Guild Wars 2

No to power creep.

Yes for new content (and farms!)

Anet, Why? I just blew 5g on rings that are now going to be completely worthless because they are no longer “the best”

Sigh: why couldn’t you just have a stat on the ascended items that makes them better ONLY inside the dungeon?

I understand these will probably not be the hardest to get but please if you continue to make the full set of ascended gear, make it equal to exotics unless in the dungeon. You see from the over 2,000 responses to this thread that your fan base does not want this new tier of armor.

I personally took a week off from this game when i got all the armor that i wanted and such and did not want to grind for the rest of it. I was more than happy to come back on the 15th and I was VERY excited about the new dungeon and end game content.

Now i am afraid for this games future.

Shifu.4321:

Banewrath.5107:

I`ve only read the first few pages of comments but I am really finding it funny that so many people are raging over new gear added. You don`t have to get the new gear you know. You are still going to be able to play the game the same as it was before with your current gear. But the option is there if you want to try and upgrade to the ascended sets. Did you need exotics to be able to run the lvl 80 zones or run dungeons?

Most people don’t just want to do content, they want to do content with the BEST possible gear. However marginal stats the new gear gives, most people will want it because its the best gear. That means they will basically have to force themselves to do something they may hate just to get that gear, which is basically contrary to what the game wants you to do.

Honestly, how many people are fine with rare being their endgame equipment? Not many I’d guess. Most people would get exotics first WHILE doing the rest of the content.

I believe a 43 page thread only a few hours old does a good job of showing what the community wants.

Now i have to raid pve to get max wvw-gear… yeaaah -.-

I really hate this fact in EVERY MMO i ever played. I will hate it in GW2 too!

lightbringer rep wasnt a new tier of gear that upped your stats in non nightfall areas and in pvp (wvw for this game). It also wasnt something that was a resistance check that you had to have before going in, and only really made gems easier to farm.

Shoros.3172:

Arnath.2319:

If Ascended items were added at the launch of Guild Wars 2 no one would be complaining, NO ONE, they would just see this as another thing to work towards just like a legendary.

This game is dying very fast and Arenanet has responded with Ascended items that will slowly be released over many months, this will keep people playing, this will bring in new players, this will keep the game alive!

Well, ANet promised that Exotic gear will stay “the best” gear. That you only shift around your stats, not your “overall” power. They have now officially broken their promise.

And you are wrong: this won’t keep the game alive, this will kill it.

Ok, they may have “promised” Exotic gear would be the best, but did you read the blog post? They did not intisapate people getting Exotic gear so fast, they did not exspect people to be working on legendarys for many more months from now.

Things change, that is life, if Exotic gear and Legendarys went according to Arenanets plans then i bet Ascended gear would not be added now.

We have gone through content far to quickly and Ascended gear is here to fix that.

In no way shape or form is this even remotely a “gear treadmill” or “gear grind”. Grow up all of you.

This game is dying, the overwhelmingly complaints of lack of end game is killing it, something had to be done.

I bet you anything we will never see another stat increase, at least not until a major exspansion.

This is a once off thing that they had to implement because Exoctics and legendays did not go according to there plans.

Start using your brains people.

piitb.7635:

Talloc.6835:

piitb.7635:

It’s 2 rings and a back piece.

And the rings are unique so you can’t wear 2 of the same type of ascended rings.

Talk about a knee jerk reaction over basically nothing that is going to affect the game other than dungeon runs.

Read the entire post. It’s not just rings and a back piece.

Rings and a back piece are all that’s coming out with Lost Shores.

Here is the actual quote:

" In November, we’re only adding the first level of Infusions and Ascended Rings and Back slots, so that leaves us a lot of room to build upon these levels of Item progression in future content."

You guys are acting like its the end of the world when things like chest pieces probably won’t be available for a year.

3 months since release and they’re already adding ‘high level gear’. It’s gonna be much sooner. Then they’ll have Ascended gear II, They’re pandering to the elite WoW crowd (ie. raiders, 1000+ hours etc). As they release “tons of new content”, they’re gonna add Ascended stuff and this is “just the start”. Then when the Ascended slots are filled, Ascended II comes in.

Anet, been there, done that. I’m not a mule, if carrot on a stick becomes your game, I’m out.

After experiencing the extent of the damage Linsey did to gw1, I’m not surprised by these changes. Good to know to that after 7 years of players yelling at Anet that power creep is BAD, it still hasn’t sunken into their skulls.

