Guild Wars 2

So do we have word from ANET? Is it something they did with severs? Is it something that will be fixed? If it is something wrong on this end, I really see no way of fixing the problem. This idea of resetting a card is just not happening with my tech skills. That would be it for me on the game until it is playable.

And I really like this game, so please let us know that you know there is an issue and you are working to resolve it.

Ok, I sort of know what packet loss is but feel like all I read is computer speak.
In layman’s terms what in the World are we to do about the problem. Does ANET believe it is their problem?

Either way, I’m looking at buying something else to play because I frankly can’t make this work now. At the very least can we get some acknowledgement that this is a problem and will be fixed. If it really is MY problem with no way to really solve it, then what choice do I have but quit a game I have played since beta?

Is there anything easy that a simple layman can do without messing with hardware or doing things way beyond a normal person’s capacity?

Ok, can you explain what I am supposed to add to this ticket in layman’s terms. All I know is that my game was working and now doesn’t due to lag and no other program or game I own is effected.

I can move freely but all my skills just flash.

Is there a solution that a layman can do? I know someone talked about resetting chips as if I would ever dare do that!

So, if you play smart with your healing turret, do you really gain that many more stacks from med kit than HT considering the internal timer?

Can anyone explain how the runes are supposed to work on a healing turret?
Does it apply both when you drop the turret and when you use the 6 button healing spray skill?

Mortar really never goes on my toolbar.
Really lacking.
And it has sooo much design potential!

Engineer has the most flexibility with the least amount of needing 20 gear sets. Depending on what guilds are out or who our team is, I tend to change my spec and my gear a little bit. That is what makes the engineer probably the best solo/small group character. You can change so much easily to fit whatever the situation is for the night.

As for skill cap, engineer is the hardest at least for me because of the sheer number of skills we have with kits. Then you start altering what utilities or kits you take to fit the situation and you have to adjust all sorts of play style mechanics (while managing 20+ skills).

Mesmer is a great class, but it doesn’t have as many options and I think you will like the ability to reinvent yourself quite easily several times a month.

-condition duration works well on conditions that stack intensity or against players who have a few very long conditions.

Engineers keep reapplying conditions and a wide variety of them. I don’t find even with a high -condition damage opponent I have a problem with sustainable damage. Sure it would be better with more condition duration (which is why you take Koi cake) but overall, it is solid with exceptional support abilities and survivorability.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIqic3zyuF17IRoH2/+qV0DMbZH/pgcB-jECBIOBkkGkEBIPqIasFhFRjVvATtiIq2roIa1SBAzcA-w

I use something like this for my healing support guy. Sometimes if I don’t need the water field, I will go 20 in explosives and take enhance performance. That also REALLY makes altruism runes shine as well. I far prefer Med Kit with this build because of how much might I can stack. It is personal preference on support v damage balance.

The key is that apothecary gear gives you decent condition damage and you really are using it for confusion, burning and other “stacks duration” type effects. Your heals are now very substantial as is your personal regen so you stay up.

I trade grenades for much more healing/survivorability and use the toolkit for additional blocks and the pull/pry bar (for the confusion). You just can’t really get 30 in explosions to make nades work easily and really you want to be bombing so the pull pry bar works much better.

2cd hand pistol helps for the additional burn ticks. Shield helps for blast finishers which adds more might stacks frankly.

The key to getting modest damage is kit swapping and the might stacking you can do. You also should drop your heal turret when you start a fight for even more might. With 9 might stacks you should be at almost 1500 condition damage which is fine. You also get might on You will also want a “swap out” pistol or shield to get you 25 stacks of condition damage too. A little burn. A little confusion and a bunch of attacks that even at low power hit hard and that does it for a good bunker imho.

Heal. CC one player with immobilizes and pry bar and drop a lot of damage on that person as they come to you (confusion and a bit of burning).

Just this week after having ZERO issues.
Skills just flashing as if server lag.
Happens in random intervals for random time.
Eventually, I get kicked off server. Tells me I need to wait min to relaunch client.

All other games and programs working fine with no problem.
Ping looks good as does FPS on your options tool and speedtest.net.
Plenty of machine and bandwidth.

