Everyone knows that we will usher in a new specialization, the Berserker, which is undoubtedly a good thing for our players. At the same time, he is also a dual-wielding melee weapon specialization.
This means that we may not see a ranged specialization in the very distant future. This is undoubtedly a frustrating thing for me, a ranged enthusiast, and it is not good for the playability of the game.The Top 20 Softcore builds are all about melee combat. The top ones are dual-wielding melee combat. The ranged specialization is pitifully weak.
And if you want to play powerful ranged games, you can’t do without the Inquisitor and Demolisher. Moreover, the ranged weapons are far weaker than melee combat. It’s really awesome. Weak, I hope that the introduction of a new ranged specialization will make the Inquisitor no longer lonely.
count the dual wield melee builds in this one, then count the ranged
(as for the all ranged builds need inquis/demo, the old top20 is kinda fun on that note too)
if it wasn’t immediate apparent what i’m trying to hint at; the game balance changed, that’s it
you, as a ranged afficionado will not suffer from berserker mastery having some melee skills or spells, because ranged being weak/strong has nothing todo with the new or a zerker mastery being there. It’s about the iteration of the game’s balance, or more specifically what the devs decided to buff or buffed how much this week vs the next.
It’s no secret that update 1.2+ impacted melee builds more positively than ranged builds “hence the complete switch on the top20”, and as such there has been and is current strong vocalization to buff ranged builds back a bit up
(this is a precarious thing as devs have their own minds for what’s fitting in terms of build strength and don’t go by the top20 spots/no ranged on top20 as a measure/of minimum 5slots should be taken by ranged)
if you want to help with that, when there is a public playtest, join, show your builds and exact feedbacks where each of them struggle and needs help to do their function proper.
Berserker is not a melee mastery. Neither is it a ranged mastery. It is another flexible class you can adapt to your preferences. Nightblade and Inquisitor are the only masteries that lean one way or the other, and even those can be built both ways.
i expect great things for ABB Reaver with Hagarradian Enforcer with Onslaught and charges 
Also you’ll be able to use Nightblade’s WPS with ranged in FoA from what I remember.
)
that’s gonna be the first bug report in FoA, I’m sure of it
This is the designer’s idea, but the reality is that there is a lack of support for long-range weapons and long-range specialization. In the end, Berserkers are more suitable for melee combat. Again, strong long-range specialization is needed to change this situation. The Inquisitor cannot change this situation.
Of course, it has nothing to do with Berserker. I have already said that having new masteries is a good thing, but the designers’ energy and time are limited. They launched Berserker and naturally it is impossible to launch long-range specialization. As for the issue of parallelism, it is fundamental to launch a powerful long-range specialization. No matter how you adjust it under the current conditions, it cannot be perfect. In the end, if they weaken the melee combat for the sake of balance, this is the last thing I want to see. This is the most Bad ending.
who said anything about that?
it’s not rocket surgery, if ranged is suffering one doesn’t need to nerf melee, it’s simple to buff ranged “like it has been done in the past”
did you even bother to check the point i raised via the 9.8 top 20?
your whole argument falls flat when; there are multiple ranged on the top20, not a single of them uses demo, only 1/4 uses inquisitor, it’s peak highlight/“evidence” that what matters more than anything is the iteration of the game’s balance/tweaking items and skills in the the direction to shine - they worked before and can do so again
frankly, you’re just off the mark, either because of personal desire or just unawareness of the game’s changes over time, in either case it’s clouding your vision of the reality of the game or rather what the game is well capable off already
heck you literally have the lead designer informing you berserker is not a melee focused master but more of an alrounder, (already revealed skill Onslaught could even very well suggest this); and despite Berserker being unplayed you have the gall to somewhat dismiss it/what the dev is telling you - you’re telling the person making the Berserker mastery what it does/how it functions and how it does so best and without you having played it to boot 
so, back to the beginning
^this is how you (might) get ranged builds into a state you feel comfortable with - and i promise you, by the grace of the devs 
, it’s possible to make ranged “top builds” again like they were before, with or without berserker
The conditions for those Nightblade’s WPS will be changed, or FoA will present some other way how to enable it?
if it works like spellscourge and stormrend, that very items enables it
*again i’m assuming it means we’re not actually hitting with that thing
but judging by the skills on the 1h crossbow, - similarly to stormrend axe and spellscourge shield; it alters dual blades to apply to ranged, which would then apply to the entire sub line/wps too that dual blades enables
Wait, what? I searched Stormrend and Spellscourge Deflector in GT and there is nothing about Nightblade’s WPS to be enabled for ranged chars. Or there is “future version of GT”, which you refer to?
Stormrend is a 1h axe, that allows you to use Primal Strike; an otherwise 2h exclusive skill
Spellscourge shield is a shield that allows the use of Arcanist Devastation spell, otherwise caster offhand exclusive
this 1handed crossbow linked above would then function similarly like they do in the sense of enabling skills use by other means,
or in this case the specific crossbow allow NB dual blades+wps to be used with ranged “as long as you have this crossbow in your hands”, just like how you can use Primal Strike with dual wield or 1h if you have Stormrend in hands
Oh my god… Pure madness… 
WIth global or local damage conversions, which are not that obvious, this is another thing, which players has to deduct themselves. Involves intellectual activity!
it may or may not be devs’ intentions to lead us all down the road to an Asylum in the end
builds, builds, so many builds
At least we don’t have hidden passthrough modifiers anymore.
True, but that’s not enough!
Bro, you are telling the guy literally in charge of the game’s design that the new mastery is not suited for ranged combat, even though you haven’t played it and even less know what all the skills do.
Bro, you can take my words as a prophecy or a player’s premonition or a joke. Wait until the future to see if my prediction is right.