Guild Wars 2

And, more importantly, making the Rifle a distinct and fun weapon to use.

I remember someone talking about the Spear Gun mechanic for use with the Rifle, and that’s cool… but how about we put it in reverse? How about the Rifle’s #1 skill loses the bleed, and gains damage based on how close you are to the target? Determine how much average damage the bleed is worth, and roll that damage into the attack’s damage itself.

Then, from 0-300 you get say 10% bonus damage, 5% from like 301-600, and then base damage from 601-1200?

This could even be (carefully) applied to Volley – damage varies slightly (in a consistent way) based on distance from the target.

I feel like this, along with perhaps some selective other changes (Brutal Shot might need a faster cast time, etc), could make Rifles competitive with Longbows again (Rifles should absolutely do more damage than Longbows to compensate for them having less overall utility) while also making Rifle gameplay unique and interesting.

The idea is that you’d use skills like Aimed Shot and Rifle Butt (and maybe utility skills like Stomp, Throw Bolas, Fear Me!, or… Kick) to manipulate your target’s distance from you, trying to keep them close enough to really unload on them, but without letting them get close enough to take a bite out of you. Kind of like using a shotgun, but not?

Just an idea.

So you basically want ranged play to be punished for staying at range? Also, If you want a shotgun, there is the engg. We have enough melee weapons. We only have 2 ranged weapons and one of them is already better in melee.

my suggestion is thus

-crack shot is moved to the discipline tree.
-the cast times of auto attack and other skills are adjusted to be more responsive. (currently the weapon feels sluggish and unwieldy)
-brutal shot is replaced with kill shot, kill shot is changed to deal the same damage as brutal shot with the same cast time. at 900-1500 range it deals bonus damage equal to twice its regular damage. if it strikes a target in the back it does double damage.
-new burst skill is volley with a reduced 2 1/2 second cast time. 4 shots at one bar of adrenaline. 5 shots at two bars, and 6 shots at 3 bars. cast time doesn’t change
-auto attack’s bleed is removed, instead it fires twice in rapid succession.

i believe that the problem with rifle is a little too deep to really fix with a bandage, the rifle lacks depth, it feels clunky, it doesn’t have good utility, it doesn’t synergize with the other weapons.

its a single target weapon, that doesn’t do a good job of taking down single targets.

I made that suggestion as well as other ones to improve it (by nerfing burst dmg, but speeding it up, as well to make it more a sustained dps wep – harpoon gun mechanic for 1/engi mechanic for highter dmg at closer range for 2) and i simply disagree with that u did there.

Rifle is a long range wep, its should reward for standing at range, and punish if u decide to stay too long at melee.

As the guy above said it doesnt synergize with weapons..well maybe one..mace offhand for mid-long range tremor>ks. I still think that rifle should be paired with gs as a perfect set, just like spear+harpoon gun is.

And i agree to move rifle to discipline line, and place bow (merged traits) in arms.

Rifle needs fixing, since when? It is still capable of 17K plus killshots if warrior is traited properly. Lol, wow, cannot believe this talk of ‘fixing’ rifle…..

Rigel.3092:

Rifle needs fixing, since when? It is still capable of 17K plus killshots if warrior is traited properly. Lol, wow, cannot believe this talk of ‘fixing’ rifle…..

U can always 1v1 me with ur 17k boom killshots if u thinking that rifle is in a good spot..But im not sure if u survive longer than 10sec..

Rigel.3092:

Rifle needs fixing, since when? It is still capable of 17K plus killshots if warrior is traited properly. Lol, wow, cannot believe this talk of ‘fixing’ rifle…..

Just because a weapon has one trick, using one specific ability, if you spec and gear precisely, does not mean that it is a good weapon.

Indeed, it’s generally the opposite – one badly designed but arguably slightly OP ability can easily mask much more serious deficiencies and cause devs, but thinking like you do, to fail to fix the other problems with.

Seetoo.9316:

So you basically want ranged play to be punished for staying at range?

