Guild Wars 2

Levetty.1279:

So not only is there going to be stronger gear that makes the stuff we worked for become outdated but you have to do dungeons to get it as well? Well looks like the 15th will be the end of this game for me, just when I thought I had found the MMO for me.

Can’t believe people are happy about this.

I’m at the point where I think the GW2 community is more sensationalist than the WoW community. Please stop pulling your hair out until we have factual information. Complaining and threatening to quit over something you know nothing about is such a toxic attitude, and you’re giving a really bad impression to possible new comers to the game.

Havana.8625:

I just spent so much money on exotic armor for my THREE level 80 toons. Now all of that is going to be subpar? I would have just waited to outfit. I guess it doesn’t matter because if they up the equipment tiers now, they will do it again.

Guild Wars 1 was a great game BECAUSE of the fact that you could get max gear early, so your skill was what mattered most. Guild Wars 2 is heading in the exact opposite direction.

For reference how much did you spend on 1 80 fully exotic’d out? 15 gold tops? that Ain’t much…4-5 days of 20 minutes each day clearing out Orichalcum in cursed shore malchor’s leap and frostsound gorge will net you close to that. Now you have 3 80’s thus spending 4-5 days for an hour each day instead of 20 minutes to log all 3 80’s and do the exact same thing…your laughing…exotics are easy as hell to obtain. Once you get that its all about the skins that are the grind.

Not directly related to you now but I feel people are complaining about this way too heavily. Just my opinion of course.

Jaggins.9318:

I came to GW2 to get away from the gear treadmill. (Thanks WOW and SWTOR for burning me out!) This is terrible news for me, I thought Arena net “got it” about the gear treadmill thing…

Yeah they did “get it”. They learned that just playing the game for “fun” isn’t enough to keep people playing. There needs to be an incentive for players to run dungeons, events and to keep doing things. I assume they saw a drop in their active player list and decided to roll with this. It’s something that works. Just how it is. As long as they keep it away from PvP I only see a great benefit.

Honestly.. I can’t wait for the Ascended Armor, and Infusion Slots. I like to have a goal in the game to work my way to, although they could just add a reason to get titles and I’d like completing those as well.

Honestly.. I can’t wait for the Ascended Armor, and Infusion Slots. I like to have a goal in the game to work my way to, although they could just add a reason to get titles and I’d like completing those as well.The main thing that needs to be avoided is the way Legendary Weapons are right now. Yes there needs to be awesome gear to work towards, but it needs to be less rewarding for lottery winners and botters.

Honestly.. I can’t wait for the Ascended Armor, and Infusion Slots. I like to have a goal in the game to work my way to, although they could just add a reason to get titles and I’d like completing those as well.The main thing that needs to be avoided is the way Legendary Weapons are right now. Yes there needs to be awesome gear to work towards, but it needs to be less rewarding for lottery winners and botters.All end game rewards should be about playing the game not grinding. (For example: Kill some epic dragon to get his tooth, kill something else for something else, don’t make it a chance drop, make it about the journey.

Honestly.. I can’t wait for the Ascended Armor, and Infusion Slots. I like to have a goal in the game to work my way to, although they could just add a reason to get titles and I’d like completing those as well.The main thing that needs to be avoided is the way Legendary Weapons are right now. Yes there needs to be awesome gear to work towards, but it needs to be less rewarding for lottery winners and botters.All end game rewards should be about playing the game not grinding. (For example: Kill some epic dragon to get his tooth, kill something else for something else, don’t make it a chance drop, make it about the journey.I remember making the Giant’s Sword in Ocarina of Time, and I played that like 10+ years ago. Not because it took months of grinding, but because it was fun, memorable, and difficult.

Honestly.. I can’t wait for the Ascended Armor, and Infusion Slots. I like to have a goal in the game to work my way to, although they could just add a reason to get titles and I’d like completing those as well.The main thing that needs to be avoided is the way Legendary Weapons are right now. Yes there needs to be awesome gear to work towards, but it needs to be less rewarding for lottery winners and botters.All end game rewards should be about playing the game not grinding. (For example: Kill some epic dragon to get his tooth, kill something else for something else, don’t make it a chance drop, make it about the journey.I remember making the Giant’s Sword in Ocarina of Time, and I played that like 10+ years ago. Not because it took months of grinding, but because it was fun, memorable, and difficult.I know ArenaNet can be MUCH more creative with the “WAY” we get the end-game rewards. Both sides can be happy in this argument.

