Guild Wars 2

I’d like to bring to this thread an uncommon point of view :

Your so-called discussion about “should dungeons be harder or have more viable builds ?” is a false one.

The real discussion is (as pointed out earlier by NikeEU) :
“Should dungeons be completable with a party made up of any class combination ?”

If the answer is YES, then there is little than Anet can do to satisfy Nike, NoTrigger, Spoj and many others. We’ll likely have dungeons/raids/whatever that they will complete in no time and then spend their remaining time trying to break world records with small size parties.

If the answer is NO, then the same people can have hope for some really crazy content that will require precise party composition and excellent timing. However it means the end of pugging for this type of content.

What makes the GW2 dungeons so awesome is that a team of 4 good rangers and a mesmer can still complete CoE P2 in acceptable times despite the subpar team comp. It allows pug groups to get filled faster and does not force people to play a specific class.

Now I wonder : is increasing the difficulty of instanced content at the cost of losing pugging quality of life worth it ?

To that I have no answer.

New maps that are well designed. Dry top and the Silverwastes. you should check them out, they shower you with loot and are action packed. The mobs in the silverwastes are actually trying to kill you (as opposed to mobs found in other maps).

Living story that you’ll have to pay to have access that is more interesting than the Scarlet extravaganza.

PvP overhaul, that thing is much better now.

New log-in reward system and new dailies that force you to do WvW for 2 min each day. It’s not so bad in the end.

New Player Experience system that is designed to drive you mad. Seriously, they really screwed up here.

Miku.6297:

TL:DR – Open world running around I would agree with you on, Groups selfish style or not I would not recommend necro over Ele.

Got it. Sounds I misunderstood your statement

Windsagio.1340:

spoj.9672:

Its pretty much guaranteed to be glass direct damage. But at the same time it could be assassins. So either way you are probably best waiting and just saving up the mats and components for crafting.

Even with improved conditions in HoT. Direct still has far superior maximum potential and benefits more from group buffs. One thing can be certain though. Theres no way Celestial will ever be meta for any class in PvE. The very concept of cele is to provide a balance of everything with no maximum efficiency in any area. You will have wasted stats no matter how well a class can take advantage of most of them.

I’m not willing to call Condi out yet, it depends not only on how far they go with systems changes (increasing the stack is likely only part of it), but also on any possible skill and trait changes (which are also very possible)

Agreed with the trait part. An awful lot of traits designed to help condition builds in the first place are better used in direct damage builds.

I’m looking at you “target the maimed”; “target the weak”; “attack of opportunity” etc…

Not only condition damage is backloaded (which is expected) but the max dps achievable by condi builds is still lower than the max dps reached by direct damage build (which is unacceptable).

Miku.6297:

3. Pugging dungeons… as a necro… Not exactly the caster I would recommend xD

I never join a group that says “speed clear” with my necro. Never ever.

However if I just see “P1” or “P1 lvl80 exp” no one gives a kitten about what class I am bringing. As an added bonus, the necro has a nice dps even though the group does not stack might (TRUE STORY: 80% of the groups pugging in AC/TA/CoF do not stack might).

That’s the point of playing a selfish (but autonomous) class in an uncoordinated environment made of 1 signet warrior, 2 rangers (one bearbow, one meta) and a medi-guard (plus me as a DS necro). Call me a crasy but that’s the way I prefer to play.

IMO : a LFG saying “P1” is basically random pugging. If you’re only joining speedclar parties, well… it’s not exactly random. You know what people expect from you at the very least.

If you want a caster that has its place in the meta for all game modes : ele

If you want a caster for jumping puzzles or a difficult but rewarding profession : mesmer

If you want a caster for Open world PvE or random dungeon pugging or WvW : necro

Fluffball.8307:

Anywho, we digress. Rangers have a good long range option but so does every class. I don’t think it defines rangers.

Ok, point taken. We’ll have to find something else.

Justine.6351:

Rangers got wide variety of CD lengths on utility skills. Can make bar very active with like traps or very boring with signets.

That’s much better I now have something nice for a summary. Never though about that active vs passive gameplay.

@Fluffball : which class is can perform better at long range fight than a ranger in your opinion ?

Ele is what came through my mind, but the staff is a very weak 1vs1 option in every competitive game mode. I main an ele so I know staff has a better dps at range in PvE mostly because mobs like to sit in lava fonts
However in PvP, I’m not putting any money on my staff ele vs a longbow ranger.

Justine.6351:

• rapid fire
• bs 2000 range
• 1111121111121111
• pewpewpew
• noob slayer

That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid. Thank you Justine for providing a nice counter exmple to what I asked.

