Etaoin.4362

I still run it, and it’s still a solid side node spec, in some ways even more effective than spellbreaker. I think that the problems have to do with how its particular mechanics cooperate (or don’t) with the general gameplay mechanics of the mode and other specs. First, dragon slash itself is a bit of a joke: even at full charge, it pales in comparison to relatively instant bursts of other warrior specs. Coupled with how easily interruptible or avoidable it is, it’s not particularly appealing or effective. Second, the nerfs that the spec has seen (without any compensation) has placed it pretty far behind a number of alternative specs that can fulfill the same role and also provide team utility. Third, and finally for now, the spec really only shines in the dueling role, and even there it has some hangups since it lacks on point area denial, can’t reliably lock down or CC opponents (at least not in variants with any sustain), and struggles handling +1 scenarios (including both stalling or escape). That said, I don’t know that the spec requires the radical overhaul that a lot of folks are demanding. I have some simpler ideas. 1) Revert the animation changes to dragon slash. We already know that the last round of changes led to a number of glitches. Just go back to the old functionality (Boost in particular needs it). 2) Give stability on entering dragon trigger. With all the CC laden skills available now, it’s just reasonable. 3) Either speed up charging for dragon slash in competitive modes or increase the damage coefficient so that there’s either less risk or actual reward for the risk (because standing still in this game is basically setting yourself up as a free kill). 4) Especially if we aren’t reducing charge time, and even more so if not raising damage coefficient, then make the unblockable/blind immunity for dragon slash baseline and give back the option to make dragon slash stun opponents (giving back some distinct team fight utility). With no other bursts, dragon slash needs to be more reliable for the spec to be competitively viable. This would also make all three grandmaster traits potentially appealing for different roles (even in PvE).

Let me preface this by saying that I am a *casual* PvP'er at best. Having played and played against what seems to be the common hammer vindicator and a few variants, I think that it could do with some what ANet in the past has referred to as "shaves" in terms of its DPS. Is the sustain annoying? Maybe a bit, but remember that this is a setup that has little access to stability and is very vulnerable to condition stacking. The main issue, as folks have noted, is that it has constant access to considerable DPS access at most ranges *when played carefully.* The most reasonable approach, I suspect, would be incremental adjustments to the damage output (perhaps starting with the vindicator spec and then looking at hammer skills) to bring it in line with other such specs (some catalyst and weaver builds fit this description) without completely gutting the playstyle. Honestly, it's a side-node/duelist spec with nominal team support - I think it's fine to let it function as such. Ranger's mace/mace set is a bit trickier. @Gotejjeken.1267 has already, I think rightly, noted that not all mace/mace builds function in the same way, with some being more problematic than others. In particular, a number of untamed variants seem to be the chief offenders here, and that's largely because the untamed kit is already stacked toward being a strong duelist *and* team supporter since its first round of buffs way back when. Combined with the already lethal combos you can get from traits like "Moment of Clarity" (re: ranger greatsword) and some new approaches to lightning fields to maintain CC spam, and the setup can be really frustrating to encounter when you don't have good ranged options (and, even then, skills like "Unnatural Traversal" and general projectile hate can allow your opponent to outlast your attacks while whittling you down before advancing for the kill). All that being said, I'm not sure that the weapons themselves are the crux of the problem. Looking at the PvP splits for mace abilities, damage-wise they aren't particularly impressive on their own, although they also aren't nearly as abysmal as, say, staff on warrior or revenant. In a lot of ways, the weapon kit is arguably comparable to the engineer's hammer, with utility spaced around in different ways and roughly equal sources of damage output. The problem comes with how to balance around "Force of Nature" and the complete skill bar recharge that comes in intervals from hitting the necessary number of stacks. Even so, though, the raw damage output from the maces alone isn't particularly impressive. What puts it over the top is how well this playstyle synergizes with a number of core and elite ranger traits, hence the relevance of the question: "what variant?" Consequently, adjusting mace/mace is tricky. Like vindicator, I see nothing wrong with letting ranger have strong side-node builds that can duel and delay effectively, and mace/mace as a weapon set is very well designed for brawler-style play, despite the fact that it can be challenging to use effectively if the target isn't locked-down and not blocking or dodging. At the same time, and also like vindicator, I agree that it shouldn't be able to simply "roflstomp" an opponent in five seconds flat. I think that, again, incremental shaves should be the approach, starting with the specs and problematic traits before looking at the weapons themselves. Anyway, that's my two cents.

