Guild Wars 2

Boneheart.3561:

Faux.1937:

… crappy back.

This is somebody’s baby. Someone drew this item, and quite possibly the same person designed it’s model, and at the end thought ’I’m so proud of this design’. Then you took all of two seconds to flip them off. Everyone knows you won’t be liked by everyone, but we’re still made of flesh and that kitten stings.

Have some godkitten civility, please.

I don’t much appreciate you likening ArenaNet developers to thin-skinned, easily-broken, weak-willed people. I’m more than sure the staffers know they need thick skin to be in this business (and if they don’t then no wonder GW2 is lacking the Guild Wars feel that GW1 had). They are (or at least should be) well aware that not everyone will like their creations, and some will kitten well hate them for their creations. If all of ArenaNet was as spineless as you are making them out to be, the game would never have been released or completed, because not everyone liked where GW2 was going, and even now not everyone likes GW2.

I like to think that the majority of ArenaNet will not let even the harshest criticism cause them to have a nervous breakdown just because a few people dislike what they created while the majority likes it or approves of it.

nexxe.7081:

Malkavian.4516:

While your love for the game is admirable, it’s not like you HAVE to get it. Don’t want it? do something else.

It gets tiring seeing this argument thrown around. It fails on so many levels.

Yes, it’s optional, but it’s also an “end-game reward” that was released for the latest content, the Living Story. If they are going to release rewards that require grind and massive gold sinks, how is this different than WoW?

In WoW, raid gear is also optional, but if you don’t want to raid, then your choices of gameplay are severely limited to PvP, achievements, etc. Ironically, this was one of the reasons GW2 players hated WoW, and they are now telling others to do something else besides “raid” (end-game content).

At least in WoW though, they release content for all playstyles in huge updates, such as dungeons, pvp gear, battle pets, etc. This doesn’t happen in GW2, except for new achievements associated to the Living Story. The Living Story is limiting to one experience of the game. It’s not at all tied to WvW, or SPvP, or dungeons.

In GW2, the Living Story is their main form of content. If players don’t feel enticed to earn the rewards from it, then their options are limited to old content, with nothing new to do. There wasn’t anything added to SPvP or WvW, dungeons, etc., to their new content updates. To be fair though, their last update in Dry Top added new ambrite weapons along with kites and other rewards, but even these were locked behind a multi-step RNG process.

So yes, it’s optional, but at what cost? By dsienfranchising a segment of the playberbase from their major rewards?

Ok, I don’t play WOW but have tons of friends who did/do. Doesn’t these massive expansions come with a price? I just remember few friends buying them. I do agree; these living stories are so bland and haphazard. If I was a game developer; I wouldn’t call these their baby or project worth mentioning. It just feels all clunky and lackluster. I was so visibly moved by the Season 1’s ending and to return to this… I don’t even feel like it is the same game anymore.

Aerinndis.2730:

When I saw the requirements for a backpack, I took a deep breath and thought, maybe I may not do this one. But once I had made the first one and then the second, I decided, what the heck, this could be something interesting to at least try. It took some planning regarding the materials and some I had to refine which is also something I had never done before.

I had not tried fractals or dungeons up to this point and had no plans on even trying until Mawdrey. I read up on the fractals in the wiki and on other sites and tried to be careful about picking groups for fractals and looked for ones that said everyone welcome or for noobs etc. and I found good groups and some really great people. Once we did get the bugged Cliffside but everyone was a good sport on that run.

Ninetynine percent of this is simply putting the effort and thought into completing the tasks to get to the end goal. I did learned some things from the folk I did them with and that makes it a plus as well. I actually had a good time doing fractals, though I doubt it would be something that would be a regular event for me, who knows I could change my mind on that one, lol…

All in all I liked that there was a lot of variety and we had to do a thing or two outside the box to get this piece. I never expected easy. What I hated the most was the Foxfire gathering for me which was a pain. The upside to that, though, was going through areas collecting higher level mats which I will use for other things now. Also I am helping hubby where I can because not all his crafting levels are high enough to make the plant food or the pot.

It doesn’t look like Mawdrey is going away anytime soon so anyone should be able to craft this if they desire and take their time doing it. No one is making us do this nor did I feel it was unreasonable in any aspect. It was a bit frightening to start fractals especially when you hear the horror stories about some groups. But once I started I realized if you are right up front that you may be new or not done this one before etc. and if the group wants someone experienced, don’t take it personal, just say your byes and look for another group.

I wish this is the mentality that the players had. It is about trying new things. Five fractal runs is not a lot and there are lots of people who will help someone new if you are willing to put in the effort. Or Forrest Gumping through fractals with all newbies can be an experience. The back piece is optional. I decided not to bother with it as I am happy with the back pieces that I do have. There are things I don’t enjoy doing in game which I suffer through for the rewards or not persue it without an expectation of the reward being given to me.

layzoe.6035:

Aerinndis.2730:

When I saw the requirements for a backpack, I took a deep breath and thought, maybe I may not do this one. But once I had made the first one and then the second, I decided, what the heck, this could be something interesting to at least try. It took some planning regarding the materials and some I had to refine which is also something I had never done before.

I had not tried fractals or dungeons up to this point and had no plans on even trying until Mawdrey. I read up on the fractals in the wiki and on other sites and tried to be careful about picking groups for fractals and looked for ones that said everyone welcome or for noobs etc. and I found good groups and some really great people. Once we did get the bugged Cliffside but everyone was a good sport on that run.

