People seem to have this idea that all classes should be able to do the same things. I don’t.
I kinda remember A.Net mentioning that they do in fact want everyone to be viable in every situation. This is why the trinity is gone.
Giving guardians a viable ranged weapon hardly means that all classes should be the same. It simply means that guardians would have a viable ranged weapon.
Who’s to say that it wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the guardian?
It would probably end up with a fair amount of support skills on it.Limiting classes to a certain range in a game like this is simply bad.
If you honestly think that i should have less fun in WvW because of my class choice then i don’t know what to tell you.
This should be stickied.
How to make Guardians better in WvW? Not sure. There are many ways this could be done. Simply giving them access to a proper ranged weapon would be a start. I’d love to get Warhorns on Guardians; it seems to fit, and could have a ranged attack and AOE respectively worked in. Like the Torch but with greater range, less damage and likely a different if any Condition.
That said. I can see how to make Guardians viable in WvW: Reward buffing. Quite simply. Granted, this wouldn’t fix all the issues, but it would give everyone a boost who doesn’t just spam ranged AOEs so it should be relatively unresisted. I have no qualms about supporting my Guildmates in WvW (and really, they need it). But it’s pretty thankless work since only kills yield direct rewards.
No. Buffing/healing is fine the way it is. I like the fact there aren’t any pure healers in this game and it should stay like that because that’s what makes this game unique and not one of the generic WoW clones, that failed so miserably.
I know some of you folks would love a profession that hangs back and heals/buffs but this isn’t WoW. They don’t need to change the way they reward people, they need to give the Guardian a long range weapon that s actually fun to use and viable, like the Warrior’s rifle or the Thief’s shortbow. It sucks being the only profession with no viable/reliable ranged weapon. This is a glaring issue not just in pvp, but in pve as well. Scepter and staff are lackluster and no fun to use…like at all!
Being the only profession with no reliable ranged weapon is a huge design flaw imho and the devs should seriously consider giving Guardians some real ranged weapons.
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This ability misses 80% of the time, regardless of pve or pvp. Unless the target isn’t moving.
I found the staff to be the most bland and unfitting weapon in our arsenal, even worse and more boring than the scepter. Every single ability feels lackluster to me and simply not fun.
The staff is a close range support weapon and close range support is something the Guardian is definitely not lacking. I don’t see the reason why somebody would pick the staff over better combinations that are more fun and efficient.
I also have no idea what weapon combination might work with a staff.
I’m not saying it is a bad weapon, quite the contrary in fact. The only issue is the way too slow travelling speed of the orbs and how easy they bug or get obstructed.
That’s my biggest issue with the scepter and the profession, since the scepter is the guardian’s only reliable long range weapon. #2 and 3 are decent, but #1 is simply not fun to use. Like at all.
They should have the speed of wands WoW and everything would be fine. It’s just not fun autoattacking and hitting people several seconds later or not hitting them at all due to bugs or people simply outrunning your projectiles.
Who said bow abilities can’t be supportive? I don’t see a reason why a bow would make the guardian a ranged powerhouse, especially if the devs focus on support abilities or combo fields.
I’d still rather have a pistol+shield just because it is an interesting and fun combination and unfortunately the engineer us the only class who can go pistol+shield.
Hello aNet.
You did a great job and the guardian is tons of fun, but there is something that really keeps me from fully enjoying the profession: The scepter!
As you know, the scepter is the guardian’s only true ranged weapon and unfortunately it is a very frustrating and boring one. I don’t know your reasoning behind the extremely slow travelling speed of the projectiles, but they are absolutely frustrating in both pvp and pve.
How bad and nearly useless the scepter is becomes really obvious during public quests when there are a lot of other professions, prerrably ranged ones, too. Most of the time they can tag or kill enemies with ranged attacks faster than you can reach them and since DPS seems to have the biggest impact on the reward, this is a very frustrating situation for the guardian players since they are the only profession that is unable to “tag” the enemy because of the way too low travelling speed of the scepter’s autoattacks. It might even be better to just run at the minions, since you can probably outrun the scepter orbs anyway, but most of the time the enemy is dead before you or your orbs reach him, leaving you with next to no contribution to the event.
While you somehow can swap to sword/greatsword and use the gapclosers, it’s still not enough. You might get contribution if you blink-strike and kill the minions, but if the next pack spawns far away from you position, the entire group of people can either range AoE them or kill them with ranged attacks before your cooldowns are ready or your orbs reach the enemy. You spend your time running there for nothing! This is utterly ruining the fun for guardian players.
