Gotejjeken.1267

Actually, auto-cast will fix 20-30% of what's wrong with Untamed IMO. If the pet can keep up like it used to and be controllable, then there is no reason to use core anymore, because the untamed traitline is just better. Right now, it's possible to solo PvE dungeons with Untamed, as well as open world champions, etc. It effectively equals out to my druid in survivability; the only places these fall short are large metas where it's better to just run soulbeast and be perma merged. I don't do group content like fractals or raids so cannot speak there. I know they know the problem with untamed is it can't compare to soulbeast with power, which is why we're seeing the soulbeast nerfs. I think that's the wrong call and a better call is just add more fury access / damage to untamed--because everything is power creeped now, makes no sense to down tune one spec to make the other palatable. In WvW, I can see bringing spirit untamed. Boon duration can be super high already on untamed as can health, and can build in quite a bit of CC and still have room for spirits. Won't be able to survive 5 on 1's like bunker druid and won't be able to one shot people from any distance like soulbeast, but it will have a place.

Just so everyone knows, if you take out the opening paragraph (include only from Profession Skills on), it is 4,382 words. So likely this is the full set of changes.

Actually yeah...what in the actual hell 😂. Nerfs / weird changes, but won't fix the 3ish second on-swap delay for all the expansion pets.... Sounds about right!

Holy spotter nerf...went from 9s of increased precision every 3s to...3s of fury on a 10s interval? That's actually worse than light on your feet, but surprised we don't have to burn an evade to get spotter... Also doubting anyone takes spirits in WvW, they'll still die incredibly fast and who knows how large 'in an area' is...for all we know it's like 300 radius. You also have to take nature's vengeance to get alacrity, meaning you have to not only take NM but also give up a pretty big defensive option in protective ward. Also ,these massive streak of untamed changes still are making me lmao. Most of us called nerfing soulbeast before untamed even came out to make people use it, but they still need to make untamed attractive in other ways 😂

For condi, I use Apoc and/or Trailblazer depending on what you want to afford. It'll let you play outnumbered, and you can win most duels with it. Basically, it's still bunker but doesn't try to do power like cele. I'm sure there are more offensive options, but the problem I find in general with condi is the three power offensive stats (power/pre/fer) don't play well with just the one condition damage stat of condi builds. So you end up building bunker no matter what, because the only other thing you really have is duration unless you want to spread yourself thin.

Since you mentioned a lot of roleplay elements in your OP, I kinda want to say Untamed is for you, as it interacts most with the pet. You won't get the damage out of it like Soulbeast, but at least in PvE can get close to utility of Druid but with more 'pokemon' for you due to the pet control. I also don't really like Druid for power (everything it has works with condi/bleed), and LB is strictly a power weapon. Untamed also addresses your concern of the elites not adding much in the way of 'new' mechanics, as Untamed has the most of those (unleashed state / new pet skills, ambush skills, full pet control, etc.). Soulbeast has the least, as its whole purpose is merging with the pet to get rid of it at opportune times (so you gain and lose equal amount of skills) and to increase damage--all of which sounds like it may not fit for you by your OP.

No offense, but if people are playing this way in WvW no wonder there's no challenge left. Traps are just bad--everytime I see a trapper rune ranger I just *sigh* and wonder where they were in 2015 when that was a viable build. Now? If you want to beat a trapper ranger, just watch where they lay traps and move backward. They'll inveitbely try to 'sneak up on you' in stealth and you can just body them--without ever touching the traps. Prelude lash is fine, sure--but much better on power burst IMO. Also it would help to stop being facetious about Druid just because you cannot play one (from your own admissions above). In WvW you destroy breakbars, stall like no ones business, can CC chain even the most slippery classes (I've been thanked many times for this), and yes, a well timed ancient seeds destroys a lot of people. Also you can run traps (but please for the love of god don't).

No...we don't need any more duels involving the OP 😂. IYKYK... But since I only know WvW, I can confirm Druid outperforms condi soulbeast by a country mile with the utility and such you can build into it. I don't particularly like cele, but can build a condi bunker easy enough atm.

Yeah it's like...why. Just make the health and defense buff baseline, because of course everyone is going to want the small 12 hr buff you get from randomly using them now. Which is like the inverse 'everyone wins' scenario they've been doing for years now. Back when you had armor damage in WvW you got penalized for not repairing (negative health and defense), now you get more health and defense for doing nothing but using the anvil...

