Guild Wars 2

I did Fractals for the first time ever today, twice. Started at level 1 of course.

Each time I was kicked from group seconds after boss kill. Didn’t even have time to loot before I was staring at the Lion’s Arch loading screen.

I have heard the horror stories of the rampant kicking of players, but I didn’t think it was this bad.

I know two isn’t a lot, but it is still startling to me that I have a 100% kick rate on Fractals.

Before anyone asks, I was not doing poorly. I went into downed state less than the majority of the group. There was no indication that the parties thought I was doing poorly. We never even wiped once on either run.

I certainly hope there are plans in the works to combat this random kicking people from group.

Heh, you got further than I did.

On my first fractal run, my computer blue-screened in the middle and then spent 20 minutes rebuilding the game. So we won’t count that.

And earlier this evening, I spent 50% of my time either dead or downed, after suffering massive damage from out of nowhere. 8k followed immediately by 7k at one point. All of us just running along and then I’m dead for no apparent reason.

I had no idea what to do, why I was dying, who to attack or generally wtf was going on. And being in melee range, I couldn’t see the actions of the mobs because of sparks flying everywhere, so I had no idea when to dodge.

I died almost immediately trying to destroy a couple of ballistas, only to watch someone else destroy them while I lay on the floor. And then they respawed about 3 seconds later. So that seemed rather pointless.

I quite clearly mentioned that I was new to this, but no-one seemed to care. Eventually I just quit the group and turned the game off.

Possibly for good.

Shin, is it the boss for the first fractal or the final boss of the last (4th) fractal?
But yeah, pugging dungeons/fractals can be a horrible experience at times. I would recommend finding a nice guild that will guide you through the runs until you feel confident about doing them with pugs. Also generally higher level fractal pugs are better, since it takes more understanding and/or skill to get to higher levels. But note the “generally”.
When I’m in pug groups and people say they’re “inexperienced”, I’m always happy to explain fights to them. It’s a lot better than when people who don’t say anything and you find out when they screw things up.

You were joining parties which did the daily fractal runner achievement, nothing more. They usually do lvl 1 and disband after the first fractal.

Miszou.3158:

Heh, you got further than I did.

On my first fractal run, my computer blue-screened in the middle and then spent 20 minutes rebuilding the game. So we won’t count that.

And earlier this evening, I spent 50% of my time either dead or downed, after suffering massive damage from out of nowhere. 8k followed immediately by 7k at one point. All of us just running along and then I’m dead for no apparent reason.

I had no idea what to do, why I was dying, who to attack or generally wtf was going on. And being in melee range, I couldn’t see the actions of the mobs because of sparks flying everywhere, so I had no idea when to dodge.

I died almost immediately trying to destroy a couple of ballistas, only to watch someone else destroy them while I lay on the floor. And then they respawed about 3 seconds later. So that seemed rather pointless.

I quite clearly mentioned that I was new to this, but no-one seemed to care. Eventually I just quit the group and turned the game off.

Possibly for good.

Theres many variables at play here.

>Are you at minimum Exotic geared?
>Did your team have a competent guardian? Wall of reflect, shield of the avenger is golden.
>Are you dodging properly? As everything hits for massive damage in fractals compared to dungeons. In levels 30+ most foes can one shot you if you let them.
>Sounds like you were in the ascalon map. Ballistas hit for minimum 1/4 HP and the casting foes do massive AoE damage compared to the warrior and rangers.

Dont get discouraged as fractals i would consider the best challenge in the game. With practice it will become a friendly managable challenge instead of a dead end.

It sounds to me that the instance owner left the group as soon as he got his chest. That’s how you got kick to LA? My advice to the OP. If you have just started Fractals, post your own group “Beginners. Want to Learn. Level 1.” It will take some time to fill but there will be exp’d players to join your group. They are mostly kind people who have tips to share.

I often offer a teaching run for level 1-9, TS required. If you happen to see my LFG, you’re more than welcome to join.

What Iris said.

Also, check out the Dungeon mentor thread if you ever want a teacher. Many mentors are willing to teach fractals!

