Guild Wars 2

Rant part:

IMO, the clock Tower should either be a solo instance (which basically means not rendering the other players’ models – very easy to code), a party instance (same as dungeons, where you can go in alone or with people you know – a bit harder to code), or other players should be rendered as ghosts / pumpkins / plastic spiders (so that they would not block visibility of the platforms or of your own character – also fairly easy to code).

However, Arena Net decided that it was “fun” to have up to 14 wardrobe-sized charr and norn blocking most of your screen, typing walls of text with /say, summoning oakheart spirits, and so on, so this is what we have to live with until they fix it (and given the time that things – other than exotic drop rates – take to get fixed, we probably won’t see this improved until 2016).

Rant part over.

Anyway, here are some tips on how to finish the Clock Tower. Two easy (and important) steps… followed by thirteen harder (but less important) ones:

1 o’clock: Don’t be an asura. Sad but true. The asura camera has been bugged for a long time, zooming in and out whenever you get too close to an object or land on a thin platform. It also shows you less area ahead of you than other races’ camera, due to the camera height and target placement. So, don’t be an asura unless you can already do this consistently with other races (human is easiest in terms of camera behaviour, norn is easiest in terms of visibility).

2 o’clock: If the group you joined has any large-size norn or charr, leave the instance and enter again. The time you waste in loading screens is more than made up for in the number of failed attempts you avoid.

3 o’clock: Maximize your frame rate. Turn off shadows, turn off vertical sync, etc.. Do whatever you can to increase your frame rate. There will be lots of players on your screen (especially at the start), and a smooth frame rate is essential to let you judge your motion accurately.

4 o’clock: Don’t use speed boosts or speed increase traits. It might seem like a good idea, but it will make some of the final jumps much harder. Note that minor traits won’t actually work in the puzzle, so there’s no need to respec. Just make sure none of your major traits gives you speed boosts.

5 o’clock: After the initial wait for the platform to spawn (BTW, you can jump as soon as the wall explodes), there’s a 70% chance that your camera will go crazy when you land (99% if you’re an asura). Don’t wait for the camera to recover; you’ll lose precious time. Just turn very slightly to the left and jump a couple of times. In most situations you will end up in the “right” platform by the time the camera has recovered. You should not let go of the “run forward” key until you reach the pink area (see below).

6 o’clock: Don’t stop to open chests (unless you’ve done the puzzle dozens of times and know that you have time).

7 o’clock: Running closer to the inside (right side) of the track is faster, although it’s also more likely to cause camera problems. There is enough time to do it by following the left side, though. I just tend to pick the side with less people, to have a better reference for my own position. If you’re systematically getting caught by the green goo, try sticking to the right side.

8 o’clock: The most critical part of the tower, in terms of time, is what happens up to the “small square” jump. If you manage to jump onto the small square before the green stuff reaches it, you can make it to the end. If you land on it just as the green reaches it, it’s still doable, but you’ll be under a lot of pressure. If it’s under the green by the time you jump towards it, you’re screwed.

9 o’clock: When jumping from one platform to another, try to jump from the highest corner of one platform to the lowest corner of the other. This will minimize the number of times when you seem to bump into an invisible wall (your collision box doesn’t quite match your character). This usually means jumping diagonally (ex., from the right side of the cog to the left edge of the stairs, or from the left edge of the stairs to the right side of the platform, etc.). Note that some races (ex., sylvari) have a point of contact with the ground that is behind the character model. In other words, you can delay the jump until you’re half a step off the previous platform. If you’re not used to this, go practise on a non-timed jumping puzzle. As a general rule, jumping a little bit late is better than jumping early.

10 o’clock: Once you reach the “pink” area of the puzzle, time becomes less of an issue; the stairs and beams are now steep enough that you will be able to stay above the green stuff easily. You can let go of the “forward” key for a second or two to fine-tune your jumps. Don’t take too long, though; the goo is still rising, and you might need to go down at some point…

11 o’clock: Don’t try to walk on the edge of cogs, unless you’re sure you’ve landed on a flat part. Jump immediately after you land, to avoid getting stuck between the teeth, and to avoid camera bouncing. Remember you can curve in mid-air, so you can correct your direction while jumping as easily as you can while running.