I never thought I will be posting something like this. I love this game even with all the flaws it has. But PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. Exotic armor must stay at the highest tier. No “slightly stronger”, not even very very slightly.
I’m ok with the infusion stuff if it works like in GW1 – go there, fight trough, infuse and you’re fine. Don’t screw this up Anet.

Hey everyone!! There’s stat progression that may only be 1pt difference from the current highest!! Lets all make a really big deal out of it and say we are going to quit a game effort we see ANYTHING on it!!

Posting 1 more time my post.
Is Anet agianst http://www.arena.net/blog/the-golden-rules-of-guild-wars-2 ? 3 x lol
I was fine for hunting for skins and that exotic legendary have the same max stats the best in game.
Why are you doing another grind mmo?

Arius.7031:

Oh guys drop the melodrama, seriously! I don’t like this much either, but come on. Why aren’t you crying about the disparity between exotics and rares? And rares and masterwork? There’s already a gear grind, it’s just not terribly long. And did anyone notice is said “slight” in regards to it boosting stats? Are you guys kidding me? This is completely ridiculous. Have any of you even heard of exotics? Why didn’t you quit when you had to start grinding for them?

Give ANet a chance, cool your jets, think rationally. ANet could mess things up, true, or this could be implemented so it’s not much different than exotics. But go ahead, pre quit before you even have a clue how it’s going to turn out. That sounds completely reasonable!

Except we knew exotics were the top tier before the game even released. Max armor was exotics. There was no patch that added exotics later, they were implemented since day 1. We knew that there was no gear treadmill, exotics were max and easy to obtain, and everything else would be a cosmetic grind after that. And that is exactly how it has been. Rares were never meant to be endgame gear. Exotics always were.

Now they are introducing a new tier which goes against everything they have said. New stronger gear with slots to make you even more powerful. Completely goes against what was advertised and goes against their own golden rules.

Like many others, i found out about this in a MMO news site just a few moments ago and didn’t enjoy reading about Ascended armor. Maybe it was bad wording or lack of details in the article but i felt uneasy with the news.

I took a panic pill and wonder…

Will the Ascended armor’s “slightly more powerful than exotics” become the top stat tier armor used in the whole game replacing current lvl 80 exotics?

Will the Ascended armor’s “slightly more powerful than exotics” affect only PvE or Lost Shores or Fractals of the Mists specifically ?

Will the Ascended armor’s “slightly more powerful than exotics” be attainable through upgrading existing lvl 80 exotics in a process similar to GW1 infusion ?

Will the Ascended armor’s “slightly more powerful than exotics” affect PvP(vE) ?

Until i get more info, i’ll hold on to my verdict about the introduction of Ascended items…

the game itself can’t be the cuprit, more likely the players who are getting END GAME content two months after game going live then nerdraging on forum for the supposed lack of end game content.
It’s beyond pitiful to see many people playing for numbers and late (or never) realizing they’re earning those numbers way before intended. Stop wailing and wait for valid arguments, proofs, official answers: enough of theories, thoughts, hypothesis.

If the only thing you can do when looking at Caravaggio’s masterpieces is whine about the frame… well, I have a bad news…

Many Pesky Monk.3140:

Jaggins.9318:

I came to GW2 to get away from the gear treadmill. (Thanks WOW and SWTOR for burning me out!) This is terrible news for me, I thought Arena net “got it” about the gear treadmill thing…

Yeah they did “get it”. They learned that just playing the game for “fun” isn’t enough to keep people playing. There needs to be an incentive for players to run dungeons, events and to keep doing things. I assume they saw a drop in their active player list and decided to roll with this. It’s something that works. Just how it is. As long as they keep it away from PvP I only see a great benefit.

Another possibility: players who want a gear treadmill will find the progression inadequate. Players who do not want a gear treadmill will be alienated. Everyone (except PvP perhaps) loses.

DO NOT WANT

I understand there are issues with some players needing a carrot to chase, but a gear treadmill isn’t the answer.

I don’t think Arenanet would be stupid enough to put a gear grind into their game. My bet is there was a miscommunication w/ the reporter and this is a mistake.