Thoughts? I tried the sticky do this and that in AMD Catalyst and Options-Graphics. Made it worse than just going to “best performance” which made the lag less frequent but no less damaging to play.

Feeling like a bunny trying to pvp.

I have no idea what some of the techno talk is about but basically I used to play the game for hours with no problem. Recently, the skill lag (flashing skills) is horrid and I have no way to know why or what to do about it.

I have 100MBS service so it should be plenty fast enough. Every other game seems to work just fine. It happened maybe a week ago.

Maybe the original poster’s point was to highlight the relative imbalance in how you can maximize getting WvW ranks without really doing WvW activity. In that case, he makes a heck of a point.

Everything should scale on effort. So frankly, if you play a blob with a total imbalance of people vs the other side in primetime that should hit total points. If you play at “night” and take a T3 keep with a handful of people, that should be worth more given difficulty.

On the other hand,

If you take a camp when you are outnumbered with lots of enemy running around the map in prime time, more points.

If you take a camp when there is only your guild and the crickets on, less points.

Then there is no penalty for what time you play, only for the relative effort of taking any point at anytime given how many or you vs the enemy.

You will never get a “magic formula” but it would be better than status quo.

I have fairly good magic find and find that I get a fair amount more of mediocre gear which on whole is worth the cost.

It is getting more blue and greens that sell for that extra couple silver that makes the difference in time.

It is a good investment for better saleable gear, but not wearable gear if that makes sense.

What if there was a condition that would be applied to all players when “too many were packed too tightly” together? A form of help against zergs.

Ways being “tightly packed” could work (what would be best?):

1) You count kitten targets for AE (meaning all AoE inc siege can hit more “tightly packed” targets).

2) You have a 33% chance of failing an attack (“jammed”).

3) You take 50% more damage from the side and rear (“turtled”)

4) Skill cooldowns are 33% longer (“mess of movement”)

Etc.

Screen eating numbers is like the dog eating homework.

But seriously, I have not seen this at all.

Don’t think time zone and don’t penalize people for trying to have a good time wherever they live.

BUT. . . .

Do acknowledge difficulty and that applies in all time zones.

When you dominate the total number of people in WvW at ANY time, there should be a penalty based on the relative ease of taking points.

When there are a LOT of people playing in WvW at ANY time, there should be a bonus to points because comparatively speaking there just is more of a challenge.

In short, somehow the system should reward epic victories and limit the value of winning with a blob against an unmanned map.

For my Aussie friend above, if you have a small team take SMC in the middle of the night considering there are quite a lot of NPCs, that would indeed be an accomplishment that a camp would not be. Likewise, if that camp is defended even if both teams are relatively small, that is an accomplishment.

Easiest way would be map population. NOT total numbers but balance.

1) 50% WxP (no meaningful competition at all)
2) 66% WxP (you are dominating but there is competition)
3) 100% WxP (normal)
4) 133% (you are the one being dominated but there is competition)
5) 150% (you are the one taking anything when you are massively dominated)

It should be more of a bell curve than even.

Little groups taking control points when there are big groups on the map should benefit more.

Just create a buff icon to show the status. Check every 15 minutes.

Hope that leads to people going to find the best fight they can during whatever time they play and less primetime: THEY are taking Map 1 so WE should take Map 2.

Now it wouldn’t depend on what time you play at all, so long as you are playing against competition.

As for “don’t penalize me just because no one is on”, well you aren’t being penalized. You probably can take a whole lot more of the map

I always thought that the solution should be dynamic and near real time.
In other words, calculate a rolling average daily population.
Calculate number of attackers/defenders on an objective
Calculate number of people total on a map.

Build an equation that rewards high/medium and low DIFFICULTY so taking a tier 3 keep with 5 people while defended by even one might be high difficulty even at oh dark hundred. But taking a camp us defended with no one on the map is low. On the other hand, two chars taken an upgraded camp when there are large numbers on the map has risk.

Tier points according to high, mid and low risk vs the rolling averages.

