Infusion.7149

Regarding functionality , from a WvW standpoint: Equipment Templates need to be swappable only in spawn / keep (as stated before launch), right now it can be done out of combat.---> allows people to run toughness-less vs condi builds Equipment /build templates need a default per mode as before the system : while being able to switch from group build to roaming and vice-versa is nice, having to do it manually when going from PvE/PvP is an extra step --- will be addressed apparently Equipment templates potentially don't have enough slots if you play condi and power in multiple gamemodes along with support builds. This doesn't even account for different weapons (i.e. axe+axe + mace+mace, vs hammer + greatsword or dagger+shield + greatsword). Legendary items are finnicky when removed from templates --- will be addressed apparently---> completely devalues WvW legendary armor for people that don't use multiple equipment stats on the same character , ideally you'd want to make use of ~4-5 stat combinations No way to revert or save changes to equipment template Equipment template tab's Stat totals (on hover) don't count upgrades/infusions and ascended trinkets' stats that come from what is supposed to be the jewel slot Being able to link people WvW builds to test or run is nice however. (It could really use a note about stat total or distribution & weapons used when the template was saved) Monetization:Pricing is really high for build storage and build templates if you actually use more than 5 characters : even with 1x 300 gem build template each (to get power+condi/support separate from PvP/PvE) you're talking about over 1500 gems. Build storage is 500 gems for 3 spaces while a bank tab is 600 gems for 30 spaces with more data per space.

It's obvious that the additional 4-5 of a map currency was not worth the extra bloat under the daily tab and splitting up the userbase.By having a focus on one map a day it concentrates players on that map.

Reward structure for repeatable tracks is sometimes really off.For example, the Istan track is more inline with pre-nerf Istan (250 Ingots at end chest); Bitterfrost Frontier gives 100 winterberries so you're better off just farming them since unlike some other zones its a sure drop. Blood Ruby is 50Petrified Wood is 50Jade Shard is 100Fire Orchid is 50Orrian Pearl is 50Difluorite is 50Inscribed Shard is 50Mistonium is 50Branded Mass is 60 (50 from cache + 10 guaranteed) The reward structure at the Bjora Marches vendor is 2.5x for Istan currency while the Dragonfall Traveling trader is 5x for Istan currency.

On my mostly diviner chrono the quickness was of much more use. Unless you have a firebrand there's basically no other class that pumps out quickness worth noting. On power DH it helped a bit and also on elementalist. The article made it seem that you could only have one active at a time so that was disappointing. I thought each character would pick one at a given time and stick with it similar to the choice of Order/Vigil/Priory , but tied to mastery system so that you can swap it for karma/eternal ice shards or some other gating.

Only if larger houses pay more property taxes and school board fees. In all seriousness do people roleplay that much that they need player housing? Home instances and Sun's Refuge aren't enough along with guildhalls? Time you spend in instances is time not spent doing content and WvW/PvP and eats up server time that engages other people. It isn't in their best interests to put in more instances because of their reliance on AWS elastic instances.

Why is this even a topic?If S/D condi is an issue, hitting initiative as a mechanic isn't the answer and the proposed changes by devs will reduce condition application.https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/91447/potential-future-balance-changes-pvp#latest

You need Abasi's Envenomed Cleaverhttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Abasi%27s_Envenomed_Cleaver

Also charr has a lot of clipping issues and such that are worse than on norn (because generally human/sylvari/norn have similar skeletal rigging in the modeling phase).

If you're on NA server then I'd look for a hero point train around 9-10PM PST , it's the 10th hero point done on the Auric Basin map. If you can't then you could probably ask someone to stealth you as the hero point doesn't require killing Champion of Balthazar.

I don't understand the point of this thread. The damage is high already and due to initiative mechanic it's not like it has a massive recharge.

