Guild Wars 2

What I’d like to see is #1 not rooting anymore, #2 being a forward leap, that then changes to a back leap, and #3 completely changed, since it cannot hit moving targets at all.

That way you can leap at your target, pop your cooldowns and traps, and leap back again away from your target, to switch to your bow. Now you get much better combat flow.

I suggest changing #3 into a skill that does considerable damage, to use after leaping to your target and inflict high damage, and then leap away again to avoid getting hit. Now you have a great flow of melee skills to use between shooting at your target from a range.

Shoot at your target from range > leap into melee > unload your #3, cooldowns and traps > leap back out > return to shooting from a range.

Why is there an assumption that the player wants to make distance? There’s nothing wrong with a melee-orientated Ranger and it would be horrible to leap back when you’re a close combat build. The only change that is necessary is the ability to break the automatic chaining to doge, use different skills, etc.

I see greatsword as the melee weapon, I see the sword as support/secondary weapon set for bow rangers.

Obviously greatsword damage would have to be increased by about 30% for that to work.

Balancing weapon damage around pet damage doesn’t work, since not only does the pet fail to hit moving targets, it can also be killed within seconds.

Sword auto attack needs a slight damage increase; removing the positioning aspect would ruin its ability to snare running targets, which is exceedingly useful in almost any situation. The chain for #2 needs to give you more time before the timer expires, to give it actual tactical usage rather than just assuming you want to fly back in right away or lose the chain.

Zsymon.8457:

What I’d like to see is #1 not rooting anymore, #2 being a forward leap, that then changes to a back leap, and #3 completely changed, since it cannot hit moving targets at all.

That way you can leap at your target, pop your cooldowns and traps, and leap back again away from your target, to switch to your bow. Now you get much better combat flow.

I suggest changing #3 into a skill that does considerable damage, to use after leaping to your target and inflict high damage, and then leap away again to avoid getting hit. Now you have a great flow of melee skills to use between shooting at your target from a range.

Shoot at your target from range > leap into melee > unload your #3, cooldowns and traps > leap back out > return to shooting from a range.

NO!!!

ok, i see things from pvp-perspective, spvp mainly, but also wvw. #1 could be “fixed” that u dont have to remove autoattack…BUT: #2 and #3 r what makes sword the awesome choice for pvp. its 2 evades! just dont use sword as a mindless buttonsmash faceroll weapon, than ofc it doesnt work. use your brain, watch enemy, then #2 and #3 is what makes u win against most melee out there, epecial thieves and warriors…

but i think u r seeing ranger as only something that uses bow, which is utterly wrong, so u try to fit melee-weapons into that concept. thank the devs its not so.

how about these changes to shortbow, cause we want shortbow be more useful for combat flow: #1 higher dmg but with 110 range; #2 block the next incoming melee attack and knockdown foe with bow-smash (80 range); #3 shoot at your target, cripple for 2 sec , leap to target, range 1200; #4 reflect projectiles, range 110; #5 smash your bow above enemyhead, crippling for 5 sec, 110 range

now u have a great flow of bow skills to support melee-ranger-builds, and bow becomes usefull for us rangers again. thats the same argueing u used…

Deathspike.1870:

Why is there an assumption that the player wants to make distance? There’s nothing wrong with a melee-orientated Ranger and it would be horrible to leap back when you’re a close combat build. The only change that is necessary is the ability to break the automatic chaining to doge, use different skills, etc.

^a hundred times this. I tried melee. Once.

I like the OP’s suggestion about the sword it would actually be good for both a melee or ranged build. A gap closer, a burst skill, and an evade (jump back)-sounds sweet. The evade/jump back would have to be available for an extended time (like 5 secs or so) to be able to pull off that combo you mention though.

It goes without saying that you should be able to break the auto attack combo chain with any other skill and not be stuck in the animation so I like that too.

Great thinking there Zsymon.

I want the evade-and-return to stay. It’s unique, and it’s useful to frustrate players that are trying to shake off your auto-attack cripples. The only thing that needs fixing is the ability to dodge or quickly disengage the auto-attack.

The sword doesn’t need a gap closer, 90% of the time people and mobs will come to you and, if they don’t, most Ranger builds are just as comfortable letting them stay at range. The dagger lets you cripple and evade as you approach, the axe lets you remain at distance and reflect projectiles if you left your bow in your other pants, and the horn gives you swiftness… there’s plenty of gap closing options.

I don’t see anything wrong with just changing sword 2 to a kind of leap+evade like a few other attacks in the game do. In situations where positioning is important, it’s kind of awkward, and potentially dangerous, do be leaping backwards just so you can leap forwards to a target again. I’d much rather have something a little more reliable.

Munrock.3092:

The sword doesn’t need a gap closer, 90% of the time people and mobs will come to you and, if they don’t, most Ranger builds are just as comfortable letting them stay at range. The dagger lets you cripple and evade as you approach, the axe lets you remain at distance and reflect projectiles if you left your bow in your other pants, and the horn gives you swiftness… there’s plenty of gap closing options.

Hohoho, perhaps you haven’t played other classes? Ranger severely lacks mobility and burst, and in pvp you can’t have too many gap closers. Also none of the things you listed are gap closers, they are ranged attacks or swiftness buffs (or change to another weapon-makes no sense!).

This kind of radical change would never be implemented anyway, but its a sweet idea. The main issue I see is that the OP’s idea would make the greatsword gap closer inferior.

Actually, I was about to say that it would be overpowered, but I just remembered that the thief sword gap closer works the same way, except its even better-teleport in apply one sec immobolize, when activated again teleport back and remove two conditions. That is just like a thousand times better than ANY weapon skill the ranger has, haha.

