Guild Wars 2

They nerfed Eles, actually.

Warriors might be who you can be angry at.

Is it 100% crit while traited, or was it just previously unaffected if you used it from stealth?

I can’t log in yet, and have seen cases argued both ways on other forums.

I find it funny how dated the Human dance emote is already.

When I was a Ret Paladin in Burning Crusade, people would /spit on me in raids or dungeons.

Because I always played a melee ranger with the option of a bow in my D&D campaigns.

Thanks for the info, stof and Aterian. That’s really good to know for amassing my skin collection.

Gracias!

Awesome patch. Torn between my Ranger and Thief with all the awesomeness the patch brought.

Custom underwear, please. I’d pay.

I think giant tomes like the Halloween rewards would be cool. I always wanted to see the librams on my Blood Elf Paladin, so having giant tomes or scrolls (like a dressed Torah, shield and crowns and all) on the back of the guardian and scholar classes would be cool.

I also think it’d be cool to have weapon scabbards or holsters for a back piece – they could be loaded with generic cosmetic weapons, but it’d be cool to see a warrior or thief burdened with the rest of their hypothetical arsenal. Random swords and axes draped about. Maybe Heavy/Medium/Light variants that don’t cater to specific classes, but just the archetype – lots of weapons stored in a shield, light blades and daggers, and wands and scrolls and potions.

I only fawned over the cultural armors, and only recently (since launch, even) looked at the weapons.

Am I correct in understanding that all the T1 weapon skins are the same as the random loot weapons I pick up here and there? Only the T2 and T3 are unique? Are you just paying for the stats (at the time) or is there a difference I don’t see?

And armor is unique across the board as far as I’ve seen, yeah?

Thanks!

I thought Rangers were.

High five, quick. I feel the same way.

Many classes have that strange placement. I saw this often on the Thief and Guardian forums early on. It’s to encourage build diversity so the lines aren’t min/maxed.

7/10 for Scaval, mainly because it’s lacking in surname. Variant on the old Scaevola name?

My Thief is Stacey Pilgrim, Ranger is Kathleen Pryde, and Necro is Caoine Dalle.

I dislike the Norn animations and voice, and I don’t really care for the other non-human races.

In this game humans seem like the underdog, and I like underdogs.

That second to last one on my Thief and Ranger, though the hips seem bigger.

I’d love a braid like Jennifer Lawrence rocked in the Hunger Games or Snow White’s braided crown from Snow White and the Huntsman, or at least a sloppy ponytail or updo.

In combat, hair should be pulled away from the face, but most of the options so far don’t do it for me, so I went with the wild long hair on most of my characters.

If they would even just copy some of the Norn styles, like the first braid and ponytail selection on Female Norn, I’d be happy.

I look forward to it.

As a writer, I would love to talk to the both of you more on this.

He’s bein’ a baaaad dog.

Where’s a bear? There’s a bear.

Thanks for the input!

I know I felt good about dungeons (if squishy) back at launch, but since I don’t have fractal or real explorable experience, it’s hard to cut through the usual negative static some of the forum communities have. I’d like to put the effort into being a great thief you’d like to have than being a mediocre ranger (though I do love the combo fields that brings). Not that I’d be mediocre as a ranger, but you get what I’m saying. I’m willing to do the work, but have fun with both classes.

I know smoke wall and shadow refuge were useful, but I can see how smoke wall isn’t as great as Mesmer or Guardian or even Ele utility since it doesn’t reflect. And I’m aware blind is great, but not on bosses. If any thieves have tricks of the trade, I’d love to hear.

I’m coming from a caster DPS and tank background, so it’s really refreshing to play these classes.

I’ve not really used my Thief in serious exploration modes, but even at launch I recall people claiming Thieves were selfish and offered nothing in a dungeon setting. While reading on GW2Guru and other off-site forums, I noticed a vitriolic hate against Thieves as recent as a few weeks ago.

Assuming the player is competent, is there really a stigma against them, or is it just the vocal minority?

Due to time constraints, I find I’ll have to focus on my Thief or Ranger exclusively and while I know both are dark horses, I don’t want to be “persecuted”.

Thanks!

Yes. Vet and Champ fights are fun and I’d love Dailies and reward systems to just play with them outside of dungeons and events. There could be some cool fights.

There could be cool PvP incentives.

I’m for it.

What do I play the most?
PvE with WvW edging on it.

Hardest to Easiest? It’s not so much “hard” as “learning inside out”.
Elementalist (the APM aren’t relaxing to me), Engy, Necro, Thief (it’s hard to master, I feel), Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, Guardian.

What do I main?
I consider my Thief my main, but I haven’t played her since October, really. I keep putting the effort into my Ranger, but I get distracted by Elementalist and Engineer. I like the Thief and Ranger best, from concept to playstyle to style factor.

Charity? /batseyes

I play what is enjoyable to me.

In any MMO I’ve played, the class I rolled at launch is not the same within the year, and is further changed before an expansion, then the expansion tweaks it, and so on.

I rock a Thief and Ranger, so I’m excited about the possibilities.

People hate Thieves and put the blame on the class being cheap and for keyboard turning scrubs rather than learning their class and improving their own game.

