Guild Wars 2

Hi guys.
Lately there has been a lot of discussion about Ventari but I’m finding few suggestions and a lot of arguing, so let’s have a CDI style thread, following the rules as follows:

Suggested Idea Format
Proposal Overview
<A short description of the proposal that is being put forward>
Goal of Proposal
<What problem are you trying to solve with your proposal>
Proposal Functionality
<How does your proposal work in regard in relation to the current design of GW2>
Associated Risks
<What risks or problems can you foresee with this proposal which you would like to have assistance on from other members of the CDI>

Please try to be as concise as feasible with your proposal.

Suggested Discussion Approach
No suggested format.
Suggested Post Word Count: 200

CDI Rules:
1: This initiative is all about discussion.
2: We will not be disclosing information pertaining to what is currently in development.
3: Anger and emotion will have less impact than intelligent discussion.
4: Together we will share and evolve design philosophies which will impact how we develop the game moving forward.
5: Aggression and disrespect to a fellow community member or developer will not be tolerated, and in the extreme could lead to the shutting down of the initiative.
7: Off topic posts will be deleted.

Please note this is not a competition, either between yourselves or the developers in regard to one up man ship. The point of this Initiative is to work together to make the game better.

I will start with the most common proposal for Ventari.

Proposal Overview
Make Ventari’s tablet summon be automatic upon legend swap.

Goal of Proposal
Makes the flow of the legend more natural and enables the player to get into his roll faster, which is often a requirement for healing.

Proposal Functionality
When the Revenant swaps to Ventari, the tablet is automatically summoned at the position he was when the swap happened.

Associated Risks
Could be unfair to heal upon legend swap. To correct this, maybe the initial healing should be changed to Rejuvenation buff.

Give Salvation a trait (or just baseline it) where the tablet effects also happens on the rev, like if he’s a tablet himself. Just like the old Illusionary Persona trait from mesmers before it became baseline. Then balance the numbers around it.
Bam. Ventari is saved.
Sorry, too lazy to format.

Here it goes two of my proposals from another thread:

1)
Proposal Overview
Give Ventari a unique buff that can only be applied by a trait in Salvation.

Goal of Proposal
A skilled Ventari healer can keep alive a raid group. However a preference for druid healers comes from damage boost they apply by GoL. Since a damage buff is quite contrary to Salvation style, the buff Ventari provides should be strong enough to prefer this healer option in at least some raid scenarios where a great amout of damage is not that needed (VG compared to Gorseval, for instance).

Proposal Functionality
Salvation needs a rework that gathers some of the increase healing output in a single trait. Then, we could use one of the spare traits to give the option to provide a buff when people are affected by the tablet. There are some options I’ve thought of:
- Breakbar damage people affected by the buff deal with CC is increased. (CC as a way to provide peace)
- People affected deal a modified version of blind with their attacks that bosses are now weak against. (To continue with the blind theme)
- People affected heal themselves when they attack a blinded foe, even if it is not affected by blind.
- People affected gain a peace moment where they receive nor deal any damage and are stuck to the spot, but can be healed and CD keep going on. (The pvp version of this could be treated as a buff you apply to foes and prevent them while affected to contest in points)

Associated Risks
Balance issues, depending on which buff is decided (doesn’t need to be one of this I’ve thought of) or if it has a pvp variant.

2)
Proposal Overview
Certain combinations of weapon and legend can change some weapon skills if the player wants to.

Goals of Proposal
-Correct what, in my opinion, is a bad design decision: some weapons and legends seem to be tied but by no means are intended for the legends role (hammer and Jallis, for instance).
-Provide more skills to fulfil a legend’s role (Staff only heals with #4, cause #1 is not reliable; mace applies condis but in melee).
-Provide build diversity, since actual weapon skills are not lost and combination skills are a player’s choice.

Proposal Functionality
Each trait line that is tied to a legend has a trait that changes at least the autoattack of the related weapon (both Shiro and Glint are then tied to sword) when that legend is being invoked. Some ideas could be:
- Mace + Mallyx has now medium range. Converts torment to burn or venom of the same duration and damage (more pve-friendly).
- Staff + Ventari has now medium range. Autoattack chain provides a water field or at least some light but reliable healing.
- Hammer + Jallis has now a melee range option, Autoattacks now have a chance of casting a lesser Rite of the Great Dwarf or of providing Aegis.

Associated Risks
Balance issues.

I would post your ideas as stand alone so the devs can quickly identify the topic and not have to filter through a ton of comments.

Proposal Overview
Redesign of Salvation traitline to provide more utilities while in Legendary Centaur Stance

Goal of Proposal
To have the Salvation traitline provide an increase in both healing effectiveness and utility to the Centaur Stance.

Proposal Functionality

*Merge Tranquil Balance and Serene Rejuvenation in to a Minor Grandmaster called Serene Regrowth: while health is above 75% healing done to allies is increased by 35%, while health is bellow 75% healing done to allies is increased by 15% – this makes room for more inovation whithin Salvation by compresing the number of traits required to get maximum of healing done to others in Centaur Stance

*Make nourishing roots & disarming riposte swap places within the traitline to increase the amount of healing

*have natural abundance eluding nulification swap places, then buff eluding nulification to remove 2 conditions

*have Tranquil Benediction swap places with Disarming Riposte which in my list of improvements occupies the slot of Nourishing Roots – improves healing and boon application outside of Glint

Associated Risks
Minimum to high, depends on how strong condi removal becomes with Salvation and if Anet decides to ignore our opinions on how to improve Salvation.