Though after re-reading this a few minutes later I’ve come to the conclusion that here is something to salvage out of your garbage post :
Ranger is hands down the most proefficient class at long range engagement

So far I’ve got :

• Long range mastery
• Evasive and acrobatic class
• Jack of all trades, master of none
• That pet is an idiot

Hey everyone,

a friend recently purchased GW2. As all newbies he is asking me that famous question that is very hard to asnwer objectively :

What class should I play ?

The usual answer “Play what sounds cool to you” did not work with him so I am trying an alternative approach.

Your mission fellow rangers : Describe the ranger class using 5 bullet points : 3 of them must describes advantages the ranger has over other classes and 2 of them should describe drawbacks. Try to avoid discussion about various meta and technical details as much as possible. I’m trying to describe something to a newbie who has no knowledge of the intricacies of the gameplay.

Also try to cover all the game modes and stay very general.

Example with the necromancer (the class I know best) :
Strenghts of the necromancer :

• A necromancer is a very autonomous class. It boasts powerful self buffs and has efficients minions to cover him when leveling up.
• Necromancers are absolute masters of conditions. All classes can apply conditions but the necromancers can spread them more efficiently, and send back harmful conditions to their ennemies.
• Necromancers are tough. Because of their class mechanic, even the most offensive necromancers can rely on a secondary HP pool to absorb punishment.

Drawbacks of the necromancer :

• Vulnerable to ganks : Necromancers are though but not very mobile. Their access to escape Tools and stability is limited. A good necromancer must be able to position himself well to avoid bieng caught and trapped.
• A selfish class : Necromancers have very powerful self buff yet they bring little to an organised party except dps. This makes them not appreciated in some highly organised group content.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

They have too many strange restrictions on the skills you can use. My necro’s shadow and bone fiends can be summoned underwater but not my flesh golem. My ele can have an AOE field that boils the water but my necro can’t have an AOE skill that makes the water at a spot poisonous. My necro can become a virulent cloud but not a Lich underwater. The ele is even worse off with their elites. Out of their 4 elites, only one can be used underwater. My necro can summon minions, but the ele can’t summon elementals. My guardian can summon spirit weapons but my ele can’t summon weapons.

It’s these strange and inconsistent restrictions on the skills you can use that, imo cause people to dislike water combat. If I’m used to using a set of skill on land and those are denied me in water and I have to use a much smaller set of skills, then underwater combat will not be as fun.

Two words are especially true in my eyes in what you said :

1. strange
2. inconsistent

Strange we can deal with it. Inconsistent UW mechanics however are what make it broken.

cafard.8953:

Come on, it’s /airguitar that we need!

We have a bass that does not sound like a bass but it’s still something anyway

Azala Yar.7693:

VodCom.6924:

Azala Yar.7693:

DarkWasp.7291:

The irony is people don’t want to go in the water because its broken. In return people are not drawn to that content, and it gets pushed to the back of the table by the devs.

I like the underwater content just as much as the land content.

Doesn’t seem broken to me, so what is broken about underwater content?

• Half of your traits do not work UW. Depending on your profession, some mechanics can be entirely shut down (stealth for thieves, conjures for ele).
• Mobs also lack visible telegraphs (like the boss of HotW P2) and one shot anyone who tries to melee him.
• Cross class combos are unreliable at best.

Do I need to continue ?

Don’t get me wrong, UW content is fun from time to time when I’m bored of my daily dungeon routine. However, in its actual state it is not something I can see myself play for an extended period of time.

I’ve got all classes, 7 of those different classes are at 80, only one that isn’t is a necromancer which is a work in progress with another 3 characters.

I’ve not had any issues, sure some are stronger underwater than others, but that’s no different on land. That’s not to say that one class being weaker in the water is also weak on land.

If anything it’s more a class balance issue than an underwater is broken issue.

It’s not about “having problems with UW content”. I CAN complete UW dungeons just like everyone. However, gameplay in these areas feel clunky at best. Part of this clunky-ness come from being forced to change a lots of traits when going from land to UW. Most builds do not survive the transition from land to water. Necromancer, warriors and engineers are the ones that transition the best.

Also, it’s hard to stack might UW unless you have a phalanx strenght warrior with you.

And you missed my part where I said that combos are difficult to perform reliably underwater.

Finally, what you call a problem of balance just like land based combat is a delicious understatement. Not being able to finish a ranger underwater was a game breaking balance issue in PvP.

