Showing Posts For Shanks.2907:

Movement Speed Buff for DH

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Such a long going issue and it’s really sad that it hasn’t been addressed in some way yet.

I think it would be perfectly fair to make a conditional trait for 25% movement speed (like warriors with melee weapons only, etc). I’ve been saying this for years now, but put it in the Radiance trait line and have it be something like “25% movement speed bonus when wielding a one handed weapon”. Radiant Retaliation should be scrapped all together, as it’s a useless trait (or was at least when I was active) and should be automatic for all professions to scale retaliation on condition damage when it exceeds power’s numbers.

Also, the Radiance line has a huge issue with it’s grandmaster traits as they are tied to either condition damage or signets. Right Hand Strength, Wrath of Justice, Retribution and all three minor traits are perfectly viable in power builds. However, the grandmaster traits are completely useless unless you’re using a condition type build. And who is using a signet build amirite? Adding a 25% movement speed to one handed weapons would go really well.

But alas…

Fixing Ranger Sword should be a Priority

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

If they adjust sword in some minor way to stop people complaining, I’ll probably be ok.

My thoughts on a minor fix that would go a long way.

It’s not the leap that causes so much trouble with the AA chain, but the kick. The kick doesn’t travel any further than simply moving in that direction and it locks movement. It would be a lot easier to deal with just one restrictive skill in the chain than two is. Maybe increase the distance on pounce to 500 units or so to compensate. That way the chain still retains what people like (the pounce) while improving the flow and control.

Ranger core traits polished

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Shanks.2907

I really like Honed Axes. It fixes the ferocity for main hand axe issue. Main hand axe is used in condition builds, while offhand axe is used for power builds. Nice touch on adding movement to Whirling Defense. That way, both main/off hands get an improved skill, promoting the trait for more builds.

Renewed Focus F4 80 sec of CD

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Shanks.2907

Reminds me of Mesmer F4. I can’t say it’s a bad idea. Maybe create a new elite meditation with a lower cooldown that can proc Monk’s Focus more frequently.

[TPvP] The New Condi Builds

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Shanks.2907

I don’t think Radiance would help greatsword a whole lot. You’d only benefit from the 10% crit chance increase on burning targets. Radiance is better suited for scepter and sword/mace, or even scepter with a staff to buff yourself (swiftness and might).

[TPvP] The New Condi Builds

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Shanks.2907

While the might bomb from using an elite and MK runes seems great in a single moment, I would think radiance would lead to a better sustained fight. The extra critical chance you gain and burning duration/damage seems pretty good.

85% burn duration with Balthazar runes, Amplified Wrath and Smoldering Sigil. That would be nearly 4s of burning on every 3 hits, with a bunch of other ways to apply it (torch, blocking, Judge’s Intervention and maybe Purging Flames). With ~50% crit chance between RHS, Radiant Power and Fury the Carrion amulet is going to put out a ton of damage.

Also, I was curious with a Zeal build how adding a single spirit weapon in would work. It only takes one trait now and would fit in with Zealous Scepter and Kindled Zeal. Maybe replace Smite Condition or Purging Flames with the Spirit Sword.

Post a pic of your character only if your armor is mix-n-match

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Shanks.2907

It’s nice not having the same underboob as every other medium human female.

T3 mask, leggings and boots.
Ascended chest, no shoulders and some short simple gloves.

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Top 4 Things Anet should change before Patch

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Shanks.2907

One thing I really hope they look into is the Grandmaster traits in the Radiance Line. As someone who frequently uses that line in builds, primarily berserker, I’m really disappointed there are two condition traits and a signet trait. Swapping Radiant Retaliation for Retribution would fix the problem well enough. Would also create more synergy for condi builds.

What I would really like to see is Radiant Retaliation be scrapped all together and become baseline for all classes if condition damage exceeds power when scaling retaliation damage. That shouldn’t even be a trait, nevermind only on guardian.

What to replace it with? Maybe a conditional 25% movement speed trait like “Gain 25% movement speed when wielding a one handed weapon”.

Thanks for buffing Shield...

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

How about this?

  • Shield of Absorption cooldown goes from 30s to 24s baseline.
  • Shield of Judgement cooldown goes from 25s to 20s baseline.

Added to the release notes maintained in General Discussion.

Edit: For clarification, the shield recharge trait is still there on top of this. It brings the cooldowns from 24>19s, and 20>16s.

As a few have stated before, the problem doesn’t lie in the cooldowns of the shield, but rather what the skills actually do. My suggestion for change for it, would be to make skill 4 into a knockdown, then change skill 5 into a bubble that goes with you. (Make it look like mesmer staff 4). While its up, it blocks projectiles (not absorbs) and when you activate it (if you chose to do so) it dazes those around you for a moment.

So in other words.

4th skill: Knockdown and small damage all in cone

Agreed. Lowering the cooldowns on subpar skills isn’t the way to go about improving them. A knockdown on the 4th skill would fit the shield and the skill very well. I think the 5th skill is okay for the most part, but while channeling the skill you should block all attacks. The guardian has the shield stance up, wouldn’t it make sense to block all attacks for yourself, while defending projectiles for your allies?

