Dev Response? - Pvp Balance Team - What is your intention with the current state of balance?

This is going to be a long read, TLDR at bottom.

Devs - As the title states I am genuinely curious as to what your intentions are with how you balance pvp. If you could give some insight into the thoughts and ideas that go into the way you decide to make and then implement changes, I would love to know. I ask because I am currently baffled at the pace and way changes are made.

For example, as far as I understand Fresh Air (mainly because of Weaver) was nerfed not too long ago. I believe this was because the build was thought to be oppressive. Too much burst, in too short of a window, without having enough reaction time to counter it because of the way it was designed.

The nerfs confused me because ele is one of the few classes that shares the lowest health pool, with the lowest armor, and not much defense. They have access to superspeed through the air traitline for short bursts of speed, a blink via lightning flash on long cooldown, then if using focus for example a reflect/condi cleanse via earth 4, and a short invuln via earth 5, then swirling winds in air 4. All of those have decently long cooldowns. They can trait/utility for more defensive capabilities but they would trade out a good chunk of burst to do so. So to me they took away the cannon from a glass cannon build and then just left the glass. There are other changes being made but as it stands now ele is pretty bottom of the barrel. Even still those types of builds only really shine in the hands of a great player.

This brings about my next point, a build gets nerfed because it's too oppressive and not fun to fight against but then you have the following "oppressive builds" (this is not intended to be all inclusive, just SOME examples). Also, this was just pulled from memory, so there are possibly mistakes but the general point stands, feel free to correct me where I'm wrong:

Core Guard - Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Soulbeast - Can spike 10-12k rapid fires, can auto for 2-4k (depending on how glass you go with stacked boons). One simple burst chain is to simultaneously pop OWP, QZ, Merge with smokescale pet (or any ferocious pet), hit rapid fire followed by smoke assault, then hit takedown at the end into worldy impact. If you are traited for unstoppable union or use signet the majority of that will be unblockable and that can easily down someone in just a few seconds.

Reaper - With the recent changes reapers can quickly auto attack for 4-6k per hit, crit for 8-12k with shroud 4 and 5 (I've seen higher but not so common from my experience), lich which no one uses outside of gimmicks can crit for 8-10k + on spam of a single skill, axe 2 can crit 5k easily, GS can hit pretty hard too but it's slow, so there's that.

Rev - Can pop enchanted daggers, phase traversal, OH sword 4 then 5, swap to glint, pop facet of elements then, sword 2, then you surge from staff, or glint elite for more pressure. Any similar chain can easily hit 15-20k damage or more.

Deadeye - Can stealth, kneel, pop blinding shadow then mark immediately after (I believe the knockdown happens as long as the target is marked before blinding shadow's effect triggers - feel free to correct me), then evade to stealth, or use elite, or if you trait for shadow arts properly you will stealth after the mark, and then you can hit JI followed by three round burst. This can hit anywhere from 12-25k and more depending on your setup. You can easily throw in assassin's signet for more burst too. This is set up mostly from stealth, so there's often very little reaction time, especially if you are stuck in a team fight.

Mesmer/Chrono/Mirage - I believe all variants of mesmer can do this to some degree. Torch for 4 for stealth, swap to GS, mirror blade, power lock, then jaunt/blink onto target, shatter, mind stab. You can follow-up with gs 4 for more burst and 5 for an interrupt to give more of a window to burst even more. This can easily spike for 12-20k and most of it happens from stealth and almost instantly.

Holosmith - With Static Discharge, you can stealth, pop PLB, followed by forge 3 and then 4, while doing that you can simultaneously hit particle accelerator and rifle turret toolbelt for two insta cast SD hits, followed by forge 5, then you can overheat (if traited for photonic blasting module for passive burst), use rifle 4, 5, 3. This can crit for ridiculous amounts and there are much better variations of this burst. I've seen 15-30k, though I figure the latter is not as common. Also got crit for a 12k grenade barrage the other day, which no one really runs anymore but didn't expect to get hit that hard.

