Guild Wars 2

Spartacus.3192:

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

Totally agree. Roaming guilds who could run pretty much anything and still win are all now running comps that include at least one support ele, possibly one support guard or mesmer, at least one necro, and one condi rev.

They also dominate the food chain so once they start running and ganking everything in sight you are pretty much left with just these roaming groups and zergs — with very little in-between other than condi mesmers and thieves.

To be fair, this all started because zergs have become far more formidable post xpac and have forced roamers into groups to really get any kills. I do find it a sad state of the game that roaming guilds will expend significant energy in chasing down solo or duo-roamers to get kills because it has become what they hated most in the past — zergs chasing down roamers.

Godling.2473:

Spartacus.3192:

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

To be fair, this all started because zergs have become far more formidable post xpac and have forced roamers into groups to really get any kills. I do find it a sad state of the game that roaming guilds will expend significant energy in chasing down solo or duo-roamers to get kills because it has become what they hated most in the past — zergs chasing down roamers.

Well….I can honestly say I cannot agree with this. Even when I solo roam, I still get kills by chopping off the tail of a zerg and beat them 1 a time. Its about picking and choosing when to strike. I understand what you were getting at, however this section could be reworded because as it stand, its not 100% true

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Godling.2473:

Spartacus.3192:

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

To be fair, this all started because zergs have become far more formidable post xpac and have forced roamers into groups to really get any kills. I do find it a sad state of the game that roaming guilds will expend significant energy in chasing down solo or duo-roamers to get kills because it has become what they hated most in the past — zergs chasing down roamers.

Well….I can honestly say I cannot agree with this. Even when I solo roam, I still get kills by chopping off the tail of a zerg and beat them 1 a time. Its about picking and choosing when to strike. I understand what you were getting at, however this section could be reworded because as it stand, its not 100% true

You’re right, I wasn’t trying to speak with an absolute. There are definitely some folks out there who are willing to poke at the zergs and chop their tails while getting some kills, but the majority of roamers I’ve seen will either wait for the tail to be really really long (so not much risk of the zerg turning and burning) or avoid the zergs. Or run condi mesmer / thief /druid and just play mind games.

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Well….I can honestly say I cannot agree with this. Even when I solo roam, I still get kills by chopping off the tail of a zerg and beat them 1 a time. Its about picking and choosing when to strike. I understand what you were getting at, however this section could be reworded because as it stand, its not 100% true

By your sig i see you play thief? Thieves, mesmers and druids are probably the best classes for solo play now because they can escape bad situations extremely easily. Thats 3 out of 9 classes. The rest have to group up if they dont want to get frustrated.

Spartacus.3192:

The only “solo” roamers i come across are thieves, mesmers and the occasional druid, and that’s because they can generally escape unfavorable situations with ease.

I very very rarely see necros, ele, guardians, revenants, engineers or warriors solo.

So 3 out of 9 classes make the bulk of solo roamers in my albeit small sample experience.

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

What tier server you on? I play on a lower tier and see all manner of roamers but this outside peak hours. It much harder to solo roam during high population times unless one goes DBL where overall populations tend to be lower.

I think the higher the population the less likely there be solo roamers and are the more likely they pick a high ability to escape class.

Godling.2473:

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Godling.2473:

Spartacus.3192:

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

To be fair, this all started because zergs have become far more formidable post xpac and have forced roamers into groups to really get any kills. I do find it a sad state of the game that roaming guilds will expend significant energy in chasing down solo or duo-roamers to get kills because it has become what they hated most in the past — zergs chasing down roamers.

Well….I can honestly say I cannot agree with this. Even when I solo roam, I still get kills by chopping off the tail of a zerg and beat them 1 a time. Its about picking and choosing when to strike. I understand what you were getting at, however this section could be reworded because as it stand, its not 100% true

You’re right, I wasn’t trying to speak with an absolute. There are definitely some folks out there who are willing to poke at the zergs and chop their tails while getting some kills, but the majority of roamers I’ve seen will either wait for the tail to be really really long (so not much risk of the zerg turning and burning) or avoid the zergs. Or run condi mesmer / thief /druid and just play mind games.