Well, that bites for a first fractal experience. Only way I can think of to avoid that situation is to find people who like to do fractals with you, join a friendly guild, or both. Also, think about doing fractal levels a bit higher than your own fractal level, maybe up to level 5 instead of just level 1 (only as an example, I’d suggest more like up to level 3 if you are still level 1). And do make sure to let the people know you are new to fractals, people are less likely to strangle you if you admit it up front. Not to mention a few fractals can be rather unkind to new fractalers (Volcano, Dredge, Mai Trin just to name 3 from the top of my head).
Good luck with fractals, and if you need any help, you could always send me a whisper or mail in game! I’m always up for a good fractal.

Yeah sounds to me like the instance owner left the group which is bad game design. The best way to ensure this doesn’t happen again is to be the one who starts the fractal run yourself, or have a trusted friend start it.

I forgot about how the party disbands when the leader leaves the party. I wish they would make it to be more like WoW in that regard, in which the leader role is just handed to another party member when the leader leaves. I am very surprised the game has been out so long and this fix hasn’t been done yet.

I am in a fairly large and friendly guild. It is just the guild at the time of me running fractals were more into going afk for an hour or more in Lorimar’s Pass, wating for the event, than running any dungeons.

Shinzou.1534:

I forgot about how the party disbands when the leader leaves the party. I wish they would make it to be more like WoW in that regard, in which the leader role is just handed to another party member when the leader leaves. I am very surprised the game has been out so long and this fix hasn’t been done yet.

I am in a fairly large and friendly guild. It is just the guild at the time of me running fractals were more into going afk for an hour or more in Lorimar’s Pass, wating for the event, than running any dungeons.

My guild is the same way, whenever there is time gated open world content that is new they like to camp that crap. I much prefer the LS stuff when its not time gated instances. Its so bad I’ve had to kick guildies from guild/pug combination runs because they decided to go do a world boss like karka instead of arriving in the dungeon in a timely fashion. Its what I get for being in a large casual/play how you want guild. At least the pacific members are into dungeons, got to stay up till 2 to play with them though lol.

As for fractals, my first experience was pretty decent, iirc we ended up with swamp, dredge, the annoying dolphin swim fractal, and then instance leader had to leave and instead of staying in group/afk he left it killing our progress. Was kind of on the easy/rough side for me just jumping into it. Most of it was on the easy side, but the mechanics tend to be on the screw up: you die side of things. Which I’m fine with since the open world and non arah dungeons tend to be too far on the easy side of things (though I can’t stand the CoE lasers, they the bane of my existence, I can’t jump worth crap).

I don’t really enjoy fractals that much due to the time it can take, and I’m not really into the gear grind aspect of it. Mechanically I like most paths, even dredge is fun for me.

jessiejay.3625:

Miszou.3158:

Heh, you got further than I did.

On my first fractal run, my computer blue-screened in the middle and then spent 20 minutes rebuilding the game. So we won’t count that.

And earlier this evening, I spent 50% of my time either dead or downed, after suffering massive damage from out of nowhere. 8k followed immediately by 7k at one point. All of us just running along and then I’m dead for no apparent reason.

I had no idea what to do, why I was dying, who to attack or generally wtf was going on. And being in melee range, I couldn’t see the actions of the mobs because of sparks flying everywhere, so I had no idea when to dodge.

I died almost immediately trying to destroy a couple of ballistas, only to watch someone else destroy them while I lay on the floor. And then they respawed about 3 seconds later. So that seemed rather pointless.

I quite clearly mentioned that I was new to this, but no-one seemed to care. Eventually I just quit the group and turned the game off.

Possibly for good.

Theres many variables at play here.

>Are you at minimum Exotic geared?
>Did your team have a competent guardian? Wall of reflect, shield of the avenger is golden.
>Are you dodging properly? As everything hits for massive damage in fractals compared to dungeons. In levels 30+ most foes can one shot you if you let them.
>Sounds like you were in the ascalon map. Ballistas hit for minimum 1/4 HP and the casting foes do massive AoE damage compared to the warrior and rangers.

Dont get discouraged as fractals i would consider the best challenge in the game. With practice it will become a friendly managable challenge instead of a dead end.

Exotic gear? No, I am level 38 and using Masterwork weapons with blue crafted armor.

I was the guardian… :/

Sure I know how to dodge. The problem however, is being hit from offscreen by random attacks that take 1/2 my health in one shot. Or being in melee range, and not being able to actually see the enemies due to all the fireworks and lighting fx that are right on top of some veteran mob that hits for ludicrous damage, and who apparently takes none in return.

