Guild Wars 2

I started in Feb on Gw2 and have been a huge fan of the jumping puzzles, all year i have been told that the clocktower was the hardest, i struggled a little on the not so secret city but when i did it i was told “just you wait for the clocktower xD” now i was super excited to get on it, however within 10minutes, i had completed it, is this seriously the super difficult achievement that people complained about, WHEN is anet going to release a reward for skilled content, theyre not against prestigious items as mr sparkles proves this, so why cant they release a jumping puzzle that takes skill,

This message is for Josh foreman: If youre going to try and create a jp that takes skill please please please add randomness too it that way skill is needed not routine

Not to sound rude :C just hope for something difficult
Red

my biggest was the lack of support for people who didnt get everything from last year. (the gemstore costumes) in my case

They should make it like a shmup, once you complete it the second time should be the real jumping puzzle challenge. Sort of like the Morgan’s Leap Dark Reverie one. My highest back to back was 6 completions in a row. I believe I completed every run during the game event.

RedCobra.7693:

is this seriously the super difficult achievement that people complained about,

Um, yes and no. lol

See basically, this is a super easy JP that people have blown to “legendary” status for a few reasons.

1. For many it was the first JP in the game, even if it wasn’t, it was the first with a time sensitive component you couldn’t just get back on again.

2. Even for those who loved the jumping puzzles, it was still platforming with an MMO engine and most of the playerbase had not gotten used to the finickiness and almost hyper-sensitivity of the controls.

3. Many, many, many, many people quit or never completed it due to technical difficulties. This made those who spent hours in the waiting rooms to finaly get their achievement after so many rage quitters feel “spechel” and rainbowy inside.

4. The waiting room.
That was the killer for me. Even this year, I really can’t stand waiting around for the timer to reset with nothing to do. Even with the other players invisible, and the number reduced (15 players making the first few jumps and blocking your screen was NOT fun, regardless of what anyone says) the waiting room is worse.

The most fun I had last year was when people put a cauldron in the waiting room and we all played costume brawl between attempts.

In the end, a year and several MUCH harder JPs later, it is just a time gated one-minute fifty-five-second puzzle.
The puzzle itself is still kinda fun and well designed, but at this point it may as well be a single instance you can restart whenever you want to.

thank you monkey for clearing it up, your answer makes sense, looks like to me that its over-inflated but im going to respectfully disagree with making it a single instance, if they did that then i’d truly have no reason to do it, im not a kitten but i do rather enjoy seeing: RedCobra is the top scorer
Red Cobra : 6
Other: 0
Other: 0
Other: 0
Other: 0

but other than that its okay i guess, still confused as to why they made it multi playered in the first place?

Yeah I also was dissapointed by the JP. Last year I didn’t participate in the Halloween event cuz I was more interested in leveling and exploring with my first mmo character then doing this event. Then I heard of the Clocktower and how it took people hours to do it but I said to myself that I would do it next year.
So I finally did it yesterday and managed to reach the end multiple times within an hour and I didn’t know whether to be proud of myself or to just feel utterly dissapointed. Yes it’s challenging but I can’t comprehend how it took people hours to do this JP (no offense).

“but I can’t comprehend how it took people hours to do this JP (no offense)”

I tell you mate.
Last year there was as many ppl on platforms as many wanted to do the clocktower. So there wasn’t only 5 ppl on the platforms, it was mostly at least 10-15. It was really crowded.

Also the FPS drop issues on a few jumps + lots of ppl rendering them made it worser.

+ Lots of norns like me blocked their view and they couldn’t see where to jump.

So basically zerg jumped from platform to platform and it was hard to see what’s happening and how.

But to be fair, it was an early JP, and people weren’t as skilled with JPs as today. I remember that back in the early weeks I even had problems with reaching certain vistas, now I’m a jumpaholic and have all the JPs in the game, and I still love the Clocktower. Somehow it’s just have a special place in my heart, don’t ask why, probably because it was a “first” in so many levels last year.

p.s.: I would really like to see a jumping puzzle title. Not for elitism, just simply for showing our love for JPs.

I think a big part of it is definitely practice. This time last year a lot of people hadn’t done any jumping puzzles, or had only done the relatively easy ones like Morgan’s Spiral. A lot of people on the forum were still mixing up jumping puzzles and vistas.