Azala Yar.7693:

DarkWasp.7291:

The irony is people don’t want to go in the water because its broken. In return people are not drawn to that content, and it gets pushed to the back of the table by the devs.

I like the underwater content just as much as the land content.

Doesn’t seem broken to me, so what is broken about underwater content?

• Half of your traits do not work UW. Depending on your profession, some mechanics can be entirely shut down (stealth for thieves, conjures for ele).
• Mobs also lack visible telegraphs (like the boss of HotW P2) and one shot anyone who tries to melee him.
• Cross class combos are unreliable at best.

Do I need to continue ?

Don’t get me wrong, UW content is fun from time to time when I’m bored of my daily dungeon routine. However, in its actual state it is not something I can see myself play for an extended period of time.

Jerus.4350:

I always laugh when people say that meta gaming doesn’t include PVE.

People have broken down the formulas on how damage is done and created spreadsheets to min/max the most possible damage to try and create optimal builds. Finding that using one rune set vs another is an increase in damage for example.

What do you call such a thing?

Spending time and effort to feel validated ? Not that it’s a bad thing. On the contrary if that can make some people happy I’m all for it.

Insert the obligatory link to GWW

So if we take the entire list of emotes from GW1 that are missing in GW2 that gives us :
/attention: [Character] comes to attention!
/beg: [Character] begs.
/boo or /scare: [Character] scares you!
/bored: [Character] is bored.
/bowhead or /head: [Character] bows his/her head.
/catchbreath or /breath: [Character] stops to catch his/her breath.
/clap: [Character] claps.
/congrats: [Character] offers congratulations.
/cough: [Character] coughs.
/doh: [Character] smacks his/her head. Doh!
/doubletake: [Character] does a double take.
/excited: [Character] is excited!
/fistshake: [Character] shakes a fist angrily.
/flex: [Character] flexes.
/goteam or /encourage: [Character] cheers wildly, “Go Team!”
/helpme: [Character] requests help!
/highfive or /five: [Character] says, “High Five!”
/moan: [Character] moans.
/paper: [Character] plays rock, paper, scissors. (Character lands on paper.)
/pickme: [Character] says, “Pick me!”
/pout: [Character] pouts.
/ready: [Character] is ready for action!
/roar: [Character] roars.
/rock: [Character] plays rock, paper, scissors. (Character lands on rock.)
/roll <#>: [Character] rolls (#) on a (#) sided die. (This emote does not work in towns, outposts or PvP combat areas.)
/salute: [Character] salutes.
/scissors or /scis: [Character] plays rock, paper, scissors. (Character lands on scissors.)
/scratch: [Character] scratches.
/shoo: [Character] shoos you away.
/sigh: [Character] sighs.
/sit or /afk: Character sits from a standing position.
/sorry: [Character] apologizes.
/taunt or /rude: [Character] taunts you.
/violin: [Character] plays the violin sadly.
Continues to make this emote until the character moves or another emote is given
/yawn: [Character] yawns.

Emote related to music instruments have been removed since we have instrumental bundles available.

Because it’s fun and I feel good when I finish one set of 4 with friends ?

HawkEye gave a nice summary of what weapons can do for a warrior. I’ll add my two cents on top of his posts :

• Sword has niche uses in PvE as well now, both in main hand and off-hand.
• Generally speaking, you should have at least one exemplary of each weapon you can use as a warrior in your inventory when you are level 80. Sometimes, you have to change a weapon on the fly to adapt to a specific unexpected situation.

Vinegaroon.4369:

Meta means outside or beyond. So a meta build is outside or beyond the game. Meta builds just look at the rules of the game and try to exploit them. There is no care for role playing or character story.

So Asura would be considered a meta-gamer’s race. It exploits the balance of the game. Since everyone can jump the same and everyone swings their weapons the same distance it doesn’t make sense that an Asura could swing as far as a Norn, or jump as far, or run as fast. But an Asura can jump 3 times his height, and a Norn can barely make it off the ground.

Same thing for meta builds. Turret engi is popular right now in PvP. So people exploit the turret rules to win PvP and with little skill. Meta builds are usually a max/min proposition.

I say look some up and try them. But mostly just make a build that suits your playstyle.

Let’s stick to the definition given by the first post below the OP shall we ?

Meta is a concept. It qualifies a build and/or the team setup that goes along with it that is considered by the community to be the best at accomplishing a certain task.

