People who think you can’t deviate from the meta full zerker builds without nuking your damage into oblivion clearly haven’t taken the time to actually try to craft a build. I don’t even raid in full zerker, as it’s not the best overall build for my classes (ele, thief). 99 times out of 100, an ele is better off with a couple pieces of marauder/valk.
You can gain quite a lot of defense without losing much damage, and there are several ways to go about it.
Marauder gear offers a health boost for a very small loss in damage.
You can complement your berserker/marauder gear with valkyrie’s, knight’s, crusader’s, cavalier’s, etc to gain even more defense, though the damage loss is bigger than the swap from berserker to marauder.Some traits or skills offer a lot of extra defense. Protection boon, projectile reflects, blocks, invulnerability, condition clears, evades, heals, etc. all contribute a lot to surviving.
Condition builds typically only need 2 stats to do big damage, condition damage and duration, and that can allow you to take health or toughness or the like without a big damage loss.
Also there is food that makes you take less damage. Pop some mussel soup to instantly become way tankier.
Use the DPS golem and check for yourself how well the homecrafted builds actually compete.
Then compare with other numbers reported. For most classes, you’ll want around 20K dps in group situations.
Though a couple pieces of marauders is not a huge lost, but it’s minute defense gain too.
What if i don’t want your cookie cutter build? No offense but i’d like to play my own build viably?
You get to do 5%-20% of the dps of an optimal build. Even what I suggest is only half as effective as optimal builds in terms of DPS.
If you do a mix stat build, you will get at most 20% dps, but more likely 5%. That means one optimal person is worth 20 of you. Meta achievements would be completed faster if 10 of you were constantly reviving someone playing an optimal build poorly. Because those optimal builds just do stupid amounts more damage than you’ll ever do.
It’s not that damage is the only thing that matters, it’s that none damage decisions axe your DPS by punishing amounts to the point that no trade offs are really worth it. Stat build variety is what kind of glass build you want. Build diversity is picking between traits. A tank is just a full berzerker with tanky traits.
what profession are you playing with?
I have a level 80 Warrior, Guardian, Thief, Necromancer. And Revenant, which I have the least issues surviving on. But it is a very boring playstyle. They are all in full zerker gear, except the Necro which isn’t really geared yet.
Its mostly Silverwaste/HoT stuff that I have survivability issues on.
My 80 war is super tanky in full zerk gear. Go Strength defense and berserker. Use healing signet, rage stomp, outrage, and head butt. Grab rousing resilience, the trait that make zerk mode a stun break, and the trait that gives might and stab for stun breaking.
Start a fight with head butt and outrage to have 3k armor, 19k health, and 800 health regent per second.
You do lose a lot of damage picking these traits but you should still burst down most mobs.
(edited by Marthkus.4615)
‘Every non-damage thing you do is a huge opportunity cost in this game.’
Only if you consider dps as being more important than anything else.
It’s not the most important thing, but the dps you lose for any non-dps decision is massive. That is what makes it such a huge opportunity cost.
A glass gear set can quadruple in damage with the right traits. A tankier build would be lucky to have even 1/20th the damage of optimal. That means a zerg of mix-stat mix build people is equivalent to one optimal DPS person. That’s insane. A 5-man guild group could be doing as much damage as 100 people for the meta event.
Mainly the petty annoyance keep the personal goals from being compelling to me. I’d rather be able to set a personal goal and pursue it while experimenting with my build and not stopping all the time to clear trash from my backpack.
All the trash makes multiple gear sets annoying to have, and the stat/gear system increases how much extra gear I would have to carry to really be able to experiment. Then that experimentation is cut down by multiplicative damage stacks. Mixing one non-dps stat into your three will axe your DPS by half or more. Optimal trait combos can double the DPS of someone with glass gear. Every non-damage thing you do is a huge opportunity cost in this game. Experimentation is an important auxiliary motivation for me.
I play GW2 for the exploration, story content, and exploring new mechanical combinations.
