Guild Wars 2

While the new traps look fun there’s still only a single trait to improve your trap gameplay (adding burning, which is some good damage but doesn’t add depth of conditions to shelter investment of effort against condition removal).

Let’s throw out some things that they could put together into some robust trait bundles at either the Adept, Master, or Grandmaster level.

• -20% cooldown (surprised not to see this already)
• Traps use ground targeting (also conspicuously absent)
• increased trap effect radius
• increased trap max targets (+3?) Fun for WvW!
• Setting traps and traps being triggered removes a condition (very helpful to making a trap-heavy build survivable)
• gain swiftness for N second when a trap is triggered. They step in it, you dance around them.
• when any of your traps are triggered you are granted you a stun-break
• Traps awaiting triggering act as light fields.
• Non-elite Traps can be cast twice before going on cooldown, similar to mantra charges (grandmaster-scale but fun)

I’m sure folks can come up with a ton more .

((I would also encourage the Devs consider adding a stun break when you set the elite trap (or possibly the healing trap) for all Dragonhunters, giving the skill additional tactical layering as something you can use to sharply turn the tide mid-fight as an alternative to pre-casting everything.))

Without ground targeting traps will not be used. Heck even with them they barely get used by rangers.

What about… Traps hits bleed enemies?

@ OP, traps are ground targeted (for all classes that use them) once the new build goes live. It will be a base effect.

Your forth suggestion is moot. They already will have a max target of 5, it will just be a small radius 5 targets have to be in.

Your first & third suggestion would help. Their cool downs are extremely long & they seem to have a small trigger area.

As for my suggestion.

Your traps heal you (amount TBD) when cast & daze (1 second) enemies when triggered.

Ghotistyx.6942:

What about… Traps hits bleed enemies?

Given the very long CD the traps have that should be a base line effect.

I can only see 2 reasons for piercing light to stay as is.

1: Trap CD is reduced by a good margin (say 30-35 second CD)
or
2: They change it to also effect symbols. (Duration of bleed would need to be reduced to maybe 4-5 seconds but that would make it a great trait)

Another idea.

A grand master trait that makes all traits that effect symbols also effect traps & vice versa.

Think about it, symbols that bleed on pulse, Traps that apply vulnerability.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

@ OP, traps are ground targeted (for all classes that use them) once the new build goes live. It will be a base effect.

So the Ready Up video was just plain wrong? I didn’t hear them mention that, but I might have missed it. Traps were was place-at-self throughout the demo.

Your forth suggestion is moot. They already will have a max target of 5, it will just be a small radius 5 targets have to be in.

There is nothing moot about a target cap of 8 .

As for my suggestion.

Your traps heal you (amount TBD) when cast & daze (1 second) enemies when triggered.

That could be very handy! .

I must say I was also surprised that

Nike.2631:

• -20% cooldown (surprised not to see this already)

was missing considering every other skill categories trait has it.

What I was kind of getting from the addition of the cooldown reduction was that if you want to focus on this skills types you will be able to use them more often then other players that didn’t focus. And I feel this should be added to the Traps Trait for this reason.

Nike.2631:

• Setting traps and traps being triggered removes a condition (very helpful to making a trap-heavy build survivable)

I really like this idea as a Trap focused build will be very weak to conditions with none to very minimum slotted condition removal and the Guardian’s small base health pool. I could also see this applying the Resistance boon instead of the condition removal.

Nike.2631:

• when any of your traps are triggered you are granted you a stun-break

This is another problem area with Trap builds, Stuns. I would at least look at making one trap a stun break but not sure which one as none seem to fit this function. It might just be you need to equip another utility for stun breaks. Also maybe granting stability for some stun locking protection.

Nike.2631:

• Non-elite Traps can be cast twice before going on cooldown, similar to mantra charges (grandmaster-scale but fun)

If you moved the Trap trait to a Grandmaster position this could be and very fun to play with. Also if Grandmaster why not let it also effect the elite trait, but I would look at a limit of only 2 traps of the one type out at the same time.

Some very interesting ideas and I feel Piering Light needs more then just trap hits bleed. Let me think of some ideas.

I just keep thinking that if they don’t do something for conditions, stun breaks, or both, the dedicated trapper won’t even live long enough to be a ‘fad build’.

The suggestion of greatly reduced virtue cooldowns in other threads would go some way improve condi cleanse and stun-break capabilities of a DH – but it does lock you into the Virtues line.

Tarsius.3170:

The suggestion of greatly reduced virtue cooldowns in other threads would go some way improve condi cleanse and stun-break capabilities of a DH – but it does lock you into the Virtues line.

Valor has a nice condition cleanse with smiter’s boon & honor has a nice one with pure of voice (it requires shouts however.

But ya DH could use some form of condition clear.

It strikes me as weird that the heal called purification doesn’t actually remove any conditions.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

@ OP, traps are ground targeted (for all classes that use them) once the new build goes live. It will be a base effect.

