Guild Wars 2

I’m confused. Are exotics not in the game anymore?

Man, exotic is still very good tier for playing, even in WvW.

And R.I.P. SWG, the only true Star Wars MMO

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

I feel no need to get ascended weapons in a rush. I don’t see why people feel forced to get them. I see it as a bonus I might acquire for a few of my characters eventually at least. I care more about skins if I’m honest.

Pretty much all of GW2 combat is based around exotics, that hasn’t changed.

sazberryftw.3809:

Pretty much all of GW2 combat is based around exotics, that hasn’t changed.

Hasn’t <— is a strong word indeed

No Walking.6349:

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

Exactly. If you were in the know, you’d know that asking this question misses the point entirely. Go read some of those many, long threads about it, and conquer your ignorance!

hmm let’s see ten percent of all stats = yeah you might wanna upgrade there buddy.

OP I feel exactly like you do.

Come to think of it I’ll be watching closely to see just how soon it will become mandatory to run ANY of the revamped dungeons or to be part of the 80 fighting dragon bosses because people said that wouldn’t happen with nerfed classes in PVE either remember that? yeah as an engineer I remember.

No Walking.6349:

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

Nothing is needed (you dont need to get exotics, you dont need to get yellows, blues…, you dont need to play the game). I think a lot of people like you troll with that word… You don’t NEED to post.

He wanted (not needed, although wanting arises needing something to stratify wanting it) his chars to be decked out. And yeah totally feel ya there…. Wanted my thief to be decked out with ascended, possibly a legendary, and be free to play around with builds (in PvE/WvW) and still have max stats….. Yeah that’s not going to happen I think, so I play sPvP.

Sucks ascended relies on time gated kitten, and legendary relies on RNG (precursor).
There should be a path (possibly, long, as intended) to obtaining those that always for you to make definite progress at your own pace, instead of being bottlenecked by time gates or RNG. (They may as well, remove precursors from the game, and have legendaries be purely drop/RNG based)

Zero Day.2594:

No Walking.6349:

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

Nothing is needed (you dont need to get exotics, you dont need to get yellows, blues…, you dont need to play the game). I think a lot of people like you troll with that word… You don’t NEED to post.

And you good sir is not looking at the whole picture of the reason to say ‘not needed’.

I say you don’t need Ascended, Exotic nor rare gear to participate or give oponents a challange.

In usuall MMO’s you need best or near best gear to do a dungeon or something, you need to be max level to do end game content or else people will kick you and so on.

So why “we” are saying ‘you don’t need to have Ascended’ is becouse you actually don’t need Ascended to do or enjoy what the game has to offer.

On the other hand atm you need to craft your desired Ascended weapon yourself, you can’t buy it or find it untill teuseday but as many has said is that you don’t need Ascended weapons to enjoy the game and be in par with most others.

I’ve felt all my alts are dead ever since they implemented WXP. Forcing me to stick to one character in order to rank up has basically killed off all my alts in the primary content I like to play, World vs. World. My Guardian got the bulk of my ranks, so now I can’t really play any of my other 7 characters, without feeling like I am taking steps backwards instead of advancing. If it weren’t for the occasional fun in PvE, I’d almost wish I could get a refund for all the extra character slots I purchased, as well as the time, real money (Gem Store stuff, bag slots) and Gold I invested in them.

Luckily I still like playing my Guardian the most, at least for the time being.. Still, it has dampened my excitement for WvW. Not even sure I’ve set a foot in there for the past 2 months, and I am primarily interested in WvW. I barely even play lately with all the things they have been doing to the game. These bi-weekly updates are simply killing it for me. Too little time to do anything else. So I burn out, and stop playing between the content updates. Rinse-repeat. Not even sure I enjoy the game that much anymore.

Dude, at first I felt like that. Then I realized that, even to get all the Ascended just for my Main, it would be a pain! So I’m sticking with Exotic! If I get enought materials to make Ascended for my main, that’s good, but I’m still 100% into Exotic armor and, unless they allow buying ascended weapons (or at least the materials) in the Trading Post, it’ll stay that way for me!

Ascended weapons (and future armors) are better than Exotic, but Exotic are just as good as they always were.

