Guild Wars 2

Oh yea at the Altar of Lyssa you can’t even shop cause a catapult would knock you away while you’re looking. Those need to disappear while the place is under control.

It’s not just the respawn rates, in a lot of areas there are simply too many mobs to begin with. Add in a too fast respawn and it goes right past “this ain’t fun” all the way to “castrate the people that let this go live”.

I actually saw a hylek I just killed, forgot where, as it fell to the ground it respawned! Literally, it’s death animation was running and it respawned.

I agree with everything being discussed here and all I can think is that the launch of this game fooled me into thinking it was working well. I think it had more to do with the initial mob of new players in the starter areas, there was safety in numbers. I also didn’t get disconnected much and rarely ran into a login issue. That was the bright spot early on. The seams in the fabric started to show as the population spread and we got into the higher level personal stories. Some days I don’t even bother doing /bug reports.

The truth is that this game is broken and incomplete. Just like other games it was released too early and bug ridden.

Agreed completely. Respawn rates need to be WAY lower.

Cluisanna.1360:

I just found a screencap my friend took while doing that event with the mass of angry earth elementals.
Yes, I am trying to bump this a little, why do you ask?

I know exactly where he is and I agree that one is way too fast on the respawn when the DE isn’t running. When it is I don’t mind as much but during normal play I could simply park there and farm pretty easily.

The general respawn rate seems varied from area to area. Some I can run through a series of tunnels and be able to run back out after clearing it while others I seem to simply be a pocket of defeated enemies while surrounded on all sides.
Does the number of people in an area affect the entire areas respawn rate?

As someone who loves the difficulty presented by a variety of situations in GW2, I have to agree that the respawn rates are severely overtuned at the moment. It doesn’t even seem to be tuned based on location and certainly doesn’t take player population into account. Whether you are solo or with a group of 30, whether it’s a scenic crystal cave in a starting zone or a duanting enemy fortress in Orr, respawn timers seem to be right around 1 minute across the board. In many cases, this doesn’t equate to difficulty—just frustration. There is nothing tactical about your advancement through a cave. You can’t strategically pull target groups of mobs and make your way through. You can pull 1 pack, move forward, then by time you’re half way through the next group of 2 or 3, the first group has completely respawned.

It’s like every area is tuned to have a small zerg coming through to constantly keep the enemies at bay. I assumed it was just overtuning during beta for a while to be on the safe side, but it hasn’t changed at all.

I think (not sure of this, but it’s a possibility, a coder from the devs could confirm surely) that the problem is because Events du not adjust spawn rates dynamically in accordance to the number of players present with the occurring Event’s own “range”, often (if not always) seen on the map as that semi-circle or oval-shaped orange contour showing the Event’s circumference (or its “range” in other words).

If that is the case (if there is no dynamic system within the Event as it occurs to balance difficulty according to the number of players present) then it would explain why things like that happen all around the game’s Events regardless of the zone or the Event’s actual difficulty (linear difficulty, excluding mob and bosses’ own levels, or excluding potential bugs that would spawn multiple overlapping mobs).

To “fix” the problem (and again, if that is the case as I describe it) then a dynamic system should be created. So that for example any Events which include spawning mobs (be it neutral or hostile mobs) should dynamically adjust the spawning frequency and the mobs’ numbers (but mostly the frequency).

Let’s say… the Wasp Queen, in the Queen’s Forest as an example.

Going by conditions (and in simple terms, not actual code):

If (within the Wasp’s own maximum range for navigation in the forest as part of the Event’s range): 1 to 3 players are present, then: Wasp Queen’s baby wasps spawned equals minimum of 3, up to maximum of 4 spawns.

If: 4 to 6 players are present, then: Wasp Queen’s baby wasps spawned equals minimum of 4, up to maximum of 6 spawns (when the gap between minimum and maximum spawns is higher than 1, then randomize the number of spawns, but never below minimum nor higher than maximum).

Et cetera…

When it comes to regular mobs within an Event that spawns “waves” of them to attack a camp, or just an area where they spawn to replace dead mobs without necessarily going on the offensive against any particular locations (I.E. when the players themselves have to attack the mobs on location) then the principle is the same.

