Guild Wars 2

A rather straight forward proposition for the Confusion condition specifically in PvE (read: pve only change), make Confusion work similarly to Torment.
In other words, have it inflict a a certain amount of damage over time, plus additional damage when the target attacks.

Due to the stack cap, conditions are already rather unviable in group PvE content, but Confusion suffers in particular do to it’s nature of being dependent on the enemy’s reaction to its application. Or more simply put, it’s weak in PvE. Some might even say “it’s a PvP condition”.
Mobs don’t react to its application, and balancing how much damage it does is rather difficult because it’s so situational: you have caster mobs who occasionally use a skill, boss mobs that often (but not always) have slow attack speeds, physical combatants who typically attack rather quickly, etc. By giving it a base damage over time, at least one component of the damage can be constant across the board, and as such able to be properly balanced and relied on by the player applying it.

Bit of a tangent from the point of this thread, but making Confusion more viable in PvE also helps the over all condition stack cap problem by broadening the pool of usable conditions. We don’t have to worry about condition overlap if we’re using different conditions from our ally’s in the first place. Between this, the introduction of torment, an increase to the bleed stack cap, and perhaps the introduction of one final new damaging condition, we might not have the stack cap problem in 5man groups anymore.

Problem is that this game is balanced around WvW and PvP.

I think the double-damage Confusion deals in PvE is a bit unneeded, in any case. As a quick fix, remove that (so it deals consistent damage in all three modes), but double the duration instead.

Ikaros.5730:

Problem is that this game is balanced around WvW and PvP.

Bullsh|t… This game’s PvP and WvW is as important as the PvE part. And there are plenty of changes just to buff PvE, like mainly Mantras or Illusion HP, or pet HP in general. Little PvE haters like you make me sick.

Btt: Yes confusion requires another change in PvE. At the moment it deals double damage in PvE than PvP. But I guess the way confusion works is awesome, but the mobs attack way too slow. Instead of changing every mob’s skills I really support this suggestion to let it work kinda like Torment.

But I would decrease it’s damage to PvP nubers then:

• Confusion damage in PvE decreased by 50%
• Confusion deals damage wheneever an enemy starts an action (attack, heal, …)
• Confusion deals one tic every 2 sec

Regardless of which mode GW2 is “balanced around”, Arena Net has the ability to balance things independently for each mode, and this change is proposed as a PvE only change.
Confusion in PvP is interesting because it creates a lot of choices. On the user’s side, it’s effectiveness can vary wildly depending on when you use it. For example, confusion burst right as the enemy starts their offensive is dramatically more effective than using it while the enemy is running away. On the recipient’s end it also creates decisions, all of which are of benefit to the inflicter: either use a cooldown and cleanse, wait it out by not attack (or using less abilities), or continue attacking but take the damage.

All of this decision making is gone in PvE, because mobs don’t react, nor is it feasible to give them such sophisticated human-like decision making and reaction.
So Confusion just ends up being damage, damage that is highly variable due to the wide variety in NPC ability-use rate. As such it becomes unbalanceable and in this case ultimately mediocre.

Giving it a damage over time component circumvents this, while maintaining some of it’s uniqueness as a condition. And instead of being the weakness of the condition, that uniqueness now gives the Confusion user a small variance in effectiveness, resulting in specific roles they can fulfill in certain circumstances.
Your group’s confusion Mesmer will be effective across the board, but you’ll really want to send him in against those pesky fast attacking rifle mobs, while the rest of your group deals with the melee mobs. (just an example)

The best thing would be to change most of the mobs attack speed. They should use different skills, fast ones, slow ones, to balance confusion and retalation with blocks. It also would greatly increase the ingame expirience to decide what to block and what to “tank”. But yea – much work :s

True, the best thing to do is change the mobs. I mean look at the Toxic mobs, they have to be finished & they rezz each other. That’s lightyears above what other mobs do, and actually pretty cool.

They also seem to dodge sometimes. Maybe we should test confusion there and see how it works.