Since pvp is a fast-paced game mode, the scepter is next to useless because of how incredibly slow the orbs are. This is most obvious during WvWvW. Sometimes you cannot commit to melee, even as a guardian and when you used all your support cooldowns, there’s nothing to do for you. Don’t even bother autoattacking enemies with your scepter. They will be out of range before your orbs reach them anyway or just dodge/outrun them. This is another fairly frustrating situation brought to you by: The scepter!
During keep defense, where enemies constantly bounce between max range forth and back, it is nearly impossible to even hit somebody with your scepter while everyone else can hit them with their ranged weapons. The “obstructed” message you get all the time when firing from keep walls, or when there are small obstacles in the orb’s path does not help much, either.
I really enjoy the guardian profession but this is something that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth every time I come across such situations and it greatly ruins the fun I’m having playing this class. I feel like being able to swap to ranged combat no matter what profession you’re playing is a vital part of this game and the only reason why the guardian sucks so much at ranged and makes it a boring and incredibly unfun experience is because of the scepter being your only true ranged option and it suffers from having boring abilities and the very worst and frustrating autoattack in the entire game.
So aNet, are there any plans to buff the scepter’s orbs/autoattacks or give the guardian a real ranged weapon with normal projectile travelling speed? I’d love to see the guardian being on par with other classes in terms of viable ranged autoattacks.
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Give Guardians pistol+shield!
I didn’t play GW 1 but this game is the most fun mmorg experience I had since WoW classic. IMHO they did everything right that so many other mmorgs have failed and if they keep up the great work GW2 will be the best mmo out there for years!
Sorry you don’t enjoy the game as much as I do. I’m having a blast here.
I agree. Since we have an awesome, new mechanic that is both fun to use and provides great support for your allies as well as for yourself (combo fields), I’d focus/build supporting more around that. It’s just so rewarding and satisfying to use that I really started to enjoy supporting even though I used to hate that role before! Wombo combos a tons of fun! That way the devs can ensure nobody becomes merely a buffbot/healbot and the game doesn’t need to step back to the boring tank/dps/healer trinity. People just need to be more aware of their surroundings and can choose if they want to utilize the combo field, which leads to more dynamic and fun gameplay and best of all: Ther is no need for healers or tanks, since everybody can utilize your combo fields in order to heal or protect themselves. This is pure awesomeness! The devs could even leave contribution as it is, but an additional % of buff and combo field damage should count to your contribution, if you provided them. You don’t take it away from the person who dealt it, it just adds on top of their damage so you benefit from setting up wombo combos and supporting allies. Adding mitigated damage to contribution would help, too though.
As for the rez, yes. They need to make it count towards contribution as well. It feels so natural and logical to me, that I didn’t even knew it doesn’t count.
The game is awesome. I bet the devs will keep doing a great job and making sure this game stays the most fun mmorg ever created.
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if no one follows the charge, you do just end up looking like an idiot when 3 or 4 warriors turn around and try to eat your face.
I keep trying this. My powers have much too short a duration to be able to defend effectively when the zerg turns. I can pop a few brief shielding spells but when several people shooting at you, being able to block 3 shots or bubble up for 3 seconds isn’t going to help.
I actively avoid defending towers because scepter damage is mediocre at best, and waiting for Tome of Wrath to recharge is boring.
This is true, but if there’s siege weaponry around, you can still do something. Maybe ask a nice engineer for a mortar?
I don’t know if I would actually care enough to use the scepter even if it was buffed, just because of my playstyle. I want to be on the frontline cleaving heads, but warrior and thief don’t appeal to me.
I want to do that, but I don’t think it’s a feasible way to play. I think the front line is just for idiots and the second line is where to be if you want to be clicking on “Finish Them”. Make sure there’s someone in front of you for the enemy to shoot at.
Why should the Guardian be the only class in this game to have to beg other engineers for mortars or buy siege weapons only to be viable in ranged combat and have something fun to do when defending towers/keeps?
Don’t you find it odd when people are actively avoiding an important and fun part of the game just because their class has no purpose there and they have no fun feeling lackluster and useless? This needs to be fixed asap!
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Give the guardian a bow Anet, fixed?
cough Pistol and shield cough
As far as I know you’re not getting rewarded for supporting in the same way as people get rewarded for dealing damage or getting kills. This is a great disadvantage for Guardians. They are the only profession that is not viable in ranged combat and this is a serious issue.
From my experience ranged guard is for pve only or when your defending a keep in WvW.
The guardian’s ranged weapons lack massively in WvW and especially the scepter is extremely boring & not fun to use in both PvE and WvW, mainly because of the ridiculously slow projectile speed and the lack of a chained attack.
Please anet give us a red post! I love my guardian but I’m having a hard time committing to her as a main because all I ever see or hear is how useless we are at range and I want to focus on w vs w.