Absconditus.6804:

I’ve felt all my alts are dead ever since they implemented WXP. Forcing me to stick to one character in order to rank up has basically killed off all my alts in the primary content I like to play, World vs. World. My Guardian got the bulk of my ranks, so now I can’t really play any of my other 7 characters, without feeling like I am taking steps backwards instead of advancing. If it weren’t for the occasional fun in PvE, I’d almost wish I could get a refund for all the extra character slots I purchased.

Luckily I still like playing my Guardian the most, at least for the time being.. Still, it has damped my excitement for WvW. Not sure I’ve set a foot in there for the past 2 months, and I am primarily interested in WvW. I barely play lately with all the things they have been doing to the game.

Yeah, it not just the gear grind. This game is only alt friendly for sPVP. In everything else it’s like they are trying to make it as annoying as possible. Fractals have this as well forcing you to pick a character to do it with every time. You can’t swap if you feel like playing a different class or one of your alts would be better with the group composition without taking a hit to your rewards, not progressing and if you’re high enough, running into trouble with agony .

Thrumdi.9216:

Does anyone else feel this way?

I felt this tonight when I logged into my alts.

It really felt like I was taking them out for the last time. That all these guys I wanted to raise up and make fully fledged characters at level 80 would now be put out to pasture. With no realistic way to kit them out in Ascendeds, I know they would just be a drag on my teammates in WvW. So everything I had planned out for them is gone.

I didn’t play Star Wars Galaxies, but I read a lot about how they changed the game from something special into just another game to bring in a mass audience. In a way, I feel the same sense of mourning those players did.

R.I.P. Guild Wars 2

(You can read about the Star Wars Galaxies NGW here).

I was in a WvWvW, having some fun, kicking some gluteus maximus. Had lots of player telling me that I played a pivotal role in lots of victories. I was in the level 30’s, in blue (fine) gear. If not being 80, and not having the highest gear possible allowed others to state that I played a pivotal role in victories, then not having ascended isn’t going to matter either.

You do not need Ascended, and not having ascended does not automatically mean you are a hindrance,. skill and teamwork still means far far far more than gear. It is all in your head only that you would be a hindrance. The other players we were going against had exotics/legendary items, and none of that stuff mattered.

EdgarMTanaka.7291:

And you good sir is not looking at the whole picture of the reason to say ‘not needed’.

I say you don’t need Ascended, Exotic nor rare gear to participate or give oponents a challange.

In usuall MMO’s you need best or near best gear to do a dungeon or something, you need to be max level to do end game content or else people will kick you and so on.

So why “we” are saying ‘you don’t need to have Ascended’ is becouse you actually don’t need Ascended to do or enjoy what the game has to offer.

On the other hand atm you need to craft your desired Ascended weapon yourself, you can’t buy it or find it untill teuseday but as many has said is that you don’t need Ascended weapons to enjoy the game and be in par with most others.

So… if you read the second (mini) paragraph/chunk, I started by saying “He wanted (not needed…)”.
Yes, like you’ve pointed out, and like others have pointed you don’t need (not to be confused with want) ascended to do what’s already have been released.
However most people want ascended gear, may or may not be because they think they need it. Yes, you could look at what the OP has said “… Ascendeds, I know they would just be a drag on my teammates in WvW.” as him thinking he needs ascended gear to do WvW (otherwise he can’t)… When really it he wants to pull his weight in his team so he feels like he needs to get Ascended. So he wants (and to statify it, he needs) to get Ascended gear so that he can pull his own weight. He has a reason to both want and need it. (And wanting to do better(though it’s an artificial improvement, not skill wise), is a good reason, I would say)

In a blunt way:
I don’t NEED to eat… But I may want to eat so I can stay alive. So to stay alive I need to eat.

Perhaps some people, may not have a reason (or a want) for their NEED, which leads to people easily throwing around “You don’t need…”

I always find new things to do.. With 7 kitted out level 80’s, my goal is a legendary for each. Ascended doesn’t mean anything to me…

What I am doing is saving up for legendary trinkets and armour.

It’s stuff to keep you inspired, not depress you!

fellyn.5083:

I’m confused. Are exotics not in the game anymore?

