Guild Wars 2

Because 99% of people I regularly play with get kittened off because it’s not even fun to play PvP. It’s all bunkers that take literally 2 minutes to kill or a glass cannon that will burst you down before you can even react, then stealth away and just kite all kittening day.

Seriously. You read some of the traits and your first thought, if you have any sense is, “who the hell thought that would be even remotely balanced?”

I do. This is my favourite meta to date.

Me!

Kshot war is a little harder than before but it’s also more satisfying for that reason :D

The previous meta before June 23rd 2015 was far more balanced. Right now D/D Cele Ele and Mantra Mesmer are pushing too many archetypes out of viable build structure.

A few things could certainly be toned down, but honestly I’ve been enjoying the new meta more so than I have any of the previous ones.

Trevor Boyer.6524:

The previous meta before June 23rd 2015 was far more balanced. Right now D/D Cele Ele and Mantra Mesmer are pushing too many archetypes out of viable build structure.

This

I really miss the old meta.

No doubt about it, pre June 23rd meta was not only way more balanced but also allowed the coexistence of unique builds that are no longer available or viable today.

Pre June 23rd there were 4 dominant builds:

-cele rifle engie
-cele dd ele
-shoutbow warrior
-medi guard

These builds were also viable and used by solo queuers who like pvp but not in high tier tourneys. Today, the following are either extinct or a shadow of what they used to be:

-bomb heal engie
-p/p rabid engie
-trap condi ranger
-poison master ranger (ele, shoutbow killer)
-survival condi ranger
-shatter mesmer 4/4/0/0/6
-terrormancer
-high burst fresh air ele

you fill the rest
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This i my favorite

For the first time in this game people are what they actually are. If your burst its kill or get killed. If your a really good player you can still run cele and dominate the team and solo fights. Bunkers are great but not unkillable.

The last meta was run passive sustain builds with cele and that went for every class and before that it was the everyone run bunkers and prepare for the 15min match.

slowly raises hand

Me. Absolutely love the faster game play in general.

I’m enjoying it, it’s an improvement from the cele meta before.

I’ve learned to adopt to this meta.

But the one thing I really hate about it is that it made a lot of ppl quit pvp. The absence of a leaderboard plus a new meta unlike anything in the past was enough for them to quit entirely.

My Temporal Condi Shatter build still doesn’t apply a lot of pressure in large team fights, but the new and improved Glamours with Temporal Enchanter make it a great condi/support build. I’ve achieved a lot of success on it.

This meta is great!!

Dmg is too high for all classes. “Re-balancing” needs to happen with a few Mesmer traits and some for Guard/Ele. Burning needs to be looked at. Mesmer/Guard/Ele seem to be top tier. War/Engi/Thief seem to be mid tier. Some buffing could be done to Necro/Ranger imho. This is all an opinion from a Mesmer exclusive player so idk, I might be off.

edited to add: I HATE THAT THERE ISN’T A LEADERBOARD. Even with the flawed system in the past, I’d rather have either of those flawed systems than none at all.

i mean, it’s not perfect, but i can dig this meta

I like the meta – It is not perfect but certainly a lot better (to me) than everyone slapping a celestial amulet on their build and pretending to be good.

I dislike the competitive progression of the game and the que times though – so I do not que up more thn before

This is my favorite meta! I dislike bunkers poking each other on point. In this meta, you can’t really 1v2 or 1v3, you gotta run. And that’s good!

Sunshine.5014:

This is my favorite meta! I dislike bunkers poking each other on point. In this meta, you can’t really 1v2 or 1v3, you gotta run. And that’s good!

And then the 2 or 3 chase and spam immobilizes, CCs, cripples, chills, and then stop you completely. You can’t fight back nor run.

It was already like that before this, and now it’s just worse. If it weren’t for the reward tracks/dailies, this mode would be all but dead.

Sunshine.5014:

This is my favorite meta! I dislike bunkers poking each other on point. In this meta, you can’t really 1v2 or 1v3, you gotta run. And that’s good!

I can 1v2 with the best of them. ~hairflip~ Except if one of the 2 is a dps guard.

MailMail.6534:

Sunshine.5014:

This is my favorite meta! I dislike bunkers poking each other on point. In this meta, you can’t really 1v2 or 1v3, you gotta run. And that’s good!

I can 1v2 with the best of them. ~hairflip~ Except if one of the 2 is a dps guard.

You can flip your hair all you want as long as you don’t have lice. <3 <3 <3

Nilkemia.8507:

Sunshine.5014:

This is my favorite meta! I dislike bunkers poking each other on point. In this meta, you can’t really 1v2 or 1v3, you gotta run. And that’s good!

And then the 2 or 3 chase and spam immobilizes, CCs, cripples, chills, and then stop you completely. You can’t fight back nor run.

