Guild Wars 2

The Orrian Lands are the cure for killing any impulse you might have to buy gems. It will inoculate your credit card; try it. Everytime I start to enjoy this game, its infrequent but it happens – everytime I mildly become interested in my character and her future – I think about buying Gems with $$$. I am lucky enough that real life currency is not a worry for me.. actually my husband says I’m a spendthrift (fancy talk for spending money recklessly) but he cant talk too much because my salary is almost twice his. but i digress.

Everytime I’m about to make a purchase… I find myself in The Cursed Shore or Malchor’s Leap. After about 30minutes I start to fantasize about how i could napalm these maps. How, if i were an omniscient being, i would construct a timemachine to return to the past and make sure the map designers abort these atrocities. Can napalm destroy binary code? like forever? I dont know much about napalm but i see it in movies and it looks powerful enough to erase these maps from existence. My MMO memory is scarred forever, but atleast future players would be safe from harm. I dont mean I want all the mobs dead… i do, but i mean i want a black hole on the map. I want to see shadow there.. i dont want them to exist or be able to traveled to. This is like a Quantum Leap episode or Touched By An Angel mission; I’m here to save the soul of the game, to fix a wrong and set the future of Guild Wars 2 back on track. This mission of hope has nothing to do with the wonderful GW2 art team which have painted and constructed a visual/audio masterpiece. The art was obviously kidnapped by an evil poltergeist to become host for its twisted, sadistic designs.

I also fantasize about bringing weapons of destruction from other games to help in our erasing of Orrian Zones from MMO history.. a Liberator bomber from Planetside 2, Frostmourne from Warcraft, Excalibur, the Half Life Crowbar, a Borg Ship. If we can combine the collective power of these mighty weapons we can do it. I also read that the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland has a very small chance of creating a micro Black Hole. Lets all cross our fingers and toes and hope and pray that the Black Hole swallows only the programming code of the Orrian Lands… and then is like so sick to its stomach that it leaves our universe and vomits in a parallel universe.

+1 please for hope.

Imagine if they included shoes in the cash shop….just………………imagine!

Delusion.8472:

Imagine if they included shoes in the cash shop….just………………imagine!

as much as i am susceptible to the allure of buying shoes and booties… the overwhelming hatred i feel for playing in the Orrian Zones has vaccinated me from ever using my creditcard in this game.

I know what you mean. I was using my thief with all of the escape options JUST to get ore and wood from there. The place is so packed that no one can move without a huge problem of about 4-5 mobs EVERY fight. It gets tedius. And just when you think oh the fighting is over I can run off again, bam something you didn’t see because it was too small smacks you again. (chickens or eagles.)

It’s like every zombie movie wrapped into one only without the tools to obliterated them. And when i say that I’m talking about how weak and enfeebled the tools normally used in these movies work on these things.

I’m an engineer, in every movie they used MY style modern weapons to kill the zombies dead and to have an advantage with enough power to deliver the final blow to the zombies in other games. I played hunter and all kinds of other titles (based off of the tabletop game WoD) and I enjoyed immensely using my shotgun to obliterate the enemies. On this game tho it’s hard work like they shrug off a flamethrower blast or a napalm or a grenade or a shotgun to the face like that wouldn’t blow them to bits in any other game. My thing is this. If you want us to believe this place was overrun by these things fine, but give our attacks the means to destroy these things without standing there for 15 minutes every fight while they resist, dodge and run off like it’s 28 days or like they are all veterans running around with too much defense.

And make no mistake this is after being built for guns and damage and having exotic gear.

Thats good. Save your money and spend it somewhere that matters.

The Chanel F/W 2012 collection is pretty amazing.
John Galliano and Chloe S/S 2013 are both REALLY great collections with lots of choice. Save your money and take a look at both if you have the chance!

I must be nuts, but I actually the Orrian zones, especially Cursed Shore more than the other zones currently in the game.

