Bigbizz.9406

Buffs for siege vs siege damage is a good idea. It would mean that zergs need to be more careful in where they put their siege. The siege disabler trick should already be doing this but it's difficult to actually get your damage to the siege that has been disabled especially against a zerg that has decided to stick the catapults right up against a tower where line of sight can be a death sentence with the number of pulls available. Golem changes you suggested is also a good idea. A zerg will more likely be giving golems all those buffs for 100% uptime compared to a smaller group, making golems stronger the larger the group is. As mentioned a zerg bringing golems with them artificially increases the total supply they can carry with them. Removing boons from golems can standardize their performance when comparing zerg golems to small group golems.

If I had to criticize WvW for anything it's the fact that if your team doesn't show up with enough numbers or boons/supports then you're really limited on how much fun you're allowed to have or what options are actually viable to play with Edit: love the vid btw

Interesting take. Support engi has been taking heavy nerfs in WvW for awhile now. It's fallen out of favor in zergs because of those changes as it doesn't quite compete with other support builds. It still works fine, but other options just provide more and better tools. I don't pay too much attention to sPvP so I don't know the state of that there, but I figure that other options are preferred there as well. PvE support engi is really strong but so are a lot of other PvE support options .

I like sylvari engineer because of the puns like "turret planted"

My input on shortbow from a WvW player: 1) Shortbow is too slow for the pace of WvW and the mobility focus that the game mode has. By the time a canister lands my intended target has already moved. By the time I can get a chain reaction to happen the fight has almost always moved somewhere else or my allies has been downed by a roamer's power burst. 2) The boons and condis of the canisters for a sitting zerg are also situational or lackluster, but that could be improved by a better application system. 3) in a WvW or pvp setting shortbow is designed more like a full offensive weapon with no defense. By taking shortbow I sacrifice the defensive utility of hammer or shield. I also sacrifice the stun and mobility from hammer or mace. With low retaliation value on a full support weapon the utility that I pull from that weapon has to have something to keep me alive (this runs back to the slow and immobile nature of the canisters). My suggested changes: I'm surprised that the canisters don't pulse condis on arrival. Without those condis my ally will be downed before I can even detonate them. I want to be able to fire the arrow and swap to medkit to try to keep medkit uptime as high as possible. I would also like to detonate the canisters prior to arrival so that they detonate as soon as they arrive. This change would make the mobile nature or WvW and pvp manageable. I would like to see a larger AOE for QoL but honestly the mechanical delivery system of the boons just needs to be improved for WvW. I know I stated that the boons feel lackluster but a faster application of those boons would fix that issue. Final thoughts: I really enjoyed the theme and concept that the shortbow offers (shortbow 1 is really cool). It's hard to justify setting up a shortbow for WvW due to the issues discussed above. I was excited to look at building a gen 3 shortbow for my engineer but at this stage I think I will just use an ascended weapon chest instead.

I was very surprised that the arrows didn't pulse the conditions on deployment just like flame turret. I'm also not a fan on how it fights with medkit and elixir gun for uptime. The arrows take a very long time in WvW to land and activate with such a small area that your intended target has to be standing still to get marginal benefits (or marginal condi). Your ally will die to the solo willbender power dive before the first arrow detonates to start a chain to give them 5k barrier. I think that arrows should pulse conditions on arrival and then activate to detonate boons for allies. Arrows should also be able to detonate mid flight before they land so they deliver the buffs on arrival. Increasing the AOE would be a great QoL too considering the mobile nature of WvW. Also, taking shortbow means you sacrifice blocks from hammer or shield, which makes it almost unjustifiable to take considering it's already not synergizing well with the engineers other tools.

My only argument is ventari tablet having an unnecessary long uptime along with being able to carry it around with the group .

I definitely agree that the old rifle had charm. It felt like you were playing a class that wasn't at proficient at fighting when compared to warrior rifle. The current rifle just feels like warrior.

I don't think hgh is really a problem when you consider that the other 2 traits available aren't really desirable. Edit for context: supports go for PoP and if you're going for HGH then PoP really wouldn't be a good contender for what you're building for. Iron blood is also affected by running stuff that gives you boons, like elixers, so why not just go HGH?

Engineer Iron man Wields a main hand shield but is not a based around a bunker, works more like a juggernaut where you charge through enemies and building momentum.