Just to be super focused for a second here... I don't often used the 'confused' face....but what even is this? It kinda sounds like you cherry picked things you think may be OP (gs 2, troll ungent, entangle), but including stuff like SotP I can't tell because that skill is bad so maybe you think it needs a buff...and then you start including every traitline ranger has, so can't tell which ones you think may be OP and which ones arent'.... Also how are you going to include a bunch of weapons skills and leave out OH axe #4? 😂

Rangers, get ready for 2s of Alacrity every 40s on 5 people from a spirit that dies in 3 hits.

Encouraging PPK more will just lead to more blobs rolling over small enemies, with the blob thinking they are 'skilled'. Outside of that it'd just encourage ganking more people without warclaws at the tails because you now need to. None of that seems healthy for the mode or encourages actual skill, which I think you're after. For the waypoints, the only classes 'ezclap'ing out of fights are stealth heavy ones (thieves, at times mesmers) and ones that are built to run (spellbreaker, willbender, etc.). The rest tend to get rolled or caught eventually as the opposing side goes OOC and mounts up to catch them. Basically, if we're restricting waypoints then we need to also apply revealed inside structures at all times so you can't have thieves 'ezclap' flipping things with the absurd range shadow portal has. Porting people into structures should no longer be viable unless the entire opposing side is sleeping as they'd see red dots.

Basically condi immob druid, focus on maximizing bleeds is what I run. Hardcountered by stuff like cele harb, and hard(ish) countered / stalemated by stuff with a ton of barrier or specs like spellbreaker, but for 85% of stuff it does very well. For the staff question, there is a trick where if you pet swap at the end of your grace it counts for the CD reduction the skill has if you 'heal an ally'. If you couple that with Quick Draw you can get it down to 6s or something (maybe lower, don't want to do the math right now lol). But it's really two graces in a row if you do it this way.

For staff / ancestral grace, just remember you can reduce the CD by a lot by healing your own pet, and then even further (to ridiculous levels) if you equip Quick Draw. The smoke field issue is reason I don't run smokescale as think celestial shadow is enough, but do have oddball cases where you can use it differently to throw someone off (i.e. grace into it and swap pet to get the CD and stealth, then keep kiting until weapon swap or you have avatar). For other stuff, if you want poision application you can get that through WS trait, but at range with staff , and staff 5 is not only projectile denial it heals you (blast into it, stand behind it, etc.). I also find if you can aim staff 4 the immob it gives is a free kite for you as the enemy has to break out of it. Staff 1 also builds avatar like a boss. But all this is specific to me, and it's because I love the kiting utility of staff. Yeah gs is close, but the problem I have with it is it doesn't heal, but is the best defensive weapon we have outside staff for me. I just don't like sword as a defensive option really anymore as sure you have leaps, but can be CC'd out of them pretty easy and weird things like hornet sting have awful frame delays making that evade hard to get, etc. etc.

For pets, I find you get more value out of ones that can do multiple CC (i.e. Gazelle, Wyvern, etc.); I just prioritize on-demand pet CC over utliity (like smoke field) when I'm playing Druid. For burst, only if playing certain setups like Longbow. If running something like full melee, or using MH Axe then burst isn't as important as other things (kiting ability for melee, and might stacking on axe). Sometimes redudancy is ok too, I just don't like the setup that person has, as taking staff or gs over sw/wh still gives you extra stealth access if you take smokescale, and also yields way more utility than sw/wh has. Again, not that sword/wh don't have uses, it's just hard to find one for them on Druid right now. Can utilize them better on untamed or soulbeast (i.e. might stacking on soulbeast from axe/wh + trait, or running full melee with sw/axe and gs, etc.).

OP being facetious here, because they know we've gotten zero balance patches and one nerf (in PvP) to Tail Swipe. So, it is literally impossible for Untamed to have improved since EoD launch.

For safe options... If condi, Trailblazer.. If power, Marauder...but you better be stacking might with this setup. If you are using MH axe with power and not might stacking you are wasting a good portion of use. Also, I kinda agree core is your best option here if new. Druid mechanically has little place in open world and Untamed is pretty complicated for the value you get. That'd lead to Soulbeast--which you don't have...so just go core. Someting like Sk/BM/NM, trait axes, and try to keep your might as high as you can (i.e. some amount of boon duration).

