Return of Reckoning

Gunlinger wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 9:56 pm It's not about the Stealth at all. It is the new mechanic of Shadow Leap.
30s CD 40% snare and CD reset when in stealth(elixir of shadows)
There is no counter play against it. To be able to use it twice is flat out unfair.

Pahakukka wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 9:33 pm Thank you to everyone who said something positive about the video

I'd like to try to explain myself a bit regarding this solo roaming topic. Most of us who frequently solo roam are aware that it will never be a fair fight, nor will it ever be balanced from a 1v1 perspective. We only need to look at the current Zealot/Runepriest situation to see that there is very little anyone can do against them in a 1v1. They hit nearly as hard as a BiS Magus (not quite, but not that far behind), while having access to 50% damage reduction with setback immunities, absorbs, life leech, and HoTs. Their effective HP pool is just out of this world for any DPS class trying to compete 1 on 1.

For me, solo roaming is at its best when you manage to play well with a class that is, on paper, the underdog—like an Engineer vs a high-burst Witch Elf, a tank vs a kiter, or a Slayer/Choppa vs pretty much anything. This is also possibly one reason why I dislike defensive setups and gear pieces like Grimmshimmer as much as I do. They take away any possibility for a surprising outcome through good gameplay, and the build ends up predetermining the outcome of the fight. Player input starts to matter very little, as long as the character is facing roughly the right direction.

It's also okay—and even expected—for a group to run over any enemy they encounter. If someone gets in the way, they get trampled. What I do not understand, however, is why many groups from both sides go through so much effort to catch a single solo player. I'm not just talking about chasing someone into PvE areas. I’ve had 6–12 players chasing me from the Praag graveyard all the way to Reikland, while part of their group actually war-reported and flew to Reikland to cut off my escape route. They eventually caught me somewhere south of Quarry.

Another example is baiting people into a duel while the rest of the group waits around the corner to jump in and gank you as soon as the fight starts. Most of the time that doesn’t work anymore thanks to automark, but still. This kind of behavior is what I mean when I say that the lakes have gotten saltier.

Now on the topic of stealth groups: that has gotten out of hand. I still like what they did with the classes in the balance patch, but there is simply no way to counter two or more stealthers opening on you at the same time. Since they get 1k+ renown from it, they’re not going to stop doing it. In a way, it’s no different from any other group jumping a solo player—but at least a 12-Choppa warband can be seen (and probably heard) from a distance, so you get the thrill of the chase before being stomped into the ground.

With stealthers having around 60 seconds of stealth uptime, they can comfortably sit and wait for you to run past them, gank you, and probably have stealth back off cooldown very quickly after it’s done. There is basically zero risk and high reward, which explains the current influx of hats and bikinis in the lakes.

If the renown gained from these ganks was reduced and shifted toward either group-vs-group fights (for example, with a short cumulative killstreak renown bonus—so the more kills you get in a short time, the more each kill is worth), or even better, toward campaign objectives (both defending and capturing), there would probably be a much healthier RvR experience for everyone.

I probably did not do a great job articulating my thoughts, but I hope you understand what I mean. I also used a little help with my grammar so no one gets a stroke trying to read this.

I do believe that even though solo roaming is not balanced or encouraged, it cannot be avoided and it greatly impacts the overall experience of the game. The main focus should still be the RvR campaign, but there is no reason to actively try to punish solo players either.

Pahakukka wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 9:33 pm Thank you to everyone who said something positive about the video

I'd like to try to explain myself a bit regarding this solo roaming topic. Most of us who frequently solo roam are aware that it will never be a fair fight, nor will it ever be balanced from a 1v1 perspective. We only need to look at the current Zealot/Runepriest situation to see that there is very little anyone can do against them in a 1v1. They hit nearly as hard as a BiS Magus (not quite, but not that far behind), while having access to 50% damage reduction with setback immunities, absorbs, life leech, and HoTs. Their effective HP pool is just out of this world for any DPS class trying to compete 1 on 1.

For me, solo roaming is at its best when you manage to play well with a class that is, on paper, the underdog—like an Engineer vs a high-burst Witch Elf, a tank vs a kiter, or a Slayer/Choppa vs pretty much anything. This is also possibly one reason why I dislike defensive setups and gear pieces like Grimmshimmer as much as I do. They take away any possibility for a surprising outcome through good gameplay, and the build ends up predetermining the outcome of the fight. Player input starts to matter very little, as long as the character is facing roughly the right direction.

It's also okay—and even expected—for a group to run over any enemy they encounter. If someone gets in the way, they get trampled. What I do not understand, however, is why many groups from both sides go through so much effort to catch a single solo player. I'm not just talking about chasing someone into PvE areas. I’ve had 6–12 players chasing me from the Praag graveyard all the way to Reikland, while part of their group actually war-reported and flew to Reikland to cut off my escape route. They eventually caught me somewhere south of Quarry.

Another example is baiting people into a duel while the rest of the group waits around the corner to jump in and gank you as soon as the fight starts. Most of the time that doesn’t work anymore thanks to automark, but still. This kind of behavior is what I mean when I say that the lakes have gotten saltier.

Now on the topic of stealth groups: that has gotten out of hand. I still like what they did with the classes in the balance patch, but there is simply no way to counter two or more stealthers opening on you at the same time. Since they get 1k+ renown from it, they’re not going to stop doing it. In a way, it’s no different from any other group jumping a solo player—but at least a 12-Choppa warband can be seen (and probably heard) from a distance, so you get the thrill of the chase before being stomped into the ground.

With stealthers having around 60 seconds of stealth uptime, they can comfortably sit and wait for you to run past them, gank you, and probably have stealth back off cooldown very quickly after it’s done. There is basically zero risk and high reward, which explains the current influx of hats and bikinis in the lakes.

If the renown gained from these ganks was reduced and shifted toward either group-vs-group fights (for example, with a short cumulative killstreak renown bonus—so the more kills you get in a short time, the more each kill is worth), or even better, toward campaign objectives (both defending and capturing), there would probably be a much healthier RvR experience for everyone.

I probably did not do a great job articulating my thoughts, but I hope you understand what I mean. I also used a little help with my grammar so no one gets a stroke trying to read this.

I do believe that even though solo roaming is not balanced or encouraged, it cannot be avoided and it greatly impacts the overall experience of the game. The main focus should still be the RvR campaign, but there is no reason to actively try to punish solo players either.