Guild Wars 2

What gives? I don’t remember seeing any demons all the way to 80. Are demons something that got cut or something planned for the future?

PvE. I’ve been running warhorn. Any thoughts on dagger offhand?

I run dagger and staff, but am torn as to whether Warhorn or focus is a better offhand for dagger.

I mean, focus has a regen heal, but it’s pretty weak, though skill 5 is pretty strong against mobs with boons. Warhorn 4 and 5 are decent, though the damage on 5 seems weak and both skills have long CDs.

So what do? Any thoughts?

From what I can tell there are a few things that cause aggro. As Nay said above, aggro is a bit of a mystery, but there are a few things that cause increased aggro, both initially and in general.

• Mobs are attracted to players with lower health pool or high condition damage (unsure, but it may be as simple as having a high condition damage stat, not actually doing the damage). Particularly low health and high toughness seems so be a strong set up to “tank” when combined with damage abilities, hence Guardians being the closest to tanks in the game.

• Mobs tend to lock onto the first player in range or the first to attack them

• Guardians have an innate increase in aggro generation, I believe it was 25%

• Stealthing drops aggro completely, but leaving stealth and attacking can regain the aggro. Leaving stealth and not attacking doesn’t seem to regain the aggro.

• Death Shroud (Necro skill) – Deathshroud skills seem to generate a large amount of aggro. I have no idea way, except maybe skill 4, being high AOE and life drain on the mobs.

Is it happening when you use Death Shroud? I’ve noticed when I go death shroud and use skill 1 or 4, I get a ton of mob hate.

Also, bear in mind, you’ll probably get high aggro as a conditionmancer, mobs seem to attract to players doing high condition damage for reasons unknown.

wookalar.8952:

It always spikes during events and holidays. Halloween it skyrocketed, lost shores it went up as well. It’s no surprise, the same happened again.

The problem, IMO is it seems to only go up, not down. The conversion rate has been consistently going up since the October event.

Either way, not really a rant, I just don’t understand how it skyrocketed so high so fast. I still remember 26 silver for 100 gems, and that was only in September.

projectcedric.6951:

Maybe demand-supply effect? Isn’t it highly likely to be the result of having more and more people with a lot of gold buying gems while there are less and less people buying gems with real $$? (And there is no source for gem in-game)

You’re absolutely correct. The problem is that the conversion rate on gems to gold is so terrible that nobody seems to want to convert in that direction to rebalance it.

It was supposed to be a balanced system where converting gems to gold made gold to gem conversion cost less and vise versa, but in practice it doesn’t seem to work because of the penalties incurred on gem to gold conversion. There’s no penalty to convert gold to gems except for the actual cost. Gems to gold is penalized to prevent cash gold from flooding the game, but it doesn’t seem to be working as intended.

I like it. Plus, they wouldn’t take damage when target switching, giving them a bit of longevity. Some of the minions drop fast.

critickitten.1498:

Tomkatt.1684:

Exchanging gold for gems is freaking insane now. Over 2 gold for 100 gems. What happened? This seems pretty unbalanced to me, especially since I hear the gem to gold conversion is also terrible.

Is this something that will eventually rebalance? It only seems to go up.

I agree, it’s only discouraged me from investing any money in gems. I was originally going to try and grind out some gold for gems but with the rate continuing to go up, I only have less motivation to invest play time in that sort of thing.

But I get the sense that the dev team doesn’t intend to fix this particular problem. If gems are hard to get for in-game gold, then that’ll encourage people to buy them….at least that’s the time-tested theory of microtransaction MMOs.

Hence the frustration also with the gem to gold rate. I do plan to buy gems for a few things, but there’s not a lot I want from the shop, so I’ll likely have gems left over. It’s be nice to convert them back to gold, but you lose a ton on the conversion.

Exchanging gold for gems is freaking insane now. Over 2 gold for 100 gems. What happened? This seems pretty unbalanced to me, especially since I hear the gem to gold conversion is also terrible.

Is this something that will eventually rebalance? It only seems to go up.

kaffaljidhma.1496:

I think mighty blow would be enough of a finisher, and if you’re fighting a lot of enemies at once greatsword is a prime choice to cut back on kiting and generally get the vigorous precision crit boon.

