Guild Wars 2

Djinn.9245:

I’ll even do it several times if it looks like I might get it. But I’m not going to waste my time failing dozens of times to “practice”. This is a game, I don’t want to work at it like a job.

Except practice is how you get good at games. I was horrible at jumping puzzles. Would not even attempt the Obsidian Sanctum. Gave it time after playing the game for a while and I got better.

That being said though. If I start to get too frustrated about something to the point it is detrimental to my health I will not do it. I will try a few times. But the moment I get frustrated I stop after all if I am frustrated I am likely to only mess up further due to frustration.

All the hard(Non-assisted by aspect) jumping however is optional. The Achievements are designed to be well achievements you don’t need to complete them.

I love this release, and absolutely love how Anet has incorporated the jumping into the Living Story (including that boss fight where jumping plays a key role in the battle). Love this!!! I would love to see more of this!

And +1 for the (permanent) return of SAB PLEASE!

Draknar.5748:

I guess not everyone can learn and adapt the way most people can. Or I guess not everyone is willing to learn and adapt the way most people can may be a more accurate statement.

No one can learn and adapt to everything.

Chase.8415:

As far as I know, the living story part involved very little to none jumping puzzles. It included jumping mechanics, which I managed to go through just fine with a cheap laptop running at 20 fps on the lowest settings.

If you want to complete all of the content, then there are some jumping puzzles but that to me is considered optional because it is not required to experience the entire story.

No one said “jumping puzzles”, we said “jumping”. And just because jumping is easy for you (obviously if you can do it on your machine) doesn’t mean it is easy for everyone else. Just saying its easy doesn’t make it easy anymore than telling someone who is bad at math that its easy.

Some people are just good or bad at things – I’m not sure why people don’t understand that. And no one likes being forced to do things they are bad at. Especially in games which are supposed to be fun.

Freeelancer.2860:

EDIT to my previous post:
I just went through the map beginning to end, and grabbed a skill point along the way, with the biggest norn in biggest armor, using only arrow keys and only 2 fingers (had to tie my other fingers to stop them from interfering). I only used mouse twice to target lightning skill.
I am not a 12 year old whippersnapper, far from it, and I didn’t grow up playing Mortal Combat or CoD or whatever kids are playing these days.

Ok now cover one eye and place a film of hazy glass over the other. While you’re at it have a dial up connection that is prone to lag and DC’s; because for some reason those that are handicapped cannot afford the best. Everyone is different and although I can empathize (kinda a novelty here) with those that say the devs’s should not have to make everything for everyone, as a paid for episode (gems) it behooves them to make it as accessible as possible. I must iterate that adding a second path (combat oriented) for a other players to possibly help him through is IMO not to much to ask here.

Also if you and your ilk are what passes for empathy in this world then I cry for the future of the human species.

Spoofy.8239:

Just because someone cannot do jumping or dislikes jumping in a game where that need was kept separate but now has become an issue does not and should not give an opening to those who seem to think that this is some sort of weakness and like bee to honey behave in an immature bullying way

Best post of the day—2 thumbs. There are way too many of them here.
Back to the original thought—-Optional jumping puzzles are great, forced and timed not so much.

I agree with many of the posters, the increase in difficulty with LS2 was unnecessary. And before you start lambasting me with stupid, idiotic and puerile insults, because you say aspect jumping is easy. It’s not for people with older machines, bad hands, and poor internet connections.

Do I need to better machine to play this game better? Yes. Are you going to give me the $700 to $800 dollars to get it? No. So, don’t insult me by telling me you need to upgrade. Not everyone has the money for that.

“How hard it is to press 2 buttons and make the jump.” Try doing it in the time required with Arthritis, bucko. You get 15 seconds to aim and make the correct moves trying to press the right keys. But hey, it’s easy.

The point the original poster was trying to make and was insulted and bullied about was why did they not make an alternate path for those who can’t do the things required just to progress in the main part of this story arc? This isn’t just about some basic achievements or little shiny things, this story arc applies to the game as a whole. The next stage in Lions Arch, why Scarlet did what she did, New items, news crafting, materials, new recipes… A great deal of new content that is unachievable by many players for many different reasons.

