Guild Wars 2

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

What if the reason I made ascended equipment was for the stat increases over exotics?

Yeah no thank you. You either work for it or you don’t. I put a lot of hard work into all of my armor for the stat increase however small it may be.

Altair.8402:

What if the reason I made ascended equipment was for the stat increases over exotics?

Which is totally fine, but the only place this actually matters competitively is in WvW and it doesn’t make sense that you should beat people because you have better stats then them(not saying that is the case for you specifically, just as a whole). This is why pvp has amulets and such.

dszteina.8507:

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination.

And invalidate all the work and gold people have shoved into making their full ascended gear sets for stat swap abilities?

No.

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination.

And invalidate all the work and gold people have shoved into making their full ascended gear sets for stat swap abilities?

No.

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

dszteina.8507:

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination.

And invalidate all the work and gold people have shoved into making their full ascended gear sets for stat swap abilities?

No.

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

It’s not about prestige it’s about me having a tiny advantage in a fight, maybe enough to turn a real close fight where I die to one where I win.

[/quote]

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.[/quote]

It’s not about prestige it’s about me having a tiny advantage in a fight, maybe enough to turn a real close fight where I die to one where I win.
[/quote]

Interesting view point. Then why not have PvE gear in PVP with that logic? If stats are allowed to be a deciding factor in a player vs player fight then why is this limited to WvW? Im curious as to your thoughts on this

dszteina.8507:

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination.

And invalidate all the work and gold people have shoved into making their full ascended gear sets for stat swap abilities?

No.

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

Because we all know, people don’t switch gear enough in fractals even for that to matter. The PvE meta is zerk/assassin 8 times out of 10, or get out. Hell, trinkets are enough as is for agony resistance, if fractals their thing. WvW is the only area of the game this could affect.

Its too much cheaper anyway to buy or craft necessary exotic sets for WvW purposes, than crafting a full ascended set for the stat swap ability.

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination.

And invalidate all the work and gold people have shoved into making their full ascended gear sets for stat swap abilities?

No.

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

Because we all know, people don’t switch gear enough in fractals even for that to matter. The PvE meta is zerk/assassin 8 times out of 10, or get out. Hell, trinkets are enough as is for agony resistance, if fractals their thing. WvW is the only area of the game this could affect.

No arguement here at all. My question is why? If PvE stats matter in WvW why do they not matter in PvP?

The stat swap isnt necessarily limited to fractals. Having the freedom to swap to a different stat combination whenever you want without having to craft a whole new set and carry it around everywhere you go would nice. Thats all

Lots of people craft legendaries, not only for the great visual and stat bonus, but the convenient stat swap options.

dszteina.8507:

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.[/quote]

It’s not about prestige it’s about me having a tiny advantage in a fight, maybe enough to turn a real close fight where I die to one where I win.
[/quote]

Interesting view point. Then why not have PvE gear in PVP with that logic? If stats are allowed to be a deciding factor in a player vs player fight then why is this limited to WvW? Im curious as to your thoughts on this
[/quote]

WvW was never meant to be an even fight. Population, coverage, guard stacks, food, etc. I use every resource available to me to gain an advantage and if the enemy are too uncommitted to do the same then it is their loss.

Ascended gear doesn’t need stat swapping. It is fine as it stands. The bonus is small, but we made that gear because we wanted it. As of right now I have crafted three full sets of ascended armor. I also have enough tokens from running dungeons to get any set of armor with any stats on it any time I want, so I don’t need the stat change. The only stats I run in PvE is zerker anyway.

We made it because we want it as it is, Not because we want to change stats of the fly. Ascended and legendarily weapons are two different animals.

That is all

dszteina.8507:

No arguement here at all. My question is why? If PvE stats matter in WvW why do they not matter in PvP?

The stat swap isnt necessarily limited to fractals. Having the freedom to swap to a different stat combination whenever you want without having to craft a whole new set and carry it around everywhere you go would nice. Thats all

I understand where you’re coming from, but people are gonna need some other incentive to have their ascended gear downgraded and the hard work they put in, for benefits other than stat swapping on the fly. Maybe the ability to select any rune combo free of charge, in addition to the stat change. Better yet, maybe even keep the 5% stat bump too.

