Guild Wars 2

Arrrr… the mighty SOR looks to have loss a few teeth without da orbs blowin’ a tail wind in yer sails.

/stand

/applaud

I’ve been playing MMOs for 15 years now.

ANET has the best and most responsive dev team of any MMO that I’ve ever played.

I can’t tell you how much this move is appreciated, not just because of the improvement to gameplay, but because you have ONCE AGAIN demonstrated that you listen to your player base and make the necessary adjustments as required.

I took grenades off my underwater bar, and also prefer speargun with elixir B and elixir u. I have 10% extra damage from trait for both rifle/speargun and I’ve found that it yields much better results than grenades now do.

@Lathalshal

Shadowbane certainly was th’ pinnacle. Me olden guild th’ Dreadlords spawn camped th’ entrance to a new expansion land fer th’ first a pair weeks after it was released, effectively preventin’ th’ majority ‘o th’ entire server from experiencin’ new content.

Spawn campin’ here be wee more than an annoyance, ‘n somethin’ to chuckle at when ye spy people wastin’ gold on siege equipment.

Th’a Shipwrecked Pirates had some jolly good fights ‘tis week, ’n put more than our fair share at th’ bottom ‘o th’ ocean. Smooth sailin’ to ye.

@Duv.1603

We pushed ye from th’ spawn point without breakin’ a sweat. ye be ashamed ‘o how dull ye sword be. Go back to hidin’ under yer mother’s dress ye fancy lad lubber.

/spit

To th’ SoR invaders on EBG, I have to hoot and hollar that ye have set up siege to camp th’ TC spawn point.

I’m sorry!!! I forgot that equipping tool kit results in a side helping of awesomesauce!

I take it back!!

All of it!!!

Still think it needs a damage buff… and even still, I will never use it… ever.

Now… if it was rainbow colored we’d have something.

Our kits, other than grenades and med kit, really do need some love.

I rolled the class for the flamethrower for pvp, and I find the damage to be underwhelming, that is when you are able to hit.

Turrets need a huge buff.

Bombs don’t do enough damage imo.

Tool kit… well… does anyone really even use the tool kit. I mean seriously…. who wants to run around hitting someone with a wrench. It just looks ridiculous.

Elixirs are great, and so are gadgets, but when you boil it down 1/2 of our utility skills are kinda meh.

I guess it could be worse though. Have you seen the ranger’s utility skills?

@Zonyk.5049,

I be on TC. I usually run in a small group away from th’ zerg. ‘tis entire week I have mostly encountered larger packs (~10 ) ’o FA roamin’ behind th’ keeps takin’ sentries ’n supply camps.

Granted, TC has a 3 orb bonus, but more times than not our ~5 have be able to match-up favorably wit’ FA’s ~10.

th’ moral ‘o th’ story, every ship has players ‘o varyin’ degrees ‘o pvp competence, ’n it isn’t accurate to paint broad brush strokes.

TC got our reputation fer bein’ a tough ship to sword fight not only because we don’t quit when we be at a numerical disadvantage, but because when we sword fight, we put up a jolly sword fight, ’n win more times than we lose.

I know I’m walking around with almost 28K HPs with the 3 orb bonus… I would say yeah… it makes a difference.

Nice to see Knights of Glory and Beer [KGB] again. Haven’t seen you guys since Shadowbane.

Ryan.1720:

So, with Speedy Kits keeping “perma” swiftness, can I assume that both traits become useless?

Yes.

I use 6/6 rune of the centaur + medkit and I usually have 1 minute of swiftness stacked at all times effortlessly. Hit medkit and swiftness triggers from centaur, and then drop a bottle from the kit. Easy. So easy that I dropped speedy kits as it was no longer needed.

I’m wearing the pvp reward jacket that has power toughness and vitality. Rest are the karma pieces with the same stats.

@Knyx.5926

I didn’t join TSP until after Shadowbane. I was one of the leaders of the Dreadlords.

TSP is on Tarnished Coast. Look us up if you feel like moving there.

@Stiv

Very true about name recognition. I would LOVE it if names could be seen, and it would also be nice if gear wasn’t the color of your server. The red name above is all you need to be able to tell it is not a friendly.

I would like to see more skins that can be purchased from medals. I don’t need any other progression. I just like fighting without having to worry about upgrading gear. I would be cool with a title system, however, beyond the commander icon. But if it were up to me the spvp character creation would also apply to wvw with upgrades coming from visual enhancements alone.