Only way I can see this working with making power creepers happy and not kitten everyone who grinded for their exotics: use a system similar to GW1 ascended armor and have the ascension quality being added to any existing armor you want to use. The ascension adds some slots you can fill with stuff to grind for. This way, you can directly improve subpar armor if you really want to do this and people who allready worked for their exotics still keep their effort´s worth.

Well personally I love it. A challenge (hopefully) and a reward.

I love it, more things to work on in this game

I just hope legendaries can be upgraded without transmutation stones.

Been talking to a guildie and I was a little bothered by it too. He, however, thinks it’s going to be a similar situation to Ascended Armour in GW1. I.E. You get your current armour ascended at the end of a quest or something similar.

I hope to god that he’s correct.

I expect the infusions will only be able to be used in the dungeon, and will allow players to get slightly further in than they would do otherwise for their level of skill. Personally this does not bother me, and it gives people who want a treadmill something to keep them going.

Do NOT make the Ascended Armor more powerful than the exotic ones… not even a litte. That’s exactly the philosophy I really hate! This was one of the great ideas of GW1 and I hoped that they wouldn’t change that…

dirtyklingon.2918:

Arius.7031:

Metafrank.9017:

If we wait till it’s released we wait till it’s too late. If we wait till we get official information on it, we probably also wait until it’s too late, because the GW2-Edition of ArenaNet prefers not to inform players wtf is going on.

I don’t wanna ruin things before they start, but I prefer to step on the brakes BEFORE the car hits the wall.

Yeah, it’s already been in development long enough that you’re probably a few months late. And besides, you don’t know at all how it’s going to be implemented at all. It could be no different than how exotics behave compared to rares. Anyone else notice that it said “slight”?

even if it’s +1 stat budget over exotics, it’s still a betrayal of the core concept this game has been sold on for the past 5 years.

Anet have stated before that end game gear progression is horizontal more like side grades perfecting your gear not in large jumps or " tiers " of gear like another MMO we know of. I don’t hear protests that the legendary has a +1 over normal exotic weapons. Calm down. You are not forced to get this new gear…If you can’t still do whatever it is your doing currently in all aspects and including wvw with the exotics you have already obtained…then I will literally give you a million dollars…

Just for comparison.

Look at the game Champions Online. They eventually introduced gear stat mods that scaled up in ranks, up to 9 or so, and to get past 5-6 was a huge pain/grind/money sink. The stat difference was INSANELY SMALL however wasn’t even close to being required to do anything. It was there for someone people who feel like sinking money/time into it as a goal.

The rest of the game was cosmetic.

Knote.2904:

Waar Kijk Je Naar.8713:

Knote.2904:

kiranslee.4829:

I just did google for “say NO to mmo grind”.
This is first page i found:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/08/28/guild-wars-2-review-part-one-still-grinding-after-all-these-years/

Really for 100th time , please dont make it grind fest, please.

The whole game is a grind fest.

??

No it isn’t. The only grind this game has at the moment is optional cosmetic grind.

Most, if not all people agree with that. A gear-threadmill however, is not OK.

And 2% more stats that isn’t required for ANYTHING, is mandatory how exactly?

Ever play an MMO before? If you want to do a lot of WvWvW or Dungeons that 2% will become mandatory.

Juicebox.3047:

Levetty.1279:

So not only is there going to be stronger gear that makes the stuff we worked for become outdated but you have to do dungeons to get it as well? Well looks like the 15th will be the end of this game for me, just when I thought I had found the MMO for me.

Can’t believe people are happy about this.

I’m at the point where I think the GW2 community is more sensationalist than the WoW community. Please stop pulling your hair out until we have factual information. Complaining and threatening to quit over something you know nothing about is such a toxic attitude, and you’re giving a really bad impression to possible new comers to the game.

Factual information? We have a preview of new content that Anet would have to have given to these guys. If this new armour isn’t an improvement over old armour then the article either wouldn’t have said it is or somebody would have come into this thread by now to explain the mistake.

Its either gear treadmill (possibly only through one aspect of the game) or poor communication to their players and secrecy.

Both are awful stop defending it.

I’m actually really happy about this, considering that the new armor won’t be too much better (like more than +5% in stats). Even now everyone can do anything in rare armor just as well as in exotic, so please cut the “mandatory” and “treadmill” bs. There will finally be a goal in PVE other than the legendary weapons.

