Guild Wars 2

In the AMA on twitch yesterday we learned that our traps and spirits are getting some changes but it was really short on details. The vague details we did get raised some concerns for me.

Traps: What We Know
Jon Peters said they want to change traps to feel more like traps and less like grenades with maybe an arming time or something like that. We also know that ground targeting is either gone or baseline now (I really hope it’s baseline). The new trait for traps is:
- Trapper’s Expertise: Conditions cause by traps last longer (100% duration). Your traps recharge faster (20%) and affect a larger area (60 radius).
It was mentioned that while this is currently a master trait in skirmishing it may be moved down to adept. It was also mentioned possibly making the larger area a baseline thing (please do that).

My Concerns
Traps are currently not that great. If you don’t take any of the traits and don’t use Rune of the Trapper then traps are actually pretty terrible. The radius is small, the damage is low, the condis are short, and dropping them at your feet makes it hard to hit anything with them especially if you are using a ranged weapon.

With all the traits traps are actually a fairly strong source of AoE, especially in a condi build. AoE is a weakness of the ranger as a whole and traps provide a way to supplement that weakness. The reason they get used as grenades is because of the relatively short duration it’s the only way to really hit a group of enemies for the whole duration. This requires the ability to drop them in the middle of the group though.

If traps get an arming time the group you are trying to hit will have likely moved by the time the trap is armed. Trying to pull enemies into a trap is usually not that successful. In PvE it usually means the lead enemy takes all the damage and the ones in the back take maybe 1 tick of the trap if you are lucky. In PvP/WvW it usually means the enemy takes 1 tick and just rolls out of the trap, or simply walks backwards and is out again. With ground targeting and instant arming rangers can control where the center of the AoE is when it fires off. That level of control is important with the current power level of traps.

I know Jon Peters mentioned they would change to compensate for the arming time and it might be fine. My concern is that the skill required to get full effectiveness out of our traps will increase but the relative effectiveness won’t. If I’m going to use a skill that requires set up to execute properly I want it to have a pay off. Other players should regret triggering a trap not just feel like it’s a minor inconvenience.

It would also be really nice if post-changes traps were actually a viable option in their vanilla form. I shouldn’t have to dedicate 6 rune slots and a trait (or 2) to actually feel like a utility skill deserves a place on my bar. Especially when with the runes people are putting up with traps to get the Rune effect because the Rune effect is better than the base effect of the utility skills they are augmenting.

I’m concerned about the arming time as well. Though numbers were never officially stated, they did toss out ½ second, which would allow opponents more than enough time to react to the trap toss animation and shift away from that general direction.

I would prefer if Anet made traps to be manually detonated.

So far it sounds like a nerf to traps when what they needed was a utility buff…

People have been saying it for a long time now. Traps need some sort of on demand stun break or utility…

Wondrouswall.7169:

I’m concerned about the arming time as well. Though numbers were never officially stated, they did toss out ½ second, which would allow opponents more than enough time to react to the trap toss animation and shift away from that general direction.

I would prefer if Anet made traps to be manually detonated.

Basically it seems to me to be yet another niche change focused on conquest style spvp. Secondly it reinforces the ranger’s single target nature as the AoE option seem to need to be lacking for whatever reason they are current going with.

What exactly is the arming time? Is it time from laying down until it is ready for activation, or the time from activation (maybe including an animation) until detonation?

Especially if it is the latter maybe a change from a DoT to an instant AoE would be good. It would reward players able to strategically place the traps and lure enemies into it and the delay between activation and detonation would allow the laggards in a group of PvE mobs to get into the detonation area.
In PvP an observant player may be able to evade the damage based on the activation animation, but a good ranger could provide a distraction and/or place the traps in unexpected locations.
I don’t know exactly how to balance the damage though. High enough to be really rewarding and giving a real advantage in a fight if used as an initiator for an ambush, but not high enough to instantly kill groups in a lay and forget kinda playstyle by multiple Rangers.

KingHorst.5931:

What exactly is the arming time? Is it time from laying down until it is ready for activation, or the time from activation (maybe including an animation) until detonation?

Especially if it is the latter maybe a change from a DoT to an instant AoE would be good. It would reward players able to strategically place the traps and lure enemies into it and the delay between activation and detonation would allow the laggards in a group of PvE mobs to get into the detonation area.
In PvP an observant player may be able to evade the damage based on the activation animation, but a good ranger could provide a distraction and/or place the traps in unexpected locations.
I don’t know exactly how to balance the damage though. High enough to be really rewarding and giving a real advantage in a fight if used as an initiator for an ambush, but not high enough to instantly kill groups in a lay and forget kinda playstyle by multiple Rangers.

That would totally fix this arming time issue, make the trap go off, stacking all its damage into one hit and all the condition durations added together. Solved!

KingHorst.5931:

What exactly is the arming time? Is it time from laying down until it is ready for activation, or the time from activation (maybe including an animation) until detonation?

Based on what was said in the stream the arming time is the time from laying down the trap until it is ready for activation.

So first you cast the trap, then it travels to the location (assuming ground target) then it sits for a half second, or second, or w/e the arming time is, and then it can actually activate and do something.

It’s that 1-2 seconds between casting an AoE and it actually doing something that concerns me. Especially with how traps are currently. The reason people use traps as grenades rather than lay the trap and then lure the target into the trap is because using traps as traps makes them significantly less efficient as an AoE damage source.

Also in PvE spending a bunch of time setting up to do damage is generally a waste of time because you can just rush in and kill things faster. Not to mention the problem of pets taking aggro in places you don’t want them to if you are trying to lure things to a set location. If you don’t send in your pet then you are wasting more time doing less damage for an inefficient gimmick.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

That would totally fix this arming time issue, make the trap go off, stacking all its damage into one hit and all the condition durations added together. Solved!

I completely disagree. The main use I have for traps in AoE damage and area denial. If I can’t reliably control what is or isn’t inside the AoE at time of detonation (which is my problem with the arming time) then make it a “One and Done” damage hit would make it worse. The first enemy to enter the AoE would get hit and everything else would take zero damage. It also completely removes the area denial function traps currently serve.

You would just make the trap last the same time on the ground after it goes off and anyone who enters the area takes all the damage and all the condi duration at once. The trap would be essentially the same except that the conditions would be marginally easier to cleanse, since there is no re-applications 1 second apart.

Unspecified.9142:

Based on what was said in the stream the arming time is the time from laying down the trap until it is ready for activation.

In that case putting all the damage and condition would be really hard to balance. Either one trap wouldn’t do enough damage to be viable on its own, or three traps stacked would be to powerful. Can’t really have an instakill on the first one to trigger without giving him any warning at all.

The different purposes of traps as either ambush/fight initiator or area denial also require a little bit different setups. Maybe a trait to change between the two would be good. Something like the standart version is what Heimskarl said, and the trait would add a delay to the damage, reduce the time of the trap being active after activation, but increasing the damage. More risk, more reward.

That would not change anything regarding the concerns for PvE though.
(And regarding PvP I might be assuming to much, as I am not much of a PvP-player.)