Guild Wars 2

Moderator.1462:

Hi everyone,

Whipboot, if you feel that someone is being “unpolite” – so as to speak – with you, either by making jokes that offend you or any kind of female-despecting forms you can report them, either with the in game report tool or, if you can provide evidence such as screenshots, you can report them to the CS team (http://en.support.guildwars2.com/).

We’d like to thank everyone who has supported this player and helped her with this issue. Remember that we need you all to create a good enviroment in the gameThanks for posting.

Firstly, I’d like to thank your involvement. I know I have communicated with several community team members but it is welcome to see you post on the forum. Thank you—really. That you are listening is welcoming. I appreciate it; however I truly hope you understand that the topic scope goes beyond ‘this player’ —as it absolutely does, based on the forums responses and the PMs, emails, etc I have received--to many other female players. And to be truly honest, ‘unpolite’ is a massive understatement.

I know via TOS I cannot address ’you" directly but within this thread there are many, many fine comments and fine suggestions regarding this issue. I hope you take them to heart, take them to your team, and work them as a problem to be solved, as I have taken to heart the thoughtful, caring and empathetic replies of the community.

The ‘ghetto’ regulation of competitive female players that choose not to endure abuse is particularly problematic. Where are we to go? As the thread has shown, most high-end guilds are male dominated; they are not particularly welcoming to women and the level of respect is not particularly high. This is not an insignificant issue.

This goes beyond ’unpolite" discourse as you say; it is a “persistent and pervasive” mindset as one of your senior staff has called it.

Again, your reporting system is widely known,. Yet it is not exactly welcome to report other players on your team—it is often simply a means of instant ejection from a squad or team, server transfers are extraordinarily expensive, and it leaves out all voip interaction as I have already stated. (See suggestion of 1st person voip interface above i.e. Neverwinter etc.)

I truly, truly, sincerely appreciate your stepping in, but a more comprehensive approach is really needed. This is a serious aspect of your virtual environment and the guild system itself, the dis-proportionality of male players, the treatment of the gender minority, the comfort level of female players and safe places to speak is paramount to a healthy gaming community. And note well that the gaming spectrum is rapidly changing, the demographics as well. There are many woman gamers and they will go where they feel welcome and listened to—plain and simple.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and acknowledge; I hope that this continues into a generative dialogue that resolves some of these problems for any female—or minority player—that is feeling left out of the social net.

Best,

Valess

myenchantedlife.3729:

I didn’t notice anyone else mention it but, there is another option; start your own guild. It can be a lot of work but, it can be very rewarding as well.

I have run into the “woman” issue forever; in jobs, “Oh you’re a manager?” click; in games, “Girls don’t play, just guys who lie.” and so on. And on and on…

When I read one of the comments that suggested you not bring being female up at all, I had to cringe. That just reminded me of trying to change my pronouns to hide the fact that I am a lesbian just because it might make someone uncomfortable. Pretending to be something I’m not makes ME uncomfortable.

Being a woman who games is who you are and trying to hide that from anyone is just ridiculous. You couldn’t and still be on Voice chat anyway. Well, I take that back, you actually can… for a while I had a guild who thought I was a young boy, but I digress lol.

Keep looking, you have a good handle on what you need and, if your research doesn’t pay off, seriously consider becoming a guild leader and paving the way for other competitive women. You never know who (women and men) might be interested in just what you have to offer. Don’t move to the “ghetto” as you said, build your dream house.

I’m totally with you. I built OPS from the ground up. I made the mistake of having a guild leader who just went IMA. So I recruited like crazy and built a wonderful website (now dead), mumble etc…. and it was dead in 3 months. Blargh. But your vigor is totally right. It is a TON of work to build that dream house; unfortunately, I have a job

Yeah, that was a really offensive comment. I can’t believe I was infracted for starting this thread yet that comment remains; ridiculous. It’s as if we are speaking a foreign language, which in a way we are, since the majority doesn’t care what we say. I’m really sorry you had that experience, but unfortunately, it is awfully familiar. Very early on in the game a player demanded to know whether i was ‘really a girl"—in chat. He was perplexed why that question was offensive. Do I need to show my passport to verify my gender? Later on in voip, where it was obvious, it didn’t get any better. Simply more dismissive.