No other zones challenge me to time my dodges, my utilities and my reflexes as much as Orr does. I find myself scanning my surroundings to find problem mobs (putrifiers, spiders, juggernauts) so I can counter the inevitable disable-openin attack with a well timed ability/dodge. It’s engaging and encourages you to pay attention to your environment. I find it really rewarding to run for minutes on end “out of combat” because I avoided incoming damage and disables like a baws.

I kinda feel that maps that yield the highest resource rewards should have multiple and frequent environmental challenges. Whereby efficient farming and good times on completing a node-route are awarded to players willing to make full use of their character. That’s my humble opinion anyway, feel free to tear into me now!!! XD

I’m doing full map explore and these places are making me mad. I have a strategy by now.
1. Take all the repair canisters that you have
2. Run to the middle of both maps (there’s exactly one waypoint that I’ve never seen as contested
3. Attempt to explore by branching out to different directions. You’ll likely die, but this way you avoid running from beginning.
Those zones seriously need a thinning of numbers of mobs. Dynamic events when everything is contested there are not very fun, but it would be one thing if they would be doable, but because of the sheer numbers of enemies… This is also the only not WvW area (and not a huge event) that actually manages to lag me up. Then again there’s about 20 enemies all trying to AoE me at almost any time.

Reikou.7068:

Thats good. Save your money and spend it somewhere that matters.

The Chanel F/W 2012 collection is pretty amazing.
John Galliano and Chloe S/S 2013 are both REALLY great collections with lots of choice. Save your money and take a look at both if you have the chance!

those are worthy uses of my money.. but im still invested in the napalm idea

So there are zones that provide a massive challenge with just enough resources to tempt me to go in there, and whiny kittens avoid them making them less crowded and more challenging?

How awesome! Can’t wait!

Ya know, you can make your own homemade napalm for very cheap. Recipe is on the internet.

But I’m not sure about a delivery method. You’d have to get that laser from Tron to digitize your homemade napalm, and then have your character run into Orr for delivery. I suggest a naked run, since this run will certainly result in your demise, and lets not add a repair bill on top of a waypoint fee (which will be a considerable distance after the complete destruction of Orr).

Although, if it destroys Orr your character will probably not be ressurectable. Use an alt.

Seras.5702:

Although, if it destroys Orr your character will probably not be ressurectable. Use an alt.

That would be my option as well.

I haven’t been to Orr yet, but from all I’ve heard, it’s not an area I would enjoy, so if it’s gone before I must go there, so much the better!

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Seras.5702:

Although, if it destroys Orr your character will probably not be ressurectable. Use an alt.

That would be my option as well.

I haven’t been to Orr yet, but from all I’ve heard, it’s not an area I would enjoy, so if it’s gone before I must go there, so much the better!

Imagine the starting zones where you have 40 players beating on 1 champion and just flip it. Now theres 40 creatures on 1 player. Theres like 10 risen for every tree you see in Orr.

Zeefa.3915:

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Seras.5702:

Ya know, you can make your own homemade napalm for very cheap. Recipe is on the internet.

But I’m not sure about a delivery method. You’d have to get that laser from Tron to digitize your homemade napalm, and then have your character run into Orr for delivery. I suggest a naked run, since this run will certainly result in your demise, and lets not add a repair bill on top of a waypoint fee (which will be a considerable distance after the complete destruction of Orr).

Although, if it destroys Orr your character will probably not be ressurectable. Use an alt.

this is sound advice. i think i will go full throttle into The Cursed Shore with my town clothes on – and my GW2 Celebration Cap – and then just KABOOOOOM

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Zeefa.3915:

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Ok did not think of that… maybe because I don’t do farming as it is boring to me and I play to have fun. Not done all that much crafting either.
However I still like Orr and since I know some of that farming is done in groups it is less bad. Or like… I think it is what it should be. Difficult, challenging and deadish looking.

