Sir Vincent III.1286

You fix all that by removing Shortbow#5 all together without any compensation You don't have to remove it altogether, just make it require a target. I am not sure if that would make sense though. Why would a Thief want to port to an enemy using IA? That would result in almost terrible waste of whole lots of Ini for one blind and a port that is already on most weapons for less Ini, more dmg and utility. lol, with 120 radius, it can only blind one target unless multiple target are on top of each other. It is already a waste of Init when used without a target. But IA currently serves only as a movement skill that's the most crucial skill in current pvp thief builds, that's definitely not a waste to use it as its currently required to be used.I don't agree that it's crucial. It is the skill that labeled the Thief as decapper. Without it, the Thief has to build something that is actually useful and productive.

You fix all that by removing Shortbow#5 all together without any compensation You don't have to remove it altogether, just make it require a target. I am not sure if that would make sense though. Why would a Thief want to port to an enemy using IA? That would result in almost terrible waste of whole lots of Ini for one blind and a port that is already on most weapons for less Ini, more dmg and utility.lol, with 120 radius, it can only blind one target unless multiple target are on top of each other. It is already a waste of Init when used without a target.

Well, you're not wrong. I would never bring my Thief (or Mesmer) in any instanced game mode. It's not fair for the rest of my team to bring a liability profession. I love my Thieves, but I know their limitation. Besides, why work so hard in playing Thief when I can easily play my Necro? Or Guardian? Mesmer (Mirage or chrono) is meta in many Raids and so is thief. necro however is The worst class for instanced content. I bring my Necro in PvP and Guardian in PvE instances. Mesmer might be meta, but not all players can play a meta build/profession. Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that Thief and Mesmer are liabilities.

Wow, two year time warp? lol, nobody checks for time stamp anymore. :)

You fix all that by removing Shortbow#5 all together without any compensation You don't have to remove it altogether, just make it require a target.

Well, you're not wrong. I would never bring my Thief (or Mesmer) in any instanced game mode. It's not fair for the rest of my team to bring a liability profession. I love my Thieves, but I know their limitation. Besides, why work so hard in playing Thief when I can easily play my Necro? Or Guardian?

Understood , but that said NEEDING to hit a target every 5 seconds is still easier then needing to hit a target every 2 seconds. The main advantage of a 2 second cooldown over a 5 is after a cleanse by the enemy you can get that poison on again quicker but again this more about inhibiting a heal then it about accruing more overall stacks relative to the other. My main point is that this change will not translate to a rush of more players into condition builds. It much more likely to result in more power builds dropping mug to take this over mug. You don't really need to hit a target every 2s, although ideal it's not necessary. Even if you hit 4 out of 5 tries within 10s, this proposed change will still put you ahead of the current iteration. As the math shows above you are talking a minimal difference. It comes to less then 3 percent IF those 4 attacks are made every two seconds and again that important. It not hitting with 4 attacks in 10 seconds. It is making sure those 4 attacks are two seconds apart. I can hit with the full 5 attacks out of a singular sneak attack in a second but that still only one trigger. Again in a typical fight the added damage from conditions due to the number of stacks obtained by the proposed version over the old will not be of any great consequence. With Potent, you have a 1.5 second margin of error which make it unnecessary to hit every 2 seconds. If you take Runes of Thorns, that extends the duration further to 5 seconds, which gives you way more leeway when trying to hit your target. The ICD will go out of CD before your poison drops off. How do you manage to extend a duration to 5 seconds for that poison? You seem to suggest you can do this. I think he meant to say 2 and hit 5 instead. 2 stacks of poison (3 with panic strike) with 3s base duration and 100% extra condi duration from thorns etc is 6s poison on 5s cd, so you get 1s leeway. After the patch, you'd get 2 stacks for 4 seconds on a 2s cooldown with thorns, panic strike etc, so you get 2s leeway which is a duration buff, and potentially keep up 4 stacks of poison if you attack consistently. It's a nerf that actually turns out to be a buff, whichever way you look at it. Are thorns runes in PvP? for WvW it would be a buff, but I'm unsure if the change wouldn't make more sense in PvP. I still do not see it as a buff as far as condition damage concerned. You are not squeezing a whole lot more damage out of this even if you manage an attack every 2 seconds. I actually don't see it as a buff either. What I'm trying to say is that there is no significant difference except for the fact that this change will make cleanse useless -- which in some sense is a buff I suppose. Oh it hardly makes cleanse useless. If I can cleanse 20 stacks of bleed , 10 stacks torment and 5 confusion with a cleanse and just take another 2 stacks poison after that cleanse the cleanse was not useless. I can survive with heals inhibited by 33 percent and a couple of poison stacks. Now what it might do is lead to a shakeup in various builds out there. As example a healing signet warrior might rethink the heal they select if facing said thief as some thing mending like might be better. Hide in Shadowsmight be preferable for a daredevil thief over channeled vigor.lol, some people who just cleansed a bunch of conditions only to receive another stack of poison 2s later will sure feel that their cleanse is useless. The entire point is, it continuously puts them on a defensive. I saw this first hand last night when I was playing with my Scourge. Instead of poison, I'm applying burning and they all just have to run away to recuperate because they just can't handle the pressure. If they cleanse, they will only find another stack afterwards. This is exactly what will happen with this change. The Thief will be able to apply the same amount of pressure as my Scourge. The only difference, my Scourge have 20k HP and 3k armor, while the Thief, well, squishy. And I'm talking about the majority of people who are not using your build baba, lol.

