Guild Wars 2

bobross.5034:

JDC.7461:

According to the most recent State of the Game, the nerf was introduced as an opportunity for “counterplay.” What counterplay is there for the Thief’s Scorpion Wire?

moving…that thing misses more than it hits, just like the thief shortbow.

Regarding the nerf overall, yes it sucks, but you guys may have missed the buff they gave it, you know the one where with the right trait, a good focus pull gives you (and your group – if you run signet of inspiration) 25 stacks of might and a few other boons.

There were actually some nice buffs scattered around this latest patch, and if you look closely, you’ll find that although certain builds may feel a bit nerfed, new variations are now possible that are as/more powerful.

I’m all for changes so long as they’re consistent. If all long range pulls have counterplay, then fine — if it’s the ridiculously sad case that Scorpion Wire can be countered by … moving … then fine, I guess. Does it fail so often because it’s inherently buggy? Or is it because targets are haphazardly dodging at just the right time? If it’s the latter, that still happens with Focus pre- and post-patch and shouldn’t be the justification for consistency.

Chasing down people is always a challenge, and Focus moderately alleviated this problem in tandem with Blink and Illusionary Leap (which itself is not reliable). With the nerf, a max distance target gets more time to get just out of pull range. Scorpion Wire would fail, as you say, because the target is moving; but the Thief has other, more effective means of closing the gap.

I am aware of the other changes. The trait gives only 5 stacks, not 25, however. I also wouldn’t focus on it unless I’m centering my actions around interrupts.

Edit: I see now where the 25 stacks could come from. That doesn’t solve my chasing problem or lead me to believe all long range pulls are consistent, though.

According to the most recent State of the Game, the nerf was introduced as an opportunity for “counterplay.” What counterplay is there for the Thief’s Scorpion Wire?

Carighan.6758:

Engineer is really easy to tell. The Engi holds out a magnet in front of her for 1,25, while going “GYAAAAAAAA…”.

Compared to that, the new ItV is basically invisible and unnoticable. :P

How about the Thief pull?

Carighan.6758:

JDC.7461:

Were other pulls affected similarly? Other classes have pulls that you can’t react to, right?

Not sure. As per http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pull , there is no other instant pull except the elite underwater transformation of Eles.
The fastest is Thief at 0,5s with Scorpion Wire, slowest seems Engineer with Magnet on Tool Kit at 1,25s (but 1200 range or so).

My concern is more about the visual cue that other pulls have. If the goal is to give victims a chance to react, I want to know if other pulls were similarly considered for this change. I don’t remember having the opportunity to react to the Thief pull as a victim. I can’t remember much about the Engineer pull — maybe someone could shed some light on that. Even if the Thief pull has a telltale animation, I feel it’s still harder to see and avoid than Curtain. Is that intended to be so?

And what about knockbacks in general? Now I just rely on Greatsword #5 to knock a Thief out of Refuge. Should the Thief have the chance to react to that too? I guess I need to know what Anet is thinking here.

Were other pulls affected similarly? Other classes have pulls that you can’t react to, right?

I’ve noticed the same thing.