jcbroe.4329

My Ticket response just told me to check my network, even though IT WORKS IN SAFE MODE WITH NETWORKING.Talk about smashing your face into a wall...

Completely disabled, doesn't make a difference.

First thing's first, I do have a way to bypass this but bypassing isn't a resolution. If I boot my computer in Safe Mode with Networking, then the Launcher loads the files correctly and continues on to the download and completes.But, I'd really like to work on fixing the root of the actual issue so I don't have to reboot my computer in Safe Mode to load every new patch, along with any other potential problems that could be created by whatever is interfering with the game when my computer is standard booted. Things I've tried that don't work:-Disabling Anti-Virus-assertsrv etc-repair (never even makes it to repairing files)-uninstall/reinstall (game gets uninstalled and then the error makes it so that it can't be reinstalled from the setup executable)-Removed RivaTuner and MSI Afterburner-Running GW2 as Administrator-Restarting the router-Port forwarding all relevant ports I am running the 64 bit version of the game. Windows 10. 32gb of RAM, 500gb of available hard drive memory, nvidia 1660 super with up to date drivers. I've submitted a support ticket but I'm getting taken through the ringer on the basic "have you tried turning it off and on again" level responses.Since it DOES work in Safe Mode (with Networking), then I assume it has to be some program or service running that runs in a Regular Boot that isn't running during Safe Mode, or some other difference in settings or etc.I have screenshots of all the background processes and running services in both Regular and Safe Mode from the Task Manager, but there's no guarantee that the problem is even being caused by something on these lists so I'm not sure brute force trial and error is the right plan of attack. Anybody have any ideas on what the issue could be? I'm going a little insane here trying to troubleshoot this virtually on my own here.

Yeah the sword change has been absolutely awful. It's been untouchable since they changed it, and it really belongs in the dumpster now. Offhand Axe still has decent damage but you need to set that damage up, and the Barrage changes made it so that Barrage deals similar enough damage to Axe 5 and in a similar enough manner that the deciding factor comes to mainhand Axe or Dagger. Dagger is also garbage in PvP, so you're left with Axe, and Axe can be strong but so much damage was taken out of 2 that you're left with only autos and 3 being usable on a power build. Compare that to Longbow and Greatsword and it just can't compete. Skirmishing is awful still, and Nature Magic is now too weak to be a pickup on most builds because it's better just to invest in damage currently. Druid got guttered. I mean, seriously, seriously guttered. Repeatedly nerfed all throughout PoFs lifetime, even when it's a dead last place competitive pick. Nothing about it is usable in a serious environment anymore, and the entire traitline, utility set, and staff weapon need an overhaul. So there you have it. LB/GS Soulbeast or LB/GS Core Ranger. Maybe give Axe/Axe a go if you're feeling adventurous. Welcome back and try not to get too hung up over any of it, it's just not worth the effort when the major issues we pointed out since day 1 have fallen completely on deaf ears.

I haven't had a problem with the single pet issue as much as the nerf to hard CC skills has inadvertently caused with pet choices. It feels like there are only 2 real choices if you want to do damage - Siamoth (pig family) and Gazelle. Smokescale lost a ton of it's Merge combo damage by losing damage from the Merged Knockdown, to the point where I don't even consider it a viable pick for a fight. There are 2 main issues being highlighted here - most pets just straight up aren't good, and pet merge skills and kits are almost all lackluster across the board. Before the patch, at least there was a bit more damage in some of the Soulbeast merge kits that with 2 pets, having a bad pet with a good kit covered the weakness of how bad the pet is. But now that you're forced to pick a good pet with a good kit - there's less that 5 fingers needed to count those pets on. In my opinion this all comes back to the glaring issue that Ranger has always needed a major pet overhaul. AI, pathing, skill changes and updates. And in all likelihood, because of the current "strength" of pets in those gamemodes, Soulbeast is likely about to be indirectly nerfed even harder when ANet starts messing with pet skill coefficients. Let's just hope that the message gets through this time that the pet mechanic has always been polarizing to balance and needs more than numerical tweaks to create a healthier balance across all the specializations, Soulbeast included. PS I've been running Gazelle on my Soulbeast build and the next time it comes into combat and runs off into Narnia or headbutts the air, I'm going to smash my keyboard.

