Guild Wars 2

There you have it.

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jy7CcwnfUdU#t=104

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss. Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

I hate peas, too. But I’ll eat them if I have to. Eating peas is actually more fun than grinding out Ascended gear in Guild Wars 2. Which is something I’m just not going to do.

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Good news then. No one is making you eat peas, nor are they making you grind ascended gear.

I like peas btw. Steamed. Keeps them sweet and snappy (instead of mushy).

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

VOLKON.1290:

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Good news then. No one is making you eat peas, nor are they making you grind ascended gear.

I like peas btw. Steamed. Keeps them sweet and snappy (instead of mushy).

Snow peas in the pod are ok. But as for the other ones, no, you don’t like them. You just think you do (kidding).

Ascended weapons are here to stay, no amount of QQ will change that. In some ways, it was a good try. They are pushing people to do a lot of different things to gather materials, temples, jumping puzzles, champions, world bosses, dungeons(???) etc…

However, there are terrible aspects to it, where I think they missed the boat entirely. Grinding 50 levels of crafting with 25 levels of recipes is oh so bad. Progress grinds to a halt. I don’t know how many discoveries it actually takes, I’m guessing that someone will figure it out, but it’s too many. (This may be because I had previously crafted gear for 7 alts. Probably about 21-25 weapons or more, so been there, done that)

No one is making me play this game at all. But honestly, if the content is out there I’m going to check it out. So no, they aren’t making me do ascended gear, but I still salvaged about 15 exotics and grinded to crafting level 439 before deciding that it was too boring / tedious.

I just think that boredom is the worst addition to the game.

+1 for Toobz’s post above.
It’s great that ANet has finally included ascended gear in crafting.
It is not great that crafting is the only method of reliably acquiring this gear (i.e. not RNG)
When will we get multiple avenues to acquire gear across multiple play styles?

and you stop telling them what to post in the forum of a game they play just like you, how about that?

People have every right to complain, we all paid for this game. If something we paid for isn’t up to our standards then by all means we should complain about it. I personally think they are doing a terrible job of adding content and an endgame. This type of grind is just taking the easy way out rather than adding the real content to the game that it desperately needs.

I’m not going to sit and complain about it, I’m going to use that time to find another game to spend my time in. With the direction A-net is going I don’t see things getting any better unfortunately. I really hate to say that, I’ve been playing Guild Wars ever since the first Guild Wars 1’s beta weekends years ago. I put thousands and thousands of hours into Guild Wars 1&2 but now I just see it going in a terrible direction that isn’t fun to me anymore. It’s sad I’m definitely a GW fan boy and even I have to say that they’re ruining the game..

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Namu.5712:

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

Only not.

Ascended gear was introduced because, when the number of players began the typical “post MMO release” fall, ArenaNet noticed many of those leaving were asking for things to grind for, and to grind in order to become more powerful.

So then, ArenaNet began introducing new, more powerful items, one type at a time, and each new type requiring a new currency, so it would take a long time for people to get that gear.

Tell me one, thing, though – what do you think is going to happen when those players ArenaNet listened to, the ones who wanted something more to grind for, get all the Ascended gear?

Do you think they are going to stop and say “wow, I wasn’t happy with exotics but NOW I’m happy”? Honestly?

Prepare for a new carrot making people more powerful. Even assuming ArenaNet won’t introduce a new set of gear (and I don’t believe it), it would be easy for them to keep fueling the gear treadmill in other ways, such as by increasing the level cap and thus turning all Ascended items obsolete.

Colin better keep his word.

Arenanet already wasted my dollars(~$10) from transmuting exotics. They better not waste my dollars for transmuting ascended by introducing another tier of gear higher than ascended.

Erasculio.2914:

Namu.5712:

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

Only not.

Ascended gear was introduced because, when the number of players began the typical “post MMO release” fall, ArenaNet noticed many of those leaving were asking for things to grind for, and to grind in order to become more powerful.

So then, ArenaNet began introducing new, more powerful items, one type at a time, and each new type requiring a new currency, so it would take a long time for people to get that gear.

