Combo fields serve little purpose in the current meta

Combo fields are something that really felt unique to the game but they really feel like they serve no purpose in the current meta, especially when we look at PvP and WvW. It's rare to need to blast a water for healing now since most healing builds can out heal water blasts with more unique skills, similarly to blasting fire fields for might. It's always bothered me how little potential combo fields have had within the game and I feel like since HoT they've really gotten away from how valuable they can be to a group.

Bottom line is I rarely see people using them. It should reward groups for being organized enough to blast/leap/projectile through them. Instead they are an afterthought for most groups.

yeah i kinda wish combos were a bit trickier to do and offer greater benefits than just 5 mights or light aura -___-... should have like 2% or 3% bonus damage combos u know sort of like in street fighter or hidden super attack beam or something

A suggestion I had was to add a 2nd level to combos. To get to the 2nd level you have to perform level 1 combos (i.e. set down a field and get some "combo points" for every other player that uses a combo through your field or use a finisher through any field) and once you get maxed, you can activate the power and spend it all on either a SUPER COMBO FIELD or a SUPER FINISHER.

What these effects could be, I didn't consider that much yet...it's mainly just a thought and maybe someone else could get inspired to come up with a better idea to make combos more interesting.

I can't shake the notion that the reason why combo fields were abandoned is because they were too complicated for the layman to get. Anet did color-code the fields for ease of use, but still...

the xpacs ruined combo fieldswould be awesome to see an update and some qol changes attached to them

Combo fields are a nice idea, but bad implementation, and it's broken at the core concept, not just in the numbers. There are just too many fields, so that it ends up being fairly incidental, uncontrollable, and passive. To really work well, the system needs more intentionality, which means more of the mechanics need to move to the finisher side of things. They also need a way to let people choose what they are going to combo with (or combo with everything, but that's obviously going to be broken in power)

It would be quite an overhaul, but they could convert combos into a mana (or whatever they want to call it) system:

1. Add a class of stackable, short duration "mana" effects (not a boon but similar mechanics in terms of stacking, duration, application)
2. Fields apply mana effects, finishers consume them.
3. Either have a type of mana for each field type, or simplify it and collapse into five or six types, in which case you theme it on dragons or gods or the races or core GW1 classes or whatever.
4. Add a new build/progression system, where you use a new point type (thus dodging the hero point glut issue) to unlock skill upgrades for finishers.
5. These upgrades determine how exactly you combo -- you would select one from up to three unlocked options per finisher (sort of like traits), and each would consume a certain number of stacks of a certain type of mana, and provided a certain combo effect. Since it would just be a skill fact, it could be tuned up or down depending on the skill, and could stay in keeping with the theme/use of the skill.

Anyway, it would make combos a more central part of gameplay mechanics. Sort of gets back to the CCG feel of GW1, adds a new support role (mana maker), and could also lead to some skills and effects that counter mana (say, mana denial or corruption, or a condition that punishes combos). On the other hand, not only is it a major rework, it's adding a lot more complexity to balancing finishers. And people who don't have the necessary unlocks would be annoyed that they are losing a capability, even if it is sort of crap at the moment.

@Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:I can't shake the notion that the reason why combo fields were abandoned is because they were too complicated for the layman to get. Anet did color-code the fields for ease of use, but still...

Well they weren't abandoned. What happened is that overall powercreep got so bad that combo fields are more or less pointless now.

Why waste time blasting fire fields for 3 might each, when one warrior using For Great Justice gives everyone 12 might? That's 1 instant cast skill giving as much might as laying down a fire field, and then blasting it 4 times. 1 skill giving the equivalent of 4 combo finishers, but it also has longer duration. The combo finishers that spit out conditions are near useless in the current game state of pure condition spam, simply due to being outclassed so much.

Combo fields and finishers are fine. Sure, a few could use some buffs, but really everything else should just be toned down, significantly, and you would start to see more people using combo fields again

@Stand The Wall.6987 said:the xpacs ruined combo fieldswould be awesome to see an update and some qol changes attached to them

Reason why reaper tempest pair was so good was coz of combos

Yeah, combo fields are not really intuitive with their effects.

I remember that before ps/gotl might changes fennec from qt played condi might tempest with scepter (pof wasnt relesed yet) instead of one cPS and said its better then 2 cPS.

@ButcherofMalakir.4067 said:I remember that before ps/gotl might changes fennec from qt played condi might tempest with scepter (pof wasnt relesed yet) instead of one cPS and said its better then 2 cPS.It was better only if you could reliably depend on the combo fields. Problem is, when you're stacking in the same spot with other people, and everyone uses skills that leave behind combo fields of different types, those fields stop being dependable for anything beyond their base effects. This was, if you can remember, basically the main problem with the reaper gs condi build.

Basically, combing is so undependable its effects would have to be really OP for the players to go back to them.

Hard to make combofields relevant mechanic when every player spams AoEs all the time.

@Astralporing.1957 said:

@ButcherofMalakir.4067 said:I remember that before ps/gotl might changes fennec from qt played condi might tempest with scepter (pof wasnt relesed yet) instead of one cPS and said its better then 2 cPS.It was better only if you could reliably depend on the combo fields. Problem is, when you're stacking in the same spot with other people, and everyone uses skills that leave behind combo fields of different types, those fields stop being dependable for anything beyond their base effects. This was, if you can remember, basically the main problem with the reaper gs condi build.

I don't know about other classes but on engineer, combo fields are essential for healing and condition cleanse.

@sokeenoppa.5384 said:

@Stand The Wall.6987 said:the xpacs ruined combo fieldswould be awesome to see an update and some qol changes attached to them

alright sure but by and large boons, heals and what not got a hell of a lot more passive and abundant