Guild Wars 2

I was sitting at work today and wondering about the new stuff just released, so I decided to pop on the wiki and see what new content came out.

I’m always a sucker for good weapon skins, and I just have to say, I really, REALLY stinkin’ love these weapons.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ambrite_weapons

If you haven’t seen the new ones, take a gander and see what you think. I love that greatsword.

I’m a big fan of amber and amber fossils, so these are really awesome to me as well. And I can fit them on no less than 3 of my characters with regards to their individual weapon themes (though I’d probably MAKE them fit even if they didn’t fit naturally, since they’re so neat).

They’re not easy to get, but they’re permanent, so I guess I can put them in my long-term goal pile and get them in due time.

Managing the Geoade cost for the recipes is even enough but I’m really getting annoyed at the amount of chests I’m opening trying to get these stupid fossils.

Why’d they have to be account bound anyways?

It would be such a wonderful thing if we could get just one fossilized insect as a reward for, lets say, finishing episode 3.

RNG is not and never has been kind to me and having no other way at all to acquire this thing may mean that it will never happen. I have only openend a little more than 50 chests now, but it is starting to feel hopeless already. Work 2 hours to get 5 keys, hunt down 5 chests…and start again.

guardian.6489:

Managing the Geoade cost for the recipes is even enough but I’m really getting annoyed at the amount of chests I’m opening trying to get these stupid fossils.

Why’d they have to be account bound anyways?

because people have been demanding more content-bound skins, which these are, instead of the typical “you get it from doing this specific thing, but you can always just farm and exchange your profit for it on the TP” method. if you have an ambrite weapon, everyone knows the only way you got it was by playing a lot of dry top.

personally, i like the system. nothing against farmers, but the prestige of skins, to me, is diminished if you don’t have to obtain it through specific challenges. that’s why fractal weapons and the upgraded capacitor are prestige items to me. they visually display to the world what content you did a lot of.

that’s not to say i’d want ALL non-gem store skins to be like that. just enough that people that care about that stuff can aim for it.

as for the weapons themselves, not a fan. don’t like bugs.

I don’t really like the “bug” aspect, though it makes sense for the zone and amber tie-in. And I can tolerate the rest, but please kill the one with a kittenroach in it with lots and lots of fire! /shudder

I would possibly have considered the ambrite weapon that has a butterfly encased in the amber, except for one major discrepancy. For some reason that escapes me, the butterfly weapon is not a weapon that mesmers can use – you know, the one class that is actually already associated with that particular insect…

Tarral.5862:

I don’t really like the “bug” aspect, though it makes sense for the zone and amber tie-in. And I can tolerate the rest, but please kill the one with a kittenroach in it with lots and lots of fire! /shudder

I would possibly have considered the ambrite weapon that has a butterfly encased in the amber, except for one major discrepancy. For some reason that escapes me, the butterfly weapon is not a weapon that mesmers can use – you know, the one class that is actually already associated with that particular insect…

Kittenroach, lol. Gotta love the forum filter. No smut will ever sully the forum’s pristine pages while it oversees our postings.

As for the butterfly, I agree. They missed an opportunity here. It should have been on something like the greatsword.

They look neat, but don’t fit with any of my characters’ aesthetics/themes. If anything, I’d probably go for the butterfly axe.

Still, it’s nice to have a weapon set not locked behind RNG gambling chest nonsense.

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

The receipes should have been available at every level, with increasing cost to incentivize you to get T4/T5.

Locking the fossils behind RNG is just more trashy behavior by Anet. No way to work your way towards it, but a roll of the luck dice everytime. As usual, the shady RNG has some people with nothing getting mad after 100 attempts, and the blessed few who get 5 within 7 tries.

Nilkemia.8507:

They look neat, but don’t fit with any of my characters’ aesthetics/themes. If anything, I’d probably go for the butterfly axe.

Still, it’s nice to have a weapon set not locked behind RNG gambling chest nonsense.