Those two things would make the shield a solid choice.

Make bag slot upgrades account wide

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Shanks.2907

I only have two characters I use enough to warrant full bag space on (160 slots) so I didn’t mind upgrading them. Upgrading every toon would be a bit excessive though.

Having 3+ armor sets and multiple trinket combinations takes up a bunch of space on my mains. My alts have only 1-2 armor sets (zerk and maybe condi) and I swap my ascended trinkets over when I want to use them. Full weapons assortments on my mains but my alts only use a few. Point being it isn’t necessary for an alt to have so much space.

(edited by Shanks.2907)

[Suggestions] Gemstore Items

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Shanks.2907

So, since Gaile is getting back today (tomorrow for some of us?), any chance we could get an update on this soon?

Doubt it. She’s responded to every thread except this one. It’s being avoided like the plague. Not a single letter was typed to follow up her misleading comment.

I feel bad for her, because this in itself (the backlash in general, not the quoted post) is why the staff has always kept an arms length away when talking about what’s to come. She engaged us in conversation about it, someone made the decision not to bring it back, and she gets the flack.

I can see why they operate in the way they do. However, in cases like this when something has happened it is only proper to give reasoning to why afterwards. Don’t just leave us hanging Gaile, give us an idea at least why it’s not coming back and bury this.

edited for clarification, general speculation to why the topic is being avoided

(edited by Shanks.2907)

why everyone getting 25% speed...

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Shanks.2907

This issue has been beaten into the ground many times, but I’ll make a few points on how I feel about this.

First, 25% movement speed would not effect guardians ability to disengage. One of the main arguments against MS is that guardians should be first in, and last out. Things like ground target blinks (mesmer, ele, thief and to some extent necro) and long distance mobility (warrior, ranger) give the ability to disengage. The guardian ports are target based, with a single 600 range leap and that is what limits it’s disengage.

Second, the majority of offensive based builds are meditation builds, and are pigeonholed into either using Traveler runes or Pack runes. Any type of swiftness is tied into support builds where it’s unnecessary for a guardian to stick to the target. A staff guardian gets the swiftness it doesn’t need while an offensive melee guardian gets kited along.

And last, now 7 out of 8 professions (soon to be 8 out of 9 I’m sure) will have natural access to movement speed. They have the choice to weigh between traits or runes. Build options are good, and promote diversity. You can say class concept, but I see it as too stubborn to change a bad decision. It’s okay to have thought one thing about something, and change it later down the road.

Been Away for 1 Year + What's Different?

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Shanks.2907

Not a whole lot has changed with the ever infrequent balance patches.

Finished Weapon Skins Gallery

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Shanks.2907

You know someone loves a game when he puts that amount of work into a resource for other people. +1 man, the site looks great.

Some ranger changes

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Shanks.2907

Not sure I’d want the pet to apply the torment. It would scale of it’s damage instead of the ranger’s, making it much less effective.

Instead, I’d rather see 2 or 3 stacks of torment be added to Hornet Sting on sword. It’s used in quite a lot of condi builds with torch/dagger even though poison is it’s only condition. It would put a lot more emphasis on hitting the strike when using it instead of just using it for the evade/gap opener.

Let's Talk PvP Builds

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Shanks.2907

For PvP…. piercing arrows doesn’t really work. You rarely get to line up a dual hit unless someone is downed and they are rezzing. Still, you don’t always get people lined up in time.

Ah. I didn’t really think that one through. I don’t use shortbow in my condi build in pvp, and my longbow build always opts for Eagle Eye and RtW. I can see how lining up the piercing shots would take more than it’s worth.

Eurantien, you were saying SotW may not work well in a build like that. Looking at the variation I posted (as it’s piqued my own interest) would you opt for SoS? Maybe move more towards traps for some AoE burning? Would Flame Trap be useful as a lone trap on a bar with LR and SoR?

Let's Talk PvP Builds

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Shanks.2907

I’d like opinions on this build please:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAV8YjEq0yaFLGsw1agAha5AEAtvh89FeGtVbJLoL-TZhFwAAuAAKeCAf2fIxBBwZZAA

I’m still evaluating, but ideas for why/why not are from others are always welcome.

I like it for the most part. You’ll take advantage of celestial and be useful in team fights with a build like that. The piercing arrows are great if you can line up shots, and the extra 200 power is nice. Some things that stuck out to me:

  • Lack of fury. Without SotF your crit chance with celestial is very low. Two things you could do to help would be either putting 4 points into Skirmishing (Quickdraw and Furious Grip) by taking 4 from marksmanship or beastmastery. You’d lose either power or might doing that which hurts celestial though. Or, which I would recommend, would be to use pack runes. You’d get ~50% uptime on fury and swiftness, plus 175 power and 125 precision. I think it would go a long way to rounding out the build. Warhorn would also work to giving you both fury and swiftness, and works out of combat.
  • I would change Signet of the Hunt. I think traveler runes would be a better choice if out of combat speed is important, or pack runes + bird if you only need swiftness in combat. Divinity runes aren’t going to give you a whole lot, and the free utility slot would really help. That frees up room for either Signet of Stone or Signet of Resolve. Depending on if you need more condition relief or physical damage relief. SoR would give 4 conditions cleansed passively (with EB) every 10 seconds plus a stun break/team cleanse, so I’d go with that.
  • I’d consider swapping one bird to the wolf. The perma cripple is nice, but the control of a wolf is superb. It’s on a 16s cooldown so it’s easy enough to get back to bird. The wolf has it’s own cripple leap and knockdown, which both do great damage, and a fear on top of it. Also, the 4 points in beastmastery might be more worth the investment elsewhere.