12 o’clock: Play with sound turned on. The puzzle is always synced to the music, so you can use it as a reference for the timing of your jumps and for whether or not you have time to spare.

The next tips are specific to the puzzle’s layout; skip them if you don’t want spoilers, or go watch a video if they’re not clear enough.

1 past midnight: When you have nowhere else to go, take a leap of faith (and hope the floating hands / air teleportation bug doesn’t get you). Get up quickly, though; green goo waits for no one. And remember tip 11 above.

2 past midnight: When faced with two ways to go, pick what would be the shortest route (inner side). After this point, don’t rush it; you’ll be mainly fighting the camera (but, if you play GW2, you should be used to that by now…).

3 past midnight: At the very end, don’t jump before an obvious time window presents itself.

That’s it. Following tips #1 and #2 will immediately improve your chances by 500%, the rest is mainly a matter of learning the puzzle layout and trying to avoid locations that make the camera go crazy.

Good tips, although something seems to be wrong with the very final jump. I’m jumping after the window breaks, but for some reason it never lets me get through the window and always makes me fall down into the green mist. Is there a particular spot you need to aim for or a precise time to make the jump?

I’ve beaten it once already, but I’d like to get the Slippers on my other characters too.

Good tips, but you do have a point about norn and charr. The worst bit for me is that clusterkitten after the wall collapses and it’s like releasing the bulls of Pamplona. Once that’s weeded out the chaff, past the small square you’re laughing usually.

Can’t disagree more with advising against speed boosts. I’m not sure I’d have been able to do it at all without my 25% boost, I found that even if I fell behind to the last person in the zerg, I was able to easily catch up and avoid being goo’d due to the speed boost. Additionally, anyone who already constantly uses the boost will be used to making jumps with the boost.

Zaxares.5419:

Good tips, although something seems to be wrong with the very final jump. I’m jumping after the window breaks, but for some reason it never lets me get through the window and always makes me fall down into the green mist. Is there a particular spot you need to aim for or a precise time to make the jump?

It happens sometimes. It seems that jumping a little bit late is better than jumping early. Even if it seems that you’ve hit the wall on the left of the clock face, you tend to go in. However, if you have high latency, the opposite might be true (the server might see you jump too late, when the green goo has already reached you).

Sometimes the clock face animation seems bugged, which could mean it’s not actually breaking properly. Or it might also be related to the bug that teleports you back to the start when you’re in mid-air during the “leap of faith”, but I have no idea what might be causing that one, it seems completely random.

My advice your be to jump straight at the tower (meaning you’ll probably hit the left side of the clock face, since it continues to rotate), rather than trying to jump diagonally to compensate for the rotation.

Rodriguez.7682:

Can’t disagree more with advising against speed boosts. I’m not sure I’d have been able to do it at all without my 25% boost, I found that even if I fell behind to the last person in the zerg, I was able to easily catch up and avoid being goo’d due to the speed boost. Additionally, anyone who already constantly uses the boost will be used to making jumps with the boost.

A 25% speed boost will force you to cut two key jumps short (i.e., release the forward key in mid air at just the right time), whereas doing it without the speed boost makes your jumps exactly the right length to land on the next platform / beam.

There is enough time to finish the puzzle (and possibly even open all the 3 optional chests – I’ve never tried opening all of them in one run) without any speed boosts. In fact, considering that only some classes have speed boosting traits, I suspect those were also meant to be disabled, and are only active due to some bug.

Actualy its a known bug.

You need to exit the instance/group your with and re enter. The entire group will face the bug unfortunatly..so do be sure ot let them al lknow.

I completed the tower with 2 chars last night. This morning i went to do it on a 3rd and failed that final jump 5 times in a row. I left the instance and re entered being put into a different group. That time i done it 1st try. other people have also had this happen. bassicaly the clock breaks..but it only breaks ‘visualy’ ..you cant actually get through, its a loading point..it detects your character being near it and loads up the inside..however when it bugs out ..this doesnt happen and all you do is hit a wall and fall.

