I currently love the LB/Staff combination. Adds a very different way to play the class. However, I think it’s a bit underwhelming. I realize it’s meant to be a support/healing weapon, but the effects seem meh for the most part. What do you guys think?
1. I like the Auto attack, even though it sounds like a submarine Doppler radar. Maybe make it unblockable or up the damage/healing a bit, maybe add a blind effect to the 3rd pulse.
2. The wisp is both slow and underwhelming. It would be great if it was like Guard Scepter 3 where it immobilized and healed.
3. I love the skill, not sure what I would change if anything, maybe add some protection at the end as well as the heal for 3 seconds.
4. I have mixed feelings about this. I like the range, I like the condi cleanse, I’m not a fan of it being in a straight line, maybe a frontal arc or aoe effect. The immobilize is too short in my opinion.
5. This skill is sub par for a 5 skill. It lasts only 5s for a 25s CD timer, unless you take the staff trait over Druidic Clarity (LOL). I wish Primal Echoes was part of the minor adept trait. Anywho, I feel it should straight up block projectiles, not make them pass through and heal, or, make the field larger and decrease the cd or increase the duration, maybe have it grant regen or healing while standing inside the wall.
Thoughts?
(edited by Furajir.3815)
1 – Yeah, that submarine sound makes it a bit tad too ridicilous… However, I personally would keep the damage on AA as it is, this is the only thing that’s better than the longbow’s #1.
What I would love to see is an added burning to this attack. Nothing too significant, just a little something that actually stays true to the SOLAR name…
Actually, the blind on 3rd hit would go well with the burn too. Sun spirit does the same with its active, burn+blind.
2 – Yes, I agree on this one, this skill needs more punch or an extra attribute to it. I could imagine a weakness added to this one. Wouldn’t immob be too much on this?
3 – This is probably the only skill on staff that is perfect in my opinion. I’m not sure I’d add anything to it, really. It’s a great evasion skill with awesome range, heal and also a very helpful blast finisher.
4 – Now this one is in desperate need of rework/buffs. This is probably the most underwhelming skill staff has. I’d personally go crazy here and add a heavy condi to this one. (To compensate that long cast time and the difficulty of landing it.)
I could also imagine it leaving behind a trail that pulses, tormenting enemies. Similar to mordrem snipers, but of course dealing less damage than that.
5 – Well, this one being a water field is pretty great and the projectile defense is somewhat okay. But I agree on this one too, underwhelming…very much so. How about it pulsed boonstrip for opponents passing through/standing in it? And perhaps add a boon or two to it for allies standing in it? How about the protection you mentioned for #3?
Overall, my biggest issue with staff is that it has zero synergy with condi builds. Adding one or two conditions to skills would make this weapon a lot better in my opinion and of course would open up more options for different builds.
(edited by PeterPrime.1730)
rofl…he/she wants to take a balanced weapon and put it on steroids.
rofl…he/she wants to take a balanced weapon and put it on steroids.
Balanced? LOL. I guess it’s as balanced as Rev sword.
The staff is a fantastic weapon, but it doesn’t really do anything. It sort of does damage and it sort of heals and it sort of protects your allies.
I guess CA is basically part of staff, so that evens things out enough that I can’t complain. CA does stuff.
The staff is a fantastic weapon, but it doesn’t really do anything. It sort of does damage and it sort of heals and it sort of protects your allies.
I guess CA is basically part of staff, so that evens things out enough that I can’t complain. CA does stuff.
Yeah, this, it’s a great weapon, just kinda like…..MEDIOCRE
(edited by Furajir.3815)
Mostly these.
I don’t understand the need to make a defensive weapon unblockable?
I could understand a request for a boost to the auto in terms of healing power scaling though. That would need to be evaluated with Astral Force generation in mind of course.
The staff is a fantastic weapon, but it doesn’t really do anything. It sort of does damage and it sort of heals and it sort of protects your allies.
I guess CA is basically part of staff, so that evens things out enough that I can’t complain. CA does stuff.
Staff exists for AF /CA.
If you look at the damage it is horrific.