I would, however, like to see the Orb/undermanned bonuses removed, swapped, or changed. My server last week fought against a server with the 3 orb bonus for virtually the entire week, and now we have the bonus. Either way it kills the fun to have such a meaningful advantage/disadvantage.

What I would also like to see is every server getting their own special map. It would really distinguish each server then, and make the match-ups more interesting. You would have a home server advantage by being familiar with the terrain, and the placement of the home base etc. Make invading forces have a terrain disadvantage. It wouldn’t even be that hard to do, you could just take the already designed areas in-game and turn them into pvp zones by including keeps, towers, and supply camps.

Just one more thing for the wish list.

Haette.2701:

Automated Medical Response recharges Bandage Self, plus all five of the skills in the kit itself. I’m not sure if it works while the kit is stowed, but if you have it out you’ll get a whole extra set of bandage packs and antidote/stims.

Are you sure about this?

I read that automated medical response does NOT refresh the cool-down on the bandage-self tool-belt skill.

Can anyone confirm one way or the other?

What guild were you in in Shadowbane?

6/6 superior rune of the centaur 10 seconds of swiftness triggers on med-kit as well.

I was wondering if I was the only one seeing this. Thanks for the 2nd thread (I missed the first one).

Badwrong.3596:

I do have one message for Blackgate though: some of you people have absolutely no class. When you steamroll 2-3 people with 30+, dancing and laughing on their corpse just shows you are BAD at PVP. Anyone skilled knows such a lopsided fight is not worth bragging about. Yet I’ve seen more boasting and /emote stuff this matchup than I have ever seen since the game launched. I know some of you value sportsmanship, but a good chunk of you guys are just plain terrible. I can only assume that tons of random people transfered to ride the success of the good PVPers on Blackgate and those are the ones making you guys look bad.

+1

Th’ Shipwrecked Pirates be call’n Tarnished Coast home as well. We be known fer plunderin’ ur woman, drinkin’ ur grog, an stealin’ ur treasure. If ye run into th’ band ‘o pirates don’t be surprised if ye find yourself on th’ short end ‘o a long plank starin’ below at th’ bottomless ocean

Cap’n Arnie flies a black flag wit’ a white anchor. He does ‘tis as a reminder to his crew ’o th’ trials they faced after th’ loss ‘o th’ Salty Maid ‘n th’ shame that overwhelms a scurvy pirate who becomes shipwrecked. It continues to be worn by th’ crew to reinforce our resolve to not let th’ Salty Maid ever fall again lest they all be off below wit’ her.

Yarrrrrrrrr

Dante Dragonhand.2538:

Ive seen those numbers against glass cannons on my thief, use mini form when you see him steal, it will still hurt but not as bad. You probably wont beat a thief 1v1 tho, but atleast you can make him work for it.

That may work if you see the thief first…

But what about when you don’t?

I am in full power toughness vitality gear.

Or even better…

If your server holds all three orbs everyone on the server turns into a thief with 100% increase of damage to steal, C&D, and backstab.

Ohhh…

and perma stealth.

It really makes sense to have the team that is already overpowered have even more of an advantage when they control all 3 orbs.

The orb bonus should be changed so that when you are killed by someone with a three orb bonus your character suffers perma death.

That would make more sense.

Well…

With 2100 armor, defensive traits, 18K hps I just got hit with a 4,568 steal, 7,407 C&D, followed by a 10,759 BS.

I’m sorry, but there simply is not enough time to react. The second I got hit with the steal I tried to roll, but was dead before I could even hit the hot key.

Something really needs to be done, because 9 out of my last 10 deaths I have suffered have been exactly that combo: Steal, C&D, BS. And when I say 9 out of 10 deaths I’m serious. I’ve been keeping a log.

This has officially turned into a QQ post.

I want an iwin button too.

@DeeJay

Fantastic advice.

Thank you!

@bwillb

I often run solo in off hours when the rest of my guild isn’t playing and I run into a ton of 1v1 situations away from the zerg. The only class I’ve had a difficult time with is the thief, hence the reason for this thread.

Thank you EVERYONE. Some really fantastic information has been provided.

I’ve started running with a more balanced build equipping power/toughness/vitality gear in my equipment slots, and keeping berserker’s for trinkets.

I found that I’m able to avoid the instant kill now, but the reality is that killing a d/d thief is still extremely difficult because, well let’s be honest, a good thief can reset virtually any 1v1 fight.

