Guild Wars 2

…and I love it!

It’s replacing clock tower as top spot jumping puzzle now.

nahh, its just annoying… and tedious… and buggy with hitboxes, Clocktower still no1.

It is nice, but not no1.

I still like it though.

Clock tower lost its number 1 spot when they turned other players into wisps.

A question: what makes a JP good? Is it the feeling of satisfaction after finally completing one that is keyboard smashingly annoying, or is it one that just flows really nicely, not too hard or too easy?

I can’t decide. My main being a Charr, JP’s are incredibly frustrating no matter what, but they are so satisfying to complete, doesn’t even matter what’s in the chest at the end.

I like that we no longer have to queue up for it. But I think a lot of the changes to this puzzle were for the worst. A higher difficulty is okay, but what matters is the means by which that difficulty is achieved. That, I have a problem with.

The bit where you have to jump across the exploding gifts seems extremely random. Maybe I haven’t figured out the pattern, but right now it is a pain. It is just really hard to predict, and it feels like I’m constantly failing due to reasons beyond my control.

I hate having to jump on to the edge of a needle. Those two candy canes you have to jump across are awful. People will constantly slip in between them, or overshoot them… or worse yet: Suffer a slight keyboard malfunction, because they don’t have enough space to make a running jump. That is terrible design.

There’s also a problem that the exploding gifts do not reset when one guy skips across them. This means that a few gifts are often already exploded, and the ones that are left are just waiting to explode on the next poor soul that tries to go across. They will not reset until someone first dies in an attempt to cross them. And this happens every single time. There will always be some clown who goes right before you, and wires the whole thing for instant death.

The biggest problem is that they made it way to gimmicky now instead of more of a pure jumper like last year. The exploding presents are ruining the whole thing. You’re too dependent on what other people do (them setting the bombs off) and it takes away the personal aspect of it. It was great last year, now I’m just hoping to be lucky enough to be one and done. I’m rarely disappointed with this game, but this disappoints.

it’s super fun

Agreed. Clocktower lost it’s place when they significantly limited the players and then made them all wisps. It was too easy in it’s second iteration.

Winter Wonderland feels a lot more alive and is slightly more difficult than in the past.

it’s easier than last years..but what i want to discuss is anet consuming too much mushrooms. what idiocy is to make it repeatable and ask of us to repeat it freakin 20 times for only ..and read…1 freakin achievement point? up to 15? in total if i repeat this puzzle 300 times? guys you should really stop smoking pot when you put things like this into game. it’s 400% bull as far as reward is considered. both achievement and prize alike.

Azure Prower.8701:

Clock tower lost its number 1 spot when they turned other players into wisps.

Nah, because most people fall right after that first waiting point. Wisps or regular it didn’t matter.

I actually have a lot of respect for it and in my opinion, it was easier than last years. However, a year of playing does add a lot to your ability to jump correctly so I may be a biased source.

ANYWAY, Happy Jumping everyone!

I think it’s quite easy.
The first half hour you will fall a lot but once you get past it it’s really simple.
And i’m usually very bad a these sort of things.

Also to get past the presents, talk to tixx to set your checkpoint there in case you fall.

Azure Prower.8701:

…and I love it!

It’s replacing clock tower as top spot jumping puzzle now.

Maybe it’s because I had to practice several times… but as a horrid puzzle jumper (I couldn’t do it last year, and I gave up on the Mad King’s Clocktower) I kind of love it. I have the timing down on the snowflake section so I can just breeze through it, and I finally got the hang of the giant snowball/final area (although, sometimes the aoe circles bug out on me). The only annoying bit is at the candy cane landing with the presents, because there are always a horde of players jumping on the blue gifts, which wind up causing everything to explode. I wind up waiting until no one is on the platform, just so I know they won’t jump after me and set everything off.

Ireth.4087:

it’s easier than last years..but what i want to discuss is anet consuming too much mushrooms. what idiocy is to make it repeatable and ask of us to repeat it freakin 20 times for only ..and read…1 freakin achievement point? up to 15? in total if i repeat this puzzle 300 times? guys you should really stop smoking pot when you put things like this into game. it’s 400% bull as far as reward is considered. both achievement and prize alike.

It certainly isn’t mandatory, it’s like any repeatable activity achievement (Southsun, Keg Brawl, Crab Toss, Etc.). It’s a means to give a reward (albeit small) for those who farm it (or, dare I say, enjoy it) I guess. Hence the 1 AP/Rare loot bag, so those who hate it have little motivation or inclination to bother with it.

I think my biggest complaint about this JP is the fact that it feels too repetitive. I’d loved to see three more different paths with different challenges or mechanics.

