NotoriousNaru.1705

ya'll got it the other way around :joy:all these other top 10 top 20 duos stay dodging mei want their rating u think i give a fk abt farming +1 rating games at 2033 rating thats literally the reason i stopped qing 2s except for decay whereas early on i was spamming it2s give no rewards so who fkin caresbut ye when i q with helio or mark or xyras we havent lost a game fb crev is most busted 2 comp and we play fb and crev better than any1 else and when you're 50% of your team effort wise and ur duo is the other 50 its very easy to win 106-0(my loss was a crash i didnt lose to any1 SMD INTERNET) especially when u dont have to carry 60% deadweights in normal ranked who will always bring u down. ezclap thx for all the shoutouts tho all my games streamed during NA PRIMETIME not on me all these 1800+ duos dodging cuz they wanna keep their badge xDDDD

ranger mains always tryna give everyone tips to their linear braindead class :joy:its overtuned as fk, its alrdy confirmed getting nerfed and the funny thing is all these ranger mains spamming the forums arent even the good ones winning tournys/placing high in ranked with the ranger class when it actually is goodsmh my head if u want tips or an unbiased opinion of ranger ask helio

I'm perfectly fine with damage modifiers getting nerfed lol... I've wanted Sic Em removed for a looooong time and I've stated repeatedly that Gazelle damage and marksmanship modifiers should get lowered. This thread isn't to defend ranger. I'll still do fine on this class regardless of what happens. These clips are just to show people how to fight against a ranger. NO! In your first post, you use these clips to show that rangers are not viable in competitive environment. This statement contradicts what you say... I mean just because it's not viable in competitive doesn't mean it's not viable in ranked. Ranger is a strong class atm but it's easier to counter for better players in Conquest. I just think Anet should increase both the skill ceiling and skill floor for this class so it's worse at lower ratings and better at higher ones. They've been doing the opposite lately which has pushed this class into gimmick builds and made skills like GS4 OP by changing it into a 3s full block with an evade on the kick. I dislike the direction they've been taking with the class because it's just gotten easier and easier to play and they've removed so much versatility from our skills.You don't play competitive why do you keep saying its not viable in competitive. Actually ranger is currently the most powercreeped spec in the game and used in low and high tiers. It is so powerful right now in competitive it can be used as a bruiser due to high sustain, boon uptime, stealth, blocks, evades or can be used as a roamer to 1 shot thieves/revs/fbs. We've scrimed on NA/EU, done AT's on both regions and ranger is currently the single most broken class in gw2. Not to mention on eu last mat a ranger won(vod on sinds stream unless deleted) and that was when it wasnt even half as broken as it currently is. I'm sure all your unranked data is accurate about your only class' bias though. People defending these outrageous numbers smh when did forums become so degen.

I guess I'll clarify some things here since my post got dragged in to this for some reason: The reason you run firebrand with symbolbrand is because firebrand gives you the ability to support and give buffs to allies. The line is intended as a support, and it does just that.It does NOT have any degenerate mechanics. In fact, the tomes are fairly visible and easy to comprehend. Comms like "Fb is in f2 focus him" or "Fb is in f3 corrupt stab" are very common among anyone who plays above g3.The core variant of symbolic is actually very cancerous, and in fact it beats symbolbrand in 1v1, it is a more solo oriented side noder and some people on na have been known to play it like thermite. It is also more degenerate to play because the skill of managing tomes whilst applying optimal symbol pressure is gone due to virtues simply being instant cast skills(with the radiance line) giving you even more retal and dmg buffs. You can try that build for yourself and 1v1 a symbolbrand on it, you will notice you sustain and do more dmg than them. The game mode doesn't revolve around 1v1s or being a solo player and that is why firebrand is an optimal 3rd line. I fail to see how firebrand is the main offender when all it does is be a support and the only obnoxious thing the line brings to symbolbrand is mantra of truth(as I've stated before). I know a lot of people in here are very sensitive and care very much how their class is balanced but remember an elite spec is only 1/3 of a build. The only justification of it being the sole offender of something is if the mechanic of that elite spec is the sole reason the spec is cancerous. I might be mistaken here, but most people's issue with symbolbrand is the constant non stop spamming of 4x symbols that you have access to on very short cooldowns in a very short cycle. Nerfing firebrand more will kill any support the spec has of course, because support is what firebrand brings but if anets goal is to make 2v2 and conquest healthier I'd have to assume they do not want the kind of obnoxious symbol spamming and visual noise that comes with the symbol play style. A lot of people in here really need a hard look in the mirror you are defending something that is literally killing the game and deterring people from playing just because its your class doesn't mean its right. No game mode especially one that has this much emphasis on zoning and capture points should have 1 class with the ability to spam 4 symbols that each last for just about as long as their cooldown on a consistant spammy cycle. Ask yourself if the issue is that symbol spam or a firebrands ability to support. Also for those wondering sage is NOT meta. The reason you no longer run sage is because of the perma retal/fury buff zeal got last patch along with the invuln trait that can easily stack to 10+. You do more dmg on zeal mender and sustain better. Also, a condi rev's resistance will literally out tick your burns so it makes sage very useless currently.

