Guild Wars 2

Sharpening Stone needs a massive rework. This skill is insanely underpowered and with a 45 second. Yes, 45 second, cooldown, it’s basically useless. If you’re running it for the condition cleanse Wilderness Knowledge, there are much better alternatives.

My suggestion is a complete and total overhaul to the skill.

Current
Sharpening Stone
Bleed foes with your next five attacks.

Suggestion
Sharpening Stone
Melandru’s Assault
Your next projectile based attack bounces 3 targets and has a 100% chance of being a projectile finisher (for the first target). 35s CD.

Reason
This enables a multitude of possibilities and compatibility with multiple weapon sets.

Examples

Poison Field + Melandru’s Assault + Poison Volley
This combination, if all 5 immediate projectiles hit a target, would cause 10 stacks of poison on the initial target (5 from each Poison Volley arrow and 5 for each arrow being a projectile finisher) and then 5 stacks of poison on each following target (5 from Poison Volley and no longer projectile finisher).

Light Field + Melandru’s Assault + Hunter’s Shot
This combination would remove a condition and grant 3 seconds of stealth (for each hit of Hunter’s Shot).

Ice Field + Melandru’s Assault + Winter’s Bite
This combination would apply 1s chill to the first target (projectile finisher) + Winter’s Bite’s bleed, chill, and weakness to each target it hits. If you have Honed Axe’s traited Winter’s Bite is now an AoE skill striking foes adjacent to struck foes.

As you can see, the flavor of this skill is awesome. What do you think? What combinations can you think of?

Extreme Theory Crafting
Just to further elaborate let’s look at one last possibility.

Melandru’s Assault + Point Blank Shot
While traited with Wilderness Knowledge and Ancient Seeds
This combination would remove a condition upon hitting the first target and knock each struck target down.
1. Cast Barrage on a point, damage starts rolling.
2. Melandru’s Assault + Point Blank Shot a target (Removing conditions and granting fury from Wilderness Knowledge.)
3. Barrage strikes knocked down foes triggering Ancient Seeds on each target (since it was a simultaneous hit from Barrage all foes will trigger Ancient Seeds.)
4. Profit.

Too much coding
Still doesn’t solve our reflect problems
It doesn’t have anything in common with it’s former effect
You already made it sound useful…

We all know it’s not going to happen.

No thanks.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Sharpening-Stone-Suggestion-1/first#post6185553

Puck.9612:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Sharpening-Stone-Suggestion-1/first#post6185553

Your suggestion looks awfully familiar to something I already suggested…..

UnitedChaos.8364:

Puck.9612:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Sharpening-Stone-Suggestion-1/first#post6185553

Your suggestion looks awfully familiar to something I already suggested…..

Meh, I’m pretty sure I could dig through posts I made a years ago suggesting they bring back preparations.
I really don’t care who suggested it first, I just want a way to counter all the projectile hate that HoT brought to the game.

You can’t make the argument everyone a suggestion is made “Well that doesn’t solve the issue of all attacks being blocked/reflected”. That’s not what this suggestion was about. An unblockable skill fact would best be placed on a Signet like Signet of the hunt, since it’s lackluster compared to druids natural stride. This suggestion was merely replacing a boring (5 bleeds every kitten with something interesting.

I completely agree with you here, UnitedChaos.

But I hope you understand me that we do NOT want rangers killing their own team with this skill (imagine reflecting LB #4 back with this – you killed your own team). There’s way too much passive reflects that people do not even care to pay attention to (like almost every class now has) and I do not like the idea of having shinies till our main problems are looked into.

This is a wonderful suggestion for a skill we want. Not the one we need.

i dont think “bouncing arrows” will never happen to the ranger. it’s simply against the actual design of all our bows: to position yourself strategically.

I’d rather keep it the same, but with an extra buff, for example 8 secs of protection.

Yeah, keep it simple and maybe tie in some trait synergy to it like the old trait layout. Small bumps like having the bleeds also apply to the next 5 pet attacks also and lowering the cooldown a notch from 45-seconds to 35s.

Then bring in some trait synergy in another traitline, like Hidden Barbs in Skirmishing to tie in with Wilderness Knowledge and other Survival skills. Something along the lines of: “Bleeds do 33% more damage. When you break a stun, cast Sharpening Stone.”

Could give SK/WS condition Rangers some flexibility taking one of the Survival stun breakers in place of Sharpening Stone, or have the opportunity to double up on it after breaking a stun if they do slot it.

Tragic Positive.9356:

I completely agree with you here, UnitedChaos.

