Guild Wars 2

I’ve spent around 3-5 hours completing third zone of second world in Super Adventure Box Tribulation Mode. During it, I had an option to purchase a Torch. An OPTION. There was always some way around. A slightly more hidden path. It was harder, but it was possible to do. Until I reached a waterfall. I don’t see any other way. There’s no way for me to progress without a torch, even though nothing earlier stopped me. I understand that this is supposed to be challenging, and it’s supposed to make people frustrated and that it’s unfair almost all the way through. This seems more like some kind of cruel joke, though. I just wasted many hours of my time trying to finish an impossible (for me) task. This is almost as good as when I got disconnected right when I was about to finish the first zone. Around 300 deaths, impossible jumps, impossible obstacles, unfair traps and I was stopped by a waterfall. A waterfall.

Maybe there is some way around it, but at this point I’m giving up, with tribulation mode and possibly with staying sane.

“Don’t do tribulation, kids, or you’ll end up like me”

If I recall correctly, you have to have a torch to get past the waterfall in normal mode, too. It’s just part of the whole upgrade thing that you’re meant to do as you play the zones. But I do sympathize with the frustration you must feel.

RoseofGilead.8907:

If I recall correctly, you have to have a torch to get past the waterfall in normal mode, too. It’s just part of the whole upgrade thing that you’re meant to do as you play the zones. But I do sympathize with the frustration you must feel.

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall until now.

Yoroiookami.3485:

RoseofGilead.8907:

If I recall correctly, you have to have a torch to get past the waterfall in normal mode, too. It’s just part of the whole upgrade thing that you’re meant to do as you play the zones. But I do sympathize with the frustration you must feel.

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall.

Ahh, it may be a different waterfall I’m thinking of then, or maybe it’s been changed. But I do remember having to use one last time SAB was in the game.

I would strongly suggest doing normal mode first until you get all the upgrades. It will be easier that way. I also wish they would fix the whole DC’ing in those. Especially for people who are not the best in Tribulation mode, spending that much time and then not having ambition for it anymore.

Why would you even do tribulation mode before unlocking everything in normal mode?

yup just came across this the same way too. :/ feel like it is a troll thing on purpose because there’s rainbows on everything that you cant reach if you try to go back. haha wow so funny!!! nice troll XD!!!!!!

Yoroiookami.3485:

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall until now.

They added portals to W2 that lets you skip nearly half of the zones. The torch isn’t required for normal mode 2.0, but only because of those skips. Also, tribulation mode is meant to be unfair.

get a torch then lol

It’s just something you have to learn the hard way, I guess. I didn’t have a bomb today to get through W2Z1 and no shop in sight. Oh well.

It reminds me of the Zelda games where you needed to find specific items before you could progress through the labyrinths. They took inspiration from that.

Just buy every upgrade, even the whip can be useful sometimes.

Healix.5819:

Yoroiookami.3485:

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall until now.

They added portals to W2 that lets you skip nearly half of the zones. The torch isn’t required for normal mode 2.0, but only because of those skips. Also, tribulation mode is meant to be unfair.

That’s “the problem”. World 2 has so many skips now. They have cut like 50% of zone 2 and zone 3. They should have kept everything and just increased the rewards instead.

The end chests could have contained something like this:
W1-Z1/Z2/Z3: 2 Baubles Bubbles (no changes)
W2-Z1: 3 Bauble Bubbles
W2-Z2: 4 Bauble Bubbles
W2-Z3: 4 Bauble Bubbles

But nooo… they took too long and had to be shortened instead…

They are so boring now and taking the longer way (harder way) is really unrewarding.

You can also get through any of the ice walls with the flute if you’ve learned the shatter song. Pretty sure that one is in world 2-3 and needs the song from 2-2 to get into the room however.

Neox.3497:

Healix.5819:

Yoroiookami.3485:

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall until now.

They added portals to W2 that lets you skip nearly half of the zones. The torch isn’t required for normal mode 2.0, but only because of those skips. Also, tribulation mode is meant to be unfair.

That’s “the problem”. World 2 has so many skips now. They have cut like 50% of zone 2 and zone 3. They should have kept everything and just increased the rewards instead.

The end chests could have contained something like this:
W1-Z1/Z2/Z3: 2 Baubles Bubbles (no changes)
W2-Z1: 3 Bauble Bubbles
W2-Z2: 4 Bauble Bubbles
W2-Z3: 4 Bauble Bubbles

But nooo… they took too long and had to be shortened instead…

They are so boring now and taking the longer way (harder way) is really unrewarding.

Either you play SAB for fun, and do the entire path, or you play SAB fot the end reward and take the shortcut. I like W2Z2 (the darts) so I do those, but I really hate those falling pillars in W2Z3, so I’d rather skip those. And with these changes, I can actually do that.

About Tribulation Mode: if there’s one part of GW2 that isn’t meant to be fair, it’s that. It’s meant to annoy and frustrate and only for those with perfect hardware and internet connections. (which is why I think they should have hidden that furniture shop at the start, not end of it…. those jumping rocks killed me about a hundred times before I fluked myself across it)

The flute should break the ice.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wooden_Whistle_

Doggie.3184:

The flute should break the ice.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wooden_Whistle_

I didn’t know you could do that, I always used the torch.