They are. You just open different RNG chests. I would also like to add that these are worse because fossils are neither tradable nor sellable. From what I’ve heard, the weapons created from them are accountbound too. If you finally get one and it’s not one that you want, you’re only two options are to destroy it or bank it and hope that you can do something with it later.

Crossplay.2067:

Nilkemia.8507:

They look neat, but don’t fit with any of my characters’ aesthetics/themes. If anything, I’d probably go for the butterfly axe.

Still, it’s nice to have a weapon set not locked behind RNG gambling chest nonsense.

They are. You just open different RNG chests. I would also like to add that these are worse because fossils are neither tradable nor sellable. From what I’ve heard, the weapons created from them are accountbound too. If you finally get one and it’s not one that you want, you’re only two options are to destroy it or bank it and hope that you can do something with it later.

Okay. On the up side, the keys to the chest are far simpler to get than the black Lion Keys. However, all the other things you mentioned are indeed problems.

EgonVenkman.1907:

2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

The receipes should have been available at every level, with increasing cost to incentivize you to get T4/T5.

Wait..really? So the chests can only have a chance of dropping the skins at T4/5? Okay, I did not know about that roadblock towards obtaining them. Sigh…they always find some way to ruin it…

guardian.6489:

Managing the Geoade cost for the recipes is even enough but I’m really getting annoyed at the amount of chests I’m opening trying to get these stupid fossils.

Why’d they have to be account bound anyways?

I don’t even like these weapons or want to make them (kudos to those who do, just not in my taste), but they need to either keep them soulbound and drastically increase the droprate, or let them be sold and keep the droprate as is. This just seems completely ridiculous.

Nilkemia.8507:

Wait..really? So the chests can only have a chance of dropping the skins at T4/5? Okay, I did not know about that roadblock towards obtaining them. Sigh…they always find some way to ruin it…

That may be true or not for the fossils. It may explain the dry spell many people have when opening. But the Recipes can only be purchases at T4/T5.

EgonVenkman.1907:

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

es.

Can you confirm that they are tier locked? According to http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Buried_Locked_Chest it doesn’t seem so.

These are stunning. I do 3d modelling a bit and have made my fair share of weapon assets but these…these are just amazing. Can’t say enough about them or the art team at ArenaNet. True game artists.

Now back to bug hunting to get one.

Atreides.3709:

EgonVenkman.1907:

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

es.

Can you confirm that they are tier locked? According to http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Buried_Locked_Chest it doesn’t seem so.

Recipes for actual weapons are available only on T4\T5.

If you finally get one and it’s not one that you want, you’re only two options are to destroy it or bank it and hope that you can do something with it later.

Fossils are just tokens which you can trade for the actual crafting component.

I like this introduction of new craft Exotics, this could be done with new armor. I’m also a fan of the Recipes being obtainable through teamwork, the Zephyrite Tier merchant is perfect.

Love the Ambrite Weapon skins but we were disappointed today to learn that the warhorn doesn’t have a unique sound. I was expecting the sound of a flight of locusts. Or crickets chirping. Instead just the standard, “ah-oooooo.” It can’t be that hard to add a special sound Anet, come on get with it!

Moleclane.4216:

… the sound of a flight of locusts.

Free with your purchase of a Necromancer.

Moleclane.4216:

Love the Ambrite Weapon skins but we were disappointed today to learn that the warhorn doesn’t have a unique sound. I was expecting the sound of a flight of locusts. Or crickets chirping. Instead just the standard, “ah-oooooo.” It can’t be that hard to add a special sound Anet, come on get with it!

It should sound like the summoning of a velociraptor, and nothing else.

BrunoBRS.5178:

guardian.6489:

Managing the Geoade cost for the recipes is even enough but I’m really getting annoyed at the amount of chests I’m opening trying to get these stupid fossils.

