Guild Wars 2

Dragonbrand just opened.

From the reports I’ve heard about last night, our oceanics/aisans didn’t really show up (or if they did, very few. Apparently no commanders for a bit). Hopefully that will change tonight. There is still time to adapt to Kaineng’s force and beat them.

Do I think we will beat them? Not without a lot of work, but I think it’s possible.

Warlord Lu Bu.7905:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Well, seems as though I was mistaken about Kaineng not being ready for higher tiers. Well, their Oceanics are, their NA…not so much.

Either that or our oceanics were taking the night off. It does happen from time to time.

Only reason Kaineng should be in tier 2 is because of their Oceanic presence. Now don’t confuse that with saying their Oceanic presence is great. Of course you look amazing when you can queue maps while your opponents are asleep.

As far as talent level between Kaineng’s NA and Oceanics, well that’s tough to compare because the Oceanics aren’t put against other server’s daytime numbers.

The thing is, Dragonbrand’s oceanic presence is stronger than the NA contingent. Granted, the difference is less than that which Maguuma makes, but I still expected more of the map to be in Dragonbrand’s hands than was showing on those score reports.

This tells me one of two things: our oceanic contingent was having an off night (which is somewhat common for us at reset night/weekend) or Kaineng’s oceanic crew is a bunch of absolute monsters. One of the two is true.

Well, seems as though I was mistaken about Kaineng not being ready for higher tiers. Well, their Oceanics are, their NA…not so much.

Either that or our oceanics were taking the night off. It does happen from time to time.

Would make more sense as a Master level than Adept.

SHAKA ZULU.3128:

pixieish.9627:

Maguuma and Kaineg… together at last.

How many locked threads will this match result in?

Star crossed lovers.

Let’s cover the basics so we don’t have to fight about it later: We outnumber you guys 1 billion to 1, WM are all bots, some mesmer hacked into something and took the entire map, Kaineng can’t coordinate their way out of a paper bag, Kaineng are like the champion boasters of everywhere, Magz and DB aren’t outnumbered they’re just not trying hard enough, Kaineng has ruined WvW with its transfers, Kaineng lost that fight because Magz/DB outnumbered us for like 30 seconds, something about that Bunzy person. Good?

Now I am stuck at work and can’t queue up. Boo. I for one am still happy about this matchup.

Nice summary.

2 minutes left. I’m going to laugh long and hard if this ISN’T the actual matchup this week.

My main complaint with Spiteful Vigor is that it only works with one of our heals. It does not work with Blood Fiend/Taste of Death nor Well of Blood. While Consume Conditions is the best PvP heal anyway, I still feel really annoyed that we have a trait that only works with a single skill.

Guess we could just call them K-mart…

Doctor Orderly MD PhD DDS.7625:

Also I hope I never encounter you or any1 like you in-game.

I find them rather fun to stomp, don’t you?

Dutchares.6084:

Sounds overpowerd

Okay, posts like this really annoy me. Why does it sound overpowered?

Nobody expects this to ever make it into the game, but reasonable suggestions may inspire the developers to do something else that we like.

Actually, PvE is where you notice it most. Back away from melee mobs and they will get close together as they follow. Then you see the damage numbers hitting each one.

Anyone else remember back in Beta when Well of Blood was a Water field? I miss those days

kokiman.2364:

MaRko.3165:

I kinda liked the idea of the rainbow effect and while the bow seems a bit “my little pony” -ish….. I would of paired it with my female toon.

Flying unicorns? Naw… I’ll pass.

Maybe it’s just me but I see no connection between those unicorns and the MLP-characters at all. It only reminds me of this flash game.

It’s the ArenaNet icon on the hip. Almost impossible to see in-game due to travel speed, but it shows up in screenshots well.

Another bit about the crafted infusions is that the bonuses are 25% higher than those bought from the laurel merchant (+5 to a stat instead of +4. Very minor, but there) in addition to providing the +5 AR.

Yareon.2835:

Actually I think you can still infuse it as the base item (the item that gives you the stats) is still the Koss.
Sadly it will surely result in the infused version with the skin of the infused Koss.
If you upgrade an ascended gear in the MF the infusion in the infusion slot is lost as it doesn’t actually change your item, it just gives you a new item, deleting the ones you put in the MF.

You can still (probably) do another backpack, upgrade it in the MF and THEN usa a transmutation stone on it. Check if you can transmute backpacks before doing it, though.

