Guild Wars 2

It’s just another tedious and annoying mechanic that Anet insist on putting into this game.

I’ve been hit by rocks after landing and having finished mining a bloodstone crystal formation. Assuming they were launched while I was still gliding, they must’ve come from really far to take that long to hit me.

Man, I’ve jumped over a gap, not even popping my glider, and instantly got hit by like 7 rocks all at once taking away 3/4 of my hp.

Stealth gliding only works for the rocks not yet thrown, so if you stealth glide the mobs will stop firing. However, the rocks that are already in the air and en route to you will still hit you. Use gliding skills 4 and 5, 5 is particularly effective as it gives you a few seconds of evade. And try to stay in stealth as much as possible.

Healix.5819:

Devildoc.6721:

Yeah they can throw them at you even while stealthed I’ve watched them throw at me while I was stealthed.

They can throw them at you when you’re stealthed because they had already thrown them at you. Their range is so far that the rocks can take several seconds to reach you. If you stay stealthed, they’ll eventually stop.

Nope, I’ve watched them perform the animation while I was stealthed.

Mitch.4781:

It’s just another tedious and annoying mechanic that Anet insist on putting into this game.

Really I think the dev who thought it was a good idea should have some rocks thrown at them maybe.. see how they like it.. It’s just not a fun mechanic.

It certainly adds to the idea that anet hate gamers. As though in a meeting they were talking and;

Dev A “Hey, people really enjoy the freedom of gliding, it’s a really great mechanic”

Dev B “hmmm we better fix that in the next update. Ideas?”

Dev C “how about pelting unavoidable insta-death stones from 10 times the standard engagement distance?”

Dev B “Done and done”.

RyuDragnier.9476:

Which is ridiculous. What’s their range, 4000?

3000

Devildoc.6721:

Nope, I’ve watched them perform the animation while I was stealthed.

Once an ability starts to cast, its target is locked. You have to be stealthed the moment they decide to throw at it, which is maybe a second before their throwing animation. If you stealth before then or stay stealthed, you’ll notice that they won’t target you.

Healix.5819:

RyuDragnier.9476:

Which is ridiculous. What’s their range, 4000?

3000

Nerf it to 2000 range and this problem is fixed.

Yeah, they can attack you while stealthed. Now we all know how the stealthed mordrem felt.

Gaile Gray.6029:

I don’t think this is a bug, but rather that it’s feedback on a system. As such, I am going to move it to the Living World forum.

Thanks for understanding.

Gaile, I have to agree with the others, I think the anti gliding mechanisms are a bit excessive. They either need range toned down, or the # of snipers shooting us down toned down. It seems a bit much as is.

Morfedel.4165:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I don’t think this is a bug, but rather that it’s feedback on a system. As such, I am going to move it to the Living World forum.

Thanks for understanding.

Gaile, I have to agree with the others, I think the anti gliding mechanisms are a bit excessive. They either need range toned down, or the # of snipers shooting us down toned down. It seems a bit much as is.

This. Not to mention the ground to ground aggro range is absurd…

As an interim solution I suggest renaming the WM knights to White Mantle SAM Sites or, alternatively, White Mantle MANPAD Handlers.

Btw, slotting a stun breaker helps to avoid falling to death. Unless you are playing a 12K HP glass ele who dies in the first volley, ofc. -.-

Dixie Cougar.2415:

The rocks are actually angling at the last minute to hit us. It’s ludicrous.

Yes, I’ve seen this. All other issues aside, just the sight of rocks changing direction mid-air kicks my suspension of disbelief right in the bloodstones. It just looks bad.

This is half serious, half joking…but mostly serious. I really do love the new Bloodstone Fen map to start off with, the flying is great and I’m having alot of fun with it. Just one thing. The white mantle have the throwing arms of Thor. I don’t mind the fact that I’m getting hit with rocks. That’s ok. I do mind the fact that they can target me at like 3000 range ( saw someone get targeted from clear across the caldera mining a bloodstone node). I do mind the fact that I can’t use my stealth to get past them (do they have x-ray vision??). The knockdowns are ok…if you can reduce the range of the white mantle…that way you don’t have half the cave hitting you and chaining knockdowns to your death at the bottom of a very deep cave. Basically, if you can reduce their range by maybe a half…or even 2/3s, that would be fantastic. And make your flight stealth effective against them too. I mean…that’s why we learned it in the first place right? <3

Maybe there should be practice golems that throw wrenches?

~EW

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

Dixie Cougar.2415:

The rocks are actually angling at the last minute to hit us. It’s ludicrous.

Yes, I’ve seen this. All other issues aside, just the sight of rocks changing direction mid-air kicks my suspension of disbelief right in the bloodstones. It just looks bad.

So they pulled a Dark Souls? kitten. That was the one part I despised the most in Dark Souls.

