Guild Wars 2

The sword auto attack seems to lock onto targets and can make using skills and dodge impossible if in mid attack, plus running away doesn’t work properly unless you focus elsewhere. Also I can’t see the point of having a cripple and lunge on the same chain. Preferably remove the lunge so rangers can increase their maneuverability without being accidentally stuck to a target and taking obscene damage.

Second thing I noticed is trait XII in skirmishing does in no way explain what it will do.

“Gain an attack of opportunity for you and your pet on interrupting a foe.”

Firstly interrupts don’t even work on bosses so thats useless and second what is an attack of opportunity? It’s pretty normal for traits not to list the exact duration of their effects such as conditions and buffs but this time I honestly have no idea what it would do.

Edit: As I don’t do pvp I never really looked at the application it could have so I see the truth in the lunge, although in pve it is impractical as enemies do not try to run away and getting “rooted” is more of an issue. So all in all I don’t really see a need to change it as the greatsword works for me in pve.

Requesting that a sticky be made for all things related to the Sword auto-attack rooting issue.

Thanks.

As a lvl 80 ranger I don’t remember when the last time I used a one handed sword, it just sits there and collects the dust in my inventory, since I can’t move freely with it.

Sword Auto attack is my favorite auto chain in the game for PvP the perma cripple and dual lunges let you stick on people all day even blinking staff mesmers. If you turn off auto attack (ctrl+mouse2 on the skill) and control you usage of “mashing” one you can control it properly and only lose a very very very marginal amount of DPS. PvE is slightly different as mobs rarely kite you, but i have no problem with rangers having a PvP primary weapon. I would hate to see it changed.

Iirc attack of opportunity means next attack does 150% damage.

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

SwickHobo.5096:

Sword Auto attack is my favorite auto chain in the game for PvP the perma cripple and dual lunges let you stick on people all day even blinking staff mesmers. If you turn off auto attack (ctrl+mouse2 on the skill) and control you usage of “mashing” one you can control it properly and only lose a very very very marginal amount of DPS. PvE is slightly different as mobs rarely kite you, but i have no problem with rangers having a PvP primary weapon. I would hate to see it changed.

Turning off auto-att is not changing fact that you are not able to dodge in middle of leaps. That is only issue most ppl have with sword #1.

The cripple makes the lunge worth it. Time and time again I find myself more able to chase elementalists, thieves, and mesmers. Sword is an invaluable melee option. Is the chain perfect? No. Do not mistake the small flaws to make a weapon less useful. Also bear in mind that sword has a higher base damage output on its 1 chain than a greatsword, which makes it worth considering. I’m currently making use of sword/warhorn and longbow to great effect in wvw and pve

Xsorus.2507:

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

Same. It’s awesome, it’s a leap, you’ve committed to it, you can’t dodge once you leap. Deal with it and adapt. If you don’t like leaping when you don’t want to leap, turn off auto attack, but Ranger sword 1 is one of the best melee abilities in the game and if they changed it because people want everything easier I’d be pretty annoyed.

capuchinseven.8395:

Xsorus.2507:

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

Same. It’s awesome, it’s a leap, you’ve committed to it, you can’t dodge once you leap. Deal with it and adapt. If you don’t like leaping when you don’t want to leap, turn off auto attack, but Ranger sword 1 is one of the best melee abilities in the game and if they changed it because people want everything easier I’d be pretty annoyed.

Glad to know there are a few of us who see the value in the Sword.

Bleak Advent.9840:

Glad to know there are a few of us who see the value in the Sword.

Yeah, there are a few. Mostly those who primarily PvP and enjoy the fact that you can stick to a target constantly for zero opportunity cost…rolls eyes.

This issue has been discussed, and argued, many times over. The advocates of keeping it the way it is – most of these guys fall into the category above, of “want to keep it the same so I can stick to targets like glue in PvP/WvW rather than moving my character manually/using an actual gap closer/because I fail at chasing targets.” You do realize Ranger Sword #1 is the only skill in the game with zero opportunity cost (and zero cooldown) that allows you to constantly stick/leap to a target? You guys are lucky it hasn’t been nerfed already.

The other side of the argument (people who want it changed) comes from those who actually prefer to dodge when required in order to mitigate damage. You know, the one core mechanic all classes share, and is basically required for surviving high level content/encounters? This includes PvE’ers, and also PvP’ers and WvW’ers. I would say this is most likely the majority of players.

Following these particular threads since the games launch is how I draw my conclusions on this. Also, by talking to my other Ranger friends, and Guildies (btw, none of them will use 1-handed sword purely because of the inability to dodge properly on #1 – other than that, no issues).

There are a few easy ways to fix this.

1. Make the #1 only have a leap in PvP/WvWvW play, and make the cast bars in the chain easily interruptible by either moving or dodging. Seperate the skills for PvE and PvP use. It was done in GW1, it has been done in GW2 for certain skills as well. This ‘fix’ would keep everyone (mostly) happy.