Nope. Once you transmute any item, it is no longer considered that item for the mystic forge, even if the stats or name is the same. Transmuting a Precursor, for example. Even if it retains the name of the precursor, it can no longer be used to create the legendary.

The purpose of Axe for necros seems to be to go farm air elementals (sparks) and look really impressive while doing so. Effectiveness is another story right now.

I really hope they buff it. Unhioly Feast is good right now, but the #1 is plain underwhelming and the #2 could use a touch more damage. It still provides a higher DPS than Life Siphon due to its faster recharge.

Engels.8537:

Unless you are able to maintain 12+ bleeds on your target all the time, it’s recomended to focus on 100% bleeding duration, and then focus on your condition damage,

PD: I’m assuming you know conditions only deal damage for full seconds,

Well, since I have 0% condition duration and I’m easily able to keep 12+ bleeds on a target (no hemophilia), I guess I’ll just keep focusing my condition damage. I do so love seeing that 1450+ Terror tick twice.

Also, I’m not sure where exactly people got the idea that Dagger doesn’t cleave. It does. It is a very small area, but it does indeed cleave.

Probably Cleric’s gear, as there is no Ascended equivalent of those.

Passion flowers are so insanely priced because of two things:

1. The extremely low drop rate.
2. The extremely high numbers required to make things with them.

Just saying, but we do have limited access to Confusion. It requires us comboing with Spectral Wall.

BOSSMAN.2647:

Utility slots are same as offensive/defensive slots. Like the simple infusion that give 5 AR the utility gives 5AR + 4 (power/condition/vitality… And so on)

The utility just gives extra stats and will work with your old rings

I’m not seeing the +5 AR on the utility infusions that are available.

I wouldn’t worry about named, I would worry about the stats. For example, berserker’s armor is cheaper than Zhed’s armor, even though stat-wise, they are the same.

Apothecary’s armor might do you well. It gives you condition damage (decent for staff), toughness (your minions deal no damage if you are dead) and healing power (minions also do no damage if they are dead).

Arcadio.6875:

Dragonbrand doesn’t even get to have their own nickname.

Because we don’t need one. Everyone knows who we are and there’s no negative connotation involved.

I, personally, love that.

transtemporal.2158:

I don’t see why this tank is specifically designed to kill seige when we can do this pretty effectively just by hitting it.

Primary reason is because killing siege takes a LONG time if said siege is shooting at you. This has range equal to a ballistae and longer than arrow carts. The purpose is to engage the defensive siege before it is raining down on you (alternatively, responding to people attacking your fort and blowing up their toys). It’s not perfect, as it has LoS requirements which would make some placements still very well protected. It would be very vulnerable to players engaging it as well. Fort cannons still have longer range as well.

You can’t take a fort with tanks alone, but they will make the job a ton easier.

Tanks would be very effective against tanks, as they are still siege. Would be interesting for counter-play.

Nuzt.7894:

Golem/Tank … I wouldn’t care if they were there, but as it is if anything was stronger then a golem, there would be zero point to upgrade. As long as they are in line with other siege then meh.

Since I outlined above that the tank would fulfill a totally different niche, I’m guessing you didn’t bother actually reading my post.

Since you transmuted it, you can’t infuse it anymore, sadly. You would have to get a new Koss on Koss, infuse that, then transmute the quaggan backpack onto there.

Or, to be more accurate, tanks donated by the Iron Legion…

I know people have mentioned how they would like to see tanks in WvW before on these boards, but I did not see propositions as to how they would actually work. Here is my suggestion.

First off, all siege needs a purpose. Arrow Carts are to deal with groups of infantry. Balistae are to deal with players or siege, especially players coming through a choke point. Flame Rams and Siege Golems are to take out gates while catapults and trebs are for long-range wall breaking.

Tanks, I feel, would be best suited as siege busters.

The tank would be a mobile unit that should move about the speed of a player (300 u/s, include siege golem boon reduction coding for extra fairness), making it a fast-response piece of equipment. Its attacks could not be used while moving (there is already coding for any movement interrupting an attack that could easily be used here) and its attacks would not be well suited for fighting players. Against siege, however, it would do significant damage. It would do very little damage to walls and a small amount to gates, so they could still support the taking of a tower/keep even after all siege it can hit has been nullified.