Levetty.1279:

Knote.2904:

Waar Kijk Je Naar.8713:

Knote.2904:

kiranslee.4829:

I just did google for “say NO to mmo grind”.
This is first page i found:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/08/28/guild-wars-2-review-part-one-still-grinding-after-all-these-years/

Really for 100th time , please dont make it grind fest, please.

The whole game is a grind fest.

??

No it isn’t. The only grind this game has at the moment is optional cosmetic grind.

Most, if not all people agree with that. A gear-threadmill however, is not OK.

And 2% more stats that isn’t required for ANYTHING, is mandatory how exactly?

Ever play an MMO before? If you want to do a lot of WvWvW or Dungeons that 2% will become mandatory.

Juicebox.3047:

Levetty.1279:

So not only is there going to be stronger gear that makes the stuff we worked for become outdated but you have to do dungeons to get it as well? Well looks like the 15th will be the end of this game for me, just when I thought I had found the MMO for me.

Can’t believe people are happy about this.

I’m at the point where I think the GW2 community is more sensationalist than the WoW community. Please stop pulling your hair out until we have factual information. Complaining and threatening to quit over something you know nothing about is such a toxic attitude, and you’re giving a really bad impression to possible new comers to the game.

Factual information? We have a preview of new content that Anet would have to have given to these guys. If this new armour isn’t an improvement over old armour then the article either wouldn’t have said it is or somebody would have come into this thread by now to explain the mistake.

Its either gear treadmill (possibly only through one aspect of the game) or poor communication to their players and secrecy.

Both are awful stop defending it.

Except that 2% won’t. Hey if you like pugging with random “wannabe-elites” enjoy. They already have there own silly “requirements”.

Hell, both of my 80’s are still in Rare gear. The TINY TINY stat difference wasn’t worth the money sink, atleast not right away. I’m just slowly working on exotics while doing EVERYTHING the game has to offer with no problems.

If you people truly are going to freak out of a tiny gear tier difference, you should’ve been up in arms from Day 1 about the different gear levels, Blue/Green/Yellow/Orange, and would’ve quit if Anet didn’t hand you a free exotics every 4 levels.

If you want free rewards, WoW is that way —→

Maybe this just isn’t the game for you? (Gotta love that stupid line!)

How many of you people have played Guild Wars 1? There was a similar thing in the Mursaat area of Prophecies, you would have to get your armor infused to get more resistance vs Mursaat attacks. It wasnt a must but it made staying alive alot easier. My guess is it will be something like this… Stop bashing things you dont know kitten about, it something Ive been seeing alot in this community lately.

Wow the drama. To inform most people that didn’t play the 1st game, gw1 had infusion. Basically it was applied to your gear and it reduced the damage of a certain type of enemy. If they follow this same logic your exotic gear is NOT replaced by a new tier of gear.

If anything its either going to go 2 ways. Its another form of horizontal progression and that it will apply to existing gear like an runes do. Or it will be specific to dungeons and function sort of like vertical progression for that type of content. If that is case then your PvE experience outside dungeons is NOT affected in the slightest.

Either way I would wait for more information before crying about it.

Why is everyone complaining so much? DIOS MIO MAN

Anet just made a brilliant move in my opinion.
Opening new fronts to this game, that has a lot of potential, and now when they are trying to extend it, you’re all whining and whining and jesus christ more whining.

Stop it and let them do the changes quietly, they are more then welcomed.

I would like you all to educate yourselves on the topic of “Radiance” gear from LOTRO.

This is exactly what’s happening here.

It’s a long read but it sounds like the mistaken road that Anet has chosen:

What Radiance Is
http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Radiance

Radiance and Gloom were subsequently increased dungeon after dungeon to the point of requiring you to grind older content to be able to play more recent content.

That may or may not happen with Ascended gear, but the fact of ‘needing’ it for specific content remains.

Developer Diary on its Removal
http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/1043-update-2-radiance-removal-developer-diary

People were disgusted by this system so much that it was a threat to the game’s future. They changed it. They were attempting to assert that their intentions were good because it wasn’t supposed to be a “new grind” …

If nothing else, read this quote from the diary:

“As you can see, our intentions were good. We wanted to do something new for the game and not create a new grind mechanic that ultimately resulted in running the same content over and over to acquire a “key”.

