Buran.3796

This. Good luck with that, Ulysses. I'm just now making my beta characters, but I've seen the Naru streaming, which mains Necros and Guardians, and the Willblender is fun but weak. In His own words "every time I duel a good player with it I end defeated". He also thinks that probably core Guardian is stronger, and as the night was going He moved from using mostly physical skills to use 4 meditations and one physical (which worked well in +1 and skirmishes, but still a glass canon and with lower burst than the DH). The Harbinger, on the other hand, proved to be very strong but boring. So probably so far the Harbinger is the strongest of the three new specs in the beta, but with a very plain gameplay style. And Willblender while fun is so frail that one of the best Guardian players is already asking for buffs...

You'll never be able to complete the diamond chest each week if you just roam (even a couple of hours a day). I've been in a WvW guild for years until it fade and the amount of progression you earn being in a dedicated group assaulting fortress and constantly battling vs zergs can't compare with going solo chopping camps and having ocasional skirmishes with roamers or duellist.

Another vote for this. He even made a hierarchy based on the pros and cons of every one of his best solo builds: My vote goes to Rev: you can play either Renegade or Hearld (even core) and go for condi or power specs and will melt almost every content alone while retaining good mobility and very high sustain. In time to kill crushes even burn FB, which is a lot more squishy and much less mobile.

Indeed, is one of the few which doesn't involve saying "omg this stuff is broken op!" or "another bug ANet please fix it". By the way, I think that Glint's shade of greenish blue (teal) ditches the option of turquoise, because is pretty much the same.

Meds are what I use mostly when I run a Guardian, no mater if is core, DH or FB, so mixing some those physical skills with meditations won't be a surprise. Also, I don't see how using cleanses will benefit WB in figths against Rev, since the strongest build we currently have is power Herald (which is prety much the same concept as the WB, and keeps being solid despite three + years of constant nerfs). I'm sure that the numbers of the new specs will go down over time, and the first months will be chaotic due so many interactions weren't anticipated by the designers, but I don't fear the WB and I'm eager to find out how performs from both sides of the fence, starting tomorrow.

I did my heavy legenday armor in PvP due I play it oftenly and was the cheapest method (below 1800 gold coins in total; at the time in PvE the cost was triple that amount). The best part of getting it in PvP (cost aside) is that you don't need to be good to take it, because no matter how badly you perform, every match will earn you progress towards getting the set, whereas in PvE a failed raids means no progression. Also, PvP doesn't require to be in any guild, group or prearranged team to do the work: you alone and a bit of time. The disadvantage is that you need near 1.5 years to get the required 20 tokens to get the full set (you can get 3 x Conquest season and 1 x mini season), so both WvW and PvE armor are faster in terms of time capped tokens. The other way to speed up the things is to combine making half of the set in PvP and half in WvW. I think that for heavy armors the PvE skin is which looks the best, but IMO doesn't worth the extra effort. Also, I must say that currently I already have the 40 tokens to craft the whole legendary medium and light sets in PvP (cost: ~700 gc each) and I'm on the way to get the clovers to craft both.

I like the WB and how adresses the historical low mobility problems of the Guardian, but albeit clearly drinks on the concept of the "power Shiro Rev" I'm not sure about it being able to deliver the same performance: yes, is good at chasing and moving around, but is that good at surviving under pressure as the trademark power Herald with swords + staff? We will have a ton to learn with and against him the next week... So far has been more than 5.5 years since the HoT release and power Herald has been meta in the PvP +1 role since then.

