Please reconsider deleting Kinetic Stabilizers

[Renny.6571]

"While the Scrapper can be played as an effective healer, it hasn’t had access to the offensive boons it needs to be truly valuable as a support role in group PvE content. As a result, we’ve seen the Scrapper get very little play outside of WvW. With this update, we’re reworking the Scrapper trait Kinetic Stabilizers so that Scrappers can apply the quickness boon on up to five targets, opening up a powerful boon support role for the specialization. "

 

Scrapper

Kinetic Stabilizers has been reworked and renamed. It is now Kinetic Accelerators.
Kinetic Accelerators: When you grant superspeed to a target, also grant quickness (2 seconds).
Applied Force has been reworked to grant stability instead of quickness and to grant extra power from might. Players now gain stability when they gain might above the threshold. Might grants bonus power (10 per stack).

 

These are the notes regarding Scrapper for the May 11th patch. I believe the removal of Kinetic Stabilizers is not the way to add viability to the spec outside of WvW and actually serves to diminish Scrapper build variety in sPvP and small-scale WvW. I would suggest an alternative placement for the new trait "Kinetic Accelerators" which makes sense thematically, within the trait lines, and buffs some other less common traits to increase build potential and diversity.

 

Currently, Kinetic Stabilizers is the grandmaster trait in middle line of Scrapper. This trait line has a very clear theme of rewarding the player for landing CC against an enemy, with the grandmaster trait providing the largest benefit and essentially defines an aspect of the player's build.

Major Adept 		System Shocker		Disabling a foe grants you barrier. Your function gyro dazes foes when cast.
Major Master		Expert Examination	Stunning or dazing a foe applies vulnerability and weakness to them.
Major Grandmaster	Kinetic Stabilizers	Gain stability and superspeed when disabling an enemy. Outgoing stun and daze durations increased.

 

The change to Kinetic Stabilizers that Arenanet has posted would mean the removal of such a build-defining trait that sees regular use in Scrapper builds in sPvP, as an alternative to Holosmith, and also in some small-scale WvW builds, in favor of a trait that has no synergy with the adept and master traits in the same line, and frankly does not define a build as grandmaster-tier traits should.

 

I would propose to Arenanet that instead of placing "Kinetic Accelerators" in the middle trait line grandmaster, it is instead placed in the top trait line master, with the current "Damage Dampener" being merged into the grandmaster trait, so the top trait line would look like this:

Major Adept		Gyroscopic Acceleration		Well abilities have an increased area of effect and grant superspeed to nearby allies on their final pulse. Your function gyro also grants superspeed to allies when cast.
Major Master		Kinetic Accelerators		When you grant superspeed to a target, also grant quickness (2 seconds).
Major Grandmaster	Adaptive Armor			Barriers you receive are stronger. Reduce incoming condition damage while you have barrier. A percentage of all strike damage you take is delivered after a delay.

 

This suggested change upholds the theme of the trait line by adding synergy to the trait choices and also adds viability to a grandmaster trait that otherwise does not define a build in the same way the other two choices do.  This proposed trait line would serve to give Scrapper a "tanky boon-supporter" identity in group play where some sustain is needed to fully complete the Well abilities and provide the extra, traited effects. This change also promotes cross-trait line choices where the new "Kinetic Accelerators" would compete with "Objects In Motion" so a player may decide to use the latter if playing solo, or the former to buff group damage. Finally, the grandmaster choices would each uniquely define a part of the player's build; top line = tanky support, middle line = control, bottom = damage.

 

The numbers on the new "Adaptive Armor" may need to be tweaked for competitive modes if it proves to make Scrappers unkillable bunkers, however I believe the merge of these traits makes the most sense and in doing so the other traits (and by extension, builds) are not so heavily affected in other game modes outside of group PvE.

 

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Renny.6571

[Labby.5840]

Couldn't agree more.

Losing the consistent stability and superspeed access will seriously hurt scrapper viability in PvP modes, and AoE quickness was already possible using Chronomancer Runes + Gyros anyway.

Even a simple change like making the existing quickness trait Applied Force grant its quickness in an AoE around the player would be better a better way to add group quickness than deleting an unrelated trait to make room.

[Noah Salazar.5430]

Good idea

 

Quote

AoE quickness was already possible using Chronomancer Runes + Gyros anyway.

@Labby.5840that is false, it was personal quickness only, i use that runes for open word so i can confirm it

 

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Noah Salazar.5430

[Stalima.5490]

Hmm, speaking of chrono runes, this may make the shredder gyro extremely potent when combined, I am going to estimate that the flamethrower scrapper will instead gravitate towards this trait rather than the additional stability/power due to it being a more controlled quickness rather than set intervals like the old applied force.

 

Depending on wether or not it has an internal cooldown, a build of 1/3/2 would grant a crazy amount of quickness when combined with an elixir U, the issue here is that a supporty build like this runs the risk of invalidating the dps row due to the raw power of quickness.

 

On a side note, isn't gyroscopic acceleration kind of weird? surely you would want the superspeed WHILE the gyro is active to actually move it around.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Stalima.5490

[schloumou.3982]

Op is on point. The change seems really poorly slapped into the spec line. I like to play tools rupt powerburst scrapper and it would be sad to see the playstyle get nuked, just to shove the spec further into the role it already mainly has and limit build diversity even more. I mean what are trait options for when they don't change the way you play?

In addition to that i find the concept of the changed trait very passive and unengaging gamedesign. "When you give yourself x you also gain y and z", has nothing to do with interaction and is the very road to subpar gameplay.

Edited May 4, 2021 by schloumou.3982

[Renny.6571]

RIP an actually good trait that gave scrapper viability in spvp. Now it is still doodoo in pve and omega buffed in zerg wvw. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Renny.6571

[Spartacus.3192]

10 hours ago, Renny.6571 said:

RIP an actually good trait that gave scrapper viability in spvp. Now it is still doodoo in pve and omega buffed in zerg wvw. 

yeah ruined my wvw roaming/small group power scrapper build. Loved getting all that stab. 

[medivh.4725]

Kinetic Stabilizers sounds very cool. How about it being a coolant to mitigate heat for holosmith? The holosmith could use more to extend forge duration

[Konrad Curze.5130]

On 6/22/2021 at 2:55 PM, medivh.4725 said:

Kinetic Stabilizers sounds very cool. How about it being a coolant to mitigate heat for holosmith? The holosmith could use more to extend forge duration

Wait, what? You want a scrapper trait to do something for holo? 

 

Think about it for 5 minutes, dude...