I guess at this point I’m a bit burnt out and I see no support from the powers that be. I’ll be back in a month or so unless ES-5 or Neverwinter doesn’t take me away. I always liked GW. But at this moment it’s not worth it.. As you say..running a guild is a crazy amount of work. I know. I’ve done it. But also a good suggestion. I’d like more systemic / engagement / interventions from those who shall not be named; and they are needed. I’ll (I’ve)post(ed) here, on twitter, on youtube, and where ever else I like on the state of this conversation. It’s not going away. I won’t let it.

And lastly: you are awesome and thank you for your suggestions and support

Valess

Stooperdale.3560:

I think the original poster is right. I’m not sure there’s an easy change to the culture though. It’s prevalent across the internet and I often read worse things in response to a basic women’s sport report than I do GW2. Any offenders will have no respect for anyone who tells them their behavior is wrong.

I appreciate your contribution; you are absolutely correct when you say there is no easy change, undoubtedly. My personal correspondence with an entity closely related to this product that I am prohibited from naming itself describes this problem we are discussing as “pervasive and persistent.” So yes, it is prevalent as you say.

I believe what you say. I don’t follow women’s competitive sports but I can only imagine what is said. The trick here is this is a ‘virtual world’, where we are all together. It’s not gender segregated. However, the illusion of anonymity that the online world provides creates situations where ‘water seeks its own level’—and thus bias unfolds. However, the key difference is—opposed to the entire internet—this is a virtual world that was created not by evolution or providence or eons of history or even for an entire planet to use; it was made by humans, for an infinitesimally small ratio of humans in fact, and is controlled by humans; it is bound in rules and law and code by design. What is deemed important can actually be made important via the users themselves, those who watch code, or those who simply make pamphlet speeches like this one. If 3rd party voip is a problem incorporate 1st party voip like many mmos are doing—reporting easily solved. I normally deal with the creation of autonomous machines and control; i suppose I find it simplistic to deal with containing a model world of one’s own design. Yet, it is quantitative. It simply costs less to let it slide; we all know that energy persists, though attaining it is tricky, and where you expend it is paramount. However, human factors research extends decades. But I digress.

But—and this is a large but—if we in the community say that we believe this is a problem, would like to address it, or even acknowledge it, then we are taking at least a small step at diffusing the status quo. It might even become a priority. I think several suggestions already made are in that direction—at least they acknowledge the current state of affairs; at least this forum post actually simply exists. Would I love to see a dev piece regarding this? Absolutely. Unfortunately the TOS of the forums make it almost impossible to directly interact in such a fashion. Believe me. I have been made well aware.

At the moment, the solution appears to be ‘find your safe haven’. While I don’t very much like the idea of ghettos, it’s the only logical approach until the landscape shifts.

In any case, your contribution is appreciated much.

Valess

LLunatic.5280:

whipboot.3058:

LLunatic.5280:

lol well i was actually trying to help. Helping does not always mean agreeing with your every word. I can understand your frustration completely, but i just think youre pointing fingers at the wrong people. Its like saying its McDonalds fault for someones weight gain because they eat thier food every day. They can choose not to but they do it anyway.

I really do wish you all the best of luck in finding your safehaven. I really do think that the best thing for you to do is find a group of gamers that you can really connect with and dont treat you differently because your female so you can ignore everyone else and just enjoy the game with the people you enjoy spending your time with.
’
There really are 1000s of guilds in GW2 and each of them is a little different. Take a look on the guildwars2guilds.org site and keep an eye in this section of the forums. Im sure youll find one that fits what you want.

@ LLunatic I really appreciate your follow up. And it is of course your prerogative to have your own view point—we don’t have to agree on everything, obviously.

I will take what you said to heart and I am very carefully, very slowly researching servers and guilds—again. This time I will be beyond cautious.

It’s all a bit overwhelming, honestly; I have been traversing through servers and guilds since pre-release. Should it be so difficult to find a guild that has a. competitive players (sPvP & WvW, even high level dungeoneering) b. respects ALL their members c. has a significant female representation (30% or higher) d. doesn’t die off in a month or 2? It’s enough to make one just want to give up the game completely. 1000s of guilds, but searching for a needle in a haystack.

In any case, your response is appreciated. If I misunderstood you—or simply disagree with a bit of what you said—which is my prerogative, the clear integrity in your latest note overrides that completely. And no, I am not being ironic.

