-DPS fest. It only appears to be this way because the game does have too may DPS checks, as well as many encounters who favor DPS. It wasn’t ANet’s intention, even though it all boiled down to that-and that’s for them to fix.
No trinity never meant DPS-only role. It meant Professions could be self-sufficient, being able to provide all elements by themselves if they so wished. It’s just often too rewarding to go full-offense, because you can still use some key support abilities (besides dodging) that will keep you alive regardless any other stats (and for many Professions, even Healing Power isn’t necessary to stack for most PvE situations, as useful as it could be on other formats.)
I do agree that something needs to be done for people to better appreciate other gear choices for PvE, but really can’t agree that nerfing Berserker’s itself offers any kind of long-range solution. However, this may only be the beginning for other subsequent changes (hopefully encounters or AI)-we really don’t know.
And yes, ANet did say that they don’t agree the “best support” must be killing things as fast as possible-even if it has come to that in practice. No offense intended, and feel free to disagree, but they did say whatever they said.
The counter argument is this.
Players play in the systems that the developers designed.
We are using the rule set they made and playing it at it’s most optimal setting – which is what happens in mmorpgs.
It wasn’t their intention, however. Has clearly been stated. That said, they should not get rid of ALL DPS battles, as there should be a place for players that enjoy using such gear as well-the point is not getting rid of full offense gear, but making other gear more appealing for PvE (which is their challenge to solve.)
[…]
Cntr+click on a skill pings it.
Until your messages get suppressed.
The issue with everything being zerker in PvE is two fold.
Firstly, it limits playstyle, when Arenanet, themselves during the development of the game stated that they wanted diverse playstyles supported. This means its unintentional and doesn’t fit with the overall game design.
Secondly, it makes the vast bulk of items in the game pointless. They might as well just delete any PvE resource that offers anything except max DPS stats as it is unrewarding for players who understand the meta and potentially leads players who are unware of the meta to make costly and wasteful investments in gear that effectively makes them a burden to their groups.
In short, the current set up is broken.
However nerfing Beserker alone wont fix it. Frankly the nerf is probably unnecessary. What is needed is a change in how buffs and therefore support works and how damage is done in encounters. A support class needs to offer their allies the chance at higher DPS either through mitigation of boss mechanics to allow more dps uptime (healable damage that cant be self healed) or scalable buffs so the buffs from a support traited and geared player are strong enough to offset the loss of dps support classes suffer.
Regardless, I’m doubtful the current changes will be effective simply because the playstyle will still offer nothing that isn’t effectively a ‘third wheel’ and completely unnecessary in most encounters.
[/quote]
Though I don’t agree with the OP, in that statement he speaks the truth-the game wasn’t designed to be a max-DPS fest. It only appears to be this way because the game does have too may DPS checks, as well as many encounters who favor DPS. It wasn’t ANet’s intention, even though it all boiled down to that-and that’s for them to fix.
No trinity never meant DPS-only role. It meant Professions could be self-sufficient, being able to provide all elements by themselves if they so wished. It’s just often too rewarding to go full-offense, because you can still use some key support abilities (besides dodging) that will keep you alive regardless any other stats (and for many Professions, even Healing Power isn’t necessary to stack for most PvE situations, as useful as it could be on other formats.)
I do agree that something needs to be done for people to better appreciate other gear choices for PvE, but really can’t agree that nerfing Berserker’s itself offers any kind of long-range solution. However, this may only be the beginning for other subsequent changes (hopefully encounters or AI)-we really don’t know.
And yes, ANet did say that they don’t agree the “best support” must be killing things as fast as possible-even if it has come to that in practice. No offense intended, and feel free to disagree, but they did say whatever they said.[/quote]
The counter argument is this.
Players play in the systems that the developers designed.
We are using the rule set they made and playing it at it’s most optimal setting – which is what happens in mmorpgs.[/quote]
My counter argument is this
Player love to play around the system that developers designed.
PPL love to find loop holes around the system that allow them to play to there liking instead of the game design. There always a flaw on the system that developers miss and you can bet that a player is going to find it and exploit until developer but a stop it and this Happens in every mmorpgs
Until your messages get suppressed.
Never happened to me.
I’m wondering if doubling the boss armor at the same time as halving their hp would stop people complaining about zerker set up. Or some variation therein.
Do you know that ppl almost never use dodge?
That was 1 of biggest problem that I stated on the beginning of this post, do the fact that a zerker build player is accustomed to down the boss so fast they never use dodge but if that zerker player is in a group that cant down a boss after the 20 sec time they start droping like flys
There’s definitely a lot of assumptions going on in this statement. People who play zerk tend to learn the intelligent use of dodge more quickly than those who don’t. The reason behind this is that a player who doesn’t rely on passive defense stats (toughness, vit, healing) must rely on their active defenses (dodge, aegis, invulns, reflects) more.