Note: in theory this also takes into account the value of high intensity days (weekends I guess) vs workdays etc etc.

Anyone using Giver’s weapons in condition builds (especially explosion nade/bomb) ones?

I always thought the stats were otherwise weak (not being condition damage and precision based).

But an extra 20% to condition duration isn’t shabby. I also use runes of perplexity.

Not sure which does more giver’s or rabid.

Wear your hobosack proudly and mock those who call it a disgrace

Still, Asura’s overly large egos for their overly small bodies is just perfect for an engie.

It completely makes sense.
Almost hysterical to think of it NOT doing that already.
You could always make it a weak burn.
But seriously, a short bow auto bleeds but a FLAME thrower doesn’t burn?

What next, a freeze grenade that doesn’t chill?

Did ANET ever build whole new skills and “kits” in GW1? If so, in what period of the lifecycle was this done?

I’m just wondering if this sort of change has precedence or is largely wishful thinking as I never played GW1.

You could just add 1 condition removed to soothing mist (HT toolbelt skill) and an extra condition removed on antidote (HK skill).

That would do but basically it is only a minor tweak we need.

Regenerating Mist should cure 1 personal condition.
Drop Antidote should cure 2 conditions.

That would add build diversity away from the E-gun.

Overall, we don’t need more condition removal, others need less! (says the condi engie)

I think we have quite a bit.

HT is extremely effective and large radius.

Elixir gun works wonders on groups and removes 1 from OU.

We have a passive con removal w 15 in nature.

Elixirs if you don’t want e gun.

Med kits also have a con remover. Most other large single heals don’t.

Ours is scattered and we provide more removals than we provide ourselves, but we are in a good place.

Stun removers on the other hand . . .

On this theme:

Shortbow should have more conditions too.
Concussion shot could cause confusion.

Longbow needs slightly more in Hunter’s Shot.
Hunter’s Shot should inflict weakness or a blind (depending on if you move Hunter’s Call from the OP’s proposed blind to weakness).

Using a torch could apply burning to the auto attacks of your main hand. Could be a percentage like 33% chance on crit (see engineer). That would make axe/torch work very well.

What about weakness while the birds are attacking as you are distracted?

What about adding a 3 second AE Fear to Call of the Wild as the Horn creates dread in what is to come?

Given the long ICDs of the abilities this would be fair and add a lot of escape opportunity for a ranger.

1) Engineers are harder to learn to play in some regards because we have more combinations (more skills with kits) and a wider variety of viable builds.

Engineers remain harder to play because we have so many skills and the need to string them together (Kit 1 skill 3 followed by Kit 3 Skill 1 followed by say Weapon Skill 2).

2) Beauty of the engineer is that you can have almost any playstyle.

Common themes are:
1) Exceptional condition application with 3 kit grenades/bombs/e-gun
2) Power builds using rifle and HGH might stacking
3) Healing/Bunker builds tied to elixir infused bombs
4) Power builds tied to static discharge and firearms

3) You use kits just like having extra skills. So instead of 10 weapon skills on 2 weapon sets you can have basically 20 (3 kits plus the weapon).

a. Elixir Gun is great for stun breaking tool belt skill, exceptionally fast and valuable auto attack (perma weakness almost), and its secondary heal. It also can be useful for crippling (takes getting used to) and removing conditions on peers.

c. Bombs are up close AE (not quite in melee though) with a good blend of damage and conditions. The F2 Big Old Bomb skill has a large number of uses and confusion stacks well with the pistol.

d. Toolkit is the single target version of a melee kit and has strong power damage, one of the best blocks in the game and a pull ability.

e. Flamethrower has value but is probably the weakest of the kits right now.

Between bombs and grenades and e-gun you have a large number of combo fields. I take all three for my utility skills.

What if all classes had the ability to take an elite skill OR another utility skill in your elite slot?

That would certainly increase build diversity across the board. Hard to argue that a non-elite skill would be game breaking but an elite one is not (though it may well be the case in some combinations).

As an engineer, I would rarely ever take an elite. In fact, I would likely take a gadget or another kit that I just couldn’t fit in.