My main point is it’s hard for some people to do this, and some can’t do it at all.

1. Give us an alternate path.
2. Harder for many people does not equal fun.
3. Don’t be an insulting Jerk when people complain about not being able to do it.

You know guys, not everyone enjoy high end comp with FPS over 40. By experience, I’ve found that an average FPS between 30 and 40 is normally enough to enjoy a good gaming experience including most of the JP (even though they become more difficult). But when the FPS goes below 25 (or even 10 like it happened to me in DryTop), JP are virtually impossible and more than frustrating.

So not all people are “trolling” when they complain about JP or when they say they found them difficult.

I didn’t like the aspect stuff during the 4 winds. I don’t like jumping puzzles much, I’m okay with vista jumping etc but a map like this is not so fun. I’d rather have something option be tied to the LS. But since that would make things too casual, let’s have the next LS area require you to have Zerker gear to finish bosses and lots and lots of condi clear to get around. Separate the hardcore you know, just like using reflects on bosses and cheese stacking to beat them is a show of massive skill. YEAH

Djinn.9245:

Chase.8415:

As far as I know, the living story part involved very little to none jumping puzzles. It included jumping mechanics, which I managed to go through just fine with a cheap laptop running at 20 fps on the lowest settings.

If you want to complete all of the content, then there are some jumping puzzles but that to me is considered optional because it is not required to experience the entire story.

No one said “jumping puzzles”, we said “jumping”. And just because jumping is easy for you (obviously if you can do it on your machine) doesn’t mean it is easy for everyone else. Just saying its easy doesn’t make it easy anymore than telling someone who is bad at math that its easy.

Some people are just good or bad at things – I’m not sure why people don’t understand that. And no one likes being forced to do things they are bad at. Especially in games which are supposed to be fun.

I actually have an extremely hard time navigating vertical maps. I have a disability called topographical disorientation, which means I am incapable of memorizing maps or realizing where I am at. I get lost a LOT.

And I was able to manage through the living story just fine, because it was very obvious what I was supposed to do.

Djinn.9245:

And just because jumping is easy for you (obviously if you can do it on your machine) doesn’t mean it is easy for everyone else. Just saying its easy doesn’t make it easy anymore than telling someone who is bad at math that its easy.

That’s true. I forgot, if you’re not good at math, you should give up and demand that the developers remove math from the universe.

Djinn.9245:

And no one likes being forced to do things they are bad at. Especially in games which are supposed to be fun.

Is someone holding a gun to your head when you play GW2? A game is fun based on whatever the user finds fun in it. I find jumping fun. If GW2 had no jumping it would be far less fun to me and I would be far less likely to play it.

Lets make a hypothetical universe. In this universe, GW2 has no jumping. It’s way more fun for you because you aren’t forced to do something you don’t like or are bad at. I, however, love jumping and hate the fact that GW2 has none of it. So I come to the forums and complain about the lack of jumping. What would you say to me?

I play with 20 FPS and got through easily. In matters of FPS, it would be harder when I am below 5 FPS, but still possible as long as I don’t go for the diving goggles (My laptop have 7 fps, pc 20~). If I am having trouble with FPS, then I would have more trouble in combat rather than jumping. But you DO need a good internet in both.

Raenzjar (and others too) if you play on EU servers and haven’t done it yet, I’d be happy to take you through the parts you have a hard time dealing with with my mesmer, I probably can manage the hardest parts such as jumping puzzle too. Just add me in game and pm me if you need.

Don’t you know? GW2 is both!

Ashen.2907:

Customers providing feedback, even complaints, to a business that wants their money is not a, “first world problem,” situation.

Zin.1673:

Anet implemented some innovative gameway concept

Innovative ?

Jumping puzzles is an innovation in the realm of MMOs. In the past, they have had much less focus on environmental interaction of this type.