I look forward to seeing many “LF more, must have ascended gear” party searches.
Great job making legendary weapons more powerful than normal exotics too, I guess whoever grinds more, wins. It’s pretty clear I’m not playing the same game I bought anymore.

Thanks again, Linsey. I knew that this could only come from you.

Oreoz.2573:

Oh sure people who already have their exotics will whine that they have to play to get stronger now but i’d tell those people to shut up because it’s my understanding that they’re playing this game to enjoy it and if they don’t enjoy playing it to experience and benefit from MORE FREE CONTENT then good riddance.

Seriously, no matter how people slice it to me I can’t see the problem with this at all.

It’s such a ludicrous thread. you have to give me that. lol

Its not a ludicrous thread. This is customer dissatisfaction and its remained pretty civil.

To the point highlighted in the first paragraph above: I have been playing the game to enjoy it. But in order to make sure I remain competitive in WvW in the short term and capable in future potential PVE content beyond the Fractals dungeons, I need to repeatedly play through the Fractals dungeon to properly equip myself. What was the point of the 84k karma I just spent this week on exotics? I feel cheated because I was told “here’s the finish line, you’re done grinding” and I believed it.

I don’t find any enjoyment in getting gear. It was my least favorite part of the leveling game and has been my least favorite part of the end game. At the very least though, I was able to gear up side by side with zone completions and my personal story. But what about the new gear? Will I be able to get my Ascended gear by clearing the new zone? Will there be new story missions that aid me? From the sounds of it, no.

Togashi Jack.9531:

New category of items.. Okay

New category of items inherently better than existing items.. Not okay

New category of items inherently better than existing items only available through the mystic lottery.. Not okay at all.

New category of items inherently better than existing items only available through the mystic lottery and is required to do new content… RAGE

YOu didnt read the post did you? Legendary weapons are becoming the same as Ascended minus the infusion so basically are stronger.

Arnath.2319:

The childish rants from the majority of you immature children can be summed up like this:

“I dont like gear treadmills and even tho Arenanet are not implementing a gear treadmill and have not once ever suggested that they will introduce a gear treadmill i am going to shout and scream in fear that someday they will introduce a gear treadmill despite no evidence suggesting so”

Ascended items are not a gear treadmill, people are complaining because this could lead to a gear treadmill even tho Arenanet has never suggested and has on many suggested shared there own disgust with gear treadmills.

Grow up all of you.

You might want to read “The Future of Items Progression” in:
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/linsey-murdock-unveils-new-high-end-ascended-gear/

Incase you cant read ill break it down.

“This is just the beginning. In November, we’re only adding the first level of Infusions and Ascended Rings and Back slots, so that leaves us a lot of room to build upon these levels of Item progression in future content.”

Ok so they are starting an item progression, more commonly known as gear treadmill, that will have different levels of equipment.

That one bit there verifies that they are not only thinking about it but already have it planned out.

NO for me.

This is the beginning of Anet’s new direction. I feel betrayed because they are abandoning their philosophy. It may seem insignificant increase but Anet wants to gauge how far they can push the boundary. I don’t care whether it is +1 or +9999 stats increase, it is all about principles and Anet has thrown them away.

Maybe it is a gear treadmill. As long as it is not a grind, I am perfectly fine with it.
It does give people a goal and direction when reaching level 80. Something to do.

I hope everybody noticed the “I am level 80, what now?” posts on the fora.

Personally I have a hard time imagining something else that would keep a level 80 player with full exotics playing. Yes there is a lot to do, but there is no goal (e.g. finall boss, max gear, unlocking all skills) (and legendaries are just too far off for most people). And unlocking skill has been done in GW1 already.

So this is simply one of the answers to “I am level 80, now what?”. Rather than complaining about a small gear treadmill, suggest something else for the level 80’s to do.

But I guess it’s a bit early to introduce this new kind of gear tier, and I really worry what it will do to power creep.

Reading a bit further, but not really checking it’s veracity, I am getting goosebumps =p

Whoever is thinking this is not a big deal, for sure has never farmed a game extensively that made you think “Why did I waste so much time for this crap?”.

Even if it’s a slight upgrade, like WoW Arena Gear was from each season, people would farm it.

