Guild Wars 2

Specifically will there be a system for saving and swapping builds when the expansion is released?

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

I don’t know. There are quite a few QOL changes that have made my life easier, including right clicking salvage kits, account bound recipes, consume all for several items, new stuff added to the materials storage…there’s one HUGE big ticket item that people want more than anything but that’s in no way a reflection on the rest of the game.

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

It does? Well, as far as I know the game is in a very good state and there are alot of updates, both QoL and those who takes the game another step forward.
The QoL improvement you are looking for is something that I want too but I also know that there would be needed alot of new coding and alot of ways to make so it can’t be used to exploit.

So I agree with OP, it is something we really need. I also want it with PoF at least in an update close by.

PoF has consistently been described as a content heavy expansion, as opposed to a feature heavy one like HoT. If build templates are to be introduced, I’m guessing it’ll be during a subsequent update instead of at launch.

(Or they may already have it and are just keeping quiet… Anet’s recent modus operandi has been to keep some surprises to spring on us.)

Guy who made arcdps is making a build templates addon under anet’s supervision. I doubt they gonna make official one.

TheRandomGuy.7246:

Guy who made arcdps is making a build templates addon under anet’s supervision. I doubt they gonna make official one.

Yeah, he’s currently got permission to code and test it himself but not to share it with anyone else.

Whether or not he’ll ever be allowed to actually release it is another thing. I’m kinda surprised they let him do anything at all as for it to work it basically requires his app to be able to manipulate and control the GW2 client to some degree.

A real, official, build template is still required.

They have been making a lot of QoL changes. For players that have been active over the most recent time its harder to see since they have been incremental and we are used to them. Just had a guildy come back though after a year off and its much more visible to them as they discover new features. Take consume all, timers on WvW objectives, match histories, scoring, KD ratios, material storage changes and it goes on. A lot of times QoL don’t make patch notes as well and need to be discovered.

In some cases its bang for the buck. I do run with multiple sets of gear on a toon and will switch it up if needed, but I think the majority of people don’t. So the templates would impact a smaller player base than other QoL changes might as well so I could see this as lower on the priority list. You also have to consider a majority of people won’t see QoL the same as creating new content so it has to be incremental else the larger audience will see ANet as not doing anything even if they released templates.

So bring it up and post interest in it, but I wouldn’t use this as a measuring stick on software progress. 2 cents, good gaming.

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

Yeah. Anet has a particularly bad habit of arbitrarily deciding what is and isn’t a priority to the detriment of the game. See:

LW season 1
Townclothes tonics

And in some cases they even double down on obviously bad decisions almost seemingly out of defiant zeal. See:

Ranger pets
Dungeons

Einlanzer.1627:

Anet has a particularly bad habit of arbitrarily deciding what is and isn’t a priority to the detriment of the game.

These weren’t arbitrary decisions and there’s a very strong argument that these were better for the game/community than the alternatives

Einlanzer.1627:

LW season 1

I’m not sure if you mean having an LS1 or the fact that it was temporary content or the fact that they weren’t prepared for the game’s popularity (and so suffered from server issues).

However, it was hardly an arbitrary decision to include it in the game. The entire plan was in place prior to launch.

Or maybe you mean that they haven’t entirely rewritten it so it can be brought back as repeatable content. That, too, wasn’t arbitrary in the least — the effort & people involved is comparable (if not identical) to those devoted to new living stories and they decided that more people would like to see new content than there are those who want to see old content (especially since it can’t possibly meet our over-hyped expectations at this point).

Einlanzer.1627:

Townclothes tonics

This, too, wasn’t an arbitrary decision. It was spend extra time re-designing for the Wardrobe (by making a light|medium|heavy version of the relevant clothing, each of which has its own set of issues) or indefinitely postponing the conversion so they could release the wardrobe sooner rather than later.

Einlanzer.1627:

Ranger pets

Again, not an arbitrary decision to require rangers to use pets. It might not meet your idea of a “ranger”; it meets other people’s concept though.

