Guild Wars 2

As a long time trap fanatic, I would like to share few thoughts of traps focusing on what’s wrong with them now and how they could be improved.

What I feel are wrong with traps:

• 2 traits that are pretty much required in every trap build. One master and one grandmaster trait.
• Traps are located in the “wrong” traitline meaning that they don’t benefit from the tree’s attribute bonuses.
• Low base damage from triggering the traps.

Suggestions:

• Instead of moving traps to Wilderness Survival and further tying them to condition damage, increase the base (direct) damage of traps. The correct number should be somewhere between 50%-100%. Doing this would allow traps to gain more benefits from the tree’s precision and critical damage thus making them an option to even some power builds. Viper’s Nest could be worked into a “power trap”.
• Have Trap Potency and Trapper’s Expertise swap places. Even with an increase to traps’ direct damage component, conditions remain at the core of these skills. By having Trap Potency as a master level trait, players who prefer the more “traditional” way of trapping (laying traps at your feet instead of throwing them) would gain the damage bonus they need without needing to use the additional 10 trait points. I would also believe Frost Trap to gain in popularity.
• Have the Spike Trap’s immobilize from Trapper’s Expertise apply without needing to trait for it. Simple yet powerful change which would enhance the skill’s basic functionality a lot.

With these few changes I could see myself running traps much more diversely than I do currently. But that’s just me. How do others think of traps? Feel free to share your own ideas in the comments.

Traps do need a bit of work but overall are pretty good.
I often use one even untraited. But being in the precision line should make sense somehow.
Agree on swapping range/size for condition damage/recharge traits.

Suggested by myself and a few others now, including OP, absolutely, particularly the damage scaling on the traps. Increasing their direct damage scaling immediately makes them good utilities for their traitline, and as a much easier fix than virtually anything else ever suggested on the forums for traps ever.

So yes, I love your suggestions. They need to be repeated over and over again, because they are good, and deserve the devs attention and at least internal attempt at discussion/implementation.

+1

Yup! We definitely need more talk around here of both traps and power based play.

Good ideas.

With traps I envisioned a power based play around longbow and traps, but it seems that that in particular never really worked out.

Traps should be the logical way to keep melee off you for a power build bow ranger.
We just need too darn many traits to make it work.

I actually think the best answer is to make both trap traits just part of how traps work normally.

give frost trap a damage component that scales with power. that would immediately open up 30/30/10 power trap builds.

Bombsaway.7198:

Traps should be the logical way to keep melee off you for a power build bow ranger.
We just need too darn many traits to make it work.

I would imagine this is what Frost Trap was made for. The trap scales only from condition duration which is conveniently located in our power tree. On the PvE mobs the skill works pretty well actually. You lay the trap, wait for it to tick few times and then push your foe back with Point Blank Shot leaving it with few seconds of chill. With Trap Potency you can easily leave your target with +5 seconds of chill after PBS. Quick followup with Rapid Fire/Hunter’s Shot also maintains the chill for few seconds longer without too much trouble.

The problems arise when we leave the PvE for more challenging environments of WvW and PvP. It becomes increasingly difficult to get the full benefits of untraited Frost Trap when your target can move and dodge as they please. Trap Potency can still make the skill successful but this is also where it becomes more or less a necessity. This was one of the reasons I would like to see the trait lowered from grandmaster to master level.

faeral.7120:

give frost trap a damage component that scales with power. that would immediately open up 30/30/10 power trap builds.

This is something I could appreciate, in PvE/WvW at least.

Both frost trap and spike trap should have a decent DD component.. they are the 2 most likely to be used with power builds. Flame trap I think is fine as it is, with such a low CD buffing it might be a bit excessive. Vipers nest needs a lot of work.. I personally favour giving it weakness and vulnerability (maybe 3 stacks per tick), which would make it more useful in many situations.

And I agree with the previous suggestion that the 2 trap traits should swap places… I’d still use both, but it kinda sucks that the one that is REALLY important is the GM, meaning you kinda have to trait all the way or not bother at all.

