Shadowcat.2680

"Preparation" as the name of a skill category just makes me think of Preparation H.

Quote? As far as memory recalls, Anet stated they wanted tradeoff for elite specs, no for "Hot elite specs". It's the way the April 23rd release notes phrased it. In reference to the elite specs, HoT is mentioned and PoF isn't. And then when they go on to list elite specs that don't have trade-offs, only HoT specs are listed (in a list of five specs, not one PoF spec appears). I could be reading into it, but Anet does have a history of nerfing older specs to make the newer content look more desirable. Ah, I see why you read it that way. The update reads: The way I read it is that they mentioned hot because that's when they introduced elite specs. Later in the patch notes they give examples of professions where there is a tradeoff already, and they totally include pof ones there. Necromancer (not scourge) is the example they give as having a trade-off already. But it's somewhat erroneous of a claim to make on their part since scourge is superior to core necro despite losing death shroud. I'm convinced they see soulbeast in a similar light. It has the trade-off of losing its pet in exchange for beastmode. Since beastmode is from their latest expansion, it's the superior mechanic to what's being given up. To go back to their example of necro (since their example encompasses both necro elites), reaper gives up death shroud also, but what it gains is no longer incredibly potent like it was during HoT (condi reapers were grossly overturned). They didn't make reaper's trade-off a nerf until just before PoF was released.

This used to be the case. They nerfed the skills by making them not throwable anymore at some point around the release of HOT I recall. I think they did it to balance them for pvp. They should’ve only made the change for pvp. Probably easier to do that than spit that sort of thing between game modes though. It killed a whole line of viable ranger builds for wvw and pve just so they can balance pvp. Not saying that wasn't the case, just point out that code change might not have been possible though. They are infamous for spaghetti code. Unless they got monkeys doing coding I’m pretty sure it can be done. It’s literally just an if/else or switch scenario. It’s most likely a case of laziness and not technical limitation.Devs have outright stated before that they cannot split the functionality of a skill between the modes. They can only do number splits (base damage, power coefficient, cooldown, etc).

Quote? As far as memory recalls, Anet stated they wanted tradeoff for elite specs, no for "Hot elite specs". It's the way the April 23rd release notes phrased it. In reference to the elite specs, HoT is mentioned and PoF isn't. And then when they go on to list elite specs that don't have trade-offs, only HoT specs are listed (in a list of five specs, not one PoF spec appears). I could be reading into it, but Anet does have a history of nerfing older specs to make the newer content look more desirable.

Soulbeast can use its core mechanic while not Merged. Berserker cant use normal burst at all. Berserker has a duration.Soulbeast can be used permanent. Berserker needs a resource.Soulbeast doesnt. Berserker Form can be interupted. Can Merging be interupted? Oh you were serious. I really thought the post was badly written sarcasm, but you're serious. In all seriousness, at least a few of those 'Updates' to Berserk Mode are heading for Beast Mode. A duration and cast time may be imminent. I doubt it. At a design level, berserk mode and beastmode have never had much in common. Berserk has always had a set duration and has always been a burstier mode than beastmode. Keep in mind too that beastmode is far more challenging for them to change (from a code viewpoint) as a mechanic. Soulbeast was the hardest PoF spec for them to implement simply because of needing to get rid of the pet for beastmode (the engine wasn't even capable of this back in HoT). Beastmode was a buggy mess on release and I don't know that they'd be all that eager to touch it since it's currently working. Nerfs to soulbeast may very well be incoming, but expect nerfs to come in the numbers somewhere, not in a change that'll force them to tackle beastmode again. Oh I expect the numbers to change, but Anet themselves want to impose tradeoffs for E-Specs, and for Rangers that could either mean touching pets to make them weaker (like druid), removing a pet entirely (makes sense for Soulbeast), or tinkering with Beastmode like I mentioned above. Changing Beastmode may cause the least QQ honestly, as the mere prospect of taking a pet away has been giving rangers the vapors. Anet specified they wanted trade-offs for HoT professions. Expect "trade-offs" for the PoF professions to happen around the release of the next expansion.