Einlanzer.1627:

Dungeons

Presumably you are talking about ANet’s decision to drop support for dungeons. Again, that wasn’t arbitrary. They looked at trying to keep them modernized and recognized it would mean rewriting much of the original code/design. Fixing old content when the same resources could be spent on new content seems like a waste to a lot of people.

And they didn’t double down on it, they actually redid the rewards so that dungeons are more rewarding now if you speedclear and about equally rewarding as before if you don’t (but still continue to do 8 unique paths).

tl;dr none of the examples cited were “arbitrary” decisions or a “bad habit”

I’m not at all sure why build templates haven’t yet made it into the game and I think ANet’s misjudged the need: there are so many ways they could make build swapping easier for us.

But let’s not exaggerate the situation. Not liking a decision isn’t the same as considering it arbitrary or even a mistake.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Einlanzer.1627:

Anet has a particularly bad habit of arbitrarily deciding what is and isn’t a priority to the detriment of the game.

These weren’t arbitrary decisions and there’s a very strong argument that these were better for the game/community than the alternatives

Einlanzer.1627:

LW season 1

I’m not sure if you mean having an LS1 or the fact that it was temporary content or the fact that they weren’t prepared for the game’s popularity (and so suffered from server issues).

However, it was hardly an arbitrary decision to include it in the game. The entire plan was in place prior to launch.

Or maybe you mean that they haven’t entirely rewritten it so it can be brought back as repeatable content. That, too, wasn’t arbitrary in the least — the effort & people involved is comparable (if not identical) to those devoted to new living stories and they decided that more people would like to see new content than there are those who want to see old content (especially since it can’t possibly meet our over-hyped expectations at this point).

Einlanzer.1627:

Townclothes tonics

This, too, wasn’t an arbitrary decision. It was spend extra time re-designing for the Wardrobe (by making a light|medium|heavy version of the relevant clothing, each of which has its own set of issues) or indefinitely postponing the conversion so they could release the wardrobe sooner rather than later.

Einlanzer.1627:

Ranger pets

Again, not an arbitrary decision to require rangers to use pets. It might not meet your idea of a “ranger”; it meets other people’s concept though.

Einlanzer.1627:

Dungeons

Presumably you are talking about ANet’s decision to drop support for dungeons. Again, that wasn’t arbitrary. They looked at trying to keep them modernized and recognized it would mean rewriting much of the original code/design. Fixing old content when the same resources could be spent on new content seems like a waste to a lot of people.

And they didn’t double down on it, they actually redid the rewards so that dungeons are more rewarding now if you speedclear and about equally rewarding as before if you don’t (but still continue to do 8 unique paths).

tl;dr none of the examples cited were “arbitrary” decisions or a “bad habit”

I’m not at all sure why build templates haven’t yet made it into the game and I think ANet’s misjudged the need: there are so many ways they could make build swapping easier for us.

But let’s not exaggerate the situation. Not liking a decision isn’t the same as considering it arbitrary or even a mistake.

They made poor decisions. End of story. And most your analysis of my comments shows a lack of understanding.

Deciding to make LW1 temporary was boneheaded (I control my own time, not Arenanet), and not fixing it by implementing a permanent version of it before continuing the story only exacerbated the problem, which will continue growing worse until it’s addressed.

Not supporting content that you have in the game is ludicrous, as is deciding that FotM and open world PvE can replace classic dungeon content.

Mandating my use a pet so I can fulfill the Ranger fantasy is absurd. Giving me an elite spec that stows the pet, but then forcing me to dance in and out of it so I still have to interact with the pet is absurd. I don’t even main Ranger and this kittenes me off.

The gemstore meshes that people paid for should have been remade for the wardrobe system. No other solution was acceptable. If they really have that many problems creating individual pieces for clothing, they need to fix the framework.

Einlanzer.1627:

…
They made poor decisions. End of story.

