Guild Wars 2

“Good morning fellow Tyrians! Plyxi here and boy do I have a treat for you! Following his recent reveal as a supporting Legend in the new Guildwars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion, we were able to catch up with Shiro Tagachi to ask him a few questions about his return to the Guildwars universe.”

Plyxi: “Mr. Tagachi, I’d like to thank you for taking the time for this interview. Do you have any opening remarks for your Guildwars: Factions fans?”

At this point Shiro stood up and clenched his fists before taking a villainous pose.

Shiro: “I HAVE RETURNED!”

Plyxi: “Ahhh… ok, we sort of got that with the reveal. Anyway, is there any coffee or water that I can get you before we begin?”

Shiro: “What kind of food buff will this give me?”

Plyxi: “Ahh… healing power I believe.”

Shiro: “Disgusting!” He stands up and kicks over the table with the cups on it. A charr attendant comes over to move the broken table and mess off screen.

Plyxi: “Ok… that was unexpected. Mr. Tagachi. What can you tell us about your powers as a legend and it’s playstyle?”

Shiro: He ponders a moment and puts a hand to his chin “Well. Think of a warrior but with speed, teleports, and an aoe basilisk venom. Oh and you get awesome versions of my Shiro’ken blades made of jade that steal health. They aren’t as good as the real thing though.”

Plyxi: “So are you more or less satisfied with your skillbar loadout?”

Shiro: “I’m just disappointed that they didn’t use any of the original names for my skills. I mean come on! Battle Scars, Meditation of the Reaper, Against Impossible Odds… I put so much time into coming up with those cool names.” He sighs then shrugs “Well it could be worse. I suppose I didn’t get it as bad as those other legends.”

Plyxi: “Speaking of the other legends, what do you think about Jalis and Ventari?”

Shiro: He laughs. “Pathetic! I saw that Ventari guy on the way here in the bathroom. He slipped and slammed his head on one of the sinks. Poor guy couldn’t even heal himself because his tablet was stuck in the hallway. They had to call an ambulance. Jalis? I don’t know about him. I just saw him channeling his elite. I came back after lunch and he was still channeling.”

Plyxi: “Do you think you will have any synergy with the other legends?”

Shiro: “I don’t want to be caught dead paired up with those two. They better pair me up with Mallyx or Glint. Ahhh… Mallyx. I remember the good old days of us stomping newbies in the realm of torment… well until Ursanway came and ruined it all. I remember Mallyx being alot better in his prime though. Old Mallyx would have just facesmashed people instead of trying this condition mess. I keep telling him that power is the way to go. He’s as stubborn as that Lich. If the Lich was DPS specced during our last fight, we would have crushed those flameseeker heroes.”

Plyxi: “Are you looking forward to anything in the new Guildwars 2 expansion personally?”

Shiro: “Well I have replicas of my blades and armor lined up for sale in the Black Lion Gemstore. I’m sure I’ll have more gems than I know what to do with.”

Plyxi: “Any plans for those gems?”

Shiro: “I think I might use them to kickstart Shiroken University. It’s an online college with courses designed to teach young Quaggans how to properly spec into dps builds. My philosophy is that if you teach the younger generation the value of mass murder and damage early, you can make the world a better place.”

Plyxi: “I notice that you keep staring out the window, is there something wrong Mr. Tagachi?”

Shiro: “That idiot Revenant over there is heading into that fractal gate with cleric armor and a staff. I think we might need to cut this interview short. Someone needs to stop him. What is he trying to do? Trap his team in there for 5 hours?”

Shiro suddenly teleports to the revenant and bursts him into down state in 2 seconds. Some shouting can be heard.

“AND STAY DOWN THERE UNTIL YOU LEARN HOW TO REV!”

Plyxi: “Well there you go Tyrians! Shiro Tagachi, coming to a Revenant near you! Be sure to Preorder! I’ll see you next time, on Eye on Tyria!”

