NorthernRedStar.3054

Against a warrior, throw out blinds if you can, dodge/evade where possible, stealth -> backstab when you can, shadowstep away when each of these options is on CD. If you run Daggerstorm then pop it in their face once their blocks/invulns are blown. Be mindful of Rush, Bull's Charge, Volley, and Kill Shot as if they begin casting before you go into stealth these skills will track you and still connect. The thing is, thief's utilities have lengthy cooldowns, and warrior's dodge roll alone is worth 3-5k damage on average. The only way you really can initiate a prolonged duel is via IS (Infiltrator's) and Bountiful Theft's vigor. Contrary, warrior actually has fairly low cooldowns on a lot of their weapon skills, which from thief's POV are 'must-avoid'. So unless you're condi thief, it doesn't seem worth it to me, like, 90% of the time.

I find high power backstabs while avoiding their damage or cc followed by a second burst backstab has been the main way I've been successful. Or condi burst and disengage and repeat till dead, takes a while cuz shake it off and brawlers recovery if their running it Yeah, I can hazzle and irritate a warrior from capping a point 'till the end of the world, but find a consistent damage output to actually put them down to be nigh' impossible against any competent player. Been trying out some condi builds again, which seem surprisingly good as long as you're not against a double FB comp or alike.

Unless you're running a dedicated boon steal build.

Damn, Immana try and solo it tomorrow. Sounds like a fun challenge to beat the clock.

Tried re-logging due to a pop-up spam, but now I'm unable to log in at all.

Are the changes going to land in today's patch, alongside the mechanical 'fixes'?

What NPCs have no tells with attacks you have to avoid?

Agreed. While the reasoning behind their attempted changes are 'cute', the skill itself will be completely out of competitive viability until it's reverted or changed further in the unforeseeable future. DH's bow damage is low as it stands, and their missile speed is, correct me if I'm wrong, lower than ranger's longbow. With all of their skills more telegraphed than any of warrior's, how on earth are they supposed to deal damage outside trap cheese? None of the traits will be able to save this clunky mess.

Guild Wars 1 Drakkar reminds you of someone ancient, less suited for combat, and more prone to feigning wisdom. One of those big, clumsy, old creatures you see in cartoons every now and then. Not suited for combat, but powerful none the less. Guild Wars 2 Drakkar is like a trade ship suited for combat, in this regard. Jormag knew we were coming for him/her next. Why not modify your champions to have a more suitable kit of abilities?

What's your favorite class to duel with and against?

Yes and no. Trevor Boyer sums my thoughts on the matter fairly well. I also fear thief will benefit too much, due to initiative and SA.

HoT is an underappreciated expansion that a lot of people tend to avoid because "mobs are harder" and "the maps aren't easy to navigate". Verdant brink and Dragon's Stand metas are some of the best content in the game, and there's a ton of small stuff to do in each area. PoF is between core game and HoT, both difficulty and layout -wise.

Yeah, there are a lot of people who are stoked for these notes to drop in a patch. I think this is mostly people who are tired of not being to keep up in a high DPS meta. But when all of this actually happens, the over simplification of build structures is going to feel very real on day 1. Then all this hype about "meaningful skill usage and more technical gameplay delivered from the patch" is going to go away, and people are going to receive yet another lesson in: Be careful what you ask for. I'm not saying the patch is terrible. I actually agree with about 90% of those changes, which I feel is the right direction to go in. But a small portion of the changes are absolutely whack and are going to cause more problems than they help. And we're talking big weird new kinds of problems. This is my issue is as well. The dumbing down of certain (core) aspects of the game, and lowering the skill cap, is going to cost in long-term. Which is why it's always a risk, imo.