I believe the true issue here is people stamping “MMO” on GW2 and forcing it to be associated with expectations which limit the possibilities. The more people do this, the less GW2 can be different. People keep stamping their MMO expectations on GW2 instead of letting it try to be different and unique. Genres shouldn’t be like prisons.

I’m about ready to record myself playing the story sections to make note of exactly where you are forced to use an aspect crystal. I can honestly not recall any part that was in any way challenging except the Aerin fight.

GW2 is more “action” and reaction-time focused than other mmo titles. Example: There is the right timing of dodging in fights as a core game mechanic.

I think a person (if it is 40, 50 or 60 years or older) that has the reaction time to drive a car safely has fast enough reactions to play GW2 and it is more an issue of liking, learning and practicing the jumping.

As I am one of the older players myself I did first not like (as an example) the windersday-snowflake jumping and thought the timing/cordination would be impossible to manage, but with practice it worked and was fun.

However, I was not very happy to have the aspect-skills in the LS2-Episode. Because I jumped a lot with the aspect-skills in the last weeks (and first it was fun) until it was not fun anymore. So doing it again now (with a timer) does not increase my fun.

I also think that jumping puzzles are often more “trial and error” and not “player skill based”. Often the camera is weird and you see nothing or see inside of clipping things, or you stand “in the air” and on invisible boxes or hit invisible boxes because the character collides with the invisible environment. I think that should be fixed.

The actual map has 2 (or 3, depends ) aspect-jumps that are required (at the first waypoint). After that you can walk all the way to the second waypoint without jumping. Most of the events in this map can be done without jumping. I do not think that there is too much mandatory jumping in this map.

Greetings.

Shen Slayer.3058:

I agree with OP, I hate these jumping puzzles. I’m a casual gamer with a full time job and 2 kids, and only able to spend a few hours a night on it. I don’t have time and patience for them.

It’s a good thing the jumping puzzles are optional then.

Ashen.2907:

Draknar.5748:

I guess not everyone can learn and adapt the way most people can. Or I guess not everyone is willing to learn and adapt the way most people can may be a more accurate statement.

No one can learn and adapt to everything.

We’re talking about the story instances right? The jumps in those are so ludicrously easy I just… I don’t have the words. Heres a gap. Heres a lightning crystal 2 feet from it. You have 15 seconds to aim a single ground targeted jump skill. If you are too slow, the crystal instantly respawns, you can grab it again any time. If you miss and fall you respawn 2 feet away instantly. My dead grandma could pull that off.

If you’re talking about the actual jumping puzzle, then fine, yes its hard. It’s meant to be hard. Good thing it’s optional. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to reach the diving goggles. You don’t have to go anywhere near the diving goggles to finish the story. Optional.

The only thing they really need to change is the time limit on the crystals. Everything else is fine. The notion that you are forced to jump in this patch and that content is gated behind jumps is insane. The jumps in the story instances are incredibly easy and obvious. The only hard jumps are at the jumping puzzle with the diving goggles, which is ENTIRELY OPTIONAL.

ekimsfree.9406:

This is getting insane…do people seriously feel the few jumps are too difficult??? Please lets this be an elaborate massive trolling thing going on.

It’s not trolling so much as misconception. Honestly I can’t fathom anyone finding the story instance jumps to be that hard. The hard jumps come with the jumping puzzle and the diving goggles. The misconception is that this (the jumping puzzle) is “required” content. It’s not. It’s optional with a couple of achievement points as a reward.

Tommyknocker.6089:

Ok now cover one eye and place a film of hazy glass over the other. While you’re at it have a dial up connection that is prone to lag and DC’s; because for some reason those that are handicapped cannot afford the best. Everyone is different and although I can empathize (kinda a novelty here) with those that say the devs’s should not have to make everything for everyone, as a paid for episode (gems) it behooves them to make it as accessible as possible. I must iterate that adding a second path (combat oriented) for a other players to possibly help him through is IMO not to much to ask here.

Also if you and your ilk are what passes for empathy in this world then I cry for the future of the human species.

