Shortbow Updates!

[Dark Red Killian.3946]

Hello, thank you for the updates on the shortbow. I might actually try playing this more. There are still some things that I feel didn't get addressed:

1. Much feedback was given on lack of mobility skills. I really wish this could be incorporated somehow. Perhaps a leap into a targeted area, or an evade back after shooting or something.

2. I really feel there needs to be a damage component to this weapon. Consider this: shortbow has two skill rows. One that allows you to fire damaging arrows (condi?), while the other row being the support. It could be similar to how vindicator can switch its legendary stance from attack to support. This can create a fun way to play if you do a hybrid build for damage/support. 

[shion.2084]

Where did they post the updates?

[Dark Red Killian.3946]

3 minutes ago, shion.2084 said:

Where did they post the updates?

Just today on main GW2 website news.

New Weapon Proficiencies Beta Feedback Update – GuildWars2.com

[Zzik.5873]

So from what Iv read, skill arnt clunky trap anymore, the shape will be different? And they combo between them? So if I get it, its even closer to a mortar kit, but with not round shape and extra combo zone. Still does not sound really exciting, but t least it look to be less clunky, its a plus I guess...

[Chiral.8915]

It will still suck 😞

[shion.2084]

Ummm does it have a channel block and a reflect?  Or something to keep you alive?   They said protection and aegis... I guess we'll have to hope its a lot of aegis?

[Ovalkvadratcylinder.9365]

1 hour ago, Zzik.5873 said:

So from what Iv read, skill arnt clunky trap anymore, the shape will be different? And they combo between them? So if I get it, its even closer to a mortar kit, but with not round shape and extra combo zone. Still does not sound really exciting, but t least it look to be less clunky, its a plus I guess...

what made you think the shape has changed?

[Zzik.5873]

9 minutes ago, Ovalkvadratcylinder.9365 said:

what made you think the shape has changed?

They said so:

"With all these changes, it allowed us to expand the radii of short bow skills and play with the //shapes// of the skills. Finally, we added some shiny new toys to short bow, such as ways to apply protection and aegis."

[Ovalkvadratcylinder.9365]

22 minutes ago, Zzik.5873 said:

They said so:

"With all these changes, it allowed us to expand the radii of short bow skills and play with the //shapes// of the skills. Finally, we added some shiny new toys to short bow, such as ways to apply protection and aegis."

Interesting maybe we get triangles instead.. big diff

[wolfyrik.2017]

My prediction is that the bow will feel better to play but still has exactly the same flaws. ie

1. Useless on Holo

2. Pointless on scrapper

3. OP/toxic on mech

It was alway going to be this way. It needed a complete redesign in terms of purpose, as well as usage.

[Zzik.5873]

13 minutes ago, wolfyrik.2017 said:

My prediction is that the bow will feel better to play but still has exactly the same flaws. ie

1. Useless on Holo

2. Pointless on scrapper

3. OP/toxic on mech

It was alway going to be this way. It needed a complete redesign in terms of purpose, as well as usage.

Probably not really op on mech, "usable" would be a better term. For the rest tho, yeah agree.

[Calen.8945]

At least now you are not crippling yourself if you chose to use it. It's still not a good weapon, but it's usable for those that want it.

[Cameirus.8407]

5 hours ago, wolfyrik.2017 said:

My prediction is that the bow will feel better to play but still has exactly the same flaws. ie

1. Useless on Holo

2. Pointless on scrapper

3. OP/toxic on mech

It was alway going to be this way. It needed a complete redesign in terms of purpose, as well as usage.

As a mech main, I'm not touching this awful weapon.

Why would I when mace shield is better and less annoying to use?

[Coolster.2536]

Changes definitely make it more useable. I wonder if the marks still allow for big chain reaction bursts, or if once the mark is consumed  the next arrow will chain a different effect.

[Noah Salazar.5430]

3 hours ago, Cameirus.8407 said:

As a mech main, I'm not touching this awful weapon.

Why would I when mace shield is better and less annoying to use?

for another team aegis

for a kiting role

Edited February 15 by Noah Salazar.5430

[Andy.5981]

13 hours ago, wolfyrik.2017 said:

My prediction is that the bow will feel better to play but still has exactly the same flaws. ie

3. OP/toxic on mech

It was alway going to be this way. It needed a complete redesign in terms of purpose, as well as usage.

Some people who replied to you may not have seen Lord Hizens beta video using the SB with the Mech and bearing in mind this was prior to these improvements. There isn't much risk playing a Mechanist at the moment, wait till this improved SB goes live. It will be rediculously busted.

Video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBmaOZsSXTY and the Mechanist footage can be found at 3m 18s.
 

Edited February 15 by Andy.5981

[bambi.6214]

I'm so dissapointed that despite engineer CRAVING FOR power off-hand weapon ever since forever, they give us another 2h weapon. And support, on top of that.

Also, found this trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcVVf-wYWy8

So we have 111 seconds trailer, with ~7s for intro and for outro, that leaves 97 seconds, which is ~10s for each profession. What's hilarious, engineer screentime is 4 seconds, which means even ANet knows this weapon is garbage and there's nothing to show.

[Love.1975]

Based on what I'm reading, I have doubts on it's effectiveness. They avoided a complete makeover. Breaking down the post:

 

Quote

Short bow aimed to be a support weapon that could let your creativity flow as you designed your future master plans. This weapon was not a fan favorite to say the least, and we knew that it needed a large makeover to get it to a spot where it matched the caliber of our other new weapons. We looked over all the feedback, and common themes arose.

