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TTK Changes Have Shifted PvP Away From Skill — And It Shows

zbitangozbitango Member, Alpha Two


Before the recent TTK (Time to Kill) changes, PvP felt dynamic and rewarding.
Yes, there were isolated cases of players one-shotting others, but in general, if you were skilled and geared properly, you could 1v2, 1v3, and occasionally even 1v4 depending on your opponents' gear and mechanical ability. There was a real sense that good play — timing, positioning, smart cooldown usage — made the difference.

Now, post-TTK update... things feel very different.
Even with better gear and significant mechanical advantage, it is incredibly hard to 1v2, let alone 1v3+.
The healing output is still absurd, even after "adjustments," and it’s no longer a matter of "outplaying" someone — it's about who can outlast the other in a drawn-out, skill-diluted slog.

It's not that I'm suddenly bad at PvP. I'm still difficult to kill — it takes groups a long time — but without the ability to burst players effectively, the odds of killing a moderately coordinated duo (healer + anything) are near-zero unless you're in a properly built group comp yourself. Worse, it feels impossible to isolate and punish misplays: even if someone badly misuses a skill or gets caught out of position, you simply can’t capitalize fast enough before healing or CC recovery bails them out.

This shift overwhelmingly favors:

Zerg groups.

Lesser-skilled players who can now simply outlast and overwhelm.

Group compositions over individual skill expression.


In short:
PvP is no longer about who plays better — it's about who brings more people.
And frankly, that’s a step backward.

I'd much rather a system where if I misuse a skill or misposition, I lose — and likewise, if they do, they lose. That’s what skill-based PvP should feel like. Instead, we have a system where individual mechanical play barely matters unless you already have the right comp behind you.

It’s frustrating because it's not a skill issue or a gear issue — in fact, it's the opposite. Superior skill and gear are getting negated simply by mechanical TTK limits and insane sustain.

Suggestion: Bring back meaningful burst windows.
Let good players punish mistakes again.
Reward mechanical skill, not numbers stacking.

PvP should be thrilling, fast, and rewarding for mastery — not a heal-tank-zerg parade.

I do understand devs are still balancing the stats/classes out, and that is another issue. We only have access to lvl 25, missing a class, and missing archetypes, as well lvl 50 gear etc. Meaning, they will have to rebalance the game once we get these things... I don't get why they did the TTK changes before summoner at least to properly balance all base classes at least right?

BUT DO YOU WANT THIS GAME TO FAVOR OR PUNISH ZERG LIKE GAME PLAY????
DEATH TO ZERGS!

Also Rogues/Tanks/Bards are still OPOP . Nerf more thanks.

Comments

  • kingofcanadatvkingofcanadatv Member, Alpha Two
    Zergs are so trash. Most of them are super low-skill-cap casual players who are lazy and just outnumber others to win fights — even if that means bringing 100x more people.
    This will kill the game if the devs keep making changes that heavily favor zerg gameplay.
    This zerg nonsense needs to be addressed somehow, and I think before P3 comes out, a good test will be Fresh — with all the new alliance zerg guilds that will be joining there.
    That should clearly show the devs the stupid power of zerging versus skilled players.

    We need to favor skilled players over zergs. Legit, fuck zergs.
    I understand casuals bring the most money into a game, but catering too hard to casuals is also what kills most MMOs.
  • LudulluLudullu Member, Alpha Two
    So the game went from "I'm a god who can kill several people solo" to "it's all about party pvp"? Sounds like literally what they promised the game to be.

    As for zergs, ttk itself has nothing to do with it. We need to limit buffs/heals to party-only and add more mana-based gameplay.

    If you can kill groups of people in only a few shots - zerg can literally do the same to you, except now the entire rest of the game is shit as well, because people can kill each other in just a few shots.

    Winning against the zerg should be about strategy, tactic and proper movement - not one-shotting masses of people.
  • ShaggyRynShaggyRyn Member, Alpha Two
    I like the idea of gameplay based off of 3-7 person parties and adjusting ttk around that. I do think Zerg gameplay is boring and skilless. Killing people fast should be centered around coordination and cooldown of abilities. You should be able to tell when someone pops cooldown and be able to react with CC, defensives, or your own cooldowns.
  • zbitangozbitango Member, Alpha Two
    Ludullu wrote: »
    So the game went from "I'm a god who can kill several people solo" to "it's all about party pvp"? Sounds like literally what they promised the game to be.

    As for zergs, ttk itself has nothing to do with it. We need to limit buffs/heals to party-only and add more mana-based gameplay.

