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Elite Specs you didn't enjoy before, but enjoy now?


SkyCake.4216

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Hi! I typed up a massive post on a profession-specific board about an elite spec I was enjoying that I used to loathe. Realized that the only purpose of the thread was to be positive about something. I thought maybe it would be more fun or interesting to see if anyone had similar experiences. The post is also way longer than it needs to be because I just like to type. If you type up a unnecessarily long post too, I will read it if it is relevant to the character/discussion!

For me, it's the Elite Specialization for Thief, Deadeye. I recently have been creating more characters (sudden urge to have all Sylvari classes), and eventually found myself to Thief. I already had two, but I needed another! Since one of the thiefs was a Daredevil (and I enjoy it), I decided to give Deadeye another go to shake things up. Wasn't really planning to play this character that much. Just needed a Thief-vari to dress up. Another thing that has changed since my last attempt at Deadeye is how I approach builds. QoL, self-sustain, and engaging gameplay are more important to me than my arcDPS ego.

So! Created the plant, tomed her up, joined an HP Train (and won 35g from the train), and started reading the traits since I'm not that familiar with Thief. Created a build, bought a set of Marauder gear, slapped some runes on, and decided to smack the training golem around a bit to tweak some things. Instantly disappointed in Deadeye when I realized Rifle was about a 12% DPS loss (unbuffed) for my current setup compared to P/P (what I used for the HP train) and had more mobility. I decided I was still going to use Rifle since I found it more fun. I then joined a friend to do some open world content.

It was so much fun! I was making tweaks as we went. Death's Judgement is so satisfying. Really enjoy Three Round Burst compared to Unload. Even kneeling (hated it before) is fun with the trait Silent Scope! My weapon swap is Dagger/Dagger even though I've been reading poor things about D/D. I really enjoy Malicious Backstab. More so than other high-damage single-target abilities other classes have. The self-sustain from Invigorating Precision and Signet of Malice is a lot of fun with 100% crit chance. The "pew pew" feeling of the Rifle can be really fun when mobs are after you so you're trying to weave in your stealth for Death's Judgement and dropping aggro. They can't catch you while you're darting around blasting them to bits. While I'm not a huge fan of the cantrips, Mercy does a lot for speeding up the gameplay with the GM trait Be Quick or Be Killed. It didn't click before and I really disliked the e-spec. I'm also not saying the spec is perfect or anything. I recently discovered what is my current favorite Engineer build (Engi is my most played class), and still I find myself wanting to pew pew things on a Deadeye instead. My change in approach to builds and it being relatively new to me even though I've had past thieves helps.

The only real complaint I have is tiny hills can completely ruin the Rifle. I noticed this a lot while doing WvW. Even the tiny lip on the edge of a wall would sometimes cause my Deadeye's Mark or attack to be obstructed while kneeling. Even if the laser sight animation wasn't clipping anything. Doesn't happen all the time. But, with how initiative works and how important Deadeye's Mark is, the few times it does happen can pretty much completely shut you down.

Have you had any similar changes towards your feelings of an Elite Specialization? Please, share! I'd like to read your experiences.

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For me, Weaver. I was never a fan of Ele even during beta. I always went back to try it out again though because I just love playing caster type classes in games. I tried Weaver for the first time when PoF first released and well I had no idea what I was doing and I just died... A LOT lol. Like I had never died that much before playing any other profession but about a year ago I finally decided to give Ele another chance and found a pretty fun Weaver build where I was actually able to survive a lot longer than anything else I was playing at the time.

I finally figured out how the elite spec was supposed to work, got the proper stats for it, and actually found myself enjoying the profession quite a bit after hating it for years.

This was a while ago though and it's been a good 6 months since I've last played the game and I know GW2 does quite a lot of balance patches compared to most other MMOs (even if people don't want to believe this just because the balance isn't to their liking lol) so I know things are always changing. I have no clue how it plays now so not sure if I'd still like it.

Chrono was another but that's more because when it first came out and for quite a long time if you played a mesmer you were forced into going Chrono and "tanking" if you wanted to do group content which I hate lol. I think when Chrono released I actually stopped playing my mesmer and the game altogether because I got tired of people making a big deal over me not wanting to play Chrono but I still wanted to play my mesmer. I like it more now that it's more flexible.

