Weapon swap mechanics should be changed
Its fine as it its. Near instant swapping allows you to surprise your opponent with a skill from a different weapon (say switching out to knock them back, or stun them real quick for a last minute burst to kill them), but because of the 10 second CD it forces you to think about when/why you are swapping in combat. Think about whether it is a good idea or not.
Your solution gets rid of both these advantages (can no longer surprise enemies, and there is no longer much of a penalty for swapping since you could swap right back if you decide you messed up). If you are accidentally swapping weapon sets I suggest you remap your weapon swap to a key that you won’t accidentally press
10 seconds recharge is too long. If I misuse a weapon skill…
…then you should be punished, not rewarded. I misuse skills all the time and I’m rightfully punished for it. You can’t just spam skills and expect to win. That’s the kind of game HoT introduced and you want to make it worse?
And in a game that has instant cast, large traps, the speed of swapping makes sense. It’s almost slower than traps.
10 seconds recharge is too long. If I misuse a weapon skill, I now have recharge on that skill. That makes sense, it’s a reasonable punishment for the mistake. If I mistime/mistakenly swap weapons, for example swap Mesmer staff to sword/shield, I have 10 second recharge on all staff skills. Matters more for some professions than others (thief), but it’s a ridiculously long recharge duration that completely ruins a 1v1 if mistimed.
Changing the game because you keep fatfingering your buttons is a bad idea.
On the other hand, why can you swap weapons in .25s? It should take 1.25-1.5s instead. A weapon swap should be slow and obvious to the opponent as it happens, not something that happens in the blink of an eye.
tl;dr It’s backwards, recharge is excessive, swap time should be much longer.
Why? Changing weapons changes the entire frame, posture and animation set of your character. It is one of the biggest tells in the game.
Nalhadia – Kaineng
there is no longer much of a penalty for swapping since you could swap right back if you decide you messed up
Like I said, increase the swap time. If you make a mistake, you just spent 1.5s swapping, then another 1.5s swapping back. So not a quick fix since you’d be unable to use the weapon while switching. But it prevents you from having 10 completely arbitrary seconds of not being able to switch, which makes no sense.
It seems like you are the only one to have an issue with this, plus if they change this they would have to change all on swap sigils, Runes of the Warrior and a few different class traits.
The weapon swap cd is there because your decisions matter, the only reason you swap is either due to changing fight needs or you blew all of your CDs on a weapons, and if you fat finger the swap that isn’t the games fault, it would make the gameplay very clunky compared to how the game was initially designed,
yes the Thief is the main class affected by it but that doesn’t mean the whole mechanic needs to be changed because you find an issue with it, it would tie up resources that could be used elsewhere.
Fair enough. I still don’t see why warriors have access to 1/2 cooldown though, I think every class should have that as a trait option (excluding ele and engineer).
It’s one of the Warriors class mechanics something unique to them.
That is a true statement, but does not in any way relate to balance in the game. Not here to hate on warriors, but I’m pointing out that they have a really massive advantage in weapon skills due to that one minor trait. It’s both a buffer against poorly-timed swaps, as well as something that can be used strategically. I think revenants should also have access to that since they need to swap sets frequently also.
no, that is one of the things that is ruining this game, saying well they have it so should I.
Using your mentality if any class should have it or no weapon swap what so ever should be Thief since they have no weapon CDs.
But let’s look at all classes if they all run out of CDs then swap and run out of CDs they have to swap. Every class have to swap weapons frequently not just Revenants.. Let classes keep their unique mechanics.
Do you think you’re being maybe a bit dramatic? The game isn’t being “ruined” by salty people on forums who think the game can be better. Some people like the way things are, some don’t, talking about it is how the game gets improved. Also, let’s get a couple of things straight:
1. 2 out of 9 professions don’t use weapon swapping at all, those being Eles and Engineers. Eles switch between attunements, and can decide how long the recharge will be by using/not using Overloads. And since they have 4 attunements, they essentially have 4 weapon sets instead of 2.
2. Warriors having 1/2 cooldown on weapon swap isn’t a unique mechanic. They have weapon swap, and so do 6 other professions. It’s just a buff on top of an existing mechanic. It also reduces variety in PVP because the trait is too good to pass up. Everyone ends up using Discipline, which severely limits build diversity, one of the most unique mechanics of Guild Wars itself.
Anyways, this is just a thought, feel free to contribute something constructive. It’s messed up how 7 professions have the exact same mechanic, but some are handicapped by it much more significantly. I don’t really have an issue with fatfingering, but I definitely switch too early in skirmishes, and the arbitrary cooldown system makes the game less fun for no logical reason. There are multiple routes to promoting good decisions while playing, and the current cooldown system makes no sense.
there is no longer much of a penalty for swapping since you could swap right back if you decide you messed up
Like I said, increase the swap time. If you make a mistake, you just spent 1.5s swapping, then another 1.5s swapping back. So not a quick fix since you’d be unable to use the weapon while switching. But it prevents you from having 10 completely arbitrary seconds of not being able to switch, which makes no sense.
Again, your proposed change gets rid of the two advantages to the current method (one for the person switching, and one for the other person in the fight. Its balanced right now) and doesn’t bring balance.
Right now if you accidentally swap weapons you have a 10 second cooldown before you can swap again. But that’s 10 seconds where you can still use all of your skills appropriately. If you brought a weapon set that doesn’t have even a single appropriate skill for PvP/WvW then its on you. Under the current system you are still free to play and react and stuff while waiting to swap again. Under your system, you would be a sitting duck for 1.5 seconds if you wanted to swap, making you easy bait to burst down. And if you screwed up and want to switch back, you are now at 3 whole seconds of not being able to do anything instead of 10 seconds using a sub-optimal weapon. Which scenario is better? Which one would you rather have?
Under your system, you would be a sitting duck for 1.5 seconds if you wanted to swap, making you easy bait to burst down. And if you screwed up and want to switch back, you are now at 3 whole seconds of not being able to do anything instead of 10 seconds using a sub-optimal weapon. Which scenario is better? Which one would you rather have?
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for the constructive response. In my mind, an intelligent player would move behind cover while switching. Not too hard, people do that all the time when contesting points on almost every sPvp map. The side capture points on every map have plenty of potential for hiding, as you will see every advanced player do. Midpoints also offer varying degrees of cover in Temple, Forest, Kyhlo, Skyhammer, and kinda Capricorn (if you have a teleport skill). 1.5s is an arbitrary length of time btw, but it’s not too long if you start swapping right before you get behind an obstacle.
I think it would encourage more intelligent gameplay. It requires the player, prior to swapping, to judge positioning, potential for being interrupted, damage taken, and all boons and conditions atm. Currently weapon swapping is somewhat of a gamble unless your opponent is 99% predictable. “Will I need this in the next 10 seconds? What if someone +1s my enemy?” An arrogant player might think they always have the definitive answer to these questions, but realistically they rarely do. Adding swap time now and removing cooldown gives more flexibility, and doesn’t require the player to make highly risky assumptions..
My first thought was Elementalist with no attunement recharge lol
I mostly play for the new Free-For-All arena in PvP lobby.
….. And Elementalist.
….. And Elementalist.