Guild Wars 2

People also repeatedly asked for private maps for open world content. And for raids which arent zerg fests. So hopefully they took that on board. :P

Considering how terrible the NPE is im going to be lvling using tomes and scrolls as much as possible. Unfortunately i dont have that many tomes so i will probably only get to about lvl 40.

You can learn a class fine at lvl 80. You just have to actually read and try out the skills. :P

They said new challenging group content as a major feature. But they didnt specify what that includes. Im with the people saying it would be pretty stupid not to include some kind of instanced group endgame content in an expansion. And we had the raid CDI a while back. So i honestly believe we will get something that isnt completely open world.

ArthurDent.9538:

Spoj The Second.7680:

xD

I already crafted one as you already know. ;d

And then it turns out to be a condi weapon

Thankfully that looks unlikely.

http://youtu.be/JIsgotF-AXw

No condi and then chill on final hit for auto attack.

#BringBackTAFU

Pretty much decided on Dhuumseal but that may change depending on if I change my armour look.

Bhawb.7408:

Edit: okay I’ve heard from a couple of people that say they talked to ANet people at the afterparty. One specialization per class, and when you specialize you lose access to some of the base abilities of your profession, and in exchange get the stuff the specialization gives you. Just something I’ve heard, not 100%.

Well this is pretty much what i expected. So it doesnt really change anything for me. And im still hyped. Because one of the main reasons necro isnt in the meta is because it has no special ability over the other classes. If our specialisation boosts anything in terms of control, utility or damage (this would have to be significant or group buffs) it will be a huge step forward. Might not fix us in record runs. But it would certainly make us more welcome in pugs and fractal groups.

Actually its a pretty poor decision not to bring a neglected class inline with the others. And you guys are failing to realise this specialisation is basically like changing the necro into a new class. So if you want to keep your old standard necro feel just dont specialise. :P

Thats what im saying. Its not going to be flat additions.

The reason i dont believe it will be simply adding extra is because then its no longer a specialisation. Its just a power creep and a flat upgrade.

There is going to be a playable demo at PAX East in 6 weeks so i dont think we will be waiting that long for the xpac. I mean they cant do anymore LS between now and then. And i dont think SAB and fractal updates is going to be enough if we have to wait longer than 3 months.

Yeah thats true. I do like deathshroud. Its just a shame it limits the class so much. If specialisation just changes the DS skills that could also be nice.

Dagger 2 and 3 arent exactly bad. They just arent particularly useful in PvE. Anything that is single target tends to suffer a lot. Especially if its also low damage.

I wouldnt be surprised if it was something along the lines of replacing deathshroud with 3-5 F key skills which cost life force to use. And then any traits or abilities that effect deathshroud would be replaced with new traits more suited for the different mechanic. I also think some utilities might be completely replaced. So for example if our specialisation has no deathshroud we no longer have our main defence mechanic. So they would have to give us more defensive skills and utilities to compensate.

I suspect the new mechanics are going to be similar to what the classes already have but also work very differently. So instead of a transform that uses our class resource we get abilities which use our class resource. That sort of thing.

For most classes the two handed weapons have good burst skills but weak auto attacks. And then the one handed weapons have good auto attacks and weak other skills. Id predict the future rotation would be to use burst skills on greatsword and then switch to dagger focus. Similar to guardians GS + Sw/F rotation.

xD

I already crafted one as you already know. ;d

Could be raids or fractals though. Gah this expansion has turned me hopeful again.

The new animations with necro green effect suggest otherwise. :P

AnathemicOne.1684:

Spoj The Second.7680:

Ive always found greatswords the most fun, fluid and impactful weapons on the other classes. I mean they are all very mobile weapons except for mesmers. They all have nice burst skills. And they have a range of defensive and offensive skills including control on some of them. Hopefully we get something along those lines as currently none of our weapons fills that kind of feel or range of abilities. I love daggers but its pretty boring just auto attacking. So im looking forward to seeing what the greatsword brings.