I remember during one of the beta weekends I stumbled across the lab puzzle in Caledon Forest (is it Spekk’s lab? I can never remember) and spent about 1/2 a day doing it. I go back to it now and I can do it on my first attempt easily.

Other people might not have put in as much time on jumping puzzles but I’m sure everyone will at the very least have gotten a better idea of how high and how far their character can jump and what bit of the platform to aim for. So now the Clocktower (and all the other puzzles) don’t seem so bad.

Maybe for next year they can release an optional harder version.

RedCobra.7693:

thank you monkey for clearing it up, your answer makes sense, looks like to me that its over-inflated but im going to respectfully disagree with making it a single instance, if they did that then i’d truly have no reason to do it, im not a kitten but i do rather enjoy seeing: RedCobra is the top scorer
Red Cobra : 6
Other: 0
Other: 0
Other: 0
Other: 0

but other than that its okay i guess, still confused as to why they made it multi playered in the first place?

First run:

Get all 3 chests, then the final one.

Second run:

Get the final one.

Repeat 3 times.

Perfecto!

:P

This is my goal for later today, but now I must sleep.

The jumping was harder last year because people weren’t actually in mist form next to you. With all those norns and charrs, you couldn’t even see where you were going. But to me that was the fun of it. Now, it’s just boring…

Danikat.8537:

A lot of people on the forum were still mixing up jumping puzzles and vistas.

Heh, yeah I forgot all about that.
Talk about jumping puzzles and lots of people would go off: " yeah, this one I had to like, climb a mountain, took me like fifteen minutes just to figure out how to get up there! I hate the jumping puzzles!"

Meanwhile playing that lab in caledon on a friend’s account is one of the main reasons I bought the game. Still one of my favorites.

SpecterMAT.7306:

“but I can’t comprehend how it took people hours to do this JP (no offense)”

I tell you mate.
Last year there was as many ppl on platforms as many wanted to do the clocktower. So there wasn’t only 5 ppl on the platforms, it was mostly at least 10-15. It was really crowded.

Also the FPS drop issues on a few jumps + lots of ppl rendering them made it worser.

+ Lots of norns like me blocked their view and they couldn’t see where to jump.

So basically zerg jumped from platform to platform and it was hard to see what’s happening and how.

This is a perfect description of the problems.

It was impossible to see where your character was, and there was no reasonable time of day to do it “alone”.

I always said I wished they had given a private instance where you could “figure it out” without any chests or rewards or titles, so that you could at least see how it is done if they were so set on it being a zergish mentality.

I had serious problems, as it was the first time I can think of that had a time pressure to the jumping puzzle that you didn’t have somewhere you could “rest” to figure out the timing, you litterally had to keep blindly jumping. I got far a couple times if I could out jump the zerg, but the pressure to keep going non stop was what would end up killing me, either falling off, missing the jump backwards, etc.

Last year, my fiance did it many times, but I don’t like jumping puzzles in the least, I do them, but I detest them. Now, after having been in WvW settings and intense battles in that regard, and my eye being trained to see my character, and the fact that it isn’t so “crowded” now, I think the jumping puzzle might be more reasonable for me to do.

It really is about point of view. Last year it was so different, and the conditions were less than optimal for many. This year it’s less drastic cause we know what to expect, and fewer are trying at a time at that (based solely on the new videos I have seen posted of it).

SpecterMAT.7306:

“but I can’t comprehend how it took people hours to do this JP (no offense)”

I tell you mate.
Last year there was as many ppl on platforms as many wanted to do the clocktower. So there wasn’t only 5 ppl on the platforms, it was mostly at least 10-15. It was really crowded.

Also the FPS drop issues on a few jumps + lots of ppl rendering them made it worser.

+ Lots of norns like me blocked their view and they couldn’t see where to jump.

So basically zerg jumped from platform to platform and it was hard to see what’s happening and how.

Then to those that had to do this JP with all this kitten and still managed to do it, you have my respect cuz I don’t know if I’d be able to do the same.

Kind of a minor point, but last year it took a good 2-3 seconds to open the chests too…you stop to open one, let alone several, and you’re done.

This year you can just grab them without missing a beat.

Two issues with last year were fixed.

1. One of the rocks at the start caused your camera to bug out if you jumped too close to it (and you had to jump close to it). Either you died right away or couldn’t recover from the timer.