What would you take if such an ability were offered? Would it change?

What would you do on other classes you play? On my ranger, I would likely take another trap or spirit over the elite.

Would this really open up engineer builds? I think it would just poking around a few of mine!

Both kits are good and you can build on either. I just personally find that a lot of what I could accomplish with the toolkit, I can do better with bombs save the defensive/trick pull side.

With larger radius trait, I can run outside melee range and drop bombs while running in and out of potential harm’s way. Toolkit’s damage is really smackdown melee range. Both do high damage so I find being able to stay out of combat a bit more is better.

The key to the difference in box of nails vs others is looking at all the ways you have to slow down the enemy. You really have to look at what you across the kits you take.
For me, the difference is whether I take bombs or toolkit.

1. Glue shot (pistol 2 if you take it). I do not.
2. Glue bomb
3. Elixir F (8 seconds with bounce is my primary get out of dodge skill). You can use that with the leapback. Very similar benefit to box of nails for me.
4. You also have a chill with grenades.

Blind works because you have both Grenades and the bomb blind so it works into providing a quick 2 blind combination and that really helps with getting away at least when you are slow like me

So I feel that I have quite enough ways to slow down the enemy without box of nails which is a fine skill.
I feel I get a bit more help with a second blind (I would use the grenade blind either way. Now I have 2 upfront).

The key in my opinion is how do you want to do damage? I just find being out of melee is better and having burn (which puts a large hurt on even in a power build because it stacks duration not intensity) is extremely beneficial.

What I definitely feel I lose with the toolkit is the 4 skill. But I feel largely ok because I have a shield and can block non-melee.

The pull skill is great in so many special circumstances (keep you out of keep, knock you off wall, pull you to group ganking). But in general, I just want you to stay away from me.

Blast finishers are on a longer cooldown, but how many times do you need to blast thru smoke or fire to have an impact on a fight or to get away? Sure stealth for 3 seconds isn’t by itself going to be an escape, but when you blind them 2x, or cripple them and then smoke out it works better. I tend to smoke out when I am a bit away from the enemy but fearing they may have a ranged CC and I need a bit of extra room.

Ok, engineers and rangers seem to be a bit of a mix and match of great ideas that are not always well coordinated or implemented. But the engineer is relatively, on whole, solid despite this mix and match.

As for throw mine, I agree it has its uses. But the key is that when you play a gadget over a kit you have to have 1 skill and 1 cooldown that has equal or better value than getting 5 skills on 5 cooldowns and that is a tough hoe. And, yes, not having used throw mine for a long time I did forget it removes a boon. Might have to play with it again.

Not that this will ever happen, but if it did:

I would want race based kits. An Asura Kit or a Charr Kit could be really interesting.
A golem kit (Asura)
An experimental weapons kit (Charr)
A Nature Defensive Sap/Elixir kit (Sylvari)

jlneedham.8219:

30/10/0/0/30, full zerker suit, nades rifle turret and toolkit = engi of mass destruction. That is all.

Edit: When and if you can stay alive.

A class mechanic with extra skills is not just extra skills it is your having 20 cooldowns to someone else’s 8. It is having all those options and combinations.

Kits are probably one of the best mechanics I have seen on any class frankly. But that is my humble opinion.

Gadgets are spotty in the sense that some are incredible and fairly timed (rocket boots) and others are lacking compared to alternatives (mine).

Turrets, well, just like ranger pets, the idea is amazing but there is only so much you can count on AI for help against players. Still, if they ever get them to par, I may be in love.

I like the kit.
5 stacks of confusion and a big hit is great.

But, overall, I just don’t enjoy melee (maybe because I am old and slow or slow and old hmmm).

Plus, in terms of play, while it is a great kit with an exceptional block and attack in pry bar, it just never really makes it long on my toolbar because:

1. Bombs are better (and you can drop them farther back)
2. Grenades are just amazing with condition builds (and even power builds) when you finally learn to throw them where the target will be vs is.
3. E- Gun is another really good kit with an insanely good autoattack.