Something like this might be a variation I’d run. You might lose the cripple and 3 stacks of might, but I think 9% critical chance and 13% critical damage offset moving points from beastmastery to skirmishing. Plus you gain 6% critical chance with pack runes and 175 power. I think the canines provide better control than perma cripple on birds, and have AoE support in team fights. Hard hitting skills are good plus more survivability.

There are three sources of swiftness/fury though in the variation I posted, and only two are needed to achieve perma uptime on paper. It has warhorn, Tail Wind/Furious Grip and pack runes. Warhorn provides swiftness for out of combat though which the other two cannot, and pack runes provide both power and precision. You’ve got a dodge on shortbow and 2 on the sword, so I don’t think dagger is that crucial. Krait runes might be a good choice to get more out of your bleeds, while still providing enough swiftness/fury with Tail Wind/Furious Grip supplementing warhorn.

Let's Talk PvP Builds

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Shanks.2907

Yes, I know the pain too well of out of combat travel. My guardian chugs along but once it gets there it can be deadly! Well, if the fight isn’t over already.

I do agree though that which set you take dictates the role you’ll play in a game. Shortbow will certainly have a stronger team fight presence at mid, but I think the a/d sw/t is a stronger side node fighter. I’ve had great success in 1v1 against all professions, and am still strong in a 2v2 depending on who I’m paired with. On a larger scale though, 3v3 and up, the build starts to lose it’s effectiveness.

Ah, and as I was talking about Keen Edge, that only applies to sw/t a/d builds. Shortbow can take full advantage of Sharpened Edges and benefits greatly from krait runes. Unless you were to waste a slot on SotH, Tail Wind is necessary to keep up combat mobility. Quickshot does a good job supplementing the swiftness, but it does suffer if camped on for too long.

I do think the sword is more than just mobility though, it’s good to swap to and avoid damage while your conditions tick. You can get two Hornet Sting/Monarch’s Leaps in on a rotation with a Serpent’s Strike in between. I think of it as a defensive rotation.

It’s what I love about the condi survival ranger and why I’ve played it so much recently. There’s no one right way to play it. I’ve seen countless variations that all play well, and I’m always waiting to see what the next one will be.

Let's Talk PvP Builds

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Shanks.2907

I think the biggest issue when using axe/dagger sword/torch is mobility. Tail Wind, in my opinion, isn’t enough to get by. That’s why I use traveler runes and take a straight increase (which really helps out of combat for rotations). You may lose the 45% bleed duration from krait runes, but if you move the points from skirmishing to marksmanship for Keen Edge (Sharpened Edges only really works with shortbow) you’ll gain 20% condition duration for all conditions, instead of just an increase for bleeds. If they want to peck away at range I’ll either LoS or throw a few axes back and build up some might on the pet.

About Sharpening Stone and Keen Edge. If you can rotate the cooldowns so they don’t overlap, they work pretty well together. I try to preload Sharpening Stone ~20 seconds before a fight (30 seconds to use on a 36 second cooldown) and with my opening burst it usually ticks down below the Keen Edge threshold. Then, Sharpening Stone is off cooldown for my main burst.

I’ll open with a Crippling Talon > Muddy Terrain or DH immob > Stalker’s Strike > Splitblade > Throw Torch. That alone is 16 stacks of bleeding, poison, burning, torment (sigil), cripple and vulnerability (MM minor trait). If they blew their cleanse I’ll throw in Entangle and Bonfire on the next burst. The torment sigils are great for keeping up a perma cover stack and ~100 damage/s.

I’ll add that Offhand Training is a huge part of how I play my build (in my sig). It allows me to use Stalker’s Strike twice on rotation for higher poison uptime and land it with more success. Bonfire gains a lot from it too, not only the size but the 20s cooldown allows it to be used on each rotation.

Players with Titles: YOUR impression(s)?

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Shanks.2907

  • Dislike? The Blazing Light. Well, not the title, but the attitude of some players about it. I’m yet to find anyone who didn’t get it by using some build gimmick, yet they act as if they got it with actual skill rather than following some cheap guide.

So what if some people found a build that helped beat her? It still takes some skill to beat it regardless. Have you never gone on metabattle to find a build? You’ve created every single one you’ve ever used? I hope that’s the case and you aren’t being hypocritical here.

