Guild Wars 2

125+ foxfire clusters, extremely rare in most cases. time-gated crafting

This is not fun. Does not present a challenge nor does the reward match the amount of time put in to doing this gargantuan grind.

Yes, it is a grind. BUT If you look at the big picture it’s an ascended (infused) backpiece you get through doing the story. If you start the story on a new character and play through the entire story from start to finish you’ll have done harvesting and such along the way and (hopefully) have the amount of foxfire needed to complete the backpiece as you go through the story.

Please make clay bricks and foxfire a collectible and depositable.

The backpiece is cosmetic. It’s purely optional. You could do the LS episodes, complete all the achievements, and then take the couple of trophies for crafting the backpiece and delete them.

If the grind were required for the story, or if the backpiece was otherwise required in some way, then I might complain. Then Anet would be basically forcing us to participate in the large grind in order to have access to/complete content. We should not have to grind for that type of stuff.

But a new, unique set of skins? Grind if you want a new flower on your back? I’m perfectly fine with that. I don’t have an ascended/infused spinal blade pack because I didn’t participate in the second half of LS S1 and didn’t get copious amounts of blade shards. The amount of gold it would cost me to get all of the watchwork sprockets necessary to make the ~500 blade shards I still need (to say nothing of the other materials) is not worth the completed backpiece to me. The grind is not worth the skin.

TL;DR if the grind is not worth the skins, then don’t grind for the skins.

What do people think of the skin itself? Worth the time investment? I have nothing against it, but it seemed nothing spectacular over another skin so decided against making it in the end. I do like the scavenger bit though, so I did hunt down a lot of the pieces.

What are other people’s views on it for the time involved.

I agree, the grind/cost is too much. So I won’t be getting it. Maybe I’ll get it when the mats are cheap as dirt.

Randulf.7614:

What do people think of the skin itself? Worth the time investment? I have nothing against it, but it seemed nothing spectacular over another skin so decided against making it in the end. I do like the scavenger bit though, so I did hunt down a lot of the pieces.

What are other people’s views on it for the time involved.

The first backpiece is unremarkable imo, though I haven’t tried it on a Sylvari. It’s just too small and doesn’t stand out much. There isn’t much “grind,” though; I was farming elder wood for artificer ascended weapons anyway, so the foxfire came as a byproduct. The “grind” necessary for this backpiece was probably about 2-3 hours in Dry Top to get geodes for the recipes and clay bricks.

BUT the first backpiece gives you the seed to make the second, and the second is at least okay. Waiting on pics of the ascended/infused version(s).

So, foxfire and geodes were both okay. However, if we have to grind fractals to get materials for the ascended/infused versions, I will not be a happy camper. Fractals aren’t really my thing.

always remember to compare what it would cost you to make any other ascended back item with selectable stats,
spinals were the only relatively cheap one, wish i would’ve saved more of those blade shards

Randulf.7614:

What do people think of the skin itself? Worth the time investment? I have nothing against it, but it seemed nothing spectacular over another skin so decided against making it in the end. I do like the scavenger bit though, so I did hunt down a lot of the pieces.

What are other people’s views on it for the time involved.

Not worth it, IMO. Plus I’m making bank selling plant food.

If the plant food price drops far enough, I might make one one day.

I’m wondering what grind you guys are talking about. I’m a day away from making the first back piece and I found it rather easy. I parked a few characters at the a ring of elder saplings that grows around a god statue and just farm them once every hour. With 7 characters, it takes about 3 to 5 minutes each cycle and I usually gain 3 to 5 foxfire per cycle. The rest of the time, I do whatever I want.

Crossplay.2067:

I’m wondering what grind you guys are talking about. I’m a day away from making the first back piece and I found it rather easy. I parked a few characters at the a ring of elder saplings that grows around a god statue and just farm them once every hour. With 7 characters, it takes about 3 to 5 minutes each cycle and I usually gain 3 to 5 foxfire per cycle. The rest of the time, I do whatever I want.

Last time i had about 1 foxfire every 10-12 trees I chopped. So 100 foxfires, requires you chopping 1200 trees. Which would take ages if you don’t have 5+ characters parked at a dwayna statue. Quite a grind if you ask me.

Even with my 8 characters parked there, I’d have to wait 30 days if I only login once a day and play for an hour.

Edit: Just pointing out where the grind part is, I don’t mind it myself and it’s a justified grind for an ascended backpiece. I already have 5 ascended backpieces though, so I don’t feel like grinding this one out.

Backpiece biggest non-legend grind

How about Chaos of Lyssa? 500 gold for recipe and mats.

khani.4786:

Yes, it is a grind. BUT If you look at the big picture it’s an ascended (infused) backpiece you get through doing the story.