“Don’t get discouraged” is something of a platitude really. I really just wish the game could make up it’s mind whether it was a tab-target or action MMO, because quite honestly, the combat is just a mess of both concepts.

On the one hand you have to “target” mobs, yet on the other you can leap and dodge and do all these other things. You have to hold the right-mouse down to look around, but you can’t properly attack the thing standing directly in front of you. None of the stats or skills seem to make any noticeable difference. A sword with +power doesn’t do appreciably more damage than a sword +40 healing. And similarly, I don’t notice a huge boost to my healing abilities either.

The skills just seem completely underwhelming, and in the clusterf—k of combat, it’s hard to tell whether they’re even working.

meh. I’ve given this game it’s fair shake of chances, but I really don’t think it’s for me.

Aha! We’ve found the source of the ticking!

Misz, fractals scale you up to 80, but they are for level 80s. The scaling doesn’t do quite the same thing.

Get to 80, then try it

Miszou: You need to take a step back and learn how to play the game instead of jumping into endgame content. This means learning the interface, the mechanics, your class, what the gear and traits mean for your build, AND getting to level cap and gearing your character in proper level of gear (exotic at the very least, its cheap and easy to get once you are 80). Go do some world exploration and run around doing hearts and dynamic events, and not the zerg train ones either. Read/watch some guides, and THEN you will be hopefully ready for endgame content like dungeon explore modes and fractals (yeah, you can do them before then, but you have less gear meaning you have to know the content to get it done properly)..

If you’re doing Fractals at character level 38 in blues and greens I have no doubt it would be a nightmare. Sure it upscales, but you’d be a huge burden on your team, if not a considerable reason for failure en masse. Definitely get to max level, gear out in exotics, and then try again. Scaling can’t make up for the differences in gear tiers or the differences in having gear not your level or in a lot of things really. You probably don’t even have all of your utility skills unlocked yet.

Rising Dusk.2408:

If you’re doing Fractals at character level 38 in blues and greens I have no doubt it would be a nightmare. Sure it upscales, but you’d be a huge burden on your team, if not a considerable reason for failure en masse. Definitely get to max level, gear out in exotics, and then try again. Scaling can’t make up for the differences in gear tiers or the differences in having gear not your level or in a lot of things really. You probably don’t even have all of your utility skills unlocked yet.

Well, this begs the obvious question… why are Fractals even available to noobs, if the gear available at that level isn’t good enough, even after scaling up?

Miszou.3158:

No, I am level 38 and using Masterwork weapons with blue crafted armor.

…

meh. I’ve given this game it’s fair shake of chances, but I really don’t think it’s for me.

I wouldn’t say less than half of max level in an MMO where the genre is usually centered around end game content would be considered “fair…chances”

That’s fine though that you don’t think the game is for you. Just don’t post on the forums that people are kicking you right after boss kill injustly. Especially, like noobgood said, you probably were joining “fotm lvl 1 daily” groups. The daily means they just do 1 round of 1 level 1 fractal to get credit for the daily.

Miszou.3158:

Rising Dusk.2408:

If you’re doing Fractals at character level 38 in blues and greens I have no doubt it would be a nightmare. Sure it upscales, but you’d be a huge burden on your team, if not a considerable reason for failure en masse. Definitely get to max level, gear out in exotics, and then try again. Scaling can’t make up for the differences in gear tiers or the differences in having gear not your level or in a lot of things really. You probably don’t even have all of your utility skills unlocked yet.

Well, this begs the obvious question… why are Fractals even available to noobs, if the gear available at that level isn’t good enough, even after scaling up?

Most are easy enough once you know how to do them. They are available early so that people can level alts. The game in general punishes lack of knowledge: Mechanically speaking its not hard, you just have to know what to do. The needing full traits and exotic gear is to give you a buffer of survival so you don’t die to a single mistake, and deal enough damage to kill the enemy fast.

@OP: It’s possible you joined a “Level 1 Fractal for Daily” group, where they will usually roll Swamp and disband as soon as they complete the Fractal. However, given that there’s no Fractal Daily today that seems unlikely. It seems more likely that the leader inconsiderately left as soon as they got their rewards, which I agree is extremely rude and blocks people from getting the end-chest. This is why I always try to start the Fractal myself, and instead of leaving at the end, I just ready up to go back to the lab so I know people have their rewards.

