Guild Wars 2

Niko.8901:

Oh wow SoR has a guild named Defiance [RUN]. Just like the RUN that is on Darkhaven… No wait,Tarnished Coast.. oh wait on Sea of Sorrows…. Oh wait yeah I guess RUN is on Sactum of Rall…

Where will they run to next?

They’ll run to whatever server will carry them. This guild was the butt of our jokes for soooo long.

I don’t actually like any of the skins, so I’m not interested in them. HOWEVER, I am not a gambler, and if ANet is going to make everything that is good (legendaries, holiday event items, etc) a gamble, well, you can just count me out. I’m not interested in 1/100 chances or worse. One in 5 or MAYBE one in 10 will have my attention.

I bought some keys this event, and I’m almost certain I won’t do it next time.

Something was definitely changed. This was completely obvious when doing the WvW jumping puzzle in Eternal Battlegrounds. When your back is close to a wall, the camera now insists on going over your character’s dead much more than it did before. As a result, you can’t always see the ground directly in front of you if you are backed up against a wall. This creates a “leap of faith” scenario due to this new blind spot.

In short, the camera was indeed made ever so slightly worse this patch.

Last night, Tarnished Coast got Orb hacked in two of the Borderlands maps (Fort Aspenwood and Dragonbrand). I was present for the orb theft in Fort Aspenwood.

It went a little like this: Suddenly the orb starts moving south of the Hills keep, going for the Lodge (the hacker had no keep to put the orb in after all). I quickly teleport to the southern waypoint and hoof it to the lodge to see the orb sitting atop the tower — an unreachable point by anyone lacking flying hacks. It eventually reset where it was then guarded by players of the opposing faction.

The problem is: ANYONE can hack by simply loading an injector that is publicly available. Because of this, the problem is rampant. Making things even more demoralizing, the player was seen and targeted, and because of this the account name was discovered: It was the same account of a person accused of hacking the orbs in weeks prior on different servers. This hacker has STILL not been banned. Instead, players on the forums are accused of “assassination of character” by the moderators and the threads are quickly closed to sweep the problem under the rug.

I bought this game for WvW. I know lots of people who purchased it for the same reasons. I buy gems form ANet just to support them with the added bonus of getting some fun trinkets. But hacking, not JUST flight hacking (the super obvious kind), all hacking, needs to be defeated. Otherwise, I can tell you players will quit, and if I am to believe the forums, many already have.

There needs to be traps in the code that will detect a suspicious player and allow ANet to monitor their activity. They also need a 24/7 security staff position whose job it is is to CONSTANTLY investigate claims of in-game hacking and exploiting.

That orb sat on top of the Lodge tower for ~14 minutes and no staff was available. Then it happened AGAIN in another borderlands.

Do you know how hard it is to target a hacker during the act, right click the target to get a “report” popup, left click the popup to get the account name, AND take a screenshot of the activity while it happens? Well guess what, THIS is how hacking is dealt with, and if you can’t do all that AND the person doesn’t repeat the act while being “investigated”, nothing happens.

This needs to change. I hope to see more effective ways of dealing with hackers in the future. Thank you.

The only true losers are people who only WvW when they are winning, the players who transfer to winning servers, and the people who cross the line from PvP to griefing.

In other words, the only true losers are those who like to win but are too lazy or weak to earn it.

I don’t give a kitten what the score says. If you’re out there fighting as an underdog, you are the most important people on your server. Remember their names.

The simple strategy is to take out the nerf bat.

I know ANet has some statisticians working for them. I formulate an alternative hypothesis that the sheer number of actual level 80 exotic geared Thieves participating in WvW has a positive correlation with the outcome of a WvW match that is more statistically significant than any other class’s contribution using the same criteria.

In other words, this video is just another example of the God-like powers I see Thieves using and abusing every day.

You are honestly the worst player on our server.

Oh I hear you. Blackgate is doing the same thing to Tarnished Coast and Fort Aspenwood.

Close free transfers AND when paid transfers are finally implemented, do NOT allow transferred players to participate in WvW for two weeks (once two-week matches start). Now you can let people transfer wherever they want to play with their friends, but they can’t use it to competition dodge equally skilled servers in WvW.

But there is a more pressing matter that must be solved before two-week matches should even start: One server almost ALWAYS gets MILES ahead of the others two servers. This shows a lack of balance in WvW and reflects how a winning team only gets stronger over time. Within 48 hours the winner is obvious, so why should matches last longer than that?

WvW maps are also too small, and the advantages of spying are too great and too easy to acquire. Even once paid transfers are in effect, nothing is going to stop an alliance from getting together enough money to have spies on other servers as necessary (unless you block transferred players from WvW for 2 weeks as stated above). You had better BELIEVE the best servers are using spies to know your every move, and they will deny it until it becomes common knowledge.