More screaming can be heard as Shiro begins to terrorize other staff Revenants.

Lately I have been playing less and less of Gw2, which in a way can be a good thing as I am now rediscovering some good single player games I missed out on while time sinking into Gw2.

Let me start off by saying that “Progression” in Gw2 is very different from other games. By progression I mean having nice things, building towards something of value, collecting legendaries, and generally having nice things.

Ascended armor and Legendaries has soared up to astronomical value, with forging a set of light armor totaling over 1200-1500g in materials and/or months worth of time performing tedious grind tasks and mat collecting. Forging legendaries is even worse.

Inflation has caused all basic necessities for “Progression” to soar to levels way beyond the reach of anyone but a Black Lion tycoon.

The acquisition of any high end items is directly tied into crafting and the market, with minimal ways of obtaining them alternatively (considering the randomness of chests, and the even lower likelyhood of any reward being of a specific stat combination that is usable to you).

When “progressing” towards things such as Legendaries and Ascended Armor, players can work hard and seemingly get nowhere.

The game’s end progression has essentially turned into a giant wallstreet simulation that greatly rewards investors and marketers (especially ones with large amount of gold) vs. people who actually play the game for standard rewards.

Lackluster rewards and incentive has always been a problem in Gw2. I thought the addition of the collections was a good idea, but even the rewards from them are still pretty terrible.

Many people I know are just getting tired of logging in because there is nothing to do but grind for a goal that is further away then pluto, get fed up and buy gold to get what they want, or log in for a few minutes to stand in front of the black lion and play the market because its easier to advance via trading than playing the actual game.

This has lead to this sort of era of stagnation in Gw2, where people are just feeling like they are wasting time due to all the rewards being tied to the market and very little incentive or advancement beyond hoarding gold and manipulating trades.

The game has become a splitting image of the great American Depression, complete with the sad carnies begging for coins in the middle of lions arch.

While I see the need to keep gold valuable in order to support the game through the gemstore, I feel that the balance and the emphasis on wallstreet play in the game is too much. So much to the point where standard players who are doing basic reward play are scratching their heads wondering why they are wasting all their time and what this secret is in order to get into the mile high club (who are really just a collection of investors that gained all their wealth before the market inflated and everything valued up to a point to where its out of reach of normal players).

This kind of world is just not fun. I for one will be taking a break, with sparse logins to check the health of the game, unlock stories, and generally see what changes in the future.

We are sitting here waiting for an answer, survived the aquaman patch that did nothing for us. Finally ANET livestreams the ranger changes. The balancers go before an angry ranger community and demonstrate that they couldn’t even find some of the ranger traits on the skill trees then just glazed over the class while providing no direction or insight on what the plans on it were going to be. In fact, the dev stated that the proper way to play ranger was to get a sword and zerker gear and be a poor man’s warrior. He also said the longbow sucked. I now point to the ranger class description about it being a superior ranged combatant…

(I have to say the presentation and unprofessionalism displayed in the livestream thread that day was probably the one thing that upset me the most in all of my time playing this game.)

So we are still left in the dark.

So we get to this point, 6 months later since our class was completely destroyed with no reason. It took 50% of the community to vote that the ranger was in dire need of a CDI because the class sucked so bad.

The final answer we get is this above outline “design” philosophy that makes no sense. What this class design philosophy basically says is that we are to be a resilient attrition class when our base health/condition removal sucks and there already is a superior attrition class in the game (necromancer). We are supposed to excel at steady damage with no burst when the obvious design of skills like signet of the hunt and opening strike as a whole are screaming burst. The CDI philosophy is basically telling the ranger community that they are going to be shoehorned into playing a poor man’s necromancer with only single target damage (I sense rraaaaaaaaggeeeeeeee).

What the devs propose for the “ranger philosophy” completely betrays the original direction of the ranger promoted on the guildwars main site.