They understood shortbow was not good, but instead of a complete makeover (reworking from the ground up), they decided to tweak it based on feedback given on it's iteration.

 

Quote

Engineer’s short bow was commonly criticized for being very slow; between casting times, delays, explosions, and pulses, it was too hard to support your allies in a timely fashion. Additionally, the radii for short bow skills had to be small due to performance concerns. The small area made the skills more difficult to use, especially when you wanted your allies to stand in the area for the best effect.

We also received feedback that the short bow did not offer the right tools to make it more appealing over the other weapon options for an engineer. All these issues culminated in a poor showing over the beta weekend, leaving us with many ideas on how it could be improved.

The "common themes" they pulled from feedback. These are the problem areas the "large makeover" aims to address:

• Very Slow - Casting Times, Delays, Explosions, Pulses, and Chains
• Small Radii
• Poor choice compared to other weapon options

Quote

To start, we agreed that short bow skills could be sped up on multiple fronts. The casting time and delay on impact were reduced, and now short bow skills do not have to be detonated. When an arrow lands, it will immediately explode.

Addressing the "Very Slow" problem (Casting, Delays, and Explosions):

• Casting time and delay reduced
• Immediate explosions

Quote

We have also lowered the amount of pulsing components on the weapon so that you do not have to stand in an area for a prolonged amount of time to get the best value. We were happy with the concept of chain reactions and augmenting your abilities, and we have reworked this mechanic to better fit the new short bow. When you use a short bow skill now, it will mark an area for a brief duration. The next short bow skill in this area will consume the mark and be augmented based on the first skill.

Addressing the "Very Slow" problem with Pulses and Chains:

• Pulsing reduced to provide bonuses faster
• Immediate chain reactions between shortbow skills

Quote

With all these changes, it allowed us to expand the radii of short bow skills and play with the shapes of the skills.

Addressing the "Small Radii"

• Expanded Radii
• Different Shapes?

Quote

Finally, we added some shiny new toys to short bow, such as ways to apply protection and aegis.

Addressing the "Poor choice compared to other weapon options":

• Added ways to apply Aegis and Protection

 

 

Quite frankly, unless we have another week to test the changes. None of this sounds better.

[Jerus.4350]

12 hours ago, Andy.5981 said:

Some people who replied to you may not have seen Lord Hizens beta video using the SB with the Mech and bearing in mind this was prior to these improvements. There isn't much risk playing a Mechanist at the moment, wait till this improved SB goes live. It will be rediculously busted.

Video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBmaOZsSXTY and the Mechanist footage can be found at 3m 18s.
 

Where are the blooper tracks when the enemies decide to ignore your mech and instead chase you? 😅  

 

 

Overall the changes sound promising.  I agree with many here that I don’t think Engi needed another support weapon, but we don’t make the game, we just play it.  Should be a nice addition to ranged healmech and as an alternative for hScrapper in PVE.  For WVW the changes make it sound like it could actually be viable instead of too delayed to be effective like it was in the beta.  We’ll see how it works once it lands.

[RDBuck.6098]

Ok after the undate on the 27 of this month I will give it honest gameplay for a week and if the short bow still sucks like it did in the beta I will not use it in that class they should have done something different and I'm trying of them trying to make all classes they support class

[LilBiM.3581]

Just give it like.. 3 years and they'll get back to it. Maybe. How much it is used (or not used) will determine what happens.

[Fwog.9387]

Small gripe of mine. It seems like shortbow is basically not gonna be viable for anything other than support. So if its just gonna support, why isn't it listed as unblockable? 

Maybe i am mistaken in my understanding of the skills and they cannot be blocked by projectile reflect / block but i imagine its going to be extremely problematic when i try to heal someone in wvw with shortbow 3 or give barrier with shortbow 2 and an enemy has a ventari tablet / firebrand bubble / whatever the mesmer bubble is / or spellbreaker bubble on top of me. 

Elixir gun 5 is unblockable, Mortar kit 5 is unblockable. I know there are slow conditions and what not but i don't actually think that is enough to warrant not making them unblockable. Just my 2 cents. 

[RDBuck.6098]

I was in a group last in fractals and it was a very fast group so I am hoping that anet really improved the short bow because of the beta it sucked so I hope it can be able to be reliable for the game. Because if not it was just a waste of time and I well never use it.

[draxynnic.3719]

On 2/21/2024 at 6:49 AM, Fwog.9387 said:

Small gripe of mine. It seems like shortbow is basically not gonna be viable for anything other than support. So if its just gonna support, why isn't it listed as unblockable? 

Maybe i am mistaken in my understanding of the skills and they cannot be blocked by projectile reflect / block but i imagine its going to be extremely problematic when i try to heal someone in wvw with shortbow 3 or give barrier with shortbow 2 and an enemy has a ventari tablet / firebrand bubble / whatever the mesmer bubble is / or spellbreaker bubble on top of me. 

Elixir gun 5 is unblockable, Mortar kit 5 is unblockable. I know there are slow conditions and what not but i don't actually think that is enough to warrant not making them unblockable. Just my 2 cents. 

Probably just a tooltip omission - they did say that skills 2-5 were supposed to be immune to projectile hate. It's possible that it's not listed as unblockable because under the hood it's basically necromancer staff - skills 2-5 have no projectile despite what the graphics show.

[Langeball.9351]

Engie bow in PvP feels horrendous to play xD