However I think this would just create complications because ascended armor is held to the same standards and rules of ascended weapons.

bloodletting wolf.2837:

dszteina.8507:

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

It’s not about prestige it’s about me having a tiny advantage in a fight, maybe enough to turn a real close fight where I die to one where I win.
[/quote]

Interesting view point. Then why not have PvE gear in PVP with that logic? If stats are allowed to be a deciding factor in a player vs player fight then why is this limited to WvW? Im curious as to your thoughts on this
[/quote]

WvW was never meant to be an even fight. Population, coverage, guard stacks, food, etc. I use every resource available to me to gain an advantage and if the enemy are too uncommitted to do the same then it is their loss.[/quote]

That does make sense. I really like that reply. Its true, there are a lot of factors in WvW that can influence that outcome. I agree with that. Population is server dependent and since most people xfer to the “best” WvW server its not THAT relevant.

What I meant was, for instance, in a 1v1 fight with someone in WvW. Why should one person have a statistical advantage over the other? Assuming they’re both level 80. Its the whole “I’m better because I have higher stats” issue that doesnt make sense. Not really WvW as a whole, as you described, more on the individual player level.

Re: Same stats as Exotics.

Upsides:

• Less incentive to get Ascended.
• A tiny bit more difficulty in PvE for whoever has Ascended armor/weapons.

Downsides:

• Less of an incentive to get Ascended. Since the tier’s purpose is to be wanted, this is directly contrary to the design goal.
• Those who spent the time and effort to get these items for the stat boosts have spent their time and gold (yes, and, even if they gathered all the mats, the opportunity cost of making the item with them was not selling the mats) are getting something taken away.
• The incentive to make them is greatly reduced, meaning the relevant sellable mats will decrease in price. This will negatively impact anyone who is selling the mats.

Conclusion: As much as I hated the inclusion of the Asc. tier, the downsides outweigh the upsides by a lot.

Re: Swappable Infusions

Upside:

• One wouldn’t have to make multiple sets if they want to use the gear in different types of content and one cannot stand to be without every last possible point of stat, etc.

Downside:

• Possible conflict with ANet design intent. They very well may want players to make multiple sets, furthering the long-term goals nature of the tier.
• Players complaining about needing to store the infusions in bags, meaning more space taken up.

Neutral:

• The agony infusion is much more important for FotM than the trivial benefits provided by the WvW, general or utility infusions. The only reason the “other” infusions even exist is because the infusion slot was in the gear, so when Asc. was ported out of FotM, they made something to go in that slot. Also, ANet at one point considered making infusions be the focus for progression. Now that they are pursuing progression via Elite specs and Masteries, infusion progression is out the window or on the back burner.

Conclusion: The only reason I don’t just shrug and give out a sigh of indifference is that I don’t know how non-trivial it would be to make the things removable. If you FotM, obviously you should be slotting AR. The other infusions are such a small benefit that unless the programming were equally trivial, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. The storage space issue alone might make this a non-starter.

Geneaux.9547:

dszteina.8507:

No arguement here at all. My question is why? If PvE stats matter in WvW why do they not matter in PvP?

The stat swap isnt necessarily limited to fractals. Having the freedom to swap to a different stat combination whenever you want without having to craft a whole new set and carry it around everywhere you go would nice. Thats all

I understand where you’re coming from, but people are gonna need some other incentive to have their ascended gear and hard work, downgraded for benefits other than stat swapping on the fly. Maybe the ability to select any rune combo free of charge, in addition to the stat change. Better yet, maybe even keep the 5% stat bump too.

However I think this would just create complications because ascended armor is held to the same standards and rules of ascended weapons.

Thats a cool idea, about the runes. Im glad you get what I mean, I also understand what youre saying. In the grand scheme of the game and how the developers designed it, the idea of ascended armor having better stats than exotic doesn’t seem to match the spirit of GW2. By the logic of exotic<ascended, why not ascended<legendary? Theres a reason legendary weapons don’t have even higher stats. its the same idea. They’re prestige items. “Hey look at me. im shiny”. Not hey look at me I have better stats. Its just really confusing.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Re: Same stats as Exotics.

Upsides:

• Less incentive to get Ascended.
• A tiny bit more difficulty in PvE for whoever has Ascended armor/weapons.

