Guild Wars 2

Three times in a single match I tried to shroudstomp someone, and still got interrupted by them, because FiTG’s pathetic 3" stability doesn’t last long enough to get off the stomp! If DS worked like it used to, where you could flash in/out of it midway through an action (like a channel or a stomp) this wouldn’t be a problem, as you could activate DS after you began the stomp.

DS is an instant cast skill, so I don’t understand why it’s the only instant cast skill in the game that interrupts you when you’re trying to stomp someone! Why do Guardians get to use their virtues, eles their cantrips, warriors their stances, and engis their elixir Ss, without interrupting their stomps and channels, but necromancers can’t use their shroud, which doesn’t even offer the invulnerability, multiple stability stacks, or aoe blindthat these other mechanics do?

Did it ever really work like that?

I think the real reason it doesn’t is a technical issue, since your skills change and it’s treated as some sort of a transform? Just a speculation.

plague let’s actions like stomping go through.

Axelwarrior.9084:

Did it ever really work like that?

Yeah it did, but I don’t think it was intended to: before it was changed to allow us to interact with things while we were in it, you could start a stomp or a channel and then hit DS immediately afterwards to go into it without interrupting your stomp. Now this no longer works: activating DS interrupts actions (same as leaving DS interrupts actions, which is why Life Transfer no longer keeps channeling if you run out of life force midcast).

I think the real reason it doesn’t is a technical issue, since your skills change and it’s treated as some sort of a transform? Just a speculation.

Don’t think it’s a technical issue (Elixir S and Mist Form also lock out your skills and they still work), but, frankly, I don’t care. It’s annoying, unfair, and they should fix it.

Been plague stomping since….ever.

Plague stomping is a little trick but it isn’t like Rampage where you can stomp whenever you wish.
DS always interrupted stomps and resses if you entered it while channeling the stomp/res. You were able to do a trick where you start a res/stomp as you enter DS and it would allow you to finish your action but now we can res/stomp while in DS, so the trick isn’t needed.
The thing that sucks is not bring able to continue your action when you start it while in normal form, and THEN enter DS and stability doesn’t last long enough so…
I usually try to start a stomp, then when I see the enemy do the push back or knock down from downstate, I quickly enter DS and start channeling again and finish em. It’s annoying, but it works… and it annoys your enemy.. which is always nice

Also: to my knowledge mist form cant interact with thing when you are already mist.

Meanwhile rampage midstomps whole team every 100s.

CodeHavoc.7926:

Been plague stomping since….ever.

Thanks for the insight. Did you walk into the wrong thread or something? :p

MethaneGas.8357:

DS always interrupted stomps and resses if you entered it while channeling the stomp/res. You were able to do a trick where you start a res/stomp as you enter DS and it would allow you to finish your action

Yeah I know it TECHNICALLY interrupted them, but, in practice, once you learned the shroudstomp trick you could do it properly. Moreover, if you ran out of life force midstomp it didn’t cancel the channel!

but now we can res/stomp while in DS, so the trick isn’t needed.

Of course it’s needed! The stomp takes 3.5", the stability you get from FitG is only 3. Plus, because you have to use DS immediately BEFORE starting the stomp (instead of after starting the stomp like with the old shroudstomp trick), the stability runs out about 2.5-2.75" into your stomp, giving them a decent window to interrupt you. And since we lost boon duration from attribute lines there’s no way to extend that.

The thing that sucks is not bring able to continue your action when you start it while in normal form, and THEN enter DS and stability doesn’t last long enough so…

Agreed. That’s exactly what I’m asking for. If you could do that you could start stomping in normal form, tehn flash DS when you see the interrupt coming. It’s such a short duration of stability that it’s unreasonable for them to expect us to enter DS BEFORE we start the stomp!

I usually try to start a stomp, then when I see the enemy do the push back or knock down from downstate, I quickly enter DS and start channeling again and finish em. It’s annoying, but it works… and it annoys your enemy.. which is always nice

That still means your stomp takes a 1-2 seconds longer though, since flashing DS interrupts your previous stomp. In a team fight that’s usually enough time for the downed person’s allies to get him up, or for them to do enough cleave to down you.

Also: to my knowledge mist form cant interact with thing when you are already mist.

Yeah, they can use it like the old shroudstomp trick though, start stomping then immediately enter mist form. Same with elixir s.

It always interrupted actions, the fact that it didn’t was a lag abuse. They just need to up the stability duration so you can stomp fully in DS covered by that stab, but it interrupting actions is meant to prevent “abuses” like casting normal abilities while in DS.

