Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

I’m beginning to wonder if Anet has even considered the impact of all of this “vertical progression”(read: time sink). Ascended weapons will no doubt have higher stats than normal weapons, but they will also probably have higher base damage. This has an even greater impact on the differences between someone geared in full exotics vs full ascended gear.

The issue with this is what happens when you want to change your build? What happens if you dual wield 2 sets of weapons so you need 4 for just 1 build? What happens if you play more than 1 character? 2 characters? 3 characters? There have been other changes that haven’t been alt-friendly and that’s fine, but I think this is becoming too much. I can’t keep up with gearing all of the characters or builds that I play.


I realize people are just going to say “you don’t HAVE to get ascended gear”, but I like to play WvW and it’s silly to think that people are running around in gear that is 10-20% more effective than mine just because they play 1 character and I play 7.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Frozencore.5017

Frozencore.5017

I’m beginning to wonder if Anet has even considered the impact of all of this “vertical progression”(read: time sink). Ascended weapons will no doubt have higher stats than normal weapons, but they will also probably have higher base damage. This has an even greater impact on the differences between someone geared in full exotics vs full ascended gear.

The issue with this is what happens when you want to change your build? What happens if you dual wield 2 sets of weapons so you need 4 for just 1 build? What happens if you play more than 1 character? 2 characters? 3 characters? There have been other changes that haven’t been alt-friendly and that’s fine, but I think this is becoming too much. I can’t keep up with gearing all of the characters or builds that I play.


I realize people are just going to say “you don’t HAVE to get ascended gear”, but I like to play WvW and it’s silly to think that people are running around in gear that is 10-20% more effective than mine just because they play 1 character and I play 7.

I think you have some wrong number there.
Effectively Ascended gear is only 10% better than exotic gear and if you compare an exotic weapon for instance (power, toughness, vitality) + soldier crest with an (upcoming) ascended weapon ^PTV aswell that difference will like +3 power +3 toughness +3 vitality, i can’t see that ruining wvw experience for anyone, unless u think these +3 stats on every piece will make that much of a difference, anyways i get your point and completly understand your side

Anyways just in case you wanna check it out but you have probably already done it
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Ayrilana.1396

Ayrilana.1396

It doesn’t ruin build diversity. I don’t see why a handful of people keep saying this. It’s no different from using rares instead of exotics. The build is the same except the set with the higher quality is moderately better.

They time-gate it because they don’t want people to have everything the first day. You so do not need it. People threw fits when all of the accessories were released and the imbalance it would have in WvW. Lo and behold, it had none. In zergs it is hardly noticeable.

With it being time-gated, everyone has the same chance at getting the equipment at the same time and are not left behind to players who have no problem living in this game. Even the casual player has the chance to get them. Yes you will not be able to equip all of your alts immediately but it will have minimal impact on your ability to play. If you’re worried about WvW then equip the character you play the most with first.

I will also mention that comparing straight stat differences between exotic and ascended is misleading. A 10% increase in stats between types, for example, does not mean a 10% increase in character effectiveness. When you get to large numbers, you run into diminishing returns.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

I think you have some wrong number there.
Effectively Ascended gear is only 10% better than exotic gear and if you compare an exotic weapon for instance (power, toughness, vitality) + soldier crest with an (upcoming) ascended weapon ^PTV aswell that difference will like +3 power +3 toughness +3 vitality, i can’t see that ruining wvw experience for anyone, unless u think these +3 stats on every piece will make that much of a difference, anyways i get your point and completly understand your side

Anyways just in case you wanna check it out but you have probably already done it
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item

Ascended trinkets are currently 10% better. Weapons will be different if the base damage is higher because weapon damage is multiplied by stats. So yeah, 9 stat points won’t be much, but increased damage and the sum of full ascended stats will be together.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ShadowPuppet.3746

ShadowPuppet.3746

I think you have some wrong number there.
Effectively Ascended gear is only 10% better than exotic gear and if you compare an exotic weapon for instance (power, toughness, vitality) + soldier crest with an (upcoming) ascended weapon ^PTV aswell that difference will like +3 power +3 toughness +3 vitality, i can’t see that ruining wvw experience for anyone, unless u think these +3 stats on every piece will make that much of a difference, anyways i get your point and completly understand your side

Anyways just in case you wanna check it out but you have probably already done it
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item

Ascended trinkets are currently 10% better. Weapons will be different if the base damage is higher because weapon damage is multiplied by stats. So yeah, 9 stat points won’t be much, but increased damage and the sum of full ascended stats will be together.

