Guild Wars 2

So, I returned to the game after a hiatus of some time (I was really wicked sick for a while and not gaming at all, couldn’t even sit up) and now I’m faced with Dry Top and rumors of bouncing mushrooms and gliders. My health, low vision, and coordination are such that I have never been very good at PvP (I get by) or jumping puzzles (I suck), but there is so much more to the game, I could alway sidestep most of the jumping puzzles and just muscle my way slowly through progression outside of PvE with caveats to anyone with me.

But let me tell you. I hate Dry Top. Or perhaps, Dry Top hates me. And there is not a single time I have been in Dry Top I don’t hear someone cussing in /m that they are hating their life because of the terrain.

Dear Abbies: should I just pack in the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on this game and find another hobby?

Get you a mesmer friend and you will be able to complete Dry Top and still be able to enjoy the events and rewards without any jumping at all.

shava.3502:

So, I returned to the game after a hiatus of some time (I was really wicked sick for a while and not gaming at all, couldn’t even sit up) and now I’m faced with Dry Top and rumors of bouncing mushrooms and gliders. My health, low vision, and coordination are such that I have never been very good at PvP (I get by) or jumping puzzles (I suck), but there is so much more to the game, I could alway sidestep most of the jumping puzzles and just muscle my way slowly through progression outside of PvE with caveats to anyone with me.

But let me tell you. I hate Dry Top. Or perhaps, Dry Top hates me. And there is not a single time I have been in Dry Top I don’t hear someone cussing in /m that they are hating their life because of the terrain.

Dear Abbies: should I just pack in the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on this game and find another hobby?

I’ve been away for a while, so I can’t say much about the state of endgame… but is Dry Top really the only thing left to do post 80 in pve? I mean, I know there are other level 80 zones but is that pretty much the end-all be-all zone where most people spend time?

You could probably still enjoy much of the game without needing to jump, but unfortunately it is a pretty integral part of the game. You wouldn’t be completely without things to do, for sure, and I’m sure you could go on to play many more enjoyable hours without ever needing to jump again… but you will certainly be locked out of SOME things, and depending on your personality that could eat away at you more than it would be worth it to play the game.

I hate to say, but that might be a question only you can answer.

Are you still having fun?

You could always go to SW…

The bouncing mushrooms work by standing on the center and pressing your action button, so I doubt that will be a problem. Gliding is another problem though. The controls felt smooth in the beta and I could land easily on a relatively smal surface but you might want to search for a video of gliding and see if it is possible. Verdant brink was more 3 dimensional by routes and not jumps like dry top.

On a side node, a necro might be a solution to your jumping puzzle problem. (spectral walk/recal allow you to reset if you fail : spectral walk before the hard part , try your action, if fail use spectral recall (works even in mid air) )

You can certainly play a good chunk of the game without jumping. There are few maps that require jumping to progress (Dry Top being the most notorious), with the majority of maps only requiring jumps for some vistas. Also, Tim has a great solution in the form of Spectral Walk if you have trouble with some nasty vistas. It’s not the best option if you dislike Necromancer, but it’s something to consider.

Also, the Gliders are coming in Heart of Thorns (expansion pack, no release date yet) and are only useable in the new region (Verdant Brink being one of the maps) so if you have trouble with those, just avoid that region.

I’m actually writing this after being stuck with Cornered in the personal story, where in Dry Top you chase someone around with acrobatics. I can’t see this as the last bit of personal story requiring it.

And of course all the goodies one gives up without geodes and so on (I’m a master crafter, working on grandmaster, so not being able to forage freely hurts too).

I just feel like the game is leaving anyone who isn’t an arcade gamer behind. I wasn’t raised on consoles, and I couldn’t play on one now. I love this game for the depth, immersion, and community — but I hate being relegated to training wheels because I’m not a SuperNintendo head.

I guess that’s just it. I’ll have to skip a lot of the content. But…sigh.

You can simply ignore Dry Top .. not really much there beside grinding for
ambrite weapons.
Also you just need to jump once there the first time from the entrance. As soon
as you have the waypoints there is not really much need to jump.

Cant say much for HoT of course .. but i hope it is not as much of a navigation
nightmare than what i fear.

Try the SilverWastes, much less annoyingly vertical terrain.

