Guild Wars 2

maddoctor.2738:

eisberg.2379:

I doubt that is what he is saying. What they need to do is have the achievement separated per character. Have 8 characters, can do the daily 8 times per day, 1 per character, and the laurels would be character bound, not account bound.

So that’s exactly what I was saying… someone with 8 alts will get 8 amulets in the same time someone with 1 character will get his.

I don’t see what’s wrong with this. That player has 8 times the amount of characters and is putting 8 times the amount of effort/time so they should be rewarded 8 times the amount compared to that one player who is only doing it once.

Errant Venture.9371:

ColinJohanson.2394:

(Please note, the ascended gear purchased for laurels will not have agony resistance built in, since that mechanic is currently unique to progression in the fractal dungeons. They are however statistically the same as any other ascended gear.)

Will we be able to upgrade the amulets to have an inherent agony resistance in a similar manner to rings/backpieces?

This is a question I’d like to see answered as well, please! If so, please God let it not use ectos.

Will I be able to buy this new ascended gear with pristine fractals, because I don’t know what to do with these except storing them in the bank with my other 12 useless ascended-rings.

OH GOD can’t wait….this looks very interesting.

Go ArenaNet!

Shadow Blade.1324:

ColinJohanson.2394:

(Please note, the ascended gear purchased for laurels will not have agony resistance built in, since that mechanic is currently unique to progression in the fractal dungeons. They are however statistically the same as any other ascended gear.)

are the amulets available outside the laurel tokens? if not doesn’t this just add more gating to get them, ie you must do X days of dailies before you will have one, increasing the gap between players who do dailies every day and those with other comment’s, but who might be able to play lots at the weekend, even if they play the exact same amount of hours the latter will never catch the former as this is linked directly to daily achievements.

additionally people will still have to farm fractals for BIS as this laurel ascended gear will never have the + agony resist inherent in higher lvl fractals drops (not including slotted infusions)… so how does this make ascended gear more available for players wanting to experience all of the content including that which requires agony resist?

also when can we expect legendary gear for every slot so those of us who don’t want to keep running on the treadmill can play the game where we don’t have to keep farming the new bis? also legendaries will still be upgraded to BIS when lvl 81 comes out right?

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

A multi-stage narrative – excellent! I’m looking forward to seeing how ArenaNet unfolds this storyline. The dire situation starting in Wayfarers and Diessa sounds like an ominous start (The first place I’ll be checking to see if that adorable charr cub Anya Fairmind is still safe).

WvW improvements will be much appreciated as well and the new dailies sound intriguing.

And thanks to Colin for posting the clarifications.

Tosha Daydreamer.9251:

As I read it, the Quaggan backpack will be hidden in an RNG box… please tell me it isnt true? Please?
cries

I did not get that impression from reading the summary. If you cannot simply purchase the backpack I’d take cover from the backlash. The only thing scarier than an enraged quaggen is an enraged quaggen fan.

Nozdrum.2894:

Will I be able to buy this new ascended gear with pristine fractals, because I don’t know what to do with these except storing them in the bank with my other 12 useless ascended-rings.

Id imagine that pristine fractals will be able to purchase amulets via the ascended gear vendor in fotm. However, this has yet to be confirmed.

Ganzo.5079:

It’s all intresting, but all this wait around a full release of the ascended items is kinda frustrating.
I hope for the next month patch, but for now this little article is not revamping my wish to play.

I don’t think there’s ever going to be a “full release,” I think they’re going to be rolled out gradually throughout the year. I could be wrong, that’s just what it sounds like.

azurrei.5691:

Blacklight.2871:

eisberg.2379:

Arenanet already stated that eventually in the coming months daily/monthly achievements will be changed to where you only need to complete like 4/6 ojectives of them. I believe they stated it is not happening in this next patch, but that it is coming.

I think this is starting next month for the dailies. But I haven’t seen this mentioned being applied to monthlies anywhere. As far as I know, PvE players will still always have to participate in WvW for their monthlies. If it HAS been stated somewhere that monthlies will be updated as well, please link it.