As mentioned, I knew where you were getting at, so I apologize for that, however it did sound like it was absolute so thats why I mentioned what I did

Spartacus.3192:

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Well….I can honestly say I cannot agree with this. Even when I solo roam, I still get kills by chopping off the tail of a zerg and beat them 1 a time. Its about picking and choosing when to strike. I understand what you were getting at, however this section could be reworded because as it stand, its not 100% true

By your sig i see you play thief? Thieves, mesmers and druids are probably the best classes for solo play now because they can escape bad situations extremely easily. Thats 3 out of 9 classes. The rest have to group up if they dont want to get frustrated.

You would be correct sir/ma’am. I have played several classes and solo roamed on several (aside from my thief and druid, I also solo roamed on Scrapper and Revenant very well, same thing tho by farming the tails, however there are other classes that can solo roam, however the Meta defines most of the builds people use and none are really meant for roaming. I rarely use meta so I like building for things like solo roaming (things people say that doesnt happen, I try to make happen).

You also seem to be using an absolute statement so I cannot agree with the fact that “the rest have to group up”. I have seen a tempest solo roam and beat a 3v1 from a zerg tail. Same with a DH. Its all in the build. If you are using something non meta and keep adapting/tweaking the build, its def possible

babazhook.6805:

Spartacus.3192:

The only “solo” roamers i come across are thieves, mesmers and the occasional druid, and that’s because they can generally escape unfavorable situations with ease.

I very very rarely see necros, ele, guardians, revenants, engineers or warriors solo.

So 3 out of 9 classes make the bulk of solo roamers in my albeit small sample experience.

Roaming is now defined by 5 man gank squads. I now roam in a small group because i dont want to waste my time running solo halway across the map just to get ganked by a 5 man squad. (i dont play mesmer, druid or thief)

What tier server you on? I play on a lower tier and see all manner of roamers but this outside peak hours. It much harder to solo roam during high population times unless one goes DBL where overall populations tend to be lower.

I think the higher the population the less likely there be solo roamers and are the more likely they pick a high ability to escape class.

Just adding something to this: Its def harder to solo roam on peak hours, however I dream about the tails I come across and it makes it a bit more enjoyable :p

I still solo roam on my ranger/druid. Sure, I get rolled a lot, but I still manage to have fun. I tend to get bored running with zergs real quickly. Solo roaming is a heck of a lot more challenging, imo. And as some others have posted…I tend to solo roam later in the evening, and not at peak hours.

Although, tbh, the last couple weeks I have been taking a little break and playing more ESO.

im on Blackgate and i absolutely admit that a decent roamer can 1v3 the tail of a zerg but lets be fair killing zerglings that are built/specced for zergs is very easy for a good roamer. My main issue is (at least when im on BG) that i come across 5 man roamer gank squads and the number of solo roamers that can 1v5 a gank squad without being a stealth class are extremely rare if not near impossible.

Spartacus.3192:

im on Blackgate and i absolutely admit that a decent roamer can 1v3 the tail of a zerg but lets be fair killing zerglings that are built/specced for zergs is very easy for a good roamer. My main issue is (at least when im on BG) that i come across 5 man roamer gank squads and the number of solo roamers that can 1v5 a gank squad without being a stealth class are extremely rare if not near impossible.

I would agree. I tend to mix up roamers roaming on a variety of classes but time to time those gank squads hit the map and you pretty well have to go Thief.

Not because it OP but because it has a chance of getting away.

Im playing Guild wars since vanilla and let me tell you WvW has never been in a more unbalanced state as it is now , talking about small fights and 1v1 ofc.

It’s a nightmare you only run into one trick pony’s every way you turn , broken REVs , Burn Guardians , s/d thieves who just don’t die no matter how much you chase, don’t even let me start about the condi builds.

Back in the day it was a real joy going to WvW to have duel competitions and just all around 1v2 FUN that’s a thing of the past and im pretty sure the balance is going to be even worse with more added classes to the game with the next expansion.

