Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone.

I’ve been level 80 on my little Asura Necromancer for about a week now. I love playing the guy (despite the problems, but this topic isn’t about that right now). I play a Condition-based Necromancer focusing my stats in Precision, Toughness and Condition Damage.

Way, way, waaaaay back in what I believe was my level 20-30 I chose my Order based on who I felt fit my character best, and I chose the Durmond Priory. It was a choice between the Durmond Priory and the Order of Whispers for me (I didn’t fancy the Vigil on this character), and in the end it came down to the Durmond Priory. I mean the Necromancer is a scholar profession right? And the Durmond Priory is essentially Indianna Jones meets a bunch of wizards. I enjoyed my personal story quests with these guys and I leant on following Durmond Priory missions in Orr when we were flying the flag of the Pact.

Then I discovered that each Order has its’ own set of armour you can buy for gold. Gold! Armour sets you can purchase at level 80! Fantastic! I love this! Let me go see what they have.

Huh. It’s all Precision/Vitality/Healing Power. Well that’s no good for me. I wondered if that was the case for The Vigil. The Vigil armour set is Power/Toughness/Vitality. Well it’s a step in the right direction.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the Order of Whispers armour set has exactly the stats I am looking for – Precision, Toughness, and Condition damage. Armour that I don’t have access to, based on a decision I made 54 levels ago that wasn’t even alluded to.

Guys, I understand that you shouldn’t be dangling carrots in front of the player when it comes to how they form their characters. But at the same time information that big and potentially useful being hidden away isn’t particularly fair or warranted. I feel like I have been punished for choosing the “wrong” Order because I can’t have access to equipment that is most beneficial to me. Now I’m at the mercy of dropping a whopping 42,000 karma per piece for armour that in the end measure a mere 10 stat points different than Order armour, or I’m at the mercy of the crafting system in order to make equivalent armour.

This becomes even more absurd as the Personal Story continues, the Orders unite under the banner of the Pact, you get promoted to being a Commander of the Pact, everyone’s pouring every resource they can into the battle against the Risen and Zhaitan, and yet I still can’t access this armour.

In short, here’s my problem: Orders sell armour with a certain trend of stat bonuses attached to them. This is in no way indicated until you have signed on with an Order and checked it for yourself. If you don’t choose the Order that sells the armour most beneficial to your profession/build, you’re stuck grinding out 252,000 karma for a full set of armour in Orr, or you have to trudge your way up to 400 crafting of a profession and grind up the mats to make the necessary armour. Or you can spend 8 gold 88 silver for an entire rare set that is only a handful of stat points weaker than the karma set if you picked the “right” Order.

Suggestion: Flesh out the information given when choosing an Order, including this information about armour and weapons available. Maybe include a brief instanced section where you visit each Order base for a tour before you choose who to sign on with, which includes being able to view this armour.

OR

When the personal story progresses to the formation of the Pact, either allow players access to the armour of all Orders, or include some sort of side-story allowing you access to different Orders caches’ upon completion.

Thanks for reading this long. I’d just like to end by making one comparison:

Back when World of Warcraft launched The Burning Crusade, the city of Shattrath housed two competing factions: The Aldor and the Scryers. You had to choose early on whether you wished to side with the Aldor or the Scryers, but before making that choice you were free to visit their quartermasters and view what potential rewards they were offering. Furthermore through a repeatable hand-in quest you were able to change your alleigance from one faction to the other.

I understand given how intrinsically tied to your personal story, changing Orders is probably off the table. I accept that, that’s absolutely fine – everyone should be able to choose their Order on their own terms.

Choosing your Order at level 26 with no information as to the benefits of doing so like this isn’t an informed choice.

http://www.gw2db.com/items/armor?filter-item-minimum-Precision=1&filter-item-minimum-Toughness=1&filter-item-minimum-ConditionDmg=1

There are alternatives.

Crafted exotics are purchasable on the trading post just fine. I would consider the appearance of the armor to be the deciding factor myself, not the stats.