Guild Wars 2

coffeeisyum.5297:

Zone 3 was not fun. I enjoyed the slippery ice, I thought it was fun watching people slip around and having to attempt to gain traction but everything else was boring and tedious. I completed it and nothing was memorable at all like World 1. It was just a bunch of jumping, rock, and ice with a wind pushes, portals, and enemies thrown in. Again, we do NOT need to jump anywhere and everywhere.

What you define as not fun in zone 3, world 2, I found the most fun…

I did an experiment on Sunday. I grabbed my engineer, who is from July and thus hadn’t been in SAB at all yet and went through world 1. In NM, because I like NM. All dig spots were already dug up earlier, except the one at the end of the shortcut wurm.

The first zone, I did twice. Simply because you start without bomb, and I wanted to get all secrets (as if I’d never done it before). So, you have to do zone 1, and the first part of zone 2 to get the bomb. I then quit and restarted zone 1. I then continued my way to the final fight with the toad. I didn’t restart again, and managed to get every single upgrade from world 1. That includes the upgraded pouch you can buy in zone 3. I did have to traverse back to the bee queen (I left her alone as I knew I’d have too many baubles otherwise and they would go to waste) to get 20 or so more baubles so I could get the slingshot.

I finally ended up with about 30 baubles left over. That is without dig spots. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had to backtrack to the queen…

JanoRis.8703:

Hey Josh

The changes you made are fine though. Only thing I don’t like are the geysers being always up. I hope you find a solution to the problem with them, so they can be moving again next time they are around. How about you put in an alternate path with a switch, that makes the geysers frozen..or an upgrade to the slingshot that freezes stuff.

I just hope it would be possible to leave the geysers as they are in Zone 1, but make them cycle again in the intro world. It was much more interesting and more of an accomplishment to reach the flag.

Josh Foreman.8250:

Just to refresh anyone new to the thread/topic: We accidentally made World 2 too difficult. We released a patch that helped as much as we could afford to risk mucking around with the Live game. We’re keeping tabs of all the feedback and incorporating that into any future releases. Thanks everybody!

I really hope you only mean this for normal mode, because tribulation mode was definitely not “hard.”
There are many players that have been waiting since launch for challenging content, and now we are basically being told that the next content will be even easier. That just can’t be good for the future of the game.

Furthermore, the only reason less players are online is because the rewards are daily and account-wide.

I have no problem if most content updates are for casuals, but there has to be something for the hardcore players once in a while.

Josh Foreman.8250:

Orpheal.8263:

Look into the thread about Master of Spheres World 2, that either seems to be bugged

Hmm. Not sure which thread that is. But this problem should be fixed in tomorrow’s patch.

Oh, my fault, sorry for not being precise enough, I was in a rush ^^

Yes, I absolutely meant this thread

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Bauble-Checklist-for-W2-Z3-INCOMPLETE/first

It would be very nice, if the patch today could fix this problem/bug if it really is one…

I mean, if hundreds of thousands of people can’t get the same achievement over a time span of multiple weeks, there must be something wrong with it…
Hundreds of thousands of eye pairs can’t all oversee something together T_T

So I was waiting till I finished normal mode before I posted (I did them all on infantile first). I just finished world 2 zone 2 and I honestly have no desire to go further. I simply stopped having fun halfway through world 2 zone 2 so I personally don’t care if SAB doesn’t return, I’m not looking forward to any more and I would personally rather see it dropped in favour of producing more content for the rest of the game.

World 2 Zone 1:

• I actually enjoyed this zone. I played it after the patches to nerf it (unintentionally).
• Occasionally I ran into laggy/buggy bits where I would be on land but the water knockback triggered anyway.
• Personally I think knockback mechanics are obnoxious but it was manageable here, falling in the water wasn’t fun.
• Overall zone 1 had a similair vibe to world 1 for me.
• I felt like I could explore a bit in this world but some parts were so punishing I didn’t want to risk it.