Pretty much the same here. I’d love some statement from the devs, too.
Personally, I think it would be sufficient to buff the scepter’s projectile speed to the same speed as a bow and give it a 1,2,3 attack with the 3rd attack dealing additional damage and counting as a projectile finisher. It definitely needs something that makes it more interesting to use.
I’d still prefer a bow, or better: Pistol and shield. #1: Deals moderate damage. Every 3rd attack deals additional damage and is a projectile finisher. #2 Creates a symbol at target location that damages enemies inside and counts as a light combo field for your allies. #3. Volley. Each hit applies 1 stack of vulnerability. Standard shield abilities as #4 and 5
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So you’re basically saying that the guardian is the only profession in this agme with no viable, dun and satisfying ranged capabilities and only useful when they buy arrow carts or wait until their 30+ second cooldowns are available again?
I don’t know how people could design something like that. The devs did such an outstanding job, but didn’t see this coming?
Guardian could become useful in large scale battles with changes to Retaliation without the need to add a ranged weapon.
The current issue is the boring, passive gameplay that is unrewarding in terms of satisfaction and WvWvW contribution, since supporting is not rewarded Guardians who focus on support do not get rewarded as much as classes that deal damage and kill stuff. Spamming retaliation every time your cooldown is ready still leaves you standing there useless while waiting for your cooldowns to refresh. This promotes boring gameplay and doesn’t solve the real issue: Being the only class that lacks ranged capabilitues. And no, the scepter’s autoattack is terrible and not fun to use because it both looks stupid (like playing tennis) and shoots magical tennis balls that travel in slow motion. The slow motion is the biggest issue.
Have a look at the spear autoattack under water: Decent damage and applies vulnerability. Why can’t the Guardian have that skill on land as well?
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Personally I wish they would just change Renewed Focus so that it lasts 5 seconds & allows you to move/use other abilities while invulnerable.
After that it would be fine.
Also it would be nice if the tomes could be used under water, having only 1 real choice for underwater elite’s kind of sucks.
5 seconds invulnerability is obnoxious to play against. Invulnerability is an anti-fun mechanic. It’s okay that you can’t move but it feels completely lackluster in comparison with the other elite skills.
I’d love it to create a combo field of your choice after you channelled it that lasts several seconds. Just refreshing your virtues is not strong enough IMHO.
Alright 3 seconds of invulnerability (while being able to move) & 10 seconds of Regeneration, Retaliation, Might, Fury & Swiftness.
While recharging your virtues.That would put it on par with the other elite skills & make it something that allot more people would actually consider using.
Or just adding to the current version an AoE nova around you that pulsates/ticks every full second, applies regeneration to you and your allies and burns surrounding foes for every tick. Similar to the staff 3 or 4 ability, only better.
On the same cooldown as it is now (90seconds).
Personally I wish they would just change Renewed Focus so that it lasts 5 seconds & allows you to move/use other abilities while invulnerable.
After that it would be fine.
Also it would be nice if the tomes could be used under water, having only 1 real choice for underwater elite’s kind of sucks.
5 seconds invulnerability is obnoxious to play against. Invulnerability is an anti-fun mechanic. It’s okay that you can’t move but it feels completely lackluster in comparison with the other elite skills.
I’d love it to create a combo field of your choice after you channelled it that lasts several seconds. Just refreshing your virtues is not strong enough IMHO.
So basically you’re blowing your cooldowns and waiting for them to refresh over and over again while every other class can do something that’s fun such as damage and/or AoE while the only thing we can do is shooting magical tennis balls at the enemy, which never even arrive in time because of their slow motion travelling speed.
The Guardian is the only class with no access to a “real” ranged weapon, which is a huge design flaw IMHO. The scepter could be okay, but definitely not as it is now with his clumsy, unfun slow motion tennis autoattacks!
I’d still prefer a weapon that keeps me active over some passive buffs that promote boring gameplay,
Scepter could use a more interesting Auto-attack. It’s slow and tedious and feels like I’m blowing bubbles. Smite is great, though, and the Immob can be pretty handy.
Yeah, it also looks like you’re either throwing bubbles or helium balloons at the enemy. Ideally, I think Scepter auto-attack should look something like Ray of Judgment style ray attack or a “holy” lightning bolt. Something with a little more oomph.
And proper projectile speed that is on par with other profession’s ranged attacks. In their current state the scepter’s autoattacks are simply frustrating and the definition of anti-fun. You can’t even hit enemies in events properly if there are a lot of ranged players there, since your projectiles are so incredibly slow compared to theirs. A lot if times minions die before your projectiles even hit them, making it a unsatisfying situation for the guardian and negtive,y impacting his contribution score. This is incredibly frustrating.