The other weaponsets don't really bring much to the table either: Axe is 100% projectile and strictly worse than necro staff if you want bleeds/chillShortbow is condi-based and projectileSword is strictly worse than warriors or revs running sword let alone daredevils with staff vault/boundDagger hits 2 targets , similar to warriors you would rather a 3 or ideally a 5 target weapon ; the damage comes from condisGreatsword just does damage , you won't be able to make good use of counterattack kick when people have stability tooStaff requires running druid and doesn't have the potency of elementalist staff in terms of heals on auto In theory you could have stance share with Greatsword, but even then the only stance truly worth noting is One Wolf Pack which lasts around 6s on 60 cooldown. Bear Stance: because it is condi removal on 25s cooldown and only 3s long for allies (2 removed per second) , it pales in comparison to purge gyro or scourge condi removal on 10 cooldownDolyak stance: -33% incoming condition and physical damage for ~4 seconds when traited with Leader of the Pack is about on par with Rite of the Great Dwarf on revsMoa stance: fury,might, swiftness are far more readily applied by revs so basically only the 66% boon duration is of value and is mostly wastedVulture stance: poison/might for a few seconds isn't as potent as thief venoms if you actually decide to run this.I've seen it myself where ranger "main" players that actually tried a proper WvW profession instead of being dead-set on ranger stay on staff necro (people that like to spam from range) or rev (people that want mobility + range). Their skill level improves as a result when they actually need to dodge and focus on positioning rather than letting pets tank everything and using longbow 3 (Hunter's shot) when needing to run.

Because similar to condi mirages, condi thieves, rifle deadeyes (unlike staff daredevils), rifle holo, and other roaming specs there's no reason for you to be in the squad.Rangers are a large liability due to pets not being invis under stealth gyro or veil (same with minis), reflects and retaliation and it seems most rangers will not stop attacking at bubbles (firebrand or spellbreaker) or scrappers doing electrowhirl. There's also the cliche of rangers using point blank shot (LB 4) to push targets out of AoE that other party members lay down. Soulbeast solves the pet issue but still leaves the projectile problem. You're better off with Dragonhunters (because anyone that's been stuck in Hunter's ward knows how annoying that is) if you want to use longbow or Heralds most of the time. Rangers are best for taking down sentries and capping camps. If you want to make a squad-based spec you're looking at:Firebrand (stability , MI res, spike heal via tome, aegis) : stability via Stand your Ground and elite mantra and/or Tome of Courage --- immense stacking potential due to Battle presence and tome cooldownsScrapper (cleanses into boons, stealth gyro , healing , function gyro res/finish , superspeed) : cleanses ---- heals better with revenant boon output along with boons from condition; due to how it stacks you need to take into account scourge/firebrand cleansesHerald (Fury, might, swiftness, regen , ranged power DPS + CC , superspeed/protection) : due to the way CoR stacks and is buggy you want roughly 1 per 10 people rather than 1 per party ---- highly reliant on condi clearsScourge (Corrupts, cleanses, barrier , ranged pressure damage due to 10 targets , soft CC such as cripple /chill mainly but also fear) --- stacks insanely (see well of corruption / shades , devouring darkness) and snowballs fights due to life force mechanic ; highly reliant on swiftness + stabilitySpellbreaker (boon strip , melee CC) --- very high sustain and defy pain means it requires far less support than scourge ; if not running "Shake it Off" and defense traitline is susceptible to condisWeaver/Power tempest (staff area denial/eliminating siege on inner side of walls via meteor shower) --- highly reliant on protection + stability and requires player to not insta-die on enemy pushSupport Aura Tempest (powerful passive healing while being able to switch to siege elimination with a simple equipment template swap , possible superspeed)Daredevil (power staff vault/bound for finishing downed or high damage to enemies off tag; spammable poison fields on shortbow to disrupt M.I. res) --- not necessarily in squad , high mobility & evasion means it is less vulnerable to enemy pushMirage is a condi spec typically so is generally better off roaming ; you can run power chrono (sword+shield) or core mesmer with sword+focus + Greatsword and do less damage but provide utility in the form of veil/mass invis (squads of 10) , mantra stability, and possibly some quickness if you have clone generation (Time Warp only good for lord room fights). Focus pulls still remain relevant if stability has been stripped. Spellbreaker bubble is stronger than gravity well for stability removal due to being mobile ---- squad play is only good if running mantra of stability and Blurred Inscriptions (distortion = shared aegis) Prior to chrono changes to requiring clones and signet of inspiration being gutted for group play I used to run chrono quite often , but you have to keep in mind with scrappers' stealth gyro being a blastable stealth (smoke field , much like s/p or d/p thief but without getting revealed due to damage from the skill making the field) it makes an entire squad invisible for far longer.

Can confirm it still hits though walls and gates.

