Guardian Staff Needs A Serious Rework (Suggestions)

[Azoqu.8917]

@GoZero.9708 said:Funny how our new mantras had to immediately be buffed because the range on the abilities was lacking and therefore considered unwieldy and difficult to use for something that applies over a short distance... what was the range before the patch again? 300? Sounds familiar...

Or the fact that everyone kept telling Anet that the range was way to small and should be increased. Maybe they should actually listen to their player base?

[GoZero.9708]

@Azoqu.8917 said:

@GoZero.9708 said:Funny how our new mantras had to immediately be buffed because the range on the abilities was lacking and therefore considered unwieldy and difficult to use for something that applies over a short distance... what was the range before the patch again? 300? Sounds familiar...

Or the fact that everyone kept telling Anet that the range was way to small and should be increased. Maybe they should actually listen to their player base?

I believe there's a degree of spite towards Wave of Wrath. Maybe if it was all the years of PvE zerg abuse or maybe it was the WvW train abuse but someone out there has some serious animosity for our RIPstick.

[Opopanax.1803]

Staff still needs a rework.

[Jack Skywalker.5674]

Did trident 2 become staff 2 yet?

[Opopanax.1803]

@Jack Skywalker.5674 said:Did trident 2 become staff 2 yet?

I wish, some suggested that trident 1,2 switch with staff 1,2. Was that you? One of the best suggestions in this thread...

[Jack Skywalker.5674]

@Opopanax.1803 said:

@Jack Skywalker.5674 said:Did trident 2 become staff 2 yet?

I wish, some suggested that trident 1,2 switch with staff 1,2. Was that you? One of the best suggestions in this thread...

Initialy I suggested we switch staff 2 & 4 with trident 2 & 4. Afterwards I just realized we need only trident 2 for staff and suggested we get focus 4 in place of staff 4.I like staff 1 as it is, it has the second best spread of burning via justice passive effect.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Alehin.3746 said:

@Aeolus.3615 said:i fear Anet migh add barrier on staff instead a core class mechanic :\

Besides empower most skills on the weapon are useless, Anet needs really to find a role for the weapon rather than only change skills quoficients :\

I can imagine anet changing empower's heal to barrier and pissing off everyone LMAO

...... i had the same feel when ANet said they wanted to had barrier to guardian.. it was like a deja vu... but i hope ANet this time actually shows what they are capable to do like they were capable to surprise every one on gw1....

[Treetoptrickster.4205]

1: Wave of LightHeal allies and damage enemies in a cone.

2. Purging LightCall down a beam from the heavens that damages enemies in the target area and heals allies, cleansing 2 conditions from them.

3. Symbol of CeleritySear a symbol into the ground that grants allies Swiftness.

4. EmpowerGain light aura as you restore health to allies around you and grants them might. Heal for more when completed.

5. Line of WardingCreate a barrier that enemies and projectiles cannot cross.

[Opopanax.1803]

My real beef on staff is that it still used to be a pseudo midrange weapon with the auto attack at 600, and now it is more melee...it just doesn't fit...

I think if 1 had a heal component and range, I'd be happy. Tone down targets as needed.

Increase swiftness duration by 1 second and cleanse 1 condition on initial cast.

Make buggy #2 ground targeted so it can be used effectively.

Unroot 4.

Make 5 explodeable for a small knockback, sort of like the opposite of mesmer focus, or better yet, add barrier for allies that cross it.

[nopoet.2960]

The suggestions in the original post are really good. Here are some additional thoughts

1. Increase the range of staff 1 to 600 but reverse the direct of the wave so that it narrows as it gets farther from the caster. Now it hits more targets the closer you are to the guardian.
2. Make staff two ground targeted but the orb should appear at the target location and chase the guardian. That way the guardian can steer the orb for maximum benefit.
3. For staff three I would only change it so that the guardian also gets swiftness when an ally steps on the symbol (like one second per ally).
4. Staff four should give the guardian a barrier for each second it is channeled. That or allow movement.
5. Nothing to add for staff five.

[Arcaedus.7290]

Staff was originally intended as a ranged and support-based weapon and it doesn't really do its job. It is essentially a melee weapon now, deals no damage and provides okay-ish support that is easily replacable by another class or even other weapons on the same build.

Additionally, if you don't have a build that specializes into both healing power and boon duration and runs Honor, you may as well NEVER use staff since it will be completely useless in this case. This is bad design, weapons should always offer something at a base level and get better with stat investment. Staff offers essentially nothing at base level and finally becomes mediocre with stat investment and a very specific build.

In light of some of the more melee-looking staff skins, I propose some animation/functionality changes as well as QoL changes/buffs for staff:

1. Change this skill entirely. Keep the animation the same but remove the wave/cone entirely. Instead, replace it with a more narrow "Paragon's Spear" that can strike up to five foes and pierces. This could be 900 or 1200 range and would maintain the low damage and attack speed that staff 1 currently has.
2. Make it ground-targeted. Upon reaching destination, it explodes, damaging/blinding foes and healing/granting regen to allies.
3. Keep it the same as is. Perhaps decrease after-cast?
4. Make this skill mobile. This would be a great skill if it didn't force allies to stand still with you to receive the benefit (not a fun mechanic).
5. Change this skill entirely. Ground-targeted still but change the animation to a spin/horizontal swipe. The skill itself would send a wave of light to your target location which would then explode leaving behind a ward. Both the wave and the explosion deal damage (and/or burning).

