Guild Wars 2

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

People still roam. It tends to be small group (2-5) mostly from what I see. It is fairly rare to run into single solo roamers unless stealth class (90% thief) or it is a player just getting activation credit between ticks at some random objective (typically focused on mobility).

WvW game is highly slanted towards condi builds right now with a couple of burst power builds from mes/thief/dh still out there but even they can be hybrid. HoT Resistance boon is strong because of it.

I think the roaming is more or less the same as before. DH longbow, Rev Hammer, Scrapper Hammer, Chrono boon share, Druid CA stealth, Berserker traits, stability pulse change was nerfed pretty hard. But on the same side, there is no longer Ghost Thief and by default Tempest, Reaper and condi Daredevil have gone up. Basically everyone runs the HoT Elite spec although there are a couple of contenders of base spec only versions in Guard (carried by Virtues line), Warrior (carried by Invulns/Resistance boon) and Necro (carried by Wells).

i still roam. Not solo. Usually 2-5 person team. I do sometimes go bigger groups but very rarely above 10. My favorite is 2-5 team.

Solo IMO has been dead for a very long time.

Its rare to see people solo. Its harder to 1vx now unless you are playing one of the top 3 roaming classes. I mostly see thieves and necros solo. The balance is better but fights last longer. Roaming does not feel as good as it was pre-HoT (probably because TC is in t4 now :P).

I still see plenty of solo roamers. Depending on the server, the condi/power breakdown varies, but they do tend to be condi.

Overall, I would say that the game you loved is still dead. Fights are less about player input and more about builds than ever before. It also doesn’t seem like Anet has any clue why it’s a problem or how to fix it. It’s not something I hope for anymore.

I solo roam all the time. I do ok I guess. But as a DH that is mostly tanky if I run across more than 2 people i am in trouble, unless they are really bad. I just try to be as sneaky as a huge shiny norn guardian can be lol

Roaming can still be done, and some days are better than other days. I’m typically running solo on a power vanilla warrior, so you don’t have to run something broken.

The only time I have any real trouble is when the only other people “roaming” are what used to be called havoc squads, sometimes comped, but now mostly just a pile of condi spam and ganks.

I still solo roam a lot typically on Thief then warrior. On occassion I will roam with a mesmer or ranger and sometimes necro.

There 5 thieves on my account now and I will switch them up dependent on the enemy presence. If i am continously running into condi roamers I bring in a build better able to deal with it such as the warrior, or a thief traited with high cleanses.

If I am solo and am running into groups of three or 4 I will often bring in my own Condi build. Contrary to claims that Condition builds are OP the fact is they can just survive an outnumbered engagement longer. Once the numbers equalized , as in my joining a small group as well, I will very often switch back to the power.

Given people continue to claim that all they see roaming are condition builds, while I see nothing of the sort with the majority still power, I have come to believe this more a population issue then one tied to HOT and or Condition builds being OP. It my feeling many adopt the same response if they feel they might be outnumbered frequently roaming , and that is get more staying power.

This might well explain why the voices that claim “all I see are condition builds” tend to be on higher population servers.

Artaz.3819:

People still roam. It tends to be small group (2-5) mostly from what I see. It is fairly rare to run into single solo roamers unless stealth class (90% thief) or it is a player just getting activation credit between ticks at some random objective (typically focused on mobility).

WvW game is highly slanted towards condi builds right now with a couple of burst power builds from mes/thief/dh still out there but even they can be hybrid. HoT Resistance boon is strong because of it.

I think the roaming is more or less the same as before. DH longbow, Rev Hammer, Scrapper Hammer, Chrono boon share, Druid CA stealth, Berserker traits, stability pulse change was nerfed pretty hard. But on the same side, there is no longer Ghost Thief and by default Tempest, Reaper and condi Daredevil have gone up. Basically everyone runs the HoT Elite spec although there are a couple of contenders of base spec only versions in Guard (carried by Virtues line), Warrior (carried by Invulns/Resistance boon) and Necro (carried by Wells).

Seems that things haven’t really changed too much. You brought up another fact that I disliked about HOT. That being that in order to be viable in small/solo fights, you really need to be running a HOT traitline (daredevil scrapper etc). Which i feel really killed alot of unique and diverse builds that contributed to making roaming fun.

