Curse

uby · May 14, 2007, 02:07 AM // 02:07

I think that if you want a game to be enjoyable, you really need to make as many choices available to the player as possible. The game is riddled with absolutely terrible skills (elite and non-elite) that no one really uses - or, if they do use it, they don't realize they can get more benefit elsewhere.

I think the massive skill update from March (or was it April) was a great thing ... but there's much left to be desired. Updating skills to make them more useful shouldn't be a difficult task, but I feel that it would add SO much more to the game than the temporary fun of events.

If you feel the same way, please respond to this thread with a LAME skill that should be changed and WHY you feel it's not useful. Please do NOT make suggestions on how to change the skill. Also please do NOT argue with people if your opinion varies.

I'll start with a skill found on Gamewiki's LAME list (http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Special...templates/lame):

Assassin/Critical Strikes/Seeping Wound {e} Elite hex spell
5 energy cost, 1 second cast time, 10 second recharge time
[[Seeping Wound]] "For 5...17 seconds, if target foe is suffering from Bleeding or Poison, that foe suffers -1...3 Health degeneration."

While it is a hex spell available to assassins, it really is terrible. You get -3 degen. on targets IF they already have a specific condition on them. The effect itself doesn't stack with itself (ie from bleeding and poison) and the added damage from degen. is pitiful. And it's elite (wtf?)!

Swift Thief · May 14, 2007, 02:09 AM // 02:09

/Signed

-3 degen on an elite, wow...

Skye Marin · May 14, 2007, 02:39 AM // 02:39

Compared directly to Reaper's Mark:

Reaper's Mark does -5 degen for 30 seconds, and gives 15 energy if the target dies
Seeping would does -4 degen for 20 seconds, only if target is bleeding or poisoned.

My suggestion, bump it up to -1..6 degen, make it 1/4 cast with a 5 second recharge, and increase the duration to 25. This way, Jagged + Seeping does the max of -10 degen. It might even see play with a Barbed Arrows Assassin. A long duration doesn't hurt because the degen is only active on bleeding foes. You could even make it an AoE hex, because there's no real way to give AoE bleeding, except for traps or using some clumsy Necro Build.

Alternatively, it could be -1..3 degen, with an additional -1..3 degen if the target is bleeding or poisoned.

Let's do a handful of Mesmer buffs:
Power Flux - reduce cost to 5, reduce recharge to 5 (making it an elite Power Return)
Lyssa's Aura - Allow casting on allies.
Extend Condtions - Reduce recharge to 15, and now hexes adjacent foes. Added - "Any time target foe would lose a condition, that condition has a 20..50% chance of renewing itself for 5 seconds.
Shatter Storm - Target foe loses all enchantments. For each enchantment removed, this skill is disabled for 5 seconds (maximum 15)

Kuldebar Valiturus · May 14, 2007, 02:57 AM // 02:57

One reason that Seeping Wound may not compare well to Reaper's Mark: look at the method of delivery.

On one hand you have a caster type attacker and on the other a melee based profession.

An assassin's fast attacks in conjunction with Seeping Wound are very different from the way a Necro would use the Reaper's Mark in combat.

I tend to generally throw Reapers Mark around on targets low on Health and then go back to my main target focus.

But, assassins are generally a single target focused profession <at least much more so than a Necro>. Seeping Wound isn't a fire and forget skill, it's simply part of a chained attack on a hard target.

Note: This thread topic may not meet the requirements for the Suggestion Forum because the subject is very broad and open for various interpretations.

It may be better to have this discussion in the Riverside Inn in order to narrow down and create a definitive skill list before attempting to showcase it as a suggestion in this Forum Section

Winterclaw · May 14, 2007, 05:38 AM // 05:38

First of all, mesmers aren't going to get any Anet <3 in the near future. They have some use in pvp and that's about it. That said, mesmers, and a lot of their elites need buffing in general save for their few bread and butter skills.

Monk smiting skills need to be buffed as well because they were nerfed to the point that no one uses them or wants a smiting monk on their team.

Banish and spear of light could both use a shorter recharge time. Smite is a little too costly. Word of Censure takes to long to recharge if the target is low on health (and it's too expensive for a monk to spam it enough to be useful). Balth's pendulum ain't that great most of the time, and IMO not worth an elite. Bane Signet could have a slightly shorter recharge time.

For Warriors, 100 blades still needs to be fixed. Make it unblockable at least or else improve the damage it does. I'd almost want to suggest that dragon slash takes too much ade to build up and should only require 8. Jaihanzu strike and pure strike are pretty useless to a warrior in PvP because of the no-stance req (and you almost need to bring frenzy or some other IAS with you into pvp all the time).

For els, Water magic attacks need to do better damage. They deserve the mesmers mantra of (element) more than the mesmers do. Ice spear does too little damage for it's short range. Armor of frost is an irrelevant skill nowadays thanks to frigid armor. Conjure (element) needs a slight damage buff if the person is using a ranged weapon. Mirror of ice would be better if it worked on more than one spell. And it really needs a water magic version of mark of rodgort.

For paragons, their spear skills need some reworking. Other than that no comment.

Kool Pajamas · May 14, 2007, 07:05 AM // 07:05

If you make smite skills too strong we'll just end up with monk spikes instead of rit spikes.

Winterclaw · May 14, 2007, 08:07 AM // 08:07

Right now, they are too weak.

Thomas.knbk · May 14, 2007, 02:14 PM // 14:14

Monk smite skills need to have their recharge buffed. A skill like Bane Signet is actually OK, and I could see it even on a monk as self defense, but its recharge kills it. Make it 3/4-15 and we're talking. Reduce Signet of Judgement's damage a bit, but make it 1/4-10 and it could see play.

tyche7 · May 14, 2007, 05:07 PM // 17:07

/signed

Your link didn't work for me but there are a good number of skills that are way too weak -- mesmer, ritualist, and paragon skills come to my mind right off. Some elites are not even worthy of the "elite" title.

Winterclaw · May 14, 2007, 06:16 PM // 18:16

The correct link is:

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Special...templates/lame

HawkofStorms · May 15, 2007, 05:48 AM // 05:48

At the moment, the ONLY useful thing seeping wound is good for is for a good openning hex into black spider strike (which, with its reccent damage nerf isn't even worth it anymore).