17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Vindicator - Death Drop is dealing too much damage for the amount of counter-offensive pressure it applies. It needs to be nerfed.
It's mostly an issue with the amount of iframes it can stack. It's basically doing what Mirage was able to eons back.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Staff Spellbreaker - It isn't the metabattle version with mending that's the problem. The problem is the Defiant Stance variants that sacrifice all damage to be an adamantine boulder that requires 2 to 3 very experienced DPS to get off a node. Over the years due to power creep, Defiant Stance has become too strong. It needs to be turned down from 100% inc damage heal to 50% inc damage heal.
Defiant Stance is fine, it's probably THE only sidenoder spec that can properly do its job. It does have its counters though. I don't think Defiant Stance needs nerfed though.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Deadeye - The only reason people think this class is good, is because the people who run speed/tele hack on it make it look good. When played legitimately, this class is still a complete liability to have on your team.
The reason people think it's good is because it's capable of rotating rapidly and sticking to team fights, mostly due to Shadow Portal allowing them to move between nodes quickly. It isn't going to immediately destroy an entire team with someone who camps off node. Their job is to +1 or snipe targets that can't catch them.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Reaper - It's just bloated as hell lately after what SOTO brought to it. What was once a slow powerful full melee tank, has become a fast powerful ranged tank. It has too much of everything and it needs to lose something.
I personally believe Deathly Chill just needs an ICD. Gets rid of the insane synergy with Relic of the Reaper applying 3 stacks of bleeding, because of Chilling Nova, immediately with "Suffer!". Death Magic might need looked at again considering it's just a better Soul Reaping at this point. Might be worth mentioning that "Nothing Can Save You!" has a 16 second cool down, when every other unblockable is 25+ seconds. References to other unblockables: Signet of Might and Signet of the Hunt.
I'd say just start with increasing "Nothing Can Save You!" 's CD to 25s and giving Deathly Chill a 1s ICD PER TARGET.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Unga Bunga Untamed - Mace/mace/hammer is like real strong against certain things, and then it gets hard countered by other things. You can claim it's OP in some match ups but in others it's just bad and actually incapable of dealing with certain archetypes, particularly highly mobile ranged attackers. I'd agree it's obnoxious, but OP? I dunno man.
Mace/Mace Hammer is still problematic, especially since they just buffed Jaguar to give an instant-cast stealth with ZERO REASONABLE counterplay. Untamed can still die if they can't play it well. Smokescale + Jaguar allows for combo field Smoke Field and instant-cast stealth (such as when CC'd). I was fighting Anya a few times yesterday (with LR Weaver) and the fight would take forever just because of how much stealth and reset potential the setup has. I'm suspecting they're going to nerf Smokescale in the future. We've even got people like Boyce questioning the lack of nerfs to Ranger.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Chrono Support - I don't really care about it. It's strange to see a Chrono Support become favorable over Guard Support or Tempest Support but it's w/e. I don't really feel like it's OP.
Still kicking despite all the nerfs its received. I doubt it'll be a long term stay with things shifting gradually. Chrono Support is very squishy compared to Guard Support, but it offers a lot of boons in turn... Can people learn how to use the portal please?
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Willbender - I'm seeing some VERY strong play from Willbender lately. I don't think I'd say it's OP, but it is very strong.
It's a gimmicky spec at best right now, some people like to use "Feel my Wrath!" with Relic of the Sunless to try to burst someone down. It'll beat up the newbies, but the vets see them as food. Just wait the F3 out.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Tool Holos & Scrappers - Still relevant, but they take the backseat to the above listed builds. I still personally feel that Slick Shoes isjank though. It shouldn't be a force wall effect like Line Of Ward or Ring Of Ward. You should be able to evade over Slick Shoes.
Tools Holosmith might be forced to take the backseat due to the nerfs to Surprise Shot and Particle Accelerator. Apparently the devs want Nade Holo to be the staple for Holosmith rather than Tools, but Elixirs are starting to fall behind with all the power creep. As for Scrapper, it's forced to use pretty much everything in its kit. 3-4 gyros and Nade kit. Slick Shoes is their strongest CC and they give up damage/sustain to use it.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Soulbeasts & Druids - Soulbeast is still relevant like Holos & Scrappers but takes a backseat to those same currently powerful build structures. Druid is still strong and the only thing keeping it from being a top side node are Staff Spellbreakers & Unga Bunga Untamed.
Soulbeast is carried by Griffon Stance right now. If that stance gets poked even a little Soulbeast is going down a notch or two. Druid is an alternative to the Mace/Mace Hammer Untamed build, but sometimes uses Sword/Warhorn instead of Hammer, it has more cleanse, sustain, and CC with less pet damage.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Harbinger & Scourge - These can still perform well despite the popularity of Reaper. Scourge also has a very strong niche strength in 2v2s & 3v3s.
Harbinger is far too glassy, but it can be carried by a good Necromancer player, but they play Harbinger for flavor rather than viability. They play Reaper and get far more results. (Such as Ckod). Scourge is too squishy for 5v5s, and it shouldn't be a strong pick for 5v5s. It can stay strong in 2v2s/3v3s.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
DP Daredevils & SD Daredevils - Still relevant, but again, certain OP specs are currently shutting down the thunder of their job role.