Would just like to note for those claiming the issue is FB and not core guard traits that all the relevant nerfs symbol fb got last patch were specifically targeted at tomes(fb). F2 tome has been reduced to uselessness and 9/10 times you are better off RFing to reset f3 than to use f2 for peels which is ironically your 'heal' tome. The reason these nerfs didn't effect symbolbrand at all is because the degeneracy of this build doesn't come from FB but from the zeal and honor lines. Infact, the fb nerfs last patch hit support fb the hardest which was already not viable and was considered a healthy version of fb for the meta. The biggest offender of symbolbrand from FB line was mantra of truth, and those condi values got nerfed so its not as obnoxious now. As for zeal and honor, they make this build what it is. Your first passive on zeal is a free retal symbol (zealots speed) on a 30s cd. Along with the next 2 traits giving you perma retal and fury and obnoxious vuln stacking(wraitful spirit and furious focus). Then the last zeal passive and grandmaster being bloated symbol buffs(symbolic power and symbolic avenger). As for the honor line its about the same with yet another passive on heal symbol on a 20s cd(protector's restoration). On top of that the grandmaster writ of persistence which increases symbol radius, heals on symbols, AND increases their duration by 2s each which is pretty bloated when you look at the cooldowns of axe 2 and scepter 2. So for those saying to leave core alone but only nerf FB to get rid of symbolbrand ask yourself how that is possible when BOTH passive symbols and all the symbol dmg/condi/duration bloat is on honor/zeal. Also there is a core symbol guard variant using those 2 traitlines but its not as popular.

good, delete ranger tbh degen class.

Shadow this isn't the hill you wanna die on buddy loool. Rifle is mostly a utility weapon, very easy to predict and not at all cancerous for anyone that plays against it. The only thing you need to worry about when fighting one is Overcharged Shot. Pro tip: you don't go in melee and complain about melee OC, you bait it out(not at all hard to do) then dodge the OC, and go in. Also remember that the skill has a CC penalty and since holo seems to be what you have issues with that penalty is quite punishing now after the lack of stab post patch. Also if you want to compare the meta as a whole since you seem to be upset about skills that are hard to dodge then you might want to start with things that are generally unhealthy and powercreeped, not something that is very very mediocre at best now post patch. Holo is a worse roamer than rev and thief, by quite a bit in terms of both sustain and dmg. Holo CANNOT keep up in terms of 1v1s against rangers/cmirages/spbs/weavers(fire and water) and even revs/thieves will give you a run for your money because both are not as cd dependent as you are(not having elixir u or s up) ofc assuming both players are of equal skill. Anyways just reading some of your posts the instant defense you seem to go to after being told how average holo is is that you want rifle to not be cheesy and this is where your lack of the meta as a whole shows. Here is a list of things just as annoying if not more than holosmith rifle on current meta builds(my criteria for this list is things on or above blunderbuss power levels): Gazelle F2 (lack of a tell, very high dmg)Gazelle AutoattackGreatsword 3 on RangerLongbow 2 on RangerHunter's Call on RangerWinter's Bite on RangerAxe Four on RangerDeathstrike On Revenant (port, high spike)Phase Traversal on RevenantStaff 5 on RevenantStaff 2 on RevenantShiro F2 on Revenant (very hard to avoid, boon rip, dmg)Song of the mists on Revenant (instant cast, no way of dodging, stronger version of old equilibrium because no energy restriction)Pistol Whip on Thief (consistently spammable, evade, stun, high spike)Larcenous/Flanking Strike on Thief (consistently spammable, evade, boon rip, moderate spike)Dagger Storm on Thief (omegalul)Cluster Bomb on ThiefBulls Charge on Warrior (similar to oc, lethal in melee, easy to avoid at range, can be baited)Dagger 3 on Warrior(similar to oc, melee cc hard to reactively dodge)Whirlwind Attack on WarriorPrimordial Stance on WeaverLava Skin on WeaverGlyph of Elemental Power on WeaverPyro Vortex on WeaverMantra of Truth on FB (instant cast, multiple condis, multiple charges)Axe 3 on FBArcane Thievery on Mirage ( very hard to avoid, 6s of slow on meta build along with boon steal/condi xfer)Phantasmal Duelist on MirageMagic Bullet on Mirage (harder to dodge than OC, stun, confusion)Scepter 2 on Mirage (block, evade, torment spike)Corrupt Boon on Necro (similar to arcane thievery on mirage, very hard to avoid 3 boon corrupt)Axe 3 on NecroScepter 3 on NecroTainted Shackles on Necro This is what I came up with on the fly for current meta builds (most of which are much stronger than the current version of holosmith). All I'm trying to say here is if you have some fundamental issues with the way rifle works then you probably have issues with the way the skills listed above work aswell. If that's the case then maybe your post shouldn't be about further nerfing a mediocre spec that sees absolutely no play in competitive and some play in ranked but rather a post giving cmc suggestions for troublesome skills and mechanics in the up coming 'big' balance patch. Maybe that way you'll see better results. What you're doing now seems like a holo witch hunt and really doesn't seem geniune at all but more self serving.