Zeefa.3915:

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Zeefa.3915:

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Ok did not think of that… maybe because I don’t do farming as it is boring to me and I play to have fun. Not done all that much crafting either.
However I still like Orr and since I know some of that farming is done in groups it is less bad. Or like… I think it is what it should be. Difficult, challenging and deadish looking.

Well, I don’t like farming. But I do like to stay in an area and, over the course of a week or more, raid each node several times, while doing events and simply just enjoying the scenery (and a harsh scenery can be enjoyed as well, as long as it’s well made!) But from what I’ve heard about Orr, that simple wandering around isn’t possible there. Or rather, unless you’re part of a large group, highly annoying.

It’s one reason I’m putting off going there…

Zeefa.3915:

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Zeefa.3915:

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Ok did not think of that… maybe because I don’t do farming as it is boring to me and I play to have fun. Not done all that much crafting either.
However I still like Orr and since I know some of that farming is done in groups it is less bad. Or like… I think it is what it should be. Difficult, challenging and deadish looking.

thing is.. i dont find it challenging.. just annoying. very very very annoying. i love the look of it.. but playing there.. ugh.

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Zeefa.3915:

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Zeefa.3915:

So Orr is a bit painful to travel through, I get that and I agree. But it really is not that bad… I like Orr, it is…. challengeing. Yes it is less colorful and whatnot… but it is a land of the dead. I have been underwater rotting for centuries. It looks the way it should.
If you all hate it so much just leave it after you got what you came there for and never return.

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Ok did not think of that… maybe because I don’t do farming as it is boring to me and I play to have fun. Not done all that much crafting either.
However I still like Orr and since I know some of that farming is done in groups it is less bad. Or like… I think it is what it should be. Difficult, challenging and deadish looking.

Well, I don’t like farming. But I do like to stay in an area and, over the course of a week or more, raid each node several times, while doing events and simply just enjoying the scenery (and a harsh scenery can be enjoyed as well, as long as it’s well made!) But from what I’ve heard about Orr, that simple wandering around isn’t possible there. Or rather, unless you’re part of a large group, highly annoying.

It’s one reason I’m putting off going there…

But it is Orr we talk about, it is the center of the dragon corruption. It is simply not meant to be a walk in the park. It is meant to be life threatening at every turn.

Don’t forget Frostgorge Sound (in the Norn area)…. Really unless you’re trying to get Orichalcum and Ancient Wood, Frostgorge ain’t too bad in terms of T5 nodes/mats with some T6 mat potentials as well (bloods, totems, claws, etc.)

I think I’ve only bought gems (with gold) like once in order to increase my bank slot and I’ve done fine without submitting my credit card for stuff.

It wouldn’t be so bad if your character didn’t move at snail speed when in combat. Like, no joke. I feel like I’m being trolled every time I get hit by a mob and frustration just sets in. It’s akin to being dazed on your mount in WoW. Nothing but annoyance, no it doesn’t make you “feel” the dangers of the zone, it doesn’t add anything important.

Rukia.4802:

It wouldn’t be so bad if your character didn’t move at snail speed when in combat. Like, no joke. I feel like I’m being trolled every time I get hit by a mob and frustration just sets in. It’s akin to being dazed on your mount in WoW. Nothing but annoyance, no it doesn’t make you “feel” the dangers of the zone, it doesn’t add anything important.

exactly… i can AE pretty well.. but its just silly and dumb and repetitive and annoying and tiresome to kill 4 mobs and by the time the 4th dies… the first one respawns.

A very nice piece of writing, worth reading even without the experienced horror of Orr as a backdrop. I’ll join you in saying loudly that Orr is not a fun environment to spend time in. Game companies often confuse the concepts of challenge and tedium. Orr is tedious…beyond measure…and certainly not fun.

One thing to consider is that if it were easier to traverse and harvest from, there would be more people harvesting there and each harvest would be worth proportionately less since there’d be more on the market.