Exactly this, people often don’t realize when they take a damage modifier such as crit damage that even at 100% crit chance 5% crit damage is only actually a 1.9% increase in damage because of the nature of it being multiplicative. This is in direct opposition to traits, weapon strength, and sigils that offer flat % increases to damage.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Knote.2904

Knote.2904

Believe items are coming out that allow you to swap stats and stuff so this shouldn’t be an issue.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Lord Kuru.3685

Lord Kuru.3685

I think you have some wrong number there.
Effectively Ascended gear is only 10% better than exotic gear and if you compare an exotic weapon for instance (power, toughness, vitality) + soldier crest with an (upcoming) ascended weapon ^PTV aswell that difference will like +3 power +3 toughness +3 vitality, i can’t see that ruining wvw experience for anyone, unless u think these +3 stats on every piece will make that much of a difference, anyways i get your point and completly understand your side

Anyways just in case you wanna check it out but you have probably already done it
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item

Ascended trinkets are currently 10% better. Weapons will be different if the base damage is higher because weapon damage is multiplied by stats. So yeah, 9 stat points won’t be much, but increased damage and the sum of full ascended stats will be together.

Exactly this, people often don’t realize when they take a damage modifier such as crit damage that even at 100% crit chance 5% crit damage is only actually a 1.9% increase in damage because of the nature of it being multiplicative. This is in direct opposition to traits, weapon strength, and sigils that offer flat % increases to damage.

Both these two posts.

This will make a huge impact on alts, build diversity, and new players (don’t you want new customers Anet?) in WvW.

Even in PvE: if you ping all rares in a dungeon group, expect to be kicked. Try doing the same with Exotics (for example on your alt) once everyone has Ascended for their mains.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Ayrilana.1396

Ayrilana.1396

Even in PvE: if you ping all rares in a dungeon group, expect to be kicked. Try doing the same with Exotics (for example on your alt) once everyone has Ascended for their mains.

False. This excuse was the same used when ascended accessories were announced and proved to be completely over-exaggerated with the exception of CoF Path 1 farms that required people to be at their maximum potential. People could still do dungeons in rares and are very very rarely asked to ping gear.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Nuka Cola.8520

Nuka Cola.8520

I don’t know about alts but when it comes to builds there’s nothing to kill, build variety is none existent.

Fact: every Thief tells you to “l2p” when the subject is to nerf stealth.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Viking Jorun.5413

Viking Jorun.5413

Ascended gear has 8% higher stats than exotic, not enough to make a difference when only your trinkets and weapons have that 8% higher boost. When you factor in that everyone still has exotic armor, overall your stat boost only becomes 5.2% higher, essentially the difference of using consumables versus an equal opponent who doesn’t use consumables.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TooBz.3065

TooBz.3065

Ascended gear has 8% higher stats than exotic, not enough to make a difference when only your trinkets and weapons have that 8% higher boost. When you factor in that everyone still has exotic armor, overall your stat boost only becomes 5.2% higher, essentially the difference of using consumables versus an equal opponent who doesn’t use consumables.

Or a superior sigil of force.

Anything I post is just the opinion of a very vocal minority of 1.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ShadowPuppet.3746

ShadowPuppet.3746

Ascended gear has 8% higher stats than exotic, not enough to make a difference when only your trinkets and weapons have that 8% higher boost. When you factor in that everyone still has exotic armor, overall your stat boost only becomes 5.2% higher, essentially the difference of using consumables versus an equal opponent who doesn’t use consumables.

Stats yes, but we don’t know if weapon strength will be increased over exotic. Which actually gives a much larger difference than something like a stat increase or a damage multiplier like adding additional crit damage.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Astralporing.1957

Astralporing.1957

Ascended gear has 8% higher stats than exotic, not enough to make a difference when only your trinkets and weapons have that 8% higher boost. When you factor in that everyone still has exotic armor, overall your stat boost only becomes 5.2% higher, essentially the difference of using consumables versus an equal opponent who doesn’t use consumables.