Ultimately it is about what is best at which range. Toolkit is a melee range kit. I find the defense of the shield (not gear shield) adequate. And I find that bombs are more flexible in playstyle. Hard smack. . . bomb auto. Need to escape, glue bomb is better as is a smoke for blind/stealth on blast combo. Burning and freezing. Plus, so much procs off explosions vs tools. But the key is that bombs are AE and still serve most of the core functions of tool kit (and the F2 is sooo much better with bombs).

In fact, if I had a 4th utility slot, I am not sure I would run toolbelt over say rocket boots. But that is where the real debate for me would be.

Now, can you make a great build with tool kit and say SD? Absolutely.
Is the magnet a whole lot of fun when ganking stragglers? No question.
Do I love a 4 second block? Panting like a dog.

Ahh, engineers and opportunities!

Conditions don’t need duration as much as an engineer. We throw out an obscene number of conditions and very quickly can refresh them. Others may stack conditions like bleeds faster, we throw out more types.

It is all about having more skills because we have kits.

So. . . take a classic condition build involving bombs/nades/egun

You have 9 active condition damage abilities with the kits and pistol/shield.
You then have 8 active skills that provide a cc or weakness/vulnerability
That is A LOT of abilities to cycle thru so you can keep conditions up easily.

Some conditions stack intensity. Others duration.
Intensity based stacks are impacted less from -duration food because while the engineer doesn’t get high stacks, they reapply very fast!
Duration based stacks are impacted but for how long before we can reapply?
I have 2 burn abilities every 10 seconds (inc trait)
I have 2 confusion (3 w perplexity runes) every 15 seconds
Basically every attack can proc a bleed and then I have a 2 bleeding auto attacks and a 5 sec cool down AE for bleeds too.

So go ahead and eat -condition food, I will keep applying conditions again and again and again. Same problem you face trying to clean conditions from a ranger.
We don’t have the highest condition spike but we have the hardest condition mix to remove and keep removed.

Then you have our traits which on a crit can proc (burn, bleed, vulnerability).

Certainly, we do lose damage tied to -condition food. We can easily counter it with +condition food. Unlike most other classes, the sheer number of conditions we throw out and the sheer number of types (given we have 20 active weapon skills with kits) is high and can be reapplied very quickly.

Likewise, we do ok for condition removal.
1 every 15 seconds from 15 alchemy
2 every 15 seconds from HT
1 every 20 seconds from Super Elixir

Let’s figure this out.
Sigil of Earth is ICD 2 seconds to provide a 5 second bleed, right?
On grenades, assume the attack hits 15 people, how many can proc the bleed?
Then is it once one procs the bleed, the sigil is on “cooldown” for 2 seconds? (whether it was a critical for 1 or 15 targets)?
If so, then in a big fight wouldn’t that add quite a bit of damage?

Mortar should have the following roles:

1. Ability to hit farther than anything else in game that is not siege. (1800-2000 with no elevation penalty).

2. Excellent at taking out enemy siege weapons when you have no supply. (bonus damage to siege).

3. Needs a skill to reduce incoming siege damage (dome effect) that could replace the heal skill and provide a substantial heal per pulse to allies under the dome if you wish.

It would have more of a WvW role really. You could run up and lob mortar shells at enemy siege. Given you only have 2 minutes, you should time it so that 1 heavy siege weapon or 2 light ones could be reduced in that time.

In zerg fights, the extra range would allow you to chill, knock back etc.

One key feature (if doable) would be having the shells knock you away from the explosion. SO, if I land a shell behind your ton’s position, you would be knocked TOWARDS the engineer. That would be amazing for walls and zergs (like an AE pull).

Isn’t it great that engineer is a class where you can have a serious discussion about what weapons and type of damage is best?

The reality is they both work very well with the class. All three weapon combinations work. Both types of damage work well.

I still prefer the conditions especially playing against multiple targets. 1 v 1 so much of it will depend on the other character’s build. Situation by situation I could argue one is better/worse. I do a LOT of swapping of weapons between rifle and pistol/shield or pistol/pistol. By baseline remains pistol/shield but a lot of fights while running in it is the thing I am swapping out.