People who can play multiple classes have the right to pick and choose which one to use that would better serve them in order to win a match. Now if your post was 'don't allow people to swap in ATs AFTER the timer' then yes, I would agree with that. The entire point of the pre match timer is to strategize and have a suitable comp for what you're fighting, swapping classes is a big part of that but once the timer hits 0 no one should be able to swap. If I q on necro and run in to a comp with multiple mirages, and thieves I have no intention of playing necro that game I am going to swap to something more suitable to win.

While I am glad that this build is getting changed, the reasons presented are extremely questionable to me. Especially because staff 3 has existed in this iteration for an extensive period of time, only now that it has won a monthly is this problem addressed (in urgency). I'm confused on some terminology here, it seems in one sentence you are "keeping it small and simple" and then in another sentence it's, "we have one shot at this change before the monthly and we wanted to err on the side of nerfing too hard." Needless to say there is a LOT of questions I have, and I'm sure others, as to the intentions behind changes made regarding balance.One question I have is: what is the clear problem with staff thief "based on past tournament games and 'results?'" The wording of that statement is very odd to me. Regardless of all of that, I very much appreciate the desperately needed communication from you and your team and I hope that it continues. Staff thief has been used on both regions by winning teams for last 2 mats(the only 2 to happen since buffs to the build). It has been meta since the buffs happened awhile prior to mats but was never an issue because no one in ranked plays it(since the condi counterpart is more popular there and fits the ranked playstyle more) or really knew about it except for top players abusing it in mat matches when mats finally came back after they were broken. If you are asking what cmc is referring to you can look at sinds pov of the monthly he did where flandre(non thief player) trolls 3 good players on node, without taking any pressure until they leave. Or watch the last 2 na mats where kat does the same thing or observe how unkillable half decent players are on the build in any daily at on na(reckless/grim/anya/etre). The entire premise of this build is to slot the same weapon on both slots to proc sigils nonstop(degenerate), spec solely for evades(degenerate), abuse a bug to avoid having in between dodge frames(degenerate), along with daggerstorm which buys you enough time to fill the gap in your evades. Also, escapist fortitude gives way too much sustain healing and condi cleanse, though not degenerate but very powerful with the amount of 'evades' happening. We have been doing daily ats and reckless can easily push in to an entire team(against good players) and just sit at their home node, they are smart enough to leave him in a stale because wasting time on it is pointless even in a 1v3 situation. The build is so tanky the meta has evolved to node wars with optimal comps being running 2x staff thieves having them afk on both sides of the map. The issue with people telling you to "just ignore 4head" is they will cap those nodes, and never leave. Most roamers currently cannot simply force them off even after wiping the team with those thieves thus buying enough time for a comfortable regroup with the map. People are resorting to utils such as seal area, line of warding, fear ring because those will cc despite the evades and force stunbreaks very quickly in which case a good staff thief shadow steps away, and comes right back when theyre gone. Those who think ignoring them is the play probably only play ranked or have simply not caught up to structured meta yet. This is the conclusion I have come to after playing this comp with and against staff thieves. Doing scrims and ats daily with my team.