To me, it is rather insulting that you should belittle people’s intelligence and energy into planning and executing a fight with a boss to push the boundaries of killing them quickly. They come at problems with forethought and all you can do is sit back and say, “That’s cheating.”
Before belittling their efforts, I would entreat you to actually walk a mile in their shoes. Put on full zerk gear, learn how to play the game as they do, then compare the effort of doing so to how you normally play. It really isn’t as easy as it looks.
Genevieve Talbot [NP] – Noble Phantasm on Stormbluff Isle
Do you know that ppl almost never use dodge?
That was 1 of biggest problem that I stated on the beginning of this post, do the fact that a zerker build player is accustomed to down the boss so fast they never use dodge but if that zerker player is in a group that cant down a boss after the 20 sec time they start droping like flys
There’s definitely a lot of assumptions going on in this statement. People who play zerk tend to learn the intelligent use of dodge more quickly than those who don’t. The reason behind this is that a player who doesn’t rely on passive defense stats (toughness, vit, healing) must rely on their active defenses (dodge, aegis, invulns, reflects) more.
To me, it is rather insulting that you should belittle people’s intelligence and energy into planning and executing a fight with a boss to push the boundaries of killing them quickly. They come at problems with forethought and all you can do is sit back and say, “That’s cheating.”
Before belittling their efforts, I would entreat you to actually walk a mile in their shoes. Put on full zerk gear, learn how to play the game as they do, then compare the effort of doing so to how you normally play. It really isn’t as easy as it looks.
First of all if you are easily insulted by me calling a zerker build a class that require no intelligent to play then I advise you to stay away from forum b/c you are to sensitive to be reading the forums
Secondly I have play a zerker build as ranger,guardian,necro , and enge and is why by experience I know how easy and mind numbing the play style is and I also know its weakness which as a zerker you on a timer and if you don’t down the boss fast you in trouble which is the reason classes that aren’t build for fast dps are shun out of the group
I’m extremely experienced with running my clerics healing shout with mace/shield+hammer warrior and I can confirm how easy that is. I don’t even have to dodge! In fact, I unbound a dodge because I don’t need to role play an acrobat in heavy armour, that’s just illogical.
Secondly I have play a zerker build as ranger,guardian,necro , and enge and is why by experience I know how easy and mind numbing the play style is and I also know its weakness which as a zerker you on a timer and if you don’t down the boss fast you in trouble which is the reason classes that aren’t build for fast dps are shun out of the group
What troubles? I’m immortal.
I’m wondering if doubling the boss armor at the same time as halving their hp would stop people complaining about zerker set up. Or some variation therein.
The problem is that some game objects dont take conditions, the whole watchknights being immune to conditions through half of the fight thing which wouldn’t have been an issue if the knight changed modes randomly instead of when they got to a certain point on health and even then conditions just made it so you could dps better, and that having nearly the most toughness I can have, somewhere around 3k, it makes it so one of these big world bosses will 3 shot me instead of 1 shot me.
So really other stats don’t give as big as an advantage to be worth it, not when you can have a zerg of zerker players that can just do a quick dps and the big boss can’t hit them all so you get revived instantly if you go down.
Lot’s of false assumptions in this thread.
First, zerker gear, for the most part, makes players better, not worse. There are exceptions, of course, like CoF, that are truly mind-numbing. But there are plenty of bosses in this game (like HotW) that are complete and utter HP sponges (remember one way way Anet likes to make a fight harder is just make more HP!), so a fight takes a long time, even if the entire party is in full zerker. You can tout Lupi all you want as an example, but fast kills on Lupi are an EXCEPTION, not the rule. And those fast kills are possible not only because people are in zerker gear, but because they are highly skilled and know the fight really well (try fighting Lupi for yourself and see how easy it is ;P). People in this thread make it sound like zerker is some magic thing that allows you to down bosses in seconds, which is not at all the case.
Yes, in some cases it’s just mind numbing stacking, but in plenty of dungeons (SE, HotW, CoE, for example), you actually do have to dodge as a zerker or you will get one-shotted and you will die. And then dead dps is no dps.
I would argue that tanky healer builds actually make far lazier players because they are far more forgiving if you take damage. If my zerk guardian gets hit (by say the TA up spider boss), I am downed in pretty much one hit if I have no aegis. I cannot afford bad play because if I die, I am a dead weight for my party. My tankier guard build can take a few hits and still survive no problem.