One other thing is the cheap cleanse from Sword #2 Infiltrator's Return. That's actually the main reason I pick Sword over Dagger.

Understood , but that said NEEDING to hit a target every 5 seconds is still easier then needing to hit a target every 2 seconds. The main advantage of a 2 second cooldown over a 5 is after a cleanse by the enemy you can get that poison on again quicker but again this more about inhibiting a heal then it about accruing more overall stacks relative to the other. My main point is that this change will not translate to a rush of more players into condition builds. It much more likely to result in more power builds dropping mug to take this over mug. You don't really need to hit a target every 2s, although ideal it's not necessary. Even if you hit 4 out of 5 tries within 10s, this proposed change will still put you ahead of the current iteration. As the math shows above you are talking a minimal difference. It comes to less then 3 percent IF those 4 attacks are made every two seconds and again that important. It not hitting with 4 attacks in 10 seconds. It is making sure those 4 attacks are two seconds apart. I can hit with the full 5 attacks out of a singular sneak attack in a second but that still only one trigger. Again in a typical fight the added damage from conditions due to the number of stacks obtained by the proposed version over the old will not be of any great consequence. With Potent, you have a 1.5 second margin of error which make it unnecessary to hit every 2 seconds. If you take Runes of Thorns, that extends the duration further to 5 seconds, which gives you way more leeway when trying to hit your target. The ICD will go out of CD before your poison drops off. How do you manage to extend a duration to 5 seconds for that poison? You seem to suggest you can do this. I think he meant to say 2 and hit 5 instead. 2 stacks of poison (3 with panic strike) with 3s base duration and 100% extra condi duration from thorns etc is 6s poison on 5s cd, so you get 1s leeway. After the patch, you'd get 2 stacks for 4 seconds on a 2s cooldown with thorns, panic strike etc, so you get 2s leeway which is a duration buff, and potentially keep up 4 stacks of poison if you attack consistently. It's a nerf that actually turns out to be a buff, whichever way you look at it. Are thorns runes in PvP? for WvW it would be a buff, but I'm unsure if the change wouldn't make more sense in PvP. I still do not see it as a buff as far as condition damage concerned. You are not squeezing a whole lot more damage out of this even if you manage an attack every 2 seconds.I actually don't see it as a buff either. What I'm trying to say is that there is no significant difference except for the fact that this change will make cleanse useless -- which in some sense is a buff I suppose.