Akeno.4962:

Here it goes two of my proposals from another thread:

I really like your ideas. Giving Ventari some access to CC could open him the space he’s been needing. But the balance team has to be careful not to make it accessible, specially not very viable with a DPS oriented build. Also, the blind could be cool, they could rework the blind on heal trait.

MakubeC.3026:

I will start with the most common proposal for Ventari.

Proposal Overview
Make Ventari’s tablet summon be automatic upon legend swap.

Goal of Proposal
Makes the flow of the legend more natural and enables the player to get into his roll faster, which is often a requirement for healing.

Proposal Functionality
When the Revenant swaps to Ventari, the tablet is automatically summoned at the position he was when the swap happened.

Associated Risks
Could be unfair to heal upon legend swap. To correct this, maybe the initial healing should be changed to Rejuvenation buff.

i dont think that the heal would change a lot, but agreeing with this one.

Additionally:

1.

Proposal:
The Tablet stays with the revenant, the positioning skill sends Tabletshards to the Target location. Functionality aplies the same as before.

Goal:
Keeps the tablet near the rev for better self sustain to help focussing on group support.

Functioning:
The positioning of the tablet will be replaced by summoning /sending Tablet shards to the location with same functionality. All tablet channel abbilities apply to the shards and the tablet.

Risks:
Difficult to implement and balance (healing done, upkeep cost, number of shards etc.)

2.

Proposal:
add stunbreak to the condiclear skill.

Goal:
Well, give Ventari a stunbreak.

Function:
Obvious.

Risks:
Cd of the skill may be a little low for a Stunbreak, maybe increasing it a little bit would be good for balance.

why dont make ventari a shout system utility giving good healing and stuff like that, it will help alot of rune for meele like the old soldier rune or others

Proposal Overview

Remove Ventari’s Tablet as a mechanic from the revenant core profession.

Goal of Proposal

In one hand, the tablet isn’t engaging enough, and many of its current problems have a root in the way the foundations were designed. In the other hand, the tablet could have potential as part of a new mechanic in a future new elite specialization, where each legend could have an associated pet-like minion.

For an idea on how such an elite specialization could look like, check this thread: Revenant elite spec idea: Hierophant

Proposal Functionality

All the existing Ventari/Centaur legend skills would be redesigned to be casted from the player instead of the tablet, adjusting the individual mechanics and numbers as necessary.

Associated Risks

As of today, these skills are barely used by revenants, so the risks of player alienation or breaking current viable builds is pretty low.

Development time for the redesign would take some time, and still lead to another unsatisfactory result. Even then, the removal of the tablet clears the way for a pet-based revenant elite specialization, where the original tablet idea could shine more than now, together with other pets based on each legend, becoming a key-selling point.

Lonami.2987:

Proposal Overview

Remove Ventari’s Tablet as a mechanic from the revenant core profession.

Goal of Proposal

In one hand, the tablet isn’t engaging enough, and many of its current problems have a root in the way the foundations were designed. In the other hand, the tablet could have potential as part of a new mechanic in a future new elite specialization, where each legend could have an associated pet-like minion.

For an idea on how such an elite specialization could look like, check this thread: Revenant elite spec idea: Hierophant

Proposal Functionality

All the existing Ventari/Centaur legend skills would be redesigned to be casted from the player instead of the tablet, adjusting the individual mechanics and numbers as necessary.

Associated Risks

As of today, these skills are barely used by revenants, so the risks of player alienation or breaking current viable builds is pretty low.

Development time for the redesign would take some time, and still lead to another unsatisfactory result. Even then, the removal of the tablet clears the way for a pet-based revenant elite specialization, where the original tablet idea could shine more than now, together with other pets based on each legend, becoming a key-selling point.

I find that your idea is only based in your spec suggestion, while I have been advocating for a core revenant not so reliant on specs. Without tablet, Ventari would need an entiiiiire revamp that would not makes us any different from tempests or druids in terms of gameplay.

I can understand people complaining about clunkiness or not being effective enough, but there are solutions to that effect. I think the best way to balance Ventari is to create a high risk / high reward situation.

Akeno.4962:

I find that your idea is only based in your spec suggestion, while I have been advocating for a core revenant not so reliant on specs. Without tablet, Ventari would need an entiiiiire revamp that would not makes us any different from tempests or druids in terms of gameplay.

I can understand people complaining about clunkiness or not being effective enough, but there are solutions to that effect. I think the best way to balance Ventari is to create a high risk / high reward situation.

It’s quite the opposite actually. Trying to find ways to improve the tablet, that elite specialization idea was born. Most people hate it, and it’s not working properly. I say we make it go the way of the guardian tomes, and bring it back later, fleshed out properly.

High risk high reward situations can be good for dps, but not for healing. The current skills are fine, it’s the tablet which gives the problems.

For example, change Ventari skills so instead of channeling through the tablet, each skill requires to throw an individual seed, which upon landing has the same effects. This way you can target easily and in different places at the same time. Or maybe we could change the skills to something like mantras, so Ventari users can actually chant his proverbs, like “Act with wisdom, but act”.

Core revenant has many other problems, like lack of weapon variety, or the lack of utility skill variety, which leads to assumptions about a missing 5th legend. Ritualist would be perfect for this spot, instead of locking it to an elite spec. But obviously, this would take much more work.