Another false assumption is that there’s SO MANY PLAYERS that give a kitten about your build or your class. I’ve ran plenty of dungeons with guild mates and pugs from LFG and I’ve never had this issue. Sure, you can see posts where players demand zerk warriors only, but you can easily steer clear of those. The zerk warrior only mentality is a remnant from the days when CoF p1 speed runs were the way to make money and the meta was 1 zerk mesmer + 4 zerk warriors – ping your gear to get kicked type of thing. But that’s not the case anymore. You’re harking back to things that are no longer true.
And seriously, if you don’t like how dungeons are run with zerker metas, find a guild and make some friends that agree and just run dungeons the way you want. Don’t have to bend to other people if you don’t want to.
Creates bad player’s :
since player can kill bosses so fast, they have no clue on how to avoid getting hit or aren’t used to the idea of avoiding damage that if they are in a group that cant down a boss under 20 sec they start dropping like fly’s and start blaming there death for the lack of dps not b/c they didn’t use there dodge when standing on the red circle
its EXACLTY THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
1. of all, people dont kill bosses so fast they dont get hit.
2. the reason why most people arent used to getting hit is because they are running bad tanky builds with a lot of room for error.
[qT] Quantify
No what you are showing me is a well organize group who are able to keep perma protection and regen and toss some 2k healing every 3 sec , proving that zerker build or dps is not the only way to go
not the same that saying I can do this with my warrior cleric b/c that is false
So when a random berserker’s team complete a dungeon it’s called cheating but when a random cleric’s team does the same it’s called “well organization”. I guess that’s what you call different perspective.
They’re able to keep those buffs because they are spammable, there’s no coordination there, buffs stack in duration.
To me = In my opinion
it = your statement
is rather insulting = is rather insulting.
In my opinion, your statement is rather insulting.
Edit: I write fairly eloquently. (And I’m humble too.) Perhaps the one who isn’t able to use “allowed” or “too” correctly in a sentence is the one that needs to consider improving their reading and writing comprehension.
Genevieve Talbot [NP] – Noble Phantasm on Stormbluff Isle
(edited by DigitalKirin.9714)
No what you are showing me is a well organize group who are able to keep perma protection and regen and toss some 2k healing every 3 sec , proving that zerker build or dps is not the only way to go
not the same that saying I can do this with my warrior cleric b/c that is false
So when a random berserker’s team complete a dungeon it’s called cheating but when a random cleric’s team does the same it’s called “well organization”. I guess that’s what you call different perspective.
They’re able to keep those buffs because they are spammable, there’s no coordination there, buffs stack in duration.
first of all I never use the word cheating so I don’t know why the hell you ppl keep saying that
Now if you are miss understanding the word explode with cheating , do your self a favor and google the words up because they are 2 different definition
first of all I never use the word cheating so I don’t know why the hell you ppl keep saying that
Being able to pop cd that aloud you to avoid 80% of the damage and have the cd last by the time you are done because you are able to dps him down before that happens is no different then climbing a wall and attack the boss from there
So in other words, are you saying that climbing a wall and attacking the boss from there isn’t cheating?
Genevieve Talbot [NP] – Noble Phantasm on Stormbluff Isle
No what you are showing me is a well organize group who are able to keep perma protection and regen and toss some 2k healing every 3 sec , proving that zerker build or dps is not the only way to go
not the same that saying I can do this with my warrior cleric b/c that is false
So when a random berserker’s team complete a dungeon it’s called cheating but when a random cleric’s team does the same it’s called “well organization”. I guess that’s what you call different perspective.
They’re able to keep those buffs because they are spammable, there’s no coordination there, buffs stack in duration.
first of all I never use the word cheating so I don’t know why the hell you ppl keep saying that
Now if you are miss understanding the word explode with cheating , do your self a favor and google the words up because they are 2 different definition
You called it exploiting. By definition cheating = exploiting.
[ARES]
And all who stood by and did nothing, who are they to criticize the sacrifices of others?
Our blood has bought their lives.
And all who stood by and did nothing, who are they to criticize the sacrifices of others?
Our blood has bought their lives.
One thing i can say about this thread, LOL. Browse the forums and you can find a milion more threads like this one. Zerk gear/build can be mind mumbing at times, but it’s still better than clerics/pvt, etc. And btw don’t you prefer to complete content easier and faster than poke the mobs/bosses/champs with a wet noodle?
P.S: Zerk = active defences (blind, aegis, dodge) and it requiers more timing that passive ones. And don’t pick straws and Lupiand other bosses speedkills those are irrerevant
I hear no evil, I fear no evil
To me = In my opinion
it = your statement
is rather insulting = is rather insulting.In my opinion, your statement is rather insulting.