The amount of and range of the AA on the map is too much. You almost want to avoid gliding, due to how much you are getting pelted. Not only can they penetrate stealth, but the rocks are heat seeking; you can’t get away from them no matter what you do.

The biggest problem is that the distance is so big that the enemies are culled, you don’t see where they are, you probably are already targeted when stealthed, and can’t really do much without the gliding skills.

Haha, I was thinking the same exact thing today. I literally always get hit by rocks, even though I never fly close to enemies. The range needs to be toned down. A lot.

I don’t think it’s that bad, however I would like to ask the devs to consider what the point of this is. Might as well just add a feature where you randomly take damage now and then.

This is pretty much my gliding experience in Bloodstone Fen.

Fluffball.8307:

I don’t think it’s that bad, however I would like to ask the devs to consider what the point of this is. Might as well just add a feature where you randomly take damage now and then.

That is more or less in the game already.

Check https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/Homing-Rocks/first for a few suggestions on how to make those rocks much less of a problem.

+1 to OP

I’ve been pelted by multiple mobs apparently, which rapidly chews through my health, forcing me into a downed-state I can’t recover from. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but since I’m then stuck plummeting a substantial distance before I die and can waypoint, this becomes extremely frustrating.

Not to mention that when I’m gliding to reach blood crystal nodes, I’m then having to make the same trip multiple times, only to be insta-rocked and die repeatedly.

The range and accuracy of these uber rocks is absurd. It’s not even an arrow from an experienced archer. It’s a bloody rock.

All I want to do is enjoy the scenery, but I keep getting knocked down by heat-seeking rocks – all the while I’m looking for the noobs that threw them while I’m plummeting to my death.

I discovered a funny thing. Playing my mesmer I ended up falling while downed. (Rock-throwing knights only played a small part in it, I started gliding with very low health after being knocked off a platform and couldn’t even take 1 rock).

After falling a long, long way, I activated “Deception” (downed skill 2) and much to my surprise it put me on a ridge I was plummeting past, where I could safely rally.

I don’t know if this possibility is common knowledge and I’m just late to the party, but it made me smile.

I tought that the heavily corrupted bloodstone air hurts my gliding xD

Amnariel.3659:

I tought that the heavily corrupted bloodstone air hurts my gliding xD

Honestly I did too. If you don’t have the combat log up, you just randomly get shot down and don’t know why. It’s basically the same effect as the constant damage ticks we had in the tower of nightmare update. I don’t see a point to it.

Glad I’m not the only one with this problem. I’m generally trying to enjoy the new zone, and mostly am, until I get spammed by those excessively long range skills. (Like for srs, can we have those White Mantle guys in WvW? They’re better than catapaults…) I’ve had situations where I’d land with a good third of my (warrior’s) health gone, and then a pair of White Mantle shmoes run up to me to bring a ruckus.

Speaking of the long-range warriors, can we fix the conveyance on their radial attack? The warning symbol on the ground doesn’t match the actual effect.

Agreeing with the OP on this one. Shorten the range and make stealth a viable option to get away from them.

I was having some luck by periodically dropping my glider which seemed to stop me being a target or broke the lock-on but last night it wasn’t working anymore. It is kinda annoying to be sniped out of the air by someone you can’t even see.

I assume this and the huge aggro radius is required for the combat gliding skills? If they can’t return fire they seem to de-aggro and rapidly regenerate.

Endless Soul.5178:

This is pretty much my gliding experience in Bloodstone Fen.

One of the funniest things I saw today. Thanks for this

Anyways, I do agree that something needs to be changed about these rock throwers. It’s not THAT bad, but still.. can get pretty annoying.

Not sure we should be using such insulting and politically incorrect phrases such as “Rock Throwers”. Surely we should be calling them “non-indigenous occupants”, or perhaps “travelling invaders who still have basic human, or other species’, rights”.

Anyhow, yes. +1. Please get rid of the rock throwers, or at least cut off their arms….

DoctorDing.5890:

Not sure we should be using such insulting and politically incorrect phrases such as “Rock Throwers”. Surely we should be calling them “non-indigenous occupants”, or perhaps “travelling invaders who still have basic human, or other species’, rights”.

please be sarcasm. please please please be sarcasm.

That’s interesting, Manasa Devi. I had assumed the downed skills didn’t work when falling, based on the fact that the 4 skill does nothing.

Though it won’t help professions who can’t move while downed. I guess thieves, mesmers, and elementalists rejoice?

sophiewhite.3149:

DoctorDing.5890:

Not sure we should be using such insulting and politically incorrect phrases such as “Rock Throwers”. Surely we should be calling them “non-indigenous occupants”, or perhaps “travelling invaders who still have basic human, or other species’, rights”.

please be sarcasm. please please please be sarcasm.