Seriously, that tennis autoattack animation and the ridiculous tennis ball projectiles…it looks so incredibly stupid! The slow motion speed of the projectiles needs to be changed ASAP!
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I have no issue with magic, it just doesn’t have to require you to wield a staff or a wand. The guardian can still cast/use his magic while wielding a greatsword, hammer, shield etc. There is absolutely no reason for him to be limited to traditional caster weapons only because he’s occasionally using magic.
Nobody is asking for op dps or odd weapons. Nobody wants the guardian to become a ranger or something. People just want the guardian to have a decent ranged build just like every other class in this game and have an option for a “real” ranged weapon such as a bow. A bow that’s not shooting ridiculous tennis balls.
I like the idea of a fantasy world that’s only limited by imagination
Realistically there needs be additional limitations beyond imagination or else we would have:
knight charging into battle on a moon boots and a pimp coat wearing mechanical t-rex , that is spitting rainbows while throwing unicorns and gnomes at the same time and is piloted by David Hasselhoff, a singing cheeseburger and a couple of drunk playmates.
Or knights shooting absurd tennis balls out of a wooden stick.
Your column is awesome. Found it on launch day and it helped me tremendously with picking and understanding a class. Great job!
Since so many people complain about the Guardian being lackluster in WvWvW because of his lack of viable ranged combat, I’d love to hear your opinion on that, maybe even in an article.
Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your thoughts, tactics and knowledge with us!
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The idea that guns can’t be magic is just fantasy traditionalism.
That’s a good point and I agree. I’m sure my perspective is influenced by fantasy traditionalism.
This is largely why I have a hard time reconciling Guardians with bows and guns.
Why? Samurai for instance were masters of blade, spear and bow, but most people picture them with swords only.
The traditional fantasy is full of bland and boring cliches and I’m really glad GW2 didn’t stick that much with fantasy traditionalism. I like the idea of a fantasy world that’s only limited by imagination, not traditional fantasy concepts way more than the generic dull orcs and elves Tolkien fantasy worlds. So why no pistol and shield? It’s already in the game and the only class that can use it is the engineer. Odd, isn’t it?
In a game where cowcats coexist with plant people, semi-giants and hairless gremlin-before they turn green and evil-things, stargates exist while civilisations just mastered gun powder usage, the is absolutely no reason why a defensive knight should not be allowed to use a pistol&shield combo.
You could still stick with a wand and staff, but you should be allowed to pick another weapon that suits you more. Wand and staff are just way too similar and look stupid on heavy armor classes. Honestly, I have a more difficult time picturing a knight shooting magical tennis balls than the very same knight charging into battle on a moon boots and a pimp coat wearing mechanical t-rex , that is spitting rainbows while throwing unicorns and gnomes at the same time and is piloted by David Hasselhoff, a singing cheeseburger and a couple of drunk playmates.
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It’s kinda strange that the focus actually provides better defense than the shield.
Well, I wish they had made a separate class for all the hang back in the caster row people.
I’m perfectly fine withe the guardian’s support as it is, apart from the tomes. I’d loved the Guardian to have more combo field support as his elite skills. No need for entily new skills and tomes, just some stronger versions of his meditations, shouts and stuff.
The warrior provides boons, which is great, but combo fields are more fun. The guardian could have focussed on combo fields and defensive buffs, whereas the warrior has no combo fields and aggressive buffs, like he already does.
See, the warrior is looking great skill-wise and is consistent within because they did not try to merge the caster and the knight into one class. The very same buffs can be applied in the middle of the zerg as well as in the back row and no matter whe you decide to buff people, it is viable. This is not the case with the guardian. He is inconsistent and the tomes require you to be somewhe safe even though you spend most time in the middle of the battle, where you belong. This is awkward design. The reason why very few people are 100% satisfied with the guardian is because he’s a mishappened hybrid rather than an unique class.
They should have split him into two different classes rather than merging them into something that does not fully satisfy neither typee of players.
“Making the Flamethrower grossly OP”
Dunno how a squishy, medium armor guy can be grossly op if he equips a close range burning condition weapon that actually deals some serious damage when its wonky skills get buffed and debugged. It’s not like he can stand there and tank everything while dishing out op damage at the same time. Close range is dangerous for any engineer.
The current flamethrower is a joke. Pathetic damage and underwhelming skills.
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'Critique' of the Engineer Profession from a PvP Perspective *Long*
in Engineer
Posted by: shedim.8504
Grenade kit is awesome for undwater combat. The standard underwater weapon just sucks all across the board. There is no reason to pick it over the grenade kit.
