Guild Wars 2

phys.7689:

SkiTz.4590:

Straight from the blogpost that posted a few hours ago

" First, you can earn unique rewards once per week from raids, but you can play a raid as many times as you want to help your friends earn rewards or to refine your strategies. The encounters within Raids will contain tons of exclusive new items you’ll never be able to find anywhere else in the game, from miniatures, to weapon skins, to awesome titles. You can then proudly display these out in the open world to show off your skill and accomplishments. Own a Guild Hall? Awesome! You can loot a trophy from some of our bosses and use them as decorations to show off the challenge you’ve conquered. "

Well Ohoni, looks like your dream of non exclusive rewards are shattered

I’m interested in seeing if these rewards are actually end of raid chest RNG (like teq hoard) or will they be dropping in the raids from the mobs/bosses …. thoughts?
I just hope its not like frac skins RNG right now….

one week lock outs on loot?
bad idea.

people wont help much unless the non unique rewards are crazy.
gonna be hard to get groups going with one per week rewards.

basically needs raiding guilds, specific log on days, and all the drama that comes with that.

Well it should be trial and error for the first times
Yea the hardcore ones will be beating it on the reg and solve it quickly but thats in every MMO with raids

It only takes 10 so its not like thats very hard to form the group
You already have weekly scheduled activities most guilds do (weekly guild missions)
Shouldn’t be too much drama. You just gotta have ppl who aren’t stubborn and willing to work and lead.

Lockout on loots in raid is typical. You can’t just farm like crazy and inflate the market (if its sellable loot)

Really it boils down to how long GW2’s raids will take to complete.

Yeah, sure, current Dungeon content can theoretically be completed by almost any non-troll team composition. But raids are not current Dungeon content. The whole pitch is that they’re more “challenging”. And being “challenging” means that, by definition, the “you must be this tall to enter” bar is getting raised above its current height.

In a game where easily half of the classes are only barely above that bar as it is, any raising of the bar that isn’t accompanied by substantial buffs is absolutely cause for concern.

phys.7689:

SkiTz.4590:

Straight from the blogpost that posted a few hours ago

" First, you can earn unique rewards once per week from raids, but you can play a raid as many times as you want to help your friends earn rewards or to refine your strategies. The encounters within Raids will contain tons of exclusive new items you’ll never be able to find anywhere else in the game, from miniatures, to weapon skins, to awesome titles. You can then proudly display these out in the open world to show off your skill and accomplishments. Own a Guild Hall? Awesome! You can loot a trophy from some of our bosses and use them as decorations to show off the challenge you’ve conquered. "

Well Ohoni, looks like your dream of non exclusive rewards are shattered

I’m interested in seeing if these rewards are actually end of raid chest RNG (like teq hoard) or will they be dropping in the raids from the mobs/bosses …. thoughts?
I just hope its not like frac skins RNG right now….

one week lock outs on loot?
bad idea.

people wont help much unless the non unique rewards are crazy.
gonna be hard to get groups going with one per week rewards.

basically needs raiding guilds, specific log on days, and all the drama that comes with that.

As I see it they’re trying to avoid lockouts, so whether a player is locked out for a week or they sit out the week cause of reward cooldown I don’t see much difference.

I just want a streakbreaker currency. Some sort of raid token so even if I don’t roll a jackpot 15 weeks in a row each week I win I still inch forward.

SkiTz.4590:

Straight from the blogpost that posted a few hours ago

" First, you can earn unique rewards once per week from raids, but you can play a raid as many times as you want to help your friends earn rewards or to refine your strategies. The encounters within Raids will contain tons of exclusive new items you’ll never be able to find anywhere else in the game, from miniatures, to weapon skins, to awesome titles. You can then proudly display these out in the open world to show off your skill and accomplishments. Own a Guild Hall? Awesome! You can loot a trophy from some of our bosses and use them as decorations to show off the challenge you’ve conquered. "

To quote Brad Pitt in Troy here:
“IS THERE NO ONE ELSE?”