The estimate done once in one of the first ascended gear topics, which was later adjusted for the other trinket stats, ended up with about 20% damage increase for the zerker stat set, due to compound effect. That estimate did not take in consideration increased base weapon damage, so the end effect will likely be greater.

Actions, not words.
Remember, remember, 15th of November

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: IndigoSundown.5419

IndigoSundown.5419

Let’s drop the whole Ascended is x percent better stuff until we see the weapons. If the weapons have higher base damage, as I expect they will, then the multiplicative effect of base power in damage calculations will mean that there will be a synergistic effect in damage calculation (higher base damage, higher power, higher critical damage percentage). Assuming that because trinkets only added x% to effectiveness, that that percentage will remain constant is premature.

edit: ninja’d by Astralporing AND Shadowpuppet

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Lokki.1092

Lokki.1092

Let’s drop the whole Ascended is x percent better stuff until we see the weapons. If the weapons have higher base damage, as I expect they will, then the multiplicative effect of base power in damage calculations will mean that there will be a synergistic effect in damage calculation (higher base damage, higher power, higher critical damage percentage). Assuming that because trinkets only added x% to effectiveness, that that percentage will remain constant is premature.

We’ve already seen the weapons. 9 months ago.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

I don’t know about alts but when it comes to builds there’s nothing to kill, build variety is none existent.

Well you’re right, especially in regards to pve, but I’m more focused on WvW.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: data.4093

data.4093

Don’t worry guys, Anet is making sure this game will be like every other korean MMO. You get 1 character at max level and 1 set of gear. Then you never play a 2nd character unless you buy a 2nd account. Guild Wars 1 be dammed.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

Don’t worry guys, Anet is making sure this game will be like every other korean MMO. You get 1 character at max level and 1 set of gear. Then you never play a 2nd character unless you buy a 2nd account. Guild Wars 1 be dammed.

There was a lot of things I didn’t like about GW1, but I did love not having to grind my kitten off for gear.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: WhiteRose.6934

WhiteRose.6934

I’ve already fallen behind since the release of Ascended Trinkets. Working and college have made me choose one of my five characters to gear with Ascended Trinkets, while the rest of my characters are sticking with Exotics. With the new weapons and, inevitably, armor comes out my one character will continue to advance and leave the others behind.

And when the next upgrades are released after that my alts will slowly just become obsolete. Cool.

Genesis Theory [GT] – Henge of Denravi

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: alcopaul.2156

alcopaul.2156

I want Ascended Foods with Offensive infusion slots!

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Soja.5918

Soja.5918

Honestly, I’ll probably just profiteer on the materials market until it cools down a year from now. Then I will outfit my most used characters. I too am an altoholic, with ten character slots (one currently vacant). I never dreamed of getting them all into exotic gear, much less ascended gear.

To be honest, ascended gear isn’t that big of a deal, unless you’re OCD and want all of your gear to be pink. Perhaps there will be an armor skin or two that I will deeply desire, but consider how pathetic most of the upper level armors are in regards to my taste, probably not. Furthermore, the jury is still out on what upgrades will be going on these new ascended gears, which is too much of a sacrifice in my opinion for a piece of crap infusion slot that barely does anything outside of agony resistance.

The Crystal Desert beckons us. Ascension awaits us.

Keirlann Aurion – Ranger – Chieftain of the Ace Guard [AceG]

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ArchonWing.9480

ArchonWing.9480

Depending on how hard it is to get, it could be a problem.

Currently, I have one of each exotic weapon (that can be used by my characters). I understand that 5-10% may not be much, but the thing is if I have a choice of what to use, I’m going to be more likely to pick the one that has the higher stats.

Let’s just put it like this. Currently I sometimes swap between greatsword and 1-handed sword on my guardian. I would most likely aim for the ascended GS first, and this pretty much all my orange choices will naturally fall to the wayside unless I’m purposely gimping myself. It’s the same reason none of my alternate weapons are rare. I have no need to use subpar weapons if I have a better option already.

With time gating, pursuing other builds becomes expensive, sub-optimal, and not fun.

