Guild Wars 2

Okay they are fine when there are a lot of people around but right now i have spent a lot of time trying to deal with one to get the recorder off of it and when i got there it was guarded and i killed it by accident..
By the time i had dealt with the insanity that all either knocked me down repeatedly or put my attack and abilities on CD the periscope had respawned so i went back at it just to have yet another veteran up with a shaman and others and yet again the same crap all over again.

at low levels caster types have a terrible time with them since the damage and knock downs area w horror since EVERY attack is a KB and the damage is large ..

I am not sure if there is anyway to scale this but as it sits it is VERY frustrating

While I run with enough stability to last me the fight, I’ve often thought about how irritating it would be for other classes/builds, because the KD hits you every few seconds. You can dodge some of it, but you won’t have enough energy for everything.

I thought the ones in low level areas had their knockback removed?

Periscope, sure. But it seems the molten mobs that spawn on some of them (from the looks of it, 3 of the 10 in each zone gets assigned said spawn each server restart) still have knockdown/launch/blowout. Never mind reports that some of the mobs spawned are overleveled for the zone.

Been farming them for the monthly achieve, just go ranged, or have a stability skill slotted. Easy peasy.

digiowl.9620:

Periscope, sure. But it seems the molten mobs that spawn on some of them (from the looks of it, 3 of the 10 in each zone gets assigned said spawn each server restart) still have knockdown/launch/blowout. Never mind reports that some of the mobs spawned are overleveled for the zone.

Yeah, I think it only applies to to like lvl10 area and below, as Ive only dealt with the one in the charr starter zone. I don’t about the mobs that spawn as the knockdown didn’t make bother with them much.

Some of them have pretty poor placement, though on the other hand if you value immersion over gameplay it could be seen as good.

But like others have and will say pack a stability granting skill. Also you can dodge the wave and if you get close enough to smack it, you can circle it and it will mostly miss as it stops to shoot.

The problem is that a lot of characters at low levels don’t have access to stability. Those are probably where most of the complaints are originating from due to their placement in the lower zones.

I really doubt level 80s are suffering from anything worse than annoyance. The monthly seems really tedious though. 150? I think I only have like 12 after so long. And I finished the monthly with other options in a few days.

ArchonWing.9480:

The problem is that a lot of characters at low levels don’t have access to stability. Those are probably where most of the complaints are originating from due to their placement in the lower zones.

I really doubt level 80s are suffering from anything worse than annoyance. The monthly seems really tedious though. 150? I think I only have like 12 after so long. And I finished the monthly with other options in a few days.

When I was posting that about stability, I was thinking back when I first started 13-14days ago with no stability. I also don’t know how my lvl80 is affected by them as I tend to avoid those area, not purposefully.

After a dev response over at the living world subforum, i wonder if whoever set up the monthly was not aware that the periscopes were limited to 1 log pr account pr day. Meaning that he or she expected that people would be farming a small number of periscopes in rotation. Still, there are actually 50 periscopes spread over 5 zones. So one can finish it in 3 days. But that means referencing a location map and keeping notes about the ones destroyed.

Those scope change my playstyle.I used to do thief condition build but when they made monthly with them I have to change to use shadow step , cloak and dagger build. Some time if there are any cover I just pelt them away with dual pistol

Those mobs pop-up from event are really nasty as well.consider that you got spammed with long time knockback every 3 second.Soloing this scope with a summon or a pet is a must.

Its 150 over 30 days, so 5 a day, if you wanted to break it right down, they are easy enough to take out at range, you just have to time the dodge, or take a friend to help you, as they can only attack in 1 direction.

Perhaps the periscopes were intended to teach movement skill, use of stability, and incent people to group in the open world.

An 80 with some skill (OK, and with the luck to be in a profession and spec that’s suitable) can solo not just the sonic cannon but the veterans and adds in the associated event.

But a player new to GW2 in the lowbie zone will be confused, and a player new to MMOs will probably not have the problem solving skills yet to study the behavior of the cannon given they’re being flung around and fighting adds. This is not the experience GW2 has normally offered new players, and I suspect has driven customers away unnecessarily.

Observation: the problem solving skill needed to figure out the cannons is comparable to that used to figure out a dungeon or fractal encounter (not be taught the rote response by YouTube videos or coaching from a more senior guild member). Given how many people do dungeons by rote these days it’s not clear to me what % of the player base even have this skill.

So: Concur with OP that this will frustrate a significant number of players.

Concur that there are far more time effective ways to approach the monthly than collecting 150 periscope logs (noting that I was lucky to get in the necessary fractals runs since I have casual time constraints, and would have had to do this one if truly solo-casual).

I have no idea why they thought placing these in starter zones was a good idea. I mean, they’re merely annoying for a level 80 who knows how to dodge/use stability. But for a new player who’s just going into the open world on his first character, still learning the basics, and getting chain knock-back’d over again by these things must be plain frustrating. I know I’d hate it.

LONGA.1652:

Those scope change my playstyle.I used to do thief condition build but when they made monthly with them I have to change to use shadow step , cloak and dagger build. Some time if there are any cover I just pelt them away with dual pistol

Those mobs pop-up from event are really nasty as well.consider that you got spammed with long time knockback every 3 second.Soloing this scope with a summon or a pet is a must.

or just pull them out of periscope range, kill them then finish off the scope.

Milennin.4825:

I have no idea why they thought placing these in starter zones was a good idea. I mean, they’re merely annoying for a level 80 who knows how to dodge/use stability. But for a new player who’s just going into the open world on his first character, still learning the basics, and getting chain knock-back’d over again by these things must be plain frustrating. I know I’d hate it.

That part is actually fairly obvious. They wanted everyone to be able to access the content. The blowout was a bad decision but that is why the scopes themselves are in the lower zones. The placement of some of those scopes are also a bit questionable. Having one right next to what is probably going to be the first DE for many new Charr was probably not a good idea.

I thought I’d defer to the advice of a great sage

Periscopes are highly annoying when they chain their abilities with other mobs. The mobs they spawn are awful for newer players. Saw a lot of people dying to them

They were a pain in the kitten initially. After destroying a few of them I realized I could just side-step the shockwave if I kept a reasonable distance and timed it right.

I also found that certain thin, tiny trees in Diessa Plateau can block the shockwaves, making for some looney situations if you use them as cover.

killcannon.2576:

Been farming them for the monthly achieve, just go ranged, or have a stability skill slotted. Easy peasy.

Easy peasy my kitten . And stability skills don’t last forever..

Eladriel.7295:

killcannon.2576:

Been farming them for the monthly achieve, just go ranged, or have a stability skill slotted. Easy peasy.

Easy peasy my kitten . And stability skills don’t last forever..

lol, sorry. They can be challenging. I’m just one of those players who liked the old Orr, and doesn’t mind the fast respawns.

Milennin.4825:

I have no idea why they thought placing these in starter zones was a good idea. I mean, they’re merely annoying for a level 80 who knows how to dodge/use stability. But for a new player who’s just going into the open world on his first character, still learning the basics, and getting chain knock-back’d over again by these things must be plain frustrating. I know I’d hate it.

The problem, imo, is not to know to dodge, but that unlike other starter mobs with knockdown there is in essence no tell. Compare the periscopes to your average ettin for instance. Then again, even the adult vurms can be a pain. This because you do not dodge when the circle shows up, but when the rock actually launch. This because if you dodge out of the circle the rock will just follow you. kinda counter-intuitive.