Somehow, this is exactly what we ended up making. None of us were pleased."

Anet, you’ll waste lots of time and effort down a futile path if you make this decision. Learn from your competitors. Don’t do it.

Has anyone here stopped to think, “Maybe the ascended armors stats only kick in while in the fractals of the mists instance so you can actually make it through some of the later levels….”?

I just made a post on this, not realizing this thread existed (I did skim two pages of threads!).

No to ascended gear. Absolutely no. There are a few cornerstones and nichés that Arenanet has going for them with Guild wars 2. No gear treadmill is one of them.

I log off at night knowing that if I do not log in for a while that my character wont be “behind” everyone in terms of stats.

If I wanted to worry about gear treadmill, I will return to WoW or Rift where I can earn my gear in raids and random drops, (most of the time). I probably won’t be playing Guild Wars 2 anymore. I already have a lot of pressure from family and friends to return to WoW. This would probably push me over that cliff

If it happens once, I can stomach that, I think. But not more than once.

What about the people that spent hundreds of thousands of kharma on gear, and dozens or hundreds of gold on gear…just to be erased stat wise for Ascened. What a waste. Complete waste of time.

Here I was thinking I am spending my time grinding for cosmetics and aesthetis, not statistics.

My guild is already talking about what other games they are going to switch to because of this. This is a pretty big betrayal from what GW2 set out to be. I didn’t believe it at first because it seems insane to me that so many players haven’t even reached 80, let alone gotten a full exotic set and they are already being made redundant. I honestly can’t express how disappointed I am at this.

I ran dungeons very frequently, I blew a lot of gold and mats on crafting exotic armours. I am incredibly pissed that my armour is no longer the best it can be. I worked very hard to get there and I absolutely would not have done so if I had known something like this was going to happen. I’m sick of being betrayed and let down by ArenaNet. I’m sick of them compromising their integrity to please their investors.

The devs downplayed the difference between crafted and karma sets and dungeon set stats (they said some would be slightly more optimal for your build than others – a massive understatement) and I suspect they are downplaying this. Stick to what you know after all.

In 250 years Tyria has gone so far backwards it’s not funny.

Even f it is only a slight increase – I HATE item progression à la WoW.
The absence of this idiotic timesink was one of the factors which made me love GW1. I was already uncomfortable about the cost involved in getting full exotics, but introducing a new gear level you can only get through dungeons? Yeah, thanks, that kind of ruins it for me >_> There is a reason why I don’t play other MMOs…

I’m really not one to panic, but if you keep listening to people who did not bother to read up on the features of GW2 beforehand and now keep complaining about the lack of things they are used to, you may lose your most loyal fans – you know, those fools who actually waited years for GW2 and were happy about the differences between GW2 and other MMOs.

Sad panda is sad ;_;

And it really is a huge disappointment. Why do you let down the very people who keep defending your game?

Kimyrielle.3826:

Many Pesky Monk.3140:

Or, you know, you could find another game?

Well, I for one came here because GW2 did -not- have a silly ‘endgame’ that made all other content either obsolete or worthless as soon as your character reached maximum level.

The question is rather why don’t -you- play another game if you want that sort of content. It’s not that not pretty much every other MMO has a gear progression race, no? This game was advertised as being different, which is why I bought it. “Endgame” is a cuss word for me, you know? Is it too much asked for that the product I bought doesn’t do a bait and switch on me now and becomes just like every other MMO?

I was playing another game, I said that more so because every GW2 fanboi loves screaming that to players that don’t agree with their methods. Annoying when someone tells ya that, huh? Also, companys do those shifts you mentioned because the current philosophy just doesn’t keep players playing long term. Why would Anet want people to just leave and only come back when theres new kitten? No they want players playing all the time, just like any other gaming company. A gear treadmill is a way, albeit cheap, to keep players playing the game. And like I mentioned, can actually be fun if done right. That’s all.

Havana.8625:

I just spent so much money on exotic armor for my THREE level 80 toons. Now all of that is going to be subpar? I would have just waited to outfit. I guess it doesn’t matter because if they up the equipment tiers now, they will do it again.