If Guild Wars begins this gear grind thing… I’m going to be seriously disappointed, and I expect to quit playing for a bit (we’ll all do sometime), come back in the future and think “ kitten lots of new gears to upgrade” and quit again before I even leave town.

But I’m sure it’ll be popular, people don’t care much about what they play and how they value their time, but I value my time so much that I won’t ever do anything I feel like a chore or job for entertainment ever again (this coming from a player who maxed all reputations up to Cataclysm in WoW).

But like I said before… I can only hope now my faith in this game isn’t broken by this patch.

Oreoz.2573:

A FLAT LEVELING CURVE AND NO REAL GEAR REQUIREMENT (OUTSIDE OF THIS DUNGEON) MEANS THAT THIS IS NOT A GEAR TREADMILL AND YOU SIMPLY HAVE MORE SHINIES TO COLLECT.

Again I struggle to see the issue here.

Because if this is not the first of many increases in gear power than increasing stats on this release is pointless. They could have made the new stuff have the same stats as exotic. This release fine, its the umpteen other releases doing that same thing that will almost certainly follow it that are going to be the problem.

The angst is not about what this release contains, its about what it means for the future of the game.

Wow, they kind of copy the Radiance mechanic from Lord of the Rings: Online which they removed later as it made the raid experience worse. It made it more desireable to have people in your group with the Radiance stat, so if you don’t have that equip you will have a hard time to find a group for dungeons. And it sets a specific path for the players, so they can’t choose another way.

I already was confused why they would add better equipment when they wanted to go for the cosmetic progress. But with adding a mechanic like Agony you have to get Ascended gear to do dungeons with Agony.

Don’t make the same mistake as Turbine!

Enikuo.9205:

I had hoped for more horizontal progression – player housing, guild housing, wardrobes for armor skins, more town clothes, emotes, new content, better reward structures in down-leveled areas, etc. I am not excited about Ascended gear at all. It sounds like an easy fix to a problem that is going to quickly reappear.

^ This.

I would pay an arm and a leg in gems for housing right about now.

Well, I was hoping the articles were mistaken. But now that it’s confirmed……I am bloody disappointed in you Anet. I don’t want a gear treadmill. Freedom from that was what was unique about this game. You were supposed to be able to stop playing (for whatever reason, in my case it’s often work related) and then be able to pick up where you left off not worrying about suddenly being behind and having to play catch up. And those who love WvW didn’t have to worry about grinding pve content they hate.

Even in GW1 when you added infusions it did not work like this at all. This ascended gear should be the SAME stats as exotics. Add whatever pve mechanic/gimmick to it you want with the infusions, but leave the stats alone. This is a pretty big betrayal of your original philosophy.

I used to buy gems regularly. That’s pretty much going to stop now.

New gear skins are fine, new content is great, adding in gear with better stats than what exists currently…that’s kitten awful.

This is dissapointing.

Now when I return from 6 month deployments I will have to grind out all new gear instead of jumping back in to enjoy the new content.

Having no gear treadmill was one of the main selling points of this game for me.

elsbeth.3567:

My final two cents on this is just some translation of the Linsey Murdock press release. Besides simply lying, it just shows a thorough dishonesty and contempt for its audience. That not only angers me, but also chills me because it reminds me of all those SWTOR press releases of yore.

“Linsey Murdock Unveils New High End Ascended Gear.” Translation: “ArenaNet dashes off quick press release to put out PR fire started on other forums, after not even bothering to discuss this itself openly and honestly with fans.”

“Greetings citizens of Tyria!” Translation: “Instead of answering serious questions seriously, I am going to stay in bad Renaissance Faire character to pummel you with condescending fake comradeship.”

The change is in response to their “most dedicated players.” Translation: “We’re going to pretend this is a bottom-up rather than top-down decision. If you don’t like it, you’re just not dedicated enough, even if you’ve played every single day since early launch.”

“I hope you are all as excited about these new items as I am!” Translation: “We know very well how angry people already are about this, but if I use enough exclamation points, we can just smile our way through the awkwardness and never address it honestly. And I’ll pretend that the players and I are all in this together, even though I’m getting paid a ton of money whereas they’re being asked to pay a ton of money.”

This matters. People who talk like this are not your friends and are not to be trusted.

/signed

you hit the nail on the head.

No.

If I wanted to play a gear threadmill, I would have just stayed with my old MMOs. Yes, we don’t know that many details yet, but the information ANet did release leaves little room for speculation about the basics unfortunately. They’re doing a 180° turn at full speed.

