2/3/2023 Shadow Meld Preview: Can I Just Say "WTF?!"

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

Why is it worthy of an elite skill if its only goal is 2s of stealth at 2 ammo count with a 45s recharge per ammo? They have killed Deadeye roaming entirely & with Rangers getting unblockables combined with Rapidfire Sic Em Bullcrap, the only option is Daggerstorm because Smoke Screen isnt gonna help you with 4s. its not worthy of an elite at all if they stick with it.

give it more charges, make it more thiefy / Add a new effect to it or temporary armor...Its not MELDING anything.

Stealth Yourself is what its going to say....and the amount it does for the cost/recharge is NOT worth the slot at ALL.

also pay mind that ranger will outrange Deadeye anyway because of the Arc fall off, NO counter play to it

[Doggie.3184]

Did they add a huge target beacon to Soulbeast's Bow, like Deadeye's Mark, and give it a laser sight telegraph with a long windup that triggers reveal to their 40k damage a second Rapid Fire? Cuz they did all those things to Deadeye so they couldn't do that sort of damage straight out of stealth but they're okay with Rangers doing it, and at even longer range, plus they get an AoE weaponskill.

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

2 minutes ago, Doggie.3184 said:

Did they add a huge target beacon to Soulbeast's Bow, like Deadeye's Mark, and give it a laser sight telegraph with a long windup that triggers reveal to their 40k damage a second Rapid Fire? Cuz they did all those things to Deadeye so they couldn't do that sort of damage straight out of stealth but they're okay with Rangers doing it, and at even longer range, plus they get an AoE weaponskill.

tbh rapidfire needs to at LEAST root you in place.

[Doggie.3184]

1 minute ago, Lithril Ashwalker.6230 said:

tbh rapidfire needs to at LEAST root you in place.

Technically it does, since their pet will knock you down.

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

17 minutes ago, Doggie.3184 said:

Technically it does, since their pet will knock you down.

Root the CASTER in place

[Nomad.4301]

I kinda wish they would just remove thieves "elite" skills and just let us run an extra utility, because I would rather use blinding powder in that slot as it has a Lower CD, Blind, Stunbreak, instant cast, blast finisher, 3s stealth (instead of 2) and it applies stability which prevents you from getting locked down immediately, technically shadow meld only gives you a whopping 1s of extra stealth for a 10s increase in CD (2 stacks) which makes it arguably inferior to a base class utility. 🤷‍♂️

[Kodama.6453]

First sneak gyro, now shadow meld.

Feels like anet has started an anti-stealth crusade.

[shinvold.3618]

Now everyone should only use Dagger Storm. Holy kitten.

[cyberzombie.7348]

4 hours ago, Doggie.3184 said:

plus they get an AoE weaponskill

Don't forget that weapon skill also ignores LoS

[Doggie.3184]

On 2/3/2023 at 4:38 PM, Lithril Ashwalker.6230 said:

Root the CASTER in place

Ah, that's also one of the Handicaps they gave Thief Rifle, lol. They removed that one recently though and replaced it with Walking, something Ranger still doesn't worry about.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Doggie.3184

[DeceiverX.8361]

So an overwhelming majority of pewpew soulbeasts are bad.  And DE still has the best answers of any thief elite spec by a significant margin thanks to Rifle.

Meld at ~1800.  Sic 'Em not available.

Shadowstep forward during a roll for Silent Scope stealth extension to get into range.

Kneel

Spotter's Shot into Mark.  Force their cleanse or they'll just immediately lose this fight

Sniper's Cover while they cast Sic 'Em/OWP just before they dump the load.

Dump some initiative on Spotter's Shot and TRB while they waste Sic 'Em and RF combo.  If they try to reposition, Dodge and recast

When they Barrage your location and/or GS3 forward, Shadow Return back 1200 out of range.

Sic 'Em expires.  You have 30 seconds to do as you wish with stealth.

In the case where you get jumped, you were already dead even before the Meld changes because RF tracks stealth and should have been mid-cast during the Meld animation, anyways.

 

The problem cases are:

- Where you aren't DE or are playing DE without a rifle.  Both of which are the Soulbeast being busted into non-reflecting melee setups.

- The soulbeast has half a brain or more, and isn't playing the railgun build.  Wherein soulbeast is frankly, head and shoulders way above the thief as an entire class in terms of 1v1, and probably not running Sic 'Em, anyways.

[Bunny.9834]

I dont care about the revealed removal BUT atleast give that skill SOMETHING to compensate for the nerf. 

The cluelessness… 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

2 hours ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

So an overwhelming majority of pewpew soulbeasts are bad.  And DE still has the best answers of any thief elite spec by a significant margin thanks to Rifle.

