Guild Wars 2

It looks like the next patch will introduce armour better than exotics called Ascended that will require dungeon grinding to obtain. This armour will have a slot for upgrades.

According to mmorpg.com:

Speaking of rewards, the Fractals of the Mist Dungeon will introduce the new ‘Ascended’ item type. This type is a bit more powerful than the Exotic quality items currently found in the game. There will only be a couple of Ascended quality items available initially, but some of the rarer Ascended items will also feature a new Infusion slot that will make players even more powerful so that they can tackle new challenges that ArenaNet plans to throw at them as they continue to expand on the dungeon over the coming months and years.

The big unanswered question here is if Ascended armour is wearable in WvW? If so, will WvW’ers be required to PvE dungeon grind to acquire it?

I hope not, I absolutely hate dungeons. I played GW1 for the PvP and I play GW2 for the PvP. If they plan to introduce higher tier items than exotics that will be usable in WvW, I hope they make a way to obtain the same tier items through another means such as badges.

Until we get an actual legit post from Anet on this we know nothing. I am inclined to think it’ll just be a reworking of the GW1 armor system.

Another dungeon misanthrope here. I would not be jumping up and down if I were forced into dungeons. I can do those in that other game and I’m not in that other game by choice. Let me make this completely clear – Dungeons are non-dynamic instance based content that is predictable. W3 is dynamic, ever changing group group strengths and weaknesses that are completely unpredictable (players). Players don’t play by scripts and never will, that’s the appeal, sometimes they spawn 2 adds, sometimes 25 adds. :P

The bigger question is why do we have to learn new information from every outlet except the main site. Can we get press releases before other companies can post information. I can’t watch the twitter, facebook,reddit, and every gaming site on the continent just to get information when I come to the official forum where it should be – first.

Very important question. If its usable in pvp then we have to PvE?

A set for karma would be a fine idea.

they better raise those badge exchanged gears to ascended. otherwise there will be no queue after reset this friday.

What? Isn’t this against the entire design philosophy? I am here playing GW2 because I expect there to be ZERO gear treadmill. If this happens, it’s a slippery slope and GW2 looses it’s unique appeal.

Xyanide.8650:

they better raise those badge exchanged gears to ascended. otherwise there will be no queue after reset this friday.

Not to mention adding the craftable versions.

Not a fan of this, I like WvW and I like playing different chararacters there bassed on what is needed, Higher tier gear means Ill have to get even more gear, especially if its obtainable only from dungeons.

If I can purchase it karma or tokens its not so bad but still….dont really feel we need these items, why not add more different skins or something? basically the few times I do dungeons is because of that.

People in the merge thread are saying anet twitter posts hint that this is a huge misunderstanding by the gaming sites or something?

Let’s not jump to conclusions gents. Let’s wait and see what’s actually in store for us. Then we can decide if it’s worth as much complaint as it’s already got.

I doubt said Ascended Gear would be THAT much better than level 80 exotics. Well I hope so anyway.

supposedly its at the same level as Legendary weapons, just Ascended is what the name is for the armor. Of course until Anet lays it out clearly it will all be speculative.

BTW Legendary weapons take Badges of honor too so it wouldn’t be any different then having a legendary weapon in WvW

I for one would welcome these changes, IF they aren’t too easy to obtain.
This game throws top tier gear at you, and it doesn’t feel that rewarding to walk around with it. For the wvw purists … well, you can still just use the exotics, nobody is forcing you to grind since exotics won’t be much worse according to mmorpg.com.
And why this info isn’t anywhere to be found here is just beyond logic, unless it’s false…

Actually, by reading that quote in OP, it sounds like this new gear will be exclusively for this new dungeon. May be wishful thinking though.

And quit raging people. Just wait for the 15th, and speak up then if bad things come to be.

Make similar items available through WvW – make sure the time required to obtain is similar in scope and you should have no problems.

KinkyWarrior.1879:

I doubt said Ascended Gear would be THAT much better than level 80 exotics. Well I hope so anyway.

If it is better at all STAT wise (aesthetics, I hope they add more variety), then yes it matters to a large group of players. Like size, stats matter.

Stiv.1820:

People in the merge thread are saying anet twitter posts hint that this is a huge misunderstanding by the gaming sites or something?

I wish they’d come out and actually say something then..

Kratic.8763:

supposedly its at the same level as Legendary weapons, just Ascended is what the name is for the armor. Of course until Anet lays it out clearly it will all be speculative.

