Guild Wars 2

Give mace/focus a try with proper traits. Blocking is fine.

Is it the bees knees, no. But mace has its place.

Obtena.7952:

Ironically, I think WvW is the least influential game mode for class balance, unless someone is one of those solo roaming weirdos.

Ok, normally I can see your point. This time, with regards to solo roaming weirdos…you lost me

MaximillianVonSchatten.6278:

For my DH roamer I prob have about 2.6K armor and about 15K health with zerker armor and weapons, soldier trinkets.

This gets really squishy in a hurry for larger battles but is great for small scale engagements. I used to run travelers runes but switched out to flame legion since I rarely run alone now.

For my zerg guard, I’ve gone full tank old school AH shout with nomad’s armor, soldier trinkets, commander weapons, and durability runes. Armor over 3.4K and 23K health, healing and condi clearing up the ying yang. I’m a little short on the damage front, but not totally useless; I can still clear camps solo pretty quickly.

Yeah, I am somewhat similar although I am trying to reach 4k armor just to bore people to death Both supply and mercenary camps are a no brainer. Towers too just to screw with the other servers and pause them.

Can’t wait for the original borderland maps to come back which will be a lot more fun for solo roaming and scouting.

Mace isn’t bad. In fact, paired with focus it has some good synergy. Those two are 100 times better than using a shield, which is a total bust.

Edit: Focus Mastery, Communal Defenses, retributive armor, invigorated bulwark, etc.

I don’t know really, not bad. Good effort. A+ for that. Bottom line though is that buffs/boons are handed out like skittles and it seems to be a key indicator of who wins or loses.

Anyone play DaOC? Remember all of the buff bots we all had parked at the various towers / spawns? Yeah, I do too. Always had to make sure someone in the party could park and rebuff before leaving again for the next roam around EMAIN. It came down to those who did vs those who didn’t and made a difference. Especially with small groups. This is, of course, pre ToA…

Anyway my point is that to me it seems combat is now secondary and food, utility buffs are primary. When in reality all we should be doing is dodging and fistacuffs.

I run a set of Durability runes in WvW, they are almost too perfect. They are mated to my celestial ascended set and I use the accessories to adjust stats accordingly. I pretty much run with toughness/healing power though so I’m tanking and just go for outlasting them while I scout, flip camps, and what not. Because it is also high in healing, over 1k, it is easy enough to keep groups or zergs topped off.

Ryou.2398:

So everyone is just on metas now? Thats crap, I dont want to be stuck with one build for raiding or something oh well thanks for the replies all.

Not everyone runs Meta’s. I know I sure in the hell don’t.

Some formats of play you can’t really get out of the so-called meta. PvE for example. DPS is usually ideal for most parts of the game while leveling or exploring (or anything else for that matter). So people typically fall into some form of it.

Raiding, well, is a bit different. Just depends on who you are running with and their requirements. Formal raid, progression, server first? Well, you will probably play something specific to do that. Pugs, run what you brung but at least know the fights.

WvW = PvE. Unless you are again in a formal setting it is what your comfort level is.

I’m sure you see the pattern.

Accessories, runes, and sigils are one of the ways to fine tune your character for this very reason. It doesn’t have to be an all or one, everything in sort of deal. Euthymias is pretty much spot on.

Within sPvP I’ve run Clerics on stronghold. It fits well but that is also just my play style. PvE I run LB/Berserker because I see no reason to do anything else. PvE is more or less a scripted encounter so just run whatever makes you happy

I ended up building a celestial ascended set and use the accessories to fine tune. Works wonders so far in my opinion and have been pretty happy.

WvW – over powered with some builds. Built for comfort and not speed. Druid is my goto for solo roaming, scouting, HAVOC, and what not. It isn’t about burst it is about sustain. Hence my comfort bit.

sPvP I’d say it depends on the players skill. I’ll go power LB builds and play on stronghold. Seems to fit well. Even heal mode works. There are many other players that have more skill and run double melee. I’ve always enjoyed those builds but your mileage may vary.