Downsides:

• Less of an incentive to get Ascended. Since the tier’s purpose is to be wanted, this is directly contrary to the design goal.
• Those who spent the time and effort to get these items for the stat boosts have spent their time and gold (yes, and, even if they gathered all the mats, the opportunity cost of making the item with them was not selling the mats) are getting something taken away.
• The incentive to make them is greatly reduced, meaning the relevant sellable mats will decrease in price. This will negatively impact anyone who is selling the mats.

Conclusion: As much as I hated the inclusion of the Asc. tier, the downsides outweigh the upsides by a lot.

Re: Swappable Infusions

Upside:

• One wouldn’t have to make multiple sets if they want to use the gear in different types of content and one cannot stand to be without every last possible point of stat, etc.

Downside:

• Possible conflict with ANet design intent. They very well may want players to make multiple sets, furthering the long-term goals nature of the tier.
• Players complaining about needing to store the infusions in bags, meaning more space taken up.

Neutral:

• The agony infusion is much more important for FotM than the trivial benefits provided by the WvW, general or utility infusions. The only reason the “other” infusions even exist is because the infusion slot was in the gear, so when Asc. was ported out of FotM, they made something to go in that slot. Also, ANet at one point considered making infusions be the focus for progression. Now that they are pursuing progression via Elite specs and Masteries, infusion progression is out the window or on the back burner.

Conclusion: The only reason I don’t just shrug and give out a sigh of indifference is that I don’t know how non-trivial it would be to make the things removable. If you FotM, obviously you should be slotting AR. The other infusions are such a small benefit that unless the programming were equally trivial, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. The storage space issue alone might make this a non-starter.

Woah love this dude. Really valid points.

I have a few of my own.

If people are crafting ascended gear SOLELY for the stat increase over another player. I would bet they are heavy into WvW. So really, this would effect those players the most. ( or not at all, depending on how you look at it)

The incentive to make ascended “stuff” is really just something to do. Players who have conquered all other content want another goal. Similar to legendaries. Legendaries however, do not have superior stats to ascended weapons, they have other selling points that make them more desirable.

Keep in mind ascended items were introduced basically along with the FoTM for the purpose of agony resistance and end game PVE. It was never tied to WvW in any way until people saw the stats were higher.

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Also, these suggestions will never happen so it’s moot to brainstorm these particular ideas.

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW because thats where the stats would actaully “matter”

on another note, no one has really answered my PvP/WvW question. Its never going to be an even fight regardless, player skill is never even. My question is why are stats a factor in one and not the other?

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time, gold and real life money players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Did you think about all the real money players spent on gems to convert into gold so they can buy their ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

How did you come to the conclusion that only a very small amount of the player base has ascended gear?

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

I put a lot of time and gold into my ascended armor sets and weapons and for sure don’t want to see any changes.

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time and gold players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

1) Yes.
2) Yes. This would allow them to invest slightly less.
3) I dont know, I am not a dev. Its more of a trade off, ascended gear would still retain its other advantages over exotic, and as you can see from some of my suggestions… maybe a few more.
4) I dont think people would quit the game if they removed the small stat gain over exotic items and added other convenient and useful functionality.
5) Yes its effects are game wide, but it only MATTERS in WvW. PvE is a completely different story. It is REQUIRED for higher tiered fractals. Open world PvE doesnt really matter to be honest because most “challenging” content is done with groups and group coordination matters way more than the difference in stats from ascended for exotic. (For example, ive never heard of anyone making a whole ascended set specifically for performing better during a teq run)

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time and gold players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

1) Yes.
2) Yes. This would allow them to invest slightly less.
3) I dont know, I am not a dev. Its more of a trade off, ascended gear would still retain its other advantages over exotic, and as you can see from some of my suggestions… maybe a few more.
4) I dont think people would quit the if they removed the small stat gain over ascended items and added other convenient and useful functionality.
5) Yes its effects are game wide, but it only MATTERS in WvW. PvE is a completely different story. It is REQUIRED for higher tiered fractals. Open world PvE doesnt really matter to be honest because most “challenging” content is done with groups and group coordination matters way more than the difference in stats from ascended for exotic. (For example, ive never heard of anyone making a whole ascended set specially for performing better during a teq run)

Like I said, you need to think about the implications more and you will see how portly thought out these suggestions really are.