I rolled through this on the absolute first try on my little asura warrior. 1 single try. Completed. Got level 80 exotic slippers that I can’t use for another 67 levels. 1 try.

Zaxares.5419:

Good tips, although something seems to be wrong with the very final jump. I’m jumping after the window breaks, but for some reason it never lets me get through the window and always makes me fall down into the green mist. Is there a particular spot you need to aim for or a precise time to make the jump?

I’ve beaten it once already, but I’d like to get the Slippers on my other characters too.

I had this bug once too, if you just can’t jump through the window (and trust me I tried 4 or 5 times), simply leave this puzzle and go in another.
It seems that the clock tower can be desynch’d and the final jump is not doable.
A good way to check if it’s desynch’d is to check the animation of the starting explosion, the walls parts will move weirdly before going into position.

yes that also happens Krag ..good point

Good tips. What no one seams to be aware of is that they are not only playing against the clock but also against each other. The green goo rises at a set rate. However everything that happens in the puzzle is determined by the person in the lead. If that person reaches the leap of faith a few seconds ahead of others the rest is doomed to fail.
That’s why the puzzle is not instanced.

Also don’t forget to turn off double tap to roll in the options tab.

To distinguish yourself from other you might want to dye your armor some funky color that stands out from the rest.

I’m no expert. It took me 6 hours to finish the puzzle and I was lucky we were just the two of us. I did however make it to the top but missed the final jump into the tower several times.

It’s very hard; frustrating but I also had a lot of fun.

What I lacked in skills I compensated for with perseverance.

Good luck to all that have set themselves this goal.

I HATE all the big characters obstructing my view..dont have nerves for climbing the tower anymore! it really pisses me off..thought this was ment to be fun, not a nerve wreck

I play an Asuran and this thing is kitten near impossible. From giant characters blocking me out to my camera going insane, it’s a rage inducer. I don’t think ArenaNet actually tested this with groups, especially as an Asuran surrounded by Norn and Charr. Horrid design.

For those having trouble with first part after the pause on the disk. Zoom out and view yourself from above. It will make it much easier on assessing distance and timing your jumps.

Krag: “I had this bug once too, if you just can’t jump through the window (and trust me I tried 4 or 5 times), simply leave this puzzle and go in another.
It seems that the clock tower can be desynch’d and the final jump is not doable.
A good way to check if it’s desynch’d is to check the animation of the starting explosion, the walls parts will move weirdly before going into position.”

Yep, that was exactly the problem, and I fixed it the same way. To everybody attempting the jump, observe the blow-out gears after that little pause near the start. If it all happens smoothly, you’re good to go. If, however, the gear/rubble seem to freeze in mid-air for a split second, or appear suddenly, then your latency to this particular server is too high and it will make the final jump nearly impossible to complete. I suggest exiting and finding another Overflow server.

You’re meant to jump at the clock tower after the window breaks (and you only get one window of opportunity. If you try waiting for the tower to come around a second time to jump through, the goo will reach you first), but if you have a high ping to the server, the server thinks the window has broken a good second or two BEFORE you actually see the animation. Thus, by the time you make the jump, you’re too late.

It’s still possible to make it into the window by jumping early, but this is very hard to guess. I made it by watching an Asura jump early and then quickly following him, even though the window was only just breaking as I made the jump.

Account, that was awesome of you to write. My hats off to you.

Speed boosts are NOT needed in this jumping puzzle. I didn’t use any.

Hell I even took the long routes on the jumps so the Norn/Charr would go ahead of me and I’ve done it twice now.

A few more tips after doing this for 8+ hours before first finish. I’ve since finished it for 7 characters, at least one from each race.