But I hope you understand me that we do NOT want rangers killing their own team with this skill (imagine reflecting LB #4 back with this – you killed your own team). There’s way too much passive reflects that people do not even care to pay attention to (like almost every class now has) and I do not like the idea of having shinies till our main problems are looked into.

This is a wonderful suggestion for a skill we want. Not the one we need.

Wondrouswall.7169:

Yeah, keep it simple and maybe tie in some trait synergy to it like the old trait layout. Small bumps like having the bleeds also apply to the next 5 pet attacks also and lowering the cooldown a notch from 45-seconds to 35s.

Then bring in some trait synergy in another traitline, like Hidden Barbs in Skirmishing to tie in with Wilderness Knowledge and other Survival skills. Something along the lines of: “Bleeds do 33% more damage. When you break a stun, cast Sharpening Stone.”

Could give SK/WS condition Rangers some flexibility taking one of the Survival stun breakers in place of Sharpening Stone, or have the opportunity to double up on it after breaking a stun if they do slot it.

Both wonderful contributions to the thread. I can agree. We don’t need a reinvention of the wheel we just need broken things fixed and to be brought back inline. Bring the top tier overpowered stuff down and the underpowered unused back up.

Tragic Positive.9356:

But I hope you understand me that we do NOT want rangers killing their own team with this skill (imagine reflecting LB #4 back with this – you killed your own team).

That’s not how reflected projectiles work.

The only change I have wanted forever is for it to trigger bleeding on all targets struck per stone. Right now, if I drop something like a bonfire or barrage on 5 targets with sharpening stone on, they will all receive 1 stack of bleeding.

If I were to super buff it:

• Bleeding on all targets struck per stone
• 3sec unblockable attacks
• +7% dmg per stone remaining

Makes it useful for power/condi/hybrid players without absolutely needing to take the trait.

Justine.6351:

Tragic Positive.9356:

But I hope you understand me that we do NOT want rangers killing their own team with this skill (imagine reflecting LB #4 back with this – you killed your own team).

That’s not how reflected projectiles work.

The only change I have wanted forever is for it to trigger bleeding on all targets struck per stone. Right now, if I drop something like a bonfire or barrage on 5 targets with sharpening stone on, they will all receive 1 stack of bleeding.

If I were to super buff it:

• Bleeding on all targets struck per stone
• 3sec unblockable attacks
• +7% dmg per stone remaining

Makes it useful for power/condi/hybrid players without absolutely needing to take the trait.

Similar thoughts
Adding unblockable to next 10 seconds (SoM is 6s with 25s base cooldown) as well would put it where it should be and/or add 5x per vulnerability per stack as well (fair balance to add both if you compare across SoM passive/active to it).

It’s a decent utility but still lacks usability relative to anything but bleed/condi specific builds.

Artaz.3819:

Justine.6351:

Tragic Positive.9356:

But I hope you understand me that we do NOT want rangers killing their own team with this skill (imagine reflecting LB #4 back with this – you killed your own team).

That’s not how reflected projectiles work.

The only change I have wanted forever is for it to trigger bleeding on all targets struck per stone. Right now, if I drop something like a bonfire or barrage on 5 targets with sharpening stone on, they will all receive 1 stack of bleeding.

If I were to super buff it:

• Bleeding on all targets struck per stone
• 3sec unblockable attacks
• +7% dmg per stone remaining

Makes it useful for power/condi/hybrid players without absolutely needing to take the trait.

Similar thoughts
Adding unblockable to next 10 seconds (SoM is 6s with 25s base cooldown) as well would put it where it should be and/or add 5x per vulnerability per stack as well (fair balance to add both if you compare across SoM passive/active to it).

It’s a decent utility but still lacks usability relative to anything but bleed/condi specific builds.

Yeah unblockable is what I want to see added to it. I’d rather have a shorter duration unblockable with a reduced cooldown though. About 30 sec cooldown feels right for the skill. This means you could guarantee bursts more often and apply the extra bleeds more often.

As others have suggested, I think simply lowering the CD (30sec?) and making the attacks unblockable would be enough to bring the skill into use.

Tipper.6973:

As others have suggested, I think simply lowering the CD (30sec?) and making the attacks unblockable would be enough to bring the skill into use.

I can agree, although my suggestion was more interesting. :p

UnitedChaos.8364:

Tipper.6973:

As others have suggested, I think simply lowering the CD (30sec?) and making the attacks unblockable would be enough to bring the skill into use.

I can agree, although my suggestion was more interesting. :p

When trying to get positive ranger changes pushed through it’s better to shoot for simple and functional lol.
Small steps forward are better than nothing.