With the stat and equipment differences of PvP, I do not have nearly the same motivation to sit in that mode and experiment. If I’m experimenting it’s for PvP, not all game modes. I had less of a problem in GW1 where there was a PvP/PvE split.
I’ve explored most of the map by now, but I lack reasons to motivate exploration beyond just the sense of exploration. I’ve ran out of personal story content, I was more energized to play when I had story missions to do.
The Ascended gear grind and the exotic gear grind are fairly minor. My issue is that they take up inventory or bank slots. So I don’t really have multiple sets lying around because I need the space to collect the hordes of trash loot that keeps dropping. I don’t find salvaging fun. I do not find my deposit slots filling fun. I do not like opening bags. I rare drop is sometimes exciting for the skin that drops. Transmutation charges are not hard to come by, but the system really does discourage rapid look changing.
I want the mastery track rewards, but there is no simple goals to get them. I am expected to just do the map, which I find dilutes my desire to actually get the mastery ranks. When getting an elite spec, I found hunting for hero points motivating and compelled me to keep playing. A “do anything” fill exp bar, does not. The freedom is nice, but there is a lack focus to keep me going.
I don’t like the gear/stat system. Multiplicative damage stacking in a game where you choose between linear stacking tank stats or multiplicative stacking damage stats axes build diversity for me. It’s engaging figuring out how survive with glassier specs, but once you do then there really isn’t much left to learn in your class expect squeezing out more damage. You can try tankier combos, but you end up doing fractional DPS for marginal survivability.
Once you lock into build, lock into a gear set, and finish the story, there really isn’t much that keeps me going. I would like to see the basic concept of the gear/stat system revisted and how both damage and survival are calculated. I would like to see these systems re-imagined to better facilitate experimentation. I would want gear simplified, with all the trash cut out. I don’t need to open a bag to open another bag to just salavage all the trash just deposit in an overflowing bank to just curse the kitten sigals and runes that I either have to spend minutes tossing or just hold onto to them until I hit a merchant. That just takes me out of the action and any fun that I was having. I want more story content. Things I can personally do. Dynamic events that you can carry yourself, personal story, jumping puzzles, quest lines that cross the world. These are all great things to make solo-able that then are enhanced by having other people involved. If that kind of stuff was tied into mastery progression, I would find that motivating.
As it stands, I am not motivated enough to repeat map content to just fill a bar. I like this game. I have fun with it. The mechanics are pretty interesting. I just need focus and the petty annoyances are great enough obstacles that I do not have the desire to continually play. I was about to buy another character slot, but I decided I wouldn’t be playing the new character that much anyways do to the reasons listed above. Instead I purchased some Warframe micro-transactions. The apparent hypocrisy of buying more slots in that grind-fest game, but not for the far less grindy GW2 is why I wanted to share those reasons in a space where feedback is collected. I’m not against the core concept of MMOs. I just wanted to explain the little things in GW2 that are inhibiting my personal enjoyment.
If you aren’t running Zerk/Glass builds HoT is pretty easy. Otherwise, you are one chain CC from dead.
GW2 pro and rank are not popular enough for a “solved” meta, their behavior is not a good measure of balance.
Even the TP has profit bubbles that shouldn’t exist.
Ascended was as unneeded as stats in general. It fits the more compromised mainstream MMO GW2 is compared to GW1.
I find ascended gear motivates me to play but not to the extent that I optimally grind for mats.
Somehow I stuck in an Asian server for extended NPE missions.
Let me tell you the Chinese version is really different and their player population is really messing up the global trading post.
Also the servers need upgraded. Many areas have N64 era fog. I’m told it’s a special weather effect, but I think it just cuts down on render distance.
Mace two is bugged. The field is at a constant elevation even if the animation is not.
Legendary armor is like ascended armor, it’s a meaningless carrot on a stick for people who would complain otherwise.
If the expansion model becomes less profitable than f2p micro transactions then expect a mobile release 10 years from now. Or GW3 IOS exclusive f2p in 5 years!