To be blunt? That video is a waste of Druid. I watched the first fight, and it's far more a player competence issue than anything Druid specific. Taking power on a Druid is just...bad; for one, you are at odds with both ancient seeds and entangle as they do negligible bleed damage now. If you are just using them for immob it's nonsensical as you are just stalling a fight you could win if spec'd for condi (because they are condi skills). The player also did nothing with avatar form except the easy 3/5 combo...which again is pointless if you are just going to immob. There is zero follow up damage here, because sword--well bluntly again--sucks, and longbow you better be going for an actual burst (like with sic' em + rapid fire) or it's a bad, bad weapon. Also, Smokescale does nothing for Druid because you have enough stealth through avatar, and pet damage is horrible. Getting more stealth with warhorn blast is a waste, even more if you are running glass stats and not using the regeneration portion. So, again, I think it's just the people in the montage were less skilled. Fast forwarding a little bit, you have a willbender that died to this druid, who did a maul...that CRIT for 2k. 2k. A soulbeast could fart and do more damage than this. The long and short? Please never spec druid for power unless playing against absolute terribads.

An idea, since thief and ranger are similar in a lot of ways--could deadeye be given an energy management system similar to Druid? Druid can also stealth a lot, clear condis, etc. but only at the mercy of avatar form--so you must build around that for it to be effective. I don't really see the other thief specs as problematic, as daredevil's have evade instead of stealth, don't really ever see core anymore, and spectre is a mixed bag--either they are really good and unkillable or really bad and ignorable. Also yes, Celestial is a problem for practically any class at this time--discussions around this can probably be ignored as either anet will hit cele or its here to stay and not a talking point anyway.

I agree, and do wish for more transparency also. The issue there would probably not exclusively be this forum but places like Reddit making life difficult if things do not go according to plan. I know this has happened in the past with many things so they sort of receded and stopped communicating publically.

Switching on the fly doesn't really make competitive sense. Sure, it opens up possibilities, but it also creates an absolute balance nightmare. Like, you literally have no counters, because everything is a counter. What other competitive game allows this? Even old school RTS's if you try switching your strategy on the fly was a huge penalty and gamble and most times didn't work. Looking at fighting games like MvC, it'd be like being able to switch your comp at any time to counter another comp...it's just kinda insane sounding.

You've been a programmer for a little while, so surely you know how businesses work now....right? They'd hire you and put you on whatever they need, and move you any time they need. You'd also get no say in the direction or what is being done, you'd just need to develop and that's it. Been at this a decade myself and can say the reason WvW isn't developed is purely economic / political (office, not actual politics). Game is very big now, times are very tough now, and to stay afloat they need to concentrate on things that matter--and WvW sadly doesn't. Basically think of WvW like SAB, it is a novel concept that could be really cool but doesn't do anything for anyone outside us hardcore that play nightly. Not really a changeable fact either since you can't introduce balance through PvP / amulet like changes without mass salt, and PvE players don't even want to be in the mode, and there's nothing about 'git gud' that is going to make them suddenly want to get rolled over and over. I mean, WvW is the red-headed step child between PvE and PvP...what did we all really expect?

You really have to play more games if you think having a cash shop 'shortcut' constitutes 'pay to win'. It was explained above why this is a bad take, because you won't be allowed in the content you 'paid to win' (i.e. raids/fractals), and if you step foot in competitive you will find out quickly that you wasted your money as you're gonna get rolled. But actual 'pay to win' is if the game say made leveling exponentially harder as you progress, to the point to where you need boosters to hit 80 or spend hundreds / thousands of hours getting there. Or if Black Lion chests contained items you needed--like your mounts expire after 30 days unless you get a pass out of the Black Lion chest (which would of course be random). That's P2W. You could argue GW2 is 'buy to win' though, as it'd be hard to do a lot of things on a F2P account or just in Core Tyria. I'm not sure that's here nor there as its the literal business model which is unchangeable without a subscription fee of some kind (no thank you).

AFAIK the 'problem' is the runes and infusions unslot if the weapon is moved to your inventory. Which is what six clicks at most to get them all back--so not really a problem at all. Storing multiple ascended to avoid this is not only a waste of gold, but also a waste of bag space. Should there be more template slots? Probably as it'd make anet more money and allow for more build variety. But in reality the more template slots would just lead to more builds that aren't optimal anyway and not really worth storing.

If the situation were flipped and you were steamrolling your way to your gifts of battle...this topic never would have been made, would it? As they say--can't win em' all. So I'd either log until your server moves down a tier or try to sneak around and capture close things. Even if vastly outnumbered no one is camping spawn all the time unless its EBG--so just avoid that.