These next couple months are going to be critical for ANet as many of us play GW2 for WvW. Not all of us are willing to go through ridiculous measures in order to get ahead in a video game, and we deserve to fight people who play similarly. If the developers can’t find a way to balance WvW, then a large percentage of their population will abandon the game.

Getting our kitten handed to us for a week in a fight that should have been over in eight hours is most definitely not fun. In its current state, WvW is most definitely broken — and that’s all there is to it.

TL;DR: The main issues are that match outcomes are decided in the first 24 to 48 hours, server transfers to dodge competition and implant spies are too frequent, and players should be able to fight roughly equally skilled servers.

P.S. Thieves are complete bullkitten front-line machines. The best servers seem to always have a TON of them out in WvW.

Guilds are moving around so they can continually stomp lower tiered opponents.

Most of the very best WvW’ers I encounter on TC agree: running with a zerg is painfully boring as it requires virtually no brain activity. We prefer more skirmish oriented gameplay — you know, the kind of battles you have to think to win. Conversely, if zerging is the only way players know how to take objectives and win battles, then those players will gravitate towards said style.

Thankfully, there are pockets of players on all three of these servers who feel the same. Until that dries up, you know where to me. /salute

Hahahaha says the “Assassinin.” WvW was already a Thieves playground, the new rendering issues have made the competent ones gods.

Thieves are by far the most annoying class. When they are completely outplayed, they can still get away, reset the battle, and come at you again. They can stealth cycle until they kill you or realize they have to run. There is absolutely no killing a competent thief.

A few Thieves can successfully hassle a group of players twice their numbers.

A Mesmer will be quickly decimated by two players. There is no comparison.

As it stands now, a WvW battle is decided in the first 48 hours. There is absolutely ZERO need for it to continue on for a full week — or two!

Either fix the imbalance or shorten the games. There really isn’t a whole lot more to say about this.

Does anyone not see the irony here? Clearly the OP’s opinion about the state of RvR is somehow more important than others’.

Right now WvW is completely broken (unless you are a thief, then it’s the time of your life). I don’t agree with people taking up spots and crying about it during the actual game, but I also think that coming on forums and complaining about them doing so is equally pointless.

This thread offers nothing, solves nothing, and proves nothing.

The October 7 build made the rendering issues in WvW turn from bad to worse. My character is now completely nearsighted. I don’t see players, especially enemy players, until they are already very close by. Sometimes, I don’t see them at all — even when I or someone else is being attacked (this now happens all the time when Thieves are involved).

This is sort of critical, and it makes trying to RvR difficult. Somehow, this didn’t warrant an emergency fix.

But it gets even worse.

As our server continues to climb ranks and face more difficult opponents, I notice more abuse of teleportation and other mechanical systems. I’m not talking about the flying hacks. One would have to be a true fool to think he could fly over a wall, steal an orb, and not get caught. I’m talking about much more subtle uses of hacks — for example, small groups of players who see a map objective become contested, teleport near it, and then dispatch the attackers.

I try to report people I suspect of cheating, but the problem is only getting worse! What are you going to do about it ANet? Is it simply true that WvW is the least important aspect of your game behind the economy, PvE, sPvP, and dungeons?

I’ve had invisible thieves magically catch up to me while I have a huge lead and a speed buff. When they get to me, they still have plenty of initiative to quickly stun and finish me off.

I’ve had thieves take me down to 0 health nearly instantly.

I’ve had thieves take me down to 0 health nearly instantly, while invisible.

I’ve had thieves perma-stealth only to taunt me and others nearby with emotes — sometimes for several minutes.

I’ve seen thieves kill player after player, only to escape when enough players try to intervene. This is not some one hit wonder 3 minute build. It’s the de-facto thief spec.

Enough is enough. I can’t tell who’s running 3rd party programs or who is simply exploiting a broken class mechanic, but this needs to stop.

Awful, unfair boss. Wasted two hours in a PUG and breezed through everything leading up to that point.

I’m not certain which class load-outs your QA team was working with, but we were a Guardian, Thief, Ranger, Mesmer, and I believe an Elementalist.

Edit: I should add the encounter was a complete stalemate. No matter what we did the boss would not die, but we also were coordinated enough not to die. Eventually frustration set in and we gave up after numerous tries.

The only thing I am suggesting is this be investigated further. I can’t stress enough how I feel that most thieves are just fine, if not extremely deadly and annoying, to fight. I play a Mesmer, I know what that’s like.

I understand this is neither the Thief nor World vs. World sub-form, but I feel this issue is of such importance that it is of general concern to any player who wants to experience everything Guild Wars 2 has to offer.

I would like to open this discussion with the fact that I am not perfect at this game. I play a level 80 Mesmer as my WvW main. I have experimented with many traits, skills, and am pretty sharp with my mind, nimble on my fingers, and have a quick eye. When I use all of these things, they seem to at least keep me playing with a fair chance nearly constantly. My mistakes are my own (including being at the wrong place at the wrong time).

