Guild Wars 2

Hi Arena,

I find the new Lion’s Arch after a few days after patch 23 June 2015, we have to endure more load screens as there are so too few waypoints and too wide spaces.

But in a non-combat area, its just not practical.

Could Arena look into the following:

• More waypoints
• More Crafting stations at different corners
• More repair stations (near FoTM and WvW)

Because of this New LA designed. I only go LA now for FoTM. Other than that, I do want to avoid the load screens.

The old LA is a lot better designed than the New LA.

Thank you.

The travel distances are about the same as they were in old LA at launch before Scarlet destroyed it.

Ayrilana.1396:

The travel distances are about the same as they were in old LA at launch before Scarlet destroyed it.

There I missed the LA ruins already…

more crafting stations location, more bank location etc….

It would be nice to have a WP next to the Black Lion, because at the moment I exit the nearest (two actually) and spend about forty seconds (which could be better spent) bounding around the landscape to get it to. There is, however, one right next to the bank. I remind players (and newbies) that crafting stations also permit bank account access.

I guess some people don’t remember the old LA. The distances are almost identical…

i like the GW1 version more, it’s the right size and everything is on the right place.
why does GW2 need to have so many things bigger yet ending up with empty spaces…….

I miss the stairs in front of the bank in old la. Best afk spot ever xD
RIP LA.

Draknar.5748:

I guess some people don’t remember the old LA. The distances are almost identical…

People are cheesed that they made LA more user friendly after its destruction, then made it suck again.

New LA is more about looks and less about optimizing the distances between the different services. Try Ebonhawk or the Royal Terrace.

I do indeed prefer the old LA and not the ruined LA but the LA that was there before they started messing with it.

Old LA had more nooks and crannies to explore and the NPC’s were more interactive. You had Tengu guarding the gate, Whisper members hidden in the sewers, and a Bar suspended high above it all to play that drinking mini game. They also had Moa races and a Fort at the edgje of town made perfect sense as well as the smuggler den and other attractions.

The old LA also made more sense as it was loaded with cannons and weaponry and had a darker pirate feel to it while this new LA acts like it was never attacked in the first place as it’s bright and cheery with hardly a cannon in place almost as if the dragons never existed and the aether blade and Karka instances never occurred so they’d have no reason to build for strategic purposes or defense.

Oh yeah and out of every thing the old auction hall is what I missed the most as it looked like an actual indoor auction all.

Jahroots.6791:

Draknar.5748:

I guess some people don’t remember the old LA. The distances are almost identical…

People are cheesed that they made LA more user friendly after its destruction, then made it suck again.

What’s funny about that is that people were complaining that it wasn’t as user friendly when when we got the new, destroyed version.

complaints like this are just… I mean, come on.

if you want storage right next to a trading post, go to divinity’s reach, or even better, go to Ebonhawke (if you don’t mind missing out on guild storage)

if you want everything right next to each other (including crafting) go to Rata Sum.

if you want to complain about walking or using waypoints whenever you want with no cost at all, continue using lion’s arch.

#entitledgamerproblems.

Sorel.4870:

New LA is more about looks and less about optimizing the distances between the different services. Try Ebonhawk or the Royal Terrace.

:-) Finally someone with brains.

Ruined LA was the best, banks and black lion traders and crafting stations everywhere. I don’t know why they made it so much less convenient now.

Also, they removed the portal to Lornar’s Pass for some reason, and didn’t bother reinstating the northeast exit to Gendarran either.

Ayrilana.1396:

What’s funny about that is that people were complaining that it wasn’t as user friendly when when we got the new, destroyed version.

#truth

Fact is, there’s always at least one person complaining about every update and change made. Literally, all of them.

It’s unfortunate, because this makes it hard to distinguish reasonable grievances from trolling and pettiness.

This one I think is reasonable, though, Logistically it is pretty clear that the destroyed LA offered significantly more convenience than it does now.

Hyper Cutter.9376:

Also, they removed the portal to Lornar’s Pass for some reason…

There is still a portal to Lornars Pass.

I like the new LA… while destroyed LA may have had all the conveniences around the place it always seemed un-needed to me and also it looked very depressing. Now I want to hang out there again.
The distances really aint that bad… I don’t understand this idea of these seconds being wasted as being that horrible.
As for armor repair, there is a repair station just inside of fractals, before you start (I think, really sorry if I am wrong). Pretty sure they are in WvW too, although I am not sure about how conveniently close they are placed. Yes it would be convenient to have them near the portals in LA too and I can support that, but I don’t think it is that horrible either, that they are not there yet.
Don’t see the need for more wp though…. or crafting stations in every corner… overkill imo… but I do get that I may be in minority with that opinion.