Valess

Im glad you see that i was actually trying to help lol. I know it can be tough sometimes to get the general “tone” of someones words in text alone. Seems you are already well on your way to making the changes you need to start enjoying the game again. For this i am very glad. Dont give up hope. Your request is a tall one indeed (especially since your right, most competitive players are male) but im sure youll find something that fits the bill. Just dont be afraid to try things out. Sometimes you just dont know till you try

Well said, thanks and +1

Raf.1078:

I’d say you just need to find better company. There is no reason for anyone to put up with bs like that. A more mature guild might help, perhaps?

No..you’re absolutely right. I agree…a more mature guild indeed. Now I just have to find this guild (sigh). Thanks for the input though.

rozcinana.7249:

I guess I’m lucky because I haven’t had many experiences like this. My guild is great to me and our other female members but we’d probably be a little too casual for your liking. Good luck in finding the right group of people :/

Thanks for your response. I’m actually really glad you haven’t had to deal with this, and you may have actually hit the nail on the head a bit: I have yet to find a ‘competitive guild’ where this issue hasn’t come up. I’ve been in wonderful casual guilds. Some of them died out unfortunately. Some of them I left because no one was interested in competitive play. All the competitive guilds I was in were completely male-dominated; and not that everyone in those guilds was a horrible person—obviously—they weren’t. But there was definitely a siege-mentality where a lot of stuff was allowed to go on that really shouldn’t have—in my opinion at least, and apparently any other women, since there weren’t any or maybe there was still one. There’s got to be a happy medium somewhere.

In any case, thanks for sharing, you’ve made a good point.

Veim.5948:

We have some girls in our guild and love them. I know some WvW great commanders who are girls and are very popular on our server. Just consider changing your attitude to people or people whom you are paying attention to.

Knowing “some girls” in your guild or knowing of WvW commanders that are women is not a valid response to the issue of how not an insubstantial number of women are treated in this game.

Your argument is analogous to: “I know this homeless guy in my neighborhood; he loves being homeless. Therefore , all homeless individuals are happy about their situation”

Perhaps those unhappy homeless should change their attitude about their situation as well and all will be good.

I am happy for constructive comments, but yelling “same as it ever was” louder and louder is not constructive to the conversation—and yes this is meant to be a conversation, not an auto-generator for a series of ad hominem attacks or responses, which comments regarding ‘my attitude’, ‘my sensitivity’…my, my etc, all fall under. Yes, as I have said before, it’s not just about me.

LLunatic.5280:

lol well i was actually trying to help. Helping does not always mean agreeing with your every word. I can understand your frustration completely, but i just think youre pointing fingers at the wrong people. Its like saying its McDonalds fault for someones weight gain because they eat thier food every day. They can choose not to but they do it anyway.

I really do wish you all the best of luck in finding your safehaven. I really do think that the best thing for you to do is find a group of gamers that you can really connect with and dont treat you differently because your female so you can ignore everyone else and just enjoy the game with the people you enjoy spending your time with.
’
There really are 1000s of guilds in GW2 and each of them is a little different. Take a look on the guildwars2guilds.org site and keep an eye in this section of the forums. Im sure youll find one that fits what you want.

@ LLunatic I really appreciate your follow up. And it is of course your prerogative to have your own view point—we don’t have to agree on everything, obviously.

I will take what you said to heart and I am very carefully, very slowly researching servers and guilds—again. This time I will be beyond cautious.

It’s all a bit overwhelming, honestly; I have been traversing through servers and guilds since pre-release. Should it be so difficult to find a guild that has a. competitive players (sPvP & WvW, even high level dungeoneering) b. respects ALL their members c. has a significant female representation (30% or higher) d. doesn’t die off in a month or 2? It’s enough to make one just want to give up the game completely. 1000s of guilds, but searching for a needle in a haystack.

In any case, your response is appreciated. If I misunderstood you—or simply disagree with a bit of what you said—which is my prerogative, the clear integrity in your latest note overrides that completely. And no, I am not being ironic.

Valess

@ Llunatic i don’t think your minimizing post was meant to ‘help’ in anyway shape or form and I believe you are well aware of that. It’s an ugly topic; should I therefore be sanguine about it?

Yes…misogyny is amusingly funny.

