Guild Wars 2

“Nerf Rangers!”
-Mesmers, Thieves, Engis, and glassy builds

“Nerf Thieves!”
-Mesmers, Rangers, glassy builds

“Nerf condis!”
-Glassy classes with no condi cleanses

OP if Ranger’s did it all, why don’t teams utilize them in ESL? No top team uses rangers… these threads are quite ridiculous =/

voxrar.2859:

Elementalist I didn’t get far into testing before I found the attunement mechanic to be quite chaotic and a hassle to juggle. Someone told me that it felt like you just spam everything, switch attonements, spam those abilities, rinse and repeat.

That’s exactly what I felt after I made an Ele. The attunement and rotation spamming was a bit much for me. It does work when I took it into spvp ranked.. I had no idea what most of my skills did but just by following proper rotations I was already an average player :/

I made an Engi recently. Their rotation pace is quicker than a guardians, but slower than an Ele. I find engi’s a bit more fun than Eles but it all comes down to styles of play.
The Guardian is still my main class <3

#1 team player
#1 rotations
#1 right-place-at-right-time guy
That’s what the sig should say. Hard to deny that fact when his Team is indeed #1.

Saying you’re #1 “profession” means you’re #1 in everything regarding that profession. There’s no scale to prove that statement otherwise. Were these players on the top Spvp leaderboards? That’s the only argument I see here.

The joke is the fact you’re defending sigs that say “I’m #1 teef-teef in world” when that simply isn’t true.

Nike.2631:

Tricare.2946:

Which one do you think they’ll be giving us?

Neither. I think the Guardians as in-fighers is an established and central aspect they won’t be overthrowing on their first foray into specializations.

They’re giving Rangers staff and Necros greatswords. A Guardian with a Bow wouldn’t be crazy in comparison.

from a previous thread I posted
If they do give us a bow, it’ll be a short bow that has a similiar skill set as our Spirit Bow. Just like our off hand shield and spirit shield…

1. AA faster than the scepter, half the damage. 900 range
2. Barrage location with arrows, healing the area. 5s duration. Channeling: 3s 1200 range. 30s cd
3. (3x) cleansing arrow that cures 3 conditions on yourself and allies. 40s cd
4. Instantly pull targets towards you with a grasping arrow. 15s
5. (Ward) Shoot a slow arcing, blue flamed arrow. Foes struck burn. Allies struck gain 2s regen. Arrow falls to the ground making blue flames in a 120 radius for 2s. Foes caught are burned. Allies inside gain regen 2s.

I hope the skill set is better than the above… Then again our Shield is very bad itself so I wouldn’t be surprised.

Elitist.8701:

OzarcTheDefialer.5346:

top players are overrated… i dueled this nosco necro kid like 20 times, and won almost every single one…. (had to let him win every 5, so he would get discouraged)…. but yea, dont waste ur time with top players… Phanta and nos and wakkey are all easy kills.. if u wnna get better just fight vs urself on another computrr

Yeah especially that “Backpack” guy, what an easy kill. He runs around saying he’s the best engi, but then gets 100-0ed by power rangers. Oh well, maybe one day he will improve.

;)

Yea… There’s no such thing as #1 engi, #1 ele, etc etc. You can brag about being #1 team, not #1 player. Because these “top players” can always be beaten, or simply countered, by any joe blow player. Being good at your position, on your team, doesn’t make you the best player in the game.

It bothers me when people have something like #1 titles in their signature. There’s no measurement for individual skill level to show case that.

kirito.4138:

Aomine.5012:

kirito.4138:

I train daily by killing 1,000 test golems in the mist then run laps around the mist for an hour.

Idk that’s sarcasm or not, but killing Golem is only beneficial in your skill rotation testing.. Rest is just pointless.

Give it a try. for 30day. You will see the remarkable results. I’m serious.

It’s why my Norn has abs. He’s not partial to swimming tho.

On point though, dueling top players is probably the best way to get better. You know your build’s weaknesses are against other builds.

The below link is exactly what I’m talking about. If every single person had a list like this for their build, you’d be twice a better player and a bigger asset to your team.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/TPvP-Condi-Guard-Roaming-Guide/first#post4763471

It isn’t just about beating top players, it’s learning about the ones you can’t beat. Prime example: Most Medi Guardians call my build cheesy… When med guards actually counter me. That’s their own L2P issue.

Learning skills from other professions, is key to understanding why you lost. Learning your build’s weaknesses, is key to never losing again.

Because Permeating Wrath isn’t just aoe burns. It’s aoe perma burns, even at low burn durations.