Guess ill give it a pass for another year or two then :/
or who knows, maybe ill get desperate and reinstall anyway haha.

Thxs for the responses

I roam solo on Thief, Condi Reaper, Hammer Scrapper, and if I’m feeling particularly suicidal, Hybrid Ele (which I have absolutely no idea how to play other than mashing buttons on cooldown)

But I see every profession roam solo. Heres the breakdown of what I see and if its power/condi.

Thief – Mostly Power
Necro – Almost Exclusively Condi
Mesmer – Mostly Condi
Engi – 50/50
Ele – Almost Exclusively Power
Guard – Almost Exclusively Power
Rev – Mostly Power
Warrior – Almost Exclusively Power
Ranger – Mostly Bunker.

All I do is solo roam.

The roaming thf death group are never fun to run into when your trying to get to your group. They are out there in full forces and tend to be a lot more useful then a full zerg.

Given my WvW main class, I will solo roam a lot of the times (unless there are guildies on). Despite those that play a counter class/build, I still go balls to the wall against them.

I have seen solo roamers as well as 2-5 man (see more of these however). Below are are the build types I see (as I fight anything and everything lol)

Thief – 75% Power, 25% condi
Necro – 10% power, 90% condi
Mesmer – 30% power, 60% condi
Engi – 50/50 (This also applies to what I See)
Ele – 50% power / 50% bunker
Guard – 40% power, 40% condi, 20% bunker
Rev – 50/50 (condi to power)
Warrior – 80% power, 20% condi
Ranger – 55% power, 35% condi, 10% bunker

Nowadays they usually roam in groups of 4-5 ppl with a healer ele, mostly capping camps and killing solo runners. And just rotating the map.

Some roamers can effectively follow a zerg and kill ranged in larger fights, striking and retreating and getting really good kills from it. But too few lack the skills to do so.

Magnuzone.8395:

Nowadays they usually roam in groups of 4-5 ppl with a healer ele, mostly capping camps and killing solo runners. And just rotating the map.

Some roamers can effectively follow a zerg and kill ranged in larger fights, striking and retreating and getting really good kills from it. But too few lack the skills to do so.

Ahhhh…watching for enemies who leave the AoE bombing safety zone… I love eet

That and tail sniping…aka cutting the tail off…my favorite thing to do lol. (which I love more…less AoE bombs)

Until I know I should back off but feel the need to over extend for a kill and almost instantly regret it,lol.

Ya , people still roam. It’s some times hard cause a lot of zergs running about.

Yeah people still Roam.

Cancer Condi Thiefs
Cancer Condi Mesmers
Cancer Condi Necros

Or atleast that’s what I see 90% of the time in T1 WvW.

I solo roams on mostly my POWER Druid, followed by my condi Reaper, starting to finally use my power Berserker for Solo Roaming as well.

Tho with the proliferation of gank squads of thieves and condi cancer mesmers. I might have to look to changing servers to, one that has a inviting gank squad to lay my head down with.

I still solo roam on occasion with power engi or acro thief…still doable, just have to be careful because more are roaming in at least small groups.

About 1% roams, the others are in groups of 5+ and pretend it is roaming.

Odokuro.5049:

Yeah people still Roam.

Cancer Condi Thiefs
Cancer Condi Mesmers
Cancer Condi Necros

Or atleast that’s what I see 90% of the time in T1 WvW.

Dont forget the 10 man “roaming” groups where they need downed state to win vs less.

Yea I see a lot of skillful solo roamers running with 5-10+ people all the time

Short answer is yes, long answer is not really.

People do still roam, but it’s uncommon to find solos or duos. Most players roll in groups of 3 – 6 depending on how frequently they’re moving around the map. Larger groups tend to linger in high traffic areas for easy kills while smaller ones will make a lot of passes at high traffic areas but won’t often stick around.

Due to the increased difficulty of capturing anything upgraded and the profession power creep, people tend to stick together for safety and efficiency. A lot of the skill involved in combat has been significantly watered down making it easier to pick up but more a matter rock, paper scissors than intelligent play. Which is why a lot of the pro level players (speaking in terms of PvP) have left the game.

So although you can still find players outside their zergs, it’s uncommon to find ones that do so solo or in “reasonable” numbers on a regular basis.