Edit: I write fairly eloquently. (And I’m humble too.) Perhaps the one who isn’t able to use “allowed” or “too” correctly in a sentence is the one that needs to consider improving their reading and writing comprehension.
Wow English is my second language and even I know that (To me) doesn’t = my opinion
To me = In my opinion
it = your statement
is rather insulting = is rather insulting.In my opinion, your statement is rather insulting.
Edit: I write fairly eloquently. (And I’m humble too.) Perhaps the one who isn’t able to use “allowed” or “too” correctly in a sentence is the one that needs to consider improving their reading and writing comprehension.
Wow English is my second language and even I know that (To me) doesn’t = my opinion
English is my first language and even I know that To me = in my opinion
[ARES]
And all who stood by and did nothing, who are they to criticize the sacrifices of others?
Our blood has bought their lives.
And all who stood by and did nothing, who are they to criticize the sacrifices of others?
Our blood has bought their lives.
This issue is hardly a GW2 only issue. EVERY game follows a simple rule. You eventually have enough defense and when you do, you swap everything else to offense.
Every MMO has that.
Problem in GW2 is that there is no heal/tank, so where in other games you may have tank, healer, 3XDPS giving a little forced diversity, GW2 has ideal support from certain profession mixes but they are all full DPS. That makes the issue seem bigger here.
The other thing as people have hit on, is the lack of boon power increases. I can do runes to get boon duration, but that’s about the only way I can increase the amount of support I do.
I will say I like a support guardian, but having one profession that has an option doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem (and even then while I like it, I have no problem saying the ideal is all zerk). I want to see an Elementalist build that gives their might stacks enough power to make it viable to go that direction. Give a new stat “boon Power” that increases the effect on these boons. Give Mesmers a trait that makes all their eth fields act like time warp, but at a lower power, but gearing properly can make them all more powerful to make up for the lost personal DPS of gearing that way.
Stuff like that would be the way they balance it out.
Doing that could lead to a game where you have your meta groups being 2-3 support guys and a couple DPS, vs the current all damage.
Now of course I don’t want to sound like the current thing is all about damage, naw you have to place your reflect walls, aegis, might stacks, etc all those utilities are important, but the problem is they are just as powerful in zerk gear as they are in any other gear.
That’s the problem here. The areas of the game that aren’t damage focused, don’t require gearing correctly, just traiting correctly.
Wow English is my second language and even I know that (To me) doesn’t = my opinion
English is not my second language. So mayhaps you missed something in your studies. To me, it does equate to saying “in my opinion”.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=393146
Seems other people agree.
Genevieve Talbot [NP] – Noble Phantasm on Stormbluff Isle
No what you are showing me is a well organize group who are able to keep perma protection and regen and toss some 2k healing every 3 sec , proving that zerker build or dps is not the only way to go
not the same that saying I can do this with my warrior cleric b/c that is false
So when a random berserker’s team complete a dungeon it’s called cheating but when a random cleric’s team does the same it’s called “well organization”. I guess that’s what you call different perspective.
They’re able to keep those buffs because they are spammable, there’s no coordination there, buffs stack in duration.
first of all I never use the word cheating so I don’t know why the hell you ppl keep saying that
Now if you are miss understanding the word explode with cheating , do your self a favor and google the words up because they are 2 different definition
You called it exploiting. By definition cheating = exploiting.
Dude I cant teach you, just google the difference so you could learn the proper way to accuse some 1 of cheating
I googled and found no differences. Do you disagree with google?
Lot’s of false assumptions in this thread.
First, zerker gear, for the most part, makes players better, not worse. There are exceptions, of course, like CoF, that are truly mind-numbing. But there are plenty of bosses in this game (like HotW) that are complete and utter HP sponges (remember one way way Anet likes to make a fight harder is just make more HP!), so a fight takes a long time, even if the entire party is in full zerker. You can tout Lupi all you want as an example, but fast kills on Lupi are an EXCEPTION, not the rule. And those fast kills are possible not only because people are in zerker gear, but because they are highly skilled and know the fight really well (try fighting Lupi for yourself and see how easy it is ;P). People in this thread make it sound like zerker is some magic thing that allows you to down bosses in seconds, which is not at all the case.
Yes, in some cases it’s just mind numbing stacking, but in plenty of dungeons (SE, HotW, CoE, for example), you actually do have to dodge as a zerker or you will get one-shotted and you will die. And then dead dps is no dps.
