Guild Wars 2

If I only go for the mastery for auto loot, can I turn off the chat symbol/icon thingy?

Hmm! I am eager for all details, but lemme see …

- Will Pact Commander Mastery require the same time investment to advance as other masteries? I really like the idea of helping out new players but even with that urge deeply imbedded in my playstyle I’m more likely to be interested in more selfish lines to start such as gliding and jungle lore. Auto loot and city speed boosts seem fairly minor advantages for the time-resource investment.

I know that what Mastery you level depends on where you are getting the xp. Still, I can see a lot of players bah humbugging this mastery when making their first mastery advancement selections. Can you show us all the currently planned bonuses for maxing out this line?

will the pact commander mastery put me at a higher rank than trahearne?so, that i could be his commanding officer, and tell him to kill hard bosses himself? like what he did to me?

Is there a way to usurp Trahearne from our personal story and reclaim it for ourselves?

Ok on a less serious note, how exactly are we supposed to be helping newer players?

Rezzing them is all well and good but sometimes it’s not always a good idea given the way scaling works if they’re really dead and encouraging them to waypoint is best.

Could we get waypoints for them or allow them to respawn off our waypoints if nearby if they don’t have it?

Will it promote and encourage the new player to learn rather than us doing hard work for them and making them into essentially spoilt brats who get veteran players to do everything for them?

Really one question for me is will I be able to play this track in the beta oh and could this mastery affect jungle stuff as well as central tyria stuff.

I would like to know the following things about Pact Commander Mastery:

1. The order in which we can learn abilities in this tree. Like which ability is learned first which is second which is last etc.

2. Can the special icon (both on player head and in chat) that can be earned through this mastery be turned on or off. For example, if I have time to help out new player can I turn the icon on only at that time?

3. Are icon in chat and over player head separate abilities or are they one?

4. If I am level 80 and I revive a level 80 player will revive speed be increased though ability in this mastery line?

5. Is speed boost +33% like swiftness or is it different?

apharma.3741:

Is there a way to usurp Trahearne from our personal story and reclaim it for ourselves?

Ok on a less serious note, how exactly are we supposed to be helping newer players?

Rezzing them is all well and good but sometimes it’s not always a good idea given the way scaling works if they’re really dead and encouraging them to waypoint is best.

Could we get waypoints for them or allow them to respawn off our waypoints if nearby if they don’t have it?

Will it promote and encourage the new player to learn rather than us doing hard work for them and making them into essentially spoilt brats who get veteran players to do everything for them?

This is my big concern.. how do we as veteran players help the new players without totally hand holding them through the entire game? my other question is does Anet have a system in place for the possibility of this being “trolled/explioted” to hell?? I can totally see people going “Im a Pact leader give me gold and ill do X for you”

I want EXTREMELY specific details on what this line will bring. how EXACTLY will this traitline work? and what benifits/negatives are there? Am i going to have people flock to me bombing me with questions? Or will it be a legit mentor system where I get a xp/wvw/ whatever bonus for helping the player in a respectable manner? will there be a reward system for good leaders so they are encouraged to be respectful and help the new players to the best of their ability and steer them away from being trolls?

Anet is playing a dangerous game with this idea and needs to have the utmost KNIFEBLADE details and restrictions on this if it truely is going to change gameplay this much.

Explain to us:

>Benifits

>WHAT EXACTLY WILL THIS TRAIT LINE DO DO NOT DANCE AROUND AND PLAY HINT GAMES

> ANY FORSEEN NEGATIVES SUCH AS ABUSE OF THIS TRAIT

> Will it act simliar to a WvW commander tag?

> Will this be a dedicated 1 on 1 mentor system that benifits both the new player and mentor with some sort of bonus?

> Have you considered how this will work out in the chat communities?

> WHAT ARE THE PENALITIES FOR ABUSING THE MENTOR TRAITLINE?

Since anyone who buys HoT will have access to this mastery track, how do we know that people really want to help new members (like myself) or just use it to troll people in some way or just want the icon? Personally, I have always wanted to mentor new players but I am afraid other people might have the icon on and not help at all.