With that said, keep in mind that WvW isn’t a small scale game. ANet have shown time and again that they’re not concerned with that kind of balance. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, but it does mean it’s a lot more likely you’ll find builds that are insanely overtuned that will stay that way for months at a time.

Tldr; Yes people still roam, mostly in larger groups rather than solo however. Balance has taken a turn for the worse, but that’s because WvW is about large scale and not small. HoT power creep has drastically reduced skilled combat. Zerg meta is at an all time high.

EDIT: I used to almost exclusively solo roam pre-HoT but stopped almost completely afterwards. I would still wander around from time to time but it didn’t feel nearly as enjoyable or rewarding as it used to.
In the last couple weeks however, I’ve been roaming a lot more frequently, but this time with a friend. Although I dislike 2v1ing random pugs, I’m at least enjoying myself more because there’s a much greater chance of success when I come across other roaming groups.
So although I’m not having as much fun as I once did, I am still finding pleasure in small scale despite it’s state. Sometimes all it takes is being stubborn and having a friend to chat with to keep doing what you enjoy.

Yeah roaming with a friend is a lot more enjoyable than solo. If I do roam solo I fully expect to come across plenty of Hot cheese builds, I set my expectations accordingly.

I try to focus more on defense of camps , and running yaks when solo. It’s not very often I find single fights that are equal so I just play what I want and try to have fun.

That would depends on what is your definition off “roaming”…
Too me its not dead, but for sure is close to it. 50% of my time in WvW is solo roaming, and from my experience, most people these days plays on group of 3-5. Since the game is not balanced around 1v1, you have to expect to face a lot of cancer builds, so is kind of easy to understand why people would rather join other people while roaming.
To me the worst is how the game have turned into this build wars. Sure, back in the day builds were important too, but you had to have some skill atleast to be effective. More then once i found myself having to play perfectly to get a kill from someone who was playing extremely bad, thing got so ridiculous that I dont even have to bother knocking back and pulling people to my trap(playing DH), players to this by their own will lol, and the best part is that they still manage to stay alive and put some extreme pressure on me….

I solo roam on my condi mes. People will call it cancer but when the only fights I get are 1v2s and 1v3s I think it’s fair..

Also I’ve played condi mes since long before it was considered “cancer” so it’s funny that now people are calling me kittenous kitten for playing a build that I’ve always enjoyed playing.

Almost every day.

Solo roamers roam. Groups of 2-5 don’t roam, they gank.

If you have nostalgia for the pre-HoT days then its not likely you will enjoy the roaming scene now:
-many roam in groups or ‘roam’ along side other groups of people ‘roaming’
- you’re going to have to grind (primarily in pve) to play catchup to gear up with more ebola power level stats that have been introduced
- wvw is more about map blobbing as its ever been
- player culture has changed – i.e. unlikely to have players respect duels or fights in progress, etc

It took them months to nerf Condi ‘Ghost’ Thief, small scale balance is the least of their worries really.

WvW changes and balance changes take months to happen too, so don’t expect Post-HoT to be that balanced, when WvW is not a priority.

There is just too many variables to balance in WvW, it’s like Open world PvP, there’s plenty of diversity, but Condi builds are going to win most fights, in the right hands.

CrimsonNeonite.1048:

It took them months to nerf Condi ‘Ghost’ Thief, small scale balance is the least of their worries really.

WvW changes and balance changes take months to happen too, so don’t expect Post-HoT to be that balanced, when WvW is not a priority.

There is just too many variables to balance in WvW, it’s like Open world PvP, there’s plenty of diversity, but Condi builds are going to win most fights, in the right hands.

Thats true, WvW will never be balanced, its foolish to even expect that. The game is balanced more around sPvP, where everyone is forced to stay on the points, and WvW just like you said, is more of a open world PvP. Not only that but you have all the freedom so choose whatever stats, runes set, sigils and even other buff like foods…honest opinion, i am one of people that trully believe that atlest 50% of what is considered “cancer” in WvW would die, if the game mode followed the same system of sPvP, and by that i mean Amulet system, removal of runes and sigils, and no other buffs…i know that would kill “diversity”, but its not like we really have that right now, right now there are a few builds that completely dominate the game mode(talking about roaming) and a are able to carry players no matter how poorly they play, thanks to over inflated stats and runes sets that should never be made in the first place.

