Guildwars 2 uses a dynamic level scaling system on both players and mobs. ANY player that enters a zone thats lower then his current level will down scale their level and gear tier to match whats appropriate for the area. A minor side effect to the formula they use is that higher levels are statistically weaker then those matched levels when down scaled, and is done to account for the fact that high level players scale very heavily on traits and skills. So while they’re statistically weaker, their traits (if synergized) are still a massive net gain over newer characters haven’t unlocked them yet.
But all that accounts for a fairly small fraction of what you’re seeing. The big shift here is the change from defensive to offensive stats. Because of how damage is calculated, and the HP scales players live in, the thresholds for 1 -2 hit difference in death blows is deceptively high, but gives a pretty big window to recover due to how slow mobs attack. Combine the level scaling with the fact that you dumped all your defensive stats, and it should be no surprise that things can kill you in less hits.
The conventional wisdom in this game goes like this. All fights outside of raids are a battle of attrition. Trying to tank incoming damage, while not being able to dish it out, is the best way to lose a fight in the long run. However, active defense skills, traits and boons are significantly more powerful then then raw defense stats. Since you have to trade offensive stats for defense stats, but not have to trade them with active defenses, most players opt for the highest practical damage output and rely on dodging and defense skills to avoid damage. This requires players to be as mobile as possible, and plays to the game’s greatest mechanical strengths.
From this branches another bit of conventional wisdom….. the faster you kill the something, the less damage it can deal back. Between these, the general consensus is “the faster you clear an area, the less danger you have to deal with”. Hence why players very heavily favor offensive builds whenever possible.
Defensive stats can be useful in general builds IF you know how little you need to make a difference. For some classes, like Necros, a little bit of defense can go a long way with them. But for classes like Ele, which have very low defense and very few scaling traits, they need more defensive stats to make a significant difference.
So depending on what class you are, you should look into taking a defensive trait line to cover mistakes while you learn how to Dodge better. Just to get some perspective of how powerful class skills are- Mesmers are the Current meta tank for Raids. They do this with only enough Toughness to take agro from the rest of the group…. usually a measly 50 points to make sure the AI picks them first. Everything else is handled entirely through their skills. A good Chrono tank can do this without taking a hit unless they absolutely have to.
So with all that in perspective, the next level of playing the game is getting good with the game’s strongest mechanics. Learn to utilize dodging, learn to leverage your skills, and learn how to synergize traits so they play off each other, and compound in power.
