Ludo.9610

What a wonderful discussion has unfolded here since I last checked this thread! Kudos to you for making me laugh 😄 I think the general take-away from this thread is that Firebrand has too much access to Aegis; it being so abundant nowadays is the core of the issue with it. Some of you have pointed out that it's not as overpowered in sPvP and WvW and I agree with you all! I still wouldn't disregard its impact in WvW with or without Communal Defenses -- whichever way you look at it, a blob should not be impervious to a twice bigger cloud's efforts. sPvP is too small-scale and teams there are too scattered for blanket Aegis to matter, I agree. I think that PvE would definitely benefit from Firebrand being nerfed. The question is, how to do that without grounding it further in the other gamemodes? Regarding Aegis: That's why I suggested what I did in when I started this thread: Change how Aegis works; no blocking AoEs, only direct hits. As a result, you have: Nerf in PvE -- Players can no longer face-tank AoEs. Certain bosses have very punishing AoEs that can no longer be just ignored with Aegis Buff in sPvP -- Aegis is more impactful, as it won't be instantly stripped by someone's stray AoE. Nerf in WvW -- AoEs are much more likely to hit a blob. AoEs are already the most straightforward way a player can assault a blob, but they only work if 20 people spike them at the same time! Regarding Boon Nerfs: As for nerfing Firebrand's boon support, its greatest significance is in PvE with prestacking. Someone above already mentioned that dipping into a tome during an actual fight is a tradeoff and providing everyone with Stability from F3 can either help or hinder your performance. To me, the issue is with being able to prestack every single boon, as during the fight you never really run into that best-case scenario. No time, no boons, no "boon per buck!" I think that prestacking is the root of all evil in this case. A HFB acting as support can--and should be able to--provide said support during a fight, but only with active effort. I'm for nerfing prestacking even more, Firebrands will be nerfed the most like that. Maybe halve the maximum boon durations again! So nerf Firebrand by nerfing pre-stacking? Or nerf blocking in general? I think those are two different issues, but both arise because of Firebrand's value in PvE and WvW!

Guardian main here, so this is a pet peeve. Back when Aegis was rare and hard to come by, it never struck me as being overpowered -- due to its low abundance, it was much less impactful. Nowadays, Firebrands can machine-gun Aegis their entire party and trivialize entire sequences of the fight. At the same time, it's almost a core mechanic of Firebrand, so replacing it with Regeneration would gut the specialization. Before, it felt situational and important to keep an eye on. Now, it feels like a blanket excuse to face-tank fights. So why not change how Aegis works? Let it be impactful, but not invulnerability-level impactful. Let it support the party, but not solo-carry the party. What do you guys think? If you agreed so far, I'm sure you'll have your own ideas when it comes to how it should change. Here's mine: Let Aegis block direct attacks ("attacks coming straight at you"), but not AoE circles ("hot floor"). Why not make AoE circles unblockable in general? It makes no sense for a Warrior to walk into a spike trap and use his shield to block the spikes aimed at his feet, right? The same reasoning could be used for Aegis. If we make AoE circles (the kind that are on the floor and tick damage, not the kind that mark where the Meteor Storm is falling) unblockable, it will speed up PvP encounters (both in sPvP and WvW) and make PvE more interesting.

I'm a proponent of making the game harder, too, hence my motivation for this petition. Realistically speaking, though, how could it be done? Take Invulnerability, for example. It's been carefully controlled wherever it is available. It also isn't a panacea -- there's certain attacks in the game that ignore Invulnerability and smack you anyway! Thinking about this, an idea came up to me about how Aegis can be balanced. I'll post it in the Guardian forum! The obvious answer to Stability is to carefully sprinkle content with boon rip/corrupt attacks, like with Slothazor.

I agree with all your points, Cy! However, this rule isn't enforced around the table. Why can a party of lvl 17 Thieves in green armour complete all Fractals but Solid Ocean, Mai Trin, and Molten Boss (I think they removed UA on entry here already, actually)? As things stand, Agony being avoidable at all in most Fractals makes it possible for those skilled enough to viably do T4 Fractals. So really, removing UA isn't as much of a change as one might think. I see you may be worrying about Fractals becoming harder one way or another, Vidit. You're welcome to come for a spin with us, if you're on EU! 😉 I kid, I kid. Welcome, though! Let's talk about removing Unavoidable Agony, not about how people would have to play in order to play without AR or about what could be done to make Agony more interesting. For those, feel free to send me mail in-game; I'll teach you or argue with you no problem. It's a minor change! Strictly speaking, Unavoidable Agony is present in only 2-3 Fractals! Fractals don't need to become any more difficult or any easier. Just make them 1% more accessible!