And of course, there’s the issue of offhands though I’d imagine they’d be more thoughtful and make 1-handers and off handed easier to acquire, but let’s just say I have my doubt.

Unless of course the difference is like infusions, where 0.5% diffrence isn’t noticable. But I doubt that’s what people who desire vertical progression want. It’s a catch-22. If it doesn’t matter, then people will complain it’s a waste of time to get it. If it does matter, then people will feel required to get it.

None of this really matters if gear is offered through reasonable channels. Problem is that if it’s brought through limited channels then that isn’t very cool, especially if the main way is through a boring method of crafting.

Personally, I think the status quo is very good, because you can trivially change your gear almost as you need. Because the difference between exotic and rare isn’t that bad, there’s no need to worry you’ll run with people that have gear so bad they won’t do anything. And thus, there’s less of a reason to blame that. However, while one may say that exotic to ascended won’t be that big of a diffrence, fine. But what say you to those folks still in yellows or with alts in yellows?

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards,
for there you have been and there you will long to return.

(edited by ArchonWing.9480)

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ZudetGambeous.9573

ZudetGambeous.9573

If you haven’t gotten the message by the crappy design and the 20+ nerfs over the last 12 months then you are a little late to the party.

Anet hates alts, the end.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

If you haven’t gotten the message by the crappy design and the 20+ nerfs over the last 12 months then you are a little late to the party.

Anet hates alts, the end.

You’re right, and I know this, but it just seems silly if they haven’t thought about this killing “build diversity”(lol zerker).

But, you know what? Anet probably doesn’t care. They’re just looking at their bottom line and adding in gear is a stupid easy fix to a greater problem of keeping some people interested in this game instead of horizontal progression(good content).

(edited by Zindrix.1750)

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Kiro.3164

Kiro.3164

Ironically enough I know a few people that still run around in rares on their alts. I mean everyone has a main toon they like the most. Also I think exos and rares will drop in price, but only ones that are 2.5g+. And ectos will keep them from crashing too hard.

Main: Lv80 Thief
Alts: Lv80 Necromancer, Lv80 Mesmer
[GoF] Blackgate

(edited by Kiro.3164)

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

Ironically enough I know a few people that still run around in rares on their alts. I mean everyone has a main toon they like the most. Also I think exos and rares will drop in price, but only ones that sre 2.5g+

I agree, I have full exotics on all of my characters and some even have 2 or 3 sets of armor or weapons but I don’t think exotics are too hard to come by. CoF is a good way to get zerker gear for example. I also don’t have a “main character” I honestly do play different characters in different parts of the game. Ascended weapons will presumably require a bunch of T6 mats, some new mats, and then the lovely aspect of crappy development, time gated mats. Oh Joy.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Scoobaniec.9561

Scoobaniec.9561

People as always overreact. The same was happening when they released ascended trinkets..We won’t see anytime soon highter tier than ascended, by that time everyone will get it.

As for alts i don’t have any in current state but i do plan to make them and guess what? I will be running them in exotics as i don’t see the point why i should put ascended gear on something i barely use anyway.

As for cof old times, i been running them with ppl that dindt had a single ascended trinket and noone complained about it, nor i don’t rebember anyone getting kicked for that reason. And i did over 1000x runs

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

People as always overreact. The same was happening when they released ascended trinkets..We won’t see anytime soon highter tier than ascended, by that time everyone will get it.

As for alts i don’t have any in current state but i do plan to make them and guess what? I will be running them in exotics as i don’t see the point why i should put ascended gear on something i barely use anyway.

As for cof old times, i been running them with ppl that dindt had a single ascended trinket and noone complained about it, nor i don’t rebember anyone getting kicked for that reason. And i did over 1000x runs

I could care less about ascended gear for the horribly designed dungeons in this game(which is also why I don’t have ascended rings from fractals). However, the combination of stats from weapons/trinkets and eventually armor will be significant enough in WvW, which is what I enjoy doing.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Tolmos.8395

Tolmos.8395

Yea, when the rest of ascended gear hits the game, I will likely call it quits on WvW. I’ll focus on sPvP and PvE, but I don’t feel like dealing with stat differences beyond what already exists in WvW.