Funny you mention those conditions… My brother is 47 years old, has one functioning eye and that one has 3/10 vision because of cataract. On top of that, the only kind of games he plays are point&click or tower defense casual games. He would be quite able to go through this content (albeit with some difficulty, and probably not during the sand storms).

I do know exactly where some of the people on this thread are coming from. I’ve taken care of my father who had multiple strokes for 10 years, and I’m or have been close to other relatives with disabling/debilitating illnesses. Just because I disrespect your lack of willpower and adaptability doesn’t mean I’m not empathic, in fact it’s just the opposite. Allot of the times I’ve found that hard love is what you need to make a person achieve something or better himself (or gather the strength to eat and live one day more).
In my oppinion, pampering and reducing to absolutely lowest common denominator would serve no good to neither those affected by current difficulty nor the rest of the player base.

I love jumping its about time it started playing an important role in game. It’s just a skill like dodging or positioning, you can master it if you give it some time. You should be rewarded for mastering it and punished for failing at it.

I personally really enjoy the jumping aspects… it’s actually one of the things that doesn’t make it just “another MMO among others” because let’s be honest here, the barrier seperating it from being your generic mmo is rather thin at the moment.
I actually wish we had some skills to perform midair too.

I wouldn’t want to be in Anets shoes right now. They have two clear choices, proceed as planned and include the aspect skills, or remove them and redesign 90% of the new area. Guess whats going to happen.. yep. One thing that may help is removing the aspect skill timer, and aspect skill clear if ported. They add nothing, and widen the gap between the players.

If intentional, the skill clear on port is just mean spirited programing. If I try to help some players that could never do it on their own and run out of charges I have to start all over, I can’t drop and recharge then port back. I really hope this was a mistake and not a way of catering to the elitest players whining about not being special because others had help and they didn’t.

I guess at some point Taimi will be sent home, Scruffy can’t use aspect skills so she has to be left behind. “Sorry Squeak, you can’t go. Go home and we’ll send you a post card”.

Interesting, a game with a handicapped central character that ignores, and even penalizes the needs of those players with real handicaps?

The only problem I have with GW2 and jumping, is the horrible camera. It gets stuck in awkward positions a lot and the fact that you cannot zoom into ’first person’ view makes jumps around small spaces feel extremely poorly implemented.

Deim Hunir.8503:

I personally really enjoy the jumping aspects… it’s actually one of the things that doesn’t make it just “another MMO among others” because let’s be honest here, the barrier seperating it from being your generic mmo is rather thin at the moment.
I actually wish we had some skills to perform midair too.

It’s lack of the trinity alone does a good job of differentiating itself. That said I love the jumping element of the game. Dry Top is just a bit frustrating due to the lag the environment puts out. Also whoever made that dive… sadistic SOB lol. “Lets make a tiny pool of water off to the left where they have to go around some of the wreckage. Ok, got it. Ahh that’s too easy, lets add some tree branches to dodge as well. GL everyone!” Rage inducing, but in the end like Liadri one of those things that because of the rage it makes it all the better when you get it. And I’m sure mesmers will be getting a lot of thanks from people for these things

Evon Skyfyre.9673:

Interesting, a game with a handicapped central character that ignores, and even penalizes the needs of those players with real handicaps?

I like how you use this social justice warfare to single out the aspect skills, forgetting about other such penalizing things as:

• Having to move your character.
• Having to use skills in combat.
• Having to utilize the inventory.

All of these can be major problems for some players. Yep.
And? You’d say “They’re normal”, right? :P
So why is the jumping puzzle-y aspect of the aspect skills not normal, especially in GW2, a game which uses vistas and JPs as one of it’s core elements?

The misconception comes from having jumps from the moment you get into the new zone, leading off into the distance. It makes it look like the whole new map will be based on moving with the Zephyrite Aspects. The new map is not completely based on moving with the Zephyrite Aspects, but the way they did that first part makes it look like it will be. An unfortunate design choice.
Add in that many people didn’t like, or weren’t good at, or (for whatever reason) couldn’t do the Zerphyrite stuff, and avoided it when it was introduced and re-introduced earlier. Thus they are not practiced or familiar with this new game mechanic which has been(in their eyes) shoved down their throats, and is now(looking at the intro to the new map) apparently mandatory. It’s a perception problem which could have been largely avoided if they had set up the first part of that new map in a different way. But I still think that jumping platform type stuff should be optional, not required.(Not trying to take this away from the people who enjoy it, just want to keep it from being forced on people who don’t like or can’t do it.)

