Guild Wars 2

Guys, this is a list of changes based on what I have seen, played, and read about on other people’s opinions.

I’ll never understand people who come back with hostility because I am saying a trait they use should be nerfed. Like I knew you personally, knew you used it, and am trying to screw you :P

I do appreciate those of you with constructive criticism though.

Misguided.5139:

> #1: Damage needs to be lowered a bit. A BIT, is the key word here. It’s just a tad high for a class with toggle SS, leading to AA with SS being our highest form of DPS.

Wrong. If AA + quickness is a problem, it is the access to quickness that has to be adjusted. Otherwise, you are nerfing non-Shiro builds for no reason whatsoever.

I can agree with you there. But then how will they do that? The only way I see to fix it in terms of adjusting the SS is by removing Impossible Odds completely….which is bad.

Hey guys….and Devs…..DEVS!

Just wanted to post my opinion on needed buffs/nerfs/changes in the upcoming patch for Rev.

Note: If it is not mentioned, then I think it’s fine as is. The exception to this is Centaur Stance, which I did not thoroughly test.

Weapon Sets:

Sword:

#1: Damage needs to be lowered a bit. A BIT, is the key word here. It’s just a tad high for a class with toggle SS, leading to AA with SS being our highest form of DPS.

#2: Needs a buff in damage. The skill literally hits for 300 depending on what gear you’re using. No skill should hit so low on a level 80. Pull damage from 1 and 3 and put it here.

#3: This skill…..all I’ve seen is complaining about this skill. I personally don’t’ think it’s OP at all. It’s easy to see coming and dodge the majority of it. It also does very low damage unless you’re alone…..and even then, against certain enemies such as Mesmer, Necro, or even Ranger, the damage is halved, if not cut into fractions due to multiple targets. But OK, if you blow your quills, and use it on say…a thief who is alone, it can do some serious damage. So a small damage nerf is warranted if it means #2 gets some more damage.

Sword Off Hand:

#4: I would personally like to see this skill completely redone into a damage move. We already have shield, which makes both skill into healing/blocking. We don’t need more blocking on our Sword #4. This should be another offensive skill.

Hammer:

#1: CD reduced to 0.75 and do something. Like cripple….I dunno. All other auto attacks have a built in condi or effect, except this one.

#2: Fix the hit parameters for it.

#4: Should be on a toggle that drains a certain amount of energy, like Impossible Odds.

#5: Great skill…but it’s cast time is absurd. People can literally walk out of it…..and I do mean walk…not roll or dodge….walk. The cast time on this should really be 1 second….1.25 at the most.

That’s honestly it for the weapons skills. I think the weapons with the above changes are fine. On to the Stances.

Shiro:

Jade Winds: This needs to cost 30-35 Energy. When you swap stances you are bumped to 50 Energy. Having a skill that costs 50 Energy is absurd. Me swapping stances to use a skill….in other words playing my class to its utility, shouldn’t be punished with me being forced to do nothing but auto attack for 5 seconds because I have 0 Energy. (This problem will come up in Dwarf King as well)

Dwarf King:

Inspiring Reinforcement: Need’s a damage buff. I’m currently art 2400 Power and it’s labeled damage is 640…….really? With that kind of power it should be a little more than that. I feel the length is fine, but it needs to be wider. It also needs a duration buff to around 8 seconds from 6.

Forced Engagement: Needs a damage buff, 2400 power and it labeled as 310 damage. Also needs a buff to it’s duration. 2 seconds of slow and taunt should be at least 3. This is currently, imo, the worst utility skill Rev has out of any stance.

Vengeful Hammers: Needs a damage buff AND a healing buffs AND a radius Buff….. Currently doing 93 damage a second…..might as well do 0, that’s not making any difference in the fight. Might as well heal 0 as well, 40 health isn’t changing anything. At 2400 power It should be damaging for around 300 a tick. and healing for about 200. A small amount, but enough that if I keep it up for 10 or so seconds. I’ve gotten 3k damage out of it….which is still very mediocre, but given it reduced incoming damage I’m not looking at this as doing insane damage. Also it’s radius should be 160-200.

Rite of the Great Dwarf: Now, this one has the same problem as Shiro’s Ult. It costs 50….which means if I jump into a fight and want to try and save my friends, I am punished for doing so by being left at 0 power, and being useless for 5 seconds. This should be 30-35 power.

Thins brings me to my change in general about Dwarf Stance. ALL the skills need to have their energy cost reduced. Everything in Dwarf is SO darn expensive…it makes it useless to run due to the fact that you can only cast 1 thing….that’s it.

Inspiring Reinforcement: Currently: 30 Energy. Should be: 15-20 Energy

Force Engagement: Currently: 35 Energy. Should be: 15-20 Energy

Vengeful Hammers: Currently: 5 on cast and 7 upkeep. Should be: 5 on cast, 5 Upkeep.

Demon Stance:

Empowering Misery: Need’s to heal more per condition…like…a lot more. I’d double the per condition.

Pain Absorption: Need’s to be buffed from 1 condition transferred to 2 per target.

Banish Enchantment: Remove the insane 155 damage…wowie, and give it 5 Stacks of confusion, up from 3.

Unyielding Anguish: Needs a duration bump from 4 seconds to 6. Also needs to either stack more Torment faster, or do another damaging condition such as bleed. For 30 energy just 1 stack of torment per pulse isn’t enough.

Embrace Darkness: This is the biggest problem with the stance. Dwarf, everything costs too much, this one…just doesn’t have an ulti. I understand what you were trying to do, you stack condi’s on you enemy, then get 10% more condition damage with this ult to tick harder. But it just isn’t enough to be the stances ulti. Need’s to give 15% to all stats up from 10%, should pulse 2 stacks of torment, up from 1. And it’s upkeep should be dropped from 7 energy, to 5. I’m still not sure if this is enough to make it viable. But it should help.

Glint:

Infuse Light: Initial heal needs to be buffed. Currently a 1k heal…..think it’s the lowest heal in the game. Depending on enemies damaging you for your heal isn’t viable against good players.

Chaotic Release: Needs its cast time dropped to 1 second from 1.25.

On to Talent Tree’s.

Devastation:

Ferocious Strikes: This shouldn’t have a pre-req. It should just be 150 Ferocity for using your Talent point on it.