The developers (coders) would create lists of conditions and possibilities of mob spawn numbers and frequencies with some randomization thrown in (minimal, only concerning the number of mobs between minimum and maximum limits), and then the dynamic system would pick up that code to make Events more… well more dynamic and the result would be that if you’re alone then you’d be certain that at the very least you’d be playing the “easiest” (or call it perhaps more “balanced”) iteration of the Event. But if you still die… then… well the devs did their part and then maybe that time around you need to check your character’s build.

I just want to add that this “feature” is a big part of what makes underwater combat so tedious.

It seems like the vastly excessive mob density and respawn rates seem to have increased further underwater.

This really needs to be looked at because it’s hell of annoying.

DeeJay
“I just want to add that this “feature” is a big part of what makes underwater combat so tedious.

It seems like the vastly excessive mob density and respawn rates seem to have increased further underwater.

This really needs to be looked at because it’s hell of annoying."

Add to that the underwater mobs that chase you, suddenly leash, then come right back while you are fighting three others. Also, the ones that go invulnerable and leash to their “spot” (which is ten feet away!), then reset and come back. Yeah, UW combat can be a pain. This is a shame. When you can maneuver, and when mobs stay dead long enough for you to grab your loot, UW combat can be a blast.

I did not have time to read everything but these solo events are way too hard no way can you do them alone, you run into them everywhere you go can’t hardly even avoid them. Are they meant to do alone ?? If they are not meant to do alone we need some way to avoid them or something the way it is now sucks sucks sucks

I have to agree with this thread too. I have noticed it more of late but there is a difference between a ‘challenge’ and the kitten right insane. When I kill a mob I don’t expect another one to pop straight up instantly which I have happened on numerous occasions now. It’s so annoying, especially when you have just cleared an area and you just escape with minimal life then you get struck down by a respawn…
Not what should happen!

Respawn rates and mob density are insanely high throughout all areas of the game, from dynamic events to hearts and just generally trying to make progress across the map. It is making adventuring a chore, not to mention immersion breaking when the mob you just killed respawns before you can finish off his friends nearby. The respawn rates definitely don’t scale properly to the lower player densities now in most zones. Everything still seems tuned as if it were launch week and it’s no longer appropriate.

I have to add to this. I am a lvl 80 ranger trying to do two dynamic events (neither are group) in Theater of Delight (Malchor’s Leap zone). The events are: A – escort troops to the Eastern Collonade camp, and B – defend the Pact engineers while the set up the camp. Well I had all 10 of the troops from event A when we arrived at the camp. I proceeded to rez/revive one engineer, a crusader, and a tactician from event B, as well as destroying one catapult. There was only ONE OTHER PLAYER in the area. Then, we had two rotmouths show up, spawning 3 more risen PLUS one Veteran risen apiece. When two more risen were defeated and one rotmouth gone? By this time, all the npc’s were down, and more risen and another rotmouth were spawned. Plus, the catapult was repaired. The respawn timer is RIDICULOUS in this case, as is the shear number of mobs. The ONLY way this would be soloable is to either cut back on the respawn, or greatly increase npc armor and attack. Regardless, I will not be questing anymore in this area until something is fixed. I have included a couple screenshots of the battlefield this became… Seriously, WTF??!?

Skar Hand.5037:

I made a post about this during the Betas on this forum.

Has Anet ever acknowledged the issue, or even responded to reports about it?

Yes, the insane respawn rates are killing this game for me. In GW1 it was so satisfying to clear a zone, and then walk around it, looking at everything. Here, in GW2, there’s never any time to look around, because the respawns will kill you. This really has to be changed…

Even when I am soloing an event that needs you to defend two entrances or both sides of the bridge, groups of mob just keep spawning endlessly from both sides, immediately after the prior group is killed.

I guess their programmers need to be reminded that there is always API called sleep() or wait() in any system.

Nerfing respawn rates would mostly affect botters who run in circles killing the same mobs over and over again. Unfortunately, ArenaNet has no interest in reducing the effectiveness of botting (after all if they let a bot to be profitable before banning it, then the next week the botter is going to buy two new accounts for bots, then four, etc. providing constant revenue for ArenaNet as opposed to players who only pay for one account).

