Guild Wars 2

I am requesting a change to Team Arena party requirements. I would like to see Team Arena require the group to have 2, 3, or 5 players in the party to enter queue.

The reason behind this is to prevent people entering the queue as a party of 1. I play pretty much exclusively with my best friends from college (party of 2 or 3). We are always using Voice communication and we are coordinated (or atleast try to be). It being Team Arena, I would hope that my matched teammates would be in a party and communicating as well. People who enter Team Arena by themselves are usually either mistaken, new and unaware of their mistake, or trolling with nothing positive to add to the match.

Implementing this change could increase queue times but I would gladly make that sacrifice for some useful and communicating teammates. Another unfortunate repercussion is that parties of 4 are no longer going to be allowed but as I see it, if you have 4 then finding 1 more shouldn’t be much of a hindrance.

Its a slippery slope, but currently allowing people to queue into Team Arena by themselves is severely affecting my games in a negative fashion.

I would love to see alternate ideas or feelings from the community on this issue (if you have any)

Big fan of this post. We are not devs so no one can say that these changes are viable but no matter what they are GREAT ideas. I really like the points made on the Warrior’s bezerker stance and Necromancer’s fears.

good point. I would say that dodging is probably just as likely in SOLO. Dodging could be the answer to my post heading. Maybe this idea is good when the penalty for leaving is changed to something a little stronger.

To be clear I am saying that after the 10 second countdown, if rosters don’t match then the game just ends. If some one quits mid-way through than tough cookies I guess.

Simple question,

If the match starts and the rosters of the teams are uneven in solo and team arena, then why cant the game just halt and send you back to the mists to re-enter queue?

I have never seen a 4v5 or a 3v4 produce any competitive game play, especially in a territory control game format. Can we stop punishing the people on incomplete teams with an auto-loss?

Just a thought

I wanted to come out and say that I like my mesmer the way it is. I want my class to have weaknesses. I think all classes and builds should have glaring weaknesses. I just think the current overload of conditions are so powerful that our class weakness has suffered the hardest. Please don’t turn mesmers into your the next balance project.

— Sincerley,
Clown Shoez

I think this is a good time to step back and look at the meta as a whole and the issues that plague it.

So it could be said that power-based glass cannon roles are typical to things like thief, ele (fresh air or d/d), mesmers, some engi builds (discharge), and warrior. Now among all those, every single one has issues staying alive and contributing in the current meta. Theifs have mechanics such as stealth and mobility (reliable and consistent). Engi’s have decent disengage and some condi clear (elixirs if chosen). Ele’s have moderate condi clear, CC’s, and access to swiftness and Ride the Lightning. Warriors have some disengage, CC’s, a smidge of sustain, and a few condi handling utils and traits.

Mesmers have focus off hand and portal. We have some access to stealth but rarely is it sustained enough for disengage. We have some condi clear but its limited in either mechanic, effectiveness, or lengthy cool down.

The bottom line is all these classes are struggling in the current meta (with the exception of thief possibly). Thiefs and Eles are still run in high level play (ele being very rare) because managed correctly they can perform their role, bring unique benifits to a team, and stay alive enough to benefit the team. I think that being a liability to a team comes with the territory of being a glass cannon but in the same light, we need the tools to hide, disengage, or reset the fight in some manner so that when played correctly we can be a help to a team and have a chance to win other than pure insta-gibbing.

Pieces to this puzzle are there for mesmer (port, blink, null field, decoy, mass invis, etc..) but the issue lies that there is no real way to put these pieces together and still have a build that is powerful and effective in a team comp.

tldr; I don’t think its just mesmers that need looking at, I think glassy power builds in general are out of favor in the current meta and proper analysis and design needs to be implemented to get us back on par with attrition/condi based roles.

Xeph.4513:

sorrow.2364:

Xeph.4513:

Why are you so bitter ?

Because there are so many design flaws in PvP that there isn’t so much to being happy after 1 year of constant updates leading to nothing.

The meta was broken since launch and there wasn’t really a period in which you were able to say “Finally I can play in a balanced game”.

All I see in the sPvP forums are suggestion aiming to make changes that will lead again on imbalances, shifting the meta again in situations in which some profession overshadow all the others.

Mesmer has been and still is a must-take in every tPvP match because of its utilities. In the current meta Mesmer didn’t survived because of not-so-good condition removals. After you’ll bring again Mesmer in the meta, it will be again a must take in every team because of portal, IoL, Moa/TW and so on.

