Guild Wars 2

I’m thinking, since many say Power Block isn’t good because thief is basically excluded from the effects, why not create a good PB build that is created under the assumption that we don’t face thieves? After all, we can check the opponent’s professions in sPvP before hand.

So, firstly, good idea?
Secondly, anyone have any thoughts on a PB build?

Here’s why power block sucks.

1. Interrupts are already an iffy mechanic. Many skills don’t have visible animations or long enough cast times to be interrupted, including the majority of commonly used heals.
2. With normal interrupt traits if you manage to get an interrupt, you’ll get the effects. With Power Block, you only get the effect if it’s not an autoattack or channeled skill.
3. Power block doesn’t work on ressing and stomping, which are the bread and butter of team-fight interrupts
4. Power Block doesn’t work on thieves.

So basically, you take an unreliable mechanic, make it not work on thieves, and then make it additionally not work on another large subset of skills, and you end up with a worthless trait that nobody should even consider taking.

Thieves are affected by PB, interrupt their HiS heal and they are dead. PB is mostly for blocking heals anyway.

Dagins.5163:

Thieves are affected by PB, interrupt their HiS heal and they are dead. PB is mostly for blocking heals anyway.

Oh really? Let’s take a look at what healing skills most classes use then. Note that no skill with less than a 3/4s cast time is effectively interruptable through skill.

Guardian
Shelter: Not interruptable by a mesmer.

Warrior
Healing Signet: Not interruptable.

Engineer
Healing Turret: Healing Turret with a 1/2s cast time is effectively not interruptable.

Ranger
Troll Unguent: 1s cast time makes this actually interruptable.
Healing Spring: 1/2s cast time makes this effectively not interruptable.

Thief
Withdraw: Not interruptable.
Most thieves use withdraw. Hide in shadows is very rare to see due to its obvious downside.

Elementalist
Ether Renewal: Very interruptable. Eles are usually good about applying stability to protect it though, so you have to strip that first.

Mesmer
All mesmer heals are easily interruptable with the exception of the signet, but it’s no good in pvp anyway.

Necromancer
All necromancer heals are easily interruptable.

So power block is used for blocking heals? I hope you don’t expect on interrupting effectively 6/8 classes when they usually heal, because you won’t.

Back when PB was a thing (before the “fix”), most were running a good 6/4/4 build. Problem is that the effects are very situational and further, Confounding Suggestions trounces PB in every way. I’d honestly never run it in it’s current form, especially with CS competing for the spot.

I like the way the balance devs are thinking but they need to work on it a bit more to make interrupts have more of an impact with a trait like this.

Predicted this long before it was brought into the game… they didn’t really do much with it..

it would have been better if you get a 5 sec daze when interrupted ö.ö

@Fay
I agree PB is an underpowered trait (like 90% of the new ones), but if you manage to interrupt that heal, it entirely shuts down your target.

Dagins.5163:

@Fay
I agree PB is an underpowered trait (like 90% of the new ones), but if you manage to interrupt that heal, it entirely shuts down your target.

Yes, if you manage to interrupt a heal with power block it can be damaging. Did you not see my analysis on healing skills that people actually use? There’s incredibly limited opportunities to actually interrupt heals, and even the heals that are technically interruptable can be protected in multiple ways (stealth, stability, blind, good positioning, etc).

Question though, assuming you are more interested in medium~large fights where you interrupt or at least always try to interrupt multiple targets with things such as GS5, Sword4, Staff5 and MoD, would Power Block be useful for the “huh why isn’t this working”-moment? I mean, that moment kills in larger fights.

And what exactly do you want to interrupt? Cuz melee is only spamming 1 mostly and they cba about a 5 sec longer cd on that skill that you actually interrupted. Then again, interrupting melee is hard as feck due 90% upkeep of stability mostly on incomming. If they don’t have stability they will most likely already die by your melee so that 1 interrupt probably didnt do too much.

Interrupting a heal is nice, but it’s already strong as it is. Usually you can easily win the fight by interrupting the heal without the trait. You don’t specifically need the trait to make it extra worthy.

The cooldown on #1 skills was the only reason it made it good. 10 seconds was surely too long, but 5 seconds on skills without cooldown and 10 seconds on the rest of the skills seems more than fair to me. (Channeling skills obviously already go on full cd so they don’t get affected by this trait)

As skcamow have said, CS is better than this. Tried it, yes it does add the cd, but your opponent is not lockdowned in a sense because, he/she can still move. I would rather trait CI or CS over them.

If it was changed to like Rangers moment of clarity.

Increase Daze Duration by 100%, The immediate daze used are now spread to 5 targets 10 sec ICD.