Focused Siphoning: Need a small buff.

Herald:

Elder’s Force: Needs to be 3% per boon.

Enhanced Bulwark: Is this really a GM trait? This just needs to be taken out and replaced with something else. I wouldn’t even take this as the minor trait lol.

F2: The F2 skills aura seems a little pointless to me. The activate I love though so…..who knows.

Retribution:

Enduring Recovery: Needs its ICD lowered from 10 to 7.

Close Quarters: Needs it’s range threshold reduced from 360 to 300

Improved Aggression: Should do something in PvP. Maybe it only increases taunt duration by 50% to players instead of 100%. It’s dumb that there’s a trait that just has no effect in PvP.

Everything in the Ret GM tree need a lower ICD:

Empowering Vengence: No ICD, down from 1.

Versed in Stone: 30 sec CD, down from 45.

Steadfast Rejuvination: 2 sec ICD, down from 4.

Corrupotion:

Maniacal Persistence: What is this….an occasional guaranteed crit in the condition tree….and it’s a GM….really? Replacement needed.

That’s it!

As you can see, I think several nerfs are needed on the weapon side of Rev, mainly sword, but some buffs are needed on the Traits of Rev when I compared them to my other classes Trait Lines.

And of course some flat out buffs are needed on some of stances to make them viable over Shiro/Glint.

Let me know what you guys think, or any changes you would make.

P.S.: Sorry Centaur Stance/Salvation Trait line. I just have a Druid….why would I ever use you for healing lol.

If you’re getting stomped by the hammer 2 skill you’re just bad…..there’s really nothing else to it.

Hammer, although I do like it’s move set, has tons of problems with it. It’s AA is on too long of a CD, it’s #2 misses if you are on an incline/decline/a little to the left/right. Not to mention you dont even need to dodge to dodge it, just walk left or right. It’s 3 has camera bugs, and it’s 5 should be a 1 second cast…but instead it’s almost 2.

In other words if you’re diein to hammer, you should probably go play an easier PvP game, like WoW. This one isn’t for you.

Ramhu.4651:

Interesting topic
Luclinraider, could you tell us which weapon you’re using ? sword and axe or shield ? :p
And which spec ?

I actually main it with Hammer. It, imo, is the best weapon for Rev. Everyone is all raving about Sword/shield….but the way I see it….at least in PvP (I mainly PvP). Good players know that UA is coming when they see your quills from Shiro. They will usually just block, or dodge that combo. This leaves Sword/Shield with literally NOTHING worth running. I really do feel that sword/x is only worth running for 3…which is easily countered.

Hammer on the other hand has 1200 range, making it a massive range weapon that can hit 5 targets. Not only that but it brings an evade attack into the fight, and an AOE control. Finish that off with a wall that blocks projectiles/gives your attacks life steal…and you’ve got a weapon that imo trumps all the others on Rev….

Even in PvE I hit WAY harder with my hammer than with Sword/x

As for spec I currently run: Herald, Devastation, Invocation .

Although I will likely swap one of the later 2 out for Retribution if they make Dwarf King worth running, and run him over Shiro.

^ That’s it.

I wasn’t in game and was too lazy to go look up it’s name lol :P

Thanks.

Clicking really is your problem…….

I have actually made my Rev my main. Having now decked him out in full Ascended. I just love the glint tree that much…..

The key is to buff you and your teammates, and once you jump into a fight, only keep the Ferocity buff running.

Example: I run the Ferocity buff, Might buff, and swiftness buff as soon as the 10 second timer start to buff me and my team. Keep these three up pretty much perm while not fighting.

Once I run into combat, I instantly blow the swiftness buff and Might stack buff for a couple K damage and 10 stacks of Vuln, but also to make sure I only have one upkeep going. With only the Fury buff going I keep over 50% crit (Full tank/Power), but also keep enough power regen to keep my move going almost endlessly. The only time I really blow the fury attack is if I see a thief go stealth.

Use your ult as an attack/interrupt. If they group up, it’s an easy 2.5-4k aoe blast, or it’s great for saving teammates from stomps. (The aura effect of Prot is soooo good….it just costs too darn much to keep up as an aura.)

As for shiro….honestly….I only use it when an enemy is trying to flee for his charge. Or I’m out of enemies to fight and all that is left to do is stomp….so I SS the stomps.

Everyone raves over Shiro for the dps….but really, any good player is going to see you use your quills, and if you’re wileding a shield/sword, they know UA is coming, so they are just going to press 5 and laugh at you as you blow 90% of your dps on blocks.

Hopefully the above rotations help. But yes….look into Madcatz MMO TE mouse, it’s got about 24 buttons on it, it’s what I use and can bind all my moves to the mouse if I wanted.

Am running:

Full Sentinel Exotic Armor w/ Vit rune that gives % Power, Healing, and Perc based on Vit.

Sent Ascended Weapons with Superior Force, second sigil is your pref.

And full Soldiers Ascended Trinkets.

Currently running about 2400 Power: (More than my Zerker Ranger and Thief) And rocking about 2500 Toughness with about 33K Health……all this with about a 60% chance to crit, (think it’s like 58%)

I can tank anything, and still hit like a truck. I actually hit harder than zerker classes non crit. Crits still hit for alot since I have access to a bit of AOE ferocity in my spec. But of course I lose some crit damage with the lack of Zerker Ferocity.

All in all though, I am loving this build. I generally kill stuff even faster than, or just as fast as my zerker characters. Am literally unsinkable, and have access to AOE buffs for my friends.

Note: Sentinels is NOT cheap armor. Costing close to 15G a piece. The runes I use in it are also about 13-15G a piece. Amounting to the armor set costing around 180G. The runes are the key though. Giving you around 200+ power for having tons of Vitality.

P.S. Hoping for a Dwarf King buff. Although Shiro is nice in PvP for Charge, Stun breaks, and Super Speed stomps….in PvE is kinda lack luster. I can see this build being even stronger with more tank capability if they would make Dwarf King worth running.

Is it me or do the Hammer weapon set timers seem off?

I love the hammers move set. I seem to be the only person using it as the primary over Sword.

Although I can see some people concerns….there are some issues.