It’s only ascended if you do fractals. People who do fractals already would have an ascended backpiece. People who don’t do them don’t do them for a reason.

People are missing the obvious here. Anet has added to the game a very lengthy scavenger hunt in which the player builds/grows an item of (mostly) increasing value. You don’t think this very same method can’t be applied to something else?

/wink

/wink

/nudge

/nudge

This is probably a precursor to precursor crafting. Pun intended. Anet is probably test driving the system with this backpack.

“This is probably a precursor to precursor crafting. Pun intended. Anet is probably test driving the system with this backpack.”

If it is then they’ll have a lot of players ending up very disappointed after they invest an increasing amount of time into these quests only to see the next stage needing even more time as well, until they turn into the biggest grind in the game (to make something they might not even want).

Crossplay.2067:

I’m wondering what grind you guys are talking about. I’m a day away from making the first back piece and I found it rather easy. I parked a few characters at the a ring of elder saplings that grows around a god statue and just farm them once every hour. With 7 characters, it takes about 3 to 5 minutes each cycle and I usually gain 3 to 5 foxfire per cycle. The rest of the time, I do whatever I want.

Was this supposed to be sarcastic lol? How is parking 7 characters in one spot and cycling through every hour not a grind?

Stooperdale.3560:

If it is then they’ll have a lot of players ending up very disappointed after they invest an increasing amount of time into these quests only to see the next stage needing even more time as well, until they turn into the biggest grind in the game

I very much doubt many players thought any theoretical precursor crafting would NOT be a lengthy timegated process. Even though any crafted precursor would probably be account bound, it’s still a very sought after and expensive commodity.

I would rather spend several weeks to a month of timegated scavenger hunting, where I can actually see I’m making progress, compared to farming an ridiculous amount of gold to either chunk into the MF or outright buy it. Not to mention, I would have to farm up another ridiculous amount of gold to do/buy all the legendary components as well.

(to make something they might not even want).

Just like this backpack, they aren’t forcing people to make it. Any type of precursor crafting, just like legendries, is entirely optional. I’m sure at that point people will have a lot of forewarning about the lengthiness of the process by the community at large. If not, there will be easy to look up guides on Dulfy and the wiki showing the many step by step introductions.

“Just like this backpack, they aren’t forcing people to make it. Any type of precursor crafting, just like legendries, is entirely optional. I’m sure at that point people will have a lot of forewarning about the lengthiness of the process by the community at large. If not, there will be easy to look up guides on Dulfy and the wiki showing the many step by step introductions.”

They aren’t forcing people to make, but players don’t have a valid decision whether to make it or not since they’re not told what it makes! Players are induced to make it by giving the items out as part of the living story. Once you have eight bits of questy rubbish in your backpack the natural inclination is to chase around and make it, and you only find out whether it is worth it a long way down the road.

I’m an old fashioned gamer and I don’t believe that players should have to look outside the game for information, especially when it comes to a task given to everyone. If players really are expected to use web resources then those web resources should come with the game and not be reliant upon the community.

Stooperdale.3560:

They aren’t forcing people to make, but players don’t have a valid decision whether to make it or not since they’re not told what it makes! Players are induced to make it by giving the items out as part of the living story. Once you have eight bits of questy rubbish in your backpack the natural inclination is to chase around and make it, and you only find out whether it is worth it a long way down the road.

Is it terrible hard to ask the player community? All you have to do is go to LA and ask, “What does these items make?” and “Is it worth it?”. There are nice enough people out there that will give you the information you need. It’s only a complete unknown if the player willfully turns a blind eye to it.

I’m an old fashioned gamer and I don’t believe that players should have to look outside the game for information, especially when it comes to a task given to everyone. If players really are expected to use web resources then those web resources should come with the game and not be reliant upon the community.

Again, you don’t have to go to outside resources to be told how to do it. You only do that if you want to be lazy. That’s why I said, “I’m sure at that point people will have a lot of forewarning about the lengthiness of the process by the community at large.” All you have to do is ask your fellow players for the information.

Randulf.7614:

What do people think of the skin itself? Worth the time investment? I have nothing against it, but it seemed nothing spectacular over another skin so decided against making it in the end. I do like the scavenger bit though, so I did hunt down a lot of the pieces.

What are other people’s views on it for the time involved.

I don’t like it. I made the spine blade. I’m not a fan of that skin. But I was the quickest and easiest way for me to get an ascended back item as I had 99% of the mats when it came out. I’ll make the infused version when I can be bothered to do fractals again.

I’ve crafted the backitem on the first day in the first houeres of the patch. Yes… im crazy…
And i dont used a guide for it.
You can do this without any outside resources.
But you have to think a little bit… and this is a point many players forget.
They ask everything… they dont read… dont look… and so they dont know what to do when the information is not directly on the table.