First, don’t let people change the meaning of words. It’s kind of like certain “news” outlets trying to change the meaning of “entitlement” to be a bad thing… Look it up, it means “Something that has been earned.” So, if someone says entitlements need cut I tell them we need to start with their paycheck… and they try to say that’s not an entitlement because they earned it. (eyeroll)

Roaming is 1 or 2, period. 3-12 is a Havoc group and then past that are smaller and large zergs. Its been that way for ages and if we start changing the meaning of words then it just creates confusion.

That said, I roam. I take camps, nuke sentries, move fast and can get Tier 6 participation all on my own.

But I don’t run condi. I’m running a DP Daredevil that is inspired by Terrissimo’s 20k physical build but I run around with blinding powder bc it allows me to have permastealth while running bound instead of dash, but then I swap blinding powder out for Bandit’s Defense before engaging a camp.

Get in, get the capture, gtfo.

Team with 2 others running similar builds and you have a ghost squad that can take towers.

But I never gank. Ganking allows your position to be scouted / reported by someone you kill and that ruins the whole idea of operating deep in their territory, which is where it’s at for me.

Just my 2 cents.

offence.4726:

Im playing Guild wars since vanilla and let me tell you WvW has never been in a more unbalanced state as it is now , talking about small fights and 1v1 ofc.

It’s a nightmare you only run into one trick pony’s every way you turn , broken REVs , Burn Guardians , s/d thieves who just don’t die no matter how much you chase, don’t even let me start about the condi builds.

Back in the day it was a real joy going to WvW to have duel competitions and just all around 1v2 FUN that’s a thing of the past and im pretty sure the balance is going to be even worse with more added classes to the game with the next expansion.

I read what you’re telling, and that reminds me of a very fun fight I once had. It was during HoT beta : that weekend when Druid was released. At this time, I didn’t even have a ranger and I gave it a try, so I ran a druid, and I stumbled upon a druid that probably was in the same situation.
So we were mostly doing… anything, spamming skills without being sure what the outcome would be, on toons we didn’t know, running suboptimal builds. I don’t even remember who won, but I do remember we had fun !

If you think about it, the previous traits system was trickier to use than this one, and in the beginning of GW2, I think there were less min/maxing, mostly because classes and builds were not known as good.

My impression on that is lots of players in the roaming scene run top notch min/maxed builds with perfect rotation execution, to finish fights as quick as possible. It gets obvious when you see the very same player 1 – Nuke you out of the blue when you cross him 2 – Is heavily nuked when you catch him after a fight, even a camp one, and the rotation can’t be done because of CD.

I think it’s sad, because it gives the impression that most players don’t want to bother doing a fight, and it also removes a lot of spontaneity.

ThomasC.1056:

offence.4726:

Im playing Guild wars since vanilla and let me tell you WvW has never been in a more unbalanced state as it is now , talking about small fights and 1v1 ofc.

It’s a nightmare you only run into one trick pony’s every way you turn , broken REVs , Burn Guardians , s/d thieves who just don’t die no matter how much you chase, don’t even let me start about the condi builds.

Back in the day it was a real joy going to WvW to have duel competitions and just all around 1v2 FUN that’s a thing of the past and im pretty sure the balance is going to be even worse with more added classes to the game with the next expansion.

I read what you’re telling, and that reminds me of a very fun fight I once had. It was during HoT beta : that weekend when Druid was released. At this time, I didn’t even have a ranger and I gave it a try, so I ran a druid, and I stumbled upon a druid that probably was in the same situation.
So we were mostly doing… anything, spamming skills without being sure what the outcome would be, on toons we didn’t know, running suboptimal builds. I don’t even remember who won, but I do remember we had fun !

If you think about it, the previous traits system was trickier to use than this one, and in the beginning of GW2, I think there were less min/maxing, mostly because classes and builds were not known as good.

My impression on that is lots of players in the roaming scene run top notch min/maxed builds with perfect rotation execution, to finish fights as quick as possible. It gets obvious when you see the very same player 1 – Nuke you out of the blue when you cross him 2 – Is heavily nuked when you catch him after a fight, even a camp one, and the rotation can’t be done because of CD.