Yeah, really wish the 4/6 was being implemented along with the new rewards system. The problem with WvW is that Anet considers it PvE…

You may be on to something there. Although, I don’t know how it could be more clearly PvP, when the achievement demands killing other players exclusively. Some pretty twisted logic at work there, to shoehorn that one into a PvE activity.

Vol.5241:

ColinJohanson.2394:

critickitten.1498:

And that concern is this: I’m worried that this entire multi-month event is just setting the stage for the first expansion, and that we’ll have to buy the expansion to get the full story. GW1 managed to introduce entire post-campaign storylines of a fairly significant size and did it entirely for free, so I sure hope GW2 isn’t drumming up this multi-month event for additional drama when they announce the first expansion. That’d be awfully disappointing.

Colin, mind putting my fears to rest, please?

This is not a live storyline that requires you to purchase an expansion to discover the ending, no. This month is a small pre-cursor / lead-in to kick off a storyline that will play out over the coming months.

Might not want to use the word precursor, people are gonna freak out! :P

I FREAKED OUT !! -
Then i saw the edit and i’m now crying

Voxdeus.1034:

Ganzo.5079:

It’s all intresting, but all this wait around a full release of the ascended items is kinda frustrating.
I hope for the next month patch, but for now this little article is not revamping my wish to play.

I don’t think there’s ever going to be a “full release,” I think they’re going to be rolled out gradually throughout the year. I could be wrong, that’s just what it sounds like.

Its what i think too, and for the ones that love to plan how to equip their char, gear it and then finally play the finished char, is something that discourage to play, because you dont know wich new piece they will add every month.

QUAGGAN BACKPACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pirlipat.2479:

Tosha Daydreamer.9251:

As I read it, the Quaggan backpack will be hidden in an RNG box… please tell me it isnt true? Please?
cries

From Baby Quaggan Backpacks to Riding Brooms to the revamped Box o’ Fun, you’ll find it all in the Gem Store!

Hm, it’s not stated directely. So I hope not, even though I’m not overly interested in bearing Quaggans at my back. I rather want the broom.

Riding broom? Like the one we could get at halloween?

Uh, how about the Fractal disconnect fix? No news about it yet? Hope it’s in the upcoming patch.

My Charr warrior wants me to tell you that she has no home for all this destruction to fall upon, so she wants to know if she can just stand next to Logan Thackery instead.

HoukaKetsueki.6924:

Uh, how about the Fractal disconnect fix? No news about it yet? Hope it’s in the upcoming patch.

It is, and has been confirmed repeatedly. Check the dev tracker.

cesmode.4257:

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

you don’t seem to understand the point, this was supposed to allow players to get BIS outside of farming fractals, if it doesn’t have the inherent AR then its not BIS its that simple and creates a sub teir if it cant be upgraded, as you will still have to grind lower level fractals and fight rng to get the stats you want if you want to dip into later fractals for a challenge or because guildies need +1

it does nothing to mend the fracturing of the player base people will still have trouble finding geared players to attempt the dungeon with since there is no AR on the gear, (infusions will help to some extent) youll still only have 50% of the infusion at most as someone who farms fractals, less when higher rarity infusions are released. then you have to grind lower level fractals (if you can find anyone to play them) to get a new set of gear with 100% AR.

Very excited to see the big update coming, as well as the devs monitoring this thread.

If one of the mods could answer… it is not specifically listed in the preview, but will there be bug fixes and class balance changes (stick with the broadest definition for this one, I don’t want to start an argument about specific things to be changed, added) or other maintenance things rolled into this patch?

And if you’re feeling generous, are you guys working on changes to improve the gameplay and feel of the classes?

Rising Dusk.2408:

I’m more curious how we get “Ascended Amulet (Infused)” than “Ascended Amulet”. Will it cost like 500 of these silly Laurels? Will we be able to get them via Fractals? I really don’t want to have to farm a daily achievement thing every day for 2 months to get an amulet.