Much like what you pointed out in another thread about a different topic: that is subjective, not objective. The quality of their decisions is simply a matter of opinion.

Many of their decisions over the years have made the game much better, in my opinion.

Wolfheart.7483:

Einlanzer.1627:

…
They made poor decisions. End of story.

Much like what you pointed out in another thread about a different topic: that is subjective, not objective. The quality of their decisions is simply a matter of opinion.

Many of their decisions over the years have made the game much better, in my opinion.

Not everything is that subjective.

Einlanzer.1627:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Einlanzer.1627:

Anet has a particularly bad habit of arbitrarily deciding what is and isn’t a priority to the detriment of the game.

These weren’t arbitrary decisions and there’s a very strong argument that these were better for the game/community than the alternatives

Einlanzer.1627:

LW season 1

I’m not sure if you mean having an LS1 or the fact that it was temporary content or the fact that they weren’t prepared for the game’s popularity (and so suffered from server issues).

However, it was hardly an arbitrary decision to include it in the game. The entire plan was in place prior to launch.

Or maybe you mean that they haven’t entirely rewritten it so it can be brought back as repeatable content. That, too, wasn’t arbitrary in the least — the effort & people involved is comparable (if not identical) to those devoted to new living stories and they decided that more people would like to see new content than there are those who want to see old content (especially since it can’t possibly meet our over-hyped expectations at this point).

Einlanzer.1627:

Townclothes tonics

This, too, wasn’t an arbitrary decision. It was spend extra time re-designing for the Wardrobe (by making a light|medium|heavy version of the relevant clothing, each of which has its own set of issues) or indefinitely postponing the conversion so they could release the wardrobe sooner rather than later.

Einlanzer.1627:

Ranger pets

Again, not an arbitrary decision to require rangers to use pets. It might not meet your idea of a “ranger”; it meets other people’s concept though.

Einlanzer.1627:

Dungeons

Presumably you are talking about ANet’s decision to drop support for dungeons. Again, that wasn’t arbitrary. They looked at trying to keep them modernized and recognized it would mean rewriting much of the original code/design. Fixing old content when the same resources could be spent on new content seems like a waste to a lot of people.

And they didn’t double down on it, they actually redid the rewards so that dungeons are more rewarding now if you speedclear and about equally rewarding as before if you don’t (but still continue to do 8 unique paths).

tl;dr none of the examples cited were “arbitrary” decisions or a “bad habit”

I’m not at all sure why build templates haven’t yet made it into the game and I think ANet’s misjudged the need: there are so many ways they could make build swapping easier for us.

But let’s not exaggerate the situation. Not liking a decision isn’t the same as considering it arbitrary or even a mistake.

They made poor decisions. End of story. And most your analysis of my comments shows a lack of understanding.

Deciding to make LW1 temporary was boneheaded (I control my own time, not Arenanet), and not fixing it by implementing a permanent version of it before continuing the story only exacerbated the problem, which will continue growing worse until it’s addressed.

Not supporting content that you have in the game is ludicrous, as is deciding that FotM and open world PvE can replace classic dungeon content.

Mandating my use a pet so I can fulfill the Ranger fantasy is absurd. Giving me an elite spec that stows the pet, but then forcing me to dance in and out of it so I still have to interact with the pet is absurd. I don’t even main Ranger and this kittenes me off.

The gemstore meshes that people paid for should have been remade for the wardrobe system. No other solution was acceptable. If they really have that many problems creating individual pieces for clothing, they need to fix the framework.

Anet has made some poor decisions. I’m not sure, however, that any one on the forums has a monopoly on which of those decisions are wrong. And your opinion, yes it is your opinion is fine as long as you don’t state it as fact.

When you state an opinion as fact, you lose credibility.

I think Anet has made some poor decisions too, however, my candidates for those decisions are decidedly different from yours.

Of course, I recognize that that’s just my opinion.

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

My opinion is that Living World Season 1 was great. I wish the Devs had been able to keep it going all these years.

