Firebrand Mantra range is waaaaaaaaay too small

I don't really understand the design of the mantras...I guess they are supposed to be AOE support for allies (?), but you will never actually land them on an ally. The 300 range frontal cone is a terrible implementation for a class that is meant to be front line melee. I guess with the tomes you are trying to make them backline, but the tome range is short as well. So then with the patch today, ANet tried to help this out a little by also adding an AOE effect all around the firebrand...but the range is only 120. That's less than melee attack range. Maybe this is ok in PVE where you can stack people in a fight. But in any type of PvP these are practically useless.

Maybe they didn't want Mantras to take the place of shouts, I dunno. But if that's the case, make the mantras a 240 AOE radius (to match mesmer), and shouts will remain as 600. The implementation is just terrible right now, and they are basically self-only buffs.

yea after trying fb for a while, i went back to dh

I haven't even touched Firebrand yet. I unlocked it for the AP and I'm simply running through the story as DH. Mantras are bum, Tome F1 (The other two are pointless in PvE) is only good for mass tagging events. And I'm not purchasing condi gear until I know FB has a place...there's really no reason to play it. In sPvP DH is still better in all roles, in WvW it directly removes (or replaces) several of Frontline guardian's defining abilities / needed traits.

It's sad, but in its current state, what we're given, just isn't effective enough to consider for me outside of very niche things. I'm still making Astralaria though, cause it will eventually have its place.

Not only Mantra. I had problems in the Crystal Desert using Tome of Resolve and Tome of Courage on my teammates while they tried to dodge any further incoming damage to stay alive. Firebrand works all right on stationary targets but you're in trouble if there's a lot of movement going on. I imagine this being a problem in PvP and WvW too.

I get a paragon vibe from, added with the fact it's feels more like a mid range spec.If there was ever a time to bring spears out of the water, now would have been it.

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's bad

@Ghotistyx.6942 said:Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's bad

No, the fact that everything takes literally seconds to activate is what makes it bad. It has less support and damage than the tempest equivelant, it has way less damage than DH and even core guard. The mobility issue is more glaring than ever and don't even get me started on the axe.

[PvP] It's a team-support utility spec. Not meant to be the best individual solo class or best power build. DH/Core is for that.A lot of players swapped off of FB and went to Scourge(op) or some other class but it doesn't matter; players need to focus a FB in mid else they're getting wiped.

Like I said before and I'll continue to say it, we're the new Necros in PvP.

@Ghotistyx.6942 said:Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's bad

And just because you are ok with it, doesn't mean it's good, either.

Aggree wit OP. Mantras should have the same radius as shouts. The cone for tomes is ok but their range is 600 so please reconsider to change the mantra range. Even in WvW i think this range is too sticky.

i'm not comfy with FB either. But on the other hand, i'll give it some trys, maybe i have to learn the spec a little bit bevor enjoying it. DH is still unlocked and i can return to it everytime.

They should have the same area of effect as tome #1 and shield #4. That is, 600 range cones. It's ridiculous that all our support skills literally have different ranges lol. It makes trying to actually support people a chore.

I played Firebrand in PvP most of last night, and Mantras are extremely hard to use effectively. You basically can only use them on downed players while you Rez them. There is just too much movement to do anything else with them consistently.

As for tomes...justice is strong, and with the right build you can drop 25 burn stacks on someone in a few seconds. But resolve and courage are not so great. You get access to all this support...but you lose any ability to pressure a target. And you don't really have enough sustain to keep yourself up. The worst part is between resolve and courage, you can basically heal or give protection/stab/buffs, but not both at the same time. You can't survive on just buffs without the heals, and *usually you can't survive on just heals without the buffs. And with all the tomes, your mobility is trash.

PvE, firebrand is probably amazing. But I'm having a very hard time finding a niche for it in PvP or WvW.