Siege weaponry, however, would have its damage reduced against a tank.

Here are my proposed specs:

80 supply to build, 50 silver for blueprint (actual numbers are, of course, easily adjustable)

Skill 1: Projectile that damages its target and a 150 radius. Would deal approximately 1,500 damage to a normal gate, maybe 200 to a wall (for reference, a flame ram deals roughly 8,000 to gates). Deals significant damage to siege (5 shots or less should destroy). 3 second cooldown with a 1 second cast. 3000 range.

Skill 2: Fires an incindiary round that sets the area ablaze. Radius of 400 that pulses burning (1 second) each second in addition to low damage. Lasts 5-8 seconds. Does not damage walls or gates. Range 3000. 15 second cooldown with 1 second cast.

Skill 3: Fires a concussive round that launches enemies in the area. (175 radius) Deals low damage to siege and players. Does not damage walls or gates. Range 3000. 15 second cooldown with 1 second cast.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Insults?

Cherokeewill.7504:

I wish I’d seen the daily kill combo one. In events with my Mesmer and Elementalist my primary concern is keeping combo fields up. One DE defending Northpasture would have completed this for everyone in the area.

Unlikely. The achievement was bugged. It didn’t update for 30+ of the combos my friend and I did (which is why I never got it)

Trahearne is a Guardian, if the skills I’ve seen him use are any indication. The only time he does anything necromantic is when he summons the 6 flesh golems (why can’t we do that?), but that is called a Plot Device skill, so it is not representative of anything else.

I agree that Bay in the borderlands is easiest to break/capture. The tower just south of it is the perfect trebbing position (placing the trebs on the top level makes them immune to counter-trebbing from Bay).

For toughest, I would have to say (from my experience) would be Red keep on EB. The higher elevation means that siege can rain down on a large portion of the map and taking it is a constant tredge through arrow carts and cannons. The entire keep design is set up to keep attackers in easy view of siege and defending fire for a long time before they reach the gates. The keep also has tons of protected space to place siege.

You’re right, I misread the post.

Daily crafting is easy. Just refine the stuff you gather for Daily Gathering.

Daily kill combos has been removed from rotation, thankfully. I wasted an hour trying to get that with a friend and we only got to 60%.

Nickczh.6341:

dank.3680:

Necros got something great this patch. Power/Toughness/Condition trinkets in Orr for Karma yay.. Now I don’t have to spend 20g each for my ring.s

I havent been able to log on since this update, but Power/Toughness/Condition Damage is the set I’ve always wanted for my Necro. Which karma vendor do you get it from?

Temple of Dwayna has them. IIRC, Lyssa has Magi’s (Precision, vitality, healing power, perfect for those alturistic healing guardians)

Bastion.2716:

Repeating it won’t make it true, but the thing is – it is true no matter how many times you repeat it or not. You can check out out bug list, if you’re still doubting it. As I said, that’s really great for you for making a best use of broken stuff, as for me – I like when stuff functions as it’s intended.

Check out our bug list and note how much of that list has been fixed. The vast majority is no longer a problem.

We still have bugs, minion AI chief among them, but saying we are loaded with bugs and can’t even function properly is flat-out wrong.

Jagged Horrors don’t give life force. Most minions don’t.

As I said, Reanimator I feel is fine. It’s a little something extra. Last Refuge is too. Neither trait is wasted even if you don’t spec into that kind of build, and thieves do get that bonus stuff when attacking from stealth.

Protection of the Horde, on the other hand, gives no benefit at all until it doesn’t matter in most situations unless you are running a minion build. That is the main difference between Shadow Arts and Death Magic minor traits. Stealth in combat is always relevant. 20 toughness after combat is over is not.

RockonHarder.7235:

StealthSnake.9134:

Welp with the announcement of the reset and maguuma not having a strong night time, we’re currently outmanned in our bl. This kinda sucks.

after next weeks match up change it’ll be interesting to see how Dragonbrands and Kainengs Asian hordes handle each other. either way maguma will be waking up to a fully occupated BL i think.

you guys have a pretty strong early morning crew so they will get put to the test for clean-up.

There is no guarantee that we will face either Kaineng or Maguuma next week. The entire ladder is being reset.

If you want swiftness, it’s because you are skipping content. Just swap a utility for signet of the locust or spectral walk , skip the mobs, then swap it back for a fight.