/shrug. Fine by me, I guess. Just means I’ll need to find a second game for my PvP needs.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TooBz.3065

TooBz.3065

People as always overreact. The same was happening when they released ascended trinkets..We won’t see anytime soon highter tier than ascended, by that time everyone will get it.

As for alts i don’t have any in current state but i do plan to make them and guess what? I will be running them in exotics as i don’t see the point why i should put ascended gear on something i barely use anyway.

As for cof old times, i been running them with ppl that dindt had a single ascended trinket and noone complained about it, nor i don’t rebember anyone getting kicked for that reason. And i did over 1000x runs

When they introduced Ascended Trinkets I had five character that I used regularly. Now, I have two. So, for me, ascended trinkets already started limiting alts. Also, ascended trinkets are much better for power specs than they are for condition specs. So that helped kill build diversity.

If you look at history extrapolate and voice your concerns you are not overreacting.

Anything I post is just the opinion of a very vocal minority of 1.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Mikau.6920

Mikau.6920

Sorry for my english.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Chuo.4238

Chuo.4238

I don’t know about killing builds at all. Some may change, but I’m sure it’ll just make them more powerful.

It’s certainly killed my will to play however, to say nothing of my will to play an alt.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: IndigoSundown.5419

IndigoSundown.5419

I don’t know about killing builds at all. Some may change, but I’m sure it’ll just make them more powerful.

It’s certainly killed my will to play however, to say nothing of my will to play an alt.

I believe the complaint is that it kills build experimentation, not builds themselves. However, in PvE more Ascended will just widen the gap between berserker and everything else. Ascended won’t kill PvE build diversity, it will just drive another nail into the coffin.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: MrRuin.9740

MrRuin.9740

The gear itself I could live with….if this is it and we’re not heading to a gear treadmill every few months. I don’t expect any builds to die because of it, presumably diff stat combos are available like current ascended.
The time-gated is what kills me. I don’t have a ‘main’. I have 5 characters levelled to 80 in full exotics that I played pretty well equally. Just depended on the mood I was in and what I wanted to do. So, I kept them all geared and equally ready to jump into whatever. It’s not OCD, as someone said, to want to keep them at the top of their game to be able to jump into whatever I want to do with them. Getting exotics was very alt-friendly. Time-gated crafting would suck for this. And depending on the stat upgrades, may not even bother with.
If we can outright buy the finished crafted product though and I can just pay to outfit my characters with this new gear……then thats different. Is this confirmed? Or is this stuff account/soul-bound on aquire? Or still an unknown?

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TooBz.3065

TooBz.3065

The gear itself I could live with….if this is it and we’re not heading to a gear treadmill every few months. I don’t expect any builds to die because of it, presumably diff stat combos are available like current ascended.
The time-gated is what kills me. I don’t have a ‘main’. I have 5 characters levelled to 80 in full exotics that I played pretty well equally. Just depended on the mood I was in and what I wanted to do. So, I kept them all geared and equally ready to jump into whatever. It’s not OCD, as someone said, to want to keep them at the top of their game to be able to jump into whatever I want to do with them. Getting exotics was very alt-friendly. Time-gated crafting would suck for this. And depending on the stat upgrades, may not even bother with.
If we can outright buy the finished crafted product though and I can just pay to outfit my characters with this new gear……then thats different. Is this confirmed? Or is this stuff account/soul-bound on aquire? Or still an unknown?

Having never experienced a real gear treadmill, I’m probably totally off base, but since ascended amulets came out (I ignored the rings because I dislike fractals) I have been constantly working toward getting gear for my characters. To me, I feel like I’m on a treadmill.

What difference does it make if a complete set of BiS gear comes out every three months or if a new BiS item comes out every three months? I’m still always chasing BiS gear with no end.

Anything I post is just the opinion of a very vocal minority of 1.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sardonia.8196

Sardonia.8196

The gear itself I could live with….if this is it and we’re not heading to a gear treadmill every few months. I don’t expect any builds to die because of it, presumably diff stat combos are available like current ascended.
The time-gated is what kills me. I don’t have a ‘main’. I have 5 characters levelled to 80 in full exotics that I played pretty well equally. Just depended on the mood I was in and what I wanted to do. So, I kept them all geared and equally ready to jump into whatever. It’s not OCD, as someone said, to want to keep them at the top of their game to be able to jump into whatever I want to do with them. Getting exotics was very alt-friendly. Time-gated crafting would suck for this. And depending on the stat upgrades, may not even bother with.
If we can outright buy the finished crafted product though and I can just pay to outfit my characters with this new gear……then thats different. Is this confirmed? Or is this stuff account/soul-bound on aquire? Or still an unknown?