The way I see it, if you go 6xxx6 for permeating wrath and lose 8k-10k worth of medi heals. You should trade that by doing 8-10k worth of aoe burns. But it doesn’t exactly mount up to that because
1) Permeating Wrath has limited range
2) You’ll most likely hit only 2-3 people on average regardless, being there’s hardly ever 5 on a point at a time.
3) You have to be in melee range at all times. That means you’re even more susceptible to all kinds of damage… making the 8k-10k medi heals ever more wanting to have.

If Permeating Wrath was target based, that alone would help the trait tremendously. I wouldn’t mind the trade off knowing I’ll be doing 800+ aoe burns from a distance with staff.

Mogar.9216:

I never understood why stealth do not break on a failed attack…

Same reason why our attacks or damage doesn’t break stealth. Stealth would be useless in skirmish situations.

The thing is, the guardian lacks a lot… it’s hard to predict what Anet will do.
Torch is offense
Focus is off/def
Shield is defense
Warhorn. ?

I see us getting Axe/Warhorn
Axe giving us bleeds and torment… warhorn being a support type offhand. But then Anet would pick lack of condition diversity over lack of range attacks. Our specialization being team focused, boons/buffs and condi aoe options…

No clue but I rather get a bow if that was the case…

Ever think full zerks are just as glassy as you? Unless you go all toughness and vita in traits, zerk is all offense with very little defense. People are going to hit you very very hard. OP probably has 900 toughness and didn’t block or dodge a single 5k crit.

Johje Holan.4607:

Yep it is too much. I believe it’s one of the reasons that PvP/WvW is not very well populated.

This game has too many mechanics that drive out the “not a great PvP’er” type of player. Burst is one of them.

In any pvp situation (including but not limited to ladder or leaderboard or whatever) there has got to be someone on the bottom. Same goes for pvp such as WvW. There has got to be a spectrum of player skill. PvP game modes need people who suck.

Some players like to fight other players and just enjoy it for the fun. They’re playing a game after all. They have no desire to be the top players or climb the leaderboard. They are willing to be at the bottom of the leaderboard or just play casual pvp.

But if there are mechanics that tend to ruin the experience of playing for fun then many of these types of players will not participate. And their non-participation hurts all pvp’ers, even the top players.

If there are too many game mechanics or design factors that drive out the players who just like to have fun fighting other players then you are going to be left with a less than optimal level of player participation in the pvp game modes. And I think we see that in GW2.

You haven’t step foot into TPvP. The meta is Celestials for half of the professions there. Burst is the least of our worries when it comes to mechanics when you have a team that self sustains itself.

Players don’t play because they suck. Same for TPvP. They join, get rekt, and stop all together because of the learning curve. There are Numerous bad players on the bottom spectrum… trust me. There’s been threads about it all over the PvP forums. You see less about it here because everyone’s in a Zerg group, running down camps and beating on walls. Until a player starts roaming by himself, gets rekt by a Zerker and QQ’s about it.
No offense to OP… it’s just ironic.

Courtyard is bad because it promotes Zergs. It’s a zerg fest where rotation are based on team wipes; a zerg tuggle-war. They nerfed the time and removed the tuggle-war aspect… making it practically no way to come back after a team wipe. No clue why they did that…

Roe.3679:

It’s a very straightforward map. The mechanic isn’t very nuanced, It’s easy to understand.

This is why Foefire is popular. It’s a very simple, open spaced map that anyone can play.

Mogar.9216:

I don’t think they will do anything to reduce the number of players in ranked. If anything the problem is that there aren’t enough players in ranked which result in a small pool of players which result in you get matched with bad players who have low mmr.

I think maybe they should let us set our own hard match making wait time. If I want a quick match I can set it to 2 mins and take whatever I get, if I want a fair match I can set it to 10 mins and wait till match making can give me a good match.

That’s making it 2x worse for other people wanting a balanced que. Restriction can be as easy as winning X amount of games in Unranked, or reaching a certain PvP rank in Unranked. Almost every Esport type game has restrictions in their higher ranked play. In fact, some restrictions are so high it takes a while to reach it. (smite)

The main issue is what would restrictions be and how would it effect que times if implemented? I personally think it should be 15 or 20 required pvp rank. It’s just low enough to remedy the newbie player booms we get every season, but not ridiculously low to where they don’t know what a Svanir is.

ronpierce.2760:

I’ll give you a break and stop teasing you about Engies when you take “unblockable” away from Poison grenades. :P

How do you block a grenade? >.> ….

Can some one confirm that Celebration boosters, food mf, bonfire mf, etc stack for pvp crates as well?

kdaddy.5431:

If your losing 10-500 that has nothing to do with team speak there just straight out better then you. Also if your losing like that your probably not going up against full premades or good premades.