I think auto attack on a 1 sec timer is kinda absurd. Considering there are people out there who can get 3 auto attacks in to my one is dumb. Also, the #5 wind up is Waaay to long. Finally, there are bugs with the #2 skill….if they are in certain areas Vertically from you, like standing on a small incline/decline…this move just does nothing….it misses completely, even though they are in it.

Hammer:

1 CD reduced to 0.75

2 Fix the hit parameters for it.

3 Fine…..Fix the camera bug. (For those of you who have never encountered this, your camera kinda goes even more 3rd person while your character jumps into this animation. Rather often your camera gets stuck in this mode, making your character uncontrollable and unmovable until you can use the move again to reset the camera. It also happens sometimes on the sword #3)

4 Should be on a toggle that drains a certain amount of energy. It’s very lackluster and pretty much pointless aside from Rapid Fire. I basically use it for Life-steal on auto attacks. Given that it does so little in actual play, it should be maintainable.

5 Great skill…but it’s cast time is absurd. People can literally walk out of it…..and I do mean walk…not roll or dodge….walk. The cast time on this should really be 1 second….1.25 at the most.

Hi guys.

I’m just wondering if anyone can help me.

I recently moved my PS4 upstairs and have it behind my monitor. I got sick of dealing with spotty wireless and decided to just hard wire it in.

Since then I have had both my PC and PS4 on the same monitor. I just have to switch out the inputs and am using a headset that plugs into the PS4 controller for PS4 Audio since the input that that works from PS4 to PC monitors doesn’t support Audio.

I recently got sick of this and decided to just grab one of my other monitors and put it next to my current one and hook one of them into it. So now I have one screen PS4 and one PC all the time.

My question is: Does anyone know of a wireless headset that comes with (ex: 2 USB hookups), and can be switched back and forth for Audio and Mic.

So one goes in my PC and one goes in my PS4, and I can press a button on the headset to switch back and forth between the two on the fly for Audio and Mic.

Thanks for the help guys!

P.S. Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask…this is just my main MMO and the only forum I really frequent lol.

I agree that it shouldn’t just be a spam of assaults.

But maybe they need to lower the cost of some of the skills then?

It just doesnt make sense that I am being punished for using my moves. I have an 80 of almost all the classes, have played them to an extent. And never been so punished for using 1 skill.

“Use this skill, give you and your allies 50% damage reduction for 5 seconds, you are stunned for those 5 seconds.”

It literally might as well read that lol.

Hey guys.

As we know, every time you swap to a new legend you are given a bar placement of 50%…..does anyone else feel this isn’t enough.

I think it should start at 100%.

I swap stances in WvW, blow my ult to try and help keep my team up in a 3v5. (Dwarf King). And I am now instantly useless….like….literally all I can do is auto attack. I can’t use an utility or weapons skills…….great class mechanic lol.

I actually just switched from Power/Toughness/Vit to CD/Toughness/Vit and am seeing WAY more DPS. I kill things much faster, and down groups much easier.

Now….does it compete with Zerker….no….but I have triple the life of a zerker and triple the toughness….so ya. Block the zerkers “3” and he’s cake.

I do agree I think the condi Legend needs some work through. Right now it seems Shiro is the only legend worth running. And of course Glint.

So what you’re saying is we just need more Engi’s, Warriors and Guard’s…..because we havent already seen a HUGE spike in the number of those….

Why don’t we just delete all other classes and leave those 3…..by your example everyone should just reroll those 3…because they’re just supposed to be better…..

ANet this is your first new class in over 3 years and you’ve made it virtually useless in PvP.

We have no on demand condi cleanse aside from dwarf kings heal….but really…..it’s a bad legend when you compare it to Shiro, Glint, and Demon.

Shiro-

Riposting Shadows: Should remove a damaging condition or 2 in addition to it’s move impairing removal.

Nefarious Momentum: Whenever you use an assassin skill, remove a condition. (Honestly I feel like we have enough might access with Glint)

Glint-

Make the heal on it’s first activate pulse “Resistance” not “Regen”

Problem solved. We have some condi removal/resistance. As it is right now we can’t WvW or SPvP because all it takes is a single condi build and we are useless. Heck, when I play my Guard or Condi Thief (Ya….I know…it’s just for fun). I look for the Rev’s and just pick on them the whole match lol.

This expansion has brought SO MUCH to do to the game.

Massive new maps with TONS of events, bosses to kill, and exploration to be done.

A new story, that imo, is their best story yet. (Except how Mordremoth looked -.-)

A MASSIVE new WvW map that imo, is better than the old one.

New Fractal levels to achieve.

And ontop of all of this, they found a unique way to continue progression without just upping the level cap as other games do. Their mastery system doesn’t make all our previous work obsolete, but still gives us something to work torwards.

We have so much new content and all I hear is people complaining that we have so much new content…..

Literally….that’s all I see. There’s so much to do and get done that I cant’ do it all in 2 days WAAAAAAAA.

What happened to good MMO players back in EQ1 days where the fact that it took 6 months of playing 6 hours a day to get one weapon was a good thing. And being given all the best gear in the game from 2 days of easy mode dungeons was a bad thing. Everything has flipped around….

I think I can see why the MMO industry is in the horrible state it’s in…..

So it takes a while to get your elite spec…..I still only have about half of mine because I’ve focused on Mastery and the story line. But my friend fully unlocked his DH 2 days ago….because he focused all his time around. Another friend is already into the 60’s in Fractals, because he focused all his time around it……this is how it should be. Your time is put into a certain thing and you are ahead of your friends because of it. That way when we group, we all have our own things that we know, and are good at. The way you guys seem to want it, everyone finishes everything day 2 and then we can spend 8 months killing Teq over and over again……

So far, I think the expansion is great, don’t change a dam thing because of all these children…

P.S. My one complaint is Mordremoth….why is he a weird humanoid snake dragon thing…..Zhaitan was a weird gross zombie dragon thing too…..why don’t any of the dragon lords look awesome and cool like their minions. Shatterer, Teq, Claw, all these dragons are SOOOO cool. Then the lords are like their kittened cousins lol. Hope the next lord is a big, kitten DRAGON. :P

Hey guys!

Just posting here to let someone know the final fight is bugged.

And seeing if this happened to anyone else?

Warning! Spoilers!

http://www.twitch.tv/luclinraider/v/22658952

Hey guys!