So just some things to add, obviously all opinion: The mechanics of Terror and Lightning Rod are obnoxious in a post-patch world. I'm not saying that anything is overpowered here, but free, significant damage on CCs in a paradigm that otherwise aims to make you capitalize on your CC to do damage is counterintuitive. These need to be reworked. "Condis applied to CC'd targets last longer" and "CC a target causes lightning to strike the area, dealing damage, after a delay" or anything that isn't their current iteration would be preferable. Retribution Herald and Core Necro, under the right circumstances, feel like their ability to tank and sustain damage is much too high relative to the damage that was taken out of the game. Thief is fine, but at some point it would be nice to rework the class to add some non-evade, non-stealth based sustainability back to the class so that they can exist in fights better and then remove pieces of their mobility proportionately so that they are no longer able to freely and effortlessly decap points. Having the advantage in a direct race to a point is fine, but decapping should be more of a tactical decision then "hey nobody is there go get it for no risk." Ranger. Always seems to be a big talking point on this forum. Lots of people that got killed by something they don't understand and think is easy then say its unfair, but also lots of people underselling its strengths. To this day, the class needs a total pet rework. Pets are buggy and barely hit, and that's been used to justify their damage and CC potential, and that's amplified by the fact that pets are the only class mechanic that can be disabled. Pets should be on a flat cooldown, no death penalty. Their big skills should be player controlled skills, whether its CC or significant damage. And beyond that, they should only really function as an autoattack. Also, fix their pathing and ability to hit targets. Soulbeast is fine. It feels fine and plays fine. Problem is that it's polarizing because Sic Em is the only thing making it viable, but it's also the only spec that can teamfight because of pet death penalty on Core and Druid. Sic Em is a very large damage modifier that shouldn't exist in this meta, but because it's polarizing it makes changing the spec impossible before changing Sic Em. Core and Soulbeast share too much in this regard. Rework the pets as mentioned so there is no death penalty, and then Core is basically the damage spec, Druid is the support spec, and Soulbeast can be the tankier, "able to stand here in this fight and do my part and not kite constantly." Speaking of Druid, can it finally get reworked into the support it deserves to be? I really don't care if the damage gets gutted, it needs to have the ability to tow the line alongside FBs and Tempests. There are HoT classes that seem like they're underperforming because their PoF counterparts are still too bloated (FB and Holo as example), and they're HoT specs that seem abandoned or overly nerfed or under-power-crept with the rest of the game (besides Druid - Chrono, Berserker as examples). There are only 5 slots on a team so not every spec can be optimal, but it would be nice to see a global design paradigm of "power, condi, support" or "mobile, tanky, damage" or "support, duel, teamfight" applied to the various specs and have them designed to fulfill that purpose.

I have been playing since Early Access of GW2. I can transfer anywhere and am capable of gearing and playing any class, though I have spent more time on certain classes and have a higher skillset on them (FB, Necro, Herald, Scrapper, Tempest). My current preferred classes are Guardian, Necro, and Rev. I have been in BoRP with Veridian/Roy, RED with Hunting and many of TBT's current roster, mS or whatever guild name of the week with Gixx, KGA with Tibbs, Ruh Roh with Creepy and friends, and VII with shiri and the oldest living guild on CD. I am not looking to GvG, but will play rounds if I somehow get roped into that situation. I am looking to join up with a group that runs strong, solid, and serious in WvW. That wins fights and decides matchups. That anchors on a server instead of server hopping whenever a relink occurs. If you see me online, PM me in game, but otherwise, contact me on Discord @ jroh#1020 Please only approach me with real offers. No "PvE guild that sometimes WvWs" or "havoc/roaming squad." Thank you.

