But I just laughed when i read the OP. You utterly crushed that thief – like you say he couldnt do anything the whole time, you had him stunlocked, and then right at the end, as he was about to die, he escaped.
GW2 SPvP is capture the point. You kept the point. You won. Eventually maybe that thief comes back and catches you. So you;ve now kept the point for what, 40secs? Guess what you win again.
I’d be happy if they just separated solo queue from everything else and allowed for quick 1 team vs 1 team solo matches. Just that would be huge to casuals like me. I havent played this game since Dec, waiting for it to be fixed. Its almost March and still not there. Ah well.
I quit GW2 SPvP about 2 months ago now but i pop in here every now and then to see if stuff’s changed. Looks like still OP eles, no new modes. Sigh. I’ll check back after the 26th.
Interesting to see trap ranger now OP – they went from crap to OP then? Huh.
excessive bunker and burst have been a problem for GW2 since the beginning. Alas it seems little has changed. Here’s hoping the Feb “PvP” patch addresses this fundamental gameplay flaw.
Havent played this game for a month, but i pop in every now and then to check for patches…. and having read the latest update, I’m glad i havent wasted my time.
This game wont be esport coz playerbase is too small. they need to do something. IMO they need less burst and bunker,more modes, lots more modes. Hellayeah
The thing about thief BS burst combo is that it is a good example of the extreme burst in this game. The real question is, do we want such high burst? But it is related to the super bunker, too. IMO both sides of the equation need a nerf to make this game’s sPVP more fun. And more game modes.
I agree with the OP, the game should be balanced around 1v1, with each class also having certain useful team buffs/debuffs/synergy. With a slight buff to combo fields and ways for folks to access them, you would still see plenty of interesting teamwork. Arguing it is balanced around 5v5 is bs and would be harder to balance than 1v1, just imagine the variables… the 5v5 argument is usually rolled out to defend bunkers than are invincible on 1v1 or hold 2v1 for a very long time. The same could be applied to super burst with low health etc – oh yes the thief got you, but your teammate would finish him the next second. Both bad arguments, bad design, needs to be fixed.
IMO, as already mentioned by some, combo field benefits are too weak and you are often better off using your skill at the right time, then using it prematurely to get a combo field effect. ALso you should be able to trait for increased combo chance on ranged autos (maybe double to 40%)
Shatter mesmers were already too strong. Now this. Bejsus batman. Bejesus. Wait a minute i can hear balance calling to me, hmmm, now where is that coming from – oh yeah! HAwken! And that shiny is literally 10 devs running the whole game. Simpler game i guess, yeah ok not a great comparison. STILL
I enjoyed the PvP on this game for a few months but have ultimately come to the view that it is too focused on burst/bunker builds to be keep it fresh. so I agree with the OP on point 2. Otherwise i like this game’s PVP a lot. Less burst/bunker, more build variety, more maps and more modes and it would be a head and shoulders winner. Right now i would place it somewhere between collarbone and belly button.
I think SB main can work in sPvP, but i found i needed separate burst offhand and typically i run s/p for steal/bountiful theft/haste/PW/Sword 2/autos for finisher. So i run a dodgy build, whittle them down with SB (high crit, beserker gear), dodge dodge etc then try to burst at the right time.
Agree with MrBig on this one – the game needs nerfs to both burst and bunker to bring it closer to balance and make less extreme and more varied builds viable = more interesting fights that can ebb and flow. All classes should be able to win a 1v1 against any build, you should just have a bit better or worse chance to win depending on if you are playing the counter to your build. But … doesnt seem like the balance is going that way, or if it is, it wont get there till mid 2013 at the earliest. Sigh
@Powerbottom – if youre right then those are dumb changes indeed.
I have a similar feeling with thieves, that the patch changes (most notably 50% speed in stealth) will mostly benefit already popular and effective builds such as P/D condition and BS burst combo. I feel like Anet is further narrowing the viable builds, not making more of them. but then i havent played much lately, so hard to say just looking at notes. I hope im wrong
PS -yes i know there was a quasi pistol buff, but not exactly – you have to trait for it, so you are losing out on other traits. A straight change to the pistol 1-3 skills would have been more potent. I tried the new PP and still UP for direct damage seems to me
My feeling is the 50% stealth speed buff will mostly benefit the already popular BS burst and P/D builds, which didnt need it. S/D still hard to play with no fix to pathing of flanking strike. Shortbow main worse given other classes got buffs. PP must be a bit better, but likely very little better and still inferior to SB. Who knows however i will give the new traits a try, at least, see how they roll. Overall…. disappointed on first blush. Lucky Hawken is out.
this is kitten its not like PD thieves were already awesome. I suppose it does also help sword dagger position better for the daze strike. But… really. Plenty of other fixes would have been more welcome. pathing on flanking strike for example… considering the buffs to other classes, this does not look good at all to me
If OP is right (and I havent played a game lately) then WTF anet? Bunkers, esp ele bunkers, were already too good. Jesus kittening christ this game just gets worse and worse.
