Eurantien.4632

No one, HAS EVER, thought greatsword auto evade was too good until these patch notes dropped.

Ranger has no staying power in a fight without the GS auto evade. I didn't realize how negatively impactful this change will be until I played today and actively thought about how much I use the evade - and I use it intentionally most of the time. This is going to be a brutal change. Every single melee class has a way to be in the fight and stay in the fight... or a way to get in and out as they please (to an extent)Holo: Block wall that they can still damage through, S, stealth, leapsRev: Port, roll back, staff 5, staff 3, teleports, heal that converts damage to healingMesmer: distortion, blurred frenzy, teleports, leaps, stealth,Thief: ports, evades, dagger storm, evade at 50% hpGuardian: blocks, soo many blocks, invuln, portsNecro: High hp pool w/ shroud, high soft and hard CC, portsEle: Evade, evade, evade, perma stab, ports, invulnsWarrior: only full counter, shield block - IMO this is why warrior isn't a team fight build, It can't stay in the fights easier... is just slowly dies to everything else around it because it has no good way to get in and out or to stay in.Likewise:Ranger: We will have GS block. That is it. That's our only staying power in a team fight now. Sword doesn't cut it, it evades but doesn't allow a ranger to pressure. We, like warriors, don't have essential invulns that allow us to do damage while negating damage like the 5/7 other classes... These classes: Rev, Thief, Mesmer, Ele, Holo can negate damage WHILE DEALING damage- this is amazing counterpressure ability. Guardian and Necro can't but they have other options. Warrior and Ranger have psuedo-invulns but we are only immune to 1 damage type, we can still be CC'd, and still be controlled via soft CC, and whatever damage we aren't invuln to for a few seconds... The only thing war has going for it is full counter for staying team fights...The only thing ranger had going for it was GS auto evades for staying in team fights.

@monk seal.8079 yeah man, change out of nowhere

Gonna be tough chasing people without crippling throw

How are you guys not realizing that GS has 0 chase potential without crippling throw?

@Tayga.3192 If auto attack on gs evade cancelling was a bug or an exploit, then it would have been bug fixed, or changed at some point other than a balance patch. In fact, they have even given their reasoning for it, to prevent random dodging cause it feels bad. Not really sure what's makes you feel so confident in your assumptions when it seems pretty clear what's going on. As for the random dodge arguement, i would argue it wasn't random at all as someone who can see animations that have a 1.5s lead up time and react accordingly. In addition, that's why stow canceling for the auto or intentionally missing comes into play, if your own timing is off, you can still dodge with skill.

one would wonder if they saw your guide and changed/nerfed it because of what it is the guide Good theory, but they don't act that fast.

I love how I talk about how Greatsword is designed so well, mostly from GS 4 and the Evade on the auto. You have a block (that could use some QoL updating) but you have Crippling Throw that allows you to do some ranged pressure that CRIPPLES so you can stay on top of your target and maybe land a hilt bash - since hilt bash roots you and isn't fluid. Yet, they're going to take away what makes ranger Greatsword sooo amazing. Unbelievable.

Some of these things are OK, like I can live with losing the throw for the full block + kick evade if I have to, but Power Stab not evading? WHAT GS was such a well designed weapon that they seemingly randomly decided to change. The loss of Power Stab will be devastating and the loss of Crippling Throw - IMO a very very key skill on the Greatsword - will completely change the way ranger greatsword plays and NOT in a good way.

Yeah man, I don't know. Even when abused to its full potential power stab STILL isn't amazing. Yet when used wisely at a high skill level... it can be an amazing skill that has NEVER felt bad to fight against. This is just a further change to make ranger an accessible class with low skill floor and skill ceiling. Super disappointing. and GS 4 has always been my favorite skill in the game, the throw is so huge.

Gs 1 with quickness is just a shorter evade...

Lol you do that because the clones trigger your block and make you waste it on a clone You can also now just block the clone attacks and when its done CC the mesmer at your choosing Mesmers who use Infinite Horizon purely as offense never trigger my counterattack... but you're probably right. Not like I am the top ranked ranger who uses a Greatsword, or anything.

