What's up with constant weapon swapping?

[Macabre.3829]

A friend got me into the game, we got to lvl 80 and started doing some more serious content, but I've noticed that both my Dragonhunter and Deadeye need to weapon swap. Dragon hunter way more so.

 

I made a character to play 2h only and another one to play ranged only .Why is the game forcing me into playstyles that I do not want to play?
This is just annoying. You guys really think it's a good idea?

[Farohna.6247]

It keeps it a little more interesting than just the usual 1-2-3 of some games.  Also some fights are not ideal for ranged only, some are not melee only...it gives you versatility.  So while you're waiting on cool downs you have buttons to mash ❤️

[Epsilon Indi.2031]

What a peculiar thing to complain about.  There are so many builds that you don't have to weapon swap with at all.  Also, why didn't you pick up engineer if you didn't want to weapon swap?

[Kaliwenda.3428]

31 minutes ago, Farohna.6247 said:

It keeps it a little more interesting than just the usual 1-2-3 of some games.  Also some fights are not ideal for ranged only, some are not melee only...it gives you versatility.  So while you're waiting on cool downs you have buttons to mash ❤️

Exactly.  I think it's fun switching from one to the other too depending on what you need, especially when you know you have a big damage skill waiting to pop.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Kaliwenda.3428

[Alcatraznc.3869]

If you are forcing yourself into a single playstyle you will suffer against some foes.  What are you going to do if the boss is constantly blocking and/or reflecting your ranged attack ? 

 

That being said, it isnt impossible to play with only one weapon, I basically play my Deadeye with a rifle only and only switch to dagguer/pistol if I need to sneak up. But it requires both patience and positioning.

[Danikat.8537]

GW2 is designed around the idea that a character is never stuck in a specific role, that's why there's no dedicated healers or tanks (or damage dealers), no purely ranged or melee professions or anything like that. You're given the freedom to choose what you want to do, but to some extent you're also expected to adapt to what you're facing.

Having said that why do you need to weapon swap? Who or what is telling you that you have to? What can't you do while sticking to your prefered weapon?

I have a few characters who rarely swap, or do fairly minor swaps like a guardian swapping between two melee sets or a thief swapping between dagger/pistol and pistol/dagger, I don't use them for anything especially demanding like raids or Fractals, but I haven't found anything which I couldn't do using those weapons, and I can't think of anything even in the harder content I play with my other characters which forces you to use specific weapons.

If another player says you have to or you can't find build guides specifically for the weapons you want to use then ignore them and do what you enjoy. If you feel that the game is forcing you to swap because it's obviously sub-optimal in some situations then you have a harder choice to make, but it's still your choice: which would you enjoy more, playing with the weapons you originally chose or playing the best build you can make?

(There's no right or wrong answer there BTW, I've done both on different characters and in some cases I go between fun builds for when the novelty or fitting a character's theme is more important to me and 'sensible' builds for when my top priority is beating whatever I'm up against.)

Edited December 7, 2021 by Danikat.8537

[Faridah.8431]

Huh, I only weapon swap on my DH when I need a ranged weapon. I don't do that very often.

Honestly, build out how you want to play. Don't have to use some meta rotation for everything.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Faridah.8431

[Randulf.7614]

Yes it is a good idea. GW2 combat is about adapting your gameplay to the situation. You can play with what ever weapon you want - albeit with potential restrictions to what you can do - or you swap out weapons or traits or skills to the situation at hand. It is the great freedom the game brings to the combat which elevates it above so many others.

Having one toon for ranged and one for melee isn’t how the game is set up since mobs utilise different skills and mechanics, often asking you to look at changing strategy. Doesn’t mean you can’t play how you are doing it, but it is advantageous to be adaptable

[AliamRationem.5172]

2 hours ago, Macabre.3829 said:

A friend got me into the game, we got to lvl 80 and started doing some more serious content, but I've noticed that both my Dragonhunter and Deadeye need to weapon swap. Dragon hunter way more so.

 

I made a character to play 2h only and another one to play ranged only .Why is the game forcing me into playstyles that I do not want to play?
This is just annoying. You guys really think it's a good idea?