Yawn, snorkle and twinklydoo.

Miniatures, Weapon skins, titles that are only obtainable through raids, that sounds as ridiculously unimportant to me as making fractals for the glory and the skins alone. The only setback for me is that my ascended armor will stay fixed with it´s stats as long as I don´t take gold in the hand and convert them, but that is not so severe. As long as this is it, the glory is all yours to conquer, boys and girls. Have much fun in the raids!
(And no, tihs is not sarcasm)

For me it will be between my mesmer and my thief.
If daredevil will not suit my play style then the support mesmer will receive my full attention.

i’ll love the tactic they are taking here……….if they continue the direction LS2 carapace armor went.

some rng raid specific rewards/items , but the legendary armor will be mostly void of rng.

tobascodagama.2961:

Yeah, sure, current Dungeon content can theoretically be completed by almost any non-troll team composition. But raids are not current Dungeon content. The whole pitch is that they’re more “challenging”. And being “challenging” means that, by definition, the “you must be this tall to enter” bar is getting raised above its current height.

In a game where easily half of the classes are only barely above that bar as it is, any raising of the bar that isn’t accompanied by substantial buffs is absolutely cause for concern.

Absolutely a cause for concern, if the raid releases and it is functionally impossible to complete without an exact and rigid comp.

I’m willing to give anet the benefit of the doubt and believe they haven’t been designing fights around “okay, they have to have a medi guard or this is impossible” or “they’ll have to have a thief or mesmer to stealth through this part”

However, until we get a chance to play it it’s fair to assume that they’re designing this content, as hard as it is intended to be, within the same “Any class can fulfill any role in their own unique way” PvE ethos that drives the rest of the game, and would wager that the design of some of the elite specs is specifically given tools to patch holes in that design where it is currently not true.

Assuming that the reverse is true just because the instance is harder doesn’t jive with what they’ve told us about the raids.

Some classes will probably be undesirable in pugs because that’s just how pugs work. I highly doubt classes will be straight up non-viable for completion. Builds maybe, but not classes. I wouldn’t expect the current composite dps/everything else builds to be “raid ready” and no matter what everyone but DPS will probably find themselves collecting some new gear before anyone can complete it.

Zeliden.2014:

It’s not about having fun, it’s about if 2 thieves + 8 randoms can do it as fast as 2 eles +8 randoms.

2 eles + 8 randoms will always beat out 2 of any class + 8 randoms.

eles do everything well. i doubt the incoming ele nerfs will change that much.

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Raiding shouldn’t be “expansion content” only… Raiding should be an addition to the entirety of the game… As I said I HAVE HoT. I just don’t think it’s fair to the portion of the player base that aren’t getting HoT, not to have a raid or two eventually put into core…

It’s absolutely fair. Anet has gone to considerable expense here. They’ve hired a raid designer. They’ve got coders working on it. Raiding was never advertised as part of the original product. Anet is perfectly within their rights, both legally and morally, to charge for a new feature that’s coming in the expansion.

If every major feature in the expansion was available for everyone, why would anyone buy the expansion.

On top of that,. this community pretty much forced Anet’s hand in creating the expansion. There were posts each and every day with people threatening to leave if there wasn’t an expansion. Many thought the living world was not enough.

The argument for a paid expansion was pretty pervasive. So Anet delivered the expansion at some expense and needs to recoup that expense.

In what world is that not good business?

azizul.8469:

Substance E.4852:

Easy AFK Gold Farming

teach me senpai……!!

Well, near afk. I think we can all consider following a chest train while really watching Netflix to essentially be the same thing.

Zeliden.2014:

Lets be honest thieves are far from the best class when it comes to PVE . Yeah we can stealth a group to pass trash mobs, pump out blast finishers with short bow and provide OK dps but that’s not enough to legitimize us for raiding. I guess my point is why should I play my thief, which is in fact my favorite class, over my warrior or elementalist both of which can outplay my thief with little to no effort in the pve scene.

“Ok” dps? wasn’t thief highest single target dps post patch? Don’t know about now but we couldn’t have fallen that far.

