Please Fix the Guard Skills

GorraShatan · August 2016

Guard and it's morphs are a really neat skill I'd like incorporate into my play, but there's a couple problems right now that make them non viable. Namely:

1. You have to keep it on both bars to keep it active. This is the same problem that was holding back pet builds. It's simply not worth two skill slots and never will be. Could this just be changed to a 30 sec timer?

2. 15m range. Most high level PvP play is based around mobility, and it's very tough to stay that close to your target constantly. Could this be either gotten rid of entirely or changed to 30 m?

Thoughts?

Don't know if ZOS even reads this forum, but I feel this is a neat skill that could really use some love.

Komma · August 2016

Hard to Guard someone that is at a great distance. I would be fine with the skill if it would become inactive when you get too far away but reactivate when your target is back in range. Having it on both bars is bad but its worse when it is inactive taking up the slots for nothing over half the time. Thats why i no longer use it on my tank.

runagate · August 2016

It actually works pretty well for the PvE NPCs that use it.

The only way I can see it being useful is in a static encounter where the guardee is on a flag where those guarding were in a safe spot getting heals. But that's a horrible waste of a skill slot. There's also way better weird ways to accomplish this, such as Immortal Warrior set.

I certainly agree that it should be updated, though.

OGLezard · August 2016

sure....you can have it on one bar and stay active.....if sorc pets get the same treatment. i.e. we never got it, so i can assure you wrobel wont do it for guard either. if he does and doesnt change the other 2 slot skills, there will be backlash

For the record, i am 100% for the removal of skills tha cost 2 slots. so i am woth you in this cause

Sharee · August 2016

GorraShatan wrote: »

2. 15m range. Most high level PvP play is based around mobility, and it's very tough to stay that close to your target constantly. Could this be either gotten rid of entirely or changed to 30 m?

It would help if they just gave guard some grace period after your guarded target moves out of range. Meaning the guard will persist for 6 more seconds (for example) while out of range, and not drop if the range falls back to 15m before the 6 seconds expire.

Or simply make it never drop, just stop protecting the target if he is too far (meaning you do not have to constantly recast the guard as target moves out of and back into range).

Lucius_Aelius · August 2016

I concur, I am currently using it on my Tanks in PvE, but even there the limited range and needing it on both bars is seriously limiting its usefulness. Stamina is precious when Tanking, and it's costly to have to keep recasting it because the healer or whichever DPS is weakest and keeps dying moves to far away from me (or I move away from him, what with my job requiring me to go where the enemies are, leaving my teammate to keep or not). And forget about PvP, it's less than worthless there since you're constantly moving around and are regularly further than the range from teammates.

It should absolutely be changed to only be needed on one bar, same with pets, that's unquestionable. Whether it should have a range and if so what the range should be, that's a harder question to answer, but at the minimum it needs to be increased by 4 times, maybe even ten times. Having it be unlimited seems excessive though, in fact I'll say outright that it's absolutely excessive now that I think about it, but it definitely needs to be a lot more than it is now that's for damn sure.

Calboy · August 2016

I've noticed some 2/4 man groups in cyrodiil recently on xbox na utilising guard and malubeth and it's very effective. Purple and orange beams everywhere.

Paraflex · August 2016

I think it's balanced as it although I'd like to see it cast able but it would be to strong if you can cast it like a buff and guard someone from 30m away

Leave it as it is. If you wana tank and protect somebody you have to build the bars for it

Forestd16b14_ESO · August 2016

OGLezard wrote: »

sure....you can have it on one bar and stay active.....if sorc pets get the same treatment. i.e. we never got it, so i can assure you wrobel wont do it for guard either. if he does and doesnt change the other 2 slot skills, there will be backlash

For the record, i am 100% for the removal of skills tha cost 2 slots. so i am woth you in this cause

Uh actually during the I think Wrothgar or TG PTS when guard got changed it was a 1 slot active skill as in you did not need it slotted on both bars which was amazing and alot of players said to keep it like that but you know .... Wrobel logic.

Lucius_Aelius · August 2016

Paraflex wrote: »

I think it's balanced as it although I'd like to see it cast able but it would be to strong if you can cast it like a buff and guard someone from 30m away

Leave it as it is. If you wana tank and protect somebody you have to build the bars for it

It's not okay as it is though, I have to sacrifice two skills to use it properly, no skill should be required to be on both bars to be effective. There just aren't enough skill slots for it to be right to work that way, and besides which the Guard skill isn't that good quite apart from needing two slots for it. I don't know what you mean by "build to protect someone," which is vague, and you can't really build to protect anyone beyond being a Tank and having Guard.

Apart from Pets, no other skill needs to be on both bars in order to be "built for" (not talking about skills with passive buffs, they are all effective at their active functions without being needed on both bars and Guard has no passive buff built into it so it's completely different), and as such it's ridiculous to say that Guard should work like that. It's not even that good, just redirects 30% damage and adds a minor buff (with a ridiculously short range), and needing it on both bars stops you from using other skills you need for your build to work right.

So no, it's not okay as it is and you can't just say "you need to build for it" as an argument for it to not be changed, that's a non-argument since having it on both bars stops you from making properly effective builds utilizing it. Weapon swapping simply happens too much during battle for any toggle skill like this or pets to be useful if you don't have it on both bars, and PvP especially is too competitive for it to be fair to have to sacrifice two skill slots for a mediocre niche skill.

Forestd16b14_ESO · August 2016

Paraflex wrote: »

I think it's balanced as it although I'd like to see it cast able but it would be to strong if you can cast it like a buff and guard someone from 30m away

Leave it as it is. If you wana tank and protect somebody you have to build the bars for it

Then there's is no point of it if players have to be right next to each other for it to work though. Like guard really is on of the very and I do mean very few tank skills in this game and tanks can only use it if they're right next to the player. The point of a tank is to keep the danger and damage away from the other players not have it right next to them.

Forestd16b14_ESO · August 2016

Honestly it either needs the range changed to 30 or even 35 meters or you can cast it onto a ally and the effects last say 30 seconds and stays despite the range. I am for the 2nd option cause it just be another buff and allows both players to be mobile and would only need 1 slot to work.

Waffennacht · August 2016

What about a timer? Like it activates the ability on target ally and then lasts for x time. This way no double slot and no distance problems. Only one target active at a time

Lucius_Aelius · August 2016

Cast time of 30 seconds with a 30 meter range (minimum) and a maximum of one target at a time would satisfy my complaints, that sounds like an ability I actually want to use.