Thesis
Without Weapon Switch Glitch (WSG) the viability of the most popular user-created Player vs Player (PvP) format “FPK” (team-based 4v4 with unofficial good-manners [GM] rule-set that is also adapted to 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3) is severely crippled. Please understand that I am not here to promote abusing glitches or cheating of any kind in any game. The term WSG is very misleading and outdated. I think it’s important to re-frame how new players think of WSG especially after WSG was re-added into Diablo 2 as a balance decision in 2018.
What is WSG?
Weapon Switch Glitch is a term coined to describe pressing ‘W’ repeatedly to swap weapons which will reset your Faster Hit Recovery (FHR) frame animation. This allows a character to escape Hit Recovery animation loops from skills and taking damage. Common abilities that induce FHR animation are things like Barbarian’s Leap or taking damage with “stun swirlies” over your character’s head from Lightning Sentry after an Assassin uses Mind Blast. Knockback effects from items such as Windforce or abilities like Paladin’s Charge are common ways to be put repeatedly (and currently inescapably) into FHR animation also. Even taking a breakpoint percentage of your health pool from skills or attacks with no CC attached to them will trigger FHR. A good comparison to WSG is Wavedashing in SSBM. Both of the techniques, although originally unintended, leverage engine coding to add skill and depth into duels.
Why is WSG important?
WSG adds a layer of depth and counterplay to nearly every PvP matchup. Classic matchups like Druid vs Assassin already have clearly advantaged players. Druid Hit Recovery frames tend to be much longer than other characters which leaves the Druid very vulnerable to being stunlocked by the Assassin. The skill gap then comes into factor and WSG gives the Druid player options to play aggressive against a defensive player or to punish an overly aggressive teleport from the Assassin. This makes the gameplay dynamic exciting and challenging. These types of match-up-specific strategies exist all throughout the PvP landscape and would do well to be preserved.
What happens without WSG?
This is a question I see some people bring up and ultimately get hung up on specific details or instances where WSG may or may not be important. Enabling a diverse field of strategies is generally good. Having options in what’s viable is generally good. There’s really not much more to consider on this question. Some builds of classes rely almost entirely on WSG to compete in 1v1 formats. Many match-ups are entirely dependent on it. Less viable PvP builds means less incentive to farm build-specific items. Less incentive to play Diablo 2. We should want more players to duel against, to level with, to trade with and to share this awesome game with because it benefits us as players.
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Here’s another solution. Why don’t that just add a ring or trinket you can use that gives an ability to break stuns? That’s better than utilizing a glitch.
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Heres another solution…Dont do anything. This is a re-release of a pre-existing game. There are no special additions, there are no upcoming expansions. Theres no dev team creating new content. End of story. No trinket slot, never was one. The only thing you’ll get is tweaks, and bug fixes (maybe).
If you are here to ask for new additions to the game, then you are in the wrong place, playing the wrong game. May as well ask Nintendo to go back and add all of your ideas to make Super Mario Bros on SNES to make it the game YOU want.
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If they don’t have WSG then I think they need to rebalance how stuns work in PVP, but that seems unlikely. It was already re-added as a conscious balancing choice rather than reworking stuns in PVP so it seems like it would be active in D2R.
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Your point about trading is a good one. Every person that plays has an interest in a healthy PvP community because you ultimately need people to trade your items to after MF chars are geared.
Not having WSG will ensure that every duel game gets emptied by any medium skill assassin and will lead to people quitting the game.
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Would be cool to have Warsong gulch in d2 format.
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funny enough was in a baal party when a lvl 92 trap assian in decked out, gear came and cleared the whole room, just mind blast spam and traps none of the sorcs could tele away.
the sin killed everyone.
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It sounds to me the real problem is stun and FHR levels when applied to skills in PvP. The easy example is mind blast which can stun lock you. You have had to deal with this work around for ages because Blizz never dealt with the root of the problem being how stun works in PvP.
I do agree WSG should be put back in to preserve the PvP scene.
Then they need to address the real issue of stun in PvP. I’d love to see the PvP community discuss how to fix the root problem that WSG was being a bandage for.
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As stated WSG is not a glitch. The problem is not just only with Mind Blast but with other non-stun skills that induce FHR animation frames like Leap and Charge.
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idk i was watching some streamer named Koil on his max fcr druid pvper and the assassins spamming mindblast on him couldnt manage to stunlock him.
apparently there’s still a way.
Sorry, it’s a glitch. That’s why they took it out. They put it back in because all the PVP “experts” were yelling constantly that they were completely locked out of their chosen game format when they didn’t have the ability to abuse glitches. I know it’s cliche but at least slightly try to get good.
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The point is that leaving WSG in the game is a detriment to absolutely nobody. As has been said, it allows for greater diversity in PvP. It requires no skill to stunlock someone to death.
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This shows how disconnected you are from reality.
Imagine asking for a known bug to be put I
Back into the game so a for fun mode that has no ladder , no pvp rewards or any real relevance to the game!
Maybe you should be asking for class balance and class changes to open up different builds and ways to pvp but instead you simply can’t not and it’s kinda odd tbh! Instead of asking for balance changes for new builds you simply
Need a bug for a mode that doesn’t progress or even have games or a ladder! Did I miss something???
Everquest and d2 pvp aka not real or competitive pvp no real ladders , no game modes and no pvp rewards aka a for fun feature that doesn’t matter
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Right and my point is this is completely untrue. It is a detriment to assassin players whose characters don’t function as intended when the glitch is in place and actively abused. Using busted glitches to stealth nerf characters you can’t beat is what requires no skill, just learn to duel assassins or hang it up and make farming your end game.
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I would say that less incentive is only true for those that play D2R entirely for the PvP portion of the game.
As far as WSG goes I would love for the devs to come up with a way of doing the same thing without it truly being a glitch. That way players will be winning by sheer skill. Instead of relying on a skillful use of what is considered a glitch.
It’s a detriment to trapsins, leap barbs, smiters, etc in pvp. Trapsins depend on stuns and if people can just click W to get out of stunlock that’s quite the nerf.
I figured someone would bring this up. So assassins are “functioning as intended” when they can get a lock, hold down right click and win the duel? THAT requires next to no skill. Assassins were already the best PvP class with WSG. It’s about BALANCE. There was no need to “fix” something that wasn’t broken. What is broken is PvP without WSG.
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Class balance also opens up more builds and different ways to pvp…. Maybe just maybe this should have been the over all thought …. But again this has no ladder for pvp. No real rewards or even mini games.
NO ONE wins on sheer “skill”. It is all about gear and connection. Period.
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