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time and gold players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

1) Yes.
2) Yes. This would allow them to invest slightly less.
3) I dont know, I am not a dev. Its more of a trade off, ascended gear would still retain its other advantages over exotic, and as you can see from some of my suggestions… maybe a few more.
4) I dont think people would quit the if they removed the small stat gain over ascended items and added other convenient and useful functionality.
5) Yes its effects are game wide, but it only MATTERS in WvW. PvE is a completely different story. It is REQUIRED for higher tiered fractals. Open world PvE doesnt really matter to be honest because most “challenging” content is done with groups and group coordination matters way more than the difference in stats from ascended for exotic. (For example, ive never heard of anyone making a whole ascended set specially for performing better during a teq run)

Like I said, you need to think about the implications more and you will see how portly thought out these suggestions really are.

You still haven’t contributed anything constructive. But okay, I appreciate your opinion!

dszteina.8507:

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

Translation: “If I were an anet lead developer and I wanted to see 80% of the existing players rage quit the existing game, how would I do it?”
lol?

Daywolf.2630:

dszteina.8507:

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

Translation: “If I were an anet lead developer and I wanted to see 80% of the existing players rage quit the existing game, how would I do it?”
lol?

80% of the player base doesn’t have an ascended set. Really awesome joke though.

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

I have a few ideas: (applying to armor and weapons only, trinkets are to easy to get)

Suggestion: Make all ascended gear equal in stats to exotic, in exchange give ascended gear the ability to change to a secondary stat combination. Similar to how a Legendary can change to any stat combo, allow ascended gear to have dual stat combination swapping. For example, if someone crafts a set of heavy ascended armor they can choose 2 sets of stats for each piece at the time of crafting and swap between the two freely out of combat. (example: I crafted a heavy set that can swap between berserker and sinister, or i crafted a light set that can swap between clerics and soldiers)

Reason: Most people aren’t going to make an ascended set at all, let alone multiple ones. For a small portion that DOES. Make it a little easier and a little more rewarding.

Complications: This would require a few recipe changes and such due to the current crafting system in which ascended recipes are stat specific. I really don’t see that as MUCH of an issue though.

NEXT

Suggestion: Allow infusions to be swapped out at will. This is directed towards Agony infusions, WvW infusions and the “other” infusions (gold, exp, magic find).

Reason: Is it really intended that I should make 3 seperate sets of ascended gear for WvW, Fractals, and PVE grinding? That seems insane and im sure no one has even bothered with it. If youre going to go through the trouble and costs of making a single ascended set… It should give you some options and advantages over exotic which is so easily obtained. (again not a stat bonus, so stats on infusions would be removed as well)

Complications: I dont really see any issues with this, it seems easy enough and it seems fair.

Now with all that being said I know no one is “forcing me” to make ascended items and i dont “have to do it” if I dont want to. But for players that literally have nothing else to strive for and are bored…it sure would make things a lot more appealing while also making things fair.

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time and gold players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

1) Yes.
2) Yes. This would allow them to invest slightly less.
3) I dont know, I am not a dev. Its more of a trade off, ascended gear would still retain its other advantages over exotic, and as you can see from some of my suggestions… maybe a few more.
4) I dont think people would quit the if they removed the small stat gain over ascended items and added other convenient and useful functionality.
5) Yes its effects are game wide, but it only MATTERS in WvW. PvE is a completely different story. It is REQUIRED for higher tiered fractals. Open world PvE doesnt really matter to be honest because most “challenging” content is done with groups and group coordination matters way more than the difference in stats from ascended for exotic. (For example, ive never heard of anyone making a whole ascended set specially for performing better during a teq run)

Like I said, you need to think about the implications more and you will see how portly thought out these suggestions really are.

You still haven’t contributed anything constructive. But okay, I appreciate your opinion!

The constructive part was me encouraging you to think more about these flawed suggestions that will never come to pass in these forms.

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

Swagger.1459:

dszteina.8507:

After reading lots of threads (mostly reddit) about peoples views on ascended gear, ive come to notice the opinions are very split. Some love the idea, some hate it. Which is fine, to each their own.

These are poorly thought out ideas for multiple reasons. I would suggest that you fully think things through and see all the extremely large negative implications that these would have on the player base and developers.

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW.