You don’t leap backwards ‘just to leap forwards again’. You can leap backwards out of AoEs and PNC damage spike attacks. It conserves endurance by being an alternative to dodge, which links up beautifully with the other skills by providing you with a weapon that lets you cripple an enemy while buffing your pet, while making you very difficult to hit. And of course leaping backwards is something you don’t want to do all the time – but that’s easily solved by thinking. There are plenty of builds I can use when I don’t feel like thinking.

The sword’s fine, except Skill #1 is broken – which means #2 is working as a poor substitute for dodge, instead of a tactical alternative to it.

But the point is Skill #1 is broken, not Skill #2.

Yasha.5963:

Hohoho, perhaps you haven’t played other classes? Ranger severely lacks mobility and burst, and in pvp you can’t have too many gap closers. Also none of the things you listed are gap closers, they are ranged attacks or swiftness buffs (or change to another weapon-makes no sense!).

Check the code of conduct, laughing at people’s opinions/posts might be construed as disrespectful.

I’ve never had a problem with people being too far away on a Ranger, have you? I find ‘you can’t have too many gap closers’ to be hyperbole, and the ‘things I listed’ are offhand tools that give you mobility advantage, which the Ranger already has in spades in its utility options.

Greatsword #3 is enough gap closers for a class that has 3/5 of its weapon options at range.

You musn’t pvp much then. The scenario the OP described is much more desirable and effective for fighting. Also your example about it makes little sense-there is no continuity between the leap back and the other things you descibe the weapon does- with the OP’s idea you retain all the other things you mention about sword but also add a new tactical element and more mobility.

Essentially you say the current sword 2 amounts to an extra dodge. The OP’s idea is a great set up for either a ranged or melee build, that gives a nice synergy with other ranger skills and sets up some interesting play. I would take that anyday over an extra dodge (which you get anyway with the OP’s idea).

It will never happen, but its nice to imagine having a really cool skill like that.

If it was to stay as a backleap but recieve a buff to perhaps bring it in line with the thief sword gap closer, I would like to see it remove conditions when leaping back and or blinding.

I have used sword and dagger as my main weapons since the headstart. I know very well how sword skills work.. ( i like them the way they are) if you changed #2 to leap forward then backward, you would be frustrated and just dont realize it yet. So.. do you ever click the button twice in a row / to fast and leap back then instantly back in? imagine if it was switched! and since the OP is all about being up in the enemies face this would be worse for him.. and for me

i also like skill #3 <3

Sword 2 is good the way it is, instantly leaping out of battle is a useful option and if you want a gap closer you have GS3. The sword is a fun and fairly effective weapon all around, they just need to fix that rooting issue on the autoattack.

So… changing a leap back→forward into a leap forward→back adds a more tactical element? I can see a lot more uses for the sword the way it is.

The change would leave you stuck at range (on a profession that you said had terrible mobility) while it was on cooldown, giving you few options other than running back, waiting (maybe those offhand skills I listed might help), switching to range (something someone dismissed as making no sense), or running away.

The strategy the OP describes, which involves using the melee weapon as a ‘great flow of melee to use between ranged attacks’ is the only use in which the change to #2 would make sense, it’s basically cloning the thief skill and it’s a skill that will always work better on the thief because of the initiative system.

I’d like for #3 to be a ‘controllable’ roll.

One you start the evade, you can move your arrow keys to control where you roll to, then after a certain amount of time you’ll slash. You could also hit the key again early to do the slash early, or even give it an entirely different function.

The problem I find with #3 is… The enemy is almost never hit by it. You roll somewhere awkward and then miss the enemy. If it was controlled, whether you hit or not would be decided by skill.

The one and only thing sword needs it for #1 to be breakable for evade, heal, utilitys, elites, and whatever else, just like every single other attack in the game is.

The root on #1 is even fine, if you havnt figured it out yet, it is easy mode, no one can escape your auto attack, its sick, constant dmg/snare/bleed.

2 is a bit lackluster but i use it to get the %$^# out and into ranged combat.

3 is freaking great, i have circled ppl up to 3 times before when they move certain ways, and im sure its a bug but it totally messes with them.

(edit because # and a number did funky things)

as Zysmon stated, he wants sword as just a nice utility for his bow spec.

thank the devs sword is one of the best weapon the ranger has with a unique set of skills.
problem seems to be that players who r used to faceroll-combos have trouble using sword. u actually need some skill to use it. i cant decide which is better skill, #2 or #3, i acually think it’s #2…u can use it for evasion of burst attacks (watch warrior or thief hit the air) and then jump back into fight, u can use it to evade back, heal, continue fight, or evade back, heal, run away, after leaping back u can use for example another weapon skills at save distance (e.g. dagger #5) then leap back or run away, u can use it for fast change of targets at longer distances…it goes on and on and on.
ofc for that u need to watch enemyplayer and use right timing, know what they r doing, have some knowledge of classes…it is not this mindless “oh, 1200 distance, now i press all my buttons on bow and cry afterwards why enemy is not dead…”

I just want a change for Skill 1 on the sword. It’s really annoying being rooted to one spot like it does (also, I hate the animation for it…)

The only thing I could see as a useful change to 2 is switching the cripple to the leap backward instead of having it on the leap forward (but I guess they did that to make the leap forward seem a bit more useful lol).

In the end 2 and 3 are fine the way they are; 2 to evade backward and then leap back into the fight, and 3 for another evade (I don’t use it for the poison as much as the evade lol).