Guild Wars 2

Because the tower is engaged in “Magically Awesome Super-Doom Defense Mode (of Science!)”?

Risk of collateral damage (especially with the Searing Cauldron) to the surrounding area which is still very much populated with peaceful / friendly races, and who knows how many people have been taken captive inside the tower. There’s hints that at the very least one of the Asura researchers from the camp has been taken.

Also, who knows what affect such an attack would have on the spore at the top of the tower. If you blow it up it might just spread mass amounts of spores across the entire continent.

And if the whole entire tower was cloaked by Mesmer magic, who knows if an attack would even work. Thing might be shielded by the same magic to the point where an attack wouldn’t work at all, and even worse might reflect the attack back at its source.

As for the fact that the Tower should have been part of the first release… it could have been, but I feel there was plenty to do already what with Halloween still ongoing and the content in Tower of Nightmares itself. Overloading with too much stuff is not a good thing. Plus, its nice to have a little buildup to make it seem more threatening, rather than “Tower appears, a couple hours later, Tower gone, no problem”.

Nilkemia.8507:

Should I feel bad for not caring? It’s five days away still, when it arguably should’ve been part of the Tower of Nightmares release itself (after finishing the 50 Toxic Spore task, you could then enter the tower or do an extra task/set of tasks to gain entry).

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

Oh well. I’ll wait and see.

A Searing Cauldron would obliterate all of Kessex Hills… and Queensdale, Gendarran, most of Caledon and Brisban, and kill much of the Tengu in the Dominion of the Winds before we get a chance to play as them. Remember the last time it was used it destroyed pretty much the entire country of Ascalon.

Dont think you’d get a clear shot with a Mega Laser either… its in the middle of the zone. Tequatl was shot over the open ocean.

Personally, I say we storm the kitten with a legion of Alpha Seige Golems.

Because it wouldn’t make a very good game.

It’s like asking why Bowser has a self destruct mechanism inside his castle or why didn’t the authorities in Gotham just electric chair the Joker.

Or equivalently, why didn’t we just nuke the whole of Orr? You couldve done ut, considering thats how it sank to the bottom of the sea in the first place. That’d kill all the risen and out hero would’ve never needed to go on his adventure.

Nilkemia.8507:

Should I feel bad for not caring? It’s five days away still, when it arguably should’ve been part of the Tower of Nightmares release itself (after finishing the 50 Toxic Spore task, you could then enter the tower or do an extra task/set of tasks to gain entry).

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

Oh well. I’ll wait and see.

I bet if we did that it would be like kicking over a mushroom which is why we need to use incendiaries like thermite to completely destroy the organic spores in the structure. What happens when you kick over a mushroom you get 50 more.

Nilkemia.8507:

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

Oh well. I’ll wait and see.

We used it in Orr because nobody goes there except the Risen and we didn’t need to worry about collateral damage. Though, I wonder what happened to that super amazing golem we had during the story, the one that shot the laser.

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

Maybe, but someone would get inside before two weeks were up…

I really don’t care about this update either. I probably won’t even bother with the next one either since it will be zerg but this time inside a tower. Tri Key for two greens and a blue and a crappy mini.

EverythingXen.1835:

A Searing Cauldron would obliterate all of Kessex Hills… and Queensdale, Gendarran, most of Caledon and Brisban, and kill much of the Tengu in the Dominion of the Winds before we get a chance to play as them. Remember the last time it was used it destroyed pretty much the entire country of Ascalon.

Dont think you’d get a clear shot with a Mega Laser either… its in the middle of the zone. Tequatl was shot over the open ocean.

Personally, I say we storm the kitten with a legion of Alpha Seige Golems.

Slight spoilers: When we get to use the cauldron, we manage to keep the collateral damage to just the area we were targeting anyway, implying that either our people using it were far better at controlling it, or didn’t charge the spell enough to blow up an entire continent. Done right, it could just blow up the lake…and since the place is pretty messed up already…

Targeting the Tower with a Megalaser would be even easier, since said tower is a stationary target with no known anti-siege weaponry.

