I suppose the simplest way I can ask this would be as follows:
Why would you do this ANet?
I can understand a jumping puzzle with a timer since some puzzles require players to keep moving to avoid traps and such anyway. I can understand a puzzle being made difficult to improve the challenge, and thus, the feeling of accomplishment for success.
What I cannot understand is why ANet felt the need to make this activity a blasted competition. The race at Zephyr Sanctum was admittedly fun, but a jumping puzzle that is reduced to being a race? It absolutely kills the fun of it. As I understand it, the puzzle last year was set on a timer. So why change it to a cutthroat competition where the only end result I can see is enemies tearing each other down rather than friends building each other up?
Both this year and last year the puzzle restart is based on a timer and the number of people who get sent back to the hub zone. This means it gradually fills up over time, however, when someone fails there is a jump in the progress bar. In fact, people are far less cutthroat because player character models don’t get in the way of your camera (you should have seen the hate against norns and charrs last year).
The only things that changed are:
1. Other players are now wisps (good change)
2. Is an activity so you can’t bring your friends in (both good and bad change since you can’t bring your friends, but I think it counts for the daily activity)
Part of the fun of the Clocktower is the fact that it IS a race. However, this did open it up to griefing last year when players would use the biggest, fattest characters and use the bulkiest armor on top of that to make it harder for smaller characters to see what they were doing. They’ve addressed that issue now, which is a good thing.
The clock tower isnt a race, the goop comes up at the same rate for all players, it seems a little faster this year though (still doable though). You’re simply too slow.
However, this did open it up to griefing last year when players would use the biggest, fattest characters and use the bulkiest armor on top of that to make it harder for smaller characters to see what they were doing. They’ve addressed that issue now, which is a good thing.