@Miszou: The scaling up is probably a leftover from when they were first introduced, where Fractals scaled everybody up to 80 so they could experience the new content. It IS possible for a lower level character to Fractals, but I agree that it will be painful. To save yourself and your teammates agony (heh), I recommend waiting to do Fractals until you’re level 80 and have Masterwork (green) gear at the minimum.

Miszou.3158:

jessiejay.3625:

Miszou.3158:

Heh, you got further than I did.

On my first run, my computer blue-screened in the middle and then spent 20 minutes rebuilding the game. So we won’t count that.

And earlier this evening, I spent 50% of my time either dead or downed, after suffering massive damage from out of nowhere. 8k followed immediately by 7k at one point. All of us just running along and then I’m dead for no apparent reason.

I had no idea what to do, why I was dying, who to attack or generally wtf was going on. And being in melee range, I couldn’t see the actions of the mobs because of sparks flying everywhere, so I had no idea when to dodge.

I died almost immediately trying to destroy a couple of ballistas, only to watch someone else destroy them while I lay on the floor. And then they respawed about 3 seconds later. So that seemed rather pointless.

I quite clearly mentioned that I was new to this, but no-one seemed to care. Eventually I just quit the group and turned the game off.

Possibly for good.

Theres many variables at play here.

>Are you at minimum Exotic geared?
>Did your team have a competent guardian? Wall of reflect, shield of the avenger is golden.
>Are you dodging properly? As everything hits for massive damage in fractals compared to dungeons. In levels 30+ most foes can one shot you if you let them.
>Sounds like you were in the ascalon map. Ballistas hit for minimum 1/4 HP and the casting foes do massive AoE damage compared to the warrior and rangers.

Dont get discouraged as fractals i would consider the best challenge in the game. With practice it will become a friendly managable challenge instead of a dead end.

Exotic gear? No, I am level 38 and using Masterwork weapons with blue crafted armor.

I was the guardian... :/

Sure I know how to dodge. The problem however, is being hit from offscreen by random attacks that take 1/2 my health in one shot. Or being in melee range, and not being able to actually see the enemies due to all the fireworks and lighting fx that are right on top of some veteran mob that hits for ludicrous damage, and who apparently takes none in return.

"Don’t get discouraged" is something of a platitude really. I really just wish the game could make up it’s mind whether it was a tab-target or action MMO, because quite honestly, the combat is just a mess of both concepts.

On the one hand you have to "target" mobs, yet on the other you can leap and dodge and do all these other things. You have to hold the right-mouse down to look around, but you can’t properly attack the thing standing directly in front of you. None of the stats or skills seem to make any noticeable difference. A sword with +power doesn’t do appreciably more damage than a sword +40 healing. And similarly, I don’t notice a huge boost to my healing abilities either.

The skills just seem completely underwhelming, and in the clusterf--k of combat, it’s hard to tell whether they’re even working.

meh. I’ve given this game it’s fair shake of chances, but I really don’t think it’s for me.

>Fractals is end game content NOT a dungeon
>Unspoken rule is that its for geared up 80`s. The game is by exotic standard. Below it you take highe damage and produce less output. Masterwork doesnt always cut it.
>Char Level 38 you dont have maxed possible traits and boosts needed to make you skills more effective.
>Let the skills "autoattack" enemies, dont click them unless ranged (for combat swiftness, check your settings)
>You dont have to see the foes from far IE stacks, just mash the skills and spam damage.
>I recommend leveling and 200 hour roaming before engaging in demanding content. GW isnt necessarily designed to be "plug and play". Even upscaled WvW combat will feel the same.
>Go to Guardian sub-forum, search guardoan builds and consult to other guardians on how they play plus what to try.
>Double tap to evade. Comstant movement also evades. Kiting from far is also the likes. Never stand and spam: keep it moving in some form unless directed to stack.

If you fall down 7 times, get up 8. If you are willing to learn and practice: you will beable to do any content in the game. Like i said its the best team challenge therefore dont expect to walk into it like a stroll in the park.

Something people are leaving out is that at 10+ fractals you start to take agony damage. This requires agony resist on ascended gear/trinkets to survive (gear check). These are lvl 80 only types of gear. So yes fractals is designed for lvl 80’s. Im not really sure why they made it scale you up, it causes confusion and discomfort for players like yourself.