Guild Wars 2

You guys did an amazing job with the design and implementation of LA but I think everything is just too spread out. The bank, the TP, and crafting stations are way too spread out. That is one thing the broken down LA got right. It had various areas for each of those and they were all relatively close.

Agree, I really miss having the bank, TP and regular vendor together… it’s quite spread out now. I even ended up abusing Miyai to sell trash to but unfortunately the lady, for all the shinies that she sells, does not have salvage kits and the like.

I hate to say it, but to me the Asurans got it right and I’ll be moving back to Rats for now.

It’s a nice, open layout, and I really like what they’ve done with the place, but yeah.

Absent the addition or relocation of a couple of well-placed waypoints, I won’t be spending time there because other cities like Divinity’s Reach and Rata Sum are much better choices for basic services.

I disagree. It’s better that things are more spread out. Less congestion.

Agreed. Lion’s Arch was more convenient before the new construction. Crafting stations were plentiful and uncrowded, and Postern Ward was the place for me. Having just one crafting area is an obsolete concept.

(Do love the brighter look. Way to use all those exotic pearl weapons we never wanted~)

ThePahkage.2684:

I disagree. It’s better that things are more spread out. Less congestion.

Less congestion because after the newness wears off, everyone will be back in the other cities.

Just putting waypoints next to key vendors would work fine, because intra-city waypoint travel is much faster than travel between maps.

Putting things too far apart just makes me wish I had a mount — and I don’t even want mounts in GW2.

Or maybe… just maybe… that’s the plan.

/conspiracy_theory

What we need is some inventive (and slightly demented) charr to get a hold of some of those Aetherblade lifters and spinners, combine them, and over charge them before installing them around LA. They can even put little signs next to them that show the creature, symbol, or shape of the buildings they’re aimed at. Just step on, wait a second, and ::FLING!::, off you go to your next stop.

Safe landings perhaps in a later patch.

Palador, that is an amazingly fun idea. I’d go with the Tequatl pad system, though. You only get flung when you want and allowances needn’t be made for players aiming in strange directions. Plus you do get a safe landing, most of the time

This is just speculation on my part but they probably tried to be extra careful about player congestion issues… or as the conspiracy theorists among us will say they are obviously prepping for another Gem Store airship/terrace flash sale (or even a completely new shiny VIP area, what with the recent QoL fix to the old ones as well).

While the above is only a matter of time (I predict HoT will introduce one of those for the Jungle, possibly in addition to this generally accessible “Golden City” we have heard of, presuming it is a hub like location), I personally am a fan of this new design and look forward to what this means for the festivals come this fall. Especially because one of the rejected names for Lion’s Court was the rather unimaginative, yet descriptive, Festival Plaza.

Palador.2170:

What we need is some inventive (and slightly demented) charr to get a hold of some of those Aetherblade lifters and spinners, combine them, and over charge them before installing them around LA.

Another fun choice would be jump pads like those around the Tequatl boss fight area.

Either way…

BEST. IDEA. EVER!

Donari.5237:

Palador, that is an amazingly fun idea. I’d go with the Tequatl pad system, though. You only get flung when you want and allowances needn’t be made for players aiming in strange directions. Plus you do get a safe landing, most of the time

Ohh, I forgot about those! Yeah, that’s basically what I want, just more “Will this kill me?” looking.

I’ve always loved the “Cannon Travel System” in Secret of Mana. And don’t get me started about the fun of the gravity geysers in CoH’s Shadow Shard zones.

/grins at Majic and points at her own post right after Palador’s

JINX.

Double post!

Palador, as it was your idea, I suggest you make a [SUGG] thread on this to make sure it’s seen. I want this to be a thing in LA if it’s at all technically feasible.

Donari.5237:

/grins at Majic and points at her own post right after Palador’s

JINX.

A combination of me leaving a reply window open a bit long and great minds thinking alike.

Edit: And yeah, a suggestion thread would be great.

/get_out_of_my_mind!

Donari.5237:

Double post!

Palador, as it was your idea, I suggest you make a [SUGG] thread on this to make sure it’s seen. I want this to be a thing in LA if it’s at all technically feasible.

Done!

Agree on all counts:

Yes, I love how NPCs have their own little designated places- it feels more permanent.

But it mean that useful NPCs are a good run from each other. Bank, TP, MF… these guys need to be just a couple of seconds from each other, ideally.

So absolutely agreed, a great solution to reducing the distance without upsetting the layout are those jump pads!

ThePahkage.2684:

I disagree. It’s better that things are more spread out. Less congestion.

A lot less congestion, but not for the reasons you think. Although the design is nice (real nice actually) the layout is far too spread out to be useful. Divinity’s Reach it is.

