Guild Wars 2

When some people defend a few builds by saying “Oh, it’s only good for 1v1”, they’re missing the main point – which is that from an emotional point of view, losing a 1v1 is far more important than losing the match.

When you lose a match, the blame is spread out across the team. The bigger the team, the lesser you feel personally responsible for what went wrong. But in a 1v1…it’s all you. No excuses. Plus it’s personal. You were beaten by a single identifiable person. Not a team.

Which is why when a person does lose a 1v1, they feel bad if it seems it was not because of skill levels, but because of the build.

Not to mention that in 5v5 hotjoins, you can get far more rank points with a good 1v1 build as opposed to a support build.

I say this as a phantasm mesmer which is acknowledged to be one of the most powerful 1v1 builds in GW 2 today.

This is why we must take 1v1 builds seriously also.

I’m sure a lot of computers or keyboards were broken cause of this. I’m not a fan of 1 vs 1 either especially against professions like mesmers or those that can give constant conditions. Playing as a healing bunker warrior protecting a node against those odds is like sleeping with the grim reaper at motel 6.

Brutalistik.6473:

I’m sure a lot of computers or keyboards were broken cause of this. I’m not a fan of 1 vs 1 either especially against professions like mesmers or those that can give constant conditions. Playing as a healing bunker warrior protecting a node against those odds is like sleeping with the grim reaper at motel 6.

Actually I enjoy 1v1s. It’s just that I feel that every class should be able to spec a viable 1v1 build if they want. I’m ok with a particular build being team based and a particular build being 1v1 based.

But to slot an entire class and say “it’s only good for team or 1v1” is I think bull. Like people say that warriors are great in teams. Or thieves are only good for 1v1s. I think that’s a problem.

Both warriors and thieves should be able to spec themselves to be team players or 1v1 players as their tastes dictate. You shouldn’t be able to say “Well you’re a warrior. Obviously you lost to that mesmer. What do you expect?”

The game should design itself to have more team fights and occasional splits then mostly splits and some team fights. There is too much 1v1 which emphasizes those who don’t excel in it and makes professions that are valuable to a team fight stick out less.

As it is now I think 1v1 balance should be important only because 1v1’s happen so often.

1v1’s i definitely enjoy as well. what frustrates me more than losing a 1v1 though i’d have to say from my point of view.. is when another two or three come long and then you lose. lol. it’s expected, since PvP are group games, but especially when you’re in the process of finishing someone off a decent 1v1 fight, then 2 backstab thieves come and insta-down you, then stealth stomped you while your defensive skills were on CD. XDD

i’ve seen some great 1v1 warriors that never die, but don’t just run and heal and come back either. and have also seen some great thieves play awesome in group. people jsut need to break out of the “class only = this ONE utility” mindset.

What do you expect? Builds will counter skills/other builds. If build doesnt matter then try using any build that doesnt have any synergy or playstyle.

You could build against the phantasm spec too. A thief with blind on stealth will mess the summoning, a necro with lots of chill/cripple can go straight for the mesmer and lock it down.

in hotjoin 1v1 doesnt get you more points than going with the zerg. An aoe centric build will gain more points due to tagging. phantasm spec with the sword/pistol phantasm will only be able to tag one target, and at max you can just send them to 3 different target, but then you wont be focusing and they might not go down as fast. if they use gs phantasm, well if they go gs thats the time you go to kill them as they wont have blurred frenzy. im farming glory with longbow warrior. go where the zerg clash. f1 longbow. if theres a lot of people caught in it, it will recharge itself lol. most match i see ranger/necro at top. guess what? trap(aoe)/marks(aoe). and as phant mesmer i like to roam/backcap. doesnt get me that much point and run the risk of encountering the zerg

It is taken seriously. When a BM ranger or Phantasm mesmer comes to your home point for a 1v1 they want the guy at home to call for back up. (Unless he’s terrible)

It also is designed to make back capping possible to fluctuate the balance within a 5v5.