As I stated before I think there's an extra 0 or two in the drop rate. It really doesn't make sense that something from a daily chest / map complete chest has over 10x lower drop rate than Strike Mission chairs and shoulders which settled around 100-200g.

I don't see why the Armistice Bastion permanent pass couldn't be up for sale year round.

Utility Assignment of a default build and equipment template per gamemode. I have seen people use their PvE builds in WvW and PvP as well as PvE gear in WvW. This is an outright regression.---> Make Armistice Bastion use WvW build + equipment template by default.Make good on initial claims that builds/equipment are only switchable in keeps/spawn for WvW. Right now you can switch in the middle of nowhere as long as you are out of combat just as before but without any inconvenience in swapping stats.Preview before saving an equipment "template" when using legendary items : in its current iteration legendary sigils/runes are the most problematic but the stats resetting every time they're removed annoys a lot of people. This is a regression in essence because before this patch when you unequip it saves the stat used.---> For people using exotics/ascended there is no sigil/rune/infusion autoremoval. It's actually far more time saving to use ascended if you use the same gear except for a weapon difference, for example dual axe warrior swapping to Greatsword or hammer or a scepter+warhorn tempest swapping to staff.Possibly have a stat combination suggestion or note per build template (not the title of the build) for stats used when saving that template if it isn't possible to link equipment with a build templateSome people want to share their legendary accountbound gear across characters via shared inventory or bank, but I'm not sure how this can be implemented in its current iteration given how unequipping resets all stats and completely blanks a "template" of saved state. Typically legendary armor is used on multiple tabs so the unequipping result of resetting stats is a major headache.Some people want to share their ascended accountbound gear across characters if they have multiple of each class. Right now it is probably possible if only one template uses that gear via unequipping all to shared inventory , where equipping in shared inventory replaces the item with what was in shared inventory. Monetization Make equipment templates purchasable in bulk at a discount : 5 , 10, 15 packs (for 1 extra equipment template per class it is 9 already). 500 gems feels a bit like "price anchoring" for sales. If it didn't store gear as inventory bags do I'd imagine the asking price could be far less.A bank tab has 30 slots and is 600 gems and holds more data since each item has a different stat or type, why is account build storage so high at 500 gems per 3? It is literally just profession + 3 traitlines + utility skills because it doesn't store stat type, weapon or armor used. Even if someone pays 500 gems they would only be able to have 1 stored build per class right now with the three default ones + 3 extra free ones. There's no reason that this is priced that high since you can't hotkey swap this, resulting in the numerous suggestions to use other forms of storage such as Notepad for Windows users or even guild messages...Allow for more build templates per character. It's been datamined that there's up to 10 so it's definitely in the works. Build templates are probably only priced the way they are due to hotkey swapping , it's not severely faster than loading from a chatcode otherwise.(More when I think of it.)

