brandies.8673

/signed Warhorn is overdue for some Churning Earth treatment.

I'd just like a better balance of ranged and melee skills so it feels different to sword and dagger.

I'm trying hard to like it but skills just feel thrown together like a kitchen sink, just feels bad. I don't like the circular projectiles at all, makes me feel like I have to be in melee range, which is not what I want. Why do water and earth attunements have no ranged skills? Why does this weapon even exist on what the website describes as a "ranged caster"? Just a terribly designed weapon IMO. </feedback>

Some great ideas in there. Especially like the idea of breaking with the usual "swap through attunements as quickly as possible". Short answer: anything but hammer Longer answer: don't really care, as long as the new spec weapon/mechanic is good in all game modes, especially WVW, I'll be content. Hammer was a complete design abomination from my point of view, and a total screw you to the Ele community at large. Even as a casual visitor to this forum it was abundantly obvious that people were asking for a new ranged weapon, not another melee weapon. Not to mention, no attempt has been made to improve it, even after all the complaints and terrible poll numbers.

I tried it in beta and to be honest I thought it was pretty bad. Felt like a slightly different version of sword TBH. I don't understand why they gave Ele another melee weapon when the last 2 elite specs had melee weapons. I know warhorn isn't exactly pure melee, but it's pretty close to it.

I haven't bought the expansion but I like Ele the most. Curious to know what the community thinks of it.

agree, boycotting hammer is the best strategy.

I just don't know what they were going for with hammer. Why would you make another melee weapon that fills exactly the same space as dagger and sword but is worse than either of them at everything. If you were going to make a short-medium range weapon, why would you give it only 6 out of 20 600-range skills? And even then, those 6 skills are kinda underwhelming.

Quoting for truth.

I don't want to wait 2 more year either, I just want Hammer to be reworked into a majority ranged weapon, like it should always have been. I have zero interest in buying this expansion in current form.

yes this

Hammer should definitely have had 600 range as its "base range" with a small number (3-4) melee skills and maybe 1-2 900 range skills. I don't get the #3 skills, they don't fit the weapon at all, just some gimmick. It actually holds the weapon back as those 4 skills are useless if you are trying to play at 600 range and even in melee range they feel very ineffectual. Cone area-effect skills for each element would be a good start but I'd want to see all 4 elements with a 600 range auto-attack as well. It feels really bad to switch Fire/Air -> Earth/Water while at 600 range and not be able to do anything. Did I mention no superspeed or swiftness? What a horrible weapon.

Yes I would also just prefer a regular CD on the F5. I don't see the value of having a whole separate energy system when a regular CD would serve the same function. It feels bad having to hit low level mobs to pre-stack energy before you do the real encounter.

Voted "Bad". Profession mechanic is kinda boring - it's just a field, so what, rest is core Ele. Hammer is not bad, it is terrible. Too much like dagger and sword and too much emphasis on melee. Maybe 600 range could work but needs more 600 ranged skills and more mobility to match cause 600 is a very awkward range to play around. Someone suggested 600 range cone AOEs like warrior hammer 3, that would have been a great match for Ele hammer. I hope they seriously rework hammer or at least add more ranged elements.

Yeah the energy thing is very clunky. What's the point of it. Just annoying.

I really don't like hammer at all. The mish-mash of melee and short ranged skills doesn't work. I didn't enjoy it all. I'd much rather have a proper 600-1200 ranged weapon. Few other things like the orb skills don't feel very impactful because the duration of them is way too short and I don't want to be in melee range anyway. Having fire/air be ranged and earth/water as melee doesn't make any sense to me. I think water/earth attunements should be completely reworked. Feels really bad to get stuck in water or earth attunement at range and not be able to do anything. Why is the only gap closer in water attunement? Also what is the point of energy? I don't know, just feels really clunky and badly designed.