Just posting here to let someone know the final fight is bugged.

And seeing if this happened to anyone else?

Warning! Spoilers!

http://www.twitch.tv/luclinraider/v/22658952

Hi all,

Just have a question that I’ve never tested before so…..

I currently use a chest piece on my main that hides the shoulders completely.

My question is, if I get these Halloween shoulders with the bats effect….it will obviously not show the shoulders due to my chest piece…but will it still show the bats effect?

Thanks for the help!

Ok, so they will remain tradable. Sorry, I was misinformed :P.

So do you guys think the prices of current legends will plummet? Or go up?

Yes, meaning that precursors might still be on the marketplace post expansion. But Legend’s will not. For example once all the BFrost are sold post expansion….that’s it…..you can’t buy them anymore, you have to make them.

This will blow those prices up at time goes on. The old legendary will quickly become even more expensive, even within a few months after the expansion.

Hey guys,

So I was talking with a buddy of mine who’s one of those Marketplace guys. I’m pretty good at turning a profit on game marketplaces, but this is one of those guys who made like 40K at D3 lol.

He tells me that any legendary, new or old, made after the expansion will be account bound….

Is this true? This of course would skyrocket the price of Legends on the Marketplace because once they are gone…..they are gone…..lol

I honestly think the only stealth worth running is going to be HiS for the Condi Removals.

A scrapper and a Rev on a team will make it almost impossible to stealth in the heat of battle with a 900 AOE.

So does thief get anti class mechanics?

All I heard about is how Stealth is the Thief class mechanic (Even though half the classes get it). So now comes the expansion, several classes are getting skills that AOE reveal…..and then keep you from re-entering stealth.

So is Thief’s steal going to shut down other class mechanics? When I steal on a Warrior will it empty their End and keep them from getting more? When I steal on a Mesmer will it instantly destroy all their clones and keep them from making more for 8 seconds? When I steal from a Ranger will it take their pet off the map for 8 seconds?

I could do all the other classes…but you get the point. And for those of you that will say, “Stealth is only part of the Thief mechanics, the out of stealth skills, (Backstab), are the other one”, this argument doesn’t hold up. If I can’t enter stealth they can’t be used.

I understand that they are giving Thief more dodges to try and survive even while not in stealth….but why do we have to lose a mechanic to gain a very simple one (1 Dodge), while other classes are keeping ALL their old class mechanics, and receiving much better new ones, some even getting new forms (Celestial, Reaper ect….).

The Light armor chest/pants from this dungeons gives char’s a cindering tail effect.

Why don’t the Medium and Heavy Armor sets do the same?

Is this a bug?

It seems like a quick change…..I know a lot of people who like the tail effects….lame that only the light armor can get it as of now.

Hey guys!

Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way.

I have 5 Character max level and a few others just hanging out. Are there any plans to make World Completion transferable to other characters? It already unlocks the account trophy. Something as simple as, if you have that account trophy, go to an NPC in LA, talk to them and pay a fee, 10g, 20g, whatever, and it instantly gives map completion for that character as well, without giving any of the items like Gift of Exploration.

That way if you want the gift to make another Legend you can go ahead and do it. But if you just want to have your way-points on your new character, you’ve already explored the whole world….why should you be forced to do it again just to play the character you want. All the current system does is force you to play a character you don’t particularity want to…or forces you to explore the whole world again.

Hey guys!

Just made a quick video after playing everything there is to play between the last 2 BWE.

Here is the Thief’s DD Elite Review.

Hope you like it!

http://www.twitch.tv/luclinraider/v/19124614

P.S. This was completely unscripted so it’s a little all over, but fun :P.

Dahkeus.8243:

Over an hour long?!? .

Well, there’s lots to talk about lol :P

Druid will be next :P

Hey guys,

Just got up this morning and made a quick video for some of my buds that don’t play GW2 yet who wanted to see DD.

Just thought I would post it for anyone curious about the Thief Elite.

As usual, these are my opinions ^^

Hope you all enjoy!

P.S. It’s super early here and this wasn’t pre scripted so it’s a little all over.

http://www.twitch.tv/luclinraider/v/19124614

Jackalrat.5493:

I kinda stopped reading when you suggested greatsword is better than dagger on reaper.

I so wish this was true, but it’s not. GS is still too slow for serious PvP and connects infrequently. Best Reapers will run with dagger after GS novelty wears off.

I didn’t say GS was better than dagger…..anywhere….

All I said was GS does a ton of damage…which is does :P

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Luclinraider.2317:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Luclinraider.2317:

But right now the amount of damage I’m putting out, with the amount of self sustain and survival I have, makes us monsters

Wasn’t that the point of the Reaper?

Lol! True…but balance doesn’t approve :P

To be fair, Conquest artificially raises the power level of Reapers because it’s harder to avoid them when you’re trying to contest a point. The spec has very clear strengths and weaknesses and does best in even fights (whether that’s 1v1 or 5v5).

Reaper is strong, sure, but I’m not convinced it’s OP when people have had less than ten days total to learn to fight it. It has clear, exploitable weaknesses, but those weaknesses are not the same as base Necro.

I can agree with this. I do not think they are OP by any means. There are certain aspects to them that I do think need to be toned down though.

OP in my book means drastic changes and full on nerfs are needed.

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Luclinraider.2317:

But right now the amount of damage I’m putting out, with the amount of self sustain and survival I have, makes us monsters

Wasn’t that the point of the Reaper?

Lol! True…but balance doesn’t approve :P

Farzo.8410:

Now go and play dragonhunter.

Lol. I will probably get some time on DH in today and tomorrow and write another for DH, Tempest, and Rev.

I don’t play Warrior or Engi…so someone else has to tell us about those 2 :P

Hey guys!

Just finished playing my 3 main classes and their elites, so I just wanted to share my opinions about each of them!

Note: As usual, these are my opinions. I respect all of yours, but this is just a quick write up on what I’ve seen over a good 50-100 games.

1. Reaper! (Wowie Zowie Kaplowee!)

Yay! I get to play my Necro more. As most of you know this hasn’t been a very played class for me until about 4 months ago. Now I pretty much sit on my Necro unless my team is on. Their Self Sustain, AOE Damage, Survival, Bunker, and 1vX capability is unmatched in the current game. So does Reaper live up to its un-evolved form? HELL YES!