In any event, thanks again.

@Stiv,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I guess I can give a power toughness build another go, but in WvW I find it to be so much less effective than an offensive spec, which obviously opens you up to one-shotting. In spvp a bunker build is much more viable, if not preferable.

In any event, thanks again.

Thank you for your response Tremain. In the situation I mentioned I engaged the thief who was in front of me in visual range. I opened first with a CC (net shot), he disappeared, and the next thing I knew I was dead. The moment his was gone from in front of me I should have dodged, turned around, and hit slick shoes, rather than panning my camera. This is very helpful, and I’ll definitely try that next time. It at least may solve the problem in situations where you see the thief first. As for situations where the thief gets the jump… I’m still at a loss.

But thank you!

Stiv, with all due respect, dropping a smoke bomb, or bursting a thief down when you are jumped from stealth and dead in an instant really isn’t much of a suggestion.

But as for your comment, I HAVE tried full defensive trait builds, with all exotic power, toughness, vitality gear and jewels. I’ve speced into inventions and alchemy, taking the major defensive traits in the process. I’ve equipped all defensive utility skills. I’ve tried pretty much everything, as I’ve been playing since BWE1.

Against a backstab D/D thief…

Not so much.

They can just stealth and rest the fight.

My current glass cannon build allows be to beat virtually every other profession and spec by outplaying them. Not so with a thief. If they touch me, I die. PERIOD.

I regularly see thieves destroy in 3-1 odds against seasoned mmo gamers. I’ve been pvping in mmos since ’99. The people I play with have also been playing at least as long. Bottom line, I know OP when I see it…

…and I’ve seen it.

And yes, engineers can do massive damage in a short period of time, but that short period is 3-5 seconds, not <1. there is time to evade, to counter, and most importantly to react.

I guess that cuts to the core of my issue: against a backstab thief, there simply is no time to react.

But thanks again for your kind response.

I also got mugged this morning:

Thief hit me with a 3,387 steal, 8,294 cloak and dagger, followed by a 13,798 backstab. Instantaneous damage. I was dead before I hit the ground.

I appreciate all of the responses. Thank you!

Although I am mostly specced offensively, I do have some defensive traits. Specifically, auto-defense bomb dispenser: drop a smoke bomb whenever you are disabled. It has a 60 second cool-down however, and may have been down when I was attacked.

I guess I simply have to come to terms with the fact that I can be one-shotted by thieves, and move on.

Thanks again!

I’m in full berserker’s… I also have a full exotic power, toughness, vitality set, which doesn’t make me any more survivable, but completely kittens my damage.

I’m a level 80 engineer specced offensively for wvw.

I got a visual on a thief.

Hit him with net shot and got off one single round from hip shot.

Next thing I know I’m dead.

He hit me with a 3,387 steal, 8,294 cloak and dagger, followed by a 13,798 backstab. It was instantaneous damage, with no way to even react, unless of course you include clicking the waypoint in your definition of react.

This isn’t a QQ post. I get it, I’m squishy.

But I’m here on your forum asking for some guidance.

How do I counter that?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Sadly, my entire guild left wv3 last night because it just isn’t playable in the current state.

Any ETA on a fix?

blurps.2340:

and rifle being more a CC than a damage tool,

I hit for 2K+ with my rifle’s hip shot alone. Add in elixir U and utility goggles and within 5 seconds my target is usually dead.

BTW, blunderbuss hits for 6K+.

I have no kits equipped.

“Lol i know right. This is part of why i dont feel like using slick shoes. Im already addicted to speedy kits!”

I use both (speedy kits + slick shoes) coupled with rune of the centaur, which allows me to stack 1+ minute of swiftness as well as give group swiftness.

Thank you VERY much for your response, and for your suggestions!

I have tried rocket boots… I love them except for the self-knock down component, which I find clunky, plus I already have overcharged from the rifle, which I use instead. That being said, If the rocket boots propelled you FORWARD and did not have the knockdown component they would be a must have.

My problem is that I’m so addicted to double speed from slick shoes that I don’t think I could live without it. I consider double speed to be a must have for wvw.

To add to this…

If you added the group buffing component engineers would be a very sought after class for any group setting be it pvp or pve.

Also, I would limit the group buffs to people that are actually in group.

Zinwrath.2049:

they would have to come up with 5 new abilitys to take the weapon kits place.