Understandable. HOWEVER I find this is bad for a game that prides itself on being a “skill based game”

If you compare good thiefs, good d/d eles, and good shatter mesmers. Fights can go either way depending on how well one plays the other, even a soft counter like a shatter mesmer vs a DPS guardian has more leeway than someone fighting one of the 1v1 builds.

IMO I think there needs to be less easymode 1v1 builds and more dynamic factors added to them. When you sacrifice skilled play to balance the main game type something is wrong.

Suggestions? To be honest I have none. The game has kind of built itself around this where crying “NERF PHANT MES, NERF BM RANGER” is kind of redundant -_-… And won’t solve anything.

But if I had to suggest something. How about more drawbacks? Convoluted system I know. But certain traits are obviously part of certain builds right? So have the key traits when used in tandem have draw backs that effect the build enough to be strong and hold their place on the meta, while still changing the way it has to be played for the sake of skill.

Example? Phantasm mesmer taking “phantasmal strength” with “empowered illusions” = phantasms expire at the end of their casting c/d meaning they need to be resummoned at the end of each cool down.

This is clearly just an example at the top of my head with no real forethought. But I think balance examples like this would add a bit more play vs certain builds as opposed to just calling for backup.

I don’t care about nerfs really because that just makes the player that wanted it look bad. All they just need to do is just buff other unplayable builds to counter it or more up the regen on professions that needs it bad. Might have high health, but with no passive condition removal traits or additional conditions to keep pressure on the target. That profession is going through the worst day of its life. One condition cannot do it alone and using a sigil / runes won’t make it better either.

That idea to me is competitive pvp

i love the 1v1’s ;P i love to mirror profession as well. thief vs thief i have never lost 1 fight yet.

13 years of MMO gaming and I have never, repeat NEVER played or specced a class that wasn’t semi good in 1v1, playing a group build is not my cup of tea, sure if I happen to give support then great but I am not going out my way to do so if it cost me anything that will help aid me in 1v1.

Some might take this wrong so please don’t but I find it cowardly to rely on a group to be effective, and is the reason I dislike 90% of all MMO’s because they seem to balance mostly around group play. Gw2 seems to have gotten it right IMO, they balance every class as close as they can to 1v1 because they seem to understand that 1v1 balance means better group balance, this is the reason Gw2 seems to fair well with the 1v1 crowd.

Two players of equal skill level in theory should not be able to kill each other, that is balance, only when mistakes are made or being out numbered is when a player should lose, Gw2 has that for the most part.

I have fought every class 1v1 and many of those fight we just called it quits because the battle went on for 15+ mins. that my friend is balance, in Gw2 battle are won by countering mistakes not by frost mages and resto druids, (if you know what I mean lol)

I sometimes get so fussy with Anet, I will call them out fast if things start look like it’s heading down the (rock,paper,) route, (yes I know I am on Anets watch list lol) but I have a feeling they are hearing people like me out because they have took some of our concerns and addressed them, like the DDele nerf : )

Anyways, 1v1 like you said is personal and is the reason most love it so much.

Word to Anet “Never” stray from this path and you will as long as the servers are up have a customer : )

Necro is considerably less fun since it’s such a crappy 1v1 class.

As a power Necro I hate to 1v1 D/D Eles, and any Mesmer. D/D Ele can make frequent mistakes, and I can avoid burning or transfer it back, but I will still eventually lose because he is able to heal much better than me, and do similar damage. I can put up a fight against Mesmer, but if I start with little Life Force, then it will be game over if caught in a shatter. I can never transfer or remove the immobilize fast enough to avoid shatter.