Also the last part it sometimes just too unfair and unforgiving. E.g. the dropping ice shard will knock you down/back AND slow you down so they could as well instant kill you to save you some time, yet they don’t.

Other than that, I love it; possibly my most favorite event JP so far.

islarose.7356:

Azure Prower.8701:

…and I love it!

It’s replacing clock tower as top spot jumping puzzle now.

Maybe it’s because I had to practice several times… but as a horrid puzzle jumper (I couldn’t do it last year, and I gave up on the Mad King’s Clocktower) I kind of love it. I have the timing down on the snowflake section so I can just breeze through it, and I finally got the hang of the giant snowball/final area (although, sometimes the aoe circles bug out on me). The only annoying bit is at the candy cane landing with the presents, because there are always a horde of players jumping on the blue gifts, which wind up causing everything to explode. I wind up waiting until no one is on the platform, just so I know they won’t jump after me and set everything off.

Wait… it’s the blue presents that blow everything up?

I don’t like the addition of Tixx in there. While the checkpoint is welcome, the first couple of times I didn’t even noticed he was there. And three dialogue choices, the middle of which being the one you want? I have clicked the wrong option by accident several times now. Here’s what they should have done:

• Remove Tixx
• Everyone carries a present by default
• When you get to the halfway point it automatically sets the checkpoint
• If you fall you lose your extra present, but can still continue from the checkpoint

See? No npc required. Just make it automatic.

VOLKON.1290:

Wait… it’s the blue presents that blow everything up?

Jumping on any present will start blowing everything up (I think), but as far as I know the timer won’t start while the blue ones aren’t there. With some practice you can just jump on the first row of red ones before the blue ones even spawn, buying you two or three seconds of additional time, making it even possible to hop up in a straight line (if there’s nothing despawned randomly). Just keep in mind the initial pattern is still up to some randomness.

For an example, look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBJFwZs6Ww&t=1m40s
As you can see, I have no problems getting over 75% of the stair before anything starts popping (since the blue ones are up and people jumping on the presents).

Smaxx.2318:

VOLKON.1290:

Wait… it’s the blue presents that blow everything up?

Jumping on any present will start blowing everything up (I think), but as far as I know the timer won’t start while the blue ones aren’t there. With some practice you can just jump on the first row of red ones before the blue ones even spawn, buying you two or three seconds of additional time, making it even possible to hop up in a straight line (if there’s nothing despawned randomly). Just keep in mind the initial pattern is still up to some randomness.

For an example, look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBJFwZs6Ww&t=1m40s
As you can see, I have no problems getting over 75% of the stair before anything starts popping (since the blue ones are up and people jumping on the presents).

I think I may love you now. That’s been the biggest pain for me… and it may very well have been self-inflicted.

Tell no one.

Ireth.4087:

it’s easier than last years..but what i want to discuss is anet consuming too much mushrooms. what idiocy is to make it repeatable and ask of us to repeat it freakin 20 times for only ..and read…1 freakin achievement point? up to 15? in total if i repeat this puzzle 300 times? guys you should really stop smoking pot when you put things like this into game. it’s 400% bull as far as reward is considered. both achievement and prize alike.

These are nothing compared to how bad the WvW achievements are.

I find the Wintersday JP to be very relaxing. Almost therapeutic. Especially the snowflake part. You can get into a good jumping rythm and after a while you’re actually making the next jump before the next snowflake even appears.

The Clocktower, was rage-inducing though.

I love them both.

Ah, yes, ‘fun jumping puzzles.’ I have dismissed that claim…

There is a trick to do the exploding presents whilst the blue parcels have appeared.

No waiting involved.

So far my record is completing the puzzle 15 times within the 30 min timer.

Azure Prower.8701:

There is a trick to do the exploding presents whilst the blue parcels have appeared.

No waiting involved.

So far my record is completing the puzzle 15 times within the 30 min timer.

What do you do when someone has already crossed the exploding presents, and the thing doesn’t reset?

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

There is a trick to do the exploding presents whilst the blue parcels have appeared.

No waiting involved.

So far my record is completing the puzzle 15 times within the 30 min timer.

What do you do when someone has already crossed the exploding presents, and the thing doesn’t reset?

Be very good at jumping.

The puzzle is fun and challenging. Each path is different in it’s focus and difficulty. The only thing that’s annoying about the puzzle is those disappearing gift boxes that have no rhyme nor rhythm. They just randomly blow up making the checkpoint a must…
Aside from that annoyance, it’s really fun

Azure Prower.8701:

Be very good at jumping.