I also hope we can get these amulets through fractals and the achievements. I’ve stockpiled a tonne of ascended rings/materials/relics they are pretty useless apart from the relics

I’m really looking forward to this! Sounds awesome! I’ve got to a point where I’ve leveled all 8 classes to 80 about a week ago and was wondering what to do now. So any new story/content is greatly appreciated here!
But seeing that horse in the picture, can you please tell us if there’s going to be mounts now in gw2?
Cheers!

archerT.1935:

Very excited to see the big update coming, as well as the devs monitoring this thread.

If one of the mods could answer… it is not specifically listed in the preview, but will there be bug fixes and class balance changes (stick with the broadest definition for this one, I don’t want to start an argument about specific things to be changed, added) or other maintenance things rolled into this patch?

And if you’re feeling generous, are you guys working on changes to improve the gameplay and feel of the classes?

Class balance and skill changes are coming as well. We won’t get any detailed information until we get the patch notes on release though (Jan 28)

Tanith.5264:

My Charr warrior wants me to tell you that she has no home for all this destruction to fall upon, so she wants to know if she can just stand next to Logan Thackery instead.

I think u mistyped. It’s Logan “treachery”. Didn’t Rythlock tell u? :P

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/150926_10151300660039209_681568240_n.jpg
Looks like a mount if you ask me, also being rode by a Canthan looking character.
Also “Flame and Frost: Prelude is the prologue to a multi-stage narrative that will bring big changes to Guild Wars 2 in the months to come.”, big changes? I’m guessing Cantha.

ColinJohanson.2394:

Laurels are only earned through daily and monthly achievements (starting with the feb monthly) and will not reward for previous daily/monthly achievements completed since folks didn’t know this system was coming.

We will however introduce an expanded/new reward system in the future that will reward for other types of achievements, this system will reward previous achievement points earned. (But may require bringing back into line some infinitely repeatable achievements that would bloat/break this system)

Thank you, this is exactly what I was wanting to know. I would love the extra rewards for the infinite achievements (i.e. Agent of Entropy), but I can totally see that being exploited by others. I can’t wait to see what you come up with for that! At least with the new laurels we will all be on equal ground to start off. I’m completely excited for the updates!

I just hope the loot issue is being taken seriously too and hope that gets better with the future updates as well. I’m tired of my poor drops and it’s sad that I’m thrilled to see greens drop as rares are exceedingly rare for me and exotics are but a dream to me….but that’s a whole different thread.

sup with anet taking over half a year to add a single new armor skin? like stop adding freaking accessories that don’t change your appearance and give me couple of new armors already…

Shadow Blade.1324:

cesmode.4257:

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

you don’t seem to understand the point, this was supposed to allow players to get BIS outside of farming fractals, if it doesn’t have the inherent AR then its not BIS its that simple and creates a sub teir if it cant be upgraded, as you will still have to grind lower level fractals and fight rng to get the stats you want if you want to dip into later fractals for a challenge or because guildies need +1

it does nothing to mend the fracturing of the player base people will still have trouble finding geared players to attempt the dungeon with since there is no AR on the gear, (infusions will help to some extent) youll still only have 50% of the infusion at most as someone who farms fractals, less when higher rarity infusions are released. then you have to grind lower level fractals (if you can find anyone to play them) to get a new set of gear with 100% AR.

I still dont see the problem, but not because I am shortsighted. I just dont see it as a problem.

From your two posts I gather that you, or this hypothetical person, wants to run high end fractals where ascended with built in infusions is almost required. Yet, you dont want to run fractals to get this gear. Gear that…is only BIS for fractals/high end fractals. You do not need +10 AR and some offensive stat for anything but fractals.

So what you’re saying is, you want to be able to purchase already infused ascended gear via a nice, easy, calm, no pressure way via daily and monthlys. You want to be able to sleepwalk through these dailys, which they most likely will be if current dailys and monthlys are any indication, in order to SIDESTEP a fractal grind for infusions that are only relevant to fractals.

I dont see your logic.

All I see is:
I want to be able to get BiS gear without grinding fractals so that I can join high level fractal groups.
I dont want to fractal grind. This means, I dont want to spend 1.5 hr per day to grind out fractals against RNG. This is too hard because fractals CAN be difficult at times, and RNG does suck.
I want to walk through the green fields of Kessex hills, kill some centaurs, and complete the monthly achievement. Then I can get the infused ascended, to go do those high end fractals.