Felipe.1807:

CrimsonNeonite.1048:

It took them months to nerf Condi ‘Ghost’ Thief, small scale balance is the least of their worries really.

WvW changes and balance changes take months to happen too, so don’t expect Post-HoT to be that balanced, when WvW is not a priority.

There is just too many variables to balance in WvW, it’s like Open world PvP, there’s plenty of diversity, but Condi builds are going to win most fights, in the right hands.

Thats true, WvW will never be balanced, its foolish to even expect that. The game is balanced more around sPvP, where everyone is forced to stay on the points, and WvW just like you said, is more of a open world PvP. Not only that but you have all the freedom so choose whatever stats, runes set, sigils and even other buff like foods…honest opinion, i am one of people that trully believe that atlest 50% of what is considered “cancer” in WvW would die, if the game mode followed the same system of sPvP, and by that i mean Amulet system, removal of runes and sigils, and no other buffs…i know that would kill “diversity”, but its not like we really have that right now, right now there are a few builds that completely dominate the game mode(talking about roaming) and a are able to carry players no matter how poorly they play, thanks to over inflated stats and runes sets that should never be made in the first place.

You speculate when you arrive at a number like “50” percent just as people do when they claim 90 percent roamers are thives are “all roamers are condition builds.”

One reason for there seeming to be those chosen builds as far as gear goes is because many will get their builds off metabattle rather then relying on developing their own builds.

I have 5 different thieves as example , all geared differently and all playing differently and all being more then just a little viable in WvW. Were it not for that wide open nature, I would find no need to do this and I woul dbe more then a little bored with the game.

I also play a wide variety of other classes with some 20 odd toons in total and all of them are specced with different gear depending on what I see as their function. WvW allows for this because there diverse roles. Certainly there are sets that the majority would use, but this in great part is shaped by the role a given profession is to play. As exmple if I am going to primarily use my warrior to roam with the zerg, I am going to gear and trait him up differently then if he is going to roam solo.

Added to that while certain runes , sigils and gear types can suit any class, there are a number that a class would never use. A profession with no or little access to interrupts will not gear up with on interrupt sigils. A profession with no access to Burn is not slapping on runes that add to burning duration. Logic dictates that if RUNE X can be used by any class for any Role moreso then a Rune Y , then there will be more of Rune X for that reason and not necessarily because it OP.

There are few gear sets, runes or sigils that I consider as being OP. Those few that did exist such as old perplexity runes were fixed. None of them in my opinion warrant removal and the day they start removing gear in order to mollify the PvP types is the day WvW as I know it and like it for dies.

As to those that deem any build that they do not approve of or that they have just lost to as “cancer” they are a pompous lot overly full of themselves. They have this need to set themselves as seperate from and above everyone else. They want to be defined as “skilled Players” so that every time they are bested, it not due to skill but due to a "cancer build’. There are certainly skills or traits that might need tweaking as they do too much, but this exists across the spectrum of gameplay in each profession and build type and little of it is gear related.

By the way there are instances where roaming with another can be a liabilty. If I am on my thief and end up facing another thief , a Necro roaming with me can do more harm then good. Other thief steals the fear with improv then chains the two fears against my thief with his damage spike. Ouch that hurts.

This does not suggest fear OP it just using the tools you got to their best effect and recognizing some work better against different professions.

babazhook.6805:

You speculate when you arrive at a number like “50” percent just as people do when they claim 90 percent roamers are thives are “all roamers are condition builds.”

One reason for there seeming to be those chosen builds as far as gear goes is because many will get their builds off metabattle rather then relying on developing their own builds.

I have 5 different thieves as example , all geared differently and all playing differently and all being more then just a little viable in WvW. Were it not for that wide open nature, I would find no need to do this and I woul dbe more then a little bored with the game.

I also play a wide variety of other classes with some 20 odd toons in total and all of them are specced with different gear depending on what I see as their function. WvW allows for this because there diverse roles. Certainly there are sets that the majority would use, but this in great part is shaped by the role a given profession is to play. As exmple if I am going to primarily use my warrior to roam with the zerg, I am going to gear and trait him up differently then if he is going to roam solo.