How’d I change staff…
Add 1 or 2 second burn to the third hit of staff auto attack
Add 1s burn to any enimies hit by the wisp on staff #2, would function just like the heal (would also keep default effect)
3 would stay the same
4 would stay mostly the same, reduce cast time by 50%, increase immobilize effect to 2 or 3 seconds as it is a hard enough skill to land and make the entire skill proc at once and not function like revenants hammer #2
5 would be mostly the same, but instead of turning projectiles into healing projectiles it would destroy them and cause a 480 radius AOE heal for 170 hp heal that would scale with healing power (maybe follow the same healing and multipliers as regeneration)
These are mostly quality of life changes, and would make staff a slightly more viable weapon for a condition build. Even if the burn uptime from AA lasted 2 seconds would be much lower than that of a necro AA’ing in reaper shroud, and the #2 would be our source of aoe condition pressure (would cause a 1s burn every second).
Even if the burn uptime from AA lasted 2 seconds would be much lower than that of a necro AA’ing in reaper shroud, and the #2 would be our source of aoe condition pressure (would cause a 1s burn every second).
With some condi duration you could easily stack 2-3 stacks of burning with autoattack only. Add some bleeds from sharpened edges (which already works well with staff) and people will just melt to staff autoattacks with basically zero counterplay. And please don’t compare a 1200 range fast ticking beam attack to reaper shroud’s melee attacks (also don’t forget – dhuumfire is a grandmaster trait, necros don’t get the burning for free).
Blind as proposed would be ridiculous op too. Tragic Positive’s changes look reasonable, but everything else – just no …
I don’t get, why so many people want to buff the autoattack. 1111111 isn’t a very fun playstyle and even now you won’t do more most of the time when using staff …
-snip
With some condi duration you could easily stack 2-3 stacks of burning with autoattack only. Add some bleeds from sharpened edges (which already works well with staff) and people will just melt to staff autoattacks with basically zero counterplay. And please don’t compare a 1200 range fast ticking beam attack to reaper shroud’s melee attacks (also don’t forget – dhuumfire is a grandmaster trait, necros don’t get the burning for free).
Blind as proposed would be ridiculous op too. Tragic Positive’s changes look reasonable, but everything else – just no …
I don’t get, why so many people want to buff the autoattack. 1111111 isn’t a very fun playstyle and even now you won’t do more most of the time when using staff …
People want to buff AA because nothing else about the staff is offensive except 4… and lol at that skill…
If you don’t want an AA spam weapon then don’t ask for things you’d change about a AA spam weapon…
As for the traited necro burn you could easily tack this onto the minor staff trait for ranger so MAYBE it would see some use instead of the stunbreak condi clear one (druidic clarity?)
Also the autoattack from end to end takes about 3 seconds, this includes after and pre cast. In that three seconds you will NOT stack more than a single burn if it only lasts a single second, even with max condition duration (which is 100%) you would top out at 2 seconds. Also did you not realize 100% burn duration increase is impossible on ranger in pvp? I’m guessing not…
And just so you can’t pull some numbers out of your bum, there is a hard limit to boon and condition duration increase, and that is 100%. If the base boon lasts 6 seconds it will never exceed 12 seconds no matter how much boon duration you stack. The same goes for conditions…
I have a love/hate relationship with Druid staff… I love the 3 skill, and i love the synergy between 3+5 for the blast of water, and the 4 skill can be really nice, but for the most part everything other than the 3 skill just FEELS lack luster. I love the theme of the weapon, but it’s just lack luster in the overall theme, granted it does fill its role better than any other we have.
I think it’d be pretty cool if our 2 made it so the target became a walking light field, and if our 1 skill had a burn/blind on it, and if our 4 removed like immob and 1 random condi, or applied poison, or moved faster, or was like…. idk, it’s cool, and it’s nice, but it just feels weak.
But most importantly, for the love of all that is holy make our staff stop being a submarine!! At the very least put an option in the in the sound section that lets me turn off the submarine noise… Why couldn’t we have kept the original sound where it just sounded like us pouring energy into the target?
staff is good as is, besides maybe #4 which is kinda slow to cast and moves too slowly on the ground, and the root is a little short.
If you don’t want an AA spam weapon then don’t ask for things you’d change about a AA spam weapon…
If you don’t want a utility/healing weapon then don’t ask for things you’d change about a utility/healing weapon…
Right?
