[Winds of chaos - some comparisons (maths-heavy, long post)]

On 5/19/2021 at 5:03 AM, TheAgedGnome.7520 said:

 

I understand the intent, but staff being in a good place doesn't mean it is OP - it might just mean that axe is underperforming.

 

When you've been in the cellar for so long, daylight looks overly bright. 🙂

 

Only if ANet across-the-board reduces power creep should staff be toned down; otherwise, keep staff as it is now. 

Have you seen the numbers staff mirages put up. It is clearly op

[Are the devs happy with fractal balance?]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:

@Katary.7096 said:

@"Hannelore.8153" said:This is the key point I was trying to make earlier. Its not just that two classes in the game can give Alacrity, its that only two specialisations (subclasses) can give it, which means that the overall amount of classes that provide Alacrity is a whopping 7%.I understand why people would forget about core Revenant's ability to buff alacrity, since no one seems to use it, but it does indeed exist.

Their own alacrity but this doesn’t benefit the group.

No it is group wide alacrity https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Serene_Rejuvenation

It is trash though

[Mirage doesn't apply torment properly in pve?]

The first drm patch cause mirage axe clones to not apply their condis properly in some way.

[Superior Sigil of Energy not working some times?]

I think dismounting into combat triggers the sigil and puts it on cooldown so that might be the issue

[How good (or bad) is Chrono support?]

In wvw its a good build.

In fractals its pretty bad, fb and ren have taken over the quickness and alac roles for that content.

[PvE : Why core Engi is so bad ?]

Core engi is bad because holosmith is better than tools, in general for a core class to be good its third weakest traitline has to be better than an entire elite spec.

Also core condi engi is pretty good its just that holosmith is slightly better than tools

[PvE : Why core Engi is so bad ?]

@Noodle Ant.1605 said:

However, if you set condi scourge as a worthy benchmark (not actually saying that it is), some core builds (usually downgrades of meta builds) do get close:

• core not-bs warrior
• core guardian, doesn’t even need unhindered combatant

Core guardian actually slaps, it's about equal to virtues dh so it's somewhat niche but it is a real build.

[Minstrel Chrono?]

Yes minstrel chrono is still a thing for raid tanking as I understand it it's even a good wvw zerg build.

[raid training question]

Raid Central also exists. They run saturdays

[Please stop asking LI for strike missions]

@Astralporing.1957 said:

It means exactly that. A stepping stone to raids fails as a stepping stone if noone's using it to ascend there. And yes, there was a mention about devs hoping that the stepping stones will increase raid population. It was in the same quote where they practically said raids are now abandoned

Anet hoped, that strikes will become a stepping stone to raids that will increase raid population. In this, strikes did end up as a failure.

You have literally no way of backing up that claim.

In order for that to be true the full suit of strikes would need to exist which you can't prove and you would have to show that it hasn't lead to more interest in raids which again you don't have the numbers to prove.

[Please stop asking LI for strike missions]

@Fueki.4753 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:And how is it a failure?

Because it didn't (significantly) increased the population in raids, it's easy to see Strike Missions as failures, if you see them as stepping stones into raids.

All that happened in terms of stepping stones is the opposite of what was intended: Many people (most prominently the KP demanders) turned raiding into a stepping stone for Boneskinner.

Except you don't have the ground to actually make that claim. in fact I'd argue I have just as much ground to make the opposite claim.

[Dagger for reaper PvE?]

@Al Masone.1274 said:Honestly I'm not upset that dagger isn't a dps weapon, I was mainly interested in what its role was. I'm fine with it being a support-y weapon, provided it works that way, of course.. That said, people generally use scepter, staff or even axe on scourge, so it's fair to say that dagger is nowhere near being even a support weapon.

In pve heal scourge uses dagger for its life force generation.

[100cm breakbar]

@Miss Lana.5276 said:

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:Maybe stop using condi fb and use condi reaper, condi ele ,condi ranger or better condi classes with more cc the point of the block was to force build changes maybe use hammer instead of scepter

lol hammer instead of scepter. Nice meme. I don't play dps normally, idk why you're assuming I do.

