Guild Wars 2

The devs asked for people to post if they felt the spirit of their build would be broken given the specialization changes they talked about today. I thought it might be useful to create a thread that let people provide a bit more granular feedback on their impressions of how the changes would affect their current build as well as raise questions or concerns.

There are nice notes on Dulfy here: http://dulfy.net/2015/04/24/gw2-specializations-ama-livestream-notes/

I’ll make the first entry with a format that I hope is easy for devs to scan.

Build: Trapper
Primary play style: WvW (roaming)
Gear:
- All dire stats
- Shortbow Axe/Torch
- Trapper runes
- Geomancy x2, Corruption, Leeching sigils
Pets: Marsh Drake, Jungle Spider
Current traits:
- Marksmanship: Keen Edge
- Skirmishing: Primal Reflexes, Trapper’s Expertise, Trap Potency
- Wilderness Survival: Shared Anguish, Hide in Plain Site, Empathic Bond

New version of build:
Skirmishing: ? , Trapper’s Expertise, Light on your Feet
Wilderness Survival: Abidexterity, Shared Anguish, Empathic Bond
Third specialization is unclear – maybe Beastmastery

Is the spirit of the build preserved? Yes

Questions/concerns:
- Assume that all traps are ground targeted now in baseline?
- How does 1/2 second arming on traps interact with trappers runes if at all?
- Will base crit chance be high enough that any on-crit traits are useful?
- Will shared anguish have HIPS built-in? It’s moving from 90 to 60 second cooldown but HIPS is gone.
- Will healing spring be a trap?
- Will druid specialization work with traps?
- Beyond this build: how are conditions really changing?

But wait eldenbri, Traps are not finished yet, while the arming sounds meh, they told us that they will balance traps around it so…

In all honesty It might get buffed

Hey sticker – totally agree that they are not done yet. I’m not actually worried about my build, I think I will still be happy with traps if these changes happen (it’s really hard to know because most builds are getting buffs).

Since I make software for a living, I thought it might be helpful to give a thread that was at least somewhat structured for quick reading so that devs could understand where people were coming from and what they thought of the future for their build given the information presented today. I think that’s easier for them to consume than a bunch of posts that say “it’s great” or “it’s horrible”.

I run 2/6/6 hybrid longbow trapper and I don’t think I can replicate the build exactly with the new changes. For example, to run 3 traps in WvW I take Warhorn to maintain swiftness speed and to blast finish trap fields (or spring), but offhand training is gone so I feel a little kitten unless I try 0/6/6/6/0. I also took Sharpening Stone in Marksmanship which has been moved.

I would love it if the call of the wild trait in Marksmanship was useable outside of combat.

Looks like Beastmaster will be stronger than ever. Here are some possible set ups I see.

Shout Beastmaster
Beastmastery: Resounding Timbre, Natural Healing, Beastly Warden.
Nature Magic: Bountiful Hunter, Vigorous Training, Protective Ward.
Marksmanship: Beastmaster’s Bond, Steady Focus, Remorseless.
Sooo many outgoing boons just from swapping pets on top of perma regen and quite a bit of tankiness. Not to mention a blast finisher with every pet swap. Could swap Vigorous Training for Windborne Notes for even MORE regen spam but it might be going overboard.

Offensive Beastmaster
Beastmastery: Companion’s Might, Wilting Strike, Beastly Warden.
Nature Magic: Nature’s Wrath, Vigorous Training, Protective Ward.
Marksmanship: Beastmaster’s Bond, Beastmaster’s Might, Remorseless/Predator’s Onslaught.
Lots of Weakness, good amounts of vigor, and the pet’s F2 causes enemies to move TOWARD them while they apply weakness and their damage. The pet is going to hit pretty hard and it’s F2 is almost guaranteed to land… It’s a beastmaster’s dream come true.

My only confusion is why the Marksmanship line has so many traits tied to the pet. Truth be told I probably won’t use a bow with either build, so it’s a bit weird to specialize in Marksmanship when I’m not even a marksman. Aside from that little flavor hangup the new setup seems ideal for the kind of builds I want to play.