Then there is a certain type of Thief. I don’t want to limit it to a specific build, though there is growing concern the part of the problem stems from the Jinzus burst backstab build.

Link: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/64152-jinzus-burst-backstab-build/

The thief slices not just into me, but the entire party. They are nearly unable to be caught, and their attacks far exceed the damage and quantity than that of any other class.

There is but one reason I post this thread: No matter what I am doing, regardless of my reaction, skill or trait setup, stun breaks, stealths, stuns, block, or roll, there is almost never an escape, and there is certainly never a recourse.

If I am not dodging and rolling, my death happens in LESS than three seconds, maybe even less than two. Meanwhile, I am slowed/stunned and bleeding to death at the same time. A stun break and two stealths are NOT enough to escape the invisible assailant, no matter how fast I activate them.

Speaking of stealth, there is seemingly extended thief invisibility, or possibly a cheating group of players (sometimes my and others’ health drops to almost nothing before anything pops on the screen). This is where I question when and if the given powers end and cheating begins.

Now, if the thief manages to land a backstab, I am dead instantly or nearly so with 19,000 hp and masterwork, level 80 armor..

I don’t care that some Necromancers feel nearly invincible, or how Warriors try with ferocity to land their hundred blades attack, or that sometimes I get stunned four times in a row by coordinated players, I respect all of this.

The issue with thieves transcends any other of my unvoiced, petty concerns. The scenario is so dire it makes me not even want to play the game, as I love WvW the most. These thieves are such an outlier in damage and survivability when compared to any other world vs. world encounter.

My gear isn’t the greatest (level 80 masterwork), and my skills as a player are not yet at their peak. However, this nearly instantaneous kill power, fast speed, extended invisibility, massive cripples and stuns are virtually impossible to counter or even escape.

Not only is this the first and only issue I have voiced my concern about in GW2 (I have extended experience with MMOs since 1997), but it is an issue slowly beginning to plague the WvW battlegrounds.

It isn’t just me, a lot of players in my world have witnessed this phenomenon first-hand. It’s certainly more noticeable in the late night hours when there are fewer players in any given skirmish.

Please see this isn’t just whinging or crying. I am an experienced player who understands that all MMOs are different, and I know all of the tools at my disposal and how to use most of them appropriately.

There truly is no counter.

Vexus, thank you so much for taking the time to post a clearly well-thought response to my issue. I most certainly have some more learning to do, but allow me to address a couple of your points to help you best understand where I am coming from and the exact issue I am having.

4. Indeed, I need to use my dodge more often (not just a well-timed roll roll) However, my issue is when such a maneuver is virtually impossible. Read on.:

8. First I became stunned. I immediately used my skill to break stun and stealth simultaneously, and then I rolled immediately following that, I dropped down the targeted stealth field as I kept moving. Regardless, I was killed in a matter of a second or two because I was also snared. The rogue was able to constantly hit me no matter what I did. I was full health and ready when the attack began. This type of death occurs without the necessity of a leading backstab. In a SUBSEQUENT encounter, I was dropped instantly due to being hit with the backstab. This is where the confusion is coming from. As it is now clearly evident, I was speaking about two separate encounters with the same thief (and several more with a couple other thieves since).

My single, solitary issue is that I am killed even when trying to escape, and I am killed VERY quickly — too quickly. Most of the thief encounters I face are nothing like that, so this particular player and the very few similar to him are significant outliers — so much so that it inspired this post.

In addition to the ability to drop me quickly, the thief can then escape with virtual impunity, possibly killing another player along the way — the damage was that consistent and brutal.

I certainly have a lot to learn, but being killed without a chance to do anything, even when using my stun break and escape tactics feels incredibly wrong.

Every single other class and almost every thief feels fair enough, and I can learn from my mistakes. For example, the Warrior’s hundred blades is nothing compared to this, because breaking the preceding stun and rolling away works as it should, as I have a small window to fully escape or even counterattack. With the thief, I just die.

I think we’re going to see a lot more of this build happening in the future. Whatever these few thief players are doing is just too good, and it transcends the abilities of any other thief out there.

Shomaruki.7395:

I’m just saying I’ve been in WvW for a while, not once in my WHOLE time in wvw Have I’ve been melted like this before. I’ve fought lvl 80 people before with my 60 mesmer and still none of them have been able to melt me like this thief did.

Nbefore people see this and we get a wave of thiefs instead of rangers x-x

This, exactly. Super hyper melting unlike any other, and 90% of thieves can’t even come close to this, and they melt people pretty fast as-is. This exceeds the bounds of even dirty thief playing (which I think is awesome and am totally fine with). Please fix this debacle, however. Ok. Erebus out.

