Guild Wars 2

I think banner’s are quite cool and I’d like to use them a lot, since they give unique buffs and are the only things other clases can’t directly provide: I’m a warrior, I like warrior things.

Anyway i also really hate this mechanic since they are very difficult to use and I feel very kittened to have them in the bar. If I want to use a banner I need to pick it up (and you don’t know what could happen hitting “F” sometimes…) push “2” and then put the banner down to resume any other action you were performing. This is extremely boring.

I’m not against the fact that banners are “stationary”, and you must have some troubles carrying them around: I’m ok with the fact that they’re quite good in dungeons and quite bad in wvw. What I really don’t like is “how” they’re used.

What I would suggest is to allow banner owner to “activate” banners pushing again the same button he used to plant it, the same way guardians use their spirit weapons: first click to summon, subsequent clicks to use.

In this case I consider “activating” the banner the pressure of their “2” skill while you are carrying it. So it’s fury or regeneration buff you get from banners, not the swiftness, not the rush, not the stomp.

I can understand that this system could make banners too powerful, anf if this is the case I think that a long casting time on suck abilities (1-2 seconds maybe?) on longer cooldowns and the fact that the buff is cast around the banner and not around the owner could make it quite balanced.

What do you think abount this? Good solution or s**t?

p.s.: sorry for my english

only change i’d like to see int heir use(i have ideas for the buffs themselves but that’s off topic) is to see them take up their own utility slot when picked up and for you to only have the option to plant them. the unique skill they have could be linked to the banner trait.

the “inspire” skill should be automatic on pick up.

I’d honestly like to see them work like engineer kits (no duration/timer). If they did this then the hassle of picking them up, using them, replanting them would be ok with me. Since they have a timer, and a CD, and generally are pretty weak overall except for the elite…. well, just not worth the hassle imo.

I use the precision/crit damage banner and the elite, with the range/cooldown trait and the regen trait.

Traited, the discipline banner has virtually 100% uptime. It poofs at around the the 4 second mark on the cooldown. Managing it does require a lot of presses and some thought, but I think I like it, it’s a lot more active and requires more decision-making than shouts or signets.

What I would suggest as a second button press for banners isn’t to trigger its buff, but rather to summon the banner to your position, including from another player’s hands. So no matter where the banner is, hitting the summon button places it at your feet ready to be picked up.

Being able to do that once per banner summon would probably make it easier to manage when a fight has drifted away from the banner, but you don’t exactly have time to retrieve it. This makes it a little more functional without in any way changing its effectiveness; I’d consider it a quality of life change, and it would go a ways towards fixing the problem of players running off with your banners.

One option would be for the warrior to “equip” the banner>> [img]http://www.aeroartinc.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/p/b/pb22.jpg[/img]

~f2-f6 can be banner comands
~push banner button again to place it on the ground
~I can see this having drawbacks to keep it balanced though, maybe -15% speed while it is “equiped” or something like that
~can only “equip” 1 banner max

p.s. – anyway to show images or is it just links?

I just wish there was a different skill than Plant Standard (skill 5). Sure, it’s a combo finisher, but it’s near worthless since there’s an activation time of one second and it’s easier to just drop the banner to use your weapons. Maybe if Plant Standard had the effect of resummoning your banner for the first time, it would see much more use.

Of course, if this was the case, then all banners would need to have a ‘summoned for first time only’ skill, such as is the case with Battle Standard’s ability to revive anyone in radius from Downed status or Defeated (NPC only). Then, the “Plant Standard” skill would have much more use.

Do you think we have any chance to see banners reworked someway?