Added to that while certain runes , sigils and gear types can suit any class, there are a number that a class would never use. A profession with no or little access to interrupts will not gear up with on interrupt sigils. A profession with no access to Burn is not slapping on runes that add to burning duration. Logic dictates that if RUNE X can be used by any class for any Role moreso then a Rune Y , then there will be more of Rune X for that reason and not necessarily because it OP.

There are few gear sets, runes or sigils that I consider as being OP. Those few that did exist such as old perplexity runes were fixed. None of them in my opinion warrant removal and the day they start removing gear in order to mollify the PvP types is the day WvW as I know it and like it for dies.

As to those that deem any build that they do not approve of or that they have just lost to as “cancer” they are a pompous lot overly full of themselves. They have this need to set themselves as seperate from and above everyone else. They want to be defined as “skilled Players” so that every time they are bested, it not due to skill but due to a "cancer build’. There are certainly skills or traits that might need tweaking as they do too much, but this exists across the spectrum of gameplay in each profession and build type and little of it is gear related.

I never said that was a fact what i writed, i made it clear it was my opinion…also, i believe your build should be your weapon set+traits, shouldnt have all this focus on gear and stuff. I trully believe that if in WvW we had a more standart stats, it would be way more easier to balance this game mode, there are really good reasons why a few Amulets, runes and sigils got removed from sPvP.
I cant see how this would harm the game mode in anyway, I believe just like sPvP, this game mode must be completely separed from PvE…when we achieve that, and only when we do that, we can start thinking about trully balancing WvW.

Felipe.1807:

babazhook.6805:

You speculate when you arrive at a number like “50” percent just as people do when they claim 90 percent roamers are thives are “all roamers are condition builds.”

One reason for there seeming to be those chosen builds as far as gear goes is because many will get their builds off metabattle rather then relying on developing their own builds.

I have 5 different thieves as example , all geared differently and all playing differently and all being more then just a little viable in WvW. Were it not for that wide open nature, I would find no need to do this and I woul dbe more then a little bored with the game.

I also play a wide variety of other classes with some 20 odd toons in total and all of them are specced with different gear depending on what I see as their function. WvW allows for this because there diverse roles. Certainly there are sets that the majority would use, but this in great part is shaped by the role a given profession is to play. As exmple if I am going to primarily use my warrior to roam with the zerg, I am going to gear and trait him up differently then if he is going to roam solo.

Added to that while certain runes , sigils and gear types can suit any class, there are a number that a class would never use. A profession with no or little access to interrupts will not gear up with on interrupt sigils. A profession with no access to Burn is not slapping on runes that add to burning duration. Logic dictates that if RUNE X can be used by any class for any Role moreso then a Rune Y , then there will be more of Rune X for that reason and not necessarily because it OP.

There are few gear sets, runes or sigils that I consider as being OP. Those few that did exist such as old perplexity runes were fixed. None of them in my opinion warrant removal and the day they start removing gear in order to mollify the PvP types is the day WvW as I know it and like it for dies.

As to those that deem any build that they do not approve of or that they have just lost to as “cancer” they are a pompous lot overly full of themselves. They have this need to set themselves as seperate from and above everyone else. They want to be defined as “skilled Players” so that every time they are bested, it not due to skill but due to a "cancer build’. There are certainly skills or traits that might need tweaking as they do too much, but this exists across the spectrum of gameplay in each profession and build type and little of it is gear related.

I never said that was a fact what i writed, i made it clear it was my opinion…also, i believe your build should be your weapon set+traits, shouldnt have all this focus on gear and stuff. I trully believe that if in WvW we had a more standart stats, it would be way more easier to balance this game mode, there are really good reasons why a few Amulets, runes and sigils got removed from sPvP.
I cant see how this would harm the game mode in anyway, I believe just like sPvP, this game mode must be completely separed from PvE…when we achieve that, and only when we do that, we can start thinking about trully balancing WvW.

If you want perfect balance in WvW then all classes gears and any other CHOICE for a given build should be removed entirely. If people all played the same class and all had the same gear then the only difference between one and the next would be skill.

Awfully boring as far as I am concerned. Choice is what makes the game interesting and the more the better. The only time when choice can be deemed unbalanced is when certain players are restricted from making the same choices as In Player XXX has access to a set of gear that no one else has access to.

