Guild Wars 2

Carighan.6758:

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

Yeah a HUGE part of our problem is build diversity. We seemed to have been nerfed into using Shatter, Phantasm or a mix build because all our others were nerfed into being useless.

So interrupt- and stealth-builds were nerfed with the buffs to Halting Strike, Bountiful, Chaotic and PU.

I see now…

I would consider neither worthy of TPvP, might get away in SPvP. You are forgetting that neither of them builds RELY on them. Partially due to the fact that we have very little stealth Its more of a bonus/escape so is more utility then anything else.

Same goes for Interrupts sure you can get might, damage and Vul from them but you will NOT win a fight just using them they are again a utility used to benefit you and punish your target(s) you will NOT win a fight based on Stealth or based on Interrupt alone.

My build uses both but that doesnt make my build a stealth or interrupt build.

The cool down on Cry of Frustration would be fine IF the skill was tweaked. Maybe have it so that it inflicts a few more stacks and lasts longer? Maybe make it kinda similar in how Mind Wreck works – the more clones the better the skill becomes?

Rather then just increases the Confusion stacks, it should also increase the duration of the Confusion (as stated in OP) Seeing as (as far as i can tell) CoF does no damage, just inflicts confusion i think the confusion needs to be increased to counter that. Or you could just take the 5point trait and just use MR which would deal damage and inflict confusion, sure it wouldnt be as many stacks but the damage done by the MR goes some way to counter that.

Yeah a HUGE part of our problem is build diversity. We seemed to have been nerfed into using Shatter, Phantasm or a mix build because all our others were nerfed into being useless.

Now the problem with that is both this kinds of builds are strong, they have weaknesses yes but generally they they can be quite strong but thats the problem people continue to complain because we are to strong despite the fact that many (including myself) are FORCED into these builds as no other builds really work for us anymore.

We have a few decent other builds like the Condition build but lets be honest they are nothing compared to condition builds of some other classes we are pretty muxch useless/not taken in TPvP and SPvP is a mess as well, this should surely be a sign to Anet that we need some love.

Of course i dont want to be super-uber unkillable and wipe 50+zergs solo but it would be nice if we had some VIABLE other options. Some that would mean bringing a Mesmer into TPvP wouldnt be a liability and have to have them being guarded as they just wrecked by anything condition based.

Stolos.7265:

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

I agree that some traits could be reworked or changed.

I find the 5% damage to inactive foes to be confusing. Is it to people that are AFK or those that have been stunned/dazed or what ever? if its AFK then should be replaced, if Stunned/dazed then it needs to be re-worded to show that.

It’s to any foe that isn’t using a skill when your attack hits; moving without using a skill counts as ‘inactive’. Could be better worded though.

Ah, that isnt to bad, but yes it defo needs rewording.

I would take a FULL feedback over a mini one. Phantasm builds rarely want to shatter them do we even have any Grandmaster traits for Phantasms?

The problems i see

Light Field Leap, isnt exactly easy to get right. especially in the heat of battle. The shield one isnt to bad though and neither is iMage, when it works it seems to be very iffy on how it wants to bounce.

Though i am liking CoF with it though, a solid amount of time that is ALOT more reliable then the Light Leap

Perplexity is for Confusion, not all conditions. Confusion is its own condition.

1) Condition duration runes affect ALL conditions
2) current state of the game, damage imo

We have very little in terms of condition removal, other then traits that are dotted about. Shattered Conditions if you want to go with Shatter condition could work very well and the sigil to send a condition to the target (60% chance on crit, 10second cool down) would be quite decent as well

I wouldnt concentrate on the torment runes as we have 1 skill that applies it and its not 100% reliable.

Master of Timespace.2548:

For love of Lyssa, don’t change it into another retarted DOT. It is already too close to being yet another “Bleed+” because of it’s low damage.

It’s duration should always be very short, but to compensate, it should hit hard. This would add actual depth to it’s use. Making it a DoT means you are best of spamming it on recharge.