I think it’s sad, because it gives the impression that most players don’t want to bother doing a fight, and it also removes a lot of spontaneity.

^ Exactly this I mean what is the point of joining a WvW/PvP enviroment if you don’t want to actual counter-play and engage your opponents and run 2 shot builds that require literally not more then one hand on the keyboard , forget about having a mouse!

Everyone is min-maxing nowdays and every top roamer seems to be decked in full Ascended / legendaries to simply put it it’s a turn off and no wonder only the zergs/blobs still play WvW.

Thank god for the edge of the mists , the only balance left is there.

offence.4726:

ThomasC.1056:

offence.4726:

Im playing Guild wars since vanilla and let me tell you WvW has never been in a more unbalanced state as it is now , talking about small fights and 1v1 ofc.

It’s a nightmare you only run into one trick pony’s every way you turn , broken REVs , Burn Guardians , s/d thieves who just don’t die no matter how much you chase, don’t even let me start about the condi builds.

Back in the day it was a real joy going to WvW to have duel competitions and just all around 1v2 FUN that’s a thing of the past and im pretty sure the balance is going to be even worse with more added classes to the game with the next expansion.

I read what you’re telling, and that reminds me of a very fun fight I once had. It was during HoT beta : that weekend when Druid was released. At this time, I didn’t even have a ranger and I gave it a try, so I ran a druid, and I stumbled upon a druid that probably was in the same situation.
So we were mostly doing… anything, spamming skills without being sure what the outcome would be, on toons we didn’t know, running suboptimal builds. I don’t even remember who won, but I do remember we had fun !

If you think about it, the previous traits system was trickier to use than this one, and in the beginning of GW2, I think there were less min/maxing, mostly because classes and builds were not known as good.

My impression on that is lots of players in the roaming scene run top notch min/maxed builds with perfect rotation execution, to finish fights as quick as possible. It gets obvious when you see the very same player 1 – Nuke you out of the blue when you cross him 2 – Is heavily nuked when you catch him after a fight, even a camp one, and the rotation can’t be done because of CD.

I think it’s sad, because it gives the impression that most players don’t want to bother doing a fight, and it also removes a lot of spontaneity.

^ Exactly this I mean what is the point of joining a WvW/PvP enviroment if you don’t want to actual counter-play and engage your opponents and run 2 shot builds that require literally not more then one hand on the keyboard , forget about having a mouse!

Everyone is min-maxing nowdays and every top roamer seems to be decked in full Ascended / legendaries to simply put it it’s a turn off and no wonder only the zergs/blobs still play WvW.

Thank god for the edge of the mists , the only balance left is there.

I would have thought it obvious by now why most roamers run nuke builds. It’s to down you as quickly as possible before 4 or 5 of your buddies arrive to “save the day”. In the old days one could afford to run dueling builds because chances are you could have fairly lengthy uninterrupted fights. That’s obviously no longer the case and hasn’t been for a while.

Hexalot.8194:

I would have thought it obvious by now why most roamers run nuke builds. It’s to down you as quickly as possible before 4 or 5 of your buddies arrive to “save the day”. In the old days one could afford to run dueling builds because chances are you could have fairly lengthy uninterrupted fights. That’s obviously no longer the case and hasn’t been for a while.

Yep, that’s also why mobility is important.

Roaming is mostly a solo affair centered around 1vX, scouting and flipping. Skirmish groups are 2+ players looking for fights. Havoc squads are typically 4+ players flipping objectives.

The lines are often blurred but the current meta is particularly strong for small groups built to cover each others weaknesses and exploit strengths. Basically run a Tempest, DH and a pack of Necros to roll over 99% of the non-zergs out there.

HoT did not break roaming. For several months prior to HoT the most dangerous class by a mile was a roaming Mesmer build so strong that it could easily steam roll 1v3+ and slink away at will. It is still the most powerful build I have ever played in the game and this counts phantasm builds at launch.

Hexalot.8194:

offence.4726:

ThomasC.1056:

offence.4726:

Im playing Guild wars since vanilla and let me tell you WvW has never been in a more unbalanced state as it is now , talking about small fights and 1v1 ofc.