They don’t matter any more. Some people really care about best in slot gear regardless of whether it’s “required” or not. Depending on how many alts you have or how many builds you like to try (or if you’re unfortunate enough to be anything other than a staff ele or rifle engineer) you’re also falling further and further behind. But don’t worry guys, time gated grind progression bring prioritised over build variety and class variety is fun, isn’kitten

tigirius.9014:

hmm let’s see ten percent of all stats = yeah you might wanna upgrade there buddy.

OP I feel exactly like you do.

Come to think of it I’ll be watching closely to see just how soon it will become mandatory to run ANY of the revamped dungeons or to be part of the 80 fighting dragon bosses because people said that wouldn’t happen with nerfed classes in PVE either remember that? yeah as an engineer I remember.

Except for it’s not 10%. It’s closer to 3%.

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

The truth of the matter is that yes, there are situations where it will make a difference, but in general, you can succeed at things that you wish to do without the latest and greatest.

I have no trouble doing invasions, hearts, events, farming, and even WvW in Exotics. If I get a legendary or Ascended someday, then great! but I am not going to ruin my in-game fun with the overwhelming need to grind for gear. There is simply too much out there to do OTHER than worry about what color my gear is.

@ the OP: I understand your frustration. If gaining Ascended gear is all you play for, then I understand perfectly why you would want to leave the game.

Before you go, however, I would like you to ask yourself this: If you had ascended gear for all of your characters, and you were fully geared with everything you ever wanted, what would you do then? The corollary to that is this: If you can’t think of anything, then maybe the length of time it takes to get the gear you want isn’t really the problem.

I wish you well with whatever you decide to do.

These forums seem to be filled with people who can’t do math and keep parroting the same arguments that have already been proven false. The entire 1% of any population in any mmo that plays the game not for RP but for the enjoyment without the carrot can do that, that’s not what people are saying at all. and yes it is 10% more. It’s been proven time and time again. It’s even been stated in interviews as an estimate of how much higher these stats are on this gear. It’s also been seen in other titles how much better these kinds of power creeps make the combat for those who are well geared. Before the huge jumps in LOTRO, the smallest increase made a huge difference. And in STO the smallest % makes a very large difference in defense and damage. It’s there people whether you like it or not. When you’re dealing with Facts (us) vs “truth” (them) facts rule out every time.

OP has a great point and I think it needs serious consideration because testing these things obviously aren’t going to happen, that’s how it’s been time and time again it seems.

tigirius.9014:

These forums seem to be filled with people who can’t do math and keep parroting the same arguments that have already been proven false. The entire 1% of any population in any mmo that plays the game not for RP but for the enjoyment without the carrot can do that, that’s not what people are saying at all. and yes it is 10% more. It’s been proven time and time again. It’s even been stated in interviews as an estimate of how much higher these stats are on this gear. It’s also been seen in other titles how much better these kinds of power creeps make the combat for those who are well geared. Before the huge jumps in LOTRO, the smallest increase made a huge difference. And in STO the smallest % makes a very large difference in defense and damage. It’s there people whether you like it or not. When you’re dealing with Facts (us) vs “truth” (them) facts rule out every time.

OP has a great point and I think it needs serious consideration because testing these things obviously aren’t going to happen, that’s how it’s been time and time again it seems.

Have you looked at the stats? It’s not 10%.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zojja%27s_Reaver
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Molten_Axe

3% increase in two stats (crit damage remains the same) and 5% in weapon damage. Those figures are both rounded up.

Regardless of the increase there isn’t a single piece of content in the game besides (ironically) high level fractals that require ascended equipment. And it’s not needed for the stats but for the agony resistance.

Exotics are still more than enough to be competitive in any area of the game and if people feel like they need ascended to be competitive then that’s on them when the simple fact is that they are not needed if you don’t do fractals.

It requires marginally more effort to obtain ascended weapons, I’ll give you that. But you know what? In the process they’ve made almost every area of the game rewarding as far as getting one made goes.

Crafting materials are worth more and people are out playing the game and for the most part seem to be enjoying it. This update has done more to get people out into the open world than all the previous updates in the last year combined. And from all reports wvw has more people going into it as well.