In a way i kind of agree, but i think part of the problem is the fact its low damage and its low duration. Its not very punishing and just isnt as stackable as Bleeding in. Though i am sure that the Perplexity might change that if it hasnt been fixed yet seeing Warriors abgle to get 25stacks out of it is a slap in the face to us considering we cant do the same with the rune nor with the traits we have for it.

Esplen.3940:

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

What the trees really need are the traits to be more organized. Move the 25Point Inspiration trait (15% extra phantasm damage) to Power tree where it really belongs, of course up high – maybe replace the inactive foe trait? for example.

I disagree. Phantasmal Strength is fine where it is. It’s in a tree that focuses on Phantasms/Support.

Also, Retaliatory Shield can be used to get 100% uptime of Retaliation if used properly in conjunction with Mimic. If you can absorb as soon as you start casting while having multiple enemies aggroed, you can easily block 8 attacks. That’s 24s of Retaliation without any Boon Duration on a skill that has a 25 second cooldown.

I wouldnt really call it an Illusion tree, i mean the 30 point point traits are both shattering traits for one. Though i think it would be good if the trees were a bit more solid on what they should actually be.

Not a bad idea about Mimic, except we have other Utilities that are just to important – Feedback, Decoy, Mirror Images, Blink, The Signets, Mantras are all better in my opinion but i guess it depends on how you play.

Yeah i totally agree, its like they wanted us to have to make decisions on what to take, which is fine by itself but the way they have done it is very awkward and means at times you are taking traits that have little or no effect on your gameplay style just to get the trait you really want just like your example. the 5 and 15point minor traits are shatter traits which is okay for the tree its in, however some of the traits like the illusion recharge trait just do not fit into the tree what so ever.

skcamow.3527:

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

iMage needs to be redesigned with its bouncing attacks. IE should work with it but as it doesnt work with Staff clones i dont see it ever happening. The attack itself needs to be reworked as it it wont bounce between you and 1 target more then once, it always seems to try and find another person to hit

Example: Target 1 – Me – Target 2, Target 1 – Target 2 or Target 1 – You
Change: Target 1 – Me – Target 1 or Target 1 – Target 2 – Target 1

The iMage already works with IE. Bouncing logic could be tweaked a bit, but it is nice when it tags multiple opponents, which it often does.

Really? i tested with and without it and it seemed like it didnt work. It also didnt seem to like hitting someone who has already been hit by it which sucks for 1 Vs 1 Maybe its just the way it currently works that it doesnt seem to show very well.

Guessing We Are Legion is taken, that wouldnt be to bad.
Mines called Luna Illusionirya

Carighan.6758:

I can think of two solutions to Confusion’s current implementation-issues:

Guaranteed damage
Confusion would deal X damage per stack on skill use, and that stack would immediately end. If a stack expires without being triggered, it deals X/2 damage instead. Durations after increased ~50% across the board.

Autorefreshing
In this implementation, one stack is also deduced per time damage is dealt. However, total damage of the stack of confusion is always the same, and duration is fixed at 4s. However, each time a target takes damage from Confusion, duration is reset to 4s. In other words the only way to get rid of it is to either not use any ability for 4s, or exhaust the stacks.
Damage of the single stack should be 2-5 current stacks, somewhere around there.

Both interesting ideas and could work IF Anet actually bothered to put time into it. Master of Misdirection needs to be buffed alone, 33% isnt exactly Master material now is it. This is meant to be our master condition, yet it seems we are not masters at it what so ever.

Some other Possible Changes:

Master of Misdirection: Skills add 2 extra stacks of confusion, Base duration increased by 50%

Confusing Combatants: Illusions cause 4 seconds of Confusion when they die

Illusionary Retribution : All shatters cause 2stacks of Confusion for 5second per illusion

I agree that some traits could be reworked or changed.

I find the 5% damage to inactive foes to be confusing. Is it to people that are AFK or those that have been stunned/dazed or what ever? if its AFK then should be replaced, if Stunned/dazed then it needs to be re-worded to show that.