Why would you want to be limited in this way?  Odd. But there's a class for that. Play ele!

[ArchonWing.9480]

Just have one weapon.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

That seems like an odd requirement to have.  I rarely weapon-swap on my Main (my weapons of choice include ranged and melee in that build - two one-handed weapons).  What requires you to do so?

[Chrysaliss.8720]

I have literaly never had to weapon swap as a deadeye. 

[Antycypator.9874]

9 hours ago, Macabre.3829 said:

Why is the game forcing me into playstyles that I do not want to play?

Nope, the game isn't forcing you into literally any playstyle. All weapons, skills, builds and stats are optional. Just because you CAN swap weapons doesn't mean you have to do it. You should swap weapons when you need it.

But sometimes weapon swap does more than replacing your skills — like triggering traits (initiative gain /trickery) or sigils (sigil of energy, geomancy, doom, cleansing).

Constant weapon swap is necessary for DPS rotation — because you want that access to more skills, but outside raids or fractals, you can just stay in one set and play whatever you like.

[MikeG.6389]

10 hours ago, Sir Alymer.3406 said:

Also, why didn't you pick up engineer if you didn't want to weapon swap?

OP wants to play the triangle and you expect them to learn the piano?

[MikeG.6389]

11 hours ago, Macabre.3829 said:

You guys really think it's a good idea?

Yes. And as with any ideas, whether you abide by it or not is up to you. Just because weapon swapping is a possibility, you are not forced to do anything about it.

[Kyniel.4706]

I love the idea of weapon swap as a way to shift roles during combat (perhaps to switch between melee and ranged during phases of a long battle).

I hate the idea of weapon swap as a standard part of a rotation (ie regardless of situation) to maximise DPS. Sadly, this is a major part of GW2 combat if you care about being "optimal"

I choose to play the way I want. Probably means I'll never do raids, but I can do pretty much everything else. While I wish I could wave a magic wand and prevent this being a part of GW2, that ship has long sailed.

Edited December 8, 2021 by Kyniel.4706

[Astralporing.1957]

12 hours ago, Macabre.3829 said:

A friend got me into the game, we got to lvl 80 and started doing some more serious content, but I've noticed that both my Dragonhunter and Deadeye need to weapon swap. Dragon hunter way more so.

 

I made a character to play 2h only and another one to play ranged only .Why is the game forcing me into playstyles that I do not want to play?
This is just annoying. You guys really think it's a good idea?

It's an initially unintended effect of an old design decision.

Originally, weapon swap has been designed to offer players a potential to swiftly adjust to changes in combat situation (so, for example, switch between melee and ranged, or between dps weapon and one more focused on utility). In order to make that potential more than theoretical, the weapon swap cooldown was set to be relatively short.

At the same time, weapon skills were balanced in such a way that, for most weapons, more damaging skills were placed on longer cooldowns, and autoattack is usually the least important.

At some point someone noticed, that they can take advantage of it by switching between weapons, and thus practically doubling the availability of high-damage skills.

If we add to this the existence of some highly-desirable on-swap sigils, weapon-swapping becomes practically unavoidable for anyone that wants to optimize their effectiveness.

Any attempt to change this would require some deep adjustments to base game mechanics, with massive repercussions all over the game.

[Astralporing.1957]

13 hours ago, Sir Alymer.3406 said:

What a peculiar thing to complain about.  There are so many builds that you don't have to weapon swap with at all.  Also, why didn't you pick up engineer if you didn't want to weapon swap?

 

10 hours ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

Why would you want to be limited in this way?  Odd. But there's a class for that. Play ele!

Notice, that both Ele and Engi do have weapon swap-like mechanics, just camouflaged as something different. In case of Ele it's the element swap (and weapon conjures). In case of Engi, it's kits. Notice, btw, how both are designed to fulfill similar intentions as secondary weapons (as those were meant to be) - to offer an alternate playstyle/utility. And how both ended up following the exact same path the secondary weapons did (getting swapped into for high-dps skills, then swapped out when those end up on cooldown).

Edited December 8, 2021 by Astralporing.1957

[CashCow.9548]

Just typical roleplayer problems. 

 

Just afk in Lion's and never enter combat- you'll be fine with your "only 2h build."