Thus, my opinion is directly in opposition to your ‘common sense’. I hope you are not trying to imply I have no common sense.

Oh!, and I love my Ranger pets. Why can’t Rangers be as they were in Guild Wars, as far as pets are concerned? It’s not like it came as a surprise.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

My opinion is that Living World Season 1 was great. I wish the Devs had been able to keep it going all these years.

It was amazing. Especially the part when they deleted the whole thing. Losing year worth of story and character development is best design decision they made in years.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

My opinion is that Living World Season 1 was great. I wish the Devs had been able to keep it going all these years.

Thus, my opinion is directly in opposition to your ‘common sense’. I hope you are not trying to imply I have no common sense.

Oh!, and I love my Ranger pets. Why can’t Rangers be as they were in Guild Wars, as far as pets are concerned? It’s not like it came as a surprise.

If you think that LW1 being temporary was great, then, yeah, I am implying that. There is a difference between liking LW1 and thinking that it was smart to make it temporary.

No one is threatening to take away your ranger pet. The argument is that they shouldn’t be hogtied to it when they don’t want to be. Disagreeing with that is basically making a false equivocation that your preferred style should be pushed on other players instead of them having the option to not play according to your style.

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived,

Fact.

which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

Opinion.

Einlanzer.1627:

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story

Fact.

that should be a priority for them to address.

Opinion.

Mixing facts with your personal opinions doesn’t make your opinions less subjective.

Ardid.7203:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived,

Fact.

which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

Opinion.

Einlanzer.1627:

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story

Fact.

that should be a priority for them to address.

Opinion.

Mixing facts with your personal opinions doesn’t make your opinions less subjective.

Only the last item is an opinion, but it’s a common-sense opinion that emerges from observation of the first three facts. At a certain point, it’s sort of like calling the theory of evolution an opinion.

Daroon.1736:

Specifically will there be a system for saving and swapping builds when the expansion is released?

on topic sadly to say this is something that is not important to the drev teams and they will not be adding that to the new path of fire pack at all when it comes out in a few weeks

Einlanzer.1627:

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

Why? They can’t just bring back LW1, they need to re-create huge portions of it from scratch. So tell me what should have a higher priority:
re-creating content that a lot of their players already played
create new content for all players

Would it be nice to have LW1 back? Yes. Should it be higher priority than releasing new and exciting content for all players? Hell no.

You need to understand what the word “priority” means.

I don’t really care about build templates… but how about a nice convient panel in your inventory for the passes?

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

Yeah, I agree this is an ongoing problem with them. It’s short of a “shoot first, then ask questions you never answer later”.

Einlanzer.1627:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

Yeah, I agree this is an ongoing problem with them. It’s short of a “shoot first, then ask questions you never answer later”.

very true and I agree with that thought fully . its like asking for a nice steak and getting pizza

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Einlanzer.1627:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

Yeah, I agree this is an ongoing problem with them. It’s short of a “shoot first, then ask questions you never answer later”.

very true and I agree with that thought fully . its like asking for a nice steak and getting pizza

I think a more accurate analogy of how ArenaNet has handled content versus features, bug fixes, and profession balance is more akin to ordering a delicious NY strip steak with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes, but when it comes time to get your food, they bring the steak without the sides. When you ask the server where the sides are, they say they’re coming, then 15 minutes later they return with the grilled asparagus, but it’s cold. Then when you ask about the mashed potatoes they say they’re not a priority at the moment, then they return with an uncooked potato 20 minutes later, along with an advertisement for the filet mignon they’re adding to the menu next week.

