Buran.3796

What are you talking about? The buffs in damage were done in secondary skills (NOT in gs #2 or gs #5 nor the evade), and the spec overall is garbage, at every game mode. Also I hardy see them in PvP matches (I don't run one, that's for sure), and the last MAT winner team was running... like 0 Vindicatos? Yeah, op.

Rerroll.

I got the Griffon, is easy and fast to get, and only requires 300 gold coins as a entry barrier. Then started to make the Skyscales quest... last summer. Halted it in december... is just too boring to do and I find out that is a worse mount which I also don't need at nay content in the game. I don'ta have a clue about if I'll finish the task in the future.

Absolutely true. But in GW2 I play Rev 80% of the time and Herald 90% of that part, so when I get tired of playing the same build, I play BAD builds for a while just to keep my sanity. So half a year ago I did roam with hammer Rev, and nowadays sometimes I run Firebrand in PvP (utterly garbage without the celestial/trailblazer stats from WvW) just because I need to change the chip for a while. My point is: I don't care the nerfs, have been a while since I run hammer on Rev and currently I'm not playing Vindi nor care for it. Also, ended up bored of power Willbender in PvP pretty fast: so don't care about how op is, I don't play it outside condi builds for PvE/roaming.

Couldn't care less. Stopped playing Vindicator 3 weeks ago; did play the entire 3 vs 3 almost exclusively as either condi Herald or power Renegade. I'm all for rising the evade cost to 150 units, since I have no plans to use the spec again at any content in the game. Completed (almost) the EoD maps running a condi Renegade and fastly returned to the much more lucrative HoT/PoF maps. Has been 6+ months since the last time I did use hammer at WvW roaming, and ~4 years since the WvW guild I was in faded and crumbled; I never zerg since, so hammer being irrelevant feels a bit like the appendix: at best you don't notice it and at worst probably would be better if is removed. And is not likely I play much GW2 lately: not even doing the dailies. Got over 1200 gold just farming and selling gold ore in the first month of EoD but became boring fast; now I'm sitting ~1800 gc while playing other games.

Overall Scrapper, due can be played at any game mode, being even meta at some. Rev hammer is atrocious at everything outside zerg vs zerg. The slowest weapon in game with the lowest damage output. Warrior's hammer is mostly cc, and damage got gutted at WvW and PvP, so almost useless outside PvE. Guardian's hammer is one of the least used weapons in the entire game, at any game mode. The new specs using hammer... So far nothing ground breaking. Nothing compared to the fun ANet stole from Warrior's hammer at the begining at the game. They did a "Bobby Kotik": stripped the fun out of it.

Take in consideration that this topic is mainly about how currently the Willbender is perceived in PvP compared to Revenants, but prior to the EoD post release buffs Guardian have been limited in PvP to just pure core support: power and condi core Guardian were too weak to be used in MATs, Dragonhunter (albeit usable in Conquest) was never used at tournaments and Firebrand, while being totally broken at PoF's release has been nerfed in so many ways (damage, sustain, support, boon duration...) that has been DELETED from PvP for at least 2.5-3 years. I don't particulary enjoy a pure support role, so for the last 3 years I barely touched Guardian in PvP. It has been meta for long time in PvE, tho, but that is mainly because so much useful tools has at it disposal. Revenant has the disadvantage of having 0 versatility in skill selection, having the Herald entirely neutered in terms of support in boon duration, and capped in terms of how much might and vulnerability can proc not only in team contents but also for itself. Another thing thaty makes me think that ANet isn't necesarely biased towards Guardian is that when Blizzard's WoW started to implode and bleed players and content creators last summer, the few ones I saw trying GW2 jumped mostly in the Necro wagon, and not in Guardian. I guess that having a "heavy mele tank" with only 11 HP and low mobility is not ebough to seduce new players, no matter how "meta" is, if you can find more fun (and sustain) in other professions.

I don't think ANet has any test control large enough in human resources or time to grant any given specific bias or control over the performance delivering of each class. In other words: the "meta" in each corner of the game is defined by what the most skilled players outside the conpany find out and chose to share, not by a "plan" or "design" from ANet or anything similar. Willbender was hot crap at EoD release and only got promoted from that status due recent buffs made it better, and due happens than one of the best players around (Naru) mains Guardian and was able to make it work. But I don't think that ANet had a specific goal to make this or that class sucessful at a given niche. Also, the difference in usage in classes is relatively low: most popular one is maybe a 4-5% above the least used one. ANet can only adjust what players find out, but they have 0 control over what people play (and that's one of the reasons their approach to instanced PvE is a total failure).

To be honest I find this spec akward and clunky to play. With a bit of lag (~90 ping) feels unforgiving and you die in a blink. When works is powerful, tho. But that's due the buffs, not due WB wasn't a total garbage at the release...