Now in WvW not all players are geared the same way. They have found something that they feel works better for them. From a personal perspective , if I encounter a build I have issues with then i enjoy the CHALLENGE of coming up with a build that will beat it.

Making different builds and theorycrafting those builds trying to find some combination of skills traits and gears that synergizes with one another should remain part of the game. As much as the “it should be all about skill crowd” wants to keep repeating that mantra the BUILD a person uses, from traits, to runes to armor to weapons selected is and should be as significant a component of this game as is who can hit a combination of keys on their keyboard faster. The “it all about skill crowd” are not precluded from using any given build and if they are as skilled as they claim to be , should beat any given build.

Felipe.1807:

babazhook.6805:

You speculate when you arrive at a number like “50” percent just as people do when they claim 90 percent roamers are thives are “all roamers are condition builds.”

One reason for there seeming to be those chosen builds as far as gear goes is because many will get their builds off metabattle rather then relying on developing their own builds.

I have 5 different thieves as example , all geared differently and all playing differently and all being more then just a little viable in WvW. Were it not for that wide open nature, I would find no need to do this and I woul dbe more then a little bored with the game.

I also play a wide variety of other classes with some 20 odd toons in total and all of them are specced with different gear depending on what I see as their function. WvW allows for this because there diverse roles. Certainly there are sets that the majority would use, but this in great part is shaped by the role a given profession is to play. As exmple if I am going to primarily use my warrior to roam with the zerg, I am going to gear and trait him up differently then if he is going to roam solo.

Added to that while certain runes , sigils and gear types can suit any class, there are a number that a class would never use. A profession with no or little access to interrupts will not gear up with on interrupt sigils. A profession with no access to Burn is not slapping on runes that add to burning duration. Logic dictates that if RUNE X can be used by any class for any Role moreso then a Rune Y , then there will be more of Rune X for that reason and not necessarily because it OP.

There are few gear sets, runes or sigils that I consider as being OP. Those few that did exist such as old perplexity runes were fixed. None of them in my opinion warrant removal and the day they start removing gear in order to mollify the PvP types is the day WvW as I know it and like it for dies.

As to those that deem any build that they do not approve of or that they have just lost to as “cancer” they are a pompous lot overly full of themselves. They have this need to set themselves as seperate from and above everyone else. They want to be defined as “skilled Players” so that every time they are bested, it not due to skill but due to a "cancer build’. There are certainly skills or traits that might need tweaking as they do too much, but this exists across the spectrum of gameplay in each profession and build type and little of it is gear related.

I never said that was a fact what i writed, i made it clear it was my opinion…also, i believe your build should be your weapon set+traits, shouldnt have all this focus on gear and stuff. I trully believe that if in WvW we had a more standart stats, it would be way more easier to balance this game mode, there are really good reasons why a few Amulets, runes and sigils got removed from sPvP.
I cant see how this would harm the game mode in anyway, I believe just like sPvP, this game mode must be completely separed from PvE…when we achieve that, and only when we do that, we can start thinking about trully balancing WvW.

You make it sound like pvp is actually good in gw2. Plz notice the population of pvp and it’s only getting worse. As for balance… it isn’t any better in pvp, as an ele I find it much worse since healbot is the only option. No I would rather have options in wvw to help counter some of the bad balancing the game already gets

Turk.5460:

I roam solo on Thief, Condi Reaper, Hammer Scrapper, and if I’m feeling particularly suicidal, Hybrid Ele (which I have absolutely no idea how to play other than mashing buttons on cooldown)

But I see every profession roam solo. Heres the breakdown of what I see and if its power/condi.

Thief – Mostly Power
Necro – Almost Exclusively Condi
Mesmer – Mostly Condi
Engi – 50/50
Ele – Almost Exclusively Power
Guard – Almost Exclusively Power
Rev – Mostly Power
Warrior – Almost Exclusively Power
Ranger – Mostly Bunker.