Talloc.6835:

LF2M Fractal, link all Ascension gear or NO INVITE

LF2M AC, link all Exotic gear or NO INVITE.

See what I did there?

So long as ArenaNet doesn’t make the dungeons impossible to do without Ascended gear, but can be done in your Greens and Blues, there is no problem.

To be speculative of the blog post, sine people are choosing to take the OMG TREADMILL path, I’m going to speculate on the Deeper through the Fractals path. What I read into this was its infinitely scaling difficulty, not the first “tier” of the dungeon. I could be wrong, but the lot whining and wailing about a gear treadmill (that already exists in the form of fine, masterwork, rare, and exotic) could be wrong as well.

The doom and gloomers in this thread are not the majority, this design choice clearly makes it out you’re not. I doubt your leaving this game will have a dramatic effect on my, or anyone who decides to stay, gameplay experience.

Angrec.6970:

Zaxziakhol, its the same system that was in lotro and wow. Its an artificial gating measure to limit players beating a dungeon/raid, this is further evidenced by the “we are adding full sets in the future” as a further gating measure so that its impossible to get past a certain point in the dungeon until they patch those items in.
What really ends up happening is it ends up being a bar/attunement that creates a huge barrier of entry for newer people. Not to mention how much of a pain it is to gear up alts in it.

It almost single handedly killed lotro.
It was such a terrible system in wow they stopped doing it after vanilla and was one of the universal reasons people didnt go to aq40.

Not to mention its a non skill based check, which is something completely against the games philosophy.

Its terrible in every way and its mind boggling to the extreme that its put on a higher tier of gear. Ill stick around till the event is done but I really am not going through that hell again.

Yes it failed miserably in those games.

Does that mean that it’s an impossible and horrible mechanic? NO.

That’s like saying that since Icarus couldn’t figure out how to fly because his wax kept melting , that the Wright brothers shouldn’t have attempted airplanes!

It’s a good mechanic for giving players who want progression, progression, while at the same time not affecting the other aspects of the game.

The dungeon is not required content. The only people who should be doing it are the people who enjoy doing it. It’s not the only content available to players in the game.

There is a HUGE difference between being forced into a mechanic like this, and being given the option to participate.

This option gives replay ability to our dungeon running players, which I am NOT one of. Despite not being a dungeon runner (I generally despise dungeons) This idea excites me!

I don’t go after the best gear, I don’t seek out the coolest rarest items, I don’t grind for hours a day, and though I have played hundreds of hours, I do it when I want, it time bursts that I want, and an not by any means a hardcore player.

It’s the possibility of the difficulty increase that I love! The hurdles to climb, and challenges to overcome. The game has sooo much stuff, but that is something it’s been missing.

I don’t want a carrot, but a few hurdles….oh yes!

Schnuffles.5369:

This is dissapointing.

Now when I return from 6 month deployments I will have to grind out all new gear instead of jumping back in to enjoy the new content.

Having no gear treadmill was one of the main selling points of this game for me.

EXACTLY.

Oh, and one more problem so obvious I forgot to mention it: vertical progression has the nasty habit of separating you from your friends.

Seems like there was supposed to be an MMO coming out that recognized all these issues and committed to horizontal progression in order to avoid them… hmm… is it out yet? Can’t put my finger on it…

No.

To a gear grind we were promised would not be part of this game.

The entire QQ train is based on the premise that exotic quality was the end all be all.

It is a premise that has no basis in fact.

At the rate they are going to introduce ascended gear, it’s not even going to feel like a gear grind.

No.

This is just kitten.

LF2M AC, link all Exotic gear or NO INVITE.

See what I did there?

The current gear plateau is fine and expected (and, well, I had leveled the last 20 levels of my mesmer simply by doing explorable dungeons, so it’s not actually a thing people ask for atm)

Agony, on the other hand, IS a mechanic you need this gear for. It’s the entire point of the mechanic, silly.

It is a premise that has no basis in fact.

Other than Arenanet stating so, that is. But other than them saying so, yes, there’s no basis. I mean, aside of them saying so.

Yes very excited.
A small stat increase will be good in my opinion.
Everyone will have access and if the rest of the games difficulty curve is any sign it will be very easy so everyone can get and skinning will still be viable as always since dungeon gear was cosmetic anyways.

