Za Shaloc.3908

I still do haha but I miss the days when I could slowly kill people on walls with it 😭.

While I can understand where you're coming from with this, I also don't really agree with the argument as to *why* it should give the enemy players a tell when nearly no other CC skills work this way. Correct me if I am wrong, but the only ones I can think of are Guardian's GS5 and Dragonhunter's Spear of Justice, but those two are also different in that they have an additional effect that ticks before the CC is used, whereas Mes Focus 5 does not. You could argue that it has the cripple effect, but that proc is not conditional for the CC landing at all and could be deemed as a separate skill in that respect. Is it the pull radius that bothers you? Well, what about Jade Winds? Chilled to the Bone? Those both have 600 radius. What about skills like Prime Light Beam that can be retargeted mid-cast so you can only partially predict who they will fire at? I guess at the end of the day I just don't think that it not being predictable *when* it is going to happen is a valid enough reason to change the skill. The counterplay already exists within the skill itself. I think if you actually play with the skill, you'll feel the counterplay and downsides to it quite quickly. What it sounds like you have an issue with is the target cap system and how you essentially have to risk wasting a dodge/cooldown/etc. because you don't know if it will be landing on you or not. But IMO that is a game-wide issue and not specific to Mes Focus 5. To reiterate from my previous post, I think the skill is at its most potent in WvW specifically, but only within the context of boonblobs coordinating it with spikes, using it to farm pugs. As a whole though, I die so much more to skills like DH spear and any sort of line/circle of warding than I do Focus 5. On walls if I am defending, I scan my surroundings and look for any Mesmers loitering near the bottom of the wall, and adjust my gameplay accordingly.

If you are struggling with condis in a group setting, I'd recommend swapping to double cleansing sigils if you aren't already (which you aren't if you are using the Metabattle build to a T). Even as a support, it's more important to be alive than it is to get a small healing or concentration boost. While that won't necessarily help your allies, people will generally have some level of personal cleanse that they can help themselves with. I personally love double cleansing on almost any WvW build because it generally allows for more fluid gameplay where you aren't forced to blow certain important CDs due to there being a couple condis on you. Also, you can run Mantra of Lore if you aren't already.

I've played a lot of MMOs over the years, but the ones I have spent a substantial amount of time on have been Planetside 1, WoW, City of Heroes, ESO, and GW2. I guess you could say Runescape was technically my first MMO I played but I never really considered it such because it was mostly a game I'd play with all of my elementary school friends at the time. Planetside felt like the true introduction to MMOs for me. God I loved that game so much. Sneaking around as a cloaker and hacking and blowing up everything was the best. I played WoW from Classic through TBC but quit a bit before WotLK launched. City of Heroes was somewhere in there...I can't even remember which years I played it and CoV, but I remember adoring the game and its class system despite my dislike of the whole superhero theme. Kinda crazy to think how long I've been playing the genre. Though I did take about a 5 year break from them while in university (after which is when I finally allowed myself to play GW2). One of the things I found out on my first date with my now-husband is that he was also a GW2 player, so that is when I really started to get into the game, and when I also knew he was a keeper 😆.

Haven't played my Rev much at all for the past four or so months. Played it some more in WvW last week and...didn't expect the skill to feel this bad. I do agree that it was overperforming but it feels awkward now. I swear the skill cancels on me half the time but I probably still need to get used to it. What I'd like for them to change: Make it so if you start the skill cast while facing the target but then change position mid-cast, the skill still goes through. (Ex: Virtuoso Shatters F1-F3). Increase the range to 750-900.

Same tbh. [EDIT]: Nevermind. Removed rest of post because I'm dumb.

What are all the PvPers thoughts? I saw some clips of bunker Vindis and it seemed pretty degen, but I'd say the CD nerfs to Tree Song & Battle Dance seem really brutal. Damage buffs for Archy seem nice though.