Tell me one, thing, though – what do you think is going to happen when those players ArenaNet listened to, the ones who wanted something more to grind for, get all the Ascended gear?

Do you think they are going to stop and say “wow, I wasn’t happy with exotics but NOW I’m happy”? Honestly?

Prepare for a new carrot making people more powerful. Even assuming ArenaNet won’t introduce a new set of gear (and I don’t believe it), it would be easy for them to keep fueling the gear treadmill in other ways, such as by increasing the level cap and thus turning all Ascended items obsolete.

Actually what they said a year ago is they didn’t intend for players to finish everything so quickly.

So ascended was created for the in between exotic and legendary gear. Harder to get than exotic but easier to get than legendary.

In the video he pretty much flat out says ascended is it once thats done legendary gear will start popping up. There wont be a new tier of gear that is statistically better than ascended in the foreseeable future.

LOL.

Is there going to be more ascended gear or something above ascended gear later on? Are you going for that, like every year or 2, you update the weapons or the next tier of crafting?

You know, I really hope not.
I think that when we put the game out our hope was exotic had a certain amount of time it would take to get it and I think that we did a really poor job of calculating how long it would take to them, the effort that would be required and ended up just being a lot easier than what we were hoping for.

In some ways they were way harder, like if you’re trying to get them through random drops it’s really hard to get them, and if you go buy them off the places they are available, on a regular basis, they’re really easy to get.
You know, in a week or two, you can equip your whole character out, and we really wanted to find a middle ground between that, and exotic was supposed to be that middle ground.

It wasn’t, and we felt like we had introduce ascended, basically to get that point of this is where we want characters to feel like this is a growth they have available to him statistically and so we put ascended in to basically get that in the game.
Now that being said, I don’t wanna promise we’re never gonna do it because seven years from now we might turn around and put another tier in, who knows.
Or somebody else might be in charge in the game seven years from now and they may do it.

But to me I feel like, this should be it, you know, Guild Wars is about getting out there and playing and having fun, playing with your friends, it’s not about being on this endless gear grind that every six months we’re putting another tier gear you go after, so I would say right now, our hope would be ascended and, you know, we’re going to add more legendaries but they’re no more powerful than ascended gear.
It’s tiers that we have are what we like, we’re really happy with them, we’re happy with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier gear.

Lots of “wishful” personal thoughts on not adding another tier.
Basically, they underestimated the hardcore grinders.
Honestly, I still think they’ve underestimated them, so yes, you can bet on another tier in the near future, and the players who don’t want grind will be collateral damage (again).

VOLKON.1290:

Good news then. No one is making you eat peas, nor are they making you grind ascended gear.

Yeah, they kinda are.

Let’s say there was an amulet you could get in game that gave you a special buff that caused all your attacks to automatically kill whatever they hit, made them able to hit through dodges and blocks/invulnerability effects, and granted you immunity to all damage and control effects. The only counter to someone with this amulet was having one of these amulets of your own, in which case you treat each other normally. The amulet also takes 100 hours of grinding to get.

That’s an extreme, of course, but the principle is the same. People willing to sit there and grind will have an advantage over players who spent that same amount of time actually playing the game. In certain cases (glass Thieves come to mind), it may even be an overwhelming advantage.

Blaine Tog.8304:

VOLKON.1290:

Good news then. No one is making you eat peas, nor are they making you grind ascended gear.

Yeah, they kinda are.

Let’s say there was an amulet you could get in game that gave you a special buff that caused all your attacks to automatically kill whatever they hit, made them able to hit through dodges and blocks/invulnerability effects, and granted you immunity to all damage and control effects. The only counter to someone with this amulet was having one of these amulets of your own, in which case you treat each other normally. The amulet also takes 100 hours of grinding to get.

That’s an extreme, of course, but the principle is the same. People willing to sit there and grind will have an advantage over players who spent that same amount of time actually playing the game. In certain cases (glass Thieves come to mind), it may even be an overwhelming advantage.

Not really… Can stop a thief in his tracks. Again this is where skill > gear any day of the week.