Freeelancer.2860:

…snip
In my oppinion, pampering and reducing to absolutely lowest common denominator would serve no good to neither those affected by current difficulty nor the rest of the player base.

I don’t think anyone is asking for a handout here nor are they asking to be pampered. However, if you follow the thread, you will see pretty solid proof that many would like to see an alternative to jumping (even if it is difficult combat) in order to progress a paid for story so that disconnects, poor PC’s and disabilities don’t take away the enjoyment of some players.

P.S. I truly hope your father’s health improves.

edit: clarity

The first year the Zephyrite crystals were released, I tried once, failed, and didn’t go back again. I had figured what was the point of beating my head against a wall when there was so much else for me to do/explore. This year when the Zephyrite stuff came back, I was more practiced with game mechanics and decided that I was going to make it to the top no matter what. Turned out I was making the aspects a LOT harder than they needed to be and really ended up enjoying the release this time around.

That said, I enjoy the aspects as a novelty. I understand why they are in this zone, as the Zephyrites have crashed there, but I can also see why people are opposed to having to do this. The big jump puzzle is not required for anything but the dive and the achievement for the jump puzzle. I initially thought (upon arrival in the zone) that it was how to get to the vista as well, but a little wandering proved that wasn’t the case. Once I stopped and looked around, I realized that the map was easy enough to navigate if I just slowed down and stopped trying to rush through everything.

I am hitting the map at between 75-90fps, though, so I can’t speak for anyone with lag issues.

I enjoy the JQ. I enjoy using the aspects sparingly, but I don’t want to see them in loads of future updates. I also hope that somewhere along the season we can see the Zephyrites start to rebuild things and repair their fractured crystals. All of this content would be easier without the time limit, but I understand the story reasons for it being there. Am I in love with it? No, but I have managed to work around it for now. I would have preferred no time limit, though. If I am on my Mesmer, however, I ask if people need ported anywhere because of reading the issues on the forum. I really don’t mind doing it, either.

Carighan.6758:

Evon Skyfyre.9673:

Interesting, a game with a handicapped central character that ignores, and even penalizes the needs of those players with real handicaps?

I like how you use this social justice warfare to single out the aspect skills, forgetting about other such penalizing things as:

• Having to move your character.
• Having to use skills in combat.
• Having to utilize the inventory.

All of these can be major problems for some players. Yep.
And? You’d say “They’re normal”, right? :P
So why is the jumping puzzle-y aspect of the aspect skills not normal, especially in GW2, a game which uses vistas and JPs as one of it’s core elements?

Actually if you read my earlier posts I’m not focusing on or complaining about the use of aspect skills, I’m questioning Anet removing my ability to help others with the aspect skill clear on porting (Mesmer). I realize the game can be a real challenge. I have a friend playing that can only use one hand and has his computer setup to play the game with voice commands, to move etc. I can’t help him get to some points now because of the skill clear on porting. That is what I meant by penalizing.

Amplifiction.8413:

Bread.7516:

No, it’s not an average mmorpg. They explicitly advertised this not to be an average garbage mmorpg.

It’s a big leap from there to forcing content on people that throws out every core mechanic out the window, except for, well, jumping.

it’s an action mmorpg. Pre-release promotional video explicitly says “[gw2] is an action game”.

they’re not forcing content, the jumps which exist in the core release is so little, you’re just being a drama queen.

re: it’s ANet’s fault that you have latency, not the ISP’s or anything – As a maker of a game that is to be played over the internet, Anet should factor in poorer quality internet connections when designing content, so they don’t restrict their client base. Not everyone has access a good internet connection. It’s no one’s fault, really. But overall it’s the game designer’s responsibility to make sure that a good cross-section of customers can properly play their games.