PvE it doesn’t matter. Ignore the new DPS meter and discussions. All classes can play in this format.

Really just comes down to personal preference. Typically I’ve found Ranger/Druid readily accepted outside the small percentage that min/maxes and does more structured play. That isn’t my playstyle so can’t comment.

Fluffball.8307:

There have been a few regulars that advocate for that trait. They tend to get told ’it’s not viable’ and then stop posting ideas.

I’ll have to give it a whirl. I feel the SB is in the same boat; it’s ‘common knowledge’ it isn’t viable, but I think that’s just because a lot of us don’t like the playstyle. I don’t think it’s unusable by any means, and it was even the metabattle ranger build right up till HoT release.

Pre HoT I would use SB with traps. Worked well. Only issue was me, the player, and forgetting the range deltas between bows Back with original borderland maps the ruins created perfect short range and trap opportunity. I think weapon set was SB/Axe/Torch. I was using sword but I’d end up killing myself be leaping off some of the higher points on the map Always worth a party invite later with the opponent chuckling.

If I wasn’t so comfortable with my current set up (lazy) I’d be willing to give it another go.

Hmm…is it like a BAM! Chef Emeril Lagasse would throw down or is it something else? I’ve honestly never heard it in game but now you have me wondering…

Edit: Human, Male, Ranger/Druid.

Edit 2: Almost sounds like I’m filling out a dating profile /rollseyes

ArchonWing.9480:

Durability runes are a very effective way in staying alive that seems unequaled due to the higher boon duration = more stability and protection as well as it giving you protection when hit.

Durability runes and a few of the sigils offered with HoT are one reason to buy HoT. They are game changers in WvW at least in my opinion. My Druid loves them. Also another reason to get the expansion is new elites and what not.

Just chiming in that Durability runes are, well, great and worth the PvE frustration

WizardBro.4510:

People may say I am overreacting about the guardian changes. But nerfing longbow by 20% is clearly way too much. And vanilla guard gets buffs to virtues but DH does not. We got shout buffs. That explains everything all in itself right there.

Sorry, but I have been playing guardian for two years and I took pride in my skill as a player. We never had ranged until HOT we had advanced melee. Patch after patch guard gets shafted. I’m leaving the game until they fix trueshot the ONLY reliable damage we “Have.” You buff other classes making it impossible for DH to be viable in anything. PvE, and PvP we are not viable. Now we are only good for is a cage, empower, and a stability every 20 odd seconds. Now I can’t even roam in WvW because I do no damage. I am full zerk medi trapper. True shot was literally the only reliable damage. People could blink and dodge out of LB5 before it final cast and its easy to interrupt. LB3 is just a awkward reflect that rarely hits because of side to side walking its like watching a car drive by. LB4 is just a boon you stand in can’t rely on it for damage unless you get a lucky cage on an idiot and throw the symbol on him. Autoattack and Trueshot was the only actual damage we could count on.

Bye bye guildwars two. Maybe when anet fixes Longbow two I will come back. Seriously doubt they will next thing you know we will get spirit weapon boosts.

Can I have your stuff?

See, this is why having any form of DPS meter is a bad idea. All the bickering going on and X class is better than Y. Or our pet or minion isn’t getting boons or pulling its weight. My class isn’t the highest, my class is the lowest.

It doesn’t matter what someone thinks or has a feeling of how they already rate without proof. Believe it or not it takes away from the enjoyment of the game.

Why can’t people just play what they like and be happy that the raid boss dies?

DeWolfe.2174:

Gaile Gray.6029:

Here are the worlds for NA:

Now: 12 Worlds – 4 Tiers
Previously: 24 Worlds – 8 Tiers

• Yak’s Bend & Anvil Rock
• Blackgate & Eredon Terrace
• Jade Quarry & Isle of Janthir
• Tarnished Coast & Kaineng
• Dragonbrand & Sanctum of Rall
• Fort Aspenwood & Borlis Pass
• Sea of Sorrows & Gate of Madness
• Maguuma & Devona’s Rest
• Stormluff Isle & Crystal Desert
• Darkhaven & Ferguson’s Crossing
• Henge of Denravi & Ehmry Bay
• Northern Shiverpeaks & Sorrow’s Furnace

Hmmm… I give props for that DR and Kaineng swap. Though the fact that the leak was real is an issue.