It’s a nightmare you only run into one trick pony’s every way you turn , broken REVs , Burn Guardians , s/d thieves who just don’t die no matter how much you chase, don’t even let me start about the condi builds.

Back in the day it was a real joy going to WvW to have duel competitions and just all around 1v2 FUN that’s a thing of the past and im pretty sure the balance is going to be even worse with more added classes to the game with the next expansion.

I read what you’re telling, and that reminds me of a very fun fight I once had. It was during HoT beta : that weekend when Druid was released. At this time, I didn’t even have a ranger and I gave it a try, so I ran a druid, and I stumbled upon a druid that probably was in the same situation.
So we were mostly doing… anything, spamming skills without being sure what the outcome would be, on toons we didn’t know, running suboptimal builds. I don’t even remember who won, but I do remember we had fun !

If you think about it, the previous traits system was trickier to use than this one, and in the beginning of GW2, I think there were less min/maxing, mostly because classes and builds were not known as good.

My impression on that is lots of players in the roaming scene run top notch min/maxed builds with perfect rotation execution, to finish fights as quick as possible. It gets obvious when you see the very same player 1 – Nuke you out of the blue when you cross him 2 – Is heavily nuked when you catch him after a fight, even a camp one, and the rotation can’t be done because of CD.

I think it’s sad, because it gives the impression that most players don’t want to bother doing a fight, and it also removes a lot of spontaneity.

^ Exactly this I mean what is the point of joining a WvW/PvP enviroment if you don’t want to actual counter-play and engage your opponents and run 2 shot builds that require literally not more then one hand on the keyboard , forget about having a mouse!

Everyone is min-maxing nowdays and every top roamer seems to be decked in full Ascended / legendaries to simply put it it’s a turn off and no wonder only the zergs/blobs still play WvW.

Thank god for the edge of the mists , the only balance left is there.

I would have thought it obvious by now why most roamers run nuke builds. It’s to down you as quickly as possible before 4 or 5 of your buddies arrive to “save the day”. In the old days one could afford to run dueling builds because chances are you could have fairly lengthy uninterrupted fights. That’s obviously no longer the case and hasn’t been for a while.

That’s a possible explanation, even if it’s not the most obvious one in my experience…

From what I’m seeing, I’d rather say that most players want to secure a quick stomp because they find it funnier to gank, and don’t want to bother fighting, either that they’re too lazy (or jaded) or that GW2’s combat system is just lame.

This explanation also explain the thing about mobility builds : if it turns out fight becomes boring, or odds become more uncertain, you just let things down, and go elsewhere for an easier gank.

I roam on my Nomad thief, it’s all about sustainability.

Doug.4930:

Ill keep it short. Played this game for ages, was one of those people who liked to roam (small fights) or duel. However, after HOT came out it sort of ruined the small fights scheme. In the end all me and my friends were doing were was just running dragon hunters and one hitting everyone with 2. (we alternated with other broken builds too, but DH long bow has stuck in my mind even after all this time) There were plenty of broken builds before HOT but they seemed to be mainly condi focused, and while painful to fight 1v1, they could just be ignored. After HOT however a tonne of broken power based builds were revealed, and condi builds got to the point where they could in some instances out dps glass cannon builds. So in the end, my entire guild moved on from the game. However we’re never managed to find a game that was quite as fun and challenging as gw2 was pre HOT. So asking here to see if its worth reinstalling and giving it another whirl

So posing the question to any roamers who may or may not still play, is the balance still as bad as it was back then? Better worse?

Thxs

All me and my small guild do is roam, If you are ever looking for small fights like2v2 let me know. Since you are on jq we can asap cause we are on YB.

Yes people still roam!

In groups of three to five thieves and maybe a chrono.

The height of skilled gameplay!

Trajan.4953:

Yes people still roam!

In groups of three to five thieves and maybe a chrono.

The height of skilled gameplay!

And cancer tempest. These noobs don’t even have kittens play vanilla scepter/dagger.