That's not exactly the case. Some references: in GW2 each class has his own healing souces, but you can play with each one of the nine classes almost every role (tank/bunker, support/healing, dps/glass cannon... ). There's some limitations, but your performance in those roles will rely (skill aside) in two factors: * Which stats you're running (berserker for physical damage or viper/griever in pure condition dps, cleric/minstrel for support, diviner for damage + boon sharing, trailblazer for condition bruisers, etc... ) . * Which spec, weapons and skill and skills you chose. For example: a Ranger in PvP in a dps role oftenly will chose Soulbeast spec with Berserker amulet and long bow + greatsword as weapons, whereas a Ranger playing in the same PvP as a bunker/healer will chose the Druid specialization with staff as the main weapon and Avatar or Sage as the amulet. The utilities and traitlines will change greatly. Of course some combos underperform: you won't see Thieves in the role of a healer, but you will find that some classes and even specs have a fair amount of viable builds in each game mode. You will find the most common builds in sites like http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki or https://www.godsofpvp.net https://snowcrows.com https://discretize.eu ...But take it with a grain of salt. My advice would be to jump in PvP, in which every character is level 80, has the same stat values and swapping between streamlined amulets and runes is entirely free so you can test those builds, learn which works and even more important: which of the things that works feels the best for you. Mesmers usually are strong at dueling/roaming (both in physical damage and condition damage variants) and as condi bruisers in Open World. Rangers are good dps +1 in PvP with both core and Soulbeast power variants and Druid is mostly used in PvP has support/decapper (had some nerfs due how overperformed). Healers are usefull in every game mode but in this game the main way to prvent damage isn't getting aggro with a tank which mitigates damage while being healed, but using skills and evades to avoid damage, so oftenly the guides prescribes a "meta" in which most of the players go full dps and avoiding the damage is based on knowledge of the mechanics of dangerous foes. In WvW healers are oftenly Eles, Engies or Druids, albeit the most used classes in large groups are Guardians, Revs and Necros due the boon sharing of the first ones and the AoE pressure of the later.

Forget about the weapon/s, the name or even the legend, or the elusive lore behind it... Which new colour should decorate our resource bar and wrists? We already have blue (Jalis), green (Shiro), purple (Mallyx), yellowish (Ventari), azure/teal (Glint) and orange (Kalla), which should be the next? My vote would be either red or grey...

Revenant is a very solid part of the WvW large group meta (usually the backbone just behind the Guardians due the amount of boons they can share and the AoE ranged damage they can inflict without being negated by effects that null/reflect attacks); in small skirmishes and roaming both power and condi versions of Herald and Renegade specs work very well. In PvP excells as +1 due the combination of mobility and high burst of damage, with sustain being attached to well placed evades, i-frames and cc. Has some interesting bunker builds but there are other bruisers which fit better that role. For Open World PvE is arguably the best class: your damage is on par with any other (including Firebrand) while having a large base HP and no problems with mobility (Guards have been forced to either do damage and move like turtles of using mobility runes and losing dps for 9 years... ). I like heavy armor archetypes over medium armor rogues or spellcasters, and Revenant offers a full metal plate class with very high mobility and good weapon choices for any range. It requires a deeper resource management than Warrior with a more unique design (every RPG/ARPG/MMO/MOBA has fighter classes but the Legend swap design is a bit more distinct), and despite I still like the blue guardians which once mained for years not having to deal every time with a base HP of 11K and limping mobility deserves the effort. Is also a bag of bugs, but no one is perfect...

For those who already pre purchased the expansion: the granted shared inventory slot is already provided or a feature unlocked when End of Dragons arrives?

I'm glad about the mobility skills and trait, I', sure that will be fun to play in open world and small skirmishes at WvW/PvP and duels. What I'm not that sure is about the damage numbers: at release and compared to this Firebrand seemed way stronger, since passive burn pulses and large AoE symbols were a crucial part of the receipe. I'm thinking mostly about competitive game modes since at PvE everything works.

Beta Event 1: August 17—August 21 Beta Event 2: September 21—September 25 Beta Event 3: October 26—October 30 Beta Event 4: November 30—December 4 Three new specs each month, and probably all 9 at the same time in November?