Fallen Angel.5092:

Talloc.6835:

LF2M Fractal, link all Ascension gear or NO INVITE

LF2M AC, link all Exotic gear or NO INVITE.

See what I did there?

So long as ArenaNet doesn’t make the dungeons impossible to do without Ascended gear, but can be done in your Greens and Blues, there is no problem.

To be speculative of the blog post, sine people are choosing to take the OMG TREADMILL path, I’m going to speculate on the Deeper through the Fractals path. What I read into this was its infinitely scaling difficulty, not the first “tier” of the dungeon. I could be wrong, but the lot whining and wailing about a gear treadmill (that already exists in the form of fine, masterwork, rare, and exotic) could be wrong as well.

The doom and gloomers in this thread are not the majority, this design choice clearly makes it out you’re not. I doubt your leaving this game will have a dramatic effect on my, or anyone who decides to stay, gameplay experience.

Didn’t you read the blog post? Ascended gear with agony defense infusion is going to be required to complete the new dungeon.

Here’s the quote:

Players who wish to delve deep into the Fractals will find that Agony makes progress increasingly difficult, until they reach the point where some defense against this condition is a must.

You can only get agony defense infusions on ascended armor, therefore you will not be able to complete the whole of the new dungeon with exotics, blues, greens, whites whatever.

Fallen Angel.5092:

The doom and gloomers in this thread are not the majority, this design choice clearly makes it out you’re not. I doubt your leaving this game will have a dramatic effect on my, or anyone who decides to stay, gameplay experience.

You’re probably right on this point, since Anet must have hard data to back up this move but you have no idea how this makes those of us who have followed and supported them for a long time feel.

Fallen Angel.5092:

Talloc.6835:

LF2M Fractal, link all Ascension gear or NO INVITE

LF2M AC, link all Exotic gear or NO INVITE.

See what I did there?

So long as ArenaNet doesn’t make the dungeons impossible to do without Ascended gear, but can be done in your Greens and Blues, there is no problem.

To be speculative of the blog post, sine people are choosing to take the OMG TREADMILL path, I’m going to speculate on the Deeper through the Fractals path. What I read into this was its infinitely scaling difficulty, not the first “tier” of the dungeon. I could be wrong, but the lot whining and wailing about a gear treadmill (that already exists in the form of fine, masterwork, rare, and exotic) could be wrong as well.

The doom and gloomers in this thread are not the majority, this design choice clearly makes it out you’re not. I doubt your leaving this game will have a dramatic effect on my, or anyone who decides to stay, gameplay experience.

The difference here is that this dungeon gets harder and harder the more you complete it. Besides AC is a bad example.

I do see LF2M arah em full exotics and experienced only.

And its not because the people are mean or whatever either, it will be because it will be necessary to have this gear to grind the dungeon at the highest difficulties.

Here is a question to all you complainers, how would you fix the game?

You dont like Ascended gear? Well give suggestions on how to keep this game alive, because as it is right now Guild Wars 2 is dying.

One point everyone is skipping in that blog post was that we the players have gone through content extremely quickly, far more quicker than Arenanet had planned.

Thousands among thousands of people are complaining this game has nothing to do at level 80, people are getting bored, people are leaving.

If you dont want Ascended items so badly STOP complaining about them and start thinking of other ways to fix this game and satisfy the needs of a very large and diverse player base.

Yeah, it’s literally just magic resist gear from vanilla wow. I’m not sure how much I like this idea. Just tying this dungeon gimmick to specific gear, it’s more obvious than requiring a certain gear level for DPS races.

Wyrmrider.1692:

“Why is this a problem?”

1) For PvPers, it a problem because your best-in-slot gear may now be exclusively found in dungeons. (This isn’t 100% confirmed AFAIK, but it sure looks like it.)

2) For casual PvEers, it’s a problem because you’ll be behind the gear curve, and more hardcore players will start to exclude you because of it.

3) For hardcore PvEers, it’s a problem because you’ll be pressured to do the latest dungeon (the one with the best loot) to the exclusion of all else.

All of these are assumptions.
1) sPvP won’t be affected.
WvWvW has always been considered secondary in balancing compared to the rest of the game. They’ve always said this, this is nothing new. That being said it wouldn’t be difficult to add WvWvW methods of attaining ascended strenght gear either.