Having to move your character, use skills, and utilize inventory are all standard aspects of a high fantasy MMO, which is what Guild Wars 2 is advertized as. It is not, and has not been represented as a platform or other type of jumping game. So heavy, required jumping is not what buyers of a high fantasy MMO would expect. I’m all for optional jumping, there are a lot of people who really like it. But this is a high fantasy MMO, the sequel to a high fantasy multi-player game, which had no jumping mechanic. People are not buying this with the expectation of being required to do a lot of precision jumping.(That would be what they would expect if they bought a platformer jumping game.) Plus, the way that the staring area of the new map is set up makes it appear that jumping will be a heavy requirement for the whole map.(A Zephyrite crystal a few feet from the WP, with jumps leading off into the distance, and no other possible way to progress.) So people who can’t, or have difficulty with, or don’t enjoy, jumping will think “If this is all there is, there’s no need for me to continue.” and stop there, feeling disappointed that the new content seems to be “not for them”.

I can’t jump worth a darn, but I didn’t find this difficult. The optional jumping parts I have problems with, but for the storyline, no problem.

Hey guys! Guess what! I’ve got new information that means you no longer have to be concerned over the jumping in the new map!

Ready for it? Here is is.

It’s not hard. Period.

You use your skill buttons, not even the space bar. So if you complain about the jumping you might as well complain about fighting too. Can’t hit 1 to jump? Then you can’t hit 1 to attack. Can’t hit 2 to dash forward? Then you have a problem because that makes two buttons you can’t hit. Can’t hit 3 to trigger a ground targeted skill? Then you can’t hit any button to use a ground targeted skill, and I doubt anyone can really get by with only attacking enemies using only skills 4 and 5.

Really though, how easy do they have to make it to make people not complain? Go back to GW1 with no jumping at all? The only part that is remotely difficult is getting up to the chest and diving goggles, which is optional content. Yes the diving goggles give achievement points, but guess what. Achievement points are optional.

I guess we’re seeing our entitled generation has grown up and made their way into the games. Get a reward for everything even if you fail? I guess you’re entitled to those achievement points without working towards it, huh? Some stuff is supposed to be more difficult to get. I can count the number of clicks it takes to get to most of the content in Dry Top.

You have a sun dash to get through the falling sand. You have a lightning pull to get to the rock, another to get across to the air crystal, you have three air jumps to get up, and you’re done. That’s all you need to do to play most of the content. Need to get over to the west side? There’s three more air jumps, all while pressing forward on the side of a cliff. Not even three, you could do two and walk around. Want to get to the north side at the town? There’s an extra sun dash. Want to get to the top to do your story? Add in one lightning pull, and four air jumps. In the Inquest cave? One lightning pull to get across. Froggy? Three air jumps and two lightning pulls. And lastly, your story instance that’s on the west side, one air jump.

That is it. Grand total of:

13x Air Jump
2x Sun Dash
6x Lightning Pull

You have to press a button 21 times to get to ALL of the content on the map, minus a chest and diving goggles which supposed to be an achievement and the lost coins, also an achievement.

21.

nothing beats a good old jump puzzle. Having enjoyed the time to calculate the jump to visit everything.

Aspects are fun, like to the thing of etherlames … but …. a huge puzzle like jumping area, but the ancinne … Whoa, it would be cool to spend the day.

I would like to see some instanced content that uses a mix of fights and jps, something like Prince of Persia (2008), no trash mobs, just jumping and few fights with (possibly hard) bosses (with a decent reward at the end).
Maybe it could come in the form of dungeon path. Not asking for the whole game being build around jps, because some hate them, but some fun use of them in an facultative, but challanging new content.

Evon Skyfyre.9673:

redesign 90% of the new area.

Overstatement. Fixing the zone would be putting in literally 4 bridges and 3 ramps.

Ohgods, this topic got its own feedback thread? /facepalm

As it is, I find myself annoyed by the Zephyrite method of moving around, and much moreso on a 15 second timer.
And it’s still “little ledges / big characters” that’s a huge problem in some spots.
And of course, camera. Why the camera hates us so much is a total mystery.