It’s funny how they “say” ‘confusion is too strong in wvw. It kills your HP too fast when the mesmer can stack 5 confusions and you mindlessly keep autoattacking. Better half the damage.’
Then they implement a living story where mobs easily inflict 10+ confusion stacks on you with full damage, while they often don’t get a single confusion tick.

Balancing seems still to be much more important for PvP/ WvW. And they have to be able to no-brain with autoattacks. And better implement a condition which punishes you while moving.

Ikaros.5730:

Problem is that this game is balanced around WvW and PvP.

You’re delusional if you think Arenanet balance around WvW.

Nretep.2564:

It’s funny how they “say” ‘confusion is too strong in wvw. It kills your HP too fast when the mesmer can stack 5 confusions and you mindlessly keep autoattacking. Better half the damage.’
Then they implement a living story where mobs easily inflict 10+ confusion stacks on you with full damage, while they often don’t get a single confusion tick.

Balancing seems still to be much more important for PvP/ WvW. And they have to be able to no-brain with autoattacks. And better implement a condition which punishes you while moving.

I always think it is odd that mobs that can apply confusion hurt more than our confusion does.. Reef drakes get a few stacks that last what 10 seconds? It is always a longer duration then ours and they stack it much faster.

I wrote a suggestion almost exactly like this a while ago: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Confusion-in-PvE-1/first#post3128748

I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling confusion needs to be improved in PvE. :p

It just sucks being able to get +15 stacks of Confusion and then watch as the enemy just stands there or runs around like a headless chicken until most of the stack is gone, then attack.
I like the new Toxic NPC’s because they have faster skill use, if only all NPC’s were like that then confusion would be a lot more efficent. But I doubt Anet will change how every single NPC works just to make confusion better, would be easier just to change how it affects NPC’s by making it tick for damage like Torment does while keeping the damage on skill use as well.

Xyonon.3987:

Ikaros.5730:

Problem is that this game is balanced around WvW and PvP.

Bullsh|t… This game’s PvP and WvW is as important as the PvE part. And there are plenty of changes just to buff PvE, like mainly Mantras or Illusion HP, or pet HP in general. Little PvE haters like you make me sick.

Excuses me! Im a dungeon runner so dont assume anything about me, i rarely WvW/PvP. With that said all the balance issues iv seen so far have rarely come from a PvE issue most nerfs happen because of a PvP issue.

And while i agree there are some changes that need to happen to PvE it wont happen till there is a split in the system between PvE and PvP/WvW, but Anet has already said a few time that there not gonna implement separate systems for PvP/WvW/PvE, even tho they should.

Ikaros.5730:

Xyonon.3987:

Ikaros.5730:

Problem is that this game is balanced around WvW and PvP.

Bullsh|t… This game’s PvP and WvW is as important as the PvE part. And there are plenty of changes just to buff PvE, like mainly Mantras or Illusion HP, or pet HP in general. Little PvE haters like you make me sick.

Excuses me! Im a dungeon runner so dont assume anything about me, i rarely WvW/PvP. With that said all the balance issues iv seen so far have rarely come from a PvE issue most nerfs happen because of a PvP issue.

And while i agree there are some changes that need to happen to PvE it wont happen till there is a split in the system between PvE and PvP/WvW, but Anet has already said a few time that there not gonna implement separate systems for PvP/WvW/PvE, even tho they should.

…they already have. Multiple times on multiple classes…

I don’t view changing mob attack speed as a viable solution.
From a practical stand point, not only would it be a huge undertaking to change mobs across the entire game, it would also be undesirable for many mobs. Some mobs are meant to have slower attack rates, many bosses and champions in particular so that they can properly telegraph what they are doing.
And for all that effort it would take, it doesn’t even solve the problem. Mobs don’t act like humans, nor is it realistic to ever expect them to. You’re still losing Confusion’s best aspect: the decision making it incurs. If in PvE it’s just there to do damage, then just make it do damage in a reliable and easily balanced way.

Not to mention it becomes useless as soon as you start kiting.