Revenant The revenant's hammer is another source of ranged pressure that we looked at for this update, with both Coalescence of Ruin and Phase Smash receiving damage reductions. Coalescence of Ruin: Reduced power coefficient from 1.15 to 0.91 in WvW only. Phase Smash: Reduced power coefficient from 1.2 to 1.0 in WvW only. Vindicator has continued to overperform in PvP, largely due to the defensive strength of the Kurzick side of Legendary Alliance Stance. We want to keep the energy costs on the lower side to maintain the flow when switching between the two sides, but the cooldowns of Tree Song and Battle Dance make them too easy to use repeatedly while staying on the Kurzick side. Saint's Shield is also getting an adjustment to its attribute scaling to bring down the sustainability of Avatar Amulet builds. We're continuing to keep an eye on the strength of Saint's Shield for nonhealing builds, but we want to gauge the impact of the adjustments to Tree Song and Battle Dance before making any further changes there. Tree Song: Reduced the number of conditions removed from 5 to 3 in PvP only. Increased cooldown from 3 seconds to 8 seconds in PvP only. Battle Dance: Increased cooldown from 3 seconds to 10 seconds in PvP only. Saint's Shield: Reduced healing and barrier attribute scaling from 1.0 to 0.7 in PvP only. While the defensive side of the vindicator has been strong, its offensive capability has been a bit less impressive since the adjustment to Eternity's Requiem. We've bumped up the damage on some of its weaker skills on the greatsword and the Luxon side of Legendary Alliance Stance to make damage-focused vindicators a bit more threatening. Phantom's Onslaught: Increased power coefficient from 1.18 to 1.33 in PvP and WvW. Scavenger Burst: Increased power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.55 in PvP only. Nomad's Advance: Increased power coefficient from 2.0 to 2.3 in PvP and WvW. Spear of Archemorus: Increased power coefficient from 2.33 to 2.67 in PvP and WvW. Reduced energy cost from 20 to 15 in PvP and WvW.

Yes please. Honestly I think they need to give it the core Rev treatment and give it something new and shiny. I've always wanted them to have an additional kit accessible via weapon swap...or now F6 since they decided to give it OOC weapon swap. I am no Engi enthusiast but it always seems like there's one missing component to having my core builds feel complete, and having that additional kit would really make a huge difference in freeing up utility skill space. At least that's my take.

Not a bad list but I think it starts to get muddled near the bottom half. Also as a core Rev enthusiast I take offense to it being placed in trash tier (not really though)! People only think it's trash because nobody plays it lol, but in reality it's not much worse than Herald and has plenty of upsides that Herald does not have.

Vindi heals are very oddly designed, which makes it both underperforming and overperforming depending on the scenario. On one hand it can feel really bad to have your heals get constantly interrupted or have no time to channel. On the other hand, if you have the ability to kite, it has really crazy sustain (though this is also due to Tree Song). Vindi heals function so much more differently than the rest of the class (Ventari being an exception too) and IMO it makes it hard to balance. To be honest, I think they should normalize the heal: make it 5 energy, 30 second cooldown, and a cast time between 0.75s and 1.25s. Make it a shared cooldown between both legends, not separate. Bring up the numbers and adjust the secondary effects accordingly. Buff urn as a support skill to make up for the loss of constant group healing via Viktor heal.

I don't think that being frustrated by a Mes +1ing you with the skill is the fairest or most compelling of criteria. Every class has oppressive ways of +1ing a fight that will make it hard to respond to and recover from. Tbh I would think that Moa would be at the top of the list considering it locks you out of your skills and can be covered by stealth. Focus Pull is really only oppressive in terms of how it enables damage bombs in organized groups in WvW. It farms unaware or poorly built pugs, and I get that it can be frustrating to fight against when you instadie from a coordinated spike. But it is a skill that has its own fair of downsides and, in the grand scheme of themes, is on a class that has a totally niche role in the game mode. The 1 second ICD before you can use the pull allows for plenty of counterplay to the skill. Enough for it not to warrant any nerfs whatsoever. At least in my eyes. I could see an argument to give it a better visual as it can get a bit lost amongst other animations. Perhaps give it a bit of a faint ethereal curtain-like effect above the field to better identify it and also distinguish it from Veil.

