1) May not be possible but please switch euro server reset to a reasonable time for euro zone, or maybe do reset 2 or 3 hours earlier overall. Midnight resets are really anti-social.
2)Orbs of power alternative needed to give strategic depth to borderlands. It is a long trek up to the northern supply camp in enemy borderlands, with little reward for doing so. In effect this severely compresses the map. The orbs of power mechanic itself was a flawed concept, but could be replaced with a more useful one. I would suggest invading a northern ‘keep’ and killing the guild lord should itself provide a high point per tick yield, perhaps even as high as for holding Stomemist. This would ensure far more map usage, and much greater capacity for varied overall strategies and some epic battles. The zerg cannot rule supreme in this scenario as it can be harried en route, and reinforcements (waypoint after defeat) would be severely reduced.
I understand your desire for top tier WvW, however it may be worth considering going for the ‘quality’ option that Gunnar’s Hold could deliver There are a couple of posts above from some of the guys so no need for me to add any more except to mention that until server transfers cost gold, all servers will have a degree of instability. When that day of free transfers actually approaches, I suspect chaos will ensue, so I could find a low tier yet skilled and dedicated server like GH paying dividends to the thinking players who want a home rather than a rat-race.
I always have played a mix of both, I let my phantasms cast once and then I shatter them.
I still do it this way, and have no trouble doing so since patch.
But to say the latest patch is in favor of these builds is for the wrong reasons I think. Mainly because the iBerserker seems to be bugged > misses 2 out of 3 hits.
People that say creating phantasms isn’t reliable anymore are seriously stuck on the theoretical fact that blinds&blocks deny the phantasm creation. Anyone who knows when they are blinded or enemies are blocking shouldn’t have any trouble with the new updates.
The only thing worth raging about is the introduction of new bugs, not the patchnotes imo. (LoS seems to be obstructed too often -noticed this on more than 1 prof-, iBerserker misses 2x,…)
Theoretical fact. This new update will reduce the rate of production of illusions. This is inarguable as it is the intent of the update re phantasms. Mesmers using phantasms will therefore be less powerful. This is a fact, you will not be able to produce as many. I can tell if I am blind or if the enemy is blocking and having to check LoS each time I want to cast a phantasm will slow down the production of phantasms.
I keep reading that some people have no problem with the changes, in that case, why were they changed at all?
If anyone thinks the phantasm builds were OP then fine, argue that point, but we have no concrete idea why these changes were made.
Timing balance issues to co-coincide with a content addition should perhaps be avoided in future in my opinion. Plenty of us Mesmers are faced with some potentially glorious yet challenging new content, and at the same time have to contend with substantial changes to our profession.
I am not pro, will never be pro, don’t wish to be pro. I play to a reasonable standard and have fun. I suspect the majority of the game population will of a similar type.
In short I am faced with changing trait-lines, weapon choice and the utility skills I am used to at the same time as exploring new content.
Shatter builds will rely purely on squishy clones because to work we need reliable illusion production. We can’t rely on being able to produce phantasms at will any more, so hybrid utility/shatter builds will likely disappear, reducing play-style options.
The bottom line is that the changes to illusions will in reality generally make illusion builds unpleasant/frustrating to use, reducing play-style options for Mesmers.
TBH I didn’t even realise Prestige did any direct damage worth considering. Now it does damage still not worth considering so no change really. As a skill to give the Mesmer a few seconds stealth, plus applying burning when you reappear, it certainly is powerful in some situations. It certainly isn’t broken, nor is it buffed in any meaningful way.
Some good points here from all sides of the argument, but for myself, as a simple soul, I ask ‘why the change?’
It is obvious that there are alternative Mesmer play-styles that seem relatively untouched, which leads me to the conclusion that the style now nerfed wasn’t OP, nor even unbalanced. In some (very few) situations, skills such as iBerserker could be over powerful, but generally it is a distraction that iB is (was) useful in the wider context. All professions have skills that are OP in certain specific areas of combat.
In essence, the Mesmer’s core mechanic has been tampered with in a negative manner, without any re-balance. I will reserve final judgment until I have played a while with the new set up but honestly fear that these changes make an already tricky mechanic impossible to live with.
Merging won’t stack time wise. There is already a huge outcry about ‘night-capping’. If servers are merged, EU servers will be at a distinct disadvantage. During US peak time, EU is asleep. During US sleep time, most of the EU are at work. I can hear the screams already
I enter the personal storyline, do the first part, enter the first door then listen to Lord Kitah’s speech. Kitah exits through the second door but the door will not open for me when I press “F”