No surprise. I mean I was hoping but just goes to show someone is sleeping with someone…cat is out of the bag.

Obtena.7952:

Again, it’s simply statistics here so it’s not about ‘asking for it’. Half the classes are going to be below average. You’re just biased towards your more desirable one.

If it is simply statistics as you suggest, then they pretty much have all the data they need. Just depends on what data to use. PvE doesn’t matter, nor does WvW. That leaves sPvP and that is a bigger issue altogether.

I guess you could take the seasons, look at class/group composition and then win/loss ration before finals, then look at the smaller data of finals to victor. But if this is really their gig then there are bigger issues to work around.

Look – this is no different than the two ton heavy thing called WoW and their long tenure of arena’s. Years and years of class balance issues (looking at you who started it Paladins) with every season ending in set class combos always coming out on top. It was so bad that they removed gladiator titles from 2’s and only accessible to 3 and 5 man teams. Again, balance.

Until they actually spend the money to look at the data nothing will get done. It will just be tossing food on the wall and saying what sticks is fixed…

They have time to dork around because there is no competition with similar game play. CU isn’t out in 2016 so play until you get burnt out, tired of it, frustrated, are just no longer having fun. Can always come back later.

Most of us in this discussion are speaking based on assumptions and ignorance. Nothing wrong with that but there really isn’t much data out there that is publically available that lists what the changes will be. Having said that what it being discussed sounds like another bad idea.

This is what happens when a format of play is left unattended. They should have never allowed transfers. They should have fixed the orbs. They should have reviewed the data and see if breaking scores on servers of find another solution. If they couldn’t then they should have halted it right then and there and focus rather on guilds, alliances, classes, characters, player portal listing stats like number of deaths, kill streaks, fastest time in jump puzzles, most deaths in jump puzzles, most realm ranks (non boosts allowed) gained in a week, by player, class, and other fun stuff that ties it to account/class – bragging rights.

Then go back and see how to right the wrong while removing edge of mists…

No different than duels taking place on the maps instead of Obsidian Sanctum. You have other paths to exit the spawn. So the more you or your server take the exit that leads to the spawn campers you do nothing but encourage, and extend, bad behavior.

It does neither because the resolution to the problem lies between the keyboard and monitor.

Yup. Good thing this kitten stops on Friday. Bunch of script kiddies trying to debate and argue their views on the intwebz :/ Can’t you kids take it to tumbler or imgur or whatever the hipster place is these days?

Bad system is still bad. What was that saying a while back? Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t change it, it is still a pig.

Would love to trade them in for some logs…

I can only imagine how kittened off the climate change loving Asura’s are with my deforestation of Tyria and all Bad enough I started the journey to craft Nevermore on my Druid, who is by its very own nature supposedly a nature loving creature of the forest Yet here I am chopping down every tree and sapling I come across in my never ending greedy self indulgent crafting anti climate changing mother kittener Nevermore grind.

Justine.6351:

anduriell.6280:

shame druid is locked into full bunker if you want to have enough time to heal because our dps is that low.

I don’t believe that is true in wvw roaming. A little +toughness/vita goes along way. I added in some celestial trinkets on my rampager hybrid (used to be 100% glass) with settlers staff/nomad spear and now I don’t even shy away from 1v3.

I find this also true with regards to WvW and my Druid. I run celestial armor with tough/heal accessories and find it does very well. Even when out numbered as you say. Key is finding your comfort level between toughness, vitality, and healing power. At least that is what I found anyway – sustain until they get bored or you whittle their life away by pet management

Not a huge fan. Male human and it looks, well, odd. Then again, I don’t run sword much anymore so I guess it isn’t a huge deal.