I’m not sure why game developers get occasionally obsessed with designing ‘vertical maps’ but the result is invariably a pain in the kitten .

shava.3502:

So, I returned to the game after a hiatus of some time (I was really wicked sick for a while and not gaming at all, couldn’t even sit up) and now I’m faced with Dry Top and rumors of bouncing mushrooms and gliders. My health, low vision, and coordination are such that I have never been very good at PvP (I get by) or jumping puzzles (I suck), but there is so much more to the game, I could alway sidestep most of the jumping puzzles and just muscle my way slowly through progression outside of PvE with caveats to anyone with me.

But let me tell you. I hate Dry Top. Or perhaps, Dry Top hates me. And there is not a single time I have been in Dry Top I don’t hear someone cussing in /m that they are hating their life because of the terrain.

Dear Abbies: should I just pack in the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on this game and find another hobby?

Honestly i am no good at pvp or jumping puzzles. I have done what research i can on HoT and from what i gather you will have the ability to glide should you mess up and such. If you find a part to difficult just ask a mesmer for help, they can port you to the location (assuming it is close by) I personally suffer from a weak heart so to much stress and i am bed bound for weeks. I try to play GW2 in a relaxed manner and not give much kitten about what others thing or say. All i can suggest is wait until the expansion comes out and give it a shot for your self, feel free to add me if you wish i have a mesmer (80) and i also have a few friends who are mesmer who do not fail terribly at jumping XD.

bind jump key to a key that actually works for you.

Speaking as someone who took typing allllll they way back in high school and even middle school, I’d recommend looking into purchasing a Razer Naga.

I have my 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys to bound to movement and my spells and abilities bound to Q through T and A through F keys, weapon switch bound to Shift and of course, jump to my spacebar.

For someone who is older (and remembers how to type ), that may fit the bill just right!

mcwurth.2081:

bind jump key to a key that actually works for you.

“My health, low vision, and coordination are such…”

Please read the actual post before replying.

OP, sorry to hear about that, but yes, you can do quite a bit of what little endgame content there is available. Dungeons don’t require jumping (most of the time), and like a few here have mentioned, SW farming could be something to look into. It’s very repetitive, but rewarding (I actually farmed it for a few weeks after it came out, now I can’t stand to go back there unless I really really really need Obsidian Shards, and even then I hate going back).

If it’s the camera view itself that is the cause of your issues, you could try messing around with the settings til you find settings that don’t cause you discomfort.

Huggywuggles.2814:

Speaking as someone who took typing allllll they way back in high school and even middle school, I’d recommend looking into purchasing a Razer Naga.

I have my 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys to bound to movement and my spells and abilities bound to Q through T and A through F keys, weapon switch bound to Shift and of course, jump to my spacebar.

For someone who is older (and remembers how to type ), that may fit the bill just right!

This could definitely help. I have a razer naga MMO which has 12 buttons on the side of my thumb, and another 2 buttons on top next to the left mouse button. I honestly can’t remember how I managed to play MMOS without it.

I used to suck at jumping, like many people. But I have now done all the JPs and while I am not JP expert I can now do most jumps fine. It’s called practice, stick at it and you will get better. Give in and the problem is really mainly yours.

I have no issues with the Dry Top stuff personally, but I have issues with dodging and other rapid-reaction based mechanics, so I definitely get it. For me, it seems that every new bit of content lately emphasizes those things. That’s an issue, in my opinion. I know quite a few people who have a condition which makes that kind of gaming troublesome (which is why they stick to MMO, and don’t go near FPS). Means they’ll definitely not be buying HoT if it goes the same way.

Sandpit.3467:

I used to suck at jumping, like many people. But I have now done all the JPs and while I am not JP expert I can now do most jumps fine. It’s called practice, stick at it and you will get better. Give in and the problem is really mainly yours.

“My health, low vision, and coordination are such…”

I don’t know why people don’t bother to at least read the first post.

Miss Lana.5276:

mcwurth.2081:

bind jump key to a key that actually works for you.

Please read the actual post before replying.

.

i did and that is why the suggestion, might be easier to bind jump to a key right next to the forward key, duh.

you better think before snaring out to people like that.

My wife hates Dry Top, for the same reason she hates jumping puzzles. Me, I enjoy both. Silverwastes, the map created after Dry Top, is a pretty friendly map, all in all, to what you are looking for. Most of the boss/event mechanics won’t require a lot of finesse, and there are plenty of people there as well to back you up. I might would stay on Red Keep or Amber Sandfall Events/Boss Breach though, and maybe man an Arrow Cart or Mokittenuring the Vinewraith parts.

Also, I don’t know why it wont let me spell “Mortar” “During” above in the last sentence, but oh well…lol

Like one guy suggested, you can use necro’s spectral walk as a sort of retry option, although engineer might be better for you. Jump shot allows for pin point accurate jumping on a relatively low CD. Just point, click, boom, no problems.