Meld at ~1800.  Sic 'Em not available.

Shadowstep forward during a roll for Silent Scope stealth extension to get into range.

Kneel

Spotter's Shot into Mark.  Force their cleanse or they'll just immediately lose this fight

Sniper's Cover while they cast Sic 'Em/OWP just before they dump the load.

Dump some initiative on Spotter's Shot and TRB while they waste Sic 'Em and RF combo.  If they try to reposition, Dodge and recast

When they Barrage your location and/or GS3 forward, Shadow Return back 1200 out of range.

Sic 'Em expires.  You have 30 seconds to do as you wish with stealth.

In the case where you get jumped, you were already dead even before the Meld changes because RF tracks stealth and should have been mid-cast during the Meld animation, anyways.

 

The problem cases are:

- Where you aren't DE or are playing DE without a rifle.  Both of which are the Soulbeast being busted into non-reflecting melee setups.

- The soulbeast has half a brain or more, and isn't playing the railgun build.  Wherein soulbeast is frankly, head and shoulders way above the thief as an entire class in terms of 1v1, and probably not running Sic 'Em, anyways.

you miss the fact that 

• Signet of the Hunt: The active component of this skill now grants superspeed in addition to unblockable stacks. Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 20 seconds.
•  
• GL blocking those rapidfires now.

[DeceiverX.8361]

1 hour ago, Lithril Ashwalker.6230 said:

you miss the fact that 

• Signet of the Hunt: The active component of this skill now grants superspeed in addition to unblockable stacks. Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 20 seconds.
•  
• GL blocking those rapidfires now.

Well I'll be damned.

[senftube.6081]

For me every nerf for deadeye is good because that spec is complete cheese in WvW. Only stealth & Running and distance ganking ughh. Most stupid spec ever in this game.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Yunari.9065

[Twilight Tempest.7584]

8 hours ago, Bunny.9834 said:

I dont care about the revealed removal BUT atleast give that skill SOMETHING to compensate for the nerf. 

The cluelessness… 🤦🏻‍♂️

My thought exactly.  The counter to the stealth-counter was always kind of silly and is one of the most frequent complaints by stealth haters.  But at least give something back to make Shadow Meld even worth considering for the elite slot.  Another skill in the dustbin.

[Skullsox.9162]

I said this on the preview thread but if you guys really want to take out reveal , at least hive us a projectile reflect or a block  like arcane shield and idk have the  ammo be the amount of blocks something to make it viable.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Skullsox.9162

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

On 2/4/2023 at 11:59 PM, Twilight Tempest.7584 said:

My thought exactly.  The counter to the stealth-counter was always kind of silly and is one of the most frequent complaints by stealth haters.  But at least give something back to make Shadow Meld even worth considering for the elite slot.  Another skill in the dustbin.

Id like Shadow Form to make a return debut as a replacement. half damage for 5s, same amount of charges and recharge. Alternatively a skill called Scope Glint: "For the next 5s your Rifle attack skills apply blind." has same charges and such as Shadow Meld. thematically it would fit, give us SOME defense. 

Or another nice use could be making Shadow Flare pulse blind.

Edited February 5 by Lithril Ashwalker.6230

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

12 hours ago, Yunari.9065 said:

For me every nerf for deadeye is good because that spec is complete cheese in WvW. Only stealth & Running and distance ganking ughh. Most stupid spec ever in this game.

You chose the wrong class at 96 posts dude. Almost all thief classes have access to stealth and use it to disengage. Sorry no one wants to spam evades like you because they bought the game to play how THEY want to play playstyle wise, not to play Dancing With The Stars.

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

12 minutes ago, Skullsox.9162 said:

I said this on the preview thread but if you guys really want to take out reveal , at least hive us a projectile reflect or a block  like arcane shield and idk have the  ammo be the amount of blocks something to make it viable.

I mean, aesthetically and thematically it would fit for Shadow "Meld" to Increase the stealth gained by the next stealth by 2s or something...you literally become one with shadows...so, to deny stealth and not remove revealed would suck. Or they could adjust it to make revealed sort of like Scout reveal in wvw where too long stealth forces you OUT of stealth when used in conjunction with Shadow Meld...Give it HUGE barrier temporarily IF revealed / Block chance...or make it like Shroud of Distress / Critical Defense from Gw1 / Flashing Blades / Mark of Insecurity!

[Lithril Ashwalker.6230]

19 hours ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

So an overwhelming majority of pewpew soulbeasts are bad.  And DE still has the best answers of any thief elite spec by a significant margin thanks to Rifle.

Meld at ~1800.  Sic 'Em not available.

Shadowstep forward during a roll for Silent Scope stealth extension to get into range.

