Unpopular Opinion: Most EoD specs are well-designed thematically and have a fluid playstyle

[goron.7916]

So as a Gw1 Veteran, that mostly enjoys playing solo in WvW, I have given all EoD specs a fair chance. This is my opinion on each so far:

-Catalyst: With Dagger Dagger this spec has a very fluid gameplay. Very high skill ceiling, but with some practice you can become nearly god-like.  I could also see Hammer being viable with a few changes. Does require some cele stat gear and/or trinkets to work properly.

-Harbringer: Extremely strong, doesn't matter if it's power, condi, or anything in between. The mobility is also surreal for a necro. Elixirs need a nerf though (I crit people for 6k with a utility skill, come on), and so does voracious arc (critting for 14k while also providing cc and mobility is too much). Once it gets nerved, I can see myself playing it a lot without feeling guilty. The playstyle is very satisfying. Pistol feels good to use.

-Virtuoso: Now this one is truly deadly. The altered F1/F2 skills gives mesmers a much more concentrated burst. Eternal Forge is an excellent trait. I run with Scepter/Pistol and Sword/Torch and people drop like flies if they are not careful. Dagger is a bit weak though. Thousand Cuts needs some changes. Also would be nice if F3/F4 could be casted without any blades stocked, F3 needs a reduced cast time and possibly make F4 instant cast (so I can cast it when being CCed). The theme is excellent, very canthian.
 

-Mechanist: Finally an AI class I can enjoy. I originally started my first gw2 character as an Engineer, and I always wanted some kind of golemancer. Nice to finally have it. Though I believe the Golem should have a little less base HP. Traitwise this spec is neat. Explosives, Firearms and Alchemy all fit very well with the Mechanist traitline. Signets are bonkers.

-Specter: Maybe the best EoD spec from a design perspective. The whole shadow magic thing is very cool. The spec feels very multifaceted, without being overly complicated. I like to play on power though, so the Scepter is kind of redundant for me. Shroud 4 is very hard to land against moving players, or maybe I just have to get used to it.
 

-Untamed: This is the only EoD spec next to Willbender that I couldn't make work properly. The playstyle is...daunting to say the least. Having more pet skills (which the pet used to trigger on its own) doesn't exactly help with this. The Hammer skills are enjoyable, but they should have some kind of advantage over greatsword. Ambush cooldowns are confusing. Overall this is the one spec that I am really unsatisfied with.
 

-Bladesworn: Very fun to play. When I use dragon trigger I feel like the Sword Master from Dark Souls 3 in Firelink Shrine (the naked dude with the katana). What I dislike though is that there seems to be only ONE viable build with minor variations. Buffing the new utilities (like making the projectile block a reflect) could help with build diversity.

-Willbender: Well I couldn't figure this one out, but I was never very much into guardian anyways. The Virtues feel a bit clunky to use. Thematically I do like the martial arts monk thing.

-Vindicator: Greatsword is a great addition, and the alliance stance feels cool too (apart from the lackluster healing skills). I am not against the one-dodge per se, but it does create some sustain problems. Overall though, an enjoyable and intuitive spec to play.

So as you can see, when you actually play the game instead of complaining on the forums, most of the new specs are pretty decent, and many of them only a few changes away from being perfect. I do hope though that Anet will take care of Untamed and Willbender to make them an enjoyable experience as well 🙂
 

[TrollingDemigod.3041]

Cool, it's your opinion after all. I personally don't enjoy wagging my tail when someone gives me leftover food that has already been consumed at least three times over.

[otto.5684]

Early for me to tell for all classes. As a guardian main, this is a resounding no. WB is the worst designed guardian elite. For supposedly a mobile elite, it is virtues are effectively symbols. It lacks the ability to disengage from combat, rendering mobility it has mostly useless. Both its power and condi builds play nearly identical to what was already available for guardian. Playing it does not feel new or novel. To summarize the experience; “core guardian with justice that is a leap.”

 

I liked Virtuoso from a design standpoint, but again, too many execution issues. 

[Obtena.7952]

Mostly agree ... Thematically, they are sound and the features that result from those themes as a class design properly make them feel like Devs describe the classes to do. 

