Guild Wars 2

[Moderated: Please refrain from threatening other players with the report function.]

I’m not trying to be funny: What is ascended gear, and why is there a big bruahaha about it?

All I want is simple technical answers. I previously asked what was “max armor” and “max weapons”. I was directed to some guys selling stuff in the south-central area of Lion’s Arch. Well, that was incorrect, because I’m wearing armor that’s better than what they sold. So, my question has returned.

What is “max” armor? Where do you get it, and how?

Ever heard of a wiki?

Or…I don’t know…a forum search?

Why do we need to educate you? 99% of the threads over the last week have been about ascended gear. If you have no idea what it is, you’re either being lazy or intentionally obtuse.

Those people are actually correct; they were pointing out the dungeon vendors who do sell max gear.

But they won’t be max anymore soon, Ascended gear is a new tier of gear that is better than exotic gear. You can only get it in the FotM dungeon.

Ascended gear is a new tier (above exotic, currently only rings and backslot) available, that is made solely for the new pve dungeon.

+30 ish stat points increase to exotic
- Lots of effort to obtain

Yes. That’s all it is. Now shake your head and face-palm as I am at this very moment.

For your other question, look on the trading place for exotic gear.

Daddicus.6128:

If you write trash posts here or use this as a sounding board for any real or imagined slights by others or the game, I will ignore you. Unless you keep doing it, in which I will report you.

I’m not trying to be funny: What is ascended gear, and why is there a big bruahaha about it?

All I want is simple technical answers. I previously asked what was “max armor” and “max weapons”. I was directed to some guys selling stuff in the south-central area of Lion’s Arch. Well, that was incorrect, because I’m wearing armor that’s better than what they sold. So, my question has returned.

What is “max” armor? Where do you get it, and how?

Ascended Gear is a new tier of gear introduced in the recent Lost Shores patch. It is statistically superior to Exotic gear and statistically equivalent to Legendary gear, but easier to acquire. Ascended gear is available primarily through the new dungeon, “Fractals of the Mist,” and facilitates progressively deeper exploration of this dungeon. Linsey Murdock’s blog, available here, describes Ascended gear in more detail.

The controversy surrounding Ascended gear is complicated, and in order to understand it, it’s important to understand the ArenaNet Manifesto and what it means to some players. The Manifesto is a mission statement which describes a game that eschews the traditional gear grind and distinguishes rare gear not by stronger stats but by rarer and more impressive appearances. Opponents of Ascended gear argue that adding a new gear violates the principle of Horizontal Progression, in which newly introduced gear is statistically equivalent to the best gear in the game, but differs in appearance or rarity. They believe that violating the Manifesto damages ArenaNet’s credibility, and violates the trust players have cultivated with the company. Many players also believe that introducing new game mechanics that go against the company’s mission statement constitutes false advertising.

ArenaNet maintains that Ascended Gear does not introduce a gear treadmill, but instead serves as a bridge in the gap between Exotic and Legendary gear, in which Exotic gear was relatively easy to acquire, but Legendary gear was incredibly time consuming. The Ascended Gear tier was therefore introduced to give players something to pursue without hitting what ArenaNet calls the “Legendary Wall”—or an abrupt and prohibitively steep cost in the next “tier” of gear.

Critics of Chris Whiteside’s response point out that a bridge between Exotic and Legendary gear need not have necessitated a new tier of stats as, previously, Legendary gear and Exotic gear shared the same stats. ArenaNet has not commented with any new information since Mr. Whiteside’s response, and therefore the dialogue has come to an impasse.

That’s a basic summary of the core of the controversy, from my POV. I tried to be pretty objective about it. Let me know if I missed anything important.

Thanks Derk, Razarei, and Eveningstar! Very good summaries.

Thank you Fozzik. In my defense, I did check the wiki, but it didn’t explain the flame-fest on the forum. And, I was confused because I couldn’t find a table that showed the relative differences between them. I’m sure that was simply a product of the timing: It had only been 2 days since Lost Shores completed. I’m guessing the pages are continuously being updated and are probably more detailed even as I write this.

Derk: Maybe I’m remembering incorrectly (I don’t have the game open right now), but when I went to those vendors, one of my armor pieces had superior armor level to the same piece (chest armor) that was there. I could have misinterpreted it, however, and so will check again next time I’m in LA. (FYI, I got the chest piece I referred to from a Karma merchant after finishing a monstrous event at a temple of Lyssa somewhere in the endgame areas.)

Thank you all for your replies!