Warrior/SB - Can open with bulls rush > HB for quick burst 8-12k if timed well, can open with blade trail then rush, arcing slice into FC, followed by another arcing slice, you can then whirlwind out, then auto attack or swap to OH for stuns/interrupts/unblockable burst. More gimmicky burst includes bulls rush, dagger OH 4, then 5, followed by eviscerate (can chain this quickly with quickness). Even recently with the gunflame buffs, people have been able to crit 15-20k, once again super gimmicky. Rampage also hits ridiculously hard too and it's on a rather short cd.

Elementalist - Had burst with core FA and then Freshweaver, with the latter providing more . Some variations of this burst but start Fire/Air, hit plasma beam then double attune air, hit air 2, followed by arcane blast, then auto from air, can lightning flash onto target for slightly more burst (but not a good idea). You could then swap back into fire and try to double attune to fire for phoenix and DT (not very likely to hit and usually only used to cleave/punish downstate), or you could go air to earth for earthen synergy. There are variations of this burst, but this could spike 20-30k before nerfs. Freshweaver now hits 12-15kish if you are 100% glass. I think core FA can pull off similar burst still but because of weaver, core got nerfed even more.

Every class/profession has the option for insane burst yet one class gets singled out for having said burst, while the others remain. So once again, I would like to understand the "why" behind the changes being made. If one class is too oppressive to play against because of its burst, why do you bring that in line but leave everything else out of wack?

I do not want to call for a nerf to everything but I want to understand the logic behind changes like the above. It seems that the changes were aimed at bringing oppressive builds more in line to create some idea of balance. But in this example the class really only had burst. Every other class has that burst but then so much more utility in spades. Such as portals, clones, detargeting abilities, interrupts, stuns, cleave, stealth, mobility, corruption, group support, insane survivability, total point control, etc. Why would you take a class that only has burst, if another has the same burst but everything else too? And why would you nerf one thing but not everything else that does the same? Why would you nerf something that has to be chained properly to achieve the goal vs something that can be spammed with 1-2 buttons.

As far as I understand, no one enjoys getting spammed by any one shot mechanics, so why do so many still exist? Why is there so much less counter-play than there used to be?

I have a hard time here because I really love the world Anet created and I love how fluid the combat feels in this game but then the changes that I see, seem far too slow and don't make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Why are you so silent with your community that only ultimately wants to see this game flourish? Why do you not create more modes/maps/etc to change up the gameplay? It's already pretty stale and unbalanced, at least create "new" modes to pique interest in your player base.

Someone might bring up this point - but players like Cellofrag or Phantaram can hit top positions in the leaderboard with said "bad classes". I would argue that those types of players are a cut above the rest and would get the same results with any class they put time into. The only difference is, they would probably reach the same level, if not higher with much less effort because other classes can do the same thing but better.

Sorry for the kind of rant all, I just don't get it. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.

TLDR: Anet - Can you please explain the thought process that goes into balancing/any changes/lack thereof? Why "balance" one or two oppressive builds but then leave a handful more that are just as bad, if not worse? Is your intention to put minimal effort into this mode and leave it in maintenance mode with minor tweaks? If so, why?

@Roquen.5406 said:

Elementalist - Had burst with core FA and then Freshweaver, with the latter providing more . Some variations of this burst but start Fire/Air, hit plasma beam then double attune air, hit air 2, followed by arcane blast, then auto from air, can lightning flash onto target for slightly more burst (but not a good idea). You could then swap back into fire and try to double attune to fire for phoenix and DT (not very likely to hit and usually only used to cleave/punish downstate), or you could go air to earth for earthen synergy. There are variations of this burst, but this could spike 20-30k before nerfs. Freshweaver now hits 12-15kish if you are 100% glass. I think core FA can pull off similar burst still but because of weaver, core got nerfed even more.

Both core and weaver fresh air have to sacrifice EVERYTHING to land these bursts. This is why no one plays them. Your presentation of these facts make it seems as though these are problematic/over-powered mechanics, but that isn't the case. What I would have liked to see is how the class hasn't had a single meta power build since Pre-Hot and how its current bunker build is sub-meta and is essentially a waste of space, seeing as it cannot 1v2 vs competent players for any useful duration of time, and its 1v1s are terrible seeing as its damage is so incredibly mediocre.