World 2 Zone 2:

• Owls add pressure to move and are annoying if you don’t.
• Assassins add a lot of pressure, especially in large numbers. Managable but in combination with everything else happening in the level, the pressure just keeps adding up. The combat and targeting in SAB is very frustrating, the more difficult combat becomes, the more these issues bother me.
• Poison darts are one of the least fun things I’ve come across in gaming in the last few years. I could write an essay on why I hated these things. They added nothing to my experience (all they are is a memory/patience test and if you don’t “waste” time looking at every wall, the penalty is far too harsh). The tower with several levels and the rolling coin at the top was about three levels higher than it needed to be.
• It was far too long. I was wishing it would end halfway through. I wasn’t enjoying it, so “more content” didn’t matter to me.
• I liked the octopus and the fish mechanic.
• I like puzzle solving but not with instant death traps.
• I didn’t feel like I could explore I was spend far too much time just making it through the level. The pressure also made me feel locked into progressing the level instead of poking around.
• It didn’t feel like the same game as SAB world 1. The mood changed too much and it was generally a stressful and pressure filled experience.

World 2 Zone 3 (I only did this on Infantile):

• The torch upgrade moment frustrated me a great deal. Why is it important for my game experience for me to have 400 baubles at that point? As a general point I think bauble acquisition is an added value option for players wanting to go for the achievement or for people who want to farm it to make bubbles, not to progress or become more capable in the game. It shouldn’t be a progression mechanic. It’s just annoying and a waste of time to backtrack to farm so you can acquire an item needed to progress.
• All the upgrade shops are hidden. I don’t see why the upgrades aren’t just free. Finding them is generally hard enough, why do we need to farm baubles to acquire them? This is especially punishing with the number of deaths. I don’t want to farm to progress through a mini game or acquire the upgrades. I don’t remember doing that in any of the recent Zelda games, you acquire items in the areas they are needed for and those games are great.

Overall I didn’t enjoy SAB this time around. I wasn’t the biggest fan of it back in April (I didn’t buy GW2 to play a platformer) but I did enjoy it. I’m no stranger to platform games from the 90s, so while I still think they are superior (and if I wanted a full dose of a platform I would play one of them) world 1 was a nice casual distraction, a novel April Fools joke. I was able to enjoy the joy of exploration and simple puzzle solving. World 2 takes a lot that joy and freedom away and replaces it with pressure, tension and stress. The controls of SAB and the mechanics aren’t as smooth as a true platformer, so when the challenge increases, the flaws of making a platformer within an MMO become more obvious.

Shiren.9532:

• All the upgrade shops are hidden. I don’t see why the upgrades aren’t just free. Finding them is generally hard enough, why do we need to farm baubles to acquire them?

Why do we need to play the game to get any rewards? Why doesn’t ArenaNet give every player every achievement and every item for free?

Josh Foreman.8250:

Orpheal.8263:

Look into the thread about Master of Spheres World 2, that either seems to be bugged

Hmm. Not sure which thread that is. But this problem should be fixed in tomorrow’s patch.

I believe he meant any one of these threads:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Master-of-Baubles-World-2-Broken/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Bugged-Master-of-Baubles-World-2-Achievement/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Bauble-Checklist-for-W2-Z3-Storm-Top/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Master-of-baubles-bug/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Master-of-Baubles-Infantile-Mode/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/A-Sign-Please-W2Z3-Master-Baubles/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/The-Master-of-Baubles-Rytlock/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Master-of-Baubles-Doctor-of-Baubles-bugged/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Master-Of-Baubles-bugged/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Master-of-Baubles-Zone-3-bug/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Bauble-Checklist-for-W2-Z3-Storm-Top/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/sab-bts/Bugged-Master-of-Baubles-World-2-Achievement/first

I’m glad you finally fixed it, although the lack of information was pretty disappointing. I hope you’ll try to communicate better with the community in the future!

Not going to bother running SAB to be honest. After seeing people continually die I see no fun wasting my time in there, especially for the crappy rewards. Instead I’ll farm champs and world bosses.

Anyone knows if 2-2 TM is fixed? The waypoint with spikes & Next cloud-waypoint

The last 3 times I respawned to that waypoint, I was not in the spikes. Any other day, I would have died 1-2 times in those 3 spawns. Perhaps I was lucky…

@Josh:

Thank you for the hard work on this. I know you have probably heard enough feedback and probably have a plan going forward…but cant resist adding to the pile.