Yeah RD seems kinda weak/pointless unless they have like <5% health otherwise its going to be wasted. Rending Shatter i think actually works based on the other traits in the tree with the fact that you can inflict Vul on interrupt, Vul on Daze so i think it sits well in the tree, it just isnt that great. unless they re staggered and you can get it to 5-10+ stacks

I think that RS isnt that great as the CoF Retal one can be up for ALOT of time 19.5seconds with a 25 second cool down i think that is all that is really needed.

What the trees really need are the traits to be more organized. Move the 25Point Inspiration trait (15% extra phantasm damage) to Power tree where it really belongs, of course up high – maybe replace the inactive foe trait? for example.

int randInt return.3280:

Thinking about PvE and how those enemies attack much less often, and often very slowly when they do, maybe do something like Torment.
Fairly weak DoT normally (maybe none at all?), but higher DoT when the enemy is using a skill. Having confusion end just before the enemy finished an attack wouldn’t be so bad, and the weak DoT between, if included, would keep it from being a complete waste.
In WvW and SPvP, this may not be as great an idea.

Now thats an interesting idea.

Have it so that Confusion deals damage like a DoT and deals more damage when they use skills – int he same way that Torment deals more damage when the person is moving. I think the DoT damage and the damage when they use a skill would need to be tweaked to make it a solid choice

Torment works so well as melee classes have to chase you thus doing twice the damage, if they stop moving then its just the DoT damage. Same could be done for Confusion in that it will continue to deal damage but will deal damage when they use a skill as well.

Yeah i dont quite see the problem if they are using the vampire rune then this isnt down to cheating or anything else.

Yeah i agree the duration just isnt good enough. they all last mere seconds when the cool down is at times alot more. Confusing Images lasts 5seconds (if every tick hits, most of the time it doesnt) while the cool down untraited is 15 seconds. That isnt to bad.

I think its Cry of Frustration, iMage and other sources that need to be tweaked. Crying Combatants is a nice trait but again, i think the duration needs to be increased. I would LOVE to run a Confusion/Retal build but it just isnt feasible in its current state

Nearly impossible to stack reliably, the new Rune set could be a nice addition. An additional 30% Confusion duration along with. 1 in 5 chance on hit to cause confusion is decent as well and confusion on interrupt.

I think tweaks to confusion on the Mesmer could make that a GREAT rune set for a confusion build.

Sounds about right, the horror stories i heard from GW1 means this isnt a shock to me, they really need to get some people in do ONLY do the balance and bug fixes because they are beyond awful at it.

Nuka Cola.8520:

Finally fixed… now how about Siren’s Call clones giving me boons as it should? In two week it’ll be a year since this game came out and there’s still bizillion bugs…

Sirens call? whats that?

Yeah it is truly amazing, the game STILL has bugs and issues that were in the BETA which i pretty awful and lets not forget all the new bugs and issues they introduce in EVERY update…

Yeah been testing out the shield one, its like 3 seconds.

@AndresR – how have you gotten 19.5seconds? 100% boon duration? I am getting 15seconds it isnt that bad actually, normally skip it with other traits being more important. Maybe it would be over powered but it would be good if it affected ALL shatters (with a cool down of course) I am guessing you are atleast 30 Into Chaos and 20 into Illusions to get 19seconds

Might have to give it a try and see what happens

So seeing as the new rune set (imo) was a bit of a slap in the face for us seeing as how not only is our confusion is kinda sucky the fact that other classes could stack it up to 25stacks quite easily and even we cant do that is very annoying.

I think i would rather have had Confusion FIXED then have this Rune set. So if you were to make changes to Confusion what would they be?

Please be realistic.

Personally i think part of the problem for us is how it can be applied. With have 3 ways of causing Confusion without the need for traits them being Confusing Images, iMage and Cry of Frustration.

Confusing Images – Easily dodged
iMage – Just sucks all over
Cry of Frustration – Weak on its own, Quality with IR

I think a few changes to iMage, Confusing Images and Scepter Auto attack would fix this.