Please elaborate. How do you cross the presents? Because I’ve been trying dozens of ways to cross those things, but once one player has set a few of them off, it is like they are rigged to instantly kill the next person trying to go across.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

Be very good at jumping.

Please elaborate. How do you cross the presents? Because I’ve been trying dozens of ways to cross those things, but once one player has set a few of them off, it is like they are rigged to instantly kill the next person trying to go across.

You have to jump in a straight line quickly. Only works for one person before the entire lot explodes.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

Be very good at jumping.

Please elaborate. How do you cross the presents? Because I’ve been trying dozens of ways to cross those things, but once one player has set a few of them off, it is like they are rigged to instantly kill the next person trying to go across.

It is indeed super evil. The presents waits for player and explode. And it’s quite random unlike last year, makes it much harder. One trick is to wait at the platform, wait for some noob/hero to sacrifice and trigger the explosions. (or you can use the checkpoint to trigger so you can still get back.) When the present reappear, don’t wait for the blue box to appear, jump straight to the 1st present, go straight up.

I don’t like the change. Basically everyone just wait at the platform for someone to be the man.

Ireth.4087:

it’s easier than last years..but what i want to discuss is anet consuming too much mushrooms. what idiocy is to make it repeatable and ask of us to repeat it freakin 20 times for only ..and read…1 freakin achievement point? up to 15? in total if i repeat this puzzle 300 times? guys you should really stop smoking pot when you put things like this into game. it’s 400% bull as far as reward is considered. both achievement and prize alike.

So don’t do it. I’ll end up doing it anyway because I enjoy it. 20 is easy.

Afya.5842:

Basically everyone just wait at the platform for someone to be the man.

lol yeah, I wish there was a toxic krait instead of Tixx there to say “Prepare for sacrifice!”

Andele.1306:

nahh, its just annoying… and tedious… and buggy with hitboxes, Clocktower still no1.

I’ve ran both dozens of times……..and never once ran into bugs in the wonderland.

Unless you mean the one where you constantly slide? If so that’s not unique to this JP and can be fixed by emoting.

I think they actually made it a little too easy this year.

And that’s coming from someone who plays a max size male charr on a four year old laptop.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

I don’t like the addition of Tixx in there. While the checkpoint is welcome, the first couple of times I didn’t even noticed he was there. And three dialogue choices, the middle of which being the one you want? I have clicked the wrong option by accident several times now. Here’s what they should have done:

* Remove Tixx
* Everyone carries a present by default
* When you get to the halfway point it automatically sets the checkpoint
* If you fall you lose your extra present, but can still continue from the checkpoint

See? No npc required. Just make it automatic.

That’s how it was last year, sans the strikes. There was also no checkpoint. The damage you take was also like, a third of what it is now though.

Oh, and the snowflakes actually crumbled beneath your feet, forcing you to keep going.

The snowflakes don’t seem to crumble consistently, I assume that this is due to some kind of delay between when they respawn and when they are again sensitive to touch to the point of triggering the crumble timer. That said, I think that the crumble is not a big motivator for the player to keep their tooshie moving anyway, the chill debuff ticking away seems to be far more restrictive than the crumble timer. Several of my first attempts were met with easily avoiding the crumble but dying of the debuff just before getting to the checkpoint.

It’s a lot of fun. The only thing that really got me cursing was that I didn’t realize the rounds had a 30 minute timer at first, and in one of my earlier attempts, after having gotten close to the end for the first time, the round ended and took me back to the beginning when I was just a few seconds away from the end, QQ.

The only thing I really hate is how there is a WvW-size zerg of people running the kitten ed jumping puzzle in unison. I much preferred smaller groups so I wouldn’t have to deal with that massive list of people on the side of the screen and like twelve people trying to jump on top of each other.

Rising Dusk.2408:

The only thing I really hate is how there is a WvW-size zerg of people running the kitten ed jumping puzzle in unison. I much preferred smaller groups so I wouldn’t have to deal with that massive list of people on the side of the screen and like twelve people trying to jump on top of each other.

I’m the opposite. The puzzle feels alive that way.

I’m enjoying this JP. My biggest problem is that I run out of health instead of falling. LOL

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

Be very good at jumping.

Please elaborate. How do you cross the presents? Because I’ve been trying dozens of ways to cross those things, but once one player has set a few of them off, it is like they are rigged to instantly kill the next person trying to go across.

As far as I can tell, the presents work like this: one person crossing will set off only a few presents, additional people crossing will set them all off.