Reaper gives Necro’s access to Greatsword, which ends up meaning I hit even harder. The new Reaper form also gives you access to new skills, and a new ulti….and oh ya….chill….lots and lots of chill….
It’s overall a boost to Necro’s Damage, Melee capability, Survival, and Aesthetics…..yes that is a category…..we look awesome!

I have mainly stuck to the 3 classes that will be listed here. But between those 3, Reaper stands miles above the rest. From what I hear Scrapper is really strong, maybe Reaper has some competition after all?

Balance Review: I love playing on my reaper….but something’s got to give…..

I’m not saying they need to be nerfed hard, or all aspects of them need to be kitten. But right now the amount of damage I’m putting out, with the amount of self sustain and survival I have, makes us monsters. I think we should keep our survival and maybe just have a few number tweaks on our damage?

2. Druid! (I thought there wasn’t a Trinity? >.>)

So for my very first character, my Ranger, I got Druid. I thought it was going to give me some cool CC skills and some extra damage….since Ranger is really a DPS class…..but it didn’t….it made me a healer >.>…..whaaa?

Druid gives access to several abilities that are, for more or less, support. We have skills that rip conditions off allies, moves that stun break for allies, and a lot….A LOT of heals.
With these heals come a new form, Celestial. This replaces all of our skills, and our new utility moves with pretty much ALL healing and support effects. Now, I was a little disappointed when I heard our new form was a healer. But after playing it in PvP…and getting used to positioning myself behind a wall like a scared child, this class shines! I think rangers are in a better spot than ever before! We are NOT the damage dealers we really wanted to be….but we are the deciding factor in team fights. An unnoticed Druid in Celestial Form will guarantee which side wins the team fight. Their heals and Condi cleanses are INSANE. Ive literally been jumped on by 4 people, and just stood there, (Healing Power/Toughness/Power), spamming heals, and they COULD NOT kill me. I was healing so much that even through interrupt I could keep myself up. Also, as long as you’re in the fight, your celestial form recharges VERY fast….usually only resulting in 5-10 second dead time between celestial.

I for one think this is a huge step in PvP, and gives Ranger a role on any team. Not only that, but I feel like it will be very useful in the new PvE content.

Balance Review: Adds a whole new aspect to the game, and I LOVE IT!

I love being able to support my teammates: Heal them, push stompers off of them, rip condis off of them, Break them out of stuns…ect. Now…that’s not to say it’s balanced. I do think the heal amount is a little over the top. My 1 was healing for 2k AOE on a 0 second CD, my 3 for 4k on a 6 second CD….stacking that with my plants exploding and my 4 I found myself wisping into team fights, blowing celestial form, and healing for around 20k AOE every 10 seconds. If I Ult while in celestial form it binds me to my allies, making all heals i receive effect them as well….resulting in me healing about 40k AOE every 10 seconds on each target. If I’m in a 5v5 teamfight that’s 200k healing/10 seconds……….wow!

I love the class, love the changes, and love the skills….I really do think it’s just a number tweak that’s needed.

P.S. No….we dont’s give Boons….but there’s already a class for that….Guardian. Why get something that another class already has when you can get something brand new?

3. Dare Devil! (Who needs to fight when I can run? :P)

Finally, my main on my team…..Thief!

Now, I have to start by saying: OMG WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT FROM LAST BWE.

They cleaned up our dodges, fixed some animation, and changed around our Traits a bit.

Now, with that out of the way, Thief has been made into what I knew it was going to be made into 4 months ago….a runner.

If you look at my post history about 3 weeks ago I said “If ANet want’s thiefs to be a non combative class that’s whole point is to sneak around and take points really fast, then they need to give us the ability to specialize in that”…..and….they did!

DareDevil will not win you a fight……at all! DareDevil going up against a Reaper, Scrapper, Zerker….ect…will get flattened into a Thief Pancake. Daredevil provides us very little in the way of actual combat. What we have now is pretty much the damage we have in DareDevil. What DareDevil DOES excel in is making us BY FAR the fastest moving cappers on the map…..and oh man does it do that well.

With the ability to have 3 dodges that have 150% dodge range, removes movement impairing conditions, AND gives 10 Seconds of swiftness, paired with SB #5 and Shadow Step…I was FLYING around the map. I actually spent a good 5 games in a row NOT FIGHTING! I would go to a point, decap it from the enemy really quick, and if no one was in sight I would take it….if I saw someone coming….I would run…and HOLY COW can we run! I can make it from Point A to Point C on FoeF in about 8 Seconds….so I did….and would decap that point….oh here comes someone else….fly back to A and decap that point…..they have done what I said they needed to. They have made us weaker in Combat than the other classes, but we now excel even further at what our role already was.

Now….alot of people are mad about this. They want thief to be tons of damage and super combative like Rogues in WoW or Scouts in Everquest. But honestly….I really like the changes here in GW2. If you want to be a heavy damage dealer, there are plenty of classes for that now. Scrapper, Reaper, Zerker….DD has unrivaled mobility….giving it something that thief hasn’t had in a long time…..a Trump Card.

Balance Review: I’m like the flash…..just….with fur and a tail >.>

Now as much as I like the changes, and love the mobility, some of the complaints are valid. Thief is very VERY weak in combat compared to the other Elites. I think Distracting Daggers needs to have a Que/Cast of it’s own…making it so I can cast them even while in another animation. I also feel like certain existing skills need to be adjusted. Namely Signet of Agility needs to give 150 Endurance, not 100. And some of the heals needs to be fixed: Hide in Shadows needs to be a .5 second cast, Withdraw needs to have its healing upped a bit, and our new heal needs something…..more. It just felt like it took WAY too long to cast and was usually interrupted.

Staff: A big improvement from last BW…but #5 needs evasion frames. No matter how much I tried to build around staff and make it work it just couldn’t compare to the utility of D/P and D/D or the damage of P/P. I would try and 5 into a fight just to be blown up while gracefully flying through the air just to flop on the ground dead instead of slamming the ground with an attack.