1. At the first wait platform, the screen shakes. That’s your cue to GO. The platforms are there before they render. This gives you (even Asura) a clear headstart where you are ahead and not obscured by others.
2. Keeping that headstart after first platform takes 2-3 jumps. Stay on the left side of the right platform and it’s a straight shot to the second platform. Most problems I had were getting caught behind a ridge in a platform.
3. It takes a bit of coordination from camera move and jump timing. You move faster running than jumping, Jump only when necessary. If your jump to a gear is long, you can run the rest of the way on the gear. Eventually, you’ll get a sense of the timing of the jumps, which helps when you switch characters.
4. Make sure you can see your feet. Keep your boots on and dye them a color that stands out. This helps all races except Charr. Charr when running aren’t upright like the others. I took longer getting my Charr to the top cause I was so used to waiting for my feet to get to the top of the platform before I jumped. Charr take longer strides so I had to guess/remember the timing on some jumps.
5. The clock has 8 sides, I always had to go around twice before the jump into the tower. Look for the intact clockface and count the sides so you’ll be ready for that last jump.
6. Like most jumping games, find the timing pattern that works for you. I’ve seen people that were quicker to the second platform and they took a different route.
I’ve also caught up to others that were ahead of me because I took a quicker inside route. The only times I didn’t have the forward key down in the first section was after a jump to a bar to stop from going too far and a sideways jump from that bar to get to the steps just before the jump down to the gear with chest. The second part of the puzzle I took more care on some jumps because it seemed I had more time.

When I was in overflow, which is probably what most people are in, there are at least 10 others in that instance. Friday night I made it out of overflow and there was only 4-5 total. After others made it/gave up, I was in the instance alone. I still failed cause I didn’t have anyone to guage my progress or learn from.

another tip that may help others that helped me was turning down the rotation speed in the options.

OmniPotentes.4817:

The green goo rises at a set rate. However everything that happens in the puzzle is determined by the person in the lead. If that person reaches the leap of faith a few seconds ahead of others the rest is doomed to fail. That’s why the puzzle is not instanced.

The goo rises at a set rate, like you said before. The speed of the person in the lead has no effect over it. Even if no one jumps down from the beam to that platform, the goo still rises above it (and eventually rises all the way to the beam).

If someone is “a few seconds” behind they are doomed to fail simply because they are a few seconds too late in relation to the puzzle timer. It doesn’t matter if someone is ahead of them not not. Several times I was a bit too slow (ex., because I decided to open some chests along the way, or because my camera got stuck and I delayed a jump) and the platform was covered in green by the time I landed on it, although I was the only one alive at that point (and therefore the one “in the lead”).

The puzzle is a group instance probably because Arena Net thinks it’s more “exciting” to see other players fail around you. Which I suppose might be true, but doesn’t offset the issues with those players blocking the view.

That’s why I think a good solution would be to render all other players as small plastic spiders (or some other Halloween mob, but the small plastic spiders seem funniest).

Pfft, the Norn and Charr aren’t such a big deal. I’ve completed this thing countless times now, by quickly leaving the Charr and Norn behind me. Just be in pole position, and you’ll see those big guys drop like flies.

I would hate it if this thing was instanced. It would completely destroy the fun that this challenge currently is due to playing it with other people. It is exciting to slowly see more people drop from the group as you make your way up. Please stop suggesting it. You are just terrible at this challenge. And I know a Charr or Norn can sometimes make visibility a bit tricky, but if you are bad at this challenge you’re still going to fail. The Charr and Norn aren’t the real factor that is causing you to fail, it’s inexperience.

NEED TO BE SOLO or Time removed. As a char player i get stuck on NOTHING… Camera zooms in randomly when my head touches anything out of place. Cant seem to find when to jump it seems random. the char model need a rework for jumping puzzles where the char STANDS up so their front paws and head doesn’t interfere with grafix.

The spirit of this is in the right place but with time and muscle memory.. being an Asura (or any other race) really doesn’t matter.

Also, I’d say more importantly than reloading for less Big Characters.. Reload until you get into a group that performs poorly. I know it sounds bad but the sooner they all die off, the sooner you can concentrate on what’s important rather than have the distraction of other players.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Pfft, the Norn and Charr aren’t such a big deal. I’ve completed this thing countless times now, by quickly leaving the Charr and Norn behind me. Just be in pole position, and you’ll see those big guys drop like flies.

