Is it just me, or is the Guardian's Scepter the most underwhelming weapon in the game?

[Azione.5913]

Having played DH for the last year I've gotten used to my beloved Longbow, but now that FB is a thing most of us Guardians are left with only one viable ranged option... being the Scepter.

I thought I had gotten rid of the darn thing for good with the release of the longbow, but now I feel like if I play FB I am forced to use a subpar ranged weapon in the Scepter.Guardians are supposed to be "Holy warriors" that fight with a mix of "magic" and "holy light" right? So then why does the Scepter feel like I'm throwing electric cotton balls at the enemy and the damage hits for about the same... ? Also the visuals just need a rework imo.... may instead of electric cotton balls our #1 attack could shoot beams of that "holy light" ;)

tldr; The Scepter seems to be in dire need of a rework since the release of FB. Also if not the Scepter, how can I effectively hit enemies at range (PvE boss for example) as a Firebrand?/rant over

[Mavein.3214]

Totally agree.....in a game that values fashion and lore above all else....why my guardian whips out his magic stick and waves it back and forth like an idiot it kind of takes away from the atmosphere i was trying to create haha. Its more just the animation for me......i cant stand it to the point i picked up some trial weapons last night to try and get away from the scepter.

[Azione.5913]

@"Mavein.3214" said:Totally agree.....in a game that values fashion and lore above all else....why my guardian whips out his magic stick and waves it back and forth like an idiot it kind of takes away from the atmosphere i was trying to create haha. Its more just the animation for me......i cant stand it to the point i picked up some trial weapons last night to try and get away from the scepter.

Yup. I've actually switched to playing mesmer a bit more because they have the same "feel" as Guardian with the addition of Chronomancer... and their scepter is much more enjoyable lol. I hate to be that way, but the current animations on scepter are almost a deal-breaker for me if I have to rely on it for 50% of my combat.

[Echoherb.6528]

Yeah, for some reason to do any range as a guardian without being a DH you have to become a limp wristed mage wannabe. The guardian scepter is probably the lamest weapon in the game.

[Mavein.3214]

haha i did some "googling" and found more people complaining and some guy did this lol

https://imgur.com/5LpYWY0

[Azione.5913]

@"Mavein.3214" said:haha i did some "googling" and found more people complaining and some guy did this lol

https://imgur.com/5LpYWY0

Haha... this is great :) But sad :(

[Arcaedus.7290]

Agreed, but would rather have a staff rework first. Currently very poor skill set with some of the most boring animations in the entire game (point stick forward, hold stick and wave other hand, hold stick and wave other hand, weird squatting pose + some faint energy swirls around you, hold stick and wave other hand).

[Sylvari.2953]

That autoattack sound (noise) is the worst thing about the Scepter. :P I'm actually okay with the first 2 skills but #3 is weak and the cooldown is way too long for what it does...

[Obtena.7952]

You should have played it when the orbs were half as fast.

But technically, scepter is a pretty damn solid weapon ... you got a frequent AA, a frequent symbol and a skill that keeps people put in that symbol. Other than some more interesting chain AA, how could you really want more than this?

Thematically, I think it's a little weird throwing around magic energy balls as a Guardian ... it definitely feels more like a Elementalist-styled weapon. And yes the sound ... On the flip side, what other kind of weapon would you recommend in it's place? There isn't much choices ...

[Tenrai Senshi.2017]

This is why I am glad I have Meteorlogicus, if for no other reason than the fact that it replaces the "cotton ball" projectiles with something that looks a lot better in my opinion. Meteorlogicus projectiles actually suit the guardian's aesthetics quite nicely. XD

But yes, it would be nice if they updated the effects of the base projectiles, and not only that, but the sound as well (it's a very noisy auto attack and the sound can get a bit grating after a while). In fact, there are a lot of old skills and animations that just aren't up to par anymore, if you compare them to newer weapon animations or skills from elite specs.

[Azione.5913]

@Obtena.7952 said:You should have played it when the orbs were half as fast.

But technically, scepter is a pretty kitten solid weapon ... you got a frequent AA, a frequent symbol and a skill that keeps people put in that symbol. Other than some more interesting chain AA, how could you really want more than this?

Thematically, I think it's a little weird throwing around magic energy balls as a Guardian ... it definitely feels more like a Elementalist-styled weapon. And yes the sound ... On the flip side, what other kind of weapon would you recommend in it's place? There isn't much choices ...

Well that's the thing.. I actually like the abilities on the scepter, but it's just super annoying to actually use. It needs at a minimum a visual rework :)

[Stand The Wall.6987]

scepter is still bis for pve dps (right?) and its 2nd to none at proccing permeating wrathas for this atmosphere thing, if it does good things I tend to overlook it

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

Ele Scepter - Great aesthetics, especially in Fire attunement (Earth is kinda meh).Guardian Scepter - The sound is way too loud, and the autoattack is very underwhelming (compare to the projectiles of Ele Water).Necro Scepter - Good skills, but click, click, click. The sound drives me crazy, I still have nightmares about it.Mesmer Scepter - Ha, hahaha. Its all bad my lad.