Hey all, long time no see (better games out there to play). Just some thoughts: Power Stab - I get this change but it comes at an obnoxious time. People, myself included, have been asking in an attempt to reduce power creep for the separation of offensive and defensive functions in skills.But as @"Chaith.8256" mentioned elsewhere, it feels really, really bad when a mechanic like this that has existed since launch is suddenly changed on what currently appears to be an under-performing spec when things like Warrior Reckless Impact, Mirage Infinite Horizon, Revenant Unrelenting Assault, and Holosmith Thermal Release Valve/Vent Exhaust with arguably more pronounced and gamechanging effects get to continue to exist and are "safe" from the balance cycle until 2020 or PvP/WvW are shut down. The assumed reasoning and outcome of the change also gets muddled by:Stalker's Strike - Why? Increased damage on a defensive skill when damage should be minimal (really just there to break stealth) or removed on defensive skill, utility (ie new Power Stab) added back as needed. Also, the damage is meaningless??? It could be a 1000% damage buff on this skill and it would still be bad at doing damage. Even if this is for PvE benchmarking I can't imagine this being a useful change in any sense - it looks to me like a low hanging fruit mathematical change so the devs can say they updated the weapon and then never give it a second look to give it the update it actually needs. Counterattack - I like this change conceptually except for the removal of Crippling Throw. It feels really bad for the skill to automatically stop blocking to do some attack you may not want it to do. The Kick is actually the worst part of Greatsword imo, why are we keeping it? Why is a weapon designed for close range and keeping people close even equipped with a skill the does the opposite and displaces people?Since this change is already happening and this is all too late - please make the followup kick a Knockdown instead of a Knockback in the future. RIP Crippling Throw. Sword............I don't even know where to begin with this. You're taking a weapon that functions well already as a utility weapon but that PvE people want more damage on so that there is an actual rotation......and you're shuffling the skills around to alter the gameplay flow to provide less overall utility and no increase to damage - so no change the the PvE rotation?Also Hornet's Sting was already borderline as a skill that flipped. As a standalone skill with double the cooldown? Garbage. Surely there's meant to be some sort of blind or interrupt component just as something, ANYTHING, to make this a worthwhile change? As it is now it's an escape/evade skill who's purpose to recharge a skill the completely invalidates this skills function.And Monarch's Leap.....did you guys forget a note where the damage of this weapon has been tripled? Or an immobilize added and Serpent's Strike damage tripled/quadrupled?I'm just struggling to comprehend why you would take an already niche, alright weapon and make it objectively worse here, don't mind me. Anyhow, that's just my feedback/reactions all. I'm sorry to see a lot of familiar faces still around and I'm mainly posting for visibility so that I can say to you guys:Stop. This isn't healthy. This game is long passed it's prime and has squandered all of its potential. How long are you going to wait around for trying to force changes and understanding to happen? There are many other games on the market and things to do. You are not being listened to, your feedback is not being accounted for, and your time is not being respected. You are being treated purely as a consumer, and as such my suggestion is to do the only thing that gets measured as feedback anymore - boycott. Stop playing, stop participating, stop paying. Trust me, it's a buy to play game and at the glacial pacing you can go 6 months at a time without checking in and nothing changes on you. You won't be missing anything, and think of all the things you are missing if you aren't satisfied here but haven't moved on. Just food for thought.

@Soilder.3607 @"Eurantien.4632" In line with your discussion. This is going to sound redundant but I'm not complaining because "they changed something." I'm complaining because they changed something (in the code). (Wild speculation incoming): It seems to be the case in the code that every "skill type" and "trait type" has some sort of inheritance structure that goes: category -> subdivision -> [possible additional subdivisions] -> specific skill/trait.So assuming this is more than a tooltip change, it means that they touched this tangled web of code, and we've seen in the past where this happens and then the consequences of it are in the game for weeks/months, like skills not having cooldown reductions or effects applied to them by associated traits, or the opposite - traits applying to skills when they shouldn't (I can't be the only person that remembers when they added the Fury proc to the GS trait for Rangers and all of a sudden Longbow was giving itself Fury on every hit). And Soulbeast adds another layer on top of that with Merged state interactions. Obviously it's not guaranteed that something went wrong with changes that were made, but it means that for the next patch cycle we all have to be diligent about monitoring skill interactions with the different traits, runes, and elite specializations to see if they broke anything and then promptly report it in hopes of a fix happening. That's of course in addition to the fear of the unknown - a lot of people are still reeling from the very painful Druid Pet stat reduction business that may have been justified in PvE, but pushed the elite spec further away from anything viable elsewhere. That and it was a tad unnecessary - Rangers had shouts in GW1, Paragons had "commands" in GW1. So it has to be related to some big picture (that hopefully delivers and not disappoints like what has been the trend recently). I'd be hyped if this was leading up to some Mesmer rework/Berserker redesign/Engineer trait revamp style update for the class, but I'm with Eurantien on this one - I'm not very confident in their understanding, vision, or scope in what changes get made. And as always I think we're in dire need of some sort of roadmap to give the community a sense of what's in the works and being planned to generate excitement while also tempering expectations (look at this other conversation about new especs going - that should be an expectation that gets tamped down if it isn't happening before it generates backlash from sheer speculation).

What's scarier is that this change very likely is not a change that is just happening out of the blue, and Ranger changes are very rarely ever good changes.

Yes (I know you know the answer, just piggybacking). To build for power damage the investment order is:-Maximize Power-Build Precision next until crit chance is 50%-At 50% crit chance, Ferocity and Precision return equal value With Fury, Gear, and Traits being more available than similar options for Crit Damage, Ferocity is probably the "better" investment after 50% crit chance to focus on due to opportunity cost.

No intention of highjacking or this becoming a "post your ideas" thread. I like where your head is at. Just not sure in the current gamestate that shaves and minor buffs are enough.