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Exact quote is important someone else put this in for me. Here is the link to where it starts.

http://youtu.be/Jy7CcwnfUdU?t=1m51s

the thing that i don’t get is that nobody is forcing anyone to get Ascended or Legendary gear. i am enjoying the game just fine without, and while i recognize that some more unique gear would be nice to have, it’s not compulsory. these items are extremely hard to get and rare for a reason. if you want ’em, you have to put in the effort – no entitlements.

I always find these comments funny. I think that with an MMO most people expect to do a certain amount of tedious stuff in order to get something worthwhile. Like an endurance test or something.

I don’t want tedious stuff in my game. I certainly don’t want to pay someone for the privilege of doing the tedious stuff. If you look at almost any game review for any other type of game the stuff that’s accepted in an MMO would get the game crucified.

Games are suppose to be fun entertaining. They aren’t suppose to be tedious.

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Question:

“You’re adding a new tier of materials to the game right? For the ascended weapons and armor that is coming out later on. Is there going to be something more ascended gear or something above ascended gear later on? Are you going for that, like very year or two you update the weapons or the next tier of crafting?”

Answer:

“I really hope not. I think that when we put the game out, our hope was that exotic had a certain amount of time it would take to get and I think that we did a really poor job of calculating how long it would take to get them and the effort they required, and they ended up just being a lot easier than what we were hoping for. In some ways they were way harder, like if you’re trying to get them through random drops it’s really hard to get them and if you just go and buy them off the places that are available on a regular basis, they’re really easy to get. You can get them in a week or two, you can equip your whole character out, and we really wanted to find the middle ground between that and exotic was supposed to be that middle ground. It wasn’t and we felt like we had to introduce ascended, basically to get to that point of this is where we want characters to feel like this is the growth they have available to them statistically and so we put ascended in to basically get that in the game.

That being said, I don’t want to promise we’re never going to do it because 7 years from now we might turn around and put in another tier, or someone else might be in charge of the game 7 years from now. But to me, I feel like this should be it. Guild Wars is about getting out there and playing, having fun, playing with your friends. It’s not about being on this endless gear grind that every 6 months we’re putting in another tier of gear you have to go after. So I would say right now our hope would be ascended and we’re going to add more legendaries but they’re no more powerful than ascended gear.

The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear."

Note that when it comes to improving gear however, they have plenty of options with infusions. There’s also the possibility of increasing the level cap.

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

Namu.5712:

There you have it.

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jy7CcwnfUdU#t=104

I’m afraid that you don’t understand the issue. It’s not Ascended gear, it’s vertical progression. Colin says here that it ‘should’ be the last tier not that it will be the last tier. More importantly, last November they said, essentially, the same thing—that there were no plans for additional tiers of rarity. They intended to move vertical progression on through infusions to the existing tier of gear. Since the ascended tier is not the problem, and VP very much is, only a statement which specifically mentions a removal of VP will address the OMG TREADMILL types like me who recognize that VP is a treadmill and will be so until it’s removed. Anet could make this issue go away today with one statement saying VP was to be stopped as the treadmill then would be gone.

Edit: I realize it would be very difficult for them to say that VP was to be removed. For one thing they thought it was a good idea and addressed the problem of players feeling like there was nothing to do (let’s give them a treadmill!). Some at Anet may still think VP is a good idea. Additionally, it’s now the major driver of the reward system(s). You heard that right: vertical progression is the principle driver of the reward system(s) in GW2. How do I know that? Consider the laurel. Most realize instinctively that it is the most important element in the system. And, what does the laurel buy you? Just visit a laurel merchant to find out. It buys you one more step on an ever-ascending power curve. VP and it’s treadmill is now the heart of GW2. It would be quite a feat for Anet to extricate themselves from this pit. It’s doable, of course, but would require insight, courage, and will. I’m not sure they’re up for such a heroic task.

TooBz.3065:

I always find these comments funny. I think that with an MMO most people expect to do a certain amount of tedious stuff in order to get something worthwhile. Like an endurance test or something.