Warrior GS 2 != mobility in any way shape or form. Neither does Guardian GS 2. The only mobility-themed GS is Ranger and that was still meh to me (might mostly attribute said meh to the fact I really don’t like pets being required for the class).

Erm warrior GS 3 and 5 and guardian GS 3 are mobility skills. Ranger has GS 3. So they all have atleast 1 mobility skill and warrior has 2.

And we do have a pretty big hint that its atleast going to be melee.

http://youtu.be/JIsgotF-AXw

Yeah that is a possibility. Even if thats the case the option to add other specialisations later on is still there.

We will just have to wait and see.

Ive always found greatswords the most fun, fluid and impactful weapons on the other classes. I mean they are all very mobile weapons except for mesmers. They all have nice burst skills. And they have a range of defensive and offensive skills including control on some of them. Hopefully we get something along those lines as currently none of our weapons fills that kind of feel or range of abilities. I love daggers but its pretty boring just auto attacking. So im looking forward to seeing what the greatsword brings.

Well they didnt go into detail on a lot of things. Including “challenging group content”. So really its anyones guess. There are a lot of things im looking forward to and it seems they are trying to address many things that people have been complaining about. So im not going to get all negative now.

http://youtu.be/JIsgotF-AXw

Ranged GS is unlikely based on this. I think its safe to assume the GS auto attack will be pretty much what is shown in this video.

They did emphasize really challenging group content a lot. But yeah that could easily be stuff like Tequatl, Marionette, Wurm and Vinewrath.

Although they also mentioned in the interview that they wanted to address the concerns of players that were very vocal about what would make them keep playing or come back to the game. And the instanced group content community definitely fits in that category. So fingers crossed.

Maybe we will get something which isnt completely open world. Something new maybe? Or maybe just the option to have private maps so we can treat world bosses as organised guild raids. At the very least we should hope for new fractals. I doubt they will ever fully abandon fractals because it provides a good portal for unrelated stories and extra lore.

What are they? Im sure Weth is happy to add them. :P

My understanding of it is multiple specialisations and each one gives access to a different weapon. Id assume we would have at least 2 specialisations per class on HoT release so we actually have choice (otherwise its not a specialisation its an upgrade). But we may get additional specialisations in later patches.

Rifle for thief aswell.

It was announced by Colin on stream along with rangers druid specialisation. We didnt see it in the trailer.

They dont mention it. But i think its implied. Otherwise there would be no reason not to choose that specialisation.

Haha. The relief i am feeling right now is pretty epic.

Although no raids or dungeons confirmed so rT is a little skeptical on this “new challenging content” comment.

You know whats funny is that wall perch cuts it close enough with the abysmal ranged single target dps. And then to top it all off sometimes Copper can partially reset because he cant reach anyone. And then people suddenly start blaming everyone else for AOEing instead of realising their little safespot was the cause.

Any heals the boss recieves from bubbles or adds can easily be overcompensated with proper AOE dps. This goes for blue aswell. The problem is everyone is so afraid of heals that they half kitten the dps and when someone does kill a bubble with AOE the group dps is a fraction of what it could be.

Astralporing.1957:

Spoj The Second.7680:

Actually offensive stats increase the effectiveness of your base damage.

And defensive stats increase the effectiveness of your base defence.

It just so happens that damage cannot be passive. But defence can. Your offensive stats arent increasing the number of ticks on a lava font or adding additional effects. Or reducing your ability cooldowns. Your base stats have changed. But the things which use those particular stats are offensive abilities and they havent changed. *Defensive abilities are already at maximum effectiveness so you could argue that defensive gear stats have a far superior advantage. * And they do considering how a nomads warrior can face tank mossman with just healing signet.

Except they don’t because the actual usefullness of the defensive stats is really minor when compared to the usefullness of the offensive stats. I don’t know about that specific player and mossman, but i have seen a lot of players that believed in “tankiness” of nomad gear but ended up as much dead as when running more offensive setup.
Basically, barring some special circumstances, if you’re not good enough to run mostly offensive gear, you’ll end up killed in nomad as well. The balance is heavily skewed towards offense.