Yup, this is how I view it too. I would hate to be disadvantaged simply because there is an allied zerg on the map that I am nowhere near. I am a fan of any excuse for more pips, though.

Yeah, I was thinking that having multiple tether targets to micromanage may be overly complicated and unintuitive, but I also felt that my other ideas for facilitating better multi-target support would require a complete rework of how Shadow Shroud works, and I didn't want to dive that deep because ANet seems to want to push it into a very specific playstyle. I felt that multi-tethers was a more realistic that stays in line with their vision, if that makes any sense at all. I totally agree with you about highlighting needing to be more noticeable. I was actually going to mention that same thing in my post lol. In general there's a large handful of UI things that can be done to improve the targeted support experience and I hope ANet knows just how much of an impact these things can have. There are a lot of great ideas from other MMORPGs out there that I would love for ANet to implement. I don't think I quite understood what you meant by your last paragraph. Mind elaborating a bit more? Thanks for your reply!

I felt a bit inspired today to think of ways I'd like to see Specter improved. It was the elite spec I was the most hyped about, but also the one I was most disappointed in when seeing how few changes were done between the last beta event and EoD launch. There's a ton of potential in the spec but I still don't think it's quite there. Please keep in mind that this is strictly in terms of how I view its performance as a support, not a dps. I speak mostly from a WvW perspective as I don't PvP. I do some endgame PvE stuff and I do think a lot of this is also relevant for that gamemode. Before suggesting any changes, I'd like to identify four primary issues I see getting in the way of it becoming a better support. 1. The UI is still very limited and unaccommodating to this new style of support. In largescale WvW specifically, it is extremely noticeable, and generally makes for a very unfun time due to feeling like one has to fight the UI the whole time if wanting to take advantage of the [single] targeted support aspects of the elite spec. 2. The elite spec has too high of an emphasis on single target support. While this is a neat idea in theory, this is not how the rest of the game is designed. You can feel Specter's potency in smallscale scenarios (2v2's probably being the most notable), but it really starts to fall off as numbers increase, and I don't think this is a viable niche for it to occupy. While I think that single target support should still be an aspect of Specter, I think it needs to be de-emphasized in order to fit in with the rest of the game. 3. The core traitlines have nearly nonexistent synergy with allied Siphon. I know this may seem like a bit of a nitpick, but it is something that I find to be incredibly restrictive to the support playstyle. There is a ton of missing potential in traits and I would like to feel highly encouraged to use Siphon on an ally when playing a support role. I don't think that most of these can be applied in a blanket way so I have made a number of suggestions that are slight deviations from the traits' current functions. With Specter being so vastly different from the rest of the class, it needs to feel properly integrated to the rest of the class via its core trait synergy. 4. The healing power scaling is all terribly low across the entire spec. Currently it hardly feels worth it to build into healing power, which should never be the case. General UI Changes: There is now an option for "Enable all allied healthbars". Currently, visible allied healthbars are limited to those in either a party or squad (unless you highlight them with your cursor). In order to enable more fluid and intuitive gameplay in open world PvE and unorganized WvW play, this has been enabled as an option in the Settings tab. A unique marker now appears over the target's head when the "Set Personal Target" keybind is used. This is only visible to yourself as it is a personal target only. This can also be enabled via the dropdown menu when right-clicking on their nameplate avatar. There is now an option to enable additional nameplate/healthbars for Call Targets and Personal Targets in the Settings tab. These would be slightly unique in appearance in order to differentiate them. (This would essentially function like Focus Targets in WoW in that they would be permanently visible on your UI unless a certain range threshold is exceeded). Core Trait Changes: There are a number of traits that currently have no effect when Siphon is used on an ally. This should simply not be