Guild Wars 2

The Engi gyro functionalities are really cool. The graphics are really cool. I am feeling really positive about them – EXCEPT – they aren’t where I want them to be.

The healing one in particular can’t keep up with me, and with the static, timed discharges, I found it kept putting down the heal field RIGHT BEFORE it was within range, and I would have to run back to stand in the field. Not good when I was trying to run away from something

At first, I was just thinking their movement speed needed to be 100% faster so that they could be sure to keep up with me. A friend suggested that they should just work like auras or traveling fields, and the AI be dropped, and that inspired THIS idea:

It would be really cool if the friendly gyros could be placed on a friendly player as a traveling-field-centered-on-the-player in the style of Reconstruction Field or Defense Field (but with the graphic of the gyro flying around within the field, so it looks like it’s autonomous). This would be placed on the targeted party member or friendly player IF someone was targeted, and would default to the casting engi if nobody was targeted.

HOWEVER, the significant difference here would be that the “trigger” skill would tell the gyro to switch targets, instead of self-destructing early. The gyro would fly over to the alternate target and stay on them until it timed out or was redirected again.

So here’s a more concrete example.

Bookah Britches, our asura engineer, is running around with his revenant buddy Manifest Agony. Poor little Agony is taking lots of damage, so Bookah targets her, and throws everything at her: a Bulwark and a Medic and a Purge gyro. The gyros appear at Agony’s location and follow her around as she attacks. Suddenly a foe appears and begins applying torment to Bookah. He drops target from Agony (or just targets a foe, instead). He clicks on the Sneak gyro and it appears on his location. He clicks on the Purge gyro “trigger skill” icon, and the gyro/field moves across the field to him, stopping when it is centered on him, and then follows him around until the gyro times out.

So that’s my idea. This wouldn’t need to apply to offensive gyros.

And FWIW, I do think they need to move faster, too.

I really like this idea. Without even trying, I find myself out running my stealth drone (the name escapes me). I would much rather have the ability to control them with the second activation of the utility skill than destroy them. In fact, there isn’t a single reason I’d want to destroy them early. I mean, dazes are great and all, but that’s a steep cost for a 1 sec daze.

Switching targets to auto follow (like a targetable aura) that would give the abilities a much greater degree of control and allow for some interesting game play. What comes to mind is pvp, an ally goes down, you target him with your stealth drone and you rez him with your other drone. It’d be a really cool concept.

After spending some time on Reddit, I also wanted to add that it seems a little weird for the gyros to have a timer AND a health bar, especially since their timer is SO short.