Confusing Images i think if it hits on its FIRST tick then even if the target rolls it shouldn’t miss, as that roll can normally mean that 4 of the 4 ticks and thus 4 of the 5 confusion stacks miss. Just like how i think if the first tick is dodged then all of them should miss as this would be more balance rather then it being 100% hit all the time

iMage needs to be redesigned with its bouncing attacks. IE should work with it but as it doesnt work with Staff clones i dont see it ever happening. The attack itself needs to be reworked as it it wont bounce between you and 1 target more then once, it always seems to try and find another person to hit

Example: Target 1 – Me – Target 2, Target 1 – Target 2 or Target 1 – You
Change: Target 1 – Me – Target 1 or Target 1 – Target 2 – Target 1

Another change would be to the base duration, it is like 3 which is just to low, without traits or anything i think its base duration should be closer to 4-5seconds. Its not as if the Mage attacks that often so it cant be chained

Cry of Frustration – I hated it at first, it just seemed a bit weak on its own. However combined with IR i think its pretty great, 6 stacks with 3 clones up is pretty solid, the duration is pretty low again, Gives 8 stacks with IP which isnt to bad.

Change: Increase duration based on Clones as well
Example:
0 Clone(IP) = 3seconds
1 Clone = 3.5 seconds
2 Clones= 4seconds
3 Clones=4.5seconds
4Clones(IP) = 5seconds

Another change i think that would be good, 1second of confusion as part of the Scepter auto attack chain. This wouldnt be changeable on its own due to the full chain taking 2seconds to complete so the confusion wouldnt be able to stack on its own.

Fray.3417:

Thanks for bringing this to the devs’ attention… They stealth nerfed this now. Thank you very much for telling everyone.

How is it a nerf, if they FIXED it. It was clearly not meant to work like this so rather then it being nerfed it was fixed.

Yeah i would rather see some GOOD changes (has to be said, Anet will likely nerf it more otherwise) to Confusion then see more additions like this.

Thanks for the tips, will give them a try.
How does the Retal on Block work? I mean we have no shield or anything or is it from Scepter and sword skills?

CoF is rubbish, even in my shatter build i rarely use it plus it has quite a long cool down even with a Shatter build and the 30% cool down reduction.

Problem with iLeap onto curtain – You cant always do it, a target has to be on/near the certain for you to actually get the retal. Not every fight can work out so easily

Chaos Storm one is RNG. Nothing more really needs to be said about that.

Again, Phase retreat requires the first part of the iLeap to have be done perfectly, onto a target the other side of a curtain before it can be done. Can you iLeap back through a curtain for it?

So, other then the CoF trait none of them are guaranteed and take some time to perfect managing to get it right. So while its possible its not really that great of a method to gain it having to use not 1 but 2 and even some times 3 skills just to gain retal…

Blurred Frenzy kind sucks now, its hit or miss weather something will be evaded or not. I would also disagree with

“the only thing I’ll say is don’t waste your time on any non-Zerker gear. If you’ve played mesmer enough, you know we mitigate damage through dodging and distortion and not soaking it, so defensive gear isn’t needed”

You go zerker and its either win or die. Yes we have dodges – just like every other class but i wouldnt really count that. Distortion is on a 46.5second cool down (at best) and as stated Blurred Frenzy is very iffy at the moment.

In my opinion, i would go with SOME toughness gear, not full toughness but you will want enough to survive burst of other classes if they catch you unaware such as Thieves. Every class has burst but if your defense cant handle that burst then whats the point in all your power and damage?

The problem with that is the fact that Warden isnt ground target-able, so that kind of makes it hard to place it exactly right. Then you get the fact you have to be hit by the out going light wave things to get Retal

It would be nice if we could get Retal without the need for RNG or using a non-ground targetable Phantasm and TC or Veil none of these are really that effective – Chaos Storm being the best but still…RNG.

I am finding it highly annoying, i can never tell if when i will use it the attacks will be evaded or if i will actually get hit by them. I am even now considering maybe swapping it out and changing my build, i like the fact that the clones run to the targets to melee and i like the gap closer but BF is becoming to much of a liability as you (or at least i) just never know if when using it i will be damaged or not.

What if you aren’t a Asura?
what if you dont use Focus?
What if you dont use Veil?

90second cool down on Veil is very steep to get Retal. Though the skill it self is pretty meh overall. Decent for stealthing into zergs but thats about it.