Right now Power Stab is often used to dodge Infinite Horizon clone attacks... the block evade skill can't really do the same nor as often... you can't hit something that is evading...

Dude look theres going to be a 3 target aoe evade, knockback on demand. Lol basically ranger gs is getting spellbreakers counter attack that hits harder and does hard instant CC Kicking 3 people stacked on top of each other = AoE CC

If you think Greatsword autoattack is a random dodge, then you aren't watching animations well at all.

This is 80% bad for ranger Greatsword. By changing power stab to endurance gain, you gain NOTHING. Power stab currently allows you to evade and THEN deal damage. Once it changes, while you get endurance and can dodge more, you are doing ZERO COUNTERPRESSURE while dodging. The removal of the Greatsword throw is a huge WTF. This skill allowed for the ranger to have a modicum of pressure when at a distance besides swoop - this is especially because hilt bash ROOTS the player when used instead of being a fluid skill. But hey, I guess we can block for 3s now, and at least the kick is an evade so that's kinda wild - hence the 20% good.. Greatsword is the most skillful weapon ranger has. NEVER ONCE have I thought, "damn, that power stab evade that guy did is BUSTED!?" It is entirely undeserving of the nerfs it is receiving. What is worse is their reasoning behind the greatsword changes. 1. Skill 4 is too complex (ARE YOU KIDDING!?) 2. The autoatack is frustrating because it's a random evade. NEVER ONCE IN MY LIFE have I blown cd's into another ranger's auto evade - they have 1.5 seconds of autoattacks before it's available HELLO!!!! The sword changes look pretty awesome. Making sword a more aggressive style is exactly what it needs to be able to pressure.

Oh awesome, so glad you guys liked it. I was worried no one would be interested, or find it useful.

Hey everyone, I couple people over the last couple months asked me for a ranger greatsword guide and I was in the middle of moving and have since deleted the mails (that was an accident) so I hope you guys find this! I jotted down some ideas that I knew/remembered about GS and I tried to throw them all into 1 video. The production quality is very low and I might have missed somethings but I covered everything I could think of during my mini brainstorm. Take a look, and if you have any questions or anything, I'm always happy to help! Also if you want like weapon combos and what not or how to play certain ranger builds, certain match ups, etc. happy to help with that too. I have a much better internet connection now so I need to up the quality of my stream, but it should make things MUCH easier now for me on the streaming front. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/480142108?t=09m43s UPDATED EDIT: Really the skill ceiling is much lower and the things you could do with auto evades and GS throw are now gone. Because of this, the only things to keep in mind are swoop is an evade and more importantly a leap finisher for stealth. Use your block when under pressure and then counterattack something even if its air before the skill goes on CD since it's an evade. Pretty straight forward weapon, low skill floor and low skill ceiling. Good luck out there! GS also has 0 chase potential, so really just try to swap to it under severe pressure or when you know they have no cds left.

Oh man, that was scary. Glad it's not in sPvP.

@DuckDuckBOOM.4097 ah yeah, I totally forgot the merge skill was also a daze, my bad!