2. Last years jump puzzle let a lot more people in and showed character models. Although pretty much all of them died at the start, it became really hard to line up those first jumps. Fat charr blocked your vision.

Even now, those first few jumps make or break the whole puzzle. Even now, If you don’t complete them perfectly and fast you lose. From then on it is just a matter of knowing the path. Last year they were impossible to line up visually, and extremely punishing because a slight under or over jump would but out your camera.

Good changes IMO, to turn a tough but glitchy puzzle into merely a tough one. And the people who I’d beat it got their exclusive achievement. This was handled very well.

I’m going to chime in and say that seeing all the character models played a large part last year.

Nightingale.9714:

my biggest was the lack of support for people who didnt get everything from last year. (the gemstore costumes) in my case

Completely different living story so why should be be able to get credit for a living story that was completed over a year ago? SAB is different as it is a game within a game.

That, and the fact one could bring summon or some kind of AoE speed boost to mess with visibility/jump timing.
The real difficulty was the first few jumps, because of what was mentioned, and missing on those first jumps meant waiting for the full timer before trying again. For Wintersday, they mitigated that by setting 3 starting positions, and providing snowballs to occupy yourself before the next run.

Ahhh miss using my asura in the JP amongst the charrs and norns..Guess they listened to players concern about that issue and its shame that other issues does not get their attention

RedCobra.7693:

I started in Feb on Gw2 and have been a huge fan of the jumping puzzles, all year i have been told that the clocktower was the hardest, i struggled a little on the not so secret city but when i did it i was told “just you wait for the clocktower xD” now i was super excited to get on it, however within 10minutes, i had completed it, is this seriously the super difficult achievement that people complained about, WHEN is anet going to release a reward for skilled content, theyre not against prestigious items as mr sparkles proves this, so why cant they release a jumping puzzle that takes skill,

This message is for Josh foreman: If youre going to try and create a jp that takes skill please please please add randomness too it that way skill is needed not routine

Not to sound rude :C just hope for something difficult
Red

Considering you beat it within 10 minutes (or probably 5-6 runs with the timer), I have to ask whether you watched a guide before attempting the puzzle?

BondageBill.4021:

RedCobra.7693:

I started in Feb on Gw2 and have been a huge fan of the jumping puzzles, all year i have been told that the clocktower was the hardest, i struggled a little on the not so secret city but when i did it i was told “just you wait for the clocktower xD” now i was super excited to get on it, however within 10minutes, i had completed it, is this seriously the super difficult achievement that people complained about, WHEN is anet going to release a reward for skilled content, theyre not against prestigious items as mr sparkles proves this, so why cant they release a jumping puzzle that takes skill,

This message is for Josh foreman: If youre going to try and create a jp that takes skill please please please add randomness too it that way skill is needed not routine

Not to sound rude :C just hope for something difficult
Red

Considering you beat it within 10 minutes (or probably 5-6 runs with the timer), I have to ask whether you watched a guide before attempting the puzzle?

nope tbh id hold myself rather skilled at jp’s but im not bragging id heard that if you stand still you die, didnt take me long to realise why xD, however i realise now that the difficulty last year was because you had to do it with a zerg, i wouldnt of done it that fast with a zerg tbh as i reacted to the levels terrain so in conclusion

I STILL HAVNT PLAYED THE ORIGINAL CLOCKTOWER NOOOOOOO!

Nightingale.9714:

my biggest was the lack of support for people who didnt get everything from last year. (the gemstore costumes) in my case

yea i want that mad king costume T_T

i thought the mad king outfit was an actual armour set and was upset i missed it, found out its only town clothes still would be cool but im not too interested in t clothes

People have already responded, but no we all weren’t over inflating the difficulty of this… last year. Many of us simply weren’t as good at jumping last year. It was the first difficult JP with harsh timing.. you can’t stand around and plan your jupmp. Players also weren’t wisps, so you had huge norns and charr completely blocking your view. The first bit of the JP was rage inducing for me as I couldn’t see where to go. It wasn’t until my overflow started emptying out that I made progress. The camera issues were also problematic.

It took me at least 3 hours to get it done last year. This year I’m completing it multiple times easily. Experiencing more JPs and Super Adventure Box (I completed all tribulation modes) has really improved my jumping skills.

So no, this isn’t hard this year but it certainly was last year.