“stop being so sensitive” is the ultimate response; well done. Yes, I should be complacent in what is clearly wrong.

“As for if this is Anets fault lol. Im sorry if im being blunt but thats just silly. How is Anet supposed to be able to police every aspect of how people treat eachother in thier game?” So in your logic the problem is so big that the company who designs, runs, monitors and owns the virtual word can’t possibly do anything about it. At the same time, I should pretend it doesn’t exist and not bother to bring it up on a public forum.

Obviously I switch guilds, servers, etc. But, that’s a wonderful strawman response btw.

‘report them’: i do. shall i also have to record every game to pick up whatever is going on in voip, then post every game to youtube as well? how about I start a forum thread where this can be discussed instead?

I have been in several guilds with plenty of fine men and women: and I have been in guilds (which I joined for non-social reasons) where the attitude displayed against the women in the guild was atrocious and thus I left, as did any self-respecting women.

That when this topic is brought up, the general response, of “sorry deal with it” is not acceptable. It’s reminiscent of doctors treating 1950s housewives for ‘hysteria’ with Valium.

And it is posts like this one that let other female gamers who experience this or have experienced this know that they are not alone. This post is for me and for them. And considering the amount of PMs I have received there are quite a lot of us.

And this is not about ‘my’ guild, the moderator moved this topic here for some reason. This applies to dungeon runs, WvW squads, sPvP teams and opponents, chat box and VOIP—you know, interaction in general.

That a statement that this conduct simply exists generates so much opposition (yet secret affirmation) shows how ingrained the issue is. Why sweep it under the rug? Talking about it does not in fact make it worse; it sheds light, which is never a bad thing.

I can’t possibly be the only female to experience this.

It makes me ill to experience this.

So: the gaming world comprises of more than just males.

I don’t think this issue being taken seriously.

1. Yes, gender tropes are indeed offensive
2. Males do not have an inherent position of superiority.
3. Being a minority does not make us lesser players ( I dare you to 1v1 me).

I have been playing since pre-release and I am sick of of the way I am spoken to on guild chat, map chat, and/ or voip interfaces. I play this games still because I like the interface; I am certainly better than average; and I like to play competitively. But in a social environment—which this game necessitates for higher-level play—I nonetheless have to deal with scorn, ridicule and plain ignorance; it’s not a boys club any longer.

So for the time being I will continue to solo play and pug, as well as I can, in sPvP and WvW, until I get bored and move on to another game—or I am able to find a comfortable spot in this virtual world.

But if this game would like lose a significant part of your market share, it behooves you to not let this topic be spoken about out in the open. What can you do, the company who designs and owns and moderates this game, do about it? I’m not sure; but just because I don’t have all the answers, doesn’t mean I can’t pose an important problem.

Valess

I can’t possibly be the only female to experience this.

It makes me ill to experience this.

So: the gaming world comprises of more than just males.

I don’t think this issue being taken seriously.

1. No the gaming world does not comprise of only males,
2. Yes, gender tropes are indeed offensive
3. Males do not have a position of superiority.
4. Being a minority does make us lesser players ( I dare you to 1v1 me).

I have been playing since pre-release and I am sick of of the way I am spoken to on guild chat, map chat, and all voip interfaces. I play this games still because i am generally better than most players but in a social environment I nonetheless have to deal with scorn, ridicule and plain ignorance.: it’s not a boys club any longer.

So for the time being I will continue to kick your kitten in sPvP and WvW. Until I get bored and move on to another game.

Troll away.

But Anet: want to lose a significant part of your market share? You’re doing an awesome job.

Valess

Join us for winter’s day.

Hi Atremis,

The Opposition [OPS} is ready for Night Crew. Message sent.

Check out our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com

Hi Rareloot

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. We’re a PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server. I like to describe us as fun, friendly, formidable. While we’re PvX, I mostly only play sPvP and actively recruit sPvP players. We’re a relatively new guild (36 members) but we’re recruiting hard and recruiting sPvP players the hardest. We’d love to get you involved in our building of some truly competitive sPvP teams. We use Mumble.

While we’re a North American guild by server, we also have Australian, European and Oceanic members.

For more info here’s our recruitment /application post (the ‘application’ is more just a manner to contact us, nothing grueling): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Hi Zelexial

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. We’re a PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server. I like to describe us as fun, friendly, formidable. While we’re ‘US’ guild by server, we also have Australian, European and Oceanic members. Players new to the game are always welcome and our website forums have lots of tips, info and posts.

