Feedback:User/Mcscamper/Activating a Shatter Skill
Activating a Shatter Skill | |
|---|---|
| User | Mcscamper |
| Categories | Mechanics |
An Effective Skill[edit]
Most skills in Guild Wars that affect a target directly (i.e. an offensive attack or spell) are instant-effect and often auto-targeted (or at the very least, ground targeted with a clearly marked AoE). This makes them very effective in combat in that if you want an opponent to lose health, move somewhere, stop moving or hinder their assault, you can typically do that on command at the press of a button knowing that once that skill's animation is complete (if it even has one), your target will be affected immediately in some way.
This is not necessarily the case with the Mesmer's Shatter skills. In the case of our fabulous illusionist, upon activating any F-key ability (aside from F4), the clones that are commanded to shatter must first stop whatever they were doing and RUN to their target before they actually initiate any effect. This flagrantly visual delay between skill activation and end effect instantly makes a Mesmer's F1, F2, or F3 skill (hereafter referred to as "targeted Shatter skills") less efficient than any other skill in the game.
Now, I'm not really trying to bash anything here, I'm just saying that Shatter skills could use some improvement in this regard. I present two possible solutions that I think might help bring these abilities up to par:
- Upon activation of a targeted Shatter skill, all active Illusions affected by skill activation instantly teleport to the target and Shatter.
- All targeted Shatter skills are now ground-targeted AoE skills. Upon activation of a targeted Shatter skill, all active Illusions affected by skill activation instantly teleport to the targeted area and Shatter.
And before anyone says that this would make Shatter skills overpowered, I would like to cite a Warrior's Eviscerate critting at 9k hp as a valid reason that targeted Shatter skills suddenly becoming instant-effect would be no more than simply leveling the playing field. If there is indeed a legitimate concern about balance, there could possibly be a lag time (0.25-0.5 seconds) between the moment a Clone teleports and the moment it Shatters for an effect to give the target some time to react and dodge. I honestly think that that's going a little too easy on them, but the topic is up in the air.