As for the medkit, I don’t see why you consider it viable as it is at the moment. Without the tier 2 trait where you can throw the medipacks around, it is absolutely bad.
The flamethrower’s damage is way too low and the burning condition should be applied with every hit, #2 is completely useless, bugged, broken and has no synnergy with the kit in its current form. #5 should create a combo field and 4 is…I barely remember what it does, so it’s unimpressive.
The wrench kit, well, the autoattacks are way too slow, the cast times are way too slow and the kit does not offer enough advantages for justifying it in melee range. It should rather have more disorients, knockbacks and stuns, but honestly, the rifle has close range capabilities, the flamethrower has close range capabilities, the mine kit works in close range, the gnade kit works in close range…what’s the purpose of the wrench kit? Synnergy with the turrets, great, but nobody uses them since they are static, slow attacking, low damage, high cooldowns and generally useless. Eauipping the wrench kit sacrifices a turret. Not that smart, unless you could build turrets WITH the kit.
Rather than giving him a bow, I’d give him a longer range pistol and a shield. He could dps with the #1 ability, maybe by applying vulnerability similar to the underwater spear at mid range, his #2 could blast enemies with low-mediocre damage in a smaller AoE area at long range and apply a fire combo field, #3 could be a skillshot-close range smoke cloud-field that blinds in the field and outside, if combo’d, #4 could be a shield ability that blocks incoming damage and applies a regen combo field around the guardian and #5 could reflect projectiles and/or apply aegis in a small cone in front of the guardian.
Apart from #1 the main focus on this weapon is still support, but offers the guardian at least some viable ranged capabilities.
Ah well, he looks like a knight anyway. I don’t know what arenanet said about their professions but this guy does neither look like a traditional healer, nor does he look like he belongs in the back row. Rather than turning him into a 2/3 melee 1/3 mishappened traditional healer, they should have made him a 3/3 guardian, who belongs in the front lines and supports in close-mid range by providing buffs and combo fields for his allies.
Oh, excuse me. A scepter. That looks like a generic wand. And shoots magical tennis balls.
I don’t like it. I’d rather support my allies by creating combo fields, since this is a new, unique, rewarding and fun mechanic for both, the guardian and his allies.
I’d rather have a bow with 2 DPS abilities that don’t suck and 3 support abilities, that create combo fields and provide buffs. This would be more fun and definitely fit the knight theme more than a wand or a staff. Heck, even the Elementalist has proper spells with his staff that provide both damage and support. The reason why the staff feels awkward is that it doesn’t fit the knight theme and it’s too close to the old and incredibly boring paladin-style, something that works well in WoW, but should not be in GW2, since GW has better mechanics to support your allies, such as combo fields.
Something like the #1 ability of the underwater spear for the bow (single target vulnerability), something for AoE, maybe with burning combo field and condition, then some blind field as the bow #3, a short range regen field and some “toss your aegis” to buff allies and burn enemies in a medium combo field.
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I’m irked by the massive cooldowns on the useful support abilities. It seems like I only get to play support every minute or so, and the rest of the time I’m bored out of my skull doing dps. Am I doing it wrong? I know ANet said no dedicated healers, but I had assumed support would be a viable focus. I’m currently crunching numbers to try and answer this mathematically, but any advice would be much appreciated.
This is because somebody at some point decided to make the Guardian a hybrid. IMHO this was a terrible call and the reason why, unlike the Warrior, the Guardian feels somehow awkward.
People who wanted a more fighter/knight type of character are annoyed because of wands, casts and tomes and people, who wanted a supporter/healer are annoyed because of the Guardian’s inability to consistently stay in the back lines and support because that’s what they got used to from playing WoW and similar mmorgs and the old, traditional tank healer dps concepts don’t work in GW2, thank God, I might add.
If the devs sticked to the initial concept of the knight, who supports his allies around him by charging with them into the fray and buffing/supporting them with virtues, consecrations and shouts, people would be less confused and disappointed than they are now. The Guardian should not be somebody, who stops fighting all of a sudden every 120 seconds just to pull out a tome and start reading some fairytales. I think there could have easily been more interesting ways to inspire, heal and support your allies and it’s quite intesting that those mechanics already are in the game, yet the devs didn’t use them efficiently enough with the Guardian class: Combo fields! They missed to combo support with guardian ;-)
Just have a lok at GW2’s unique combo mechanic. It’s one of the most creative mechanics I’ve ever seen in a mmorg and definitely one of the most fun and satisfying mechanics in the game. It’s one of the biggest strenghts of GW2, it’s what makes group play in this game so much more interesting than in other mmorgs! Everyone
loves wombo combos and what’s more fun and satisfying for a Guardian than supporting his allies by providing combo fields for them so that both are the guardian and his allies have tons of fun?! I don’t understand why the devs decided to skip this awesome mechanics for the traditional unimaginative and dull “I’m the mighty, heavily armored paladin, so I hide in the back rows and spam spells, just like the skirt wearing wussy casters around me!”