Necromancers and Rangers, after their conditions and spirits will be toned down, will be again unviable and brought in no team ever, because, in the way they are designed, they bring pretty much nothing in the conquest gamemode.

Probably the mother of every issue is that the competitive gamemode is only one and that some professions are designed to be the best at it..?

I have nothing against TP, it’s just that you are the biggest voice in the PvP community, but, still, it looks like you want to bring the meta as it was 6-7 months ago.

So because we don’t share the same balance views as yourself, it means thakittens fine to take shots at us ?
Sorry its just not making sense to me, because I also disagree with how you view balancing but you don’t see me coming on the forums and getting mad at you :<
just try and treat others as you would like to be treated is all I am saying.

But yes on topic, I do agree that mesmers at the moment are not viable in the meta, does that mean they are a weak class ? no
do they need buffs ? no
Fact of the matter is, that if necro and thief are nerfed, then mesmer will once again be viable and in my personal opinion a little too strong, espically damage wise, so what I would suggest is to:
Nerf the damage on berserker.
Remove the mightstacks given on mirror blade and replace it with regen/retaliation.
Reduce the mental torment trait to only giving 10% increased mindwrack damage.
Reduce Halting strike damage by 15% (its a free windwrack right now)

Hopefully that should bring them in line damage wise.
I am sure there are more things that need to be looked at, but I personally would start there.

I agree with you Xeph on your views. The only thing I differ on is the way I would go about toning down Mesmer (that is to say if the meta ever settles and lets us back in).

I would like to see the GS auto attack reverse in mechanic. By this I mean that the way the skill does much greater damage at greater distance is backwards to me. I think that the closer you are, the more damage the auto attack does and the further away you are, the less damage it should do (risk/reward logic).

Might Stacks on GS should be allowable. In a group fight the Mesmer rarely benefits as it bounces mostly through enemy and almost never comes back to your position. 1v1 however we benefit from this skill (except pet spam builds) greatly and I believe its a crucial part of being able to win a solo engagement.

As for I-zerker, I agree it could be looked at but I really am not convinced its over the top just yet. Its an easily predictable/blindable/kiteable move that gets most of its damage benefit from the combinations of our amulet, ogre runes, phantasmal fury, and compounding power traits (in other words we gear and trait to be so offensive so visa vi the phantasam hits like a truck). To me, I think the answer is to increase the cooldown on it slightly so its a more intelligent decision to blow the cooldown than to just spam it on availability.

If you move mental torment and halting strike to the master tier and move rending shatter and shattered concentration to the adept tier you would not only force a choice on some of the more damaging traits but you would also open up some of the utility traits to possibly increase build diversity.

Xeph didnt mention it but some others in this thread have, and Moa is a balanced skill in my opinion (obvious animation and sound that is dodgeable/blockable/blindable, not a death sentence if you manage your evades and moa skills). That being said, I dont like it though because no one enjoys loss of control of your character for an extended period of time, especially in a game this fast paced (this applies to the new 3 second stuns as well, but thats a different rant. I apparently I am the only one who doesn’t enjoy 3 second stuns ) I would hope to see this move get changed in the future.

I really didn’t want to post on this forum because this is a knee-jerk reaction without any validation. That being said, after signing on and tinkering with a necro (not my main), I am afraid that this effort to “shave” the necro a bit might backfire (cant say for sure just something to watch for).

I am specifically referring to the build 30/20/0/0/20. With the improvements on un-traited marks this build is sure to become prevalent. With this build you can achieve 100% fear duration with access to terror and burning. That in coordination with the increased survivability in death shroud have me scared.

The jury is still out, the patch is hours old, but I by simple logic I am scared about this build. Getting killed in a fear 100-0 was what caused so much frustration over necros in the first place, and I think this could actually cause getting 1 shot to become more prevalent rather than curtail it. I hope that I am wrong

butch.8136:

^But how? How do you make ranged the same as close-range risk-wise, skill-wise? Without giving melee/close range gap-closers because clearly those aren’t enough for most people.

Things that have been suggested would work like an activation time such as dragon tooth and things similar. Other ideas would be something like requiring AOE to be dropped at the casters feet (i know it sounds dumb but would it really be that bad?). You could also require a condi to be present to drop it, (i.e. cant drop reapers mark unless the target is poisoned).

My ideas might not be the best but the point is valid. Mechanics could be implemented to promote more intelligent and dynamic use of AOE rather than the current spam meta that exists now.