This is why i’ll be staying in DR instead. Ebonhawke was the best spot until they removed the Guild Bank.

Totally agree with OP. I would also add that while the broken down LA felt like it had most conveniences in all corners, there was still only one Guild Bank, and even with the new construction, LA now remains the only city to possess a Guild Bank with no bank right next to it. I might be mistaken, but doesn’t every other city have a bank, guild bank, and merchant within 1000 range of one another?

Yeah, I know Airship/Terrace pass…bleh.

LA does look ABSOLUTELY AMAZING though.

Agreed, we need the NPCs to be within a short range of each other and all near a waypoint. This is just going to split the playerbase out of this hub city into DR and Rata Sum.

I agree with this. New LA looks very cool but the distance between NPCs is just too much. After having completed new JP and Karka achi I`ve only visited LA for fractals.

dom.2748:

This is just going to split the playerbase out of this hub city into DR and Rata Sum.

That might actually be what they prefer, let players choose their preferred city or cities, and reserve LA for events and gatherings (if you think it like this the open design makes a lot of sense).

So far services unique to LA are limited to BLTC vendors, Gate Hub, Alternative access points for WvW, EotM and HotM, Mystic Forge, dungeon vendors and FotM. Once HoT comes you can probably add some Guild Initiative related services for Guilds that opt to not get a Guild Hall, but that will probably be it for the foreseeable future.

From technical point of view, as their engine obviously doesn’t deal great with delivering good performance for massive blobs of players in a small area, reserving LA more for events and festivals makes sense as this way people not participating in these activities but engaging in activities that can be done elsewhere might be more inclined to do so.

Dinks.2478:

The bank, the TP, and crafting stations are way too spread out.

The bank, TP and crafting stations are actually as close together as they ever have been. You just need to think outside the box a bit.

The actual bank in the octopus building is a ways away from the trading post, yes. But at the crafting stations right north of the trading post, by interacting with them you can access the bank from the crafting menu. Given that, and them being right next to the trading post, you have everything you want in extremely close vicinity. The crafting NPC by each station also doubles as a vendor for basic kits/harvesting tools.

The only issues become that the crafting stations/trading post are a bit of a run from the nearest waypoint, and that the Mystic Forge is back by said waypoint instead of near the crafting stations/trading post. But once you start using crafting stations as banks, you’ll find that the current setup is as efficient as any other city.

Xiahou Mao.9701:

Dinks.2478:

The bank, the TP, and crafting stations are way too spread out.

The bank, TP and crafting stations are actually as close together as they ever have been. You just need to think outside the box a bit.

The actual bank in the octopus building is a ways away from the trading post, yes. But at the crafting stations right north of the trading post, by interacting with them you can access the bank from the crafting menu. Given that, and them being right next to the trading post, you have everything you want in extremely close vicinity. The crafting NPC by each station also doubles as a vendor for basic kits/harvesting tools.

The only issues become that the crafting stations/trading post are a bit of a run from the nearest waypoint, and that the Mystic Forge is back by said waypoint instead of near the crafting stations/trading post. But once you start using crafting stations as banks, you’ll find that the current setup is as efficient as any other city.

The only crafting station near TP is cooking station, and thats like a good 30 second run. That is simply unacceptable.

I have mixed feelings about this.

I like them being spread out because it gives me a chance to explore. That being said, after I’ve explored a place once I won’t want to do it again on another character – excluding things like map completion.

I think it also gives it a better feel, for me at least.

With that being said, I hate having to run across town for the trading post from my bank – let alone having to waypoint to the guild bank for my stash. Even just having the crafting stations, TP and guild bank near each other would be enough – you can access your bank through the crafting stations after all.

Why do you even use Lion’s Arch for crafting when Ebonhawke is so much better?

All the crafting stations, as well as a Bank and Black Lion Merchant, are all within walking distance of each other, and there’s 0 congestion because everyone else uses LA or the Reach.

FirebrandFrog.7603:

Why do you even use Lion’s Arch for crafting when Ebonhawke is so much better?

All the crafting stations, as well as a Bank and Black Lion Merchant, are all within walking distance of each other, and there’s 0 congestion because everyone else uses LA or the Reach.

It takes much longer to get to Ebonhawke, which is probably the reason why it’s not congested.

Take my tactic for example. Instead of waypointing (because I’m cheap), I go PvP locker > LA. That’s two loading screens, which I’m happy to put up with because of my cheapness.

To get to Ebonhawke without waypointing that’s PvP locker > LA > DR > Ebonhawke. That’s 4 loading screens. No thanks.

Heck, I’d even go to my WvW BL.

yes

LA will soon be very very empty if this situation is not improved…

there needs to be a TP in the middle of the crafting stations + next to the bank

and why cant there be a bank + TP next to the Guildbanks too?