Although come to think of it I do run it in one of my sPvP builds

Not sure about everyone else but I was taught to be careful of what one asks for…

They just need to remove WvW. Make each server / map FFA and to hell with it.

This isn’t unique to GW2 – been around for a while and this is one reason why WoW introduced battle grounds and arenas. DaOC had similar issues with total server population then faction population. Then add in non oceanic servers and you now have the trifecta of wall clock Relic raids at 3 AM…

I don’t see the need to have Edge of the Mist and now WvW running similar colors. One of them has to go.

DoogySnowStalker.2069:

“Bad DPS” Kappa

Lol to map chat name

You are consistent though with your dps numbers to be on topic.

Rodzynald.5897:

I am deeply dissapointed. Everyone knew that DH is easy to counter, if you died 1v1 then it was just like with every other profession.
Traps were cheesy okay, but they forced you to stay sharp, otherwise you could get rekt.

After all this we get some flimsy CD reduction that costs us a huge loss in our primary source of damage?
I ain’t gonna roll Flavor of The Season professions, I’d rather leave this game and wait until Guardians are what they are supposed to be, not too shabby, yet not overpowered.

You may be waiting for a while. There really isn’t anything out that is pressuring the developers or designers to make sudden changes. CU isn’t out this year. Few console games but they last only so many hours before they are completed. Few sandbox / mmo / rpg type games have recently been out with others folding.

Well, you have a free instant 80 dealie now if the patch bugs you that much. If you have been around and done any sort of sPvP you probably have more than enough level tombs anyway so more ways to hit 0 to 80.

Obtena.7952:

I can’t wait to test this DPS tester to see if it has any relevance to how you actually play the game.

It won’t outside those few that play the mini meta game of min and max.

If it was me I would have spent more time building a babysitter who can walk you through the raid instance and point out things like: Stand here, not there, avoid red circle on floor, poison cloud, dps now, not now, jump, nip, tuck, roll, etc. Learning the encounter (walking) before dps (running) is always more important…

Leaders have to be alive to command. Traps really don’t fit in that style of play nor does conditional damage (for leader). Leader, has already pointed out, needs to be alive to direct, focus, route, adapt, and many other things. Think herding cats. This isn’t about roaming…

Ascended celestial or minstrels armor is a good choice. Accessorize to comfort but toughness/healing will provide more sustain. Staff should be primary weapon. Whatever else you like has backup. Greatsword is probably good.

Runes to tailor but again, look at things like runes of durability and sigils that yield buffs or stuff back to you. List goes on and on but while I abused the hell out of trapper builds and ruins pre HoT I just couldn’t see commanding in them. They are very selfish in general and many consider worthless now since they have been nerfed.

cafard.8953:

Levetty.1279:

Reminder that a thread full of ‘Rangers’ demanded that this skill become a trap when they were doing the reworks and just ignored the posters pointing out all the problems that it ended up causing.

In those days, our traps had no activation time, could be traited for shorter cooldown and becoming throwable to 900 range, and there were precious few reasons to even think they could be nerfed. What were all the problems that were pointed out?

The HS problem is paying the price of a trap nerf caused by another class spec.

This is so very true. Thank you very much Dragon Hunters!

Rat kittens.

Interesting build. My perspective on the whole Ranger / Druid thing is that we are a bit over powered in some cases (note – build specific) compared to other classes. It isn’t a bad thing mind you but just how I see it. Druid, with some builds, is safer and allows room for mistakes. Think built for comfort.

I run celestial ascended armor with similar Apothecary accessories. So I have 3100 armor and a tick over 1,000 in healing. I prefer runes of durability though and use LB with Staff. With this build I can swap between supporting in HAVOC squads to my more normal day to day of camp flipping, solo roaming, and scouting. What I mean is that shy of a nuclear bomb going off there isn’t much that is going to stop me. Hence my built for comfort and not speed

This is only with regards to WvW since that is all I really play. I’ve run full Berserker / LB pew pew builds, traps before they became popular, conditional / bleed builds but in the end I always come back to this.