My main issue with AOE is there is no risk in order to successfully pull it off. Warriors have to be in the fray to pull off their cleave. Its high risk high reward. Other classes should be subjected to the same. Whether its marks, chaos storms, etc… , all need some sort of risk to make someone choose to use it instead of just spamming it on cooldown.

I know everyone has differing opinions regarding the issues at hand, but can we as a community at least come together and create some sort of mission statement that will help A-Net truly understand what the competitive community is wanting.

Mine would go something like "We would like all classes and builds to require management and skill in order to be effective. Whether with conditions, pets, or evades, please create a system where a player has to choose intelligently what to do and when to do it. Also look and listen to the community regarding in-game mechanical bugs and please notify and fix them at a quicker rate (or at least acknowledge the problem). "

Now you try

I want to chime in and say that this has been my exact feelings towards the game since the patch. My enjoyment of tPvP is at an all time low (and for good reason). Since release, A-Net has stuck with the “no whack-a-mole” approach to balance and continually stated the dangers of large changes affecting the game for the worse. Then this happens…

I understand that balance is a living breathing entity that is going to change and go through growing pains. I am usually the last to complain about it. This change was a mistake though and I would actually prefer it to be reverted. It sounds extreme but if you break a program, its usually better to work off an older saved version that works than it is to go forward trying to fix the broken version. Just my opinion

I’ll try and state my observations without a wall of text.

The glass floor is a death without much/any counter play. Interactive environments are a great idea but the glass in its current implementation promotes abusing mechanics rather than promoting skill play (I define skill plays as those that occur with both combatants having a fair shake at attacking and reacting). I am all for different maps promoting different builds but any map that promotes class stacking or abuse of skill mechanics is deplorable in a PvP enviroment.

If the current glass mechanic stays, I would prefer it not to be an instant death. If anything, falling through should make you start back at spawn with no rez timer (or you could fight the sandworms for survival… something less punishing is what im advocating).

EDIT!!!! i was incorrect in my observations. the trait is working properly. my mistake and please delete this thread

This trait is working properly with the greatsword’s mirrored blades but is not affecting the staff auto, winds of chaos.

to be clear i am talking about the VII trait in the Illusions trait line

Archaon.6245:

Julius.1094:

Archaon.6245:

As i said many times…if you REALLY think going asura gives you a big advantage just make an asura char and it’s done you are at the same level now…you know you can go pvp with lv1 char so at the end of the day where’s the problem? But if race size is just an excuse when you get facerolled i don’t think getting an asura would improve your skills so much….if you can’t spot asura’s skills it’s your problem cause 90% of pvp community already fight asuras with no problems at all….and maybe, just maybe…that asura who destroyed you last time would kik you anyway even if you go asura too..

Ugh, tone it down a tad, bro. Where did I use that as an excuse for losing to anybody other than in your head? Of course making an asura evens things out thank you for that intelligent insight my point is that that’s not as fun as what I propose. Nowhere did I say “can’t spot animations at all”… I said that it’s harder to spot, specially in team fights with a lot of things blocking your view, and it seems to me most of the community (I’ll avoid making up statistics) agrees with that based on the fact so many roll asuras for that very reason, specially among high ranked players. My point is that the game would be better off if it just wasn’t a factor, that it would be more fun to play and watch if players could just pick whatever race they like most. Do tell me, what’s wrong with that?

I actually play 3 classes in tpvp and 3 races…human, silvary and asura and there’s no difference at all…good players would get you no matter the race you’re playing..and i don’t feel any difference myself between fighting a norn or an asura at all, even during mid teamfights…i mean, all humans or big asuras and small norns? Seriously? I think that anyone let’s say over r25-30 must not have problems on fighting asuras, sure maybe harder for a r10…but i don’t think you can actually find a 40+ saying asuras are unfair cause they’re harder to identify and stuff (Unless he spent his whole life farming hotjoin only)…because no, they aren’t..

If you have ever been in a team fight and seen the amount of visual effects being triggered, I find it hard to believe that you would say that seeing a norn animation is no different to an asura’s. The difference may have minimal effect, but being smaller means smaller animations and with this game it is an amplified problem due to the clutter on the screen already. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I personally dont think this a huge issue either but to deny the existence of race differences is kinda crazy (one might even say ludicrous)

Julius.1094:

candlecan.9827:

Lets be logical here.
Is this issue annoying? yes
Is it game breaking? no

This is a quality of life issue. An option to show all players as human or something would be a nice addition, but on a priority list I would rank this very near the bottom. Demanding a dev response is kind of ludicrous

Very little atm in pvp is “game breaking”, so if that’s your criteria for things being addressed I guess we won’t be doing much. There are plenty of balance issues, and this is a balance issue and also a match viewing issue, both of those things are key to a game trying to break into esports. You would rank it near the bottom, ok, good for you. This issue is a lot more visible in high level pvp, so that might be why it’s not very noticeable to you.