Most problematic to least and why: Condi Mirage: Not the most popular one currently, but with the downfall of thieves this will be an insane problem. Condi mirage has access to ports, cleanse, reflect, cc, boon rip and the ability to do condi damage output with even more ease than condi thief and the ability to take any 1v1 matchup(except thief which inherently counters it with glob).IH makes this spec a huge problem, a competent cmirage will have 3 staff clones out spamming ambush on you while playing extremely passive and safe and this strat is very effective and easy to execute. IH also makes the strat of cleaving clones very pointless so you're kinda just chasing down a very slippery target while taking insane cleave from ambush.Condi Thief: Mostly the same issue as mirage but a more tangible target to focus down and kill due to the repetitive patterns of gameplay(sword 2,steal). Not as dominant 1v1 or 1vx at all which is why it is a tier below cmirage but the condi spike is EXTREMELY EASY to execute and over the course of the season have seen many mediocre players pick it up and gain a boost in rating simply by playing this. The poison stacks too hard, the cover condis are too many, and the disengage and safety on this build is an all time high (shadowstep/roll for ini/sword 2 spam/shortbow 5 and 3).3.Sagebrand: Probably the one with the lowest skill floor and no skill ceiling. The entire build revolves mostly around spam, you run somewhere and dump all your symbols on x spot and spam mantras infront of people while doing so. This is what you start with, and this is what you do after playing it for awhile. I can see why this would be an issue in lower tiers but the higher you go, it is a known rule of thumb to simply focus the sagebrand because they all drop like flies. High boon application but very low sustain against high spikes(rev/holo/cthief/cmirage). How easy this build is to execute is why it goes #3 on my list. In most ranked matches, you simply go mid sword 2 in, swap and spam axe skills along with mantras and most players drop instantly. This is sadly due to how low the average player skill is and not the effectiveness of the build compared to #1 and #2 as this one is specifically designed to be a pug stomper and not an actual competitive build. Terrormancer: No where near as problematic as condi mirage or condi thief but has certain flaws that cannot be overlooked. The entire build is built around spamming fears and boon rips for damage, which is all good and well but the main issue here is that most corrupts and fears on this build have absolutely no tell. A spite/curse 3-5boon rip proc is instant with 0 tell, cboon is almost impossible to dodge unless randomly(has a cast time yes, but similar to how wh4 on ranger operates). Doom which is the most problematic thing with core, is an actual instant cast fear, coupled with fear of death/terror makes it a problem. Not high on priority list because it doesn't have the ports and slipperiness that cthief and cmirage have. You can run walk+wurm sure but once you're caught in a cc chain a necro is as good as dead almost always. Fire weaver: This one is at the bottom because its the most healthy one on the list. Most people's issue with it probably isn't that its a condi spec or how it does its burn application but really why it can live so easily. The tells are there for the most part and they have to be melee to do damage which to me is fine. As for its sustain, it needs it to compete with other bruisers in the current meta and taking that away will just remove weaver from being viable. If you see this spec as a problem I would suggest you look at the traits/skills and the animations for them, also know that most things are not meant to 1v1 a fire weaver.This is all from ranked and not ats. I've played about 600 games last season and thats where this ranking comes from.

terrible suggestions

This entire post is a joke. Rev has had the strongest spike, sustained pressure, chase potential, and mobility for the past 6+ months and out does every other roamer. It knocked thief out of competitive meta and in the right hands can kill anything with ease. Sure holo is a decent pugstomper when farming lower rated players in ranked who can't react, but when you watch high lvl players face off the only roamer you will consistently see is rev because nothing can stick on a target and spike it down the way rev can. Thief lacks dmg and is terrible in teamfights, holo is easily baited by terrain,reflects, and port jukes because it lacks chase potential. The only builds that can out spike a rev are niche one shot specs like deadeye, sic em ranger, berserker mantra mesmer etc. Due to the nature of those builds they can only do 1 thing(the spike) and have no sustain, or sustained pressure especially when being focused unlike rev. Rev has insane sustain and the ability to simply reset and jump right back with a deathstrike or shiro port when favorable. Its spike and sustain still need nerfs especially with the changes coming to necro next patch. But haHA rev no spike xd

