The Shirking combo definitely required a nerf, but it should still have its strength. The absence of sufficient self-sustain makes it nearly impossible for a solo player to take on a healer-oriented team.
I primarily engage in solo PvP and have been utilizing the potent Shirking Heals combined with the Ankh. Do I believe it was overpowered and in need of adjustments? Absolutely, it required attention. However, from the perspective of an arena and open-world PvP enthusiast, it represented the best solo player experience in this game’s PvP scene. For this reason, I have invested a lot of energy and New World Gold coins. This build offered a crucial level of self-sustain, enabling me to contend with teams containing healers. If the Shirking Heals build is nerfed too severely, my already challenging arena matches against healer teams would become nearly insurmountable.
In essence, I believe that Shirking should remain strong. I haven’t had the opportunity to test the nerf yet, so perhaps it’s now in a balanced state. Nonetheless, a more significant priority should be addressing healer balance. Many times, as a damage dealer, I find it nearly impossible to eliminate a player focused on healing or the healer themselves. While there might be specific builds capable of countering this, I’ve also noticed this concern echoed by numerous players within this community.
In hindsight, it’s a somewhat controversial perspective, but a solo player shouldn’t necessarily expect to achieve a competitive edge in 1vX scenarios. By default, they are at a numerical disadvantage and should experience frequent losses. MMOs are inherently social games, and teamwork should be encouraged.
Furthermore, teams composed of 2 DPS and a healer should have a natural advantage over teams with 3 DPS. The latter combination should ideally possess a higher win rate, given their more balanced composition. However, it might require some adjustments to attain this desired win rate, particularly because healers currently win too frequently.
Teams consisting of 3 DPS should not be consistently prevailing to the same extent. The current state of PvP is often perceived as enjoyable and relatively balanced in a way that playing with five duelists (aggressive killers) in Valorant can be fun. It allows for an aggressive playstyle with everyone on an equal footing when both teams are filled with duelists.
However, a well-constructed team with a mix of duelists, controllers (smoke-based roles), initiators (entry abilities), and sentinels (defensive roles) will lead to more team success at the expense of individual, short-term enjoyment. It also caters to a wider variety of player preferences, as not everyone wants to play as duelists exclusively.
Hence, if you assemble a team of five duelists against another team with a more balanced composition, you should expect to struggle. Yet, in New World, some individuals express discontent regarding this situation.
In conclusion, even with the Shirking Heals and Ankh combination, it’s not advisable for 3 DPS to be on an equal footing with 2 DPS and a Healer. Balancing the roles in a team should be a priority in creating a more fair and engaging PvP experience. Importantly, I was disappointed that I used more New World Coins to improve my character and achieved very little.