I find sword better for that. multi-mob blind on sword two and gets you in melee, followed by sword 1 chain. With even 25% crit you’re pretty much guaranteed vigor with one chain, and it’s even better now that the vigor is 5 secs instead of 1.

Interesting build. I like it, and it’s the first I’ve seen where Zeal traits might be of use, though I still think those points could be better spent. Up to the 10 point is okay, IMO, but I dunno after that.

Personally, I use hammer almost exclusively, but with a more survival/group buff oriented build:

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mccM0z9cmnavmmRhvm0VxxVoVqcRa

With 40% crit rate, you’ll have a constant stack of might (between 3 and 8 depending on weapon and other boons), and will be healed every time you boon yourself or an ally. With larger symbols, and all symbols healing, you’re providing pretty good group support. For a quick HP boost you can burn all your virtues and then pop Renewed Focus. I usually pair it with sword+focus.

SpelignErrir.4263:

Navzar.2938:

So then an elementalist should be a sylvari, because a plant is closer to nature?

Well, if you choose a sylvari, better stay away from fire attunement.

I always feel like the male Sylvari elementalist is begging the elements to work. Found it annoying an rerolled Asura, much happier with the voice clips and general attitude.

I mean come on Sylvari dude:

“Element of fire….obey me.” ….Pretty please?

Levian.6742:

Any glory I happen to earn is just a bonus, but I just do it for the fun of it

I agree with you on this here. If PvP is fun for you, then by all means do it. For me PvP isn’t particularly fun, I prefer 5 man dungeons and open world content. I enjoy playing with my wife, and/or as part of a group, but I’m not a big fan of structured competitive play, I prefer cooperative gameplay, and playing through the storylines. That’s fun for me.

I’m not hardcore, and don’t want to be. I did the hardcore raiding in WoW, ran a guild, dealt with the bullkitten, and just want to enjoy myself at nobody else’s expense.

Judging by the rest of the posts in the Necro forum, I guess posting here might have been a bad idea, there seems to be a lot of rage here compared to the other class forums, even ranger, so I’ll just play and enjoy it. I’ve got 5 char slots, I don’t really need every toon I roll to be “competitive,” I just wanted to try something fun and different. So to you Levian, thanks for your post and for the information, but everyone else here, particularly Xil, seem to be straight downers.

Manticore Five.9867:

Tomkatt.1684:

Dude. kitten not everything is about gear. And glory? It’s a video game. I think you may want to evaluate your priorities in life or something.

Um, you might want to consult the wiki on glory before you put your foot in your…

Ouch. that looks painful. Should I get a guardian to fix you up?

Wiki: “Glory is an account-wide type of currency that can be used to upgrade the look of PvP equipment or unlock reward chests, ultimately giving you PvP rewards.”

I’m really not sure how many times I have to say I don’t care about sPvP in this thread before it gets across. Good job hijacking the thread guys. Either way I rolled it, I’m enjoying it, and you guys can keep the post.

XiL.4318:

quickthorn.4918:

I’ve got a ranger, necro and warrior. Also levelling thief and engi at present but they are not at 80 yet. It may be heresy around here, but I enjoy the necro the most out of the 3 80s. I use the warrior more often in dungeons but I’ve had fun with necro in WvW and PVE. Enjoyment of play is so subjective that you might as well just play the class for a while and judge for yourself.

Nobody thinks Necro isn’t fun. But in competitive PvP fun doesn’t win you glory or get you the cool gear. And no matter how much fun your class is to play, if you are constantly in Downed State or waiting to for the revive timer.

Dude. kitten not everything is about gear. And glory? It’s a video game. I think you may want to evaluate your priorities in life or something.

Plus, as I noted, I don’t PvP. I’m only interested in PvE, and maybe some WvWvW on occasion.

XiL.4318:

If you loved being completely useless in tournaments on your Ranger, now is a good time to swap to Necro. You will fall in love all over again.

Ranger are starting to become useful in the meta and Necro have just become a solid detriment that cannot compete without being carried.

It will be like you never stopping playing Ranger.

Eh, that’s cool. I don’t really PvP, but if I did it would probably be on my ele or guard. I’ve already rerolled anyway. The ranger was my only human, and I’m not a big fan of them, so rerolled Sylvari Necro.