Ninetynine percent of this is simply putting the effort and thought into completing the tasks to get to the end goal. I did learned some things from the folk I did them with and that makes it a plus as well. I actually had a good time doing fractals, though I doubt it would be something that would be a regular event for me, who knows I could change my mind on that one, lol…

All in all I liked that there was a lot of variety and we had to do a thing or two outside the box to get this piece. I never expected easy. What I hated the most was the Foxfire gathering for me which was a pain. The upside to that, though, was going through areas collecting higher level mats which I will use for other things now. Also I am helping hubby where I can because not all his crafting levels are high enough to make the plant food or the pot.

It doesn’t look like Mawdrey is going away anytime soon so anyone should be able to craft this if they desire and take their time doing it. No one is making us do this nor did I feel it was unreasonable in any aspect. It was a bit frightening to start fractals especially when you hear the horror stories about some groups. But once I started I realized if you are right up front that you may be new or not done this one before etc. and if the group wants someone experienced, don’t take it personal, just say your byes and look for another group.

I wish this is the mentality that the players had. It is about trying new things. Five fractal runs is not a lot and there are lots of people who will help someone new if you are willing to put in the effort. Or Forrest Gumping through fractals with all newbies can be an experience. The back piece is optional. I decided not to bother with it as I am happy with the back pieces that I do have. There are things I don’t enjoy doing in game which I suffer through for the rewards or not persue it without an expectation of the reward being given to me.

The point for me was, WHAT THE F does fotm have to do with a plant/LS/dry top skin?

Instead of giving us MORE reason to visit dry top, anet instead said, “Go do 5 fotms for this piece” when it could have been a Group event reward drop WITHIN dry top.

Thats the problem for me, they are trying to force you to parts of the game you dont like for a reward you do like.

There are good reasons why ppl dont like fotm, and forcing them to do 5 levels instead of encouraging them isnt right.

Im just saying, they need to add More to dry top to encourage/keep players there for longer, or give guilds reasons to raid them, the back piece could have been that, but instead they chose to make use under whelming items for sinks.

Okay. I finally finished Mawdrey.

Swinging my axe (minion?) for Foxfire Clusters was pretty chill, did some Temple cleansing, dominating Veterans that eat my non-existent Vitality. Only made the effort for at least three or four Clusters a day (five was lucky) since Piquant Plant Food has a cooldown. I bought the last twenty Foxfire Clusters, for the Elementally-Charged Plant Food, for a measly 6g.

Now my inventory isn’t cluttered and I have two cutey pets. Felt like a walk through a safe park, uneventful but pleasant. I hope this scavenger hunt is just a thimble’s worth compared to what bigger scavenger hunts could be.

My Humble 2 cents:

I acquired almost everything to make Mawdrey; now I’m just in need of some gold to buy some foxfires, and whatnot. For me, it was actually a lot of fun making it. It even felt like a little bit of an epic adventure, and I was proud to have acquired all the pieces.
A few reason I enjoyed it:

1. Having played since beta, I’ve still never gotten world completion; so thus, Mawdrey was the reason I went into places like the volcano in Mount Maesltrom for the first time, and did the world event there. I can understand how this wouldn’t be too exciting for someone whose done this many times before; but for me, it felt like a true adventure having to go there and defeat the world boss with all the other players. Also, I’d never been to those hidden garden jumping puzzles. Discovering those was pretty enchanting for me. Having not done this stuff before, these things were pretty meaningful to me, and those memories will be tied to my Mawdrey for as long as I play. In my opinion, this was a great way for Anet to get players like me into the world who might not have explored much before.

2. I also really enjoyed having to travel around the world and upgrade the basic components. It brought me back to places I hadn’t been in quite a while, such as areas in Frostgorge Sound. Going there with a reason and a purpose brought new meaning to the zone, and it really helped with a renewed sense of immersion that I could appreciate.

3. I totally enjoyed how acquiring the basic components was involved with the Living Story. It only further gives meaning to the skin by tying it to a piece of Tyrian history.

4. Time gating: It gave me something that I could casually work towards, and that once again brought meaning to the gameplay for me again.

5. Silly, I know, but I really enjoy how many pieces go into making Mawdrey. Seeing them all sitting in my inventory just makes me smile. It’s like, wow, look at all these things I’ve gathered! It’s my little bag of charms! Plus, I really enjoy the artwork of the items too. The Ley Line Infused Stone just looks too cool. I also really appreciate the little tidbits written about each component. Idk, more immersion for me I suppose.

This wont be the same experience for everyone, but for me it was really an immersive experience. It’s actually felt like an epic journey since I’ve been working in Mawdrey. It gave me hope too that Anet is moving in a direction of immersion that I’m really in agreement with. If they introduce more stuff into the game through this platform, I can see myself really enjoying it.

To the OP, I’m sorry you don’t like the skin, or enjoy the process. Maybe from a new angle you could learn to appreciate it though?

The only thing I wish different about the process was that we got to keep a little journal at the end, detailing all the things we did, with pictures of the basic components, and the tidbits that were written about them. Seriously makes me sad all this stuff is going to disappear when I complete Mawdrey.

@ tyler.2569

Did you read the last post I made about it?

Its not about the skin its about the fact they are a new zone, a SKIN made to look like things in the NEW ZONE, they need players to STAY in this new zone and to WANT to do things in there, instead you have to GO TO OTHER PLACES to build you back….

Having 90% the ingredients come from the new zone would be amazing, you could do guild runs, reddit runs, friendly dry top farms to get everything you need, it will keep it populated more so than not and give reasons to keep going back other than a weapon skin or ….. food buffs.

Instead you have to do fotms or go to Orr and farm trees.