Never really understand the skill balance until now

Hi all!
I've always been a core PvE player, and basically gone through all the chapters from Prophecies to Nighfall and one thing that always kept me bugging was the constant skill updates(nerfs) from ANet. I always thought that this simply looked too much like the constant card bans we had in MtG.

Recently I've been playing competitive GvG and I'm totally loving it! Anyway I now fully understand the skill nerfs since they bring a fresh new play for GvG. I'm totally tired of people playing the same Euro-spike build over and over again.

I can't wait to see what they will do to a lot of overused skills in GvG. Since new skills are released each 6 months that would be a lot of time having always the same builds, so go on with the nerfs!

The only thing that I don't really appreciate is the grind that is needed in the ladder. Let's hope that with the tournaments things change a bit.

Now if only more PvE players would see this.

I don't play GVG yet, but I did read on the main site that skill updates do have an underlying purpose of forcing guilds to use some different skills in order to remain competitive.
There's that one guild Esoteric Warriors that manages to keep coming out with new builds.

EW doesn't do FotM that much do they? They nerf the FotM, not what the good guilds use sometimes.

I'm so glad to see a PVE'er see the light about skill balances. Everyone should go play some GvG before complaining about skill changes affecting PVE, then they'd see how vital it is for balance in PVP and compare how insignificant skill changes are in PVE.

Oh sorry. What I meant was that it looked like Esoteric Warriors is an example of a guild that makes new builds because they know that skill updates try to influence the effectiveness of popular ones.
Maybe other guilds will follow suit. I don't know.

It was never about the "balancing".
It's all about changing things around to give you a new sense of the game.

I wish they could segregate the two. I am not a PvP player. I have no interest in it and I don't care if this skill means that some other team in the PvP area can kill you in three seconds. I understand why they do it. I really do, I just wish there was a way for them to balance it for PvP without killing it for PvE.

I understand the skill balance for gvg... But I don't understand how PvE builds should chance because someone found an overpowered build in a totally different part of the game.

I don't PvP at all, so for me, the skill balances are just plain annoying. (lots of skills I used are now rather useless, and they weren't overpowered in PvE at all)

I too don't understand why just because a few numptys in PvP moan about a skill being 'overpowered' we who play PvE have to suffer the nerfbat (or skill balancing as it's called). I mean, what's the use in having a PvE element if all they do is nerf useful PvE skills to pander to the moanings of a few PvP players?

Simple fact is, if you don't like a skill in PvP then don't use it or just learn to live with it.

I take it PvE gets the same 'nerfs' because you can take your PvE character to the battle ilses, too... A PvE character with unchanged skills in a PvP area would be a bad idea.

I play a mix of PvE and PvP. PvE for unlocks and taking a break

PvP for kicks and fun.

PvP is the competitive side and really should get priority to balance, otherwise the argueably most attractive side of GWs is suffering =(.

PvE has been getting PvE only skills recently, so it might compensate...

Skill balance has little to no effect on PvE, except when it is farming related. The fact that in PvE you can get away with your monk having Healing Breeze and Mending on their bar speaks for itself.

Wow. And still PVE players are moaning about skill changes. I play a lot of PVE myself and don't understand why the crying about skill changes in PVE. Most of PVE is so easy that it doesnt even matter what you put on your skill bar, so what exactly is the problem of "nerfs" when it comes to PVE?

Searing Flames as the only viable nuking option is bad for PvE too.

RaOs outclassing warriors for damage is bad for PvE too.

Old energizing finale giving your monks infinite energy is bad for challenging PvE IE DoA too.

SoA outclassing every other prot spell and making 55/135 invcimonks easier than ever is bad for PvE too.

Balance is not quite as vital to PvE as PvP, but it still matters. It gets boring seeing and using the same builds there all the time, too.

Totally right! It gives a fresh new way of playing.

Ok this is the most ridiculously flawed (flawed is a polite way of putting it) post in here. If a skill is overpowered in PVP, you cant avoid it if the opposing side is using it! If someone is using an unbalanced skill against me, how does it help at all if I dont use it? The logic is so horrible, that I think they should revoke your posting priviledges.

And take your own advice, in PVE it's far far far easier to "live with it" then it is in PVP. Same goes for not using a particular skill if you don't like it.

This thread sure is worthwhile.

(hint: no it isn't)

first, the pve isn't "screwed over". I play both pvp and pve, and frankly, in pve it doesn't matter if a skill is overpowered, you "earn to live with it. But in pvp it does matter, it does matter if you get killed by armor-ignoring damage before you can take three steps out of the starting point. AI doesn't care, but people care if you take their <insert cash prize amount here> dollars in 3 seconds.
/end rant

As far as I can recall, every time PvE was "screwed over" it had something to do with some farming build or the enemy AI. Nothing that has to do with PvP.

Like I said, skill balance that are done for PvP have little to no effect on PvE.