I feel you’re contradicting yourself here. A team that dominates like this isn’t a good premade? Please elaborate.
At the start of the season Backpack himself has complained about not getting in good competition. He’s had numerous games like the example 500-10 with his premade completely dominating. That’s not just that team, but most high tier premades. When has a full solo team done that? I’m sure there are few and far in between.

kdaddy.5431:

Also i solo que alot and i have lost to some really good teams before but ive never lost 10-500 and anytime i lose 100-500 i take note of the teams/guild name.

Just because you haven’t doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. 10-500 was just an example but a realistic one because it has happened numerous times. A difference of 90 points isn’t doing justice… If anything you’re backing up my statement.

kdaddy.5431:

Lastly team speak helps with counting heads and making sure you see everyone and knowing where one is heading but team speak doesnt make you win 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2. Winning the fight and capping spots wins the match. I know a few guys who solo que and still win 65% of there matches.

It’s a lot easier saying who you just stomped, this guy counters me please switch, do you need help, etc etc via team speak, than typing that out on map chat. That’s just one aspect of it which may or may not make a difference if you’re playing against a bad premade anyways. The biggest is Team Composition. There are builds that simply don’t sync as well as others.
Add that with poor communication and you get a high score deviation.

My main point on premades against random soloq’rs still stands in that it’s just isn’t fair.

Compare the difference in team scores in old SoloQ with that of the now TeamQ vs solos/duos and tell me there isn’t a big difference.

Oshelotae.4176:

Xaylin.1860:

I run a 6/0/0/2/6 build with Permeathing Wrath and Supreme Justice for open world PvE and WvW since Amplified Wrath was introduced. I went for celestial armor with Fire Legion Runes. Accessories are either rampager (PvE) or celestial (WvW).

My main goal is to complement my direct damage (either GS for PvE or Staff for WvW, secondary set with x/Focus) with a permanent burning while in close combat. When running celestial you most certainly need Amplified Wrath so your burns won’t be overwritten. With this set up and some +condi duration food one AA hit can apply 2s pbae burning (~ 600 damage per second unbuffed depending on accessories). As a result, your direct damage will receive a bonus of 17% (Fiery Wrath and Flame Legion Runes) most of the time.

Overall, it works quite well and I feel that I deal more damage in large scale fights than I would have done in a pure direct damage build. It’s pretty awesome for Tequatl, Silverwastes and Dry Top. It also is a lot of fun in WvW although it can be very dangerous to be in close combat all the time. As CMF mentioned, you lack trait points for defense and survivability.

As others pointed out, there might be more efficient ways to gain permanent burning (e.g. 3 in Radiance or Meditations etc.). The thing I like about 6/x/x/x/6 is that I neither rely on utility skills nor on people to die (e.g. Renewed Justice). The combination of Permeating Wrath and Supreme Justice shines with the probably highest and most reliable burning application you can get. You foes can cleanse conditions as often as they like because you’ll reapply your burning with the next hit anyway.

I’m not a fan of 6/x/x/x/6 condi, though.

I think i may try this.

I was just worried with going for Amplified wrath because my weapon wouldn’t be hitting as hard. But you say this isn’t a condition build though.

What traits do you run and what gear do you run while using this?

Do you rely on Purging Flames and Purity for cleansing conditions? I wouldn’t mind seeing your build too if you could link it.

Lol. Brilliant.

The “ball” is an asura no less. XD

kdaddy.5431:

for everyone complaining for solo que and fighting pre-mades. PLease stop acting like 1 sided matches only happen to you. I look at every match as a nba game, you can hang with most teams whether there good pugs or a pre-made but it comes down to execution, being were your suppose to when you need to

Execution. Exactly. How can you be faster or better than a team who knows each other’s weaknesses; counters, and on team speak? They know exactly what’s going on at all times. In Solo you have no clue about each other’s build diversity. You could easily have two thief’s (which is a waste), two bunk guardians (which isn’t needed) or be an all glass comp, which is even harder to work with rotation wise. No wonder people get scores like 10-500 in a game.

There’s a reason why solo’s complain about going against full teams… all the time.

Could you look at the pass 5 game as of 2/4/2014 7:02 CST, NA, Texas, blood type 0

Been pvping for about a week, off and on. Prior to that I was inactive for about 21 days – 1 month. I think my mmr may have lowered… but I highly doubt it lowered to the point where every other person on my team is completely noob. One of which admitted it.. I would get maybe one other player that knows what he’s doing. The very last game was just that, me and one other guy told my team to play unranked.

My main question is, how many wins will it take for my MMR to return back to where it was? Or at the very least.. play with people that know what they’re doing… I’m starting to think Ranked PvP needs a restriction.
Appreciate it.

