Specter Feedback Thread

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

21 hours ago, AikijinX.6258 said:

The passive traits work, but the utility skills don’t, nor does the elite. We are completely shut off from using Specter skills underwater

Not that this is much better, but you still get shroud and can still near perma evade with spear at least. 

[AikijinX.6258]

41 minutes ago, Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

Not that this is much better, but you still get shroud and can still near perma evade with spear at least. 

Yeah very much true. Spear thief is still Godlike under water regardless of the spec

[Phewlm.3148]

• I think the aa-animation with scepter could be made to look more like a caster, rather than an air-bonker.
• And the sound from the basic attack is a bit too much, and should imo be more magicky and less like a violent explosion. 
• The healing part of the shadow form should be healing the Specter when no allies are around, so that the spec can hold itself in a solo scenario.
• I really liked the flavour of the spec :)

[AikijinX.6258]

19 minutes ago, Phewlm.3148 said:

I think the aa-animation with scepter could be made to look more like a caster, rather than an air-bonker.

Literally the warrior axe 🪓 AA animation 

[Zacchary.6183]

10 minutes ago, AikijinX.6258 said:

Literally the warrior axe 🪓 AA animation 

Thief players got their axe. c:

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

5 minutes ago, Zacchary.6183 said:

Thief players got their axe. 😄

It's just typical that once again we only got the shaft. 

Edit: I'm actually really happy with Specter, just couldn't resist the joke haha

Edited November 17, 2021 by Jugglemonkey.8741
Clarity

[Zacchary.6183]

Just now, Jugglemonkey.8741 said:

It's just typical that once again we only got the shaft. 

Tbh I have no idea what axe would even bring that thief doesn't already have.

[Tails.9372]

6 minutes ago, Zacchary.6183 said:

Tbh I have no idea what axe would even bring that thief doesn't already have.

Thief doesn't have a purely power focused mid-ranged weapon option for main hand yet so there's that.

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

9 minutes ago, Zacchary.6183 said:

Tbh I have no idea what axe would even bring that thief doesn't already have.

I know haha. I was more making the joke that if you only get the shaft of the axe it's a scepter, because a scepter is essentially a stick. 

[Zacchary.6183]

Just now, Tails.9372 said:

Thief doesn't have a purely power focused mid-ranged weapon option for main hand yet so there's that.

There you go! Now someone just has to design the concept so it is interesting and effective. Not me though, already have an idea in the works for shield.

[Tails.9372]

6 minutes ago, Zacchary.6183 said:

Now someone just has to design the concept so it is interesting and effective.

Well here's one.

[Valisha.8650]

I believe it could use a buff in PvE, but perhaps a little nerf in PvP.

[zetherin.8372]

One of the few things that actually disappointed me about the class was that there was no way to grant quickness to yourself.  It's like, 'Sweet! We got this new toy but we're not allowed to play with it, we can only give it to other people and watch them have fun with it'.  I think it would be amazing if the quickness would apply like half duration to yourself or something as extra incentive to use the skill in random PvE buffing random players rather than it only seeing use in fractals or group settings

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

if they gave us unique stealth attacks like we had with Deadeye AND stealth attacks dependant on the weapon used FOR Shadow Shroud then it definitely would be better and could make more builds.

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

something i failed to mention in my previous posts, and ill probably, eventually, go back an edit it to add this.
noticing the other elite specs in past and upcoming is that from what i can tell 90% can still function in different roles as where the specter is probably the only one that can only function in its "support/healer" role with a scepter...it doesnt feel right. using S/X or D/X or P/X or even shortbow makes the class practically worthless unless you have this weird setup in the build to half-way pull off a non support/healer role...lets take a look at virtuoso which can function just fine with almost any weapon, the gunblade could as well...but specter...specter can only efficiently do this with scepter.

now lets take a look at the unique changes we had to Deadeye...we were able to use any weapon and mostly have good results but most importantly the stealth attacks got unique changes to EVERY-SINGLE-WEAPON...well its not here in a brand new elite spec(specter) so it feels a bit lacking...and not to beat a dead horse but, we need unique-to-specter stealth attacks for each weapon AND for the weapons in hand currently, a stealth attack for EACH weapon for our Shadow Shroud.

[Caligrafers Blade.3871]

Speaking of things missed on previous posts, and I am being nitpicky here, but calling it a shroud seems too much like a necro for me. A shroud makes sense for a necro, but it's not so thematic for thief. Wouldn't be be more like a spectral meld or something? and maybe 'shadows' is an essence, not so much a force. Siphoning an essence sounds better. 'Force' works with 'life' for necros. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Caligrafers Blade.3871

[Zacchary.6183]

16 minutes ago, Caligrafers Blade.3871 said:

Speaking of things missed on previous posts, and I am being nitpicky here, but calling it a shroud seems too much like a necro for me. A shroud makes sense for a necro, but it's not so thematic for thief. Wouldn't be be more like a spectral meld or something? and maybe 'shadows' is an essence, not so much a force. Siphoning an essence sounds better. 'Force' works with 'life' for necros. 