Final thoughts: I think all three of these classes I play are getting stuff they need. Some may be stronger than others….some people may not like that they got heals, or their elite spec is weaker in combat…or they got a GreatSw-….actually….I don’t think there are any Reapers complaining :P. But in the end, I think they are adding lots of new aspects to the game that are going to make PvP and PvE feel fresh. With a few more tweaks, mainly in numbers, I think everything is looking great!

What are your guys’ thoughts?

Needed fixes:

Quick and easy:

-Signet of Agility needs to refill all 150 endurance, not 100.

-Evasive empowerment needs to last longer, somewhere around 4-6 seconds.

Full Changes:

-Distracting Daggers need to have an instant cast on its own timer once it’s prepared. This skill imo is the flagship of the DD, even more so than our dodges. It lets us interrupt anything that an ememy is doing. A Charge, channel, stomp….it really lets us control the flow of battle…which is something that Thief has lacked for some time. The problem with it right now it that it shares a timer with the rest of our moves AND has a quick animation. This means if I am mid HS Strike, or Mid Unload, or Mid Bound…ect, and see my enemy channeling their heal, I try to throw my dagger, but I can’t….I have to sit there and wait until I’m done, then sit there for the quick throwing animation….THEN it flys to them. By that time they are done channeling whatever they were doing and my interrupt just turned into nothing more than 300 damage…….

No matter what I am doing, if those daggers are prepared and on my wrist, and I hit the button, it should shoot at them. They also needs less of a cd between when I can throw them.

All in all…a big upgrade from last time…..still underwhelming when compared to my Necro and my Ranger….but better.

Just a request:

Anyone else feel that Evasive Empowerment needs a longer duration? Even if it’s just a second increase, at least that gives us enough time to get our skills off.

If you are in the Shadow arts tree SR ends up giving you 15 seconds of stealth after 5 pulses.

If you aren’t each pulse gives you 2 seconds of stealth instead of 3….resulting in 10 seconds.

I respect all of your opinions. These are just mine from what I see everyday while playing.

You guys should write out a list too. I like seeing other people’s opinions :P

I don’t really run anything special.

D/W or D/D with Staff

Signets with Spec armor and Plague.

Celestial Ammy. Runes and Sigils are your pref…

It’s not the build…it’s the Necro’s ability to dish our massive damage while sustaining itself. If you haven’t played a Necro yet give it a try. Alot of fun.

I did say I main a Thief for my team…..

For example though. My last 10 games…of which I am in que right now while writing this, are on my Necro.

Until my team gets on it’s all I play is my Necro. I realize this list is my opinion, and not law. I’m writing it as what I’ve seen, I even said that at the top.

Any last game I fought a 4v1 on Wolf, and was able to kill 2 of them before they could stomp me. Sorry, but I can’t do that on any of my other characters. As long as I can 2v1, 3v1, and 4v1 and walk out of it will kills and/or alive on my Necro, they will be Tier S in my opnion :P

Hey guys,

With the current reworks, as well as finally seeing all of the elite’s coming in the expansion, I think it’s time for a more up to date Tier list.

Note: These are from what I see every day. As a PvP’r who plays generally around 20-50 games a day, and plays all classes except Engineer and Warrior, but am in constant play with Engi/War teammates.

Tier S (Holy Moly! Unbeatable 1v1):

Necromancer: Now before everyone starts going insane. Let’s look at their steady flow of buffs. They have been continually buffed over the last several balance patches, and are receiving the Reaper….arguably the strongest Elite spec in the game. These changes have made them monsters in SPvP. With the bunker capability only rivaled by a Guard, DPS that auto targets for AOE damage, and possibly the greatest sustain in game, they are not the kitten class they used to be. I have personally won multiple 3v1’s on my Necro, even more 2v1’s, and when it comes to 1v1…..I don’t think I’ve ever lost one in the last 3 months. Let me rephrase that, we have become a class that CANNOT be killed 1v1 unless Skype minimizes me out of my game lol. Our current state along with the Reaper coming…..they deserve to be up here.

Tier A (Has some aspect that seem a little to strong, but pretty balanced):

Guardian: Arguably the best bunker in the game, the last few patches have not only secured this role, but given them in many cases more burst than I put out on my hunter or thief……just….with burn >.>. Guardian are receiving DH as their elite spec….and although it’s a bit underwhelming when compared to the others, it does, in my opinion, secure them as the best bunker class in the game by giving them traps. The main reason they are up here is that I can apply so much burn so fast that I am downing 12k health targets in under a second…..that’s faster than my DPS classes, and I have the bunker capability of…well….a guard. I think their role is not evolving quite as much as other….but they are just becoming even better at what they already do well.

Ele: If this had been written 2 days ago, they would be up there with Necro’s….but having played a bunch of my Ele the last two days, they are still very strong….but not 3v1 strong anymore. We kept all of our sustain and escapes, while having our DPS beat down a little, mainly, our burning. Ele’s elite is giving them access to a few more support options, while giving them supercharged stances, allowing them to unleash large AOE affects. I think Ele is in a good place right now….maybe a little strong….but its a good step from where it was last week.

Mesmer: I know….Mesmer and Ele have been at the far end of the beating stick these last 3 months with everyone hating them. But truthfully, Mesmers are still really strong. Yes…we cant stealth around the map for 2 minutes at a time anymore. But really, we still have all of our damage. PU took a hit, but still remains strong, and still allows us to dish out tons of burst, with the ability to escape when needed. However, as a side note to both Mesmer and Thiefs, with all of the reveal coming out in the expansion, I feel that stealth itself will be less useful…..

Tier B (This is the balanced Tier):

Warrior: Lets make something clear….if you’re new to the game, don’t know what projections to looks for, or don’t know when to dodge what, Warriors are Tier SSS for you :P. Warriors still stand out at some of the most brutal damage in the game. If you don’t dodge at the right time they will punish you for it….and I mean you’re dead punish. They have tons of mobility, tons of damage, tons of control, and tons of escape/sustain……well that makes them sound pretty SSS right? Warriors are strong as heck, yes, but their moves are also all very predictable, and have projections. This means well timed dodges and experienced players who know those projections are able to handle them much more successfully. Like I said, I don’t have a Warrior, but from the looks of it and from what my War teammate tells me, the Zerker Elite is very strong, giving him access to plenty of new damage. So it seems that Warrior is still in a very good place.