While I appreciate the developer who added it, and understand why some may like it, I see no good coming out of this. Not directed at the OP but it really is just a number. Nothing more, nothing less. Devs already know how the classes stack and rack.

All this is going to do is make those who pug raid have a more difficult time finding raids.

Here is the deal. I made a good post I thought about legendary weapons, precursor drops, and data analysis to look at it another way. Then I made a few quips about cupcakes

Here is the deal, in all honesty. If I was Arena Net I would not be concerned so much about the angst in this thread or hostility. But more worried about losing the foundation players. Those who have played the game since open beta(s) and head start. Those players, you know, who have a few years under their belt(s)…

You are losing them of the sPvP front. You are also losing them on the WvW front. You are gaining them a bit in the F2P market and then Raids. My suggestion would be to start really looking at the raw data you have and base your decisions on that. Not the small minority of those screaming the loudest…

Ascended gear introduction caused a similar uproar.
Map complete in WvW maps, siege in JP’s.
Obsidian sanctum and GvG
WvW new maps, edge of mist map has a sandbox
Crafting precursors
Precursor RNG
Fractals
Living story and dynamic events

Look – you guys/gals really have your hands full and I didn’t even really mention 3 metas of play, balance, and now raids all messing stuff up…no wonder why you wanted those developers back.

But you can’t add cool kitten to the gem store and remove crafting shinies. It really looks like you are becoming greedy sons of kittenes. You know, people put a lot of emphasis on playing dress up Barbie…

I keep telling yall, you shouldn’t have sent those cupcakes…

Maybe next time yall will listen.

Kalarchis.8635:

It seems like the holdup here is the legendary journey part. If the volume of gem store weapons tells us anything, it’s that the physical design of the weapon is the easy part. It’s building the precursor journey that’s slogging up the whole process. I recall them saying that this delayed them on the initial release of precursor crafting as well.

Probably have Johnny Appleseed replanting all of Tyria’s trees. You know the last round of Legendary Crafting and Guild Hall upgrades caused the last destruction of our woodlands. We are still struggling with the aftermath of deforestation caused by the builders of Nevermore.

The world can’t stand another legendary or two being built. We simply must give the trees more time to grow!

See…this is what happens you guys and gals kiss up and send in cupcakes. All it did was reinforce bad behavior

No cupcakes for you!

Hi Mr. O’Brian. Tough call I’m sure.

Is there any work being done on the RNG with regards to precursors? I’ve played this game since head start and not had a single precursor drop in any of the killing I’ve personally done or rewards from events (minor or major). Furthermore, what mystic forge gambling has also yielded up bingo precursors. I don’t know what it is off the top of my head with regards to hours played I do know it is above average.

Assuming you have the data, and I’m pretty sure you do because as a developer and/or designer and/or big data nut I know I personally would have had it added, run a few queries over a weekend, grab a bottle of wine (you know, the good one that has the dust on it that you have been saving for a while – Colgin Or Heitz for me) and take a look at the startling statics.

I thought Aion upon launch had some of the strictest RNG and DR’s of any game but when I look at the hours played without a precursor I beg to differ. GW2 has the wonkiest RNG of all. Well, Maybe World of Warcraft has you beat with Zin’rokh, Destroyer of Worlds and that whole archaeology bullkitten (yeah, that was also super frustrating for players) but still.

Anyway – let’s talk big data and precursor drop rates. Yes, we can now craft them. And yes, I’m personally working on Nevermore (just finished stage 1). But do you not find it a bit ironic that I have to deforest all of Tyria for it? And has a supposedly Nature Loving Druid are not the trees supposed to be my friend?

Furajir.3815:

You need to learn to read. I stated that in wvw i can ill anything on druid, I can stay at 1k+ range all day. Spvp is what im referring to.