Helbjorne.9368:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Einlanzer.1627:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

Yeah, I agree this is an ongoing problem with them. It’s short of a “shoot first, then ask questions you never answer later”.

very true and I agree with that thought fully . its like asking for a nice steak and getting pizza

I think a more accurate analogy of how ArenaNet has handled content versus features, bug fixes, and profession balance is more akin to ordering a delicious NY strip steak with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes, but when it comes time to get your food, they bring the steak without the sides. When you ask the server where the sides are, they say they’re coming, then 15 minutes later they return with the grilled asparagus, but it’s cold. Then when you ask about the mashed potatoes they say they’re not a priority at the moment, then they return with an uncooked potato 20 minutes later, along with an advertisement for the filet mignon they’re adding to the menu next week.

I can agree on this but wonder will that said items come this year or 4 years later down the road ?? and by that time I be looking for a hot dog stand or gas station even at lest it have something far more better in it . even a gas station in the usa you can go to some of them and get good chicken and potato wedges for a $1.00 and be full for half a day even . just on the potato wedges them self lol

Helbjorne.9368:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Einlanzer.1627:

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

it is refreshing to hear some one saying it besides me . not only that but I fully agree with you on these things . and think anet should had the forethoughts to do so . but I think we both can agree that is not the case.

Yeah, I agree this is an ongoing problem with them. It’s short of a “shoot first, then ask questions you never answer later”.

very true and I agree with that thought fully . its like asking for a nice steak and getting pizza

I think a more accurate analogy of how ArenaNet has handled content versus features, bug fixes, and profession balance is more akin to ordering a delicious NY strip steak with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes, but when it comes time to get your food, they bring the steak without the sides. When you ask the server where the sides are, they say they’re coming, then 15 minutes later they return with the grilled asparagus, but it’s cold. Then when you ask about the mashed potatoes they say they’re not a priority at the moment, then they return with an uncooked potato 20 minutes later, along with an advertisement for the filet mignon they’re adding to the menu next week.

This analogy is missing something: a fellow diner at a nearby table who leans over and declares that the restaurant never actually offered “NY strip steak with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes” on their menu and that it was all your misunderstanding if you thought they did. He’ll also tell you the restaurant never actually promised to NOT serve uncooked potatoes.

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

Alternative, let those people that insist on specific builds for the ‘group’ content form their groups, then follow along with what ever it is you use and complete the content anyways. The only place it makes sense is for FotM, Raids, PvP and WvW…you can get away with practically anything in PvE.

Zaklex.6308:

Daroon.1736:

The reason I specifically asked about build templates was because with 9 new elites specializations coming, coupled with the fact that the recent direction of the game has been towards harder ‘group’ content that requires players to be easily be able to switch builds to get into groups – A build template system should have been something the Dev’s considered as an essential game system that they should have developed years ago in anticipation of where they were taking the game, rather than something that players wanted and ‘not a priority’

This and all the other examples we have had over the years of ‘things’ introduced to the game without proper thought or planning which resulted in them either being abandoned or having to find ‘fixes’ after the fact, really do sum up the state of the game.

Anet needs to work on ensuring that underlying game systems and mechanics are in place, before, not after introducing content.

Alternative, let those people that insist on specific builds for the ‘group’ content form their groups, then follow along with what ever it is you use and complete the content anyways. The only place it makes sense is for FotM, Raids, PvP and WvW…you can get away with practically anything in PvE.

So that what you are saying is that; because the underlying game systems are not in place, players shouldn’t bother playing the 80% of content you mention?

Thanks – you illustrated my point perfectly.

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

I think it was more like it was too much work to get on time for pof. Which tru spagetti code rarely allows us to have nice things.

zealex.9410:

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

I think it was more like it was too much work to get on time for pof. Which tru spagetti code rarely allows us to have nice things.

When you have a car with a broken engine and you have promised a passenger you will get him to his destination 20 miles away, you have 2 options:

1 – The difficult one – find the fault and fix the engine
2 – Push.

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

zealex.9410:

Daroon.1736:

rapthorne.7345:

No. Devs have said they are aware people want build templates, but they are not a priority and will not be a part of PoF release

This pretty much sums up the state of the game.

I think it was more like it was too much work to get on time for pof. Which tru spagetti code rarely allows us to have nice things.