I think Malchor’s Leap is the worst offender of the 3 orr maps, wps constantly contested, giant obstacles getting anywhere. Just travelling through it feels like one huge jumping puzzle complete with annoying pulling, snaring mobs. So feel free to nuke that one into oblivion. I don’t think Malchor would mind. If I lived there for any period of time I would get tempted to do the same thing he did.

If you have trouble in Orr just running around, then you need to improve one of these three things.
1) Improve your ability with your class.
2) Improve on your spec.
3) Improve on your gear.

The zone isn’t hard and if need be virtually everything can be ran from by any class.
Southsun Cove is harder fights than any comparable spot in Orr. The only Orr zone I dislike is Straits of Devastation because the zone itself I feel is designed very poorly.

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Well, the biggest problem is that you don’t have a lot of other options for getting materials for lvl80 crafting from the other areas… There are only two other areas that have some of the T6 materials. So, you’re virtually forced to go to Orr unless you want to farm for the gold so you can buy that stuff on the TP. And that would be a sad state…

Frostgorge sound has Orchichalcum nodes (sic?) and Ancient trees, and NONE of the densely packed risen mob problems. Farm there if you want to run from node-to-node uncontested.

Also, while Orr can be painful, it’s not THAT bad. You just have to actually, you know, KILL MOBS now and again on your way to nodes and events. Huh, imagine that!

The only Orr zone I dislike is Straits of Devastation because the zone itself I feel is designed very poorly.

Too much water in Straits. I hate that zone too, Cursed Shore is MUCH better imo.

There is a zone in Rift that spawned Rifts of an elite level that dropped lots of mats that everyone needed. You could not take on these rifts with only 1 or 2 people, and since they were elites, usually even 5 was not enough.

The community solution was to form farming parties. You would see it come in guild chat or world chat that a party was forming in ****, whatever the name of the place was. So it worked out pretty well. You could be sure that if you spent even just an hour there, you would get lots of mats. Usually there would be about 20 people show up, but sometimes more.

Does GW2 have a general/world chat? Map chat might not be good enough, unless you wanted to portal around to different maps and announce it.

replicant.3620:

If you have trouble in Orr just running around, then you need to improve one of these three things.
1) Improve your ability with your class.
2) Improve on your spec.
3) Improve on your gear.

The zone isn’t hard and if need be virtually everything can be ran from by any class.
Southsun Cove is harder fights than any comparable spot in Orr. The only Orr zone I dislike is Straits of Devastation because the zone itself I feel is designed very poorly.

The problem isn’t that the fights are hard. It’s that the fights are tedious, the respawn rate is too quick, the landscape is boring, and the drops are terrible.

Orr isn’t that bad. My ranger in mixed rare, blue and green gear does just fine there…even if I have to haul out a GS and fight my way through in places

But I could see where it might be for some builds. No toughness, no vitality perhaps?

I buy gems from time to time…but only for transmute stones and an occasional salvage kit.

Buy bodyguards … ? lol

Of course I know what you are talking about, part of why I decided to finish other maps first. Drastically different experience for sure.

After checking the forums here I changed my traits and weapons and it definitely got better, but it still definitely feels more like a zone that you should not venture in alone, which I guess was the vision for it.

“You just have to actually, you know, KILL MOBS now and again on your way to nodes and events.”

In many cases if you’d want to fight your way through you’d have to take on more than the occasional mob, likely more than one at a time. And then the respawn rate bites you in the kitten The event will be long done by the time you get there. That’s why people just run if they want to get from A to B.

Once used to it and kitted with exotic gear just getting around the place is quite doable but still tedious.
For sure Orr is a lot harder than other areas, and the player is hardly being prepared for it. Anyone claiming Orr is “not hard” as in, “easy” – especially the first time around, must have been bored out of their skull with the rest of the game, perhaps except dungeons.