Understood , but that said NEEDING to hit a target every 5 seconds is still easier then needing to hit a target every 2 seconds. The main advantage of a 2 second cooldown over a 5 is after a cleanse by the enemy you can get that poison on again quicker but again this more about inhibiting a heal then it about accruing more overall stacks relative to the other. My main point is that this change will not translate to a rush of more players into condition builds. It much more likely to result in more power builds dropping mug to take this over mug. You don't really need to hit a target every 2s, although ideal it's not necessary. Even if you hit 4 out of 5 tries within 10s, this proposed change will still put you ahead of the current iteration. As the math shows above you are talking a minimal difference. It comes to less then 3 percent IF those 4 attacks are made every two seconds and again that important. It not hitting with 4 attacks in 10 seconds. It is making sure those 4 attacks are two seconds apart. I can hit with the full 5 attacks out of a singular sneak attack in a second but that still only one trigger. Again in a typical fight the added damage from conditions due to the number of stacks obtained by the proposed version over the old will not be of any great consequence.With Potent, you have a 1.5 second margin of error which make it unnecessary to hit every 2 seconds. If you take Runes of Thorns, that extends the duration further to 5 seconds, which gives you way more leeway when trying to hit your target. The ICD will go out of CD before your poison drops off.

Understood , but that said NEEDING to hit a target every 5 seconds is still easier then needing to hit a target every 2 seconds. The main advantage of a 2 second cooldown over a 5 is after a cleanse by the enemy you can get that poison on again quicker but again this more about inhibiting a heal then it about accruing more overall stacks relative to the other. My main point is that this change will not translate to a rush of more players into condition builds. It much more likely to result in more power builds dropping mug to take this over mug. You don't really need to hit a target every 2s, although ideal it's not necessary. Even if you hit 4 out of 5 tries within 10s, this proposed change will still put you ahead of the current iteration.

While I am sure the change will increase DMG in both stacks and over-time due to impossibility of cleansing, it is true as babazhook.6805 pointed out, that with the lower duration it will not carry over up to as high as 10 stacks, but that won't matter since the changed trait will tick dmg where the old one would be cleansed for several seconds give or take more likely some 33% of heal negated in between. I still have to point out once more that it is a proposed change so I hope Anet will yet reconsider that. I'm talking about 10 stacks worth of condition damage, not 10 stacks of poison. The short duration makes cleanse meaningless since you can reapply poison 2s later.

Before:2 stacks every 5s (3 stacks with Potent). Total damage in 10s = 4 stacks worth. With Potent, total of 6 stacks worth. After:1 stack every 2s (2 stacks with Potent). Total damage in 10s = 5 stacks worth. With Potent, total of 10 stacks worth. Hmm...I wonder which is better?

Bound in Blood sounds like an expedition to the Blood Legion area to be the staging ground to the assault on the Icebrood. Just my 2 cents. EDIT: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blood_Legion_Homelands

I completed mine with my Thief.

A helicopter is the superior aircraft in many circumstances. Is that your point about the Skyscale? That it is often superior to the other mounts? Yes and no. I was replying to a post stating that the Sktscale is better than the Griffin. Which is an obvious "no". However, the Griffin is not better than the Skyscale either. The last sentence in my post basically says, "you're comparing apple to a tomato".

I have to call that baloney. Flying speed is dominated by the Griffon, land speed is dominated by Rollerbeetle, and over the water speed is dominated by the Skimmer. All the other mounts are utility mounts. The Skyscale does nothing that other mounts can already do better. It's not a combination of all mounts into one. It's a mount that has no identity other than being a dragon.Did you read the paragraph you quoted? If you are into speed that's good for you, but for me, skimmer and beetle are the biggest offenders when it comes to motion sickness, with the griffon joining their ranks if I ever dare to try and land on a specific spot. I don't care about speed, I much prefer to play without having to lie down in a dark room with a splitting headache and ready to vomit after 10 minutes of gametime. And once you take speed out of the equation (why would I care about speed anyway? I'm here to enjoy myself, there's more than enough hustle and bustle in my life outside of gametime) everything I said stands. I was not arguing against your other points. I specifically highlighted what is factually untrue.Sorry, but you have a very weird definition of the phrase "movement ability" then. It can go up like the springer, across gaps like the raptor, can glide like a griffon ... why is speed suddenly the defining factor of "movement ability"? To me it's all about getting somewhere, and often a very precise somewhere, and the skyscale gets me places more comfortably and precisely than all of the other mounts combined and without the hassle of having to switch mounts on the go (and possibly in hostile territory). That's a fact. The movement ability of the griffon, for example, is the dive and boosted speed, not gliding. The movement ability of Springer is the super jump. And no, Skyscale cannot go up like the Springer, nor fly like the Griffon, nor accelerate over water like the Skimmer, nor boost land speed like the Rollerbettle. The movement ability of Skyscale is hovering and that's not even close to a combination of all mounts like you claim it to be. Your claim is, plain and simple, false.If its all about speed for you that's fine. It's all about getting places for me, and I have yet to find a place (outside of jackal portals and beetle doors and possibly skimmer on longer journeys, since I simply can't use it without getting sick) I want to go that the Skyscale doesn't get me more comfortable and with less micromanagement than the other mounts. That's not false, that's the plain and simple truth.That's not the false statement that you made. In fact I do agree with you on that point. High-speed mount is not for everyone. Mounts are used to get from point A to point B the most efficient way possible in a short amount of time. And the way to make the Skyscale more efficient is if it can crawl up the walls.

