Guild Wars 2

The Greatsword: a weapon which allowed the Ranger to butcher Warriors, Guardians, and Thieves alike during beta, but which soon after was nerfed straight into the ground, making it utterly useless. Even after the recent minor buffs to Maul and Counterattack, it remains a secondary weapon at most, and is completely unviable as a main weapon. The damage simply is way too low, and the nerf during beta seems to indicate that Anet does not want the Greatsword Ranger to be a source of damage. But then how can we make the Greatsword as great as its name implies?

Exactly: making it a Blast Finisher.

Why is this a good idea? Because first of all, Rangers do not have a single Blast Finisher in their entire arsenal, that is, if you’re counting out the bugged Drakes, which I am. Also, it would turn the Greatsword into a weapon extremely viable for two very distinct builds: the support/tank Ranger, and the trap Ranger. The support/tank Ranger will be able to provide AoE healing by Blasting his own Water Field, while the trap Ranger will be able to provide himself and others with Might and Frost Auras.

And that is only taking the Ranger’s own combo fields in account. In group situations, combo fields are up nearly 24/7. Who cares if the Greatsword has low damage if Maul has a Blast Finisher? The weapon would become like the Guardian’s Hammer, which likewise has a #2 which is an AoE damage blast finisher and also has several defensive/cc tools. The weapon would become extremely viable, and with it, the entire concept of the Melee Ranger would be lifted up into the clouds.

This one change alone would greatly improve the Ranger, or at least in my opinion. What do my fellow Rangers think of this? And if the devs are reading this: what do you think of this?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Suggestion-Make-Maul-a-blast-finisher/first#post1196674

???

Oh, my. There’s already another thread suggesting the exact same thing. I even posted in that thread. Remind me to plug the leak in my memory.