Guild Wars 2

Am I the only one who feels weak underwater?

I’ve always felt the monsters took way too much of my health (and lasted longer) underwater, so I bought an exotic Spear to see if it was lack of damage. Didn’t change much.

Out of water, I can take 4~5 with ease, my traits boosts Symbols, damage, healing and Greatswords.
Inside the water… I can only count on my 20% CD reduction on my skills, but the damage feels so pathetic I have a really hard time killing a single monster underwater (compared to out of the water, of course).

I noticed I was avoiding being underwater most of the time (Straits of Devastation is a nightmare), and that I’d go out of my way to pull monsters into land than fighting them underwater.

Anyone else feels like this?

Same for most classes really. Underwater combat in general needs a major overhaul.

I really like guardian under water. I figure water is difficult of everyone so the encounters are tuned for it. Just keep hitting spear #2.

I feel nigh unkillable with the Trident. It bounces all over the place healing and doing damage. Not huge amounts, but combined with the Heal, you can take on a lot. Trident #4 will stop projectiles coming in and overwhelming you.

The damage on the Spear #2 is very strong, the auto-attack might be a little weak though. You’ve got a blind on #3 and a pull & 5 second burn on #5. I find #4 to be not that useful, usually only doing 500 or so damage as mobs pass through it once. If you can get the mobs into a corner and then use it you get a lot more damage out of it though.

If you’re having trouble staying alive you should’ve bought a trident as the spear doesn’t offer much defense outside of its blind, the trident however offers more support and survivability. Try using your spirit weapons when underwater. Underwater combat is a breeze when you use your spirit weapons and trident together.

with spear #4, I tend to fire it on top of a mob and once they’ve drifted out, use #5 to drag them back inside – it’s still pretty weak though

It’s not an issue of staying alive or killing particular X monsters.
It’s the difference between killing the same monster on land compared to underwater.

On land I hit about 1k, 1.5k with a Greatsword. I go underwater, and my auto-attack drops to 600 a hit. It’s faster, but not to the point of being worth the damage drop.
Sure, Zealot’s Fury is strong, but so is Zealot’s Defense, Whirling Wrath, among others. I have the same blind as I would with a Sword/Greatsword, a useless Spear Wall that does little to no damage (even if it hits) that I use mostly as a movement skill, and a gap closer just like I’d have with a Sword/Greatsword.

But the point isn’t utilities. It’s the damage.
And also there’s the monster with the stupid skills such as Zealot’s Fury that is the same as ours, except it takes roughly 40~50% of my Health (I have 19k health and 2400 Armor) if I don’t dodge it. Or the Elementalist’s Water Attunement piercing attack (Kodans in Frostgorge use it) that easily take 60~70% and is kittening fast as hell.

I don’t do 40~50% in a single skill on any monster underwater… on land though, I easily do.

For me, it’s just different and I’m not as comfortable as land combat. That’s why I avoid it as much as possible. Having to swim to surface when I’m down is something that I dislike as well. I do it though as sometimes underwater combat is unavoidable. I prefer the trident over the spear. It suits my playing style more.

You need to switch between trident and spear more. Trident #3 is a great AOE. I used to just stick with spear, but found I killed stuff faster and survived longer by constantly switching out between the two weapons. Also, you need to trait your underwater bar appropriately. Sanctuary is an amazing skill underwater, since all damage is projectile based. Also, spirit weapons are fantastic underwater as well. The Spirit Sword and Shield can be lifesavers.

what Ultramantum said. i used to not liek the trident, because the attacks seem wimpy. but was i wrong. the spear and trident together offer a LOT of skills – DPS, control, blinds, defensive, healss, retaliation…

1. on trident is very strong. i often switch between the two weps, but i will always drop this on an enemy before switching back to spear.
2. on trident is very decent too i’ve noticed. i try to pop this whenever i can and or protect those around me.
3. is actually very useful too. if you feel you’ve bitten off more than you can handle, then sink one enemy to get them off your back for a bit and focus on the one left behind.

i agree that sometimes i will still try to lure them near shore, where they can’t hit me (if they’re strictly underwater mobs) and then bash away with my hammer. though i’ve seen myself crit over 1k, and i’m using only masterwork underwater weapons at the moment. i see this quite often with spear #2 (LOVE this skill)

to add, i was level 80 for a week before i realized you could still assign 6 – 0 skills! O___________o lol, after that, i started to enjoy underwater fights a lot more.

I love playing under water in GW2, and also like the combat there. Just remember that you CAN dodge under water too (especially against mobs like the kodans in Frostgorge Sound), and make use of ALL your weapon skills. For utility, I mostly keep Smite Condition, Purging Flames and Judges Intervention on my bar (I use a meditation build so meditations also heal me).

Is underwater combat slower than land combat? I don’t know. Mosty use spear, and feel its OK.

Sometimes feels like I’m using autoattack only for a while, maybe the other weapon skills could get shorter cooldowns (although I already use 20% faster re-use on 2h weapons from honor trait, this should affect underwater weapons, right?).

I’ll ask the same thing I ask everyone else about underwater combat:

Have you set up your slot skills for underwater?

I found that most warriors that felt weak underwater with a 5 signet build, neglected to put the 5 signets on their bars underwater.

Newbie swimming tip: Judge’s Intervention helps a lot with getting near a mob without being disoriented.

Spirit Weapons are also a great underwater choice.

If you’re not an engineer, stay on dry land. It is hilariously clear that there is little in the way of balance; I don’t really find this to be a major problem, because as long as my gear was up to date, I fared well enough in underwater pve to make it through anyway