Guild Wars 2

Just a list of possible changes that could improve Staff AA.
Some could be baseline some could be added to staff trait.

• unblockable
• remove “need target”
• 10% chance to cause blind on foes closer than 450
• tiny splash on main target
• vulnerability on tic
• more dmg at range <450
• remove stealth from non-targeted enemies hit by beam
• 33% chance, per unique foe, struck by beam to cause 1sec burning at end of channel
• boon transferring between allies hit by beam
• your pets dmg is significantly improved against target being stuck with beam
• the amount you heal allies for using the beam is added to the dmg the foes receive
• beam dmg is applified 2x if it pierces an effect that is a projectile block or reflect
• striking a foe haunted by astral wisp causes the spirit to pulse burning to target and foes it passes through on each solar beam channel

Just some thoughts. Some strong, some meh, some crazy.

Personally, if solarbeam needed a buff, i would just give it more damage, no need to be fancy.

Deleven.7508:

Personally, if solarbeam needed a buff, i would just give it more damage, no need to be fancy.

MOAR dmg. Rewarding a beam AA needs to be more than just straight up +dmg. It really should be through a mechanic that encourages thinking beyond press 1. That’s partially why people hate shortbow. All its dmg is tied up in the AA but it requires you to think wrather than meerly press 1.

do people really like staff skill number 5?

I do not find it practical to use in any situation

Remove the target requirement and add 1s of Burning on the final hit takes my vote (not a fan of more % chance, though).

Wondrouswall.7169:

Remove the target requirement and add 1s of Burning on the final hit takes my vote (not a fan of more % chance, though).

I suggested % per target to place some kind of skill barrier on it besides just freecasting from 1200. It’s not a very good solution but there is only so many ways to make beam skills interesting/skill based ;-(

Perhaps weak burn at 1200 and heavier burn at <300 range?

At end of channel,
>900, targets struck suffer burn 1sec
>300 to 900, targets suffer burn 2sec
0 to 300, targets suffer 3burn 1sec

Make it usable without a target, no further improvements needed. Don’t forget, it is just an autoattack with very little counterplay. It shouldn’t be (too) strong. If you want to buff staff, you can do so by changing skill 2 and 4 – those skills could need an improvement more than aa.

Eric.7813:

do people really like staff skill number 5?

I do not find it practical to use in any situation

While not often blocking projectiles certainly is useful sometimes but personally I use it for the waterfield to blast with skill 3 for extra healing.

i like most of this ideas:

• burning if target is <450
• blind if target >450
  no need for a target is also a must.

skill 5 is mostly useless because the ratio cd > effect duration.
increase the duration of the wall so it can be used to block attacks \ blasted more or decrease the cd so it can be used more often.

skill 4 i would change it to ranged aoe that cast roots (bleeds + immo) up to 5 targets.

skill 2 wisp would blind \burn enemies that passes thru.

and there we have an actual weapon we could feel rewarding to use.

I, for one, only liked the idea of comboing it with “Astral Wisp”. Would make both skills more useful. I’m actually more concerned about the second one.

Justine.6351:

• remove stealth from non-targeted enemies hit by beam
• boon transferring between allies hit by beam
• striking a foe haunted by astral wisp causes the spirit to pulse burning to target and foes it passes through on each solar beam channel

I love those three ideas, especially the boon transferring one. It would bring a totally new way of using the staff, both in PvP and PvE.
The burning pulses with astral wisp could also make it feel like you’re doing something to damage your target, because right now it just feels like your pet and your AA are doing the job while you’re not actively doing anything to burst.

Beam skills will always require a target because it’s a beam that would go clear across the map without…

Also I AM SICK of all the ranger weapons having 600 or range BUT you must be at 120 range or closer to get the full effect of one of your skills! I do NOT want to see this on staff, it is a HORRIBLE mechanic in my honest opinion. Nor do I want to see condi on staff unless they do a HUGE rework on staff to make it MUCH more condition based. A weapon that burns 1s per AA that takes roughly 3s from end to end? No thanks.

If you really want staff improved have it so you activate the AA on teammates, increase the healing it does by 50% or buff its flat damage by 25% (either or, not both). I also pulled those numbers out of my bum, they probably would need some tweaking to be balanced.

There is much more I could say I would like changed about staff but you specifically asked for AA suggestions, so I’ll refrain from going off topic.

I’d be happy with a short burn component, so that the staff is more compatible with condition damage builds.

Allison The Strange.4519:

Beam skills will always require a target because it’s a beam that would go clear across the map without…

That’s not what I meant.
That ugly red lettering across the screen gets annoying.

OOHHHHH I see now… Understood, sorry for being a bit of a smart/dumb (insert censored word here) XD

Every other skill besides the AA should be improved. Wth is…