Guild Wars 2

Two things first:
I play an Asura Ranger (perhaps the severity of this issue is limited to this Race, but on a Slyvari Ranger I played as well, the problem also existed).
I don’t know if this has already been mentioned on the forum, if so, apologies.

Right! This is a problem I have been experiencing on my Ranger. The problem is that the combination of the Sword1 combo attacks (“Pounce” specifically) create bizarre movement patterns that cause Sword3, and at times Dagger4, to miss entirely.

Because of the nature of the flanking movement of these attacks, they will at times maneuver me awkwardly far from my target. This happens while standing still, and even more often if I happen to be moving during the combat.

Pounce has me jumping all over the place if fighting multiple targets, and then Sword3 not only removes me from combat, but misses entirely.

As a note for a future patch on the Ranger (or hopefully a rework of some elements) I would suggest that the Sword1 combo has “Pouce” reworked. If we are already in close combat, the movement of this simple sword attack is overkill and frenetic IMHO.

Is anyone else having this problem? And if so, how can I avoid this issue?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Turn off auto attack

I’m not sure that helps him in this specific situation…? The complaint is with the animation moving him into a position that causes other attacks to miss. Whether you press the button yourself or the AA does it for you, the animation would still be the same, no?

I haven’t experienced this because I haven’t done much sword fighting and I don’t play an Asura, but it seems like a different issue.

Select a target…

Perhaps then this is an issue indeed of not selecting a target, but what more should I do than clicking on said target and engaging. And this happens even in one on one fights.

Being mobile seems to throw the sword off-balance.

Should I just stay still in order to avoid this?

Sword auto has two leap animations causing this. The behavior is desirable because it’s designed to stay on target, cripple, and give 3 stack might to pet. Your pet has a better time hitting crippled targets.

Turn off autotarget turn off autoattack. Someone, please make a ranger keybinding thread. I really don’t want to see the sword change guys, fix your keybindings.

I honestly dislike sword as well.

At first I tried it with the autoattack on… and the entire thing just looked.. AWFUL. As well at the movement prevention, the animations are just trash (for a norn, anyways).

The animation on leap for norn is just .. completely awkward. Especially if you’re attacking a single target in melee range. He does like.. this really odd twist in the air then strikes.

Looks bad and feels bad. I turned autoattack off but it only helped slightly.

I honestly don’t understand the combo. Are you meant to hit twice on one target then leap to another? Hit twice and leap to a third (or back to the first?). It is by far the clunkiest weapon I have seen.. it’s like they developed it in beta and it’s been ignored while the rest of the game got polished.

I don’t know how you guys can even use it.

Mongo.2490:

I honestly don’t understand the combo. Are you meant to hit twice on one target then leap to another? Hit twice and leap to a third (or back to the first?). It is by far the clunkiest weapon I have seen.. it’s like they developed it in beta and it’s been ignored while the rest of the game got polished.

I don’t know how you guys can even use it.

Wut? No, why would you even think that?
It’s to tie your target down and make it easier for your pet to hit. The leap means that if they evade you still stay locked on.

If I turn off autoattack and autotargeting, I still end up jumping around all over for seemingly no reason. With auto-targeting off I should only attack who I have selected, but instead I lose control of my character.

Some people seem to do very well with sword, and I feel great for them. But there seems to be something I’m missing if I can’t stay on a slow moving target without pinballing around.

Semil.8279:

If I turn off autoattack and autotargeting, I still end up jumping around all over for seemingly no reason. With auto-targeting off I should only attack who I have selected, but instead I lose control of my character.

Some people seem to do very well with sword, and I feel great for them. But there seems to be something I’m missing if I can’t stay on a slow moving target without pinballing around.

I suggest going into the heart of the mists, go to the area with the large bunch of golems (cant quite remember where this is exactly, but its somewhere :P ). In this area, you can practice how it works in a group fight as well as against the single golems standing around the same place (some move too).

The trick is in knowing when to have a target selected, and when to not have one selected. Learning that is pivotal, imo, to using the sword correctly. There is an option where you can make it so it only targets the person in the center of your screen for as long as you keep the button held down. “Autolock” or something like that. I found using this bound to an easy to reach key really helped in using the sword. This setup has has its own issues, but really, the targetting is this game can be difficult to deal with no matter the settings or weapon.

It is not an easy weapon to use effectively, and it does take practice, but once you get it down it is one of the most powerful weapons in the game because of the things that make initially learning it difficult.

MH sword is awful and takes control and responsiveness away from the player for no reason. I am perfectly capable of pressing forward to stay on my target if necessary just like I do with literally every other weapon, game.

Players shouldn’t have to use so much effort to control weapon skill 1. The sword should be something the user enjoys wielding, as should every weapon if it is well designed. Unresponsive animations are better suited to skills that fire less often and deliver enough to be worth the effort (axe 5) or skills that have an inherent evade. Getting the positioning right on the longbow and shortbow just needs a simple skill level and that should be the limit of the work rangers do for auto-attacks.

Stooperdale.3560:

Players shouldn’t have to use so much effort to control weapon skill 1. The sword should be something the user enjoys wielding, as should every weapon if it is well designed. Unresponsive animations are better suited to skills that fire less often and deliver enough to be worth the effort (axe 5) or skills that have an inherent evade. Getting the positioning right on the longbow and shortbow just needs a simple skill level and that should be the limit of the work rangers do for auto-attacks.

Why?

Why is skill based gameplay not desirable?

jewishjoyride.4693:

Why?

Why is skill based gameplay not desirable?

Because no one else has to do it with their 1 skill, duh. But you already knew that, didn’t you, champ? The answer was obvious. You’re just arguing for the sake of arguing.

I think from my similar issues (Asura here too) the issues are ping times, the server or my connection or both cannot seem to keep up with the animations which then cause erratic behavior your seeing (i’m in Australia so my ping can get upwards of 600+)..i seem to get missing and rubber-banding a lot using these skills especially sword 2..(Another note i get similar issues with thief skills)..

The thing i cannot understand is why sword 1 locks you to the target (auto attack or not it still does it, at least with Asura)..still like this after 9 months is pretty bad..

Gotta say though watching my Asura dispatch enemies like Yoda with a lightsaber is funny as they fly all over the place..

solrik.6028:

Select a target…

This.

If you have a target selected, sword’s autoattack will stick you to it.

If you have no target selected, two of the attacks in the sword1 chain will jump you forward. If you happen to hit another target with the sword’s AOE (while having no target selected), the next attack will also trigger causing you to jump forward twice. This behavior most frequently crops up when you have autotarget off, are fighting a bunch of mobs, and kill your target. You do not automatically acquire a new target, but the AOE attacks hit nearby targets causing sword’s autoattack to continue to fire, leaping you further and further forward.

Playing with autotarget on alleviates this problem. Unfortunately it also eliminates much of the sword’s mobility since you will jump to/away from the nearest target, not in the or away from the direction you’re facing.

Without an extensive overhaul of PC AI, or completely changing how sword1’s attack chain works, you’re just going to have to learn to live with it. I usually leave autotarget off, and try to be hper-aware of my current target. That way the moment it dies I can manually hit next target if I want to continue, or point myself in the right direction if I want to leap away. For clearing trash mobs, I’ll usually turn autotarget (and autoattack) on.

OP – watch the following video on how to use main hand sword on a Ranger. Channel your inner Yoda. Good stuff.

Slash Kick Pounce by Faeral Kutsu

“Why is skill based gameplay not desirable?”

If I had a real life sword with a grip that would fall apart if not held correctly, then I could develop my own personal skill in wielding that particular weapon and no other. It would still be a lousy weapon and need fixing.