[Ashantara.8731]

13 hours ago, Macabre.3829 said:

Why is the game forcing me into playstyles that I do not want to play?
This is just annoying. You guys really think it's a good idea?

Yes, weapon swap adds a lot more weapon skills to the game. Why would I want less? The skills per profession are already limited as it is.

No one is forcing you to swap if you don't want to. 😉

[Omega.6801]

No one is forcing you to do anything. Don't equip a second set of weapons and you won't even be able to weapon swap. Problem solved.

(Should you stick around for longer than three hours, you will see that haveing the option to equip two sets of weapons gives your build more divesity.  Equip a  melee set AND a ranged set, so you are ready for whatever you encounter. But again, as I said. No one is forcing you to do anything.)

[Danikat.8537]

30 minutes ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

Notice, that both Ele and Engi do have weapon swap-like mechanics, just camouflaged as something different. In case of Ele it's the element swap (and weapon conjures). In case of Engi, it's kits. Notice, btw, how the design for both seem to suggest they were designed to fulfill similar intentions as secondary weapons (as those were meant to be) - to offer an alternate playstyle/utility. And how both ended up following the exact same path the secondary weapons did (getting swapped into for high-dps skills, then swapped out when those end up on cooldown).

That's true, but in this specific case it could be a solution.

For example the OP mentioned that they want to play one character as ranged only and you can do that with an ele or engi. If you're an ele using a staff you'll always have ranged weapon skills, no matter which element you swap to. So you get the utility of having more skills available but can stay at range.

Likewise for 2-handed they could play a rifle engi, or after EoD comes out an elementalist with a hammer.

If someone doesn't want to swap at all - they want their 5 weapon skills and nothing else to worry about - it's not a solution, but if the problem is they want to play specific weapons or ranged/melee for thematic reasons or personal preference it is an alternative.

But like any game it's a matter of weighing up your options and deciding what's best for you, including whether it's important to you to have the best possible build/damage at all times or if you're willing to sacrifice some damage for something you find more fun, or stock up on weapons so you can swap as the situation requires.

The trickiest one for me is having to choose between a weapon I like thematically and one where I like the skills. When I first started I was certain my ranger would use sword/dagger most of the time, but then I found I didn't really like the dagger skills and preferred using a torch...but it didn't look right to me. It took me a long time to decide which I wanted (torch) and I sometimes swap them around just for the sake of it.

[Tachenon.5270]

Weapon swapping is such an old and outdated mechanic. Just think how much more effective and avant-garde it would be if we could swap professions instead, instantly, in the middle of a fight.

"Form of Ranger! Hah! Form of Necro! Ha hah! Take that! Form of Warrior! Wait, no! I meant Guardian! Form of Guaaarr -- ack! I am undone. My hands... not... fast enough..." /e dead

 

While swapping weapons to suit the situation makes sense -- and should apply to armor, as well -- I've always thought 'insta-swapping' weapons in combat was kinda... silly. Not that I don't make use of it, or that there aren't (brace for hyperbole) a million things even sillier in the game, like weapons being restricted by profession, but still.

 

Retcon: we aren't actually using actual physical weapons, clumsy things, but rather crazy little holographic 'combatpad' emitters that emit the forms of weapons. So if, say, your trusty greatsword isn't getting the job done, press combatpad 2 and poof! Hammer time!

I need more coffee.

[Danikat.8537]

It's an old mechanic (I think I first saw it in Baldur's Gate) but I wouldn't say it's outdated. IMO the question should be whether it fits each game's gameplay and mechanics. There might be games where it doesn't make sense or could cause balance problems, but in others it's ok and can be a good way of adding more options.

Certain types of weapon swapping are even realistic. In several places and eras archers and people using large melee weapons often carried a dagger or short sword as well so they could switch to it for close quarters fighting. 

[ugrakarma.9416]

Im tradicional "lazy player" that dislike rely on weapon swap, but i think u are wrong about DH, Pve-DH have near 0 dependecy on weapon swap, the longbow is just a 'Reserve' weapon for ranged situationss..

 

the nightmare of weapon swap is warrior, its have lots of autoprocs on weaponswap.