Sounds like you want the easy way out. Not trying to be rude or insulting, but that is pretty much how I see this.

Edit: added— Not to mention, the stats(power,precision,crit,vit,tough,mf) on the laurel-obtained ascended will be the same as the gear you get from inside the dungeon. Again, the only difference is the infused slot, which is only pertinent to the dungeon. Also, they are removing the fractal level barrier. So if you must grind out lower levels, it will be a little easier to find a group.

Whether or not ascended gear is a result of the treadmill-wowmachine that whines on the forums for geared progression, the gear grind has been placed into the game. So, if you or anyone else is upset about needing to grind out fractals for that just-right piece of gear, you can thank those who whined and eventually got their way. And RNG is present in all games, evenWoW. How many times have I seen other items drop from a boss, but not the one I wanted! ugh! LoL.

And I know arenanet said ascended gear has always been planned. Just making a point that the vocal minority/majority that wanted gear progression got their way, and these are now probably the same people whining that its too grindy and too RNG based.

Judging by all the replies, I can see it now: an army of people running around with Quaggans strapped to their back…

talk about your break in immersion.

All these features sound awesome, but does this: "The sky falls and the ground shakes in the lands of the north. Charr and norn refugees crawl from the wreckage of their homes in the Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau, struggling to find shelter in the south. The call goes out for volunteers to assist the victims in this time of need, when earth and sky seem to have become the enemy…"
mean there is gonna be new pve content in any form on the 28th? It’s a bit unclear now.

cesmode.4257:

Shadow Blade.1324:

cesmode.4257:

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

you don’t seem to understand the point, this was supposed to allow players to get BIS outside of farming fractals, if it doesn’t have the inherent AR then its not BIS its that simple and creates a sub teir if it cant be upgraded, as you will still have to grind lower level fractals and fight rng to get the stats you want if you want to dip into later fractals for a challenge or because guildies need +1

it does nothing to mend the fracturing of the player base people will still have trouble finding geared players to attempt the dungeon with since there is no AR on the gear, (infusions will help to some extent) youll still only have 50% of the infusion at most as someone who farms fractals, less when higher rarity infusions are released. then you have to grind lower level fractals (if you can find anyone to play them) to get a new set of gear with 100% AR.

I still dont see the problem, but not because I am shortsighted. I just dont see it as a problem.

From your two posts I gather that you, or this hypothetical person, wants to run high end fractals where ascended with built in infusions is almost required. Yet, you dont want to run fractals to get this gear. Gear that…is only BIS for fractals/high end fractals. You do not need +10 AR and some offensive stat for anything but fractals.

So what you’re saying is, you want to be able to purchase already infused ascended gear via a nice, easy, calm, no pressure way via daily and monthlys. You want to be able to sleepwalk through these dailys, which they most likely will be if current dailys and monthlys are any indication, in order to SIDESTEP a fractal grind for infusions that are only relevant to fractals.

I dont see your logic.

All I see is:
I want to be able to get BiS gear without grinding fractals so that I can join high level fractal groups.
I dont want to fractal grind. This means, I dont want to spend 1.5 hr per day to grind out fractals against RNG. This is too hard because fractals CAN be difficult at times, and RNG does suck.
I want to walk through the green fields of Kessex hills, kill some centaurs, and complete the monthly achievement. Then I can get the infused ascended, to go do those high end fractals.

Sounds like you want the easy way out. Not trying to be rude or insulting, but that is pretty much how I see this.

I agree wholeheartedly.

All sounds cherry and all, but what is this Riding Broom?

Is it town clothing or a type of mount? If it’s town clothing, why are we getting another broom? We already got one from Halloween with the witch’s outfit, now you’re releasing one seperately? Feels like a waste of money for those that bought the costume. I mean, you already gave out a witch’s hat and now a broom? Might as well just put the whole outfit back in the cash shop.

And if it is a mount and not town clothing, why? Does it increase speed? And why are you making mounts in the first place? What happened to no mounts?