Furajir, look, you may be a really swell person. Who knows, maybe we would even do lunch, adult beverage, cup of coffee, what have you. However, this isn’t a learn to read issue. I simply replied to your opening statement in which case you do not mention WvW let alone sPvP. I’ve placed it below for your to read. What you might have replied to others or since posted I cannot speak of since I don’t keep up…

You ever see the video It’s Not About The Nail? I sort of think that might be applicable here. You didn’t hear me…

Furajir.3815 said:
Why?! I don’t wanna hear anything about pets either, they so fast it’s not even funny, especially in team fights. Their bow power is better and so are their traps.

Let’s look at just the basic auto attack.

Puncture Shot: Fire an arrow which can bounce to the enemies behind your target. If an arrow hits a second target, all enemies struck are crippled. 317 damage +13% damage if range is greater than 600.

Vs.

Long range shot: Shoot your foe from long range. The farther the arrow flies, the more damage it does. 336 damage if distance is greater than 1000.

DH wins.

>The other skills are self explanatory, not to mention DH’s get an amazing F1 shot that does ridiculous damage.
>They get Piercing on some of their attacks without having to specialize in a garbage trait line.
>Knockback + 6s stability every 10s when an enemy gets close. DUBYA TEE EFF
>Passive cripple ability+10% damage to crippled enemies
>Traps are better and they don’t need to spec into some garbage line no one uses.

Like, what the hell? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Does anyone else feel this way?

I mean Piercing arrows and projectile speed should be a ranger perk of LB, not something we have to have in a trait line. Lead the Wind should reduce recharge time of skills and has a cripple effect added for better kiting.

As it stands right now, the DH can kite better, can trap better, and can shoot better.

I don’t know if the OP is just a kitten starter, woke up on the wrong side of the bed, trolling, or playing a totally different class. I don’t want to say it is a L2P issue, but really.

There really is no way to say any one class is better than the other, it is just a matter of opinion. Personally, I don’t see the DH has being any better than my Ranger/Druid. I have both, play both regularly, and found myself on my Ranger pre HoT more and post HoT is Druid.

Simply put. If I’m in a DPS mood in WvW I’ll hop on the DH. However, when I’m in the built for comfort mood, which is 99% of my play style, then I’ll hop on my Druid. Druid, in my opinion, is in another league when it comes to survival in WvW. The primary meta I play.

Doesn’t mean DH’s are not good. Just a personal choice. Note how I didn’t say sPvP or PvE. PvE it doesn’t matter. Roll glass, kill stuff, stuff dies, no big deal. SPvP, player skill ends up winning outside the broken classes we all know about. Some classes just have a harder time and at the end of the day, unless you are playing with the same team, a lot of if comes down to just dumb luck…

anduriell.6280:

Crapgame.6519:

snip…
NM – 2, 1, 2 (Instinctive Reaction, Evasive Purity, Protective Ward)
Beastmastery – 3, 2, 2 (Resounding Timbre, Natural Healing, Zephy’s Speed)
Druid – 1, 2, 2 (Druidic Clarity, Seed of Life, Lingering Light)
…snip

That build actually works very well in roaming WvW. There is food that cleanse a condition when cast a heal so you can make it up for the lack of burst cleanse.
Other choice is to use Wilderness survival instead NM so you can use the survival skills to burst cleanse and also to add more attack thus the druid/ranger is really lacking unless you go for full glass.

Yeah, I love the build. I can’t take credit for it though. I borrowed it from a post in our forum somewhere, then tried my best to make it work with Celestial armor and long bow. It is really fun though and can manage most fights.

Mind if I ask what food? I’ve been using healing regen (mango pie I believe) when I remember. I’m dead in the water with regards to other buff we can use (stones, oils, crystals). And my sigil choices could be better. Doing some PvE events in HoT to try a few of those sigils out. I think they look promising.

Justine.6351:

I didn’t realize people roam in eotm.

Some do. It is really like a 4th meta though in that you are playing Hide N Seek from the zerg at the same time I actually enjoy solo roaming out there. You get to see some pretty crazy feats at times especially when people know the map and surroundings.