As @"Infusion.7149" pointed out in another thread;

Any "normal" Champion or Legendary fractal boss = 600 defiance barBloomhunger (a normal boss) = 1000 defiance barAssault Knights = 800 defiance barEnsolyss & Siax = 2000 defiance barSkorvald the Shattered = 2200 defiance barArtsariiv = 2100 defiance barArkk = 1800 defiance barAi, Keeper of the Peak = 3200 defiance barSorrow = 1500 defiance bar with 10s window (near double the Assault Knights')

Compare this to say a raid boss designed for 10 people which is 2000 defiance for Vale Guardian / Matthias / Xera and 4000-4500 for the likes of Slothasor, Samarog and Gorseval...

It's not just "use another class lol". It's way out of proportion compared to other boss CC bars.

So? It's very doable so what's the problem with a boss break bar being very big?

Hell the only thing that has shown is that the devs have been way to lenient in the size of some of the raid breakbars.

["Wood Plank" Is Still Usable In Fractals & Dungeons]

Also the pirate peg leg can still be used

[Fractal Consumables]

I like this change, even though they missed a few, because theres this aspect of build craft and comp building that's just not relevant because why would I ever swap in a cc skill when I can just us a plank.

Having a lot of cc was just not a strength on a build worth considering cause cc consumables.

[Why SnowCrows is destroying Raiding]

@Astralporing.1957 said:

@Laila Lightness.8742 said:

@lare.5129 said:

@Linken.6345 said:You should talk abit to ladykitty if you think raids are not ready for none sc builds.not always. I take real example from my build on thief. I don't say that thins is not impossible at all

One day nomad bearbow will be accepted and show its best :)

As a hand kiter at deimos? You could do it now and it would probably work perfectly fine.

Too much toughness, not even a minstrel tank could take aggro from that.

[Minstrel Weapons?]

@Krenjur.4195 said:I have recently begun crafting armor and have attain the 500 status, but I'm confused about Maklain's minstral's insignia. I crafted an item with one of these that I must have found in a chest or been rewarded. I'd like to craft more of the armor, but I can't seem to find a way to make/acquire this insignia. Any help would be appreciated.

You need to buy the insignia recipe from the vendors in verdant brink

[Sigil of malice and Sigil of Agony/smodering/demons]

can i suggest an energy sigil instead. The ambushes are really good and it would probably higher damage as well

[Please stop asking LI for strike missions]

I pug strikes every day and I've literally never seen an lfg requesting LI. On NA if that helps.

Is this a really such a widespread issue on eu?

[Use Raid build for Strikes?]

yes use raid builds.

@Brycar.2651 said:People leading will ask for a specific build in LFG. but it will just say Healer or some such. I panic. WHICH ONE?! What kind?!

Druid, healbrand, and healren (I've never actually seen a healren show up) are the best heal builds to bring, heal scourge is also usually used in the harder strikes but commanders usually ask for that.

[What Composition For Twin Largos Challenge Mote?]

the standard chrono, druid 3x condi mirage/chrono mirror comp is fine and what we use.

@"Mellow.7409" said:Does a firebrand with harrier's gear deal more damage than a heal tempest with harrier's gear?

the healers damage is so low its not even worth talking about.

[Instead Of Nerfing Firebrand We Buff Other Professions]

@Wuffy.9732 said:hey if condi scourge can do 50-60k opening burst like condi fb on single target then I'm all for it... But part of me also feels that might be too much lol.

Pretty sure that only happens when you steal ashes.

[Alacrity / Quickness Monopoly]

@sokeenoppa.5384 said:

@Aceofsppades.6873 said:

you say that but when a full clear involves playing the same chrono build for hours in a row that feels pretty boring to me. Now we can swap to quickbrand if we want a change of pace or if we think it will be better. I think more of the roles should have that

I mean how is that any different than playing a bs, or lets say druid?