@Poelala.2830 said:

Both core and weaver fresh air have to sacrifice EVERYTHING to land these bursts. This is why no one plays them. Your presentation of these facts make it seems as though these are problematic/over-powered mechanics, but that isn't the case. What I would have liked to see is how the class hasn't had a single meta power build since Pre-Hot and how its current bunker build is sub-meta and is essentially a waste of space, seeing as it cannot 1v2 vs competent players for any useful duration of time, and its 1v1s are terrible seeing as its damage is so incredibly mediocre.

I was just stating what burst they had, not to imply they were overpowered/tuned. I touched upon this in the rest of my post.

@Roquen.5406 said:Core Guard - Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Lol xD

@Rodzynald.5897 said:

@Roquen.5406 said:

Core Guard

- Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

I totally agree with you! Your point is well elaborated and each step in your explanation is logical and well understandable. Also all these real life examples you mentioned to prove your view on the topic have totally convinced me. You really are a master of words and I would've been afraid facing you at the school discussion club. I wonder how anyone could not agree with your precise statement!

@Megametzler.5729

I know right? I did my best to convey the message for all to see.

@"Roquen.5406" said:This is going to be a long read, TLDR at bottom.

Devs - As the title states I am genuinely curious as to what your intentions are with how you balance pvp. If you could give some insight into the thoughts and ideas that go into the way you decide to make and then implement changes, I would love to know. I ask because I am currently baffled at the pace and way changes are made.

For example, as far as I understand Fresh Air (mainly because of Weaver) was nerfed not too long ago. I believe this was because the build was thought to be oppressive. Too much burst, in too short of a window, without having enough reaction time to counter it because of the way it was designed.

The nerfs confused me because ele is one of the few classes that shares the lowest health pool, with the lowest armor, and not much defense. They have access to superspeed through the air traitline for short bursts of speed, a blink via lightning flash on long cooldown, then if using focus for example a reflect/condi cleanse via earth 4, and a short invuln via earth 5, then swirling winds in air 4. All of those have decently long cooldowns. They can trait/utility for more defensive capabilities but they would trade out a good chunk of burst to do so. So to me they took away the cannon from a glass cannon build and then just left the glass. There are other changes being made but as it stands now ele is pretty bottom of the barrel. Even still those types of builds only really shine in the hands of a great player.

This brings about my next point, a build gets nerfed because it's too oppressive and not fun to fight against but then you have the following "oppressive builds" (this is not intended to be all inclusive, just SOME examples). Also, this was just pulled from memory, so there are possibly mistakes but the general point stands, feel free to correct me where I'm wrong:

Core Guard - Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Soulbeast - Can spike 10-12k rapid fires, can auto for 2-4k (depending on how glass you go with stacked boons). One simple burst chain is to simultaneously pop OWP, QZ, Merge with smokescale pet (or any ferocious pet), hit rapid fire followed by smoke assault, then hit takedown at the end into worldy impact. If you are traited for unstoppable union or use signet the majority of that will be unblockable and that can easily down someone in just a few seconds.

Reaper - With the recent changes reapers can quickly auto attack for 4-6k per hit, crit for 8-12k with shroud 4 and 5 (I've seen higher but not so common from my experience), lich which no one uses outside of gimmicks can crit for 8-10k + on spam of a single skill, axe 2 can crit 5k easily, GS can hit pretty hard too but it's slow, so there's that.

Rev - Can pop enchanted daggers, phase traversal, OH sword 4 then 5, swap to glint, pop facet of elements then, sword 2, then you surge from staff, or glint elite for more pressure. Any similar chain can easily hit 15-20k damage or more.

Deadeye - Can stealth, kneel, pop blinding shadow then mark immediately after (I believe the knockdown happens as long as the target is marked before blinding shadow's effect triggers - feel free to correct me), then evade to stealth, or use elite, or if you trait for shadow arts properly you will stealth after the mark, and then you can hit JI followed by three round burst. This can hit anywhere from 12-25k and more depending on your setup. You can easily throw in assassin's signet for more burst too. This is set up mostly from stealth, so there's often very little reaction time, especially if you are stuck in a team fight.