the case as it severely handicaps build synergies and discourages the Specter from using Siphon on an ally. Siphoning an ally currently feels rather lackluster because of this. Trickery: Thrill of the Crime: Now procs when used on allies, but at 50% reduced duration. Bountiful Theft: When targeting an ally, now removes 1-2 conditions on nearby allies instead of removing boons. Vigor is now applied, but at 50% reduced duration. Sleight of Hand: When targeting an ally, applies 1x stab for 2 seconds to that target only (does not affect self). Shadow Arts: Hidden Thief: Not sure what to do on this, because I feel that stealth on such a short CD when used on an ally would be broken. Perhaps put it on an ICD? I am not particularly a fan of ICD-based proc traits so I'm sure there's a more creative path for this one. Rending Shade: When used on an ally, instead removes 2 conditions from nearby allies. Deadly Arts: Serpent's Touch: When used on an ally, now applies regen to them. Mug: When used on an ally, heals both yourself and target. Values adjusted if necessary. Even the Odds: When used on an ally, applies 5 stacks of might to them. Improvisation: Now also reduces the cooldown of shroud skills by 10-15% as it gets no value from the double stolen skills. Utility skill recharge reset now also functions when used on an ally. Critical Strikes: Sundering Shade: When used on an ally, now applies 5 stacks of might to them. Specter (General): Baseline heal/barrier values for most skills (Scepter, Shadow Shroud, traits) lowered and healing coefficient values increased in order to incentivize building into healing power. Each gamemode should be adjusted individually. You can now tether more than one target. Tether is broken if target exceeds the range threshold. Maximum potential number of tethered allies increased to 5. Tether duration now capped at 20 seconds from the time the Siphon/tether occurs (if you Siphon an ally, the duration starts as soon as the skill lands. Entering shroud with an ally targeted will trigger the tether duration start at that time, or refresh the duration if the targeted ally was already tethered). A new icon and a faint purple/black aura now also appear on siphoned allies while the Specter is out of shroud, better indicating to the allied target that they are being focused for support. Both the new icon listed above as well as the "Shrouded" icon (which appears on the siphoned/tethered ally while the Specter is in Shadow Shroud) indicate the tethering Specter's name. Both also list the remaining duration of the siphon/tether effect. The "Shrouded Ally" icon that appears on the Specter now will list all tethered allies as well. Icon now stacks in number based on how many allies are tethered to the Specter. Scepter: Shadowsquall (Stealth Attack): Continues to heal the targeted ally if they break LoS after the initial cast. Does not work if obstructed or if range threshold is broken. Shadow Sap: Now is AoE around the target when used on an ally. Numbers adjusted accordingly. Measured Shot: Heal is now applied AoE around the target when used on an ally. Endless Night: Continues to grants barrier and boons to the targeted ally if they break LoS after the initial cast. Does not work if obstructed or if range threshold is broken. Twilight Shot: Now pierces when an ally is targeted. Only pierces allies; ignores enemies. Traits: Shallow Grave: Honestly I can't think of how to change this trait but it needs a total rework as it is another 300s ICD PvP/WvW trait. Not fun to fight against when it actually goes through even with the massive CD. Consume Shadows: I'd like this trait to scale off of healing power but I think it'd be clunky if it was simply changed to that without modifying anything else about the trait. I think it needs a partial rework but I don't have any ideas at the moment. Amplified Siphoning: Now also grants shadow force (12-15) when used on an ally. Hungering Darkness: Interval increased to 3s in PvE and WvW. (If this is too strong due to more than 1 ally being tetherable, it could also increase shroud degeneration rate by 10-15%.) Wells: Well of Gloom: Now a light field. Pulsing area heal coefficient increased in PvP/WvW. Well of Bounty: Now an ethereal field. Well of Tears: Now a light field. Reworked. Damaging component has been completely removed. Now instead converts one condition to healing per pulse. If there are no conditions to clear, it instead grants barrier. Well of Sorrow: Increased power damage to compensate for Well of Tears being reworked. These are of course just suggestions and I don't think they are perfect by any means, but I'd really like to see ANet put some more work into making this elite spec feel like a complete work.