I would suggest that you try to figure out the larger implications of your ideas

Well you were very helpful in this thread, thank you for your input.

Do you know what gold and time sinks are?

Do you know how much time and gold players put into obtaining ascended gear?

Do you think the devs are going to down grade ascended gear to appease these poorly thought out suggestions?

Do you think the devs are going to risk losing more of their player base and offer more refunds like the original ascended fiasco?

You think that ascended gear only matters in wvw? No it’s effects are game wide.

You really need to flesh out your ideas and think about the implications of such sweeping suggestions.

1) Yes.
2) Yes. This would allow them to invest slightly less.
3) I dont know, I am not a dev. Its more of a trade off, ascended gear would still retain its other advantages over exotic, and as you can see from some of my suggestions… maybe a few more.
4) I dont think people would quit the if they removed the small stat gain over ascended items and added other convenient and useful functionality.
5) Yes its effects are game wide, but it only MATTERS in WvW. PvE is a completely different story. It is REQUIRED for higher tiered fractals. Open world PvE doesnt really matter to be honest because most “challenging” content is done with groups and group coordination matters way more than the difference in stats from ascended for exotic. (For example, ive never heard of anyone making a whole ascended set specially for performing better during a teq run)

Like I said, you need to think about the implications more and you will see how portly thought out these suggestions really are.

You still haven’t contributed anything constructive. But okay, I appreciate your opinion!

The constructive part was me encouraging you to think more about these flawed suggestions that will never come to pass in these forms.

The funny part is you haven’t actually described anything to show how they are flawed. You just asked me a bunch of questions which I answered. Moving on.

dszteina.8507:

Daywolf.2630:

dszteina.8507:

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

Translation: “If I were an anet lead developer and I wanted to see 80% of the existing players rage quit the existing game, how would I do it?”
lol?

80% of the player base doesn’t have an ascended set. Really awesome joke though.

mmm… yeah you may be right. How about 80% of 2yo+ vets? I see lots of game developers try their darndest to make their vets rage quit (e.g. SWG: nge).

dszteina.8507:

bloodletting wolf.2837:

dszteina.8507:

Explain why it would be invalidated? The cost or amount of work to get it would be the same…so the prestige would remain.

It’s not about prestige it’s about me having a tiny advantage in a fight, maybe enough to turn a real close fight where I die to one where I win.

Interesting view point. Then why not have PvE gear in PVP with that logic? If stats are allowed to be a deciding factor in a player vs player fight then why is this limited to WvW? Im curious as to your thoughts on this
[/quote]

WvW was never meant to be an even fight. Population, coverage, guard stacks, food, etc. I use every resource available to me to gain an advantage and if the enemy are too uncommitted to do the same then it is their loss.[/quote]

That does make sense. I really like that reply. Its true, there are a lot of factors in WvW that can influence that outcome. I agree with that. Population is server dependent and since most people xfer to the “best” WvW server its not THAT relevant.

What I meant was, for instance, in a 1v1 fight with someone in WvW. Why should one person have a statistical advantage over the other? Assuming they’re both level 80. Its the whole “I’m better because I have higher stats” issue that doesnt make sense. Not really WvW as a whole, as you described, more on the individual player level.[/quote]

OK let me put it to you this way. We are both in exotics and start playing WvW at the same time and frequency. I decide to put my points into the guard stacks and you decide to put yours into the siege lines. When I run across you 1v1 should I have an advantage? Yes because of where I decided to invest my effort. It is the same with ascended armor. Because I decided to invest my gold/effort/time into ascended armor instead of skins/more alts or whatever I get a tiny boost.

I’m going to guess that you are a newer player so I’ll let you in on a secret. Ascended armor gives you very little advantage. You are better off working on weapons and trinkets. Armor is a long term goal that gives you very little advantage unless you play fractals or WvW.

As for PvP that is a completely different game mode. It is supposedly the closest thing to a balanced fight.

dszteina.8507:

Daywolf.2630:

dszteina.8507:

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

Translation: “If I were an anet lead developer and I wanted to see 80% of the existing players rage quit the existing game, how would I do it?”
lol?

80% of the player base doesn’t have an ascended set. Really awesome joke though.

Can you give us the link for this?

I think there’s a gap between points of view.