The sort of unique abilities and mechanics a thief might be able to get from trash mobs or even bosses via their Steal skill can also have a big impact on if thieves are desirable to bring to a raid.

“Thieves have sub-optimal DPS!”
“Sure, but if the thief steals one of the boss’ magic gems the boss will get a debuff that makes him hit less hard.”
“Sold.”

Ehecatl.9172:

The sort of unique abilities and mechanics a thief might be able to get from trash mobs or even bosses via their Steal skill can also have a big impact on if thieves are desirable to bring to a raid.

“Thieves have sub-optimal DPS!”
“Sure, but if the thief steals one of the boss’ magic gems the boss will get a debuff that makes him hit less hard.”
“Sold.”

Woah, that’s an excellent point. Hadn’t even thought of that, though it would probably be more like ‘thief can steal a thing that gives him a buff’ with a buff designed around wherever that particular thief tank/support/healing build is weak. Seems like it would actually be easier to balance thieves than other classes in this manner since they’re the only class with a mechanic that already has environment specific interactions.

+1!

Hey guys, did you know there’s a pay wall for the expansion? I can’t believe they’re asking us for our money so the game can continue to grow content and feed their employees. Curse them, those developers should be making my content for free! /sarcasm

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Coulter.2315:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

TheDaiBish.9735:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Yeah but in no other MMO is something as fundamental as raiding xpac only…

You sure about that?

You couldn’t do ICC without WotLK.
You couldn’t do Slaver’s Exile without EotN (while not strictly a raid, comes pretty close).

Raiding has been locked behind expacs for quite a while now.

Raiding is content. For HoT, raiding is content that comes with the expansion, just like how new dungeons and raids come with expansions for other games.

I’m not talking about Specific raids… Yes WoW had xpac specific raids but there were also others that could be done without xpacs…

Because they were released as part of the Core game… GW2’s first Raids are being released as part of the Expansion.

How is this escaping you?

How is every other MMO having them as part of their core game so EVERYONE can enjoy them escaping you?

Eq1, eq2, and lotro to name a few require you to get xpacs or pay for a dlc to raid.

Substance E.4852:

Well, near afk. I think we can all consider following a chest train while really watching Netflix to essentially be the same thing.

ughh.. the chest train. my character would start running against the wall before i finish the 2nd round…..

I know this reddit post is concerned with necromancers but I think it applies here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3jdjtv/designing_challenging_content/cuoh8b6

Basically, the devs vision on what they want to be optimal for raids, outside speed clearing, is surviving. In the current PvE setting, this means ether exploiting AI so the big meanie doesn’t use its skill to burst you or you down it before it uses its burst skill too many times.
My theory on why the current meta is so popular to the point of almost becoming unwritten law is that this play style satisfies both speed clearing enthusiasts, grinders, and bad players. Anet basically wants to move away from this playstyle and hopefully the devs understand the factors on why it has worked and what they can do to prevent it. They have been touting their new and improved AI recently so I have my hopes.

Back to thief!

If this ideal situation becomes a reality, the thief can be in quite the awesome spot! Their access to blinds(def against burst), evades(def against aoe), and stealth(def against single target attacks) means that the thief could not only stick with glass cannon gear, unlike some other classes, and still excel at being self sustainable.

With 10 slots and 9 profession you pretty much know there will be a step in the design process that asks “at what point in this is raid is [each]class highly desirable?”

There really should be a point during each and every raid at which your class of choice shines above all others (in the matching build). Two-to-three other classes should be able to fake it, but in that moment… BOOM, you da man. Like the moment where a well placed Portal makes the struggle 25 times easier. Boom: Mesmer slot confirmed. Imagine a super-pain-in-the-buttocks archer-type on the wall designed to be scorpion wired. A layered array of recharging insta-death fields that are best cleared by flinging a swarm of minions (or spirit weapons, remember them?) into the zappers to die in place of the heroes. Boom: Necro slot confirmed.