Those things are all facts. And how is any of that bad?

There are an awful lot of MMO’s that offer carrots on a stick for players to chase. There was one, GW2, whose advertising painted a picture of the game offering something different. Guild Wars 2 is still different, it’s just not as different as it once was.

No Walking.6349:

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

Not sure if serious.

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

Noone needs to be at the top. But everyone wants to. Everyone wants to be the very best they could possibly be. This is the most basic nature of human beings. It’s why society evolves, changes, and it’s why technology progresses.

When humanity managed to explore the ends of the earth, where did they look to next? The moon! And now we’ve been there, and accordingly, we want to travel beyond the moon, to see the stars and galaxies beyond. It’s what drives us.

Even if ascended looks like garbage, people will chase it because people will always desire to reach the highest tier they can. You think you’re smart saying people don’t need it, but it’s human nature that entails them to chase after it. This is the very basic reason. Not including the effect on WvW, not including it’s relevance in fractals.

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

No Walking.6349:

Since when do you NEED ascended items?

Lol. Ignorant posters are ignorant

Not sure if serious.

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

Noone needs to be at the top. But everyone wants to. Everyone wants to be the very best they could possibly be. This is the most basic nature of human beings. It’s why society evolves, changes, and it’s why technology progresses.

When humanity managed to explore the ends of the earth, where did they look to next? The moon! And now we’ve been there, and accordingly, we want to travel beyond the moon, to see the stars and galaxies beyond. It’s what drives us.

Even if ascended looks like garbage, people will chase it because people will always desire to reach the highest tier they can. You think you’re smart saying people don’t need it, but it’s human nature that entails them to chase after it. This is the very basic reason. Not including the effect on WvW, not including it’s relevance in fractals.

^ This. How many of you, when you bought the game and installed it, thought, “I’m going to shoot for true mediocrity in this game; that’ll be awesome.” Right, I didn’t think so.

Ashabhi.1365:

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

I wonder if the new and improved Tequatl is an attempt to remedy that situation.

Tachenon.5270:

Ashabhi.1365:

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

I wonder if the new and improved Tequatl is an attempt to remedy that situation.

Yep. Any tweaks to old content, or even new content, will be tuned such that if you don’t have ascended level gear, you’ll wish you did.

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

Spiral Architect.6540:

Tachenon.5270:

Ashabhi.1365:

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

I wonder if the new and improved Tequatl is an attempt to remedy that situation.

Yep. Any tweaks to old content, or even new content, will be tuned such that if you don’t have ascended level gear, you’ll wish you did.

You assume.

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

When the want is the very basic nature of humanity, it’s not a want. It’s an instinctual desire. A need. A desire to reach the best one’s potential allows them. The want may be Ascended gear, but that want is the conduit for a need to be at the top of the chain. Even trolls don’t settle for mediocrity, no, they try their very best to annoy people.

It’s exactly like, “I want to breathe because I need to live”. You can always stop breathing. But everyone knows that that’s just talk. Noones going to actually do that.

fellyn.5083:

Spiral Architect.6540:

Tachenon.5270:

Ashabhi.1365:

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

I wonder if the new and improved Tequatl is an attempt to remedy that situation.

Yep. Any tweaks to old content, or even new content, will be tuned such that if you don’t have ascended level gear, you’ll wish you did.

You assume.

Watch, and learn.

fellyn.5083:

Spiral Architect.6540:

Yep. Any tweaks to old content, or even new content, will be tuned such that if you don’t have ascended level gear, you’ll wish you did.

You assume.

Indeed, we’ll find out for sure next week:
http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/september-17-2013/

Bosses – Updated!

We’ve adjusted all of our bosses to make them more challenging and fun! From the Megadestroyer to Golem Mark II to the Fire Elemental, bosses in Tyria are more dangerous than ever!

Alright man, you’re taking things a little too far here. Don’t RIP GW2 me. I don’t have all ascended + weapons right now, and so don’t a lot of people. Stop acting like it’s the end of the world and get your head in the game

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

When the want is the very basic nature of humanity, it’s not a want. It’s an instinctual desire. A need. A desire to reach the best one’s potential allows them. The want may be Ascended gear, but that want is the conduit for a need to be at the top of the chain. Even trolls don’t settle for mediocrity, no, they try their very best to annoy people.

