necropola

Today I learned they removed the barrier generation from Skill 1 on the Mace.

You mean Mace Blast formerly known as Barrier Blast, i. e. the 3rd skill of the Mace autoattack chain on Mechanist which apparently was stealth-nerfed in the June 27th update?

It's changes like these that I find rather disturbing.

When Mechanist was released in EoD neither Barrier nor Alacrity have been new concepts. So I have to assume that ArenaNet wanted the autoattack chain to provide Barrier and via Mech Frame: Channeling Conduits also Alacrity.

I further have to assume that they later (June 27th update) wanted to completely remove (not just adjust) Barrier and Alacrity generation from Mace autoattacks and move it to Energizing Slam (Mace 2, Leap) which is also not mentioned in the official patch notes.

• So, which is/was wrong? The original version of the autoattack chain or the updated one?
• Why not tell your players that and for what reasons you changed your mind?
• Why not update the official patch notes, if you have forgotten to mention it?
• Or did you think nobody would notice or care?

I'm not even sure that these undocumented changes are a big nerf to Barrier/Alacrity generation but it changes what you need to do in order to maximize it, i. e. you no longer need to outwait the autoattack chain, but (only) have to use Mace 2 every 6 seconds which you probably did anyway.

The knowledge (and hence skill) gap between average and highly proficient GW2 players is already huge which is one of the main reasons that balancing is so hard. And that's why I find not (properly) communicating changes to skills so disturbing.

@[email protected]

 jul.18.2023: updated for jul18 game build maybe.
 jul.18.2023: added kanaxai cm to default logging list.
 jul.18.2023: evtc: player added to table only if in combat.
 jul.18.2023: evtc: retired CBTS_EFFECT.
 jul.18.2023: evtc: added CBTS_EFFECT2 (changed orientation encoding).
 jul.18.2023: evtc/api: added CBTS_FRACTALSCALE (src agent is scale) on log start.

I tried ... to more or less guess what ArenaNet's reasoning is. Personally I wouldn't mind Rifle on Ranger, but then I probably want Dwarf as a playable race, too. 😎

Well, they dont have explosive traps. Their flame trap probably uses some natural way of making fire.

It is indeed a bit suprising, but I guess the reason is that they are Rangers and not Hunters, i. e. their bond with nature is so strong that using firearms is out of the question.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ranger

Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled survivalists with traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.

oh, you did not even upvote your own screenshot or rather removed the automatic self-upvote when creating a post/comment? That's true sportsmanship. 🏅 👍 from me then.

Exactly! My favorite back item ... Mark Y Golem ... took quite a while to get it but looks really nice on my Asura Engineer/Mechanist Bolloxx with Plasma Shield and Plasma Mace..

@[email protected] Week 29, 2023?

GW2Wiki Game updates/2023-07-18

I'm getting a bit tired of this messing around with stuff that wasn't broken while not fxing stuff that actually is. Luckily in Open World pretty much anything works and so I'm just ignoring this patch, too. That is, I'm not adjusting any builds, unless I feel something is completely off when I actually play it.

I think the Skyscale is a good example of how a reward should be. You have to work for it and it makes a big difference when you finally get it.

I did the collection(s) on two accounts and I knew beforehand that it woudl take a while. The GW2Wiki has all the information you need. So I worked my way through it without any rush, making a bit of progress (almost) every day. Nothing was unreasonable hard or expensive ...

... and both times it felt great to unlock and even more to actually use the Skyscale. (Sorry, Bunny!)

I think when you have unlocked the Skyscale and/or the Griffon before and combine this with the SotO Masteries you get extra benefits like mounted ley line gliding.

Kinda weird that GW2, although famous for its Fashion Wars, does

• neither have first person camera while mounted
• nor a character shot tool (zoomable character preview with selectable background and lighting)

You partially have the latter when previewing Makeover/Hairstyle Kits, but why not the whole/real thing integrated into the Hero panel?