There’s also plenty of room in a 10-man composition to reward racial skills. A boss that takes +400% damage from charzooka for example or a boss that’s specially debuffed by summon owl or seed turrets.

The essential difference between 5-man and 10-man content is the design can demand everything. You have room for it with a slot to spare.

Nike.2631:

With 10 slots and 9 profession you pretty much know there will be a step in the design process that asks “at what point in this is raid is [each]class highly desirable?”

There really should be a point during each and every raid at which your class of choice shines above all others (in the matching build). Two-to-three other classes should be able to fake it, but in that moment… BOOM, you da man. Like the moment where a well placed Portal makes the struggle 25 times easier. Boom: Mesmer slot confirmed. Imagine a super-pain-in-the-buttocks archer-type on the wall designed to be scorpion wired.

There’s also plenty of room in a 10-man composition to reward racial skills. A boss that takes +400% damage from charzooka for example or a boss that’s specially debuffed by summon owl or seed turrets.

The essential difference between 5-man and 10-man content is the design can demand everything. You have room for it with a slot to spare.

I don’t know, it’s a point of pride for them that “need X class to start” is a thing GW2 doesn’t have.

If those “class focus” moments are too heavily geared toward a specialty of one class or another it in effect creates an even more restrictive version of the “trinity problem” that they designed the GW2 class system to avoid.

They have made constant adjustments toward the direction of “every class can fill every role” with varying degrees of success, and I don’t think they’d consciously design away from that paradigm rather than toward it.

Double for racial skills. They have always always said racial skills are intended to be mostly fluff because your race isn’t supposed to be a mechanical factor when rolling characters, and releasing top end content intended for existing characters alongside a system that seems intended to force you to reroll seems very anti-Anet style thinking.

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

PopeUrban.2578:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

SkiTz.4590:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Look folks… normally I’m on your side on these types of discussions lol but to me Raiding SHOULD NOT be expansion only content. Anything that requires a group shouldn’t be. It’s exclusionary for a MYRIAD of reasons.

Your logic is flawed.

According to you, all HoT should be accessible to core players than right?? right??

I mean pfft, raids are a MAIN FEATURE to the xpac. One of the main attractions to this xpac….lets go ahead and make all the main attractions for core players than huh?

This is the way it is. If you want the new content that anet spent tons of time and resources on for free, you are going to be disappointed. Too bad if your guildies can’t shell out 50 bucks for the xpac. Their loss. Not Anets. Pony up and pay. Whining about it doesn’t help…

No… I never said that… I said Core players should have raids that do not require HoT mechanics… do you even read?

I’m curious why you think the core game deserves additional content after having been used to pay for three years of free content.

Simply put, the core game is “content complete” at this point. The buy to play model necessitates that every so often you have to buy to play additional content.

I’ve been playing for 3 years but not everyone has…

Those that didn’t play for 3 years, also most likely didn’t pay full price and picked up the game off a sale. And 90% of that content is still there to experience regardless of how long you’ve been playing.

If you give players not buying the xpac a core equivalent of its features, there would be little incentive to buy the xpac… your argument is ludicrous. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a troll post TBH. The profits gained from the xpac should only be used to give content to those that paid in. If not everyone in your guild is getting HoT, then tough luck for those that didn’t. They shouldn’t expect to get more free content funded by players that bought HoT. Core players don’t get raids, and that is completely fair.

Thieves aren’t good for PvE? Whaaaa? Thief will def have a place in raids. We don’t know what kind of chain events raids will have, but I bet SR will come in handy taking aggro off those trying to fill specific roles. In fact I’m sure SR and blast finishers on Smoke Screen will see a use for something different than mob skipping.

This expansion is earning the absolute most ridiculous posts from the absolute most ridiculous people.

Getting more and more excited regarding raids coming to GW2! The new article on raid design provides clear answers to some of the unknowns, one of them being the issue of lock-outs.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/designing-challenging-content/

“First, you can earn unique rewards once per week from raids, but you can play a raid as many times as you want to help your friends earn rewards or to refine your strategies.”