Imagine thinking the shade mechanic was faulty when the issue with scourges coverage was always sand savant. Killing scourge in pvp, giving it the chrono treatment, making it not only bad but clunky all because you want less coverage XD. How about next time you rework sand savant which has always been the issue in wvw not dismantle the entire class mechanic. I am honestly at a loss for words at how incompetent the balance team is. It is so insanely obvious none of them play any of the classes they design. Scourge in pvp is already a prime target for almost every class and in ranked one of the easiest kills and the one thing that peeled targets off it was the ability to use shade skills around you to peel them off. Not only that but they increased shade duration from 10s to 15s so now using a shade is even more punishing because thats 15s where your dmg is stationary and you cant peel for yourself. Any half decent player will instantly jump on the scourge and delete them the moment they see a shade placed anywhere leaving the scourge with 2 options to afk on your shade and die because the class relies on kiting to live OR run away and die to classes faster than u(literally every class in pvp). So now its insanely clunky and gimped on top of it being already the easiest kill in pvp. As for wvw what they intend is not even going to happen because they decided to increase the target cap of sand savant to 10(lmfao) so any commander will call for shade bomb, scourges will hit even more people and lowering skill cap because only good scourges knew how to hit the 10 target cap with themselves+shade for optimal dps. Good groups will then wait out the 15s before they push and have a 10 target 300 radius melee bomb with multiple scourges XD. Pve gets hit the least because most raids and encounters are stationary and if you dont spam your shades you'll always have one when you need it but the clunkyness will be there and it wont feel good to play. Knowing anet they will realize how much they messed up by dismantling a perfectly functional mechanic and probably buff scourge somewhere else to then compete again(in 3months for next balance patch) but it will still feel crap to play. Or they can listen to the community, keep the mechanic intact, nerf sand savant by either reducing its radius, or even removing the radius increase altogether and give it added barrier or healing so it can be more in line with the other traits for wvw.

He did say the changes are focussed on WvW, and scourges are overperforming there when it comes to group play. Then nerf it in wvw only? You make no sense considering that change im speaking of is also directed at pvp. There's nothing in the original post that indicates they won't do exactly that. The post was to discuss changes in WvW and how they would affect the WvW meta, try not to put words in the OP's mouth :) are you ok??? Sand Cascade: Reduce the barrier granted by this skill by 33% in WvW & PvP. Maybe learn to read.

He did say the changes are focussed on WvW, and scourges are overperforming there when it comes to group play. Then nerf it in wvw only? You make no sense considering that change im speaking of is also directed at pvp.

I would strongly advise against nerfing scourge sustain even if it was only sand cascade. It will further push scourge out of the meta its barely hanging on by and will be an even easier target for high mobility / high spike specs like holo/rev/thief(condi/power) none of which you guys seem to have as a priority on this post but somehow scourge sustain is what comes to mind? Play 1 day of ranked there are far more pressing issues plagueing the balance currently than what most people consider 'food'.

^ the truth, duoq and soloq are equally as trash and won't solve the low pop issue and won't make the games better But that's not the issue. The issue is: Which system is objectively more fair? Now, I do agree it is not the biggest problem. Blaming soloQ or duoQ is often misleading. DuoQ does not reduce match quality in general, it can make games less enjoyable for opponents by superior communication, coordination and rotation, but that could theoretically happen without duoQ too, it would simply be less likely. However, it also only improves the match quality for those duoQing. But duoQ allows several tactics to (kind of) break the system - active match manipulation (what was that about rank1 NA last season or so?) or the system well explained by WoodenPotatoes the other day, steamrolling during off-hours. That is what makes the duoQ system unfair - the influence can be debatable. How to solve the population issue is a completely different matter and much more complex than solo/duo or even swiss ATs. And I doubt that is still going to happen. Anytime people try more (communication / duo with partner / coordination like u stated) the match quality goes up. Match quality being higher is always better and with solo less trying = worse quality. Though, match quality being worse is better for those forum sore losers who cry every season because they'd rather complain instead of either improving, trying more, or finding themselves a duo to improve with and its why the community devolves every season. Also no offense to WP, but hes a plat 1 player at best who got a lucky streak day 1 of season(due to the volatility of ratings day 1) and placed high and is speaking like he actually can climb the leaderboard. Theres a reason hes been camping his rating and hasnt q'd since, lets see where he ends at 120 min games. If op is right and he said map awareness and mechanics aren't needed to climb then hes just as clueless as most people on this forum about the leaderboard. Leaderboard has nothing to do with skill or map awareness but somehow those with the best awareness/skill are at the top end of season every time :thonk: No offense you re plat 1 too at best without duo Qing at off peak hours. If Wp managed to get rank 1 it means any1 else can do it with duo Q abuse at 5 am. Its why your solo Q account that you even duo Qed half of the games on it barely broke plat 2 lulRank 1 season 10 (solo q season) but nice try buddy!