I thought that the gear was account bound until equiped (cannot sell it on the TP). However the T7 mats to make it were able to be sold on the TP. I just worried about the cost of it all. First raising your crafting from 400-500 is probably going to be very spendy. Then to make the weapon will be spendy as well.
If all the above is true, again just speculating on what I have heard, would you be able to craft more than one weapon a day if you had all the T7 mats or is that only once per day as well?

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: mrstealth.6701

mrstealth.6701

If we can outright buy the finished crafted product though and I can just pay to outfit my characters with this new gear……then thats different. Is this confirmed? Or is this stuff account/soul-bound on aquire? Or still an unknown?

Colin Johanson

Looking Ahead: GW2 in 2013 blog post
New Crafting Material Rewards
We’ll also add a new set of account-bound crafting materials to the game. You’ll receive these materials as guaranteed rewards once per day per unique location for completing content within a category of gameplay in Guild Wars 2.
For example, capturing camps, towers, and keeps in WvW will earn you these crafting materials. In the Living World, you can earn them for killing giant world bosses, defeating dungeons, completing jumping puzzles, completing mini-dungeons, finishing some types of guild missions, capturing temples in Orr, and other activities.

Unless they’ve made some major changes in their plan, this is going to be completely account bound from crafting to finished product. They want getting ascended gear to take forever, so they aren’t going to let you buy it.

Footsteps Of War [FoW] | Yak’s Bend
Seer Of The Divine | Sarina Starlight | Tireasa | Caedyra

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: stale.9785

stale.9785

It ruins diversity (the trinkets, at least) because if you don’t do fractals till your fingers bleed, and are dependent upon Laurels, you’re looking at six months for a set of trinkets, for one build. You want a different style of trinkets, that’s another six months for best-in-slot gear.

I don’t imagine the ascended weaponry will be any easier to get – nor the upcoming ascended armour. The entire approach has been alt-unfriendly, and will likely be more so.

A core theme of GW has always been that best-in-slot gear is easy to get, because skill counts more than gear. This changed with ascended trinkets (they also lost thousands of players overnight when introduced this) and is only going to get worse.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: MrRuin.9740

MrRuin.9740

Having never experienced a real gear treadmill, I’m probably totally off base, but since ascended amulets came out (I ignored the rings because I dislike fractals) I have been constantly working toward getting gear for my characters. To me, I feel like I’m on a treadmill.

What difference does it make if a complete set of BiS gear comes out every three months or if a new BiS item comes out every three months? I’m still always chasing BiS gear with no end.

I’ve played a grear treadmill game. And it wears on you.

Imagine you get all your characters geared, then 4 months they release better gear…not cosmetic, but stats. And you start working for that gear. You finally get 1 character outfitted in it when another 5 months they release a set of gear even better than that. More and more of your characters fall behind as they continue to add more and you have to focus on one character to keep him currently geared.
Eventually, the game feels like a job. You can’t enjoy yourself because you have to farm or spend money to keep your characters geared. And you have to save for fear of the next update when the gear you just earned will become obsolete.
Yes, gear treadmills can be this bad. I’ve experienced it firsthand.

Without the treadmill, as Anet has said they wanted to avoid……you get your character in the new ascended and can work on alts or cosmetics and enjoy yourself because you’re not playing catch-up constantly or worried whatever gear you might have now is going to be obsolete in a few months. Without it…yes you might be chasing gear for a long time, but you know theres a visible and attainable end. IN a treadmill, the goals are ever-changing and pushed farther and farther away

(edited by MrRuin.9740)

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Lord Kuru.3685

Lord Kuru.3685

I don’t know about killing builds at all. Some may change, but I’m sure it’ll just make them more powerful.

It’s certainly killed my will to play however, to say nothing of my will to play an alt.

I believe the complaint is that it kills build experimentation, not builds themselves. However, in PvE more Ascended will just widen the gap between berserker and everything else. Ascended won’t kill PvE build diversity, it will just drive another nail into the coffin.