As well, when are we going to see more town clothing? People have been asking for it for awhile now and even wanting the npc outfits as town clothing for awhile. Yet we get a Quaggan backpack instead.

This is my only real concerns at the moment.

cesmode.4257:

Shadow Blade.1324:

cesmode.4257:

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

you don’t seem to understand the point, this was supposed to allow players to get BIS outside of farming fractals, if it doesn’t have the inherent AR then its not BIS its that simple and creates a sub teir if it cant be upgraded, as you will still have to grind lower level fractals and fight rng to get the stats you want if you want to dip into later fractals for a challenge or because guildies need +1

it does nothing to mend the fracturing of the player base people will still have trouble finding geared players to attempt the dungeon with since there is no AR on the gear, (infusions will help to some extent) youll still only have 50% of the infusion at most as someone who farms fractals, less when higher rarity infusions are released. then you have to grind lower level fractals (if you can find anyone to play them) to get a new set of gear with 100% AR.

I still dont see the problem, but not because I am shortsighted. I just dont see it as a problem.

From your two posts I gather that you, or this hypothetical person, wants to run high end fractals where ascended with built in infusions is almost required. Yet, you dont want to run fractals to get this gear. Gear that…is only BIS for fractals/high end fractals. You do not need +10 AR and some offensive stat for anything but fractals.

So what you’re saying is, you want to be able to purchase already infused ascended gear via a nice, easy, calm, no pressure way via daily and monthlys. You want to be able to sleepwalk through these dailys, which they most likely will be if current dailys and monthlys are any indication, in order to SIDESTEP a fractal grind for infusions that are only relevant to fractals.

I dont see your logic.

All I see is:
I want to be able to get BiS gear without grinding fractals so that I can join high level fractal groups.
I dont want to fractal grind. This means, I dont want to spend 1.5 hr per day to grind out fractals against RNG. This is too hard because fractals CAN be difficult at times, and RNG does suck.
I want to walk through the green fields of Kessex hills, kill some centaurs, and complete the monthly achievement. Then I can get the infused ascended, to go do those high end fractals.

Sounds like you want the easy way out. Not trying to be rude or insulting, but that is pretty much how I see this.

This will only be a problem if the rings you get from Laurels are not the same stat combos as the ones from Fractals. Why? Here are a couple reasons:

1) If you want a certain stat combo and it’s only available via Laurels then you can’t use it in Fractals. In that case you’ll have to carry around multiple sets of gear, one specifically for fractals with the stat combo you don’t really want… and then another set of gear for the actual stats you want everywhere else. This is my main concern. You should never be forced to have a specific set of gear different than your normal gear to progress in a specific location.

2) On the flip side, if you want a stat combo and it’s only available in fractals then you’re forced into doing that. I see this as less of a problem, but it would go against the “play wherever/however you want” philosophy which would bug some people.

We don’t know just yet what the stats will be, so it might not be a problem.

The bigger problem that I see is that they are slowly removing customization as we upgrade to Ascended gear without slots for Gems/Jewels. Which also makes me wonder what’s going to be done for Jeweler to make up for this… Our socketable items are becoming worthless since they can’t be socketed in Ascended gear.

I see new story arcs. No mounts for the players, folks. Id imagine thats just art, or a preview of some character we dont know yet who might be mounted. Dont get too excited for player mounts, or else you’ll be disappointed.

Fox.3469:

All these features sound awesome, but does this: "The sky falls and the ground shakes in the lands of the north. Charr and norn refugees crawl from the wreckage of their homes in the Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau, struggling to find shelter in the south. The call goes out for volunteers to assist the victims in this time of need, when earth and sky seem to have become the enemy…"
mean there is gonna be new pve content in any form on the 28th? It’s a bit unclear now.

They already said that there won’t be new areas/races/professions.
I believe there will just be new events to be done and similar things.

The following 3 months will mostly include a lot of fixes to the excisting world and areas. It will also make some areas more usefull to be/level up.

Great that they finaly will fix and not just add things.

Fox.3469:

All these features sound awesome, but does this mean there is gonna be new pve content in any form on the 28th? It’s a bit unclear now.