For more info here’s our recruitment /application post (the ‘application’ is more just a manner to contact us, nothing grueling): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Hi jerrypcjr,

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. We’re a PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server. While we’re a ‘US’ guild by server, we also have Australian, European and Oceanic members. We’re a relatively new guild (36 members and growing) but have a lot of core players that put in hours and hours of play a day. A solid amount of our PvE focused players are focusing on Fractals right now. And yeah, we completely open-minded and inclusive, no worries there.

For more info here’s our recruitment /application post (the ‘application’ is more just a manner to contact us, nothing grueling): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Valess

Hi pyronix,

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. While we’re a PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server. A solid group of our payers focus on dungeons, jps, events; you know, the things you like. I like to describe us as fun, friendly, formidable. While we’re a ‘US’ guild by server, we also have Australian, European and Oceanic members. We’re a relatively new guild (36 members and growing) but have a lot of core players that put in hours and hours of play a day. We’re also open minded. As an officer I can assure you our guild rules are strict about bias of any form; with our group it’s simply not cool and it’s not tolerated.

For more info here’s our recruitment /application post (the ‘application’ is more just a manner to contact us, nothing grueling): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Valess

Hi Rhapsodical,

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. We’re a PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server. I like to describe us as fun, friendly, formidable. While we’re ‘US’ guild by server, we also have Australian, European and Oceanic members. Players new to the game are always welcome and our website forums have lots of tips, info and posts. (We have a wonderful thief forum section, btw)

For more info here’s our recruitment /application post (the ‘application’ is more just a manner to contact us, nothing grueling): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Valess

Hi MorceluLebeau,

Check out our guild, The Opposition [OPS]. We’re a NA server PvX guild [Fort Aspenwood] with a strong late night component (myself included and I’m CST as well). We also have core Australian players who are naturally on ‘at night’ in the US.

For more info here’s our recruitment / application post: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/guilds/US-Fort-Aspenwood-The-Opposition-OPS/first#post918476

Our website: http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com/

Your always welcome to join up and see if the fit is right. Free to PM as well.

Happy hunting.

Valess

Recruiting members for The Opposition, an 18+ PvX guild on the Fort Aspenwood server.

http://www.gw2ops.enjin.com

We are a relatively new guild, but have a core of experienced mmo players and are looking to expand and build a strong team, knowledge base and a great social environment. We’re on a North American server but our members are from all over: North America, Europe, Oceania, etc. We have 36 members at the moment. All levels and professions are welcome.

We aim to maintain an environment where people can enjoy themselves and have fun, while also honing their skills for the more challenging aspects of the game if they like. Our members range from semi-casual to hardcore and our areas of game focus span pvp, wvw, and pve. Guildies will be able to find other people to explore dungeons, complete epic quests, dominate other worlds in WvW, and engage in sPvP tournaments. or just have a steady, fun group to hang out with while gaming. Our website is setup as a hub for information exchange, tips, events, game news, social interaction and generally anything that makes our GW2 more enjoyable.

If you’re interested in any of the following you may like our guild because this is what our guild likes to do:

Competitive sPvP
Run dungeons
Guild raids in WvW
Explorable PvE
Achievements
Events
Share game experience, builds, and knowledge

Of course we do lots of other things. Our guild may not have a ‘sole’ focus (i.e. only WvW), but you can be sure that there are members and officers who primarily specialize in one aspect of the game. We’re a pretty well-balanced group. Our rank progression is active and not terribly arduous. We keep things drama-free.

We use Mumble and/or Raidcall for WvW, sPvP, dungeons or for just hanging out.

Check out our website for more info and to send an application to join, or contact me in game. Our ‘application’ is more simply a way to contact us if you want to join.

same here 400ms+ latency only on GW2 just recently. never had an issue before.

I have the same network lag problem. In sPvP skills take a second or 2. Thief telportation skills are the worse; in a downed state it took 5 seconds to teleport away. I’ve never had this issue before. Hardware & isp are all solid.