Also, the asuran Vigil Warmasters utilize Alpha Siege Golems and even they say the golems can’t damage the tower. We’d probably need Omega Siege Golems.

Still, the theory of it being defended against such an attack (or capable of reflecting such attacks, because of Ms. Invasive Weed) makes sense, and the concern of it just spreading the spores further.

I just wish they’d actually allow us to ask the NPCs that and have them tell us “We found that it’s protected by a powerful anti-siege field” or something, since it seems the only thing keeping us out is the heavy poison at the base of the tower.

I think its time for something different, something ‘raid’ like (not talking about number of players). Gated paths each ending in a different, never seen before boss with interesting mechanics. You have to beat the path before being able to continue on to the next (unlike multiple explorable paths each starting from the same point), unique drops from each boss with a 100% chance of at least one unique item dropping. Have them account bound so you can’t sell them but at least be able to use them on another character. This way it may encourage people to enter the dungeon more than once to get a particular item.

ex WoW players will be familiar with this system.

Having multiple gated dungeon in a linear progression will allow a sense of an epic experience, not something that can be done in one sitting.

The Master.2893:

“Magically Awesome Super-Doom Defense Mode (of Science!)”

That’s the technical term for the Eternal Alchemy.

Electro.4173:

Risk of collateral damage (especially with the Searing Cauldron) to the surrounding area which is still very much populated with peaceful / friendly races, and who knows how many people have been taken captive inside the tower. There’s hints that at the very least one of the Asura researchers from the camp has been taken.

If the krait have hostages, it makes sense to not simply nuke the thing. Otherwise, the only collateral damage would be more krait, some centaurs and bandits. I say we free the hostages then nuke the tower from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

If we do fire a mega-laser or cauldron at it, whatever OP mesmer at the top, with shroud the entire tower with a huge feedback dome.

Right before we die horrible deaths due to reflected projectiles, we’ll hear Scarlet cackle saying, “Die die die die die!”.

The story would be anti-climactic if we used the Pact Megalaser or the Searing Cauldron to decimate the Tower of Nightmares. Also note that the tower was coated by veil, it is probably coated by feedback as well – we may not want to use projectiles.

I’d like to see a feedback holding back Searing crystals…. maybe a few would explode on the bubble, but with the sole exception of Lyssa, no mesmer could create a sphere powerful enough to hold back such a destructive form of magic – at least, that is HOW it should be in Guild Wars (2), but given we’re playing this subpar, cliché-ridden sci-fi game called Alliance Wars, it may turn out the mesmer on Scarlet’s payroll is stronger than a goddess in the field of defensive illusions/glamours… actually, that is the only twist that can happen, given how much the writers love to downplay the Six Gods and their actions.

As for the Searing: the personal story confirms two things: 1) the shamans – being primitive fire mages – couldn’t control the energies of the Searing, which is the reason why it was blown out of proportions. 2) The two cool Priory dudes (Baron and Ferro) can create a Searing that only bombards the target area, namely the risen fortress the Cathedral of Verdance was turned into. Orr’s dying ecosystem did not receive another irreparable damage that day – the crystals were smaller as well.

Also, the radius of the Searing did not cover the entirety of Ascalon. It was more of a half circle actually, with most of the crystals falling on Ascalon City, the Wall, and Old Ascalon/Ashford. It went as far as the giant one in Pockmark Flats to the south, but if you paid attention in GW1, you’d have seen that there were far too few in the north, which makes sense, since the charr didn’t nuke their own reinforcements coming in from the Blood Legion Homelands.

The reason why we see Ascalon in such a bad shape in GW1 is multi-faceted: first and foremost we have the Searing itself, then the nuclear winter effect caused by all the dust that was blown in the atmosphere above the country (keep in mind that Ascalon is in a basin walled by mountains on all sides: hard time for all that smoke, dust, and smog to be blown out by the winds), an actual winter following the Searing (it was autumn when it happened), reduced populace to save what’s left of the fields, and the charr shamans and their pets burning down everything in their path. Remember Fireheart Rise? All the tar, sludge, soot, ash, and barren wastelands? The Flame Legion is not eco-friendly in any way.