I get frustrated when I lose to a 1 v1 , though only when I lose to 2 classes in particular. The thief and mesmer.
The targetting “system” gives mesmers fake survivability, survivability they would not have if you were able to actually hit them when you focus target. All they have to do is spawn a small personal army of clones, dance around behind them abusing the los and context targetting….but then if that was changed they’d be too weak-so don’t know what to suggest there.
Thieves, where do I start? WoW sub rogue all over again. The sheer chaos one well played thief can cause is dis proportionate to any other class. I even tried one, and my lord was it a faceroll fest. Constant stealth+crazy burst=frustration. I had one the other day strip 18k hp off me in under 4 secs from stealth, I heal and fight back…get him to 50% he stealths again re opens and bang, 15K+ gone in 2 secs flat…..
Sometimes 1 vs 1 I feel like I’m fighting class design rather than the person on the other end. This game is REALLY focused on team fights.
That, is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, when certain classes perform way better than others in a 1 vs 1.
I must say, I feel very let-down by Anet and their promises.

AmuseDarkly.2430:

I get frustrated when I lose to a 1 v1 , though only when I lose to 2 classes in particular. The thief and mesmer.
The targetting “system” gives mesmers fake survivability, survivability they would not have if you were able to actually hit them when you focus target. All they have to do is spawn a small personal army of clones, dance around behind them abusing the los and context targetting….but then if that was changed they’d be too weak-so don’t know what to suggest there.
Thieves, where do I start? WoW sub rogue all over again. The sheer chaos one well played thief can cause is dis proportionate to any other class. I even tried one, and my lord was it a faceroll fest. Constant stealth+crazy burst=frustration. I had one the other day strip 18k hp off me in under 4 secs from stealth, I heal and fight back…get him to 50% he stealths again re opens and bang, 15K+ gone in 2 secs flat…..
Sometimes 1 vs 1 I feel like I’m fighting class design rather than the person on the other end. This game is REALLY focused on team fights.
That, is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, when certain classes perform way better than others in a 1 vs 1.
I must say, I feel very let-down by Anet and their promises.

+1

At least in WoW, you could force the Rogue out of stealth by dealing damage to them. That’s not even an option with Guild Wars 2 Thieves (or Mesmers when they stealth). They can attack, retreat, heal, cleanse conditions, and stomp you while you are down all while stealthed. I understand the need for a relatively squishy melee class to have a mechanic to sneak up on its intended target, but Arenanet’s implementation of stealth mechanics is more powerful than any I have seen since Dark Age of Camelot. And other than getting lucky with some random AoE’s, stealth has no counter in this game.

Thanks.

bhagwad.4281:

Actually I enjoy 1v1s. It’s just that I feel that every class should be able to spec a viable 1v1 build if they want. I’m ok with a particular build being team based and a particular build being 1v1 based.

But to slot an entire class and say “it’s only good for team or 1v1” is I think bull. Like people say that warriors are great in teams. Or thieves are only good for 1v1s. I think that’s a problem.

Both warriors and thieves should be able to spec themselves to be team players or 1v1 players as their tastes dictate. You shouldn’t be able to say “Well you’re a warrior. Obviously you lost to that mesmer. What do you expect?”

I agree 100%. If this game were more like other games, with a holy trinity where each class has a very clear and different role the argument that “this class is meant to 1v1” might hold some water. Unfortunately, that’s not what I was led to believe in the pre-release time. Not to mention that nowhere have I seen that it’s the developers intention for some classes to be flat out worthless in some contexts.

If they want more viable builds in PvP and especially in TPvP they have no choice – they need to give each and every class a diverse toolset so they can adapt to different scenarios. If one class if flat out better at one role you can bet that the best players will choose the best class for the needed role. Twice as important if money is ever on the line.

This is one of the reasons why duels are so low on the priority list. It sure as hell would be popular amongst the folks, but I can already hear the whine about professions being overpowered or weak. It’s already proving to be hard to nail down the balance for the main game mode and it’s been 8 months since release, expecting balance changes to take into account 1v1 prowess is just asking too much right now.

You know, just sayin’