You’re just not thinking.
This is a class based game. Meaning that 1v1 balance is utterly impossible without complete homogenization (in which case the only point in changing classes would be for different animations or looks, which is boring).
When you are thinking balance, you MUST think team-play.
SOLUTION:
Right now, tournament SPvP is 5v5, on maps which have 3-nodes PLUS another point of interest. The problem here is that in order to really have map control in this map style you must spread your forces out to be able to scout and handle issues (which good teams WILL do). But if you’re spreading 5 players out then you’re risking smaller scale fights of 1v1 and 2v2 (so it’s not usually going to be an actual 5v5 combat). Traditionally speaking you want at LEAST 3v3 in a class-based MMO in order for group utilities to be well enough rounded for team fights to be balanced in terms of skill being able to trump build/class/comp etc.
The only thing I can think of here is for arenanet to quickly put out a few new maps designed for something inbetween 3v3-5v5 so that small groups can still play together in a more balanced environment. But these maps would have to be smaller and have less spread. Or they could simply be team-deathmatch maps like GW1, which would keep the team close and playing together WHILE preserving balance.
As for the existing maps they would need to be something like 8v8-10v10 in tournament mode similar to regular queues to be balanced.
ALSO:
THIS IS AN INFANT MMO. There are BOUND to be a couple of blatant balance issues (see thieves). But you MUST also learn to accept the fact that much of the reason WHY you are losing battles is because you simply do not always understand the enemy or their build, so you may not even know what’s being done to you. This is a matter of pure ignorance, and a personal issue that will persist in ANY game that has an ounce of complexity to it.
Guardians for example, they may be a little too strong in terms of defense but you CAN chain CC and kill a good guardian. And since they’re built as TANKS it would be naive to think that killing them is the only option. Maybe the design intent is that you simply use positional CCs (wards, grips or knockbacks in conjunction with follow up slows, stuns or roots) to PULL or PUSH them off the nodes in order to cap them. Then afterwards just leave 1-2 players to sit on the node so that the guardian cannot re-cap, forcing him to waste his time.
So while he’s choosing to play as a tank you’re choosing to circumvent the issue by capping OTHER nodes or using control mechanics to capture the point without having to kill him.
USE. YOUR. HEAD.
I’ve said multiple times that going from WoW (or a WoW clone) to GW2 is like going from Skyrim to Dark Souls. There is a learning curve, but it’s in the best interests of the game for the long-term, and it WILL improve. Keep in mind that there is not a better PvP-MMO alternative on the market right now in terms of competitive support.
Ask not what balance can do for you, but what you can do for balance…
EDIT: I will say as someone who plays mesmer that shifting some of mesmer’s power to the actual abilities and away from the idea that it’s impossible to distinguish the mesmer from the clones (assuming he is acting like the clone AI) would be a great step forward for balance.
(edited by Babypuke.2907)