Guild Wars 2

Fixing Lag: shrink the number of players on a map or simplify the combat. There isn’t a game out there that has complex combat with 100+ players that doesn’t lag. GW2 is actually doing more than almost any other game while delivering complex combat.

Threading has limits and the more complex the combat, the more targets involved in combat the more this limit is pushed. Gut AoE, remove triggers from traits and such, set server player limit to 25 per map; those changes will likely help/fix lag. “Faster” servers or “better” programming, neither will likely fix it and at best will have a marginal effect. As a note, I specialize in large scale multithreading, high availability middle tier in a VLDB architecture.

We just had a major update, WvW will see the new those 9 masteries and they just announced two smaller updates for WvW Armor and Gliding. It has been a pretty good year for WvW updates in total.

I get that WvW doesn’t get the love that PvE does but it is a very tiny population and they have made a concerted effort to up the loot making WvW play rewarding. Hard core players are effectively getting cheap Legendary armor.

Roll a DD. I know you didn’t want a thief, but it is by far the best power roaming class out there. Oh and you don’t need to run stealth if you don’t like that style of play.

IndigoSundown.5419:

… I have little reason to think the new ones will, beyond the obvious “must give up Daredevil and its three dodge endurance bar.”

Dare Devil certainly amplified the thief’s ability to dish out damage at close range. Seems with Deadeye ANet may have finally patched the one true weakness the thief has in roaming and that is ranged attacks. Being able to engage outside of most classes range is going to be fun. Terrifying if it can out shoot a Ranger or GF Warrior.

Sleepwalker.1398:

SoS has a ktrain at this time.
Also think Dragonbrand has many at that time.

SoS is closed. DB doesn’t have much of an Ocx any longer. DB does have a medium sized group show up around 10am EST but they are getting parked by BG currently. DB lost all of EBG at around 7AM EST this morning.

Malerian.8435:

Did it flip while you were trying to take it maybe?

Wasn’t flipped. Still a BG T3 right now. That wall went up a minute before their zerg showed up just as our smaller group was heading to inner.

Strider Pj.2193:

BG may or may not be skilled in NA prime, but I can’t imagine they don’t know how to PPT.

The score definitely supports both PPT and coverage. They are winning every single hour without any competition. Not sure what ANets plan is other than allowing T1 to continue as a crap-hole few want to play in. The long term version of this is a lot of players quitting because few like to continually fight completely outnumbered all hours of the day.

Their population levels are high enough and their coverage is good enough that they can leave a constant core of scouts at every WP every hour of the day. It takes 5x the effort to flip any of their objectives because little is left undefended.

Sure as long as you don’t mind long range sniping from the Deadeye. Highly mobile long range stealth class… sounds awful problematic in competitive play.

So we were taking FA BL Hills a few minutes ago after hours of kittenery from BG. When we finally break through outer and get inner to zero, the wall suddenly became a T0 wooden wall that was invulnerable. Bug or Hack?

Played a few k hours of WvW and never seen this.

Seasniffer.1763:

BG’s NA isn’t really that strong, they just rely heavily on QQ/AHMA/FOO pinsniper/exploiters. (Yes, pulling commanders into terrain to get them stuck is an exploit)

They have managed to keep their Bay, Garri, Lowlands, Aldons, Jerri since reset. They have kept Klovan for nearly 5 days… Klovan. You don’t do that without coverage and numbers during NA Prime.

Populations are falling as fast as they grew with after the last major update. I often struggle to find a dozen friendlies across all maps in T1 during off hours.

No server you can xfer to has what you seek. I move around between linked servers to mix up the fights… best you can do in the current environment.

BG is about the only server left with a substantial population during non NA-Prime but like all major servers, it is locked. Of the open servers maybe BP or FC.

WvW and sPvP get changes as they are finished and they are not saved up for expansions.

I hear what the OP is saying but 9 new masteries is a giant new content update to WvW and sPvP. Even better if it is on par with HoT masteries and not mostly necessary for meta play.

The basic problem is that locked servers have no way to offset their player loss attrition. Guilds on those servers have no way of rebuilding.