I played GW1 long before I was going on forums. Forums are overly negative. Honestly GW2 was better before the LFG and people doing toxic meta. Then ANET went nuts with temp content, then semi perma content, then time gated mats, then evil f2p mechanics, then an expac with evil f2p mechanics and then more nonsense spreading out everywhere.
This game is still fixing itself from the one and done money burn that came shortly after GW2 was declared best MMO ever to only then shortly lose the title with WoW stealing all the good ideas.
I get why the mentor tag would be dumb, but autoloot should still work. Also add gliders and glider siege weapons and anti air.
Oh I thought numbers after our names were age.
Soldier works better here. With some cheap sharpening stones and food, you can push 4k power and very high armor with 50k plus effective health.
I actually ignore crit on my build and go blood, death, reaper with shouts. I have chill duration and bloodlust on my GS.
Necro scales poorly with healing power and if you go a crit build you don’t need precision. Hybrid damage competes for traits that synergies power and toughness and sustain. Like blighters boon or gaining might on hitting chilled foes.
One of the Dragons is a sea dragon. So underwater combat will be addressed eventually.
They will probably make a big deal out of the overhaul. Every elite spec gets new underwater weapons, all utilities revamped to work underwater, ect.
I say it’ll be the 3rd expac from now. (4th expac in total)
Lol @soldier reaper. Reaper has 21k+14k life, you don’t need soldier, really.
I only finished it on zerker reaper and it was super easy.
You don’t NEED it. It’s just faceroll easy with it.
Hearts and Minds is very easy to tank through. If the full zerker staff eli is having problems then just put on some sustain gear.
meanwhile people get kicked for having to many insights because they think its fake -.-
Toxic people going to toxic.
Create “All welcome group” then run with 4 sub 80s.
I’ve had fullzerker 80s join then quit CM runs after they realized we were wiping the map rather than running and stacking.
I actually think celi has better sustain with healing power and rev heals. Then celi has better damage too, 85% crit, might stacking on a hybrid build, 202% crit damage.
Glass builds do more damage though and celi gets downscaled harder.
The quest was faceroll easy on my soldier reaper. I imagine a celi ele would roflstomp this.
PuGs can require whatever they want. No one has to respect it.
That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be incredibly rude.
The same could be said of pug reqs.
You can still do daily dungeons. You just can’t exclude people anymore and expect a full team.
PuGs can require whatever they want. No one has to respect it.
I want it reworked. Potential +50% boon duration requires nerfs to far too much of the rest of the revs kit.
Oh power as in power build.
I’m running glorious casual wupwup gear. Feels good to get that extra armor and stat increases that have to be rounded up because 5% is too low. Ahhhhhh
All damage is on AA with thief expected to spend all initiative on defense and gap closers.
If damage was moved from AA to initiative abilities and defense abilities were buffed then thief would have a place by being to able shift their tactics on the fly. Out of combat stealth needs to be easier. Thief needs more blinds, evades, and endurance refill mechanics less hard CC.
Pfff rewards. Let me recruit mercs to carry siege and help me capture points during low activity.
Also would be nice if servers could invest gold and defense time for AI “day” coverage by mercs. Add some strategic elements. Let the rich PvE people contribute to WvW so they get some sort of WvW magic find bonus.
The resistance skill is kind of bad. I get more effective healing/handling condis by spending that energy elsewhere. Boon removal plus confusion is great. Our AOE chill torment dark field is amazing. The elite skill is kind of meh for condi. I actually use it for when I need the extra power or when a foe can’t be burnt.
Lot’s of potential in the stance, but overall it feels unfinished.
No. Gw2 would not be everyone’s number 1 MMO. A friend of mine prefers warframe. Another friend of mine prefers WoW. I prefer GW2.
Something I noticed is that there are far too many damage boost in traits. Everyone gets them, revs get +7 damage vs targets with vulnerability, +7% while under the effect of fury, +3% per boon on you.