Elden Arnaas.4870:

Thanks for the input guys. Please don’t let this get personal. I think we can all appreciate Nageth’s point that jumping and a 3rd dimension are part of GW2. But we can also see Spoofy’s point (and mine) that jumping has not been(and IMO shouldn’t be) required for progression in a mainstream part of the game like Living Story. Until now.

It’s not required. You can just sit back and wait for your recap while you refuse to learn to do content.

It is pretty sad that this is going to be turned into another Mad Kings Clocktower where people who cannot complain until Anet changes it and even post change you still wont do it. It has nothing to deal with the games progress and everything with not wanting to adapt.

My thanks to the people who have expressed their opinions respctfully.(whether you agree or disagree with me)

One thing that I think is really unfortunate is the intro part of the new zone. The way it’s set up, with a Zephyrtie crystal a few feet from the way point, and jumps recending off into he distance, with no other way to continue. It makes it appear that jumping will be heavily required throughout the whole zone.(Which is not the case.) But to someone who finds jumping hard, or unenjoyable, and who has also probably avoided the Zephyrite stuff in the past(and is therefore unpracticed with it) this is just the kiss of death for this new zone.(and therfore all of Living Story Season 2) It leads us to (wrongly) think “Well, all there is here is stuff that’s not for me.” Which is not true, but is an understandable misperception given how the new map starts out. I’m sure this was not intended by Anet. And I’m sure that they don’t want to restrict their player base for LSS2. IMO is was just unfortunate the way it all worked out here at the beginning of Living Story Season 2.

People who have diifculty jumping or don’t enjoy jumping, this does not necesarily lock you out of LSS2. Reaching the NPC’s and doing the first couple of segements of the story is only a dozen jumps or so.(I did manage to get through.) And at some points Kasmeer can use mesmer portals.(Which last as long as that particular story instance. I fell once and was able to get back to the place I was, using Kasmeer’s portal, as it was still up.) I got through to the second WP and the town, and can now continue to the rest of the map when it opens up.
So if you want to continue into LSS2, please try again. Someone has been kind enough to type up a very useful set of Zephyrite jumping tips. They’re linked earlier in the thread, but I’ll link them again for your convenience:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/s2/Why-is-LS-S2-only-for-people-who-can-jump/4163987
(Could a forum moderator or administrator please sticky these at the top area of the Living Story Season 2 forum?)

And once again please let me say that I don’t want jumping, or Zephyrite Aspects taken out of GW2. But I do wish that they wouldn’t be required to progress in mainstream content. Jumping and Zephyrite jumping aren’t for everyone, and I hate to see Anet doing something that alienates some of their player base.

The jumps can be really hard if you don’t live in a good connection area and have a lot of lag. There is a distinct pause between hitting the skill and the skill going off. Since the time you get to use a crystal is restricted, this pause between each jump really adds to the difficulty, and not in a good way. I would ask that the timers be either removed or the time allowed increased.

I tried for some time over 2 days to reach one coin on a 4 step jump. Each time, I could only get to jump 3 when the timer would run out as lag was eating up the time allowed.

We have a guild mate that has issues jumping. So we use a Mesmer to port through jumping puzzles. Also it is great fun.

Tommyknocker.6089:

I don’t think anyone is asking for a handout here nor are they asking to be pampered. However, if you follow the thread, you will see pretty solid proof that many would like to see an alternative to jumping (even if it is difficult combat) in order to progress a paid for story so that disconnects, poor PC’s and disabilities don’t take away the enjoyment of some players.

P.S. I truly hope your father’s health improves.

edit: clarity

And on the other side of the argument we have the fact that there are only a couple of necessary jumps and that for each one of them the ONLY requirement is to press “1” followed by “forward” during a 15-30 seconds window. There is literary no excuse not to be able to do such a simple task for anyone who is already able to play GW2 in the first place.
I appreciate the fact that some people dislike jumping/jumping puzzles, have terrible internet or have issues with hand-eye coordination, short term memory, muscle reflexes, object recognition or anything else outside of their power that could hamper their progress… But if one is able to type in replies on this thread, one is able to do the bare minimum of jumping required for completing Living Story, and that is the only thing that counts.