The leaderboards would work fine if there was a cap on the number of games you can get in a week. If that was added, it would be 2x better than measuring MMR, imo.

It would still cater to people who participate in season rather than people who wins 1 game a week, having a 90 or 100% win ratio i.e Old System.

Items that’s been said before, and what spectators need.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/pvp/Minor-TPvP-Changes-I-d-Like-To-See/first#post4705019

From the above link

-The minimap clutter is too much.
Reds are stacked under blue… Blues are stacked under red… you can never tell if it’s a 1v1 or 1v2 happening. Mesmer clones are also visible for no reason.

-Turn the minimap’s Red and Blue icons as Health Bars.
In tournaments they show the entire map to the viewers. For the spectators, we don’t see anything other than the rotations of people. It can be extra exciting if we see a thief roaming towards a very low Blue/Red icon.
Have a constant solid outline of red or blue around these icons, with a lighter hue filling that icons color.
1% health means that icon’s completely see through with the exception of that icon’s outlined.

-Target yourself option.
There are many instances when downed, that I wish I could Target myself to better notify my team. Perhaps a “Target Yourself” or “Self Target” as a key bind in Options.

Several other UI revisions may be needed, but I feel these are the most important ones.

You’re exactly on point OP. If there’s a PvP List of items to add, I hope these are added as well. Even if it takes forever to get implemented, it’s at least acknowledged by the Devs and on their to-do list… eventually.

Concerning ESL, I think completely opposite. Starting up the game, a video should pop up in your face that talks about top teams, their composition, next ESL tournament, etc. There is no advertisement at all ;_;

As for TPVP It should be impossible for solo or duo players to face the top teams of NA/EU. It should have been separated into
SPvP[ Single/Double/Trio] TPVP [Teams Only]
Otherwise Devs like Justin will never hear the end of it.

As for your QQ about conditions, that’s a L2P issue. Condition’s biggest counter are cleanses. Find a build that does that or work on your current build’s engagement.

This game is still one of the most balanced MMO’s I’ve played.

Jaxom.7310:

MarauderShields.6830:

HaviAir.1529:

I want arena styled PVP , no objectives just killing each other just like another game. This made the other game very popular on the side of PVP. Anyways GW2 is a great game just lacks PVP content, I want more pvp options and dueling and these 2v2/3v3 arenas can make it happen.

And the new mode shall be named:
PuPu Vs PuPu
Because all you will ever see there is 4 condi PU mesmers trying to kill each other with their illusions.

even if this were true, if there were enough people playing and everyone was having fun, what would be the prob?

if it resulted in no one liking it and everyone staying in conquest, well devs didn’t do any balancing specifically for this, so then theres no foul. so where’s the downside to opening this type of arena?

PU mesmers will be difficult, but so will every other comp out there. I’ve seen shout war and guardian perform well too. It’s going to come down to which team composition gets countered less.

In the beginning of the video I’ve noticed most of your burns happen before you enter GS. I also noticed that Ele kited you pretty badly @ 6:03. What save you was the fact that the Ele couldn’t cleanse at all = anyone with conditions could have killed him. The Ele in my video, second game, cleansed conditions pretty frequently. The performance with GS i’m hoping to see should be similar to that fight.

Here’s the laydown with GS vs Sword & Torch
All of GS hits = 24, including aa chain
Whirling wrath has 7 projectiles, assuming you’re completely in the enemy’s box that’s 14 from just ww
All of sword + torch hits = 25 including aa chain

Group wise, GS wins for procing F1
However, 1) You have to be in melee range 2) The proc is good for only 1 person and it’s on the 5th hit, making F1 random.

Realistically, hitting 2 people with whirl will proc F1 5 times Assuming all projectiles hit. That’s a 5 second burn duration if it’s a full hit.

Sword + torch 4 immediately offers 4s burn duration at start, 4s burn duration on finish, and 4s burn duration on it’s throw.

With the use of #2 Flashing Blade, that’s a guarantee 8s burn duration on at least 1 person. OR you can choose to switch targets and throw the flame to some one else, making it a 4s burn per person.

In 1v1 or 2v2, GS isn’t nearly as reliable especially if there’s a chance you could get kited. This Guardian Condi guide emphasizes on 1v1 and 2v2 scenarios. If you’re in a 3v3 fight, you’re on the wrong side of the map.

With my build above, there’s almost no reason to choose GS over sw/torch unless you personally desire that extra retaliation, or, simply love using GS.

mPascoal.4258:

I think this is fine.
Also, kinda angaist ANet policy but why not restrict Ranked games? Like people can’t do Ranked until they get to either Rank 20 or 30. At these ranks players are getting more into PvP, they know the basics pretty much well if they are not stupid an this would maybe promote a better experience in Ranked. I’m getting tired of getting people that think that are top tier and push far mindlessly. Like more than 60% of PvP player base doesn’t even check map when PvPing and this is a basic thing to do.