[Oldirtbeard.9834]

From my experience Scepter is boring on every class, I hated it so much I stayed Power when playing Reaper, I hate it so much on Guardian I use a Hammer with my Greatsword.

[Ragnarox.9601]

bahaha when I see scepter or longbow guardian/DH I just strafe left right and you experience matrix moment when all projectiles miss you :D

[Etterwyn.5263]

@Hannelore.8153 said:Ele Scepter - Great aesthetics, especially in Fire attunement (Earth is kinda meh).Guardian Scepter - The sound is way too loud, and the autoattack is very underwhelming (compare to the projectiles of Ele Water).Necro Scepter - Good skills, but click, click, click. The sound drives me crazy, I still have nightmares about it.Mesmer Scepter - Ha, hahaha. Its all bad my lad.

Necro scepter sounds like chopping wood.

[otto.5684]

While the aa sound can be annoying, scepter is a solid weapon for all builds in PvE and sPvP.

[Azione.5913]

@otto.5684 said:While the aa sound can be annoying, scepter is a solid weapon for all builds in PvE and sPvP.

But it's super easy to dodge unless you can #3 them consistently. Those orbs are painfully slow

[ZDragon.3046]

@"Azione.5913" said:Having played DH for the last year I've gotten used to my beloved Longbow, but now that FB is a thing most of us Guardians are left with only one viable ranged option... being the Scepter.

Guardians are supposed to be "Holy warriors" that fight with a mix of "magic" and "holy light" right? So then why does the Scepter feel like I'm throwing electric cotton balls at the enemy and the damage hits for about the same... ? Also the visuals just need a rework imo.... may instead of electric cotton balls our #1 attack could shoot beams of that "holy light" ;)

Most defiantly not the worst weapon scepter hits like a darn truck while the auto attack projectile is not great a near instant immobilize and decent hitting aoe that generates free might is pretty snazzy its far from the most underwhelming weapon.

In terms of visual particles none of the scepters have super great animations attached to themGuardian =balls of light and some and glowy chainsnecro = photoshop blood brush texture splats and bone hands that i guess scratch your legs wtf idkmesmer =pink stuff... yeah pink stuff and pink lasers.ele= actually has some decent looking things but i think they had no choice but to put more detail into it to make each element differ in visual flavor from another.

The most underwhelming weapons are focuses in general. imo

tldr; The Scepter seems to be in dire need of a rework since the release of FB. Also if not the Scepter, how can I effectively hit enemies at range (PvE boss for example) as a Firebrand?/rant over

Just walk up and smack it with the axe for tons of damage lol you got more blocks and stuff with firebrand to be able to stand in pve bosses faces.Orrr if its a boss you just absolutely cant stand on scepter auto into scepter 2 most bosses you cant stand on wont move enough to the point the projectiles will miss.

[otto.5684]

@Azione.5913 said:

@otto.5684 said:While the aa sound can be annoying, scepter is a solid weapon for all builds in PvE and sPvP.

But it's super easy to dodge unless you can #3 them consistently. Those orbs are painfully slow

Ya, but that is not the point, is it? You put it on the capture point and it does damage to enemies if they stay on the capture point. Same as all guardian symbols. And the AA attack speed, is not the best, though I would strongly question your sPvP skills if you use dodge to avoid the AA.

It is meta for both DH and FB raid builds. And is consistently used in sPvP.

I would love that the AA could hit faster, but scepter is a solid weapon in all game modes.

[Buran.3796]

Guard's scepter is at least x10 better than Renegade's short bow, so no: is not the worst weapon in the game. In fact Guard's scepter has an unusually big dps for being a ranged weapon; I wouldn't say that is one of the greatest ranged weapons in the game, but after all the nerfs to the damage in the longbow both are pretty much even. Chains of Ligth is a very powerful tool and the flexibility which brings being a single hand weapon is appreciated (there's a lot of 2 handed weapons with a couple of good skills which lose a lot of value due the rest of skills being trash).

[RabbitUp.8294]

The point of the thread was not that scepter is underperforming. It just feels awful to use, because the skills are extremely bland in terms of animation, visuals, sound, and functionality. There's nothing in the game that looks worse than a guardian spamming scepter autos with quickness.

[ardhikaizecson.3697]

yeah the scepter animations feels clunky and doesnt look like how the white knight holding it at least in my opinion, and what is the deal with human male animation holding staff like an old man?

[Azione.5913]

@RabbitUp.8294 said:The point of the thread was not that scepter is underperforming. It just feels awful to use, because the skills are extremely bland in terms of animation, visuals, sound, and functionality. There's nothing in the game that looks worse than a guardian spamming scepter autos with quickness.

Exactly. Thanks for bringing this back on track. I think the scepter skills are fine, but from a theme/profession/rp perspective, the scepter needs a rework.

[brannigan.9831]

Its actually not half bad in a vacuum the other weapons are just better in most usable builds. For spvp that is I don't pve. You really shouldn't be missing people with scepter 1 much either its not meant to be used at max distance. You should be within 400-500 range you'll hit almost every time unless they dodge.