Guild Wars 2

So everytime i hear that theres going to be a big balance patch i jump with joy hoping that there will be a rifle buff so i can finally use it without feeling bad that im not using LB, but Anet doesnt seem to want to do it. Has it been stated anywhere that they’re happy where rifle is on warrior right now, or are they just ignoring it?

(Btw already tried engi rifle, cant get over how they hold the dam thing, and it just feels alot stronger on warrior)

SecureHades.4935:

(Btw already tried engi rifle, cant get over how they hold the dam thing, and it just feels alot stronger on warrior)

Problem with engies: they use the rifle as if it was a shotgun. But 90% of the rifles in the game look like sniper/long range rifles. And an engi using blunderbuss on a sniper rifle is the silliest thing you’ll ever find in this game.

About war… IMHO they have to rework its mechanics, more than buff numbers. Having a condi auto while all other skills are power based is pretty awkward. Its damage shouldn’t revolve around Killshot and Volley.

if they cleaned up the rifle so it doesn’t feel so unresponsive and buffed the number 4 attack then it would probably be alright.

personally i think they should move the trait [crack shot] to the discipline line.

Dunno that buffs are necessary yet. Let’s see what people do with the more accessible rifle trait first. Could turn out it was OP all along, just completely underused (coughunsuspectingfoecough)

Corian.4068:

Dunno that buffs are necessary yet. Let’s see what people do with the more accessible rifle trait first. Could turn out it was OP all along, just completely underused (coughunsuspectingfoecough)

I can imagine that..gs+rifle war here.

The whole dmg of rifle sits in 2 long casting skills, at least one of it is multi hit
Rifle has no real tools to prevent someone to getting close. Lol at cripple with that weak knockback. Look at engi rifle, immo, insta cast self knockback and launch a foe on low cds doing pretty good job. Today i bursted down a war down without taking any hit on my engi and for a good reason.

The olny thing i actually wonder is where i will put my 5 points out of arms..
I can go 20 discipline for signet mastery/destruction/vigor on stances
I can go 5str for lol dodge hit that wont hit anyone anyway
And i can go 30 defense for spiked armor – actually thinking about it.

is the rifle that bad? why?
I just rolled a rifle/gs warri (lvl 24). I am interested

Well, according to the Dec 10th patch preview, the Warrior’s Rifle Trait Crack Shot will be moving to adept tier.

I think this could really help make Rifle/Greatsword a usable build, since going 20 in Arms means you can get both the Rifle and Greatsword skill recharges slashed by 20%. Throw in going at least 20 in Discipline (30 if you like), and you could do well in WvW and PvP.

boneheart.2408:

is the rifle that bad? why?
I just rolled a rifle/gs warri (lvl 24). I am interested

Long cast time in 1 v 1 fights = bad, lack of AoE makes the LB much better in keep work defense and offense, Zerg battles again, better AoE on LB compared to Rifle, but you have a GS so …

It is too limited in its scope… very single target ish. Even when I pve’d I didn’t like it as much as other weapons. I would much rather group up 3-4 mobs and bring them all down together using a sword or GS than a Rifle.

If the bleed on the auto was changed to vulnerability, that would make a big difference right off the bat.

Ultrajoe.8674:

If the bleed on the auto was changed to vulnerability, that would make a big difference right off the bat.

Armor piercing shot eh

2 things would make rifle a comparable choice with other weapons atm.
1. Kill shot. Half the cast time and cut the damage by 1/3.
2. Brutal shot. Terrible ability atm. Beef the damage up and add a 1 sec stun or 2-3 sec daze while removing the vulnerability.
I love the rifle but until something like this happens ill always go longbow. You sacrifice all aoe to go rifle. The direct damage it has is in no way compensating for all the utility you give up in the longbow.

JVJD.4912:

Ultrajoe.8674:

If the bleed on the auto was changed to vulnerability, that would make a big difference right off the bat.

Armor piercing shot eh

I actually just thought of the same thing as soon as I started reading this thread. I think that would be pretty cool, and would actually serve to more directly benefit allies as well.

That being said, the bleed has quite a substantial duration at long range (compare it to engg pistol, which is a real “condi” weapon), but it does force you into playing some sort of hybrid damage build if you want to maximize both aspects (i.e. with rampager’s gear).

Corian.4068:

Dunno that buffs are necessary yet. Let’s see what people do with the more accessible rifle trait first. Could turn out it was OP all along, just completely underused (coughunsuspectingfoecough)

The rifle trait (reduced cooldowns, piercing) doesn’t do enough address the fundamental issues with the weapon. Compared to the LB, rifle only offers a relatively minor advantage in terms of range, raw weapon damage, and access to a knockback. However, most of the rifle attacks are slower. In addition, by equipping a rifle instead of a longbow, the wielder gives up access to these:
– 4 AoE skills (#2, #3, #4, F1)
– A blast finisher (#3)
– An AoE fire field (F1) and these self-combos:
—- AoE Might stacking via F1 + #3
—- Burning projectiles via F1 + auto attack
– A 3 second Immobilize (#5)

Also, between the Longbow AoE attacks and it’s #1 auto attack (2 hits per attack), it tends to gain adrenaline much faster than the rifle, allowing for more and faster uses of the burst skill.

In order to balance this, the the rifle could do one of the following:
- Attack much, much faster than the longbow (balances lack of AoE with fast single target attacks)
- Do much higher damage per shot than the longbow (balances lack of AoE with high damage single target attacks)
- Include it’s own set of AoE attacks, such as via a trait that adds explosive ammunition (overcomes lack of AoE by adding its own)

Until one of those occurs, or the longbow gets seriously nerfed, the longbow offers several significant advantages over the rifle, making longbow the obvious choice.

I agree that the rifle still won’t see much play post-patch. While Crack Shot is nice in that it allows you to hit multiple opponents with high damage skills like Volley or Killshot, you have to play such awkward angles to actually get the damage to go where you want it to. It’s too cumbersome to be effective.