2. Get rid of the leap completely. You are now balanced with other classes as they do not have a zero-opportunity cost constant gap closer with a built in cripple. Learn to track targets and use actual closers like everybody else in the game must.

Xsorus.2507:

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

I and my Ranger friends and Guildies would like to call your BS on that, sir. I have four level 80s, and most of those guys have several alts as well. None of us have issues manually tracking/chasing/gap closing targets, on any character. And you shouldn’t either, but if you do, it’s a L2Play issue. That ‘lunge’ that you’re so obsessed with can also leap you off of a cliff, or into another mob/zerg that you haven’t yet engaged. Using the sword, you just CANNOT dodge properly – argue all you want, but turning off auto attack does NOT solve this issue as you still cannot dodge while striking/leaping during the #1 (also, you cannot interrupt the cast bars by moving, or even using the #2 or #3 evades). Dodging is an important core mechanic shared by all professions, and even having the dodge roll delayed by .5 seconds or less can easily mean the difference between life and death – and often does.

It should be fixed. One way or another.

Mate I have zero problem dodging with sword number 1…. I’m thinking its more a L2P issue here for some our less inclined players.

Also..Leap you off a cliff? Seriously? Are you that completely unaware of your surroundings that you let that happen to yourself often?

Idolicious.6091:

The other side of the argument (people who want it changed) comes from those who actually prefer to dodge when required in order to mitigate damage. You know, the one core mechanic all classes share, and is basically required for surviving high level content/encounters? This includes PvE’ers, and also PvP’ers and WvW’ers. I would say this is most likely the majority of players.

Following these particular threads since the games launch is how I draw my conclusions on this. Also, by talking to my other Ranger friends, and Guildies (btw, none of them will use 1-handed sword purely because of the inability to dodge properly on #1 – other than that, no issues).

There are a few easy ways to fix this.

1. Make the #1 only have a leap in PvP/WvWvW play, and make the cast bars in the chain easily interruptible by either moving or dodging. Seperate the skills for PvE and PvP use. It was done in GW1, it has been done in GW2 for certain skills as well. This ‘fix’ would keep everyone (mostly) happy.

2. Get rid of the leap completely. You are now balanced with other classes as they do not have a zero-opportunity cost constant gap closer with a built in cripple. Learn to track targets and use actual closers like everybody else in the game must.

Xsorus.2507:

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

I and my Ranger friends and Guildies would like to call your BS on that, sir. I have four level 80s, and most of those guys have several alts as well. None of us have issues manually tracking/chasing/gap closing targets, on any character. And you shouldn’t either, but if you do, it’s a L2Play issue. That ‘lunge’ that you’re so obsessed with can also leap you off of a cliff, or into another mob/zerg that you haven’t yet engaged. Using the sword, you just CANNOT dodge properly – argue all you want, but turning off auto attack does NOT solve this issue as you still cannot dodge while striking/leaping during the #1 (also, you cannot interrupt the cast bars by moving, or even using the #2 or #3 evades). Dodging is an important core mechanic shared by all professions, and even having the dodge roll delayed by .5 seconds or less can easily mean the difference between life and death – and often does.

It should be fixed. One way or another.

I feel like this pretty much sums up my opinion on this and I do appreciate all defenders of the sword but as I have said, in pve it does not work correctly at all. Most often I follow my target quite well and a lunge is useless to me as I’m already in the face of my target making the lunge just an “attack of opportunity” for my oppenent where I can’t dodge their attacks or properly run away.

Disabling auto attack is something that shouldn’t be necessary as it would reduce dps, and I don’t even want the lunge at all. Therefore the damage and cripple is all I really get out of the skill.

Also I’m not against keeping a pvp version of the sword as I said I don’t really pvp so I don’t really have an opinion on its usage there.

It’s not fun getting locked in an animation (spammable no less) regardless of how effective it is, the sword chain locking you out of your crucial dodge botton is not fine either. I think it requires a higher amount of timing and reflexes with dodges and movement between strikes than it’s actually intended, it can even become ineffective with autoattack on.
Could the sword chain 1 be improved in any way? Definetly.

Please don’t change sword at all on ranger especially sword1. As long as you don’t leave it on auto attack and time your attacks its one of the best melee weapon attacks in the game. Its great for sticking to a target, possibly op and you can also do some neat things in among a big group of enemy players by constantly cycling targets as you use 1. Please leave it the way it is

Khenzy.9348:

It’s not fun getting locked in an animation (spammable no less) regardless of how effective it is, the sword chain locking you out of your crucial dodge botton is not fine either. I think it requires a higher amount of timing and reflexes with dodges and movement between strikes than it’s actually intended, it can even become ineffective with autoattack on.
Could the sword chain 1 be improved in any way? Definetly.