On the 28th? My guess would be probably not, since they have stated that most of the content will be rolling out of the next few months. I realize I’m not a dev so maybe you could care less about how I’ve read it =)

I wonder how much the Baby Quaggan will cost in gems, or if it will even be RNG…

Svenn.5209:

cesmode.4257:

Shadow Blade.1324:

cesmode.4257:

Again,
If you want ascended gear with built in infusion, then youre sights are aimed at high fractal levels. So go run fractals.

They are making ascended gear, without built in infusions, available via laurels so people are STATTED on equal footing, even if they dont run fractals. The infusion part of ascended gear is specific to fractals ONLY. So if you want ascended with built in infusion, then that tells me you are someone who wants to run fractals because that “upgrade” is specific to fractals.

If you do not run fractals, you do not need ascended with built in infusion.

I see no problem here.

Can people please calm down about this?

you don’t seem to understand the point, this was supposed to allow players to get BIS outside of farming fractals, if it doesn’t have the inherent AR then its not BIS its that simple and creates a sub teir if it cant be upgraded, as you will still have to grind lower level fractals and fight rng to get the stats you want if you want to dip into later fractals for a challenge or because guildies need +1

it does nothing to mend the fracturing of the player base people will still have trouble finding geared players to attempt the dungeon with since there is no AR on the gear, (infusions will help to some extent) youll still only have 50% of the infusion at most as someone who farms fractals, less when higher rarity infusions are released. then you have to grind lower level fractals (if you can find anyone to play them) to get a new set of gear with 100% AR.

I still dont see the problem, but not because I am shortsighted. I just dont see it as a problem.

From your two posts I gather that you, or this hypothetical person, wants to run high end fractals where ascended with built in infusions is almost required. Yet, you dont want to run fractals to get this gear. Gear that…is only BIS for fractals/high end fractals. You do not need +10 AR and some offensive stat for anything but fractals.

So what you’re saying is, you want to be able to purchase already infused ascended gear via a nice, easy, calm, no pressure way via daily and monthlys. You want to be able to sleepwalk through these dailys, which they most likely will be if current dailys and monthlys are any indication, in order to SIDESTEP a fractal grind for infusions that are only relevant to fractals.

I dont see your logic.

All I see is:
I want to be able to get BiS gear without grinding fractals so that I can join high level fractal groups.
I dont want to fractal grind. This means, I dont want to spend 1.5 hr per day to grind out fractals against RNG. This is too hard because fractals CAN be difficult at times, and RNG does suck.
I want to walk through the green fields of Kessex hills, kill some centaurs, and complete the monthly achievement. Then I can get the infused ascended, to go do those high end fractals.

Sounds like you want the easy way out. Not trying to be rude or insulting, but that is pretty much how I see this.

This will only be a problem if the rings you get from Laurels are not the same stat combos as the ones from Fractals. Why? Here are a couple reasons:

1) If you want a certain stat combo and it’s only available via Laurels then you can’t use it in Fractals.

Svenn, why couldn’t you use the laurel ascended item in a fractal? The items are going to be the same, and I think Colin confirmed that in this post. Read up a page or so. You’ll be able to wear the laurel ascended items in fractals. Why wouldnt you?

cesmode.4257:

I see new story arcs. No mounts for the players, folks. Id imagine thats just art, or a preview of some character we dont know yet who might be mounted. Dont get too excited for player mounts, or else you’ll be disappointed.

Well I wish they would say yay or nay to stop the speculation, or at least “wait and see” if they want to keep up the suspense lol

cesmode.4257:

Svenn, why couldn’t you use the laurel ascended item in a fractal? The items are going to be the same, and I think Colin confirmed that in this post. Read up a page or so. You’ll be able to wear the laurel ascended items in fractals. Why wouldnt you?

You CAN wear it, but you’ll lose out on some agony resist. The Fractals rings come in infused version with 5 agony resist built in, PLUS you can slot 5 agony resist on it for a total of 10 on one ring. So far with the info we have the rings from Laurels ONLY allow you to slot 5 agony resist, and does not come with it built in. That means you’ll have half the agony resist of someone with a fractals ring, which will become a problem in later fractals.

