Do you even like/need Trolls anymore

I have noticed a growing trend that I dislike very much. People telling trolls to switch to DPS in raids/alerts.
I had seen it a few times before it ultimately happened to me last night.

I have a 333 Quantum Troll with maxed out artifacts. spec'd so that it can be a Debuffer or also a power battery as I call it.

I mostly use it as a debuffer since let's be real being a battery is not useful anymore.
Still, a debuffer is very useful... or so I thought.

Not even 7 seconds into a raid I was told to switch to DPS (which I did... after a deep sigh and a single tear running down my very manly cheek).

I guess I am just ranting... but still... WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? I am seeing this trend more and more...
Why? Trolls need love too!

I don't know that's weird. Maybe too many pseudo trolls or poor battle trolls in the world?

I love a proper Debuff troll. They boost the entire raids DPS far more than a single character dps, especially one that isn't min/maxed for DPS. Simple math really.

Yes, that is what I figured. One good troll can help even more than a DPS can. I just dont get it.

In general trolls still play a big part in the game, however the power trolls aren't as valuable as the buff & battle troll ones.

Oh cool, I get to rant about how bad the role is again!
The troll role is honestly in a horrible state right now, largely due to artifacts. I have trolled since the beginning of the game and I was mostly shocked to find that I am not supposed to run troll gear anymore. My build is now a DPS with buff artifacts in troll stance. :/ If I wanted to be a DPS, I would have been a DPS. We exist to make the run a bit faster through buffs.
Low on power? Your problem, not mine.
The most fun I've had as a troll is being a sort of relief tank for the main tank. (The suppressor add in PCE, the statues in SM, etc.) I'd be very happy if the troll was restructured into a relief/actual control role. I wish we could CONTROL adds and be the "manipulators of the battlefield" the devs say we are.
I'm also tired of people arguing that buffs are important...they are, but not as much as people like to think. If the healer doesn't cast a heal, the group dies...if I don't cast a defense debuff, the boss burns a bit slower. One is clearly far more significant than the other.
I also hate that our buffs are passive (for the most part.) Why can't we also buff defense with a move when we see a boss skull? Our shields don't even really matter because they're weak. Why do we only exist to make the DPS burn quicker?
It would have been sorta nice if the trolls were the primary "green poppers" with EOG. That would have at least given me something to do and make me a bit more important.
Of course the dev team has literally joked about the uselessness of the role in the past so I seriously doubt they'd ever even remotely consider how bad it is right now. Revamp, artifacts, and meta changes demolished the "role" if you even can call it a role anymore.
I just want to feel like I matter to the group.

I never liked the Controller role myself. Played it a few times over the years. I still have one free ReSpec token left that SOE handed out to us old timers back in 2011. Nothing ever clicked for me.

And it makes sense to me that players don't like it. I've always figured that most people that play MMOs the last 5-6 years probably come from Oblivion and Skyrim where you literally do everything all by yourself. I'm guessing that they carry that playstyle over to games like MMO where it's a competition of sorts to see who can "solo" carry a group the best. If you pay attention to the various chats in game that aren't filled with racist attacks I think it pans out - everyone bragging about their Skill Points when they're not bragging about their overwhelming ignorance of World History.

Still, I do agree, that a competent Controlled can make or break the raid depending on which one it is.

Meh.

I knew things were bad, just not that bad.

I Guess my Quantum troll will be swapping out all the troll gear and full set of troll artifacts and become just another run of the mill boring DPS just to satisfy the masses and the powers that be.... or maybe I'll just shelve him and put him to bed.

I love support roles. Any idiot can be DPS, but it takes actual skill to be a good support role. Ohh well....

I know how you feel.
It sucks...it really, truly sucks. Sure, some people are satisfied with trolling but the vast majority of people I've seen are not satisfied with it. This is part of a larger issue with the "tank and spank" mentality of the game.
Come to think of it, I have been leveling artifacts for tank for a bit now...

What do you do as a power troll? I mean as battle / buff troll, you can do the same thing as power troll, except spamming SC but i think that's not really needed in the current contents.

Well a power troll is nowhere nears as useful as it once was. (Ohh how I miss those days).