True for PvE. Unless Anet drastically changes their mob mechanics and behavior, Berserker will still be the best.

But for WvW this is really a killer. There is currently a great amount of build diversity in WvW. People are always experimenting with new and different builds and that’s great — it keeps the game fresh. With Ascended gear, and PARTICULARLY time gating blocking the acquisition of the gear, we’ll see less of this experimentation.

By the way, for PvE, even if Berserker is all you need, your alts need gear too. Having that gear time gated really hurts.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: MrRuin.9740

MrRuin.9740

Colin Johanson

Looking Ahead: GW2 in 2013 blog post
New Crafting Material Rewards
We’ll also add a new set of account-bound crafting materials to the game. You’ll receive these materials as guaranteed rewards once per day per unique location for completing content within a category of gameplay in Guild Wars 2.
For example, capturing camps, towers, and keeps in WvW will earn you these crafting materials. In the Living World, you can earn them for killing giant world bosses, defeating dungeons, completing jumping puzzles, completing mini-dungeons, finishing some types of guild missions, capturing temples in Orr, and other activities.

Unless they’ve made some major changes in their plan, this is going to be completely account bound from crafting to finished product. They want getting ascended gear to take forever, so they aren’t going to let you buy it.

Ugh…..thanks for the quote. Well that really does suck.
I’ll just have to wait and see how game-breaking the new gear is, if at all. At this point, that’s all I’m hoping for.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Ayrilana.1396

Ayrilana.1396

There’s no diminishing returns on Power/Pre/Crit (quite the opposite actually), and as far as I know it’s unlikely there’s diminishing returns on Armor stats either (players very often make the mistake of misunderstanding how resistance is calculated to prevent run-off exponential values).

There are diminishing returns. Adding 10 power when you have 100 power is not the same as adding 10 power when you have 1,000 power. As you increase power, eventually you reach a point where the increase is only marginal. I believe that there was a thread many months ago with stating this but with toughness.

My train of thought followed along those lines. A full berserker adding ascended weapons will not notice a significant impact in their effectiveness. However, a full ascended berserker warrior (armor, weapons, trinkets) will have a significant impact over those that are just in complete exotics. With ascended being released in waves, this difference will not really have an impact on the majority of the population. You’ll likely only see it with new characters or brand new players.

The only way to see the actual differences is to calculate everything using those formulas (hopefully they’re legit and not just based on player assumptions) and compares the OVERALL stats of a berserker warrior in exotics compared to one in ascended. I have yet to see anyone do that since most focus on just the stats on the items alone which is misleading.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Swagger.1459

Swagger.1459

I’m beginning to wonder if Anet has even considered the impact of all of this “vertical progression”(read: time sink). Ascended weapons will no doubt have higher stats than normal weapons, but they will also probably have higher base damage. This has an even greater impact on the differences between someone geared in full exotics vs full ascended gear.

The issue with this is what happens when you want to change your build? What happens if you dual wield 2 sets of weapons so you need 4 for just 1 build? What happens if you play more than 1 character? 2 characters? 3 characters? There have been other changes that haven’t been alt-friendly and that’s fine, but I think this is becoming too much. I can’t keep up with gearing all of the characters or builds that I play.


I realize people are just going to say “you don’t HAVE to get ascended gear”, but I like to play WvW and it’s silly to think that people are running around in gear that is 10-20% more effective than mine just because they play 1 character and I play 7.

here is what they ultimately want you to do…

option 1- max out your credit cards and/or spend thousands of dollars buying legendaries for your characters to stay competitive.

option 2- spend most of your game time for the next 3 years gathering up crafting mats so you can level up crafting profession to create the specific ascended gear for all your characters to stay competitive.

option 3- insert your credit card for gems to buy all the mats required to level up crafting professions to 500 and more mats after to craft ascended gear to stay competitive. this option would be cheaper than option 1 though

option 4- you will continuously get owned by someone else in ascended gear using their more powerful #1 auto attack and heal so you will either rage credit card or rage quit.

New Main- 80 Thief – P/P- Vault Spam Pro

221 hours over 1,581 days of bank space/hot pve/lion’s arch afk and some wvw.