Important words are bolded. Concepts detailed below :

• The meta is a consensus. That consensus can rise from the results of math hammering or simply extensive testing or both. One does not mathematically demonstrate that one specific build is meta and not an other.
• Meta builds are tailored to a specific task that involves killing stuff. Thus there is no meta in roleplaying. The need for meta arise directly from the urge of most players to powerplay and take the path of least resistence.
• Meta builds in GW2 (and the math hammering that comes along) are designed with specific setups in mind. One should learn not only the meta builds but how to adapt them to a specific situation they were not designed for initially.

hybrid.5027:

Fat Disgrace.4275:

I don’t understand why you “need specific viable” builds for pve. just run full zerker and dmg traits and beat things up. GS and axe/xx

Some people labor under the delusion that Silverwastes mobs are so challenging that they need to use some special build for it. They don’t understand that they should use the same 65003 GS+* build they always run, but learn to play it better.

I have tried the standard GS+Axe/something in the SW for some time and I was not entirely satisfied with it. Don’t get me wrong, it gets the job done, but I feel there is something missing in it.

During defenses, I usually spend most of my time killing stone throwing husks or other types of husks that people neglect because they are away from the walls. I have swapped the axe/mace for a pair of swords in the meta build but still this is not satisfying.

The meta warrior build is completely focussed on the GS side (because it’s a really effective tool to kill regular monsters). However, once you step out of GS, the build loses a larche chunk of its potential, namely might generation. It is weird to spend some time generating might with the GS (but deal miserable damage) to then swap to swords and try to apply harder hitting bleeds.

How about tweaking the old pure axe build ? Something like 4/6/0/0/4 with Axe/mace +S/S to take advantage of dual wielding and dual wield agility for both weapon sets ? (keeping zerker armour but swapping runes for runes of the trooper w/ shouts on the utility bar for condi removal).

Long story short, GW1 was back in the days a paradise for theorycrafter and build makers.

The profusion of skills and the ability to have a 2nd profession meant you could combine whatever you want. It opened the possibility for crasy and unexpected combos.

Just to put things in perspective :

• In GW2, what is the best defensive support ? The guardian. Right you expected that.
• In GW1, the best healer (remember GW1 is using Trinity) is hands down the… elementalist with a monk as a secondary. I bet you didn’t see this one coming!

Why is the ele so much better than a monk who is built around the idea of Healing ? Because of a bronken combo involving sustained enchantments and an elite skill (ether renewal GW1) of the ele that give energy and health proportionnal to the number of enchantments he has on him.

If you are limiting yourselft to just enchantments from ele you would be very disappointed and the elite would be just meh. However, with a monk secondary you have accesse to plenty of long-lasting cheap enchantments that synergise like mad with the GW1 ether renewal.

This is not the only oddity of the GW1 speed clear meta. In fact the ENTIRE PvE speed-clear meta is made of oddboys builds that a selected group of theorycrafters have carefully built to take advantage of every single broken skill combo possible.

In GW2, everything is extremely streamlined, meaning that each profession does what it’s supposed to do and not much more. Thus a lot of people from GW1 were disgusted when they saw GW2 : A game with a gameplay that limited the possibilities. These people left quickly after launch TBH.

The streamlining was necessary : because GW2 is an action game with no Trinity, you cannot have the same profusion of skills like in GW1 and picking the right skills is as important as knowing how to use them.

GW1 gameplay can be summed up as : find the perfect build -> start your rotation -> done. No dodges, no jumps, very few blocks/evades. GW2 at least tries to keep you on your toes.

Monk Tank.5897:

With the taxes i pay Black Lion i could have rebuilt Lions Arch ten times already.

Fluff wise, the tax is here to pay storage facilities and trade security and also fill up Mr Gnashblade belly.

Wanze.8410:

A short reminder of whom we got to thank for it:

In this exciting and chaotic time, it’s easy to forget the hard lessons we’ve learned. We here at the Black Lion Trading Company would like to honor the memory of Lion’s Arch after Ellen Kiel’s tragic failure to protect it from the dastardly Scarlet Briar. For this event, we’re bringing back a boatload of exciting items you can use to show your respect!

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/lions-arch-commemorative-sale/

Interesting statement considering Ellen Kiel has been the only captain in the Council to actually do something to bolster LA vs Scarlet. Evon gnashblade in all his honesty and glory…. I supported him only to have the fall of abaddon fractal and certainly not for his projects for the city.

edgarallanpwn.8739:

Wanze.8410:

edgarallanpwn.8739:

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

Celestial is fully available in PvE and WvW as Celestial armor and Wup-Wup armor, it’s availablr weapons and trinkets as well. (and ascneded trinkets being solaria, lunaria, mursaat token and sysygy , forgot the last one, and the other 2 amulets..)