And what constitutes a gimmick build? Swiftness and vigor? Piercing ranged attacks and AoE? Stun breakers and cleanses? It’s not even that kittence you figure out the floor pattern is really simple, then just kite in a circle and hit 11111111.

[Suggestions] Gemstore Items

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Shanks.2907

I really hope they’re taking this time to make cat ears to sell alongside. That way they can take even more of my money at the same time.

[Suggestions] Gemstore Items

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Shanks.2907

I’d really like to know why….

How can they be so heartless?

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Stun Build - Stacking Damage

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Shanks.2907

My build is quite close to this. The main difference is that I use sword/axe and Lightning Reflexes instead of shortbow and Signet of Stone. This is what I’ve been using. I like the idea of putting sigil of force and impact on the greatsword for an extra 15% damage though. I’ve been using energy and hydromancy, but the extra damage might be better.

You should give offhand axe a try sometime. It works really well using Path of Scars to proc MoC, swap to greatsword while the axe is in the air and cast Maul to have it land when they reach you.

My biggest issue though has been out of combat mobility. Since Tail Wind and pack runes only work in combat, I’m stuck relying on sword/greatsword leaps to move around. I’d swap to warhorn for swiftness in WvW, but I run this in PvP. Pack runes do fill in the gaps well from the downtime leftover from Tail Wind and Furious Grip while in combat though, and the extra 175 power/100 precision is always nice. I think the power gained is equivalent to about a 7-8% damage increase.

Post your dream Guard changes!

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Shanks.2907

Also, I’ve been thinking about a trait to replace Kindled Zeal with. What are you guys’ thoughts on a +20% damage on foes under 50% hp? I think it would give the zeal line a reason to invest into it.

“/sigh.” I’m gunna be honest: I know Percentile Damage Modifiers are one of the most important aspects of a DPS build, but I (personally, as a singular individual) think that they way they’re currently implemented is unhealthy for the game. Especially given how passive and easy most of them are to upkeep (I’d go so far to argue that the only ones I respect are the ones like Scholar Runes or our own Unscathed Contender trait. The one’s that really reward and require active gameplay).

But this is a thread for dreams! So sidestepping my “downer-dan” attitude: yes, a 20% damage on foes under 50% hp damage modifier would be a powerful trait (just like it is on Necro or Thief). Probably to the extent that 6/5/x/x/x would become the new “mandatory meta” (because percentile modifiers are multiplicative, that trait spread— with our new theoretical Zeal grandmaster— would give a 45% dps increase— 59.7% on our symbols. And that’s before you factor in other modifiers like Sigil of Force, Scholars/Flame Legion/Strength Runes, etc…)

Basically it’d be a huge damage increase for Guardians, but wouldn’t really impact our utility or versatility. After all, we’d still have 3 points to spec into either Superior Aria or Master of Consecrations, which are basically two of our strongest Utility types. The only thing we’d really lose with that spread is Absolute Resolution.

Yeah, I agree with your reservations on % damage traits. It doesn’t add anything to active gameplay or the way guardian plays. I think things like soft cc, mobility and boon stripping would shape the guardian in a much better direction, but I don’t see any of those fitting into a zeal grandmaster.

Though, I do think it would be best if the new zeal grandmaster focused somehow on physical damage, as right now there’s a spirit weapon trait and two condition traits. There’s no reason to invest into a power line without any traits dealing with power.

Guardian Class need adjustment.

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Shanks.2907

How can you want me to learn by punish me for want to learn? How can you want me to prepare for better experience by punish me for want to prepare for better punishment?

Your behavior is cruel and you need to change that. I am very serious!

If you can give me advice without make me feel guilty and punishing me for already want to do better to learn better: you can post it here after

The problem is, for the most part you don’t try and learn. You come onto the forums to make threads complaining about X profession then come up with ridiculous suggestions for nerfs. I’ll be blunt with your DarkSyze, that is the opposite of trying to learn and prepare. Someone asking for a nerf has abandoned improving their own skill and instead believe it’s the game’s fault. You won’t get better with that attitude.

I may sound harsh but it’s for your own good.

Improving skill has nothing to do with experience. Example; you can be the best experience driver in the world, you can be the best skill driver in the world and a car can still hit you, Is it because “you did not improve your skill”?

Do you know even a thief can die? Is it because the theif “need to improve their skill”? I understand what you say but i do not agree with you. Experience is about learning to win and learning to lose. Improving is result from losing and wining.

Improving is important too but learning is more important. Experience come from learning first, improve is after

I didn’t say anything about your experience in the game. What I said was that you use the forums to complain instead of listening to the advice of others to get better.

Improving your skill comes from understanding the game. You’ve refused to see the game for what it is and instead have tried to change it.

Post your dream Guard changes!

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Shanks.2907

My ideas for shield are:

  • Shield of Judgement: This skill now knockdown those hit for 2 seconds. I think this would add a lot of versatility to the shield and give it a reason in itself to take it over focus or torch.
  • Shield of Absorption: The dome on this skill does have it’s use, and doesn’t need to be thrown out. However, I think it would be fine if the guardian had a duration block while channeling it. You’ve got the shield up in a defensive pose, so it makes sense. It would still keep the function of defending allies from projectiles with the dome but you yourself get a duration block from melee attacks and AoE. Even better if the skill could work while moving.