On top of this, the “attrition” design of the ranger proposed will take a COMPLETE REDESIGN of the ranger from the ground up. Just look at opening strikes, signet of the hunt, QZ, hilt bash, moment of clarity, etc. and tell me this wasn’t supposed to be a burst class.

Why do we have so many skills that provide a limited window of high vulnerability to a target and damage amplification if we were never supposed to burst?

I feel like, the everything about the Ranger is a lie. The Ranger CDI came out late, maybe there was internal confusion on where this class should even be because it really has no place in the game.

If metrics were never defined for the ranger, what was driving its balance decisions? If the ranger really was supposed to meet the criteria in that CDI, then we would never have opening strikes and skills like SOTH in the first place.

TL;DR

The ranger is a lie. The proposed CDI vision for the ranger makes no sense when compared to its current design. I feel like balance decisions for the ranger were just thrown out there with no direction. What is proposed in the CDI requires a complete redesign and will place the ranger in the shadow of a class that already excels at attrition.

I want to discuss the design philosophy outlined in the CDI and explain why everything about the ranger is a lie:

Ranger Design Philosophy: Please keep this in mind when posting feedback.
The Ranger is a resilient profession that excels at skirmishing by drawing from nature to support themselves as well as their allies. Alongside their pet, they have some of the best single target and sustained damage that will whittle their opponents down.

A long time ago, I posted the Phantom Catmaster build here on the forums. The pet has always been unable to hit a moving target reliably, unresponsive with broken F2s, and has had horribly bugged traits. The redeeming factor of the pet was that despite all its terrible design, when specced into BM it used to HIT LIKE A TRUCK.

Prior to what I call the “Pet Cemetary” patch, the jaguar itself used to hit for 7000 on its own. Yes, the pet was easy to dodge but you have to think about the way that the ranger is designed. Opening strikes triggers ONCE per combat engagement and provides a window of opportunity in which the ranger can soften a target by loading them with vulnerability and autocrit.

Look at the signets and limited time attack boosters. Skills like signet of the hunt and traits like moment of clarity provide a 150% damage boost to the ranger in order to SET UP A BURST. The problem is the ranger has NO ATTACKS outside of maul and path of scars that even come close to being bursty.

However, before Pet Cemetary, the pet was loaded with them. The purpose of the ranger’s original design was obviously for the ranger to soften a target for the pet. The ranger would load the target with massive debuffs, whittle damage, and vulnerability, and the pet would deliver the finishing blow.

The ranger and pet was SYMBIOTICALLY designed around setting up the pet for a burst attack. Guess what? Back in the day, when the Jaguar and DPS pets (such as birds) were fearsome, this worked.

I guess apparently, people were too terrible to kite the pet around in a little red circle in SPVP. So ANET decides to nerf one of the few working mechanics that defined our class. They took the pet out into the backyard and smashed it so hard with a graviton hammer that the shockwaves could be felt by microbacteria on mars.

So we get a 30% flat nerf to the pet, in a situation where damage was the ONLY redeeming factor about the pet. The ranger then gets no compensation.

After that we get a shortbow nerf, in a situation where the 1200m shortbow was one of the few weapons that made the ranger a viable range skirmisher. This was because the large majority of spammable gap closers have a 900m range. Turning the shortbow into a fisher price kids toy with the ranger of kitten nerf gun basically spoon fed us to melee classes.

So all our burst is gone, all our skirmishing is taken away. The core functionality of the class was damaged in patches with no compensation. The ranger community became angered and ANET never released the design philosophy of the class. We had no idea why these changes were happen or what “metrics” the design team was trying to meet.

People were starting to get kittened off and for good reason.

He even mailed me presents when I waved at him!

Time to fix this class. Let’s get started:

PETS:

I implemented a new system for pets. Gone is the old POS system that gave you almost zero customization for pets. Under my system all pets will start with the exact same base stats. Rangers will be given 4 new equipment slots, one for each pet (2 land, 2 sea). These equipment slots allow players to equip “Pet Collars.” These pet collars will further define the stats of the pets based on popular weapon prefixes.