My observation is a little different from yours. But not far off. A lot of what I see roaming/havoking on NA and EU are builds I see in (i mostly sPvP on my EU account for reasons)sPvP as well. Roamers are a lot of the time sPvPers or vice versa. Lately what I’ve noticed roaming/havok are;

Teef- mostly power, but condi is pretty popular
Necro- mostly condi or hybrid
Engi- mostly power bruisers
Mes- mostly condi but power is coming back. Shatter Mes and Power Engi are my favorite to roam solo on.
Ele- pretty much all power
Guard- more power than condi, but lot of condi still
War- mostly power
Ranger- mostly power bruisers
Rev- mostly power, but condi is pretty popular.

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

LOL !

Yes people still roam, a ton !!! Just today alone I got ganked soooooo many times on my non-roaming toon its not even funny, them thieves like to run in pairs ….

Roaming problem is that roamers mainly fight against players that doesn’t even have any kind of chance of winning.

Tongku.5326:

them thieves like to run in pairs ….

Chasing Thieves be like

Roaming is almost all I do now.

msalakka.4653:

Solo roamers roam. Groups of 2-5 don’t roam, they gank.

Roaming was never exclusive to people being solo. I would say 1-3 qualify as roaming. 4-7 would be labeled havoc. And 8+ would be the beginning of zerging.

If you prefer to “roam” in a group of 4+ you will be fine.

I solo roam around 5-8 hours a week. At least on my server (FA), it’s seems like a lot of others do as well, judging by how many times I’ve seen 6 different people roll into a camp from all directions. . . then go off and take a tower and disperse again.

I still solo roam mostly because I don’t have anyone else to roam with. I like my space, too.

I often play a lot of gimmick builds like gunflame warri, burn guard and the occasional full boon duration power mesmer. A lot of people don’t expect it and I find it amusing…. until I get overwhelmed by gank squads of 6+ who relentlessly chase you down and eventually rule the map’s outlier objectives such as camps/paper towers etc.. These groups usually consist of a healbot ele, cancer condi + power thieves/mesmers and the obligatory meta druid builds that are bruiser/bunker. I resort to playing faceroll condi evade spam thief just to have that option of escape otherwise goodluck trying to get away from them on a mediguard or what not.

TLDR: unless you playing the same cancer builds good luck trying to “roam” when there’s 6+ gank squad “roamers” out there.

I used to roam as did many friends,. Often times it’s solo or duo roaming when I did. Unfortunately now it’s rather comped 4 to 5 man’s no giving the casuals a chance to even dodge or stealth duos instagibbing people. Sometimes you will find a solo Condi mesmer or a berserker, either way it’s annoying. The sheer number of passive defense traits and the power creep really took the fun out of it.

I wasn’t a great roamer but I atleast could kill more than I died without even running a meta build but now a complete trash player just needs to put on a couple meta builds and they can easily win. I only like to roam on one class so I find better things to do with my time

Roaming is fun. It teaches you more about your build than being in a zerg (for most cases).

Thanks to roaming, I learned how to fight/beat my counter class(es). I’m not 100% winning vs them (as they are a counter class) but my k/d ratio is far in my favor.

I jump in 2v1’s/3v1’s + if I believe I have even a 5% chance of walking out alive and even surprise myself at times (2v1’d a pewpew ranger and daredevil today while solo roaming…that was a blast). roaming with friends/guildies is also fun (meatshields lol).

I def see a lot of roamers (or groups under 5 ppl). Don’t get me started when I see a ZvZ or see a zerg tail I can cut off joygasm

Still finding a lot of fights for roamers/havocs on various maps. This also includes maps that are full since even when there are zergs there will be tails to pick on and people that will squirrel. And since GW2 is buy once and play whenever you can re-install and check for yourself all for the price of the time it takes to download and install. Good hunting!

neven.3785:

I used to roam as did many friends,. Often times it’s solo or duo roaming when I did. Unfortunately now it’s rather comped 4 to 5 man’s no giving the casuals a chance to even dodge or stealth duos instagibbing people. Sometimes you will find a solo Condi mesmer or a berserker, either way it’s annoying. The sheer number of passive defense traits and the power creep really took the fun out of it.

I wasn’t a great roamer but I atleast could kill more than I died without even running a meta build but now a complete trash player just needs to put on a couple meta builds and they can easily win. I only like to roam on one class so I find better things to do with my time

There’s a reason why condi mesmer and thieves are the majority of solo roamers now. It’s precisely because the xpac traits/abilities have made it more difficult to win outnumbered unless the opponents have very little cohesion.

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)