Guild Wars 2

When I play my thief with level 80 exotics in spvp versus level 10 weapons, it feels different.

Placebo?

… Nope, it shouldn’t act as a placebo since you’ve been told that equipment level and rarity doesn’t make a difference. And they definitely don’t make a difference.

If you are looking for a game that you can gear grind and beat people in PvP just by having better gear, play WoW.

In medical tests/studies, a placebo is something that a certain group of test subjects are told is the same as the actual drug, to see whether or not the drug helps the other half any more than the sugar pill.

If the scientists or test adminstrators told the test group “this is a placebo”, how could it possibly be a placebo?

Also, if you don’t believe that white gear is the same as exotic gear in PvP, you can use the golems to test whether a level 2 in white gear does the same damage/healing as a level 80 in exotic/ascended gear. It’s exactly the same.

My issue is with your statement:

“If you are looking for a game that you can gear grind and beat people in PvP just by having better gear, play WoW.”

Brian.1025:

My issue is with your statement:

“If you are looking for a game that you can gear grind and beat people in PvP just by having better gear, play WoW.”

Why do you take issue with that? It’s the truth, and many MMO players like their progress in game to have an effect upon their effectiveness both in PvE and PvP.

Some people don’t like the fact that PvP in Guild Wars 2 is a level playing field, and it’s understandable given the history of MMO games and the kind of progression they typically have.

Your post implies that you either don’t really believe, or don’t want to believe that having higher level gear makes no difference on PvP performance. I don’t see how suggesting a game in which higher level gear does make a difference makes me a “kitten”.

This thread has gotten off topic, and the question has been answered.

That being said I still feel the need to reply. This boys and girls is why people don’t feel welcome on forums in general. Unless people specify every little detail and write a nice big essay, or make short handed loaded comments that are clearly not supposed to be replied to people always assume the negative connotation and turn it on the poster.

In this case Brian never specified in any way that he had the desired or wanted, only that there was something he observed. It is general knowledge that the majority of the Guild Wars 2 community looks down on gear treadmills in PvP. To then put that on a player and to say “play X” even with a “If you want” preceding it, it attaches a negative that has nothing to do with the initial question.

So either you are baiting him intentionally, don’t realize what you said, or are just implying the worst for no reason. Either way we need less of this.

More on topic:
I personally haven’t noticed anything, I don’t typically compare combat logs often unless I see something dramatic but yeah not really seeing any changes. A thing I’ve seen however was players forgetting to change builds between toons of the same profession, I myself have forgotten from time to time after extended breaks from play. May be beneficial to double check if you haven’t already thought of that.

infantrydiv.1620:

… Nope, it shouldn’t act as a placebo since you’ve been told that equipment level and rarity doesn’t make a difference. And they definitely don’t make a difference.

If you are looking for a game that you can gear grind and beat people in PvP just by having better gear, play WoW.

He never said he wanted a game with a gear grind, he only shared his observation that it feels different when he plays in exotic gear.

You have ruled out a “real effect of armor”, as well as a “believed effect of armor” (placebo), but what does that leave? Maybe the perceived efficacy of the character somehow influences the player? This is a role-playing game, after all, in which the player assumes the role of the character, so maybe this is not that far fetched an idea. And there are actually cases that show effects of placebo even when patients know it’s placebo (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015591).

Thank you to @daishi and @xaros

Well he did ask a question even though he knew the answer could be placebo effect, but knowing it could be placebo effect should nullify his question entirely. It really wasn’t a very good question.

Well, just like getting a haircut and putting on some nice clothes can make you feel more confident when going on a date or a job interview, maybe wearing exotics make you more confident when playing PvP? :P

Could be, not is, nexed; and god forbid someone asks a simple question without getting attacked lol.

Level 80 gear might look prettier. Hence you get an ego boost which can improve your gameplay.