Ease your elitist nerdrage please. I meant no offense to your topic. My point is that with issues such as solo que, leaderboards, etc. I would think that the time needed to implement character normalization might be something lower on the ladder of things to do. I am not disagreeing that this is an issue, just stating that more important things are on the plate for devs than this.

Your point is valid, everyone rolls asura for a reason. I would like to see this fixed, but I would prefer that other issues are addressed first, that is all. Maybe I was wrong in using a term like ludicrous

Shukran.4851:

it is since november ppl write “new (big) patch/ new hope”… don’t you get tired of throwing so much hope away?

Each new patch has brought improvements, no matter how small. I have never had my hope “thrown away”. Instead I have had my hopes grow with each patch

Lets be logical here.
Is this issue annoying? yes
Is it game breaking? no

This is a quality of life issue. An option to show all players as human or something would be a nice addition, but on a priority list I would rank this very near the bottom. Demanding a dev response is kind of ludicrous

with the scope and scale of a solo que from a programming viewpoint, I would guess to say Solo que is a little ways off. This holds true for trait manipulation as well. I hope these changes to traits aren’t ideas from 6 months ago that just now make it into the game….

but I’m with the OP, glass half-full approach

prozon.3561:

There are more problems like these…. same as the engineer knockback on flamethrower. No kittening way to this kitten coming, same like focus pull.

Lets stop this train before it goes out of control. Temporal Curtain needs a fix because it affects everyone in its range and also almost always ensures a shatter (a huge source of AOE damage). Not all moves should be predictable. If everything is telegraphed and predictable then all effectiveness of said moves is removed. Also get ready for the blow back from this change. You guys complain about focus now but get ready to complain about illusionary swordsmen and duelists. I know if this change works out like I’m predicting, I will immediatley be switching out my focus.

Also I agree curtain needs a change but I feel strongly that making it predictable is the wrong way to go about it. One idea might be if you cross the curtain then you get a debuff similar to binding blades. Only debuffed players can then be pulled.

I think the range of this move is fine but I tend to agree that maybe a enemy spell alerter (similar to big bomb on engies) might be a good change to help inform combatants

Now that my thread has officially been derailed, can we please talk about what my post was meant to discuss?

A lot of text to argue a mute point. If S/D is a misconceived weapon set and not overly strong then why do 99% of people run S/D in both weapon sets? S/D provides absurd up-time, your evades are endless, and you can easily take out any profession with your endless initiative and gap closers

I was going to put phantasm mesmer on the list but as cheesy as it is, I don’t personally think its as strong as everyone is saying. That being said, integrating some sort of skill or control of your phantasms instead of the current “hit it and forget it” cooldown system would be a great improvement. Any removal of AI and unskillful specs/play in PvP to me is a good thing. Easy specs should exist, but spamming a few moves and instantly being able to hang with skilled players is not very fun or conducive to competitive play

I main mesmer. I am biased. This is my opinion, so when flaming understand that this is my perspective, nothing personal.

S/D Theifs – access to 10+ evades. 100% up-time on single targets through not much more than #3 spam. Multiple teleports and easy access to swiftness. Lets be real, they run S/D on both weapon sets because its so good.

BM Hunters – nothing new here. Not entirely a sleazeball spec, but there are some very dumb things that have been complained about a lot and neglected up to this point.
Pets are VERY tanky, can do insane damage (see raven and river drake), and have unlimited leashes. See also dropping spirit and putting pet on mid point and holding close just fine.

Also as a side note, the new teleport system is buggy and needs work. I understand you don’t want people teleporting into clocktower and through walls. That is justified. I do think I should be able to Illusionary leap around a tiny pillar or phase retreat up a stair case. Just seems buggy to me.

That’s all the QQ from me for a while. I would like to see POSITIVE responses on how to fix and change these things, or positive talking points on how I am mistaken in my views. Please no class warfare and trolling

I personally think threads like this are pointless. Every class generally is pretty simple on the surface, but gains incredible amounts of skill and difficulty in utilizing the intricacies of its play and implementation in a competitive setting. I don’t think playing any class is physically or mentally harder than any other. Each individual player is going to be affected differently by the mechanics and requirements of the different classes.