Great that we can go back and repeat the content, even if it is without rewards. It sucked on other MMOs not being able to go back on your main to help out friends later in the week once you had cleared, so I am quite happy about that.

Quick question to the Anet CMs and/or Devs though: is the weekly reward lock-out at account or character level? I suspect that, like Dungeon bonus chests, it is account level, but could you confirm?

Thanks in advance!

Zel

Reading the “Designing Challenging Content” blog by Crystal Reid and Jason Reynolds today my heart sank when I reached “and they most assuredly will enrage if you take too long to kill them.” I really hate most enrage timers for bosses, I understand the need to prevent people from going full tanky and chipping down a boss, but my main concern is how it will affect the meta. The Devs have been trying to tweak the meta away from Zerker but I really fear this will destroy Build Diversity. This encourages the DPS Meter mentality, which I strongly believe doesn’t belong in Guild Wars 2. I have been in many CoF path 1 farms of the past where 4 Warriors and a Mesmer are perceived as the only way to do something and I don’t want that ever again.

Also in the past the Devs perceived “challenging content” to also mean long and tedious, the easiest example that comes to mind is the Aetherblade Path in Twilight Arbor. I have been in Raids in other games doing 4-5 hours of raiding per day and hope to never experience that again either. In the blog post Crystal and Jason mention the Event system. I’m gonna take a guess and say this may be Anet’s version of Trash Mobs in a Raid Dungeon. I’m kinda wary about that implementation but I’m not a big fan of endless amounts of Trash Mobs so we’ll see.

These are some of my concerns I’d like to throw into the pile and hope the Devs see. I realize that this is a whole lot of speculation about something I haven’t even seen yet, I have faith in Anet but I really felt the need to type out my concerns. Thanks for reading. (sorry to the other Enrage post below)

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

SkiTz.4590:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Coulter.2315:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

I get how the mastery system would be beneficial… Especially one based upon progressing within the raid. My issue is Gliding and mushroom mastery can only be earned via HoT. Therefore excluding all core players from being able to progress past certain points within raids.

Core players will literally be unable to walk into the Raid – the door is in the expansion lands… Masteries aren’t their first hurdle xD

Then that creates an even MORE fundamental issue… I know just in my guild alone several people who won’t be getting HoT. Will there ever be Raids getting added to Core?

Are you serious?

The fundamental issue is your reading comphrension….

RAIDS are HoT only…. i’m sorry but you gotta buy the xpac if you want raids dude… its not free and it doesn’t have to be free. If you don’t like it, too bad.

You think raids are something that is easy to do for anet? doesn’t have a big cost of resources or anything? It’s a tall task for anet, so its coming in the xpac. I don’t see this as an issue.

Either get the xpac or you are not going to have the content… simple as that.. No point in whining.

ummmm perhaps you can’t read… I have HoT… I’m only playing devil’s advocate for those who choose not to get it. It makes it appear development, at least any substantial ones, have been abandoned for core players.

Maybe you need to leave the argument for raids in the core game to those who are actually affected by this and who care. If no one has posted to say it’s a problem for them, then it’s a pointless thing for you to argue for. Let them make the argument why ANet should pay devs to make raids for people who aren’t paying for it.

Sounds account level to me.

I’m not a fan of enrage timers for the reasons stated above. I don’t run full zerker gear and it’s rather intimidating to look in the LFG and see groups that say ‘Zerker only’ or something along those lines. It seems likely that groups gathering for raids will have even higher standards and expectations of the players that join them. Enrage timers give another reason for players to demand that other players stick to a specific meta.

I m exited to be able to play all the classes using all their potentiality, for be usefull at party, different purpose and role will give alot of fun and make everytime we will do the content a new way to play it.
Alot of elitist will write (they already do) against this because they think only with speed run they can prove to be a pro, but the FUN is more important, who care about of your “pro videos” where u skip everythink and hugs the corner.

