[Now that all the spear kits have been revealed, how do you feel about them?]

We still know so little about them... This is mostly assumptions based on few seconds of video and a description.

Intrigued:

• Thief : I feel like this could attract people to thief in PvE (if it brings a more standard rotation instead of spamming a skill) and could be fun in PvP (if it has some flexibility). Hopefully it is not too loaded since they announced a hybrid weapon.
• Elem : Probably has too many drawbacks for PvP (range + staying in aoe) and will be better in PvE / WvW but playing dps mage sounds fun.
• Mesmer : It sounds like a fun melee weapon. Waiting to see what the aoe / distance to keep is. (hopefully it does not have cc on the kit)

Sounds good:

• Engineer : Looks like another strong melee weapon but purely dps. Probably awesome in PvE and if holo gains some tankyness it could be scary in PvP too (I am not a fan of skills possibly turning you into a walking aoe)
• Ranger : Alternating range / close combat looks fun but I do not know how if the stealth attack will feel good or break the flow.
• Necro : Sounds solid but we still need to see if it allows necro to stay /survive in close combat without a shroud.

Not excited at the moment:

• Rev : Not sure how it will play out. The trailer was a bit weird. Probably annoying on vindi.
• War : It looks like a mid range weapon. We need to find out how the burst works.
• Guard : An off support weapon? Guard already has some strong pure support or power dps options. Could be used on firebrand or to get some free utilities / buffs on willbender

I will miss a part of the beta. I hope we get another one later because 9 professions to check in multiple game modes is a lot.

[Warrior defenses keep getting nerfed, but it's all they have.]

9 minutes ago, Myror.7521 said:

@Flowki.7194 i mean you could also use the weap stow to let him waste his full counter ..... oh wait i should not grant you tips to outplay my own class..... you saw nothing Here psht

You can delay the use of full counter, wait for a multi hit attack, move into aoes, abuse pets and summons.

Why are we still seeing the argument that a trigger is the fault of the attacker since PoF when the spb has control over it? Can we move on?

[new pvp mode, new chances, ANET ITS YOUR TURN !!]

1 hour ago, Avatar.3568 said:

1. A Duel Option, usable in all areas of the game (outside of instanz content raids, pvp matches, wvw?, doungens, fracs, etc...)

we got the inspect feature and we should get a duel feature in the same menu, my friends and i dreamed about  how cool it would be to do a duel, to test ourselfs at lvl 5-10-50, looking  who got better (obvoiusly we know there would be some balance faktor, but thats basicly the first entrence to play pvp, dueling your friend with who you started the game 30 minutes ago)

I know the forums love talking about duel but… I find this quite boring. We mostly find tanky specs with some burst on the side nodes so it would either be the same or we will see super fast build just running to the other side of the map. (not to mention the balance issues if you are using the PvE environment)

1 hour ago, Avatar.3568 said:

3. Let "Play 4 Free" players play Especs for free (or Free Rotation)
 

I do not think it is needed but why not.

1 hour ago, Avatar.3568 said:

2. "Custom Arena Housing"

this sounds wild, considering we have Guild Halls and get Player Housing, so why can't we modify our arena. Let us buy for Gold/Gems (or maybe win in daily and eekly at's) whatever Assets for our custom arena, Assets that you are already using on pvp maps (or pve maps) where we can play arround maybe create unique arenas. Or go even deeper give as the light options to Create custom game modes, let us use the cicles for capturing nodes or channeling the Sword from Colluseum but you put it on legacy. Custom Arenas had their times, but i smell., at least the first options, are easier to implement than the second ones and would help the community.

The arena housing sounds fun but it should not be the focus when a similar feature is not fully implemented. I was really hoping the guild hall balance option (when you talk to an npc) would allow this and was really excited. After building different arenas / activities I found out about those 2 issues:

• Decoration Platforms in Guild Hall Not Compatible With Some Skills and AI - Bugs: Game, Forum, Website - Guild Wars 2 Forums
• Guild hall PvP balance uses PvE equipment and level - Bugs: Game, Forum, Website - Guild Wars 2 Forums (see point 1)

I think the guild arena is much more interesting than the point 4. I doubt any new player will enjoy going in an arena around the open world and getting os. Your example (Arborstone) is avoided by players.