Those two buffs to the shield would go a long way without needing to completely rework them. It would be useful in all sorts of builds, both sustain and dps.

Also, I’ve been thinking about a trait to replace Kindled Zeal with. What are you guys’ thoughts on a +20% damage on foes under 50% hp? I think it would give the zeal line a reason to invest into it.

I like to support, but also damage.

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Shanks.2907

I think you’re going about support in the wrong way. Damage mitigation is much more valuable than healing after the fact is. Things like protection, blinds and reflects are crucial support that a guardian can bring while still dishing out good damage.

Something like this would do the job. Camp hammer rotation for perma protection (33% damage reduction) and swap to sw/f for a couple blinds. Also, Absolute Resolution makes VoR a much better cleanse than passive heal for your team. You can use it twice with Renewed Focus if you need to in a short period of time, along with Purging Flames.

Hammer is king of support though. Even in your build, the perma symbols would heal for more than the mace does plus the 33% damage reduction of protection. And staff has no place in PvE for anything besides tagging while farming.

Guardian Class need adjustment.

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

How can you want me to learn by punish me for want to learn? How can you want me to prepare for better experience by punish me for want to prepare for better punishment?

Your behavior is cruel and you need to change that. I am very serious!

If you can give me advice without make me feel guilty and punishing me for already want to do better to learn better: you can post it here after

The problem is, for the most part you don’t try and learn. You come onto the forums to make threads complaining about X profession then come up with ridiculous suggestions for nerfs. I’ll be blunt with your DarkSyze, that is the opposite of trying to learn and prepare. Someone asking for a nerf has abandoned improving their own skill and instead believe it’s the game’s fault. You won’t get better with that attitude.

I may sound harsh but it’s for your own good.

(edited by Shanks.2907)

untraditional builds-lets see em!

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Shanks.2907

I put this build together a while back and have had a lot of fun with it. It’s a melee zerker that works best in 1v1 or 2v2 scenarios.

My rotation starts with casting SotW. Then I’ll throw a Path of Scars (hopefully interrupting them to proc MoC) and while the axe is in the air, swap to GS and cast a Maul. By the time the pull reaches you, the Maul is coming down on them. Before SotW is over I’ll try to get one more MoC in either with either Counterattack or Hilt Bash. It’s possible to get 3 MoC Mauls in on rotation before swapping back over to sword for air/fire damage and dancing around. Whirling Defense is a decent cleave on a downed target to bring their hp down and avoid projectile damage.

As for the trait spread, it’s a 2/6/6/0/0. Two stunbreaks, decent stability (tied in with damage and elite though), and good condition cleansing. Between Empathetic Bond and Signet or Renewal there are 4 conditions cleared every 10 seconds and a full cleanse (or pull to pet) on a 48s cooldown. Okay access to soft CC with cripples and a hydromancy sigil, and good endurance with some vigor and energy sigil.

The build’s biggest weakness is OOC movement speed. Both forms of swiftness are tied to combat (Tail Wind and Pack runes). It’s not terrible though with both sword and greatsword leaps to help move you around. The warhorn would alleviate that, but then you lose Path of Scars pull to Maul which I really like.

Show your rangers here!!

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Shanks.2907

Took me a bit of playing around in the wardrobe to put this together. Most of the medium armor for female humans is unusable in my opinion. The majority of choices are trench coats and the under boob (t3) used by every other thief. Originally I was going to use the vigil leggings but the t3 leggings fit the ascended coat better.

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[Suggestions] Gemstore Items

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Shanks.2907

I seem to remember Gaile saying Easter would be the best time for the return of the bunny ears. I know she doesn’t put them up for sale, but it sounded pretty convincing like it was going to happen. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t go on sale, it’s pretty much a statement saying that they won’t be coming back. If not on Easter, then when?

Though, I could understand them taking the holiday weekend off and tomorrow (Monday) putting them on sale. I don’t mind if the sale isn’t on Easter itself, as long as it happens. I still have hope!

Guardian Setup questions

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Shanks.2907

I highly suggest looking through Obal’s PvE Guide that is sticky’d at the top of the guardian forums. It’s a great pool of information that will put you in position to be successful in PvE (dungeons/fractals). There are plenty of builds, but more importantly the concept behind them is there too.

PvE and WvW are to completely game modes, and should be treated as such. For that, I suggest you read through Harbringer’s WvW Guide that is also sticky’d at the top of the forum. Again, like Obal’s guide, there is a ton of great information that will help you understand the role of guardian in WvW.

Both guides will give you much more insight than someone could in a reply. Good luck man, and congrats on your first level 80.

Teaming up with a Power Ranger SPVP

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Shanks.2907

If you two are running together, try to use complimenting builds. If she’s using a power ranger, maybe use Devourer Venom to set up her Rapid Fire, and add a Backstab to finish the target.

