Guild Wars 2

Periscope knock is not that bad… Random Super Adventure Box chests in the open world that spawn 8-bit snakes on the other hand… yeah, ANet loves knocks.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Periscope knock is not that bad… Random Super Adventure Box chests in the open world that spawn 8-bit snakes on the other hand… yeah, ANet loves knocks.

This is how I learned to love Stability,

The first thing I though of when I saw the knockback attack was, “great more of this knockdown garbage”. Seriously why does 90% of the tougher and dungeon opponents in this game have untelegraphed knockdown? What makes matters worse is that there are no red circles, no warning, and no way to avoid the 3rd spam of the ability. Dodging is all well and good, but seriously does ANet know that we the players only get TWO dodges?

Yes I could use stability, (if i had it as an easy option for a necro), or I could use minions (if I didn’t have to learn the bloody annoying things just for this), but why bother. It should be up to the designers to make some attacks both noticeable and avoidable; if these things did a one shot kill on you all of the areas they are in would be more empty than they are now! And come to thinking of that, why would the sadists at anet make some of these things surrounded by a pack of leashed mobs including a vet and usually 4 or 5 others that don’t even get the effect but are more than happy to kick your kitten when you are on the ground.

I realize that players want a challenge, but please give us a challenge and not just annoy us every step of the way by keeping us on the ground. As a suggestion how bout upping the leash on the guards so they can be picked off without resetting and allow the players to see anything that gives them time to react to the knockdown. And above all make it so that the players don’t have to dodge perpetually to avoid the effect.

/rant

edit: clarity

1. the knockback fest from the preiscopes are just awful
2. you are downed 50% of the time and they have 1200++ range, wtf.

overall good ideea with poor implementation, as usual

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stability

Not exactly a promising list if you’re not a guardian or warrior…

The engineer potion option is especially nasty, as it has only a 1/2 chance of granting stability…

Agreed with the periscope knockdown. ArenaNet is usually quite good at their game design but these periscopes are fundamentally flawed. Modern Game Design Golden Rule: Never make anything that will be obnoxiously annoying to the players. There’s a fine line between annoying and challenging. This is just annoying.

I never got hit by those things again after I destroyed my first one. They’re just like those noob LB rangers you used to see in WvW(before projectile speed buff). Just walk left and right repeatedly and it won’t ever hit you.

Edit – I have changed my opinion, they are needless and annoying.

digiowl.9620:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stability

This list is COMPLETELY useless to anyone under lvl 26, which is the first time you can buy a 6 skill point skill. Starting zones have players under lvl 26, which means they don’t have any way of gaining stability.

DoctorOverlord.8620:

I’ve found the periscope knockback annoying but not egregiously so. I think they’re supposed to be slightly annoying and so far their placement hasn’t interfered with anything I was trying to do.

Of course my opinion might change if I find one placed around something I do want to do lol

Well there is one near a hill top vista in Wayfarers, that one can border on sadism.

There’s a couple of strategies you can use to deal with Periscopes:

1. Use Stability. Depending on how much damage you can deal, you may be able to destroy the periscope in a single use of the skill.

2. Use minions/pets/clones to distract the periscope while you attack it. The periscope can only attack one target at a time, so this makes it the easiest method.

3. Use ranged weapons. 1200 ranged weapons are long enough to allow you to sidestep the blasts just by moving. Otherwise, you’ll have to dodge.

4. The periscope has to “reload” after every 5 or so shots. You can therefore stand at a safe distance until this happens, then charge in to attack the periscope. Repeat as necessary.

Note that attacking periscopes has a chance to trigger an event (usually around 50% health) where Molten Alliance mobs (including one Veteran) pop up around you. If that happens, it’s best to retreat to a safe distance and deal with them first; the periscope makes it too difficult to deal with them.

Zaxares.5419:

There’s a couple of strategies you can use to deal with Periscopes:

1. Use Stability. Depending on how much damage you can deal, you may be able to destroy the periscope in a single use of the skill.

I am lvl 80 full exotic DMG Guardian and there is no chance i can destroy it in single use of stability….Maybe glas-canon warrior with hundred blade…:-D

grr…having to enter this AGAIN because the forum logged me out and threw my message away!

Anyway…I came across one that had been abandoned earlier. I soon found out why nobody was bothering with it. The thing had spawned four mobs, one of which was shielding itself and the others. It made the periscope, itself and all the other mobs completely, and as far as I could see, permanently, impervious to any damage.
There is a difference between challenging and so ridiculously overpowered that people just leave things alone.

“you will need to farm periscopes.”

Seems that you can only do these once a day, they’re like chests, the drop nothing until the daily reset. I think they’ve dropped the ball with this one. Probably the most annoying things I’ve seen in the game so far. Permanent knockdown does not equate to fun.