This is my matchmaking experience (albeit not in the form requested by the dev)

First, I rarely play with a full team of 5. I haven’t since the update actually. When I did play with a full team, my place on the leaderboards would usually rank between 300-600. When I entered tPvP solo, I would immediately drop off of the boards (regardless of my amount of wins and losses earned). I now am currently off the leaderboards, still solo queing, and my opponents are almost always either a coordinated skilled team or a mish-mash of players that frequent the boards at 300 and higher. I play both during prime-times and not, and my que times are very quick (usually less than 5 min).

Just basing off my judgement alone (no numbers to back this up, just my observation), I feel like my quality of games have gone down. Games with large discrepancies have increased in frequency, while good close matches are now a rarity. In fact, the skill level of my teammates has been much lower than what I have experienced previously, and the skill level of my opponents are much stronger than what I have experienced in the past.

Also on a side note, I would like to ask if there are maybe better solutions for gauging the skill of a player other than just wins and losses? This game is very team oriented and I feel like players can ride the wave of wins and losses in tPvP without any true representation of the players actual individual skill level (referring to solo que of course). Could a system not be implemented that took into account multiple important variables that would enhance A-nets evaluation of said player? I dont feel the current scoring system has much validity in judging success so I am not saying points scored in a game would be a good idea. I am more in favor of more complex statistics. Things that come to mind are things like kill/death ratio, lifespan and teammate rez to death ratio, complex node information (time spent assaulting/defending nodes, average caps and decaps per game, deaths/kills in nodes). Much better ideas and examples could be given, but my point is that a more accurate picture of player performance is necessary for accurate ranking and matchmaking (IMO).

Threads like this are prime example of how GW2 needs to be more forthcoming with details involving skills, traits, and gear. Granted most players who encounter issues of this kind of nature do some testing or research before posting a QQ thread……cough cough*

Either way for the community’s sake and to rid this forum of uninformed crybabies, please try and implement some sort of in-game explanation of these mechanics.

1. Seperation between solo and team leaderboards/ ques
2. More maps
3. Necros, Warriors, and Theifs finding a solid place in meta

make the endurance suppression stronger or make endurance regeneration halt while the condi is up, problem fixed

Curse: affected target and all allies in 10 yards have their stats reduced by 90/120

Possession: affected target is possessed by a demon. spawns a bone minion out of the enemy every tick ( long duration, slow tick rate)

Infection: the targets wounds are infected with disease. if target attempts to heal or cleanse the condition they grimace in pain, dazing themselves

Reaper’s touch: affected target feels the touch of death and are weakened. cannot heal or revive others while affected.

coercion: the target is persuaded by a demonic force and betrays his allies for a short time. Allies can be damaged by the affected enemy’s attacks.

cowardice: the affected enemy becomes timid and intimidated. enemy cannot critically hit while affected.

Just some off the cuff ideas. Not really sure what the devs are looking for in the meta and implementation so it is hard to guess what would be to strong/weak or over-the-top/underwhelming. I do hope that the condition has a PvP oriented utility mechanic

I agree with most of what Ostricheggs has said about this maps competitive potential.

I have some ideas I would like to throw out that may change the current meta for the better on this map and I am curious to what the community thinks about them.

1. When you take the orb to a point you have to arm it some how. This will promote more team oriented play as well as slow down the snowball effect.

2. Instead of just continually spawning the orb, make the orb have to be summoned by a player to appear. This way the orb becomes a skill play mechanic for a team rather than a forced one.

ill start by saying I have no idea how this could work with map size and node point system we have now. Maybe it will be something possible in the future.

But that is beside the point. I think this is a great idea and it would make me a very happy gamer. It would be so much less hassle and work (keeping schedules aligned between peeps and finding people to play with, etc) as well as keep cues short and competition strong.

I forever +1 this idea and I hope it gets some attention and consideration for future development

I am concerned about the direction of the game after this SToG address. Why is so much time and effort being put into tech like beam interaction and spectating hot joins, when other elements in the game are of such greater importance. Development of new mechanics and systems must be incredibly time consuming and involving, why focus on such insignificant aspects of the game? It seems like every time a good idea or subject gets brought up, the answer is “its in the works but its on down the road.” I don’t think things like custom arenas, spectator modes, or beam interaction tech is going to do anything to immediately impact the health and popularity of this game. IMO more meetings need to be about prioritizing projects and organizing a direction for SPvP than whether or not evading while immobilized is o.k.