This feature has been repeatedly requested since before launch as it was a great feature in GW1. However, they’re mostly focused and organised on the expansion and the LS episodes so it’s just not a priority for them. Assuming too much beyond that is a mistake, I think.

Right now they have the ability to set sPvP builds through selecting Default Builds. Selecting a Default Build sets your entire sPvP build including equipping weapons, runes, sigils, traits and skills. Now, I’m not saying it’d be easy but giving people a means of saving and selecting their own builds should be a relatively minor step beyond that.

Of course, PvE and WvW builds are a little more complex than sPvP builds as they have some more information (more armour pieces and trinkets, for example, choosing stats and replacing runes/sigils for legendaries may be a step too far at first) and there’re some potential errors you have to handle like when a piece of equipment is missing or you try to load a DareDevil build onto a Thief without DareDevil unlocked.

Again, not necessarily easy or quick but it should be relatively straightforward for them with few surprises and they have at least some of the required functionality already, it’s just not a priority.

Vayne.8563:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

Well there are people who defend Warner Bros. and their decisions regarding Shadow of War.

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Vayne.8563:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

It’s not about the quality of season 1 as a story. It’s about the decision to do it in a temporary format (shortsighted and badly planned) and then not bring it back when they revised the narrative structure, which I’ve stated multiple times.

It was a bad decision, fact. Smart people knew this at the time, and Anet (Colin) learned it from the ongoing frustration and falloff it caused among players leading to their decision to change they structure for future LW’s and move away from temporary content.

I mean Jesus, people, we’re not talking rocket science here. People love to try to conflate fact with opinion when the facts don’t agree with them. You do this thing commonly where you don’t even understand the point that’s being made and you decide to white knight about it anyway. Super annoying.

While it is completely off topic to this thread….I would strongly disagree. The decision to do S1 in a ‘temporary’ format was both bold and innovative. The fact that many players were/are not able to get out of their fixed MMO mindsets and adapt to the concept that the game world should change and evolve is and was always going to be an uphill struggle.

Yes, it was because they “just didn’t get it”, lol.

No. It may have been “bold and inventive”, but it was also a terrible idea. What it amounted to was Arenanet driving players from the game by trying to control their time and then ruining the cohesion of their own story and wrecking player immersion when people couldn’t or didn’t want to permanently conform their schedules to Arenanet’s.

At the end of the day, the only way to have a truly “living world” in an MMO is to create the world in such a way that the players manage it, like Ultima, Eve, or SWG. In other words, this concept only works in a sandbox that’s player-ran.

GW2 isn’t built that way – it’s a fundamentally EQ-based PvE structure that Arenanet manages, so this idea was never going to pan out and just led to 1.5 years of wasted content development that the game has paid for ever since.

Empty zones aren’t really that much of a problem with the dynamic server system, so you can just set aside that hyperbole.

Would that be the dynamic server system that they promised they were ‘looking into a fix’ 2 years ago? The one that still sends ten different players into 10 different empty maps instead of putting them all together into one full map? The one that is so badly broken that it is responsible for making HOT so solo player unfriendly?

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Vayne.8563:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

It’s not about the quality of season 1 as a story. It’s about the decision to do it in a temporary format (shortsighted and badly planned) and then not bring it back when they revised the narrative structure, which I’ve stated multiple times.

It was a bad decision, fact. Smart people knew this at the time, and Anet (Colin) learned it from the ongoing frustration and falloff it caused among players leading to their decision to change they structure for future LW’s and move away from temporary content.

I mean Jesus, people, we’re not talking rocket science here. People love to try to conflate fact with opinion when the facts don’t agree with them. You do this thing commonly where you don’t even understand the point that’s being made and you decide to white knight about it anyway. Super annoying.

While it is completely off topic to this thread….I would strongly disagree. The decision to do S1 in a ‘temporary’ format was both bold and innovative. The fact that many players were/are not able to get out of their fixed MMO mindsets and adapt to the concept that the game world should change and evolve is and was always going to be an uphill struggle.