Why’d they have to be account bound anyways?

because people have been demanding more content-bound skins, which these are, instead of the typical “you get it from doing this specific thing, but you can always just farm and exchange your profit for it on the TP” method. if you have an ambrite weapon, everyone knows the only way you got it was by playing a lot of dry top.

personally, i like the system. nothing against farmers, but the prestige of skins, to me, is diminished if you don’t have to obtain it through specific challenges. that’s why fractal weapons and the upgraded capacitor are prestige items to me. they visually display to the world what content you did a lot of.

that’s not to say i’d want ALL non-gem store skins to be like that. just enough that people that care about that stuff can aim for it.

as for the weapons themselves, not a fan. don’t like bugs.

\

The other half of acquiring the weapon manages the prestige of the weapon perfectly already. You already need to farm enough geodes to afford the fossil AND work with your zone to earn either T4/T5 favor of the Zepherites to be able to afford the recipe you need to craft the weapon.

The RNG fossils adds nothing but frustration. My Buddy has 3 of these fossil and hasn’t be going for them at all, I’ve farmed T5, 3 times already, spend all my geodes on keys and ran around the zone unlocking 35+ chests and still haven’t got the fossil.

Luck doesn’t add to the prestige of a weapon, all it does is add a tiny bit of resentment that the person with one is luckier then you.

EgonVenkman.1907:

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

The receipes should have been available at every level, with increasing cost to incentivize you to get T4/T5.

Locking the fossils behind RNG is just more trashy behavior by Anet. No way to work your way towards it, but a roll of the luck dice everytime. As usual, the shady RNG has some people with nothing getting mad after 100 attempts, and the blessed few who get 5 within 7 tries.

Basically my thoughts. They look cool, but the kitten kittening RNG aspect of the fossils kills it. They could have at least made it so the unid fossils were tradeable. While the Geode cost is kinda fine (just a bit too high cost, maybe 300/250 would have been better?), but why the kitten did they have to increase the geode cost for lockpicks? They should have stayed the same costs (and decreased another 10/20 for t5), since we (well at least some of us) have to spend hundreds of them just to get one/two of the fossils.

guardian.6489:

Luck doesn’t add to the prestige of a weapon, all it does is add a tiny bit of resentment that the person with one is luckier then you.

So I’m not alone in that aspect.
Every time I see the jetpack that’s all I can think/feel towards that person.

skullmount.1758:

EgonVenkman.1907:

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

The receipes should have been available at every level, with increasing cost to incentivize you to get T4/T5.

Locking the fossils behind RNG is just more trashy behavior by Anet. No way to work your way towards it, but a roll of the luck dice everytime. As usual, the shady RNG has some people with nothing getting mad after 100 attempts, and the blessed few who get 5 within 7 tries.

Basically my thoughts. They look cool, but the kitten kittening RNG aspect of the fossils kills it. They could have at least made it so the unid fossils were tradeable. While the Geode cost is kinda fine (just a bit too high cost, maybe 300/250 would have been better?), but why the kitten did they have to increase the geode cost for lockpicks? They should have stayed the same costs (and decreased another 10/20 for t5), since we (well at least some of us) have to spend hundreds of them just to get one/two of the fossils.

guardian.6489:

Luck doesn’t add to the prestige of a weapon, all it does is add a tiny bit of resentment that the person with one is luckier then you.

So I’m not alone in that aspect.
Every time I see the jetpack that’s all I can think/feel towards that person.

At least with the Jetpack, it can be bought – I bought my own, after all. Cost me as much as a Commander tag, but I bought it.
On the other hand, I’ve got an Unidentified Insect Fossil and absolutely no desire for the weapons, with nothing I can do except for destroying the Fossil to avoid it clogging up my inventory or bank. I didn’t want it to begin with, I don’t want it now, it’d be really nice to be able to sell it, trade it, or otherwise get it to people who actually want it.

Atreides.3709:

EgonVenkman.1907:

There are 2 flaws with the new ambrite weapons.

1. Fossils locked behind RNG.
2. Requires T4/T5 Dry Top. May not be a problem today, but what happens after Season 2 goes away or people loose interest?

es.