Now I’m wondering if that’s a reference to The Legend of Kyrandia. In that game you have to play a flute to break a wall of ice that’s blocking a cave.

But that’s a bit different to the other games SAB is referencing (PC point and click adventure), and a bit more obscure too, so I’m not sure.

Yoroiookami.3485:

RoseofGilead.8907:

If I recall correctly, you have to have a torch to get past the waterfall in normal mode, too. It’s just part of the whole upgrade thing that you’re meant to do as you play the zones. But I do sympathize with the frustration you must feel.

Actually I finished it in normal mode without a torch, but that path isn’t accessible in tribulation mode as far as I know. So I never even stumbled upon that waterfall until now.

They added a shortcut past that bit too, I must have missed something. I mean the crazy teleporter content skip in normal mode to the Yeti I saw, but the bit with the waterfall I went through as normal. Where is this new shortcut around it. I thought these would be impossible to miss, but I apparently managed to do so.

Doggie.3184:

The flute should break the ice.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wooden_Whistle_

Disclaimer: you have to have visited the secrets to make the songs work (and triggered the NPC dialogue perhaps when there is one).

But yes, the flute is a most useful item, it can not only help with the icicles (both kind) in Z3, especially useful since bombs are funky now. It can also put the blowing mouths to sleep with the Gatekeeper song (works on one at a time).

Some of your suggestions are helpful, so thank you for that. I’ll stick to normal mode until I unlock some things and maybe I will try again someday. Right now I feel like my brain has melted, so I need a break.

I grinded a bit for the torch, I bought the torch. I made my way through all the areas I finished before and I made it to the waterfall. After a few tries, I got disconnected from the server. At this point I’m done. Apparently getting disconnected and starting over is a part of this difficulty setting, because it happened to me twice now.

Yoroiookami.3485:

I grinded a bit for the torch, I bought the torch. I made my way through all the areas I finished before and I made it to the waterfall. After a few tries, I got disconnected from the server. At this point I’m done. Apparently getting disconnected and starting over is a part of this difficulty setting, because it happened to me twice now.

Replied to you elsewhere, but it is an unfortunate side effect if the code that exist people to stop selling “finished” Tribulation mode runs, this was an important consideration for Josh back when Tribulation mode was added so that getting the Tribulation skins is a true sign of being able to properly complete the mode rather than being able to ride on the coattails of the skill from someone else.

Crise.9401:

“…this was an important consideration for Josh back when Tribulation mode was added so that getting the Tribulation skins is a true sign of being able to properly complete the mode rather than being able to ride on the coattails of the skill from someone else.

I’m sorry but that makes no sense. To finish tribulation mode in groups, all team members must get to the checkpoint. To get a checkpoint, all team members must be by the checkpoint. Also, not sure what does it have to do with getting disconnected.

So the reason some of the people don’t understand the problem is because the last time world two was a thing there was no skip. We had to play the tribulation path which meant we got the torch. It was just part of the game.

It wasn’t a very good call to make make the skip without at least mentioning that the player might be skipping tools/upgrades.

My recommendation is to play it through, without skipping. Better, play on infantile, assuming it still follows the long path.

Yoroiookami.3485:

I’m sorry but that makes no sense. To finish tribulation mode in groups, all team members must get to the checkpoint. To get a checkpoint, all team members must be by the checkpoint. Also, not sure what does it have to do with getting disconnected.

Except if you join an instance that has already been completed or is about to be. Think of it this way, the way rejoining instance works in this game is that anyone can join an instance as long as they get in a party (normally that is). So in theory if SAB Tribulation mode allowed this people would only have to go from the last checkpoint to the end, provided someone was selling TM runs like dungeon paths.

What does this mean… that the original group that created the instance is not tracked by the server (the player that owned the instance used to be tracked, but that is only 1 player not the entire group). So, in short… you can’t join any SAB TM instance that is in progress because the game doesn’t know if that instance was “yours” or not.

What I am saying is that the way Tribulation mode works right now is a side effect of working around this limitation in their instancing technology. Yes, it is rough… but at the same time SAB has never had a lot of engine development behind it. They had one engine programmer for W1, they didn’t have any programmer/engine support for W2… and Tribulation mode was introduced with W2.

By engine support, what I mean here is support for changes that the game cannot already do for some other reason (ie. behaviors and code changes that are not doable through their regular content creation tools, basically map/event scripting).

For example, the reason why the dart traps in W2 Z2 are instant kill regardless of difficulty mode is because their engine could not have the dart traps impede player movement the way Josh wanted them to and only have the player take damage. To make them work differently would have required engine level support which they did not have. I am putting this example here because it was the one example used by Josh himself back when SAB was around the second time and the dart traps were criticized heavily as a cheap way to cheat player out of lives on normal mode.

In order for TM to work the way you are suggesting, they would need the ability to hold full group info for instance AND retain instances, and the progress within, for a period of time after the instance has become empty. Both things that not only require additional resource from the server hosting the instances also ones that definitely need engine level support.

SAB is, or at least it was, a marvel of jury rigging systems to do something completely different than for what they were meant to do. I have no idea what they might have changed since the second release of SAB, however, seeing as this was a minor release by comparison… I think this is still mostly true.

To be fair, the torches cost nothing.

in all due respect.. SAB is aimed to be a cruel joke. its original intent was an April fools joke on us that went viral Xd