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Kaleban.9834

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  1. The solution? Celestial everything. On every profession, every build.
  2. One thing ANet could do to alleviate concerns is after relics release, each character logging in gets the relic that corresponds to their currently equipped rune set. That way no loss of major build effectiveness, and future relics when acquired add to build diversity.
  3. A smarter solution would have been to grant Quickness based on energy spent, whether upkeep or instant use. Akin to the old D2 Frenzy Barb right? Using attack skills or Utility skills make you go faster pew pew lol. So whether you're laying down a Jalis Road, pulsing Torment in Mallyx, or both upkeeping a Facet AND consuming it, you're generating Quickness. A Revenant player's Quickness generation would then be somewhat player skill based, in that someone optimizing active skill use with upkeep skills could output a lot of Quickness, whereas someone autoattacking in Shiro with IO active would output only minor amounts.
  4. The reason Elementalist feels weird/poorly designed is because it was the first designed profession back when there weren't going to be skill cooldowns. If you remember the reveal video from way back, one of the scenes just had a single Elementalist re-casting Meteor Shower with no CD to kill a couple of Ettins. The concept was that you'd have access to all your skills whenever you needed them, but you'd have to switch to a different attunement. The skills themselves, had they stuck with the concept would have been MUCH more specialized and something I've harped on in other threads for a long time. But ANet changed the skill system without adapting the design concept of the Elementalist. To fix it would mean some work but I think it's doable and would bring the Ele back into mainstream play. Some of the other professions pretty much have the groundwork for a re-work already, ex. the Water Attunement being designed in the same way as Druid Staff and Earth Attunement being designed similar to Firebrand's Tome of Courage. Air Attunement would be your single target Attunement, and Fire your AoE cleave. Eliminate Attunement CD entirely, since you'd see no or marginal benefit from "stance dancing" to maximize DPS. Then it would be far easier to balance the numbers as well as tweak traits and utility skills.
  5. I've been playing a long time, but with several life changes I'm looking to streamline my gameplay a bit. Brass tacks I'm curious as to which professions are for lack of a better term "future proof" when it comes to balance. Sometimes I just want to zone out in meta trains, other times I want to jump into WvW, and still other times I might try a Strike, Raid or Fractal. I've mained Elementalist for most of my GW2 playtime, as well as creating a Revenant back when it first came out. I'd consider myself an average player at best. While I'm pretty familiar with the Ele my manual dexterity isn't what it used to be 10 years ago lol, so topping the DPS charts isn't really an option there. Essentially with more limited playtime, I want to make sure that any time I do sink in is done on a class I'm going to enjoy and is not going to be gutted by balance team shenanigans. My choices right now are continue my Ele, Rev, and I also have a Mesmer, Ranger, Guardian and Engineer. I figure maybe switching "mains" to either Guardian or Engineer might be the order of the day, but in areas with limited team size like Fractals and Raids and my average play ability I'd likely be a hindrance if I was to take the HealBrand slot and I don't want to be a drag on other people. And it seems like there's so many Mechanists out there that a big nerf is more or less inevitable. So tl;dr: which profession is likely to be the most stable in the skills/balance realm, is desirable in all game modes, and isn't the keystone/lynchpin of a group such that if you screw up a rotation the whole team fails?
  6. I've been thinking about this too, and one solution can actually be baked into the fact that we now have a base profession and 3 Elite specs per profession. In PvE you generally have 3 types of builds: Defensive Support/Healer, Offensive Support, DPS. Each Profession could have a unique buff they bring as part of their core mechanic, such as a Warrior decreasing weapon swap time (and on-swap sigil CDs) on him/herself and up to 9 allies. Then Spellbreaker would be the Defensive Support spec, Bladesworn the Offensive Support, and Berserker the DPS. Each spec's boon generation would be focused rather than haphazard, so a Defensive Support wouldn't generate Might or Quickness, but would bring Regeneration and Aegis for example. Then apply the same formula to each profession. That way every profession brings something wholly unique to the group, while at the same time having build options that can then fill any empty gaps. ANet could also drill down further into profession Archetypes, something like Supportive, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Offensive. Supportive types would have more access to boons, but their top end DPS builds would lag behind the Offensive who would have the least amount of boons. Essentially a sliding scale of selfishness, so a Guardian as a "Supportive" archetype would never be top tier DPS in any role but has the most access to boon generation, whereas a Thief as an "Offensive" archetype would be the opposite. You could still play a DPS Guardian or a Defensive Support Thief, but neither will be as effective as the other in a "contra-indicated" role.