Soulbeast can use its core mechanic while not Merged. Berserker cant use normal burst at all. Berserker has a duration.Soulbeast can be used permanent. Berserker needs a resource.Soulbeast doesnt. Berserker Form can be interupted. Can Merging be interupted? Oh you were serious. I really thought the post was badly written sarcasm, but you're serious. In all seriousness, at least a few of those 'Updates' to Berserk Mode are heading for Beast Mode. A duration and cast time may be imminent. I doubt it. At a design level, berserk mode and beastmode have never had much in common. Berserk has always had a set duration and has always been a burstier mode than beastmode. Keep in mind too that beastmode is far more challenging for them to change (from a code viewpoint) as a mechanic. Soulbeast was the hardest PoF spec for them to implement simply because of needing to get rid of the pet for beastmode (the engine wasn't even capable of this back in HoT). Beastmode was a buggy mess on release and I don't know that they'd be all that eager to touch it since it's currently working. Nerfs to soulbeast may very well be incoming, but expect nerfs to come in the numbers somewhere, not in a change that'll force them to tackle beastmode again.

I might have prior to it's arc divider nerf but it certainly cannot. I've seen 30k arc dividers in WvW after the 25% nerf. And then there's gunflame. My own berserker for WvW (admittedly a gimmick Arms build) does 20k+ gunflames back to back with a 29k health pool.

@Atticus.7194Berserker can do just as much damage just as quickly. Let's not pretend burst builds are unique to any one profession.

If that would be so, then answer me why there was so much hate towards rangers (SB) even before mount release? Thank you, nice discuss, we should have another one in the future.Have a good day. And there is no hate at all for double pistol Thieves. I dismount people all the time with Unload. The difference is the range, I only have 900...P/P doesn't regularly get hate because it's a meme build for competitive modes that stops being effective the second your enemy knows the #3 spam is incoming.

@Dadnir.5038My post said nothing of the right or wrong of changing PBS; it merely informed that such a change would affect all modes. I find the premise of the OP's point rather silly (bad players don't pay attention to a skill so let's change the skill they're already not paying attention to). As to changing PBS in sPvP and WvW, knockdown instead of knockback would be far less value. Knockback has the potential to knock enemies out of capture circles, off cliffs, away from downed allies, etc. I don't see fear and taunt as relevant here. The meta sPvP/WvW builds don't use wolf, Beastly Warden, or Protect Me. Even if they did, fear and taunt (can be cleansed) are not nearly as valuable as knockback for positioning enemies.

I doubt Anet will implement one pet only for soulbeast simply because it'd be challenging to code (and likely a buggy mess if they did try). Anyhow. Only HoT professions got "trade-offs." PoF sales must have lagged.

The game is already 7 years and the issue with point blank shot exist since release. If you really don't want people to use it abusively in PvE, you have to really make it "point blank" which mean melee range (just like updraft or illusionary wave). If you want to just make PvE a less frustrating place to play, the knockdown effect is a simple fix. Anet has stated before that skill functionality cannot be split between the modes. Only number splits are possible (base damage, power coefficient, cooldown, etc).

MM/BM soulbeasts can do 15k longbow AAs. A shave to Sic 'Em (one damage modifier among several) isn't the answer; a rework of MM is. The minors are trash and longbow cheese won't stop until the damage modifiers in MM majors are addressed.

This does not belong on the list. WvW is a server vs server gamemode. If I see someone from an enemy server and want to attack them then that is just part of the gamemode. If the duel takes place in "duel specific areas" like obsidian sanctum and the arena in EoTM then sure but not in arbitary dueling spots made up by players. What's next? Telling roleplayers to stop their fantasy acts in PvE? Who are you to dictate how people should play? If crashing into a dueling spot and sucking the fun out of everyone isn't a toxic behavior, I don't what it is.If it's red, it's dead.

Triumphant was affected by the reset, but it seems to be random. One of my Triumphant sets reset completely whereas only the head piece reset in another Triumphant set.

Don't confuse live streams and edited youtube vids. The players who only do youtube roaming montages aren't as skilled as their edits might lead you to believe.

Is there a tried and true method for bringing guild names to Anet's attention? One such guild I know of now has "Name Redacted" or something to that effect as their guild name, so Anet is hopefully behind their name change; I just don't see an option for reporting guild names in the report function as reporting an inappropriate character name doesn't seem quite fitting for reporting guild names based on rape or statutory rape.

Remember too that you don't need to take part in the actual taking of the keep to get credit. Just kill guards at an enemy keep and you'll get credit if it later flips to your team, even if that flip happens hours later. You will need to kill guards again if you swap toons though.

