I expect every patch to be a “balance” patch.
If there is something that is grossly overpowered, fix it asap.
Ideally buffing and nerfing should be free of “politics” as in…when you nerf one, make sure to nerf the others equally.
Ok, I must admit I’m a little baffled.
I just read the patch-notes, and while I’m not qualified to evaluate every change the TL;DR to me was…
…no balance changes whatsoever.
Sure, there were a number of fixes and minor adjustments to abilities, but nothing to change the current status quo or “meta game”.
Now I don’t know about you but one of the reasons I like MMOs is because of the constant changes. Changes keep things fresh and interesting, open up new builds and new possibilities.
But I noticed in some of the previous patches that ANet was EXTREMELY reluctant to make any drastic balance adjustments.
And this patch is just further proof of that.
I for one am really disappointed because not only were there a number of completely reasonable changes to be made, but also because this means we’ll have to bare another month of the same old Ele/Guardian Bunker, Thief instant-gib, non-sense we’ve had going for the past 6 months.
ANet, why are you so reluctant to change balance?
Backstab is an ability that replaces you first ability (auto-attack) when you’re in Stealth. Just watch how your toolbar changes once you enter Stealth (via Cloak and Dagger mostly).
As for traits, at this point is barely matters but you can’t go wrong with points in Critical Strikes, which are the basis for all Backstab builds.
Early on I’d invest the other 10 points into Deadly Arts as the early traits are actually quite good.
I go with 3*Krait + 3*Afflicted. 2 Sigils of Agony and 25 DA Points. this gives you 7 second bleeds while maintaining a great Condition Damage combining the 3rd effect of both runes instead of losing them for a bit more duration (and unless you get to 100% you’re not getting another damage tick).
But the Deadly Arts traits are really pretty lackluster, even for P/D (unless you use lots of Venoms).
Why not take the extra Condition Damage from the Trickery tree instead since it gives you better traits?
I don’t think they like releasing patch-notes early because traders would use them to make a massive profits depending on the changes.
It would be cool if ANet officially supported or at least implemented Controller Support as well as the “Action mode”.
Overall I find Acrobatics to be better in PvE for added survivability whereas Shadow Arts excels in PvP (or WvW more specifically).
15 points in Acrobatics can easily double the amount of Dodges you can perform and that certainly pays off in PvE. But more than 15 points isn’t always worth it.
I would recommend something like a 15/30/10/15/0 build with a lot of Vitality on gear.
15.000+ HP is what I’ve found essential for running dungeons.
For a new player or someone coming from WoW, Rift, LotRO Dungeons can seem a little tough and unforgiving.
But that’s just due to the lack of experience and understanding of game-mechanics.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
1. Trying to “tank”. GW2 has no trinity and thus no tanking. All damage should be mitigated/avoided. Nobody should be “tanking” a mob.
2. Don’t run Dungeons in a glass-cannon build (only damage stats)
3. Dodge all the red circles and telegraphed attacks you can.
Yes, revives need to be changed. They did it in PvE so why not in WvW?
This is actually my No. 1 gripe with the game.
I was wondering if someone has done the maths on this.
Assuming a Power D/D build with an effective crit-chance of 50%.
At what point does it make sense to switch from Backstabing to Heartseeker in PvE?
Once with the Hidden Killer trait and once with Executioneer.
My assumption would be that with Executioneer, Heartseeker is more DPS once you hit 50% HP.
But with Hidden Killer I’m not so sure.
(edited by Dee Jay.2460)
The Thief’s Hidden Killer trait is supposed to guarantee that any attack performed out of Stealth will crit.
However this doesn’t always work reliably and occasionally you will have attacks from Stealth not crit.
Xenth has a point. While Pistol/Pistol is extremely boring and doesn’t offer many Conditions or Utilities it does put out respectable damage and allows you to get away with a lot more offensive gear.
If you want to melee however a full glass-cannon isn’t viable, not even with Omnomberry Pie.
You already have 20 points in Shadow Arts and Acrobatics so that’s a decent base-line of survivability.
Stat wise Vitality is better for Thieves than Toughness as a high HP pool will help you survive more often than lots of armor.
So that leaves Valkyrie gear, which offers Power, Crit-Damage and Vitality. The upside is that all stats are useful, especially with Power being your best DPS stat. The downside is that you won’t have a lot of Precision, which again can be somewhat mitigated by the Hidden Killer trait.
You could also get Soldier gear with Power, Toughness, Vitality…but again, you will find yourself with little Precision. Knights gear can be viable too, but the low amount of Power makes it rather unattractive.