Can’t wait to check it out

Will this Pact Commander mastery line have some way of telling people that you are at an event and have you able to mark ongoing events on the map so people see it even if they have an event closer? Will there be a way for a Pact Commander to see where players are on the map (like you can see party members)?

More ideas im throwing out..

> Reward track based on feedback from the players you mentor (rating system of some sort higher rates = better rewards, minimum rewards also awarded once player completes a checklist such as 1st world boss, 1st pvp fight, 1st dungeon run etc etc)

> Mentor color ( Your specific mentor will have a different color name above his/her head so you can tell him/her apart from other players)

> Mentor Ranks (seriously you do it in PvP, give people something to work towards and show they’re a helpful player, you will get massive good karma points and feel good brownie points… )

I was ecstatic when I heard of this because this is what I live to do in this game, I log in and look for that new player and help him to the best I can, it is an extremely rewarding feeling getting that feedback from a happy new player. If there is any way else I can help out with ideas let me know.

What is auto-loot?
Why is a QOL feature behind an artificial ‘grind’? (this kinda depends on what auto-loot actual entails but it seems pretty straightforward to me)

I’d love to know if the commander mastery line could possibly have an impact on the story, whether by opening up new options in adventures/story instances or by certain storys/adventures being restricted to various “ranks” of the pact commander line

Does this trait line require personal story movement to at least forming the Pact or is it just going to be a name that’s gated behind mastery points

Is there a maximum number of people who can be ‘tagged’ on at one time, be it in chat or if it is like some sort of Commander deal; and if so will there be a sort of squad system; because I can see this being cool in numerous zones where commander tags are used for any event train.

Are the bonuses only quality of life and helpful things like the res speed, or can it make a difference in say reviving a level 30 in combat during combat in a dungeon?

And please tell if there are any fun fluff sort of things in the mastery line; like the ability to automatically throw fireworks and cheer when a newbie levels.

Why is the auto-loot feature:

1) part of this Mastery, and…
2) a Mastery feature in general?

I mean time-gate something that most games do in the options menu for free because, well, it’s part of the Options>Settings of a game (interaction) just seems silly. How is it anyway related to the Mentor system? Hell forget every question, just…

[w]hy is a QoL/settings feature part of a game unlock (at max level) that, by right, we should have the option of to toggle on or off to begin with?

butch.8136:

What is auto-loot?
Why is a QOL feature behind an artificial ‘grind’? (this kinda depends on what auto-loot actual entails but it seems pretty straightforward to me)

It makes sense for auto loot to be locked behind a grind wall, or bots could easily be scripted to farm mats such as T6 endlessly. By putting such a feature behind masteries, you restrict the feature to players who are most likely to be genuine accounts, not botters.

This isn’t related to the Pact Commander Mastery but I’d like a clarification on the Maguuma Masteries.

In the article it lists 4 Maguuma masteries to start with; gliding, Itzel Lore, Exalted Lore and Nuhoch Lore. In almost all previous mentions of the Maguuma Masteries you’ve talked about a Mushroom Jumping Mastery. Is this no longer going to be in release or just accidental omission in the article?

For all we know, Auto-Loot could be the first Mastery in the line.

I’m personally absolutely loving the notion of a mentoring system, or flagging yourself as willing to help others. I spend most of my in-game time helping other players and newbies in the low levels maps, and usually use my commander tag , but a dedicated mentoring flag would be wonderful.

At some point in the past it was mentioned that some of the “core” (now Central Tyria?) masteries would be retroactive. Is the Pact Commander tract one of these? If not, can you tell us which masteries will be awarded retroactively?

How many total levels does Pact Commander have?

rapthorne.7345:

It makes sense for auto loot to be locked behind a grind wall, or bots could easily be scripted to farm mats such as T6 endlessly. By putting such a feature behind masteries, you restrict the feature to players who are most likely to be genuine accounts, not botters.