Guild Wars 1 was a great game BECAUSE of the fact that you could get max gear early, so your skill was what mattered most. Guild Wars 2 is heading in the exact opposite direction.

I’ve been saving up for exotics for my 2nd soon-to-be 80, the first 80 has been equipped with two complete sets! All that wasted money!

I feel lied to.

Zanthrax.6538:

dirtyklingon.2918:

Arius.7031:

Metafrank.9017:

If we wait till it’s released we wait till it’s too late. If we wait till we get official information on it, we probably also wait until it’s too late, because the GW2-Edition of ArenaNet prefers not to inform players wtf is going on.

I don’t wanna ruin things before they start, but I prefer to step on the brakes BEFORE the car hits the wall.

Yeah, it’s already been in development long enough that you’re probably a few months late. And besides, you don’t know at all how it’s going to be implemented at all. It could be no different than how exotics behave compared to rares. Anyone else notice that it said “slight”?

even if it’s +1 stat budget over exotics, it’s still a betrayal of the core concept this game has been sold on for the past 5 years.

Anet have stated before that end game gear progression is horizontal more like side grades perfecting your gear not in large jumps or " tiers " of gear like another MMO we know of. I don’t hear protests that the legendary has a +1 over normal exotic weapons. Calm down. You are not forced to get this new gear…If you can’t still do whatever it is your doing currently in all aspects and including wvw with the exotics you have already obtained…then I will literally give you a million dollars…

legendaries dont have anything over regular exotics.

Sweet, I hope new skins will be great.

Gabi.5264:

Why is everyone complaining so much? DIOS MIO MAN

Anet just made a brilliant move in my opinion.
Opening new fronts to this game, that has a lot of potential, and now when they are trying to extend it, you’re all whining and whining and jesus christ more whining.

Stop it and let them do the changes quietly, they are more then welcomed.

Agreed. These forums can be pretty bad whenever anything is introduced that’s different. Don’t let it fool you into thinking this is the mindset of the majority. These forums represent a small minority of the community that’s pretty vocal about these things.

I’m pretty excited about this new stuff.

an official statement would be appreciated.

Kathias.8532:

I’m actually really happy about this, considering that the new armor won’t be too much better (like more than +5% in stats). Even now everyone can do anything in rare armor just as well as in exotic, so please cut the “mandatory” and “treadmill” bs. There will finally be a goal in PVE other than the legendary weapons.

Yeah, this could probably be a gap between current rewards and legendaries, and probably even a bridge to Legendary Armor. The game could REALLY use more cosmetic carrots. Even non-mandatory stat carrots.

Hell look at the Tri-Amulet, you don’t see people complaining about that 100g amulet that gives additional stats do you? It’s literally worse than the slight stats difference with Ascended. That’s what I find so hilarious.

Calae.1738:

Once this game starts looking more and more like World of Warcraft; I promise you I won’t be logging in anymore.

Stat increase, level increase, anything increase is a treadmill. Sure it works, makes a lot of money but, go ask your average gamer how “fun” it is.

Compared to GW1 this game was already really close to a WoW-clone.

I’m certainly not going to announce I’m quitting based on a preview article, but I will say this:

If A Net really is introducing an end game gear grind, it is a 100% deal-breaker for me, and I suspect a lot of other people. If that’s what I wanted, I’d go back to WoW.

I hope you’re reading and soaking in this feedback, A Net. This is not something that people will just “get over”.

displacedTitan.6897:

Look at all you knee jerk reaction people. Seriously wait till its released to complain or make judgements. You guys act like this is the end of the world.

I am glad there will be armor with something more interesting to find. As long as the gear “grind” remains as easy as it is now (80 Exotics in this game are cake to get) then its just more content to do.
Edited by moderator: post edited as it was breaking one of the rules of conduct (disrespectful language)

While some may be overreacting, the forums are here for discussion and feedback. If everyone did keep quiet about things until they were released it could lead to more work down the line to change them after the fact and/or dissatisfied players leaving the game.

It’s better to state opinions now while they still have the opportunity to change things before they do any harm to the waning playerbase.

Durzlla.6295:

Has anyone here stopped to think, “Maybe the ascended armors stats only kick in while in the fractals of the mists instance so you can actually make it through some of the later levels….”?