It’s exactly like, “I want to breathe because I need to live”. You can always stop breathing. But everyone knows that that’s just talk. Noones going to actually do that.

Wanting an ascended item that in no way is required to play the game is not a very basic nature of humanity.

Hmm Nope, I don’t really feel that way… Honestly ascended weapons are not hard to get by any means. Yes it’s time gated, however you can buy/sell the time gated materials. Since not every one wants the same amount of ingots/wood the supply of materials will increase as time goes by.

The only thing that might be a little costly is getting your crafting to 500, and only because it was poorly implemented… Ancient wood going from 1 silver to 12 silver and now hovering at 8-9 silver per piece, is the only real cost block, and just like the time gated mats… It’s supply will continue to go up, while demand will decrease.

Overall, no I do not support a new gear tier… However I sincerely doubt the new ascended tier is the end of the world.

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

When the want is the very basic nature of humanity, it’s not a want. It’s an instinctual desire. A need. A desire to reach the best one’s potential allows them. The want may be Ascended gear, but that want is the conduit for a need to be at the top of the chain. Even trolls don’t settle for mediocrity, no, they try their very best to annoy people.

It’s exactly like, “I want to breathe because I need to live”. You can always stop breathing. But everyone knows that that’s just talk. Noones going to actually do that.

Wanting an ascended item that in no way is required to play the game is not a very basic nature of humanity.

Wanting the best thing available and the next top tier thing is a very basic nature of humanity. What do you think WoW capitalises off? Do you think they would keep making tier 13, 14, 15, 16, ______ if it didn’t work? Is WoW better? Maybe, maybe not. But please, the concept they’re using seems to work, and has been for about a decade now. That’s a testimony in itself.

Ignoring the rest and replying to the op: Your gear doesn’t determine if you’re a burden in WvW, you do. The 5% difference in dmg with ascended weapons is the equivalent to a sup sigil of force. If you’re really that worried about it take whatever sigil you had on your weapons off, put on a sigil of force and watch what a massive difference it doesnt make.

Spiral Architect.6540:

Tachenon.5270:

Ashabhi.1365:

Again, it’s a portion of the playerbase that has decided that the game is unplayable without the absolute BiS gear. The rest of us are out there playing the game in mix-n-match armor. Funny thing is that we’re doing just fine.

I wonder if the new and improved Tequatl is an attempt to remedy that situation.

Yep. Any tweaks to old content, or even new content, will be tuned such that if you don’t have ascended level gear, you’ll wish you did.

Doubt that’ll be case. It’s like the “new and improved” Jormag. They take an encounter, and attempt to make it a bit more challenging, but in the end they only make it more annoying to the player(s). Jormag since the changes done is a drag, it’s a long drawn out yawn-fest. Players want quick satisfaction, and when something that used to be quick is made to artificially last longer, we just tire of it and look elsewhere, occasionally looking back at it once and again if we got nothing better to do.

New Tequatl will likely just be exciting to try out for a first few goes, then like Jormag, just not attended as much anymore. Don’t get me wrong though, I appreciate that they aren’t only putting in new (usually bugged, heh) content every two weeks, but also improving upon what the game already have, at least on paper. The dragon fights has been way too little of a challenge as they were. I even took down Tequatl from 100% to 0% on my own, that doesn’t feel like a epic battle versus a dragon lieutenant.

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

When the want is the very basic nature of humanity, it’s not a want. It’s an instinctual desire. A need. A desire to reach the best one’s potential allows them. The want may be Ascended gear, but that want is the conduit for a need to be at the top of the chain. Even trolls don’t settle for mediocrity, no, they try their very best to annoy people.

It’s exactly like, “I want to breathe because I need to live”. You can always stop breathing. But everyone knows that that’s just talk. Noones going to actually do that.

Wanting an ascended item that in no way is required to play the game is not a very basic nature of humanity.