I applaud your spirit BLU, you really want to keep this game alive. But imo it really is the dev’s fault that PvP is dying. It is Anet’s job to make a game people want to play, and it has to be competitive with all the other games on the market. The community can help, sure, but if they dont help, guess where the blame lies. With the devs. Make it [good] and they will come [back]. It just isnt good enough […yet?… time will tell]
Shadowstep is gold and just takes practice… however you wont get the super instant escape of withdraw/RFI. On the other hand you can use it for mobility, offence and defence (twice!). I would rate shadowstep 9/10 for my shortbow build, withdraw/RFI 7/10.
I play shortbow main with sword pistol swap/burst w/haste. Glass cannonish with 14K health but kittenloads of dodge and perma swiftness (runes of centaur, signet of malice). I take the steal 2 boons (and get vigor) 20pt trait in trickery. Basically kite kite kite with SB (I also take shadowstep util), get them down, watch their boons, and hit them with the steal pistol whip haste burst at the right time, follow up with infiltrator strike, chase while popping pistol 4 interrupt. I find dd ele very very difficult to beat and never beat a rank 30+ one
I agree with OP on 1 & 2 and this is exactly what Anet will do next patch. Burst will get a minor nerf, so will bunker, trying to bring the game more into balance and promote build variety.
I would also love to see better traits etc (3), and other game modes including deathmatch (4).
As far as I can tell there are very few organised teams. And of those teams, there are very few that want to do paids. So the waiting time is insane and this just drives other potential paid teams away. In Sea of Sorrows, Sydney time about 9pm-11pm, all tournament modes are dead and you have about 10 servers running close to full on 8/8 hotjoin. The 5/5 you might have maybe another 8 servers, typically 4-7 players/10. That is the state of the game at the moment on my server. This ship is half sunk already, gonna take a miracle to bring it back.
The very idea of being able to swap anything at all once a match begins is … lame. IMO skills, traits, equipment and most certainly character (!) ought to be set once the match starts and before you know your opponents line up.
I agree with the OP completely. I started out playing both SPvP and PvE, but only got to rank 18 in PvE and decided it was not for me. Which is fine, i just played sPvP. Trouble is, after 3 months or so now, i am getting bored of sPvP. But I still dont like PvE. What I WOULD like to try is WvW, but i have heard if you are not full 80 you are doomed. Aaaaannd i dont really want to have to level in WvW either. So… i am left with just PvP. Cant see why they couldnt at least let PvP xp cross over into WvW. Anyhoo that’s my take on things. Ultimately i think it all just means i’ll prolly venture off to some other game very shortly. Which i suppose after 3 months i cant complain too much, really. Just a shame from my point of view.
Ps – actually if you could straight up buy levels with real money i would do so, just to check out the WvW without the time sink of leveling. i dont think you can do this though, can you?
imo PP should be direct damage, single target builds focus. We have plenty of condition damage options already, and SB is the great AoE weapon. I am hoping they will give pistol 2 some added utility (not more damage, else it will just compete with unload), like a short 1.5 sec cripple. That plus vuln would make it a real option in certain circumstances. Also i think unload needs to either channel faster or do a bit more damage, to increase the build’s burst capacity.
I think pistol 4/5 are fine. For 1/2/3 i suggest:
pistol 1 – shoot a bit quicker
pistol 2 – add 1.5sec cripple along with the vuln
pistol 3 – shoot a bit quicker.
Problem solved! PP becomes respectable single target damage and crippler. I do not recommend giving PP AoE damage. But it should be fearsome on single targets.
Yes I am for real! What … one class is 22%, the lowest is about 9%…. of course there will be a couple of classes that are just more fun to play, and they will see the highest numbers. If all 8 were played equally it would be what about 12% each. Well most classes are close to that, and ok thieves are double popular. Overall that is a good spread. If one class were 40%, or one class 2%, yeah that would be a problem.