People define roaming differently. If solo 2-5 -10 or even 60 is what you consider roaming is then yes I see people playing in all those groups.

In any PvP enabled space, you control the actions of just one person.

If you think you can tell others how to play, you are a different wvw/pvper to me.

I like to solo WvW and am happy to help players I meet.

didn’t want to make another thread to clog up this forum with similar questions.

But how is the current 1v1 balance? Again post HoT it was pretty good. I mean sure there were a few builds that played themselves and needed to be buried and never spoken off again (PU condi mes, condi thief, cele ele etc). But After HoT it felt like there were so many builds that you really couldn’t lose when running, that it became sort of unplayable. Not to mention that to put yourself on somewhat of an even playing field, you HAD to run the new elite trait line.

Any thoughts, has the situation improved?

Doug.4930:

didn’t want to make another thread to clog up this forum with similar questions.

But how is the current 1v1 balance? Again post HoT it was pretty good. I mean sure there were a few builds that played themselves and needed to be buried and never spoken off again (PU condi mes, condi thief, cele ele etc). But After HoT it felt like there were so many builds that you really couldn’t lose when running, that it became sort of unplayable. Not to mention that to put yourself on somewhat of an even playing field, you HAD to run the new elite trait line.

Any thoughts, has the situation improved?

1v1 is severly declining. Lots of “roamers” are now groups of 3-5 to 10 ppl.

Build diversity has also severly declined. The builds you’re quoting have totally vanished from my game experience.

Now, about the elite traitline, I’m mixed feelings. Some months ago, I would have said it’s compulsory. Those last weeks, I’m seeing more and more core specs, so I suppose the meta is changing.

Just my 2 cents

ThomasC.1056:

Doug.4930:

didn’t want to make another thread to clog up this forum with similar questions.

But how is the current 1v1 balance? Again post HoT it was pretty good. I mean sure there were a few builds that played themselves and needed to be buried and never spoken off again (PU condi mes, condi thief, cele ele etc). But After HoT it felt like there were so many builds that you really couldn’t lose when running, that it became sort of unplayable. Not to mention that to put yourself on somewhat of an even playing field, you HAD to run the new elite trait line.

Any thoughts, has the situation improved?

1v1 is severly declining. Lots of “roamers” are now groups of 3-5 to 10 ppl.

Build diversity has also severly declined. The builds you’re quoting have totally vanished from my game experience.

Now, about the elite traitline, I’m mixed feelings. Some months ago, I would have said it’s compulsory. Those last weeks, I’m seeing more and more core specs, so I suppose the meta is changing.

Just my 2 cents

Really? no more dire condi p/d thieves haha?
Im asking not because i expect people to solo roam, as that was rare even when I used to do it, im asking because back when builds were (somewhat) balanced around 1v1, a good roamer could pull off a 2v1 or 3v1 against somewhat competent players. But after 1v1 balance went out the window, it became essentially impossible to win outnumbered fights. a lone thief against 2 dragon hunters and a longbow ranger (post LB buff) i think not haha. Whilst pre HoT 2 guardians and a ranger was very possible to beat if you didn’t slip up.

Doug.4930:

ThomasC.1056:

Doug.4930:

didn’t want to make another thread to clog up this forum with similar questions.

But how is the current 1v1 balance? Again post HoT it was pretty good. I mean sure there were a few builds that played themselves and needed to be buried and never spoken off again (PU condi mes, condi thief, cele ele etc). But After HoT it felt like there were so many builds that you really couldn’t lose when running, that it became sort of unplayable. Not to mention that to put yourself on somewhat of an even playing field, you HAD to run the new elite trait line.

Any thoughts, has the situation improved?

1v1 is severly declining. Lots of “roamers” are now groups of 3-5 to 10 ppl.

Build diversity has also severly declined. The builds you’re quoting have totally vanished from my game experience.

Now, about the elite traitline, I’m mixed feelings. Some months ago, I would have said it’s compulsory. Those last weeks, I’m seeing more and more core specs, so I suppose the meta is changing.