Legendaries are the same level as exotic.

they dont need to say something. just wait 3 days.

honestly if it is anything like GW1 armor, then none of you have anything to worry about.

I play the game as a whole, you are ether kidding yourself, ultra kitten in WvW, or play one of the few classes the do well with badge only gear. To those of you who said they play this game for (insert specification), well news flash the devs make and facilitate the game how they think will be enjoyable by the majority, not how YOU expect the game should be, your 60 bux doesn’t have that much buying power.

Gear progression is something I look forward too, and its not even remotely hard to get in any aspect of this game, you might not have it day one but give it a week or two and casuals will be back on par with hardcores in terms of gear.

If this has any impact on WvW and we get no way to obtain it outside of dungeons, then they might lose a whole lot of people.

Hopefully this is just gear you can use in instances/pve, which still isnt good, because then you will get the elitist kind of people in random pugs and its WoW all over again.

The idea behind GW2 as far as I can remember reading was that there would be no threadmills that were mandatory.

An official blog post has gone up on this.

A gear grind is coming to GW2, and since it is applicable to PvE, we have to assume it will operate in WvW.

Ascended gear will be slightly better than exotic. It will also have upgrades pre-slotted. (Both the basic stats and the upgrades are slightly better). The blog does not say you have to grind dungeons for Ascended gear.

Ascended gear will also have a new slot called Infusions. Certain types of Infusions are needed for harder dungeon mobs. No word if infusions themselves are applicable to WvW.

I left two previous Realm vs Realm games when gear grinds necessary for PvP were introduced. I was hoping it wouldn’t happen to GW2, but I guess it’s the genre. They can’t avoid it. Though we’ll have to wait and see how bad it is.

If it is truly bad, this will probably be my last MMO.

EDIT: Actually, the blog says Ascended Rings come from the dungeon, back pieces from the Mystic Forge. Looks WvW’ers will have to grind dungeons.

if the infusions only affect pve then you won’t have to.

Syphen.1980:

if the infusions only affect pve then you won’t have to.

Assuming the stats are the same. If they are better at all, WvW needs to have a similar & equal option.

Anyone ever play LOTRO? Agony sounds very similar to dread and infusions are like radiance. Luckily they got smart in that game and removed dread and radiance because of the pointless gating mechanism, not sure why Anet thinks it’s a good idea.

The stats are the same for the most part, maybe a little better from the looks of the blog. The buffs you would normally get from slots are built in. Which means you can’t put runes in it like normal armor.

Ascended are definitely better than exotics, multiply that by the number of armors and that can be a huge advantage, I for one welcome the gear grind overlord

Can people read the kitten official post at the moment its rings and backpiece.

Backpiece comes from mystic forge which is open to all and if +2 in some stats on 2 rings make a difference you are not organised properly.

Gisei.5749:

Actually, by reading that quote in OP, it sounds like this new gear will be exclusively for this new dungeon. May be wishful thinking though.

And quit raging people. Just wait for the 15th, and speak up then if bad things come to be.

it is.

no one has realized this yet, apparently:

ascended gear can’t be slotted with runes or sigils.

are you going to give up rune benefits for an extra couple stat points? i won’t.

Orbs had far bigger impact, people whining about these stat increases aren’t thinking clearly.

nvmvoidrays.2158:

Gisei.5749:

Actually, by reading that quote in OP, it sounds like this new gear will be exclusively for this new dungeon. May be wishful thinking though.

And quit raging people. Just wait for the 15th, and speak up then if bad things come to be.

it is.

no one has realized this yet, apparently:

ascended gear can’t be slotted with runes or sigils.

are you going to give up rune benefits for an extra couple stat points? i won’t.

This exactly. Look at the stats given by the new Ascended gear in the image below. At first glance this appears to be a considerable upgrade from Exotic gear, but once you factor in that the slot on the Ascended gear cannot have Jewels, Runes or Sigils on it it is actually only a difference of 5 points in Power and Precision (less than 1% crit chance different) from Exotic gear assuming the infusion slot does not carry stats with it. From the sound of the blog post the infusion slot is to deal specifically with Agony, or monsters that cause Agony, which implies that they won’t carry excessive stats. If this is the case the stat upgrade is extremely minor, and when compared to what you are losing in customization it may well not be worth it to upgrade for WvW.