The guild arena "could solve" this because it allows a controlled environnement where people have a higher chance of being like minded, open to training and explanation.
I think the capture the flag / capture point could be "somewhat" solved without much investment. Add a console that has a channel to switch the state of an object like Raven Statue (decoration) - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W). Add other interactible items like Oakheart's Essence (gizmo) - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W) 

 

[Update on raids, ¿Every raid gets them?]

But isn't it already how it works? 

Raid - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W) : To start raiding, you will need to own Heart of Thorns for wings 1-4, or Path of Fire for wings 5-7.

Same for most Strike Mission - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W) which can only be accessed from an expansion lobby.

 

[[Silent Scope] This trait needs to go...no compromises...it's awful awful design]

Without this trait accessing dj is a pain which is one of the reasons this weapon is not seen outside of deadeye 

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

2 hours ago, Myror.7521 said:

@Gotejjeken.1267 i mean also ...... why would you Run longbow when you have 2 other weapon sets that are both realy realy strong..... GS was one of the (If not the) best weapon in this Game. Mace Mace is still more than strong. Hammer on untamed with its "I sweap the pet and deal 12k aoe for pressing 1 Button" is also realy strong". Like ngl rangers weapons are all ways stronger than most weaps from other classes xD

Because you enjoy the unique playstyle that it can provide? Strange concept I know, just like I mostly play berserker with hammer.

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

29 minutes ago, Flowki.7194 said:

All I am saying is it is a badly designed weapon that is mostly held in check through maps/projectile denial. Although it is held in check, that does not change the fact it is a badly designed weapon.

It is not because different design achieve different goals as I tried to explain with scepter and rifle both having less range but more options... but feel free to suggesr improvements (I am willing to bet people will fight against any most likely yourself included)

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

18 hours ago, Flowki.7194 said:

Blowing cds/dodges becuase a ranger is force firing 1.5-1.8k auto attacks @1500+ is toxic on maps where it is possible, ontop of that, the ranger can be standing on an unblockable trap, with one on cd to chain, or if the first one failed, which can shut down quite a few TP jumps for 0 effort. The only reason it isn't more toxic is becuase of the way the maps are, and that the dmg isn't high enough to be outright OP, just toxic. Lock that range to 1500, which is still outside most abilitys, and ranger still has traps, maces, bird kiting/stealth escape, etc. LB 4 could then maybe justify an unblockable buff. 1500 is still not a joke, its outside almost every ability range in the game, giving you 300 unit safety zone with 0 counterplay outside of projectile denial.

 

There is also nothing wrong with using the wow comparison, open maps + ranged specs very quickly become oppressive to melee heavy specs.

Yes. It is rare to see the full range being exploited when the décor obstructs the projectile. It contributes to the counter.

I would say that anet is already (too) careful when they look at lb. The incoming lead the wind update confirms that. The only direct buff I can remember since PoF is the cd reduction on barrage. Even if barrage coeff got nerfed later I would say that it improved a lot the experience. Before you would be locked out of a weapon for way too long if the opponent had projectile hate (and PoF meta had way more than people seem to remember).

While having a higher range makes it stand out the difference between playstyles is part of most games, even non rpg. You can have an option that is faster, one is safer, one is constant and the dev try to make (most of) them worth taking. 

We just have to look at 2 other power range builds, rifle thief and scepter elementalist. Both have shorter range but more than make it because they are stronger elsewhere. I could go into details but in exchange of the range they gained increased damage, utility, synergy with traits. It is fine for lb to have a longer range because it is more restricted and ends up providing less to its team.

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

8 minutes ago, Flowki.7194 said:

Range is a counter to melee, and withought things like reflect melee would not stand a chance. LB at 1500 already outranges 99% of weapons/tps etc in the game so +400 on that and you see no problem? See no reason why it is held back? You see no reason for projectile counterplay? "Oh but reflects are so easy to use <insert tempest hate>" as if sittign back at 1500+ spamming ranged attacks is super hard and risky gameplay, worthy of complex counters.

So you agree there are many counters and people can deal with it. (edit : and so if range had to be decreased the weapon better get some usablility increase)

8 minutes ago, Flowki.7194 said:

I played hunter in wow, and in large bgs it absolutely dominated, top damage every single game with 0 risk, and absolutely toxic for the enemy melee, which is why they all hated those maps. 

We are in gw2 not in wow so this is pointless. Good night

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

5 minutes ago, Flowki.7194 said:

 

<mats/meta specs>                 <toxic mechanics>

 

Is that space between two seperate constructs just a blur to you or?