    If you can kill groups of people in only a few shots - zerg can literally do the same to you, except now the entire rest of the game is shit as well, because people can kill each other in just a few shots.

    Winning against the zerg should be about strategy, tactic and proper movement - not one-shotting masses of people.

    Not suggesting one shots again, but punish players for not using skills correctly etc. in group pvp. I get the game is about GROUP PVP.
    Gear should have a lot more weight to it, people wearing lvl 10-20 greens shouldn't be able to contest people in the new Epic+ gear after TTK changes. People that are not even 100 power and no mit/armor etc. shouldn't pose a threat to a player with full epic heavy/medium gear with correct stats, EVEN if the player with less gear out skills them . Otherwise why get the gear? Just be better skilled an win without gear then?

    Being killed open world by 4+ players in basically vendor gear while u have full new bis epic + shouldn't be a thing correct..... YUP.

    BUT I do love the TTK changes for sieges/wars . Just not open world zerg type gameplay, remove favoring the zergs open world some how and make gear matter more?

    Healing is OPOP, I do agree limit healing some how to zergs...

    I am good with even fights 5v5 / 8v8 / 40v40 etc. but when a group simply wins because they bring 5v15 and zerg you open world with lesser gear/skill that shit is annoying .. We suppose to just get more people as oppose to better gear or just get better or out strategize them some how even though they out number you and can just heal full quickly even f you focus targets? o what "move better" .. ? IDK.

    Stat balance might address some of these issues, such as lifesteal for example, or evasion stat, two very OP stats currently and I suspect they will be tuned down quite a bit from what they are currently.

    I 100% understand changes are coming and still being made, but feedback is needed in depth to get what everyone wants for release. So talking about the issues that come up help mold/shape the game hopefully .

  • zbitangozbitango Member, Alpha Two
    ShaggyRyn wrote: »
    I like the idea of gameplay based off of 3-7 person parties and adjusting ttk around that. I do think Zerg gameplay is boring and skilless. Killing people fast should be centered around coordination and cooldown of abilities. You should be able to tell when someone pops cooldown and be able to react with CC, defensives, or your own cooldowns.

    THIS. FACTS. Thanks for the input . 100% agree with this.
  • LudulluLudullu Member, Alpha Two
    zbitango wrote: »
    Not suggesting one shots again, but punish players for not using skills correctly etc. in group pvp. I get the game is about GROUP PVP.
    Yes, we definitely need proper group synergy that requires higher skill to successfully execute. But I feel like that will come closer to endgame (if it's even still planned for the game).
    zbitango wrote: »
    Being killed open world by 4+ players in basically vendor gear while u have full new bis epic + shouldn't be a thing correct..... YUP.
    Well, we highly disagree on that, so I got nothing to say there.
  • ShaggyRynShaggyRyn Member, Alpha Two
    zbitango wrote: »
    Being killed open world by 4+ players in basically vendor gear while u have full new bis epic + shouldn't be a thing correct..... YUP.

    I think a group of 4+ players should be able to compete with a fully geared person if they are coordinating. You shouldn’t be able to one shot them all maybe not people with basic gear but I think it’s a good thing that under geared should be able to fight back.


  • AzheraeAzherae Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Can you provide more context/data please? It's unfortunately easy to just assume it's a matchup problem or something, since TTK is longer in some other games and those games let people 1v3 fine.
    Stellar Devotion.
  • ImnotkioImnotkio Member, Alpha Two
    L take
  • GreatPhilisopherGreatPhilisopher Member, Alpha Two
    last time i checked gear should be 40-50% of a player power so its good that a group of weaker players can kill higher leveled ones
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  • NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack, Alpha Two
    zbitango wrote: »
    Being killed open world by 4+ players in basically vendor gear while u have full new bis epic + shouldn't be a thing correct..... YUP.

    It absolutely should be a thing.

    Assuming equal skill and level, best in slot gear should put you at no more than an even footing with two players in the worst easily obtainable gear. Three such geared players should have a fairly easy time, and four should literally be able to steamroll over you.
  • SmileGurneySmileGurney Member, Alpha Two
    zbitango wrote: »
    Lesser-skilled players who can now simply outlast and overwhelm.

    Group compositions over individual skill expression.[/b]
    Sounds to me like you were outplayed by players able to use their kit better than you can, both in 1v1 and in group pvp. Good group composition is as important if not more than individual skill expression, as it involves applying the knowledge about the game to coordinate group pvp which is more complex than 1v1 combat.
    My lungs taste the air of Time,
    Blown past falling sands…
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