Seriously, I’d sticked to GW2’s strengths and innovative mechanics in order to create an entirely new, satisfying and fun support experience for the players, especially since they already got rid of the tank, dps, healer types, that were just bland and unimaginative. You play GW2 because it’s not WoW. You rolled a heavily armored knight, who belongs right in the middle of the fray, where he supports his allies with shouts, virtues and combo fields. That’s something entirely new. Making him pull out some tomes and pretending to be a caster for a couple of seconds is a step backwards. Backwards to WoW’s boring Paladin.
I don’t know, the forced caster component feels awkward and not fitting, at least not to me. I fail to understand why the devs did give the guardian a ghost bow minion, while the guardian can’t use a bow himself. I don’t understand the reasoning behind why a knight only has access to a wand and a staff instead of a more martial weapon, such as a bow. A bow would help the guardian tremendously in wvwvw, especially since the game doesn’t reward supporting as much as it rewards killing. The guardian is the only class with no satisfying ranged capabilities and this is a shame!
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I can only assume people here haven’t played a THIEF.
They’re basically limited to 900 range. And they seem to understand they knew this before choosing the class and find other ways to play.We have 1,200 range. If you require the best ranged weapon options to play, perhaps the Guardian isn’t the correct profession for you. I head the Ranger and Warrior are quite good at that.
Just because Thieves have it bad/worse doesn’t mean Guardians can’t also have problems.
And our effective range is far below 1200, and boring at that. No-one is asking for “the best ranged weapons”. I don’t even understand where you got the idea. Doing something interesting and rewarding during sieges or massive scale dynamic events isn’t that weird to ask, is it?
And you used that “play something else”-defense for the second time now. It’s never a good argument. We don’t want to play the Ranger or the Warrior. We want to play a Guardian. I’m sure most people here love 90% about the Guardian, but the profession isn’t perfect in any way.
I absolutely agree with you. What’s so odd about asking for a bow? The Guardian can summon a ghost bow, but can’t use a bow himself, or at least grab that ghost bow for as long as it lasts and use it? The bow is the only ghost weapon out of the 4 that the Guardian can’t wield. Nobody asked for a superior ranged weapon. People just want an option if they do not like wands and the staff!
I love the Guardian’s play style. It’s way more intesting as the bland Warrior, but I sincerely hate the paladin/caster component if the Guardian. A staff? Wands? Tomes? Those things are for wizards, not knights!
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Renewed focus is pathetic, since it actually immobilizes you for three seconds and honestly, I’m not so sure if the renewed virtues on a 90 seconds cooldown is worth an elite skill. As for the tomes, well I don’t want a knight to pull out a book right in the middle of the battle and read some fairytales.
I’d gladly swap the elite skills for something else, that fits my playstyle more but unfortunately the is no such option.
I don’t understand the purpose of the bomb kit. The only use I see is to create combo fields for you or others. Other than that, I wonder what this kit is good for.
If the bombs actually worked like traps or the mine toss ability of the Charr, I could see their purpose, but in their current state grenades are by far the superior choice, making this kit just one of the many lackluster kits in our arsenal.
Kiting? Works way better with grenades if you deploy the template a tad behind you while running. The grenades work even better because they have no timer.
Could somebody please give me some insight on how to use the bomb kit properly?
I also noticed while you equip the grenade or bomb kit, your character is holding an invisible (grenade maybe?) thing and occasionally tosses it in the air and catches it again, but there’s nothing in his hand so it looks really stupid. Can’t the devs just give him a grenade in his hand or at least stikkbomb/mine? Heck, even a undead, rainbow coloured pineapple would make him look less stupid than juggling with invisible objects.
My opinion: Underpowered Engineer - It is realy bad at pvp and pve
in Engineer
Posted by: shedim.8504
pointless “engineer” is fine posts without evidence from fanboys. reality is that only a few combinations work decently but not as good as similar builds on other classes and the rest of the builds use either buggy abilities and traits thus does not really work.
pretty much this.
Are there any plans on giving Guardians non-caster ranged weapons?
in Guardian
Posted by: shedim.8504
Guardians are not warriors, they are very much a magical based class… they didn’t give guardians your standard physical damage ranged weapons because thats not what they are…
they are your protectors with the use of magic which is why even their melee weapons are big onto the magic side of controlling the field and not so much the physical side.
