Buran.3796

Take my words with a grain of salt since the most I climbed (EU) this season was gold tier II, so a lot of players here better than my which can have different impressions, but: 1) What made condi Herald meta in the past was the old resistance (now the nerfed resolution) aka "ignore condi damage" with long immunity duration while being tanky and working great as a brusier. That build ran Mallyx to work, and was destroyed by the resistance/resolution changes and the nerfs to the duration of resolution. 2) The condi Herald build I'm running (and sometimes I saw from other players) is based on Glint + Shiro and has much lower energy requirements, since just swapping weapons or legends is enough to generate AoE pressure. Sustain is better due improved mobility and damage stats are larger, while still having 23K HP (Harbinger's burst are unable to one shoot me). I've faced all the other meta (and older) builds in 1 v 1 and didn't find myself in disadvantage (Willbenders, Harbingers, Specters, Engies, all kinds of Rangers in power or condi stats, all kind of Mesmers and Eles... ). In parallel, effectiveness of condi builds scales up when the meta is slanted towards condi, because when there's a single condi build x team cleansing is usually easier and the pressure is low, but we are actually in a condi (or at least VERY hybrid) meta: Harb to build is condi, Specter top build is condi, WB is power but wit a lot of collateral burns... So condi Herald works very well both as a sidenoder and in teamfights, due usually half of your team (or more) already spam a lot of condition damage, and mace + axe + Elemental Blast + Chaotic Release + Jade Winds provide plenty of chances to stack your condis in your foes. I'm running this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmABkex7lxQKsO6ixRYMPyiRSiMCqgjqUX7F-zZxsQisCyMB6NE8aA

Hope they don't ruin Draconic Echo just to give quickness in teamfights. Current condi Herald is kitten good at PvP/roaming/solo PvE and would be a shame if the changes are trade offs...

No popular competitive game in Twitch's Top 20 gets less than a patch x month. Of course 4 patches a year is good if you want to stay way from fame, success and recognition (and the money they generate). That's why most of MMOs are where they are in terms of popularity, despite some have very decent PvP game modes.

No. At the release of HoT hammer #2 (Coalescence of Ruin) delivered massive AoE damage, has tracking on targets (similar to how Sevenshots works now), wasn't canceled by you slighly moving, wasn't canceled by slight uneven terrain and the main source for focused AoE damage spikes in WvW, AND has a 2 SECONDS cooldown. so was a crucial asset at every zerg vs zerg or scrin guild vs guild fight in that game mode. That made comically overpowered in that game mode, despite overall the hammer was just decent at PvP and utterly mediocre at PvE due the low dps and lack of utility. Then, starting at 2016 the hammer got a cascade of unending nerfs, mostly damage and cooldowns, but the straw that broke the camel's back was the changes in Coalescence of Ruin mechanic, which entirely changed how works, turning it in a buggy mess that no longer tracks, requires manual placement to release the attack, it's canceled if you slighly move in any direction (but specially lateral displacements) or change your angle during the animation, enters in full cooldown if is canceled and oftenly EVEN if you have done all right still delivers no damage because the hit detection is bugged (that started to happen after the rework of the damage model; initially the skill delivered more damage the farther away the target was, then the damage was normalized and then was neutered). The release of PoF and addition of Renegade and the short bow nuked the hammer and ensured that no one would longer use core Rev or Herald at instanced content. Aside from Scrapper, hammers are overall in a very bad state at the game, since most of them were focused on having slow having slow skills but strong cc, so the lower damage was compensated by the utility. But then a few years ago ANet nerfed the damage across all classes and chose to remove the damage from all skills that delivered hard cc in PvP and WvW, so that was pretty much the end of those weapons for Warriors, Guardians and Revs. IMO what made it useless was not the damage or cooldown nerfs but the changes on the CoR mechanics which turned it from broken OP to a buggy unreliable PoS. The only good thing is that as a Rev you don't have to craft a ascended or legendary hammer ever...

At the moment are condi Herald and hybrid Firebrand for me.

Rev is a bit more complicated than Warrior, Ranger, Necro and maybe Guardian, the most straigth forward classes in each respective armor division, but in no way are harder to naster than Eles, Engineers Thieves or even Mesmers. So they stay pretty much in the middle. Saw May's MAT in MT channel; there were 3 Vindis, one had success, the other two were farmed, so I assume the reason they were picked up was due those players weren't confident about running Guardians or Necros. Metabattle also seems to struggle to figure out if Vindi is meta or not because rhe build is changing from week to week. As I said, is a crap spec and I don't care the nerfs; I don't play it, neither Harb or WB. But calling it "unkillable" is hilarius.

That's fantastic! It means that is actually very close to being unusable for almost everyone, so with a few furhter nerfs becames entirely ditched. Now the question is: will ANet nerf the new weapon, traitline or legend or instead hammer the core skills and traitlines, hammering the legacy specs inthe proccess? Can't wait to see if the nerfs of a spec which I don't play do affect builds which I do.

Guardian is light years away of being the best roaming class... But overall I agree.