Now, this isn’t really a problem if either you can use the normal upgrade recipe to add the built in 5 agony resist to Laurels rings OR if the Laurels rings are all identical in stat combos to the Fractals rings (you still wouldn’t be using the Laurels rings in Fractals, but you wouldn’t miss out on any stat combos). This is what we’re trying to get clarified.

I’m not asking for people’s opinion this was a question to Collin, i know there won’t be any new races/areas/proffesions, i’d just like for clarification on what exactly pve wise is coming on the 28th. It’s a bit unclear now, altough something is coming since they mentioned zones where stuff is happening.

Again, this is the debate I was having with the other guy.

If you are a player that loves to run fractals, and oure at fractal level..40. High end fractals. Yet, you dont want to grind out against the RNG monster for the infused pieces. Thats a classic case of “I want to have my cake and eat it too”. You want to run high lvl fractals, but not suffer the work to get there. This also defeats the purpose of what arenanet intended with ascended gear in the first place. Bridging the TIME gap between exotic and legendary.

Having ascended gear available via laurels is simply a way for non-fractal running folk, and even some fractal folks who arent insanely serious about fractals, to get BiS gear. BiS meaning, the traditional stats of power,precision,crit, etc.

Consider this: The current ascended gear, you can get a grand total of…30 AR? With 30 AR, and the fractals being “endless” in level…did you really think you could endlessly grind up to fractal level 50, 60, or70? If anyone has done that, they probably wiped a billion times, or died so much. The current amount of AR in the game only allows you to get to maybe…40,45 or so, until it becomes extremely difficult, borderline impassable. So there is a “soft cap” on the fractal levels after all, imo.

What if there’s a new dragon like event in one/both of those zones mentioned? Not necessarily a new dragon lieutenant, but something like that.

Iridiana.9078:

I wonder how much the Baby Quaggan will cost in gems, or if it will even be RNG…

Don’t even say that. Don’t give them ideas. They need to stop doing RNG in everything…

SpyderArachnid.5619:

All sounds cherry and all, but what is this Riding Broom?

Is it town clothing or a type of mount? If it’s town clothing, why are we getting another broom? We already got one from Halloween with the witch’s outfit, now you’re releasing one seperately? Feels like a waste of money for those that bought the costume. I mean, you already gave out a witch’s hat and now a broom? Might as well just put the whole outfit back in the cash shop.
This is my only real concerns at the moment.

This.

So much for the halloween outfit item being limited, it does seems like a waste now.

Fox.3469:

I’m not asking for people’s opinion this was a question to Collin, i know there won’t be any new races/areas/proffesions, i’d just like for clarification on what exactly pve wise is coming on the 28th. It’s a bit unclear now, altough something is coming since they mentioned zones where stuff is happening.

You don’t like surprises? Mystery? I think Anet likes to keep us guessing till the last minute, adds to the excitement.

cesmode.4257:

Again, this is the debate I was having with the other guy.

If you are a player that loves to run fractals, and oure at fractal level..40. High end fractals. Yet, you dont want to grind out against the RNG monster for the infused pieces. Thats a classic case of “I want to have my cake and eat it too”. You want to run high lvl fractals, but not suffer the work to get there. This also defeats the purpose of what arenanet intended with ascended gear in the first place. Bridging the TIME gap between exotic and legendary.

Having ascended gear available via laurels is simply a way for non-fractal running folk, and even some fractal folks who arent insanely serious about fractals, to get BiS gear. BiS meaning, the traditional stats of power,precision,crit, etc.

Consider this: The current ascended gear, you can get a grand total of…30 AR? With 30 AR, and the fractals being “endless” in level…did you really think you could endlessly grind up to fractal level 50, 60, or70? If anyone has done that, they probably wiped a billion times, or died so much. The current amount of AR in the game only allows you to get to maybe…40,45 or so, until it becomes extremely difficult, borderline impassable. So there is a “soft cap” on the fractal levels after all, imo.