Honestly starting to see that this game is designed with heavy grinding in mind, hence the fast respawns (Anet: “we are doing away with the grind”, pffftttt). Then they slap a DR system on top of it now its just one huge mess of a system designed around grinding that’s broken by DR and infested with bots.

The amount of bots in some areas is also affecting the respawn rates.

Bumping because this is really the only major complaint I have with this game and it can, at times, be SUPER frustrating. Go try to take a stroll through the Blasted Moors in Diessa Plateau where the army of ghosts and their trebuchets and cannons that don’t stay gone are. It’s un-fun.

Several weeks ago the Devs or whatever did slow down the respawn rates in places where they knew they were too short. They also asked us to tell them if we come across more places to let them know. Personally I can’t be bothered to tell anyone at Anet because there are so many places that have even an instant respawn. At the same time I realise that some maps are so busy that they need a shortish respawn for Task completion.

I hate it myself, just boring.

Sometimes just the spawn rate is ridiculous. I had just finished grinding a few dynamic events in Cursed Shore when I ended up in Bloodtide Coast to try to fill out my daily enemy variety. I was swimming around in the water all kitteny as I destroyed everything when I got to an underwater event where I had to destroy generators. I started to do so when suddenly I realized that there were like…7 inquest mobs around me. I was able to kill a bunch but even more appeared around them…and I died which was quite embarrassing for me having just retaken the portal entrance to Arah…

The over-tuned respawn rate makes Zerg the only viable strategy. It’s impossible and pointless to pull mobs and strategically pick your way through a zone. The first mob will respawn and be on your heels before you engage the second. There’s no time to find and target the healer. No sense in finding the safest, most strategic route. All you can do is cross your fingers, run, and stealth (if you have it).

I enjoy playing solo and the spontaneous/casual group up for an Event. GW2 is ground breaking in that it encourages casual cooperation while allowing solo play. Ironically, I feel more compelled to join a party in GW2 then in any other game—and I hate that. I understand the need for a party in content that is designed for group cooperative strategy and mechanics, but to be forced to run with others just to make it from waypoint to waypoint because mobs respawn on top of you is not fun.

I really hate to say this (I’ve been waiting for GW2 since GW), but I’m about to resub to other games.

some of the worst offender: The Dredge Areas in Shiverpeaks. Horrible, I could not get the heck out of that map fast enough. And the noise they make makes my skin crawl. (huuh huhh)

Malhor’s Leap
Straits of Devestation
Hrathi Highlands

Please fix this. It’s so annoying. I understood it when the game first launched but it’s not necessary anymore.

If you fight a champion in a reasonably crowded area then you are sure to fight the same respawns maybe 3 times. It’s completely breaking immersion and flies in the face of your speech on players actions making a difference.

Its also worth mentioning that it makes only one spec really viable for most professions . Too heavy dps and your going to get stung by respawns who will kill you quite quickly. Too heavy defence and it takes too long to cut through things meaning more respawns and frustration.

Just to add. The best temporary fix for these silly situations is to just run and run to where I need to get to and then log to character screen. When you log back in the mobs are gone and you can go about your business. I use this quite excessively in Orr as its pointless trying to fight your way to anywhere.

Chrollo.2173:

Sometimes just the spawn rate is ridiculous. I had just finished grinding a few dynamic events in Cursed Shore when I ended up in Bloodtide Coast to try to fill out my daily enemy variety. I was swimming around in the water all kitteny as I destroyed everything when I got to an underwater event where I had to destroy generators. I started to do so when suddenly I realized that there were like…7 inquest mobs around me. I was able to kill a bunch but even more appeared around them…and I died which was quite embarrassing for me having just retaken the portal entrance to Arah…

I know that event. The mob density and spawn/respawn there is insane. The game is designed to allow for movement in combat, but any movement at all is guaranteed to draw added aggro. Not to mention that grenades are OP, and 1/3 to 1/2 of the mobs are grenadiers. That event alone was sufficient to make me think that extermination of the Asura species is a viable option. Now, if only they would stay dead.