So you’re saying that everyone who plays a norn or a charr is terrible and never manages to reach the end (or anywhere close to it)? I think I see where this is going, but go on…

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

I would hate it if this thing was instanced. It would completely destroy the fun that this challenge currently is due to playing it with other people. It is exciting to slowly see more people drop from the group as you make your way up.

Wait, weren’t you “quickly leaving them behind you” ? So how can you see them “dropping from the group” ? I guess you weren’t that far ahead of them.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Please stop suggesting it.

“Adopt my opinion or shut up!”

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

You are just terrible at this challenge.

Hm… Did it on my 8th attempt as human, 3rd as sylvari, 1st as norn. Yeah, I’m terrible at this challenge.

And after that, it took me over 20 tries to do it with an asura character. Of which about 16 failures were due to my view being blocked by some huge charr or norn.

But no, I’m sure it was just “how terrible I am” finally catching up with me.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

The Charr and Norn aren’t the real factor that is causing you to fail, it’s inexperience.

Yes, I thought this would be one of those “I’m great, you suck” posts. You did not disappoint.

Jest.9276:

Reload until you get into a group that performs poorly. I know it sounds bad but the sooner they all die off, the sooner you can concentrate on what’s important rather than have the distraction of other players.

Except you can’t really tell how poor they are without going through it at least a couple of times – and staying alive long enough to see how they do (unless they all die so soon that you can see the bar speeding up). And if you can stay alive long enough to judge that, then you’re probably pretty close to finishing it yourself, which means the other players aren’t really getting in your way.

I agree the current design benefits players with bad “teammates”, and makes those groups desirable (which is a strangely anti-social thing, considering you’re not actually competing with them), but that’s not easy to judge simply by quickly going in and out of instances.

SolarNova.1052:

Actualy its a known bug.

You need to exit the instance/group your with and re enter. The entire group will face the bug unfortunatly..so do be sure ot let them al lknow.

I completed the tower with 2 chars last night. This morning i went to do it on a 3rd and failed that final jump 5 times in a row. I left the instance and re entered being put into a different group. That time i done it 1st try. other people have also had this happen. bassicaly the clock breaks..but it only breaks ‘visualy’ ..you cant actually get through, its a loading point..it detects your character being near it and loads up the inside..however when it bugs out ..this doesnt happen and all you do is hit a wall and fall.

Could of saved myself 30-40mins if i knew this, Really annoying Bug

Can someone tell where the additional chests are? I only know about the one at the top where you get the achievement and I only completed the tower successfully with my 1 asura elementalist and 25 percent speed boost.

Are they hidden or are they directly on your way up and you don’t need much more time to open them(if you know where they are)?

I sure wish it was a solo instance. Otherwise, I think it’s difficult but doable. (I just finished it after… many, many, many attempts.)

My biggest problem are Charr characters. They seriously get in the way – that is bad design and has nothing to do with skill. Of course, now I don’t need to see my character for the first parts, that’s how often I’ve done it, but that doesn’t really excuse the poor design.

Good tips, though. Never knew about the music reflecting how much time you have left, I needed some of my own music to calm me down :p

I have three characters. All of them asura. I’ve completed the tower with all of them more than once. I’ve never rolled any other race.

Yeah, it’s annoying that I can’t see my character. I mentioned it in another thread. But you don’t need to see your character if you have a feel for the center of the screen. Timed jumping puzzles are about reflexes and muscle memory. If you can’t get past the first initial cluster with any character, it is probably because you aren’t taking the right path. Try starting a few runs with the intention of failing and fall behind the pack so that you can study the jumps you need to make in the small window you have, then develop a strategy and use it. You don’t need to be able to see your character to develop a feel for how he moves through his environment.

@ Account

Watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eCzRcwXJE8

nuf said

SolarNova.1052:

@ Account

Watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eCzRcwXJE8

nuf said

So, was that his first successful run? No? Nuff said.

No idea what you’re trying to “prove”. That people who haven’t managed to finish it should do it without seeing their character or the way they’re going? Maybe you think everyone should turn off their monitor. After all, it’s possible to do it simply by syncing your actions to the music…

Does that mean it’s easier than when you can see your character and the way you’re going?