Not really, no. I just want the Rifle to receive more than flat damage boosts; I’d much rather have Rifle be more than “stand in the back and pewpew.”

And keep in mind that being 1200 range away from something is already a pretty significant advantage in itself, since that means you’re a lot less likely to get bit by something.

This sort of change would encourage Rifle to play in a sort of serpentine style, moving in close to maximize damage for bursts while backing off between cooldowns to minimize incoming damage.

PizzaSHARK.2741:

Not really, no. I just want the Rifle to receive more than flat damage boosts; I’d much rather have Rifle be more than “stand in the back and pewpew.”

I think u want reroll to engi. A distance weapon is a distance weapon, for closed fights we have melee sets.

Scoobaniec.9561:

PizzaSHARK.2741:

Not really, no. I just want the Rifle to receive more than flat damage boosts; I’d much rather have Rifle be more than “stand in the back and pewpew.”

I think u want reroll to engi. A distance weapon is a distance weapon, for closed fights we have melee sets.

Haha, engi will probably be the class I try next

It’s not a melee weapon anymore than a shotgun is, though. How would a rifle’s bullet become stronger the farther it goes from the muzzle? Bullets lose velocity over time, if anything, they’d be weaker from far away, not stronger.

PizzaSHARK.2741:

Haha, engi will probably be the class I try next

It’s not a melee weapon anymore than a shotgun is, though. How would a rifle’s bullet become stronger the farther it goes from the muzzle? Bullets lose velocity over time, if anything, they’d be weaker from far away, not stronger.

There are any number of rationalizations that can be made for a ranged weapon doing more damage at range. Off the top of my head, a rifle (especially with a scope) is far less accurate against close erratic targets. Since there is no mechanic for miss percentage, you could say that the reduced damage with lack of distance is meant to model the average damage reduction due to inaccuracy.

Pragmatically though, it’s the way it is simply from a game design standpoint. They likely wanted to add more incentive to using melee weapons when close. If the design was inverted you’d likely have rifle warriors shooting people from minimal distance in order to maximize damage.

Defcon.8509:

There are any number of rationalizations that can be made for a ranged weapon doing more damage at range. Off the top of my head, a rifle (especially with a scope) is far less accurate against close erratic targets. Since there is no mechanic for miss percentage, you could say that the reduced damage with lack of distance is meant to model the average damage reduction due to inaccuracy.

Pragmatically though, it’s the way it is simply from a game design standpoint. They likely wanted to add more incentive to using melee weapons when close. If the design was inverted you’d likely have rifle warriors shooting people from minimal distance in order to maximize damage.

Yeah. I understand what people are saying, but I honestly don’t feel like the Warrior class in general is really “meant” to be used from a long distance away; longbows have pretty short range without traiting (and I don’t think very many people take those traits), and a lot of our skills are only any good if we’re up close and personal.

I’d be fine with Rifle #1 being a clone of Spear Gun #1, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen, and just removing the bleed and boosting the damage is… well, kinda boring.

……no….. I need my rifle for when I CAN’T get close or I NEED to stay away. What you’re asking for is for it to be turned into another melee weapon. We can use EVERY melee weapon except DAGGER. If you change rifle’s damage to be related to how close you are you are going to see even more warriors with longbow. There’s a reason the 5 skill is a knock back.

I’m not going to switch to my rifle just to stay in the same range as my hammer.

Ashes.9586:

……no….. I need my rifle for when I CAN’T get close or I NEED to stay away. What you’re asking for is for it to be turned into another melee weapon. We can use EVERY melee weapon except DAGGER. If you change rifle’s damage to be related to how close you are you are going to see even more warriors with longbow. There’s a reason the 5 skill is a knock back.

I’m not going to switch to my rifle just to stay in the same range as my hammer.

The Rifle isn’t meant to be a secondary weapon – it’s meant to be your primary weapon. You’d be swapping to your hammer to use hammer skills before going back to rifle, not the other way around.

The longbow is a support weapon, the rifle is a damage weapon. Or it’s supposed to be, anyway.

