I think CC isn’t a problem as many people claim IF you have played a game for a while. I know, but hear me out.
Someone suggested resolve system from swtor. Well if you came freshly from that game i can understand why you could be worried about CCs because combat in gw2 is fundamentally different. While amount of CC in gw2 is higher than in swtor (and arguably more deadly as combat in gw2 is much more dynamic) there are also much more ways to handle it. In swtor you have 1 stun break and (depending on a class) little to nothing more to avoid CC. In gw2 you have mechanisms which swtor lacks – namely stability, blocks, evades, blinds and multiple stunbreaks. Some longer CCs have also precast or specific animation that also helps you avoid it in time. Also to be honest to this day there are people in swtor that argue back and forth about resolve system and how should it work. In the end in both games you have to learn which CCs in given moment can you withstand and which you cannot.
Other example, the Lake Doric elemental thingy – i play melee ranger a lot myself and i had same issues as you. The thing about gw2 is this variety of situations where some things works better than others in given scenarios. I liked that game got me thinking about what should i change to deal with that problem. Especially if we consider weapon swapping and how quickly and easy we can change skills and traits to adapt to such situations compared to other mmos. Also keep in mind that this event is a group event and the ridiculous amount of those little exploding elementals are meant to encourage people to share stability or ress downed in order to be victorius.
Last thing i want to tickle is sPvP. I agree that there are more CCs than pre HoT, but to be honest i kinda like it. I mean, sure it’s bloody annoying when you are stunned to death but i like that you have to be really aware of certain tells and surroundings and lack of this awerness is more meaningful than has been before.
I think people complain about CCs in pvp mainly because of thieves with Basi Venom (or pistol #4 with PI trait, but that’s a different topic) and Warriors with Headbutt (elite 3s stun, don’t know if i remember the name correctly) but the thing is when you die to thief with basi venom it’s mainly situation when you were outnumbered and therefore not on full hp or out of CDs. Supposed problem with warrior’s elite is low cooldown, but it also has an obvious tell to it, so it’s less of a problem.
TL, DR – i get it, i really get it – being stunned to death is awful, but from my experience it’s not that common thing as some people says. When it happens in pvp it’s mainly when you’re catched out of CDs and in pve you usually have group support or you can easily change skills/traits to make it less of a problem anyways, so yeah. It’s part of gw2 combat system and mechanics, which makes gw2 unique out of all other mmos.
