Mesmer Rifles?

[Pheonix.1734]

Ok.  So I understand the new rifles for the Mesmer, but I don't understand them.  Its a ranged Support weapon.  Awesome.  Pairs perfectly with Chronomancer.  The buffs though are melee ranged base though?  I'm glad I can support my group, but this means I have to move into melee range to also get the effects from them?  Can we just get a change so that whatever effects these skills give they also work for you as the caster.  That way I can maintain my range and still get the rewards from doing so.  

[Linken.6345]

your supposed to be with your group no matter if you have melee or ranged weapons mate.

[Cernoch.8524]

Doesnt all supports already have to stay stacked? It is in the game since forever, nothing new with mesmer rifle.
And no, we do not need more pewpew from the distance, in fact we need people stacking more.
In group content I think it is just obvious you should stay together.

[kiroho.4738]

34 minutes ago, Pheonix.1734 said:

The buffs though are melee ranged base though?

They are not. All Mesmer rifle skills and effects are ranged.

[ShadowKatt.6740]

5 hours ago, Cernoch.8524 said:

Doesnt all supports already have to stay stacked? It is in the game since forever, nothing new with mesmer rifle.
And no, we do not need more pewpew from the distance, in fact we need people stacking more.
In group content I think it is just obvious you should stay together.

That's a problem though. If you have to stay stacked, they why have rifles at all? Why have bows at all? Why have staff or scepter?  If the stack is the only thing that matters then ranged weapons don't matter.

I hate this gameplay. In my eye this is abuse of the game. Is it breaking the rules as written? No. Is it breaking the spirit of the game? Yes. It doesn't matter what the boss is, what tactics it employs, or what builds you have when every battle comes down to "All Players Stand Under Target" and you can just faceroll your way through everything with enough stacks of buffs and conditions. It's monotonous, dreary gameplay and I hate it. And I hate that rather than do something about it Anet doesn't care and so it continues.

[draxynnic.3719]

Ranged support normally does carry with it the assumption that you still need to be with the group you're supporting in order to receive the boons yourself. However, if for whatever reason it's more important to support someone a distance away from you rather than supporting yourself, the option is there.

[draxynnic.3719]

55 minutes ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

That's a problem though. If you have to stay stacked, they why have rifles at all? Why have bows at all? Why have staff or scepter?  If the stack is the only thing that matters then ranged weapons don't matter.

I hate this gameplay. In my eye this is abuse of the game. Is it breaking the rules as written? No. Is it breaking the spirit of the game? Yes. It doesn't matter what the boss is, what tactics it employs, or what builds you have when every battle comes down to "All Players Stand Under Target" and you can just faceroll your way through everything with enough stacks of buffs and conditions. It's monotonous, dreary gameplay and I hate it. And I hate that rather than do something about it Anet doesn't care and so it continues.

There is a generally increasing tendency by ArenaNet to create encounter designs where you can't just sit in melee range the whole time - however, it's still generally advisable for players who want to support each other to clump together unless there's an anti-clumping mechanic, even if they're doing so somewhere far away from the boss.

[ZephidelGRS.9520]

Rifle was designed with Heal Chrono's weakness back then, and that was lack of ranged healing. So all of Rifle abilities are ranged, most of them are ground-targeted AoEs. Dunno why you would call them melee.

And to be fair, as a healer why would you even need the Might/Fury from Rifle? Those are offensive boons. And as a healer you should be able to heal yourself so much that pointing the Rifle's AoE away from you for a few seconds won't kill you.  

[Ravenwulfe.5360]

The attacks are AoE mostly just like most of mesmers buffs and abilities. It's easier to apply in melee, especially if you are one of those that uses lock to target functions in options, but if you are good at targeting you can stay at a decent range with your AoE effects.