Guild Wars 2

So first let me say the FT is a great kit. However, people aren’t using it as it should be used. When you go into lets say another weapon kit (grenades, bomb kit) you auto attack with it. You do damage with it. With the current meta in usage of the FT kit, you use it for it’s utility (blinds, knockbacks, the explosion). You hardly see anyone bothering to stay in the kit, much less get juggernaut. It just current isn’t viable.

Here is why.

The kit sacrifices too much surviveability for its low damage. When you’re in the kit auto attack, you can’t dodge. You can’t block or anything. You only have the blind. The current meta of the game (and has been since launch) is comprised of using skills in rapid succession. Such as using high damage skills one after another to push out huge burst damage. Using high defensive skills in rapid succession to heal and stay alive. So the FT kit only has one main defensive ability, that is its knockback and its blind. The blind can save oyu for one attack, but it wont save you for long since most classes have an abundance of high damage skills and CC. The knockback, same thing. It may buy you some time, but not nearly enough to survive in a battle.

Since the recent patch, I saw the new dire state. Vit, Tough, and condi damage. I figured I’d give it a try with the FT. First I traited 10/30/0/30/0. A common all around FT build that traits for damage, surviveability. I used it with the elixir gun of course. The damage was ok, but not nearly enough to be effective in battle. For example I found a ele in WvW and we decided to go akittenone on one. I used my FT, my elixir gun, and my elixir R to help me survive in the battle with him. I was popping all my stuff and trying to do most of my damage with the FT. The ele actually stopped moving/dodging. Stood still and just spammed it’s attacks. It was doing a lot of damage to me and thanks to its skills it was able to heal its self and actually negate the damage from the FT. The battle didn’t look like it was going to end soon since I was furiously pushing everything I had to stay alive while he stood there spamming. Eventually a thief/warrior combo came up behind me and killed me in about .5 seconds.

So even with a lot of toughness, vit, and condi damage I couldn’t take out a ele who wasn’t even bothering to be defensive and a thief/warrior was still able to do 6k + to me despite the toughness. Now if I was the meta build with bombs/grenades and perm vigor and dodge spamming I probably could have survived, heck I probably could have killed the ele.

I just find that the FT is a great kit for utility, but it sucks as a weapon kit and its damage/survivability ratio is so bad thakittens not worth getting traits or staying in. I dont feel like using it as it was supposed to be intended to use is viable at all.

Does anyone else have success stories with the FT? Mainly in the PvP theater. If so where, what were your traits, and any other important information.

FT is not a condition kit. Spec for power and try again.

FT is also not really a 1v1 weapon. Use it on groups.

I use the flamethrower in PvE content, places where theres alot of enemys.
The damage on the auto-attack isnt that impressive on a 1v1 setting, but its got a huge aoe cone. Something everyone keeps overlooking. The main appeal however is skill2. this thing hurts. Best if you let the orb hit the enemy then explode it.
I stay in FT most of the combat, but I do drop to rifle to use Blunderbuss, overcharge and jumpshot, then right back to FT.
Its definatly a power kit in the manner that I use it. With high crit and the 50%chance to apply vulnerability on it, your auto-attack can be useful for softening up the enemy between flame blasts.
I do apply burning and bleeding alot with it due to traits and the skills themselves, but Its not my main focus.

I dont PvP, so I dont know how it would work in that setting.

Seras.5702:

FT is not a condition kit. Spec for power and try again.

I’ve tried that before. I’ve tried soldiers and berserkers. Also rampagers and I always see the same conclusion when I look at what we put out vs what we take when compared to other classes and specs we can use. Everytime it seems like I’m sacrificing so much survivability for the sake of low damage output.

Look at the latest NERF video I just posted on our video thread in this forum. I use FT and not even Juggernaut or HGH.

Deified.7520:

With the current meta in usage of the FT kit, you use it for it’s utility (blinds, knockbacks, the explosion). You hardly see anyone bothering to stay in the kit, much less get juggernaut. It just current isn’t viable.

I really think this is only an sPvP thing. And I agree. The FT is not all that great there. But it’s awesome in PvE and it’s great in both zergs and roaming in WvW.

I think this is just how things are going to be. Look at the Tool Kit. Do you see people using it as a main kit in PvE? Some weapons are better in certain situations and are worse in others.

I’ve learned to accept that not all builds work in all situations. I certainly would never recommend taking a full Berserker with Scholar runes Guardian into a zerg—but it’s one of the most effective and most entertaining PvE builds.

Phineas Poe.3018:

I really think this is only an sPvP thing. And I agree. The FT is not all that great there. But it’s awesome in PvE and it’s great in both zergs and roaming in WvW.

I use it in WvW and love it, sure a few changes i would make:

1) Flame Blast – make it so that when its detonated it leaves a burning puddle on the floor with a reasonable radius that burnings for 2 seconds every second you are in it

2) Napalm – Personal opinion but i think it would be better if rrather then an AoE You fired it at a target and the area between you and the target becomes the burning area when in range using it will inflict 3 seconds of burning and deal reasonable damage, nothing to amazing but having the flaming area between you and the target would be great – Kinda like the ele burning retreat staff skill

3) Smoke Vent – Could be overpowered but a smoke combo field would be GREAT! hell even increase the cool down a few seconds to make it happen and i would be happy.

Pretty much everything else is okay, of course the overall damage could be increased but who doesnt want more damage? more survivability?

I do have a question though, does the Might given with the Juggernaut trait increase based on Boon/might duration? currently i see it sitting at 6 stacks most of the time, will spike up when i weapon swap (i have Battle sigil). Would increasing Boon duration increase the number of stacks i get?

Yes, Boon/Might Duration affects Juggernaut. It can give between 5-9 stacks of Might depending on how much you have (2 Hoelbrak/2 Fire/2 Strength being the maximum).

Personally I think they should either increase the cone width or the range, 450 is puny for a flamethrower, it should atleast be 600-700.

Flamethrowers/Torrents in RIFT felt pretty nice, being long range but thin-width column aoe’s, where you’re actually spraying a column of flames like a real flamethrower, you also had to commit to do dmg (being a frontal channeled attack) but with good dmg and range there was a time and place to use it.

The knockback would then pair very well with the extra range, and make it an ok ish mid range skirmish weapon.

For napalm it would be cool if it was like an oil slick that just crippled a tiny bit, but when could catch on fire to do dmg and become a fire field.

I do really enjoy using FT as a utility. For 1 utility slot it’s really great. Burning from toolbelt, spike damage on #2, short cooldown knockback #3, fire field #4, blind #5. I just can’t figure out a way to enjoy the auto attack so I don’t use it for anything beyond utility, and I never stay in it more than a second at a time when I have it slotted. I’m open to suggestions because I do like the idea of Juggernaut, but I haven’t seen a way to make the auto attack good for me.

I love the FT but as it is now (and as others have said) it works best using 2-5 and then something else for damage/autoattack. But using FT auto is just so much fun that it needs a buff. My suggestion:

- Reduce number of ticks by 1/2 and double the damage each tick does (same damage:time ratio but with less succeptibility to retaliation-suicide)
- And then bump up the damage by a fixed percentage to make its autoattack a more acceptable source of damage.

Skills 2-5 are fine imo. Though I wouldn’t complain about Smoke Vent becoming a smoke combo field.