I have and mentioned my thought a page or so ago. However, I think a lot of people are still in “Panic Mode”. Until we hear official word on Anet on how Ascended gear works, all we can do at the moment is speculate.

As with me, I’m playing The Waiting Game. I’d like to see how this will work and how it differs from vertically-progressed “Tier” gear found in some MMOs.

I was very excited when I heard about this new tier. I always hoped skins, titles etc would be enough of an incentive for me but it has proved not to be the case. The new dungeon sounds more like a raid than a dungeon too which I love. I’ve been feeling for a while that there just isn’t any direction for me at 80. Nothing to aim for. I would have prefered something a bit more group orientated such as a Guild Hall to work for in some way, but I will take a new tier of gear as well. The fact that there is just this one really hard dungeon giving the best gear is something I really like. Why? Because it focuses things, all your friends will want to run it and not be spread out over 8 different skin grinds. Well done, Arenanet, in my opinion.

Kathias.8532:

I’m actually really happy about this, considering that the new armor won’t be too much better (like more than +5% in stats). Even now everyone can do anything in rare armor just as well as in exotic, so please cut the “mandatory” and “treadmill” bs. There will finally be a goal in PVE other than the legendary weapons.

Legendary are cosmetic, ascended gear not.

I’m sort of on the fence… mainly because I know nothing about Anet’s intentions for where to take this game moving forward. Does this mean in another 3 months or so there will be another dungeon? If so, will that gear be Ascended level equivalent or will it be even higher stats? It’s sort of a slippery slope.

If this is a slight gear pump with the next major content being some expansion with some new levels (80-85?), skills, and possibly traits then I don’t care. If these stats have no effect in WvW, because the scaling mechanism disables the inscription and makes the gear effectively “exotic-equivalent”, then I don’t care. I don’t care because the PvP aspects will still be preserved while the PvE landscape will change; some will say for the better, others for worse… Point is, though, that you can’t say it creates an imbalance because players will still be fighting players on equal footing (stat-wise).

Exactly, calm down peoples. It wont be mandatory to have, at least in my groups.

As it stands now, this is a terrible idea. These items having better stats (even if just “slightly” and not even including the infusion) than exotics means an increase in gear discrimination but also sends a signal that Anet is going back on their word about gear treadmill again. It’s a slippery slope to more of the same and, unfortunately, that means gear treadmill.

First they said that max stat gear would be easy to obtain for everyone. Then we find exotics are easy to obtain… for more active/ hardcore players. Casuals are already being left behind as there are plenty of people I know who haven’t gotten more than a couple pieces. Now we have ascended armor that is even more powerful and will probably at least take as much time as exotics.

If they follow through with their (last heard) plans to raise the level cap in an expansion, this might become moot depending on what they introduce but this is pretty telling. If there is some sort of misunderstanding where they are only as powerful as exotics and the infusion only works in the one dungeon to give an increase in stats then I won’t have a problem. Nor would I have a problem is you could infuse exotics through a less difficult process to “ascend” them but the wording of how these work right now… no thank you. GW1 had a lot of problems but the gear was not one of them. Anet needs to look back at that.

Overreact much?

I hope this is implemented.

Brannoncyll.1978:

I expect the infusions will only be able to be used in the dungeon, and will allow players to get slightly further in than they would do otherwise for their level of skill. Personally this does not bother me, and it gives people who want a treadmill something to keep them going.

People who want a treadmill shouldn’t be playing this game to start with. They should have stuck with their treadmill game and not come here whining that GW2 didn’t have one.

And to answer someone else’s question: How does it feel to be told the game’s not for me? Well, if the game’s truly not for me, you don’t have to tell me, because I won’t be playing it.

I’ll just weigh in here with my personal feedback as well. I’m a bit disappointed in the diametric shift in this philosophy of introducing a gear treadmill. That’s just not the game that was pitched to us, nor was it the philosophy of the game we old timer’s fell in love with years ago with GW1.

That being said, I do hope they do have the good sense to only introduce stats that apply to the dungeons or the mobs themselves and only there. Somewhat akin to the heroic stats from Age of Conan, giving these new dungeons a soft gating mechanic, allowing for progression.

Finally, ANet, if you’re listening to this, hear me….

If you introduce a gear treadmill, DO NOT!!!!! (I’m really serious about this) make progression reliant on RNG drop mechanisms.