I have to agree with the OP. Some of the respawn rates are rediculous, especially when u go into a cave, kill monsters, and then have to kill them all AGAIN when ur heading out again. Pretty stupid and tedious. And its like ‘oh how about I break immersion and have to pay a rediculous sum of money to teleport out’. Some of the things in this game are not better than other MMOs, they are worse.

Fast respawn rates are actually ok but there should be a patch … enemies you killed should become green for YOU on respawn and only after a timer period should turn hostile again. This would keep the area interesting for players entering the area but it would allow you to retreat safely (and it would hurt “on spot camping botters”).

Dat Winterknell Maze is horrible. especially getting aggro on the other sides of walls.

they must be on a 15 second timer, there. doing the Skill point challenge was difficult if going solo. that fish head in front of the skill point is brutal, along with the spawning mobs

also, how about, when players reach level 80, make all mobs in all of Tyria Yellow-status (hostile, though will aggro if attacked). those wishing to travel in high-spawn rated areas can do so without fuss. those who need the experience and wish to do combat can. it would surely be another minor benefit to being 80. then maybe this new “tactical” approach to the combat can begin.

also, undead gorilla cripple is way, WAY too long (Historian Escort + Veteran gorilla).

^ I like this idea.

Another idea I’d put forward is not allowing respawns at all within a certain perimeter of the player. That way you avoid creatures respawining right on top of you.

I took this screenshot today that demonstrates the problem quite well.

I mean really, how many more mobs could you fit into such a confined space?

Just killing a regular mob next ton an ore node out in the field. Before I could even hit f, it respawned. So much nonsense like that in the game. It’s tiresome.

Okay, I just started a new charactr recently… and progressing through all the maps again. it is COMPLETELY different from when i first started in the begining weeks just after launch…. the respawn rates are absurd, as soon as u kill them, two more come out and you end up not being able to revive someone or even an npc that might cater to an event, and even some events and places the density and amount of mobs has skyrocketed. Not what i remember it being like.

Some places I feel extremely frustrated because I question my skill now since i can’t solo an event with swarms, regardless of level, just because of the spawn rates and sheer numbers…

Does anyone else notice this? That it actually changed compared to the beginning? everywhere feels like what Orr feels like. But i don’t remember it being so in the beginning of the game for low levels. Some things might be way too hard for the players of appropriate level of the zone.

Respawn and over-spawned areas are really putting a crimp in my enjoyment of the game. NPC says go retake this town, ok except nobody else is around and the mobs are in packs of 5. You can’t even whittle them down because they respawn before you can even take them out.

In another event the enemies respawn so fast you cannot revive the dead workers to patch up the houses. Or I kill a veteran drake to get into the cave to stop a ritual and as soon as I walk in the cave the veteran has spawned again behind me.

Most of the time I just move on, unable to do the events because of how heavily packed the area is with enemies who respawn a few seconds after you kill them.

The Vista at Human’s Lament in Plains of Ashford is a typical example of how absurd they set their respawn rates. This is a starter zone so I don’t assume it is a mistake of tuning. 3 Veterans + tons of trashes on the way with rather close distance. Their assumptions are:

(1) You can always find a group easily to do this (worked only for 1st month)
(2) You are a warrior or guardian so you won’t get other veterans involved
(3) You can kill them very quickly because everyone has full exotics.

I don’t think any new player would like this.

I will say another issues is bots, the artificial numbers on occasion makes events scale up believing their are more people in the area.

Anything that increases the difficulty in this game is a good thing.

Leto.5642:

Anything that increases the difficulty in this game is a good thing.

There’s a difference between tedium and challenge.

Overzealous mob respawns are tedious amongst other things.

Mob respawn rate is ridiculously high. If people think that throwing endless waves of fast spawning trash mobs at players equals challenging and engaging gameplay, I urge them to think again.

I want to pop in and agree with this thread.

I’ve run across numerous events solo that were literally impossible because I could not kill faster than the respawn rate. When you have to keep an area clear, it’s really frustrating to take down one pack of enemies only to have it respawn while you’re fighting the second pack.

So I fight pointlessly by myself for a while, before I finally sigh and walk away with the event unfinished.

I agree that not everything should be an easy achievement.