In truth, with the combat system as it is (where survival is mostly depended on active defenses and fast and efficient killing of opponents), the game would have been better with no gear-based stats whatsoever. The choice they offer in PvE is mostly illusory.

http://youtu.be/x1mxlA13ICk

I really dont agree with the statement balance is heavily skewed towards offence. People see it that way because going offensive is what yields the fastest and most efficient times. But if you remove time as a factor you really start to notice just how broken passive defence can be in the hands of proper theory crafters and semi decent players.

I agree the game would have been better if gear was statless. And builds were defined by only runes, sigils and traits. But its too late now. Reworking it at this stage is not an option.

And yeah defensive stats are pretty minor in high end play. But they are essential for lower skilled players and do a good job of giving people roleplaying options. I dont really see why this is a “berserker problem” though.

Raising the skill floor is a good way to shift more players into using defensive gear. But is that really a healthy decision for the game? Creating future instances with no waypoints or the inability to revive would also encourage defensive groups. And hold the point events could also do it. Although id rather not see too many of those as they are often boring timegates and you can hold the points by clearing each wave of enemies instead.

Why should defence effect control and support? Where is control and support defined as purely defensive?

Obviously you would lose damage if you dont take offensive gear. Your base damage stats are lower. You arent making any sense.

And defensive gear does help contribute to your ability to offer control and support. The way it does that is by allowing you to stay alive with greater ease or in situations where you would normally die (ressing someone). If you are alive longer you can support your group more. Obviously if you are skilled you can do it in glass gear. I think thats pretty fair dont you?

I dont see how that would be an improvement. Or how that would even be possible without making a new game.

Croc.5129:

Tman.6349:

There doesn’t need to be “stats that effect our defensive tool”. Our Active Defenses are already at 100% effectiveness. That’s the point of active combat. Passive defense stats provide a buffer against mistiming/misusing those active defenses. The gear set stats only act as ‘role definition’ if you are wearing your ‘typical MMO’ blinders. Try getting rid of all of your preconceptions about how MMOs work or should be designed and accept GW2 on it’s own terms and all of these complaints will have proved themselves to be a figment of your imagination.

Offensive stats increase the effectiveness of offensive abilities.

Actually offensive stats increase the effectiveness of your base damage.

And defensive stats increase the effectiveness of your base defence.

It just so happens that damage cannot be passive. But defence can. Your offensive stats arent increasing the number of ticks on a lava font or adding additional effects. Or reducing your ability cooldowns. Your base stats have changed. But the things which use those particular stats are offensive abilities and they havent changed. Defensive abilities are already at maximum effectiveness so you could argue that defensive gear stats have a far superior advantage. And they do considering how a nomads warrior can face tank mossman with just healing signet.

Croc.5129:

Nobody is asking for the implementation fo specific roles, just a wider variety of combat tools to apply to encounters. And if the game were in such a state that it was impossible to do in berserker gear, that would be a balance issue to be fixed.

The problem with this statement is that the only way to fix the “berserker problem” is to implement specific roles. Otherwise people are still going to use the most efficient builds which will continue to be glass cannon builds. So you either go all in and force roles or you just create more challenging and interesting encounters but dont actually fix the “problem”. Do you see where we are coming from now?

Everyone is in agreement that future encounters should be more interesting and challenging. But thats a completely unrelated topic and has nothing to do with gear.

Seriously +1 to this. Even when they stand right on top of fields they can miss. Its really irritating.

Also remember thief has a smaller hp pool so they get far superior sustain with less healing than us. Id seriously love signet of vampirism passive to be like signet of malice. It wouldnt even be nearly as good as it is on thief due to our hp pool and lack of pistol whip.

Rising Dusk.2408:

Jelzouki.4128:

Is it odd that Invigorating Precision for thieves is getting buffed from 8 to 15 percent scaling with critical damage, whilst Parasitic Contagion remains exceptionally low?

#riot

While we’re at it, it’d be nice if Parasitic Contagion was in a line that better suited condition damage.