All in all, in the real Guild Wars universe a mini-Searing should theoretically work against the tower, although I agree that it would make for a bit bland story.

Ceterum censeo: Scarlet must be purged from GW lore.

Nilkemia.8507:

Should I feel bad for not caring? It’s five days away still, when it arguably should’ve been part of the Tower of Nightmares release itself (after finishing the 50 Toxic Spore task, you could then enter the tower or do an extra task/set of tasks to gain entry).

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

Oh well. I’ll wait and see.

They have to stretch their releases into 2 parts per team. I’d much rather 1 release per month with all the content they created.

Stormcrow.7513:

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

Maybe, but someone would get inside before two weeks were up…

I really don’t care about this update either. I probably won’t even bother with the next one either since it will be zerg but this time inside a tower. Tri Key for two greens and a blue and a crappy mini.

Same. +1

Stormcrow.7513:

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

Maybe, but someone would get inside before two weeks were up…

Is the real-life version protected by some sort of mysterious magic shell too though?

Stormcrow.7513:

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

Maybe, but someone would get inside before two weeks were up…

Is the real-life version protected by some sort of mysterious magic shell too though?

What if the tower really doesn’t exist? It’s all in our minds….Scarlet is a figment as well…Abbadon didn’t die, and he “made” Scarlet to irritate the kitten out of us until he was ready to come blow us up….

So, if you use cauldrons or megalasers, it would just go through it and destroy the people on the other side…

ok…no more coffee…beginning to imagine things….

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

yes?

Stormcrow.7513:

Maybe, but someone would get inside before two weeks were up…

I really don’t care about this update either. I probably won’t even bother with the next one either since it will be zerg but this time inside a tower. Tri Key for two greens and a blue and a Rare Chance at a mini.

Mephane.8496:

Electro.4173:

Risk of collateral damage (especially with the Searing Cauldron) to the surrounding area which is still very much populated with peaceful / friendly races, and who knows how many people have been taken captive inside the tower. There’s hints that at the very least one of the Asura researchers from the camp has been taken.

If the krait have hostages, it makes sense to not simply nuke the thing. Otherwise, the only collateral damage would be more krait, some centaurs and bandits. I say we free the hostages then nuke the tower from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

Na, just nuke them all. By now it’d probably be a mercy for the hostages.

I don’t like krait. They are one of the more annoying mobs to fight. So I was not very excited about the last update and don’t care much about the upcoming one. That’s fine, as it leaves me more time to do other stuff I haven’t had time for.

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

Nilkemia.8507:

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

One does not simply level a tower of that size without repercussions. The lake is already in danger of becoming a dead zone from the toxin wafting out of it. The debris that would be left would probably be impossible to clear (unless Isgarren conscripts some elementals to work around the clock). The Quaggan settlement would likely have to uproot for less-greener-pastures. The fishing villages on the lake would probably have to abandon their homes too. You can’t realistically wave your magic wand and say it’s gone.

Come to think of it, even having the tower pop up on the horizon should be having earth-shattering repercussions on the lives of the nearby residents, and more so than we have seen. This isn’t just a roof the Krait put on top of their trash sculpture of a home. This could house a CITY. Stage multiple armies. Divinty’s Reach isn’t far enough away from this thing that its very presence wouldn’t start riots, particularly after Scarlet waltzed in and subverted the automatons. The city is already at war with centaurs, and now the Krait have a new base of operations not far away? How safe would you feel?

One wonders if Anet has really considered the impact this tower would have on the environment…

skullmount.1758:

panzer.6034:

Just think it some kind of mysterious tower appeared somewhere near a populated area in the U.S. Would we immediately nuke it before we knew anything about it?

yes?