This guy is close to the mark.
I really think you might actually enjoy playing the warrior more, making use of the rifle or bow.
I find it very funny that the guardian is able to summon a bow minion, but unable to use a bow himself.
I fail to see where in the guardian’s class description it is precisely stated that he is a caster/cleric/WoW-esque paladin :-( I’m perfectly fine with magic, his virtues are in fact exactly what makes this class so much more than the unimaginative paladin-type you find in every other mmorpg, but then he gets bland caster abilities as his ultimates and shoots magical tennis balls with a wand, like somebody tried to make him half knight, half WoW priest or something.
I would have preferred the guardian to protect his allies by applying more buffs, or creating more symbol-areas to set up combos for teammates rather than casting heals like traditional healer classes in other mmorgs. It’s great that you can play him without those tomes even though the non-tome ultimate is so lackluster in comparison, but you don’t have to use the tomes. However, you can’t play him as a ranged without using a wand or a staff and this lack of choice is completely frustrating.
I really love this game, it’s by far the best mmorg I’ve seen and the fact that your weapon choice determines your playstyle is just awesome…unless you don’t have much of a choice. The guardian can summon a bow, but can’t use one himself. Why? Let him at least grab the ghost weapon bow and use it just like elementals can pick up their axes.
(edited by shedim.8504)
In a game where every class has a viable bit of everything the guardian stands out as having no viable ranged because somebody decided that a heavy armor wearing knight should get a magical wizard wand and a staff as his ranged weapons only.
I understand this game is not about solo play, but heck, why can’t the guardian get a REAL ranged weapon such as a bow, javelin or a pistol/shield? You know, something that’s more appropriate for a knight than a wand.
Are there any plans on giving Guardians non-caster ranged weapons?
in Guardian
Posted by: shedim.8504
Well, that’s exactly the point. I dislike the caster hybrid part of the guardian class, but I like everything else about the guardian. The warrior is too bland and I enjoy the guardian more, but I really hate the cast components of this class.
I doubt there will be any changes, so I’ll reroll anyway even though I do not enjoy the warrior, but I wanted to hear it from the devs. I’d really hate to shelf my guardian because his only ranged weapons are awkward caster weapons with a skill set that absolutely does not appeal to me at all.
I can live with his stupid tomes, but no proper ranged weapon? Come on!
Are there any plans on giving Guardians non-caster ranged weapons?
in Guardian
Posted by: shedim.8504
Hello there,
I really like the guardian way more than the warrior but there is one very disturbing thing that keeps me from enjoying this class: The lack of a real ranged weapon like a pistol, rifle or a bow. I totally dislike a heavy armored character to be limited to a wand/scepter and a staff only for ranged combat! It looks and feels extremely awkward. I didn’t want to roll a caster!
That does not disturb me in spvp, but in wvw, it does. The guardian is the only class with no viable ranged build and this is mainly because if his awkward caster weapons! I’d love to hear why the devs did decide to not give him a “real” ranged weapon! A lot of people are complaining about wvw/rvr and I think they are right. The only ranged options for the guardian are awkward caster weapons with awkward abilities!
The spear is just awesome, but unfortunately it’s unavailable on land. Why can’t the guardian get a similar javelin on land?
I’d love to hear from the devs if there are any plans of giving the guardian class a “real” ranged weapon, or if he’s going to be stuck with caster weapons forever.
I’d love Longbow for Guardians.
Not I.
No longbows, shortbows, rifles, or pistols please. I really think the Dev team got it right.
I do not share your opinion and do not see the point in a heavy armor class using wands and staves only. If I wanted a caster, I’d had rolled one.
I bet if we have had a choice, nobody would have picked a wand over a real weapon. Well, nobody but you.
(edited by shedim.8504)
I think you made a point and I am glad GW2 allowed you to pick your holy caster, but it offers no alternatives for people, who wanted a defensive heavy armored guy, who is neither a paladin nor wielding a wand or a staff.
I don’t know. They made the guardian a heavily armored brute and give them awkward caster weapons. It’s like a knight, who’s proudly wearing his heavy battle armor, the shield with his family’s crest in one hand and a wet towel in the other.
I expected him to wield some real weapons and to be capable of ranged combat, just like any other class in this game. A knight shooting magical tennis balls in slow motion is…I don’t know how they failed to realize how ridiculous that actually is!
like the guardian has any decent ranged build at all, lawl
The Scepter is boring.
Nah
It’s beyond boring.
I
Frankly they could just copy paste a few of the underwater spears abilities onto it as that is among the best weapons in game for guardians..I would love the see the spear from underwater become an above water weapon. in fact thats where the inspiration of my two “new” weapons came from.