Wanting the best thing available and the next top tier thing is a very basic nature of humanity. What do you think WoW capitalises off? Do you think they would keep making tier 13, 14, 15, 16, ______ if it didn’t work? Is WoW better? Maybe, maybe not. But please, the concept they’re using seems to work, and has been for about a decade now. That’s a testimony in itself.

Breathing is not on the same level of human needs with things like ascended items (see Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).

Furthermore, you are able to acquire ascended items in a reasonable time, while you don’t need to have them right now. Exotics work almost as good as ascended, and are easily obtained to satisfy your desire for playing the game without handicaps and without being unable to easily complete any challenge because of a lack of ascended items.

It’s a progression system done right.

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

Yes want, but the way its setup now, its easier to move on to other games than force yourself through what some call a “grind” and “not fun at all” than to do it, add multiple Alternate characters into the mix and many are leaving.

Why wouldn’t you? after the last patch, the fun has been drained away…

Dante.1508:

AntiGw.9367:

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

In any case, I will sum it up very quickly. The very core reason for people to need ascended items is… ASPIRATION.

You mean want, not need.

Yes want, but the way its setup now, its easier to move on to other games than force yourself through what some call a “grind” and “not fun at all” than to do it, add multiple Alternate characters into the mix and many are leaving.

Why wouldn’t you? after the last patch, the fun has been drained away…

It’s easier to start an entire new game than to simply get exotics that are almost as effective as ascended?

I highly doubt that.

Zero Day.2594:

EdgarMTanaka.7291:

And you good sir is not looking at the whole picture of the reason to say ‘not needed’.

I say you don’t need Ascended, Exotic nor rare gear to participate or give oponents a challange.

In usuall MMO’s you need best or near best gear to do a dungeon or something, you need to be max level to do end game content or else people will kick you and so on.

So why “we” are saying ‘you don’t need to have Ascended’ is becouse you actually don’t need Ascended to do or enjoy what the game has to offer.

On the other hand atm you need to craft your desired Ascended weapon yourself, you can’t buy it or find it untill teuseday but as many has said is that you don’t need Ascended weapons to enjoy the game and be in par with most others.

So… if you read the second (mini) paragraph/chunk, I started by saying “He wanted (not needed…)”.
Yes, like you’ve pointed out, and like others have pointed you don’t need (not to be confused with want) ascended to do what’s already have been released.
However most people want ascended gear, may or may not be because they think they need it. Yes, you could look at what the OP has said “… Ascendeds, I know they would just be a drag on my teammates in WvW.” as him thinking he needs ascended gear to do WvW (otherwise he can’t)… When really it he wants to pull his weight in his team so he feels like he needs to get Ascended. So he wants (and to statify it, he needs) to get Ascended gear so that he can pull his own weight. He has a reason to both want and need it. (And wanting to do better(though it’s an artificial improvement, not skill wise), is a good reason, I would say)

In a blunt way:
I don’t NEED to eat… But I may want to eat so I can stay alive. So to stay alive I need to eat.

Perhaps some people, may not have a reason (or a want) for their NEED, which leads to people easily throwing around “You don’t need…”

Sounds to me like a childish way to think… In a way.

What I mean with ‘not need’ is when you don’t need it to continue forward or survive.

I mean, what you say last ‘I don’t NEED to eat…’ Well you need to eat to survive, but for me as a musician I would want a 12-stringed guitar to make my music sound even better but I don’t need it to survive, I got my 6-stringed guitar and it works fine, I have to work a few month’s to be able to buy myself a new 12-stringed guitar.

This is though a discussion that could go on forever since the word of ‘need’ isn’t that clear. So I am going to say I give up you are right, it is wrong to say ‘You don’t need it’ but still it is a way to tell someone that their visions are blurred becouse of their “need” to get it, some may quit becouse of it.

People with a mindset of ‘I need 10% better stats to be able to lead’ is imo realy bad leaders, you don’t have to have best stats, you have to be able to lead and have skills wich lot’s are missing in WvW even though they have Ascended gear.
Since he wants ascended weapons, he has to work for it. There are ways for WvW only players to aquire it to by only doing what he/she finds fun, the only problem is that you have to level and darn crafting to 500 yourself to be able to do it and that is crappy as mud would be better if they did a MF way to craft them instead.