Really? The U.S. is afraid to use conventional weapons on foreign soil when it could potentially spread chemical weapons but you think we’d nuke a chemical hazard on our own soil without any intel? I wouldn’t even buy that in a syfy movie of the week.

ElenaDragon.8401:

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

Good luck with that

ElenaDragon.8401:

I don’t like krait. They are one of the more annoying mobs to fight. So I was not very excited about the last update and don’t care much about the upcoming one. That’s fine, as it leaves me more time to do other stuff I haven’t had time for.

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

I actually hope they just recycle last year’s wintersday completely. It gives them more time to work on perm content (hopefully) and there’s a lot of new players who never had the chance to do it last year, and a lot if old vets who wants to do it again.

ElenaDragon.8401:

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

After what Halloween became during Blood and Madness, I’m not hopeful now.

Nilkemia.8507:

ElenaDragon.8401:

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

After what Halloween became during Blood and Madness, I’m not hopeful now.

Part of the problem, if we’re gonna be honest, is that they didn’t repeat all the old content. In fact, they removed a lot more than they added, while extending it which makes it a much less enjoyable event.

Narcemus.1348:

Nilkemia.8507:

ElenaDragon.8401:

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

After what Halloween became during Blood and Madness, I’m not hopeful now.

Part of the problem, if we’re gonna be honest, is that they didn’t repeat all the old content. In fact, they removed a lot more than they added, while extending it which makes it a much less enjoyable event.

I have a heavy suspicion that that update was basically shafted aside to allow more manpower to go the Tower of Nightmares stuff.

If that’s the case, then there’s no hope for Wintersday while the Invasive Weed still rules the Living Story. They’ll mess it up too.

The story needs a lot of work. I’ve gotten to the point where every 2 weeks im more excited on what could be in the gem shop then whats happening in the story. Every 2 weeks its the same story in terms of lore. Everything that happened in the past 2 weeks has little to do with what is going on in the current 2 weeks. There needs to be more connections than just scarlet was there. Plus the story is becoming insanely predictable. I’m calling it now that well go into these new area, almost kill scarlet, she’ll get away and say she’ll get us next time.

is the big plant a mushroom or a flower? because if its a mushroom, the mycelium would just make it come back somewhere else, mushrooms are just the fruiting body of the whole organism, eg, the biggest known organism in our world is a huge fungus that covers around 2,384 acres.
the giant one in kessex might be harder to get rid of than we originally thought…

Deified.7520:

The story needs a lot of work. I’ve gotten to the point where every 2 weeks im more excited on what could be in the gem shop then whats happening in the story. Every 2 weeks its the same story in terms of lore. Everything that happened in the past 2 weeks has little to do with what is going on in the current 2 weeks. There needs to be more connections than just scarlet was there. Plus the story is becoming insanely predictable. I’m calling it now that well go into these new area, almost kill scarlet, she’ll get away and say she’ll get us next time.

Yeah. Either Anet is heavily under utilising their writers or they just can’t put the plot they wanted into the LS structure.

Xae Isareth.1364:

Yeah. Either Anet is heavily under utilising their writers or they just can’t put the plot they wanted into the LS structure.

The direction of the game is directly tied to the participation of the hard core gamers in these forums. The reason there is a haphazard story line is that there is no need for it to appease the hard core.
The casual gamer and the design of the game for that purpose was abandoned long ago. Now we have WvW and PvP and Dungeon focus, with very little changes in the open world content where the casual gamer resides.
90% of the Discussion threads are based on hard core gamers, that want it their way, and if you read those threads closely, it seems they are going to have it their way. There is very little discussion about open world changes that the casuals want, like improved DE’s that chain through the world and involve thought to complete, not a zerker build and button mashing.
We will see if Anet can start to appease my wants as a veteran of GW1, baited by the promises of the Manifesto that have seemed to melt with increased heat the hard core gamers applied to the developers. Really, you cant blame the developers, as those people stoke the money pot regularly, and that pays the salaries, so why not keep them happy?