Engi’s get +2-3% per condition on target, necros get x, y, and z, eles get boost, theif gets boost, warriors are built around a 20% damage boost after using their big hit move.
Damage scales out of control with no parallel defense damage mitigation. Most defense from traits is damage negation not mitigation. Damage just outpaces defense and kills build diversity by effectively locking raw stats behind traits.
All adding raiding to the gw2 did was divide the gaming community and bring out elitist players that are slaves to the meta.
If people can beat VG and ignore the green circles, and people can 6 man Gor with no updrafts, I’m fairly certain 10 people could beat all the raids without a single zerker/viper/rampager/ect.
Only if you don’t pug. The gear gating is enforced by players not the challenge.
Randomised character appearance in town clothes for every major city.
Core necro needs some free stab and faster AA in death shroud. Otherwise it’s fine. I may end up running core necro for WvW like I did before.
PvP gears in gw2 is already a split from PvE.
What they need is to improve useless traits/weapon skills to improve build diversity. Right now Ele has only one build, that is the healbot build. They need to buff Signet/Arcane/Glyph and more Shatterstone for it to be even borderline viable.
PvP stats are smaller. I think that is the exact wrong solution. PvP stats need to be much higher.
I think the underlining math is just kind of busted. Damage goes up exponentially. Tankyness is either worthless or cancer. For tankyness to have any worth in PvE it’s awful for PvP.
Invincible comps should be a thing in PvP given how PvE needs to be balanced. WoW got around this by PvP gear functioning different than PvE gear and mobs in PvE did less damage than DPS characters so everyone is tankyer in PvP but that doesn’t lead to cancer stalemates.
So amulets could give way more stats as a way to separate the game mods. Tanking won’t make you invincible in PvP but tanky stats don’t have to be useless in PvE (as in wearing then making monster fights harder because the decreased DPS isn’t compensated with longer survival times)
I’ve felt the difference between pinks and exotics. You still don’t need them.
You will find the WvW has lots of vertical progression. Food, utility, guild buffs, rank buffs, expensive rune and sigal buffs, WvW buffs for winning, and yes ascended gear buffs.
Not too mention the massive buff of “guildies” and pug recruiting that comes with a commander tag.
All of these things require gold and PvE time. It’s why WvW isn’t an esport. It’s unfair.
I don’t see why every class needs to be as garbage as thief
High sustain is needed to counter zerker glass meta in PvE. There was a time when running tanky stats or specs actually made that mode harder than it would be by running full zerk.
Thief needs a buff. It’s kind of silly that shiro gets more dodges and that shiro really isn’t even that good.
So with updrafts, what’s the min number that could beat this boss?
WvW should move to guild clans vs guild clans. Rewards should be guild halls, siege weapons, WvW fort decorations.
I would dust off my soldier reaper.
I still miss my celi amulet. As causual PvP, I like playing what I pvx in and that is celi.
Quartz is going up in price too.
Pug speed runs are slower than all welcome groups because speed runners will never find a group.
He probably did one path an hour with most of his time in LFG because he couldn’t succeed in all welcome groups.
The ONLY buff thief needs AT ALL is a nerf to revenant – that is all that keeps them out of the meta. Revenant has about the same burst and mobility, but more sustain.
Honestly, thief itself needs nerfs, but so does everything up to (and maybe including) warriors. If implemented properly, it would make it MUCH easier to carve out multiple classes that can compete for every role, with certain benefits and weaknesses on each.
Nerfing rev won’t get my friend back to GW2 because he quit after anet trashed the thief class.
I would like thief damage to be more initiative based so they can choose defense or offense on the fly. But that also means buffing thief defense so they don’t have to spend all initiative points on defense to survive and depend on AA for damage.
Also thieves should poop blinds and fury as support. Perma stealth should be easier to maintain for PvE fun. Right now perma stealth takes your whole build.
I don’t mind thief being the class where glass builds work in all modes. As anti-glass meta as I am that doesn’t mean glass shouldn’t be optimal for some classes.