I’m in the midwest. Running on Fort Aspenwood server. I’ve never had a lag issue before, but at the moment I can’t play sPVP because of it. There’s almost a full second before thief teleportation skills kick in. It’s impossible to play. In a downed state it took 5 seconds teleport location: yes 5 seconds. My bandwidth is rock solid 4 Mbps up and 25 Mbps down. Please address this, as I only play sPvP, this breaks the game.

Here are my thoughts. My comments are sPvP oriented.

1. Is there a problem with stealth? No, the stealth mechanism is conceptually solid and I believe has proper balance built into it via the cooldown. There is obviously a problem with culling that I have seen myself in WvW. Culling should be corrected. There is no stealth free lunch in a game without culling problems. Also, I believe there is a general misunderstanding between shadow stepping and stealth. Often times when a player is hit ‘out of nowhere’ it actually wasn’t out of nowhere; they were in line of sight and they were shadow stepped to.

2. Is there a problem with dagger/dagger glass cannon burst builds? No. Why? Because these builds require large sacrifices for their large dps combo burst. A d/d thief (25, 30, 0, 0, 15) makes the player behave in a particular way: get in and get out. With minimal toughness (916) and minimal health (14095), the builds pay for their burst dps in survivability. The insta-gibbing that players complain about happens only to other glass cannon builds and this is the bed those players have made for themselves. Also, max dps combo chains are often portrayed in strawman terms, as if they assured, undefendable, and completed at the stroke of a finger. Basilisk>Assassin’s Signet>C&D>Steal/Mug>Backstab>Heatseeker is a 6 stage combo that has several points of failure via order, time limitations (might), dodges, counter moves and importantly positioning (backstabs need to be landed on the back obviously). Landing everything perfectly can happen. However a well placed counter or any other opener breakdown and that glass BS thief better run for the hills and reset. Also, trying that on a non-glassy player will be a rude awakening. Often the success of that attack is by either catching someone unawares or because there’s an experience gap. Also, running a build like that often means the player has sacrificed a sole important utility: a stun break, a speed signet, a stronger heal, a stealth utility. You’ve already designed into the game real detriments to balance this approach. Good players can make it work via play style and it’s completely viable, and newer players might be able to pull off some big attacks, but will likely not be around much longer afterwards and will have to adapt.

3. S/D: it’s a wonderful weapon set, but to make it a really viable weapon choice the combined skill Flanking Strike needs to be modified. It is not usable at the moment. It often misses. It often places the player in odd locations. It is incredibly slow. The animation is so obvious that anyone can simply walk out of it. It does very little damage compared to other combinations skills. (Solutions: fix its targeting, speed up the animation, or have it land hits during the animation instead of 2 at the end, increase dps) The daze reduction to tactical strike should only have applied to sigil use—the real problem. Also the dancing dagger nerf combined with the c&d nerf really made this weapon set very much not viable beyond harassment. By trying to reduce burst damage on d/d builds—i can only assume—the nerf to c/d further hobbled a build that could be fun to play because of its finesse. I would love to see this weapon set made viable.

4. The overall 50% nerf to dancing dagger was an overreaction. Dancing dagger was OP’d—I’m not contesting that. Now it is underpowered with a large initiative cost. Either the damage should be restored with a 33% to what it was or the initiative cost should be reduced.

5.Cluster Bomb. The short bow is a necessity for mobility in PvP. By reducing cluster bomb dps by 15%—a perplexing move—the Short Bow is now a necessary equipped item with barely any teeth. While a lot of experienced PvP thieves saw the dancing dagger nerf coming and were ok with it, the CB nerf further reduced efficacy of a nearly mandatory weapon unnecessarily.

The design intent of the thief profession was well considered. It offers a large range of approaches from burst damage assassins, to condition damage approaches, to high evasion and mobility players. I believe the balance that has been struck between builds that gives and takes away these abilities is really well done. Moreover, balance is built into the profession as is, but it has a learning curve both to play and to play against. I truly hope that you do not break the class simply because there are aspects inherent in the class that other players dislike or do not understand—i.e. burst w/ low survivability and the stealth mechanism—and that is not meant pejoratively. Personally, I like 1v1ing other thieves, because I understand what they are doing. I am not surprised by anything my opponents do; that doesn’t mean i never lose; it just means i know why.

This is much, much better. ( i play on a 42" screen at 1920×1080)…although the auto zoom camera tracking still gets confused and could use some attention, imo. But since we’re simply talking about fov here: a much welcomed improvement.