I’ve been playing since day one (with a few breaks) and introduction of ascended gear gave me a goal to achieve. I’m currently running 7 sets (armor+weapons+trinckets) on 5 different characters (for fotm mostly). If ascended stats were downgraded to exotic level I would rage quit, no matter any expac.
I believe this is the point of view of any vet player who has invested a lot of time in crafting these sets.

On the other hand, new players must find ascended gear really expensive to craft and might find hard to get the tiny but existing stat difference.

@ OP : I’m wondering why do you want to change ascended gear anyway? For WvW purposes? WvW is not SPvP where only skill matters. It’s actually PvPvE where strategy and equipment make a difference. How many sets have you made already? Do you realize that the only reason i’ve been playing for more than a year is to gear my toons? And I know a lot of other vet. players in the same situation.

Sorry for any misspelling.

bloodletting wolf.2837:

dszteina.8507:

Daywolf.2630:

dszteina.8507:

What do you guys think? Would love to see a red post. Cheers!

Translation: “If I were an anet lead developer and I wanted to see 80% of the existing players rage quit the existing game, how would I do it?”
lol?

80% of the player base doesn’t have an ascended set. Really awesome joke though.

Can you give us the link for this?

Well, there are a lot of new players here. I’ve seen many vets leave the game. It’s pretty much called “turnover” in the industry, and usually 50% just the first year. So the statement is likely correct on the whole, but among retaining vets it’s likely ~80%+. Even if not all having crafted them themselves, events like teq drop ascended gear, so it’s likely most if not all vets are using ascended weapons.

The stats are why we spent tons of gold and/or time to make/get them (I didn’t even WANT ascended released – but too late now). Sudden stat nerf long after having the system go live, well is just… unthoughtful let alone unimaginative. Most of us have stacks of the same type weapons, just different stats. Ok, now the OP needs to start a “server wipe: start over fair to new players” thread

The Original Post doesn’t really spell out a specific problem with the status quo, which is why none of the specific suggestions are likely to be effective in the long run.

ANet went to a lot of trouble to introduce a set of gear that has stats beyond that offered by exotics; I don’t see them changing that setup anytime soon.

The only problem I really see with ascended gear is that it’s horribly expensive and tedious to produce, so that if you make a mistake in choice of gear (or runes), it’s extremely expensive to fix it. You can’t even salvage or forge your mistake (as you might with ill-chosen exotics).

That singular issue could be solved in a number of ways. My personal preference is to offer a mystic forge recipe for ascended gear to change the prefix. For example, combine an ascended Berserker insignia with an ascended Cleric’s helm, add a vision crystal and an eldritch scroll, and you change the cleric’s gear to zerker’s. That keeps the price high enough that people aren’t going to do it arbitrarily, while still allowing folks to feel they didn’t waste their original effort.

dszteina.8507:

Altair.8402:

What if the reason I made ascended equipment was for the stat increases over exotics?

Which is totally fine, but the only place this actually matters competitively is in WvW and it doesn’t make sense that you should beat people because you have better stats then them(not saying that is the case for you specifically, just as a whole). This is why pvp has amulets and such.

You didn’t really answer my question. How would you implement this without annoying the (large group of) players who got ascended stuff (whether for PvE or WvW) for its stats?

If your answer is “just deal with it”, can’t you see how your suggestion would be firmly opposed by said group of players?

It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to be changing. You can post about it but doesn’t matter.
Also you would have been better off mainf a suggestion back when the gear was I introduced. It’s old now.

dszteina.8507:

Sure. Would you care to elaborate on these multiple reasons? Im just curious.

The only thing I can see that it effects is WvW because thats where the stats would actaully “matter”

So if the stats dont really matter, why dont you just play whatever you play in exotic gear? How does the existance of ascended gear impact you negatively?

I really don’t get this anti ascended argument. Ascended is simply the last tier of gear. Why is that any worse then the stat diff between exotic and rare items? It’s as if because it was added later in the game it represents a gear treadmill? So if it was always the last tier or gear from release it would be fine? It is something that can be achieved by anyone if that is their priority. If it’s not a priority then who cares? All aspects of the game can be played effectively with out it. But for those who made it a priority and now have it why take that away? Of course there is a slight bump in stats which is a reward for those who wanted it but not enough to negate anyone else’s ability to play successfully.

