Josspai.4356

I think 'Glyph of Storms' would be a good candidate in order to be reworked as Wells: The fire storm becomes Well of Fire: a fire field that pulses burning; The ice storm becomes Well of Ice: an ice field that pulses chilled; The lightning storm becomes Well of Lightning: a ligthning field that pulses vulnerability; The sand storm becomes Well of Sand: a smoke field that pulses blinded (if they don't want to give smoke fields to Ele because of Stealth, then it can work as Shredded Gyro from Engi and repeteadly use Whirl Finishers) And then I guess we should get an Elite Well Skill to compensate for the Fire Greatsword loss... Perhaps an ethereal field to represent Arcane. Also, the major adept trait Conjurer from the Fire Specialization would become something like 'wells have a reduced cooldown and grant an aura when deployed' or something like that.

Hi everyone, First and foremost, for those who don't know, warriors used to have a grandmaster trait called 'Powerful Synergy' that doubled the effects of any combo finisher: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Powerful_Synergy To be fair, its effect wasn't amazing for a major grandmaster trait and it was eventually replaced. HOWEVER... Now we have catalyst, a spec that kinda lacks a role/flavor/personality... Call it what you want, but it has bit of an identity crisis. It is kinda implied to be a 'combo focused spec', but right now the only thing that improves its combos is the minor grandmaster trait: Elemental Epitome, a trait that grants you an aura based on your attunement when you combo. So, I was wondering if maybe Powerful Synergy could come back from the grave as a cool trait for Catalyst to actually support that 'combo focused spec' flavor. Maybe not as a major grandmaster trait, but as a minor master one? Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that Elemental Empowerment should not be a thing, but many people complain that it is a difficult to maintain (and kinda boring) buff. Ele already has a LOT to manage in combat, and managing Elemental Empowerment isn't helping: as a minor trait, it's 'unskippable', but yet if you don't choose the middle line to focus on it, it adds virtually nothing to your build. I think Elemental Empowerment should be a major adept trait, so it is optional: want to trait for it and play a more 'selfish' build? You go! But I feel that the core thing about catalyst should be combos. It makes sense: your minor adept always gives you access to a combo field, your minor master boosts your combo finishers, and your minor grandmaster gives you an aura when you combo (great!). They may have to buff Elemental Epitome a bit since it would no longer give Elemental Empowerment, here's a couple ideas: Elemental Epitome Gain an aura based on your current attunement when you combo. If you already have the corresponding aura, transmute that aura. Gain an aura and boons based on your current attunement when you combo. (obviously with a cooldown recharge) As a side-note, one of our major grandmaster traits in Fire (Persisting Flames) used to grant fury when using a blast finisher with a fire combo field. That's another trait that they could totally bring back and re-use for catalyst: they just need to make blast finishers give different boons when used on other combo fields (example: regen when you blast a water field) OR different boons based on your attunement when you blast any field (example: regen when you blast any field while attuned to water). If this is too OP, then make this effect apply only when you blast your jade sphere fields. Ele has at least two blast finishers on every single weapon, and Hammer has three of them, so we could trigger these effects with every weapon combination. Also, Superior Rune of the Weaver used to give barrier after using a leap finisher (it no longer does). We still don't have a Superior Rune of the Catalyst, but they could totally do something similar (choosing blast finishers instead of leaps or making it work on every combo finisher but giving a smaller amount of barrier...). I think these changes would tremendously help Catalyst: they would give it an identity, make combos way more enjoyable, give it a way to support its allies with blasts and boost its survivability with the runes. Best part is that all of this data already exist in the game, meaning they should be easy to implement by the devs.

100%. I still don't get why Ele, the spellcaster of the game, doesn't get access to AoE slot skills like wells, traps, consecrations, preparations... Hell, even turrets or spirits would fit.