I fail to understand why the devs decided that giving a heavily armoed melee brute a puny wizard wand and a staff is better than let’s say a pistol/shield, some sort of bow/gun. Why the javelin works underwater only is also beyond my comprehension.
I totally dislike the paladin component of the guardian. It’s just so incredibly dull and. cliche. You gave him some manly armor, manly melee attacks and unfortunately some not so manly ultimates (if you want to give him books, then let him smack some faces with them, at least). Give him at keast some manly weapons, already and leave the scepters and staffs for the skirt wearing casters!
I disagree with your ideas, but I agree that it needs changes. Here is my idea anyhow.
Skill 1: Flame Jet- I’d add 1s burn on the start, and keep the one at the end. So, 2s of burning in its course.
Skill 2: Flame Blast- Give the option to detonate it in the air. When it detonates, it gives 3s of burning+ the direct damage.
Skill 3: Air Blast- Keep it the same.
Skill 4: Napalm- Lower cooldown to 20s, and make it give 2s of burn on stepping on it, not 1s.
Skill 5: Smoke Vent- Raise cooldown to 30s. Keep the stun breaking and instant cast element, but also make it a persistent smoke combo field, like the smoke bomb, for 3s. Raise its range to a radius of 180.I think really, my main issues are with skills 2 4 and 5.
Skill 2 currently is too hard to aim and unrewarding when it does hit.
Skill 4 is just boring. Its effectively a combo field. 1s of burn when you step on it is far too negligible.
Skill 5 is boring and hard to use. A persistent smoke applying field would be better.
I like the #5 suggestion. I don’t understand why they didn’t make it a persistent field right from the start,
I have to say, I am also dissapointed by the engineer class. I really wanteed to like engineer. For one, the attacks are lack-luster compared to every other class. It seems I am limited to short and medium range attacks with either pistol or rifle, and the dps is lacking unless you go grenade or flamethrower. So what makes 1 engineer any different than another. Everyone says, GO ‘NADE! GO FLAMETTHROWER. So every engineer is just an exact copy of everyone else. Not very fun, not very versatile.
Weapons. We can go, dual weild pistol, pistol/shield, rifle… and…? I look at the number of different weapons, and attacks on warrior, elementalist, guardian, and then look at engineer and want to cry. They can even swap weapons doubling their combos. And the engineer can… spam the same few attacks with it’s limited arsenal. whoop-de-freakin-doo!My wife plays an elementalist and I am so envious of her versatility, weapon selection, and number of attacks.
I’m now playing my guardian now and it’s way more fun. It opens up a wide range of playstyle. When I want range, I just switch to staff or wand. Support-role? Gotta love the guardian. Even my level 9 warrior has more useful range attacks than the engineer.
My necro has a better “turret” weapon than my engineer, better range, better dot, and better ranged area-effects.
The engineer was the first class I tried. If it was the only class in the game, I would have quit GW2.
Wait what? Guardian and ranged combat that is actually fun and viable? Are we playing the same game?
Engineer and ranged combat that is actually fun and viable? See. I can do that too.
And that’s the crux of engineer’s problem. Their ranged attack, what they are supposed to specialize, in is NOT FUN (unless you call grenades fun). All the other classes actually have cooler ranged attacks. I don’t do range on guardian much, but if I have to, it’s THERE if I need it. I have that option. I don’t NEED range on engineer because the other classes do range BETTER. But if I need MELEE on engineer……? Versatility? Not so much for engineer.
Rifle autoattack is way better than anything the guardian can offer in ranged combat, like ever. Guardian has no ranged capabilities, since the devs decided that a heavy armor wearing brute might look cooler with a patheticwand that’s shooting magical tennis balls in slow motion and a staff that makes him look like a mishappened, armor clad Gandalf with strange skills and the you shall not pass #5, than with a real weapon. Heck, his underwater javelin is decent, but not available on land. The only thing that keeps me away from playing a guardian is his stupid caster hybrid ultimates and his severe lack of viable ranged WEAPONS, not some wizard wands.
But this is about the engineer and he is capable at range – with his autoattacks.
I do not like his rifle spells. I think the engineer should have gotten the warrior’s rifle skills, but some people seem to enjoy him. Personally, I was totally excited about the engineer and he looked like fun, but unfortunately his ranged combat feels lackluster, his turrets are beyond ridiculous, his kits seem rather lackluster and he’s suffering from tons of bugs, wonky gameplay, random buffs on elixiers and clumsy skills.
Every time I look at the engineer it makes me sad, since he could have been so much more awesome.