You have a valid point, Cyninja, but Agony is mostly optional already. The old boss Fractals still cause Agony on entry, but none of the rest do. Take something that can be considered difficult by the casual player, like the Twilight Oasis Fractal. All the Agony is already optional and fairly easy to avoid (launch over the shockwaves and avoid her lightning strikes). What makes it difficult is that it's a skill challenge. While I don't agree with Butter's solution above, he is right in that removing Unavoidable Agony is mostly a minor fix. You can already do all T4 dailies without AR 2/3 of the days. See, it seems like the balls cause Agony, but actually simply sitting in the circle pulses Agony on you. Shattered Observatory CM has no Unavoidable Agony in the "you can't progress without AR" sense. No. The skill necessary is simply pretty high, and only during the 1st boss's intermission (the rest of the time you have the special action key). I agree with you all that having no filter would allow all sorts of people to come in and ruin people's play. I'd say that's the case already in all game modes with pugging mechanics. 150 AR is no guarantee that someone will perform alright in a pug setting. Fortunately, this is all easily visible: you wear your AR number by your portrait, as a level badge, and no one wants to get kicked for constantly underperforming. Instead, and this is a discussion for after when Unavoidable Agony is removed, why not increase the amount of stacks? Say, attacks cause the same amount of Agony in T1 and 4x as many stacks in T4. Like that, people with and without AR are punished exponentially more. Like that, having AR is essential for one's peace of mind, but doesn't let one ignore mechanics. Without UA, it's also not a strict must to have AR. Player-made gatekeeping will always exist (LI, UFE, even p+f counts), but why not remove the hard-coded gatekeeping (UA)? I never thought it would be possible to solo Cairn the Indomitable, for example, yet a Druid spent 16 hours doing it. It's not game-breaking, but hey, it's impressive! I don't think that a new mini-meta of doing Fractals without AR would be game-breaking. I've been doing it with my static for a while and it's a pain! It's inefficient! It's often frustrating! You always end up failing one way or another. But it'll be fun, for whoever wants to do it! Kind of like low-manning raids or killing Cairn in 16 hours, some people just want to dodge for life.

Unavoidable Agony is when players get inflicted with Agony they cannot realistically avoid, regardless of skill level. For example, when entering the Solid Ocean Fractal or staying in capture circles in the Nightmare Fractal. I believe that all unavoidable agony should be removed, as that would open the way for new playstyles for veterans and ease the progression of newbies. Why does it matter? At the appropriate levels of Agony Resistance, Agony is usually a non-issue. At lower levels of AR, Agony is dangerous or potentially deadly, but a skilled, knowledgeable, or observant player can definitely survive by dodging, sidestepping, or blocking the source of the Agony. This is good, Avoidable Agony promotes skilled play and is rewarding: dodging the Mossman's Agony Hatchet during Fractals with the Mists Convergence instability feels like driving a Ferrari. Unavoidable Agony does not promote skilled play and is unrewarding, it just serves to gatekeep a few odd Fractals. Entering with a highly motivated group of newbies and clearing almost everything, only for them to get discouraged at a capture circle, is sad. What can be done about it? Remove the Unavoidable Agony (UA) when entering the Solid Ocean boss room and when phasing the boss. Replace it with Avoidable Agony from the tentacle stabs and sweeps. Remove the UA from capture circles in the Nightmare Fractal. Add Avoidable Agony to the balls. Revise the intermission of the Shattered Observatory CM first boss. The Agony there is essentially unavoidable. Remove UA elsewhere, I'm sure I've missed some places! In general, add more stacks of Agony, so it's deadlier to the unwary. Remove Unavoidable tiny applications of Agony. Use Agony only as a "gotcha" during the design of new Fractals, not as a an extra condition to be doled out willy-nilly. In short: Please remove Unavoidable Agony, so we can tryhard T4 Fractals and CMs with 0 AR in peace! What do you guys think?