Shadowsteps that don't require LoS instead require a target (Thief Infiltrator's Strike, Revenant's Phase Traversal, Guardian's Judge's Intervention, etc). Shadowsteps with a return function (Thief's Shadowstep & Infiltrator's Strike, Necromancer's Flesh Wurm & Spectral Walk, etc.) don't necessarily, but they require set up that would require you to then get out of LoS to exploit this. This is a pretty steep downside that is worth mentioning and considering. If you have played any class with these style of shadowsteps, it becomes pretty apparent that it is a huge tradeoff. What happens if you have nothing to port to? If you are trying to disengage but there's nothing in the distance to target? You simply can't use it and you're stuck where you are. Shadowsteps like Mesmer's Blink have the advantage of not requiring a target, which is advantageous in numerous situations, and I'd argue much more generally useful in terms of overall versatility. Is porting through walls balanced or not? I personally have never had issue with it, but I am a long-time Rev player so am probably really biased with it. It's probably most blatantly annoying when fighting a sword/x Thief as they can abuse this the most. Speaking in terms of no valid pathing, well yeah this game is incredibly inconsistent with that and it's frustrating when skills don't work properly, but I can assure you that targeted shadowsteps also are victim to this.

Before they added that extra component, the elixirs were really boring, and aside from the elite, a bit weak. Personally I absolutely love the way they added the offensive aspect to them, both in terms of impact and flavor. I find it to be a great nod to Engi's elixir toss component, but "à la Necro," if you will. Not saying that the numbers are tuned perfectly though. Also I don't think comparing it to Berserker is the best approach, as in my eyes that whole elite spec redesign made it a horribly designed gimmick (from an outsider's perspective, at least).

I have a kitten memory for the most part, but certain things like that tend to stick in my brain lol. And yeah I get that. I've found that breaks--either from the class or game as a whole--can oftentimes reinvigorate my love/appreciation of my favorite builds to play. A lot of the time it's just burnout speaking, for myself at least. Not saying that to invalidate your critiques.

I'm with you: I also wanted a norn legend, or at least a villainous/evil one. I think I remember reading your concept for a Svanir legend back a while ago, and I was completely on board with the general concept. If they do another round of e-specs for the next expac, I am really really hoping for something along those lines. I get where you are coming from though. When Renegade was released, I was so disheartened to even playing the class because I hated everything about the elite spec (AoE spam, AI dependence, visual mishmash eyesore, a horribly designed weapon at the time, the trivialization of alacrity), and quit it for a little while in favor of Soulbeast (release Soulbeast with pet-swap was some of the most fun gameplay ever). I am generally fine with and indifferent to Vindicator, but can understand why people are disappointed with it.

Although it does have surprisingly strong resustain via blight healing (and its healing power scaling), I genuinely think a lot of people are misplaying against Harb due to its UI health/shroudbar bug giving misleading information. We have been trained for years now to approach the class differently while it is in shroud due to it being an effectively extra healthbar. Now that extra padding doesn't exist, but the UI plays mindgames on players that it still does. I know I have to consciously remind myself of this while in combat, and I am certain that it is affecting other players as well. I consider both this bug and Specter shroud UI bug to be high priority on the "to be fixed" list, and I genuinely believe that fixing them would make approaching these matchups a lot more intuitive. Harbi's is at least easier to work around because there's a color difference between the two, but still...it needs to be fixed. In terms of actual changes I think Harbinger needs, the number one in my eyes is a better tell for its elite elixir AoE (and arguably all other elixirs). I have seen this echoed frequently from people and I completely agree. The skill is insanely impactful with a mere 0.5s cast time, and 100% deserves an AoE indicator of where it is going to land. Beyond that and the shroud UI bug, I'd like to see where the spec lands as I think its oppressiveness is a bit overrated. When you fight a power Harbinger, its weaknesses/tradeoffs are INCREDIBLY apparent. You can argue that Harbi shouldn't be played as power, but they have 3 of 9 traits supporting this playstyle and I think that a few poorly aimed nerfs could really knock the e-spec as a whole into the realm of uselessness.

I find it majorly disappointing that the GS3 movement range bug is still in game and wasn't fixed after the first beta, but beyond that the weapon seems totally serviceable to me. I think if they were to fix that, the kit would feel a lot more complete. I totally get what you mean about Herald's fluidity, though I feel that the more I have played Vindi and really get the hang of alliance swapping, the more fluid and fun it becomes. As a support it feels quite good, though I think that's due to really high numbers on St Viktor with low energy costs. As a DPS I have watched some really impressive plays with it from good Revs on streams, but I suspect that the learning curve is rather high on it.