Why are they “most likely to be genuine accounts, not botters” I mean what’s to stop someone from turning this mastery on for their bots? As far as we know there’s very little to prevent someone from turning this mastery on and then ignoring other players.

Questions about the Pact Commander line:

• Does this require the Commander’s Compendium in any way?
• What measures will be taken to ensure people representing as newbie guides don’t abuse this position or use it merely as a status symbol?
• Is the faster ressing based on actual level, or scaled level? Would I still ress people faster in lower level zones. (would seem strange if it weren’t)

Why do I need a Mastery Track to help others? Am I less helpfull if I have not grinded myself through it?

As far as we know, exp obtained is channeled straight to a selected mastery. This means I could raise Pact Commander without actually helping other people. How does this tie in? How does grinding actually make me more helpfull for others?

How am I going to be able to be more willing to help people if I raise this Mastery line?

Does the mentored player actually get something from being mentored?

I do like the idea behind this Mastery Line, but I think its too vague to make a difference between using and not using it. Please, enlight me.

Bonus: Does the fractal mastery line allow me to need less AR slotted in my gear in some sort of way?

Does the Mentoring Icon show up in the mini-map?

And if so, what steps can/are being taken in that it doesn’t make commander tags redundant?

(I don’t have a commander tag myself)

Will it allow us to reduce waypoint costs in lower level areas? So often people are asking for help in map chat, and although WP costs aren’t prohibitive, if they were reduced in the starting zones (and perhaps the next tier,) I think that would be a little more incentive to help these people out.

Wait.. Auto Loot?

Are you trying to enable more botters?

rapthorne.7345:

butch.8136:

What is auto-loot?
Why is a QOL feature behind an artificial ‘grind’? (this kinda depends on what auto-loot actual entails but it seems pretty straightforward to me)

It makes sense for auto loot to be locked behind a grind wall, or bots could easily be scripted to farm mats such as T6 endlessly. By putting such a feature behind masteries, you restrict the feature to players who are most likely to be genuine accounts, not botters.

Bot developers could probably unlock it without completing the mastery line or just create their own auto-loot method.

Bot developers probably know already how to autoloot without the feature anyway.

What was the intention behind this line? Was it for the people who command to have a bit easier of a time while still getting the job done?

Will mastery lines in the future come by themselves or can we expect to see a few at a time, maybe in the form of a feature pack?

• Can we switch on/off the icon?
• Is the icon visible on the (mini) map – If so, what about the commander tag? Or will it only be visible on PvE maps?
• What about trolls scamming people into sending them gold for showing them content or letting people jump into their death?
• Rewards for helping people? I mean, as much as I like helping people, I like gold and “good” rewards for it even more.
• Will there be some sort of “Karma” System indicating helpful players, if so what about about negative Karma and again concerning trolls giving just everyone negative karma for unknown reasons?
• Will there be some sort of new chat channel for this, as in “help i need xx” where uninterested players won’t be annoyed?
• What are the other abilities in this trait line?
• Will this trait be actually useful enough to be spending mastery points on this?
• Will you consider our suggestions in this threat for changes too?

EVERYTHING!

Describe the type of player that should find the Pact Commander line appealing. Who was this line made for?

There will be many different lines to choose from… What kind of player should consider making Pact Commander a priority, instead of choosing other lines?

Thank you.

Will the City Movement Speed from the Pact Commander Mastery work in Guild Halls? (Ideally with a toggle-off for the Arena!)

• If the special Chat-Icon is being abused, can it be revoked?
• Does it have it’s own channel, or is it some sort of highlighting within all chats?
• Do we still see the icons if we block that person?
• Are these and the /g1-5 the only chat changes we get (probably not going to be answered)
• Are there different tiers of that icon (e.g. based on actualy community work or player-help?)

Are there commander outfits? (specifically)

Merphz.4753:

rapthorne.7345:

butch.8136:

What is auto-loot?
Why is a QOL feature behind an artificial ‘grind’? (this kinda depends on what auto-loot actual entails but it seems pretty straightforward to me)

It makes sense for auto loot to be locked behind a grind wall, or bots could easily be scripted to farm mats such as T6 endlessly. By putting such a feature behind masteries, you restrict the feature to players who are most likely to be genuine accounts, not botters.