• Imagine if you have to run a few time between crafting station to Mystic Toilet.
• Maybe you can port to the Mystic Toilet from crafting station but load screen is not fun. Unless you live in US and server is within 10,000 km distance.

UmbraVictor.9842:

Hi Arena,

I find the new Lion’s Arch after a few days after patch 23 June 2015, we have to endure more load screens as there are so too few waypoints and too wide spaces.

But in a non-combat area, its just not practical.

Could Arena look into the following:

• More waypoints
• More Crafting stations at different corners
• More repair stations (near FoTM and WvW)

Because of this New LA designed. I only go LA now for FoTM. Other than that, I do want to avoid the load screens.

The old LA is a lot better designed than the New LA.

Thank you.

There is a repair station by FoTM and WvW it’s an anvil right at the back where you exit from PvP. I like the New LA a lot more. But the merchants seem to be all huddles together. But its good I suppose, it stops players all hanging out in one area, and leaving the rest of the city like a ghost town.

Jahroots.6791:

Ayrilana.1396:

What’s funny about that is that people were complaining that it wasn’t as user friendly when when we got the new, destroyed version.

#truth

Fact is, there’s always at least one person complaining about every update and change made. Literally, all of them.

It’s unfortunate, because this makes it hard to distinguish reasonable grievances from trolling and pettiness.

This one I think is reasonable, though, Logistically it is pretty clear that the destroyed LA offered significantly more convenience than it does now.

Yes, I realize there are other cities that are designed better with their services clustering. I just find it odd that the ruined LA was better than the new one in services migrating to each other.

In both the real world and the racial cities related services cluster. Not so it what is supposed to be the main city of the known world.

Jahroots.6791:

Draknar.5748:

I guess some people don’t remember the old LA. The distances are almost identical…

People are cheesed that they made LA more user friendly after its destruction, then made it suck again.

Wait, so you’re saying OP meant the destroyed LA when he said “Old” LA?

If so, then yes the new LA is less convenient than the destroyed LA. But is as convenient as the original LA, which of course was where everyone hung out and no one really complained. The few that did would use DR as their hub, and many still do.

I for one am a Captain’s Airship ticket holder, so I look down on all of you.

…literally…

i actually prefer the old and the destroyed lion’s arch to the new one.

I’m not saying the new one looks bad, on the contrary it looks lovely, but it feels like it belongs to an art gallery more than serve as a hub.

IMO this LA is like an oversized playground for kids, it doesn’t even look like a hub let alone a city.

Here… let me summarize the feelings of many in this thread. The old (and Ruined) Lions Arch had character . The new Lions Arch ? Not so much.

Come join the Asura Master Race in Rata Sum and avoid the stress of bookah architecture!

(P.S. – I actually really like the way the new LA looks and feels. A lot. But I’ve never considered it to be a hub for me, personally.)

The new Lion’s Arch is absolutely stunning. A beautiful work of art and virtual architecture. The way the ocean theme runs throughout the main buildings was coordinated really well, and it’s hard not to think of the sea when you are there.

However, just like a beautiful sculpture, it’s value sort of stops once you step outside the realm of appreciating it as a piece of art.

Divinity’s Reach, Rata Sum, and other locations put all the functionality in a much better configuration.

In the long run, LA is a beauitful work of art, but it’s just that. Art. I highly doubt it will see the same level of use it once had. I remember LA being a busy place even before Mega Servers came about to make everything look busy.
I don’t mind running between the bank, crafting, and TP areas, but it would seem a number of people do.
Every time I’m in LA, it’s not more than a few minutes near the forge before someone pops a TP guy nearby.
But then, perhaps, that is the end goal for Arenanet, as it usually is. Give the players incentive to spend money for convenience.

Does new LA look like a Disney theme park, as some have said? Yes it does. For me not a problem, my spouse and I went on a Disney Cruise and Disney World combo for our honeymoon. Recommended. New LA is ok, but still under fortified. Could use some more budget housing in outer areas for flavor, more bars, etc.

Is it a pain as a hub? Yes it is. Do better alternative hubs exist? Yes and no. This is still the only place with a direct port cluster unless you have one of the two exclusive access passes. For new accounts where every silver counts that makes LA a money saving necessity over just using way points. One of the reasons my wife doesn’t like to play, as the load times on her system are painfully slow.

For mature accounts running level 80’s around the silver savings add up. On my system load times are pretty good (bless the SSD revolution) and I save about 40 silver a day basing all my alts in LA.

For just a handy service hub, using Rata Sum is very good advice imo.

Only thing I want changed with current LA is for all of the banks and TP’s to be shown on the map. there’s several bank and TP NPC’s around that have no map marker

sorudo.9054:

IMO this LA is like an oversized playground for kids, it doesn’t even look like a hub let alone a city.