With it’s own skin color for Wup-Wup.

It’s crafted based upon charged quartz crystals. Recipe’s should be available, Ascended recipe’s are available from all Master Crafters.

And no I do not need the celestial sets with ultra easy acces in WvW, I hope to see some unlocked in dungeons in HoT (maybe, with zealots and some new other stats but I’ll see in the future.)

It’s crafted EASILY, it requires about 125 quartz crystals / trinket/ insignia / inscription costing 1 gold 25 from TP and 5 days to fuse and make 5 Charged Quartz Crystals (account bound)

Recipe’s are easily available:
recipe for jewel is less then 2 silver
recipe’s for exotic insignia and inscriptions are ~8 silver
recipe for exotic armor, weapons and trinkets range from 5 silver to 30 silver.
BOX recipe’s for armor are also available.

Unlocking all exotic celestial recipe’s will set you back about 5 gold.
Oh and of course crafting level 400 on -ALL- the neccesary professions

If people would have fused some crystals over the period they would have been available they would have had 100’s by now… since it was release during the Bazaar of the Four Winds being an older release launched on July 9, 2013 so in the past 21 months you could have made ~600 give or take a few….

I really wonder why everything has to be done instantly.
I have the wup wup weapons crafted (staff for ele), a scepter, a torch for mesmer (only for the skin) A full armor set, and I just did it 1 piece at a time. You’ll be making an ascended item each 5 days, which is interestingly enough time to also aquire your T7 mats for the better part. I earn about 50 gold every 5 days or so (just some dungeons) and it fits quite well TBH.

It used to be so powerfull pre nerf. It is nice but considerably less powerful now.

Because maybe i am not able to play everyday or devote so much time anymore to the game. The last thing i want do is drop a ton of gold, and waste a bunch of time for ASCENDED armor that i don’t even want. I’d be fine with exotic celestial and stuff. A couple of my builds use celestial, and Now I’d be forced to use another build, use a build i’m not into, or just not be able to enjoy wvw

gw2 is supposed to be casual

celestial gear is great for casuals because you can acquire it at the same pace as hardcore players. The daily charging of the crystals doesnt take more than a minute and can be done on the most casual schedule.

No you don’t get it. Let me re-explain.

I DON’T WANT ascended celestial. I’m NOT interested in the 5% increase you get from being ascended. I’m NOT interested in the account bound ascended gets.

What i AM interested in is its stat selection, being rounded stas, with the title “celestial”
Currently i can go buy a full set of zerker gear for ~40g or probably even cheaper. Exotic or lower. Something achievable even for casual players, but used by “hardcore”

You say celestial is GREAT for casual players, yet to get that SPECIFIC stat set, it’s gated 20x worse than anything that’s currently available for other stat sets.

Anet could introduce a crafted exotic set, that’s not soulbound for trade on tp, using the same skins and models as another set since other items use the same visual models.

The fact that this is NOT available, is the problem. The only available celestial items, are END GAME items. Everything else is available at almost any level, and tier.

Maybe they included it in the expansion, idk, but the problem still exists.

You won’t get any compassion by yelling in your posts, just saying.

We get it, you don’t want to spend money on ascended armour. That’s fine. For 4-5 gold, you can buy all the recipes you need for exotic armour and trinkets.

Then, it’s just a matter of charging a cristal every day for a month. It takes you one minute per day. That’s it. All you have to do next is to be patient.

The celestial stuff is account bound because Anet wanted :

• to have casuals getting the stuff at the same speed than super rich players
• to prevent you from using your credit card to buy the gear and instead be involved in living story season 1.

I do not approve this way of thinking but that’s the way it is now and all the tears you can cry won’t change that.

Miku Lawrence.6329:

Mesmer rotation is 352(2)1111112(2)11111231111121111123… (spear). 6 6 0 0 2 full DPS with 3+ mantras (Nothing worth reflecting UW).

After reading all the replies, I get there is a consensus about mantra way being the go-to build UW and if I remember correctly the 6/6/0/0/2 allocation is for optimised personal damage.

What about a 6/4/0/0/4 trait allocation for maxing phantasm damage ? Or is the spear phantasm so dreadful that it’s not worth it ?

And btw I suppose spear 2 is to be used in front of a wall just like ele water #5 for extra fun.

spoj.9672:

Not been following this thread closely for a while. Id just like to point something out. The dungeon community was actually pretty big at the start of the game. Its obviously shrunk hugely because there has been no major updates or additions. And the type of players that like dungeons and instanced content left for other games. Leaving only a small community of players that stuck around.