For example, a Dire pet collar will greatly increase a pets Condition Damage (Primary), Vitality, and Toughness. This will allow rangers to further customize their pets. In order for Rangers to keep up with the power creep of ascended gear, pet collars will come in rarities that range up to legendary. The legendary collar will allow the player to freely switch stats just like a normal legendary weapon and will also have the effect of turning all the pets into ghost versions (ghost shark? hell yes).

Additionally, pets will also gain stats for each point put into ranger trait trees. For example, rangers putting points into Wilderness Survival will passively add toughness and condition damage to their pet’s stats. This allows for further customization. In Beast Mastery, aside from adding healing power to the pet, each point of beast mastery will add an additional 1 movement speed to the pet. At 30 BM, the pet will have a permenant 30 speed boost at all times.

This system allows a ranger to build condition pets to support condition builds. No longer will pets be taking up bleed spots with 20dmg bleeds. Pets can also be built against the specialization of the player, such as a glass ranger building a tanky or condition damage based pet. Because trait points are factored into the pet’s final stats along with the collar, the pet will always have a portion of its master’s stats reflect unto itself.

So why these changes? The ranger is designed to be reliant on the pet, but only one trait tree supports the pet. Without going full BM, the pet is garbage. Because the pet is so symbiotic with the ranger, no matter how the ranger builds the pet SHOULD ALWAYS BE USEFUL.

This system is designed to do that, it is also designed to give players a way to boost their pet to keep up with the power creep of gear through collars.

Collars can be found as drops and also forged by Huntsman crafters.

PET F2s:

Pet F2s will now override ANY action the pet is performing to immediately activate. Any interrupted skill goes on a short ICD just like when a player dodge cancels their own skills.

TRAITS:

Some ranger traits are a mess. Let’s fix them up, especially since we are adding a new pet system. Here we go:

Agility Training:
Since BM is adding speed to the pet passively, I’m changing the functionality of this skill. Now each time the ranger swaps pets, the next time the master orders the pet to attack the pet will shadow step to the enemy, the next time the pet is recalled it shadow steps back to the master. Each trigger of this ability adds one attack step and one return step. 900m range. If used out of range the pet will run the distance then shadow step to the location when within 900m. 25s internal CD. A debuff indicator will apear once used to tell the ranger when the proc is recharged. This gives players the ability to quickly get their pet in and out of areas.

Expertise Training:
Now merged with Rending Attacks, which will be changed. Expertise Training now adds X condition damage to the pet stats and the pet will bleed on normal attack crits.

Compassion Training:
With compassion training the F2 attack on any pet will now cause an AOE heal that scales off pet healing power.

Stability Training, Vigorious Training, Intimidation Training:
Now not linked to pet types and will work on any pet.

Rending Attacks:
Functionality changed, now causes all pet F2s to cause the pet to pulse with physical aoe damage similiar to the old Guildwars 1 zealot’s fire.

(CONT)

INTRODUCTION:

The Chronomancer is a class concept that I have been working on to balance the Guildwars 2 classes as a new heavy armor “Soldier Class.” While the Mesmer is a master of manipulating and controlling the minds of enemies, the Chronomancer is able to reach into the mists to bend the very fabric of time and space itself, altering the normally accepted rules of “cause and effect” in the favor of himself and his allies during a heated battle.

The Chronomancer is designed to be a heavy armor control class that excels in debilitating the enemy to the point of ruin, where they then unleash powerful attacks that erase the existence of their foes from the time stream altogether. The Chronomancer relies on positional setups and high conditional stacks to setup an enemy for large damage spikes. Unlike the necromancer, the Chronomancer is a burst damage class that starts off doing very little damage but then is capable of high spike damage once its enemies are softened and properly setup. When fighting a Chronomancer, it is important to avoid him from getting large stacks of his class specific conditions on you in preparation for unleashing big damage.