Just my 2 cents

Really? no more dire condi p/d thieves haha?
Im asking not because i expect people to solo roam, as that was rare even when I used to do it, im asking because back when builds were (somewhat) balanced around 1v1, a good roamer could pull off a 2v1 or 3v1 against somewhat competent players. But after 1v1 balance went out the window, it became essentially impossible to win outnumbered fights. a lone thief against 2 dragon hunters and a longbow ranger (post LB buff) i think not haha. Whilst pre HoT 2 guardians and a ranger was very possible to beat if you didn’t slip up.

I personally still see d/p venoms condi daredevils (and saw a ghost-ish venom DD as well…he didnt like having condis on him tho)

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Doug.4930:

ThomasC.1056:

Doug.4930:

didn’t want to make another thread to clog up this forum with similar questions.

But how is the current 1v1 balance? Again post HoT it was pretty good. I mean sure there were a few builds that played themselves and needed to be buried and never spoken off again (PU condi mes, condi thief, cele ele etc). But After HoT it felt like there were so many builds that you really couldn’t lose when running, that it became sort of unplayable. Not to mention that to put yourself on somewhat of an even playing field, you HAD to run the new elite trait line.

Any thoughts, has the situation improved?

1v1 is severly declining. Lots of “roamers” are now groups of 3-5 to 10 ppl.

Build diversity has also severly declined. The builds you’re quoting have totally vanished from my game experience.

Now, about the elite traitline, I’m mixed feelings. Some months ago, I would have said it’s compulsory. Those last weeks, I’m seeing more and more core specs, so I suppose the meta is changing.

Just my 2 cents

Really? no more dire condi p/d thieves haha?
Im asking not because i expect people to solo roam, as that was rare even when I used to do it, im asking because back when builds were (somewhat) balanced around 1v1, a good roamer could pull off a 2v1 or 3v1 against somewhat competent players. But after 1v1 balance went out the window, it became essentially impossible to win outnumbered fights. a lone thief against 2 dragon hunters and a longbow ranger (post LB buff) i think not haha. Whilst pre HoT 2 guardians and a ranger was very possible to beat if you didn’t slip up.

I personally still see d/p venoms condi daredevils (and saw a ghost-ish venom DD as well…he didnt like having condis on him tho)

Can’t speak for the current meta, but back in the day, a venom DD thief had nothing on a shadow arts dire thief. So unless its alot worse than it was then im ok with it haha.

The solo roaming scene has diminished quite a fair bit during off NA prime hours imo.
Running around for a few hours during off prime hours, you more or less meet the same few opponents.

Many are running around with at least 1 other partner.
I run with a friend too when he is in the mood for roaming (he’s more keen on PvP).

That said, I wonder…

What are the things that attract you to solo roam?
What are the things that attract you to duo/group roam?

Which do you find more attractive?

I used to solo roam quite a bit. It was fun and exciting testing my skill against other players and builds.

Over time though, builds have gotten more extreme. On my rifle engi, for example, I don’t have much condi cleanse (just 2 per 20s from Healing Turret). In the past, I used to compensate for this by dodging + blocking condi attacks. Gradually though, condi builds got more and more condi application and more unblockable attacks. I just can’t outplay those builds any more – even if I play perfectly, they’ll always beat me.

Thus, I need to run in a duo/group with a support class to help cleanse.

Doug.4930:

…when builds were (somewhat) balanced around 1v1, a good roamer could pull off a 2v1 or 3v1 against somewhat competent players.

This is the antithesis of balance.
….wat

Not necessarily. Eg. I remember a video of an old player (uh.. maybe Teldo?) running bomb kit + pistol/shield engi in wvw and taking on 3 players near ebg red keep.

He wins by exploiting terrain + line of sight with great mastery of the class skills.

Eg. Kites the 3 opponents behind a rock with ranged pistol attacks, drops bombs to aoe damage them as they get close; blasts a smoke field for stealth, repositions to a cliff edge, sets Big-Ol-Bomb near the edge still in stealth, then uses Toolkit-Magnet to pull one enemy in front of the bomb so they get blasted off the cliff to their death. Toolkit-Gear Shield to block the other 2 enemies closing in for the kill. Weapon shield knockback to push one more off the cliff, then 1v1’s the last enemy to finish the 1v3.