One thing that I find hard to not notice when using the frost legion infusion on my female sylvari Mesmer is the fact that certain articles of clothing are either nonexistent or covered over by the infusion (so as to appear as if they aren't there). I don't feel that it's appropriate to run around in certain armor sets looking like my character isn't wearing any underpants, especially when I go to glide. I also don't know if clones not showing the infusions are also a bug but it definitely affects my decision when deciding builds.

So this is a minor bug, but when the Jade Bulwark targets you from the other side of a wall and you're standing next to the wall, it will pull you through the wall and into the structure itself. This is obviously not intentional and could be problematic for anyone without a way to get OOC.

I don't know if this is a bug, but there's no option to "consume all" for candy canes. Having to individually consume each candy cane to cap the buff seems unintentional.

My testing with virtuoso has been exclusively WvW related, so any feedback I give will be in that context. Condi Virtuoso: The build I used was Dueling (3/1/2) + Illusions (1/3/2). Virtuoso trait line was 3/3/3. Weapons were dagger (agony sigil) + pistol (condi damage), staff (best with cleanse sigil + energy). Initial gear was krait runes using rabid and then later celestial stats for survivability. Crit chance was vital for bleed stacks from Pistol 4. The ability to open a fight with a max shatter without having to do any setup or sacrificing utility slots is a huge buff. Starting off a fight by applying 20 stacks of confusion from a distance can really catch an opponent off-guard. Blade generation from Pistol 4 opening up a continued string of maxed shatters gives this class some decent sustained damage after it's primary burst. Projectile hate and condition cleanse can really shut this build down. If F2 and pistol 4 get cleansed or blocked then I am forced to attempt to stall with pistol 5, staff, and whatever utilities I decided to bring with me until F2 and/or Pistol 4 refresh. Dagger is not good on defense, which is fine. There is a possibility that going scepter would result in even stronger initial burst and better survivability with scepter 2. In a small scale fight, condi virtuoso is a powerful condi burst mage that has to look for an opening to overload it's target with a few key conditions. Once the mesmer's skills are on CD they have to survive 20 seconds until they can threaten enemies again with another burst rotation. No clones, few tricks, fairly straightforward gameplay. The main problem I see with this style of play is a hit-and-run game that might not do well against an organized team that is aware of the virtuoso's cheese and dominating unorganized/solo players. Once the virtuoso is on the defensive it is difficult for them to make a full comeback unless the opponent makes poor choices around the virtuoso's burst window. Virtuoso elite on a condi build doesn't seem to have enough effectiveness to warrant over mass invis, moa, or even time warp. Large scale fights (and small organized fight groups) is kind of a no-no since condi cleanse and projectile hate is everywhere and you have only utilities for boon-strips. There is room for improved condi duration for sword of decimation immobilize to make an impact with disenchanter in a clouding situation for large fights. Power Virtuoso my only comments with power virtuoso is that consistent 5 hit boon-strip from domination line shatters feels really good, and strong vulnerability stacking from blades is a nice utility with a small group. Pinning down a single target with F1+F2+disenchanter boonstrip is very effective against teams with firebrands and scrappers. Disenchanter and sword of decimation makes power virtuoso a strong clouding choice in WvW. In a large fight, virtuoso elite makes a great cleave tool that can threaten resurrects. I would say that power is preferred over condi against zergs and organized groups especially with unblockable shatters. Virtuoso definitely feels like a classic caster character with psychic themed overlay, and I had a lot of fun playing it. I think that virtuoso as a whole doesn't change the role that mesmer already fills, it just makes the offensive options easier. As much as bladesongs are a removal of a core mechanic, the stockpile feature is nice when it gives the player control of when to capitalize on their own efforts. I do feel that the virtuoso stunbreak needs to come out faster (instantaneously) to make it something to consider picking up compared to other utilities (It seemed to me that there was a small delay between ability activation and the actual knockback); right now decoy and midnight signet outclass it. Conclusion: Condi build is a very high burst damage dealer that can run into heavy counterplay. Power can consistently pin down and punish enemy zerg players that do not stack on tag. Gameplay is simpler/easier for both condi and power builds.

During the events or strike missions where you can get frozen and have to mash 1 to break out of the ice (Fraenir strike, Bjora Marches Blizzard, Cold War strike) there's a possibility that my necromancer will glitch if my shroud is up. There is a consistency that if my shroud runs out of life force while frozen then my character will be rooted in place, unable to move or dodge, and sometime unable to fight (I am usually forced out of shroud and can use my weapon tools). This bug has been happening ever since Bjora marches was released.