2) Tricky wording here since curve can imply several things, such as a treadmill. Of which there is currently none implied. People are already excluding players from dungeon pugs if their not in exotics. So I fail to see how the present system has stopped that at all.

3) Sorry but how is this an argument supporting your position?
Hardcore pvers will feel pressured into pveing… Oh no… The tragedy! Wait… but that’s what they like doing… They’re hardcore pvers remember?

Xhieron.2168:

bcbully.7289:

Omega.1473:

bcbully.7289:

maybe if you people complaining would have bought some gems, this wouldn’t have happened.

People have obviously been buying gems and a lot of them if you read the financial reports that they gave for NCSoft investors.

No, this isn’t because of the core audience not paying up. This is because P.O.S no-lifers spent 1000 hours in the game since launch and are now complaining because they’ve done everything in the game faster than any development team can hope to keep up with. Now those whiny MMO addicts have twisted the one game that didn’t pander to them.

I read the report. It did not separate out cash shop revenue. It showed GW2 making around 3 mill won (or w/e) more than B&S, 13 mill more than Aion, 20mill more than Lineage 1&2.

The thing is all these games offer some form of sub and will surpass GW2 launch sales quickly. Maybe by the end of this yeah in B&S and Aion’s case. On top of that Anet is still in the red.

Much more needs to be spent in the case shop, and people need to be happy doing it. The forst step is to get them staying in game longer. Thus the new progression system. Remember we still haven’t heard how the cash shop will play into this.

I think this is at least partially a fair assessment of the situation. Through the whole evening I’ve had a kind of impending dread to the effect of: “It looks like this experiment didn’t work out after all.” There’s probably a revenue angle, and I’m not so naive as to think there wasn’t plenty of marketing research and probably some focus testing that led to a conclusion that “We need these kind of players to play and spend money, because they’re the ones who’ll spend most, and this is about money.” —Honestly, not a bad thing in and of itself; after all, this is business. From a purely economics perspective, the sensible thing is to toss players like me to the curb now that I’ve already paid my entry fee, and try to trade me in for players who are suckers for the cash shop scams. Good luck competing for those players, though.

That’s my impression, too. I guess gamers aren’t as smart as I thought we were. Or as bored with the same old same old as I thought we were.

Oh well, as long as other people are willing to still spend money in the CS I can return to the game and piddle around for free whenever I want, I guess.

Except I don’t see how this will save the game. As others have already pointed out, no devs can keep up with the hardcore pve grinders anyway. But maybe they hope those grinders will shortcut their way to the latest gear and spend a lot of money in the process?

Not my problem anymore. I’m just going to play until I have something better to do. I got my money’s worth already. Everything else is just icing on the cake. A pity, though, I really thought for awhile that this game would last me a few years.

No
Do not like stat changes. Infusion as per gw1 fine.

Kinda rules out everyone I know for the free trial weekend. Most of them have lives. An MMO without a gear grind is an easy sell. An MMO with a gear grind is an impossible sell, everyone who I would have invited has been there before. Not even going to bother asking anyone now.

No.

To a brand new tier entering only 2 months after release, and…

No.

To a gating mechanic on dungeons or other higher-end content, Especially one that won’t be visible to players!

My question is whether this gear progression will have an effect on WvW in the long run (starts with a few stats, but who knows how far the progression will go and tiers down the line). Which leaves people who farmed their invader gear through badges have to go to pve to stay competitive?

Will the invader gear be changed with new stats or new sets of ascended appear?

Man I miss DAOC pre TOA where you just had your set of armor (crafted for the most) for 3 years, and was left to enjoy the pvp aspect of the game without having to pve to stay competitive…. really disappointing to see where this game is headed.

Alexander Dragonfang.1759:

And the worst of all is this.

After 2 weeks all the grindkittens will be asking for more grind again.

EXACTLY.

Seriously, nobody wins.

Excited. Nowhere in their hype up of the game did it say they would be against minimal stat gains to show a sense of character progression.

Let’s be honest, adding +15 power/precision to a ring won’t even be noticeable and Infusions are there to add an even harder version of the dungeon than explorable mode is. I can almost guarantee the majority of players won’t even get to utilize Infusions to counter Agony anyway as it seems to be the most dangerous at the extreme tiers of the dungeon.

Also these posts are entirely skewed because most of the people still enjoying the game are actually playing instead of whining on a forum about a new dungeon where ANET is testing out a new method of progression.