It isn't and thats the problem. think those roles should have relatively interchangeable alternatives

[Why SnowCrows is destroying Raiding]

@Astralporing.1957 said:

@"Carcharoth Lucian.1378" said:I looked at it and all the builds here are meta or at least good (which is really close to meta) at one boss (at least). If a build fall under that, they are indeed removed from the website (like the power core warrior build was when anet buffed the berserker spec).if a build is marked as "good", it means they

don't

consider it meta. And what they do consider meta already is a bit wider than just M.E.T.A. (more on that further below). If you look at their valuations of things like power reaper or power spellbreaker, you will see that they consider those builds to be quite bad (and power reaper for example was there even before it was recently buffed - i don;t remember what its valuation was then, but it must have been even worse).And there's stuff like all healer builds apart from druid, which just don't get the "meta" evaluation almost by default - because SC considers running a second healer to be a subpar choice. Yet they still have those on site in case someone wants to be safer at the cost of effectiveness. That is also not a M.E.T.A. approach.

And what builds are better than the ones marked as meta? (they are maybe the new meta?).If you have several dps builds marked as meta at one boss, but some are clearly better than the others, then at least some of those meta builds are not M.E.T.A.That's the point i am trying to pass to you. That even SC, that are quite stringent in their meta requirements, and often ignore builds that are still considered meta by the community at large, mark as meta a number of builds that are

not

"most efficient". Their "meta" requirement apparently lies not in being

most

efficient, but merely in being a cut above just "good".

By the way, it is rather well known that their version of the "most efficient" tactics is quite different than what the most groups are running. A look at the benchmark table should also tell you something.

I (and no one here) never said that the most efficient tactics was the most used ones. Of course, a lot of pug squads (if not all) don't use M.E.T.A. squad composition and prefer safer off-meta comp (like take 2 healers instead of one) and accept a lot of off-meta builds. I never see the 7 power chronos meta on xera for example, but that doesn't mean that this peculiar setup is not the "most efficient tactic available". It still is.So, why SC has far more dps builds than that marked as meta at Xera? "Most efficient" means exactly that. If you have several setups on boss that are considered meta, and one is just a sliver better, only that one can be m.e.t.a. By definition the others are no longer "most efficient", because they fall below that one. And so, if they are still marked as meta, it measn that this "meta" evaluation is

not

the same as "most efficient tactic available" acronym would suggest.(and some of the "meta" marked builds are not just "a sliver" worse, btw)

So, to better phrase my sentence you quoted, so the meaning will be more understandable:It is rather well known that their version of the "most efficient" tactics is quite different than what the most groups are running. But the site doesn't concentrate on what SC themselves are running, but includes all those popular setups that in SC's eyes would fall below being "most efficient".

Most people (myself included) just want to clear the content and have fun while doing it.Indeed. And SC knows that, and their evaluations of builds (even those they tag as meta - with the possible exception of healers) reflect that.

I think its important to point out that a number of builds listed as "meta" for specific bosses are "meta" because stacking that class lets you replace a support, usually stacking chronos or guardians to replace quickness, but sometimes to replace other classes. For example on cairn condi soulbeast is listed as meta because they stack them to share vulture stance for lifesteal and that removes the need to bring a healer.

[Alacrity / Quickness Monopoly]

@LadyHawk.5319 said:

@Dahkeus.8243 said:but a true monopoly was when chrono was literally the only class you could get both quickness and alacrity for most of raiding history up until relatively recently.

. Give it time and Anet may, sadly, homogenize all of the classes ... hopefully not because I, for one, find the diversity amongst the classes one of the more engaging aspects of this great game. If it came to be that all classes had the same skills/boons, etc as each other (hence, homogenization), then this would be a boring, one dimensional game.

you say that but when a full clear involves playing the same chrono build for hours in a row that feels pretty boring to me. Now we can swap to quickbrand if we want a change of pace or if we think it will be better. I think more of the roles should have that