Guild Wars 2

The Problem: mandatory ground targeting = not good

So Necromancer Wells and Guardian Consecration skills get ground targeting built into the skills with the new specialisation system. I am sure that this change was meant well and considered a free improvement for those skills.

HOWEVER, unlike longer duration, reduced cooldown, longer range, etc. ground targeting is not always and objectively better than having the skill targeted at the player’s location.

Yes it can be useful to have the option to place my wells/walls/whatnots somewhere where I am not currently standing. But it also makes the skills slower to cast and more fiddly and prone to mistakes. Placing the target takes time. And in a game where tons of visual effects are commonplace it can be hard to see where you are targeting the skill. And if you are unlucky the game will decide that the part of the ground you wanted to target is not eligible an the skill won’t be cast at all.

In most cases, when I need my well of blood I want it to appear right where I am standing and right now! If I want well of power for the stun break, I am already in a bad spot and I do not want to fiddle with the targeting, I want my stability and my stun break as fast as possible. Likewise, while a ground targeted wall has it’s uses (though in PVE it’s mostly for argueably somewhat questionable strategies when fighting Lupi ;-)), more often than not, if you excuse my terrible punning for a moment: I want it wall and I want it now!

The Solution: let us opt out

So PLEASE give us a choice in this and let us decide for ourselves how we want the targeting to work. It doesn’t necessarily have to be through traits. My idea for an easy soultion would be to add more options to the options menu in regard to ground targeting. E.g. let us chose between ground targeted or player targeted for all affected skill groups (currently only Consecrations and Wells come to mind, but maybe I forgot something).

TL; DR

Ground targeting for skills like Wells or Consecrations is not always better. Please implement a way for us to chose whether we want it or not, be it through traits or through the options menu or any other way you see fit.

Thank you!

I completely agree.

It’s nice to have that option without spending a trait on it. But it needs to be just that, an option.

This is possible already.

In the options menu is an option to change how ground targeting works. You can have it cast the moment you activate the skill (fast), or cast when you release the skill button (fast w/ indicator), or cast when you press the skill again (default).

Change this to one of the “fast” options.

To activate your well or wall, click the skill.

The skill will immediately cast at your feet.

Artanis.4963:

This is possible already.

In the options menu is an option to change how ground targeting works. You can have it cast the moment you activate the skill (fast), or cast when you release the skill button (fast w/ indicator), or cast when you press the skill again (default).

Change this to one of the “fast” options.

To activate your well or wall, click the skill.

The skill will immediately cast at your feet.

many people who want to be fast dont click on skills. the idea is moving your mouse to a specified position takes more time than just pressing a button.

There’s a simple solution, just like many combat-related stuff in Options panel, add an option to automatically cast ground-targeted skills centered on the player.

phys.7689:

many people who want to be fast dont click on skills. the idea is moving your mouse to a specified position takes more time than just pressing a button.

Yup. I was being facetious. My intent was to have a link to “Lets make it an option!”, when I accidentally submitted the post while tracking down the article.

To all you people advocating for “options”, please stop asking Arena Net to make bad software!

phys.7689:

Artanis.4963:

This is possible already.

In the options menu is an option to change how ground targeting works. You can have it cast the moment you activate the skill (fast), or cast when you release the skill button (fast w/ indicator), or cast when you press the skill again (default).

Change this to one of the “fast” options.

To activate your well or wall, click the skill.

The skill will immediately cast at your feet.

many people who want to be fast dont click on skills. the idea is moving your mouse to a specified position takes more time than just pressing a button.

Exactly. I use my mouse for movement and my keys for skills, so while the skill clicking workaround would work in theory, it wouldn’t really help with the problem.

Valento.9852:

There’s a simple solution, just like many combat-related stuff in Options panel, add an option to automatically cast ground-targeted skills centered on the player.

I thought about that too and while it would work for me for the most part, it I think would introduce new problems. E.g. if it affects all ground targeted skills, it would also affect your staff skills on necro and that would be awkward, as in all likelihood, your are using that staff because you are in a ranged fight. That’s why I though adding skill categories to the targeting option would be a good idea.

Artanis.4963:

phys.7689:

many people who want to be fast dont click on skills. the idea is moving your mouse to a specified position takes more time than just pressing a button.

Yup. I was being facetious. My intent was to have a link to “Lets make it an option!”, when I accidentally submitted the post while tracking down the article.

To all you people advocating for “options”, please stop asking Arena Net to make bad software!

That doesn’t really apply to this. This is about retaining an option we’ve already had for close to 3 years. There is no “bad” option, or even the need to implement a new option. We’re asking for an existing option to be placed somewhere else, instead of being removed completely.

/signed

Valento.9852:

There’s a simple solution, just like many combat-related stuff in Options panel, add an option to automatically cast ground-targeted skills centered on the player.

The problem with this is that there are some things (ie. marks) that I’m generally very happy to have ground targeting for, so a blanket use/do not use choice would be less than optimal for me. What I do want, much like the OP, is the option that we already have either to use ground targeting on wells or (in my case) not.

mrstealth.6701:

That doesn’t really apply to this. This is about retaining an option we’ve already had for close to 3 years. There is no “bad” option, or even the need to implement a new option. We’re asking for an existing option to be placed somewhere else, instead of being removed completely.

Exactly.

I just would like to be able to use those skills like I can use them now and not be forced into the ground target approach. I seems to me that this change was meant well (no pun intended this time) but not thought through completly.

mrstealth.6701:

That doesn’t really apply to this. This is about retaining an option we’ve already had for close to 3 years. There is no “bad” option, or even the need to implement a new option. We’re asking for an existing option to be placed somewhere else, instead of being removed completely.

You should be arguing for this change to not happen, then.

Instead of rolling over and begging for gameplay to be controlled from the options menu, where it most assuredly does not belong, explain exactly why the existing behavior is useful and be unyielding in your conviction that this change should not take place.

Artanis.4963:

mrstealth.6701:

That doesn’t really apply to this. This is about retaining an option we’ve already had for close to 3 years. There is no “bad” option, or even the need to implement a new option. We’re asking for an existing option to be placed somewhere else, instead of being removed completely.

You should be arguing for this change to not happen, then.

Instead of rolling over and begging for gameplay to be controlled from the options menu, where it most assuredly does not belong, explain exactly why the existing behavior is useful and be unyielding in your conviction that this change should not take place.

I think that is where it does belong, Or at least it’s better than having a trait to choose between the two. Perhaps an additional tab similar to traits where we select this and other similar skill behaviors that are no longer traits. But that has little effective difference from sticking it in the options menu.

No matter how it’s done, it needs to an option somewhere outside of traits. Where it actually ends up is a secondary concern.

I agree with the OP. With the new update, I’d love an option to have my necro’s wells without ground targeting. I use mainly keyboard & reaching for the mouse gets clunky.
To me, it doesn’t matter if it’s a box under settings or maybe a slightly revised trait.
Thanks.