I have to call that baloney. Flying speed is dominated by the Griffon, land speed is dominated by Rollerbeetle, and over the water speed is dominated by the Skimmer. All the other mounts are utility mounts. The Skyscale does nothing that other mounts can already do better. It's not a combination of all mounts into one. It's a mount that has no identity other than being a dragon.Did you read the paragraph you quoted? If you are into speed that's good for you, but for me, skimmer and beetle are the biggest offenders when it comes to motion sickness, with the griffon joining their ranks if I ever dare to try and land on a specific spot. I don't care about speed, I much prefer to play without having to lie down in a dark room with a splitting headache and ready to vomit after 10 minutes of gametime. And once you take speed out of the equation (why would I care about speed anyway? I'm here to enjoy myself, there's more than enough hustle and bustle in my life outside of gametime) everything I said stands. I was not arguing against your other points. I specifically highlighted what is factually untrue.Sorry, but you have a very weird definition of the phrase "movement ability" then. It can go up like the springer, across gaps like the raptor, can glide like a griffon ... why is speed suddenly the defining factor of "movement ability"? To me it's all about getting somewhere, and often a very precise somewhere, and the skyscale gets me places more comfortably and precisely than all of the other mounts combined and without the hassle of having to switch mounts on the go (and possibly in hostile territory). That's a fact.The movement ability of the griffon, for example, is the dive and boosted speed, not gliding. The movement ability of Springer is the super jump. And no, Skyscale cannot go up like the Springer, nor fly like the Griffon, nor accelerate over water like the Skimmer, nor boost land speed like the Rollerbettle. The movement ability of Skyscale is hovering and that's not even close to a combination of all mounts like you claim it to be. Your claim is, plain and simple, false. For the record, I do not want the Skyscale to replace any of the other mount, nor to have an ability similar to the other mounts, nor a combination of the other mounts. Its unique movement ability should be grabbing and climbing walls in addition to hovering.

I have to call that baloney. Flying speed is dominated by the Griffon, land speed is dominated by Rollerbeetle, and over the water speed is dominated by the Skimmer. All the other mounts are utility mounts. The Skyscale does nothing that other mounts can already do better. It's not a combination of all mounts into one. It's a mount that has no identity other than being a dragon.Did you read the paragraph you quoted? If you are into speed that's good for you, but for me, skimmer and beetle are the biggest offenders when it comes to motion sickness, with the griffon joining their ranks if I ever dare to try and land on a specific spot. I don't care about speed, I much prefer to play without having to lie down in a dark room with a splitting headache and ready to vomit after 10 minutes of gametime. And once you take speed out of the equation (why would I care about speed anyway? I'm here to enjoy myself, there's more than enough hustle and bustle in my life outside of gametime) everything I said stands.I was not arguing against your other points. I specifically highlighted what is factually untrue.

That was already a given, it's fairly obvious that we're talking about difference in personal opinion, but whatever. I have to call that baloney. Flying speed is dominated by the Griffon, land speed is dominated by Rollerbeetle, and over the water speed is dominated by the Skimmer. All the other mounts are utility mounts. The Skyscale does nothing that other mounts can already do better. It's not a combination of all mounts into one. It's a mount that has no identity other than being a dragon. If the Skyscale can grab the wall, climb that wall a few feet in all direction, then launch from that new position, I can see a lot of uses for that ability. As it is now, it does nothing important.