That has very little to do with build/profession balance, if even at all.

Real roamers fight 50 vs 1.

Junkpile.7439:

Real roamers fight 50 vs 1.

LEROY JENKINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

Junkpile.7439:

Real roamers fight 50 vs 1.

LEROY JENKINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Nah you just make berserker longbow druid, find french blob, target slowest reaper and use knock back skill and then fast shooting skill. If somebody try to kill you change staff and use that fast travel skill.

Turk.5460:

That has very little to do with build/profession balance, if even at all.

It has everything to do with balance. Before I stopped playing, some builds were so overpowered that it didnt matter how well you could kite, or how smart you were. Because at the end of the day, a dragon hunter could hit you for 10k by pressing a single button. It doesn’t need to build adrenaline, it doesn’t need to find stealth and hit from behind, it doesn’t need to time 6 skills all at once. All it has to do is press 2. Before the patch, it would be possible to kite 3 guardians and beat them using terrain/smarts before they could overwhelm you. But post HoT, you’d be dead in 2 seconds. (sorry if im picking on dragon hunters, there were many other broken builds back then, its just the first one to come to mind)

It would be the same thing as saying that a skilled gladiator could beat 3 other gladiators in a fair arena fights, using swords, maces, shields etc. It would all come down to who’s the best combatant. But along comes a new expansion for the arena where people can now use uzi’s. Doesn’t matter how skilled with a blade that gladiator was. The uzi guy/guys are gonna win.

Doug.4930:

Before the patch, it would be possible to kite 3 guardians and beat them using terrain/smarts before they could overwhelm you. But post HoT, you’d be dead in 2 seconds. (sorry if im picking on dragon hunters, there were many other broken builds back then, its just the first one to come to mind)

So basicly, you are upset that you no longer can use your class/build to beat 3 of another build/class at the same time, now they can kill you in a 1v1 fight and thats not fair.

Dawdler.8521:

Doug.4930:

Before the patch, it would be possible to kite 3 guardians and beat them using terrain/smarts before they could overwhelm you. But post HoT, you’d be dead in 2 seconds. (sorry if im picking on dragon hunters, there were many other broken builds back then, its just the first one to come to mind)

So basicly, you are upset that you no longer can use your class/build to beat 3 of another build/class at the same time, now they can kill you in a 1v1 fight and thats not fair.

I honestly think he is just pointing out why solo roamers. Have turned into 4 to 10 man
gank groups now. But I agree as a solo roamer with zerg guildies and no roaming friends.

Looking at that last ESO balance patch. Now that proc sets are somewhat under control. I might go back to playing that till PoF drop. That game at least allows for skill and tactics to out beat potatoes that just mindlessly blob way smaller numbers down. It just gives players some tools to use against mindless zerglings.

GW2 after HoT has mostly been about who can bring the most players. And who has the most coverage because devs allow full servers to transfer more people in. Skill in most cases, in this game takes a backseat to blobing. Even in PvE you’ll see it.

Unlike other games with RvR GW2 has very strict AOE caps. Which basically means even if the blob of 40 are basically mindless zerglings. The 5 exceptionally good players will get run over because. Their damage will be split among 25 players in the 40 man blob. While the 40 blob would be able to deal full damage to the 5 really good players.

In GW2 since HoT and forward you will never see this. https://youtu.be/7gVIftIeAdw No matter how good a small group of players are in GW2. ANet just don’t give the players the tools to do this, anymore. Who else remember these days of GW2’s WvW aswell. I do, and many more rolled with lessor numbers, back then.

ANet has designed a game that skill means the bare minimal. Compared to other games of it’s class. You just have to reroll thief or mesmer. Because of the mobility and stealth, and survivalbility when John brings back a gank squad to Xv1 you because… In GW2 numbers means almost everything now. Your other options, are to just do what the other WvWers do and just roam in groups of 5 plus or accept, that your mastery of skill for your class and game are only going to get you soo far, and you are going to die more then you kill. More so to servers who are beyond over stacked.