When you wont craft it, dont do it.
Its to expensive? Dont craft it.
You want it? You have to “pay”/“farm” whatever.

Its a ascended backpiece.
Every of this backpieces cost a bunch of mats or time.

You will get it without any work? Well…
You have to do more than just farm foxfire clusters.
But so much players are angry about everything.
I liked the way to craft it. The last steps are awesome.
But no… all is bad… blabla.

And you dont know what the item do?
Well… its a backpiece, ascendet… what information is unclear about such a item?
Only Mawdrey II was not clear. And this is only a funny item you get for free when it comes with the backpiece.
A hint to a movie.

It would be nice if we can customize/choose the color we want. At the very least the glow it gives off.

Otherwise I dont mind the ‘grind aspect’ if you have a better idea great -but if you just want them to hand it over to you so you don;t have to do anything…. I am not a fan of the idea.

Ravenhunt.2735:

I’ve crafted the backitem on the first day in the first houeres of the patch. Yes… im crazy…
And i dont used a guide for it.
You can do this without any outside resources.
But you have to think a little bit… and this is a point many players forget.
They ask everything… they dont read… dont look… and so they dont know what to do when the information is not directly on the table.

When you wont craft it, dont do it.
Its to expensive? Dont craft it.
You want it? You have to “pay”/“farm” whatever.

Its a ascended backpiece.
Every of this backpieces cost a bunch of mats or time.

You will get it without any work? Well…
You have to do more than just farm foxfire clusters.
But so much players are angry about everything.
I liked the way to craft it. The last steps are awesome.
But no… all is bad… blabla.

And you dont know what the item do?
Well… its a backpiece, ascendet… what information is unclear about such a item?
Only Mawdrey II was not clear. And this is only a funny item you get for free when it comes with the backpiece.
A hint to a movie.

I think it’s funny when people somehow turn “grind is too much” into “I don’t want to put in any effort.” I mean, is there some kind of association between complaining and laziness that people just automatically assume is present?

I guess all of the thought and time that some people put into writing constructive complaints is not enough testament to the fact that they’re not just asking for handouts.

I just wish they’d dressed this whole process up a bit with some proper motivation.

Why would I want to plant a seed that’s likely to just sprout into another Mordrem monster? How do I know why all the other objects (the “ley line infused stone”, the “phantasmal residue”, etc.) are relevant to the ‘taming’ of this plant, and how do I know where to ‘upgrade’ those objects into their final form (the “weirderd phantasmal residue”, etc.). Where does the notion that carrying this plant on my back is somehow advantageous come from?

All of the information is apparently gleaned from looking at the objects involved. How does that work? Is my character some kind of crypto-horticulturalist prophet all of a sudden? Or a madman with crazy far-fetched notions that somehow actually accomplish something?

GW1 gave us Zho’s Journal to hatch ourselves our very own black moa chick. This process really needed something similar. What we got is just plain weird and out of the blue.

It wàs really weird to just get some of the elements at the end of the story instance.
Totally no context, not related to the instance, just a mysterious reward amongst generic ones.

The first seed at least came with an in-game mail, but the follow-up needed materials came from thin air.

I would’ve loved to find an old book that described how to grow a seedling and lead me on a scavange hunt I had to figure out on my own instead of the handholding, double-click, “HERE IT IS ON YOUR MAP” thing they did.

It would take a while to harvest all that Foxfire yourself, but you don’t have to, they sell on the TP relatively cheaply for a material like that. I typically only find 2-3 Foxfire per day but pick up a few more on the TP.

Manasa Devi.7958:

I just wish they’d dressed this whole process up a bit with some proper motivation.

Why would I want to plant a seed that’s likely to just sprout into another Mordrem monster? How do I know why all the other objects (the “ley line infused stone”, the “phantasmal residue”, etc.) are relevant to the ‘taming’ of this plant, and how do I know where to ‘upgrade’ those objects into their final form (the “weirderd phantasmal residue”, etc.). Where does the notion that carrying this plant on my back is somehow advantageous come from?

All of the information is apparently gleaned from looking at the objects involved. How does that work? Is my character some kind of crypto-horticulturalist prophet all of a sudden? Or a madman with crazy far-fetched notions that somehow actually accomplish something?

GW1 gave us Zho’s Journal to hatch ourselves our very own black moa chick. This process really needed something similar. What we got is just plain weird and out of the blue.

Slowly crafting Tyria’s destruction one time gated item at a time isn’t enough motivation for you?

This is clearly a transfer of Scarlet’s residual ideas from Omadd’s machine …