It was already like that before this, and now it’s just worse. If it weren’t for the reward tracks/dailies, this mode would be all but dead.

This sounds like a combination of map-awareness (3 people chasing you either means a whipe, or respawns), lack of communication and poor management of defenses. Anticipating enemy movement under the FoW is part of the game – and any competive game for that matter.

You can blame combat for a lot – but if you survived 3 people chasing you on your own, without any help from the team (peeling is not hard), who have the potential to lock you in and burst you down, would you say that it is balanced?

Then again, I assume that you probably do and find it unfair that people can burst you down. You are entitled to an opinion, but you also got to realize that some people (maybe the non-vocal majority) actually do enjoy this direction on contrary to the previous one, with respective reasons as to why.

GoogleBrandon.5073:

You can blame combat for a lot – but if you survived 3 people chasing you on your own, without any help from the team (peeling is not hard), who have the potential to lock you in and burst you down, would you say that it is balanced?

If I had the skill, yes. But, skill is only one factor, and not that big of one at that. The only classes that have a solid chance at escaping that are thief, mesmer, and maybe ranger and engineer (stealth). Depending on one’s utilities/elites, a few others can try, but their chances aren’t as great. Necromancers are all but dead unless they waste a utility slot for Flesh Wurm (whose only real purpose is a poor profession’s Blink), and depending on the placement, or if people just kill it beforehand, that won’t save them either.

Then again, I assume that you probably do and find it unfair that people can burst you down. You are entitled to an opinion, but you also got to realize that some people (maybe the non-vocal majority) actually do enjoy this direction on contrary to the previous one, with respective reasons as to why.

If I’m in Berserker gear or something similarly glassy, sure, I expect getting bursted down and understand why. Which is why I almost never pick the Berserker amulet.

But when I go out of my way to balance my attack and defense (which I usually do), or focus more on defense (example, Warrior with Knight’s amulet + Soldier runes, roughly 3,400 armor and 20,000 HP) and still get shredded like I barely have more defense than a Berserker, then I see a problem.

I’m a condi guardian and I really like this meta! First because I can finally use my guardian in a condition way and it’s not OP. It’s strong, but there’s a lot of classes and builds that can defeat me. strong but not overpowered.
Mesmers can deal a little too much damage, If you cancel the trait that increae they’re shatter damage burst (30% against a not-skilling enemy is a little too much why they can easly do that dazing you with the mantra) they will be fine.

Yes, the burst is the best thing you can do in this meta and it’s no longer good for who want to play a full bunker class, but a bunker can still do it’s work without be unkillable (pre-patch I’ve see guardians and engis hold a point for minutes against 2-3 enemies, that will no more happen).
My build is a condition build and I can’t deal the same damage of a direct damage medi guard, but it’s not a problem because vitality and toughness still do something to keep you alive and every class have at last one or two skills to stay alive a little longer.

That mets force you to a fast, synergic, dynamic game. And that’s really funny.

Pre patch if you’ve faced a engi or a ele they will never fall down… never. To a fight that will last for 5 minutes I prefer a fight that end in 40 seconds.

There’s stil something to adjust and tone down, but it’s a very good meta for who want a more skilled, fast and dynamic game, like ANet had try to make from the release of the game.

Bunker is boring, dps is funny!

This “Meta” if that’s what you want to call it, is still being balanced. It is not set and will obviously change drastically when HoT hits.

Nilkemia.8507:

GoogleBrandon.5073:

You can blame combat for a lot – but if you survived 3 people chasing you on your own, without any help from the team (peeling is not hard), who have the potential to lock you in and burst you down, would you say that it is balanced?

If I had the skill, yes. But, skill is only one factor, and not that big of one at that. The only classes that have a solid chance at escaping that are thief, mesmer, and maybe ranger and engineer (stealth). Depending on one’s utilities/elites, a few others can try, but their chances aren’t as great. Necromancers are all but dead unless they waste a utility slot for Flesh Wurm (whose only real purpose is a poor profession’s Blink), and depending on the placement, or if people just kill it beforehand, that won’t save them either.

I am very well aware that not all professions got the same means to escape from battle – but this is why you cannot play all the same. A lot comes down to positioning (such a dirty word), awareness and knowing when to disengage. I have had most of my matches on Warrior and Necromancer respectively – and I know that both do not have much luxery to escape (Warrior less so depending on the kit), however, with both I have learned to be more proactive and can very well escape lethal situations and turn them around accordingly. Sometimes you need to let the enemy play in your hands rather than giving them the upper hand – and these two professions compliment that aspect since they can attract aggro to other locations, seemingly in the disadvantage of the enemy.

Then again, I assume that you probably do and find it unfair that people can burst you down. You are entitled to an opinion, but you also got to realize that some people (maybe the non-vocal majority) actually do enjoy this direction on contrary to the previous one, with respective reasons as to why.