I’ve seen people to what I surely thought a leap of faith off the cliffs only to end up right behind me and knocking me to mine…fun times for the skilled.

Take a look at the Superior Runes of Durability. Especially since you have a few shouts.

I considered that armor along with minstrels but ended up going the route of celestial ascended and fine tune with food, sigils, and accessories. I found the sweet spot to be running toughness, healing power, and power accessories. I’m around 800+ healing power, 23k life, and 3200 toughness. The name of my game is to just chill and let my pets do all the work If I’m with a group of people, then I just swap to support and keep them alive.

NM – 2, 1, 2 (Instinctive Reaction, Evasive Purity, Protective Ward)
Beastmastery – 3, 2, 2 (Resounding Timbre, Natural Healing, Zephy’s Speed)
Druid – 1, 2, 2 (Druidic Clarity, Seed of Life, Lingering Light)

If you haven’t check out some of the other sigils HoT offers. There are many that help tune builds. Oh, for me it is staff/LB. That way I’m always ready with CaF if needed. Staff just seems to generate it faster…

Got tired of facing so many cheating Necro’s. Was going to play the card if you can’t beat them, join them. Then I said no, not going there.

So….now I only solo queue on my Druid. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But still, at least I didn’t join the broken team.

CAF is wonky. It needs help, and like yesterday.

The one thing that helps Druid(s) out is the over powered Sigils and Runes that HoT provide. If it wasn’t for those I’d wager we would be in a worse place right now. Those tend to help tweak the class a little more.

I’m not sure if I agree with the “we asked for this” and thus the Druid was born. Someone said it on page one and I tend to agree. Why Ranger/Druid and Guardian/Dragon Hunter. Guardian upon launch was the supporting role. I mean heavy armor means you are right there in the thick of things.

Then there is the fact that the Druid only had one beta weekend more or less open to the public compared to the other classes. This in its own right brought on many of the quick fixes and nerfs we received. Fun, fun, and more fun.

So then there is this huge effort of homogeneous skills among classes. I mean yes, we trait and play the way we want. But where does that line end or better yet start to blur? Who really should be the primary supporting character? Is that the Druid? Is it the Guardian? What about my little Asura buddy who is a Elementalist? Back to Abbot and Costello – who’s on first.

Not to be out done, we now have a healer role, due to raids, yet still no primary meta of play (e.g. tank, healer, and dps). Yes, the waters are muddy.

Just my opinion.

Edit: To answer the OP though: Do I feel cheated by the Druid? No, not at all. I do, however, feel cheated by HoT. I’ve actually played less since HoT. Something about it isn’t fun. The whole master level, PvE requirement for things, and forced time play did it in. Not the Druid.

EvilZombie.6801:

---

snip****
i am only asking a FAIR competitive game play
***snip****

You are not asking for much really.

Then again, any Ranger in the know already knew it was going to be like this. We didn’t have anywhere near the number of hours in HoT beta compared to other classes. What is sad is that the Revenant did and is still broke.

For me, HoT was a bust. I tried it, but maps and event system didn’t do it for me. I like the idea, not execution. Then again the whole master level thing is a turn off for me due to DaOC and their Trials of Atlantis expansion pack (yeah, had master levels too). I only PvE/HoT now to do a few events to get some sigils and runes…

Other than that, it is only WvW for a bit longer. Server is turning into a train wreck because, well, again devs are caught napping and its stale. I can make the Druid work for my playstyle. SPvP, either I am bad or I can’t find something that works for me. About the only thing I find even close is just running zerk with LB/GS and stay on Stronghold maps. At least that way I can pew pew and progress.