For the others who are scared about “waiting” they didnt really saw how every classes can switch role faster then other game, with the same character u can be a dps or a tank or supporter in 2 min, so group with your guild, friends or pug then if u need a certain role just change a trait and skils (maybe armor but are really cheap) in 60 second u done and u can play.

I feel amazing this new way to play gw2 because if u wanna do fullzerkcornerspeedmetapowa u can stil do all the content we already have, if u wanna explore something new you can do raid and high lvl fractal.

Have a choice is always amazing, and this time i think anet turned his game in the best mmo ever made, fun for everyone, casual, hardcore and speedrunner

Personally i was missing hard content and raiding i played in other games, now music is changed and i feel happy to prepurchased HOT ad d1

So thank you Anet

tl;dr this thread is ridiculous

Why Raids shouldn’t be expansion only? That’s logic fail tbh.

People got what they paid for with Core Guild Wars 2. They weren’t cheated. Where does all this entitlement to free stuff gets from?

This is an EXPANSION that costs a lot of cash to make. It provides new content and if you want it you buy it, so do your friends, If they want raids they buy it. If not they don’t buy it. Simple really. They got to decide what’s more important to them.

They alread have access to everything they paid for before. There is absoltuely no reason why HOT content should be free for core players. What would be the purpose behind making an expansion or even buying it if it was free?

Tell your friends to drink less beer, eat less pizza, don’t go to cinema or w/e. Adults need to have priorities. If they don’t have money for it because they rather buy different thing that’s ok but don’t expect that other things will be handed for free.

Probably account level.

I see what you’re saying, but it won’t matter what they do, there will always be a “best way to do it” no matter what. And people that are short of time, or patience will do it, and make “rules” around it.

My hope is that the fights are logical and not stupid puzzle stuff, that you only learn though trial and error. That can drive me nuts. Or if they are stupid, it’s at least explained.

I don’t want this scenario:
on way to boss…
hidden trap, wipes party
Way Point
dodge hidden trap, second hidden trap wipes half the party
while ressing downed members hidden fireball wipes rest of party

There is no skill in this, it’s just a memory game.

Silverstone.4539:

There is no skill in this, it’s just a memory game.

Yup, I still don’t get why people want the return of SAB tribulation mode so much.

10 Zerker Rangers will face roll all Raid bosses. With pets, you have 20 individual attackers. Pet swap give your party an additional 10 when your pet dies.

Er what? Have you ever played a (AAA)-MMO in your life? It’s totally normal that new content/features are locked behind the new expansions. In WoW they can’t even access the new continent. They are ‘left behind’ and there you even have to pay for the expansion and monthly fees.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

10 Zerker Rangers will face roll all Raid bosses. With pets, you have 20 individual attackers. Pet swap give your party an additional 10 when your pet dies.

That remains to be seen.

VodCom.6924:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

10 Zerker Rangers will face roll all Raid bosses. With pets, you have 20 individual attackers. Pet swap give your party an additional 10 when your pet dies.

That remains to be seen.

yeah, there will be a trap that will 1 hit wipe them, they’ll need a necro with extra heath to res them all. lol

it nice that a few of the expansion stuff works without buying, but it unfair to except all of it too.

To your guildies who wants raid and not have to buy the expansion, you guys should feel bad. It is not fair to impose such suggestions on a game that you only have to buy once to play forever.

I honestly don’t see what the problem is.

what… I dont even… huh?

You buy the core game (free now) and get to play the core game
You buy HoT and get to play HoT
How in the world did your mind made the link that buying the core game allows you to play HoT?

There are (were?) far too many players complaining that $50 is too much for the content they are releasing in this expansion.

Now people want to just chop that content up more and dish it out for free? Regardless of if you think it’s fair or not, one should still reflect on the perspective of “where should the line be drawn?” in regards to distributing new content. Is it fair to charge money (not gems) to players for content that likely cost far more than any free content we’ve ever or ever will get? Should raids just be base content like gem store outfits and minipets and available for everyone to enjoy? What do we, the customers, deserve to have more of for what we’ve already paid and what should be be required to purchase separately?