That isn't to say they are all well balanced in numbers/design. There are certainly hot spots that I think should be addressed. 

[Telgum.6071]

Almost the entirety of Vindicator's trait line is designed around dodges and endurance. Even if you are ok with the dodge mechanic, I don't think you can possibly call it "well designed", more like rushed and lazy, like they invested 50% of Vindicator's development time in the dodge, Viktor's Urn and Archemorus Spear animations, and the remaining 50% into whatever came first to their minds.

I doubt most Mirage traits revolve around the single dodge, and I know it's not the case of Daredevil neither.

The legend skills are meh. The elites are cool, but the Archemorus healing and utilities are worse than Kalla invocations. And don't even let me rant about Energy Meld and Alliance Tactics.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Telgum.6071
Typo

[Crackmonster.2790]

I was one who made post that got decent big whining about bland and boring new speccs that were also unfinished.

Well i think they are quite good now tbh, on par even if still not finished quite.

[Bleikopf.2491]

I can very much only talk about Catalyst spec. 

The design is unclear and vague. Multiple themes, which isn't necessarily bad, but weirdly unenthusiastically executed.

Fluidity of gameplay is mixed. Hammer has its own flow and the sphere having no cast time helps a lot. Hammer 3 is bad though and makes Hammer feel bad. Jade Sphere being 15s cooldown is atrocious. 

Saying D/D Cata is fluent has pretty much 95% to do with D/D being fluent and fun gameplay. 

[gooddrakkarboi.4870]

49 minutes ago, Bleikopf.2491 said:

Saying D/D Cata is fluent has pretty much 95% to do with D/D being fluent and fun gameplay. 

That's it: It's like "Hey, core d/d ele was fun pre-hot, let's do it again" and we ended up with catalyst...

[SOLITWOLF.7514]

gw1 veteran, who enjoys wvw? decide that right now is the right moment to signup into the forum and praise every single eod-elite spec? lol. okay, what a genuine guy.

[Avatara.1042]

I hope they pay you for this.

[Shiyo.3578]

15 hours ago, goron.7916 said:

-Specter: Maybe the best EoD spec from a design perspective.

Absolute trash compared to Alac Renegade or Alac mech. Actively makes PvP and WvW not worth queueing into. Why would I want to fight a pocket healer that can stealth on demand and have up to FIVE shadowsteps, while also being a thief so it can have sword2 and d/p stealth? Hard pass.

This is a spec that KILLS all your PvP game modes. It's THE WORST designed spec in the entire game for PvP, and sucks at PvE. No one wants to fight this trash, and no one wants it in their instanced groups. Deadeye2.0 / 10.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Shiyo.3578

[KeoLegend.5132]

On 3/22/2022 at 1:36 PM, goron.7916 said:

So as a Gw1 Veteran, that mostly enjoys playing solo in WvW, I have given all EoD specs a fair chance. This is my opinion on each so far:

-Catalyst: With Dagger Dagger this spec has a very fluid gameplay. Very high skill ceiling, but with some practice you can become nearly god-like.  I could also see Hammer being viable with a few changes. Does require some cele stat gear and/or trinkets to work properly.

Cool but it should have been using Hammer instead. So its a bit a failed design in here.

 

On 3/22/2022 at 1:36 PM, goron.7916 said:

-Harbringer: Extremely strong, doesn't matter if it's power, condi, or anything in between. The mobility is also surreal for a necro. Elixirs need a nerf though (I crit people for 6k with a utility skill, come on), and so does voracious arc (critting for 14k while also providing cc and mobility is too much). Once it gets nerved, I can see myself playing it a lot without feeling guilty. The playstyle is very satisfying. Pistol feels good to use. 

-Virtuoso: Now this one is truly deadly. The altered F1/F2 skills gives mesmers a much more concentrated burst. Eternal Forge is an excellent trait. I run with Scepter/Pistol and Sword/Torch and people drop like flies if they are not careful. Dagger is a bit weak though. Thousand Cuts needs some changes. Also would be nice if F3/F4 could be casted without any blades stocked, F3 needs a reduced cast time and possibly make F4 instant cast (so I can cast it when being CCed). The theme is excellent, very canthian.
 

Agreed.