Kill.6973:

You are not going to do any decent damage. If you want a necro for the staff, just leave now lol.

I prefer closer range play, I don’t even really like staff on my ele. I was thinking axe and dagger or axe and focus skill set looks interesting though.

Visionary.5681:

Go play your guardian or Ele.

Switching from one very inconsistent class (ranger) to another (necro) seems pointless.

I’m just looking for something fun dude. I’m not feeling ranger, so the real question, based on my stated preference, would I prefer necro over ranger.

I have a 80 Guardian I love, a D/D ele I’m digging, an axe/mace hammer warrior, and a thief I’m…reasonably happy with.

And then there’s my ranger…

I originally thought it was awesome, but now…I dunno. I’m just not digging it. Shortbow 1 spam with a few other skills, axe+torch or horn, and very little variety in my utility skills.

I seem to enjoy control builds. The self healing and blinds on the guardian, knockdown control on the warrior, etc. Necro is the only class I haven’t played, what are the odds I’ll enjoy it more than my ranger? I ask because I’m out of character slots, so to make the switch, I’ll be deleting the toon, I want some opinions before I make the leap.

Thanks!

Edit – after looking at the wiki page for necro skills, I think I’m just gonna give it a go. I’m just not feeling ranger, so may as well, the skill set looks fun.

I used Greatsword for a while, but I’m enjoying hammer paired with axe/mace better. Heavy control build with knockdowns (3 of them if you use bull’s charge), a pushback, vulnerability and weakness. It’s pretty nice, and the hammer F1 skill provides a bit of mobility and stun.

You probably aren’t aware of the Altruistic healing builds. I can self heal by booning the group, heal on my dodge (with 1:1 benefit to healing power), and basically be support by killing stuff and using my virtues.

I love my warrior, but hate banners. Why the hell would I want to plant myself around a flag? I like being mobile, and don’t want to have to constantly pick something up and replant it every time I want to fight.

I used to go mace/focus and greatsword, but I’m finding much more utility these days from sword+focus and hammer. Blinds and control over a single counter and blind any day of the week. Plus, hammer 2 is on a 5 sec CD and does as much damage as the entire GS spin.

I’m running a AH build though, and all my symbols heal and are supersized, so I get a lot out of the hammer’s auto attack sequence and don’t need the mace heal.

CptBadger.5918:

The game engine is a joke.

With an X6 @ 4 Ghz, 16 GB of RAM and 2 x Radeons 6870’s Crossfired I’m getting around 25 frames per second at LOWEST POSSIBLE SETTINGS in Lion’s Arch during the event.

This is such a joke. Luckily I haven’t spent a dime in the Gem Store and don’t intend to paying for such a poorly optimized game.

Check for core parking on that X6. There may be an AMD update, and if not there are tools online, just search for “AMD core parking”. Also I’m not sure how well the game supports Crossfire, have you tried it with a single card running? Lastly, what is your clock speed on that X6? It may be a lot of cores, but that won’t mean a heck of a lot if they’re clocked low.

If Steam sales are any indication, price drops drive revenue. Dropping the price by 50% can result in a 300% or higher sales increase, actually leading to more revenue while bringing more players to the game.

Rustypipes.6238:

in before someone soap boxes this thread for their personal gripes.

Aww, don’t be that way. We can have a positive post once in a while that’s not dragged down to the ground and beaten to death with a rusty pole, right guys? Guys?

…?

Magnetron, what are your specs?

I’m playing on the following and haven’t run into any issues, even in Lion’s Arch I get 39fps, and only as low as 28-32 fps in the Black citadel area:

Phenom II 965BE
Radeon HD 6750 1GB
8 GB DDR3 1333

Honestly, I think my video card is the weakest link here, I play on medium for most settings, with textures and post-proc on high, shadows low.

Edit – I see you’re talking about WvWvW, I honestly haven’t done any PvP, so I can’t say what that runs like for me. May check it out in the near future.

Snix Spoonman.3871:

I’m thinking about giving this a go, not to replace my keyboard and mouse, but as a backup when I start getting the mouse cramp.