Idk just a sugestion maybe a bit off topic but in order to get better Ranked and having this type of Q taken more serious you need to have there a playerbase that take the PvP more serious. A bit like you can’t do rankeds in LoL until you are maxed lvl, because at max lvl ppl are going to take the game serious if they aren’t trolls, but about those we can’t do much

Because touching PvP is the last thing on their list. They gave us Stronghold because a new game mode was the highest priority on the PvP Community’s list. That and it’s an “Expansion” by default it touches every aspect of this game… so it really doesn’t count.

The OP’s list is very much needed and should have been added from day 1, along with numerous other “Esport” criterias. I’ve said it numerous time already, this is not an Esport game. There are many aspects in the PvP scene that the PvP community wants, that every MMORPG has, that will never ever be added… unless we get an expansion.

That said, i’m excited about Stronghold. It’s going to draw a huge crowd from PvE and WvW into the PvP scene.

This game was never intended to be Esports. It was something they hoped for, but was never an end goal. That’s been clearly expressed at launch and overly clarified at PAX.

Back on topic..

Can we receive better tools in incorporating 2v2 matchmaking in Custom Arenas?
-Voting, kick system to regulate the entire map, in case Moderators aren’t there to do so.
-A rotation system so Spectators can take turns entering the 1v1/2v2 map.
-Increase Spectator Mode to 50 people. Maps Player Limit still stays the same

I would treat Permeating Wrath as another method to cause perma burn aoe. It isn’t bad if you’re attacking with GS and staying in melee range all the time.

The question is, do you want to be constantly in melee range with GS, procing F1 burns or rely on Purging Flames and Judge’s Intervention to recieve perma burn durations?

Completely balance. Yup.

I see no issues with this one.

To OP.

If you and a thief solo lord a split second before the “better team” won; you yourself didn’t expect to win, then you got lucky. The team didn’t bother to take the necessary precautions; counting enemy players and thinking “Hey, anyone keeping an eye on our gate?”. They didn’t bother rushing lord themselves to ensure a victory either. I’ve never felt more deserving of a win when I solo lord in 30s, winning by just a few points. I expect it to happen.

In light of it all the matchmaking has been fine for me as well. A recent game I was frustrated because I though I was playing with inexperienced players… on my team and the opposing team. It turned out being a close game; it was challenging in its own right.

Justin, keep my mmr to yourself please

Hard keeping up with top pvp teams now adays and seeing what their rank is. Is there a stream for these things, or a site I can view?

I’m a little behind in the PvP’s Bunker Guardian Meta so please bring me up to snuff. I for sure thought Staff was a win over Shield in aoe Heals + Might + cc.

Is shield a for sure decapping weapon, with Knockback giving many peels and clutch plays?

messiah.1908:

pls pls pls take GS you must
you play on point -thus you need aoe dmg also the GS is better burning aoe proc.

tips
against engi – play from range with scepter – they always hit your face with conditions bomb. if you stay at range you will have easier life

against ele – they cant hold a point as you so stay at point (with GS they will stay at range from you) and hit them with scepter and immobilize them when they swap for fire so their burst will be useless.

this build is hard in 1v2 scenarios so try to go help your team in 4v3 as with GS your aoe will do far more burning proc on them

I didn’t know Engi was condi/celes, until after the fact. Even then I played the first game very, very poorly >.<.. No excuses!

I’ll get kited a lot easier if I used GS. Second game for example, GS would have done worse against that air ele. I would be forced to stay on him while he would have kited me easier, knowing that I had GS. With Sword, I could flash him then dodge roll away if I had to. Being in mostly 1v1 scenarios, sw/t is more sought for than GS. The first game, GS could have been more beneficial. It’s a give and take.

GS can proc more burns and offer more raw damage to 3-4 people. The thing is, I’m rarely in 3v3, 4v4, 5v5 situations most games. As stated from original post, it’s not beneficial for the build to be in any of those situations unless I blatantly know that my involvement would turn the tides.
For example
Enemy team wiped my team. But they have <30% health. That’s when I’ll engage.

The second game showed the builds role and its potential. Maybe GS could have been utilized in Game 1 but not so much in Game 2. That’s still my IMO… I’ve yet to experience GS performing better than its 1-hander variables but then again, you could be 5x better at it then me :p

Shinzan.2908:

So what’s the alternative you complainers want? Matchmaking just keeps looking for a match until the right conditions are met even if that would take 10-30 minutes or even longer?

Premade vs solo is never a good condition.