I would argue that tanky healer builds actually make far lazier players because they are far more forgiving if you take damage. If my zerk guardian gets hit (by say the TA up spider boss), I am downed in pretty much one hit if I have no aegis. I cannot afford bad play because if I die, I am a dead weight for my party. My tankier guard build can take a few hits and still survive no problem.
Another false assumption is that there’s SO MANY PLAYERS that give a kitten about your build or your class. I’ve ran plenty of dungeons with guild mates and pugs from LFG and I’ve never had this issue. Sure, you can see posts where players demand zerk warriors only, but you can easily steer clear of those. The zerk warrior only mentality is a remnant from the days when CoF p1 speed runs were the way to make money and the meta was 1 zerk mesmer + 4 zerk warriors – ping your gear to get kicked type of thing. But that’s not the case anymore. You’re harking back to things that are no longer true.
And seriously, if you don’t like how dungeons are run with zerker metas, find a guild and make some friends that agree and just run dungeons the way you want. Don’t have to bend to other people if you don’t want to.
What people who complain about the dungeon meta are really saying is that they want an optimum experience (i.e., the fastest clear), they want it using whatever build/gear etc. they prefer, and they want to be able to access that experience in any group that’s starting when they’re available. Frankly, this type of opinion has gotten much more prevalent with the advent of LFG tools. Those tools teach players that their convenience is supremely important, and as a result they rage against anything that is contrary to what they want.
The OP not only wants to be able to use diverse builds, and use whatever tactics he thinks are fun in dungeons, he wants the entire game to change so that his preference is the new meta. He can do GW2 dungeons the way he prefers now, but he can’t by joining any pug — and his preferences are not the optimum approach — therefore the meta is wrong.
I googled and found no differences. Do you disagree with google?
I would disagree with you but I guess I cant b/c anet just send me a private massage saying that you send a complaint for disagreeing with you so ill just let you think what ever you think so I wont hurt your feelings
How about people learn to find friends in the game to play with who have similar styles or learn to advertise what they want in the group descriptions before playing?
seriously its so lazy to complain about things like this when it could easily be fixable by just having people you know to play with or making sure when you join or start a group, you let it be known what you want and what kind of players you want to play with.
I can’t understand people’s obsession with meta’s and what other people are running.
@ Drakent: Put on full Berserker’s gear. Trait yourself for full DPS in the Meta for whatever class you play. Record your dungeon gameplay and post it up! You’re adding to the noise with all this talk. It’s time to walk that walk.
The game is too easy and ruined right? Hope we can see some excellent runs from your end.
Secondly I have play a zerker build as ranger,guardian,necro , and enge and is why by experience I know how easy and mind numbing the play style is and I also know its weakness which as a zerker you on a timer and if you don’t down the boss fast you in trouble which is the reason classes that aren’t build for fast dps are shun out of the group
You have room for improvement then, I never feel pressured to kill a boss within a certain time when I play zerker, bosses cannot kill me if I play wisely.
Zerker isn’t the problem, it is a symptom.
+1
this.
The real problem is that the other given options do not yield enough return for the loss of damage…. If you’re going to be 1-shot when you don’t dodge, it will happen no matter what gear you’re in… pray for aegis, pray for block and dodge not a single one of those comes off your armor.
Consider real life, you’re at your favorite watering hole and then suddenly, somebody’s about to put a bullet into your head. That’s a 1 shot people… you can not tank that bullet. You either gotta take them out first, or dodge like hell.
This is the core of the current situation, any hit that doesn’t 1 shot you in the game, is something that pretty much anyone, zerk, soldier or anything in between will be able to absorb, but that also means, it will only take longer, and more people will be exposed to 1-shots (especially if someone winds up needing a rez) the longer the fight has to take. Kill it first, this is the zerker thing.
To properly fix this issue forever: Make all armors like GW1 or SPvP at best. It’s got armor… and in GW1 you took penalties on your energy pool and energy regen if you ran around naked, but otherwise it just had armor. And the stats you could add to it weren’t huge, but they could be used for empowering specific builds. Weapons were exactly the same. SPvP uses a very similar system… and it removes the entire mess from the player’s hands. Anet would then only have to go through and clean up all the spare junk (15 different names for armor recipes based on stats, adjusting mobs to the new lack of stats, etc..)
To Jury-rig the current system the best way possible: Make toughness a true and viable counter to these attacks that 1 shot people right now. As in, a maxed toughness player should be able to take 2 or 3 of the current 1 shot moves in a row without getting downed, and without needing to dodge otherwise. This would level the playfield for armor types that carry toughness with those that carry zerk… Of course, This too could serve to make the zerk elitism worse for the extra time it takes… and it leaves multiple gear choices out completely, but it preserves the current ever-expanding cluster **** of armor stat mixes…