Thanks everyone, some really good ideas in here. I have a necro but I think she’s in her mid 20s (but about 425 tailor at this point). My main is a sylvari hunter, Horione on TC (if server matters anymore, heh). Hunter is easier if you have low vision in my experience (my original main back in the day was a mesmer, and in other games back to EQ I preferred monks/rogues positional dex fighters but that’s right out, now.)

I think I am going to adopt some combination of solutions here and give it time. Since working with my old nostromo doesn’t help much (it’s my reaction time and ability to control how fast/hard I hit a key, not so much positional issues that make this torturous), I don’t think a naga would be better. I have a downline Logitech mouse and a Skiller keyboard, and the Nostromo available, but they don’t compensate for the failing wiring in my own bod.

I have autoimmune vasculitis, in case anyone was wondering — kind of like lupus — the inflammation throughout the vascular system messes with the nervous system, which is very oxygen hungry, and the meds to treat it are narsty. I’ve gone from an amateur interest in cogsci to my own lab rat. This isn’t “oh pity me,” just sort of an explanation of why I can adopt certain suggestions (Mesmer, and so on) and not others (Razer,…).

But thanks for the input, all!

Luckily you can still complete 95% of what GW2 has to offer without jumping, but honestly, if your health, vision, and coordination are so bad to be an impairment, then you might need to accept that there will be areas in most video games that you won’t easily be able to complete.

For them to limit all content to be able to be completed by people with poor vision, health, coordination, dexterity, etc. would likely create content that is mind-numbingly easy for the majority of players.

Miss Lana.5276:

“My health, low vision, and coordination are such…”

I don’t know why people don’t bother to at least read the first post.

You should try reading it yourself. I did. Quoting a small line out of context makes your argument silly. If they are so ill, blind and wretched that they can’t make a jump then they are dead. The problem here is they suck at it (as I once did) but this can be overcome. Any skill can be learnt and jumping is certainly no exception.

You’ll probably have a hard time in HoT too. Seeing how it will be all about jumping mushrooms and gliders.

I think it may be useful to note here that social skills and propriety in expressing one’s thoughts can also be learned with practice and diligence. Some of us seem to need some practice in that area. i.e, a baseball bat to the face does not equal kind encouragement

On topic, once you’re through the boss fight that the OP mentioned, there is much less (IMO) “jump-related drudgery” in Living Story Season 2. I’m very bad at jumping, and I hated all of that as well, but you’re through most of it, shava. LS S2 is IMO very good, and worth the effort. There are some helpful posts on these forums related to that boss fight, but I don’t remember his name and I’ll have to look it up to try and find them

re: You’ll probably have a hard time in HoT too. Seeing how it will be all about jumping mushrooms and gliders. – I have some concerns about HoT as well, but I’m withholding judgement until we know more. It does kinda seem like Dry Top was a trial of things to come. But hopefully they learned a lot of useful things from Dry Top that will help alleviate problems in HoT.

I found the thread on these forums that discusses strategies to defeat Aerin:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/How-to-kill-Aerin/first

It really helps to have other players with you. The NPC’s will occupy the tendrils, but aren’t really helpful for anything else during this fight.

Don’t know if anyone mentioned it, but the engineer rifle skill jump shot is a boon for people who can’t jump.

shava.3502:

Thanks everyone, some really good ideas in here. I have a necro but I think she’s in her mid 20s (but about 425 tailor at this point). My main is a sylvari hunter, Horione on TC (if server matters anymore, heh). Hunter is easier if you have low vision in my experience (my original main back in the day was a mesmer, and in other games back to EQ I preferred monks/rogues positional dex fighters but that’s right out, now.)

I think I am going to adopt some combination of solutions here and give it time. Since working with my old nostromo doesn’t help much (it’s my reaction time and ability to control how fast/hard I hit a key, not so much positional issues that make this torturous), I don’t think a naga would be better. I have a downline Logitech mouse and a Skiller keyboard, and the Nostromo available, but they don’t compensate for the failing wiring in my own bod.

I have autoimmune vasculitis, in case anyone was wondering — kind of like lupus — the inflammation throughout the vascular system messes with the nervous system, which is very oxygen hungry, and the meds to treat it are narsty. I’ve gone from an amateur interest in cogsci to my own lab rat. This isn’t “oh pity me,” just sort of an explanation of why I can adopt certain suggestions (Mesmer, and so on) and not others (Razer,…).