I’ve seen people completely wipe on lord, or getting no where near the guy, because the other team did a better job at reading when he was going to get attacked.

It’s mind games at its best. A full team of Cele will do a very poor job at defending compared to a mix variant of Zerkers…. It’s not that the Lord is underpowered.. you have tanks defending him.

For the sake of saving the Torch

-Don’t nerf the amounts of hits it does (9x)
-Don’t nerf it’s condi (aoe?) cleanses

As for #5’s Condi Cleanses.. anyone else notice it doesn’t do that great of a job? I mean, it feels like it cleanses Only 9 conditions total… and not a teamwide cleanse of 1 condition per player per pulse.
Can some one confirm that?

Is this… Official?

.. totally worth the bump.

SnakeEyes.5198:

While I love the movie Tron, I have to disagree with you. I have a cleric build guardian, and I find the shield is very good. Like any other tool, you have to get used to using it, but the shield can deal a substantial amount of healing.

I’m sure most of us will have to agree to disagree, but here is why I love the shield:

64 defense – the only item that has it. It also effects agro. It is noted as one of the items that effects agro. My goal is to hold agro, as I use the Invincadin build.

Knockback heal – Not only does this allow me to control my enemies, keep them pressed up at a wall or wipe a control resist charge on a high end boss, fully charged I heal for 1715 when I use it. I use this all the time to interrupt enemies, control them, etc.

Like any other tool in your belt, if you know to use it correctly it’s awesome. Today I used it to knock wandering enemies back into the grind stack (SE first boss they started running out, I rolled out popped shield and it knocked them back into the pocket and healed my teammates. – when used well …..

Shield of absorbtion, this reduces all damage taken by my teammembers by 33% when I line it up right. What isn’t there to like about that.

I’m not saying the Shield is bad in it’s supportive, bunkering roll… it’s simply worse than it’s other 1 hander counterparts.

-Torch is Offensive
-Focus can be Defensive or Offensive.
-Shield is defensive.

I’ve accept that Shield is a pure defensive weapon and that it’s not going to receive a damage buff anytime soon. However, even certain bunkers are using Focus as a viable Defensive weapon due to #4’s condi cleanses and #5 3x block. There’s absolutely no reason to choose Shield over it, even if you’re a full heal guard Clerics.

Shield can be Great in certain scenarios… overall it’s very low-grade compared to Focus.

I have to agree with Justin in that too many gamemodes can hurt the game….

Can we receive better tools in incorporating 2v2 matchmaking in Custom Arenas?
-Voting, kick system to regulate the entire map, in case Moderators aren’t there to do so.
-A rotation system so Spectators can take turns entering the 1v1/2v2 map.
-Increase Spectator Mode to 50 people. Maps Player Limit still stays the same

That alone would do wonders.

Diage.6451:

Exedore.6320:

Dirame.8521:

I love your comparisons and I think you’re onto something but the significant thing I can see from your post is lack of information on what Stronghold is actually like, leading to you having little to say about it.

Hopefully we’ll get more later this month.

But I have thought about those possibilities, specifically NPCs being required to destroy gates and the use of a partial “payload” archetype. The problem with both of those is the over-reliance on NPCs which de-emphasizes the actual player-vs-player combat. Do you really want to see a “PvE specialist” role develop in a PvP format?

There is a strong misconception here. It is perfectly legitimate to have NPCs in pvp games under the right circumstances. Granted, it needs to be careful about how its done. I haven’t followed much on what the Stronghold will be like but I am deeply interested and it is the reason I even looked at these forums once more.

There really isn’t a huge precedent for NPCs in PvP gamemodes. You got the guildlord in GW1 and LoL. But there are so many possible ways to use NPCs, you simply can’t make a claim as to whether it’s viable or not. I do fully understand the gut reaction of saying npcs in my pvp is bad. But honestly, you should be a bit more open to the concept. They need to be sure that the NPCs add appropriate strategic depth to be worth their existence though.

I imagine you need a certain amout of NPC’s (Heros, Minions) to conquer the lord. I’m very excited to see what kind of gamemode Stronghold becomes.

Regarding 2v2
I imagine 2v2 type games will have more noticeable “micro” plays, like a post above me already stated.

Single Death Elimination would be detrimental to the game type.. unless they added rounds… which completely goes against the type of playstyle GW2 incorporated.
Example:
I get stomped, my partner gets downed but before doing so, he downs two other people. I respawn and come just in time to down both. Score is now 10 to 20

Strategizing appropriately after the first encounter, is the reason why respawns are needed.

Diage.6451:

FrownyClown.8402:

the people who made gw1 are completely different. think of gw2 as a different game with the same lore.

The question to ask though is.. should it have been?