However, when I kill a spawn of (whatever), when do I get to simply catch my breath and look around to enjoy the scenery? When do I have the leisure to seek out small scenic surprises?

I don’t. Not with the current re-spawn seemingly tuned to an expectation of non-stop hordes of players in a constant stream through every area.

I don’t bother to try and clear confined areas when playing Solo during off peak hours for all the reasons stated. The game seems set up on the assumption that there will always be a group of players in any given area which clearly is not always the case. Could the respawn rate not be adjusted to take into account the number of players on a map or better still reduced during the off-peak hours?

metrica province is probably the most outrageous when it comes to spawns. For the northwestern skill point (the fire elementals), there are some skale, including a veteran nearby. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, clear, and move to tackle challenge. The real challenge is trying to keep all the skale, drake, and veterans dead as you take on the challenge. 10 seconds later, in the middle of a fire barrage and dodging, who shows up? The veteran of course, with 3 more in tow. If ur of lvl, hahahahahaha. Prepare to lose a lot of gear. I think MP is so bad is because it probably got less testing than the other zones. And MP doesn’t even COMPARE to Orr and other higher zones. I thought this game was for the player…solo players exist…and nothing pisses off solo players more than having to kill the same bullkitten mob again 10 seconds later. This isn’t a challenge, this is assinine

Leto.5642:

Anything that increases the difficulty in this game is a good thing.

If ur idea of challenging=fun also includes challenging=repetitive, I’m having the time of my life. Nothing quite like killing the same trash mob in some danky kitten cave a couple dozen times to get my juices going.

FaultWeeyam.4302:

metrica province is probably the most outrageous when it comes to spawns. For the northwestern skill point (the fire elementals), there are some skale, including a veteran nearby. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, clear, and move to tackle challenge. The real challenge is trying to keep all the skale, drake, and veterans dead as you take on the challenge. 10 seconds later, in the middle of a fire barrage and dodging, who shows up? The veteran of course, with 3 more in tow. If ur of lvl, hahahahahaha. Prepare to lose a lot of gear. I think MP is so bad is because it probably got less testing than the other zones. And MP doesn’t even COMPARE to Orr and other higher zones. I thought this game was for the player…solo players exist…and nothing pisses off solo players more than having to kill the same bullkitten mob again 10 seconds later. This isn’t a challenge, this is assinine

I had the exactly same experience trying to solo this skill point with my level 20ish character. Cleared the skales 4 times and I still ended up fighting the SP mobs with all the skales adding from respawn. Finally I had to give up after killing one SP trash and wait for someone else to finish the rest so I still get the credit while I stayed in the area. That SP is balanced for level 80, I would say.

I have been facing this issue while playing since level 1. I can’t count the times I’ve killed an enemy, only to see them respawn while they’re still dying. It has really been taking the fun out of the game for me, and I hope something is done about it soon.

GL with that. I agree, but this is seriously something we mentioned months ago in beta and they did nothing about it. Some people still have hopes, but I know I don’t Arena Net has been a constant disapointement for me.

So many events with endless enemies. 10+ mobs capturing a camp, you killed till 3 left, then suddenly another 4 respawns from nowhere. You killed half of them, now another 10 respawns. I have just experienced 3 of these in one single day. Unbelievable. Makes me feel like I am not playing a game but simply wasting my time and forced to grind all the way to level 80. Did they say we are not supposed to grind? What’s all these endlessly respawning mobs for? Usually I have to wait until a high level (usually a level 80 trying to complete the map) to have that event completed. All these events are simply balanced for level 80s, not titled as group event but extremely hard to solo at appropriate level. And most of all, not fun at all if you have to keep doing the same thing killing waves of mobs. Waste of time and just boring amd frustrating.

I play solo 90% of the time and I have noticed the fast respawns as well. It can be really annoying at times. Some small events I either have to spend 20 mins to complete (where it’d normally take 5-10) or can’t finish them at all. Especially with events that require you to capture a certain area (the red ring areas) or keep an NPC alive. Enemies respawn too fast to be able to complete either of those objectives in a lot of cases. I’ve even tried switching servers to less populated ones to see if that made a difference but it really doesn’t so I don’t think they’re scaled appropriately for a solo player.