Also the autoattack from end to end takes about 3 seconds, this includes after and pre cast. In that three seconds you will NOT stack more than a single burn if it only lasts a single second, even with max condition duration (which is 100%) you would top out at 2 seconds.
One full autoattack (3 pulses) takes about 1 1/2 seconds to complete. And with 50% condi duration (100% ARE possible in PvP, probably not optimal though) a 2s burning becomes 3 seconds. And 3 seconds every 1 1/2 seconds are perma 2 stacks. With more duration (again, it is possible!) you can reach 3 stacks. Totally balanced …
How I would change it:
Skill 1: Double attack speed, make it hit 6 times in 1 chain, also buff the damage coefficient. This would do better damage and generate AF at double speed. Ranger’s AA chain has way less dps than other class like Rev, Warrior, Thief, Guardian. Ranger sword should buff to the level of Thief dagger or Rev sword. Greatsword should buff to the level of Warrior greatsword. So Staff can be buffed to be like long bow AA currently. Also, Long bow AA should get buff too.
Skill 2: Reduce cast time / animation lag.
Skill 3: Add an aoe daze/stun effect, make it break stun/immobile
Skill 4: Reduce cast time / animation lag. Double damage.
Skill 5: Skill 5 is ok.
I would LOVE if Primal echoes came base or even as a minor trait. Not only does it look kitten but it would help a lot.
Allow Staff 1 to be used without a target.
Make #1 skill a channel with like 5-6 hits in 3s. Make #2 skill an AOE area skill that damages foes and heals allies. #3 is fine, #4 needs a faster cast time and wider spread, #5 is fine.
1- Burns long duration so it can apply some stacks in the target.
2- I like the circling thing, the wisp burns and blind around its target. Apply 2-3 stacks of burns for 1-2 seconds. Main objective: be useful against groups. Still heal allies.
3- It’s fine like it is.
4- Ranged AoE that cleanse allies and apply roots in foes (same as Ancient Seeds) up to 5 targets.
5- This one is bad, the more i try to give it any use the worst it seems. Maybe apply CC to no one can cross without stab. And apply longer duration to the wall.
Basically the staff needs more offensive value. The ranger/druid base damage is really low already, we have to abuse the crit and fury to be able to do some damage.
Just to put it in perspective:
I am seeing blows of 3-4K damage from the Revenant’s hammer basic attack, 10K with Coalescence of Ruin (4 second CD, 1200 range, no cast)
We are forced to use the staff, at least make it rewarding. And so i may be able to get some bags in WvW.
I Love Staff; However, there are some annoyances with it.
Staff 1: Solar Beam
There should be a chance to apply 1 stack of burning… even if it’s 20% chance. There is no condition option what so ever with Staff and this skill is ideal for burning. This would also allow for interesting groupings such as: Short bow + Staff. Axe+Torch +Staff.
Staff 2: Astral Wisp
I really have no complaints about this at all. I love using this for raids and PvP when a thief tries to get clever and run away. If anything, I would increase the size of the wisp… It’s a little hard to see.. especially in a group setting.
Staff 3: Ancestral Grace
I have no complaints in it’s current form if anything, maybe remove the number of targets restriction or increase it from 5 to 10. Keep the radius of 240 the same. This will help out a lot for raids.
Staff 4: Vine Surge
Only thing I do not like about it is how short the Immobilize is.. Currently it’s 1 1/2 seconds… to me it should be 2 1/2 if not 3. Also, it’s vines… just like entangle I think there should be some bleeding attached to it. Obviously not the same level as Entangle; however, I do think it should apply 1-2 stacks of bleeding.
Staff 5: Sublime Conversion
Like every staff skill so far, I think the range should be 1,200 as well.
Besides that I love it.
the only change i would make is apply a few seconds of cripple to #2.
most of the buffs i see here are way over the top.
the only change i would make is apply a few seconds of cripple to #2.
most of the buffs i see here are way over the top.
They could be if the staff would be a normal weapon. It is not, does half of the damage the shortbow does without conditions. Around 300 per tick in a power build
So the staff needs a serious bump to be at least in line with the greatsword (the example of an utility weapon for the ranger).
Also more skills to discourage stacking in WvW would be so much fun. Right now is just a blob wars, the server with the bigger blob wins.
Which leads to AC wars and, and siege wars are the most boring thing i’ve ever seen.