I don’t want tedious stuff in my game. I certainly don’t want to pay someone for the privilege of doing the tedious stuff. If you look at almost any game review for any other type of game the stuff that’s accepted in an MMO would get the game crucified.

Games are suppose to be fun entertaining. They aren’t suppose to be tedious.

So true.

The curious thing is that in terms of game engineering, “entertaining” is much easier to do than “tedius”. With new “tedius” content the devs need to worry about stat balance and play style impacts, while with “entertaining” they simply add new content that is fun to play for its own sake. “Entertaining” can be accomplished with exactly the same mechanisms that already exist.

The problem with “entertaining” is that the game designers have to be clever and creative … something that ANet has proven over and over they cannot do effectively on a large scale. They have to resort to cheap ploys like loot and progression to keep players engaged.

Cactus.2710:

They have to resort to cheap ploys like loot and progression to keep players engaged.

Except that these are all anyone seems to be asking for…

They’re simply giving their audience what they want, although perhaps not in the ways they prefer it.

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

I hate everything. Do you see me kittening about it?

Erasculio.2914:

Namu.5712:

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

Only not.

Ascended gear was introduced because, when the number of players began the typical “post MMO release” fall, ArenaNet noticed many of those leaving were asking for things to grind for, and to grind in order to become more powerful.

So then, ArenaNet began introducing new, more powerful items, one type at a time, and each new type requiring a new currency, so it would take a long time for people to get that gear.

Tell me one, thing, though – what do you think is going to happen when those players ArenaNet listened to, the ones who wanted something more to grind for, get all the Ascended gear?

Do you think they are going to stop and say “wow, I wasn’t happy with exotics but NOW I’m happy”? Honestly?

Prepare for a new carrot making people more powerful. Even assuming ArenaNet won’t introduce a new set of gear (and I don’t believe it), it would be easy for them to keep fueling the gear treadmill in other ways, such as by increasing the level cap and thus turning all Ascended items obsolete.

When Anet first thought of ascended gear, the game was very good, but it had no stickiness. People could leave it quite easily. I said then, if you recall, that the ascended gear was a stop gap measure until other things were taken care of. I also said it would take about a year for that stuff to start happening.

Now that the game has other avenues of stickiness (achievement points and LS), which people do log in to do, Anet doesn’t need to add more tiers of gear.

Like all MMOs, Guild Wars 2 has had to find itself. What it turned out to be is very different than the game that originally launched…but I can see the seeds of some of the ideas in what they’re doing now. For example, Anet has always spoken of a living breathing world and they’re trying to find ways to make that happen (with mixed success I might add).

The point is, when Anet introduced Ascended gear, what they needed was a quick fix. It was, as I’ve always maintained, a compromise.

There are probably enough players in the game now that are focused on achievement points, where more gear grind won’t be necessary. Especially if stuff starts coming in that people enjoy.

I mean the LFG tool is coming on the 17, and that will help too. The wallet helps. The culling thing helps.

I don’t really think (and have never really thought) that Anet wants to add a full on gear treadmill.

Am I happy with ascended gear being in the game? No, not really. But I understand why it’s there.

Raine.1394:

Namu.5712:

There you have it.

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jy7CcwnfUdU#t=104

I’m afraid that you don’t understand the issue. It’s not Ascended gear, it’s vertical progression. Colin says here that it ‘should’ be the last tier not that it will be the last tier. More importantly, last November they said, essentially, the same thing—that there were no plans for additional tiers of rarity. They intended to move vertical progression on through infusions to the existing tier of gear. Since the ascended tier is not the problem, and VP very much is, only a statement which specifically mentions a removal of VP will address the OMG TREADMILL types like me who recognize that VP is a treadmill and will be so until it’s removed. Anet could make this issue go away today with one statement saying VP was to be stopped as the treadmill then would be gone.