Oberon Vex.1389:

HotHit.6783:

Hilariously, the only attraction I have to the bows is for the skill that’s an homage to the only skill I would use with my bow in my A/R build (yay splintered weapon spam).

At least it was. More recently I’ve felt like experimenting with the longbow and being able to start a fight with 20 vulnerability stacks on my victim to follow up with a quick crippling barrage, swoop, hilt-bash and maul is pretty devastating, even without me building for burst damage. Hunter’s shot has made me feel much more useful when I’m in a group now.

THIS.

That’s the way to use the LB. It’s so rad.

I know that trick, but I also like to pop it again if combat is chaining or something.

Oberon Vex.1389:

@PsionicDingo:
The reason for Greatsword in this build is that you cannot realistically expect to never close to melee range and both bows are inferior to melee weapons in general while in melee range. Greatsword has an evade on auto attack, a block and a stun as well as a 1100 unit leap which you can use to either enter melee combat yourself, jump to safety or catch fleeing enemies. In addition maul does quite good damage with a power setup before you even factor the bleeds in. And yes I use Greatsword much as you use Sword/dagger: generally I will open with hunters/rapidfire then barrage. If the enemy is still at range I’ll poke away with auto’s but more often than not I’ll swap to Greatsword and close with swoop. Burn most of my 2-5 skills on Greatsword then swap back to LB, Point-Blank-Shot them away and start all over again with hunters/rapid.

Makes sense. I love the GS, too, I was just curious what your rationale was. I’ll give this build a whirl.

GS is rad. It pairs well with most of our traps and all of our weapons.

Daemon.4295:

I’d rather have a saved name per slot frankly, regardless of the actual pet. The current systm totally ruins immersion.

Yeah, I could run with that.

I use both. Way back when I started on my Thief I found it helped to not think of one weapon set, but your combo, and the ability to change out of combat, since situations change. You can trait for your main preference, of course, but the Ranger plays well in that your Sword and Greatsword CD reduction trait is across the board for both.

That said, I use Greatsword for most PvE fights – it has a built in evade, awesome cleave, the block is useful (blocks ranged indefinitely and counters the melee attacks with a knockback/down), Maul does great damage (and was buffed) with a bleed stack, and the Daze from Hilt Bash is awesome. Also Swoop is great for all those combo fields that occur (and you can set yourself up with a Flame or Frost trap – those Auras are niiiice).

In a PvE sense you can control a group and go to town with your sword and pet.

I prefer the Sword/Dagger to compliment it because that set nets you two evades, two poisons, a ranged cripple, and once you learn how to use the sword auto chain (take it off of auto and tap 1 manually), it’s really mobile. I do dislike Hornet’s Sting/Monarch’s Leap, but I’ve learned to use them. It’s not an evade, but you can still GTFO and reorient yourself. It also pairs well with GS Swoop or just getting into range if you pack a bow or axe.

That said, I love Axe/Torch in situations because of the ricochet and pack handling, and the Axe 3 is undervalued – it throws Chill and Weakness up (once your pet hits). It’s great.

Longbow is handy with a GS or Sword/OH because you can drop Vulnerability, get your pet to the target, and then swap and bring the pain with your melee set. Shortbow also has it’s uses and pairs well with GS – you can bring a second Daze, Poison, and Cripple, so it’s a worthy alternative to the Sword/Dagger.

I find these same tactics apply in PvP, but there are more extensive builds and gearing points once you get into that. Hope this helps you with the basics of leveling and learning, though.

Is it possible to just drop the Juvenile from the pet’s nameplate once it’s tamed and in use? That’s really the only thing that bugs me.

I am not knocking ANet, I’m honestly curious: how do WoW and other MMOS handle named pet stables? Is it really a server issue?

I like the longbow, but I do feel the auto and Rapid Fire need work. Why do you use Greatsword with this? For the defense if you get closed in on?

I find I prefer the Sword and Dagger with the Longbow. Plenty of evasion, poison, and mobility in case I can’t keep the distance, and I also just like to swap as often as I need to rather than rely on one set. I use the Longbow to for the Vuln stacks and to get my pet in, Rapid Fire while that’s happening, then close in with the sword. If I blow my evasions, I can go back to the knockback shot and the CDs on LB 3 and 2 are back up and start all over.

I suppose that’s more bunker, though. I’m not really that versed in the meta, I just use what works for me. I like where your concept is at, though.

Traps are useful even without traits, though you use them more as a tool than as a straight attack/defense. Traited they’re really fun.

I find it easy to drop Spike and Fire traps right on my target without ground targeting, but I play with GS/Sword-Dagger/Axe, so I’m in melee to do it. Fire is great because of it’s short cooldown, combo field potential (especially if you use GS to Swoop through, or Axe), and Spike trap is great for stacking bleeds.

They are very viable in dungeons because you can bounce in, drop two or three traps, and if your group keeps trash mobs tight, you can control the area and burn them down. I don’t really bother with traps other than Flame on bosses – dropping a combo field at the foot of a boss is handy for all the ranger or Guardian/Ranger/Warrior leaping going on.

