Hard Mode. Please, no "Super Monster Skills"

As evidenced in this thread, it seems that Hard Mode, may include monster skills. While I have nothing against monster skills, I do have a thing against overpowered monster skills. I'd rather a mob have a higher level cap and unlimited amount of elite skills than skills like, Banish Enchantment, or Consume Torment. Hard mode is supposed to add a harder version of PvE, but I'd rather see mobs with balanced builds that could be changed if it becomes solo-farmable.

An example would be, if they forgot to add enchantment removal and 55 monks can solo it, they add [skill=text]Barbed Signet[/skill] or [skill=text]Shatter Enchantment[/skill] in a later update, instead of giving them a skill that instantly kills a player.

Also, I'd prefer to not have rediculous enviornment conditions, like [wiki]Veiled Nightmare[/wiki].

So, my suggestion is to add mobs with a decent, full skillbar, and not some overpowerful Monster Skill/Enviornment Condition.

/signed x100000000

When I first heard about hard mode I thought two things:
A) Monsters might now have decent 8 skill bars and res skills.
B) Mesmers would see more use in PvE (along with other "niche" classes) due to this update.

Instead, if the monster skills we saw were indeed hard mode skills, we are seeing a complete redo of DoA: Make all monsters level 28-30 with overpowered monster skills and rediculous amounts of armor, health, and damage, but the same gimped skill bars and dumb AI. This will do the exact opposite to niche classes... it's hard for a mesmer or an assassin to get into a PvE group now, whereas in hard mode it will be IMPOSSIBLE. There will be a heavily bonded obflesh tank, some nukers/monks, and maybe a N/R spirit spammer just like DoA.

ANET: If mobs had decent composition (i.e. they were balanced groups of 8), had full skill bars, and were level 20 with the same stats as regular players, it would already be 100x more challenging than PvE is now. Interupts and shutdown would become important, spike damage would have a place instead of rediculous SF spam, and players couldn't just run whatever skills they wanted to slap on their bar; however this would lead to a much greater diversity in party and skill choice than a DoA clone will ever do.

And it's not that I hate DoA either, I just find it rather tedious. It's one of the few ways left to make decent money, so at least it's good for that. I don't want hard mode to be reduced to 2-3 hour grindfests for each mission.

Too late for this request now, although they are probably familiar with the general consensus that overpowered monster-only skills and environmental effects are not what people want from hard-mode.

Wait & see guys, wait & see

Why would one want smart AI?
If one wanted smart AI, why didn't one just play PvP?

PvE have always been about out-smarting an over-powered and retarded brute.

I've seen some of the people that play PvP......


anyway to the OP

/signed

I think the game would not only be more challenging but far mor fun if the monsters had a full skill bar. Think about how troublesome an enemy party would be if the monk had a real rez.

~the rat~

Well. tey can't give new skills to old monsters, can they?

I can't imagina a maguuma spider with a 'Deadly poison' skill that kills you 10 seconds no matter what you do.

Yes, and?

/sort of signed on the OP. I think you'll be surprised how easily bypassed these 'overpowered' skills are.

/signed

The uber-monster skills are pretty gay. Shiro's were getting ridiculous enough. The ones for Mallyx just throw strategy out the window.

I don't want to even try fighting a mob of enemies with those skills. Mallayx Was enough.
/signed

/signed

I rather have higher level, more/greater number monster groups, and better use of certain skill combos.. then single use multi-purpose affects each profession differently devastating skilled slammed over and over again.

I am pretty sure they can.

I mean, they edited Herta's skills, and thats an AI, they also affected the "Afflicted Soul Explosion" which I think Gaile called a skill.

Ok. Go defeat Mallyx then if his skills can be so easily bypassed. Oh, and that includes the defending the Priest part.

They've completed lost track of what makes something hard and fun. The Realm of Torment environment effects were just about bearable (with the exception of Veiled Nightmare). The Domain of Anguish environment effects were designed and implemented by a complete frigging idiot. The 'The Deep' environment effects were both stupid and begging for pure cookie cutter, along with having the worst implementation i have ever seen, have they actually fixed Scorpion Aspect yet? Urgoz was just as stupid.
They don't make it hard, they make it fustrating.
They make it so cookie-cutter is the only way.

Meditation of the Reaper was the dumbest skill i've ever seen. It basically forces you to bring an all-out damage build. Impossible Odds was stupid and turned Shiro into a 'its you or me' situation, either he wiped you out and regained half his health back or killed himself through anti-melee hexes.

I would *much* rather they give monsters overpowered skill combos due to mixing elites. That would make it challenging. Things like Rangers w/ Practiced Stance and Incendiary Arrows or Mesmers w/ Migraine and Psychic Distraction (how annoying would that be?).
Hard is giving them stronger combos than you have access to. Not giving them the most overpowered Monster Only skills you can think up or putting them in areas with ridiculous Enviro effects.

/signed

I remember someone suggesting to bring a mesmer to stop Mallayx from using some of his skills. Then someone pointed out that he has a skill that instantly heals hexs and conditions.

I can see it now:
Deadly Poision [Monster Skill]: 5e, 1/4c, 2r
Deadly Poision kills its target over 10...2 seconds.

This would make hard mode SO much fun!

Those are just some individual monster skills that have been thrown together, and likely just put in game for testing.

If they do work their way into hard mode, i doubt any single monster would have all of them on their skill bar. More likely that the individual skills are reserved for certain monsters or areas.

That's a very good point. Probably one of those monster skills on each one. Though they can also all have Fingers of Chaos just like in the Tomb of Primeval Kings.

Yeah, I doubt they will have their skillbar full of over-powered monster skills, but I DO think that they will have a least one, and if every mob has one of those monster skills in their bar, I will view Hard Mode as one of the largest dissapointments in GW.

I hope you are right about certain monsters in certain areas, because that would make it okay.

It looks unlikely that they're intended for hard mode, mainly because of the new "cracked armor" condition and "9,9" second recharge on Flame Call (you cant see that in the screenshot, i saw the template in game).

If we do see the skills at any point (Eye of the North maybe?), hopefully they'll be watered down a bit.

Im very excited for hard mode update but not hard mode itself, hard mode update will supposly easyer normal mode so maybe that means i can finnaly farm and get some money with my dervish!!