^ the truth, duoq and soloq are equally as trash and won't solve the low pop issue and won't make the games better But that's not the issue. The issue is: Which system is objectively more fair? Now, I do agree it is not the biggest problem. Blaming soloQ or duoQ is often misleading. DuoQ does not reduce match quality in general, it can make games less enjoyable for opponents by superior communication, coordination and rotation, but that could theoretically happen without duoQ too, it would simply be less likely. However, it also only improves the match quality for those duoQing. But duoQ allows several tactics to (kind of) break the system - active match manipulation (what was that about rank1 NA last season or so?) or the system well explained by WoodenPotatoes the other day, steamrolling during off-hours. That is what makes the duoQ system unfair - the influence can be debatable. How to solve the population issue is a completely different matter and much more complex than solo/duo or even swiss ATs. And I doubt that is still going to happen.(...)Also no offense to WP, but hes a plat 1 player at best who got a lucky streak day 1 of season(due to the volatility of ratings day 1) and placed high and is speaking like he actually can climb the leaderboard. Theres a reason hes been camping his rating and hasnt q'd since, lets see where he ends at 120 min games. (...) But that... is exactly the issue he was talking about...? :lol:Ok clearly you don't know how the LB works. Day 1 of the season or really the first week people are doing placements. A win awards you 40+ rating and a loss can be up to -100. That is the volatility I'm talking about. When a large enough sample size of matches is played (50+) is when you start to see people be placed EXACTLY where they belong. If you think duo q is the reason you're lower or higher you're wrong.

^ the truth, duoq and soloq are equally as trash and won't solve the low pop issue and won't make the games better But that's not the issue. The issue is: Which system is objectively more fair? Now, I do agree it is not the biggest problem. Blaming soloQ or duoQ is often misleading. DuoQ does not reduce match quality in general, it can make games less enjoyable for opponents by superior communication, coordination and rotation, but that could theoretically happen without duoQ too, it would simply be less likely. However, it also only improves the match quality for those duoQing. But duoQ allows several tactics to (kind of) break the system - active match manipulation (what was that about rank1 NA last season or so?) or the system well explained by WoodenPotatoes the other day, steamrolling during off-hours. That is what makes the duoQ system unfair - the influence can be debatable. How to solve the population issue is a completely different matter and much more complex than solo/duo or even swiss ATs. And I doubt that is still going to happen.Anytime people try more (communication / duo with partner / coordination like u stated) the match quality goes up. Match quality being higher is always better and with solo less trying = worse quality. Though, match quality being worse is better for those forum sore losers who cry every season because they'd rather complain instead of either improving, trying more, or finding themselves a duo to improve with and its why the community devolves every season. Also no offense to WP, but hes a plat 1 player at best who got a lucky streak day 1 of season(due to the volatility of ratings day 1) and placed high and is speaking like he actually can climb the leaderboard. Theres a reason hes been camping his rating and hasnt q'd since, lets see where he ends at 120 min games. If op is right and he said map awareness and mechanics aren't needed to climb then hes just as clueless as most people on this forum about the leaderboard. Leaderboard has nothing to do with skill or map awareness but somehow those with the best awareness/skill are at the top end of season every time :thonk:

I think "Why DuoQ should be removed for Season 18 and never come back" is pretty to the point. I want DuoQ and merged queues gone. I made comparisons to SoloQ and TeamQ because i've played both in the context of ranked, and i've come to believe they're both substantially more fair and competitive, although; I could really care less which option we get, so long as we have the choice to play fairly and competitively just like I said. You can call that getting emotional, I mean; I could say the same to you. I can feel you shaking in your boots, through this text. The point isn't to start a witch-hunt. There's just absurd winrates across multiple alt accounts on the LB, plus the vast amount of unfair matches for low-mid level players is the motive for wanting more equal matchmaking, and again; that doesn't even have to be done through making ranked SoloQ conquest only. I don't think you're very bright. I have tried to show a pleb the light but have failed. Good day!