I barely see Vindis playing around in ranked, maybe beacuse Harbs are very popular and they spam weakness like crazy, which hardcounters Vindi (much less damage, good bye endurance...). If Vindi is so strong (I disagree), weeding out the Harbs will only make Vindis stronger. Couldn't care less about balance changes, though: I no longer play meta builds nor pretend that the game has a brilliant future or will have a second youth when the Steam client arrives. They can nuke Vindi out of orbitif they want, I wouldn't touch it with a pole.

Is way worse spending an hour in a Strike Mission or a Raid just to end unable to finish it or even worse, beating it just to get a single gold coin. Not a rant vs you but about how things work overall in the game: Let's be honest: since I barely do Fractals my main source of gold (direct or liquid, in terms of profitability x time spent) is farming ore and other stuff in OW, followed by playing in PvP and and then milking events, HPs and bosses in PvE. Of those, farming materials is better but becomes boring fast, whereas PvP or soloing PvE events/bounties/HPs performs worse in monetary gains BUT is more fun. I don't count instanced PvE due aside from the stelar earnings provided from fractals (which I don't enjoy) the rest of the rewards are awful. At the time I used to farm 4-6 dungeons a day to craft my first legenadry weapon, but the nerfs to rewards were so rude that entirely killed that game mode for me. In terms of gameplay is matter of tastes, for sure, but in terms of earnings I really don't understand how ANet spents so much time developing instanced content just to release then with so little rewards that grants that 98% of the population will remain uninterested in them. So far is working well for me (2 full legendary armor sets + 3 legendary trinkets + 8 legendary weapons, all from PvP, WvW and OW PvE). GW2 is a MMO designed to solo, from toes to head, with every system in place to deterrent players from having fun or being rewarded by playing in groups.

I think that is a garbage spec and stopped playing it entirely two months ago at every game mode. But I'm not opposed to nerfing it further, specially the evade (should cost more endurance), the hammer (should have longer cast times and telegraphed animations) and Jalis (still has some uses with Renegade). In exchange Anet should also nerf again core Engie, jut for balance.

While I partially agree with the "Rev identity crisis" I fixed my issues with it moving from power Herald to condi Herald at every game mode (still play Renegade sometimes at roaming/PvP, for the sake of variety). I finally have my 25K HP bruiser with 3K armor which does tons of AoE damage without even try...

If for "PvE" you mean "I think that scepter and pistol do more damage to single target piñatas at raids" yes, you're rigth: in large teams covered by full stacks of might and perma quickness and alacrity other weapons do more damage. But is not like raids are the peak of PvE: they are played by a diminishing minority and aren't that great in terms of rewards. I don't think staff Necro has any problems at fractals and in OW PvE Hizen has videos soloing dozens of bounties with that weapon.

Willbender is extremely strong in terms of damage, but not as stellar in terms of sustain. Harbinger is really solid at single targets, but lacks in AoE and other Necro builds are tankier. Mirage is very strong as long as you time well yor "spam" of evades. Condi Soulbeast didn't got a nerf, so is as valid as before. Condi Renegade is as strong in damage as always, but way less tanky (tormenting runes, battle scars and kalla nerfs). Condi Herald (celestial) does less damage than TB Herald but has more sustain.

Mesmer for PvE. Necro for everything.

Trailblazer + Tormenting in the typical Glint + Malllyx build was (is) brutal in terms of damage at PvE, but the nerfs hit the sustain, specially at WvW (the reason scaled so well in 1 vs n was due the most targets, the most torment you proc and the most heals you got). And in PvE was easy to stack 40-50 torment on a target. But now I think that celestial works better (specially at WvW) in Glint + Shiro builds (based on procs at legend & weapon swaps), due you have more mobility, more even condition pressure (the stacks of torment aren't as high, but you add poison and you don't need to pay the high upcost of Embrace the Darkness to make your procs, swapping weapons and legends is free!). Currently using those two at PvE/WvW roaming and in PvP: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmABkex7lxQKsO6ixRYMPyiRSiMCqgjqUX7F-zVRYVxXIZQeHSkiqOlCdoAk8JQcFAYO8A-w http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmABkex7lxQKsO6ixRYMPyiRSiMCqgjqUX7F-zZxsQisCyMB6NE8aA While in combat you essentially have perma migth, so physical damage is also strong. The basic stats (~25K HP, 3K armor, ~1300 condi damage, ~45% crit chance under fury and ~170 crit damage) are very good. It takes me roughly the same 23 seconds to kill a veteran Bristleback from WvW's Desert Borderland with this build as with my Trailblazer + Viper roaming Renegade, but feels tankier. Is not as fast as with my Trailblazer Willbender (~14 seconds) but that one feels more like a glass cannon: despite the high HP and armor if you don't finish fast a foe has troubles when the fight last long and experiences pressure.