Because of this only one established server has been able to maintain a high consistent population level. I am not for punishing BG but rather creating more competition for it. Right now consistently fighting against the BG blobs without fresh blood has proven the short term demise of a few servers.

It is a simple one… only one server is left that houses a substantial population and that is BG. Virtually every other server struggles to get a Q on maps outside of NA prime. Any server that lands in T1 now half- kitten s it and tries to exit the match quickly. Until prime servers are allowed to replenish their established guilds again no server is going to compete with BG outside of a massive linking.

It is time to unlock the main servers save the only one doing well population wise.

Ridiculously useful feature in GW1 that STILL hasn’t made it into GW2.

Roaming is mostly a solo affair centered around 1vX, scouting and flipping. Skirmish groups are 2+ players looking for fights. Havoc squads are typically 4+ players flipping objectives.

The lines are often blurred but the current meta is particularly strong for small groups built to cover each others weaknesses and exploit strengths. Basically run a Tempest, DH and a pack of Necros to roll over 99% of the non-zergs out there.

HoT did not break roaming. For several months prior to HoT the most dangerous class by a mile was a roaming Mesmer build so strong that it could easily steam roll 1v3+ and slink away at will. It is still the most powerful build I have ever played in the game and this counts phantasm builds at launch.

It is extremely difficult to kill a shield gen if it shields itself. That is the entire point of this request. Ranged attacks don’t work when the bubble is up either from counter siege or from players. That bubble is mostly a safe space requiring defenders to basically suicide into it.

If Shield Gens had a minimum range it would prompt more fighting not less as defenders would have a better chance at counter play.

Shield Gens should not be able to shield themselves. Difficult enough to repel a larger force nearly impossible once they get two shield gens down right near rams. At the very least make them stagger them allowing for more counter play.

Delete them all. Every month randomize guilds/players into pools to fight each other for tournament tickets that are used to buy legendary WvW armor and weapons. Create as many or as few pools as necessary to keep a relatively balanced set of matches. Simple and stops stacking.

Here we are again with several players griping how their zerg build cannot hang in the one area a thief excels. Stories of when they got hurt, they got blownup. If a player cannot handle a single thief in the open, stay in the herd or roll a DH.

Coming in here complaining about a class that is only good in about 10% of the gameplay… gah. If you are going to gripe, how about going after the one class that dominates everything. The Guardian/DH meta has been superior since launch of the game. They are by far the most prolific class in the game and some DH builds are straight up OP.

This request again.

I am not sure why there should even be a cap since AP from dailies is by design already time gated. Seems it is in the best interest of everyone involved to give players plenty of incentives to do dailies. It certainly isn’t like removing or increasing the cap is going to lead to any kind of abuse.

For us WvW mains, it is about the only way to get continued AP points.

Caliburn.1845:

Linkings revitalized WvW. Now with a surge of people playing WvW due to pips, linkings are less significant, but that population surge is not going to last long.

People have either forgotten how bad the population levels were before linking or they enjoyed PvD.

We could flip every camp on every BL and not see a soul prior to linking. A handful of us used to flip keeps out of boredom with nary an enemy in sight. It was completely empty.

BG and open server transfers make WvW tournaments a miserable experience for those that dislike playing on or against stacked servers.

Deathly Chill needs a nerf. Confusion on Steal needs a nerf (just too much along with everything else). Condi Chrono confusion application needs a nerf.

Anet does those three things and 99% of the condi builds become far more manageable. If they do this, DH builds with high sustain and burst also need a big ole nerf.

Unlinked servers were a disaster of their own with bottom tiers nearly void of players during huge swaths of a day. Linking is the lessor of the two evils.

Server pride was always a bunch of horse kitten. Picking a server is mostly arbitrary and “wins” revolved around numbers and coverage 99% of the time. It remains one of the silliest concepts in an MMO. Pride in a system that only exists due to limitations in the gaming engine.