Mesmer/Chrono/Mirage - I believe all variants of mesmer can do this to some degree. Torch for 4 for stealth, swap to GS, mirror blade, power lock, then jaunt/blink onto target, shatter, mind stab. You can follow-up with gs 4 for more burst and 5 for an interrupt to give more of a window to burst even more. This can easily spike for 12-20k and most of it happens from stealth and almost instantly.

Holosmith - With Static Discharge, you can stealth, pop PLB, followed by forge 3 and then 4, while doing that you can simultaneously hit particle accelerator and rifle turret toolbelt for two insta cast SD hits, followed by forge 5, then you can overheat (if traited for photonic blasting module for passive burst), use rifle 4, 5, 3. This can crit for ridiculous amounts and there are much better variations of this burst. I've seen 15-30k, though I figure the latter is not as common. Also got crit for a 12k grenade barrage the other day, which no one really runs anymore but didn't expect to get hit that hard.

Warrior/SB - Can open with bulls rush > HB for quick burst 8-12k if timed well, can open with blade trail then rush, arcing slice into FC, followed by another arcing slice, you can then whirlwind out, then auto attack or swap to OH for stuns/interrupts/unblockable burst. More gimmicky burst includes bulls rush, dagger OH 4, then 5, followed by eviscerate (can chain this quickly with quickness). Even recently with the gunflame buffs, people have been able to crit 15-20k, once again super gimmicky. Rampage also hits ridiculously hard too and it's on a rather short cd.

Elementalist - Had burst with core FA and then Freshweaver, with the latter providing more . Some variations of this burst but start Fire/Air, hit plasma beam then double attune air, hit air 2, followed by arcane blast, then auto from air, can lightning flash onto target for slightly more burst (but not a good idea). You could then swap back into fire and try to double attune to fire for phoenix and DT (not very likely to hit and usually only used to cleave/punish downstate), or you could go air to earth for earthen synergy. There are variations of this burst, but this could spike 20-30k before nerfs. Freshweaver now hits 12-15kish if you are 100% glass. I think core FA can pull off similar burst still but because of weaver, core got nerfed even more.

Every class/profession has the option for insane burst yet one class gets singled out for having said burst, while the others remain. So once again, I would like to understand the "why" behind the changes being made. If one class is too oppressive to play against because of its burst, why do you bring that in line but leave everything else out of wack?

I do not want to call for a nerf to everything but I want to understand the logic behind changes like the above. It seems that the changes were aimed at bringing oppressive builds more in line to create some idea of balance. But in this example the class really only had burst. Every other class has that burst but then so much more utility in spades. Such as portals, clones, detargeting abilities, interrupts, stuns, cleave, stealth, mobility, corruption, group support, insane survivability, total point control, etc. Why would you take a class that only has burst, if another has the same burst but everything else too? And why would you nerf one thing but not everything else that does the same? Why would you nerf something that has to be chained properly to achieve the goal vs something that can be spammed with 1-2 buttons.

As far as I understand, no one enjoys getting spammed by any one shot mechanics, so why do so many still exist? Why is there so much less counter-play than there used to be?

I have a hard time here because I really love the world Anet created and I love how fluid the combat feels in this game but then the changes that I see, seem far too slow and don't make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Why are you so silent with your community that only ultimately wants to see this game flourish? Why do you not create more modes/maps/etc to change up the gameplay? It's already pretty stale and unbalanced, at least create "new" modes to pique interest in your player base.

Someone might bring up this point - but players like Cellofrag or Phantaram can hit top positions in the leaderboard with said "bad classes". I would argue that those types of players are a cut above the rest and would get the same results with any class they put time into. The only difference is, they would probably reach the same level, if not higher with much less effort because other classes can do the same thing but better.

Sorry for the kind of rant all, I just don't get it. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.

TLDR: Anet - Can you please explain the thought process that goes into balancing/any changes/lack thereof? Why "balance" one or two oppressive builds but then leave a handful more that are just as bad, if not worse? Is your intention to put minimal effort into this mode and leave it in maintenance mode with minor tweaks? If so, why?

Anet is well known to be biased against ele

I've always wanted a power meta - but this burst meta is insane! You really do need your 3rd eye to survive. #Woke

the only way to play burst ele is zerk staff with a full arcane bar! everyone knows this.