I’m one of those people who were (and still am) skeptical about the $50 price tag (though the Ultimate edition lets me pay $30, so I’m satisfied with that), but asking for key features to be free is just ridiculous.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

10 Zerker Rangers will face roll all Raid bosses. With pets, you have 20 individual attackers. Pet swap give your party an additional 10 when your pet dies.

God, I wish.

Anet realized really quickly with boss chests that character level just doesn’t work for lockouts, as it completely trivializes the lockout in the first place.

Having more alts isn’t intended to be the optimal way to play the game, It’s intended to be an optional way to play the game for those that enjoy it.

…needed to be done.

2 words:

Partical effects

1 word:

Burning

This should be really looked upon, 10 men raids meaning 2x times more partical effects and even more burning effect.
And we all Know how bad it can get.
Boss becomes just a fire thing, it’s kitten eyes, it breaks immersion and it’s just not healthy for your vision.

Everything should be toned down, or have sliders for it for personal setting.

But that will be the “challenge” in challenging group content. To spot what the boss is doing in the crazy particle effect extravaganza.

kolompi.1287:

But that will be the “challenge” in challenging group content. To spot what the boss is doing in the crazy particle effect extravaganza.

and much moar challenging with legy amor

woooooooooosh so shinyyyyyyyyyyy my eyes burns help!

The most successful and less time consuming tactic to win a fight for meta game in doing PvE stuff is mainly full dps builds. It works with dungeons, it works with fractals, it works everywhere. Only minor changes to skills for specific bosses might be made, but dps builds work their way out again. I have been reading that Anet wants to “break” this tactic in Raid system that will come with HoT expansion. But how is this going to happen?

I have been reading some articles from Anet with more details about how they think they will elimate the necessity of dps builds. Most tactics they point out are “enviromental factors”. For example: “gliding off the boss platform and catching an updraft to avoid a devastating attack” or “a specific creature that needs to be kited away from the rest of the group, otherwise exploding and dealing massive damage”. These things at first sight seem advanced as they add more diversity to a fight and require a player’s ability for them to be achieved. I am happy that new tactics are included in Raids but the question is: “do they really eliminate dps builds”?

3 years ago when I first made a guardian I wanted to heal my party. I tried many builds back there. I even made ascended cleric build later with the necessary traits for a cleric build and used all of guardian’s skills to perfectly heal. It worked out at some way. But mainly when we were under specific conditions: For example when we were all stucked to a corner so I could freely dodge roll (= heal) many times or under other specific conditions. But the main problem for all my players in my party is always this: “Time consuming”. Now matter how I liked playing guardian as a healer and how effective it was it is always better to go dps build as it is always takes less time to win a fight. After many months of others yelling at me and accepting dozens or hundreds of players’ opinion of how much time I lose to them with cleric build I decided to change my build to dps build too. It works better than cleric as it is less time consuming and so I avoid players’ anger. But I would prefer to be a guardian healer…

To sum up, It is ok for me for Anet to add in RAIDS those new tactics based on “enviromental factors” (glinding off platforms, position the enemy away from players so it explodes safely, etc.) but that doesn’t mean necessary it will break Zerk builds. If Anet wants really to elimate the necessaty of dps builds they should consider 2 things: Firstly, they should make other builds less time consuming to win a fight than zerk builds. Secondly, they should make other builds the only way to work (example: a boss that takes damage only from conditions or a boss that the damage it takes is increased based on how much a party is healing?) Finally, If all those things don’t work then as the last light or hope in breaking Zerk builds i could suggest only one thing: increase the duration of “Taunt” skills. By doing so Anet could jump back to the famous trinity: tank, dps, healer. But I don’t know if Anet wants to follow this direction at the end…

I agree with Kolompi. I have never had any problems with the particle effects, and it’s not like it’s 50 man zerg raids, it’s 10. I find that to be a nice number, and as long as the bosses have telegraphs and clear signs of what attacks they’re going to do, I say bring it on.

Paticle effects for everyone!