+1. Also, note that you cannot dodge or move while either Kick or Pounce is happening (66% of the chain), i.e. if there is a cast bar on-screen whether it’s Kick OR Pounce, you cannot interrupt the animation to dodge or even move. You must wait for the rest of the animation to finish in it’s entirety before you have a chance to dodge or move. And furthermore, if it’s left on auto-attack, you must wait for BOTH Kick AND Pounce to finish before you can dodge, or re-position yourself, because you can only interrupt Slash to dodge/move, and the skill queue system doesn’t give you enough time to do either between Kick and Pounce (try it; even if you spam the dodge button between Kick and Pounce, it won’t take if it’s left on auto-attack). So, you see, the sword has more issues than people like to admit – not only does the leap make it impossible to dodge, but you cannot even interrupt the second strike to dodge, either. Or move.

Kreen.3925:

Please don’t change sword at all on ranger especially sword1. As long as you don’t leave it on auto attack and time your attacks its one of the best melee weapon attacks in the game. Its great for sticking to a target, possibly op and you can also do some neat things in among a big group of enemy players by constantly cycling targets as you use 1. Please leave it the way it is

Disabling auto-attack fixes nothing besides actually allowing you to dodge between Kick and Pounce if you time your attacks carefully…which, by the way, results in a loss of DPS vs. leaving it on auto-attack (may as well use a Greatsword at this point). These kinds of pleas are the only thing I’ve seen advocators of the current mechanic use – “it’s good how it is, L2Play / you stick to all targets, and can catch anyone / best melee attack in game / etc.” Like I said earlier – you’re relying on a crutch mechanic that no other class/weapon combo in the game can do. It should be fixed (and by fixed, I simply mean balanced), and arguing against that, no matter the reason, is arguing to maintain an unfair advantage against other players. I can deal with that reasoning if the person arguing for the current mechanic can actually admit to it vs. posting a bunch of unfounded garbage. :P

But it should still be fixed.

Several postings have been deleted that were against the rules of this forum. Please keep in mind that if you want to discuss issues on our forums, you have to do it in a constructive way.

Have you played a thief? they have a few similar skills. Seriously, I am not surprised you were infracted on these forums I have a fair few infractions myself. Go back and read what you have written and the tone you take with some posters.

I like the sword the way it is, you don’t, fair enough thats a fairly common difference of opinion about something, happens alot in life I find, neither is right or wrong it just cames down to preference.

No need to push your opinion onto others, they are entitled to have their opinion as well. You basically trash other peoples opinions because they do not match yours, that is why you were infracted. Remember these are opinions on preferences, there are very few facts here.

Yep, It’s pretty bad at the moment. I believe the inability to move/dodge 66% of the time (as you’ve clearly pointed out, Idolicious) cannot be excused by any other positive/s of the #1 skill.

It’s pretty clear that Sword skill 1 needs to be modified.

capuchinseven.8395:

Xsorus.2507:

Until you play a class without that lunge, you don’t know how bloody good it actually is.

I’d be super POed if they removed it from Sword.

Same. It’s awesome, it’s a leap, you’ve committed to it, you can’t dodge once you leap. Deal with it and adapt. If you don’t like leaping when you don’t want to leap, turn off auto attack, but Ranger sword 1 is one of the best melee abilities in the game and if they changed it because people want everything easier I’d be pretty annoyed.

These guys get it. Ranger sword plays very differently to the other classes with its own benefits and drawbacks. Taking out the leap dumbs it down. Dive in, lock on, dish out the dmg, jump out and switch. It’s situational, tricky to master and comes with a risk but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Sword 1 is awesome, but it lacks a bit of responsiveness. There is always quite a big delay between when the attack occured and when the animation actually finishes (when your character straighten up) and the game finally accepts to let you dodge.
Being able to start the chain, dodge, then use one of the leaps to get back into battle is awesome. But because of that delay dodging at the right moment becomes a bit random and unreliable (and sometimes, kind of a hassle it must be said) except for the slowest, most telegraphed attacks like those of the ettins, and it also reduces your attack speed.
Making the leaps interruptible by dodging is a somewhat extreme but valid solution (extreme in that it would be the only leap in the game you can interrupt), but they could also just look at the leap animations and accelerate the useless frames at the end that could be the cause of that. I believe it’s not the only animation with this problem, my mesmer with his spear underwater will use skill 5 and be unable to use any other skill for about one second after the attack actually occured.
What’s a bit strange though, is that if you just chain your sword 1 attacks the end of the animations will blend into the next animation with zero delay. This system could be extended to work with the other skills on the bar and with dodge.

I have recently learned to play with auto attack on. Its a lot better than manually using first skill damage wise (but feel like i am playing more when its off to the point i hit the one key with my short bow even though auto attack is on.). For those of you having two you dont know you can hit esc to cancel any skill. This works for auto attack as well. If you are nt attack a target when you hit esc it will just bring up the option menu.

Before I hear why do I have tolearn to hit the esc key. It is something you should learn to do no matter what class you play.

It’s basically clear that people simply want to play ranger the same as they play other classes and then want the class changing when they can’t make it work for them.