Agreed. It was where I was last stationed when I logged out before the update, so it was my first venue when logging back in. It feels like the kind of thing an inept investment group does when building over lower-income or disaster areas. They don’t bother with keeping a connection to what was before, they just build bright and shiny and call it a day.

I logged in, shot the breeze for a few minutes, then logged right back out. It’s uninspiring to say ze least.

Lookswise: sterile, no character.
NPC convenience: ruined LA was a lot better.

The new LA solved a problem that old LA was having, and ruined LA toyed with:
Spread the population out. Not just throughout the city, but throughout the world.
The original LA in GW1 had the bank at one end of the area and the armorsmiths in another and crafting merchants in another. It was a small location, but there were services all over.
The one thing it excelled at was being a great location for festival events. This is what I am getting from this new iteration. There are a lot of services near the main trading location with the rest of the city functional for story events, and roleplay for players that would like to immerse themselves.
While LA recovered, I moved all but one character out of the city and too their racial cities. With actual players in those cities, the game feels bigger than just the steps of one bank in one city.

Yes the new LA is pretty but it is not very functional. The previous version was much more user friendly albeit not to pretty. The original was far superior to both unfortunately. The crafting area is so lame now compared to the original. It’s one of the worst on the entire map and it used to be the best in both looks and convenience.

Generally, I prefer the new LA both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, the marine animal buildings are goofy and kind of out of place.

Einlanzer.1627:

Generally, I prefer the new LA both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, the marine animal buildings are goofy and kind of out of place.

It’s a port city, originally built by pirates. How are those buildings out of place?

Also, there are exits to both Gendarran Fields and Lornar’s Pass, still.

steveway.3167:

Hyper Cutter.9376:

Also, they removed the portal to Lornar’s Pass for some reason…

There is still a portal to Lornars Pass.

Did they move it? The portal south of where the guild place is now isn’t there any more, and the portal south of the priory in the Lornar’s side is gone too.

It’s an exit from the city now, not marked by a pink portal.

Rata Sum is the most convenient town and always has been. Just go there and sight see in LA if you ever get the urge. The last thing this game needs is LA ever seeing hundreds of hours of dev time being thrown at it. Wanna design a map? Design a new one with stuff to do in it. There. The issue is settled and we don’t need to ever talk about it again.

roachsrealm.9284:

complaints like this are just… I mean, come on.

if you want storage right next to a trading post, go to divinity’s reach, or even better, go to Ebonhawke (if you don’t mind missing out on guild storage)

if you want everything right next to each other (including crafting) go to Rata Sum.

if you want to complain about walking or using waypoints whenever you want with no cost at all, continue using lion’s arch.

#entitledgamerproblems.

Not everything is about entitled gamers. Sometimes it’s simply feedback. Feedback the devs DO take under consideration sometimes. Just because you don’t have a problem with it, doesn’t mean others don’t. Your way of playing isn’t the only way to play.

I must admit, I do like the old Lion’s Arch more. Had more personality and feel to it. The new one, while pretty, does have this over-sized playground feel to it as Surudo says.

And, again, I really do miss the old fountain. It was genius.

Guhracie.3419:

Einlanzer.1627:

Generally, I prefer the new LA both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, the marine animal buildings are goofy and kind of out of place.

It’s a port city, originally built by pirates. How are those buildings out of place?

Also, there are exits to both Gendarran Fields and Lornar’s Pass, still.

Cheesiest pirates ever to make their buildings look like marine life.

I really wish all the merchants were marked on the map. That’s my sole complaint about the new LA. Otherwise, I love it.

Prototypemind.4026:

Guhracie.3419:

Einlanzer.1627:

Generally, I prefer the new LA both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, the marine animal buildings are goofy and kind of out of place.

It’s a port city, originally built by pirates. How are those buildings out of place?

Also, there are exits to both Gendarran Fields and Lornar’s Pass, still.

Cheesiest pirates ever to make their buildings look like marine life.

I said it was originally built by pirates. If you don’t know anything about the city’s lore, you can’t say it’s not lore appropriate. It was constructed with the nautical theme in mind, to honor the city’s origins. And that squid building is the best building in the entire game.

BrotherBelial.3094:

UmbraVictor.9842:

Hi Arena,

I find the new Lion’s Arch after a few days after patch 23 June 2015, we have to endure more load screens as there are so too few waypoints and too wide spaces.

But in a non-combat area, its just not practical.

Could Arena look into the following:

• More waypoints
• More Crafting stations at different corners
• More repair stations (near FoTM and WvW)

Because of this New LA designed. I only go LA now for FoTM. Other than that, I do want to avoid the load screens.

The old LA is a lot better designed than the New LA.

Thank you.

There is a repair station by FoTM and WvW it’s an anvil right at the back where you exit from PvP. I like the New LA a lot more. But the merchants seem to be all huddles together. But its good I suppose, it stops players all hanging out in one area, and leaving the rest of the city like a ghost town.