I think these changes would reinvigorate staff, solidify it as a ranged-support weapon and straight be pretty dang cool! Come on balance devs, staff overhaul is due, so if you make some changes, make some cool ones! :D

[Celeste.9135]

There is a lot of great concepts and ideas here, I really would love to see the staff on guardian reworked to allow a more supportive style of play. Healing and buffing allies, maybe even condition cleansing and hopefully at least viable in some fashion. I like playing my guardian in a cleric/priest like role when I'm not on a burning crusade so something like this would absolutely perfect for me! In its current form I really never feel good or useful when wielding the staff other than maybe empowering + exploding 2 and switching to another weapon which feels like a wasted slot. I could see it working as pure range or mid range but hopefully not kept at the 300 range it is now. TBH though I'm willing to try out anything anet tries to improve this weapon and I'm hopeful for changes to come.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Arcaedus.7290 well they changed completelly how SW worked (for worse), still they changed them to entire diferent skills.... wonder why they dont do the same for the staff.... i ment if isnt to make it worse.. lol.

Immo staff needs to be changed to something that helps or syncs with consecrations defensive/support gameplay, cuase all that u need to do to kill a guardian with consecrations is auto atack it...

[Arcaedus.7290]

@Aeolus.3615 said:@Arcaedus.7290 well they changed completelly how SW worked (for worse), still they changed them to entire diferent skills.... wonder why they dont do the same for the staff.... i ment if isnt to make it worse.. lol.

Immo staff needs to be changed to something that helps or syncs with consecrations defensive/support gameplay, cuase all that u need to do to kill a guardian with consecrations is auto atack it...

The direction they want to take SW in is good overall I think though. New SW changes would be much better (and definitely better than old SW) with some numbers tweaking. Sword could use a reduced count recharge, hammer could stand to be much faster, shield should be instant cast and break stun (like it used to). All but shield should be on a 0.25s rather than 0.5s cast time as well.

Lets not forget that they've made some excellent substantial changes in the past year too. Radiant retaliation (and Radiance traitline overhaul) was an excellent change.

I have faith that they can implement large sweeping changes for staff without ruining it or making it worse. Seriously, almost anything is better for staff than what we have now. If you implemented changes similar to those I proposed, I can't possibly imagine anyone crying for a revert.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Arcaedus.7290, it is interesting the worse SW was the bow, and since the ammo system it is the best even on healign FB, spiking a healign area it is a beast lol.... and provides light field to blast as well, imo the 1sec CD betweet usage was to much or into the wrong patch of what SW really needs...

Inded sword and hammer need to be way faster, maybe Anet could make them float arround guard when equiped on the skillbar, and when casted the weapon would vanish into target, that would be the animation for it, same with hammer.Shield needs alot of work and bug fixing xD beforeany improvements, ive seen my SW shieldeven doing the old comand animation and provide aegis to alies..on ammo usage.

I actually liked your orb of ligh change, felt like a healing maginalgranade ._., if Anet would give us a healing and elite consecration i imagine alot of guardians being coverted to that on team play.

[Opopanax.1803]

Haven't played in quite some time. Did they change staff yet?

[Codes.6870]

I want my staff to extend like Goku's staff. So I can use it as a melee weapon.

[Opopanax.1803]

When is the next balance patch due out? I want some changes to staff!

[draxynnic.3719]

@Arcaedus.7290 said:I have faith that they can implement large sweeping changes for staff without ruining it or making it worse. Seriously, almost anything is better for staff than what we have now. If you implemented changes similar to those I proposed, I can't possibly imagine anyone crying for a revert.

I liked the old staff despite all the people calling for it to be turned into just another long-range poking weapon... but I'd take long-range poking weapon over what it is now in a heartbeat. Tome of Justice pretty much covers what Wave of Wrath used to do anyway.

[Sarge shot Grif.6450]

Be careful, last time they reworked it they gutted the auto attack for no real reason lol.

[Arcaedus.7290]

@Sarge shot Grif.6450 said:Be careful, last time they reworked it they gutted the auto attack for no real reason lol.

Yeah.... the idea here though is they couldn't possibly make it worse. Half of me issues this as a challenge to see just how badly the devs can meme on staff, and the other half of me is hoping that threads like this sincerely convinces them to buff staff.

[Conncept.7638]

I still vote for giving the auto a shotgun effect, this wouldn't fix anything, but who doesn't want a magical rainbow shotgun?

[Incarne.4927]

@Incarne.4927 said:

• Staff 2 (Orb of Light)
  . This skill can be great, but does not function so great. It tends to go underground causing it to not activate or heal anyone. The skill should be changed to a ground targeted, activated heal that functions similar to how it does currently. This change will allow the caster to lay a 300 radius heal on the floor that is inactive initially but can be activated at any time within a 6 second duration. When activated, 5 players standing in the radius will receive healing and damage enemies. If the skill is not activated within the 6 second duration, the skill will activate automatically and heal players standing within its radius and damage enemies. Also, I've always thought this skill would fit having a
  blast finisher
  when it is activated. The healing values should either be slightly increased or stay the same, as well as the cool-down staying at 10 seconds.

I think someone may have actually read my thread, awesome to see this change. Even added the blast finisher~