If you guys want to try more tanky condition buiilds, you could have a bit more synergy. I have a lot of fun running this combination with a friend of mine.

Thief build – venomshare
Ranger build – condi survival

Huge condition spread between the two. Tons of bleeds, torment, poison, burning, chill, cripple and immobilize. You can use the blasts on shortbow #2 on Healing Spring (water field) and Bonfire (fire field) for healing and might. Just make sure to activate the venoms near her and play with synergy in mind. It may not be “meta” but I’ve always had fun playing it.

The ranger will take most of the heat while the thief dips in and out, but it has plenty of survivability to pull it off.

Class balance and Rapid Fire

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

This isn’t about my personal abilities. I do not have a problem with rangers in SPvP, nor did I say that I do, or else I would have come here looking for advice rather than state my opinion about an ability that seems a bit out of balance.

When did you become the robinhood of l2p? Other people don’t need you to speak up for them, if you’re not having issues then what’s to say other people are? You’re contradicting yourself here and it’s coming off disingenuous, just to make yourself not look any worse.

But, why then can my Engineer be dropped from full health to zero while stealthed and blocking by a ranger’s “Rapid Fire?” It can be dodged you might say, and that would be true if not for the ranger’s immobilize, which can’t be broken by any means other than damage, which takes too much time and stops you from damaging the ranger for the duration.

That certainly sounds like you having a “problem”.

You have a skill that can interrupt Rapid Fire AND get you out of an Entangle, that of course being Overcharged Shot. You can mitigate damage of Rapid Fire by alternating dodging and Gear Shields. You have a panic button with Elixer S (which I bet gets hit by Rapid Fire too) and can stealth pull the ranger with Magnet and Toss Elixer S to eliminate it’s range advantage.

(edited by Shanks.2907)

Post your dream Guard changes!

in Guardian

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

  • 25% movement speed trait: Whether it’s conditional or not is fine. Something like “while wielding 1 handed weapons” as an adept radiance trait. Or perhaps “with at least one virtue passive active” as an adept virtues trait (which both lines are lacking in past 1 or 2 traits). The problem with it only active during aegis is that it would only be good for out of combat travel, it would have nearly no uptime in combat.
  • Sword AA #3: Shield Wave projectiles need to be worked on. You should not eat half you melee AA chain damage when reflect is up, it’s just bad design. The skill could be treated simple as not reflectable, or completely reworked. I’d also like to see a 2s cripple added somewhere in the AA chain.
  • Soft CC: 2s chill on blind would be nice. Or a five second cripple. Either would be fine, but some access to soft cc would go a long way. I would like to see some access natively on weapons and not have to trait for it though.
  • Boon Stripping: My idea is to rework Cleansing Flame. Reduce the cast time to 2s and reduce the hits down to 4 (1 per half second). Readjust the conditions cleansed on allies to be the same, but add boon stripping per pulse. It would make focus not the clear choice, and give the guardian some options to deal with boon spam. And 4 boons stripped over a 2s channel is not terribly OP, the blue flame is quite easy to spot and dodge.

There’s been a lot of good suggestions in this thread though. I’m glad to see so many asking for a 25% movement speed, and I thin the more vocal we are the more likely it will come. I could probably list a bunch more, but these are what I feel are most important.

Pet passive mode

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Totally thought this would be a thread about stowing pets in combat.

Small tip for sword rangers

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

This is my main escape mechanic when using longbow. I also put a hydromancy sigil on my sword/warhorn so I can slow them down while opening a gap. You can even cast Hunter’s Call after the Lightning Reflexes but before the Hornet Sting to apply a little damage/pressure while moving away.

What makes sword a better secondary to longbow is that the leap can be used twice on a swap with an 8 second cooldown compared to the 12 second cooldown on swoop. Gives you the chance to create a little extra room.

It’d be really nice though if LR cleared cripple/chill. It would make it so much more effective as an escape mechanic.

(edited by Shanks.2907)

Movement - reason to give up

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

the ranger would truly benefit from is to substitute not so used/useful traits for passive movement speed increase/positioning abilities/evasive manouvers in and out of combat.

Have a good day.

Out of combat speed is what hurts rangers the most. They have several options for swiftness, but a lot of them require combat to use. These are your options:

  • Signet of the Hunt
  • Traveler Runes (Also Speed, Pack & Centaur)
  • Tail Wind
  • Storm Spirit
  • Birds
  • Warhorn
  • Quickshot (3 seconds of swiftness from shortbow #3)
  • Rampage as One

Tail Wind in itself can be enough combat speed on it’s own to get by, but especially with any of the other ones supplementing it like pack runes, a bird, warhorn or quickshot. The problem is that the only reliable speed out of combat is SotH and traveler runes, with warhorn giving a decent burst of swiftness but not perma.

I usually run sword in both my condi and power builds for the extra mobility. Traveler runes on my condi build and generally warhorn/Tail Wind on my longbow build. On my melee zerker build (2/6/6/0/0) with sw/axe & gs I have Tail Wind/pack runes but my out of combat speed hurts (though the leaps help).