Bot developers could probably unlock it without completing the mastery line or just create their own auto-loot method.

Yes, bots can create their own auto loot by automating the loot button, but they still have to somehow click the loot button and most bot detection programs rely on patterns of these auto clicks to detect bots.

If a bot has legitimate auto loot then the bot detection program will lose a source of data that helps in detecting bots.

Anyway, we do not know what the real reason is behind placing auto-loot behind a mastery. I actually like that they are adding this stuff as game progression instead of boring interface option.

On behalf of the Dungeon and Fractal Mentor initiative, I would like to ask:

• Does this Mentor Mastery involve the current instanced content? For example, currently we have people volunteer to teach new players to dungeons and fractals. I would appreciate some recognition to these amazing mentors.
• Does the special Mentor Icon show up in the LFG tool? Imagine if we’re gonna hold a teaching tour, it would be nice for our recruiting LFG to be more noticeable.

1) Does the Pact commander use a Melon Hammer?
2) Does Auto loot mean I will not have to press F to loot and it just goes straight into my bag? and does this also function in WvW? (I’m praying for a Yes)

EVERYTHING.

I want to know everything.

But I guess we’ll have to be specific…

And since all my questions won’t fit in a post, I’ll just pick a few at random. So.. are there any plans for any of these.

Is there any chance it’ll have anything to do with the Commande badge, with features like

• Having the Commander commands in some sort of floating mini panel instead having chat commands as the only way to use them?
• A way to have sub-commanders connect several squads into one so one commander can lead more people and delegate tasks to appointed sub-commadners?
• Unlock additional map icons to issue orders, commadner skills, commander badges, colors ,etc.
• Affect NPC behavior to some degree.
• Some sort of ranking system so commanders with squad members doing more stuff like scoring for their world or completing successfully group events increase their ‘Commander rating’ so other players can know this one commander knows their stuff?

If it’s just about helping newbies, will there be a way to have a ‘protégée’ system in which you select one friend and you accompany them while they do stuff, and as they do stuff and get achievements, you also get a 10% or so of their rewards, including Exp, Currencies and AP, so after monthly and daily AP get rolled finally into one, there’s still a third “Mentoring” AP entry in the AP summary, that caps at 1000AP per year since release, and that you increase by having a protegee and helping them get achievements you already got by being with them in the party.

I’m possibly echoing questions that have already been asked, but that might just highlight the importance and capability of this new Mastery line. I’m happily surprised with this Mastery being added and I’d love it when the game helps me help new-comers get acquianted with GW2 and HoT’s mechanics and content. So that’s why I have the following questions:

- What is the Pact Commander’s main objective? Sure, he or she is there to help, but with what? Dungeons, Fractals, jumping puzzles, the starter areas? Is the PC only usable in PvE? Where does this Mastery really shine?

- How many persons can you help at one given time? Is it meant to tutor new-comers one-on-one? Or can 20 players just follow a tag around Tyria where they, for example, get the ins and outs of the game explained to them?

- Is there a way to deal with abuse of this system? People pride themselves about this community’s kindness, but there are always a few rotten apples. How do players, and ESPECIALLY new-comers, know they can trust the person standing in front of them with a Pact Commander tag? Will there be something like a rating system implemeted with this?

- Will there be rewards coupled with being a succesful Pact Commander? Oh sure, helping others is its own reward, blah blah blah. But hey, why should I spend all that time teaching others how to get things going, when there are three new legendaries looking reeeaaaally pretty?

Well, that would be most important questions I could come up with. I’d love to hear more about the Pact Commander explained and these questions answered. Keep up the good work!

1) Will we get a ‘Treherne’ ability that lets us steal glory from player characters?
2) What exactly will we be commanding exactly?
3) Do I now have a social responsibility to Tyria? I can’t handle that
4) Can I expect to pilot a giant airship against the lesser creatures of the Maguuma?
5) Will I get a discount on pact/pact fleet weapons?