I’d prefer to think of it as wit. In fact, I’m surprised you’ve managed to stop laughing enough to type.

It takes them ONE second to aim and hit you when you start flying. No escape. Not even when falling down STRAIGHT. Not even when flying behind rocks. Skill 4 is useless because you can’t always look 360 degrees around you. This makes the map stupid as hell.

Addition: when you land somewhere, you can’t port anymore at all because you’re always in fight with the one having thrown a rock at you. I jumped into death more than once just to be able to teleport again.

I think I’ve died more to rock throwers and #5 tagging leylines since BF release then probably my whole time playing all the other HoT content and have had some laughs about it =P .

I guess rock throwers being immune to invisibility is by design and if so maybe decrease their attack range? They can still be dangerous, forcing you to pay attention, without being able to tag u across what seems like half the map. On the other side of that coin for me it feels kinda broken being able to fire at enemies as soon as the become visible way off in the distance.

That being said I’ve now found good results when attacked to just drop glider then glider again with a quick #5 seems to clear the aggro in many cases. Just watch out for those leylines lol

I think it was a poorly thought out and little discussed counter to gliding that was added to make things a bit more interesting as characters entered into what should be a more dangerous area of the map. Well, it is more dangerous, but really couldn’t they have come up with something a bit more original and interesting? Rock throwers…really? And the range…OMG.

What would have been nice and a lot more interesting would have been an actual flying creature that harasses you once you start to descend into the depths. Then we’d have a great chance to use our flying only weapons. Wow, that’d be incredible and so fun. But nope…we get rock throwers. Boring…!!!!

I also noticed the Ele downed 2 skill, mist form, functions while falling. The player can even activate their glider in mist form which, if timed correctly, can be used to glide to a ledge and rally.

While these are amusing workarounds, they do not solve the problem.

Just going to point this out, but they don’t actually see through stealth. I use stealth a lot to avoid taking damage while gliding through the Fen. If any Mantle have targeted you while you were visible, they will get at least one rock off even if you stealth right away. Likewise, if you allow your stealth to fall off for even a split second between dodges you will also eat a couple of rocks.

The only way to avoid eating rocks while gliding is to chain stealths so that just before your first one runs out you reapply it. Granted this will only work so long as you have endurance, but it’s better than nothing.

And trust me, if my 15k HP Elementalist can glide through the Caldera without dying to rocks, when those bunks of dirt hit me for nearly 2-2K per stone, then you can, too. Just gotta be smart about it.

DoctorDing.5890:

sophiewhite.3149:

DoctorDing.5890:

Not sure we should be using such insulting and politically incorrect phrases such as “Rock Throwers”. Surely we should be calling them “non-indigenous occupants”, or perhaps “travelling invaders who still have basic human, or other species’, rights”.

please be sarcasm. please please please be sarcasm.

I’d prefer to think of it as wit. In fact, I’m surprised you’ve managed to stop laughing enough to type.

ill admit took me a bit XD

Manasa Devi.7958:

I discovered a funny thing. Playing my mesmer I ended up falling while downed. (Rock-throwing knights only played a small part in it, I started gliding with very low health after being knocked off a platform and couldn’t even take 1 rock).

After falling a long, long way, I activated “Deception” (downed skill 2) and much to my surprise it put me on a ridge I was plummeting past, where I could safely rally.

I don’t know if this possibility is common knowledge and I’m just late to the party, but it made me smile.

Probably one of the only times that skill has actually come good! I usually end up getting even more hurt when I’ve fired it. XD

Still, useful tip, and one I’ll be sure to try if I’m in that situation again.

Endless Soul.5178:

This is pretty much my gliding experience in Bloodstone Fen.

Like a lot…

Well, ANet’s stun/knockdown/CC fetish just got me killed from two short-but-just-long-enough-to-kill-me drops.

Nothing like dying randomly to bullkitten to make a map “fun”, am I right?

At least the moa deaths are amusing. Should release a cloud of feathers on impact (like the queen bee).

I agree that the Knights are pretty ridiculous with their long-range homing rocks. Please tone them down, ANet.

I wouldn’t mind the rocks if I felt like I could do anything about them. In HoT, if you’re about to be sniped, a target icon appears and you know to dodge. Unless I’m missing something, there’s no indicator like that in Bloodstone Fen.

Sometimes I’ll manage to evade if I’m buzzing over a particular group of enemies, but most of the time, I have no idea where the rock came from, much less when it was about to hit me. It doesn’t ruin the map for me, but this aspect of it isn’t fun, either. I just spam evade, and whether I dodge or fall to my death, I don’t feel like I had any agency in the process.

Last night when I was fighting a White Mantle Knight I noticed it threw a rock at someone else while in the middle of fighting me. So they will do this even when someone else has aggro. -_-