Edit: I realize it would be very difficult for them to say that VP was to be removed. For one thing they thought it was a good idea and addressed the problem of players feeling like there was nothing to do (let’s give them a treadmill!). Some at Anet may still think VP is a good idea. Additionally, it’s now the major driver of the reward system(s). You heard that right: vertical progression is the principle driver of the reward system(s) in GW2. How do I know that? Consider the laurel. Most realize instinctively that it is the most important element in the system. And, what does the laurel buy you? Just visit a laurel merchant to find out. It buys you one more step on an ever-ascending power curve. VP and it’s treadmill is now the heart of GW2. It would be quite a feat for Anet to extricate themselves from this pit. It’s doable, of course, but would require insight, courage, and will. I’m not sure they’re up for such a heroic task.

VP isn’t the problem. VP is your problem. There are a lot of people for whom that is also a problem. However, we have different factions of people complaining about different things. Not everyone complaining is complaining about VP.

Some people are complaining about the grind and some people are complaining about the time gating, and can live with the grind. It’s not all one party. You’re not all saying the same thing.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Cactus.2710:

They have to resort to cheap ploys like loot and progression to keep players engaged.

Except that these are all anyone seems to be asking for…

They’re simply giving their audience what they want, although perhaps not in the ways they prefer it.

What audience. If you mean east market youre on to something.

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

They were also happy at launch. Took 2 months to cave in to the whiners.

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

True dat

Zacchary.6183:

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

I hate everything. Do you see me kittening about it?

No, you’re very stoic.

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

They were also happy at launch. Took 2 months to cave in to the whiners.

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

True dat

Cave into the whiners, huh? And if they changed it to what you wanted now, how would that be any different.

Everything in life is about perspective. You see them as caving into the whiners. I see them as making a tough business decision that probably wasn’t that comfortable for them. I do believe they were probably in panic mode.

The next time you invest millions of dollars into a project and you see it struggling, let’s see if you cave into the whiners.

Vayne.8563:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

They were also happy at launch. Took 2 months to cave in to the whiners.

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

True dat

Cave into the whiners, huh? And if they changed it to what you wanted now, how would that be any different.

Everything in life is about perspective. You see them as caving into the whiners. I see them as making a tough business decision that probably wasn’t that comfortable for them. I do believe they were probably in panic mode.

The next time you invest millions of dollars into a project and you see it struggling, let’s see if you cave into the whiners.

Any proof on ANYTHING you say? No? Thought so. Perspective.

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Then dont eat peas, and dont get ascended gear, nobody is making you do either. Problem solved, quit whining or just quit.

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

They were also happy at launch. Took 2 months to cave in to the whiners.

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

True dat

Then walk away from the game and stop your rancid posting.

Shemsu.8721:

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Then dont eat peas, and dont get ascended gear, nobody is making you do either. Problem solved, quit whining or just quit.

Nope. Nope. Nope. I am the anti-Vayne. (sorry, Vayne, not really, but it’s just funny) I am resilient in the face of opposition.

TooBz.3065:

Shemsu.8721:

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Then dont eat peas, and dont get ascended gear, nobody is making you do either. Problem solved, quit whining or just quit.

Nope. Nope. Nope. I am the anti-Vayne. (sorry, Vayne, not really, but it’s just funny) I am resilient in the face of opposition.

So your playing a game you dont like, to oppose yourself and frustrate yourself? Sounds like a great way to spend your time, good luck with that

Vayne.8563:

Raine.1394:

Namu.5712:

There you have it.

Now stop coming here and complaining non-stop.

Ascended is basically it gear wise.

:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jy7CcwnfUdU#t=104

I’m afraid that you don’t understand the issue. It’s not Ascended gear, it’s vertical progression. Colin says here that it ‘should’ be the last tier not that it will be the last tier. More importantly, last November they said, essentially, the same thing—that there were no plans for additional tiers of rarity. They intended to move vertical progression on through infusions to the existing tier of gear. Since the ascended tier is not the problem, and VP very much is, only a statement which specifically mentions a removal of VP will address the OMG TREADMILL types like me who recognize that VP is a treadmill and will be so until it’s removed. Anet could make this issue go away today with one statement saying VP was to be stopped as the treadmill then would be gone.