The contradictory nature of the address also baffled me. Balance talk went from “we cant tweak this because it would throw the whole balance we have been working for” to things like “traits and weapons need some help and build diversity needs to be increased for almost every class”. Are you happy with what we have or are you reworking it?? Your current message is very ambiguous

The last thing I want to point out about the SToG address is the overwhelming incompetence of the staff and their answers. If your in a sales pitch to your biggest client, you don’t read through notes as if you don’t know without looking. You don’t argue with the customers saying ignorant things like “I’ve never seen an Ele on the other team on Spirit Watch and thought the game is over. You don’t have to run the ball to win”. The only person with any professionalism and expertise was Johnathan Sharp. Karl and the other guy came off as completely uninformed and unprofessional (IMO). I very much like that you guys take time out of your busy schedule to do the SToG address but maybe prepare a bit better and understand that you are trying to impress your audience, not just take part in a boring 1 &1/2 hour Q and A session.

tldr;
stop wasting time developing stuff that doesn’t help the game currently
make up your minds and set a direction for SPvP
know your stuff and impress us, don’t give us a reason to bust your chops

Good ones rise to the top.

But seriously I have a mesmer boon/condi/team fight build I have been toying with and I think its very potent and figured I’d cut the community in on some of the fun I’m having.

Certain parts of this build are necessary while others are optional and can be catered to one’s personal taste.

The musts of the build:
6 out of 6 in rune of lyssa
Signet of inspiration
Staff as one of your weapons
at least 25 Points in Chaos tree
Rabid Amulet
at least 15 Points in Dueling tree

Now with these baseline things out of the way the sigils, utilities, elites, leftover traits, and secondary weapon sets are all things of preference but I will post my favorite versions and describe the play style I like.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAsdWlwzKoHQTqGb9IiZGBHyRSRp5alZwbXIA;TsAAzCpoKyUkoIbRuikFtEZUxcBA

So the idea is a large amount of crit for the Sharper Images talent (similar to engis running Rampagers amulet for their on crit condition procs). I also choose to take the Mass Invis elite to proc the lyssa rune-set more often but Timewarp is completely viable as well. Team fight = blow your elite immediately followed by signet of inspiration and prepare for laughs. Your team will love you (minus a pesky necro who notices and epidemics). I also choose no stun breaking utilities and primarily rely on Phase retreat and chaining chaos armor for my defensive abilities (also dont be afraid to blow your signet of domination frequently, its amazing). I leave as many clones active as possible which seem to keep conditions rolling very well. They are squishy and will be killed quite often but try and kite or place your clones near all enemies for max effectiveness.

I have also run this build as well. I feel the former one is more effective but I’ll leave it up for you guys to try and tell me what you think.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNArfWlwzipHQzmGa9IipHBHyRcoUcdZXJFz2FC;TsAAzCpoKyUkoIbRuikFtEZ4xcBA

The Illusionary Elasticity trait rocks but as most know confusion is mildly effective and the scepter and torch are gimicky and not crazy effective.

Hope this creates some fun for some mesmers out there. I find this build (especially the 1st link) wildly effective on the new map. Fighting over the ball or any team encounter is very fun and you are very attrition based and powerful on your own as well as a huge team help if you manage your boons and cooldowns correctly.

EDIT: just figured out the links have to be copied and pasted into your browser for them to work. Just clicking results in a bad link message

I don’t understand the point of this thread. Some mechanics are meant to counter others, I don’t see the issue. I will say that condi classes might have a larger spectrum of professions that can handle them but thats about all I will say. This to me is more of a learn to play issue. If your fighting something that is a hard counter to what your class/build does than you should probably do 1 of a couple things;
1. Swap targets
2. Call upon a team member who can handle said class better
3. Review your build and see if you cant make it more balanced so you aren’t hard countered as often.
4. Quit the game, make a QQ thread and blame others for your lack of insight/knowledge

*game isn’t balanced and some professions will inevitably be superior and in that case you just have to hope that eventually the Anet team will address them properly (looking at you eles)

Strzalka.9451:

Don’t think it’s a counter, but the best thing I have found to do is call the real one out as a target. Otherwise I have to pick them out of the crowd again every time they vanish. Makes my life a whole lot easier.

probably the best baby step suggested to help start improve play against them. Be wary that their invis moves will remove the call target tho. As an engineer, I typically keep a glue puddle between me and the clones when I think they are going for a shatter/ burst combo, use Elixer S on blurred frenzy/ shatter combo if they get off an immoblize, and other wise keep using grenades or bombs when im playing defensive (aoe tends to kill shatter clones quick but if its a clone health signet mez its a different story) and use my single target pistol conditions when I have them in a bad spot (with out dodges or in between shatter cd’s). Remember you can blind phantasam spawning skills and the most damaging and predictable one of all is greatsword bezerker clone. timing out a blind on that (i.e. static shot or utility skill) will put you in a good spot, gimping their damage for a bit. Also reference previous forum posts about picking out clones from the real ones if that is what is causing you trouble. Many visual ques will give away the real one.