Wondrouswall.7169:

EvilZombie.6801:

its not a bad weapon but it scale too badly on healing power, you can crit damage multiple times within 5 sec but you cant crit healing at all

0 healing power solar beam heal 80hp
1000 healing power solar beam heal 120hp

You make it sound better than what it actually is. I would love to have those numbers and scaling with Solar Beam vs what it currently is…

0 Healing Power Solar Beam: Heal 66hp
1600 Healing Power Solar Beam: Heal 114hp

I run a Druid in WvW, Celestial armor with toughness/healing accessories. So while not the 1600 noted here, nor 0, it is still crap. The poor numbers are not going to prevent me from playing the class but the ancelloray heals from some of the staff really makes me wonder.

Do the developers or designers really think 114 or 120 hp makes a difference let alone counter anything on the player that is benefitting from it?

Fluffball.8307:

Tragic Positive.9356:

Your pet will do the same damage regardless of your stats. So going full berserker is simply not efficient.

It’s not in PvP, but in WvW your pet damage is complete peanuts compared to what you can do in full ascended berserker with consumables. WvW is much more instagib than PvP is, you can kill a thief with a single maul.

Hmm…sort of agree I guess but if truth be told but it depends on how you are fighting. If you are with a large group, say greater than 5, than yeah, pets are worthless. However, if you are solo, duo, or playing in a HAVOC squad, pets are the peanut butter to your jelly Especially if you are playing a more defensive or support oriented build. That pet is making up for your lack of DPS.

So yeah, I actually agree but for the build I run I need the pet and his damage to whittle down the enemy while they try their earnest to kill me. It isn’t going to happen unless I make a mistake or get bored.

Also, if you haven’t done so, to OP or anyone else, I strongly suggest looking at the HoT runes and sigils if you haven’t already done so. I have been using the runes for a while, and they are just too good to pass up. Sigils, well, after skirmishing with Arrow, I’ve added a few to my weapon sets.

Forget who’s build I took but I’ve modified it a bit to fit my personal play style. May not be ideal but it allows me to solo roam, scout, flip camps, NPC’s, and just do what I want. It is also good for small group play say 3 – 5. A few times I’ve merged with the larger zergs to fight, defend, or hold a point for a while, and it works.

NM – 2, 1, 2 (Instinctive Reaction, Evasive Purity, Protective Ward)
Beastmastery – 3, 2, 2 (Resounding Timbre, Two Handed Training, Zephy’s Speed)
Druid – 1, 2, 2 (Druidic Clarity, Seed of Life, Lingering Light)

With Beastmastery I have Two Handed Training, I was using GS but I don’t like it so just have not swapped it out yet. More than likely I’ll dump it on Natural Healing. Just saying why it is there when you see I run LB and Staff

Ascended Celestial armor with Superior Rune of Durability. Power, Toughness, Healing accessories. All combined I’m 3100 -3200 armor and 22/23k health. Mix that with LB/Staff hobbling/chilling sigils and hydromancy / intelligence sigils I get a bit of cc on weapon swaps.

We heal as one, glyph of alignment and equality, protect me, and strength of the pack. Pets are bristleback (nerf hurt) and smokescale. I’ll take a look at the electric wyvern to replace bristleback or tiger maybe. We’ll see.

Play here is really one of duration/sustain and outlast. Pets do 90% of the work since most players are so focused on the player. They forget the pet so it is just a matter of soft cc and engage with pets. In most cases I’ll come out alive and finish off the player. That is unless they run away. If it is two on one, I can manage. Even with being outnumbered greater than that in most cases I can get away or at least take one down with me. Its sort of like that Jack Reacher moment when in the fight scene in the parking lot and he explains what is going to happen. You just pick the softest target or player and focus on them. 9 out of 10 times you at least get one and feel ok.

Good players will still be tough. Meaning, this isn’t easy mode and you have to play well. There is enough room for error on my part which is why I like it. I’m not great so it gives me a bit more comfort. Nothing you can do against better than average or skilled players which is perfectly fine

Works for me anyway. Good luck. Oh, WvW only.

ronpierce.2760:

and I’m sure Revenants and Scrappers will have their time to get nerfs too.

Sure, just not as quick. That is the frustration with most players of Rangers and/or Druids.