  7. Honestly how anyone makes out the gender of a character in the first place with all the graphical effects and making sure to tag each mob in a meta train for the loot is beyond me. Not to mention the pace of gameplay, especially in WvW zerging or PvP makes the character model irrelevant. You'd almost have to go around announcing you're a girl/guy playing opposite gender to try and stir up controversy to make it an issue, but that couldn't possibly be the case here right? I mean no one would go around broadcasting it in chat and then feign being offended to farm forum salt. Here's an idea if none of that applies to you: don't tell people what you are IRL. A, it's none of their business and B, there's no reason to go around telling people in an online game. If you login to an MMO and immediately broadcast to everyone that you're a bro-dude playing scantily clad femme fatales for the booty angle you're going to get just as much grief (probably more nowadays) than if you announced you were non-gender binary playing cis-Asura with cat ears. To reiterate, your gender/sexuality doesn't inform your gameplay or character choices to anyone in-game, and no one is going to know or poke fun if you don't intentionally volunteer it. It's sort of like how the number one rule to avoid getting mugged is to avoid walking alone at night down a dark alleyway. Don't put yourself in a situation you dislike if you can avoid it in the first place.
  8. Well with the current system you can't play a specific water or earth mage, so the point is irrelevant. The no attunement cooldowns means you can access each purpose built attunement when you need it. You would no longer need to cycle multiple attunements just to keep pace with DPS, as it would all be in one or at most two attunements (i.e. Fire and Air). Water thematically in most magical fiction is about healing and support, while Earth is all about blunt force, knockdowns and slams. And I guarantee you're more likely to be stunned by a rock to the dome before a gust of wind.
  9. Here's how the Ele elite specs should have been designed: Tempest - Main hand pistol designed around mid-range AoE effects; overloads (i.e. overload ammunition) are targeted AoEs just like Harbinger elixirs with an effect at target and on self if in range; essentially a magical gunslinger Weaver - Melee staff/spear designed around melee AoE with large range, essentially the GW1 Dervish; Main hand sword is fine too, as long as the AoE is larger and hits all targets in range Catalyst - Longbow designed around 1500 range attacks; essentially an arcane "zen" archer Ironically given the flavor, the Weaver's meshing attunements make more sense on the Catalyst, while the energy based AoE buff field from the Catalyst makes more sense on a fully melee character like the Weaver.
  10. I've been harping on this since release. The Ele should not be balanced around "stance dancing" with attunements. Instead, purpose build each attunement. Fire: AoE + Burning Air: Single Target + Vulnerability Water: Healing + Boons Earth: Breakbar + Defense No Attunement cooldowns, you'd have access to each attunement whenever you needed it. The flipside is that Water and Earth do ZERO damage, both attunements are for utility, healing and CC. You'd use each attunement for when it makes sense, such as Fire for AoE/zerging, Air against bosses, Water for healing teammates and Earth for stunning and deflections/blocks. The weapons then modify primarily the range at which you attack (i.e. Staff 1500 range, Dagger 180, etc.) and also the Area of Effect (Staff widest range, Dagger 1v1 Dueler, etc.). Then ANet can balance damage numbers, boon duration and everything else around the idea that an Ele player isn't going to be blasting through all four attunements to maximize damage, and certainly not nerf the profession because one guy from SnowCrows plays it like it's Dragonforce.
  11. What is OP depends on you a bit. Easy mode event farming, meta trains, Fractals, Raids, PvP, WvW, etc. Game mode means a lot, as does the role you want to play. That being said, I would classify OPness as a combination of versatility with nerf-proofness. It's highly likely that Engineer and Guardian will see some nerfs in the near term, especially with ANet's stated goal of more frequent balance passes. So while right now those two may be the most ridiculous, it's likely that by the beginning of 2023 they'll be brought in line, or other professions uplifted to match. Top 3: 1. Elementalist. Stay with me here. If you can succeed as an Ele, you can succeed at any profession. You've got high APM DPS (Weaver), Alacrity Heal Tempest, and Quickness Catalyst. And it seems with the most recent patch that finally, after a decade of nerfs the Ele may no longer be the downstate class going forward, and should see some love from ANet. 2. Ranger. Again, a somewhat maligned profession, but one that has unparalleled role diversity and build options. 3. Revenant. The poor cousin to the Guardian and Necromancer, and with a sometimes wonky profession design. But it brings good PvE buffs and boons, and with the right gear can dominate as a support, and is quite good in WvW as a ranged damage dealer. Ideally, ANet would make all the different professions bring something unique to the table, with complimentary class mechanics and integrated tradeoffs rather than just boon vomit across the board. But given their ham-fisted handling of balance over the years, it MAY be a good idea to pick a "main" based on playstyle, lore, or even oddly enough just what you enjoy rather than OPness which could change at any time without warning.