Essentially is all comes down to a matter of personal taste in mixing
Valkyrie’s – Power, Crit-Damage, Vitality
Soldier’s – Power, Toughness, Vitality
Knight’s – Toughness, Precision, Power
Berserker’s – Power, Crit-Damage, Precision
My general advice would be:
1. Get Crit-Damage from Jewels whenever you can (it’s more effective that way)
2. Aim for at least 16.000 HP if you want to melee
3. Switch traits constantly
4. Carry around at least 1 Sword and 1 Pistol to switch weapon-sets according to your current Fractal.
@ Dee Jay – Thanks for the comments, I’ve definitely had many similar thoughts and you raise good points.
After playing with your spec a little I’ve actually reached the same conclusion about Mug. I’m still picking Furious Retaliation over Sided Strikes though. Just makes more sense with most target dropping around 50% HP after the first Backstab.
One issue I thought I’d raise is that you use Singet of Shadows.
While I can understand why it kind of makes the “Swiftness on Dodge” redundant as well as the Fleet Shadows. Movement speed increases don’t stack so Swiftness is really only a 8% increase over Singet of Shadow.
Instead I would propose you use Singet of Agility for the Condition Removal and extra Stamina it provides.
(edited by Dee Jay.2460)
Making a fight hard with interesting and involving mechanics?
I’m all for it.
Making a fight hard because of frickle/buggy mechanics (Simin) or because of over tuned numbers.
No thanks.
Warriors have survivability in that they have pure HP. Guardians have survivability in that heals and protection will keep them running for longer to make up for their lack of HP. Mesmers have survivability in distortion and illusions. If you want easy, make a warrior.
Thieves, on the other hand, have survivability in stealth and evasion. The system doesn’t really work because of the design of fights (hey guy’s im a boss, I’ll just stand here while I tickle you and you dps me, no utlity required is that K?).
Honestly if you want to be useful in a dungeon as a thief, run shared venoms and a vit build. They hurt the most from this idea because their whole method of survivability is based around not hitting things, while other classes can just keep hitting. Trying to be a melee thief 24/7 will not work out well for you.
Yeah, that theory works is PvP (more or less) but it doesn’t in PvE where a boss simply has to hit for a very specific amount. Bosses also have special mechanics that make them ignore Blinds and much of the CC certain classes rely on to survive.
Stealth for example might make you a less likely target but it doesn’t help you survive a big, unavoidable hit.
After running countless dungeons, this is my conclusion.
PvE encounters are designed around the assumption that melee players will boast at least 15.000 HP.
Ranged professions can get away with less, but if you want to melee, 15.000 HP is a requirement.
You will still get downed a lot, no doubt, and get hit by dozens more of abilities than any ranged player, but assuming adequate skill it should minimize the amount of 1-shots.
What this means essentially though is that Warriors are perfectly viable running as full glass-cannons while Thieves for example are not.
That’s what happens when you have an 80% difference in base HP. Those that have enough, get to ignore it while the rest have to “catch up”.
There is a reason why all major MMOs have abandoned the idea of massive HP differences between different classes and this is it.
The Pros and Cons of Condition Damage in WvW:
Pro:
+You can get Food to increase Condition Duration up to 40%.
+Deals damage even when disengaged
+ignore armor/toughness
Con:
-Doesn’t scale with %-based damage increases.
-Targets have more time to run away
-Condition Removal
-Targets have more time to heal up
-Kill windows are generally very short in WvW.
The last point especially is the reason why Condition Damage is problematic in WvW. With people able to run away, cleanse conditions, random people roaming around etc. kill windows in WvW are generally very short. And that’s why burst damage has the upper hand.
That doesn’t mean Condition Damage can’t be effective but it needs a very special class or playstyle to work (Pistol/Dagger Thief for example).
(edited by Dee Jay.2460)
Using the 0/0/30/20/20 P/D build I reached 100% Condition Duration as follow:
45% via Runes
20% via Sigils on weapons
36% via Food….which is a lot cheaper than the 40% Pizza.
Obviously this only applies to Bleeds. Poisons don’t really need additional Condition Duration imp since the Pizza alone pumps most of their duration up roughly 20 seconds.
I agree with the OP,
to me GW2’s world feels more like a collection of zones than an actual virtual world.
Location doesn’t really matter except for the waypoint costs.
GW2 as an open seamless world without instant transportation…now that would be something.
Microsoft X4 + Logitech G700
Good Stuff,
but I’m a little perplexed why you picked Sided Strikes and Hidden Killer as they both don’t synergize with each other.