Kneel

Spotter's Shot into Mark.  Force their cleanse or they'll just immediately lose this fight

Sniper's Cover while they cast Sic 'Em/OWP just before they dump the load.

Dump some initiative on Spotter's Shot and TRB while they waste Sic 'Em and RF combo.  If they try to reposition, Dodge and recast

When they Barrage your location and/or GS3 forward, Shadow Return back 1200 out of range.

Sic 'Em expires.  You have 30 seconds to do as you wish with stealth.

In the case where you get jumped, you were already dead even before the Meld changes because RF tracks stealth and should have been mid-cast during the Meld animation, anyways.

 

The problem cases are:

- Where you aren't DE or are playing DE without a rifle.  Both of which are the Soulbeast being busted into non-reflecting melee setups.

- The soulbeast has half a brain or more, and isn't playing the railgun build.  Wherein soulbeast is frankly, head and shoulders way above the thief as an entire class in terms of 1v1, and probably not running Sic 'Em, anyways.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/"Sic_'Em!"
2000 range...sorry pal

[shinvold.3618]

To change Shadow Meld, the current Revealed mechanic also needs to be improved.

 

 

[cyberzombie.7348]

One idea I have would be to give it a condition where if you're already revealed, meld removes it but doesn't give you stealth. So that way it isn't an instant get out of  jail free card, but at the same time it won't just be blind powder with less utility.

Edit: If they really dont want stealth spam to be the thing, rework the kits that's supposed to reward agressive play (i.e., acro traitline)

Edited February 5, 2023 by cyberzombie.7348

[Doggie.3184]

23 hours ago, DeceiverX.8361 said:

So an overwhelming majority of pewpew soulbeasts are bad.  And DE still has the best answers of any thief elite spec by a significant margin thanks to Rifle.

Meld at ~1800.  Sic 'Em not available.

Shadowstep forward during a roll for Silent Scope stealth extension to get into range.

Kneel

Spotter's Shot into Mark.  Force their cleanse or they'll just immediately lose this fight

Sniper's Cover while they cast Sic 'Em/OWP just before they dump the load.

Dump some initiative on Spotter's Shot and TRB while they waste Sic 'Em and RF combo.  If they try to reposition, Dodge and recast

When they Barrage your location and/or GS3 forward, Shadow Return back 1200 out of range.

Sic 'Em expires.  You have 30 seconds to do as you wish with stealth.

In the case where you get jumped, you were already dead even before the Meld changes because RF tracks stealth and should have been mid-cast during the Meld animation, anyways.

 

The problem cases are:

- Where you aren't DE or are playing DE without a rifle.  Both of which are the Soulbeast being busted into non-reflecting melee setups.

- The soulbeast has half a brain or more, and isn't playing the railgun build.  Wherein soulbeast is frankly, head and shoulders way above the thief as an entire class in terms of 1v1, and probably not running Sic 'Em, anyways.

All I know is I been 100% to 0'd in 1-2 seconds by sneaky Rangers a lot in WvW from a bazillion range, even when on a mount wearing Sentinel armor and I literally have to have godlike reflexes to break stun the split second I'm cc'd and hopefully not get CC'd again and use every dodge when it comes outa nowhere with inescapable range which I don't even think two dodges clear it all.

I have had 0 deaths to a Deadeye's Stealth attack and may not of ever even been hit by it before due to it's 100 telegraphs and slow speed, and generally kill them or shoo them away. We're even fighting Mag which throw a lot of Thieves around. In fact my Ele on a celestial build I never played before that I was testing 1v1'd one at the tail end of me fleeing from a Zerg ambush with me starting at half health cuz of Fall Damage got him to 5% before a Necro jumped down and nuked me, lol. 

They also run way more SB than DE because obviously they've going to take advantage of how broken Sniper Rangers are. They are #1 Server and fight dirty literally 24/7.

Not to mention I am a veteran pvper with several thousands of hours of experience. I see these same Rangers instantly drop people around me constantly who are new or less experienced and even more vulnerable to such abuse all the time and protecting them fast enough just isn't possible. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Doggie.3184

[Bern.9613]

Yep, have to give it to ANet, they're sticking to the theme;

Shadow Arts has long been a source of frustrating gameplay, particularly in competitive PvP and WvW. This is partially due to the stealth generated by Concealing Restoration, Meld with Shadows, and Hidden Thief, which compounded with other Thief stealth sources to push stealth access to exceptional levels.

Would not want the stealth class be able to actually stealth while everyone else gets reveals and stealth with way less resources used (looking at trapper runes after thief lost traps because.... well, reasons). We get it. You got womped on by a thief and are butt hurt really, REALLY bad. Just stop this slow death and remove thief from the game already.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Bern.9613