Sure, I can understand and accept synergy, but lb/gs builds are already very effective and pretty common. Condi based builds need more help outside of pve, and so does the Shortbow. Even if the traits aren’t swapped, the daze and stun buff would be more useful in skirmishing for any type of shortbow builds. Unfortunately it still wouldn't make it viable. Buff shortbow up 3s daze/stun and it still wouldn't be viable because shortbow has no follow up for damage. You'd just swap weapons for more dmg... And gs doesn’t need it considering the potential damage output. But the daze and stun buff doesn’t need to be in the longbow line. Maybe not, but the damage buff on interrupt is definitely good with longbow, and the fact GS is easily paired with LB, makes the damage buff on interrupt pair very well with GS and so does the stun and daze duration for GS... In a way it's like because you're using longbow and invested in marskmanship, you should use GS too. Which is kind of cool from a synergy point for view. Because your have marksmanship traits essentially just for longbow with that other master trait that gives 5% to 10% more damage and lead the wind.... but you also have the option to run these trait lines of moment of Claire and remorseless that not only help longbow but also GS because you will have to go into melee range and thats cool... Now skirmishing does have some of the coolest traits in this game. Quickness on dodge. Quick draw is the coolest trait there is... yet there are to date no builds (for PvP) that can make use of skirmishing. Personally, I don't think moment of clarity should be move but instead, skirmishing should get some kind of trait for Condi clear on swiftness or quickness gain or something so that we can be freed from the shackles of wilderness survival, hopefully grab the Shortbow trait too. And then maybe we can actually have a skirmishing shortbow build, or at least, hope for skirmishing. Point is this, and I’m not trying to be rude in any way, a trait function that buffs stun and daze doesn’t belong, or make sense, in a trait line devoted to a weapon devoid of any stun or daze period. Shortbow builds are far behind in any wvw or pvp play, unlike the common, and highly effective, lb/gs “me too” builds you see. Lb and gs aren’t underperforming weapons compared to some others, and those others need some extra help where they can get it. Look at the link you posted.https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Moment_of_Clarity50% stun/daze duration was added later in the game. It's main purpose is NOT to extend the duration of CCs like you claim. It's main purpose was and still is increasing your and your pets next hit after interrupt by 50%. This trait is exactly where it belongs: the power/burst trait line. MM is not just a LB traitline. The extra stun/daze duration is a nice bonus to GS but also Druid Dazes, SB Gazelle F2 and any daze/stun on a future elite spec that, fingers crossed, might be announced soon. Short bow and skrim need some love but stun/daze duration MoC is not it.Doesn't work with pets. Does make druid CC better though.

Sure, I can understand and accept synergy, but lb/gs builds are already very effective and pretty common. Condi based builds need more help outside of pve, and so does the Shortbow. Even if the traits aren’t swapped, the daze and stun buff would be more useful in skirmishing for any type of shortbow builds. Unfortunately it still wouldn't make it viable. Buff shortbow up 3s daze/stun and it still wouldn't be viable because shortbow has no follow up for damage. You'd just swap weapons for more dmg... And gs doesn’t need it considering the potential damage output. But the daze and stun buff doesn’t need to be in the longbow line. Maybe not, but the damage buff on interrupt is definitely good with longbow, and the fact GS is easily paired with LB, makes the damage buff on interrupt pair very well with GS and so does the stun and daze duration for GS... In a way it's like because you're using longbow and invested in marskmanship, you should use GS too. Which is kind of cool from a synergy point for view. Because your have marksmanship traits essentially just for longbow with that other master trait that gives 5% to 10% more damage and lead the wind.... but you also have the option to run these trait lines of moment of Claire and remorseless that not only help longbow but also GS because you will have to go into melee range and thats cool... Now skirmishing does have some of the coolest traits in this game. Quickness on dodge. Quick draw is the coolest trait there is... yet there are to date no builds (for PvP) that can make use of skirmishing. Personally, I don't think moment of clarity should be move but instead, skirmishing should get some kind of trait for Condi clear on swiftness or quickness gain or something so that we can be freed from the shackles of wilderness survival, hopefully grab the Shortbow trait too. And then maybe we can actually have a skirmishing shortbow build, or at least, hope for skirmishing.

Sure, I can understand and accept synergy, but lb/gs builds are already very effective and pretty common. Condi based builds need more help outside of pve, and so does the Shortbow. Even if the traits aren’t swapped, the daze and stun buff would be more useful in skirmishing for any type of shortbow builds. Unfortunately it still wouldn't make it viable. Buff shortbow up 3s daze/stun and it still wouldn't be viable because shortbow has no follow up for damage. You'd just swap weapons for more dmg...

Also i would like to jump in and say, the extra CC duration won't help shortbow at all. If the idea is to improve shortbow this is not the right move and something much more substantial would be.

Moment of clarity used to be a skirmishing grandmaster trait. I used it for a power ranger build in the world tournament series with skirmishing and marksmanship. The move to marksmanship has actually been a big boon for us. As it stands, moment of clarity synergizes wonderfully with two handed training in beast mastery and remorseless on marksmanship, allowing for some huge dps following interrupts. Moving that to skirmishing would be be a step backwards in a way. Honestly, without moment of clarity in marksmanship, not sure id run Marksmanship, even though I think clarion bond is one of the best reasons to run it for PvP.