Function: My initial impression is equipment templates don't seem to be able to select preference automatically based on game mode. In addition in WvW it seems the initial promise that the gear changes would only happen in keeps doesn't hold true. Equipment templates are most useful for people with legendary armor and +5 WvW infusions. The time and inventory savings is large since switching WvW infusions to replace PvE agony infusions is tedious. I've seen people complain that their runes/infusions aren't easily visible when swapping gear, but it's probably some people aren't using the equipment panel and are still trying to use inventory for equipment templates.--> For my guardian I have power DH, quickness firebrand, minstrel WvW for squad play, roaming WvW (marshal's+cele). I could probably run condi without quickness, so that would make 5. Quite a few people I know simply opt for two or three guardians (character slots instead), I opted to get equipment templates due to legendary WvW armor with WvW infusions.--> For my mesmer I currently have power chrono, condi mirage, alacrity support, WvW build (either power or support with toughness/vitality) : at one point I had a set of gear for hiding in keeps but due to the state of mesmers (as well as WvW participation) I don't really bother much with that anymore--> Necro has quite a few gearing options: power (typically reaper), condi, support (grieving+cele for WvW , but mostly marshal's for raid/fractal people)--> Revenant has power gear (works for WvW backline hammer as well as PvE), diviner alacrity gear, and WvW frontliner gear (yet to get template for that) , I don't play condi because I find shortbow very finnicky and don't enjoy Kalla legend's AI--> For my engineer it's currently power gear (holo), 2nd is WvW scrapper , 3rd could be my condi gear but I rarely play that--> My Warrior is rarely condi but I have PvE power gear, WvW spellbreaker marauder gear--> Elementalist is power PvE gear, power WvW gear with vitality + strength rune (marauder) , third could be healing but I don't enjoy healing on tempest. I don't like sword enough to play condi weaver and go from scepter+ warhorn to purchase a template for it.--> Rarely play thief in WvW but power gear for PVE + marauder / vitality in WvW. Condi thief is popular in PvP right now but unviable in WvW unless roaming.--> Druid Rangers fell out of favor in fractals but power soulbeast still is in favor, 2nd tab is harrier gear , third could easily be condi if I ever actually play that often enough. I don't play ranger in WvW because after playing it in PvP I really don't like the pet reliance (unless you're soulbeast 24/7 in beast mode). Someone joked with me months ago that there's only 2 equipment stats: zerk and not zerk. It's not a funny joke now that equipment templates are out. Really like the ability to use chat codes and link builds. It's great for introducing PvE players to competent WvW builds. Sometimes game mode transition fails or there is no longer the default build. I have had instances where going to WvW didn't switch build and the same holds true in PvP.---> I understand some people are upset because "GW1 templates were free". Pricing:Let me begin by stating I know $5-10 transactions are problematic due to credit card and transaction charges. Equipment templates were stated to be in line with bag slots , they turned out to be a bit more (500 gems). I'm sort of okay with this as inflation & cost of labor increases happens but there should be a bulk pack of 5 or 9 (one per class) with at least 20-25% price reduction. It only is comparable if you change out infusions , runes, and aquatic gear. If someone uses exotics or legendary gear they aren't getting their money's worth versus bag slots which can easily have 28 or 32 slot bags.---> A condi build and power build share no equipment ideally, with 17 pieces where 6 are armor using 6 runes usually the same type (i.e. one inventory space unequipped), 2 rings, 1 backpiece, 2 accessories , 1 amulet, up to 4 weapons (infusions don't take space) unless you're counting up to 2 aquatic weapons and a aquabreather to total 20. Build templates are sort of expensive at 300 gems each but build storage exists. As it stands it is likely cheaper to get a character slot at 800 gems for WvW or for playing a PvE support or condi build in an area where map complete is meaningless (fractals/raids in particular) than to buy a build template and equipment template especially if you are using multiple sets of ascended anyway in the equipment template.Build storage could have been less expensive , at 500 gems for 3 builds it really isn't as affordable as it could be. I guess as consolation if you redeem the one free unlock (3 free build storage spaces) you'd have 9 build storage spaces if you pay 500 gems since everyone receives 3. That still wouldn't let you store more than 1 build per class. Given a bank tab is 600 gems and has 30 slots, I think that it would be a reasonable expectation that the build storage cost would be a great deal less money or offer more slots per purchase.If you buy the "expansion pack" , it comes out to 2000 gems for only 2 equipment templates + 2 build templates, and a meager 1 account build storage expansion (3 account build storage slots), and you're allowed to buy these "expansion packs" up to twice. The monetary equivalent is $50 as 2000 gems is $25. That's AAA game territory. Also people buying these things likely don't need exp boosters or makeover kits.If current pricing stays, at $25 / 2000 gems there should be an option for bulk pack 5+ equipment templates at the promised "cost of bag slots" at least, if not more than 5 for that $25 mark. I'd expect at least 9 for <$50 : at current pricing it's 4500 gems which exceeds that.---> Idea: Charge via money only (no gem option) on the webpage store for a $40-50 pack like a true expansion, call it a competitive game mode pack or something similar to GW1 PvP editions and put a fair amount of account build storage (another added 9+ builds = 3 build storage unlocks already), build templates (at least 9) and equipment templates (ideally 6+ to cover entire WvW meta) , not a meager 2 to 4. ---> As a stopgap , a good Wintersday present for WvW players would be a 5 equipment template pack (think firebrand/scourge/scrapper/revenant/spellbreaker ... maybe weaver or mesmers... not so much thief or ranger) on large discount in BLTC. A 5 pack makes the most sense since an account starts with 5 characters and the existing BLTC items generally have 5 item increments such as BL keys, Trading Post Express , and Bank Access Express.