Engineer:

Engineer is truthfully on the fence of Tier B and A….but it’s not their fault. Engineer’s are great bunkers, and provide TONS of utility to any team. Their elite spec, “The Scrapper”, is also looking like it’s going to be pretty mean. What put’s them on the fence of being Tier A is their ability to apply lots of Burn. Like I said before, this is not due to Engineer….this is due to how strong Burn is right now. All in all I think Engineer’s are a pretty balanced class, they have lots of bunker potential along with the ability to dish out really mean damage…..especially those bombs 0.0….

Tier C (Needs some work, but has potential):

Ranger:

My ranger was my first character ever back at launch and thus I have tons of playtime on her. Rangers received a little bit of love just two days ago, but quickly had it revoked. Now….lets be honest fellow rangers….HaO was insane…it needed it. However, I feel like they are moving us up in the world. To be honest, the only think that made me separate Ranger from Thief in the Tier list was the recent show of their elite spec, “Druid”. This form looks INSANE. Yes, some of the community is complaining that they don’t apply boons and they JUST heal…….JUST!!! I’m not sure what stream the rest of you were watching, but the Druid was healing on a 0 second CD for 2k AOE, a 6 second CD for 4k AOE, along with the plant that exploded for 3k AOE healing and Condi removal……this is adding up to thousands of life on one person healed every few seconds…and potentially hundreds of thousand of life every transformation…..that’s game changing right there. I for one am very excited to be playing my ranger at HoT launch and think they will likely be around Tier A just for their healing capability come post launch.

Tier D (Needs an overhaul/Is this still a class?)

Thief: As said before fellow Rangers, your current state is right down here with us, but your elite puts you over the top. On the other foot we have Thief…..our specialization is…..we can….dodge once more >.>….yay? Thief has been continually nerfed into a state of almost uselessness. They are currently not the best at….well….anything except taking a dirt nap…..OK that isn’t true….we do one thing better than other, but lets take a look at that.

Thief currently is not the best stealth class, which was taken over by Mesmer, is not the best at sustain/survival, is not the best bunker, not the best Burst, not the best sustained DPS, not the best 1v1, not the best group fighter…..and to top it all off, our class mechanic is stealth…..a mechanic that half the other classes get on top of their special class mechanics. The current patch buffed our Pistol damage….but this doesn’t help us in any way in PvP, and is strictly a PvE buff. Anyone with a dodge (All classes), a knockdown (Half the classes), a stun/daze (All classes), a reflect (Half the classes), a knock back (Half the classes)…you get the picture. There are 3 seconds of unload to either dodge or interrupt…once that’s done, P/P thief has no mobility, escape, or stealth entry. The only time you should ever lose to a P/P thief in PvP is if you’re 80% of the way through another fight and don’t have any control/dodges up atm. It’s gotten so bad that the Pro’s have openly said that if any other class ever achieves the mobility of thief, they will drop their thief’s in a heartbeat….which brings us to our one little thing we do excel at….running!

More specifically mobility in general. We can get around the map fast…and I mean FAST with Short bow and Shadow step. This has made us key in decapping points. However, they have nerfed us to the point that we can’t actually 1v1 anyone….and with DD as our specialization….which is pretty pathetic compared to others, I feel as though Thief will become even more pathetic in combat scenarios.

The way I feel is if Anet wants Thief to be super mobile sneaky back cappers, then they need to focus our class around movement, and not fighting. We need to be given things that increase our movement speed. Our new elite skill should be a signet something along the lines of “Passive: Combat does not slow your movement speed. Active: Gain super speed for 6 seconds”. The 25% movement speed from our signet should be somewhere in our spec. If they want us to be non combative back cappers, then they need to make sure we excel at that much like Guards do at bunkering. Not making us just a tiny bit better than Ele’s to the point where one more blink skill and thief’s would officially be deleted from the game and no one would notice lol.

In conclusion: Everything is going to change with the expansion. I think Necro’s will move up even higher to an SS Tier, and I think Thief’s will fall even lower to an F Tier….but we will all have to wait and see.

Hope this helped some new players choose their classes, and maybe helped dev’s see some of the issues in game in it’s current state!

See you in game!

P.S. It should be noted that I main a Thief in PvP. However, I hold no biased opinions since I play almost all of the classes. The only reason I main Thief is for the back capping for my team since that’s my role.

What I mean by this is that it needs to break channels that are on us, and keep channels from being locked onto us.

Ive SR myself and walked around the map, gotten close to a Necro that I haven’t even engaged and am trying to sneak by him. And the game auto targets me for him and starts leeching health from me…..he doesn’t even know I’m there……
This leads to him now knowing where I am, and just following me to the point, killing me without being able to see me…..makes sense….

Even worse is stuff like ranger. They rapid fire, Vanishing powder into stealth…..he gets all 12 shots off somehow at a target he can’t see…..how the hell are you shooting arrows at an invisible target….is tremor sense a Ranger passive? :p

Just something I think needs to be changed. It’s especially annoying against Necros…they seem to have multiple moves, including their downed life leech, that just auto lock onto us and kill us even though they cant see us…..real dumb.

Hey guys.

So how’s everyone enjoying the new balance patch?

Just seeing if anyone is still finding burn insane?

I will admit, It’s somewhat manageable on Ele’s now, although they still have insane mobility and sustain, keeping them just as dangerous. At least I don’t insta die to them quite as much.

I hate to bring it up….but Ele’s aren’t the only ones with “Burn”….and really, “Burn” is the problem. I’m still running into Engi’s (To a lesser extent) and Guards (To a greater) who are applying so many stacks of burn so fast that I can’t get my 1 second cast of “Hide in Shadows” off to cleanse them. The fight start, I see the burns come out, instantly hit my heal to not only cleanse the condi’s but stealth for initiation, and am downed before that 1 second cast can finish.

Now…..I’ve already said in the past that “Hide in Shadows” should be a .5 second cast….but that’s really beside the point. Burn is the new burst meta on certain classes, more so than zerkers lol.

Any plans to address this in the big expansion patch?

ozzy.8059:

so you think a class that single handedly makes all other zerkers non viable is weak?

A class that is left with the lowest life total, no escapes, and is forced to play without a single mistake due to this IS weak when compared to all the other classes that have “Oh crap” buttons that either make them invulnerable, or give them a second life bar.