Or does that mean anyone will be able to do it blind the first time, or even that anyone will be able to do it blind consistently after finishing it once (instead of just trying 5 or 10 or 50 times and then posting their first successful run on YouTube)?

Is it impossible to complete on an asura? No. But I will give you that it is more difficult (have completed it on asura and sylvari so far), exponentially so the more larger characters in your instance.

Another tip: Take off your armor, please. Even if you aren’t a norn or charr, your enormous skirt or gargantuan shoulders are going to make more difficult for everyone to judge jumps.

Twaddlefish.6537

Good tips, but you do have a point about norn and charr. The worst bit for me is that clusterkitten after the wall collapses and it’s like releasing the bulls of Pamplona. Once that’s weeded out the chaff, past the small square you’re laughing usually.

I’d just like to say that for once the curse filter is correct. “Clusterkitten” is EXACTLY what happens there. Darn Charr.

I’ve completed the clock tower 77 times. Easiest jump puzzle ever.

Zeratul.7153:

Easiest jump puzzle ever.

So you’re having problems with all the other ones? I feel sorry for you, most people can do them just fine. In fact, I’d say most of them (not all, but most) are significantly easier than the Clock Tower.

Luthan.5236:

Can someone tell where the additional chests are? I only know about the one at the top where you get the achievement

I can sort of understand missing chest #2, but #1 and #3 are right in the middle of the way. You land right on top of of #3 when you jump down from the beam.

How to finish the Clock Tower?

1. Make it a solo instance.
2. Allow the camera to zoom to 1st person.

Done.

Luthan.5236:

Can someone tell where the additional chests are? I only know about the one at the top where you get the achievement

I can sort of understand missing chest #2, but #1 and #3 are right in the middle of the way. You land right on top of of #3 when you jump down from the beam.

[/quote]

I have seen this vid just now, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXily-c15SE
That could help you for the chest searching

OmniPotentes.4817:

Good tips. What no one seams to be aware of is that they are not only playing against the clock but also against each other. The green goo rises at a set rate. However everything that happens in the puzzle is determined by the person in the lead. If that person reaches the leap of faith a few seconds ahead of others the rest is doomed to fail.
That’s why the puzzle is not instanced.

Not really. The timer is fixed and doesn’t depend on players. I had an elementalist zipping fast past all that and the one time he managed to not overjump all over the place, I found him waiting at that cog for what seemed a long time before I reached it, and the goo, and the rest of the path.

Here’s a tip for that part, if you don’t care for the chest, stay on the metal bar and wait for the rest of the path to open, then walk down to fall on the debris that rise and form the rest of the way. You’ll only take regular fall damage and not get knocked down which is a good time saver for sure.

Doing the leap of faith is actually more of a “side trip” to get the chest than the normal way.

Also, it IS possible to get all 3 chests in a single run. I did it. The hard part is chest two cause it’s right before the timed small rock jump so you actually have to perfect the start of the run to save as much time as possible.

For the camera issues, my trick is to keep is close and not zoomed out. The camera jumping problem barely never occurs that way. If the other players make it hard for you to see, point the camera more to the ground. It’s more important to see where you walk than where you jump. Once you get used to the path you can just jump blindly for the early parts of the puzzle.

Account.9832:

I can sort of understand missing chest #2, but #1 and #3 are right in the middle of the way. You land right on top of of #3 when you jump down from the beam.

By the time I made that post I only completed it 1 time with asuran elementalist and speed boost. Camera a bit crap with asura and I tried to be really fast. Now that video someone posted helped. And I found the chests and completed the tower with my main human engineer without speed boost.

But did not get the chests. I will probably try more and try to get the chest on top and the 3rd chest on way. Then later trying to get that 2nd… seems to cost a bit time and you really need to be effiecient. Maybe going back to my speed boost char for farming later. Doing the other chars first now for the slippers.

Also my pro tip:
TRY NOT TO LOOK AT THE OTHERS
I noticed this. Always if I see the other that seem to jump a bit better or be faster I tend to try to be faster too and make mistakes and fall down. If I try to focus an the environment only I get much better results and even get past the others that seem to get ahead first.