Saying the dungeon community is a minority is fine. Saying thats a reason not to develop new instanced content is rather short sighted. Especially as the reason it has become a minority is because of neglect. Putting development resources into that area will bring a lot of players back and bring in a lot of new players that like that type of content.

Im sure Anet knows this. It just hasnt been a priority yet. Hopefully im wrong about that and we will see something in HoT. Personally I consider it a pretty poor business decision not to try and bring in a large group of dedicated and hardcore players. Those players tend to be the ones that invest in a game for longer, spend more money and end up being more loyal. But you have to give them something to hook them in first.

I’m definitely late to the party. Anyway that won’t prevent me from endorsing what is said by spoj.

Daily dungeon runners are one of the 3 pillars of GW2 economy : they generate the gold that enable all the farmers to trade efficiently. Not taking care of them would be a bad decision for Anet.

Thanks for all the tips. I’m compiling this in a .txt file.

About UW combat : the idea was nice but the implementation was not perfect by a long shot, having half your skills made irrelevant is bad ofc, but what bugs me is the interaction with the traits which is even worse.

I still think UW combat has a place in this game but it would require an awful lot of rework to truly shine.

Hey everyone,

some guildies who recently came into the game are trying to complete their dungeon master title, and I’ve decided to join and help them.

This implies to get back to HotW P2 and 3 that feature underwater combat. Truth is, I haven’t been there for a while and I’ve forgotten how to be a good player when fighting underwater. I’ve looked at gw2dungeons.net but I feel there is something missing for these 2 paths

Anyone has advices on :

• What are the optimal dps rotations underwater ?
• What builds/trait allocations are efficient/inefficient while UW ?
• Which profession performs better in UW combat ?
• Any tip you can think of you want to share.

Thanks in advance.

And before someone asks, I do not focus on a specific profession so bring it on. The more knowledge is shared, the better.

If you want to play GW1 keep 3 things in mind :

• Right now, the game is more of a single player RPG with the option to play coop with a friend rather than a massively multiplayer game.
• Thus you’ll spend 90% of your time leading a party of AI and rely on the good old Trinity.
• I recommand starting with the nightfall campaign to collect your heroes as soon as possible. If you want to play an assassin or a ritualist, start with factions and try to get to nightfall as soon as possible for these heroes.

Why am I bothering you with heroes ? You have 3 options to fill your empty party slots :

• Other players (very hard to find in GW1 these days)
• Mercenaries (NPCs with a fixed build that is not always optimal and a scripted AI)
• Heroes (NPC you have to equip, however their behaviour can be controlled and their builds/skills customised)

Because the game is so old, the meta and all the dirty tricks to make your party of AIs work have been refined. Thus, it’s more efficient to recruit heroes ASAP and give them the optimised “heroes builds”. Once the key heroes are acquired and have their builds ready, the game becomes fast and easy.

Check here for team setups and optimised builds.

Philippe.3815:

Okay thanks alot! I just read some more and looked at ranger more carefully and i might not go for it since i was a hunter in wow for years. And i think ive done enouf of the pet thing. Any idea on how the mesmer is doing is it super hard to play?

Mesmer is an oddboy in the GW2 family.

When playing mesmer you should not think about raw dps but rather all the tricks and utility you’ll bring to your team, especially in PvE and WvW. That makes the profession a kittenallenging to learn (it’s not like the warrior where you spam 100blades on cooldown, there’s a bit of finesse involved) but very VERY satisfying to play.

In sPvP, mesmer is an awesome bursting profession that is mobile and can be stealthy as well.

When playing mesmer, there is no true and convoluted “rotation/chaining of skills” like you se in WoW. The gameplay requires you to use the right skill at the right time and to stay aware of your surroundings.

En gros un envout’ gagne parce qu’il est plus malin que son adversaire et pas parce qu’il est plus bourrin. Mais pas besoin d’être Bac+8 pour en jouer un.

Then tell me :

• How do you implement the encounter dynamics of the DOA in GW2 ?
• Mallyx was unique because he negated most of the tools we used for every other encounters (hexes and enchantments). Do you think ppl in GW2 will apprecite a boss that absorbs every boon they get and send back every condition they apply ?
• The map layout was designed for characters that could not jump and had no portal (cf trenches in the Maw part), how do you take this in account in GW2.

I’m not against the return of DOA in GW2 but there’s a crapton of technical issues with the implementation. Do you think it’s Worth the time ?

phandaria.4891:

Kinda excited about HoT here, but do we know what will happen to the old story content?