I've played around with both the other traits but I think they're all (including Leader of the Pack) relatively lackluster. Eternal Bond is highly situational, though can be useful, and I'd say in a different meta where sidenode Soulbeast was still "a thing" this is the pick over the Stance trait to have the potential to save yourself from a +1 or a Rampage. Oppressive Superiority is the same way, though a little more passive. The damage bonus is nice, but you can't guarantee it, and it could very well end up that once a fight gets going, this trait isn't active often. Leader of the Pack isn't a great choice anymore. But it's consistent. You slot it and stances, and you improve those stances. The value of the shared stances is going to be reliant on how/when they're shared and what your team does with them, but there's still value in sharing them. Opportunity cost wise, Leader of the Pack is going to be the "safe" choice that you can guarantee the mileage you get out of it. Oppressive Superiority would be next in line - you will always get value out of it as long as its condition is met. Eternal Bond could be useful, especially on the right build (look up Lord Hizen's old Soulbeast videos as an example of a notable player who utilized this trait in their build), but there will be games when you never take advantage of the fact this skill is slotted.

Thanks--tried this and a few other things and Im coming back to this. If some of you are interested, Build link below-- gameplay abovehttp://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqAN8itCCmsAs8ilJB7JIcB+Y592g7xtJA84mAn4AqTD-jpBHQB5rMwP2fAAHBAx9AAGwhAIgXAAA Yeah absolutely. Unfortunately but understandably, there are not a ton of content creators for GW2, even less so that play at a high level in PvP, even less than that are insightful, understand the game, and don't just constantly make "streamer plays" then complain their team didn't carry their decisions (like Helseth used to on stream and some others tend to), and even less than all of that Ranger players. I think we're down to Boyce, ROM, and Kiritsugu as the 3 people left putting out consistent content, and the latter only does WvW montages on youtube even though he performs consistently well in PvP. I bring all of this up because it is SO DIFFICULT to learn from just build resource websites and the forums. A build posted with a generic "this is the good, this is the bad, you can do this to accomplish this" doesn't visualize the full scope of gameplay in a way where the resource can translate directly to gameplay. But now go and pick a streamer with a good build and playstyle and watch their gameplay for 20-30 minutes. After doing so, we start to pick up the "feel" of the build and what gameplay will look like with a similar sort of setup and actions (for better or worse, which is why finding consistent high skill gameplay is important). More on the topic though, outside of that build, this is the other build I've played around with this season:10/10 do not recommend, this is just to facetank a point when no one else on the team can: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBHPxG2JhKQFvYDvgLLALvYZSwyzt/2jrTk7yl5aCAPuJQJPoI-jpxHAB0XGAgjAgyHEA/fAAffCAWf/BA Same deal as above but you might actually kill something or die to something: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBHPxG2JhKQFvYDvgLLALvYZSwaCAPuJQeu93ecdicXuMXJPIN-jpxHABffCA8/BAo8BBY99HA4IAYfZAA And here's one I want to try sometime within my last 30-40 games of the season (see if I actually end up on the leaderboards or if I just don't feel like finishing it out by the end, fluctuating between plat 1 and 2 spamming games with nothing to lose cuz I want more ascended armor): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBjYD7kQFoiXshXwlFglXsMJYNBgH3EwJyd5yc552f7xtkHkG-jpxHABKfQA8/BAYfZgvvAArv/AAHBAATanky traits/setup, some kill potential, but unlike either of the above LB can actually force a decap over time and the tanky damage classes still take enough damage that setups like this can threaten them. But yeah, I don't recommend any of that to people who actually care about the season. The Sic Em (slight) variant that Boyce uses on stream is the first build Rangers have had in a long time that actually has carry potentially through quickly pushing kills. It's very sad to see that even though Chronos, Holos, Spellbreakers, and Heralds can all roll into a fight and 1 shot someone with like 3 button presses that the Sic Em build is what's being cried about, unless people like @"Ben Phongluangtham.1065" recognize that Ranger receives a disproportionate amount of community vile when it has a viable build and that if damage needs to be reduced, it needs to be done across the board for the gamemode and all classes - not just in a vacuum. Otherwise we'll just have another useless elite spec to put in the trashbin next to Druid for PvP. While I agree that people should not complain about sic em. It's pretty balanced imo. High risk high reward. I feel that you can't compare that to warrior. Lb is ranged and if they don't dodge it's a guaranteed hit. Warrior sb skills are all melee and can be more easily kited even with out los. So the dmg is deserved when it connects. Just my personal opinion. I also think everything is pretty balanced right now and nothing really needs to change. Except for maybe they should rework some deadeye and ele traits/skills.It isn't about the damage of Rampage, it's about what it does on a 72 second cooldown timer. Pulsing Stability, insane damage on every skills, and CC chaining on a skill that increases also increases tankiness and mobility. That said, I don't want to seem like I'm targeting it (or anything) directly. The game has been power crept beyond comprehension - there hasn't been a "healthy" metagame since the Core specs balance right before HoT dropped and again in like the S5-7 ranges of the PvP league, right around when Solo Queue only was first implemented. There were multiple roles that existed in the metagame - support, bruiser, teamfight damage, roaming damage - and the pacing of the game "felt" better: you didn't feel like nobody had any cooldowns on their skills and that you had to dodge everything or lose half your health, like now. Both of the prior metagames I just mentioned, 8/9 to 9/9 classes had "meta" builds. But people complained about build diversity. Well, the current state of the game doesn't look like build diversity to me - it just looks like people trying to desperately pump out enough damage to kill things before they die to an attack or two that happens to cleave them, even if they throw on a knights amulet. Nothing about the damage output in the current game is okay. In a large part, it's a symptom though, because I'm sure that not everybody wants to be play Call of Duty builds, but on the other end of the spectrum, things like Scrapper and Firebrand and even Chrono soak so much damage or give their allies the ability to soak so much damage that there is no more middle ground or role diversity left in the game, just unstoppable damage against immovable defenses. This isn't an MMO anymore, it's just a very odd looking FPS game with twitch shooter gameplay.