Did they say that for rangers in the previous ready up? I don’t remember it. Regardless if it was the case why were they not ground targeted in the demo? Just because rangers may get them ground targeted doesn’t mean guardians would, I am confident that at this stage they are not ground targeted, this could change of course.

Nike.2631:

I just keep thinking that if they don’t do something for conditions, stun breaks, or both, the dedicated trapper won’t even live long enough to be a ‘fad build’.

I can see this happening already. I really like the idea of being able to use these new kinds of traps on guards, however they lack the special abilities that meditations provide that can enable some sustain. If traits like the ones listed above were implemented it could increase the desirability of traps and the dragonhunter spec overall.

We need traits for traps that can provide condi clears (more then one condi hopefully), reduced cool down, and if we are lucky swiftness since guards are slow as heck. I understand travelers runes are available but then that would severely reduce your rune choices in future builds.

Stun breaker on traps seems wierd. Stability on the other hand…

Pitman.9210:

Stun breaker on traps seems wierd. Stability on the other hand…

A trait to add a beneficial effect to each trap would be nice.

Purification: Converts a condition into a boon for nearby allies when triggered (600 range) (should also remove a condition for the guardian at base)

Fragments of Faith: Grants swiftness (15 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Test of Faith: Grants protection (5 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Procession of Blades: Grants retaliation (8 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Lights Judgment: Grants fury (6 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Dragon’s Maw: Grants might (3 stacks, 10 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

Pitman.9210:

Stun breaker on traps seems wierd. Stability on the other hand…

A trait to add a beneficial effect to each trap would be nice.

Purification: Converts a condition into a boon for nearby allies when triggered (600 range) (should also remove a condition for the guardian at base)

Fragments of Faith: Grants swiftness (15 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Test of Faith: Grants protection (5 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Procession of Blades: Grants retaliation (8 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Lights Judgment: Grants fury (6 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

Dragon’s Maw: Grants might (3 stacks, 10 seconds) to nearby allies when triggered (600 range)

I honestly think just adding short duration protection and stability is enough. Something like “Traps triggered apply protection (2s) and stability (5s) to you”. If you don’t like conditions run one trap less and/or make sure you got a light field you can shoot through.

Thanks guys. Good input. I should have considered Stability-through-Trap-Traits.

Hopefully ANet will consider it (or something like it) too.

First off, I misread the first post, so I’m going to give some actual thoughts now.

1) Traps need a cooldown reduction aspect. The traps look strong, but kitten cooldowns as base make me not really want to check traps out.

2) Finishers on traps. Procession of Blades absolutely needs to have a whirl finisher on it (Light field anyone?). Fragments of Faith could afford a blast finisher when it pops.

3) Something in addition to bleeding on hit would nice, although I’m not sure what it should really be. Afaik there are 4 traits that affect traps with the new specializations. 2 are traps on heal (we have a healing trap so that seems redundant though very powerful) and the other two are recharge traps on cd for 10s when you steal (they generally have around 35s base cd) and the other is larger aoe, longer conditions, and cd reduction (these have between 15-30s base cd, but only 1, 3, or 5 pulses). Perhaps we could lower our trap recharge based on virtue activation (5s per or so?). If they’re planning on changing the trait that gives aoe prot on virtue activation, and they like the boon application portion, they could split that trait in half and implement the above while they think of a new other half for that grandmaster.

4) I don’t really see us getting a boon or stunbreak based on trap use/activation. It seems like it would be clunky to use, and traps and related traits now and in the future don’t really afford that kind of functionality. (Stunbreak on Dragon’s Maw does seem interesting though)

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

@ OP, traps are ground targeted (for all classes that use them) once the new build goes live. It will be a base effect.

Your forth suggestion is moot. They already will have a max target of 5, it will just be a small radius 5 targets have to be in.

Your first & third suggestion would help. Their cool downs are extremely long & they seem to have a small trigger area.

As for my suggestion.

Your traps heal you (amount TBD) when cast & daze (1 second) enemies when triggered.

You are wrong and are confused with the new ranger traits. The ranger traits became ground targeted by baseline. We don’t know about any other classes and the Dungeon in Hunters doesn’t seems like it.
Most probably self target and short lifespan for what i saw in the video. So you must hurry!!

I think the grandmaster for guard with prot needs to be removed and replaced with a 20% trap cd reduction mabye if it also allows your symbols to bleed on ticks?

Frightlight.3796:

I think the grandmaster for guard with prot needs to be removed and replaced with a 20% trap cd reduction mabye if it also allows your symbols to bleed on ticks?

Had a similar idea in another thread.

Just change the piercing light trait so that it makes traps & symbols apply bleed when they do damage.

Then change deflecting shot so it is a knock back at base. (and considered a block)

Then change the trait heavy light so that it reduces trap cool downs by 25% and makes each trap grant a boon to nearby allies when triggered.