Usually group swiftness is available in dungeons. Warriors, Rangers, and Guardians typically grant it in an AoE. Mesmers and Elementalists both have skills that do it as well. Normally, if someone in your group is getting swiftness, you can all get it from them.

Probably intended. Entering Lich removes the spectral effects, but the trait is applied afterward.

If Lich Form constantly did what it says on that part of the description, the #4 skill would be completely useless as the minions it creates would instantly be killed.

To all of those saying the necro sucks in dungeons. I’m not sure what exactly you are doing wrong, but you’re doing it wrong.

We are very survivable. We have good DPS. The problem is that people want to see 2k damage flying off and necros really can’t do that outside of lich form. Greatsword Warriors do high damage, that is what they are DESIGNED to do. Comparing us to them is stupid.

However, we contribute quite well to dungeons. Last night I ran Honor the Waves path 1 with 4 necros and a ranger. We never had any issues (we were also not all condition spec). Bosses went down quickly and we only had one person die (the ranger).

As for why a party full of hybrid necros is bad, it’s because of the condition caps. Getting more than 2 in a party means they are limiting the DPS. This isn’t a problem with the class, it’s a problem with the game itself.

In Fractals today I did have the issue once of my utilities being locked for a second. It wasn’t crucial, but I did notice it.

Elric Of Melnibone.4781:

What are “Unidentifiable Objects”? Is this just vendor trash? What are they worth?

They are vendor trash worth about 50 copper each. They add up quick.

Besetment.9187:

Oh. and nothing underwater will ever be as strong as a Mesmer.

I think necros and rangers are stronger underwater. Necros I know can blow up illusions before they do pretty much anything and have extremely strong underwater kits. A mesmer might be able to escape a necro underwater, but all else being equal, the necro will win the fights.

Can’t say I’ve had either of these problems. I was popping death shroud a lot last night too and constantly running signets.

The one thing to note on Reanimator is that the patch should have also sent the Boss Targeting fix live. You know, where bosses like Lupicus and Subject Alpha no longer target minions and NPC’s unless they are all that’s left? Any of them where it is actually detrimental for the minions to be targeted should no longer do so.

Note that with Jade Maw, it is not detrimental to have minions targeted as it does not harm your team.

Now, why this wasn’t mentioned in the patch notes, I don’t know.

Reanimator, I’m honestly fine with right where it is. Protection of the Horde is what needs to change as it is a minor trait that provides zero benefit to most builds. Honestly, though, simply swapping it with Deadly Strength would do a lot, since both Grandmaster Death Magic traits are minion-related. Could use a numbers boost then, but at least it would make sense.

Unlike necros, thieves get bonuses from stealth, and I am NOT talking about traits. As such, the traits aren’t a bad idea as they provide extra rewards for a thief doing what they get bonuses for anyway. Elementalists may only get their benefits while attuned to that element, but there is literally no elementalist build that can’t swap to that attunement and get those benefits.

I did just hear that “daily combos” has been removed because it was not working properly.

Rennoko.5731:

I just noticed you were a Dragonbrand Char Necro…. I will have to hunt you down this evening so I can wave at you. I almost never see necros about, let alone char ones. I rolled the statistically overplayed human female necro because I wanted to be relatively small, not alien/plant-like, and inconspicous. On Maguuma.

I may or may not be in WvW tonight. Sometime this week, though, I’m all for it.

I agree, though. Charr necros are rather rare in WvW (and in PvE). Necros in general are underrepresented there for no apparent reason.

Again, Greater Marks means they don’t need to be close to the edge to be hit (placed correctly, they basically have to be entirely off the wall to avoid being hit). They don’t notice it hitting them due to the mark triggering as soon as you place it and it gives a very subtle indicator that it went off. Bleed damage is less noticeable anyway than direct, so people often don’t retreat until it is too late. Mark of Blood is fairly spammable and does great damage so long as you went condition damage (my condition damage is 1580+ pre buffs. Post buffs I easily hit 1900).

And while you are attacking a tower/keep, those NPC’s atop the walls aren’t ressing anyone. They’re too busy firing ineffective arrows out at the attackers.

As for the flesh wurm, I love using him when I attack towers/keeps. He is either free damage to defenders or he distracts them for a bit and gives a bit of relief to my allies. Either way, I come out on top from that move.

Death Shroud skills have their own power coefficients and the base damage for an axe is pretty good.