If I’m in Berserker gear or something similarly glassy, sure, I expect getting bursted down and understand why. Which is why I almost never pick the Berserker amulet.

But when I go out of my way to balance my attack and defense (which I usually do), or focus more on defense (example, Warrior with Knight’s amulet + Soldier runes, roughly 3,400 armor and 20,000 HP) and still get shredded like I barely have more defense than a Berserker, then I see a problem.

And here is where my experience differs from yours. I really enjoy the new Crusader’s Amulet a lot. Now, while I do not know the exact numbers, I have felt the impact of the sustain the amulet can put out on contrary to Zerker/Marauder. I am not going to throw myself into a 1v3 – there is and should be no profession who should be capable of surviving that (I am sorry, but if you want, then the 2012 D/D Ele says hi), and the fact that there are builds seemingly capable of surving neigh impossible odds in the previous meta ensured that everyone would run these “safer builds” to “outplay” the enemy by slapping a different amulet on their character.

On the flip side, I find that too little people have actually tried speccing into defense. Yes, I know, a lot of builds are now capable of going into both the offensive and defensive lines respectively – but I found merrits into being the one trying to even out this “meta” and running defensively, both in build and playstyle. Adjusting to the situation, thinking about where to engage and not and thinking before charging is slowly becomming a staple which some people recognize. Will I not admit that there are imbalances? Never said that – however, I do feel that despite some flaws, this meta encourages a gameplay touched never before. It has become more tactical and much less an emphasis on throwing a random sustain profession on “Node x” with “Roamer Y” plussing fights.

For the record, though he was trolling – Our Lord and Savior Helseth survived a 3 (or 4) v 1 on the Graveyard point last ESL Thursday with a settler spec, and surving through. The spec itself was a mere joke, but the fruit of speccing defensively in a power oriented meta was there to be seen. Granted, we speak of someone with a lot of games under his belt, but you cannot deny that apparently going defensively does in a way counter the power heavy meta.

I do they just need to hurry up with the bug fixes and obviously needed shave.

Jasher.6580:

I do. This is my favourite meta to date.

yepp, have to agree, I like it very much!

Builds are more interesting in many cases (because of cool now traits like for example the taunt, stoneheart, powerblock etc), builds like the condi-ranger/necro are a bit more viable and it’s overall just more fun.

Glad that most people realize it is overall a good step in the right direction.
Anet has been slow in bug fixing and balance tweaking but I am sure they will get it done soon.
Whiners gonna whine no matter what.

While I have gotten used to it, I still feel damage is a little too high.
Burning definitely needs tuning for one, once that happens I can re-comment.

I like it since we’re seeing a lot more builds atm so there’s variation, but I agree with most people that Mesmers/DD eles/burning needs shaving

I really like the new meta. It’s not my favorite. I preferred the meta right before it (cele meta). But I have a blast in pvp, but a few things need some adjustments. And before HoT since its taking too long. It is a little frustrating knowing that any changes they make will be rendered obsolete once HoT launches. Still, I have fun on my warrior, and elementalist. Thief is same old for the most part.

The biggest problem I have with the meta, is the abundance of mesmers. I don’t think they are super OP, but I hate fighting more than one mesmer at a time. Fighting 3 just makes me want to leave the point. Their mechanic, to produce copies of themselves becomes ridiculous when you have multiple mesmers that have made their characters look alike. I just would rather do somethign else than wack-a-mole. Luckily, 2-3 mesmers on a team is not that great, so eventually the trend will diminish. Also, once the balance changes come in, I’m sure we’ll see less mesmers.

I like fighting them 1v1 or 2v2 (1 enemy mes). Again, they don’t feel super OP, just frustrating. A few small nerfs (PU) would decrease the quantity, but not change the quality of mesmers.

Otherwise, no class feels impossible to beat, and due to the more rapid nature of fights, it often comes down to skill more than anything, which I enjoy.

Edit: Decrease burning damage by about 20%-40%.

Mesmers, eles and thieves enjoy it

I like this meta better. Mesmers need toning down though.

Not me, combat is too fast. People die in matters of few secs.

I love this current meta. Granted, it took me some time getting used too. Playing Bunker Guardian has never been this much fun before. ‘Feel my Wrath’ brings so many fun mechanics into play. Quickness stomp/ress is so much fun and I love the number of clutch moments in a game of PvP nowadays.

The part I dislike about the current meta is the state Warrior is now in. I feel that the build diversity just took a dive. All I see is rampaging warriors jumping into the fray, such a shame although very effective.

I loved the meta before this one and felt kinda lost when everything got switched up last big patch. Now I feel like everything is slowly falling back into place.

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.

Bacon.4918:

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.

Covis.6037:

Bacon.4918:

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.