Remember also that ascended armor and weapon stats can be changed using exotic insignias/inscriptions for a reduced cost compared to having to craft the ascended gear again. I would also encourage you to make the mid term goal of crafting a legendary armor (from PvP/WvW/PvE or a mix of them), since is by far the best quality of life item you can craft in the game. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stat_changing

Both share heavy armor, so you could swap gear if your experience doesn't match what you were waiting. Last year I would said TB Hearld (or even Renegade) due tormenting runes were extremely strong mixing damage and sustain, and condi Firebrand was more slanted towards the use of Balthazar or Fireworks runes. After the nerfs I run condi Renegade with a mix of TB and Viper, plus Nightmare runes in both PvE and roaming, or a hybrid Herald in full celestial + Antitoxin runes in PvE, PvP and WvW roaming. That build doesn't rely mostly in torment as much as in proccing Invoking Torment + Diabolic Inferno + sigils of Doom and Hydromancy. Doesn't stack 40+ torment but mixes a lot of conditions (torment + burns + venom + chill which also procs more torment) and a decent share of physical damage. Fairly durable. Burn Trailblazer Firebrand is very fun and strong in PvE, has more tools but is more frail than condi Revs. The Willbender does massive damage in condi builds, plus has a fast pace and good defensive stats. In WvW WB can work well in TB, but for Firebrand celestial is a better choice in stats and more balanced, due a single condition even proccing it oftenly can be easy to counter by some builds. So, my answer: If you want to run Trailblazer in PvE and WvW I would use either a Renegade or a Willbender, and ditch the expensive Tormenting runes for NM or Balthazar. If I had to run a Herald or a Firebrand I would run instead celestial stats. Fireworks runes for FB and a wide variety of choices for Herald. So chose which spec you like to play the most, and gear itr acordingly.

Won't change anything. IF rewards are the main reason for a random guy to play: 1) Losing 1-500 is better than losing 499-500 because a feast defeat puts you on the track of a match with larger chances of victory. 2) A crushing defeat lowers more your rank, which increases the chances of being matched against a weakest team. See point 1. "What if we remove entirely the rewards from the loser team?" Also won't work: a permanently afker will lose rank constantly until will be matched vs enemy teams with two afkers, which will lead eventually to unexpected victories. As happens in economy, when two currencies of different valor share a territory the strongest one is stacked and saved and the weakest one ends being the predominant one in use.

Just restore the range of Forced Engagement. Or remove its damned cooldown. I don't care the other nerfs but halving the range made the build a mele one. No wonder both power and condi Herald are performing stronger...

Terrormancer. Not a single other profession comes even closer to the amount of disruption that brings to the table: you can chain lock up to 5 targets in fear (the whole enemy team) from multiple sources, some of them are pulsating unblockable AoE attacks which stacks duration over time...

Power Herald is tricky to play due all his defenses are active and to do damage needs to devote all his stats to power/precission/ferocity, so you need a lot skill (well timed evades, blocks, cc and busrt) to survive. But is not harder than having to devote the same stas to do damage AND on top of that losing one evade and having the cost of your only one doubled. And please don't bring Imperial Guard to the argument since in terms of defensive capabilities the greatsword doesn't top the shield and Infuse Ligth is one of the best heals in the game. Plus, tons of cc. Regarding the use of condi Herald, it can solo most of the bosses from fractals and bounties in the game, a thing that Vindicator is just unable to do. Vindi is specially painful vs foes with large amounts of armor (due his severe limitations in terms of condi damage) and can't defend and deliver damage at the same time in the way that condi Herald and condi Renegade can.

You're right. In the contex of the topic, which is instanced content, is very good. Is just that I don't like builds which do wonders at fractal/raids while every boon of the game is stacked to the max, but then when you solo OW without all these support, they fall way behind.

Most popular Twitch games in views are highly competitive PvP focused games. But these games not only have a lot of content to unlock or purchase, but also a high amount actualizations, patches and content added. You want to monetize PvP, ok, that's fine, but what would the players get in exchange? Doubling the balance team from 2 to 4 members? An extra map each year instead of each 2 years? New armors, weapons or costumes to unlock exclusively from the PvP game mode (currently, that could work). The thing is: people do mostly what they find out entertaining and profitable; PvP rewards are meh in terms of gold but can provide easily legendary armor sets, the legendary amulet and The Ascension. Once you get them out (which doesn't take too much, 2-3 years at most) you are done except if you just enjoy the fighting system (I do).

From a PvP/WvW roaming/OW PvE perspective (so: I don't care zergs and most of instanced content): Fav: Herald > Renegade > core. Hardest: Vindicator, no matter the game mode. Is just a cannon fodder. Hard contender of Ele as the downstate meme king. Easiest: Condi Renegade> Condi Herald > Power Herald > Condi Core > Power Renegade > Power Core. I play condi Renegade, condi Herald and power Herald at WvW, but lately mostly condi builds. In PvP, either condi Herald, power Renegade or power Herald (this one a lot less lately). In OW power Herald had some limitations (poor AoE damage) but the sustain worked nice. After the nerfs in Battle Scars I just no longer run power Herald in PvE: both condi Herald and condi Renegade do way more damage while having much more HP, armor and sustain over time.