It would be nice if Maybe when your clones get Retal you got it as well, of course on some sort of cool down but i think we need something.

Bud.5617:

Not sure what the fix is without severely gimping the class against other top tier classes (eg. Mesmer,),

Top tier and Mesmer shouldnt be said in the same sentence. For one they are rarely seen in SPvP, Played 2 hours tonight and saw ONE. Second they are FAR from Top Tier, in this Condition Meta they are pretty easy, fill them up with conditions and laugh as they die.

They are even worse in TPvP – you notice the recent tournment? it had ONE Mesmer (iirc) that says it all, they are far from the top.

Anyone else think that we need a tad bit more access to Retaliation? Its on ONE weapon which isnt that great but even worse is the skill that it is on, that being the iMage. I think it would be nice to maybe have access to it via a trait or something as well

It was obvious it was going to get a cool down – Engis could get 25stacks in AoE with the healing kit. I do wonder just how much time Anet spend testing new updates…

I get Might from Weapon Swap (3Might) – On both sets!
I get Might from Interrupt (5+ Might)
I get Might from Heal (3 Might) + Its AoE
I get Might from Mirror Blade( Upto 2×3stacks)

I also have taken Might duration increase runes as well and so have 55% (iirc) increased duration. So Might from Weapon swap gives me 30 seconds of Might alone

I think its great, adds nice damage and condition damage and i can hit upwards of 15+ in just 1 Vs 1 and can hit 25 stacks with ease in Zerg fights.

Its fine for them to have stealth

its NOT fine for them to be able to chain it all together
its NOT fine for them to be able to go into stealth every 4 seconds

They have pretty much the easiest mechanic, it offers HUGE reward with little punishment for things going wrong – They get scared they are going to lose? they stealth, run and reset only to try again

Personally i think they should have stealth reduced NOT removed as its sort of there thing, it needs to be a more of a perfect/right timing sort of reward system rather then just spam it constantly

Now i know that would reduce there defense, in its place maybe change some of the stealth traits to damage reduction/mitigation traits.

Increase the stealth debuff to say 10seconds. While they have the debuff maybe they take less damage? along with some trait and skill changes to buff them more defensively to counter the loss of the stealth.

SPvP? TPvP? WvW?

You will have a hard time in both SPvP and TPvP thanks to the current condition spamming meta.

What i would like to see. The offhand skills would remain unchanged as this would mean that it wouldnt change up X/Pistol combos

Auto Attack:
Chain 1: Fire Shot X damage plus Bleeding(2stacks, 1 second)
Chain 2: Fire Shot X damage Plus Bleeding(2stacks, 1 second)
Chain 3: Fire shot X damage Plus Confusion(1 stack, 2seconds) Plus Range Clone

Not quite sure what the 2nd skill could be though

The 3rd one could be different depending on the offhand used example:

Pistol/Pistol: Blistering Barrage – AoE attack, Fires both pistols for X number of seconds causes random conditions to those damaged

Pistol/Torch: Blinding Shot – Fire shot at target, Stealth for X number of seconds and then fire a shot that blinds target upon stealth exit

The point is, with the fact we have 2 weapon sets we can have an offensive and defensive set. With Sword+Focus it can do BOTH and i love the ITV interrupt followed by the IW interrupt, works great against Thieves wanting to stealth and IW works great when they go into that AoE stealth thing as well.

We have plenty of defensive options (TOO many imo) in Utilities and Elite so why would you take them on the weapon as well?

The ONLY skills i miss are CS and leap(when it works) the Lock i just dont like, Chaos Armor is pretty rubbish the clones are good and so is the Auto attack if in close/mid range but at range its to slow and the booms are pointless as you wont get them.

…For everyone except Mesmer :/

It wont be a shiny new game that kills GW2, the way things are going – Its going to be ArenaNet.

Unable to fix bugs
Unable to fix issues
Unable to balance PvE
Unable to balance WvW
Unable to Balance SPvP
Unable to balance TPvP

The game has a GREAT idea – But its one BIG flaw is ArenaNet.