Edit: I realize it would be very difficult for them to say that VP was to be removed. For one thing they thought it was a good idea and addressed the problem of players feeling like there was nothing to do (let’s give them a treadmill!). Some at Anet may still think VP is a good idea. Additionally, it’s now the major driver of the reward system(s). You heard that right: vertical progression is the principle driver of the reward system(s) in GW2. How do I know that? Consider the laurel. Most realize instinctively that it is the most important element in the system. And, what does the laurel buy you? Just visit a laurel merchant to find out. It buys you one more step on an ever-ascending power curve. VP and it’s treadmill is now the heart of GW2. It would be quite a feat for Anet to extricate themselves from this pit. It’s doable, of course, but would require insight, courage, and will. I’m not sure they’re up for such a heroic task.

VP isn’t the problem. VP is your problem. There are a lot of people for whom that is also a problem. However, we have different factions of people complaining about different things. Not everyone complaining is complaining about VP.

Some people are complaining about the grind and some people are complaining about the time gating, and can live with the grind. It’s not all one party. You’re not all saying the same thing.

It all, whether grind, treadmill, time gating, etc., exists for one reason. The reason is VP. Without VP we all would be saying…nothing…about the subjects currently under discussion. Everyone complaining (in these threads) is complaining about one thing and one thing only, and that is some aspect of VP.

MikaHR.1978:

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

They still have a crapload of tiers to release? Bold statement, surely you have a link to Arenanet stating that? Despite Colin recently stating that Ascended is where they are stopping, in the recent PAX interview.

MikaHR.1978:

Vayne.8563:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

They were also happy at launch. Took 2 months to cave in to the whiners.

And yes, they still have a crapload of tier to release, enough grind to put Korean grinders to shame, and then it will probably be level cap raise which will obsolete ALL your gear.

True dat

Cave into the whiners, huh? And if they changed it to what you wanted now, how would that be any different.

Everything in life is about perspective. You see them as caving into the whiners. I see them as making a tough business decision that probably wasn’t that comfortable for them. I do believe they were probably in panic mode.

The next time you invest millions of dollars into a project and you see it struggling, let’s see if you cave into the whiners.

Any proof on ANYTHING you say? No? Thought so. Perspective.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. It’s in every single post you make. I’m not the only one who sees it.

There are people who don’t like the game and surprise, they attack the game. And they attack anyone who likes the game.

Seems to me that you don’t have proof of anything you’ve said, just opinion. In my opinion, it’s clear what Colin is saying. And it’s clear why he’s hedging his bets as well. Do you have any proof he’s doing otherwise? Because technically you’re the one skewing what’s being said here. I’m taking it more or less at face value.

Sadly, I do not take much solace in the interview text. In particular, I am concerned in the statement that he “hopes” no future tiers are needed.

Here’s how I interpret it: Currently ANet feels that the time needed to acquire ascended gear is sufficient for player retention purposes. However, it sounds like ANet still believes that increasing gear stats is a viable method to retain players, if player retention starts to go south.

If there’s one thing I know about the general MMO community, it’s that people always want to chase a larger carrot. How long will it be until these players reach full ascended and start clamoring for their newer carrot? How long will Living Story and horizontal progression retain these players?

Shemsu.8721:

TooBz.3065:

Shemsu.8721:

TooBz.3065:

No. Ascended gear is boring to get. If they bore me I will complain. Don’t care if I never have to do it again.

I hate peas, if you make me eat peas I’ll fuss (especially if it’s a big heaping plateful). Even if you say it’s unlikely I’ll have to eat them again.

Some people like peas, that’s cool with me. Enjoy. Personally, I think that taste terrible.

Then dont eat peas, and dont get ascended gear, nobody is making you do either. Problem solved, quit whining or just quit.

Nope. Nope. Nope. I am the anti-Vayne. (sorry, Vayne, not really, but it’s just funny) I am resilient in the face of opposition.

So your playing a game you dont like, to oppose yourself and frustrate yourself? Sounds like a great way to spend your time, good luck with that

Back in October – December I Loved this game. LOVED it. It was one of the best experiences I’d ever had. I blew off many single player games to focus on this. I still have a shrink wrapped copy of AC3 and Dishonored from Christmas.