PizzaSHARK.2741:

Ashes.9586:

……no….. I need my rifle for when I CAN’T get close or I NEED to stay away. What you’re asking for is for it to be turned into another melee weapon. We can use EVERY melee weapon except DAGGER. If you change rifle’s damage to be related to how close you are you are going to see even more warriors with longbow. There’s a reason the 5 skill is a knock back.

I’m not going to switch to my rifle just to stay in the same range as my hammer.

The Rifle isn’t meant to be a secondary weapon – it’s meant to be your primary weapon. You’d be swapping to your hammer to use hammer skills before going back to rifle, not the other way around.

The longbow is a support weapon, the rifle is a damage weapon. Or it’s supposed to be, anyway.

Who says it can’t be a secondary? Sometimes I go in rifle first, sometimes I go in hammer first. In the end it’s the same concept, rifle = stay away, hammer = get close. Doesn’t matter if either one is in my top or bottom weapon slot.

What makes a weapon a “secondary” weapon on a warrior anyway? Traits? Which slot it’s in? How often you use it? What if I was using a greatsword with it? Would it become a secondary then?
What you’re saying is that, compared to rifle, hammer is a secondary weapon, to which I say da heck are you talking about? Hammer is hammer, rifle is rifle, neither are a “meant” to be a “secondary” or “main” weapon.

Longbow can also PLENTY of damage. Dat burn.

Made this post a LONG time ago, but people didn’t(and still don’t) understand just how BORING the rifle is because they’re too busy going on about how big of numbers they can get with killshot…

I made this post before the quickness nerfs, and the stun meta, so some of the ideas would need to be tweaked, but I still think the rifle would still be improved.

Rifles. They’re boring. Some might say underpowered, some say very situational. I say they could use a heavy dose of fun.

Why are rifle’s boring? Well you sit there and you peck away from a distance, and every so often you get a big painful peck that often never connects.

My idea is to make the rifle much more aggressive.

Volley - The closer you are, the more damage it does. I think about 18th century battles and how inaccurate the muskets were, a volley was held off until opposing forces were relatively close to maximize damage. The skill could also track enemies moving around you instead of the skill ending early.

Crack Shot - Change piercing to ricochet(up to 3 targets). I think this mechanic is a bit more fun and makes hitting more than one target a bit easier to set up. Taking time to line your targets up doesn’t seem like a warrior type thing to do. Charging in firing wildly is more like it.

Now for the fun stuff

Rifle Butt - Changed to the adrenaline skill. Now stuns instead of knocking back(remember volley doing more damage up close?)

Prepared Shot (Replaces Rifle Butt on the #5 slot). – Prepare a powerful Rifle Shot. Prepared shot Does different things depending on how well prepared it is. Skill changes for every second it is charged.

-Less than 1 second – ill Prepared Shot – Fire an ill prepared shot that knocks back the enemy(so a double tap of the skill maintains the same function as Rifle Butt)
-After 1 second – Hastily Prepared Shot – Fire a Hastily Prepared shot that stuns your foe
-At 2 seconds(full cast) – Well Prepared Shot – Fire a powerful Shot that immobilizes your foe

Bayonette - Replaces Brutal Shot – Rush forward and impale your foe with with a bayonette making them vulnerable.

I think it would be a lot of fun charging in with a rifle like this. More utility(prepared shot/rifle butt), more damage(volley/crack shot), more aggressive, more fun. Yeah it gets rid of Kill Shot, but I never liked that skill anyways. I think it would be hard to make an accurate Kill Shot when pumped up on adrenaline anyways.

Edit: Some additional thoughts. Though the idea of these changes were to make rifle more aggressive, but they also allow for more defensive play as well. Bayonette could used to run away as well as charge in. Prepared shot can keep people away or hold them still and if they do get close, rifle butt is there to stop them.

This approach makes the rifle more involved, versatile, and usable.