CrassBippy.4619:

i knew they didnt care, but its beyond “not caring” and sliding into “hey lets ruin it!”

do you know how easy it would have been for them to just not have PvE balances go into WvW? or PvE runes into WvW? good lord

They have no interest in WvW, personally i think it was a cheap mode due to the character system (no Faction Vs Faction aka World PvP) I think it has been clear from the start they dont really know what they are doing when it comes to updates, buffs and nerfs when it comes to how it will affect WvW

They are likely doing it to try and force people to play S/TPvP as they know it is a complete mess at the moment and they think that it can become a E-Sport is full on crazy.

selan.8354:

just saying 5 warriors or 3 necros perma 10seconds 25 stack confusions by non confusion classes.

it needs a cooldown or we have confusion wars 2 by caused by non mesmers!

Yeah. I wish they would STOP balancing content and bring in other people to do it, they have NO idea what they are doing.

When will people learn:

1) Anet dont care about WvW
2) Anet dont know what the word Balance means

Knowing Anet, they will nerf the new runes to the point they become unusable. They really need to STOP doing the balancing and bring in people that know how to balance content. All the skills and traits that have first been over buffed, then over nerfed.

This game will NEVER be balanced with them in control.

Baa.4582:

Necro-ing to update this.

It is called Bonetti’s Rapier on the tp. Currently going for 40g+.
Link is [&AgGgrwAA], and it “Drops from: Bandit and pirate champions”. Credit to dulfy.net
Animations are the same though.

Ugly skin :/
Anyone have any idea when those swords with the purple writing stuff in them (as seen in the screens for the latest update) will be released? i hope we see a Greatsword version that isnt a total mess of a design like 99% of oversized rubbish greatsword skins the game has.

I would be interested to find out how they work for Shatter Cat as well if you have any plans to test them. I am still using Sword/Focus and Greatsword. It works very well. I am thinking about swapping out the Might on Interrupt Trait. Currently i get 3 Stacks on all weapon swaps, as well as 3 Stacks (to allies as well) on Heal. Mirror Blade gives Might as well

Hitsutai.7854:

hey osi what would you say is the better shatter build for all things pve? srry if this was already asked 100 times :P goodjob on the builds m8 2 thumbs up .
cheers

Its PvE….You dont even need to take traits for PvE content (excluding Dungeons, Fractuals) Though i use a version of his Shatter 3.0 in all areas of gameplay – WvW, Fractuals, Dungeons, world events and such

SlimChance.6593:

Unfortunately, just like our dazes. Arcane Thievery can be blocked and dodged.

Don’t know why? But you have to have an opening for it to land. That might be what your seeing.

doesnt it actually say on the skill description thakittens UNBLOCKABLE? so unless they dodge it should ALWAYS hit?

I love the greatsword, the Staff is just to defense for my liking lol. The Auto attack is to slow for my liking, doesnt do alot of damage. Phase Retreat is nice but again defensive, Chaos Armor i have always thought was lacking. The iLock is nice but requires a condition build to make the most of it but Chaos Storm does rock

3 Conditions is pretty useless. Personally i have always thought it should swap ALL conditions and ALL boons. Wouldnt make it OP or anything as the cool down is pretty high already.

Personally i dont care. i rarely use it – i think i have used it like 5 times since release and it really only gets used for Porting Golems in WvW or hiding after a tower/keep has been lost to portal everyone back in to reclaim.

So i say – go ahead have a crappy version of our skill that cant be used in SPvP, TPvP or WvW, has 1 time use and isnt exactly free to make.

Osicat.4139:

@LeDiabolique, Its a viable rune, not my at first glance favorite. Alsoits lost ALOT of its usfellness with the confusion nerf. Still its al up to how many stacks they apply. If its 1 stack for 10 sec, its mehe, if its 5 stacks its woot

/Osicat

i THINK its 3 stacks for the 4/6 part (20% chance on hit) I still think its kind of weak. 20% chance with 15second cool down, I would rather it be 50% on Crit with 20second cool down as that would mean with the right stats you could have it up nearly all the time if taking the right traits, weapons and sigils.