(edited by Swagger.1459)

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: defrule.7236

defrule.7236

You have to keep in mind, when ascended weapons and armour comes out, it isn’t just their stats that will increase. The weapon damage and defence stat will be higher as well.

An ascended greatsword might have a damage range of 1090-1200 on top of the higher stats.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

You have to keep in mind, when ascended weapons and armour comes out, it isn’t just their stats that will increase. The weapon damage and defence stat will be higher as well.

An ascended greatsword might have a damage range of 1090-1200 on top of the higher stats.

That’s what I was saying, but some people still didn’t understand or read it.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: MikaHR.1978

MikaHR.1978

There are diminishing returns. Adding 10 power when you have 100 power is not the same as adding 10 power when you have 1,000 power. As you increase power, eventually you reach a point where the increase is only marginal. I believe that there was a thread many months ago with stating this but with toughness.

Theres no dminishing returns in GW2. Period.

Adding 10 is adding 10 power and incresing you damage for that 10 power for same amount whatever your start point is.

Colin Johanson: “Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the
best statistical loot in the game. We want everyone on an equal power base.”

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zindrix.1750

Zindrix.1750

There are diminishing returns. Adding 10 power when you have 100 power is not the same as adding 10 power when you have 1,000 power. As you increase power, eventually you reach a point where the increase is only marginal. I believe that there was a thread many months ago with stating this but with toughness.

Theres no dminishing returns in GW2. Period.

Adding 10 is adding 10 power and incresing you damage for that 10 power for same amount whatever your start point is.

Even so, she is ignoring the fact that the weapon could have a higher base damage anyways, which is multiplied by power for your overall attack.

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: MikaHR.1978

MikaHR.1978

There are diminishing returns. Adding 10 power when you have 100 power is not the same as adding 10 power when you have 1,000 power. As you increase power, eventually you reach a point where the increase is only marginal. I believe that there was a thread many months ago with stating this but with toughness.

Theres no dminishing returns in GW2. Period.

Adding 10 is adding 10 power and incresing you damage for that 10 power for same amount whatever your start point is.

Even so, she is ignoring the fact that the weapon could have a higher base damage anyways, which is multiplied by power for your overall attack.

Yah, people tend to forget that, weapons bring much more advatge/item than trinkets.

We can safely say weapon brings double increase over trinket item.

Colin Johanson: “Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the
best statistical loot in the game. We want everyone on an equal power base.”

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: mrstealth.6701

mrstealth.6701

There are diminishing returns. Adding 10 power when you have 100 power is not the same as adding 10 power when you have 1,000 power. As you increase power, eventually you reach a point where the increase is only marginal. I believe that there was a thread many months ago with stating this but with toughness.

Theres no dminishing returns in GW2. Period.

Adding 10 is adding 10 power and incresing you damage for that 10 power for same amount whatever your start point is.

Even so, she is ignoring the fact that the weapon could have a higher base damage anyways, which is multiplied by power for your overall attack.

They do have higher base damage. We saw this back in November when they accidentally buffed legendary weapons to their ascended tier stats. This was quickly patched, but the information was already out.

A greatsword went from 995-1100 to around 1045-1150, a 50 point (approx) increase to the base damage. That’s about 4-5% in just the base damage, the +stats were also increased by an amount comparable to other ascended gear.

Footsteps Of War [FoW] | Yak’s Bend
Seer Of The Divine | Sarina Starlight | Tireasa | Caedyra

Ascended Gear to Kill Builds and Alts?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Chuo.4238

Chuo.4238

What bothers me is that people have been saying all this since November…and guess what? We’re getting it anyway. I think all they really care about is how to milk as much out of as many credit cards as possible. This isn’t about making a good game. I’m starting to wonder if it ever was.

kitten shame to see another once-brilliant, imaginative company sell out its core principles.

But hey. I don’t have to play it. And anymore, I’m not. No desire to have anything to do with time-gated gear grinds.

I used to post my disappointment here in the hopes that ArenaNet would learn from this. I’ve lost all hope of that. Now I’m hoping that some up-and-coming studio is learning from it, and makes a good game.

I’ll cheerfully spend money in a good, fun, engaging game. I’m sure as heck not going to spend it on gear grind.