Thieves have shadow magic and some illusion magic. What specter is using is condensed shadow magic with less illusion.

[Klypto.1703]

On 11/22/2021 at 1:57 AM, Zacchary.6183 said:

Thieves have shadow magic and some illusion magic. What specter is using is condensed shadow magic with less illusion.

I figure it could work up until the point you look at how Soul Reaping works for Necros.  So based on shadow magic there is a huge gap in utility between Shadow Arts and Soul Reaping.  You never know though they might end up making it become Shadow Reaping when you are using the Specter spec.

[QuinQuin.9136]

This is my first time posting on the Forums, and I'm normally not one to do so, but after seeing what they have in store for changes, I just felt I had to speak up about it.

 

"Consume Shadows was causing Shadow Shroud to feel like something you should enter, and then immediately exit, to get Consume Shadows' healing effect as quickly as possible. This diminished the utility and fun of the Shroud skills themselves, as it was a strong reason to never use them."

.

Specific changes made in response to this feedback: The maximum potential healing and barrier from Consume Shadows will now grow stronger for every second you are in Shroud, up to 5 seconds. In Shadow Shroud itself, the skill Dawn's Repose has been changed from a dash into a ground-targeted leap, to make it easier to target a specific location, and is now a leap finisher.

 

This was a pretty poor way of handling this Trait, and there are several reasons for it.
The main reason would be that this is essentially a nerf on top of another nerf, and not actually a rework. What I mean by this is that, on top of making the potential healing weaker in both modes, you're also losing out on even more by having to sit in Shadow Shroud, losing Shadow Force while waiting for these stacks to build and THEN coming out to gain access to any reasonable healing. Due to this, you likely won't be able to put out the healing needed during split moments when it's most important, while also actively using your resource to build it to a state where it can be used for healing. 
It's also problematic due to the potential of being hit at some point, losing even more Shadow Force and potential healing while waiting to build up to use it and by then you'll likely have none to convert, or very little and it'll be irrelevant. 

Another reason would be due to the fact that it doesn't address the main issue of WHY this trait was so attractive in the first place. That being Shadow Shroud itself doesn't really FEEL worth using unless it's just to sit in for Initiative. It feels weak and feel unimpactful in the rotation.

A better way of handling all of this would be at most kicking it to 75% but also looking into ways to make Shadow Shroud feel worth sitting in to where you wouldn't WANT to blow it all on Healing at once. It could be through increasing the potential damage in the form, adding additional mechanics, making the tether apply to more than one person, or make the tether very, very strong as an incentive to want to keep it up.

I haven't even touched on Endless Night being only 1 target now and it's Quickness being removed.

 

I'll be honest here and say I'm not very keen on the current meta of GW2 in it's PvE side, so when I ask this, it's genuine:
With these current changes is Specter worth considering in group content as opposed to other Specializations who seem to bring more with less effort?

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by QuinQuin.9136
Added more clarity to first paragraph.

[RyuDragnier.9476]

6 minutes ago, QuinQuin.9136 said:

I'll be honest here and say I'm not very keen on the current meta of GW2 in it's PvE side, so when I ask this, it's genuine:

With these current changes is Specter worth considering in group content as opposed to other Specializations who seem to bring more with less effort?

Judging from the changes, only if you treat it like Condi Quickbrand. Meaning it's there to throw out the Alacrity while also spamming condi damage on the enemy, and nothing else. I'd just stick with Condi Quickbrand since you have a lot more useful boons overall.

[zetherin.8372]

13 hours ago, QuinQuin.9136 said:

A better way of handling all of this would be at most kicking it to 75% but also looking into ways to make Shadow Shroud feel worth sitting in to where you wouldn't WANT to blow it all on Healing at once. It could be through increasing the potential damage in the form, adding additional mechanics, making the tether apply to more than one person, or make the tether very, very strong as an incentive to want to keep it up.

 

These are some great points in the entire post (most of it cut for brevity).  I also really like what you're suggesting as a path forward.  I'm glad it wasn't just me that found shadow shroud to be unimpactful and weak.  It seemed like people were generally saying it did a lot of damage, but I didn't feel it.  It was kinda spammy on a small AoE but I'm not sure why, it just felt weak.  Also, I like the #5 shroud skill with the big CC, but the channel time is insane.  I pop off to go get some hot chocolate and when I come back, I'm still channeling.

[AikijinX.6258]

I just had a thought in regard to our stealth attack Shadowsquall. In its current iteration it does: 

Stealth Attack. Unleash a barrage from the shadows towards your target.

 Enemy target: Inflict conditions.

  Damage: 73 (0.2)?

  Poison (3s): 101 Damage, -33% Heal Effectiveness

  Number of Hits: 8

 

To increase its potency while up close and personal within 120-150m of the enemy, why not have a secondary closer version of Shadowsquall. But the caveat would be: Those 8 separate ranged Shadowsqualls get condensed into 1 big damage dealing projectile within effective range. 
 