Guild pride in GvG was a thing for a while but ANet actively went out of their way for the longest time to run that style out of WvW. The guilds in WvW today are a watered down shadow of the guilds from 3 years ago.

eXruina.4956:

Thats the point, Power builds have to invest in the holy trinity to deal damage competitively, Power, Precision, Ferocity.

While Condition builds only need Condition Damage and dump other stats for insane tanking ability.. 3k armor 20k++ HP while dealing damage high enough to compete with full glass Power builds.

While this is generally true, there are numerous power builds that don’t suffer much by spiking DPS. Blow Up DH, Stun Lock Warrior, Power Mes, Staff Thief, D/P Thief and several others are formidable power builds.

Outside of Condi Thief, Necro, Chrono and a handful of other builds, condi is fairly meh. Breaking that down a bit, Necro revolves around one OP trait. Thief does most of their application from Steal and Condi Chrono bunker… well that last build is a bit nuts. All of these builds have fairly serious weak points in that they don’t perform well outside of their role (roaming, zerg, etc).

babazhook.6805:

I am not a special fan of having too many traits on 20 second cooldowns , that said you underestimate the potential of leeching on a d/d build.

I hear what you are saying particularly with D/D. However most condi thief builds revolve around the steal. While LV is a solid choice, Panic Strike works very well with the current meta as both a poison stack and immob on steal. This is particularly powerful when Choking Gas is factored in.

D/D is a bit of an odd duck in that it can stay in an evasion frame allowing it stay up close and personal but staying on top of a target isn’t always easy which is something Panic Strike does help with.

Not saying LV wouldn’t be a solid pick if they moved it but noting that Panic is also a solid choice in any condi build as well. If anything having that choice in DA makes for more variations.

Exec is a damage multiplier and a big one at that. Exec makes every other damage multiplier 20% better including Havoc Mastery, Staff Mastery, Bound, Exposed Weakness, Lead Attacks, etc. It can easily be 30% or more total DPS when a target drops below 50%.

The Action Camera targeting reticle changes when in or out of range. I find it useful for skills such as Steal.

I also am a huge fan of ‘Fast-Cast Ground Targeting’ and ‘Lock Ground Target at Maximum Skill Range’.

The old Candy Corn Gobbler is also a fairly cheap way to keep boosts going and it provides a Reward Track boost unlike the BDay gift.

Putting a delay on pulling supply based on WvW level would also be a help. For example players under level 100 get two supply pulls afterwards they are put on a 30s time out.

This will cause some issues but it solves more than it creates.

People always complain about meta when their specific way they want to play isn’t part of it. If a player rolls with something that isn’t meta, they should expect to be at a disadvantage against players running meta.

Its not like Condi thief is so OP nothing can beat it. I have a pretty strong Condi Thief build and several competitive meta builds are an uphill fight… looking at you DH.

It is likely the chests are from loot tables of various maps, dungeons, etc. The way they implemented the rewards feels like a shortcut a dev used to not write a bunch of new code to access those loot tables.

I am with you on the usability portion but I there are so many other things that are more important to improve/fix. If it is easy to address, I am sure they would have done it by now. I agree it is annoying.

Could also apply a WvW level condition to pulling tactivators. Would solve the problem and might create some news ones but it would solve the troll account problem.

Wait till you run into a bunker Scrapper running medium condi.

D/P with Heart Seeker or Bound is far superior to D/D as stealth is on demand rather than having to time it. D/P is also more efficient and has zero wasted weapon attacks. Shadow Shot alone is worth taking it over D/D.

Jugglemonkey.8741:

You might not know this (judging from the wording of your post, apologies if I’m wrong) but panic strike makes every source of immob apply 2 stacks of poison. It’s absurdly strong with P/D 2, impairing daggers and the needle trap on heal.

True but that isn’t the point we are talking about. The discussion point is if D/D would take Panic Strike over Leaching Venoms. My point is even without access to an easy immob from a weapon attack, Panic Strike is still a strong choice since it has a strong built in Immob every 20s that applies upwards of 2 stacks of poison on its own.

With a Pistol mainhand, it is as noted even more reliable.

I would like to point out that this elite spec could easily be called “The Fart”.