Omega.1473:

Oreoz.2573:

Oh sure people who already have their exotics will whine that they have to play to get stronger now but i’d tell those people to shut up because it’s my understanding that they’re playing this game to enjoy it and if they don’t enjoy playing it to experience and benefit from MORE FREE CONTENT then good riddance.

Seriously, no matter how people slice it to me I can’t see the problem with this at all.

It’s such a ludicrous thread. you have to give me that. lol

Its not a ludicrous thread. This is customer dissatisfaction and its remained pretty civil.

To the point highlighted in the first paragraph above: I have been playing the game to enjoy it. But in order to make sure I remain competitive in WvW in the short term and capable in future potential PVE content beyond the Fractals dungeons, I need to repeatedly play through the Fractals dungeon to properly equip myself. What was the point of the 84k karma I just spent this week on exotics? I feel cheated because I was told “here’s the finish line, you’re done grinding” and I believed it.

I don’t find any enjoyment in getting gear. It was my least favorite part of the leveling game and has been my least favorite part of the end game. At the very least though, I was able to gear up side by side with zone completions and my personal story. But what about the new gear? Will I be able to get my Ascended gear by clearing the new zone? Will there be new story missions that aid me? From the sounds of it, no.

I think really the biggest problem with MMO players for the most part is that they put waaaaaay too much pressure on themselves and they give themselves waaaaay too short a timespan to get what they want.

I get that you want to stay competitive in WvW but that is something you’re putting on yourself. MMOs are all about gear acquisition in some respect so your dislike towards it is unfortunate.

But aside from that the players put all this added weight on themselves.

They want to do this NOW.

They want to look at that NOW.

They want to wield this NOW.

They are literally sucking the fun out of it not because of what Anet is doing but because of their own inability to just sit back and play, both hardcores and casuals.

Think about it.

It’s just time.

People don’t want to spend any more of it and that’s truly what boggles me I guess. Why play if you’re not enjoying the time you spend in it?

The pressure to be competitive or to have the best stats or to look the best……truly it’s all self inflicted and that’s why they feel they’re not having fun anymore, and what MMO players of every game need to do is sit back and smell the roses.

And just chill.

Alexander Dragonfang.1759:

masterludda.3476:

Good job Anet,sounds like a good patch.

Sits back and enjoys his popcorn while watching all the QQ.

Seems alot of folks need a few boxes of kleenex’s

And this is for what they betrayed us.

In 6 months this forum will be just like wow`s. Full of grindkittens saying:

“im betterz than youz cuz i havez a +7 acedant lot of dmg really lot dmg much more dmg than you and that makez me betterz cause i do a lot of fractalz (or whatever they got in the future)”.

This is sad, seriusly sad, most people say this thread is QQ, and yes it is, this game was the hope and shelter for the many of us that didn`t want to see which i described above, and everything is falling appart.

But half the people here don’t relize your not forced into grind x gear.It’s not like it’s gamebreaking, how i see this as is a extra grind for those more hardcore players.If folks don’t like grinding for it THEN DON’T! It’s not like its goin to affect 99% of the old games content,Meh one can farm/grind dungeons in blue gear easy.

Honestly it become more difficult where this game will lead from now on, I am feeling that most posters recognize that there is a tier system in the game as in fine->master->rare->exotics. What is unprecedent is that now Anet strays away from the premise of the game and decided that they are able to add additional stat tier whenever they feel like and forces you into grinds before you can come in par with other people. Maybe in another 2 months Anet will throw you into another grind because now it is difficult to predict if Anet can keep their promises. This may rinse and repeat and personally is not the way I envision this game to be. I can go on a vacation at sometime and if there is an update I can expect myself to jump right into the new contents without having to first grind all the precursor gears just to remain competitive whether it is PvE or WvW. I feel if Anet do not address this issue properly their reputation may be tainted from hereforth and they will not want it this way. By all means, perhaps one day sPvP may also be altered.

For analogy it is alike you are in the last year of university and suddenly the adminstratives tell you that you have to study for another four years in order to obtain the diploma. You have to obtain the diploma in order the stay competitive in the job market so all you can do is accept the fact. Not the best analogy but I feel that everyone has the right and should try to express their position as people cared about this game. As far as the thread goes, many people have addressed concerns on Anet’s decision and presumably everyone has a rightful cause like I have my own this suggests that the decision by Anet is overwhelmingly unfavourable. Similar to politic campagins, people have the right the justify their angers if the elected do not keep their promises.