No problem with that. Originally that’s why I made it, I have wrist cramp issues, but it worked so well I just use it permanently now. I still use the mouse when selling stuff and crafting, but other than that it’s all on the controller. Actually, I’m surprised by how will it’s working on my D/D and S/D elementalist. When I originally made the config in September, the ground targeting was weak, but more recent (October/November-ish) tweaks I made to the cursor speed and camera movement speed have made ground targeting almost as fast and accurate as with a mouse.

The trick I’ve found is to tweak your mouse position with the cursor, but actually do the bulk of the aiming for ground targeting with the camera movement.

Unicorn.2307:

Amazing update, i’ve adjusted it so the LB and the direction pad brings up inventory, BLTC, Guild and WvWvW menus. then LB+L3 is esc. everything else rocks Thanks

Cool, glad you like it. I made sure to put the background pics on the config for the 360 and PS3 controllers so that people who download it will have an easier time making changes now, I want everyone to be able to set up a profile with a control scheme they’re comfortable with if they’re not feeling mine.

Brown Bear and Krytan Hound. Tank and condition removal for one, damage and knockdown for the other.

lazymustard.6491:

sjrm.7905:

Snix Spoonman.3871:

But my questions are these, can I just attach the xbox controller via usb to PC with a play and charge kit?
And heres the silly question, does the controller need to be on? For example the green light showing on the guide button.
The reason I ask that is because my xbox is fairly near my PC, and i dont want the controller to be switching on my xbox everytime i want to use it on PC.

Unfortunately, to use a wireless Xbox controller on a PC you will need something called an Xbox Wireless Gaming Receiver (see attachment) since the charge cable does not carry any data from the device.

Once you have one of those simply press both the button on the receiver and the button on top of the controller, near the battery pack at the same time to sync the two devices up.

IF you already have a wireless 360 controller, you can buy said receiver off Amazon for something like $15 after shipping and handling. They’re cheap, so don’t let it bar you from using your wireless controller.

To be honest, you’re probably better off getting the wireless receiver on Amazon (buy the official one, I’ve heard the 3rd party ones are flakey) or a PS3 controller. Honestly, I’d love an official wired 360 controller, but they’re getting harder and harder to find. I can tell you from experience, 3rd party wired 360 controllers tend to be off a bit, particularly for aiming on the sticks (I own one and can’t seem to aim smoothly on right stick, it has issues recognizing vertical and horizontal plane movement at the same time, it’s more 8-way than analog).

Azarul.2064:

I am very interested in this for those times I just want to relax and play when farming and such. I am not familiar with these things though. I have 360 that I use for skyrim, far cry 3 , etc. I assume I need to download this xpadder before it will allow me to use your setups?

Yeah, XPadder is needed to map the keyboard controls to the gamepad. That said, all the config and profile info is already in the document, so no need to map any of it yourself if you don’t want to.

serena smith.2734:

Can you make this work with a ps3 controller lol?

My setup already works with a PS3 controller, motioninjoy driver with local mode is included in the document links.

Hawkian.6580:

The mouse pointer will always recenter to a static point on screen, which makes ground targeting skills much easier and cleaner, and is a pretty revolutionary feature. It also has ESC on the start button, which seems like a silly thing but you will use it ALL THE TIME (exits menus and chat box, dialogue options, deselects targets, opens game menu).

Feel free to pick and choose elements of it as well of course.

Everything is included in the download, but if you don’t trust it, you want a free (legacy) version of Xpadder and the latest version of AutoHotKey.

How did you get the mouse pointer to automatically recenter? That’s the one issue I still have with my config. Is that something with Autohotkey?

papryk.6273:

elkirin.8534:

Good Luck OP. I hope you find a game that suits your playstyle.

Rift is doing a very good job of scaleable/soloable dungeons, maybe a free trial is worth a look for you.

Rift have soloable dungeons? What did you smoke? oO

Rift had personal dungeons. They were easy, short, and there were only like…4 or 5, but they were there.

Ayan.1750:

Oh oh, here’s a picture from the front (check adam’s apple on both and see how it’s visible on the editor, but no in-game):

In the makeover kit you character is lit from the front left by a diffuse (soft) light there. In the in-game shot you’re lit harshly from what looks to be directly right. I think that would explain the difference there.