I would have thought getting Fury at 50% HP might be better.
I’m also not sold on Practiced Tolerance as it doesn’t add all that much HP, especially with a low Precision build.
I also saw you use Sigil of Force which is understandable considering you have Hidden Killer but 5% Crit would probably add more overall DPS as you have very high Crit-Damage.
Also, do you feel the 10 points in Acrobatics are really worth it, as opposed to getting Mug. I guess it’s hard to argue against 1000 HP but I’ve only found Acrobatics worth while if you go at least up to Feline Grace.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents.
I play every day and farm CoF once a day. I have yet to actually see such a thing in practice.
Maybe it’s more common in the states but if there are elitist dungeon runners they stick to themselves on my server.
I’d love to see a group actually have to work together to overcome a boss so I’m all in favor of the “no waypoint while in combat” change.
However some bosses have incredibly stupid and unforgiving mechanics that can near “one-shot” certain classes and make them very hard to revive.
For this change to work they really need to make “downed state” drop threat from a boss. I hate being beat to death while I’m virtually no threat at all.
From my fuzzy memories I always felt like he had too much HP.
Then again that can be said about many dungeons mobs in GW2.
People will always strive for maximum efficiency.
In fact that is often the only reward you get.
People farmed Plinx over and over because he was the most efficient. People farm CoF because it’s the most efficient.
People ask for Guardians and Warriors to supplement their group because it is the most efficient.
You can’t really blame people for wanting to be efficient And I don’t think ANet can either.
Let’s separate the two issues here:
1. Lupius doesn’t need a nerf. He’s challenging but fair once you know his mechanics.
2. However, some of his mechanics need ironing out. The AoE absolutely needs to hit inside the red circles, not outside. His auto-attack needs some limit and a more obvious animation. He also should reset constantly etc.
Asking for mechanics to be ironed out is perfectly acceptable.
Asking for straight up nerfs is not.
I’ve been playing my Asuran Thief with a “Indiana Jones” look going about it based on the Karma gear set.
Now while that was fine for a while and certainly had its charm the predominantly brown color code and common nature of the look didn’t make it stand out much.
Hence I was wondering if you guys might propose an appealing look for an Asuran male Thief.
Interesting, I will give it a try. The “death lotus spam” gameplay is viable against other players, though? I guess I just need more experience in landing them.
Honestly, I don’t really think it is. At least not in WvW. You’re better of playing Pistol/Dagger which works best with the same 0/0/30/20/20 build.
Q: How do the developers feel about the current burst/bunker meta-game with little viability for balanced builds?
Q: Is there any chance we might see some changes to mitigate the relative ease or reviving?
Q: Quickness is 100% DPS increase and the only ability that allows such a high increase in DPS. Why is such a boost acceptable for Quickness but no other ability?
Q: Is there a chance we might see diminishing returns on some offensive and defensive stats?
Q: Why does the downed state wipe all existing conditions?
Thieves might not be fun to fight against but they are not any more overpowered than Elementalists, Mesmers or Guardians.
In fact they’d lose many straight-up 1v1 against those classes.
Overpowered is when a certain build or class doesn’t allow ample opportunity for effective counter-play.
I feel you man,
I’m closing in on 1000 hours /played and the highest I’ve managed to get an alt is level 6.
Yep, nothing but a nuisance those NPCs are.
Every GW2 dungeon is essentially a “babysit an NPC”.
How much DPS you put out at any given moment is rarely an issue.
Sword has the advantage when hitting multiple targets but Daggers tend to be better for single-target as long as you can stay behind the enemy.
But there are other things worth considering as well.
Do you need the stun-breaker/gap-closer from Infiltrator’s Strike?
Are there combo-fields to Heartseeker through?
Can you make use of the Evade on Pistol Whip?
Most of the time the utilities and add situation should dictate your weapon choice. Any good Thief will always run with both Sword, Daggers, Pistols and Shortbow at his disposal
Engineers could use a revision because they’re less fun to play than others (no auto-attack).
Thieves could use revision because their mechanics are inherently flawed.
What, you’re expecting people to post reasonably and fair about WoW?
Good luck with that.
When discussing raids, since I assume that’s what this is about, many people are simply unable to separate their WoW experiences from the actual issue.
Only because WoW raids involved stuff like gear-treadmill, progression, raid-schedule, attendance, performance etc. doesn’t mean Guild Wars 2 raids have to.
It would be fine if the mechanics were actually fair towards the player and it wasn’t just a huge time crunch.