Tyrannical.9348:

1) Will we get a ‘Treherne’ ability that lets us steal glory from player characters?

This made my day, thank you.

I’m more curious about the icon on the map. Is it going to be a discount commander tag? I’m a little bit afraid about that. People may use it without any intention to help the others.

Will there be a “vote kick from icon” option?

Why was it felt that autoloot, something that should be a gameplay option was a suitable ‘ability’ for a mastery?

You’re taking a bunch of Quality of Life features designed to improve the game, some for the player and some for those they encounter, and locking them not only behind a pay wall, but behind level grinding as well.

I guess my one big question is: “What the hell is wrong with you people?”

If I have a second question, I guess it’s about the icon this mastery will give. Can we turn it off, or is being permanently branded as a stand in for a good tutorial some kind of punishment meant to deter us from taking this mastery line in the first place?

And as an off topic question, what happened to the mushroom jumping mastery? The article lists four masteries in the new HoT areas. Gliding, and three lore. The mushroom one is gone.

(Seriously guys, if this is still under development, scrap all of this stuff the article talks about, and do it right. This is NOT how you fairly improve the game.)

I haven’t read through the thread yet but I wanted to share some ideas.

- Maybe giving the Commander special party up abilities. Like the ability to party up with more players at a time.
-How about the ability to revive someone remotely if partied up?
- Or the ability to highlight points on a map for other players. Like jumping off points or locations of interest that may not be seen by others?

IDK, again I’m just throwing out ideas. Good luck on the Xpac launch!

Does the Pact Commander trait line give players the ability and interface for commanders to actually issue orders to other players (preferably in the form of dynamic events or guild events) or is the term “commander” here a misnomer as it has been for the Commander Tag?

Obviously, you are aware of the controversies spawned by the ability to simply buy a commander tag, rather than earn it, and the limitations that commanders in the game currently operate under. The ability of commanders to issue real objectives within the game, beyond text/voice chat, would give these players real, strategic control in wvw and pve. Although resurrecting allies quickly and moving with speed are niceties, these things don’t have the flavor of “leadership qualities” (though good commanders should make a real effort to help their followers as much as possible).

Commanders should earn the right to hold sway over other players by honorable and noble acts that allow groups and individuals to successfully complete game objectives. Otherwise, the “follow-the-leader” zerg gameplay of the current commander tags will continue to prevail, without promoting or rewarding true leadership.

If commanders are able to issue orders of any kind in the game, will these commanders be ranked according to the relative success/failure of those orders (as they should be)?

This would help to weed out trolls and poor leaders from those who are actually helpful and positive members of the community. It might also help decrease the “me too phenomenon” that often occurs (players putting their commander tags up when they see that another player with a tag is successfully leading a group).

I want to know whether the Pact Commander is connected to the release date in anyway.

How long will it take to complete all options in this mastery line?

It seems to me that any mastery line that takes less than 112 hours of play to complete will guarantee that players will finish it “and become bored” rather quickly. I would prefer that all masteries take 480+ play hours to complete so that we don’t run into a situation where the majority of the community has all masteries completed by zerging for mastery points. Long acquisition cycles will give us a reason to be more selective about which masteries we choose while also adding diversity to the community.

Do you think that rewarding players with coin or loot for helping others is constructive or simply a way to coax players who wouldn’t bother otherwise into doing something for others to complete a track in the game?

I’ve been helping other players since launch, without any expectation of payment or reward outside of knowing that I helped somebody. I’m sure there are many others who have done this too. For people like us, getting coin or loot for helping others isn’t a goal worth having. There’s no way to quantify and monetize the gift of giving.

Outside of a ranking and verification system, possibly tied to some testimonials or reviews, I don’t think there needs to be any reward for truly, thoughtfully helping other players.

Are there cosmetic skins associated with this as a reward? I always like a Charr in a sharp uniform.