I haven't seen photonic blasting module and rarely rifle turret since POF launch.. imaginary builds man, they're the low-key busted ones

Core Guard - Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Soulbeast - Can spike 10-12k rapid fires, can auto for 2-4k (depending on how glass you go with stacked boons). One simple burst chain is to simultaneously pop OWP, QZ, Merge with smokescale pet (or any ferocious pet), hit rapid fire followed by smoke assault, then hit takedown at the end into worldy impact. If you are traited for unstoppable union or use signet the majority of that will be unblockable and that can easily down someone in just a few seconds.

Rev - Can pop enchanted daggers, phase traversal, OH sword 4 then 5, swap to glint, pop facet of elements then, sword 2, then you surge from staff, or glint elite for more pressure. Any similar chain can easily hit 15-20k damage or more.

Deadeye - Can stealth, kneel, pop blinding shadow then mark immediately after (I believe the knockdown happens as long as the target is marked before blinding shadow's effect triggers - feel free to correct me), then evade to stealth, or use elite, or if you trait for shadow arts properly you will stealth after the mark, and then you can hit JI followed by three round burst. This can hit anywhere from 12-25k and more depending on your setup. You can easily throw in assassin's signet for more burst too. This is set up mostly from stealth, so there's often very little reaction time, especially if you are stuck in a team fight.

While I agree the damage overall is too high, this honestly makes me think you've got a bit of a micro management issue going on.

Or, in other words, you just need to git gut.

@"mrauls.6519" said:I've always wanted a power meta - but this burst meta is insane! You really do need your 3rd eye to survive. #Woke

Pre-hot there was a power meta really good one, but hot released and power creep start to grow.

Typical "Nice GW2 Community" right here. Instead of correcting me where I am mistaken, you simply mock me. Golf clap to yall. Also, Chaith...I never said those were "meta" builds, just quick examples of what burst CAN be. I've seen people bursted for more and for less.

TLDR: Anet - Can you please explain the thought process that goes into balancing/any changes/lack thereof? Why "balance" one or two oppressive builds but then leave a handful more that are just as bad, if not worse? Is your intention to put minimal effort into this mode and leave it in maintenance mode with minor tweaks? If so, why?

Anet is well known to be biased against ele

I'm still waiting for some buffs to come to tempest, so it can have a role as a buffer, guess i better not hold my breath.

@Poelala.2830 said:

@Roquen.5406 said:

Elementalist

- Had burst with core FA and then Freshweaver, with the latter providing more . Some variations of this burst but start Fire/Air, hit plasma beam then double attune air, hit air 2, followed by arcane blast, then auto from air, can lightning flash onto target for slightly more burst (but not a good idea). You could then swap back into fire and try to double attune to fire for phoenix and DT (not very likely to hit and usually only used to cleave/punish downstate), or you could go air to earth for earthen synergy. There are variations of this burst, but this could spike 20-30k before nerfs. Freshweaver now hits 12-15kish if you are 100% glass. I think core FA can pull off similar burst still but because of weaver, core got nerfed even more.

..ele never had a meta power build since launch lol, you're mistaken...since launch ele meta buils have all been healbot bunker : old valkyrie/settler - celestial - mender

I remember some time ago, one of the devs stated that they wanted to have the fights to be over quicker (i believe this was after the bunker meta). In all honestly, right now is insane, most of my friends and i stopped playing because we don't enjoy this super fast instant death meta.

I can only imagine how insane things are going to be when the next expansion arrives with a new set of elite specs...

This is the first season I've not played a single game... :(

@Megametzler.5729 said:

@Rodzynald.5897 said:

@Roquen.5406 said:

Core Guard

- Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Well, what the op said does not happen what so ever. It is like winning the lottery. Can it happen? Sure, but does it happen at any frequency that requires balance changes? No.

This goes for much of what the op said. That does not mean what the op said has no basis, but it is extremely exaggerated.

@otto.5684 said:

@Megametzler.5729 said:

@Rodzynald.5897 said:

@Roquen.5406 said:

Core Guard

- Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Lol xD

Dude, I was explicitly referring to these five letters.^^ Nothing on topic tbh, because while I do think we have too much random AoE damage flying around, I have no real problem with one shots. :smile:

What makes me sad is that the combat system is fucking awesome in this game, but it just got bringed down to a dice game.Land your burst first, win. Got landed first, lose.