There’s a lot of tradeoffs with the decision on how you want to build for mobility. You have to choose between your runes, utilities, traits, pet or weapon. There’s a lot of options, but you will have to choose mobility over something else.

Evasive Purity

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

I think that at least SoR or EB (should be better since it’s a GM trait) need to be changed.

EB would be nice if it was something like “Draws 3 conditions every 10 seconds converting them to boons”.

That way they can keep their dumb idea of drawing conditions, but give pets a nice buff.

reliable swiftness application?

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

The theory crafter in me fails to believe there isn’t a work around. So if anyone has some thoughts let me know!

Your options are:

  • Signet of the Hunt
  • Traveler Runes (Also Speed, Pack & Centaur)
  • Tail Wind
  • Storm Spirit
  • Birds
  • Warhorn
  • Quickshot (3 seconds of swiftness from shortbow #3)
  • Rampage as One

I believe that’s it for the access to swiftness and 25% movement speed. Not terrible, there’s certainly classes with a lot less access (namely guardian where all of it’s swiftness is tied into defensive builds w/ shouts and staff).

Unless you choose either 25% movement speed, you’ll probably have to choose two of them. You could do well in a trapper build with Tail Wind and Quickshot, having a low downtime of swiftness if you swap regularly. Like I said above, my zerker build relies on Tail Wind and warhorn for it’s swiftness. My condi survival build (2/0/6/6/0) uses traveler runes because it doesn’t have any of the forms of swiftness. You’ll have to sacrifice something somewhere, like I did with my bleed durations, to get movement speed. Whether it’s your runes, utility slot or weapon choice is up to you.

Your best bet is to swap in SotH out of combat to move around and rely on Tail Wind when fighting. You can supplement it with a bird, warhorn or shortbow.

reliable swiftness application?

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Well, if it was a power build I would suggest warhorn with Pack runes, and Tail Wind trait supplementing combat speed.

Condition build though, I don’t see getting around SotH out of combat, with Tail Wind supplementing in combat speed. I myself run runes of the traveler on my condi survival build, but that wouldn’t work on a trap build.

The No Longbow Theorycrafting Thread

in Warrior

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Here’s what I’ve been playing around with. Doesn’t have the support for team fights like shoutbow but it can hold it’s own well in a 1v1 or 2v2.

This build version is packed with sustain. 3600 armor, melandru runes, CI/BS/SoS (plus 50% endurance regen). I’m on the fence between knight amulet or cavalier, but with no fury and no points in Arms there isn’t enough crit chance. Signet of Rage can be swapped in for Fury but I’ve been enjoying Rampage. You become an absolute beast with the the extra damage reduction and nearly immune to movement impairing conditions. Also considering pack runes for extra damage and fury but again, this version is more built on sustain.

Guardian Class need adjustment.

in Guardian

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Considering that this is the guardian build that he uses in WvW I don’t think he has a clue. Looking through his post history I honestly think he’s serious though.

My guess is he was using an upleveled necro in wvw without proper gear or a proper build with friends in the same position, all of which who have no idea what they’re doing. Of course a well built meditation guardian could wreck them, any profession could.

DarkSyze, here’s something to keep in mind. Every class has access to doing damage, and every class can heal themselves. Gw2 isn’t like every MMO out there, so don’t force your expectations of roles onto the class and how other people play.

A Legendary Journey - Precursor mastery!

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

So…the new precursors will look like a less detailed legendary weapon?
I wonder how The Legend,Dawn and Dusk will look like

Not sure how I feel about that tbh. They say they want to keep the prestige of new ones by not making them non-tradeable, so why not destroy the prestige of the old ones?

Barrage Rework

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

  • Move it from the #5 skill to the #2 skill

Why?

The only weaponset I can think of with cooldowns out of order in length of cooldown is elementalist offhand dagger on earth. Other than that they’re all in order, so it would only make sense to move it down the skill bar with such a lower cooldown.

Either way though. It just doesn’t make sense to have a five second cooldown on the #5 skill.

Barrage Rework

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Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Barrage is one of the few AoE attacks that ranger has, but it’s on too high of a cooldown to be effective in team fights. Sure, it has it’s moments but for the large part is easy enough to walk away from. So here is where my suggestion comes in.

  • Move it from the #5 skill to the #2 skill
  • Adjust the hits from 12 to 2 (1/6)
  • Adjust the cooldown 5 seconds (1/6)
  • Adjust the cast time to 1/2 second (~1/4)
  • Remove the rooted effect, compensates for slightly longer overall cast times

As it is now, only a few hits usually get in unless you’ve got your target knocked down with wolf or immobilized. What is gained instead in this reworked version is much more control on the AoE. Also, the cripple will be spread out on smaller shots instead of on one larger attack, making it easier to kite.

Thoughts?

condi gen builds still viable?

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

The only real reason I go for rabid amulet is for the torment sigil procs, which are great for a perma-cover condition and ~100 damage a tick. Though, I do prefer the toughness over vitality from carrion amulet. You can see how I piece together my variation of the condi survival in my signature.