But that’s nothing new having in mind we yet have to see other weapon options than the longbow and greatsword, after 3 years being the class so full of bugs and absurd design decisions.
In a power build staff auto has similar dps to shortbow auto (with flanking), not half. In a condi build shortbow has obviously more dmg. GS auto (untraited) has slightly less dps than both. If we only look at autoattacks, staff hasn’t worse dmg than most ranger weapons (only sword and max range lb beat it).
druid should have been more like core necro and staff should’ve been melee. a dedicated healer in guild wars is like taking a bandaid to a gun fight.
Problem is, PvP wise staff already has great damage and survivality. Any buff to it would make the stronger ranger weapon even greater, so maybe straight buffs arent the best decision, but some lil reworks here and there.
1. Send a star to your target to deal damage upon impact and to foes it hits along the way. The star then orbits the target, healing allies it passes through. The same target can have up to three stars orbiting them at any time.
This would be timed so that, under sustained fire, you could stack 3 and the 4th would hit just as the 1st wears off. This way you could always attack the same foe without wasting the orbit effect. I mean, unless you had quickness. I left the beam behind because I didn’t think it was as castery as I had envisioned the druid to be. As more stars are added to one target, they’ll update to be evenly spaced. 2 means they would be on opposite sides, 3 means they’d be spaced 120 degrees apart.
2. Summon a shower of stars on the target area, dealing lowish damage (maybe also a short burn that could stack to 3 max just from this skill) to enemies while healing and cleansing a condition from allies with each pulse.
Astral Wisp was essentially moved to 1, so something new had to be added here. Staff doesn’t really have any big, really powerful looking archemage type spells. It’s also lacking some good old traditional aoe damage, especially now that the continuous beam is gone.
3. Keep it the same. I think it’s basically perfect.
4. Almost the same. Immobilize bumped up a tad to 2 cuz it’s a little short. Now also applies 2s of Weakness. Loses the condition removal factor. I just don’t think that part makes sense, and now you have condi cleanse on 2.
5. Create a barrier that turns hostile projectiles that pass through it into healing orbs which travel a little further and then drop to the ground to be picked up by allies.
The issues with the current sublime conversion are as follows…
The healing projectiles are slow, and can be dodged accidentally simply by moving.
Being targeted while on full health, or just not in immediate need of healing can mean that the effects of this skill can be wasted completely.
Having the skill cause any projectile targeted at anyone to produce a healing pack that can be reliably picked up by anyone who actually needs it fixes these problems. It also makes wounded allies gather behind the wall so that you can Ancestral Grace up to it to blast it and give them an extra dose of heals.
(edited by Treetoptrickster.4205)
Wow, I don’t know what you ranger mains think, but staff is completely balanced, better than most core spec weapons. If you only see damage and healing as an benefit, you are stupid. I’m sorry, but it is true. Staff has good healing, a 15 second BLAST FINISHER which is also used for mobility, a 25 second projectile destruction, which turns them into healing projectiles. The AA does more damage than elementalist scepter (which is suppose to be a pure dps weapon), necromancer axe and a bunch of other weapons.
If anything, I would like to see #2 skill buffed, with added COUNTERPLAY of course.
Also, you can’t just judge a weapon in a “void”. You must judge it with other skills and traits with it. Just because S/LB builds aren’t used in sPvP doesn’t mean that the build is underpowered. It is just because of projectile destruction that longbow is bad and staff is basically a no-brainer.
At this point, all I want if for staff to be useable underwater.
Staff auto needs a new, less annoying sound effect(same with DH traps). It also needs a damage reduction instead of a damage increase.
At this point, all I want if for staff to be useable underwater.
It should considering #1 makes that sonar ping sound.
First time I heard it I thougt I was on the hunt for Red October
Astral Whisp (#2) could do something different. It’s quite fire&forget and while cool as a concept, doesn’t bring anything to gameplay.
What if it did AoE damage around the target (including “whisped” enemy or not) whenever you heal an ally (outside of Regeneration)or do percantage of your healing output as damage in small AoE? That would add something to gameplay of Staff and help slightly with the lack of any AoE/“burst” damage on it while keeping the theme. It just shouldn’t have too much uptime to add some timing skill to it and not be weak debuff you have to keep up 100% of time.
(edited by Rym.1469)
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