I imagine that there's someone at balance team that read all the rants from this forums and when it's balance time they just say:

• TOO MUCH POWERCREEP ON HOT? WAIT FOR THE CONDITION BOMB ON THE NEXT EXPANSION, BUNCH OF CRYING KIDS.
• OH, OK, DON'T LIKE CONDITIONS? GET THAT ONE SHOT META, NECKBEARD.

No problem, lets just wait 2 more months to the next surprise.You know, like that sock you got as your last christmas gift?

@"Roquen.5406" said:This is going to be a long read, TLDR at bottom.

Devs - As the title states I am genuinely curious as to what your intentions are with how you balance pvp. If you could give some insight into the thoughts and ideas that go into the way you decide to make and then implement changes, I would love to know. I ask because I am currently baffled at the pace and way changes are made.

For example, as far as I understand Fresh Air (mainly because of Weaver) was nerfed not too long ago. I believe this was because the build was thought to be oppressive. Too much burst, in too short of a window, without having enough reaction time to counter it because of the way it was designed.

The nerfs confused me because ele is one of the few classes that shares the lowest health pool, with the lowest armor, and not much defense. They have access to superspeed through the air traitline for short bursts of speed, a blink via lightning flash on long cooldown, then if using focus for example a reflect/condi cleanse via earth 4, and a short invuln via earth 5, then swirling winds in air 4. All of those have decently long cooldowns. They can trait/utility for more defensive capabilities but they would trade out a good chunk of burst to do so. So to me they took away the cannon from a glass cannon build and then just left the glass. There are other changes being made but as it stands now ele is pretty bottom of the barrel. Even still those types of builds only really shine in the hands of a great player.

This brings about my next point, a build gets nerfed because it's too oppressive and not fun to fight against but then you have the following "oppressive builds" (this is not intended to be all inclusive, just SOME examples). Also, this was just pulled from memory, so there are possibly mistakes but the general point stands, feel free to correct me where I'm wrong:

Core Guard - Radiant Hammer - can spike 12-16k in a split second with the standard chain, pop SoW, then start casting mighty blow, JI to enemy and hit F1 sometime before it lands, if all procs well you can probably hit closer to 18k on glassier targets.

Soulbeast - Can spike 10-12k rapid fires, can auto for 2-4k (depending on how glass you go with stacked boons). One simple burst chain is to simultaneously pop OWP, QZ, Merge with smokescale pet (or any ferocious pet), hit rapid fire followed by smoke assault, then hit takedown at the end into worldy impact. If you are traited for unstoppable union or use signet the majority of that will be unblockable and that can easily down someone in just a few seconds.

Reaper - With the recent changes reapers can quickly auto attack for 4-6k per hit, crit for 8-12k with shroud 4 and 5 (I've seen higher but not so common from my experience), lich which no one uses outside of gimmicks can crit for 8-10k + on spam of a single skill, axe 2 can crit 5k easily, GS can hit pretty hard too but it's slow, so there's that.

Rev - Can pop enchanted daggers, phase traversal, OH sword 4 then 5, swap to glint, pop facet of elements then, sword 2, then you surge from staff, or glint elite for more pressure. Any similar chain can easily hit 15-20k damage or more.

Deadeye - Can stealth, kneel, pop blinding shadow then mark immediately after (I believe the knockdown happens as long as the target is marked before blinding shadow's effect triggers - feel free to correct me), then evade to stealth, or use elite, or if you trait for shadow arts properly you will stealth after the mark, and then you can hit JI followed by three round burst. This can hit anywhere from 12-25k and more depending on your setup. You can easily throw in assassin's signet for more burst too. This is set up mostly from stealth, so there's often very little reaction time, especially if you are stuck in a team fight.

Mesmer/Chrono/Mirage - I believe all variants of mesmer can do this to some degree. Torch for 4 for stealth, swap to GS, mirror blade, power lock, then jaunt/blink onto target, shatter, mind stab. You can follow-up with gs 4 for more burst and 5 for an interrupt to give more of a window to burst even more. This can easily spike for 12-20k and most of it happens from stealth and almost instantly.