 

On 3/22/2022 at 1:36 PM, goron.7916 said:

-Mechanist: Finally an AI class I can enjoy. I originally started my first gw2 character as an Engineer, and I always wanted some kind of golemancer. Nice to finally have it. Though I believe the Golem should have a little less base HP. Traitwise this spec is neat. Explosives, Firearms and Alchemy all fit very well with the Mechanist traitline. Signets are bonkers.

-Specter: Maybe the best EoD spec from a design perspective. The whole shadow magic thing is very cool. The spec feels very multifaceted, without being overly complicated. I like to play on power though, so the Scepter is kind of redundant for me. Shroud 4 is very hard to land against moving players, or maybe I just have to get used to it.
 

Agreed aswell.

On 3/22/2022 at 1:36 PM, goron.7916 said:

-Untamed: This is the only EoD spec next to Willbender that I couldn't make work properly. The playstyle is...daunting to say the least. Having more pet skills (which the pet used to trigger on its own) doesn't exactly help with this. The Hammer skills are enjoyable, but they should have some kind of advantage over greatsword. Ambush cooldowns are confusing. Overall this is the one spec that I am really unsatisfied with.
 

-Bladesworn: Very fun to play. When I use dragon trigger I feel like the Sword Master from Dark Souls 3 in Firelink Shrine (the naked dude with the katana). What I dislike though is that there seems to be only ONE viable build with minor variations. Buffing the new utilities (like making the projectile block a reflect) could help with build diversity.

-Willbender: Well I couldn't figure this one out, but I was never very much into guardian anyways. The Virtues feel a bit clunky to use. Thematically I do like the martial arts monk thing.

-Vindicator: Greatsword is a great addition, and the alliance stance feels cool too (apart from the lackluster healing skills). I am not against the one-dodge per se, but it does create some sustain problems. Overall though, an enjoyable and intuitive spec to play.

So as you can see, when you actually play the game instead of complaining on the forums, most of the new specs are pretty decent, and many of them only a few changes away from being perfect. I do hope though that Anet will take care of Untamed and Willbender to make them an enjoyable experience as well 🙂
 

Willbender is one of the best classes design-wise. Its just clunky atm

[goron.7916]

Stealth has always been an important aspect of thief gameplay, so I think it's unfair to blame Specter. It sounds like you have a problem with the stealth mechanic itself, and not with the Specter class. Because while the class is strong, it is not invincible and there is a lot of room for counterplay.
''Noone wants to fight this trash" this sounds like a learn to play issue to me, sorry. Personally, I don't enjoy fighting fire weavers, DH with trapper runes, or condi core necros. But hey, they are still part of the game, and you just gotta learn how to counter it. Following your logic, everything except Core Warrior should be banned from PvP lol.

[Borked.6824]

As long as Bladesworn exists, I can never accept that they scored thematically or have any credibility in ideating specs.

Samurai? Yes!  Wrong class, but yes.

Samurai+Explosions.  Wut?

Samurai+Explosions+Replace a flexible 2H weapon you already possess with a new one you can't change, that stunts your mobility.  Wut the actual F?

Melee character that's sole utilities are to create projectile shields at range.  I can't even...

Lace everything with spammy ammo skills.  Please God no.

 

The dumbest thing ever imagined for a warrior.  At the very least it should have went to an Engineer.

[nobleboivin.4102]

On 3/24/2022 at 1:44 PM, Borked.6824 said:

As long as Bladesworn exists, I can never accept that they scored thematically or have any credibility in ideating specs.

Samurai? Yes!  Wrong class, but yes.

Samurai+Explosions.  Wut?

Samurai+Explosions+Replace a flexible 2H weapon you already possess with a new one you can't change, that stunts your mobility.  Wut the actual F?

Melee character that's sole utilities are to create projectile shields at range.  I can't even...

Lace everything with spammy ammo skills.  Please God no.

 

The dumbest thing ever imagined for a warrior.  At the very least it should have went to an Engineer.

Tbh, it's a discount Gunblade from Final fantasy even though it's still cool.  I just wish we could sheath the blade

 

I'm in the minority that thinks vindicator is awesome.  A lot of the specs are even if mech and harbinger feels like anet is telling me to play an Asura.  🤣

 

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