Saying the meta before June 23rd was balanced is pretty laughable. Yeah, I guess if you play Ele/Engi for the past year and a half it was “balanced”.

Personally I’m loving the new meta. Build diversity is at an all time high (unless you’re a theif – RIP acro line). Warriors finally feel right with visceral in-your-face damage.

Honestly for a complete overhaul of core game mechanics, I’m surprised that there’s not more balance issues.

Dabezian.9527:

Because 99% of people I regularly play with get kittened off because it’s not even fun to play PvP.

Yes, I’m really seeing this 99% statistic in this thread.

The meta is way better and diverse right now. Every class has much more build options before the patch. And people saying “I die in 0.5 seconds” should simply stop using zerker amulet with no defensive traits and utilities. Time to live is perfectly fine if you’re not a zerker.

infantrydiv.1620:

Saying the meta before June 23rd was balanced is pretty laughable. Yeah, I guess if you play Ele/Engi for the past year and a half it was “balanced”.

It was far more balanced than what we have now. If they just tweaked the classes that needed help and toned down a bit what was too strong, it would be much better than completely revamping the whole system and breaking the game. They promised to do balance patches frequently and yet they still can’t fix things that are ridiculously broken. Don’t forget ANet is going to be esports, too and with this change it’s further from happening. GW2 was never a popular game to watch due to the fact it’s very hard to understand what’s happening in the game for people who are not that experienced. This change made it close to impossible it will ever happen.

Some people have fun with how everyone blows up and that’s okay I guess, but that doesn’t mean this meta is more balanced. Stealth burst dominates even more and certain specs are way too easy to play now. It’s not like you need more skill to play now, you don’t. I suppose removing the skill factor from game is okay for some people, but imo it’s not step in the right direction.

There isn’t more diversity, there is actually less. People are trying new builds just because they are sort of forced too, the meta hasn’t completely settled down, but those builds would be viable on some level in the previous meta, too. Nothing really changed in the high tier pvp, only some specs were replaced, but people go down much faster and there is less counterplay against certain stuff. Before the patch there weren’t many builds that would allow completely no counterplay, now there is quite a lot.

This Is how guild wars 2 is suppose to be played.

The last meta wasn’t balanced at all. The reward Vs Risk was horrible. This is also a mmo it will never be balanced. It’s a waste of resouces to try, Fix the reward vs risk equation and things would be great.

Highlie.7641:

The last meta wasn’t balanced at all. The reward Vs Risk was horrible. This is also a mmo it will never be balanced. It’s a waste of resouces to try, Fix the reward vs risk equation and things would be great.

How is this meta better for risk/reward? Mesmer opens up and CCs while doing a truckload of damage (high reward). They’re never in significant danger because of the CC (low risk) and if they are, just go stealth or teleport away and do it again.

d/d elementalist in a 1v1 has so many defenses that they can screw up multiple times and still not die. Their opponents eventually die to high combined burning + lightning whip damage as well as geomancy+doom sigils.

If you want risk/reward, offensive warrior has always been the best example. If they can land their attacks, they get a big reward, but you incur risk in either using them liberally and missing or eating damage while waiting for the right moment.

The meta is fine. dd ele and mesmer just need to be toned down.

The game is much more fun!

I think this thread shows the difference between two factions: the one who can adapt to the fast pace combat, and the one who like to 1v3 poking each other. Good thing this thread shows that a lot of people enjoy the new meta

In LoL/Dota, map awareness is very important. If you get caught surrounded or 1v3, you will die instantly. You should be aware of/predict where the enemies are going. The game is much more strategic than just slamming to each other and spam buttons.

Cheers!

Covis.6037:

Bacon.4918:

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.

It’s not the worst it has ever been and certainly more interesting than the previous one, but I feel like playing Call of Duty.

It’s rather boring PvP incarnation.

Bacon.4918:

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.

Disagree. I think the game is more interesting, diversified and superior now than it has been. There may be a few kinks here and there but overall this meta rocks.

Love the quick gameplay but really hate the lack of balance on classes. Mesmer has too much of everything, ele has too much of everything, warrior is still carried by immunities with no counterplay outside of running away, and necros insane transferring ability keeps any full condi build out of the meta. Now I’m not saying necros are op, cause I actually find them to be more balanced than not but the fact that transfers use the original applicant’s condi damage is just too much imo but that’s coming from an engi and thief main so yeah take that for what it’s worth. But I’m seriously getting fed up with Mesmer mantras carrying bad players and ele’s literally being near god mode while still having a significant amount of damage. Once anet starts bringing things back down that need to be I will be happy. Just as long as we can keep the pace of combat up with it.

Edit: Taunt spam from ranger pets needs to leave too. Or at least be blockable cause that’s getting ridiculous too.

Bacon.4918:

The June 23rd patch undid two years of balancing. The game was far superior before these changes.