Guild Wars 2

Just wondering what people here think about this: Banners have already been buffed with the recent update, but they still aren’t terribly viable for things like PvP due to their limited mobility. I think I can understand the reasoning behind the nature of banners as they are, but it still makes them only so viable.

It seems like one fairly easy fix to this would be to include a “Summon Banner to Your Location” option after it has been placed – after all, you’re already summoning them out of nowhere, apparently. So, for instance, right now when I summon a banner, without the reduced recharge rate, I just have a black space with a 120s cool down timer. Instead, the banner slot could be replaced with a new skill called, well, “Summon Banner to Your Location,” or something to that effect. Each banner could have it’s own skill, so you couldn’t just instantly summon all your banners at once, and each summon could have it’s own recharge. Something like 20 seconds seems reasonable, but anything in the range of 10-30 seconds might be fair.

In this way, banners could keep their aspects of limited mobility, needing multiple people to carry, say, a full utility/elite banner bar them for generally useful precise placement, but would also allow more versatile mobility than they presently have, and in that respect, might mean that they become at least a bit more viable in more situations.

I’d be interested in anyone thoughts on this. Also, if I’m terribly behind the loop and people have suggested this before and I’ve totally missed it, feel free to let me know I’m dumb like that. Don’t worry, it happens often.

I have to agree with you that something needs to be done for banner skill slot when the banner has been placed! I like your idea but to be honest im having hard time imagining warrior being able to summon his or her banner(s). Summon based spells and skills just don’t fit with warrior profession in my opinion.

I once made a thread myself about the banner:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Banner-suggestions/first#post1764388

It was about being able to pickup the banner up whilst moving. Currently the banners feel very clunky.

So maybe we could be able to pickup the banner quicker and then we could have a new skill at the banner slot in it’s utility skill slot?

As for example: “Pin down”: Throw your banner straight to your enemy immobilizing him or her for some period of time. It would also be good if it would work like our sword bleed skill (was it skill number 4 or 5?) – unremovable.

This does not help with the mobility though. So im just throwing my 2 cents here!

Summon spells may not fit, exactly, but since the warrior can already summon a banner out of nowhere, I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch. At least, not outside of what they can already do. Honestly it’s already a bit quirky how they can pull banners apparently out of their own hammer space, or how banners can grant regeneration (sort of like how shouts can heal).

The biggest weakness of banners though is their mobility. I can understand the principles behind making them not fully mobile, but something like this would at least mitigate some of the weakness, making them more viable, while not fully scrapping the initial design choice.

I know some folks have talked about a sort of “backpack” option before, where one might carry a banner with them, thus making them all fully mobile buffs. I can sort of see that, but I don’t know if that’s fully in the spirit of the banner mechanics. Especially now with the increased stats, they work well in team PvE situations and dungeons, but not that much else at the moment, generally speaking. At least not compared to other skills and builds.

aah, alas! But for some reason I still think that summoning already summoned banners is just too much. But that’s my opinion after all.

I dislike the backpack idea. That way the banners would be just totally overpowered buffs. The whole banner mechanism would be just for plain “fun” there then.

Oh well… I hope Anet will do something about this matter to improve warriors. This profession really needs something spicing up here and there.

I was about to quote Anet for their profession balancing philosophies but I wasn’t able to find them. I think they said that warrior is all about “ignoring” buffs and conditions and will go through those with a raw force. Maybe they can make the banner fit their own words with more mobility of moving the banners somehow?

The idea about equipping banners to your back piece involved the banner occupying your F1 skill. Our burst skills need a bit of love all around because with most weapons it simply isn’t worth using, not to mention cough +3% burst damage cough. If actually using the F1 skill was improved, then you’d actually be sacrificing something by equipping the banner (and putting said F1 skill on CD after dropping it.) But to be honest I think just being able to pick up the banner on the fly is good enough, people complain about a one second root on deadly attacks, having to stop to pick up a banner is absurd. Also being able to drop it without putting your own weapon swap on CD would be GREAT.

Biggest problem is that you have to compare Banners to Shouts, since they fill more or less the same role.

Currently Banners are only good in comparison when you’re in the same spot for a very long period of time – something that only really happens in PvE and some very specific WvW and PvP situations.

I’m thinking picking up Banners on the fly and being able toss them a short distance rather than simply planting them at your location would work quite well without making it too easy to keep your banners with you all the time. Added damage from Powerful Banners would help make that Trait slightly more useful/interesting, as well.

Alternatively, have Powerful Banners increase the damage on Banner skills and reduce the cooldowns. Would make moving the Banners around more beneficial, essentially achieving the same thing as above, although you’d still probably have to make picking the Banner up instant.

Fuschia.6573:

Biggest problem is that you have to compare Banners to Shouts, since they fill more or less the same role.

Currently Banners are only good in comparison when you’re in the same spot for a very long period of time – something that only really happens in PvE and some very specific WvW and PvP situations.

I’m thinking picking up Banners on the fly and being able toss them a short distance rather than simply planting them at your location would work quite well without making it too easy to keep your banners with you all the time. Added damage from Powerful Banners would help make that Trait slightly more useful/interesting, as well.

Alternatively, have Powerful Banners increase the damage on Banner skills and reduce the cooldowns. Would make moving the Banners around more beneficial, essentially achieving the same thing as above, although you’d still probably have to make picking the Banner up instant.

Make Powerful Banners add a knockdown and knockback to banners when summoned. I’d say when thrown as well but that’s too easily abused. Imagine summoning a banner in a thieves Shadow Refuge? Oh god the shenanigans.