The only resemblance with a dagger is the two bladed Khan Ur; most of the daggers in that game has a single blade and I doubt they will use a charr reference for the design after being PoF a full furry parede for the Renegade. Another duble edged blades would be the warblades of Illidan from WoW or the klingon's bat' leth, none of them present in this game. Some skins from focus (shimmering aurora, kodan, elonian runestone, scientist, chaos... ) contain spikes which could resemble the icon... But my main caveat with being dual daggers is that then both the icon and the weapon selection would be then a copy & paste of the Spellbreaker (a weapon combo which ironically remains mostly unused by Spellbreakers in every department of the game). Also, in my personal bias, I already have Enternity and I would craft Ipos if needed (albeit not soon); Incinerator has some appeal but no way I would craft the pesky paw of Khan Ur. Then, in the practical department, since most agree that the lacking part of Rev is the role of a physical damage AoE character, a focus seems less plausible due the lack of auto attacks, but dagers also feel weird for AoE damage. Worst case scenario: the weapon and skills ends being as bad as short bow and Kalla at the release and no one uses the spec aside the traitlines (due the predictible power creep).

Is really easy to collate if a competitive game mode gets enough love and support from a company just taking a look at the Twitch top 30 games. The competitive ones which remain in those spots for years are both appealing and have enough support from their creators to keep the things insteresting and ensure the popularity. You can like HotS as a game the same as I like GW2's combat mechanics and PvP gameplay, and neither of the two have had a relevant pressence in twitch for years. But at least for GW2 I keep buying expansions and (from time to time) some gems whereas the last time I spent a dime in a Blizzard game was more than 5 years ago in the RoS expansion for DIII.

Yep, when I run Renegade I go Shiro + Jalis or sometimes Shiro + Mallyx. But still Herald is where I spent 90% of my time (I play more Guardian than Renegade, and much less Guardian than Herald).

I think that's an obvious schism between how Renegade performs, how unlikeable is the Legend and skill mechanics behind it, and how comparetively Herald and core Rev are both more likeable but perform way weaker in instanced PvE. Being said that, if one doesn't like instanced content, Herald & core Rev > Guardian at the moment.

Doesn't matter because even if they promised new maps or game modes for PvP the effort would be useless if they don't plan to hurry the pace at which they update they patches. If Blizzard isn't able to update games as Starcraft II or HotS to make them appealing in the competitive scene I don't known how your dare to think that ANet would be able to do it with the GW2 PvP.. MMOs are a niche genre in a niche segment (PC) of the gaming business, and PvP is even more niche inside all of that. Just accept it as it is.

Power build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmwAwyZlxQHMPyh1RNMO6hRSfMCKgl+U16H-zRIYR09PCeHA-e As Rabbitup said keep on Shiro while moving and swap to Jalis while fighting; use staff's Surge of the Mist and Jalis Forced Engagement to easily break defiance bars from champions if needed, and camp in sword attacks and Vengeful Hammers to maximize the damage (Impossible Odds + Enchanted Daggers when in Shiro). Unexpensive runes as Melandru or Dolyak will do the work perfectly fine. Condi Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmwAkeZlhQHMJyhFRNMI6hBSfMBKgjuSfKD-zxIY8o7vUSoA6KByMC6ME8fA-e Here you will mix Mallyx with either Jalis or Shiro (use Invocation's Rapid Flow for better mobility if your choice is Jalis); abuse combo finishers mace #3 (Echoing Eruption) and Mallyx's Call to Anguish on the mace #2's (Searing Fissure) fire field and keep Embrace the Darkness up as much as you can. Use cheap runes as Sunless or Krait and amoldering sigil (most of your damage will come from torment & burns, but don't bother with the specific sigils and runes until you reach 80 and unlock the specs). For leveling, some quick tips: * Everything gives you xp: discovering new map zones, doing vistas, interest points, hearts, reviving allies, killing things, crafting, etc... * Map activities gives you % xp, so they are equally efficient experience sources at any level. * Your XP is boosted from level 1 to 15, then remains linear the rest of the levels. * Each dungeon done fills ~70% of a level bar, so they are fairly usefull once you can start doing them at level 30 (Ascalon Catacombs). * Rising any crafting skill from level 1 to 400 is enough to level up 80 levels of a character, but since you need goods to rise crafting this method is better to level alter characters once you have at least one level 80 and your bank has some maretials stacked. Also, if you rise any crafting skill, use propper buffers and quick guides to do it efficiently. * PvP and WvW rutes give you tomes of knownledge; each one will rise your level by 1 and is one of the easiest way to level up if you like those game modes. You can level from 1 to 80 just playing in PvP without even stepping in open world content. * Random events will provide tons of extra XP, even if you're busy doing another thing. * Completing maps (including the cities of every race) are among the easiest and fastest ways to fill levels; cieties are particulary useful at the beginning due you don't need to fight anyone inside them.