Yes, it was because they “just didn’t get it”, lol.

No. It may have been “bold and inventive”, but it was also a terrible idea. What it amounted to was Arenanet driving players from the game by trying to control their time and then ruining the cohesion of their own story and wrecking player immersion when people couldn’t or didn’t want to permanently conform their schedules to Arenanet’s.

At the end of the day, the only way to have a truly “living world” in an MMO is to create the world in such a way that the players manage it, like Ultima, Eve, or SWG. In other words, this concept only works in a sandbox that’s player-ran.

GW2 isn’t built that way – it’s a fundamentally EQ-based PvE structure that Arenanet manages, so this idea was never going to pan out and just led to 1.5 years of wasted content development that the game has paid for ever since.

Empty zones aren’t really that much of a problem with the dynamic server system, so you can just set aside that hyperbole.

Would that be the dynamic server system that they promised they were ‘looking into a fix’ 2 years ago? The one that still sends ten different players into 10 different empty maps instead of putting them all together into one full map? The one that is so badly broken that it is responsible for making HOT so solo player unfriendly?

Again, that’s hyperbole. I have way fewer problems with empty maps in this game than I have in every other MMO I’ve played. And it’s only the HoT maps that every present a problem, because they are expansive and altogether difficult for solo players. The way you deal with that is recruiting a friend or two to play with you, or move on to other areas of the game that provide easier content for mostly the same rewards.

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Vayne.8563:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

It’s not about the quality of season 1 as a story. It’s about the decision to do it in a temporary format (shortsighted and badly planned) and then not bring it back when they revised the narrative structure, which I’ve stated multiple times.

It was a bad decision, fact. Smart people knew this at the time, and Anet (Colin) learned it from the ongoing frustration and falloff it caused among players leading to their decision to change they structure for future LW’s and move away from temporary content.

I mean Jesus, people, we’re not talking rocket science here. People love to try to conflate fact with opinion when the facts don’t agree with them. You do this thing commonly where you don’t even understand the point that’s being made and you decide to white knight about it anyway. Super annoying.

While it is completely off topic to this thread….I would strongly disagree. The decision to do S1 in a ‘temporary’ format was both bold and innovative. The fact that many players were/are not able to get out of their fixed MMO mindsets and adapt to the concept that the game world should change and evolve is and was always going to be an uphill struggle.

Yes, it was because they “just didn’t get it”, lol.

No. It may have been “bold and inventive”, but it was also a terrible idea. What it amounted to was Arenanet driving players from the game by trying to control their time and then ruining the cohesion of their own story and wrecking player immersion when people couldn’t or didn’t want to permanently conform their schedules to Arenanet’s.

At the end of the day, the only way to have a truly “living world” in an MMO is to create the world in such a way that the players manage it, like Ultima, Eve, or SWG. In other words, this concept only works in a sandbox that’s player-ran.

GW2 isn’t built that way – it’s a fundamentally EQ-based PvE structure that Arenanet manages, so this idea was never going to pan out and just led to 1.5 years of wasted content development that the game has paid for ever since.

Empty zones aren’t really that much of a problem with the dynamic server system, so you can just set aside that hyperbole.

Would that be the dynamic server system that they promised they were ‘looking into a fix’ 2 years ago? The one that still sends ten different players into 10 different empty maps instead of putting them all together into one full map? The one that is so badly broken that it is responsible for making HOT so solo player unfriendly?

Again, that’s hyperbole. I have way fewer problems with empty maps in this game than I have in every other MMO I’ve played. And it’s only the HoT maps that every present a problem, because they are expansive and altogether difficult for solo players. The way you deal with that is recruiting a friend or two to play with you, or move on to other areas of the game that provide easier content for mostly the same rewards.

A game should be designed to make it as easy as possible for players to maximize their enjoyment of the content – not having those system in place and forcing players to ‘move on to other areas of the game that provide easier content’ is not good design and reinforces the original point of this thread.