I still love aspects of this game, but I think that MMOs in general have a grind problem. Too much of a good thing can be boring and they always push it over the edge.

Before ascended came out I said that I hated it, but provided at least some constructive comments about what they could do to make it better. Mostly dealing with my frustration at being asked to do not fun stuff to get a reward.

Now that ascended weapons are out, I accept them. But I want to point out for posterity that there are good aspects to what they did (pushing people to experience a wider array of content without forcing them to.) and bad things (crafting from 425-450 is a huge drag). Edit: Note: Not 400-425, that’s normal crafting. It’s when you are trying to level up 425-450 using level 400 discoveries that sucks.)

Again, I’m in this for the fun parts. Not everyone is. I understand that some people just want to kill another hour and however you do it is great. I want to have fun.

For me, I had more fun when the rewards sucked. Why? Because the things they reward are not fun. Champion trains are not fun, Zerg events are not fun. At best they are hypnotic.

I didn’t farm those events (because I don’t like farming), so now I don’t have the mats and money to craft up to 450. Now people on this forum are asking for the content to be harder. Not that that’s bad in itself. But didn’t they just ask for better gear?

BondageBill.4021:

Sadly, I do not take much solace in the interview text. In particular, I am concerned in the statement that he “hopes” no future tiers are needed.

Here’s how I interpret it: Currently ANet feels that the time needed to acquire ascended gear is sufficient for player retention purposes. However, it sounds like ANet still believes that increasing gear stats is a viable method to retain players, if player retention starts to go south.

If there’s one thing I know about the general MMO community, it’s that people always want to chase a larger carrot. How long will it be until these players reach full ascended and start clamoring for their newer carrot? How long will Living Story and horizontal progression retain these players?

no real need to wonder, just go to launch and fast forward 2 months.

Oh, I also hate destroying 4-10 of the old BiS gear to make a new BiS gear, that’s just mean.

BondageBill.4021:

Sadly, I do not take much solace in the interview text. In particular, I am concerned in the statement that he “hopes” no future tiers are needed.

Here’s how I interpret it: Currently ANet feels that the time needed to acquire ascended gear is sufficient for player retention purposes. However, it sounds like ANet still believes that increasing gear stats is a viable method to retain players, if player retention starts to go south.

If there’s one thing I know about the general MMO community, it’s that people always want to chase a larger carrot. How long will it be until these players reach full ascended and start clamoring for their newer carrot? How long will Living Story and horizontal progression retain these players?

Well to be fair at the start of his answer he says he hopes. Then at the end of his answer he basically says they are happy where everything is and dont see the need to even consider a higher tier anytime in the near future.

I almost feel like when he said he hopes not but you never know. It was more of a I better not say this exactly because then if something happens people will be qouting him up and down the street as saying “no we are never adding a new tier period” because thats just how this community rolls …. bunch of a holes that dont understand things happen or need to change in order to keep a business thriving and players happy.

What many don’t understand is that, the people that get on here and post their complaints arent necessarily the majority. They like to think they are but they really have no clue how many people are kitten ed at ascended gear/grinding vs how many could care less either way vs how many love it.

All I know is when I log on at night and LA is so packed that I start lagging horribly in the bank area the game cant be doing that bad and this is in an overflow. And that not many quit after the patch -.-.

I take more stock out of the amount of players I see in game. And it just keeps going up. So if ascended is the wrong direction and everyone that you know quit from it…. well for all those that quit… just as many joined and like the game for what it is.

“I really hope not” is not the same as “We never will.”

That said, the interview is more forthcoming about the “whys” of Ascended gear than ANet has been before. They are adding it because they wanted top gear to take longer to get. ANet is happy because Ascended implementation is more like what they had in mind for exotic. However, by his own admission, they did a lousy job implementing exotics. So, they were steamrolled by the many-hours-per-day players.