That’s pretty much any game with a sequel; it brings along new directors, programmers, etc. It can’t be helped. The Lore, however, is still pretty awesome. In the PvP aspect of things, they’ve acknowledged many issues us PvPers have been facing. Most notably Matchmaking, balance issues, even trying to implement new gamemodes. I myself am looking forward to Stronghold.

I would have been overly excited if there was a form of 2v2/3v3 type style of play but i’m sure there’s reasons as to why that hasn’t been implemented. When it comes down to number crunching, the majority of people simply preferred something like Stronghold and other, more favorable content.
Can’t blame them myself

^ B The Absorption ability limits the Guardian in doing what he suppose to does best… Guard.
Either make us mobile on #5 or have the #5 ability have a constant aoe heal throughout the channeling effect. So you can either chain with the Guardian’s knockback, or be more defensive, supportive, in its aoe healing effect.
I want the last effect myself.

@ Velho
I would argue that Might is one of the game’s strongest buffs. Even after its nerf. No one talks about how op protection is. There’s no comparison between Hammer’s protection and shield #4. One requires a melee chain to proc, the other is a more distant effect that you can maybe cast if you’re expecting heavy hitters.
#4’s protection needs to increase by 2s and its damage ratio.

Personally I’d be happy if there was a trait to give it a 120 radius Aegis. Even a 60 radius Aegis would he a breather for #4.
Because 1) #4 damage sucks. 2) It’s support abilities suck for a Guardian’s Shield skill. 3) You can spec for either defensive or supportive on the trait line.
Increase casting time to 1s and it should be fine.

WvW Solo Roaming & Camp Assaulting

Full Carrion: Solo Roaming Build

Video: Condi Build vs Medi Build Camp Clearing

Key Condi Burst Rotations
Sword #2 + Torch #4 + Weapon Swap
Instant Burns + Bleeds + Poison. Total damage is 1500+ dps. proc.

Judge’s Intervention + Weapon Swap
Same as above.

Rune of Krait – Underestimated condi bursts
Acts as a ‘finisher’, sort of speak.
Use after Ele’s Water attunement splash effect, Engineer’s Water turret cleanses, Warrior’s Adrenaline bursts, or any other condi cleansing skill.
Pop All Virtues prior to using this elite.

Scepter Rotations
Start your rotation off with Scepter and auto attacking. Immobilize#3 with Smite#2 to maximize F1 procs. Feel free to continue free casting this rotation as long as you’re not receiving any damage.
Use Focus #4 & #5 to block incoming burst damage only.

Sword + Torch Rotations.
Flashing Blade #2 + Torch #4 is your big burn rotation. Count the dodge’s to ensure a near burn proc. If you’re going against a warrior who constantly hit and runs you, save this for when he comes back as the Flashing Blade will act as a dodge when a player is coming towards you with a range skill.
As always, try to save your Teleport skills for a 100% weapon switch proc. You can also Judge’s Intervention your Rune of Krait condi burst. Try to save only when the target is less than 50% health to ensure he’s used most of his cleansing cooldowns, if any.

Team Oriented Version REVAMPED – SPvP

0/0/4/6/4
Build http://tinyurl.com/k5l87l4

Major Differences
Traits & Utility changes.
Weapons, amulets and sigils remain unchanged.

Compared to its selfish 1v1 variant build, it offers 4x more team support. The shouts “Save Yourselves” and “Stand Your Ground” + Pure of Voice, gives a very noticeable performance boost in skirmish roles. Stability is a complete game changer. Anyone who’s ran a shout build will tell you how much of an asset stability or Pure of Voice truly is.

Highlights
-Team Stability
-Team Cleanses
-High condi burst damage and sustain; similar to any Celestial meta builds.
-Can beat almost any Zerk build 1v1. Especially classes with little to no condi cleanses
-Does well against, and with, full Celestial teams.

Cons
-Certain classes are tougher to beat 1v1.
-You’re more reliable on your team like any shout support build.
-Doesn’t offer “bursty” damage.

Play Style
Same combo & roaming rotations are not as strict. Build is not a 1v1 node roaming or bunking build. The build isn’t afraid of mid like it’s 1v1 build but your team support is very much wanting.
Unlike a its Shout or Bunker variants, this Hybrid build is meant to offer a more damaging role while also offering support for your team.

Example Performance Video
http://youtu.be/tSiRcCoZMTU

Selfish 1v1 Variant – SPvP
6/2/6/0/0
Build: http://tinyurl.com/njtpkb7

The video’s below show’s the build’s example rotations. Reduce the speed to .25 to view gameplay normally, if preferred.