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Thank you for sharing! I'm glad GW2 still has those options and variability because some MMOs just don't. I hope that if you do decide to play Weaver again in the future that it is just as much fun as it was for you last time you played. Your Mesmer, as well!

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For me it's the opposite. I used to love Mirage during the beta. You had 2 dodges, illusionary ambush was still on a small cooldown, and everything felt right. I loved porting all around the place with axe 3, ambush, etc. Then the nerfs started coming in... 1 sec dodge down to .75 sec. Only 1 dodge. Axe ambush needs to be facing the target. Axe skills nerfed. Illusionary ambush cd went from 20 seconds to 35 seconds effectively killing this utility.

I miss dueling Mirages. It was a test of timing, but all you'd see and hear were porting sounds, floating axes, and teleporting mesmers ?

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I didn't like the theme of: Weaver, Renegade, Scourge.

Renegade is very fun to play in PvE and so is Weaver. I avoid them in competetive, because things are different there.

Scourge I still don't like, but I gave it a try with explanation about it from a master wvw scourge and it definitely sounded more ok than initially. But the whole design feels clunky to me so I avoid it.

I was very neutral towards Scrapper, Tempest and Mesmer. I play them in competetive, except from Tempest. I am looking forward to Mirage, which I was a bit negative about.

Spellbreaker looked weird to a Berserker main like me. But now I mostly main Spellbreaker, although I do swap to Core Warrior abnd Berserker quite often.

Finally Herald. I can only play Shiro/Glint Power Herald effectively, so I'm not crazy about the spec.

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Scrapper. After the rework i really started to enjoy it.

Mesmer in general and chrono after the mesmer & chrono overhaul respectively. It became my most played profession besides my main.

Firebrand: i did not enjoy it at first but warmed up to it just recently when testing a quickbrand build for funzies because DH became dull in the long run.

Scourge: wasnt a fan of the visuals at first but i got used to it and the carry Rezz scourge is just so fun to play.

Herald: after the underwater update and the herald rework it really became my carry build for noobs.

I still cant stand renegade though. I really really like the traits. I hate the class mechanic and the new legend though.

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I used to hate Renegade but I really like it. Its condi variants in both PvE and PvP are really strong and fun to play. Popping Alacrity, even with ~50% uptime is satisfying for everyone involved. Seeing all these conditions pop up on players in PvP is also equally satisfying. For those interested for the PvP build, try Mallyx/Shiro and Carrion Amulet and Rune of Resistance, as well as traits of your choice if you're up to the challenge!

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Weaver, first time i unlock it i was like : "OH MELEE MAGE YEY" then got a random sword and dashed to the first mob i found and get instant one shot, i cursed that it's was stupid and got back to staff tempest at long range and never used it again for months.

After sometime i got into raids and finally gave a chance to the spec.

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Firebrand is probably my first answer. When PoF was released the aesthetic design was superb, but I hated the way in which mantras operate (demanding long pre cast every time you enter in a new map, getting ruined while entering in water, etc). Also the tome system felt overcomplicated. So I stayed away from the class for a while, and when playing it, I keep using DH. Now I've become used to the Firebrand, and despite the nerfs (is really terrible for PvP/WvW roaming) the burn variants are amazingly fun to play in PvE, specially keeping the use of mantras in the minimum.

The second one is the Renegade. Worst spec deign ever (has the breakstun on the healing skill at the release, lol!). Didn't like the thematic, hated the summon skills, hated the short bow with clunky skills without defensive tools or moving abilities. But the short bow got some strong buffs, and currently you can run either power or condi Renegade versions en every game mode without even touching Kalla (ex.: Shiro/Jalis, Mallyx/Shiro... ) and is already my class choice for playing with bows (still main a Herald, but at least their added viability and variety fo a spec which was released dead to me).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Temptest. I was an elementalist "Main" going into HoT and found that Fresh Air's emphasis on Air attunement went against what the class should be.

Now I came back after a several year break and am enjoying Temptest Fresh Air, by Palpatining enemies and swapping to other elements for utility.

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