Guild Wars 2

Topic asks the question, I mean even the end of the animation has a Blast type effect, so why isn’t it a Blast finisher, I mean we’re sorely missing one, and it kind of works.

I wouldn’t mind. That would give me a 2k heal combined with Swoop.

that would open a lot of new options combined with the amount of fields ranges can use

Because ever since the Greatsword’s nerf during Beta, I have this nagging feeling that the Anet developers feel like it was a mistake to give the Greatsword to Rangers and as such are actively trying to steer all Rangers away from it by keeping it unviable as a main weapon.

Because bears don’t explode.

Vecuu.2018:

Because bears don’t explode.

Made my day lol

Funky.9762:

that would open a lot of new options combined with the amount of fields ranges can use

That was my thinking entirely with asking this question. It really would open up a lot of possibilities.

I alread use GS for my Bunker Build and it works great but feels slightly lacking (yes I know S/D is better I use those too.) I really feel just adding the Blast finisher to the weapon would go miles to make it more Viable as a main weapon.

Agadar.4931:

The Greatsword: a weapon which allowed the Ranger to butcher Warriors, Guardians, and Thieves alike during beta, but which soon after was nerfed straight into the ground, making it utterly useless. Even after the recent minor buffs to Maul and Counterattack, it remains a secondary weapon at most, and is completely unviable as a main weapon. The damage simply is way too low, and the nerf during beta seems to indicate that Anet does not want the Greatsword Ranger to be a source of damage. But then how can we make the Greatsword as great as its name implies?

Exactly: making it a Blast Finisher.

Why is this a good idea? Because first of all, Rangers do not have a single Blast Finisher in their entire arsenal, that is, if you’re counting out the bugged Drakes, which I am. Also, it would turn the Greatsword into a weapon extremely viable for two very distinct builds: the support/tank Ranger, and the trap Ranger. The support/tank Ranger will be able to provide AoE healing by Blasting his own Water Field, while the trap Ranger will be able to provide himself and others with Might and Frost Auras.

And that is only taking the Ranger’s own combo fields in account. In group situations, combo fields are up nearly 24/7. Who cares if the Greatsword has low damage if Maul has a Blast Finisher? The weapon would become like the Guardian’s Hammer, which likewise has a #2 which is an AoE damage blast finisher and also has several defensive/cc tools. The weapon would become extremely viable, and with it, the entire concept of the Melee Ranger would be lifted up into the clouds.

This one change alone would greatly improve the Ranger, or at least in my opinion. What do my fellow Rangers think of this? And if the devs are reading this: what do you think of this?

I’ll agree with this guy.

I agree with this, it’ll make greatswords a viable weapon..Right now I’m using a Sword/Dagger combo because the greatsword feels so useless and that was the main reason I rolled a ranger, I thought a medium armor class with a greatsword was awesome

I would love this. It is the perfect solution.

I agree, it should be.

Ranger is the only class without a player-controlled blast finisher (the only one is on the drake pet, which the pet uses whenever it feels like it). I’d be a little concerned about the frequency with which you can spam Maul (4.75 sec cooldown if you trait for GS). But yeah, rangers need a blast finisher they can control.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blast_finisher

Also, if you spam Maul on the GS, its DPS can come close to sword DPS.

GS DPS isn’t great, but it does have a built in evade on the auto-attack, and is viable as a tank / support weapon. Giving it a blast finisher would allow a ranger to get off five combo finishers from their Healing Spring, add in a couple of kitties for their leap finishing f2 skills and that’s another two, creating a lot of direct healing in addition to the powerful regeneration it can produce, which creates a conundrum and imbalance. As it stands a support ranger using the great sword is powerful, when coordinated with the rest of your party Healing Spring is ridiculously powerful.

So, yes, it is a very weak weapon to use in a DPS build, but if anything instead of adding a blast finisher to the weapon, change the leap finisher of Swoop to become a blast finisher. This would give the Ranger a controlled blast while not increasing the number of combos the weapon is capable of creating.

Honestly, I think the single sword is often a better defensive weapon as well, but that’s just me. I think the only thing it has that I’d like on the single sword (or rather the off hand axe or dagger) is the block and knock down.

I 100% support making the GS #2 skill a blast finisher. Honestly it’s a little ridiculous we don’t have a blast finisher on anything besides 1 pet we can’t control which is probably dead 75% of the time!

We need to get more attention on this thread and get a ton more /signs!

/signs a million times

Vecuu.2018:

Because bears don’t explode.

Says you…

/engineer

Agree, I always wondered why the no. 2 skill is not a blast finisher. It just doesn’t make sense. The animation screams blast finisher. For the reasons quoted by Thrice, the GS is sub-par, at best, without it.

(And no, the #3 skill as a blast finisher is a very bad idea. I don’t want another non-controllable blast finisher tyvm.)