If you want to run a heavy armor profession and to wield a greatsword Guardian is probably the best choice: Willbender delivers huge amounts of damage in OW in both power and condition based variants, and since the main source of its condition damage are burns triggered by hits, greatsword's #2 fits well that goal. Currently greatsword Willbender is meta in PvP, and the condition variant works extremely well in PvE (albeit scepter + sword is prefered due the faster hitting pace). The sustain is also good and moves way faster than Firebrand, albeit is harder to use compared to other professions. If heavy armor isn't your thing, both Ranger and Necro (Reaper) can use greatsword while having more sustain than Guardian/Willbender, albeit the stronger PvE Ranger and Necro builds are based around condition damage and don't wield greatswords.

You didn't said it, but Gigawatt specifically asked "I mainly like Open World and sPvP".

You need to spent some gold to make those changes and once you do them they remain untill you spent again, and you lose the sigils, runes and skins attached in each change, whereas full legenday gear gives you fully customization in a second as long as you're not in combat (plus other quality of life things like being able to swap your whole armor stats, weapon stas or trinket stats with a single change of one of those items without having to manually reset every one). Full legendary is the truly end game, and once achieved your only goal should be just having fun.

Good luck using that to solo OW content (specially in HoT "I'm a white critter and my bare armor is 4k"). On topic: Renegade peak potential in PvP/WvW is lower than Herald but is way easier to play and in PvE just tramples everything else. Chose wisely.

Full legendary gear, at least for your main. That doesn't only make it adaptable to any changes in the meta, or new stats, but also able to re-skin your appareance ad nauseam.

This thread is gold. Thanks for the laughs.

Each consecutive encounter and its results affects the next encounters, so if you have wins the game tries to put you in matches with higher ranked players and viceversa. But also have in consideration that limit numbers of players available derrail that premise, and also that ELO/Gliko systems are designed to be more accurate in sports and games featuring 1 vs 1 matches, not performance based on team vs team...

Is not. I'm performing WAY better in PvP with core Rev than with Vindi, and core Rev is leagues behind Renebow or power Herald builds (neither of whom are currently "meta", since other new specs made them irrelevant). The same as in PvE. No reason to run a single Vindi build at any GW2. And not for not trying... Is just bad.

The dodge is just a mortal trap that baits you to your grave. Any enemy player with functional brain knowns the window in which you invul ended but you still didn't regain the control over your character so they can apply their cc to lock and kill you. Better just remove the dodge, or being more rational: just reroll.

I don't, but in terms of roles GW2's PvP is a 0 sum game: if a build is arguably better there's no reason to chose the alterantives. That's why some builds are stacked in tournaments, where some clases has been out of the menu for years. And now is the time for the Rev to say good bye.

Love how Vindicator isn't even in the conversation; so bad it is. I agree with WB being better, but don't with the moanings. Let the Rev root for a while.

Oh, for sure there was a lot of Harbingers (one of the teams had 3 of them), which to me was unexpected, I apologize for that. But were was the "top tier gameplay" by bunk Vindi you talked off? Rank 55 didn't even run a Rev in the final... Naru was very specific talking about it: if you don't run WB + Untamed and your team dps just sinks...

Apologies by my lack of faith; you were rigth, I was wrong. WB is currently top tier choice for conformed teams in PvP due the blend of high dps (both single target and AoE), good sustain, mobility and versatility of choices in terms of skills. Utterly outclased performance of Revs at this night MAT.

Yes: * Willbender (and aparently Untamed) are the new main providers of damage, delivering huge amounts of them while having sustain and very good mobility. * That removes Revenant from high end PvP. Herald is still our best +1 spec, but is not very meaningful at "large" teamfights. Renegade is good at dealing damage and surviving but too easy to by skills that null projectiles, which leaves you dealing no damage. Vindicator is easy to focus, for all the team utility it brings (not that much, seeing otherprofessions) the survability AND mobility are low. So that's is: want a mele fighter with pressence in PvP? Run a Willbender. By the way today Hizen also published a video actualizing his OW PvE builds, which puts Vindicator on shame. I would stop running it in PvE if I hadn't done it two weeks ago. Vindi is garbage guys, spred the word.

If the next expansion contains new specializations (not sure at all about that) you can bet the next trade off for Revenant will be "no weapon swap" (as happened to Bladesworn) or "two arms broken" or something similar... The interesting part is: core Rev already isn't as interesting or appealing or unique as a profession design as was in the past; is just a slower thief which must pay cooldowns AND energy to use its skills (and with a very poor selection sof weapons which barely have any use in most of the game modes). Aside for that, I overall agree with the diagnosis but not with the treatment.

So Vindi is going to be popular due counters a spec which isn't even meta in the MATs...