Getting rid of visual clutter by increasing boon range

[Xerac.1542]

Hello all,

i am aware we will never get that big of a combat rework but just some thoughts.

After running a lot of meta events as an elementalist the past days got me thinking about how weird it feels to play ranged classes/specs.I do some pug raids and strikes and can hold my own but i am surely not among the top % of players, but since the melee creep is coming a lot from raids i guess, let me tell you i have seen all raidwings from the inside.

Current situation:All(most) players stack at the boss no matter what to get all the boons and healing. This results in best dps but also in a lot of visual clutter and many weapontypes not being favored/used much except for solo play.

Suggestion:Change up the mechanics of boonshare and healing to a point at which the players are able to use ranged specs without instantly losing all support.Maybe apply the boons without range restriction IF the user is in a squad or group or just give them 900 range....i noticed it is not easy coming up with a working alternative to the system as it is now.

I am also aware of many problems it would cause with current boss mechanics if you have something like a dedicated ranged subgroup standing back because a lot of boss AoE's get put on players by certain range indications.I was just fantasizing about getting back to use a staff as elementalist for that real mage feel.Also a lot of the ranged weapons would need some serious balancing to bring them on par with the currently used sets.

What are you thinking about this ?

[steki.1478]

Staff on ele is terrible nowadays even in melee range (as dps) and when you play support tempest your water autos heal around the boss and you have decent range on your support either way so you're free to kite. A lot of dps builds can also stay at ~400-500 range which is enough to get relevant boons, heals as well as do the same damage they'd do in melee (like sb soulbeast, s/w tempest, scepter dh, condi engi, etc). They might not be the top tier in raids, but 10 people cant really provide that much visual clutter to make a certain raid boss impossible. Sound and yellow border are also a good way to avoid some mechanics even if you don't see them. Practicing makes mechanics trivial to the point where you can predict them and just not bother about them.

Anyway, I like the melee stacking because it has some risk vs reward factor. You're more likely to die in melee, but getting all the buffs and heals, you'll do more damage and get revived faster. Staying outside of any risk should not have the same reward as staying in melee (a lot of strong builds use only melee weapons as well).

Sharing boons to party/squad members is terrible because it doesn't only affect raids and would be absolutely terrible for wvw. Besides, if this gets implemented, wouldn't everyone just play at max range and you'll get the same visual clutter, just on a different spot?

[Dawdler.8521]

Laughs in WvW

[Xerac.1542]

Well, yes you are right about all you said.And as I stated I am aware of the countless problems it would cause.

Just wanted to toss some ideas around how to make the game less melee focused, since I would love to go back to playing staff ele...maybe someday we will get faster projectiles on staff.

Of course 10 man do not make it unplayable and sw/d weaver is the most fun I had in melee for a long time.

Thanks for your feedback. Really appreciate it.

As for wvw.... Nothing can tone down the cluster F that happens there. Then again, one of the reasons I upgraded my pc.

P.S. Mechanics don't matter, healers need to adjust.

[mizaru.1385]

I dont like stacking at all.....its not strategic at all and most of the time im just doing my rotations, sometimes not even properly looking at the screen. Very very lame....

[Astyrah.4015]

the stacking meta is fine, in my opinion it's lazy and nonstrategic yes, but it works.

few possible ways they can do to remove the stacking meta is to make so boons are shared within screen/camera range of the caster and affect the whole party. heals can be left as-is. make the bosses have frequent random aoes of various distances including around the flanks of the boss and around the 1700~1200 range this will add danger to both melee and ranged classes. give more bosses mechanics that encourage the party to spread out more often or kite around. and finally buff the baseline dps of more ranged weapons/builds/traits to be closer in gap to melee dps but not on par