The Chronomancer also has a wide array of supportive utility skills to grant allies an edge against overwhelming odds. The Chronomancer excels at field control and can force the enemy to break formation with its wide array of pulls, pushes, stuns, and area of effect attacks.

Artistically, Chronomancers wear Magitech armor adorned with gizmos, gears, clocks, and hourglasses. Infinity symbols, circular shapes, dials, and steampunk designs are common in Chronomancer gear. Some sets may sport a chiseled runic look akin to Asuran architecture. Weapons designs might include swords that look like clock hands with sand running through their glass hilts.

CHRONOMANCER MECHANICS:

New Condition: Slow
Chronomancers have access to a new condition called “Slow” that stacks in intensity. Each stack of slowness reduces the enemy’s skill animations. Many Chronomancer abilities deal more damage or have added effects against enemies that have high stacks of Slowness on them. Slow counts as a condition and can be removed through condition removal. Slowness affects animations but not movement speed.

New Condition: Stasis
Some Chronomancer abilities have the ability to freeze an enemy in stasis. Stasis has the same mechanics as a stun with the exception that any enemy who is under stasis gains stacks of slow when struck by enemy attacks. Stasis count as a control effect and can be broken by a stunbreaker. Unlike a stun, enemies trapped in Stasis can also burn a dodge to break out of it.

New Combo Field: Time
Time combo fields cause slowness through projectiles and blasts. Leap finishers and allied blast effects grant a projectile reflection buff to allies.

Temporal Shielding
Some abilities grant the Chronomancer temporal shielding, which reduces all damage done to 1. Conditions can still be applied on the Chronomancer and deal their full effect.

THE PHANTOM CATMASTER

“It was a dreadful night. The rain poured down hard around us and the Doylak trudged through the mud at a slow pace. The guard tower was in sight and the gate was only a short walk from where we stood. My Aspenwood comrades were telling tales about their epic killshots and highest critting backstabs as they walked along side the shaggy beast. Our elementalist casually cast swirling winds to ward the rain as he sipped from his golden flask.

I saw it, from the corner of my eye. It was but a blur, a black shape sweeping along the outlying mists. A pistol dagger thief perhaps? Maybe a backstabber? A mesmer in veil? Whatever it was it surely wasn’t stupid enough to attack this Doylak head on with four seasoned guards escorting it? I took confidence in the fact that my team ran only the most broken cookie cutter builds. We had a bunker ele with two daggers, who would dare challenge us?

Then it happened. Our Doylak, the prized beast that would carry our team to pointopia and grant us the power to erect powerful reinforced gates… just dropped dead in front of all four of us.

WHAT THE KITTEN! Our commander shouted! His head swiveled around in a panic, like a glass cannon staff ele who was standing in spawned lava adds of the Champion Grawl Shaman.

But there was nothing. We scouted the entire area, searching through the ruddy swamp, our weapons burning with might stacks and fully charged sigils of bloodlust. But there was nothing there…

We hid our faces in shame as we returned to the camp. To this day, I still don’t know what the hell happened that night."

-Unamed Fort Aspenwood Defender

FOWARD LOVERS OF CATS!

Welcome, lovers of cats and worshipers of the fluffy paw. I see that the truth has guided you here. While many others turn away, beaten and dejected by the horrible things people say about our “underpowered” ranger class, you have shown great faith and promise coming this far.

It is now time to invite you into our epic circle. Soon you too shall learn the secrets of the Phantom Catmaster. Soon you too will see that glass cannon player manning the balista, only to watch him fall to an invisible and deadly foe. Soon your enemies will know fear! Soon their hearts will quiver and their defensive cooldowns will burn every time a pet suddenly disappears in front of them! Is it still there? Did the ranger swap pets? Or is it here… lurking in plain sight… waiting for the moment to drag me INTO THE DEEP!