Design a whole expansion around group content and forget to ensure that the underpinning game systems support your developments – I refer you back to the supposition of my original post regarding being able to store build templates.

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Daroon.1736:

Einlanzer.1627:

Vayne.8563:

Einlanzer.1627:

I did not say it was a “fact”, however, common sense will tell you that any attempt at unnecessarily controlling players’ time or fantasy is ill-conceived, which both LW1 and the ranger pet thing represent.

It’s also a fact that not having LW1 in the game creates a big hole in the story that should be a priority for them to address.

And yet many people are saying Season 1 was the best living story season and they wish that would happen again. So it’s not a fact that it was a bad decision. It’s only a fact that you didn’t like it.

It’s not about the quality of season 1 as a story. It’s about the decision to do it in a temporary format (shortsighted and badly planned) and then not bring it back when they revised the narrative structure, which I’ve stated multiple times.

It was a bad decision, fact. Smart people knew this at the time, and Anet (Colin) learned it from the ongoing frustration and falloff it caused among players leading to their decision to change they structure for future LW’s and move away from temporary content.

I mean Jesus, people, we’re not talking rocket science here. People love to try to conflate fact with opinion when the facts don’t agree with them. You do this thing commonly where you don’t even understand the point that’s being made and you decide to white knight about it anyway. Super annoying.

While it is completely off topic to this thread….I would strongly disagree. The decision to do S1 in a ‘temporary’ format was both bold and innovative. The fact that many players were/are not able to get out of their fixed MMO mindsets and adapt to the concept that the game world should change and evolve is and was always going to be an uphill struggle.

Yes, it was because they “just didn’t get it”, lol.

No. It may have been “bold and inventive”, but it was also a terrible idea. What it amounted to was Arenanet driving players from the game by trying to control their time and then ruining the cohesion of their own story and wrecking player immersion when people couldn’t or didn’t want to permanently conform their schedules to Arenanet’s.

At the end of the day, the only way to have a truly “living world” in an MMO is to create the world in such a way that the players manage it, like Ultima, Eve, or SWG. In other words, this concept only works in a sandbox that’s player-ran.

GW2 isn’t built that way – it’s a fundamentally EQ-based PvE structure that Arenanet manages, so this idea was never going to pan out and just led to 1.5 years of wasted content development that the game has paid for ever since.

Empty zones aren’t really that much of a problem with the dynamic server system, so you can just set aside that hyperbole.

Would that be the dynamic server system that they promised they were ‘looking into a fix’ 2 years ago? The one that still sends ten different players into 10 different empty maps instead of putting them all together into one full map? The one that is so badly broken that it is responsible for making HOT so solo player unfriendly?

Again, that’s hyperbole. I have way fewer problems with empty maps in this game than I have in every other MMO I’ve played. And it’s only the HoT maps that every present a problem, because they are expansive and altogether difficult for solo players. The way you deal with that is recruiting a friend or two to play with you, or move on to other areas of the game that provide easier content for mostly the same rewards.

A game should be designed to make it as easy as possible for players to maximize their enjoyment of the content – not having those system in place and forcing players to ‘move on to other areas of the game that provide easier content’ is not good design and reinforces the original point of this thread.

Design a whole expansion around group content and forget to ensure that the underpinning game systems support your developments – I refer you back to the supposition of my original post regarding being able to store build templates.

I agree, but that was an issue in the design of the HoT maps and not an issue with dynamic servers or content being permanent instead of temporary.

The main flaw in your logic is this – content doesn’t need to be removed to concentrate players even if there’s a need to do that (and I don’t generally think there is). Anet has the power to do this in any number of other ways – it’s mostly driven by quality of reward for effort put in. Other than acquiring HP for elite specs, we now have superior maps for reward efficiency – that is the reason that HoT feels somewhat abandoned, although it isn’t really – I still see plenty of maps taking part in metas.