Guild Wars 2

I find it odd none of the top threads have touched on this (especially with many posts on the need for more active combat and things of that nature) but I find the underwater combat to be very lacking, nay dreadful. That’s not to say it’s not dynamic, doable, or cool, but there is a severe drop in dps once you hit the waves. The nature of most weapon skills underwater revolve around conditions and movement rather than damage like their land counterparts, which makes even single mobs difficult.

Not only that, but a huge array of utility skills and elites can’t be used underwater, ergo many builds don’t exist once you put your head under. For example, as a thief, most skills are area effects, teleports, and stealths; once you’re under the water, really your only options are signets that increase stats slightly and allow a shadowstep or blind to a single target. This reduces survivability and stealth abilities (which is the primary way a thief dishes out damage and exhibits combat control). This is not an isolated case; elementalists are also a good example of this (and all are free to post there thoughts of every other class).

Fire attunement is supposed to bring burning and big damage, but underwater, only one move burns and only 3 deal substantial damage, which siginificantly hinders dps. Water brings healing and support, but underwater only 2 moves heal (one for a very meager amount, the other only gives regen) while the bomb and wall skills hint at water attunement as being the “glass cannon” underwater rather than fire. Lightning and earth have similar problems as the previous 2 as far as lack of damage options worth considering in return for lots of long cool down condition moves and movement of sorts. Though you could argue that that one would have to utilize all 4 attunements to procure good dps, does this not go against the purpose of trait lines as a means to specialize yourself into a certain role?

If this weren’t enough, the multi-dimensional nature of the environment has proved more of a hinderance than a blessing. On land, you know what is around you and when you can engage a 1 v 1 or 2 v 1 safely or escape on low health, etc. In water, it is difficult to be fully aware of mobs that can exist all around you, especially when lots of classes have moves that cause displacement (move your toon around). Charging, pulling, dodging away, teleporting can be a death sentence instead of an escape or initiate because in the 3-D combat environment, more enemies exist around you per cubic area compared to on land since mobs technically exist on a 2-D plane on land (birds don’t rain down on you out of no where and mobs don’t emerge from underground from some obscure range of hostility).

This coupled with the loss of true damage and survivability make underwater fights a headache to say the least. I’d love for some player feedback to know I’m not crazy but I do feel that these complaints are well thought out and consistently experienced in-game. To test whether this is true, compare the ease that you solo (or duo) a veteran mob on land then take it to the water. Note how many enemies surround you, how many times you HAVE to heal or dodge or avoid damage/blow a big cool down. A good test run is the Ship of Sorrows explorer achievement in Straits of Devastation. You fight 1 v 2 fights quite often on the ship and many mobs are around you.

Anyways, please comment and share your likes/dislikes with water combat and let me know if I’m crazy or on to something.