The problems with the Ascended implementation still exist. Gearing alts will still be a massive undertaking. Multiple build players will still likely have to settle for non-BiS for secondary builds. Gearing in exotics was much friendlier for casual play, and those players got to enjoy having the best gear. Now, they won’t.

Most other MMO’s adopt an approach to BiS gear that is unfriendly to alt-heavy, multi-build and casual playstyles. ANet can and will do what they want with their game, but the Ascended implementation has moved them a step further from avant garde and a step closer to mainstream. Some might say, a giant step.

Namu.5712:

What many don’t understand is that, the people that get on here and post their complaints arent necessarily the majority. They like to think they are but they really have no clue how many people are kitten ed at ascended gear/grinding vs how many could care less either way vs how many love it.

…

I take more stock out of the amount of players I see in game. And it just keeps going up. So if ascended is the wrong direction and everyone that you know quit from it…. well for all those that quit… just as many joined and like the game for what it is.

My experience suggests that the “majority” doesn’t care either way about Ascended.

MikaHR.1978:

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Cactus.2710:

They have to resort to cheap ploys like loot and progression to keep players engaged.

Except that these are all anyone seems to be asking for…

They’re simply giving their audience what they want, although perhaps not in the ways they prefer it.

What audience. If you mean east market youre on to something.

No, I wasn’t referring to that market….although that point is likely true too. However, I was referring to the numerous threads on here crying for it. Threads about longevity, threads about ‘gear grind or everyone leaves,’ threads about how they need to look at the loot tables again because some people aren’t ‘getting enough’ loot (and now we have threads whining we get too much), crying for loot overhauls because they want more guaranteed rares and exotics, about not having super lucrative farming. They’re all there….go back a dozen or so pages in the forum. Anet is simply listening to the people shrieking the loudest….

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

MikaHR.1978:

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Cactus.2710:

They have to resort to cheap ploys like loot and progression to keep players engaged.

Except that these are all anyone seems to be asking for…

They’re simply giving their audience what they want, although perhaps not in the ways they prefer it.

What audience. If you mean east market youre on to something.

No, I wasn’t referring to that market….although that point is likely true too. However, I was referring to the numerous threads on here crying for it. Threads about longevity, threads about ‘gear grind or everyone leaves,’ threads about how they need to look at the loot tables again because some people aren’t ‘getting enough’ loot (and now we have threads whining we get too much), crying for loot overhauls because they want more guaranteed rares and exotics, about not having super lucrative farming. They’re all there….go back a dozen or so pages in the forum. Anet is simply listening to the people shrieking the loudest….

You’re missing the point entirely. If the devs make the game about loot, as they most assuredly have, then of course people will cry about imbalances and not getting enough of it. ANet could have focused on simply making the game fun to play with creative content and updated environments, but apparently they couldn’t think of anything clever so they took the easy way out and put in place grinds that they specifically promised they would never do. They had the chance to freeze gear and instead introduce new maps, new forms of play (instanced WvW??), new classes, new anything … for god’s sake just pretend they were merging with other games … but they didn’t and they obviously don’t plan to.

Namu.5712:

MikaHR.1978:

Namu.5712:

BondageBill.4021:

Would you mind transcribing the exact quote: question and answer? Can’t watch the video ATM.

Basically he says ascended is the last tier of gear your gonna see, not counting legendary’s.

Basically he is saying NOTHING like that.

Basically he is pretty much not saying anything about it. “i hope there no new tier” rofl

Oh and look, one more of these misleading threads.

You need to read his whole answer not just what you want to hear.

“The tiers that we have are what we like. We’re really happy with them, with the time it takes to get them and I don’t see any need, any time in the near future for us to even consider adding another tier of gear.”

You should take your own advice. Define “near future”. Do you really think that, in the long run, they are going to stop at ascended? Not sure how you get “ascended is the last tier of gear you’re gonna see” out of that. There is a HUGE gap in that quote…..“near future”.

If they decide to increase the level cap and gear power, all they have to do is increase the infusion stats. Ascended, if done correctly, can be used until the servers shut down and still deliver an increase in gear effectiveness without making you get or craft all new gear.