Thanks--tried this and a few other things and Im coming back to this. If some of you are interested, Build link below-- gameplay abovehttp://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqAN8itCCmsAs8ilJB7JIcB+Y592g7xtJA84mAn4AqTD-jpBHQB5rMwP2fAAHBAx9AAGwhAIgXAAA Yeah absolutely. Unfortunately but understandably, there are not a ton of content creators for GW2, even less so that play at a high level in PvP, even less than that are insightful, understand the game, and don't just constantly make "streamer plays" then complain their team didn't carry their decisions (like Helseth used to on stream and some others tend to), and even less than all of that Ranger players. I think we're down to Boyce, ROM, and Kiritsugu as the 3 people left putting out consistent content, and the latter only does WvW montages on youtube even though he performs consistently well in PvP. I bring all of this up because it is SO DIFFICULT to learn from just build resource websites and the forums. A build posted with a generic "this is the good, this is the bad, you can do this to accomplish this" doesn't visualize the full scope of gameplay in a way where the resource can translate directly to gameplay. But now go and pick a streamer with a good build and playstyle and watch their gameplay for 20-30 minutes. After doing so, we start to pick up the "feel" of the build and what gameplay will look like with a similar sort of setup and actions (for better or worse, which is why finding consistent high skill gameplay is important). More on the topic though, outside of that build, this is the other build I've played around with this season:10/10 do not recommend, this is just to facetank a point when no one else on the team can: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBHPxG2JhKQFvYDvgLLALvYZSwyzt/2jrTk7yl5aCAPuJQJPoI-jpxHAB0XGAgjAgyHEA/fAAffCAWf/BA Same deal as above but you might actually kill something or die to something: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRBHPxG2JhKQFvYDvgLLALvYZSwaCAPuJQeu93ecdicXuMXJPIN-jpxHABffCA8/BAo8BBY99HA4IAYfZAA And here's one I want to try sometime within my last 30-40 games of the season (see if I actually end up on the leaderboards or if I just don't feel like finishing it out by the end, fluctuating between plat 1 and 2 spamming games with nothing to lose cuz I want more ascended armor): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBjYD7kQFoiXshXwlFglXsMJYNBgH3EwJyd5yc552f7xtkHkG-jpxHABKfQA8/BAYfZgvvAArv/AAHBAATanky traits/setup, some kill potential, but unlike either of the above LB can actually force a decap over time and the tanky damage classes still take enough damage that setups like this can threaten them. But yeah, I don't recommend any of that to people who actually care about the season. The Sic Em (slight) variant that Boyce uses on stream is the first build Rangers have had in a long time that actually has carry potentially through quickly pushing kills. It's very sad to see that even though Chronos, Holos, Spellbreakers, and Heralds can all roll into a fight and 1 shot someone with like 3 button presses that the Sic Em build is what's being cried about, unless people like @Ben Phongluangtham.1065 recognize that Ranger receives a disproportionate amount of community vile when it has a viable build and that if damage needs to be reduced, it needs to be done across the board for the gamemode and all classes - not just in a vacuum. Otherwise we'll just have another useless elite spec to put in the trashbin next to Druid for PvP.