Holosmith - With Static Discharge, you can stealth, pop PLB, followed by forge 3 and then 4, while doing that you can simultaneously hit particle accelerator and rifle turret toolbelt for two insta cast SD hits, followed by forge 5, then you can overheat (if traited for photonic blasting module for passive burst), use rifle 4, 5, 3. This can crit for ridiculous amounts and there are much better variations of this burst. I've seen 15-30k, though I figure the latter is not as common. Also got crit for a 12k grenade barrage the other day, which no one really runs anymore but didn't expect to get hit that hard.

Warrior/SB - Can open with bulls rush > HB for quick burst 8-12k if timed well, can open with blade trail then rush, arcing slice into FC, followed by another arcing slice, you can then whirlwind out, then auto attack or swap to OH for stuns/interrupts/unblockable burst. More gimmicky burst includes bulls rush, dagger OH 4, then 5, followed by eviscerate (can chain this quickly with quickness). Even recently with the gunflame buffs, people have been able to crit 15-20k, once again super gimmicky. Rampage also hits ridiculously hard too and it's on a rather short cd.

Elementalist - Had burst with core FA and then Freshweaver, with the latter providing more . Some variations of this burst but start Fire/Air, hit plasma beam then double attune air, hit air 2, followed by arcane blast, then auto from air, can lightning flash onto target for slightly more burst (but not a good idea). You could then swap back into fire and try to double attune to fire for phoenix and DT (not very likely to hit and usually only used to cleave/punish downstate), or you could go air to earth for earthen synergy. There are variations of this burst, but this could spike 20-30k before nerfs. Freshweaver now hits 12-15kish if you are 100% glass. I think core FA can pull off similar burst still but because of weaver, core got nerfed even more.

Every class/profession has the option for insane burst yet one class gets singled out for having said burst, while the others remain. So once again, I would like to understand the "why" behind the changes being made. If one class is too oppressive to play against because of its burst, why do you bring that in line but leave everything else out of wack?

I do not want to call for a nerf to everything but I want to understand the logic behind changes like the above. It seems that the changes were aimed at bringing oppressive builds more in line to create some idea of balance. But in this example the class really only had burst. Every other class has that burst but then so much more utility in spades. Such as portals, clones, detargeting abilities, interrupts, stuns, cleave, stealth, mobility, corruption, group support, insane survivability, total point control, etc. Why would you take a class that only has burst, if another has the same burst but everything else too? And why would you nerf one thing but not everything else that does the same? Why would you nerf something that has to be chained properly to achieve the goal vs something that can be spammed with 1-2 buttons.

As far as I understand, no one enjoys getting spammed by any one shot mechanics, so why do so many still exist? Why is there so much less counter-play than there used to be?

I have a hard time here because I really love the world Anet created and I love how fluid the combat feels in this game but then the changes that I see, seem far too slow and don't make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Why are you so silent with your community that only ultimately wants to see this game flourish? Why do you not create more modes/maps/etc to change up the gameplay? It's already pretty stale and unbalanced, at least create "new" modes to pique interest in your player base.

Someone might bring up this point - but players like Cellofrag or Phantaram can hit top positions in the leaderboard with said "bad classes". I would argue that those types of players are a cut above the rest and would get the same results with any class they put time into. The only difference is, they would probably reach the same level, if not higher with much less effort because other classes can do the same thing but better.

Sorry for the kind of rant all, I just don't get it. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.

TLDR: Anet - Can you please explain the thought process that goes into balancing/any changes/lack thereof? Why "balance" one or two oppressive builds but then leave a handful more that are just as bad, if not worse? Is your intention to put minimal effort into this mode and leave it in maintenance mode with minor tweaks? If so, why?

I am sad to tell you that posts like these are actively ignored by anet staff cause they are too "hard" to explain. In reality there's a a problem (i want to type lack of professionalism and laziness but it would probably get this post removed) in the balancing because arenanet doesn't want to tell that they actually don't have a balance team.

The balance is done by few developers that listens to what pve content testers are saying and what they think about the skills in pvp etc. and they make the balance decisions based on that.