[New Improvisation is trash in PvP/WvW]

Why, yes it is.

I was lukewarm to the idea of gaining flat % recharge on all of my utilities instead of a total reset on one at random, but I was willing to give it a fair shot. Unfortunately Anet pre-emptively clipped its wings by shipping it with a very aggressive and needless competitive split. Seriously, 25 % would have already been a considerable downgrade from what we were used to. So now, almost two weeks later, I just can't find any reason to pick Deadly Arts over Shadow Arts if I'm running D/P, or Acrobatics over Deadly Arts if I'm running S/D.

What hurts most is that it no longer encourages an aggressive, dynamic, and unique playstyle. Instead, Deadly Arts playstyle has become exactly like those of the other trait lines, but worse.

I do not understand how this trait became an issue after only minor adjustments over the last eight years. Sure, I can understand them wanting to lower the amount of RNG, but this is a case of a misguided attempt at balance at the cost of fun. I'd also argue that the RNG wasn't a big factor of this trait, as it strongly encouraged thief to pick three of the strongest utilities they had in their arsenal, to the point it wouldn't much matter which one got recharged. Broken? Maybe so, but far less so than the other alternative. Further, the old Improvisation was what grandmaster traits should strive to be: high impact, gameplay defining, and above all else, FUN traits.

Ask Fresh Air elementalists how they would feel if FA was removed, and that the strongest pick in the tier would be Bolt to the Heart going forward. They would laugh at you and put on their best celestial gear, because that is the message they would be getting. The message we're getting?

"Run SA lol"

no.

[Please leave improv alone]

Nobody ever cared about Improvisation's lack of viability in PvE, as it's a trait that directly competes with Executioner and Potent Poison. I doubt many will care about the trait even after the change, either. Where it hurts are the competitive modes, where most thieves struggle to find any reason to run Deadly Arts over Shadow Arts, an objectively far stronger trait line.

As one of those stubborn Deadly Arts knuckleheads, I won't knock it until I try it - the new Improv could be good. If it isn't, well, I guess Shadow Arts it is. Everyone loses in this situation, the five people who still favour Deadly Arts over Shadow Arts will be forced to switch and enjoy the game less, and the rest of the competitive community will have to make peace with facing more SA thieves.

It isn't like Deadly Arts is new to good competitive traits being neutered on the altar of "but it's better in PvE this way", see Exposed Weakness.

Your call.

[A New Ecto Casino for EoD?]

Could we have a new ectoplasm gambling shack for End of Dragons as a gold sink and a source for Supreme Runes of Holding? Maybe even have a meta achievement for getting the 100 rolls achievement for all: Tarrktun, Sandstorm, and whatever the third one is going to be.

 

I really want something productive to do with my gold. That would do. I honestly cannot think of a better way to earn two achievement points and the envy of my friends.

[Initiative Icons CHange?]

How is it suddenly easier to tell your initiative after nine years of getting used to the old initiative bar? Sure, with the old one, you did not necessarily count the initiative, but you didn't have to.

As your initiative was all in a single row, you could tell at a glance how much you actually had. 5 initiative? A third of the row was lit up, and your brain (assuming you have one) would immediately go and correct it to 5 initiative. Just past the halfway point being lit up, okay, 8 ini ready to go.

The reasons to why it works on Firebrand are because 1) Guardian didn't have resource bar like that before, and 2) It only has 5-8 pips, making it easy to read at a glance. Unfortunately, 12 and 15 are both greater numbers than 5 and 8, and each thief weapon skill besides auto attack and stealth attacks uses a different amount of the resource.

This isn't something people are not going to get used to, but I feel like we shouldn't even be having this conversation. When Anet goes about changing something that people have grown accustomed to over the whole lifespan of the game, they should at the very least have the courtesy of adding the option to change it back to how it used to be. Ideally allow for much greater UI customization, but that is wishful thinking on my part.