Guild Wars 2

I didnt realise what ascended gear did till i read this thread. So what something like 20% increase damage. That is huge. And what i have to grind for ages to get this gear? kitten that. So glad i never bothered with wvw.

Hmm. hang on a sec. Is this kitten also available in sPvP or tPvP !!??

sweet, i like the timer and like it even better at 15 sec

I think the static timer is a great change. If you die now it matters, previously if you timed it right you were straight back into the fight, which was dumb. 20s is very long though, maybe reduce it a little. Still, better than the old system.

If you dodge the initial attack it wont track you will it? Just if you’re already in the channelled ability, like unload, it continutes to hit you? Allowing stealth to break a channel half way through would be too good, like another dodge, amirite?

I think stealth is fine. It’s generally very short, and AoE, knockdown/back, channeled abilities negate much of it. Builds with no AoE may tend to suffer, but lack of AoE is something to be taken into account with your build, just like condition removal, stun breaker, etc.

Pistolwhip is fine with haste, stun + dmg = great. For the longest time i resisted using haste, figuring it would be nerfed/removed from game, etc… but it appears the devs want us to use it for burst.

I play thief (admittedly bow and sword/pistol) and imo the bs burst combo is still a bit high. The hard bit is avoiding the opening Cnd (precast) steal mug combo. This causes about I think 6-10K (glass – tank). After that targets tend to get their stunbreaker off and the fight actually begins. Problem is 10K on another glass is pretty much game winner. The 15 Nov patch nerfed CnD by 33% – maybe 600 – 2K? Im not sure. For better or worse I predict next patch (whenever it is) may see Mug dmg reduced same. I would definitely have preferred a patch giving steal a .5 sec cast time, which would have stopped the precast Cnd and alot of QQ. Yes I know there is a signet which ports thieves, they could use that instead, but that has the opportunity cost of taking up a utility slot – and it does not come with steal-mug dmg. And the proper shadowstep util too, but that would not be easy to land with a moving target. Anyhoo, things are slightly better since patch. hmm actually reading back on this perhaps the correct fix is reduce mug dmg by say 33% ?

IMO the latest patch has moved the game closer to balance – small nerf to bunkers, small nerf to burst. 5v5 hotjoin awesome. Keep it up anet.

Havnet played this map too much yet, but it is great fun for me in 5v5 hotjoin. I can play the point caps easy enough, still figuring out the buffs part, and havent tried underwater yet. But its great fun. more please!!

yep thief 5 underwater is way OP

Thumbs up for patch from me. Feels better balanced to me. I play a thief with shortbow and sword/pistol mostly. Very happy to see 5v5 hotjoin.

Really glad to see 5v5 hotjoin, seems to work most of the time to me. Which is a lot better than 8v8, which NEVER works. No-one plays 8v8 objectives. it’s just a zerg. At least 5v5 (or 5v4 whatever), you get some proper games going (all in good fun of course – it is hotjoin after all)

Agree good change on mesmer summons, gives target more of a fighting chance

both these bugs are fixed in the latest patch, arent they? svanir ice rune is fixed, and so is the mace block bug apparently. i havent tested them

hmm glad to hear confirmation on nerf to ele and guard bunkers. Might allow some more viable builds in opposition. Happy CnD got a nerf for thieves, not sure if it is enough, but gotta help a bit? Keen to play again 2nite see how it feels.

Very glad to see 5v5 hotjoin !

Cheers to anet for this fix (assuming it works, havent played yet). And PS thanks for 5v5 hotjoin woooo!

I think anet was concerned about spamming CB in PvP in melee range. That did a lot of dmg. 15% isnt really much of a nerf but is it? A toning down, yeah, but not by much (compare dancing dagger…. 50% dkitten!?)

I can understand no change to mug dmg. Builds like shortbow main use it as their burst. If you reduce mug dmg you pigeon hole thieves even further into BS burst builds or condition builds. There is one great thing about this patch though – 5v5 hotjoin yay!!!

33% damage reduction on CnD… ahhh don’t know if that will change the current burst problem much? Dancing dagger wow 50% down. Mug dmg unchanged. Interesting blinding powder got 40s cooldown, now maybe it can compete with SR. I am surprised no real buff to pistols from what i can tell? Otherwise i suppose nothing too drastic here. CnD steal precast still possible. hmm. guess this is supposed to be quick 3s down on glass cannon game. I reserve judgment until playing 2nite and see how these changes interact with other class changes in PvP (looks like guard healing nerfed, not sure about water ele)

