Guild Wars 2

I’d like to update my original post a little…
After playing a little more, in earnest effort to understand this spec, I have a little more insight.

• [Barrier] decay is still too fast or not enough points.
• PvE (i.e. vs. stupid AI) seems a lot more powerful than I initially thought. Everything except the barrier (survivability) feels just about right (for normal PvE/Story).
• [Sand Savant] feels like a must : I think a good option would be to remove the cooldown on [Manifest Sand Shade] when [Sand Savant] is not slotted

Other than that, my problem may just be a learning curve too steep for someone like me.
Looking forward to the full release, hoping for the best.

My Reaper didn’t have those issues, well, before the last patch.
When zerker thieves spiked me I could pop shroud, Skill 3, 2, back out of shroud and follow up for the kill.
Actually killed a thief like that in WvW before he knew what hit him.
Sadly it’s not as efficient anymore and, of course, not very mobile.
I was actually looking forward to Scourge because I was hoping that the nerfing my Reaper got was in preparation for the new classes…
Don’t see that as the case.
Scourge seems to be an even less mobile PvE class that only exists to fill a theme.
Reaper has better power and/or condition damage… why would I want to play anything else?

Pretexting this with : I play solo a lot more than group

I had a lot of fun playing power, then later, support necro.
Reaper changed things up a bit and eventually was my main.
I really wanted to like the Scourge, but I’m having a hard time with it, here’s why:

• Barrier skills are weak compared to shroud. As stated in other posts, the barrier points decay so fast that they are only marginally better than a single Aegis boon.

• Shades don’t move. Meaning I have to keep my fights less mobile. I see these skills as mostly worthless in WvW since I have to F1 -> Target -> Shade Skill -> wait …
  Not a big PvPer anymore, but I imagine once I pop a shade, people are going to just move out of it’s range… it’s really really short range…

• Utility skills give me some new options, but most of them aren’t going to stay on my bar anyway.

• Torch gives me 2 new skills… not sure what I was expecting… just, maybe a little more.

• Elite skill is essentially Plaguelands 2, except weaker and shorter… no idea why I would ever choose this over Plaguelands.

Really feel let down by this and don’t have any desire to play this at all.

Can anybody help here? I still really want to give this a chance, but I just don’t see how the dots connect…

Thanks for all the comments and opinions.

I honestly was expecting more of a flame war and was pleasantly /surprised by the quality and maturity of the answers.

I honestly thought that the build was some kind of cheat. But I’ve been able to verify that such a build exists and that this is not the case.
It appears that with the trait/combo listed above, it is indeed possible to immobilize + condi and repeat within 20 seconds.
Go team Ranger.

Thanks again!

Thanks. You make very valid points.
So, what about builds like the thief that try to nuke me, fail, but don’t get killed because they can just leap away from me?
One of the most frustrating things for me, as a Necro, in WvW has been that even if I build tough, and survive the initial barrage, it doesn’t matter because those players just zip off and come back when their cooldowns expire.

This Ranger build is just the latest in line. I’d have less of an issue if I had any chance of winning these fights.

In case anyone is interested, it looks like the build in question was using :
Sharpening Stone, Concussion Shot, Poison Volley, <swap> RapidFire, Ancient Seeds

There may have been some other traits, not sure.

Which is why I wonder how he kept me locked down and conditioned…

Also, as I said, some of those require skill slots that I wasn’t willing to give up.
But, it still shouldn’t have been that one-sided.

Granted.
I was a little upset when I started the post, but calmed down while typing it.

It just seems that even though GW2 claims customization and freedom in how you play, there are cases (WvW) where that is not true.

There are builds like this Ranger and Theif builds that allow the player to lock others down and destroy them quickly. The only way for me to avoid this is to slot “escape” skills, which then reduces my ability to apply dps.

I main a Necromancer. I have limited mobility compared to other “WvW friendly” classes. If a Thief tries to run from me… he’s going to get away. Same for Warrior, Guardian, Elementalist…
Necros have a few really good cleanses. My primary problem with the Ranger build was that even after dropping all my conditions, before I could provide any significant damage, I was rooted and filled with conditions again. Stack that with a pet that can stun, then we have a Ranger that can completely shut me down and kill me before I can do anything.
This is not an “I can’t handle this” issue. It becomes an issue because there is no way for me to deal with that build without sacrificing my ability to do damage… in which case, we’re back to me dying, only this time, I lose because my dps won’t hold up.

That’s the unfairness issue.
As far as cheating goes… I’m just not sure how, in the time it takes me to attack 1-2 times, they have hit me with immobility as well as enough damage and conditions to kill me in short order. It seems to me that should be several attacks.
I don’t understand how someone can spam that many attacks so quickly. Seems like a bot or a macro to me.
If it’s not, well, that’s what I was asking… what kind of traits/skills are they using?

Yeah, Ancient Seeds looks about right. It doesn’t explain all the conditions though.

I guess if I want to keep playing WvW I’ll have to roll a ranger, thief or guardian…

I need some guidance here.

I’ve just recently (in WvW) run into several rangers that have an unexplainable ability to repeatedly root me and nuke me with conditions. Instantly.
It seems like all in one shot, I’m rooted and have 5-6 conditions on me.
Ok, no worries, cleansed… 10-15 seconds later, I’m in the same situation.
The ranger’s HPs seem to hold up against my attacks, but their conditions tear me apart.

I’m not a pro-level player or anywhere close, but I can usually hold my own 1v1 against most opponents.

This just isn’t the case here.

Can somebody help me here? Every time I run into one of these rangers, i’m dead. They have more mobility so, I can’t even turn and run…