I'm not finding it lackluster at all. I'm not solely using it because of the effort taken to get it, more than I'm using it because it facilitates the actions of most of the other mounts to my needs. And there is still room for those other mounts, based on the needs, as I mentioned. If you have the gryphon, and love the gryphon, is the Skyscale better? Arguably. Yet, I also loved my Gryphon, and loved the dive bomb ability of it. I still prefer the Skyscale, and I don't even use the gryphon any more (or at least, until that need comes up.) This isn't to you directly, but more in general for anyone -Do you need it? No. Do you want it? If not, don't worry about it. You're not going to miss too much without it (for now, I guess?) I don't picture anyone lesser for not having one. I mean, is it really elite anymore? Anyone can get it, but how much time/effort it's going to take depends on them individually. I 100% agree on the unlock PITA. It was very much a PITA. And I feel rather unnecessary . However, it is what it is, and community feedback will change it for the better going forward. By all means, anyone who wants it, but rather wait to see how Anet changes the criteria...wait. It's ok to wait. But don't let it stop you from slowly picking away at it because perhaps you're fighting the bias of the criteria needed for it, rather than the end result. Was it worth it for me to spend several days in a row, hard grinding to get everything needed? Not really. I could have easily waited, and took my time. Am I happy I have it now? Yes. Yes, I am. Would I do it again? Well, of course. But I may or may not put as much effort into it as I did. That's all I'm advocating now. I personally think it's a great mount, and worth an effort to obtain it. Just like the gryphon. As I said, I don't mind jumping hoops, rolling in mud, eating kitten, if the mount is worth all that crap. For instance, unlocking the griffon is also a PITA, but is it worth it? HECK YEAH!!! Is Skyscale worth it? What Skyscale? EDIT: The Skyscale should be able to climb cliffs and walls, even if it's just a few feet.

It's really not about how PITA the unlocking process is. It's about getting something for all the kittens you have to put up with. The griffon was worth all the kittens, while I do not see that same value with the Skyscale. Too much work for a lackluster mount. Mounts are suppose to ease traveling, not make it more frustrating. Sure you can hover and reach high places with the Skyscale, but there is no need for hovering or reaching those high places. If my bunny cannot reach a height, it's probably a waste of time to get up there anyway. I rather have a Spider mount that can climb walls and cliffs, any day for this kind of PITA unlocking process.

If the Skyscale can regen stamina while grabbing on a ledge, sure it's better than the Griffin.If the Skyscale can crawl up the ledge to gain more height, then sure it's better than the Grifffin.Unfortunately, it can do neither. Skyscale is a helicopter compared to a jet plane, the Griffin.

from the wiki that I linked earlier. "The Thief, Burglar, Scoundrel, or Rogue is a character class in many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft and many MMORPGs. Thieves are usually stealthy and dexterous characters able to disarm traps, pick locks, spy on foes, and perform backstabs from hiding. " a good chunk of the gaming community, and not just GW2, agrees with Redline and my definition of thief...they are rogues. lol.. they are the same thing The Final Fantasy Thief is very different from GW2 Thief. Just as the WoW Rogue is very different from GW2 Thief. Sure they has skills in common but there are many thing that makes them very different. Example:Rogues will use their charm and talk their way to swindle or steal, while the Thief will rather not be seen while stealing. If you don't understand that simple difference, then the problem is on you. Lucky for us the game isn't based around your "lore".Luck for ArenaNet for designing their Thief outside the norm and not just another Rogue archetype by giving them the ability to use Shadow Magic. That's called creativity.

from the wiki that I linked earlier. "The Thief, Burglar, Scoundrel, or Rogue is a character class in many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft and many MMORPGs. Thieves are usually stealthy and dexterous characters able to disarm traps, pick locks, spy on foes, and perform backstabs from hiding. " a good chunk of the gaming community, and not just GW2, agrees with Redline and my definition of thief...they are rogues. lol.. they are the same thing The Final Fantasy Thief is very different from GW2 Thief. Just as the WoW Rogue is very different from GW2 Thief. Sure they has skills in common but there are many thing that makes them very different. Example:Rogues will use their charm and talk their way to swindle or steal, while the Thief will rather not be seen while stealing. If you don't understand that simple difference, then the problem is on you.