I know where all the repair stations are. THE POINT is LOAD SCREENS! REDUCE THEM. Get ARENA to put some Quality of Life. LA should be improved not just in better paints and scenery. BUT functionality is the other half.

The problem is load screens. Time is precious and looking at the load screens 4 times just to get into a dungeon alone is annoying.

Most of the players are outside of US. Load screen can be annoying it’s like playing “We Save This City” over and over again till you get sick of it.

It’s not hard for them to place waypoints at the right place. If it’s designed right. This should be a step forward from the Destroyed LA. Not two steps backward.

UmbraVictor.9842:

BrotherBelial.3094:

UmbraVictor.9842:

Hi Arena,

I find the new Lion’s Arch after a few days after patch 23 June 2015, we have to endure more load screens as there are so too few waypoints and too wide spaces.

But in a non-combat area, its just not practical.

Could Arena look into the following:

• More waypoints
• More Crafting stations at different corners
• More repair stations (near FoTM and WvW)

Because of this New LA designed. I only go LA now for FoTM. Other than that, I do want to avoid the load screens.

The old LA is a lot better designed than the New LA.

Thank you.

There is a repair station by FoTM and WvW it’s an anvil right at the back where you exit from PvP. I like the New LA a lot more. But the merchants seem to be all huddles together. But its good I suppose, it stops players all hanging out in one area, and leaving the rest of the city like a ghost town.

I know where all the repair stations are. THE POINT is LOAD SCREENS! REDUCE THEM. Get ARENA to put some Quality of Life. LA should be improved not just in better paints and scenery. BUT functionality is the other half.

The problem is load screens. Time is precious and looking at the load screens 4 times just to get into a dungeon alone is annoying.

Most of the players are outside of US. Load screen can be annoying it’s like playing “We Save This City” over and over again till you get sick of it.

It’s not hard for them to place waypoints at the right place. If it’s designed right. This should be a step forward from the Destroyed LA. Not two steps backward.

What load screens? I don’t have any load screens when porting while within LA.

Most players outside US? Source? Considering you’re based on BG, an American server, I’d say most players are from the U.S. Longer load times and such are expected if you’re playing from outside of the country that the servers are. Imagine how Australian players feel.

Guhracie.3419:

Prototypemind.4026:

Guhracie.3419:

Einlanzer.1627:

Generally, I prefer the new LA both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, the marine animal buildings are goofy and kind of out of place.

It’s a port city, originally built by pirates. How are those buildings out of place?

Also, there are exits to both Gendarran Fields and Lornar’s Pass, still.

Cheesiest pirates ever to make their buildings look like marine life.

I said it was originally built by pirates. If you don’t know anything about the city’s lore, you can’t say it’s not lore appropriate. It was constructed with the nautical theme in mind, to honor the city’s origins. And that squid building is the best building in the entire game.

Can’t say it’s that inspiring. When I first started playing I ran all over Divinity’s Reach to see everything there was to see. For the new LA, I logged in, looked around, and logged out.

UmbraVictor.9842:

Hi Arena,

I find the new Lion’s Arch after a few days after patch 23 June 2015, we have to endure more load screens as there are so too few waypoints and too wide spaces.

But in a non-combat area, its just not practical.

Could Arena look into the following:

• More waypoints
• More Crafting stations at different corners
• More repair stations (near FoTM and WvW)

Because of this New LA designed. I only go LA now for FoTM. Other than that, I do want to avoid the load screens.

The old LA is a lot better designed than the New LA.

Thank you.

^

LA is too flat. There needs to be more mutli dimensional accessibility.

This used to be the banner city for the game.

Now is it is nothing.

What I love about the new LA the most is what has been done with the NPCs

Sya tops the list of course … I made a mesmer based on her even.

Apple vendors …. a homage?

Hero-tron with a new job … neat.

Kodan in LA? were they there before?

Tour guides? okay …

The kids playing Jory and Kess.

Has anyone else found the progeny and skritt who team up to go steal apples yet? Too cute!

My only gripe about new LA is the lack of vertical element. Unlike Hoelbrak and the Grove, LA had a lot of vertical rising areas, but was traversed horizontally. This created a lot of naturally occurring Vistas, overlooking most of the city from every angle imaginable.

While I understand the intent was to minimize negative exploration space; they could very effectively add a series of tourist vistas (not vista waypoints), which have either overlooks of parts of the city or something akin to coin op binoculars! that lets you see otherwise unreachable parts of the city.

I really dislike the new Lions Arch….It was supposed to be a town founded by pirates…nothing bout LA is very ‘Piratey’ anymore. I MISS MY LION FOUNTAIN!

Also, the WP placement is horrid in this city. I used to hang out all the time in LA, but now I just can’t stand going there.