I just have one thing to say…… WHY does everyone want to turn rifle into a melee weapon or a shotgun? T_T

Ashes.9586:

I just have one thing to say…… WHY does everyone want to turn rifle into a melee weapon or a shotgun? T_T

Because we already have the longbow for a “stand at maximum range and peck away at them” weapon.

What’s the point of having two ranged weapons like that? Every weapon should be distinct.

When I equip a sword in either hand, it plays very differently from having an axe, or a mace. While a hammer has similarities with a greatsword, they play very differently.

Why shouldn’t the same be true for longbow and rifle? Why should they both amount to “stand as far in the back as you can and plink away”?

I’m totally fine with Rifle going the Spear Gun route, but… we already have that mechanic in place with the Spear Gun. I like the Spear Gun (though plain old spear feels a lot more effective, maybe because of how goofy water fighting is), so I wouldn’t mind being able to use that mechanic on land, but would ArenaNet be interested in essentially cloning it to the rifle?

Ashes.9586:

Longbow can also PLENTY of damage. Dat burn.

Yes, and the Longbow is overpowered as hell right now, partly because of that and partly because the Rifle is just pretty much useless when you can equip a Longbow instead.

Longbow would probably need some small nerfs, but mostly Rifle just needs to be both fun (it’s really not in its current implementation) and effective.

Rifle has no aoes, longbow does and is therefor often used almost as a defense weapon where you can stand in the aoe and watch people burn.
Rifle can also not blind you or lock you in place.

They still play differently, comparing the two is the exact same as you comparing hammer and greatsword. By your comparison, that fact that we have SEVEN melee weapons already means nothing, but we better not have more than TWO ranged ones!
I seriously don’t understand WHY we need another melee one. Please, tell me why.

Longbow and rifle play differently but they both are ranged.
Greatsword and sword play differently but they both are melee.

Ashes.9586:

Rifle has no aoes, longbow does and is therefor often used almost as a defense weapon where you can stand in the aoe and watch people burn.
Rifle can also not blind you or lock you in place.

They still play differently, comparing the two is the exact same as you comparing hammer and greatsword. By your comparison, that fact that we have SEVEN melee weapons already means nothing, but we better not have more than TWO ranged ones!
I seriously don’t understand WHY we need another melee one. Please, tell me why.

Longbow and rifle play differently but they both are ranged.
Greatsword and sword play differently but they both are melee.

So you think Rifle would be fine and more importantly fun if they did nothing but simple number fixes to it? You think the basic mechanics are fine the way they are?

PizzaSHARK.2741:

Ashes.9586:

Rifle has no aoes, longbow does and is therefor often used almost as a defense weapon where you can stand in the aoe and watch people burn.
Rifle can also not blind you or lock you in place.

They still play differently, comparing the two is the exact same as you comparing hammer and greatsword. By your comparison, that fact that we have SEVEN melee weapons already means nothing, but we better not have more than TWO ranged ones!
I seriously don’t understand WHY we need another melee one. Please, tell me why.

Longbow and rifle play differently but they both are ranged.
Greatsword and sword play differently but they both are melee.

So you think Rifle would be fine and more importantly fun if they did nothing but simple number fixes to it? You think the basic mechanics are fine the way they are?

I agree that it’s skill could use some fancying up, but I don’t want another melee weapon. You can make decent range skills without turning it into melee weapon. It’s a RIFLE, not a musket or a shotgun, it doesn’t have bayonets etc.

I would more clearly define them, and proceed with buffs from there. IMO Longbow should be the AoE damage + utility weapon. Rifle should be the single target damage/chase/kite weapon. I won’t get any more specific than that, but if you’re looking at balance its important to have a clearly defined role rather than just playing buff/nerf whackamole.

Ashes.9586:

I agree that it’s skill could use some fancying up, but I don’t want another melee weapon. You can make decent range skills without turning it into melee weapon. It’s a RIFLE, not a musket or a shotgun, it doesn’t have bayonets etc.

Yeah, I agree there. I just like the idea that, in addition to being primarily focused on damaging single targets, the rifle also focuses on positioning, whether it rewards keeping your distance or getting in close.