0. Departing Shot – (Stealth Attack) Shadow step in a line though your target chilling and dazing any foes you pass though.

1. Distraction Shot – You shoot into the shadows and your gas advances toward your target from random locations. Has a chance to cause confusion. You shoot at the target standing in front of you but the gas comes from behind or from the side of your target

2. Delayed Shot – You shoot into the shadows and the gas emerges 1.5 later. Applies a .5 slow. You shoot and move but the gas comes from where you were, not from where you are

3. Double Shot – You shoot a piercing shot that travel and additional 300 units after it strikes its primary target then it enters the shadows returning to the to the point where it started and travel the same path again.

4. Detonation Shot – You shoot an explosive round that sticks to you target and explodes after a short delay / Discharge (flip over skill) send a second explosive round that will immediately detonate the first causing a larger explosion that damages foes near your target. Blast finisher.

5. Debilitating Shot – You shoot some gas that adds to the duration of up to three conditions on the target (prioritizes conditions with the least amount of time) Range finisher

Just sayin

babazhook.6805:

Also do not overlook the fact that in a 1v1 Pistol 3 generates 8 attacks versus staff one which means you much more likely to trigger on hit or on crit sigils per ini spent. The difference can be significant .

Good point. The same effect also makes Invigorating Precision more reliable as well.

babazhook.6805:

D/D condition might prefer the leeching as there not a lot of Immobs from that build to take advanttage of the extra poison.

The 2.5s Auto Immob and 2 stacks of Poison every 20s when target is below 50% is strong. The leaching part of Leaching Venoms is pretty weak. The extra stacks every minute is strong but not a clear winner in my book.

Bigpapasmurf.5623:

We are more of a WvW focused guild with a small focus in PvP and our home is in SF. Were not a big guild, but we don’t want to be a big guild. We like not being just another guild member.

After the relink, I may xfer over if you have room for another thief main (I have all classes fully asc geared but use it mainly for duel practice).

saerni.2584:

Hard part of fighting those two is they can reset with invulnerability and heal back up. You need to plan out how to stay alive long enough so their reset abilities can be triggered and then survive the reset long enough to finish them off.

I can get one of them so close but their sustain is stupid good. If they were a bit more friendly, I would offer a duel but I never get out of a death with them without a half of gold of siege on my corpse. I wreck a lot of their non-DH buddies though so I guess that is some sort of payback to them.

Also not a fan of the terrain teleports they do. There may be a way of doing it that isn’t hacking but seems like they are running something that allows them to teleport ignoring Z axis (such as a teleport from Alpine NWT to the bottom of the switchback) and most obstacles (such as the walls at Alpine N Camp). I record all my sessions and have it on “tape” but don’t want to be a kitten about it.

Staff and P/P with Invigorating is a near impossible combo to beat in PvE. Unload is now super cheap to cast and allows a thief to run around with 25 stacks of might for most of a fight.

SB can be good in groups as a blast finisher in fields particularly fire fields as it will stack might on the group. Choking Gas can also be a strong damager with Draining Sigil and Impacting Disruption but that would be a Vault replacement IMO and it will never outperform Vault in the DPS category.

TwiceDead.1963:

I really struggle against D/P thieves though.

I have gone to running Acro and Instant Reflexes on most of my thief builds. It really ups the survival against stealth builds.

Given equal or greater skill on a DH, thieves are at a significant disadvantage. The build has massive sustain and can straight up flatten a 3k target with near 20k health in a matter of seconds. They can be beaten but most of the time it takes superior skill on the part of the thief to consistently win.

I enjoy fighting DH particularly the [Lgnd] guild on NSP. They are kittenish with the siege and seem to teleport hack through walls and down cliffs but crazy good DH fighters in there.

Scrappers I find are hard to bring down much like Bunker Tempests but I rarely have to worry about dying to one unless I get sloppy. Two are a handful for sure.

Wargameur.6950:

The only valid reason I see not to swap is to limit the potency of venom thief.

Not really an issue because Panic Strike is a solid trait and having to choose between it and Leaching Venoms isn’t easy.