A lot of people who’ve used the profile suggested setting inventory, hero panel, and other menu items like WvW or Guild panel to the Dpad on set 2 instead of the mouse control. Personally, I don’t use dpad on set 2, but just set that as an alternative to the full cursor support on set 3, so you might try that.

I found two keys this weekend on random bag drops in the human and asura/Sylvari zones while leveling a new alt, but these are the first keys I’ve seen in at least a week or two. They still drop, but it seems to be really rare.

I’ve set up an Xbox 360 controller configuration for Guild Wars 2. Been using it since launch and tweaked it through the end of September, it’s about as perfect as I’m going to get it at this point.

I’ve posted my controller setup before, but made some recent updates to the Xpadder profile and some new things on the control scheme (untargeting, map zoom, etc), so I thought I’d post a link for those who’d like the update, and for anyone who hasn’t seen it before.

If anyone’s interested it can be found here

The configuration includes mouse turning (not keyboard turning) on the right stick, marking and taking targets, all skill buttons, and even cursor movement for ground targeting. I’ve used it successfully with every class, with the exception of Necro (not that it’s unsuccessful with Necro, I just haven’t played that class yet).

Feel free to download it and check it out. The new xpadder profile now includes a background image for the controller with the keymappings on top of their corresponding buttons to more easily remap the keys if you’d prefer to change the bindings.

Hope you guys like it.

On D/D or S/D, I’m often switching attunements during fights, but I notice when I’m using staff, it’s pretty much fire all day unless I’m fighting destroyers, and occasionally air in big close groups.

Is it my imagination that staff doesn’t lend well to attunement switching? Are there more efficient ways to use it?

Full MF gear isn’t viable. Particularly as a thief it’s important to keep your crit up, you’ll want Berserker/Rampager/Knight gear.

For MF, put a sigil of luck on your offhand weapon and use Omnomberry bars for MF. Even with just a major sigil and the omnom bar you’ll have 40% MF without having to sacrifice your major stats the way you would with Traveler gear. If pressed, use MF upgrade gems on your rings and accessories, but even that’s questionable, you’ll still be sacrificing needed stats to do it.

Most people using MF gear are actually keeping it as a separate farming set, you don’t wanna go into a dungeon with a full MF set.

I agree with everything Blaine said (except water skill 2, I like it). Scepter/Dagger is great. I initially rolled D/D, but the scepter with o/h dagger is just nice, and I survive a lot more while doing equivalent damage.

Seras.5702:

KensaiZen.3740:

Try infinite might build+4 major runes of the pack. Guaranteed to give you silly amounts of might

This will then free up the need to spec for dmg so you can be a super tanker guardian that does good damage lol

What’s the infinite might build? Sounds fun.

Empowering Might in the honor tree. With 30% crit you’ll always have might. With 45-50% crit you’ll never have less than 4-5 stacks of might, and I say this as a hammer user. I’ve gotten 8-12 stacks with a sword and 48% crit. You can also throw on a sigil of battle to get 2 (or 3 for superior) stacks of might for 20 secs on weapon swap.

It synergizes well if you go at least 20 in honor and 30 in valor, because you’ll also get might on blocks from the valor tree and Altruistic Healing for 30 in valor gives you heals whenever you boon allies (including yourself). I’ve used it to survive solo in Orr, and can even take down a veteran in Southsun cove so long as I can pull it away from adds and fight it alone. If you have 5 in virtues, every virtue you pop heals you too, and renewed focus will let you blow those and then get them right back as passives.

Here’s my build: http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.3.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.186.185.191.198.203.205.0.0.0.0.5.30.30.5

Also, if you’re a fan of renewed justice you can go with something like this: http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.3.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.167.0.0.186.185.191.198.203.0.0.0.0.0.15.30.20.5

I go with 30/30 because I like the power boost from low endurance and the extra healing from symbols. With the crit and 5 point vigor, It refills so fast I’m comfortable dodging often instead of saving it just for emergencies. Plus, dodging repeatedly heals me too (and selfless daring benefits 100% 1:1 ratio from healing power, making it a very useful tool in your arsenal).