Hello all! We are the Blacktide Anarchists, an international EU guild with a unique blend of PvE and WvW in our schedule. PvE We've had a static raid for a while and are now reviving it. Our Monday goal will be to either clear W1-4 and beyond or go for CMs. We currently need flexible DPS players. WvW We're still rebuilding our WvW team. Our focus will initially be on roaming, then on PPT. We currently need flexible DPS players, but we are open for supports, too! Social Proficiency is in our blood, though toxicity isn't. With us, you'll find a chill group that likes to get things done while being cordial towards each other. Some of our most dedicated members joined as newbies and then became beasts when we ran them through our (typical) gruelling T4 Fractal gauntlet. Veterans, newbies, and socials welcome! Our schedule is as follows: Monday PvE Raid -- 19:00-22:00 CEST Thursday WvW raid -- 19:00-22:00 CEST Our rules are simple: Be 18+. Attend at least one raid a week. One event, if you are a social. Have fun! If you are interested, contact Karl Ludo in-game!

THIS POSTING WILL ALWAYS BE KEPT UP-TO-DATE! [ WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED ] Attention, miscreants, the unlucky, the lost, and those on the wrong side of the law! Your punishment is Community Service! Where the Lionguard fails, the Black Lion Trading Company has stepped in to maintain order. Armed with the latest in the Trading Company’s signature social science and cutting-edge administrative know-how, we have created the most robust regimen for lowlives of all walks of life. With us, your road to social rehabilitation is guaranteed to be smooth and swift.* Black Lion Community Service “Mayors love us. Criminals work for us!” Apply via our FORM now! Current Staff of the “Orrian Crop” Community Squad "Karl” – This motivated volunteer is a repeat worker for us at the BLCS. Formerly a professional soldier, Karl is now an upstanding citizen whenever he is not working in the BLCS initiative. His favourite phrase is ‘Let it be over with.’ "Teagan” – A new addition to the volunteers, this first-time community servant is one of our most eager communal helpers. Her face says it all! Whenever she is not helping the elderly, Teagan likes to share a piece of her mind with the “scumbags who got her here”. * (time spent in community service not limited in duration or labour) OOC Hello everyone! We’re a pair of veteran RPers with bucketloads of experience both on the tabletop and in games like WoW (but not GW2, so far!), as well as with various d20 systems – and copious amounts of homebrew, too! What we offer A place to go wild with your role-play (no holds barred)! D20 (D&D/Pathfinder) RP culture! Monthly DMed adventures! Weekly meetups and skits, as well as OOC quality nights! We are active during Central European evenings (starting at 19:00 CEST). Rules Applicants and their characters must be 18+. Avoid out-of-character drama. In-character drama is what we role-play for. Must have Discord in order to use roll bots. A microphone is a plus. Starter knowledge of d20 tabletop systems is a big plus. For detailed rules, you can see our Discord (currently WIP). If wish to apply, you may contact Karl Ludo or Teagan Lichbane in-game. See you in Tyria!

Possibly a bit late to the party, but we're recruiting and we're on Blacktide! I'll get in touch with both of you in-game.

Hello all! We're a new guild to the WvW scene, based on BLACKTIDE (EU). If you are on Blacktide, you're welcome to join us MERCs! We're also open to Socials from other realms! WhoWe're a bunch of veteran PvEers and we've decided to get our feet wet in WvW. Our cumulative knowledge covers all that PvE has to offer -- and we're pretty good at all that! So we're new to WvW and we expect to grow and master that playmode as well. We've got the whole shebang, when it comes to guilds:Discord -- Weekly Events -- Level 69 GuildWe're open to veterans and newbies, all cool people! WhereWe're on Blacktide, which, as you may know, is the bottom of the WvW barrel! But we've got something real good going for us: we get linked with different high-ranking servers every 2 weeks. In other words, the situation is perfect for us to do mercenary work! Weekly EventsAll events are from 19:00 to 22:00 CE(S)T!- Thursdays- SaturdaysOur primary focus is WvW, though we're open for PvE on the side, too! We currently have the numbers for small roaming groups and defense forces. In the future, anything goes! We're friendly, small, and fierce when cornered. Come join us! You can contact me in-game as Long Night Ludo or on Discord: Yas#3313 See you, Mercs! Captain Ludo