With this condi build you’ll Ideally want to roam far or home, avoiding 3v3+ type scenarios where your condition applications could become harder to apply team wide as well as your conditions being easier to get cleansed off. That’s not to say this build is terrible in these scenarios. In fact, just the opposite if you engage correctly.

I’ve downed a full team in mid due to everyone’s health were between 30% and half
You will down glassy Thieves from your blocks alone.

If you’re constantly joining 3v3’s and 4v4 zerg scenarios from the get go, you might as well roll over to a Zerker build or a more aoe, burst, type spec.
Because you’re doing it wrong.

This Point-Assault build will win the majority of your singular fights, forcing a person on the enemy team to rotate in. These fights include all Thieves, Mesmers, Rangers, Hambow Warriors, Cele dd Ele’s, Celestial Engi variants. And most Zerker classes including Mesmer shatter builds and power necro Builds.

Your Counters
-Most Diamond Skin Ele’s
Diamond Skin Ele’s can’t be effected by a condition if their HP is above 90%.
You might do enough raw damage to pierce their 90% threshold, If not, this is the single biggest hard counter we have. Ele’s with Clerics and any type of regen will be impossible for you to beat

Probable Counters
-Classes high in condi cleanses
Asside from F1 procs, You have 4 big condi spikes skills from rotations. If your bursts continually get cleansed, you’ll likely get played

-“Very” good Medi Guards
Like the above, they have high condi cleanses but not all can use their cleanses efficiently… Most don’t know a thing about your build and will call you their counter.
Completely not true.

-Some Condi Engi’s and Turret Engis
Can get played by Engi’s blocks, knockback abilities, or not cleansing their condi stacks like you should.

-Hambow Warriors or equivalent Knights build
Do Not Burst while their stances are up. Save Focus #5 and F3 for their hammer’s cc chain and big hitters. They cleanse when they use Adrenaline. Burst afterwards.

-Some Minionmancer Necros
*Spirit or Condi Rangers
-“Very Good” Cele Rifle Engis
Be mindful if Engineer’s Gear shield, CC abilities during your Shelter and cleansing their burst geomancy weapon switch + nades.

Condi guard spec is a 50/50 or higher win chance against the above. If the opponent knows every single thing about your build (rare), and they have 4 condi cleanses or more, you can easily get outplayed.
You should have little issues with other builds

Second game shows better performance
Meant as a performance guide. Nonmusic video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usUBg_wZatw

Dueling Examples Towards End: http://tinyurl.com/qgzsqw4
Beginning Mesmer gives an example of condi damage burst potential.

It kinda depends what you’re wanting.

If you want spirits to actually last longer, as well as have nice bursty damage, you can go might stacking with hoelbrak/might runes staff/gs
http://tinyurl.com/pkbdqrs
skill level-high

If you wanting a more fun knockback/trolling build I’d recommend Hammer / scepter + Shield
Hammer mainly because it has an immobilize + launch + #5’s Ring. Practically 3 cc’s.
http://tinyurl.com/nqs7mvd

I personally like the spirit hammers 5k crit damage, over permeating wrath. Sigils can be changed but I recommend hydromancy on one of the weapon sets to slow people down.

If you switch traits around Zeal: VI and Virtues: V supercedes all others traits.

I’m imagining the necros frustration. But then I see how their AI is better than ours and get even more frustrated.

ammayhem.5962:

Would be handy in WvW to be able to have a zerg build on but when your killed be able to switch to a more roaming or solo build while you work your way back to the group.

This + 1000.
I would wvw more if I knew I could roam around in a 1v1 spec then switch to a more team supportive build in Zerg scenarios.

GrandmaFunk.3052:

Mighty Assasin.3816:

GrandmaFunk.3052:

ex: the other team has 3 necros so i’ll switch to my anti-condition build,

There is no such build that can counter 3 condi necros in terms of condiclear.

Diamond Skin with a high vitality build would be a pretty solid advantage in that context.

it’s edging out diversity in favour of versatility.

The usual medi guardian. Switch out smite condition to spirit bow.
Countered.

Rightly so. The only time sw/torch could remotely come close to GS is if Torch #4 actually hits multiple targets… which is rare. In the video the Guardian was very close to torch’s initial proc but it still didn’t hit.

Even then there’s simply no comparison to a GS aoe damage and cleaving abilities.

There’s maybe 7 major healing techniques that could maybe help spirit weapons survive in 1v1 or 2v2 scenarios. But it takes a lot of trait sacrificing.

Even then spirits would STILL get obliterated in any 4v4/5v5 type zergs.
Making huge trait sacrifices should make them invincible…
+1 for buffing spirit weapon health

On another note, I think Honor’s Battle Presence should be 2x or 3x as effective on spirit weapons. That would put them on par with, say, Turrets with shield, Ranger’s pet regen, etc…