Personally I would love to replay the Pact storyline with the uber new Revenant, is it possible? Or all the old vanilla is obsolete once the expansion is out.

Your profession has no impact on the story you experience. SO yeah, you’ll be the commander of the pact even with a revenant.

Xillllix.3485:

I don,t get why they want to go do the rotation idea. 3 identical versions of a single map, then 1 month later 3 identical versions of another map, then back to the other one…. WHy not have 3 different maps all the time by adding EOTM to the PPT rotation?

Nobody goes to EOTM for 5 minutes when they are in queue anyway, it takes 10 minutes just to get to the zerg anyway since there are no waypoints on that map.

EOTM cannot be rotated with EBG because it of the different number of objectives and the lack of stonemist. However I’d pay to see real T1 WvW happening on this map.

BlkPrince.2854:

heartless.6803:

Depends on what though, in pvp my vote is guardians as they’re the easiest to counter due to their lack of options on damage oriented weapons being limited to only the greatsword.

pve instances, necro they provide nothing but low damage.

solo content, ele but thats me they take 3 times the work as every other class

world bosses, thieves they die so fast and have no real ranged option.

lol eles are the best solo clearly u dont know how to play the class

Necro is the best solo class. They have access to every buff the ele has (though it’s only for themselves) and bring boon stripping on top of this.

I’m talking about open world ofc, not solo dungeon path which is a really niche activity.

rotten.9753:

lordkrall.7241:

They merged the dungeon team into the LS teams. And two of the most celebrated dungeons (Molten Dungeon and Aetherblade Retreat) were done AFTER that happened.

Most celebrated?? o.O

Technically, these dungeons were less buggy and offered more interesting challenges/puzzles than the AC I run daily.

The fact they got re-integrated in fractals because of community lobbying should tell you how appreciated they were.

Lucky Shot.7650:

VodCom.6924:

In open world with large zerg events, you want mobs to not drop loot to encourage players to complete the event rather than just tagging.

… or encourage them to go and play another, more rewarding, event, like one where mobs drop a crapload of good stuff! =/

Well, last time I went in the SW it was full of players. So I doubt the lack of loot from mobs is discouraging them. Also, keep in mind it is now one of the most lucrative open world farm zone.

Cursed Shore is nice for T6 and dragonite but offers a lower gold/hour rate IIRC.

Dropping loot or not dropping loot is tied to incentives to the players.

In dungeons, you want mobs to drop attractive loot to discourage skipping (hint: arah pendant). This is especially true in arah where everything bar bosses can be skipped, which is removing “the meat” of the dungeon.

In open world with large zerg events, you want mobs to not drop loot to encourage players to complete the event rather than just tagging.

In open world with no event, you want mobs to drop normally to encourage roamers to kill them.

The giant will be a waste of time until they turn him into a world boss with the appropriate rewards and a spot in the rotation. It’s long and boring but it can be zerged.

Diovid.9506:

The completionist in me hopes so. The completionist in me also hates the fact that there is no map completion for South Sun, Dry Top and the Silverwastes.

That always bugged me out. It’s not like it’s complicated to integrate these maps in the world completion.

Garky.1735:

So I found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKcDOIgEGLU and it seems to be pretty much exactly what I’m looking for. I made a few tweaks; exotic accessories, 3 zerker, 3 rabid, full rampager gear, rabid scepter/dagger, zerker axe/focus or warhorn…still undecided on that.

Keep in mind that that nemesis is known for his love of unconventionnal builds. What he presented is meta only for the triple trouble wurm (condition team mostly).

In dungeon PuGs, this build is outperformed almost everywhere by the DS shredder. Consider using this build only on level 30+ fractal pugs.

For teh weapons :

• S/D as your condition set
• Either A/F OR D/W as your direct dps set.

Do NOT mix axe and warhorn together. If you really want the warhorn, take a dagger in your main hand. Trust me it’s for the better.

Orochimaru.4730:

Altair.8402:

I’m using 6/4/2/0/2 staff with zerkers everything. The amount of dps from meteor shower + ice storm + lava font is completely nuts on the SW bosses. It’s definitely not faceroll but pretty survivable if you have good dodges and positioning.

But are you soloing, in a party or running on withe the map zerg?

If it’s doing the living story solo, a dungeon meta build can work well.

Running in a SW zerg with this build however is dangerous since mordrems have a lot of tools to ruin your day. And you most likely won’t be babysit by a guard that’s going to apply protection/stab on you and remove condi from you like in dungeons.

The trait allocation is what I use against mordrems : trait X in water is very appreaciated when fighting mordrems that apply tormet like mad.

