Do you think Specter will be an addition to the Support Meta for WvW

[PrinceValentine.9320]

As what I had mentioned on my other post, I am a support main. I mainly play Firebrand and Scrapper in WvW, not because the squad asks me to, but because I enjoy playing support. I like healing allies and making sure they survive the fight and are empowered to destroy the enemies and objectives as quickly as they can. I am just wondering if Specter can be an addition to my collection of Support Characters for WvW? 

 

Feedback is appreciated. Thank you. 

[Sviel.7493]

If it leans toward single target support, then probably not--at least not in a zerg setting.  I don't think the mobility is really going to be useful in that sense.

In a small-scale setting, I'm not sure any support will be better than just one-shotting the enemies from stealth.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

You can, but temper your expectations.  It isn't going to be as useful as firebrand, scrapper, or tempest.  There's going to be two builds you run with it, and they're both wearing Plaguedoctors.

#1: The wells and alacrity build.  This is basically just an alacrity bot that also spams CC on top of the enemy.  It doesn't do much else aside from this, because it takes 3 wells to maintain permanent alacrity.  This leaves you with 1 extra utility slot, invariably used for Shadowstep to keep yourself alive.  Uses X/Trickery/Specter, with Consume Shadows, Traversing Darkness, Shadestep.

#2: The duo-roaming build.  This one is based around mega-buffing an ally while also being really stealthy and evasive.  Runs Shadow Arts/Trickery/Specter with Second Opinion, Amplified Siphoning, then either Strength of Shadows or Hungering Darkness.  Run normal utilities, aside from the CC wells.

 

[Dawdler.8521]

2 hours ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

#1: The wells and alacrity build.  This is basically just an alacrity bot that also spams CC on top of the enemy.  It doesn't do much else aside from this, because it takes 3 wells to maintain permanent alacrity.  This leaves you with 1 extra utility slot, invariably used for Shadowstep to keep yourself alive.  Uses X/Trickery/Specter, with Consume Shadows, Traversing Darkness, Shadestep.

Great. Just what guilds needed, they didnt have enough boons before. But granted those poor thieves with only a shadowstep will be hard to keep alive while only supported by 10 minstrels each.

[God.2708]

I think if the META can shift away from mono blobs it will shine quite nicely. It has a unique niche in target supporting a single unit, with some group effects. Pair it with a class that generally needs extra support to be effective (but its effect is greater than your typical meta class, IE weaver or berserker) and it certainly isn't a wasted slot in the composition. I'm thinking it's going to lean more into that sort of 'optional' role though rather than settle as being a key player.

If they ever nerf scrappers superspeed, you might also see parties of FB + Tempest + Specter as specter helps out bigtime with key boons, stealth, and doesn't role overlap with tempest at all. But Not going to happen while scrappers are dumping 20s of SS on their teammates.

[TwiceDead.1963]

For zergplay?

No.

In all seriousness, I really don't think there's any way it replaces or has a place alongside any of the above in a zerg in it's BETA iteration. In small-scale it might see some use. I do think it could be good swarming around the zerg though, without party-support. Help the tail or people who fall out of the zerg and the like, but not getting any of the boon-support of being a part of a blob.

That might change upon release, who knows. As of right now though..

It doesn't cleanse.
It doesn't stab.
It doesn't stun-break.
It doesn't reflect.
It doesn't vomit boons aside from Well of Bounty.
It can kind of do CCs, at it's own risk (Shadow-steps into the enemy zerg), on long cooldowns (50+, for comparison Thunderclap is 20CD).
It can kind of Heal, but Scrapper and even Tempest does it much better.

Scepter is a terrible weapon for group content in that it only affects 3 targets with Sc/P #3 (which is the only one that matters in this setting, forget about Sc#1 and #2).

Sc/P #3 Is a channel, making it easily interruptible, and it is just generally unreliable since it's being eaten up by everyone around and in the way of your target, and suffers from LoS by something. It also shadow-steps and sometimes puts you in places where you had no intention to be, I.E in the enemy bomb.

SB Shadowstepping is not a good option for sustained healing. Initiative is starved after one use.

Specter has ONE(1) good healing burst and that's Consume Shadows, which is admittedly pretty strong, but again Scrapper has that too, and more of them. When it comes to sustained healing it has nothing going for it but shadow-steps, and that's starved by initiative and cooldowns. Doesn't come close to the HPS a quickened medblast can do, which is pretty much all the time thanks to scrapper-wells. Speaking of quickness Scrappers already have that covered with their own mobile wells. The zerg doesn't have to stop to get the benefits.

Specter is an alright alacrity-bot.. but you better be kitten sure the 4 people you are grouped with in the zerg are EXACTLY where they need to be when you jump, otherwise they don't get the benefits since they have to be on the well to get the Alacrity, you can't just run over the well and get alacrity, you have to be there when it drops. This would be alleviated if you could tell who you were grouped with, but alas. Either that, or hope to god you are playing in a zerg where people are glued to the commander and move as one.

So yeah nah. I don't think this is going to replace or even have a place alongside the existing options in zerg play. I sure as hell would NEVER play this thing over Scrapper if I wanted to be a part of a zerg on voice coms.

Edited October 27, 2021 by TwiceDead.1963

[kash.9213]

If meta means best in slot for a squad than commander should probably still take others, as it is in Beta at least.

I played it like I play my thief cover build right now and it was pretty responsive but not snappy aside from one or two skills and it didn't scramble out of Control very well.

Shadow Shroud wasn't juicing up at a rate that I could use it's skills beyond a clutch few seconds of Stab or something. I'd have a hard time sustaining someone or target cycling through a group if I need to keep myself up. Again, nothing about specter skills or utility is very snappy even if they all respond well. If I'm not reading body/movement language to keep ahead of enemy plotting a little, then I'll get tripped up at key moments. 

Wells should probably work like Deadeye Shadow Flare having an option open up to jump to the circle if I want to. Just as I cover and support on my thief right now, I've always tethered at a fluctuating distance and orientation but maintaining Well support will get my killed unless I'm getting focused support, in which case...why bring me in the first place.

I posted in another thread, equipped scepter should maybe turn people in a radius or cone to a percentage of opacity maybe with a brightened outline on the character you're curser is registering as who you would target on click. Like the negative color background with Yolo Mouse if you've used that and target someone or a wall, you'll notice the outline more clearly. I toggle action cam a lot and that would be doable if it was more fluid in large fights. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what changes at launch. 

Edited October 28, 2021 by kash.9213

[Zaxares.5419]

The tag will probably appreciate a Specter just spamming barrier on him to help keep him from getting pin sniped, at any rate. 😉

[Jtoon.6907]

Great for alacrity but finding the targets that need the support in a mess of people that need it is difficult unless you focus on the tag. Wells could use a reduced recast timer I think by a little.