You're right - I just saw the green 375 pop up. Something must've been buggy on my end earlier. Thanks!

I've noticed that Natural Healing doesn't seem to be, well, healing my Soulbeast when in beastmode. According to the wiki, I'm supposed to inherit this pet trait when equipped, right? Did I miss an update somewhere?

Full list of broken achievements for Return to Season 2 for me: -Revenge of the Vinewrath -Reconquer the Hidden Depths -Reconquer the Crash Site Climb -Reconquer the Retrospective Runaround

This. Most professions now have a base movement speed increase trait in their core line. Why remove this aspect of the trait? I get encouraging active play; I don’t get removing what’s basically QoL for open world wandering. Maybe ANet should just increase base movement speed across the board and remove all of these trait and skill aspects like they did with skill cooldown reductions. Then they just have to balance around swiftness and super speed buffs. It seems like a win-win, but maybe I’m overlooking something…

I mean, that's like, your opinion...man. No one's asking you to play it? Apologies: I thought that part of the initial post was to offer another distinct PvP format for players to give options rather than restrict them to the 5v5 capture point format (and occasional 2v2 or 3v3 season or, by some rare alignment of the planets, a round of stronghold in unranked). That has been framing my contributions to this discussion from the start. Perhaps I'm mistaken. I don't disagree that some of those builds can be dull or painful to fight; I also never meant to imply that they would guarantee you a fun duel, just that there are viable builds other than warrior specs for 1v1 out there. Also, since those issues you describe are general combat mechanics, I take it that they're dull or painful across the board in competitive modes, and not uniquely in OP's concept game mode. I would be curious to see both (a) actual build representation in a 1v1 mode and (b) win ratios for builds. I honestly don't know what those would look like, but the data might have interesting applications down the line. That's a separate matter, though. Edited: forgot to mention stronghold

I mean, it’s not like we also have: -druid or untamed duelist on ranger -chronomancer or mirage shatter on mesmer -deadeye or currently broken axe spam on thief -reaper on necromancer -burst holo or scrapper on engineer -almost any “meta” build on guardian or elementalist -I suppose revenants might struggle a bit, but I’ve also seen some solid power herald and vindicator players out there, too. I don’t think we would hurt for build and profession diversity in a dueling format.

I mean....you say that...

I usually avoid posting on these forums like the plague, but…yeah, would love incentivized 1v1 mode. I also enjoy sparring over team play. Also, statistically less toxicity (just by the number of players per match).

Bump. The problems persist. Please fix.

I get that Unyielding Dragon was arguably an overloaded trait. That said, I'd be content if they even nerfed the damage on it just to get the stun back. With Artillery Slash as the only hard CC in the kit now, and given how slow the projectile is, it's just awful to use. Coupled with the jankiness of Dragon Slash's interaction with traits like Adrenal Health and Cleansing Ire, it feels like the only thing the spec does now is spam personal barrier (and Scourge does that better and for other players as well).

See title. Boost fails to dash forward half the time. Reach is inconsistent in terms of when/whether it activates effects like Adrenal Health.

Literal shower thought: bladesworn lacks weapon swap in combat, but what if it still had access to F1 burst and moved gunsaber and DT to F2 and F3 respectively? I can see cons and pros to each side (and, with blind spam, I’m guessing DT will still be favored), but I figured I’d toss the question out there.

I'm pretty sure that this hasn't been seriously discussed in...cripes, years? I'm just wondering if Anet is *ever* going to address issues of projectiles being "obstructed" on seemingly even terrain with no objects blocking path of flight. I feel like this is one of those issues that almost everyone knows about but that we stopped mentioning...