The situation where some presents are gone and a group of people is standing around waiting for someone to trigger the rest and get a reset, is actually my favorite time to hop across, because I know I’ll only be looking at myself while doing so.

The one issue I have with the presents is that some seem to pop without the tell-tale tremble sometimes, resulting in annoying failures.

I have a new question. Why does this not count as daily puzzle jumper and clock tower did?

I never could finish the mad king’s clocktower, I tried last yr and then again this year and never got it. It was boring and timed and not fun. But this christmas puzzle is much better than last year’s, and i finally got it! Plus I had fun. The scenery was so lovely that I didn’t mind trying like 15 times to finish it, lol.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

There is a trick to do the exploding presents whilst the blue parcels have appeared.

No waiting involved.

So far my record is completing the puzzle 15 times within the 30 min timer.

What do you do when someone has already crossed the exploding presents, and the thing doesn’t reset?

Unlike what people say, you don’t have to jump in a straight line… I did it last night (and you didn’t hear me cursing in guild chat! so I must have managed relatively easy :P) and didn’t take a straight line to the other side. I went to the right and got to the other side easily.

(I did some tries earlier and only failed because I had no idea where to go after the exploding gifts bit… luckily, I had somebody in front of me who showed me the way on the track with the rolling snowballs… I’d never have found it otherwise!)

Azure Prower.8701:

…and I love it!

It’s replacing clock tower as top spot jumping puzzle now.

It is very challenging at first. But when you first get a hang of it, it’s actually quite easy in my opinion.
Clocktower still the most challenging ^^

I think it would be better if the exploding gifts weren’t based on other people touching them/being there, just on you so that you don’t have to wait for them to reset properly when a horde of players just passed.

I feel like it was less random last year. Right now it’s highly confusing when a swarm of players tries to get to the top. After a few tries you kinda get the pattern, but still.

Also the huge snowball is my nemesis, I’m constantly fooled by my asura’s small statue to think that I will not get hit. :P But then it smashes me all the same. :’(

I just tried it for the first time this year. Seems to be a few changes. Wasn’t able to get past the exploding presents and stood around a little watching other people fail too. They exploded too fast to jump to them but I will try when i get home.

I find the most annoying part of the puzzle is at the very start. Far too often I catch up with the respawning flakes so I have to wait for them to respawn before I can continue which completely breaks the flow of the jumping. And adds as much as 10-15 seconds to the first part.

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Azure Prower.8701:

There is a trick to do the exploding presents whilst the blue parcels have appeared.

No waiting involved.

So far my record is completing the puzzle 15 times within the 30 min timer.

What do you do when someone has already crossed the exploding presents, and the thing doesn’t reset?

Unlike what people say, you don’t have to jump in a straight line… I did it last night (and you didn’t hear me cursing in guild chat! so I must have managed relatively easy :P) and didn’t take a straight line to the other side. I went to the right and got to the other side easily.

(I did some tries earlier and only failed because I had no idea where to go after the exploding gifts bit… luckily, I had somebody in front of me who showed me the way on the track with the rolling snowballs… I’d never have found it otherwise!)

The reason of jumping in straight line is to make the jump easier, takes out potential error, and you get pass there fast. Also you don’t have to look and think where to go next. You just w, space, space, space, space, space…..

I still like last year’s version better, it wasn’t broken, I don’t know why they choose to change it.
Randoming the pathing is more fun, and snow flake drops faster.
I think they randomize the present part to make it more challenging but farmer always know the way up, however casual has much harder time now. I often see 70% of the scoreboard is <=1 but on the run I always see 4+ people at the checkpoint, so they probably don’t make it pass the presents.

It is a huge improvement over the Clocktower, mainly because when you fail you can get right back into the action. It was unbelievably frustrating in the clocktower having to waaaaaaaiiiit and waaaaaiiiiit for everyone else to finish if you failed, then have to watch that unnecessary cutscene for the bazilionth time, then failing again likely due to getting caught on a tiny ledge on a platform for a split-second and losing your momentum and thus failing the jump, then going through the whole process again.

Super buggy for me, the snowflakes apparently aren’t even on the path even though they look like they’re on the path to me, so I randomly fail while on snowflakes (aka, I didn’t fail the jump, but randomly port to start).

I also take random streams of 1000+ damage out of nowhere while jumping in the first phase.

Can’t say I have any chance of completing the puzzle when my success rate with phase 1 is only 2%. In contrast, the exploding gifts are much easier, with a 50% success rate on the rare occasion I get there.

After about 600 tries in one hour and a half I’ve had enough of this nonsense. I like hard content, but I don’t like bugged content, getting hit by things I can’t see and taking damage from the Void.