For condition PvP builds Guardians doesn't take much benefit from the DH traitline or skills, since most of them are oriented towards physical damage, so using Randiance and Virtues to max out burning damage and Valor to boost your meditations (which will fill your #6 to #10 skills) makes sense. For physical builds core Guard is solid but DH offers higher mobility, burst, and the availability of stealth through trapper runes (which sometimes is more handly). Also, Firebrand in PvP has gone from god tier to utter garbage, so no wonder currently core Guard is better at everything (including support). Core Necro is very strong, albeit I'm sure Necro users could explain their strengths better than me. I'm not sure about the core Thief, tho: the consensus seems to be that Daredevil offers the strongest builds, followed by Deadeye.

Are we talking here about "breakstun in the heal" levels of fine? Remember that the PvP team said they have no voice in terms of changing the mechanics of the skills (only retouching the numbers) and related to PvP/WvW the amount of info provided by the showcase in the 27th was 0...

You have my axe.

I would bet money on the 7th icon (the one with the rotating bullet inside a cannon) being the one of the next specialization for Guardian and the weapon will be a Rifle. * The one is for Mesmer, dagger. * Second seems the face of a tiger so I guess represents the Ranger and as a weapon probably a shield. * Third a off hand sword for the Thief (the three diamonds probably linked to the initiative system). * Four the Elementalist, with an arrow set on fire so probably a kind of bow for them. * Fifth seems a oni mask so I would say some kind of warrior monk with staff, for Warrior. * 6th is the Ritualist eye from GW1 and the weapon probably a focus or a scepter (maybe double dagger Ur Khan style). * 8th seems a golem or a character with enhanced endoskeleton which would fit Engineer better than any other (not sure about weapon). * 9th looks like the front of a cursed pistol, and we already saw the draw of what is probably an Asuran gunslinger Necro. So that leaves the 7th symbol (a rotating bullet) the 5th (a oni mask) or the 3th (double swords) as most probable guess to be the new Guardian spec. But as I said the 3 rhombus in the 3th resembles the initiative points from Thieves, and a Warrior can't get a rifle a new weapon, so everything points that the next Guardian spec will be a gunpowder user (otherwise the Warrior would get pistols and the Guardian stays as the intriguing mask).

Herald with Jalis + Glint and sword + shield can be tailored to have insane condition cleansing and damage reduction. I've fought condi Eles, Mesmers, Guardians and even Necros over a control point and no matter if I die or win: I always break the enemy point and they are forced (or cced) to leave the node even if they end killing me. Cleansing in weapon swap, legend swap, two cleanses in the shield, five in the Jalis heal... That's 9 cleanses every 25 seconds and without using a staff, and yes some classes can spam a lot more conditions, but you also have evades, vigor, blocks, i-frames... Of course you lose damage and mobility as the result of those choices, but if power Herald with Shiro + double sword had the same cleansing capabilities while retaining mobility and damage wouldn't be fair...

Another vote for Necro: it doesn't need specs from expansions to be very effective, has good AoE damage and cc, can be very tanky without sacrificing damage and if you don't want to be involved in the figths the minions can do the work for you (specially in open world).