Kits are a GREAT Strength not weakness of engineers.
Kits are like having multiple utilities versus having too few weapons (our kits do much more than a standard weapon).
Kits provide great build diversity on top of the builds you can make without them.

Engineer cosmetics are some of the best. I get that you don’t like the look of being a nerdy hobosack toting half crazy-half brilliant engineer, but that is the theme they are going for. I like the visuals. It would be a waste of time for them to focus on skins for just one class. so a cosmetic fix needs to be aware that art for each class is inefficient.

It would just be better if they allowed you to hide certain pieces (back, etc).
I don’t really want engineers NOT to look unique and different because of their gadgets. But that is just one opinion.

In short, I disagree with your post but respect the time you took and opinions you have.

I guess I never much cared about looks in a game. But if you do, and many do, then the option to turn off the hobo sack is probably the best option.

I personally like them. Similarly, I tend not to like when ANet creates over the top skins vs simple ones. There are only so many shiny glowy equipment sets I care to see on a battlefield. I wouldn’t want Char tech on an Asura for example. Guess I am old school or just old.

Well I am not at all sure I would agree that might stacking is the only way to play an engineer.

You can get quite the same or better damage stacking a number and frequency of conditions. Each condition doesn’t have to be max damage if you have many more conditions than you would otherwise.

Similarly, most condition builds have extra defensive bombs/grenades and against many groups (vs 1 on 1) they can be amazing timed right. Blinds, knockbacks, stuns.

I always felt when running HGH that I was missing some of the diversity of what an engineer could do (and you are if you go from 20 skills to under 10).

Both work, but I would dare say that the total damage of a good condition build will out do a pure damage build 8 of 10 times assuming there is enough time for the conditions to build. Power builds apply more damage over a shorter condensed timeframe.

I think the poster was just confused. Thought it was just power shoes

I read on another post that rocket boots now provide 25% movement speed OOC like runes of traveler.

I was not aware is this true? I thought they were only a burst speed skill.

You will still get quite a bit of condition damage on a power build which will more than make up for the issue you mention.

Well. . .

Rifle is generally tied to power and direct damage.
Advantage:
1) Hits harder
2) Range
3) Mobility and Escape tools/skills

Disadvantage:
1) Not really designed for condition damage
2) Loses a sigil slot (pistol has offhand slot)
3) Loses ability to take a shield

1st Pistol Advantages:
1) Fast firing auto attack
2) Outstanding “bounce” skill that causes both confusion and blindness on a short timer
3) Easy poison on short timer
4) Ability to take shield (outstanding defensively) or
5) 2cd pistol that has a very long burn duration skill

Disadvantage
1) Conditions over physical damage oriented
2) Range
3) Less evasion/mobility control

I think pistol/shield is the best combination because engineers excel with kits at putting down a variety of conditions and confusion stacks. But the engineer is a class where you have so many options on builds and styles of play. There are plenty of builds using a rifle that are effective.

Personally, I think it is odd that four legged pets and pets with wings can’t move any faster than a character.

I would suggest that pets become the fastest moving minions in the game. They should run you down (but they don’t get any less squishy doing it).

Speed > pounce. Speed up animations too.

Ok, what was ultimately behind this thought of having 2 pets out wasn’t so much the pets but the ability to essentially have a “tool belt” worth of F2 abilities.

Some of the abilities are quite nice.

Shifts in population of who runs what class/es in an aspect of a game Pve, Dungeons, Wvw zerg, WvW roam, PvP is probably one of the best indicators of what class is a bit overpowered and what is a bit underpowered.

The fact you see fewer and fewer elementalists in zergs suggests a change is needed.
Ditto for rangers. Seeing more rangers and eles reroll than other classes.
The fact that you see more necromancers than before suggests a change.

The fact that a large percentage (much larger than 12.5%) of characters are warriors in WvW and much larger than 25% are warriors and guardians is a real problem. It means you have made high armor, melee too powerful.

Balance is easy to eyeball by looking at the composition of the groups.

Sure, you could say “but your underrepresented class should/could do better”. To a large extent that really doesn’t matter. The player is right. When they over or underplay they are right.