Why is that such a big deal?

I would love to see 5 sigils/signets created with passives for the utility spot, and actives for the tool belt slot. Every other class has them so it isn’t like the mechanic isn’t already in the game.

Make the passives group buffs so that the engineer can spec like a bard from other MMOs. Make them applicable only when in range.

For example,

Bombs: passive group run speed.
Elixir gun: passive group regen and/or condition removal.
Tool Kit: passive group damage reduction and/or toughness.
Flame thrower: Passive group crit/crit damage.
Grenades: Passive group power/condition damage.

Have 1 sigil/signet dedicated to each weapon kit: Keep the corresponding tool belt skill from the weapon kit that already exists, so all you are doing is adding 5 new passive enhancements. Moreover, if you want the toolbelt skill from a certain weapon kit, but not the kit itself you would still have that option. IMO, In many cases the tool-belt skill is actually better than the kit itself.

In sum, treat the “weapon kits” like they are weapons, but keep the tool belt skill from the weapon kit by adding passive group enhancements.

BTW… I’m cool with a timer for weapon swaps.

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#ccMM9cz0mrFRMmraRMxG9MGVoamsoc8070m7kIa70z7kNL70c

Straight rifle build maximizes power.

I’m in full berserker’s with ruby. Sigil is superior accuracy. Runes centaur for group run buff and extra power. I play almost exclusively in wvw.

Quickness from elixir U + 10 stacks of vulnerability and fury simply tear through your target. I’ll set up with a net shot, hit analyze/goggles/elixir U and watch my target melt. I clean up what’s left with a blunderbuss, overcharged, jump shot.

There isn’t much that can survive it if I get the jump. If I don’t I’ll lead with overcharged/net shot and then go through the rotation.

Defensively, I chose slick shoes/double speed, as I think it may be the strongest CCs in the game. I’ve also recently slotted auto-defense bomb dispenser. Otherwise I have enhance performance slotted.

What are people’s thoughts about auto-defense bomb dispenser?

My solution to kits: Allow them to be equipped like a weapon in the weapon slot, and allow us to upgrade them with sigils and runes to add stats according to our build choice.

Allow us to switch between our weapon of choice (P/P, R, P/S) and a kit of our choice with the “~” key, or to equip two separate weapon kits as weapons and have no actual “weapon” equipped at all.

This will give us access to the switch weapon sigils, as well as freeing up a utility spots allowing us to maximize utility through turrets, elixirs, or gadgets. After all, turrets, elixirs, or gadgets ARE our true “utility” abilities, not our engineer only weapons.

How great would it be to be able to build around bombs/grenades or flame thrower/elixir gun for example without having to forgo a slot for one of our true utility skills. I think it would be enough to put the engineer on more solid footing by giving us immediate access to the utility tools we need.

TLDR: Engineers should not have to sacrifice utility and stats for different weapon choices. Our weapon kits are not utility skills, they are WEAPONS and should be slotted as such.

WvW is broke. But at least they stopped speed runs in pve.

Engineer. I also have the problem from time to time.

Last night on Tarnished Coast it appeared that the queues for the borderlands were bugged again. Queue times went from a very manageable level to 3+ hours.

I do not attribute the excessive wait times to an increase in demand because at least two of the borderlands did not appear to have anywhere near full population. If anything they appeared underpopulated, and guild members were unable to get into any of the four areas.

Any response to this is very much appreciated.

Well, I guess I need to consider taking points out of tools, and reallocating them to firearms. I just really like the reduction of cooldown for the tool-belt skills, as well as for gadgets. Guess you can’t have it all.

Thanks again for all of your thoughtful responses!

@Karast.1927 I decided to apply 6 runes of speed, before I found out that the 6 piece bonus does not appear to be working. I spent a fortune on them though, so I don’t want to replace them just yet. Jems are power/prec/crit D

Thanks for the tip on rifle scope not working.

I’m in all lvl 80 exotics (power/precision/crit damage). Weapon is a lvl 80 exotic rifle (power/precision/crit damage). Sigil 5% to crit. Trinkets are level 80 but they are green atm. I only have 10 points into firearms for 100 precision. With all that my crit with rifle in hand is 37%. Standing still with trait 47%, 67% with fury up.

My question is, what are other engineers’ crit %s?

Is mine unusually low?

I ask because I’m seeing other people (warriors) with 65% base crit.

Thanks in advance for your kind responses.