We don’t know what the stats are on the Laurels rings yet. If the Laurels rings have say Power/Precision/Vitality, that combo isn’t available from Fractals rings. So I want to wear this Power/Precision/Vitality Ascended ring… except it’s worthless to me in the high fractals because I can only ever 5 agony resist on it instead of 10 on it. So now I have to carry around a special Ascended Ring specifically from Fractals with a different stat combo (not the one I wanted), just so I can have the agony resist to progress. THAT is a problem as I now have a “Best in Slot” item that is not good enough for what I want to do.

Again, if all the stats are identical to ones you can get from the Fractals rings then this whole thing is moot. But that’s why we’re trying to clarify. Also, if you can take a Laurels ring and use mists essence from Fractals to upgrade it into an Infused version so you can get 10 Agony resist on it (still requires lots of fractals runs to upgrade) then that also is fine. If there are different stat combos on Laurels rings versus Fractals rings AND there is no way to upgrade Laurels rings to have the full 10 agony resist then that is poorly designed.

ColinJohanson.2394:
PhilipRed.9473:Just ascended amulets? what about the rest of the gear?

Good question!

Ascended rings will also be available for laurels as well. Back slot items will be made more widely available in the future and will likely tie into a different reward system.

(Please note, the ascended gear purchased for laurels will not have agony resistance built in, since that mechanic is currently unique to progression in the fractal dungeons. They are however statistically the same as any other ascended gear.)

We will also introduce an additional reward system (or systems) in the future to make these items more accessible to WvW players on top of the laurel system.

The remaining ascended item types will be introduced in future releases, and may or may not tie into the laurel system, TBD.

(Edited to add note about agony)

@svenn, wordplay all you want with this…I guess there is a grey area. “Statistically the same” could mean that its the same level of stats(for instance, 67 power or 67 precision). Or it means they are the same items which makes more sense imo.

Actually, re-reading his quote again makes me think: laurel obtained ascended items may or may not be included in future releases. Thats concerning. Keep it in laurels, and fractals, and add it to WvW too.

It’s gotta be about Jormag! Tho when I first saw that concept art piece, I thought it was something from Cantha since the guy riding looks a lot like some kind of chinese emperor

You know… there’s a Mystic Forge recipe to upgrade rings without native Agony resist; who’s to say we won’t be able to upgrade the amulets as well in the Mystic Forge?

The panic… it is premature.

CharrGirl.7896:

It’s gotta be about Jormag! Tho when I first saw that concept art piece, I thought it was something from Cantha since the guy riding looks a lot like some kind of chinese emperor

Could be a comet strike (ice) in the North as well which releases hordes of Primordius’ minions from below (fire)… we don’t really know. I’m inclined to lean “dragon” in this, but I don’t doubt ANet’s ability to do what none of us expect and have it make perfect sense.

VOLKON.1290:

You know… there’s a Mystic Forge recipe to upgrade rings without native Agony resist; who’s to say we won’t be able to upgrade the amulets as well in the Mystic Forge?

The panic… it is premature.

Honestly, the amulets don’t matter. We can’t get those with native agony resist any other way, so even if they can’t be upgrade it’s fine.

The problem is rings where you’ll have a split between “Agony Ascended Rings” and just “Ascended Rings”. This only becomes a problem when one stat combo is available on one and not the other. All we’re asking for is a few simple clarifications.

1) Can Laurels rings be upgraded using the Mystic forge to have innate Agony Resist?
2) Are the stat combos on Laurels rings identical to those in Fractals?

If the answer to either of those is yes, there isn’t a problem.

cesmode.4257:

Actually, re-reading his quote again makes me think: laurel obtained ascended items may or may not be included in future releases. Thats concerning. Keep it in laurels, and fractals, and add it to WvW too.

This is what concerns me. They love splitting up stat combos and tossing them all over the place. With exotics some combos only come from crafting, some only come from dungeons, some come from Karma and some are from WvW. You can’t get all the combos from the same place. That’s not normally a problem, though.

Now, take that and make it so that the stat combos are all over the place, but now only SOME combos have agony resist and others don’t. It just becomes a huge mess, people who are doing fractals are stuck with a subset of combos that they can use for fractals… I just don’t want to see that happen.