Ok, you can use stability but that typically lasts a tiny fraction of the time you spend trying to put the things down (unless you happen to be a high level character cruising around in a low level zone!) and that’s not taking into account the ludicrous mobs they can spawn.

lunawisp.2378:

“you will need to farm periscopes.”

. . . if you choose it as one of your four monthly goals. I didn’t. I went for Events, Veterans, WvW kills, and Monthly Completionist.

Thanks to a helpful soul over at Reddit there is now a least of “easy” JPs to do the monthly on.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1bjk07/puzzle_jumper_monthly_achievement/

Meaning that the periscope monthly will be the least done monthly in the history of the game so far.

Thanks for this link, digiowl. I am, I believe, the worst JPer in the game, for which I’ve decided I deserve a title.

Also note that many of them have a “blind spot” (usually a terrrain feature) that prevents the knockback effect——-but doesn’t stop them from trying. My thief just waits for neutral then bashes them to death quickly!!!
(The effect is “line-of-site”, so any feature that blocks this is effective)——just be close enough to be able to quickly react and attack when it goes “neutral”)

That “blindspot” is not really reliable. I was going up against a periscope in Diessa the other day and tried to use a tree as cover. Didn’t help me much as even tho the effect hit the tree squarely i was still knocked on my behind.

digiowl.9620:

That “blindspot” is not really reliable. I was going up against a periscope in Diessa the other day and tried to use a tree as cover. Didn’t help me much as even tho the effect hit the tree squarely i was still knocked on my behind.

I also noticed that line of site for us =/= line of site for them. If for example I am over the side of a hit far and away out of line of site of the periscope, why praytell does it still hit me even though I cannot see it when zoomed in at eye level? This same truth holds for trees etc. unless positioned perfectly.

As a solo necro, I follow a simple game plan now: Summon flesh golum, wait for it at maximum distance (moving in to make it try and hit me when needed) to reload it’s attacks. Once I see it is dormant, I send in my golum to rush it and get it’s attention (usually doing a small bit of damage in the process). At this time I run in and let it play rag doll with my golum whilst I beat on it till it dies.

The only monkey wrench in this plan is if it decides to “protect” itself with the flame legion guys then, if I can, I will try to take them out (veteran first if possible), but if not usually the local wildlife will do most of the work for me. I know this might set a trap for other players if I am unable to defeat the summoned creatures, but IMO it is ANet that is to blame for making the periscopes such a pita. I’m at about 70% completion on my monthly now, but oh what fun thus far…

Hope this helps someone.

As a necro who is not focusing on minions, it’s frustrating that I have to spend my skill points on them just to get past these. Also, I’m a lower level who has just reached level thirty today and could therefore only now get an elite skill. Stability was not an option before (I’m pretty sure). I may just try to stay out of the Norn and Charr starting zones until they’re gone, or until I’m stronger/more confident to deal with them.

lookitsandrea.8531:

As a necro who is not focusing on minions, it’s frustrating that I have to spend my skill points on them just to get past these. Also, I’m a lower level who has just reached level thirty today and could therefore only now get an elite skill. Stability was not an option before (I’m pretty sure). I may just try to stay out of the Norn and Charr starting zones until they’re gone, or until I’m stronger/more confident to deal with them.

My necro wasn’t focused on minions either (see post earlier), however I bit the bullet and spent the 10 skill points to get the golum. Believe it or not the lover level areas are also a problem for an 80 toughness necro with partial ascended gear due to down leveling as I don’t have the life to survive many hits; your not alone. Using the method above I was able to mitigate the majority of the problems, but I’m not sure how it would work out with lesser minions (I hear they are pretty wimpy) but any distraction is better than nothing i suppose.

I use my ranger to deal with these things, let the pet aggro it and spend half the fight on it’s back. Have to agree though, this sort of mechanic is more annoying then fun.

I find them hilarious to be honest. =p

The easiest is to let someone tank it and then the other person hits it. The only thing that I think could improve is that the sonic attack is telegraphed better.

Protectors annoying? lure them outside their comfort zone, or better knock them out pull them out and all that. Then kill them. They are super easy once you know how to deal with them.

In my opinion, knocking people away is indeed annoying once you go 1on1 with the things. But they are also fairly harmless.

Putting them near jumping puzzles is probably not so great though.

Get behind them. It works great.

daros.3407:

Zaxares.5419:

There’s a couple of strategies you can use to deal with Periscopes:

1. Use Stability. Depending on how much damage you can deal, you may be able to destroy the periscope in a single use of the skill.

I am lvl 80 full exotic DMG Guardian and there is no chance i can destroy it in single use of stability….Maybe glas-canon warrior with hundred blade…:-D

Who said you need to be glass cannon. Solider’s stats do fine. Knights as well. It’s about not being braindead and using your skills effectively. Sadly the people that complain about this either dont have the required skills/traits are too stubborn to swap to them, or dont know how to evade.