I'm just going to leave this here:https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/78645/the-only-reason-poeple-complain-about-soulbeast-is-because-it-has-a-chance-to-dismount-them/p1 vs https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/89601/why-does-longbow-get-used If this was posted in the WvW forum you'd just have a repeat of that.You can continue to run owl for damage though, nobody is going to stop you. Most people would run smokescale, there's 2 pets after all.In addition it doesn't address keep buffs + food/utility on top of bloodlust.

This type of comment make me crazy. I read so many times that the main complaint of other classes is that Ranger does a lot of damage with LB when it is sitting on the wall. So, it doesn't matter that LB is not really a threat in 1 vs 1 or zerg, but only because can hit from the walls.@Infusion.7149, are you serious?I should have been more specific and split my WvW-specific post into two parts. Dismounting isn't the issue, it's dismounting and insta-killing before hitting the ground (or even being able to use a skill) off dismount despite 3000 armor. It is felt more on a class without passives such as Defy Pain on warriors or durability runes (increased mount health and activated protection passive). The wall example is more about elevation than structures. Skills like CoR cannot do this since it doesn't multi-hit, is slow , affected by terrain, and isn't tracking the target. The closest things with multi-hit are double-tap on deadeye which doesn't have the same damage levels, or warriors that for some reason decide to run rifle and use Volley (which has 1200 range and no vulnerability) which has higher travel time plus it doesn't arc. There are always going to be some people playing rangers (roleplayers or otherwise) because even before soulbeast, rangers would stay off tag and pew pew at >1200 range or doing their own thing roaming when literally every other class is trying to be on tag. It's one of the most common complaints against rangers in WvW besides pets (which is why it is mainly soulbeasts to address the pet issue). P.S. I was against nerfing longbow auto as it's not the problem, it's largely stacking soulbeast multiplicative % bonuses with food/keep bonuses/bloodlust as far as WvW.

No there really isn't

Reaper doesn't dismount and the mobility of a reaper vs a soulbeast is worlds apart , nevermind signet of stone or longbow stealthing. Also I play every meta WvW class and my most played was chrono before it was gutted. My observation is that even when rangers didn't do nearly as much damage as soulbeasts do currently, people would sit on the wall and use longbow.

To add to that: Unlike stripping the alacrity on renegades, boon stripping a herald isn't as hurtful because the reapplication isn't 20 seconds later. If Arenanet wanted to cut down on herald's prominence over core revenant the interval could easily be changed from 3s to 15s , with boon duration changed to match.

If your squad is 5-10 people you should be running support firebrand. Leave DPS to revenants, scourges (from corrupts mainly), power reapers, weavers, spellbreakers, staff daredevils, the rare holos (rifle is less likely than sword), Soulbeasts (make sure they stop firing bow when reflects are up and swap to melee).If you are running support you'll want monk runes , mace+shield and staff, 1200+ heal power. stand your ground for stability, Invigorated Bulwark+Force of Will in Honor, Indomitable Courage or Battle Presence in Virtues. You can forget about using symbols because without CC they will hit once or twice. The less DPS in your squad the more you want to deviate away from minstrel and run mixed things like Marshals/Harriers/Celestial/Apothecary to either get power /condi (condi is less investment and resembles sage brand in PvP). However, if you only have core spec + low investment then you will probably be looking at celestial / cleric's + marauder because without firebrand spec you don't have access to much burning without running Permeating Wrath in Virtues.

Nobody runs Superior Rune of earth in WvW, it's mostly durability or monk runes. Frankly, the soulbeasts are still overtuned in WvW because with 3K armor you can still get hit for 2k/tick Rapidfire (i.e. instant dismount death) due to keep bonuses, food/utility, and bloodlust. Soulbeasts are used for roaming, they're rarely run in a group setting due to reflects on firebrands and scrappers (i.e. the larger the group the more uptime on reflects).

If someone really wants a multitude of shots at it they can probably reroll characters through the map complete as there's no hearts nor required combat. You'd need a squad with trees marked for maximum effectiveness. I still think there's an extra zero or two in the drop rate (as I stated on page 1) : it should have leveled out at a few hundred gold or so at best , especially given you need 3 different armor weights for the collection. Thousands of gold is an order of magnitude larger than what is reasonable ; if less than 1/1000 (0.1%) then that might need a decimal or two shaved off. For something so heavily gated I would say 1% or 1/100 is already low.