OT: He unfortunately died 3 years ago, but thanks for your kind wishes.

My only gripe with the expansion is the REQUIREMENT for jumping initially. I hate jumping puzzles so much, I almost gave up on this new Zone and even considered dumping GW2 all together.

Again, I absolutely hate obligatory jumping games. Optional platforming is fine and good; shoving it down my throat like this sucks.

Other than the jumping, I loved this new material.

Erick Alastor.3917:

I would like to see some instanced content that uses a mix of fights and jps, something like Prince of Persia (2008), no trash mobs, just jumping and few fights with (possibly hard) bosses (with a decent reward at the end).
Maybe it could come in the form of dungeon path. Not asking for the whole game being build around jps, because some hate them, but some fun use of them in an facultative, but challanging new content.

Ironic you mention PoP08, considering I was talking with somebody a few seconds ago about how the music of Dry Top reminds me of the game. I suddenly want some desert outfits so we can wear them while doing the JP in a sandstorm.

re: It’s not required. – To get to the NPC’s, and do the first couple of story instances, yes, it is required.(but doable for a lot of us) It’s also required to get to the second way point and effectively “open up” the zone.(Why didn’t they make a waypoint in the middle somewhere. That was also discouraging, knowing that if I died anywhere in that middle area, I would have to start at the beginning.)

re: It is pretty sad that this is going to be turned into another Mad King’s Clocktower – Mad King’s Clocktower was an optional, festial event. I could(and did) participate in the Halloween festivals without being required to do the Mad King’s Clocktower. But Zephyrite jumping is required to progress into the Second Season of Living Story, and to open up the new zone.(see above)
Thus sucessful Zephyrite jumping is required in this case. To progress in what has been represented as mainstream content.(As opposed to hard core content, which would be understandable.

Jumping and Zephyrite Aspects aren’t for everyone. Please include them for those who like them. But please have them be optional, so that no one is required to do them.

Tommyknocker.6089:

I don’t think anyone is asking for a handout here nor are they asking to be pampered. However, if you follow the thread, you will see pretty solid proof that many would like to see an alternative to jumping (even if it is difficult combat) in order to progress a paid for story so that disconnects, poor PC’s and disabilities don’t take away the enjoyment of some players.

In general I would agree with the criticism but at the same time I feel ANet did their best to make it as easy (and thus accessible) as possible. The cliffs were a lot harder to traverse (especially the first time around when they didn’t even have safety nets in certain places) and in general a lot of the gameplay already requires a minimum of coordination skills that apparently are not a problem for many critics here – so admittedly I have a hard time to understand the complaints when difficult combat is no problem yet a handful of ridiculously easy jumps are somehow becoming an enormous hurdle.

Just to make that clear:
- there are barely any enemies in that area so you (general you) can take your time to plan your jumps
- yes, the timer is annoying but at the same time -except for the JP at the very top- they don’t require you to make a gazillion jumps in 15sec but merely one or two
- they basically provide a new aspect fragment for every jump you have to do so there’s really no need to panic
- when you see an aspect fragment what you do is look around, plan your jump, then grab the fragment, then you jump and bob’s your uncle
- I give you that the map might be hard to navigate at first simply because you don’t know where you have to go (well, at least that happened to me) – but once you get familiar with the terrain you’ll see it’s really just a handful of jumps and not at all like a platform jump’n’run or whatever, not even like a JP by GW2 standards – in fact I’ve seen more difficult vistas in the game!

Now, if you have technical difficulties because your computer can’t handle the workload or your internet connection is pretty bad or just general patch-day madness then yes, that is pretty annoying and you have my sympathy. I also understand when you think the boss battle was a bit annoying because of the aspects. But in terms of general accessibility I don’t think the aspect jumping in itself makes it any harder for anyone to participate in S2.