Frost trap is invaluable, too, once you learn it. Chill is one of the best conditions in the game, and it’s one of the few on demand frost fields. Like Flame trap, it’s great to have the Frost combo field to grab Frost Aura or chill procs, and it chills the target in the first place.

If you trait for ground targeting, it’s even more creatively viable. And the trait to double the condi duration and size is very awesome. You don’t need these, though, they do work decently on their own.

Viper trap is alright, but I don’t use it much. Since it’s not a field and it doesn’t cripple, I don’t value it as much as the other traps, and with Sword Dagger I have enough poison application. If there’s a good use for it, I haven’t read about one yet.

I do think the signets have too long of a cooldown for the active benefit. I run with Signet of the Hunt because I like the speed and it has a really short and useful cooldown. I can pop it a few times depending on the combat situation, and the tradeoff from passive to active works well – when I want some extra pet damage, I don’t need the speed boost. And it’s short enough that it’s handy and strategic.

I feel the same way with the Thief speed signet and it’s blind. Very handy tool to have at a decent time and passive cost.

Then I look at the other Ranger signets and I have to believe it’s a typo.

I don’t RP in the game (outside of dialogue choices if I can), but I RP in tabletop and forums, so some of that comes into how I see my MMO characters over they ears.

My Thief is an overconfident but charming swashbuckler.
The Ranger is a scrappy little fighter who weighs half as much as her greatsword (Pretty much every skill has to do with momentum or Counterkicking around it) but has the ferocity and ingenuity of her entire stable.
The Mesmer is a sardonic battlemage masquerading as a stage magician.
I don’t really have a bead on my Guardian. Generically stoic, as Paladins tend to be for me.

I like the life steal idea, but just a heal is fine (You get a rush from the theft?).

I’ve been rocking Sword and Dagger for a while, so I’m excited to see how it all plays out. I really like the concept of classes and combat that is sustained and back and forth, and not just bursty like other games, I embrace this version of a thief, and can’t wait to see what happens over the year.

The nerfs, buffs, and redesigns are some of my favorite parts of being in an MMO long-term.

I am curious how it works in other games.

Yes. I wish our pets could vendor, just like in Torchlight.

They can always revert the stats. I don’t even care about those, I’m just happy to see the AI/response fixed.

Dojo.1867:

Blude.6812:

ANET! Just put all the changes in a txt file and post in the forums. That was painful to watch. I found the Ranger info to be about 30 minutes into the video.

Wow you managed to completly miss what this is supposed to do. They will release patch notes when the changes are about to go life. SOTG is supposed to communicate withplayers and explain their thought progress. If you dont want to watch the video then dont and wait for the patchnotes. Your comment is stupid.

What’s stupid about it? Even leaving Warcraft out of it, Champions Online and City of Heroes had devs posting all the time and previewing changes and notes. It’s a nice way to engage the community and it’s nice to just have them say, “We’re increasing proc rates” in a statement so that the forum can discuss it and at least we know it came from ANet and not just rumours or out of context quotes, as often happens here.

Blude.6812:

ANET! Just put all the changes in a txt file and post in the forums. That was painful to watch. I found the Ranger info to be about 30 minutes into the video.

I really don’t understand why we can’t have a transparent and Subject to Changes text list before the patch hits. I like these exchanges, but yes, it’d be nice to just have active discussion about what you’re doing and why. I don’t play WoW anymore, but I still glance at Ghostcrawler’s comments because I like how blunt he is about why things are changing or not. I

Kain Francois.4328:

Can’t watch. What are they saying now? Does it look grim?

Sounds great. Sounds. We’ll see what happens.

@ Linnes

1. Not a fan of that, I like it as is if they can improve Pet handling. That’s not even the class I signed on for.
2. I like the idea. Or just diminished AoE damage in general, like WoW’s pets.

Spirits: Agreed on all fronts, though I haven’t handled spirits heavily.

Traps: Sure.

Ranger signets: I like these changes.

Wilderness Survival skills: I don’t feel strongly one way or the other. I feel it’s in a good place.

Elites: I like where your head’s at, but I do enjoy the skill as is, working in harmony without a literal “As One” fusion.

Weapons: I’d like axes in both hands to get a few tweaks, and I agree Warhorn 4 should blind, considering you’ve got birds on your face. I would also make an argument for Torch 4 or 5 to blind on use, with smoke or embers in your face. It’d be cool if bonfire was a smoke field, but I understand fire is the obvious choice. I’ve adjusted to the sword chain, but it can certainly be adjusted

No reading, just watching for now:

http://www.twitch.tv/guildwars2guru/b/396007412

:)

“Also the pet moving behind a target if it doesn’t have aggro is a nice change. It will help especially with the cats as they usually dont have aggro. That way they will survive alot longer.”

Whoa! One of the WoW Hunter changes I longed for. Nice!

It gets joked about a lot, but the underwater buffs were actually kind of cool, especially since I could compare old Ranger vs new against my other classes.

I have hopes for these pet and signet buffs. I learn more and more about pet use and management from these forums and videos, and while I have issues with them, I’m really improving how it works on my end. I still haven’t really played with spirits much, but any change that’ll pique my interest is welcome.