But, a DEBUFF Troll is very useful.
One debuff troll can help more than a DPS can, it can make or break a raid... but, I guess Trolls are just gonna disappear because of this meta.

I used to think that way about dps too till I started really getting into it. The difference between a poor/ average dps vs a good/ great one is astounding. The difference between great dps and the true "1%" is incredible. Being able to time swapping 3 artifacts with orbitals and supply drops and supers while not getting 1 shot or whatever else takes more skill than most give credit. Now a crappy dps, yeah no skill.

Back to the topic at hand... I love trolls. Especially if I'm on my rage tank and solo'n whatever. But either power or buff is fine by me as long as they're throwing debuffs. They should also be the smart ones on the team, getting pick ups, working cogs, keeping an eye out and communicating that to the team.

Pug grouping... I let players do what they want. You want to get a whole group mad at you? Tell the healer and tank to switch to dps cuz most of the time, you don't need them either. Especially outside of raids. Day 1, my worst toon ran the new alert with 4 dps. 1st run of the grodd raid in elite, we had no healer for about 10 to 12mins of the rouge fight. Make them feel as useless as they made you feel. Half the time, passive heals are better than a pug one anyway.

Yeah, it really sucks that its an optional role.
Healer dies? Wipe
Tank dies? Wipe
DPSes die? Wipe
Troll dies? Eh, pop sodas and rotate supplies.

What is debuff troll?

What I hear when I go into a run as a role and am told to change to DPS (assuming I'm not an 'extra' of that role).


A good rule of thumb in life is 'ask....don't order'. Now if they ask like 'Can you dps?' I'd say 'yes' as all my toons can DPS just fine...and unless I had my heart set on doing that role...maybe I switch. But 'TELL' me to switch? Nah bro....sorry. If it doesn't work for my wife and kids, it isn't working for XXdamagegod12345XX

Now....many times I'll go in having been assigned a role (especially in alerts) and will ask..."anyone need me to Tank/heal/troll?" and if not I'll stay DPS until such a time as I see there is a problem. But If I enter a raid, am assigned a role and I'm the only one...or if the other 'battle' role person can't cut the mustard (many...MANY...cannot), I'm staying in that role or switching back.

But as far as the standard troll roll itself...for regular content...especially alerts...not really needed unfortunately, however...if I'm getting one, unless you do buff/battle correctly, just be a standard battery and debuff troll. The debuffs normally are more beneficial to the DPS burn than the actual burn a bad battle troll puts out, and the healer/tank can always use more power.

BTW...normally when I ask 'anyone need me to tank/heal/troll', the answer is 'doesn't matter...whatever you want. So it's not quite to the point where everyone is pushing the 'no role' runs.

In alerts, most trolls just go full dps with flurry shot but have the artifacts to allow for the buff/debuff for a faster run. The troll role in raids has come down to who has the best/highest artifacts for that groups dps make-up/fastest run. Skill for a troll barely matters now.

I'll bite.

A debuff troll is one that is not there to give you more power (what i call battery).
A debuff troll will make it so adds and bosses don't heal as quickly, dont hit as hard, lower their armor rating, they can make YOU the DPS, and tank hit a bit stronger and tank a little better. They do pickups better and faster (pop that shield and pick 3 ppl up in a row Quantum trolls are specially good at that, but I guess any other can as well).

Thats the very minimalistic basics of it... its far more involved.

Agreed 100%. Also loved that clip... thats how i should have heard that "Switch to DPS"

A power troll still casts debuffs... reducing an enemy’s defenses, ability to heal, or damage output.
A power troll still uses stuns... giving the tank and others some reprieve for 3 seconds from the barrage of adds.
A power troll still uses group shields... gripping off power bars and preventing some incoming damage for a few seconds.

Power trolls do everything a “buff troll” does but instead of buffing certain stats and crits, he provides power to keep the healer(s) and tank(s) able to do their jobs when spamming situations occur. And sorry but in this day and age of CR skippers that can be just as useful because people are not going back and working on their older feats so they can maximize different stats and be more powerful going in.

Don't trolls do that anyway while buffing or being a power troll? Putting debuff's and doing pickups is part of the troll role as a whole, especially in most runs I'm in.

EVERY troll is a debuff troll because certain powers, when in controller role, place a debuff on the enemy. You defined a “buff troll.”