Khenzy.9348:

Hammer doesn’t need a buff, far from it. It’s an utility loaded weapon that relies on two skills for most of it’s damage, a similar case like the Ranger’s Shorbow.

Hammer is fine. In testing it’s been proven it actually out-DPS’s Greatsword unless you’ve got GS completely traited. You’re right about the skill loading. 2 skills for damage, 3 for control; it definitely just comes down to playstyle choice.

HawkMeister.4758:

Yeah.
Guess I´ll just have to learn embracing our two handed weapon combos.

Not necessarily. Focus is awesome, and IMO, actually more defensive than shield. If you do go 2h, try hammer. Hammer is boss.

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

SoA’s bubble actually stays out a bit longer than the channel. It blocks for about 4s but casts in 2. If you switch immediately after you’re done casting and do a combo finisher with fast startup it should combo.

My apologies, I misread the original post, I thought OP was refering to light fields in general.

Yeah, SoA isn’t a good light field IMO, due to the channeled nature, there are many sigils and consecrations that are better.

Brutaly.6257:

Can just agree with Hjulstad, its more or less a l2p issue.

The only bad thing with the hammer is that 2h mastery aint increasing dps. Which makes it a useless trait from a pve perspective.

Take the damage of Mighty Blow. Divide by 5. The value is your increased DPS from having MB on a 1 second shorter CD.

The Human Stick.9310:

Dear ANet,
I do believe we(Guardians) need a better look at the hammer skills. There very inconsistent.

Skill Number:
1. Good Chain(No fix)
2. Best Skill (Good for Blast Combo)
3. sPvP skill (Worthless in PvE)
4. Knock Back (Hammer is Melee)
5. Worthless (Doesnt work in PvE or PVP)

I use hammer on my Guardian now. I like it. I just only use skills 1 and 2. I would really like to see more synergy.

If I’m wrong in this post please enlighten me. I really want to learn to play this class the best. It seems like GS(Greatsword) is just overall a better weapon.

Hammer is great in PvE and PvP, I don’t follow you here. I see you don’t have problems with skills 1 and 2, so I’ll address the others:

Skill 3: long immobilize. Not worthless in PvE, great control against vets and champs once you break their CC immunity. Also, great for controlling a pack of enemies, as it immobilizes all in a line. Also, it synergizes with 5, allowing you to lock the mob in or our of the ring.

Skill 4: Knockback: powerful skill with knockback/knockdown. Use it against a wall to keep mob in range, or use it on weapon swap (for example, switch to sword, skill two, mob is blind when it gets up and you get free hits). You can also pair it with Judge’s intervention. Also good for breathing room if close to death to pop off an unbothered heal while the mob is down.

Skill 5: Ring traps mobs in or out. Useful against a large group, trap in as many as you can, when they hit the wall they suffer knockdown. Also the ring acts as a light field to trigger combos (condition removal on ranged/bolts, retaliation on blast/mighty blow). This skill is more useful than you think, and the field/combo will synergize well, particularly with an Altruistic Healing build.

You pointed out greatsword as a better option than hammer, but I’m inclined to disagree. GS’s biggest attack requires multiple hits and control to be sure enemy is in place for all the hits. It does have a control option (blind on leap), but hammer has movement control, and Mighty Blow does equivalent damage to GS’s spin in one hit, and on a 5 second CD (4 sec if traited).

GS does have mobility over the hammer, but this can be mitigated simply by pairing the hammer with another weapon (personal preference is sword+focus on swap with a sigil of geomancy on the focus for bleed if I switch in melee range).

I’d recommend checking out this guide for a very detailed look at hammer skills and gameplay with a build oriented around it.

Never heard of this, it sounds like a visual bug. I drop fields and switch weapons for combos all the time without issue.

Have you tried the combo anyway to see if it triggers?

Greatsword: Leap of Faith, Pull (skills 3 and 5)
Hammer: Skill 3 immobilize, skill 5 prevents escape movement
Sword: Skill 2 Teleport (8 second cooldown, pretty far range)
Scepter: Skill 3 immobilize, also, ranged attack.

Next, in your utilities, you have Judge’s Intervention (teleport and burning), “Retreat!” and “Save Yourselves!” for swiftness, and if you’re not 1 on 1, you also have a healing teleport which will bring you to an ally with low health.