I agree with most tips. But as an Asura I found it fairly easy to complete this JP. You can jump more precise as an asura because it is so small. Also didn’t find any problems with the camera.

This JP is easy, climbing the tree in the MK instance is harder then this.

Best steps to do and use in trying to beat the tower, in my opinion:

1. Watch a video of the tower run. Unless you want to skip spoilers. This gets you familiar with what’s coming and actually will get you used to watched the turn sequence of the tower itself.

2. Don’t panic. There are times that the green mist will be on you and the skeleton hands will grab you…relax it’s all okay.

3. Pace yourself. Once you get to the pink colored stones, you aren’t really in a mad dash as you are moving more upwards than diagonally and you get ahead of the green mist faster. Take your time, position yourself and make timely jumps.

Hey! that´s not 2 steps!

True 2 steps:
1.start trying
2.dont´stop trying till you make it.

Admittedly though, following the advice given might make it a bit easier.

For all people ranting about other peoples characters not mattering, well they do for some of us, maybe not for you, but they do affect a large amount of us in a way i think was not intended. And if it was intended, then it is a bit of a dick move.
And for all people ranting how that destroys the whole thing…well it doesn´t, it can be avoided if you can´t deal with it, and you actualy can deal with it if you put in some effort (asura here).

….gasp* i can see it! Anet is trolling small races as they normaly have it better off in jumping puzzles with small character not obscuring view o_O

I’ve just done it after trying for 4+ hours. I would like to reinforce what OmniPotentes have said above: for me the turning point from “keyboard smashingly impossible” to “I can do this with more practice,” was figuring out that tilting the camera to look down from above allows me to judge easily where the edges are.

Also, if possible, try playing in the off-hours if possible.
Less others to bug you, less time spend waiting between tries.

I had no issues doing it on my Asura =/

NVranya.5013:

Also, if possible, try playing in the off-hours if possible.
Less others to bug you, less time spend waiting between tries.

BTW, if you are in a group with several friends (I’m not sure if the game tries to keep parties together), and you want to make it easier for them, stay in the chest room after opening it. As long as you’re there, the game won’t “fill your spot” with a new player, so it’s one less player running up the tower, which makes it a little bit easier for everyone else.

The funny thing is im Asura and its doable if you know what to do i have special tactic and i see everything good and even i do it first with a lot of speed also by opening all chests. And the great thing is i had camera problems with Norn not with Asura.

So you’re saying that everyone who plays a norn or a charr is terrible and never manages to reach the end (or anywhere close to it)? I think I see where this is going, but go on…

I never said that. But jumping is harder for big characters, so yes, they are often the first to drop. I often see humans, Asura and Sylvari in the lead.

Wait, weren’t you “quickly leaving them behind you” ? So how can you see them “dropping from the group” ? I guess you weren’t that far ahead of them.

No one is ever far ahead of anyone, it is a time based challenge. Anyone who gets far behind gets consumed by the green mist. Even if you are far ahead, occasionally someone will pop up at the bottom of the screen, indicating that they are still in the game. But as long as you are in front, they don’t obstruct the view.

“Adopt my opinion or shut up!”

More along the lines of, stop suggesting to make the Clocktower less fun for those that do enjoy doing it. It was meant to be completed by a small number of skilled platforming enthusiasts. Why should it be dumbed down to cater to a crowd that apparently can’t be bothered to practice it till they’ve mastered it, and on top of that, isn’t even enjoying the practicing element? If you don’t like this sort of challenge to begin with, please stop trying to ruin the finely crafted experience for those that DO like this sort of thing.

Yes, I thought this would be one of those “I’m great, you suck” posts. You did not disappoint.

I didn’t say I was great. But I am saying that those Norn and Charr are blocking my view all the time as well, yet I still make it to the top. If I can do it, why can’t many of the people in this thread? Maybe the issue is not the Charr and Norn. Maybe a lot of players have not grown up with games like Super Mario, or those devious platformers on the Amiga. I relish in these kinds of cruel but finely balanced platform challenges.