I consider myself a hardcore casual, play most nights but single, i have other commitments and there is no chance of playing in an organised team. There is basically no-where for me to really play PvP. Free tournis me and my PUG get farmed by premades. Paid tournis – ha, as if! 8v8 hotjoin zerg – no thanks, garbage, 80% there is just running in circles capping, decapping, yay! So I join small 6-7 person hotjoin games. Fun enough, but still not really playing the objectives, more a mix of objectives/1v1 or 2v2 duels. Fun enough, but my interest is definitely at its lowest. I continue to pray for hotjoin 5v5 to save us casuals. If it doesnt come soon i’ll be off to CoD or some other new game … along with the many other deserters. Which would be a great shame. Still i suppose $60 for 2 months of fun game is not bad. It’s just that… it could have gone on much longer!

very much hoping this bug will be fixed in the patch

i play a lot already so i wont play more. But i will certainly be playing less if patch goes in the wrong direction (primarily want fix to burst and bunker issues!)

Im glad no dedicated healers. But GW2 at the moment is too high burst and too high bunker. IMO need to nerf bunker a little bit and stretch out burst longer. Then we’ll see the PvP anet intended. Hopeful 15 Nov patch will move closer to this.

I went Norn thief (and made him small as possible – he is only about a head taller than most humans) because…. Norn Beard Domination!

I play shortbow main and my burst is mug, typically in the 2.5 – 5K range depending on target (I also try to combo it with pistol whip, but… well PW is pretty easy to avoid). I would hate to see that go completely, but perhaps a toning down is appropriate, i dunno – on a 45s CD the dmg seems reasonable to me?

Re OP and (2) I fully agree. Steal just needs a .5 sec cast time and it will avoid the CnD precast which gives the 7-10K combo and stealth which is where the QQ really comes from. If targets got a second to dodge the CnD, which they would if you couldnt pre-cast it, targets get a meaningful chance to fight back and the QQ will disappear. Yes, target will still eat say 2 – 4K mug, but that is hardly gamebreaking on 45s CD.

Note if steal is fixed in this way the signet that allows a shadowstep will still allow the CnD precast combo. It is just that backstab burst builds will have to lose something else from their build in order to incorporate it.

Also if they are going to fix steal in this way, they might consider fixing similar issues in other classes – eg lightning flash instant cast and churning earth or whatever it is for elementalist (although that is quite different in that CE has a long cast time, easy to see it coming and time your dodge).

In any event i am very interested to see what changes are coming on Nov 15. The general smt about toning down burst across the game generally (not just thieves) is definitely a move in the right direction, imo. 3 sec fights are for FPS, not MMOs.

My #1 tip is record your 1v1s with bandicam or some other free recording software. Then watch it back.. which you can do in slow motion, with pause, etc. You will learn heaps. Good luck.

5v5 hotjoin. that is all.

What they need is 5v5 hotjoin instead of (or supplementary to) 8v8 hotjoin. that would keep a lot more casuals playing longer. If this doesnt appear i predict GW2 dead by xmas.

As a “hardcore casual” player I can say if we dont get 5v5 hotjoin by 15 Nov (to replace or supplement 8v8 hotjoin), I will be saying bye bye to this game and moving onto one of the new xmas games. Which will be very sad because this was a great game… until it got bogged down in 8v8 zerg, bunker builds and thief instagib.

So another night in the mists, by 9.30 – 10.30pm Aussie time there is no-one there and about 8 servers going. Same last night, and night before that. I really hope PvP sees some love with the Nov 15 patch or i fear GW2 is finished.

I quite like the game, and been playing a lot since BWE 1… But it’s getting a bit boring, still lots of bugs, thief burst backstab issue, bunker issue, etc.

The xmas games are coming out…. if these things arent fixed ASAP i suspect many will be moving onto the next game. Alas.

Healing 10K a sec sounds pretty overpowered to me. Cant engi also trip you over or blow you back with a bomb too, while this is going on? (depending on luck of initial CD on downstate abilities, i suppose). Maybe this elixir will see a tweak

For my money there are 2 main tweaks to PvP that will fix 90% of the QQ:
1. give steal a short casting time (to prevent CnD precast)
2. nerf bunker builds enough to make them killable 1v1 (albeit after a long time)

If these 2 balance issues get fixed in the 15 Nov patch i think many folks will be a lot happier.

fun song appreciate it!

I’m with Thrym. I’m a casual who really just wants 5v5 hotjoin – quick objective based games with randoms. 8v8 is horrible and tourni’s = premade stomp PUGs. At the mo i am alternating between PvE levelling and choosing low number (4-8) PvP hotjoin games (and switching out after a few games when the numbers get too high again)… and this is still far far from ideal, but at least no zerg. If Anet can keep the PvP casuals going they might get their esport. If not…

I agree that testing builds in 8v8 is deceptive. The herd changes things and you dont get much of the 1v1 which comes up far more often in 5v5.

steal just needs a 1/2 cast time and (I think?) that will stop the CnD-steal precast and everyone can be happy – targets get a little more time to CC or do something to avoid the big burst. as i understand it most QQ is because you never see it coming. give a bit of panic button time and problem solved.