Honestly I love the animation. I get that it's a bit annoying that it's the same as Gravedigger, but I have always had a particular fondness for it and think it looks epic, and fitting for a big hitter skill. Greatsword 2 though? Can't say I'm a fan of that one.

That is actually surprising to hear tbh. May I ask why? While I find them a nuisance in 1v1 encounters, I don't really consider them much of a threat beyond that if you dodge their F2 or don't spam into it if you eat it. Maybe I haven't really fought enough good ones.

I think it can be perceived this way due to two reasons: 1. You can use your mobility skills consecutively to chase someone or disengage. It gives the illusion that it is "faster" because it technically has access to higher burst mobility. 2. It is ranged and with perma-quickness, the autos are very oppressive and will continue to melt you if you try to run away. It doesn't have to be in melee like Reaper so is generally harder to kite. Not trying to advocate for nerfs because I have basically been playing one build since EoD so I lack a perspective of how classes/builds other than my own handle Harb, but just trying to explain why it is perceived how it is.

I do hope they work on a handful of things on Rev. Off the top of my mind: Core: Ventari: The legend has been immensely underrepresented in competitive modes. It still retains a lot of the same issues that have plagued it for so long. It was hit hard in the big competitive balance patch and lost its main niche, which was really insane healing, without ever receiving any compensation. Even during its peak it was never a top pick by any means. In sPvP specifically, the legend has been hit even harder due to it being a cheese knockback spammer without ever receiving any care for how it functions as a support. The knockback distance is an absolute mockery bastardization of the skill's intended purpose. It's a bit saddening to me because St Viktor just feels like ANet's bandaid and watered down solution to Ventari's problems: overtune its numbers and remove the fickleness of having to manage the tablets. Mallyx: I want them to revisit how exactly the change to resistance affected the legend's identity. The change to the boon was so lazy; to blanket change how a boon works and to barely touch those skills/traits that were built around it is such an unfortunately careless approach. Hammer: Yeah, it is effective for its role in WvW. I get that it's cool to have a good weapon for that. But when that is really the only niche it has in terms of realistic power, I take issue with it. I don't think it needs that much. Most notably though, CoR needs to hit more reliably and not be such a victim to faulty terrain. I also think Hammer 5 could use a shorter cast time considering it does no damage. Healing Orbs: These traits crowd up the Salvation traitline and are incredibly impractical to use outside of content where you aren't moving much. I want to see a complete removal of these from the class (including from staff) and a redesign of their respective traits. Herald: I think it mostly needs help in PvE to secure its niche. As that is not my game mode of expertise, I'm going to refrain from commenting too much on the specifics, but I have seen some good suggestions for this. In competitive, it has quite good representation as a DPS, but is sorely lacking in terms of dedicated support. I wouldn't be upset if they toned down Vindicator's group support potential and funneled that into Herald. I feel like Vindicator and Herald kinda step on each other's toes in that regard. I have been suggesting for YEARS now that it needs to function better as a heal support than it currently does, but the kit is just not there. All it does is provide passive gameplay that doesn't provide enough impact to make it worthwhile. What (numerical) potential it had was massively hit by the Feb 2020 balance patch and the nerf to Draconic Echo/10-man facets. I would like to see shield get some love. Shield 4 follows in Ventari's footsteps in that it is overcomplicatedly designed when attempting to support moving allies. Renegade: Honestly I don't really think it needs many changes, but I have a bias against this elite spec and particularly Kalla, which I hope never gains relevance in competitive modes again. Vindicator: Frankly I haven't played Rev much since EoD. Not that I necessarily dislike Vindicator, but just that I've been enjoying other classes. With that said, the Alliance stance feels...unfinished? Lacking cohesion and a fully realized vision? I would like to see them tone down the dodge power and give them back 2 dodges that require 50 endurance. We can see it's possible with Daredevil, and we see how horribly a single dodge impacted Mirage. Why was no lesson learned?