Read all the counters again instead of trying to find an argument where there are none.

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

8 minutes ago, Flowki.7194 said:

Say what ever you like, but 1.8k auto attacks at 1700, cough, 1900.. is hilarious.

Say whatever you like but there are tons of reasons / weaknesses explaining why it has only showed up in tournaments on 2 builds for more than 10 years (and 1 was only for the push).

[ranger spear gives stealth...if this spear has a leap finisher ranger will be unbeatable in a duel]

1 hour ago, Flowki.7194 said:

Its still funny to me people don't have a problem with LB force firing at 1700 units. If it isn't meta...

Need to face your opponent, most skills can get reflected or obstructed, is slow, 1 skill makes you immobile, 2 do not deal dmg. In short there are tons of ways to counter it. Strange how if you start looking at other professions with less range and way more versatility on their weapons they end up being used eh?

[Why are there less people in pvp now?]

I was already seeing the same people from one game to another during PoF so I would not take that as an indicator.

Queues are usually around 3 min for me. The timeframe and level (like plat +) also change that. 

Less people than years ago sure, but it did not drop as much as you suggest in 6months.

[what the F*** is ranger right now?]

5 hours ago, WingSwipe.3084 said:

You cant expect to have everyone read your explanation.

Maybe hammer was a bit more recent but mace/mace was still terrorising the scene since February when it was released.

No. This is what really happened.

Maces are full close combat with no mobility.  When playing them you are fishing for stacks. They also are very slow. This means builds that can spam evade, blind , blocks or have mobility / range are a problem. If you look at the meta builds (and those close) almost all of them check multiple boxes and dealt with maces fine. So no they were not terrorizing the scene unless we are talking about people who just pressed everything. This is also why it was only played on soulbeast. Soulbeast gives more options to force defensive cds, more mobility and more stats. Check the march monthly and see how it goes. It is not that impressive and when the players accomplish something it comes from the standard soulbeast rotation (sword, warhorn, owp).

Before the march patch ranger builds were either using skirmishing or WS. The other traitling were filled with either marksmanship or beastmastery + espec. Skirmishing is a huge dmg buff with no sustain and WS is a strong sustain buff with some dmg buff. You were always sacrificing something. Now WS sustain got buffed to a huge sustain buff (5-10% more dmg reduction than before) AND it is a good dmg buff (5-10% or more). THIS is when it actually became meta.

[what the F*** is ranger right now?]

22 hours ago, WingSwipe.3084 said:

After having Mace/Mace-Hammer untamed Rangers running havoc for a few months im inclined for them to suffer some more.

As I already explained many times I only got played after the march patch(ws / hammer update) and got nerfed the next month. That is not "months"

[So... Why is Warrior the only class never allowed to have a meta build for more than one patch?]

7 hours ago, arazoth.7290 said:

We also hold the record for one of the faster nerfs. Vindi dodge when it went from 1 to 2, in less then 1 hour it got nerfed after that patch 😅

Going from 1 dodge to 2 and not having the traits divided by 2 was a bug which is why it was a bugfix (as noted in the patchnote) and not a patch…

The fastest was after the 2020 patch(February 25). The dev said "We know there are a lot of changes, we will monitor them. Please do not panic because we will wait a few weeks to see how it goes". The next day (and for months) the forums are on fire about hybrid builds like tempest and firebrand.

Meanwhile anet after 3 weeks makes a patch only nerfing 1 profession. Soulbeast. Even with the more frequent patches we have now this would be an anomaly but at the time when it was every 3months it was mind boggling (even more just for 1 profession nobody was concerned about if you read the forums at the time). 

[Nerfing Magnet]

1 hour ago, Terrorhuz.4695 said:

God forbid I get to dodge a skill whose intended counter is to dodge. We might want to remove the visul effect from the mesmer focus pull too, or dh spear of justice, why the kitten should a setup have any kind of telegraph

I do not understand your message. Most setup have an animation and people like to see what is coming. On dh even if you missed the original attack you have the effect + animation telling the pull can come.

I am in favor of clarity so increasing the effect like the tether to know you are going to get hit by an unblockable effect would already be good. A spell I am still waiting to see is spinal shivers.

[We all knew the ranger maces needed some adjustment but..]