Why have any tier of gear why is there grey, white, blue, green, yellow, orange? But have the pink in there and panties start to bunch. Really then if you want to remove pink then just pick one and we will make all gear the same as say green gear. That would make the game pretty boring for some people. And why? All because pink was added later? Crap exotics give a slight increase in stats and I’ll bet everyone try’s to get into all exotics even though the bump is minor. Also compared to crafting rares the cost is significantly higher on exos as well as drop rates much lower.

I always find these ascended arguments rather funny. You have to invest a huge amount of time and gold to complete a full set of ascended gear, and yet the benefits are actually WORSE than the difference between Rare and Exotic level 80 gear.

So… why are so many people opposed to them having a small stat benefit when they apparently don’t even have two words on the difference between existing tiers?

Ascended serves one purpose.
It brings GW2 more in line with the MMO-genre standard of needing a stat-crawl. It is intended to give an endgame gear grind and placebo effect of ‘being better’. Any other function of Ascended could have been filled without the stat boost.

The funny thing is, the boost is not significant and not worth the cost and/or time at all, unless you really need all the slots for fractals (though in this case the stats are a slight benefit to having paid for the AR slots).
Ascended is not needed in any PvE (save fractals) or any WvW. The circumstances for that tiny stat boost to matter in WvW are so minuscule, they are hardly worth considering……one on one, similar build and skill on an otherwise level playing field.

Ascended serves its function. Gear-grind stat-crawl to bring GW2 more in line with what people expect from the genre.

scarydogie.3024:

I really don’t get this anti ascended argument. Ascended is simply the last tier of gear. Why is that any worse then the stat diff between exotic and rare items? It’s as if because it was added later in the game it represents a gear treadmill?

No, it’s because, unlike exotics, it is not easy to get.

scarydogie.3024:

So if it was always the last tier or gear from release it would be fine?

See the above.

scarydogie.3024:

It is something that can be achieved by anyone if that is their priority.

Sure, but it will take a lot of time, and /or cost you a leg.

scarydogie.3024:

Why have any tier of gear why is there grey, white, blue, green, yellow, orange?

I have no idea. I’d be fine with only a single tier existing. Actually, i have been advocating removing stats from gear completly for some time already (as its existence clashes with the active combat system).

Astralporing.1957:

scarydogie.3024:

I really don’t get this anti ascended argument. Ascended is simply the last tier of gear. Why is that any worse then the stat diff between exotic and rare items? It’s as if because it was added later in the game it represents a gear treadmill?

No, it’s because, unlike exotics, it is not easy to get.

scarydogie.3024:

So if it was always the last tier or gear from release it would be fine?

See the above.

scarydogie.3024:

It is something that can be achieved by anyone if that is their priority.

Sure, but it will take a lot of time, and /or cost you a leg.

scarydogie.3024:

Why have any tier of gear why is there grey, white, blue, green, yellow, orange?

I have no idea. I’d be fine with only a single tier existing. Actually, i have been advocating removing stats from gear completly for some time already (as its existence clashes with the active combat system).

Well in my opinion it is not hard to get. I have 8 sets. I have about 3k hours logged. With the time gate and crafting it’s kind of tedious and boring. But it isn’t hard. Of course this is my opinion and everyone has a right to their own opinion. Though most of these threads seem to be qq and not wanting to put the time into leveling crafting and then getting through the time gated material. It’s boring but there isn’t anything challenging about farming some gold, leveling crafting, doing SW for the materials, then daily crafting the time gated stuff. Actually if you only want one or two sets if you keep doing this you can make a profit off selling the time gated cloth. So it can pay for itself eventually, granted that would take awhile. But it’s not like gold is challenging to get in this game either.

Right now it is 54g to level to 500 armor crafting and 102 gold to level to weapon smithing. You can get that in a month pretty easily.

Andraus.3874:

… tedious and boring … It’s boring …

Looks like you hit the nail on the head.

Look, the OP’s first suggestion is not going to fly. Why? A game developer introduces time/gold intensive BiS gear. By introducing said gear, they cheese off all of the customers who expected — based on pre-launch info — that time/gold intensive pursuit of BiS was not going to be a thing. Would it then make sense to turn around and cheese off the customers they put this crap in to please? Not going to happen.