Bhawb.7408:

It always interrupted actions, the fact that it didn’t was a lag abuse. They just need to up the stability duration so you can stomp fully in DS covered by that stab, but it interrupting actions is meant to prevent “abuses” like casting normal abilities while in DS.

Is it really that much of a problem? I mean ele does swap attunements mid cast all the time.

What if you started to heal then went into DS? Or used elite + death shroud? Then there are issues of your skills being unequipped while in DS so you would still self-cancel almost everything, which they’d have to fix. Assuming that wasn’t an issue though, things like Foot in the Grave and Death Perception would get balanced around being able to activate skills before entering DS for massive boosts to their damage or not being able to interrupt them.

There are just a lot of possible abuses, bugs, and more weird interactions for something that doesn’t provide that much benefit.

Hmm i have to admit i never thought about the heal into ds and a few otjer stuff you mentioned bhawb…

Are all chaneling abilities the same, or could there be a way to have intereacts only , while weapon, utilty skills would still cancel like they do now?

Flumek.9043:

Are all chaneling abilities the same, or could there be a way to have intereacts only , while weapon, utilty skills would still cancel like they do now?

I’m not sure, honestly, because I don’t know how they coded their interacts. I would imagine it would self-cancel everything, but I’m not sure it is really worthwhile just to be able to start your stomp and then enter DS later.

Bhawb.7408:

It always interrupted actions, the fact that it didn’t was a lag abuse. They just need to up the stability duration so you can stomp fully in DS covered by that stab, but it interrupting actions is meant to prevent “abuses” like casting normal abilities while in DS.

Well, you call it lag abuse, by which I assume you mean something we weren’t meant to be able to do. But the fact that they held off fixing it until they decided to give us the ability to stomp and revive in DS should probably tell you that they knew about it, they were able to fix it, but didn’t cause they realised we needed some way to mitigate damage and interrupts while stomping/reviving.

Also, the fact that they “fixed” it for us, and DS now interrupts actions, but that they haven’t fixed it for stuff like Mist Form or Elixir S, even though they clearly CAN, should tell you that they don’t consider it an exploit or abuse for any skill that allows you to do that. Every other instant-cast skill in the game, whether it’s a transform or not, does not interrupt actions: look at shatters, Plague Form, Spectral Armour/Walk, attunement switching, cantrips, etc. DS is the one and only exception, and what that means is that FitG is useless for securing stomps, because you have to activate DS before starting to stomp and the stability duration is shorter than the stomp!

I agree with you that upping the stability duration (possibly the number of stacks too) would also be a way of fixing it. To be honest, I’d like them to do that anyway. I mean it’s a GM trait for crying out loud! But DS interrupting actions should be fixed regardless, because it’s an unnecessary inconvenience and it’s simply unfair that it has this additional restriction that all other skills of its type do not have.

As for the potential problems you raise, I disagree on all counts:

Bhawb.7408:

What if you started to heal then went into DS?

Then being in DS would block the heal, though it would still go on cooldown. So yeah… sucks for the necro, but not a balance problem :p

Or used elite + death shroud?

Well they’re both transforms so the one you activated second would theoretically cancel the first, but I don’t see how that would happen since going into Plague/Lich locks your F1?

Then there are issues of your skills being unequipped while in DS so you would still self-cancel almost everything, which they’d have to fix.

Not a problem. Eles can activate most skills and change attunement mid-cast, the skills don’t cancel, with only channeled skills like Meteor Shower as an exception. They’re not meant to cancel! A skill finishes activation even if you no longer have it on your bar in all instances, that’s how chain skills work man! It’s not an exploit or anything, it’s how every other profession works.

Assuming that wasn’t an issue though, things like Foot in the Grave and Death Perception would get balanced around being able to activate skills before entering DS for massive boosts to their damage or not being able to interrupt them.

I don’t see the problem there either – first of all you CAN still interrupt them through corruption, and secondly it’s fair game to use stability to secure the cast of a burst skill – it’s a skillshot. Hell, mesmers even have a trait that gives them 5" of stability whenever they activate a shatter, which sort of combines the two! With Deathly Perception you can already do it: everyone goes into DS after casting their wells to get higher crit chance!

There are just a lot of possible abuses, bugs, and more weird interactions for something that doesn’t provide that much benefit.

You only see them as abuses because you’ve been conditioned by the devs to think we don’t deserve stability, or the right to use our skills in synergy with each other. Try playing some mesmer, warrior, or elementalist and see how fluid gameplay is with them, how everything works in conjuction with each other instead of fighting each other, and you’ll see what I mean dude.