Hope that helps

EDIT: didn’t read Ayestes.1273’s posts until now. His posts are very accurate and do a better job explaining what I am trying to.

Apparently my brain must work different than other peoples. To me, I made a post basically asking when the matchmaking system would settle again and be like it was pre-patch. I enjoyed how it worked very much and was generally happy with the system.

glad to see that i got intelligent discussion going and really got a pulse on how the community is currently experiencing the matchmaking system. To add to the irony and pointlessness, this forum post has been the biggest waste of time ever.

Good luck out there, have fun

Rerroll.9083:

If you fight vs rank 20s and you dont win enough games, sorry but you dont deserve a higher rating.

Once again this thread is being de-railed by comments that aren’t pertinent. I do win against level 20’s. My point is that the matchmaking ratings are obvioulsy off since the patch and the current gameplay experience for me is either stomp a team or get stomped. Very rarely do I play with a team of similar experiece against a well matched opponent. This is why I am asking questions. Thanks for all the personal shots about what rating i deserve and such but please if you have something to say, stay on topic

mbh.8301:

candlecan.9827:

how am I expected to improve my ratings to its proper level?

If you are winning ~half your games, you’re at your “proper” level. You’re not Jesus.
You, as a presumably experienced player, should know what playing good looks like – if you can look back on your game and say “yeah, son, I did mad work” then I don’t think you can expect anything more from solo queuing.

who goes around +1’ing replys like this? Not trying to be mean, but whether or not I think I played well is irrelevant. What I am interested in is getting my rating (which is presumably based off of winning and score in the game) to a point where my team and opponent are of similar skill level. And no I’m not Jesus, whatever that means……

So if I understand correctly, the new patch reset the matchmaking ratings. I am also to understand that with time the system will settle and rankings should generally go back to normal with similarly skilled opponents facing one another. My question is what are the expectations on the time its going to take for things to get back to normal? Also if I keep getting matched up with rank 20 and below teams (which most of the time results in bad losses) how am I expected to improve my ratings to its proper level (I am looking for an answer other than make a pre-made and boost)?

I only ask because I have been playing religiously trying to see if adding games to my profile won’t improve my ratings/ teams, and to this point I see no change. The final straw that made me post happened this afternoon. I (rank 37) solo qued and got matched up with a team of people rank 17 and below, and then proceeded to play Ramiamesan’s pre-made team consisting of players all 40+ and highly skilled. Needless to say the game didn’t go very well lol. Feel free to respond with “cool story bro”.

1. What observations and knowledge have the Anet team gained about the ball running mechanic? (i.e. what works, what doesn’t, how it effects the meta, what they want to change)
2. Does the Anet team have plans for increased information flow and transparency to the community?
3. What plans lie in the future that will break up some of the monotony of the same map/games over and over and what rewards do they want to bring to raise incentive to play competitively?

So I am really concerned by the recent craziness about the patch and whats going on in PvP. The simple fact is most, if not all the community’s concerns are valid and I fear the death of competitive PvP might be imminent.

The new maps and concepts like ball running and secondary objectives have really changed the meta for the better. I love the new map and minus a few bug issues and I think this was a GREAT job by the Anet Team.

I also feel there is a great disconnect between what is actually going on and what the devs have been telling us concerning profession balance. I watched the last State of the Game broadcast a while back and was floored by the insight and logic of Anet. Now with the lack-luster changes from this months patch, I feel really confused by what was said and what actually took place. Ele’s sustainability was addressed but build diversity for most/all classes has remained unchanged and engi love was not given as promised (yes thats my main and i feel kitten). The balance between professions compared to the pre-patch meta appears to be EXACTLY the same.

Most of what I have said could and probably will be countered by a “more stuff is coming” type comment (if the dev’s even look and respond to this) but I must emphasize that the community and I both seem to be running out of patience quickly. Saying this doesn’t help you code faster or implement wanted/needed changes but it must be stated that this games PvP life is on the line like never before and the life-support keeping it alive is running out of batteries (i.e. the pro-team/top tier players).