First: i wanted you to know SAB is directly responsible for the sales of two games. I used it to show how a game which is very straight rpg could have the balls to do something just plain ol fun. I also bought the inf coin for support …and for TM.

Second: the feedback

I hear a lot about W2 being too long. But to be honest I really liked the length. W1 can be cleared in its entirety in about 30 minutes…thats ok as a first world..but rather silly for the whole thing. W2 was hard, but after practice it got easier, much like old platformers such as Zelda 2, Ninja Gaiden or, say, Little Nemo.

It would be nice to see varying paths to the goal such as in Sonic the Hedgehog or Nemo. W2z2 for example could have had path A to the gong pagoda or b to the fish pagoda. Both take similar amounts of time if enough practice is done, but different amounts of care must be exercised. Harder path could yield better rewards. Perhaps have additional chests lime the boss chest on hard paths.

An idea to mitigate invisible ledges… If all players were in a tonic form inside SAB (random or chosen perhaps from a set of 5 or so, a la old school guantlet)
The forms could easily be simple, blocky rpg avatars like in final fantasy 1 or other oldschool rpgs. These tonics could double as a reward for future bauble sales if blue weaponskins are to be locked up.
The point is if everyone in tonic form is the same size the you can build ledges and such without worry about different player size. Yu can also make hitboxes match better.

Thanks again!

So I say,
Thank you for the Box, yes, I’m singing,
Thanks for all the Joy it’s bringing,
I couldn’t live without it, I tell in all honesty,
What would GW2 be,
Without the Box, the fun, the glee,
So I say thank you for the Box,
For giving it to me…

Thank you.

Puma.7934:

Anyone knows if 2-2 TM is fixed? The waypoint with spikes & Next cloud-waypoint

Yes, they are fixed. I just redid 2-2 in TM to get the two extra achievements for visiting every shop, and destroying every tree stump. When I died at the checkpoint, it now spawned me on top of the checkpoint, and not in the spikes. I didn’t die at the cloud save, but I’m willing to assume that is fixed now too.

Thanks SAB team for fixing this!

showtime.9175:

Shiren.9532:

• All the upgrade shops are hidden. I don’t see why the upgrades aren’t just free. Finding them is generally hard enough, why do we need to farm baubles to acquire them?

Why do we need to play the game to get any rewards? Why doesn’t ArenaNet give every player every achievement and every item for free?

Are you confused? The item upgrades:

• Require you reach a point in the mini-game where they can be acquired. you aren’t just given the second candly upgrade when you load into the game for the first time, you need to reach world 2 zone 3 to get it – that’s called playing the game!!!!.
• Require you to find the actual location the item is available at. In some cases it’s easy (the candle upgrade) but many of them are hidden. In Ocarina of Time you aren’t given item required to progress right from the get go, but you usually don’t have to farm to acquire them. When a dungeon requires a certain item for a puzzle, usually that item is found in a room in that dungeon. That’s called playing the game.

The candle isn’t a reward – it’s a progression tool. It’s needed to solve a puzzle. Bauble Bubbles are rewards. Item skins are rewards. Mini Moto is a reward. The candle upgrade is just an excuse to force players to grind to progress.

Kaynide.5387:

I hear a lot about W2 being too long. But to be honest I really liked the length. W1 can be cleared in its entirety in about 30 minutes…thats ok as a first world..but rather silly for the whole thing. W2 was hard, but after practice it got easier, much like old platformers such as Zelda 2, Ninja Gaiden or, say, Little Nemo.

World 1 works well because you can complete it in a decent amount of time but finding every hidden area, all the hidden bauble dig spots, all the bomb spots etc, that all takes much longer. To simply complete the level it was a fair length for most players (we all purchased GW2, not just people who want Cat Mario in their MMO). For players who wanted to go the extra mile, there was a whole bunch of extra stuff you could look for and find. If you want more content for people to play, add some extra side goals to the level, don’t just increase the length of the level thinking everyone wants to stare at dart traps for 30 minutes.