I, for one, am not hardcore and I bought this game for its premises, that I will always be competitive and able to enjoy the game’s contents without grind. For now, Ascendent gear may just be a minor stat boost, but no one knows that for sure in six months. Maybe another tier set will be released and will cause one person with the set to one shot another player without the set as for all we know, Anet may not have rules. The example may be exaggerated but for all we know, it might be possible if tiered set does not stop at its infancy.

In my view, GW2 should be a game about “fun” but not gear progression. From dev’s post and blogs I feel they are placing too much attention on the gear progression factor rather than implementing new ideas into the game, its unfortunate. People are posting to express valid concerns and are trying to help the game in their ways. It is a little bit saddening that from here on forth it will not be so easy to advertise what is unique about GW2. It will be harder to convince your friends that this is the next generation of mmorpg that is not just another WoW mimic.

Alexander Dragonfang.1759:

And the worst of all is this.

After 2 weeks all the grindkittens will be asking for more grind again.

2 weeks?

I give it 5-6 days at the most.

They are putting a band-aid on a severed artery right now. This will not fix the problem. They need real horizontal progression. I don’t want to feel like i HAVE to play this game. I WANTED to play this new monthly content because it sounded awesome.

sarcasm ahead
kitten all you casual PVE/PVP whatever noobs. You are not considering ARENANET’S feelings on this. What’s the point of all this if they don’t kill WoW. They are going for #1. WOW KILLER. That’s what GW2 has to be. For this to happen, people have to be playing the GUILD WARS endgame, not the panda endgame. They already have your money already to help establish their credibility, now they want to finish the job. REAL games are designed for progression guilds.

Okay.. sarcasm aside. Just get rid of this whole idea. Expand your game via content and activities, mechanics, different types of dungeons. WvW is hurting for new maps, you could have dungeons that you eventually progress deeper and deeper into (less fractals, more like old EQ style dungeons where you started out courtyard and eventually made it to Lord’s room over time etc). Mechanics wise.. there are some weapon sets/roles not used in the game, for example weapons that are less DPS based and have blocking and defensive mechanics i.e. warrior maces. Make players switch to those + good use of rolls to defeat an encounter.

Okay.. sarcasm aside. Just get rid of this whole idea. Expand your game via content and activities, mechanics, different types of dungeons. WvW is hurting for new maps, you could have dungeons that you eventually progress deeper and deeper into (less fractals, more like old EQ style dungeons where you started out courtyard and eventually made it to Lord’s room over time etc). Mechanics wise.. there are some weapon sets/roles not used in the game, for example weapons that are less DPS based and have blocking and defensive mechanics i.e. warrior maces. Make players switch to those + good use of rolls to defeat an encounter.Who knows.. these could be coming or we could see this sort of thing come down this weekend. We do NOT need another different colour gear grind thing to grind for. In WoW’s case, the problem is the players, not the game.

Okay.. sarcasm aside. Just get rid of this whole idea. Expand your game via content and activities, mechanics, different types of dungeons. WvW is hurting for new maps, you could have dungeons that you eventually progress deeper and deeper into (less fractals, more like old EQ style dungeons where you started out courtyard and eventually made it to Lord’s room over time etc). Mechanics wise.. there are some weapon sets/roles not used in the game, for example weapons that are less DPS based and have blocking and defensive mechanics i.e. warrior maces. Make players switch to those + good use of rolls to defeat an encounter.Who knows.. these could be coming or we could see this sort of thing come down this weekend. We do NOT need another different colour gear grind thing to grind for. In WoW’s case, the problem is the players, not the game.Sorry for the post showing twice.. (no idea why thats happening)

Arnath.2319:

Ok, they may have “promised” Exotic gear would be the best, but did you read the blog post? They did not intisapate people getting Exotic gear so fast, they did not exspect people to be working on legendarys for many more months from now.

Now THAT I find disturbing. Have they been cloistered while working on GW2 and not looking at what has been going on in other games? Of course people burn through content at the speed of light. Not for many more months? That’s just publicity speak for, “We did not anticipate how many customers would be unhappy with the lack of gear progression.”

If Ascented armor would have new looks, then it could be pretty cool. If it’s just another same with the same look as exotics or legendaries then it would be pretty lame.

As for extra content, go for it!