Then SoloQ dies, I guess? If TeamQ is in your opinion, the better way to queue; people migrating over from Solos would be nothing but a good thing. Just having the option to go back and forth is important, because sometimes people don't want to LFG, or they don't have the team they normally play with available, so they SoloQ. Really, there's reason to play both gamemodes, and even if all this speculation proves to be right, SoloQ falling out of favor in place of TeamQ in a team-based game isn't exactly a bad thing. No matter which option people choose to favor, they at least have the option to be matched with similarly coordinated players. Merged queues take away that choice. Anyway, I played between Season 9 and now, and like I said in the OP the means for wintrading have changed. In my opinion, it's much worse now than it was with SoloQ. With SoloQ the matchmaking is less tractable. It's harder to get two people on the same team, who don't want to be on the same team, and that's just a fact; basic math. You look at the LBs now and you have multiple alts with upwards of 80% winrates. It wasn't like that in SoloQ, not even close. So you can tell me all you want really, that SoloQ will be worse. I'm more inclined to go by the results I physically witness, than than the word of the "scissors to the paper" as someone put it earlier. You literally don't even know what you want. Your OP is fueled by emotions and wanting to witchhunt the big bad plat/legend players for winning more but then you say things like "let solo q die" but if team q were a thing you'd be in here complaining about how good players play with good players and 500-0 you everytime. Maybe make a better argument for team qs instead of wanting to go back to something that doesn't work with the logic of "waa good players win their winrates high fix it anet!" but really those at the top will be at the top no matter what system you put them in.

Personally I don't think the game is about only winning. Winning means nothing if there's no competition, and it only feels good if it comes with a challenge. Surely there's at least one player other than myself above gold2 who can appreciate playing competitive competitively rather than the easiest way possible. Saying DuoQ is proven to work better is a bit dishonest, because it's already been restricted once before, and people continue to complain about it now that it's still here. I'm not saying that ranked should be SoloQ only either, as i've said before 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, TeamQ are all ways to play competitively with friends that guarantee similar coordination that can't exist in merged queues. There is no feasible excuse as to why uncapped merged queues should exist in this game unless you want to farm uncoordinated, low-rated players. In the low population, with the 5v5 gamemode limited by a 2-person queue we have now, there will always be at least 2 players in every match that will be at an inherent disadvantage; though, that's a perfect world scenario, and there's usually more than that every match. Do you think getting rolled or carried by two people like you, hundreds of rating above their own satisfies their want for competition? Do you think that's healthy, keeping the population growing rather than draining? Do YOU consider that competition? That being said, would split 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, or TeamQ becoming a permanent or rotating split ranked arena with their own separate leaderboards appeal to you, @shadowpass.4236 ? Or does it absolutely have to be as it is now, no exceptions? Sure I don't mind team queue but look at all the other comments of vet players talking about how it was back when team q/solo q were a thing. Team q was great and solo qs sucked. Even those playing solo ended up going to the team q. Know why? Because of exactly what I tried to tell you and you failed to understand: match quality. The way I see it is if they can create that system again go for it BUT if they can't the ONLY option absolutely CANNOT be solo only because those who do care about winning and competing will leave and that is bad for everyone and I dont mean just legend players i mean majority of plat players and some of gold too. I'm giving you valid reasons as to why solo is objectively worse. All you're giving me is how the plat 2-3+ players are bad and cheat but what you fail to realize is thats going to happen no matter what, infact more griefing will happen in solo. You mentioned legend duos dodging each other for easier games but based on your logic wouldn't that be worse when legend/plat mix teams dodge each other and now they are farming those same low rated players but now its 100% of the time rather than carrying some of them occasionally? I just don't see your point. You want both qs back but if you do some research you will come to realize everyone will flock to team q, even solo players.