While not taking anything away from the original ranged design of Shadowsqualls stealth attack, just adding the up close and personal version as well. Because no one is going to stand there and just get hit by 8 separate impact hits without dodging atleast once unless AFK or immobilized, etc.

Edited November 26, 2021 by AikijinX.6258

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

well the upcoming changes to specter for the next beta on the 30th is a big let down...3 steps forward and 4 steps back. i doubt itll see any value on full release in the current direction of changes its going.

why not make #1 autoattack skill chain 3 cause whatever we hit to branch out into homing orbs (like gjallerhorn from destiny) that will hit allies and enemies dependant on who we hit first (ally or foe) then have a reaction effect with results...if i hit an ally with last auto attack chain itll branch out into seeking orbs of damage or such to enemies nearby (up to 5) and as low as 1 (5x) for an effect...if i hit a foe it will do the same but for allies. endless night needed to stay as it was with some tweaks to what it dishes out, but not how many people it hits. the way this is going its not gonna see any play unless you are a casual (no offense) and be completely neglected in raids, fractals, and other content because other classes do it THEN some WAY WAY better. sure, i understand it was a time crunch and this is probably a test to see how it plays off after the new beta tweaks and its not yet finished but i still feel no one read these 17 darn pages of our honest concerns, ideas, and feedback...hell the teleport bug still probably isnt fixed which was probably one of the most annoying things to deal with.

it has no place being a support character if everyone else can do it better and if you can only effect just 1 ally 90% of the time and 1 enemy with just TORMENT....theres no blind, no worthwhile poison...torment was nerfed recently so what the hell is the point?

If i dont see a turnaround and some REAL points addressed from these long pages, i for one will be getting money back regardless of a permanent ban...its gotta have something for everyone and right now, thief is getting short end of the stick in the devs just "giving up"...there are still problems with the 300s CD traits that have just been swept under the rug.

[Burial.1958]

1 hour ago, Lithril Ashwalker.6230 said:

well the upcoming changes to specter for the next beta on the 30th is a big let down...3 steps forward and 4 steps back. i doubt itll see any value on full release in the current direction of changes its going.

why not make #1 autoattack skill chain 3 cause whatever we hit to branch out into homing orbs (like gjallerhorn from destiny) that will hit allies and enemies dependant on who we hit first (ally or foe) then have a reaction effect with results...if i hit an ally with last auto attack chain itll branch out into seeking orbs of damage or such to enemies nearby (up to 5) and as low as 1 (5x) for an effect...if i hit a foe it will do the same but for allies. endless night needed to stay as it was with some tweaks to what it dishes out, but not how many people it hits. the way this is going its not gonna see any play unless you are a casual (no offense) and be completely neglected in raids, fractals, and other content because other classes do it THEN some WAY WAY better. sure, i understand it was a time crunch and this is probably a test to see how it plays off after the new beta tweaks and its not yet finished but i still feel no one read these 17 darn pages of our honest concerns, ideas, and feedback...hell the teleport bug still probably isnt fixed which was probably one of the most annoying things to deal with.

it has no place being a support character if everyone else can do it better and if you can only effect just 1 ally 90% of the time and 1 enemy with just TORMENT....theres no blind, no worthwhile poison...torment was nerfed recently so what the hell is the point?

If i dont see a turnaround and some REAL points addressed from these long pages, i for one will be getting money back regardless of a permanent ban...its gotta have something for everyone and right now, thief is getting short end of the stick in the devs just "giving up"...there are still problems with the 300s CD traits that have just been swept under the rug.

 As i said when it was leaked, it was clear that it will be such an abomination. The problem is the thief is a complete other design with the ini system than all other classes (For proper support we also do not have good Core Traitlines).  And because of that they have to do such things because the line is very thin to balance that properly. U make them Support Gods now all other supports are kitten. And because thief is one of the least played one it is clear what we get and which Highway they choose.

 

Anet want this spec for 2vs2 and very small fights. Thats it. 

 

I hope i will be wrong and that Anet looks into it because 2 Meme Specs in a row is to much, when other Classes have juicy and fancy new Specs. It is getting simply unfair at this Point. We have now 4 Dead Weaponsets (D/D, P/P, S/P and Staff (<is only played in Zergfights) and several dead traitlines ~ SA Mandatory (PvP/WvWvW). This Class really needs now Love. Weaponsets Rework to make them viable again and Traitlines /Traits rework too. In this state it is simply a Big Mess to introduce something new without cracking the Balance.  And pls get the rid with 300 ICD traits? What the heck should this be? 300 ICD is a Joke. 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Grebcol.5984

[Lucinellia.9247]

The ally targeting mode that seems to have been introduced as a band aid for the misguided design of support Specter being single target is not useful, it does not make Specter easier to play and does not resolve any of the outstanding UI or design issues.

Please, please consider if this is actually the direction you want to try and move the Specter elite spec and the game. Guild Wars 2 is not design, be that in terms of UI, UX, content and damage patterns, to support single target healing in the slightest. 

 

Currently, Specter and the changes required to try and support it are a massive step in the wrong direction compared with what Guild Wars 2 is and should be. The design should absolutely be rethought.