However coupling this allocation with scepter is IMO a very poor choice. Burst builds are hardly capable of working in PvE because your target will resist your burst. As other said, to have steady damage with scepter, you need a conjure and conjures are upgraded by investing in the fire line.

What you can try to use this :
6/0/0/4/4 with S/D or S/F -> You will have persisting flames and conjurer traits to boost yourself and allies and your hammer will last long enough for your blasts skills to recharge.

Of course the classic dungeon scepter conjure meta build can work though it requires a lot of finesse, espacially vs mordrems.

Nick.6972:

I can already see it. Necro Zergs with fear.
I guess It’s fun right?

Only going to matter in areas close to the air keep which is the only place that features deep canyons. Remember that if you own the air keep and its 3 shrines, you’ll be immune to falling damage.

Everywhere else, elevation and cliff are going to be very similar to what already exists in EBG or the alpine BL.

Just give this map a chance. You’ll have the right to rant after you’ve played it for a week.

Purecura.1795:

My vote goes to Necromancer.

It needs improvements like no other class. In PvE no one wants a necro in their dungeon runs.

Your statement tells me two things :

• You have an excellent knowledge of the dungeon meta and dungeons in general.
• You have no clue about the habits of the majority of the community

The large majority of dungeon runs are done with pugs. 90% of pug groups do not bother to stack might, get their targets to 25 stacks of vuln and do not give a kitten about perma fury. And of course, nobody uses consumables.

The necromancer is a slefish class but it’s also an autonomous one, meaning that in these types of group, the necromancer outdamages almost everyone in the party (self buff to 25 might, applies vuln and no need for fury since 100% crit chances in DS) while being tougher than most.

When I see a necromancer in my pug party I assumes that :

• This guy will bring nothing to me in terms of buffs
• This guy will not need babysitting (they are usually the last ones standing)
• This guy will be efficient no matter what I do

So I’m not going to votekick necro in dungeons. I use necromancers often when pugging and I never had problems. People that do not pack at the right place or people that die too often are much more of a problem to me than a well played necromancer.

Purecura.1795:

All players, no matter their profession, should be able to enjoy all forms of gameplay, ( PvE, WvW, PvP ) not just certain ones.

On this we agree.

Back on topic: least played profession ? I’d say mesmers and engineers. They are the two classes that do not have a corresponding archetype in other fantasy games and thus, hardly attract audience at first sight, despite being awesone. The engineer is more than awesome, it’s kinda broken in WvW/PvP whith their unblockable CCs.

Prices are fine for damask. Silk needed a sink and now it has a good one.

If anything, the real problem lies in leather that, despite ascended armour still costs nothing. I’d like to see it fixed.

Indeed, dry top was built with this idea of splitting up zergs. This is what makes it relatively refreshing compared to the SW where this is just 4 big blobs.

In an organized dry top, you have one big zerg and 5 other little group that each constribute to the favor level. And thanks to this level of coordination you can purchase lockpicks for cheap.

The only tedious part in the map is the chest farm that cannot be done reliably.

As for you not surviving some champions (I bet it’s the acarid storm) →* Just range it.* Call me a crasy but dual pistols is a working option against the acarid storm. Daggar/dagger does not work here.

Dry top is a map that has been created recently meaning the devs started to take in account the berserker meta when designing monsters/ennemies. Champions have additionnal defenses vs melee combat to prevent them from being trivialised by zergs or high dps builds.

Flumek.9043:

REMOVE THIS DAILY BULL SYSTEM

NOW, not after 9 april or whenever..

Why removing it ? Thanks to the daily, I discovered rank farm and now have a new activity to spend my free time on.

You can post ads in map chat as long as it is reasonable (guilds post ads in the same channels and nobody cares).

Posting in LFG is a bannable offense though.

I stumble sometimes on people how need to get off their high horses. Just don’t join groups with preposterous description in the lfg.

In this game, there are casuals, veterans and speed clearers groups when it comes to clear dungeons. They all have different way to play and have fun. You should just avoid joining groups whose definition of fun does not match yours.

dietzero.3514:

Aidenwolf.5964:

Just turn off show emotes in the chat pane. Seriously.

What an incredibly shortsighted and ridiculous response. Emotes are a part of the game, and even NPCs use them. Having to turn them off because some people spam a million a second is NOT a viable option, and should not be suggested.

You can still ignore the guy or block him. That’s two options to choose from.

You have trouble copy-pasting the name to block him ? TAKE A BLOODY SCRREN ! And copy the name quietly.