I appreciate seeing the full fight. Heavily edited roaming vids tend to get a bit stale (for me) because you never know how fights truly go thanks to the edits.

I eat rangers on my Necro... Do you know how many rangers go stupid when they hit Rapid Fire? 90% of them never notice Corrosive Poison Cloud either at their feet or sitting just in front of them. Free kill at that point. Unblockable laughs at your cloud.

when I mentioned this earlier people were like "what are you talking about, bruh". but it's not just Sic'Em that is the problem. Multiple traits that allow the Soulbeast to reach without Sic'Em over 4k power, 260% ferocity and 70% accuracy. that is the real issue. this here is my soulbeast with bloodlust sigil, not ruins, without might stacks and Sic'Em, enjoy. btw, we need a new mount. what gear/specs are you running? you say you're not running runes but that doesn't make much sense... I could edit an image as well... but if this is legit then seeing the information that gives this would be helpful. I run very close to that with marauders etc but not without using runes. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just enter Beast Mode and give yourself +25 stacks of Bloodlust. As you can see even from the build editor, ferocity is the same without actually wielding an axe. Stats always slightly differ in the editor than in game, but in game you should get the same stats as me in the screenshot.The screenshot of your soulbeast's stats was taken with your character receiving the stat bonuses from both a Guild Aura and Presence of the Keep. You've made that pretty obvious now that you've provided a build link as the build is short exactly 230 (200 from Guild Aura + Presence of the Keep/30 from ruins bloodlust) toughness, vitality, and precision when compared to the screenshot.

I don't buy that minstrel tempest wins fights on its own. Anytime I encounter one alone the tempest ultimately runs toward its spawn because my damage (while slow) eventually outstrips their healing whereas their damage is so insignificant that I'll barely need to touch my healing skill even if the fight drags on.

Earth #3 barely moves the ele if done when chilled. You go maybe 200 units of distance instead of 600.

Unblockable has always ignored reflects and projectile destruction in addition to blocks. This latest patch was just them changing the wording on their tooltips to make it less confusing; the functionality of those skills wasn't actually changed.

No other class in game has the limitations or how you call them weakness because it does not fit with the game itself. This game is not WoW with their rigid class system, so stop pushing your agenda to make it so. Sic'em doesnt need to be nerfed, the increased damage in wvw is a 25% for 6 seconds. The core utilities don't need no nerf, it needs buffing. Ranger still keeps outdated skills and mechanics which has been nerfed and never balanced again for a fun gameplay. What is should be looked upon is the soulbeast itself and make sure damage the extra damage isnt applied when the foes are over 600 units away. As general design it seems the soulbeast was designed with this burst damage in mind but more melee oriented. But for that the trait line should be redesigned so the traits reinforce that gameplay. You are wrong. It clearly says 40% dmg increase, and the dmg buff lasts for 10 WHOLE SECONDs. The reveal effect is what lasts 6 seconds.Seriously. If you can't play an entire class without sicem, you are just not a good ranger in the first place. I've been playing for so many years without using it. I use it for lulz dmg, but when I want to duel people I swap it out with either QZ or protect me. This means that sicem isn't necessarily OP in all scenarios cus it's not the end all and be all, but it is "broken" in the sense that it's really unhealthy for the game. 1shots aren't really funny for everyone else except the ranger himself. dude stop with the parody already, somebody tested the actual damage and defined the increase as 25% in pvp modesThe tip can say whatever you want, its not like the first time we have a worng tip... Do you want another example? Check invigorating bond and how it does not shows the increased healing when investing in healing power. If you think that person was wrong, go do some tests in wvw and share the results. We have ArcDPS now that works pretty well for testing. And from my personal testing i can assure you its 25% The soulbeast dont need no nerf on any of the skills. What i would do is to rework the traitline so the soulbeast get the benefits of the specialitation while the target is close, lets say like 600 units. Over than that and the damage lose all the extra benefits. Soulbeast the same as the druid is a complete mess with no clear direction of what should excel at.Sic 'Em is a 40% damage buff, not 25%, for a merged soulbeast. As you say, it's been tested, and it's a clear 40% increase in damage. I've tested it myself in both sPvP and WvW and got the same result (40%), so not sure why your own tests came up short.