If thief did the highest damage in the game by leaps and bounds, it would be acceptable. But Backstab in full zerkers, completely specced for Backstab, on a full zerker target….so the best scenario possible basically, hits for about 7600-8100:

1. This doesn’t 1 shot anybody, even other thief’s and we are the lowest life total class in the game.

2. I’ve been hit for 12k+ by classes such as Mesmer, while they REMAIN in stealth. This isn’t a shot at mesmers, it’s just an example that a class can remain in stealth and out damage us while providing to risk to themselves. Yet we are forced to come out of stealth, be kept out of stealth by revealed, with the lowest life total in the game, and with no “Oh Crap” invuln button that every other class gets, just to fight normally. Meaning we have to do this EVERY SINGLE fight.

Honestly, I respect your opinions, but I play several classes, and I’m sure if you do the same you’ll agree that thief is the least forgiving, squishiest, and least unique class in the game with the least tech at their disposal.

1. What I mean by this is our tech is stealth…but half the other classes get this as well. Thief doesn’t get rage, or clones, or a second life bar, or tons of buff distribution, or kits and turrets, or a pet, or stances (rev). So right of the bat, whats special about us…..isn’t that special

2. All the other classes have means of survival……..not thief. What I mean by this is that Several classes have the invincibility button. The ones that don’t have mechanics that are nearly just as good, like block all incoming attacks, dodge all incoming attacks, or just plain get an extra life bar to eat those extra attacks. Thief has stealth, but plenty of other people have this as well, on top of that, we still take damage in stealth…this combined with thief being nerfed to have the lowest health pool, makes us easily the squishiest class.

3. This squishyness combined with the lowest health pool, along with our main damage being melee range, makes us the least forgiving. I mean when I play my Ele, or my War, if I make a mistake and attack into an invuln target, I can just mist form away, or invuln to wait them out. If I make this mistake on a thief I am instantly dead. I cannot restealth for 4 seconds…and since I have the lowest health pool, that’s more than enough time to kill me. Even if I make it into stealth I can be burst so low that I die plenty of times even once in stealth. The only scenario in which a class should have to continually put themselves in this kind of danger with EVERY engagement is if “Backstab” read: “Strike and opponent from behind, dealing 100% of their max health in damage”. Sounds ridiculous right? Of course….but the way back stab reads now is: Deals 2,300 damage, if you don’t down them in 4 seconds or less, you lose 100% of your max health…the problem with this is that thief is in no way anywhere near the highest burst class. Burn guards, Mes, Ele, they all outburst us….so why do we have to risk so much for our burst when it pales in comparison to others?

Final- Thief has no special mechanic. And in the end, stealth is not a viable excuse for the PvP in this game. What I mean is that ALL the maps with the exception of one are about holding down points, or pushing down lanes. Stealth only provides the opportunity to run away. So yes, we may get to run away…but this means you’ve taken the points, or you’ve pushed us away from your gate. This means thief will NEVER be a viable class in this games PvP EXCEPT in courtyard, where escaping with your life is actually preserving your score.

Now I know that most all of the pro teams run 1 thief in their teams for rotation. But just look at that….the thief is run not for their stealth, not for their damage, not for their team tech….they are run 1 of for their 5 skill on their OFF-HAND. What this means is the only thing we do better than another class is blink around….which is great and all….better than not being good at anything I guess. But in the end, this is Player vs Players, not Track Running simulator. We want to contribute more to our team than just running around, praying we don’t run into any enemies because in an equal skill scenario, thief cant’ 1v1 any other class.

With all of the elite specs shown, it seems thief is just sinking deeper into the hole, and once again, lack any tech. Ele’s charge into super charged, Rangers have a celestial form, Engi has robots, War has Zerker form/fire, Necro has Reaper form, Guard got traps (Bunker even harder), thief got….and extra dodge…..once again, EVERYONE can dodge….so we get 1 more dodge than everyone else, kinda like we get a little more stealth than everyone……

Every other class gets all these unique things about them, and thief is continuously made to be less and less effective in all aspects of PvP AND PvE.

Thief really needs to be redone.

Cloaked in shadows is supposed to do and AOE blind every time Stealth is applied to us.

It does not work with Shadows Refuge. None of the pulses apply AOE blind even though Shadows Refuge should technically apply 5 pulses of AOE blind.

No……I really don’t know what more to say.

Warrior is one of the most forgiving classes in the game to mistakes. It is also not a hard class to play, not the easiest, but nowhere near the hardest.

If you truely think Warrior is the worst class in PvP then you need to do 1 of 2 things:

1. Try a different class. Warrior may not be your play style so you may be working against what you are good at.

2. Try a different game. GW2 is easy to pick up and play, but hard to play well. It requires you to learn all the move sets of every class for every comp, and requires you to further know their projections so that you can respond accordingly with dodges, stun breaks, and counter attacks. Requiring you to learn when to go in, and when to wait. This is hard for a lot of people, especially when they come from other MMO’s that are more or less hammer 3 buttons and blow people up before they blow me up/ face eat everything because my healer can heal for my whole life bar with one spell.

To sum it up, most other MMO’s are like watching two boxers stand still, never dodge, block, or move, and just pummel each other in the face until one falls. GW2 is like watching two boxers actually fight, dodge, duck, block, assault, back off…ect.

P.S. This is not me trolling you. I’ve legitimately run into players who just cant cut the PvP in this game. Or at least aren’t willing to put the needed time in to learn it. The PvP is not for everyone.

Nothing, staff is terrible

Hey guys!

I main a thief in PvP…..I’m sure any of you who have seen my posts know this…so I just want to make sure that’s known.

I’ve noticed in the current state of the game that thief’s are becoming a rarer sight every day….to the point where I decided to keep track of it for the last 100 games of SPvP.

100 games = 1,000 players total. I myself am in all 100 of these games, resulting in a skewed result, so I will be removing all 100 of my occurrences, leaving the new total as 900.

Not so much to my surprise, there were only thief’s present in 17 of these 100 games…with only 1 of them have 2 thief’s not counting myself. This adds up to 18 thiefs out of a potential 900.

18/900 is 2%………as low as that sounds…..it honestly seems right.

I hardly ever see other thief’s on my team…or the enemy team.

Is thief so UP and nerfed that no one is playing them anymore?