Then it could be restricted behind a rating threshold once again. Lower rated DuoQ's aren't the problem, and the higher rated DuoQs that Duo purely for the numbers advantage don't even cumulatively make up a whole number % of the population. If merged queues are replaced with split queues, everyone gets what they want anyway; because that wouldn't limit your ability to queue with friends, it'd only take away your power to stomp uncoordinated lower ranked players, and; if that's an issue for you, then miss me with that: "get good" nonsense. Getting good is a gradual process based on match quality, and it's nearly impossible for the average or lower rated player to do when they're constantly matched against people of wildly different skill levels. To which, SoloQ can do better than DuoQ matchmaking wise. Ben mentioned so back in this thread a few times: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/80419/what-is-up-with-the-matchmaker/p1 Like I said in my original post, classic wintrading/match manipulation is near-extinct with the modern Legendary DuoQ. There's no reason for anyone to expend the effort when you can just DuoQ and get even better results. So yes, i'd say compared to today SoloQ had more, but the comparison isn't the most fair; seeing how the game has changed. When DuoQ first came back though, MM was still rampant. Remember in Season 13 when; for a while, a DuoQ partner could leave a game and their team would lose 0 rating? That worked SUPER well with the fact that there's no cap on how far apart two ratings can queue together. I remember people being like "Oh my gosh, DuoQ is really working! Ratings have increased across the board!" When in reality, that was little more than inflation. And then in those opening seasons, if someone was going to throw a game on purpose; like I mentioned in my OP, was leagues easier when you had more control over who was getting into a match and on what team. It all comes from personal experience, and sources here on the forums. I could link you to some interesting reads if you like. That being said, with the scope of the threads complaining about it, I definitely wouldn't call it the result of a few outliers. I mean, 2 alone(that I know of) trace back to you specifically, and that's people who actually took the time to take evidence from the match and bring it back here to the forums to complain. The law of averages is a bit fallacious, so take this with yet another grain of salt; but, i'm sure there's been way more instances than only what's been documented. You just don't get it, and I don't think you will. Match quality dropping hard is always bad for any competitive environment where winning matters.This game is meant to be played in a coordinated fashion.I am going to say this again one last time: If every match is 5 pugs running straight in to die or somehow stumble on a win, then respawn and just run wherever until the game ends people who are gold 2+ will quit. If there is nothing to strive for and everyone is qing ranked to meme(exactly what happened last solo season) then winning no longer matters and competition will die. You don't even realize how ridiculous your argument is. You want to change the entire structure of a competitive mode that is proven to work BETTER than what you're suggesting because 3 people made a post crying about being mismatched? Grow up dude thousands of matches happen daily and you are using fallacies to get an emotional reaction out of people in the forums to go back to a system that killed ranked when it was in place. We all know how hard it is for anet to revert back on changes they make, and they did with their solo q decision, ask yourself why.

I agree adding these maps with no follow up is kind of pointless. We know they want to do 'special' tournaments every 3months or whatever but that seems terrible to me. I would prefer 2v2 daily ATs to come back permanently(4 a day just like conquest) and have the big 2v2 tourny with better rewards be either biweekly or monthly. I think it is unlikely they will ever add a 2v2 q to compete with conquest so the ats would be a good way to implement it. The game mode had alot of hype around it but doing 1 week of 2v2s into 1 large tourny then just forgetting it for several months after is very bad.

No thanks no one wants ranked to be even more of a clown fiesta than it already is. If you want to solo so bad just do it but stop trying to use the few outlier matches that me and the other top players have out of 100s of games we play to justify duo making the game 'less competitive' that was the biggest stretch ever and insanely misinformed. There is a large group of players in the pvp scene that duo q only and probably would stop playing if they couldn't duo and had to deal with 4 pugs every match. Ben already mentioned more afking/griefing/throwing happens when its solo. Solo means 1 extra player to carry and 1 less competent player in most matches. Dropping match quality drastically is always bad and if there is no coordination to win and just people walking out of spawn to either stumble on a win or get farmed off a perma stagger then ranked just goes back to the stone ages. If you are upset duos are farming you try to learn and improve because those players get on comms coordinate opener strats, recovery strats, snowballs, and kills, and comp switches to accommodate the match(so if they are putting this much effort into winning why punish them for it when most people just half afk walk out of spawn and just run around till game is over??). Taking that away I know a lot of people who would no longer find enjoyment in ranked and will go back to either memeing on dumb shit solo(causing more griefing/unnecessary throws because no one cares) if theyre bored and ultimately quit ranked. This isn't speculation, all of this HAS happened when anet tried solo and it was one of the worst experiences ever and it is why it won't happen again so you can write your long misinformed paragraphs and riling up the people who aren't fully aware by trying to seem sympathetic to golds who run into legend duos but what you leave out is the fact that those matches are outliers and only a few happen out of the 100s of games legend players play.