But thanks for the input, all!

Hey man, something else I wanted to add: Hit me up if you ever need help. I know I can’t do anything for you mechanically, but as far as jumping puzzles and the like go, maybe it would help if you had someone to “guide” you. Like, “Stand here, face this way, etc.” Granted I’m just into Silverwastes (I think) on my PS but Ii always figure the more the merrier.

Plus, it might help in tougher fights where your reflexes might not be so swell to have someone backing you up.

The only drawback? You’d have to put up with lame humor such as, “Teq’s mama soooo stupid, Thackery said, ‘Horrogos’ and she said, ‘Goes where?’” :P

I am not sure how easy you will find the glider, but I do not think the mushrooms will be a problem. From the beta experience they seem to aim you where you need to go anyway, and seem to be designed to help you bypass much of the jumping.

As you progress and unlock more tiers for each mastery they should get easier to use as well. I do not know if that will be enough for you, shava, but hopefully it will not be as bad as you fear. You have my sympathies on this subject, as I have a friend who hates jumping as much as you do. Personally I am good at jumping puzzles, but my friend is not, and I can often hear him getting more and more annoyed when trying to get certain vistas, and many times it has ended with him giving up out of shear frustration. So I know where you are coming from.

Jumping Puzzles are easily avoided, but it does seem like the game is requiring the use of jumping more and more these days. I didn’t have a problem navigating Dry Top, but I can see how it would annoy those who find jumping more challenging. I hope that any content in HoT, that is reachable only by gliding or jumping, can be easily ignored without too much of a problem. I think it is fine to have extra loot and achievements at the end of a gliding puzzle, but do not think it fair if you need to be skilled in gliding/jumping in order to get to the next zone or waypoint.

If that fails, like Hannelore said, I am sure there will be plenty of mesmers porting people about during the early days of HoT’s release.

mcwurth.2081:

Miss Lana.5276:

mcwurth.2081:

bind jump key to a key that actually works for you.

Please read the actual post before replying.

.

i did and that is why the suggestion, might be easier to bind jump to a key right next to the forward key, duh.

you better think before snaring out to people like that.

You obviously didn’t if you missed the part about OP’s health, vision and coordination.

Its also worth mentioning Gw2 isnt your typical MMO.. you dont have to feel forced to play in a level 80 map because you’re level 80. Goes without saying that if a particular map design is something you dont enjoy you simply dont have to play it. Thats part of what makes this game stand out. Nothing is mandatory. (well provided you’re not into the bio lumen armor set… thats essentially the only thing that makes dry top mandatory)

As for the expansion we dont know yet unfortunately what was shown so far seems to indicate there is quite a bit of vertical mobility but we dont know how accessible regular content is without jumping. What I mean is mushroom jumping might be just required for optional content (like Achievements and such), could very well be the case you can do the whole story without touching one of those fungi dudes at all.

We’ll have to see when Anet releases more info.

bio lumen armor is in the silverwastes where u hardly have to jump at all… The amberite insect weapons are in dry top

How are you mechanically incapable of jumping? Buy a new keyboard? Jumping isn’t that hard; you just press the spacebar.

Vayne.8563:

Don’t know if anyone mentioned it, but the engineer rifle skill jump shot is a boon for people who can’t jump.

The Experimental Rifle is another option and it’s available to any profession. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Experimental_Rifle

Hey, Mal. How are you physically incapable of reading the first post? Buy a new monitor? Reading isn’t that hard, all you have to do it look at it.

It would be helpful to know what classes(s) you have, what level range, and what (real world ) region and time zone.

Here’s a list of jumpless vistas, to help you with dailies. Some of these may require minimal fighting. A speed buff is helpful for avoiding mobs.

Jumpless Vistas

Ascalon: Blazeridge Steppes, Terra Combusta – SSE From Brokentooth Maw WP, Directly S of heart or WNW from Lowland Burns WP

Kryta: Queensdale, Beetletun – S from Beetletun WP

Maguuma: Metrica Province, Wildflame Caverns – E from Sorenn Dra WP, then S into Wildflame Caverns

Maguuma Wastes: Silverwastes, Northeastern Silverwastes – from Camp Resolve WP, take the NW exit and follow the path out, stay left. Stay high and left on the path, through the canyon, then over the hill.

Orr: Fort Trinity – Fort Trinity WP, the West onto airship, then out on to prow

Shiverpeaks: Wayfarer Foothills, East from Halvaunt WP (Wurmhowl spikes)