Hammerheart.1426:

candlecan.9827:

Was to lazy to read all the responses but IMO i think you should ABSOLUTELY keep quickness in PvP. The only thing that might need to be questioned is the ability to quick stomp downed players. Quick stomp inhibits some skill cap and team unity aspects because what it brings to the table. I’m in favor of removing that aspect, but only that. Keep quick revives and all class mechanics and so forth but quick down is a legitimate talking point.

How is quick up any better than quick down? Quick up negates the vulnerability inherent in reviving someone in the down state. If you’re going to get rid of one, get rid of both.

Quick Up is viable because if your class blows its biggest offensive cooldown to revive and contribute to the team than that is a skill play. In contrast to do that to get a down, it only negates team sacrifice and the skill element.

Was to lazy to read all the responses but IMO i think you should ABSOLUTELY keep quickness in PvP. The only thing that might need to be questioned is the ability to quick stomp downed players. Quick stomp inhibits some skill cap and team unity aspects because what it brings to the table. I’m in favor of removing that aspect, but only that. Keep quick revives and all class mechanics and so forth but quick down is a legitimate talking point.

Interpret Interrupt.3824:

Just make two of a class with different builds are swap as necessary.

Im not worried about countering it, im just curious if this is an intended mechanic.

I am curious with the current changes preventing weapon swapping and skill swapping why it is still allowed to log off a character and re-enter the match on another profession. Is this intended and if so isn’t that kind of counter intuitive to the idea behind locking skills and weapons? You are starting to see teams do thing such as stack elementalists for Khylo and to me that is frustrating and a bit broken. Just curious if the Devs have noticed this or intend to let this stand

I also want to add that you just can’t release a game with the necessary format for an E-sport and expect it to be adopted as an E-sport. You have to generate a crowd that wants to see professionals play in order for that to happen. That crowd is average game-aholics like me. Keep the format for the Pro’s and work with them to make it pristine, but also add in variety and craziness for the other people. It doesn’t have to be a completely flawless meta and perfect maps. Let us kill each other for fun. Let us duel. Coddle the average guy and the Pro’s benefit as well. I call this my trickle up theory.

So I love this game, love the mechanics, but I am very concerned at the direction of the game. I recently watched the video chat with a Dev and top euro tournament players. In the video the Dev stated that if Anet saw an emergency situation such as a bug or broken mechanic, they would fix it very quickly without the typical time it takes to make patches. To Anet, I would like to state that I personally think the game is in a state of Emergency.

Anet claims that sPvP isn’t down that much, but I don’t know of anyone who believes that to be a truth. People are leaving in groves from PvP from what I can tell and those who still play (like me) are having a very hard time keeping up interest in the current meta. I mean how many serious sPvP guilds are out there and active? I can’t tell you exact numbers but I can tell you entirely not enough. I implore that Anet reconsider their stance on making very small slow changes at this current time. I am not specifically referring to balance (although I believe there are some situations that could use some quick sharp changes), but more on the idea of content and options for the average PvP player.

I, as with most of the community, want and almost need this game to be E-sport viable. It has obviously been a huge goal for Anet aswell. In Anet’s quest for this I am afraid that some other aspects have been overlooked that could contribute greatly to the support and health of a good sPvP community. Why only node capture game types? I mean it might sound like a dumb question, but seriously, where are the other game type options? If I play a FPS pvp game, I don’t wanna play Capture the Flag every game. I want to play slayer and other gametypes to fill my pallet. Why not guildwars?

You have great 5v5 Paid Tournaments that have attracted a lot of good talent and fun for many players. But I ask, where is the fun for people who don’t have 4 friends to play with? Where is the competitive aspect that keeps you coming back for the lone wolf guy? Hot join is a non-competitive joke and the free tournaments are basically a crap shoot with no rewards and no sense of competition. I know Anet says there is matchmaking system coming out real soon, but have you asked yourself these questions? What about a matchmaking system for team finding?

These factors along with many more are lending to the increasing staleness of this games structured PvP. I understand content takes time and that new content is coming soon. But even with this assurance, I wonder if maybe the direction of the content is not being prioritized correctly. Give people fun, variety, and a reason to want to sign on and kill some thiefs after work Make this game fun and fresh again so our community starts to grow instead of diminish. Keep E-Sports in mind, but cater to the health of the game first, not just the top tier players. I will continue being patient because I truly believe in the developers of this game but please understand that your game is in jeopardy. Don’t let GW2 become the next Rift or Aion. This game is revolutionary for a MMO RPG PvP and it deserves better.