D/P Daredevil is okay, but S/D is far stronger right now due to unblockable and built-in cleanse thanks to Acrobatics. S/D is capable of shutting down Catalyst and Spellbreaker thanks to the unblockables. It's a strong contender with Deadeye in terms of best in slot, but it's not currently shared what the meta build is for it.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Dragonhunter - It's still good! It's just not as good as a Willbender.
Great for zoning and shutting down the newbies.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Core Guard & Firebrand - It's like they're still relevant as support but other things are better options. Also, playing Willbender DPS is just more impactful than any Guard Support.
Depends on the comp, but they can be better than Support Chrono depending on the mobility of the comp and map. As for Core Guard versus Firebrand, Firebrand offers more utility but requires playing the piano in high-intensity situations.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Specter - It's really fallen out since SOTO content. It did not benefit from SOTO content like other classes did.
It's still a strong pick for 5v5s, but gets bullied by Deadeye and S/D Daredevil. It's capable of countering Condi Reaper thanks to Hungering Darkness having a 1s ICD instead of the intended 3s. It should stay that way if they don't touch Condi Reaper.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Power Shatter Mesmer/Chrono/Mirage/Virtuoso - Can still be relevant but theyneedto be wielded by very experienced players, or they're just a liability.
Power Mirage is the best out of all the builds currently, Power Chrono is okay but requires dropping Domination for Dueling to deal enough damage. You lose out on Boon Strip and Power Block doing this, but hit FAR harder. Power Mirage allows you to take both Dueling AND Domination, plus you're able to poke from range with Greatsword Ambush. Virtuoso is still a fun flavor pick, but it won't be meta.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Condi based Mesmer/Chrono/Mirage/Virtuoso - These aren't doing so well lately pvp. Lots of reasons why they've fallen out. Doing fine in wvw though, still top roamers.
Condi Mirage is very glassy still, Condi Chronomancer is gimmicky about stacking a bunch of phantasms, Condi Virtuoso requires staggering your bursts and can't hold a node or roam.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Berserker - It's like Condiserk is still relevant but then it isn't. Other things do it's job better. Powerserk is aight in 1v1s, but just isn't good in conquest due to being prone to 2v1 focus.
CZerker can still do its job, but it's a niche pick right now. You're better off going Spellbreaker or Hammer Untamed. Does the same job but offers more to the table, such as boon strip and AoE projectile hate. They have no idea what to do with Power Zerker...
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Herald - It aint what it used to be, power or condi. Vindicator has taken over. I doubt the new patch will make too much of a difference here. Could be wrong though.
The recent buffs might make it a better choice, but it's still going to be inferior to Vindicator by a long shot. They probably want Herald to be a Condi spec.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Catalyst & Tempest - For the first time 600 years, they're performing at medium levels and it needs to stay that way. kekekekekekek
Hammer Catalyst is bullied by DE, S/D Daredevil, and loses to Untamed, which is the only strong Catalyst build right now. D/D can work but you can get sniped pretty easily. Condi Tempest got some buffs with Dagger mainhand getting buffed, you might see it around more. It won't be meta though.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Weaver- It'sstraight up underperforming at this point.
<Insert Rant Here> Devs aren't sure what to do with Weaver. They keep nerfing the builds that gave Weaver any sort of relevance. They need to seriously look at all the Dual Attacks and give them some revitalization. I've got a handful of suggestions but fighting the demons of "why bother?" considering we've got a Ele Main on the dev team who's having giggle fits about Haboobs.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
War - Rev - Engi - Rang - Thief - Ele - Hey it's a bunch of core classes what do you want? They define suboptimal play. Even though good players can make it look like they're strong, they aren't.
They can do things, but why do less things with less tools.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Bladesworn - Seriously, I see more people using Core War than I see using Bladesworn. At some point when no one was paying attention, this spec started heading towards bottom tier.
They nerfed Bladesworn, it shouldn't be in PvP with its current design, even in PvE Bladesworns don't like playing Bladesworn. It's a mechanical nightmare for balance.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Renegade - The SOTO content removed any reason that made Ren worth playing. Its better counterparts all get shortbow now, and the only other thing that makes Ren important in wvw or pve, which is its alacrity output, is negligent in pvp due to skill splits & gear limitations. This class is actually disabled from play currently. It didn't gain anything from SOTO content. The SOTO content hurt this class waaaaay more than it helped it. The skill splits in pvp need to be fixed or it needs to buffed or something.
Renegade just received decent buffs and some people are playing some sort of bunker sidenode builds, it might have a chance if any of the revs are willing to cook with it. But it's overshadowed by Vindicator still.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Mechanist - This class was directly nerfed too hard. A Core Engi has more performance value than a Mechanist at this point. This spec deserves some serious direct hard buffing.
This is another design that just shouldn't be in PvP. It's a mechanical nightmare to balance. They'd have to change the design for it to feel remotely like Engineer. Don't buff it as it'll encourage builds that aren't healthy. Change the design. Revamp.
17 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:
Necromancer - This is currently the worst of the worst bottom tier. It has no offensive potential. Due to this, it doesn't have enough counter-offensive pressure to defend itself. Even when it's in shroud it feels squishy anymore. The problem is that Core Necro shroud is just outdated and needs some very direct hard buffing in the DPS department.
Believe it or not, but Terrormancer counters some of the meta specs right now. The weakness is that it's ungodly slow.
TL;DR: I disagree with some of the points, expand on some of the points, and clarify some things.
Edited by Vinny.7260