The Asura fractal is by far the most annoying precisely because it is not challenging….just annoying.
1. Players can barely see the red circles while on the platforms.
2. There are way too many Harpies. Remove 2 from each path and I’d find that acceptable.
3. Give players more reliable ways to counter the Harpies.
Ok, combined they might add up to more but it’s difficult for all three Clusters to hit the same target.
In a typical situation however where you have 3 targets to kill an undetonated Clusterbomb will hit all three for 4000 (totaling 12000) or I can split it into three Clusters each dealing about 1500 damage to every target they hit.
The only way the Clusters deal more damage in total is if each Cluster hits 2-3 targets.
I have this issue too and it is certainly stealth related. It’s most irritating when you want to gather a resource only to notice you’re out of tools, and then you can’t replace them because you’re stuck in combat for no reason.
I think it’s great that Stealth doesn’t reset a mob instantly or it would be impossible to use in PvE but getting stuck in combat indefinitely is just as bad.
What you’re referring to is the oh so popular “culling issue”.
Addressing it is on the top of ANets list.
It’s funny how most balance discussions in GW2 evolve around either 1-shotting people or being an unkillable Bunker.
Rubbish, never do you have to run anywhere for 5 minutes. You can reach any point on the map easily within 3 minutes. Most of the time you barely need to run more than one.
People are just very impatient and have no sense of time.
The fact that the maps are so small also means that position really doesn’t play a big role. If one Zerg is attacking a Borderlands Keep they can break off the attack and defend a “bay” keep within a minute.
Numbers are really the only thing that currently matters in WvW.
That’s why WvW is more akin to Battlefield 3 than RvR from DAoC.
It’s odd that the WvW seemed so huge during the beta days but now they seem far to small to host really epic battles.
Even if all three Borderlands maps were combined into one they’d still only make up a fraction of DAoCs RvR map.
WvW is essentially RvR for the CoD generation.
Nothing about ecto drop rates has changed what so ever, we’d make sure to call this out if it was changed.
The double RNG of finding a rare item only to get nothing out of it is really poor design. One lair of RNG…finding the actual rare…should be enough to ensure at least one Ectoplasm.
I’d much rather have rares give at least 1 Ecto 100% of the time than having a 10% chance to get 3 as well as a 20% chance to get nothing.
Stop crying if you are skilled enough to win 1vs6 then become a bit more skilled and learn how to kill downed players. Downed doesnt mean dead, hes still alive, you didnt kill it! Stop whinning for gods sake.
If you had actually watched the video you’d see that the player actually defeated 5 players. That’s right…dead. Not downed, dead.
But that doesn’t stop people from resurrecting.
Well if it’s Fire vs. Air I’d say pick Fire. Air does only slightly more damage and Fire is AoE, which ends up dealing more damage in most situations.
However you might also want to consider Perception if you don’t have a stackig Sigil yet since the Shortbow stacks up quite quickly.
Over the past weeks I’ve been pretty vocal about why I hate the revive mechanics in this game so much and finally I’ve found a great visual example.
The revive system essentially puts a cap on what even the most skilled player is able to achieve. Take this example of a P/D Thief trolling a small group of 6 players.
Now try to ignore the fact that P/D is Op and that you hate Thieves….yadda, yadda, yadda and accept the fact that the player is skilled and knows what he’s doing.
GW2 is the only MMO where you can go up against 6 players, kill 5 and still end up fighting against 6. No mechanic in this game allows a player, no matter how skilled, to overcome the ease of rezzing a dead player. Even after killing 5 players out of a group of 6, all he managed was to occupy 6 players for 7 minutes?
Is that what we have to accept as a success? Is that supposed to feel like a win?
Because it doesn’t to me and the fact that 3 players can resurrect even a defeated player in a matter of seconds has ruined any joy that I could have found in WvW.
Well played but not unusual for P/D….although I admit it needs skill to keep it up for that long infront of an enemy keep.
But does it not frustrate you that you simply cannot win such a fight because people just keep on rezzing each other? Even if you manage to finish people off completely they just keep rezzing. In the end it all becomes entirely pointless because there’s no way you can actually win.
This is by far the most frustrating feature of GW2 and why I’ve turned my back on WvW. What point is there in taking on larger groups if you can’t win, even when outplaying them?
When I have an Ele in my group I think of nice AoE damage and lots of combo-fields.
Yeah his auto-attack is annoying but the rest is perfectly doable and merely a matter of experience.
Just look at some of the solo kills I’m too lazy to look for.