Guild Wars 2

Vital Shot aftercast reduced by .6 seconds, finally after 3.5 years they realized it was too slow for its damage. That’s huge. Time to load up a P/P build!

i smell sarcasm, but i cant taste it :P

Deathrubber.3861:

i smell sarcasm, but i cant taste it :P

Oh no, I’m dead serious. Vital shot’s sluggish rof for its damage tuning was p/p’s main problem from day one. It created an over dependency on Unload which left you initiative started with no flexibility on the set. I’ve railed about it consistently for years on the forums.

It’s amazing that it took 3.5 years for them to correct it, but they finally did.

I’m not quite convinced that P/P is up to par just yet, but I plan on trying it out using the new Destroyer’s amulet (+power, +precision, +ferocity, +cond-damage).

Maybe something like this…: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAqaVn0MBFOhFmCOPB8PhFfCbeAuAfgeDhqQUYLAMAOTA-TZBFwAVLD04IAQ4UAUa/BAPAAA

Really not sure what utility #9 should be. Biggest problems are lack of condi-removal and disengage. The build basically works by relying on Steal into Blinding Powder + Bounding Dodger to gain stealth, then use Sneak Attack, followed by Unload spam. Once you run out of initiative you pretty much have nothing.

I’ll probably end up going S/D instead. Worth a try, though.

Eastcorn.5901:

Really not sure what utility #9 should be.

Shadowstep? Disengage, deception,stunbreak, cleanse and double gap opener.

The main thing is that applying the set’s utility features now doesn’t tank your DPS nearly as hard as it did before. As a result, the whole set has become much more usable in a variety of contexts.

I am going to revisit this as a main weapon. The adding of might coupled with how the new lead attacks works will boost damage by a good margin. Couple this with IP and there should be a lot more health incoming while it the same time if using a Condition or hybrid type build , that might and new lead attacks will add to condition ticks.

if one goes the power route , the PI with interrupts should hit very hard if at full initiative for lead attacks with full might stacks. The question is can this be fit in and still provide the survival needed (condi cleanse especially).

The Vital shot delay issue is not on aftercast, it’s on the pre-cast (the aiming animation).

After using Unload, the Unload after cast delay plus the Vital Shot pre-cast delay makes the whole set very clunky to use due this extended delays. In order to make the set functions smoother is to have the pre-cast delay from Vital shot reduced instead of the after-cast. However, the transition from Vital Shot to Unload did receive some improvements albeit not enough since the transition from Unload to Vital shot also needs to be smoother.

babazhook.6805:

I am going to revisit this as a main weapon. The adding of might coupled with how the new lead attacks works will boost damage by a good margin.

Unload has an activation time of 1.75s, plus the pre-cast and after cast delays, that’s roughly 2.3s. By that time, your 8 stacks of might become 5 stacks. By the time you make the first auto-attack, due to pre-cast and aftercast delay, the stack is now at 4. The second shot from Vital Shot will only benefit from 3 stacks, and so on.

The damage boost is mainly to benefit Unload and probably with Alacrity or quickness, other skills can benefit from it also.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

The Vital shot delay issue is not on aftercast, it’s on the pre-cast (the aiming animation).

After using Unload, the Unload after cast delay plus the Vital Shot pre-cast delay makes the whole set very clunky to use due this extended delays. In order to make the set functions smoother is to have the pre-cast delay from Vital shot reduced instead of the after-cast. However, the transition from Vital Shot to Unload did receive some improvements albeit not enough since the transition from Unload to Vital shot also needs to be smoother.

No, Vital Shot has a very standard activation time, it was the aftercast that was the serious problem. It now effectively deals about 25% more damage than it did before during any particular span of time, which means you don’t have to rely on Unload as much and can get way more mileage out of the set’s other skills when they are needed.

It’s icing on the cake that Unload was given a utilitarian purpose that synergizes with Vital Shot rather than stealing the show from it. This change has been needing to happen since launch, and I’m elated it finally has.

Einlanzer.1627:

No, Vital Shot has a very standard activation time, it was the aftercast that was the serious problem. It now effectively deals about 25% more damage than it did before during any particular span of time, which means you don’t have to rely on Unload as much and can get way more mileage out of the set’s other skills when they are needed.

It’s not about the activation time, it’s about the pre-cast delay. If you look at the Ranger’s Shortbow auto attack, it doesn’t have any activation time while in all sense of wielding a bow is to aim and pull the string, yet they don’t have any activation time. Thief’s pistol, on the other hand, don’t need a string to be pulled yet it requires 1/2 to aim on top of the pre-cast delay. Wiki have a 0.82s attack speed for Vital Shot, that’s just way too long. So previously, when you add the after cast delay, Vital Shot shoots bullet roughly every second. And if they removed 0.6s from after cast, then Vital Shot shoots a bullet more than a second each before — that’s why it was crap. However, without addressing the pre-cast delay, the transition from Unload to Vital Shot results into a long delay.

It’s icing on the cake that Unload was given a utilitarian purpose that synergizes with Vital Shot rather than stealing the show from it. This change has been needing to happen since launch, and I’m elated it finally has.

When you transition from Unload to Vital shot, the 3 of 8 stacks of might will drop off already and by the time you shoot a bullet from Vital Shot, there’s only 5 stacks left. So every shot from Vital Shot a might stack is dropped. That’s how pathetic Vital Shot’s pre-cast time is. It would be better if they just remove the 1/2 activation time from Vital Shot if they really want to improve the weapon set.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

babazhook.6805:

I am going to revisit this as a main weapon. The adding of might coupled with how the new lead attacks works will boost damage by a good margin.

Unload has an activation time of 1.75s, plus the pre-cast and after cast delays, that’s roughly 2.3s. By that time, your 8 stacks of might become 5 stacks. By the time you make the first auto-attack, due to pre-cast and aftercast delay, the stack is now at 4. The second shot from Vital Shot will only benefit from 3 stacks, and so on.

The damage boost is mainly to benefit Unload and probably with Alacrity or quickness, other skills can benefit from it also.

I was premising this on patch notes and in game tooltip which has an 8 second might stack being applied per shot. Time will tell if the 4 seconds that in fact what one receives is the intent or a bug.

In any case the idea was to also use Runes of Strength for more boon duration.