We need a REAL elite trap .

urdriel.8496:

We need a REAL elite trap .

Agreed. Trap in the spirit of Smoke Trap or Dust Trap from GW1 seems to be completely missing from the game. Maybe we could have something like this:

• Smoke Trap: Set a trap that blinds foes. (Creates a smoke field when triggered (3-5s), 1-5 pulses, 40-60s cooldown, secondary effect?)

Secondary effect could be another condition, boons to allies, condition cleansing… But yes, absolutely, we should have an elite trap.

Blind and confusion, twice the size of ordinary traps, 90s CD. Be so awesome

Imho the trait to be able to throw traps is really unnecessary. If you run into someone that is trying to kite you, you won’t be helped much by 600 range thrown traps. For melees you won’t need that either. Could be just me, but I totally can live without throwable traps. The only part where its useful is at sieges. But even though the triggered traps have a larger areay of effect, the trigger is still too small. And I think that on a full rabid trap build traps do actually beenfit from the trait line, as some pulse and can crit, and can apply bleeds that way. The reason I don’t go into marksmanship and nature magic is because I don’t have room for spirits, don’t need boon duration as I have limited access to boons, and I don’t need power, as it doesn’t affect a full rabid build that much. I tried to go into beasmastery, but wasn’t worth it really if you ask me. What I want as a trapper is my bleeds on maul back. I loved that. Swoop, maul, drop trap, swap for geomancy sigil, was pretty awesome.

What traps do need imo is stunbreaks.

Cufufalating.8479:

Blind and confusion, twice the size of ordinary traps, 90s CD. Be so awesome

Confusion eh… I like the sound of that.

nagymbear.5280:

Imho the trait to be able to throw traps is really unnecessary. If you run into someone that is trying to kite you, you won’t be helped much by 600 range thrown traps.
…
What traps do need imo is stunbreaks.

With Trapper’s Expertise you can play rather offensively while still maintaining decent range to your opponent. I’ve never really tried it the other way around, playing with full melee build, but I would imagine there to be at least some advantages from Spike Trap’s immobilize. Overall, I find the trait to be quite a lot of fun.

It sucks that you can’t have a stunbreak when going all in with traps but I feel like that’s the price you have to pay. I also cannot find any connection between laying a trap and breaking stun so it would feel silly, to me at least.

I’m pretty sure one of the necro wells is a stunbreaker.

Maybe for the elite trap idea they could give us a knockdown similar to GW1 spike trap. It would definitely help trappers with kiting.

Completely agree. Frost trap could use a bit of DD.

I would love an ability to put 2 traps of each kind out vs 1 instead of the limited ranged throw.

i think changing the two trap traits is not solving the problem
its like with coming change that moving spirits is in master tier instead grandmaster
for me its the same with placeble traps
an idea just comes to my mind i dont know if it helps
what about just switching some effects of the traits instead the whole traits?

and instead of switching some traits with wilderness survival like one dev suggested i woukd rather like to see switching traits with markmanship. so they can trigger with power and dondition duration
but maybe thats the reason why anet didnt made trap traits in this line
could be too strong to have a 30/#/30/#/# build. traps with condition dmg and duration? sounds cool but i can see that thiaswould be nerfed some time

I came in here expecting another thread suggesting the traits be moved to the other traitline. I was very surprised when I read the post…your idea is perfect. Would love to see those changes.

After reading PolarLights’ thread about traits that double skill’s effectiveness (Bombsaway already touched the subject of fusing trait effects to normal traps earlier in this thread), I can’t help but to wonder how traps would feel with 50% more base condition duration. Here’s a small comparison:

• Spike Trap: bleed 5s -> 7.5s, cripple 2s -> 3s (+1s immobilize)
• Flame Trap: buring 1s -> 1.5s
• Frost Trap: chill 1s -> 1.5s
• Viper’s Nest: poison 3s -> 4½s

This would leave Trap Potency with +33% condition duration.