1 hour ago, Paradoxoglanis.1904 said:

Literally the only big nerf is the stab reduction. Unleash attack got 10% nerf. Force of Nature got a 5% nerf. As far as damage nerfs go this is tiny. Basically the damage is still there, the sustain and defence is still there. You just cant spam everything and hold w without getting cc'd anymore.

I love how you either missed or decided to ignore the important quote of the patch note. Damage never was the goal since only 2 skills are meant for damage (and both have some form of delay).

edit : because so many things got changed all the small notes will have bigger impact than you suggest. I think they should have gone for 1 and not all. We will soon find out how it feels.

[We all knew the ranger maces needed some adjustment but..]

1 hour ago, Paradoxoglanis.1904 said:

Explain.

Nobody played mace or had any success 2 mats ago because it was too slow. Then they reworked WS with traits that give damage / sustain boost turning WS into the defense traitline of warrior. I am expecting to see builds still using WS variants. If mace is played it will be with carnivore (not that much fun to fight when it is on a druid).

[Seriously... another engi nerf... that's what they thought needed balance????]

9 minutes ago, bethekey.8314 said:

Who is arguing that you can't equip other utilities? They might not be good, but that's another issue. To get back to my point:

You called a 50% nerf on two meta utilities "small" and incorrectly said it only affected cleanse, while also informing everyone you're a first time Holo. Sometimes it's better to not comment if you don't fully understand what you're talking about, y'know?

You're already 6 comments in on this thread lol.

You can reassure yourself by thinking I never played it before if it makes you happy. I just said my first full season (also you keep saying on the forums you do not play holo so whatever). Also every point I made is still valid. 

[Seriously... another engi nerf... that's what they thought needed balance????]

10 minutes ago, bethekey.8314 said:

You realize it was a 50%+ damage nerf (less static discharge and quickness procs as well) on top of 50% cleanse nerf, right?

You realize there are plenty of variants not using it right? Go watch Eu mAT

[Seriously... another engi nerf... that's what they thought needed balance????]

22 minutes ago, shion.2084 said:

I'm saying the meta is predicated off slick shoes and photon wall and the majority of the time rifle.  You want to trigger your GM trait that gives you quickness and superspeed as much as possible, and have burnable access to your cleanse.  You want to trigger your investment in SD.    I've seen people swap in toolkit for rifle because of access to pull, pryer and shield, but that's typically not done because the toolbelt recharge timing of just a few seconds between rifle turret and toolkit swings it in rifle's favour. 

I checked for you

• Eu quarterfinals : no turret
• Eu semifinals : no turret
• Eu final : no turret

Now for NA

• Na final : played turrets

There is no point in keeping this argument going. As I said build is flexible, barely affected and turret is far from mandatory.

[Seriously... another engi nerf... that's what they thought needed balance????]

7 minutes ago, shion.2084 said:

meta uses photon wall for the great block and the particle accelerator SD attack that blinds.  It uses slick shoes and rifle.  The rifle is used just for the toolbelt trigger.  Firing that activates the GM trait on tools that gives you quickness and super speed.   Even access to that GM trait is now hampered.

I have slick shoes. Then I can go with 2 of the following : 

• photon wall
• toolkit
• spectrum shield

What exactly are you trying to say? That I do not play the build? If you watched the last mat you have seen that the holo players change every game according to their opponents and weapon choice. Turret is far from being mandatory and it was skipped most games. Which is exactly what metabattle says.

 

[Vindicator has far too much evades, blocks, defense to be doing the amount of damage, and aoe damage that it does, what's the philospophy?]

I don’t know if this patch is going to make it better for me. I did not have an issue with the urn.

I have an issue with all the damage vindi keeps getting. There are lots of good coefficients on the weapons which is fine. Then you have to avoid all the utilities which starts to be really annoying.  And finally there are really cheap things like death drop being a constant pressure (on a dodge), gs 5 animation hitting you hit even when you dodge.

[Seriously... another engi nerf... that's what they thought needed balance????]

4 minutes ago, shion.2084 said:

So your off meta build isn't impacted, I get it.  It's also not what folks run at a competitive level.     To be fair my build isn't particularly hard hit either.  What I lose is the ability to make effective adjustments for adverse team compositions.   I also lose seeing scrappers running SD builds which was kind of an interesting variant (beTheKey plays with that sometimes).  We lose options for more frequent cleanse that we can actually afford to burn as a cleanse on scrapper too.

It is the same as the meta build oustide of the relic.