Sligh.2789:

Now we have WvW and PvP and Dungeon focus,

Absolutely false (with regards to WvW focus). Unless focus is slapping together a terrible (and terribly broken) progression system and writing down a few matchups and calling that a League.

Sligh.2789:

The direction of the game is directly tied to the participation of the hard core gamers in these forums.

Could have fooled me. Other than the quality of life changes we’ve gotten in the past year, pretty much everything they do seems to be the exact opposite of the raving demands and complaints of the forums.

Sligh.2789:

Xae Isareth.1364:

Yeah. Either Anet is heavily under utilising their writers or they just can’t put the plot they wanted into the LS structure.

The direction of the game is directly tied to the participation of the hard core gamers in these forums. The reason there is a haphazard story line is that there is no need for it to appease the hard core.
The casual gamer and the design of the game for that purpose was abandoned long ago. Now we have WvW and PvP and Dungeon focus, with very little changes in the open world content where the casual gamer resides.
90% of the Discussion threads are based on hard core gamers, that want it their way, and if you read those threads closely, it seems they are going to have it their way. There is very little discussion about open world changes that the casuals want, like improved DE’s that chain through the world and involve thought to complete, not a zerker build and button mashing.
We will see if Anet can start to appease my wants as a veteran of GW1, baited by the promises of the Manifesto that have seemed to melt with increased heat the hard core gamers applied to the developers. Really, you cant blame the developers, as those people stoke the money pot regularly, and that pays the salaries, so why not keep them happy?

The content we got thus far is anything but hardcore. If they wanted to please the hardcore players, we would’ve got raids, which people have been asking for since release.

Nilkemia.8507:

Should I feel bad for not caring? It’s five days away still, when it arguably should’ve been part of the Tower of Nightmares release itself (after finishing the 50 Toxic Spore task, you could then enter the tower or do an extra task/set of tasks to gain entry).

I mean, why not just get a Searing Cauldron (we found one in Orr, and there’s one in Ascalon as a commune point, I think) or build a huge Megalaser to just take out the tower with minimal risk? With any luck, we could take out that invasive weed too while we’re at it.

Oh well. I’ll wait and see.

The Searing Cauldron would blow up Ascalon again, and I seriously doubt that the Basketball Court and their Crate allies would be thrilled to watch a megalaser or two being constructed below.

The Master.2893:

Because the tower is engaged in “Magically Awesome Super-Doom Defense Mode (of Science!)”?

In other words it is behind an illusion, so in reality there is nothing actually protecting it.

Lol /agree I want to go to the fancy more important looking tower in garenhoof

Ellisande.5218:

The Master.2893:

Because the tower is engaged in “Magically Awesome Super-Doom Defense Mode (of Science!)”?

In other words it is behind an illusion, so in reality there is nothing actually protecting it.

Besides the spores that would fill your lungs with horrible sickness and cause you to experience an aneurysm.

…Theoretically. We don’t know what full-on sickness does yet.

Nilkemia.8507:

ElenaDragon.8401:

What I am looking forward to is Wintersday, and I really hope the devs learned from Halloween that they can’t just repeat a bunch of old content for us to be satisfied. They need to add new stuff. And no ridiculous grinds please.

After what Halloween became during Blood and Madness, I’m not hopeful now.

I’m with you. 100,000 snowflakes for just the design for a weapon, anyone? Y’know, with an 80% snowflake drop decrease on last year.

Half the mini-games we had last year also removed? Seems legit too.

Wintersday is my favourite holiday since we’re not seeing any Canthan New Year. They’re GOING to break it after Mad King’s Day.

Getefix.9150:

is the big plant a mushroom or a flower? because if its a mushroom, the mycelium would just make it come back somewhere else, mushrooms are just the fruiting body of the whole organism, eg, the biggest known organism in our world is a huge fungus that covers around 2,384 acres.
the giant one in kessex might be harder to get rid of than we originally thought…

Some of the NPCs in the area mention the root system still causing problems, so you may be spot on.