Tell me about it. The feeling of getting pushed back, over and over a gain is like slapping a kid, over and over again. It’s painful and getting back at it is sweet as hell! (Revenge is a dish best served cold!)

It’s annoying, but you can get around it. My thief dodges and kites as much as possible and uses short bow or throws daggers, but she still gets knocked around. My necro just sends minions over and sneaks around the back. A pain, yeah, but they can be done.

My biggest complaint about them are the two in the low-level areas of Wayfarer’s…

There are two, relatively close to each other (near the north entrance of the Dredge mine and ion the path to the Wolf Shrine) that seem to be too high of a level for the area.

What I mean is that although the knockdowns are annoying, the damage they do is (in my opinion) too high for the levels that travel the area. If you make a new character, you have no choice but to get “in range” of these two, and all it takes is 2 hits and you’re out. Even if you’re at the edge of their range, you can be killed before you know which direction it’s coming from, more or less.

It’s simply not fun. Not to mention, the one by the mines is always faced outward, toward the path to the Snow Leopard Shrine, where young characters have no choice but to go inside its range to get there.

I don’t know about anyone else, but dying so soon after making a character, and in such a way as to have little to no defense against it is simply not something I want to do, especially if building a “survivor” character.

Hubby and I give those things the bum’s rush and can usually take them down quickly but we have found several locations that no matter how fast you get them, they always spawn the ‘wrecking crew’ that promptly tries to take you down before you can collect the audio scrap. (the scope east of Firewatch Encampment Waypoint in Iron Marches – probably was the worst of the bunch in my mind)

Definitely use pets or turrets – they are an asset to distract so you can get close enough to get the necessary whacks on the thing. And clearing the area of beasties by luring them out of scope distance and disposing of them before going in helps as well, though on occasion we got lucky and they helped us by going for the ‘wrecking crew’ first.

To make the monthly has been quite a grind on these and not that much fun – 75 to a 100 would have been more than enough for me. 150 is overkill especially since nothing happens once you do destroy them other than they come back and it is rinse and repeat. It would give more incentive to have the scopes decrease where folk consistently take them out – definitely would make it feel like we were making a impact in the fight against the Molten Alliance.

I avoided them via JPs and grinding veterans and events in Queensdale, now i only trash one if i find myself nearby when roaming after having completed my the daily.

I originally thought these things were a needless piece of fluff, now I agree with OP 100% and find them annoying and frustrating. They remind me those headcrabs in Southsun Cove whose only purpose is to inhibit player movement around the zone.

I can kill the stupid things without problem, that’s not the point. I am trying to travel, not deal with annoying knockback that will hit you multiple times if you try to get away even with dodging. There are numerous skills to allow players to outrun mobs if we don’t want to fight them, these periscopes force players to deal with them when they are trying to do something else.

If a player is trying to get from point A and point B, deliberately preventing them from travelling is a unnecessary. It is not a ‘challenge’ is is a needless annoyance. GW2 seemed to understand that with implementation of waypoints but then they backslide with mechanics like these periscopes and the head crabs.

In fact, as I type right now I have the game in windowed mode and I found this thread again to edit my original post and re-post my changed opinion and the stupid periscope has already respawned and is knocking down my character AGAIN.

Spamming knockback, silly respawn rates. This is not a good idea, even on paper. The only thing good about these things will be when the Living Story progresses and they are permanently removed from the game.

DoctorOverlord.8620:

Spamming knockback, silly respawn rates. This is not a good idea, even on paper. The only thing good about these things will be when the Living Story progresses and they are permanently removed from the game.

Exactly. Reminds me of how everyone loved the introduction of Karka island. Nothing to do, difficult enemies…

Oh, wait. That’s why no one goes there unless they’re explicitly looking for a challenge.

And, hence, with the end of Frost and Flame, ArenaNet can hopefully solve both of these issues. (Removal of periscopes and proper placement of NPCs/quests in Southsun Cove.)

Significantly more annoying when they summon the group + OP vet. Depending on which alt I am on, I may have to skip those packs, which seems unfortunate.

Minos.5168:

Exactly. Reminds me of how everyone loved the introduction of Karka island. Nothing to do, difficult enemies…

Funny you should mention the Karka Island. The Living Story periscopes reminded of those bloody headcrabs in that karka zone.

The sole purpose of either seems to be to needlessly annoy players who are just trying to cross the zone to get where they want to go. If I’m trying to meet friends or simply get someplace, there shouldn’t be extra impediments wasting my time and pointlessly drawing out the act of running. Simply avoiding mobs and navigating the terrain is enough for any zone, there don’t need be added mechanics that only increase the irritation levels.