A lot has being said and a lot of feedback has been given, so I'll just focus on the 'lack of identity/personality' aspect of the catalyst. Because on paper, summoning four celestial beasts sounds super cool (and visually, they are stunning), but the fact that all four of them pretty much do the same (combo field, little damage, pulse a boon) makes them kinda boring. I mean, look at tempest overloads: they have very different effects and represent their attunements roles. Look at weaver dual attacks: their effects really embody the dual nature of the two combined elements. But these holographic monsters we summon with our jade sphere have nearly identical effects, so eventually you only want to combo them and that's pretty much all of it (which is why you pretty much only use the air one because it pulses quickness, the most useful boon of the pack). So maybe you could consider giving them some differences? Like, make the water one pulse some small heals instead of damage (water is the healing attunement after all), or the earth one pulse a small amount of barrier instead of damage (earth is supposed to be the defensive attunement), etc... And/or make them pulse a condition too, so that enemies are punished for being inside them. They don't even need to be damaging conditions if you don't want the sphere as a big source of damage: earth could pulse cripple or weakness, air could be weakness, vulnerability or blindness, and water could be vulnerability or chill (or even regen instead, since it represents the healing attunement, making it more of a supportive field). The only one that would pulse some damaging condition (burning) would then be the fire phoenix one, but that's okay because fire IS the heavy damage attunement. Basically, give each of these summoned creatures an identity, not just some field that pulses boons and happens to be aesthetically cool.

I agree. I actually LOVE the catalyst as a concept. I love the idea of a heavy combo-focused spec, I love having so many fields and auras, I actually really like the hammer as a weapon and its animations, love having the elemental orbs floating around me and I absolutely love summoning those beautiful elemental beasts pulsing all those boons that were previously pretty much inaccessible for ele (quickness, resolution, resistance... also, poison field!). I would actually be really sad if they deleted it and started from 0 because I really like the concept, but the execution is indeed... flawed to say the least. I do hope however that all the constructive criticism from the feedback thread will be taken into consideration and we will see some changes in the final beta. There's some really good suggestions from the players and a general consensus about what needs to be addressed, without having to make huge and drastical changes to the spec. Just give us some more combo fields/finishers on hammer, more time to keep skill nº3 around, an easier way to summon, re-deploy and play around the Jade Sphere, make augments also either combo fields or combo finishers, and perhaps some more traits to get energy. Also, I'm curious about what the 'superior runes of the catalyst' effect will be. I've seen many people suggest that hammer skill nº3 should be the spec mechanic to make room on hammer skillsets for some combo fields and that the jade spheres would then become the utilities (wells). I personally support this, but I'm cool with them keeping it the way it is now as long as both skill nº3 and the jade spheres are easier to manage and keep around.

These are really cool ideas 👍

I like everything you said. Also, I assume that Spectacular Sphere would now be converted into a trait that improves these wells, so when traited, the fire one would grant might, the ice one vigor, the air one fury and the earth one resistance. And then I guess the healing one could give regeneration and the elite one... I don't know, alacrity maybe? Seems fitting since right now, the elite augment reduces the cooldown of our weapon skills.

As a small note, maybe the small Jade Sphere floating thing should always be deployed and follow you around in an 'inactive state', and then shine in a red/blue/purple/brown light when the combo field with the creature is summoned? It's a bit weird to have the sphere (a physical object) just 'pop' out of nowhere. If that's our spec mechanic, it should always be around gathering energy during combat.

At this point I'm seriously thinking that our three new skill types (jade spheres, hammer orbs and augments) are actually good ideas but in the wrong places... - Orbs should be the F5 mechanic instead of a random weapon skill, so every class gets access to them, extend their duration, it encourages constant attunement swap. - Jade Spheres could become utilities and be considered as well skills, so we can get access to those beautiful combo fields on every weapon (and since they're utilities, we can choose to deploy the fire phoenix while in water attunement and even deploy more than one at a time). Think Scrapper gyros. - Augments can now become the Hammer 3 skills, just make them work on any appropiate combo field (so relentless fire makes your attacks unblockable when used on ANY fire field, not just jade sphere ones).

As a side note, I love having the elemental orbs from Hammer 3 floating around me but the fact that they don't always pop in a perfect balanced circle is... I don't know, visually ugly? It's weird to have like 3 of them together and then a fourth one appears on the opposite side of the rotation. I think it would probably look better if each one occupied a fixed rotating space in a perfect formation (like the spheres from the elite skill). By the way, those orbs could actually be fields, so if I use Flame Wheel, I become a moving fire field, and then I can 'blast myself' with Molten End. Same for the others: Icy Coil could be a moving ice field around the catalyst, Crescent Wind a lightning one, and perhaps Rocky Loop could be a smoke/poison field? Or alternatively a whirl finisher. This would tremendously help hammer because as it is, it really needs access to some combo fields. EDIT: Maybe the elite skill could work similarly to guardian 'Signet of Courage', passively and periodically giving you energy until you activate it, making it easier for you to deploy your Jade Sphere for longer periods and then using the appropiate utilities inside them. Right now, it's a bit lackluster. And please, consider throwing some aura/energy/combo field/combo finisher on these utilities so they synergize better with the overall spec mechanics.