  12. I've always said the best fix for Elementalist is to forego the "stance dancing" concept entirely. Still allow the Elementalist to switch attunements, and with a simple conceptual change ANet could eliminate attunement cooldowns entirely. And that change is to purpose build each attunement. Fire would be AoE Damage, Air single target. Water is healing ONLY, while Earth is Support. Earth and Water would have ZERO offensive capability, except of course boon support. Even the auto-attacks in Water and Earth would be either ally-target only, or heal/boon generators that do zero offensive damage. Whether they be frontal cones, PBAoE or targeted AoE similar to Engy grenade kit would be dependent on weapon and role. Each skill could then be rendered much more powerful and more in line with other professions while simultaneously being easier to fine tune and balance. You'd get no benefit from bouncing from attunement to attunement to throw out as many skills as possible, and would also no longer be penalized by switching away from a damage oriented attunement due to zero cooldowns. So Fire would offer most of the large hitbox and trash clearing skills, Air small hitbox and boss oriented attacks. Water would be a combination of heals and breakbar skills, while Earth would be where you'd get all your boons, from Might and Stability to Alacrity and Quickness. Water would be where projectile absorb skills would be located, and Earth would have the blocks. Air could have some minor reflects to help when "dueling" bosses. I think a more targeted approach like this would solve a LOT of the issues the Elementalist players and balance team face, and would make the class both less spammy and less reliant on overly complex rotations to achieve the same thing as basic auto-attacks on a lot of other professions.
  13. So returning player here. Main Elementalist, with occassional dips into Revenant. Also a dad with a 16 month old, so available gaming time is few and far between lol. I'm just looking for advice on what gear to shoot for? I know it's a broad question but I'm just trying to pin down what attributes to prioritize. Mainly play OW, with the odd Fractals run here and there and sometimes WvW zerging. Unlikely to ever have the time to get Legendary armor, so looking for a single set that might work in multiple game modes. I'm guessing I should just use Celestial and say to hell with benchmarks, but wondering if the community thinks another set might be better? I tend to play all the elite specs of both Ele and Rev as the mood strikes, and really wondering if a set of Celestial everything is sufficient to say, play a Alacri-Tempest or Condi Weaver or Power Catalyst, or if we'll see expanded access to buffs like Quickness like every other spec in the game seems to? Or do I need to specialize and either cultivate 3 different gearsets or do the grind for Legendary to avoid the prohibitively expensive MF recipe?
  14. The Meta determines, generally if you're accepted into endgame content. I.E. if you want Legendary you BETTER be playing Meta builds/gear. Like, duh. The Meta changes, frequently of late, and generally faster than a casual player can acquire/re-gear to adjust. So yes, my "tired rhetoric" aside (hint: it isn't) unless you're willing to play Berserker/Scholar EVERYWHERE, you're unlikely to get into Raid groups which is of course the current quickest path to Legendary and stat selectable armor. And do you, in your heart of hearts believe that Berserker/Scholar works in every game mode? This gearing path essentially hamstrings people with limited time, again, MOST players, and is not conducive to a new influx of players on a new platform. Good luck keeping the interest of incoming players who find out they need three different gearsets per character, one for WvW, one for Fractals and one for Raids, and that if they want in to any of the endgame content without being kicked they better have this in advance. Your argument is the same malarkey the 99% hears from the 1% who try to protect their 1337 awesomesauce. The end conclusion is that it's healthier for the game's longevity to make it more accessible to the majority, rather than "protecting" the fragile egos of the people who can play 8+ hours per day. No, Fire Elemental isn't the same as Sabetha. Again, duh. But the game survives and thrives longer if drop the elitist stuff and realize that making gearing easier via stat switching means more people keeping the game alive for longer. Or you can have like, 10 people circle "congratulating" themselves on how awesome they are in game who then come to the forums to complain about how dead the game is.
  15. In essence yes. If we're talking a quest chain similar to the Return to Living World series than it's not so farfetched. As I pointed out, the type of player that stat swapping is most beneficial for are those who have the least amount of time to play and/or are not incentivized or can't commit to the time requirement for farming WvW, PvP or Raids. Since meta builds change frequently as ANet drops new balance batches, it's not a big ask for a player who's got 5k+ hours into the game and multiple sets of Ascended equipment or Legendary equipment to adapt to the new meta. It IS a big ask for brand new players (Steam anyone) or those with minimal time such as older players with kids and jobs to adapt to a constant shifting meta in a game that has over 40 different end game attribute combinations. Yes there may only be 5-10 that are meta at any one time, but again that can shift at the whims of a balance team that has made, shall we say, "questionable" decisions over the years. Hell, ANet could even add Legendary Insights as rewards for killing actual Legendary enemies in the Open World. Whether they be bounty targets, boss enemies like Tequatl and the Shatterer, or even the occasional Legendary that pops up during a RIBA farm. They would count against the 30 weekly cap, so whether you're killing bosses in the Open World or Raiding, you'd be subject to the same time frame. And ANet will have to do something about gameplay parity anyways. Compare the ease of acquiring Mystic Coins for example in the first few years of the game's release to now where a 2nd Gen Legendary weapon takes almost 500 to craft. They used to go for about 2 silver each, and are now 70+. Yes not every new Steam player needs all Legendary all at once, but it's a little silly to expect longevity and loyalty from incoming players if they are gatekept by the game's established market barriers.
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