I've always had an issue with the amount of time invested in the game as a barometer for casual and hard core. I run a fairly casual guild. There's a woman in my guild who doesn't raid, barely does anything in Fractals. Barely does any challenging achievements. Doesn't PvP. But she gathers all the time, constantly, every day, all day. She's not casaul about gathering. She came to me after years of playing and said she was bored and when I asked her why she doesn't make a legendary weapon she told me she heard it was hard. So I started asking her what she had in her inventory. How many obby shards do you have. How many ectos. How many of each of the mats. She already had world complete. By the end of that all she was really missing was a gift of battle. She already had a legendary done. I showed her how to get some easy WvW dalies and use the potions to work on the gift of battle. Now she has like eleven legendaries. You can't say she's hard core. She's not focused on anything that requires that. She's dedicated sure, but I don't think this is what people mean when they say hard core player. By the same token I know people who don't really have time to play at all, but when they do play they're maximizing their rotation and looking for a raid group that can play during the few hours they have. I play a ton of hours, more than most, but I still to more casual content. You might consider me hard core, but I sure don't. I am, however, dedicated to running my largely social guild. This. In a game with as much content (albeit more so vertical than horizontal), the line between casual and 'hardcore' gets slightly blurred. Personally, for me, hardcore means 'actively seeking to get better'.

This isn't what happened, though. That weird realm is the commander's psyche. The doppelganger wins = Jormag's whispers become too much to resist. Bangar explicitly stated he came down to kill the champion for propaganda reasons, AND to get rid of a detrimental force that's affecting his soldiers. Jormag's building up a weak point in our heads, which is our hate/dislike towards Bangar, in order to slowly coerce us. The spirits you're right about. Too little information. Too convenient.

Considering Drakkar was originally supposed to be Jormag (dating as far back as GW1), it's not too far-fetched that Jormag's current base of operations is in the middle of the former Drakkar Lake. In ls3, Jormag was camped near Bitterfrost as per npc dialogue so it’s likely still down there since it continues to sleep right nowDoubt it. Primordus very clearly retreated away from his current chosen spot (as per the LS3 finale). I'd expect both dragons not to fall asleep on their back as the magical kawabunga happened. To boot, Drakkar Lake is almost directly north from Bitterfrost. Again, pure speculation. But I'm thinking what'd be 'logical' and 'coolest' thematics-wise as per devs' POV.

I'm trying this tomorrow, I've been looking to bolster my PvP experience on soulbeast.

Joko more or less does that in the Fractal... although that still doesn't come close to matching the scale on which the Risen previously did it. When Joko's prominently the only one capable of doing it, I don't think it counts as 'on the fly'. Either way, there's much conflicting information on the subject, in different mediums and even in-game. To me, the most powerful risen definitely strike out as more potent than the most powerful awakened. I suppose the answer to the question relies on what we count as 'minions'. Dragon champions? Simple army fodder?

Considering Drakkar was originally supposed to be Jormag (dating as far back as GW1), it's not too far-fetched that Jormag's current base of operations is in the middle of the former Drakkar Lake.

The lake "spread" as of Jormag's awakening, as he/she makes coastal areas flood and water levels rise. Hence, rivers become lakes and lakes become small sub-continental oceans. The reason the former lake is now dark-iced, is presumably the increased effectiveness and range of Drakkar's (Jormag's) whispers.

Events: kinda cool, lot of variety. Liked most of 'em. "Timber! " was a funny reference. World Boss, Drakkar: can't say, haven't done due to a whole set of bugs influencing the event. Story: liked the last mission, the rest were rather lackluster. Enjoyed the tidbits with Rytlock and Crecia, their dialogue was the highlight of this episode - whereas the rest tended to be either cliché or cheesy. Boy, does Aurene look beautiful. I want to smack Bangar's face in instead of being the commander doormat for this one, though. Strike Mission: this one was good. Enjoyable mechanics, some learning curve, shouldn't be too difficult for casual players after a some tries and tips. Overall, props to the devs on this one.

Sword-main thief as well, but this requires some advantageous terrain to be used. And even then, it's not exactly a cakewalk due to GS 4 and potentially even Signet of Stone.

Yes, let us give elementalists even more on-node dueling power, so it doesn't matter whether it's a condi weaver or sustain tempest, you are better off letting elementalists play the game solo.

It was 4 other players,not one.They all scattered and pushed for 3 nodes at 480 points,instead holding one. Its all good tho.It shown me how to play pvp from now on.Gone are the days where i tried to play for other 4 people.If you want to win,then my buddy,do your best.Im not gonna run like moron and bust my kitten offwhile other 4 players simply do not give a single f. The current state of PvP is very sad, indeed.

This is a meme, right? It's gotta be a meme.