That makes too much sense. Suggestion rejected!

We clearly havent been asking for sustain since launch. Thats why.

Actually maintaining the might in the D/F rotation is the easy part. Its doing it to maximise dps in addition which is hard. Basically you can keep the might up with pretty subpar rotations. And if you have to you can use flawewall for a longer fire field.

Well nothing lasts long in an optimised group. But say you are doing fractals which have long drawn out fights. What you want for that is D/F ele and a staff or second D/F ele. Easy 25 might when done right. And you also have to keep in mind almost every class can contribute a blast or two mid fight.

So with a staff ele and LH you should have no problem maintaining might no matter how sloppy you are in a dungeon. Its simply the best sustained might combination (ignoring phalanx) for regular dungeons. Phalanx only has the advantage if you lose time by prestacking might. But theres almost always a way to pre stack might without losing time. Sometimes it involves a short range portal.

The LH auto attack in lava font is enough to maintain the might with a little help. For example other party members + arcane wave and arcane brilliance.

You can get him on an earlier coffin though.

CPC pulses. So its not longer. But yeah i agree the self weakness is pretty stupid.

tigirius.9014:

Spoj The Second.7680:

tigirius.9014:

It actually doesn’t when balanced properly. You see, other games that use the triple talent system for developing DPS characters don’t require that someone be that 1 single spec to play above all others because there are other things that are needed that help with strategic gameplay that allow for the other specs to play.

Thats completely incorrect. Other games do have single top dps specs. The difference between other games and gw2 is that the casual community is heavily exposed to the meta crowd in gw2. Whereas in other games its not considered as important in pug groups. But the guild groups and the people running for maximum efficiency are being just as restrictive as we are in GW2 (if not more).

And talking about things that are needed. Introducing needed roles creates even more elitism and exclusion. But the overall most efficient composition is just as restrictive as it is in GW2. Its impossible to have two different approaches with equal efficiency. Especially if one of your approaches is sacrifising damage for defence. Simple logic.

They do they have suggested top DPS specs however you CAN play other specs and do almost the same amount of dps when you play in these other games so it’s not as required as it is here. When you balance a game properly, it doesn’t really matter which spec you are in boss fights which is my point.

For example, if you have a pet heavy class and the boss fight will kill all pets you can switch to a non pet spec and do considerable damage in the fight which in this example deals DoT damage rather than burst crit.

In another title that has a pet heavy class you can switch to an all debuffer style attack spec which has barely any DPS at all but debuffs the boss and elites and makes them miss or do hardly any damage and many instances require that.

That’s my point, it should be balanced to include all dps specs right now they only have 1 and 1 only for every situation, that’s not balance.

I can assure you that in a group which is trying to go as fast as possible. For example a record. That they will restrict just as much as we do in GW2. That was my point. You are talking about relaxed raid groups. Raids in other games do require some organisation so they cant be completely relaxed.

tigirius.9014:

It actually doesn’t when balanced properly. You see, other games that use the triple talent system for developing DPS characters don’t require that someone be that 1 single spec to play above all others because there are other things that are needed that help with strategic gameplay that allow for the other specs to play.

Thats completely incorrect. Other games do have single top dps specs. The difference between other games and gw2 is that the casual community is heavily exposed to the meta crowd in gw2. Whereas in other games its not considered as important in pug groups. But the guild groups and the people running for maximum efficiency are being just as restrictive as we are in GW2 (if not more).

And talking about things that are needed. Introducing needed roles creates even more elitism and exclusion. But the overall most efficient composition is just as restrictive as it is in GW2. Its impossible to have two different approaches with equal efficiency. Especially if one of your approaches is sacrifising damage for defence. Simple logic.

Hayashi.3416:

I’ll just leave this here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovi7uQbtKas

He’s a great deal ruder in the video than I would prefer, but the idea is there.

Thanks for linking this. Not seen it before.

If we are going down that route then i would recommend the searing druid guardian build.

http://youtu.be/zjwcNbMrrT8

Yea its only worth it in longer fights.