Can you confirm that they are tier locked? According to http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Buried_Locked_Chest it doesn’t seem so.

The fossils drop at all tiers, I got 2 and it was in low tier maps. You only need t4/5 for the weapon recipe, which you buy with geodes from merchants and are only available in t4/5.

For today’s standard, that they’re account bound and getting the fossil is RNG, I’d have expected maybe a yellow glow from the ember.

I’m done trying to get another. 205 dry spell with opening the chests. And nothing but frustration to show for it. Feel for the people that did not get one.

I rather play a different game at the moment and have fun, then to rely on gambling my time for e-stuff.

Here are some of weapons on Charr

Greatsword https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiV_2sblevU
Shield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OSxh_4Ngws
Sword https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XiGUPOYQ_0
Longbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okd3E-6c3uM
Axe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh6jMnImCPw

Personally, I’m not a fan of them. But more variety is always a plus even if I don’t like it or the Ley Line stuff.

It’s been two weeks since the introduction of the Ambrite weapons, and I would agree: the RNG aspect is frustrating with the fossils. I wish they would change this to a number of geodes needed.

Can we have some love on this ANET? I’ve opened 50ish chests (I think) and nothing of any note has dropped. I may have received a charged core out of one; but, nothing that would engender me playing more, and ultimately, maybe buying more gems, etc.

Just my two cents.

ive made the sword/shield
i have the scepter recipe as well as the spider,
i almost have enough geodes to buy the staff recipe, then i just gotta farm for the last fossil insect
after i get the last insect ill lvl up my artificer to 400 to make them, but i wanna make sure i have the mats before i waste time lvling the profession

I made a longbow, and am currently using it on my Ranger. Fits her color scheme great (brown, copper, gold).

I found another one last week, but can’t decide which to make? Maybe a knife?

i love these weapon skins

I finally got one single fossil, and used it to create the Torch.

Very glad I did, one of the most unique torches in the game. The light comes out of the firefly inside the fossil, and it actually blinks on and off just like a firefly’s light would. Doesn’t do much for the practicality of the weapon (what good is a light that’s only on half the time?) but it does look neat pulsing on and off, so practicality be danged.

Didn’t know that, Electro. Pretty neat. I don’t really care for the aesthetics of the Ambrite weapons, but I’m always impressed by the little creative touches like these the artists put in when creating weapons and armor.

Electro.4173:

I finally got one single fossil, and used it to create the Torch.

Very glad I did, one of the most unique torches in the game. The light comes out of the firefly inside the fossil, and it actually blinks on and off just like a firefly’s light would. Doesn’t do much for the practicality of the weapon (what good is a light that’s only on half the time?) but it does look neat pulsing on and off, so practicality be danged.

It is also huge. I wish it was a bit brighter, but glad I made it.

I also made staff, axe, short bow, war horn, and shield. I have 1 fossil left – thinking dagger maybe….

I was very much hoping that the RNG aspect of the fossils would be addressed in the latest LS update. Unfortunately, it was not. This is disheartening, as I have no desire to invest more time into a chance at getting a weapon (especially when I’m generally very unlucky in such things).

ANET, here is my personal feedback with this: if it was your intention to gate the Ambrite weapons behind the RNG in order to populate the Dry Top map more continuously, this may work, as people will follow the ‘gear treadmill.’ I, however, have preciously little time to game with, and I will not be in Dry Top for this anymore.

I very much hope that you are able to cater to players like myself that want measurable timeframes with which to complete desired weapons and skins. If the weapon skins are 750 geodes, that’s fine. That gives me a timeframe that I can estimate. However, I have no desire to continue to hunt for an RNG shiney that may or may not come. My time spent gaming that way will and does feel worthless. I’m very sorry that you have created mechanics in this game that allow people (and admittedly, not all people) to feel that way.

Please reconsider.

I’ve accumulated around 11 fossils so far. I’ve made 5-6 weapons from them.