So the big question is figthing condi-based players?

Cuz the stats Toughness+Healing power+Condition damage sounds better to me to condi ranger than Toughess+Precision+Condi damage, since the only benefict i see from Precision is to proc your torment sigil, right? Is it viable to combo ur torment sigil with earth sigil? Since both ull get benefecit from the precision u have.

How about fights against a power burst thief/mesmer/ranger/warrior/guardian? I dont see the rabid soft build stronger than the regen 1 against those builds.

Yes, the chance of playing against a condition build gives SotF the general edge. The active cleansing is nice to have on top of Empathetic Bond. Even against power builds it’s good to cleanse the soft CC thrown around.

You can make a regen SotF build though. That’s what I was using before the torment sigil hit pvp. I believe it looked something like this. Not a whole lot different between my current build. It builds up regen with Oakheart Salve, Rejuvenation and Healing Spring. There’s 33% regen duration plus another 15% boon duration on the runes. I use to have hydromancy sigils on before, which I actually do miss a lot. Signet of Resolve can be swapped in over MT or SS for a break stun/full cleanse. The biggest thing it doesn’t have is Offhand Training, which I don’t think I can go without anymore.

I wouldn’t use earth sigils without shortbow. Not enough of a consistent proc to take advantage of it over a geomancy sigil. Rabid is a tough tradeoff to be able to use torment sigils, I’ve wondered if the fury from SotF would be enough to proc them. You lose about 2k healing over 10 seconds from the regen, while gaining a bit extra condition damage, a cover condition and ~25% more physical damage through crits.

Between SotF and Offhand Training though I can’t keep up 100% regen duration, so settler is kind of a waste as TU doesn’t scale well with healing power (extra 800hp over duration). Plus with Nature’s Protection I’ve noticed a bit more sustain through that, so I haven’t really felt the loss of the regen. It’s a tossup, one of those things you’d have to play out to see if it works for you.

condi gen builds still viable?

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

Just a side note Hyjaxxx. You should give Offhand Training a shot. They buffed the default radius of Bonfire to 180 (the size of it previously traited) and now it goes to 240 traited. Stalker’s Strike is also a lot easier to land with it, and of course cooldown reductions are always nice. The Torch Throw projectile speed also got buffed a little while ago.

Guys, i have a question(maybe its stupid, but lets go…)

Why is the Survival Fittest Condi Rabid build ‘superior’ as the Settler/Apotecary regen build? (Both builds with S/T A/D). Ive playing both builds in SPVP Hot Joins, and IMO, the regen is so much stronger then the survival fittest.

I will explain: Both builds have almost the same skills and condi aplicattion, but the regen one allows you to kitte ppl in 1v2 while ur condis kill them and your HP is regenering. The survival fittest build doesnt have this power, it only give u some more bleeds and condi removal, as well fury.

But honestly, i dont see how ppl say survival fittest is stronger. Ive only played SPVP, maybe in WvW its superior? Any tips?

I suppose it all comes down to preference and what utilities you like to run. I have good luck running 4 survival skills which nets me 8 conditions cleansed (10 with the trait Keen Edge included). You’ll get about 3k healing every 15 seconds with regen, which can easily be covered with timely cleanses. The extra protection from Nature’s Protection goes pretty far too for sustain over Nature’s Bounty with regen.

The only real reason I go for rabid amulet is for the torment sigil procs, which are great for a perma-cover condition and ~100 damage a tick. Though, I do prefer the toughness over vitality from carrion amulet. You can see how I piece together my variation of the condi survival in my signature.

If you like to use signets like SoS or SoR I could see a regen build offering more. Really depends what you want on your utility bar. If Entangle and Lightning Reflexes are your only two survival skills, it may not be worth the investment.

(edited by Shanks.2907)

Ranger firing from stealth and NOT revealed

in PvP

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

I’m sure that ranger used it’s only stealth (10 second cooldown) again before revealed (4 seconds) would of expired. This might be an issue if they had on demand stealth like a thief or mesmer, but they don’t. I could see a change in the future if more access was added but seriously, it’s a waste of dev time. It has zero impact on you eating a Rapid Fire instead of dodging.

Ranger range 1500 need risk, Sugg: 1300 range

in Ranger

Posted by: Shanks.2907

Shanks.2907

A couple things about the build you posted DarkSyze. For starters, that build was designed for pvp and contenting points. It has no place in an open environment for either roaming (1v1) or zerg vs zerg (large scale battles). I’ll link you a build for each that will put you in a position to have success.

Meditation Roaming for roaming /small scale (Focuses on damage)

AH Frontliner for Zergs /large scale (Focuses on sustain and support)

Before I go any further though, what do you want out your game play? Do you want to run with the large group while supporting it in the front lines, or do you want to roam by yourself taking on fights 1v1? The two are built completely different as one has more focus on damage (roaming) and the other specializes in support and sustain (zergs). You won’t ever be successful roaming with a build for zergs, you’ll get crushed every time by any competent roamer regardless of their profession.

(edited by Shanks.2907)