I would suggest the following buffs:
1. fix flanking strike pathing to make it reliable
2. body shot needs to do more
3. PP in general needs to be better
4. shortbow i think could actually take a nerf on area damage. at the same time i would suggest one power being buffed against single targets or introduce a bit of burst to the weaponset.
5. i actually think a lot of QQ would be avoided by giving steal a 1/2 sec cast time (prevent CnD-steal precast insta whoop).

Give steal a 1/2 sec cast time. Wont that stop the Cnd-steal/mug pre-cast combo? simple (or is this the same thing as an “aftercast”?). I think that’s all the balance they need

Hotjoin 5v5 is what we need as casuals, i reckon. 8v8 way too zergy and folks simply glory farming

Dear god yes please give us 5v5 hotjoin. 8v8 is fine for about a month but then it seems way too zergy, players going after glory rather than objectives, it gets dumb. Anet please give us casuals a 5v5 hotjoin soon. Free tourni’s are no good to us – PUGs dont get much of a run, we mostly get done by pre-mades farming tickets for paid tourni’s. If this doesnt change soon i predict a large number of casuals leaving this game. dont make us leave.. nooooooooo. Help us help you!

Aga.8641:

Portal is used for a whole bunch of stuff. Mesmers will usually go for your base points then roam to mid with portal, then go back to stop back capping as you said. But it’s also used to quickly move multiple players between points to burst down the bunker as quickly as possible. Mesmers can take down the gate on foefire, then set up portal from mid to the lord, then get the whole team tp’ed for a 2-3sec lord kill. Ofc portal mesmer on your treb in khylo is well known and will likely get nerfed soon.

Mesmers are more then likely the weakest PvE profession, but in PvP it’s a completely different story. They can survive extremely well with stealths and all kinds of diversion tactics and invulnerability skills. With any class, you will need to put time in to be able to get the bets out of it.

If portal can take you from mid to lord, jesus that is way OP. That needs fixing. I didnt realise the range it has.

I dont mind the idea of reducing raw spike burst from a game wide balance perspective. I dont think the devs ever wanted 3 sec deaths even with glass cannon on glass cannon, and personally i would prefer minimum 5-10 sec 1v1 battles. But what i would hope is that if they nerf thief burst, they also nerf other classes burst in a similar vein. Thief is definitely not the only deadly burst combo maker out there: mesmer can do it, engi, ele and warrior can too (admittedly warrior tends to be easier to avoid). Here’s hoping the change is for the better (overall) !

I think using instant casts to effectively negate long casting times is an exploit. It is the long casting time which is supposed to balance the skill’s effect. How is it fair to shortcut that with an instant cast? I suppose the instant cast will be on a longer CD generally, and take up a utility slot… but it feels like an exploit to me.

PS – dont get me wrong, i do this, but i think the game would be better without it being an option.

If anything i think thief dual pistols needs a buff.

Hello Anet, can we please get a 5v5 option for sPvP hotjoin.

8v8 started out awesome but now after 2 months feels too crowded and zergy/folks not playing the objectives. I am what i would call a “hardcore casual” player – i play most nights for an hour or two (since BWE1), but am not interested in proper tPvP premade team play.

As a result i am mostly stuck with 8v8 or tPvP PUGs… which is fun enough …. buuuuut…. straight up 5v5 hotjoin is a what i really want – and would help keep players like me interested.

Cheers!

PS – i gangnam style emote would also be great

yeah on reflection i dont think this will really help much in toning down the BS burst build. In fact, against more experienced players who tended to avoid the BS with stunbreaker/port etc, it is worse: the CnD and Steal (which are the hard part to avoid) are now 15% higher!! So…. er…. yeah… I would have preferred changing steal to non-instant cast. Ah well.

Glad to see the guard block bug fixed. Alas they have buffed the water ele bunker healer build. Oh dear. Good to see slight tone down of BS burst thief build (er, sort of). Not sure about the rest.

There will be a nerf to the backstab burst combo I have no doubt. It is just a matter of how they will go about implementing a nerf… change steal from instant cast, change 150% signet, change might stacks trait, i dont know, but seems to me a change is inevitable. I think most folks are against the whole quickness of the burst, if it could be drawn out more, giving targets more chance to react, the community would be much more accepting.

Yes please nerf these guard bunker builds. it is stupid. the amount of blocks, heals , etc is … just too much. you should be able to 1v1 these guys, it should just take a long time, and some luck. And 2v1 should definitely beat them – and without taking 30 secs. All I see in tPvP now is 2 guard builds over an over. hohum.