I’ve told you everything I know. I truly hope the root issue surfaces and a solution is found. Thanks everyone for chiming in with your knowledge.

DrakeWurrum.6049:

Erebus Delirium.4892:

And it isn’t just me, he can kill me and then the next guy just seconds apart.

Highly doubt that.

I watched it happen. I promise you. I was once on the slow end of his attacks where it took him a good 2-3 seconds to kill me with lack of backstab and cooldowns.

On the other hand, maybe I meant 5 to 9 seconds in between bursting down players

Shomaruki.7395:

@Erebus Delirium. Yes I was with you when it happen >_> I’m a mesmer and just the two first attacks would be enough for me to pop my decoy but it was like less then a few seconds before I can use any skills. Hell First time I was thinking I was melted but the skills pretty much prevented me from even getting downed.(down status..)

Thanks for sharing. A witness makes my argument just slightly more credible.

All my gear is masterwork, and is PRIMARILY Power/precision with SECONDARY vital/toughness. Also have rare trinkets since I’m 392 jewelcrafter. The thing is, this type of instant death is just such an outlier — insanely so. And it isn’t just me, he can kill me and then the next guy just seconds apart. This is not “blow everything and hide for awhile.” This is killing machine that makes siege look passe.

Revelstoke.8924:

They’re using an exploit that I’ve, admittedly, proven works. You basically hit you’re cloak and dagger then steal ability, in that order, instantly. The result starts the CnD animation while putting you next to your opp. You instantly go stealth when CnD finishes, then you backstab for about 9k. Between those 2 hits, +Mug which hes likely specced for hitting for about 4, any health you have left over is minimal at best.

I have NO doubt ANet will fix this, as well as the Warrior equivalent bull rush+hasted hundred blades. Regardless of if that mechanic is ‘working as intended’ no character regardless of race, spec, or traits should 100-0 someone in 1 second flat. Period. And thats NOT an exaggeration. Trust me. I was doing it all day Sunday before I got disgusted with myself and went back to my condition build but I cant tell you how many /tells I got from haters and other thieves wanting to know how I did it…

I think you just solved the mystery. Thank you. It really felt like the thief who was doing this really was cheating, because no other thief even came close to doing the amount of DPS this particular one did. I truly hope ANet does fix it as you believe they will.

ah I was hit with a CC beforehand. and even breaking said stun didn’t allow me to roll. I roll all the time, I assure you. I also fight all the time. I just found it fascinating and infuriating how all-of-a-sudden one player can do so much more damage than any other of the same class. That is the entire crux of my argument/rant. This isn’t an isolated incident, I died multiple times to the same player(s) and each death happened in a way where breaking stun+ stealth and then rolling the INSTANT I was attacked never even had a chance to save me. That’s my entire issue here.

So I’ve played this game plenty now, and I’ve come across plenty of thieves in WvW. Usually, it’s a good fight. Some play better than others and I win some, and I lose some. Sometimes their front-load damage is too much and I need to stealth/clone/run away. On rare occasion, I just had some bad luck and timing and just deserved to die.

But then there’s a Thief who, for some reason, can basically instantly kill me. I see him coming, he goes into stealth, and suddenly my health drops to nothing in about 1 second. This has happened frequently with a small handful of thieves. I use my stealth/break stun and it doesn’t matter. The thief just attacks the same area and ravages me as if I never even tried to escape.

Again, most thieves, while tough, cannot kill me more-or-less instantly. In fact, almost every thief I have ever fought has not exhibited this behavior. But there have been a couple with damage so absurd, one literally becomes unkillable by a small group because the thief can get in, kill, and get out with impunity. That was highly evident when a small group was being camped by a lone thief at the portal sanctuary in RvR.

This lone type of thief was also quickly killing player after player, and was able to quickly escape with minimal effort and then kill another player. To be blunt, he was far more effective than siege at mowing down players. I don’t think that’s fair at all.

Damage logs look like this:
You were hit for 6,693 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Cloak and Dagger.
You were hit for 6,716 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Cloak and Dagger.
You were hit for 1,338 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Double Strike.
You were hit for 1,338 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Double Strike.
You were hit for 3,988 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Wild Strike.
You were hit for 1,576 damage from Dragonbrand Invader using Wild Strike.

I was also backstabbed for 90% of my health and of course instantly killed by the same rogue. Is GW2 really supposed to have an insta-kill class? I’m level 80 in level 80 gear.

I’ve NEVER complained about anything this game has thrown at me, simply because anything that felt unfair never felt ridiculously so. This feels not only unfair, but completely game-breaking. I hope someone important takes this post seriously, because this is SERIOUSLY way too much damage to inflict on a level 80 in level 80 gear who is fully ready to battle.

I’m not saying nerf thieves, almost none of them can pull off what I am describing. However, I’m saying find the ones who are doing way too much damage compared to any other class and fix them.