Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Daemon.4295

Daemon.4295

TL;DR – Barrage, glass cannon ranger’s primary damage source in WvW, now effectively does 50% damage. This essentially ruins the berserker ranger’s game in PvP and forces us to change build completely. The only solution I can see to preserve the Longbow and the Glass Cannon ranger is a dramatic reduction to Barrage channel time.

As I’m seeing a lot of “stop the QQing” posts, I’d like to go into a little more detail regarding the actual implications of the quickness nerf specifically for longbow users. I just want to clarify that I believe there are a number of strong ranger builds and that the ranger can hold its own in most group settings, this is not a complaint about the class as a whole but an attempt to save a weapon and a build that I personally enjoyed playing very much.

In order to understand the real implications of this nerf for WvW longbow users, lets step away from the hard figures for a minute and consider how this weapon plays. Typical opening sequence with the longbow is LB3 (vulnerability + additional vulnerability from opening strike), LB5 (heavy AoE damage with built in cripple), QZ or pet swap for quickness while Barrage is channeling, LB2 (higher damage than autoattack, ignores distance penalty), spam LB1 until LB2 is off cooldown. Knockback with LB4 and switch weapons, CC, or escape when gap is closed. The bulk of your opening sequence’s damage comes from LB5 barrage, a very slow skill that takes about 3 seconds to channel with a delay of around two seconds (rough estimate) before your arrows land.

Ideally, you want to land the entire duration of Barrage’s damage on your opponent. In PvE this is no problem because the mobs will limp straight through the AoE ring at 50% speed, but in PvP it is very difficult to catch your opponents for more than one or two seconds, you have to be lucky just to get the cripple off. Longbow rangers gamble on catching a few, less responsive players in their barrage long enough to spike out a kill, which is only possible with quickness during larger battles in which opponents are distracted by melee, ressing, etc. As of yesterday’s quickness nerf, barrage is landing half the damage that it used to over that brief span of time before your opponent dodges out of the area of effect. The only thing that can save the longbow now, aside from a massive boost to base damage, is a reduction in Barrage channeling time and the implementation of snares , like the Warrior longbow pin.

Without barrage, the longbow loses almost all of its appeal in WvW, and the glass cannon ranger along with it. In order to put this into perspective, it would be like telling a beastmaster that his pets now move 50% slower in WvW, or telling a trap ranger that the Trap Potency trait has been removed. It would just utterly ruin their game and force them to switch build or class. Please understand that I am not saying there are no alternative options, only that the berserker ranger is no longer playable in WvW. Longbow is dead and buried for PvP now, clearly this is a balance problem Anet needs to address.

EDIT: LB3 and opening strike stack vulnerability

Ayana Wenona (Ranger) | Doctor Skorn (Necro) | Electra Lux (Elementalist)
Scarlett Daguer (Thief) | Gritt Bloodstone (Warrior) | Sirius Zand (Guardian)
- Whiteside Ridge [EU] -

(edited by Daemon.4295)

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Terkov.4138

Terkov.4138

LB3 (weakness + vulnerability from opening strike),

Weakness?

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Daemon.4295

Daemon.4295

Kryptonite, what’s yours? :p

I meant vulnerability, you get a double dose with opening strike (+15% damage total). I’ll edit post.

Ayana Wenona (Ranger) | Doctor Skorn (Necro) | Electra Lux (Elementalist)
Scarlett Daguer (Thief) | Gritt Bloodstone (Warrior) | Sirius Zand (Guardian)
- Whiteside Ridge [EU] -

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Stooperdale.3560

Stooperdale.3560

You will have a hard time persuading developers that a big aoe attack with cripple is not doing enough single target damage.

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Wanderer.5471

Wanderer.5471

i feel your pain, I play a hybrid BM ranger, and my build was hit hard too, it’s no longer viable in tpvp/duels. It’s like Anet want us to all roll trap rangers.

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Bluedarknesss.1685

Bluedarknesss.1685

Great post I hope Anet does some thing soon to make longbow a viable weapon again.

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: BroScientist.9875

BroScientist.9875

Great post I hope Anet does some thing soon to make longbow a viable weapon again.

Stop. It’s not going to happen. We’ve been hoping for our promised “significant ranger improvements” for almost a year now. It’s not coming and never will. Best to move on to another game or re-roll.

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Paz Shadow.9715

Paz Shadow.9715

Sadly Anet had no idea how much of an impact a quickness nerf would have on the ranger class, just unfortunate since I, along with so many others, have invested hundreds of hours into this style of play just to have it become obsolete overnight.

Green Eye of Grenth | PR Officer | JQ

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Daemon.4295

Daemon.4295

Sadly Anet had no idea how much of an impact a quickness nerf would have on the ranger class, just unfortunate since I, along with so many others, have invested hundreds of hours into this style of play just to have it become obsolete overnight.

Unfortunately I have to agree with you, it’s like the devs don’t understand the mechanics of their own game and just look at the math of hypothetical DOT. Sure, longbow does great damage against the training golems in the mists, but if you can’t land its attacks we have a wee problem. Sometimes I wonder whether the game designers that originally built the class are still at anet.

Ayana Wenona (Ranger) | Doctor Skorn (Necro) | Electra Lux (Elementalist)
Scarlett Daguer (Thief) | Gritt Bloodstone (Warrior) | Sirius Zand (Guardian)
- Whiteside Ridge [EU] -

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Jalad Lantana.3027

Jalad Lantana.3027

In a game where movement is fast and key, the longbow, even with zephyr before it was nerfed, was marginally effect, mainly to the fact that 90% of the time the so called OP arrow barrage would fall on empty space.

With faster signet cool downs, it was zephyr short bow that was a threat and represented the classes only burst skill in a game defined by burst skills.

With the nerf zephyr short bow is just one more meh substandard skill.

HOD
Guardian / Ranger / Mesmer / Necro / Warrior
Played since 1st online ‘demo’ months before the BWEs.

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Daemon.4295

Daemon.4295

But shortbow does good damage even without quickness, while longbow relies on it. I honestly can’t remember the last time I cast barrage without qz or pet swap, it just won’t connect without it.

Ayana Wenona (Ranger) | Doctor Skorn (Necro) | Electra Lux (Elementalist)
Scarlett Daguer (Thief) | Gritt Bloodstone (Warrior) | Sirius Zand (Guardian)
- Whiteside Ridge [EU] -

Understanding quickness nerf for Longbow

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Posted by: Paz Shadow.9715

Paz Shadow.9715

agreed that to make longbow even viable as a weapon, qz is required. Barrage is a joke now, and rapid fire even with qz is slow

Green Eye of Grenth | PR Officer | JQ