This is actually a cool idea. They could re-use the F5 animations for wells as utilities, they would just need to add 2 more and, since they are based on celestials, they could make an ice combo field with a tiger that pulses resolution (and let the water kirin become the healing skill and pulse some heals and regen instead of damage), and for the elite skill they could maybe summon some light/ethereal circle of the 12 zodiac ones pulsing alacrity or something ¿? I personally LOVE the animations of these celestial creatures pulsing boons, but sadly at this moment, they're so difficult to maintain it's not worth it... I think he is suggesting to move every third skill from hammer to the F5, while replacing those skills in hammer with other things (ideally, some combo fields to blast and leap into). So your F5 in fire attunement would become Flame Wheel, and after casting it it would become Grand Finale, but if you attune to water, it becomes Icy Coil, and if you cast Icy Coil and then Grand Finale, it shoots both the fire and water orb at the enemy, etc.

I think the 'Spectacular Sphere' trait should also be applied when you switch attunements, not only when you activate the Jade Sphere. Like if you activate your Jade Sphere while in Air Attunement, you get Quickness and Fury, then if you switch to Earth Attunement and your Jade Sphere is still on the field, you get Protection AND Resistance. Right now, you would only get Protection. Also, it would be nice if the Sphere Specialist trait also increased the duration of the boons applied by Spectacular Sphere, so deploying the Jade Sphere could feel a little bit more rewarding because right now, there's little to no reason to choose those traits compared to the auras and elemental empowerment-focused ones. And please, energy should be easier to get and keep. Perhaps we could still get energy with our attacks as long as we are inside the Jade Sphere area? Either that or just forget about energy and make the F5 work in a similar way to Tempest Overloads. Finally, the utilities aren't that great. This is a combo and auras-based spec, right? Then make them give you an aura if you use them in the appropiate combo field (like frost aura in the water Kirin-one), or even better, turn them into combo fields so we can blast them with our hammer (how about some wells?). Or at least make it so if you use them in the appropiate combo field, you get some energy back... Oh! And maybe consider changing some of the vigor uptime in water attunement and give us some regeneration. Right now, catalyst has 0 regeneration access in its signature weapon, utilities, traits and F5, in fact it doesn't even have access to whirl or projectile finishers to use on water fields to get regeneration, it's kinda weird considering that water attunement traits and weapon skills revolve around this boon. Sure, it does have regeneration on core traits and core weapons, but still, if we are meant to not be very mobile and stay inside our Jade Sphere AoE, vigor isn't that useful...

I wish we had an elite signet skill, with a nice passive effect and a damaging AoE active effect, with all 4 elements inflicting 4 different conditions at the same time. I think that would be cool, and it would encourage more people to take the Earth traitline for the Written in Stone trait.

I'm hoping for elemental wells too! Lots of different combo fields for us to shoot and blast 😃 In fact I was bored last day and did experiment a bit with some ideas: Healing skill - Well of Water (combo field: water): Target area pulses, healing and removing conditions with each pulse. When it expires, the well grants endurance to allies in the area. Utility skill - Well of Fire (combo field: fire): Target area pulses, burning and blinding foes with each pulse. When it expires, the well deals damage to foes in the area. Utility skill - Well of Ice (combo field: ice): Target area pulses, chilling foes and inflicting vulnerability with each pulse. When it expires, the well freezes (=stuns) foes in the area. Utility skill - Well of Air (combo field: lightning): Target area pulses, breaking stun for allies and inflicting weakness with each pulse. When it expires, the well grants superspeed to allies in the area. Utility skill - Well of Earth (combo field: smoke): Target area pulses, bleeding and crippling foes with each pulse. When it expires, the well grants barrier to allies in the area. Elite skill - Well of Arcane (combo field: ethereal): Target area pulses, pulling and slowing foes with each pulse. When it expires, the well launches foes in the area. When traited, wells strip boons from foes and grant boons to allies with each pulse: Water - Vigor, Fire - Might, Ice - Regeneration, Air - Fury, Earth - Protection, Arcane - Quickness These are just random ideas, I don't know if maybe some of them would be lame or OP cause I suck at balancing, but hey, I think wells would be cool, I mean... Ele IS the classical elemental mage/wizard of this game, give us long-lasting ranged AoE utilities!

To be honest, I'm more concerned about the next utilities than the next weapon. I hope we get some nice ranged AoE skills (because tempest shouts and weaver stances are centered around our character, and I really want to be able to feel like, you know... a ranged magical caster).