Additionally, it’s been confirmed that this new tier of items can be crafted in the mystic forge, which is present in WvW. If you really want the stat upgrade you can upgrade using the mystic forges located in SMC and the Garrison in each of the borderlands. .

Yeah, it’s meant for pve dungeon affects. You need the slots the ascended gear has to add items that help minimize the damage you take from specific status effects only relevant to dungeons. In other words, it won’t be needed in WvW at all.

Also, as mentioned, it can’t be slotted with runes and sigils. If the stats on the gear you saw look better than the regular gear, it’s only because of what “rune” was added to the piece. It shouldn’t be any better than exotic gear aside from the slot with the status effect nullifier and if it is I’m sure they’ll readjust it so it isn’t. The gear doesn’t allow you to mix and match or replace runes either, so in that way exotics might still be better for WvW in some regards depending on how you mix your stats.

Chill out, y’all.

Enenion.8127:

nvmvoidrays.2158:

Gisei.5749:

Actually, by reading that quote in OP, it sounds like this new gear will be exclusively for this new dungeon. May be wishful thinking though.

And quit raging people. Just wait for the 15th, and speak up then if bad things come to be.

it is.

no one has realized this yet, apparently:

ascended gear can’t be slotted with runes or sigils.

are you going to give up rune benefits for an extra couple stat points? i won’t.

This exactly. Look at the stats given by the new Ascended gear in the image below. At first glance this appears to be a considerable upgrade from Exotic gear, but once you factor in that the slot on the Ascended gear cannot have Jewels, Runes or Sigils on it it is actually only a difference of 5 points in Power and Precision (less than 1% crit chance different) from Exotic gear assuming the infusion slot does not carry stats with it. From the sound of the blog post the infusion slot is to deal specifically with Agony, or monsters that cause Agony, which implies that they won’t carry excessive stats. If this is the case the stat upgrade is extremely minor, and when compared to what you are losing in customization it may well not be worth it to upgrade for WvW.

Additionally, it’s been confirmed that this new tier of items can be crafted in the mystic forge, which is present in WvW. If you really want the stat upgrade you can upgrade using the mystic forges located in SMC and the Garrison in each of the borderlands. .

Where does it say Ascended armour won’t have slots for Runes, or Ascended weapons won’t take sigils?

That screenshot is of a Trinket. Trinkets take neither runes nor sigils.

We just don’t know whether Ascended armour will take runes or weapons, sigils. I assume they will in some way though.

Also, only the back piece is confirmed as craftable through the Forge. The blog appears to say the Ring is only dropped in the dungeon. No word on how to get the other gear.

This is just Land of the Dead all over again (Warhammers first (and last) content update)..
An update that forced rvr (wvw) players to do pve dungeons to stay competitive in pvp..
:(

Laef.4519:

This is just Land of the Dead all over again (Warhammers first (and last) content update)..
An update that forced rvr (wvw) players to do pve dungeons to stay competitive in pvp..
:(

Riiight give up runes and sigils for a few points more stats. I know I will jump all over that. I wouldn’t jump to conclusions untill you actualy see the stuff.

Enenion.8127:

nvmvoidrays.2158:

Gisei.5749:

Actually, by reading that quote in OP, it sounds like this new gear will be exclusively for this new dungeon. May be wishful thinking though.

And quit raging people. Just wait for the 15th, and speak up then if bad things come to be.

it is.

no one has realized this yet, apparently:

ascended gear can’t be slotted with runes or sigils.

are you going to give up rune benefits for an extra couple stat points? i won’t.

This exactly. Look at the stats given by the new Ascended gear in the image below. At first glance this appears to be a considerable upgrade from Exotic gear, but once you factor in that the slot on the Ascended gear cannot have Jewels, Runes or Sigils on it it is actually only a difference of 5 points in Power and Precision (less than 1% crit chance different) from Exotic gear assuming the infusion slot does not carry stats with it. From the sound of the blog post the infusion slot is to deal specifically with Agony, or monsters that cause Agony, which implies that they won’t carry excessive stats. If this is the case the stat upgrade is extremely minor, and when compared to what you are losing in customization it may well not be worth it to upgrade for WvW.

Additionally, it’s been confirmed that this new tier of items can be crafted in the mystic forge, which is present in WvW. If you really want the stat upgrade you can upgrade using the mystic forges located in SMC and the Garrison in each of the borderlands. .

Please look at the stats again. Total Power/Prec/etc isnt important. It is the 10% magic find that bothers me. Thats 3% more so a Berserk ring would have 10% crit dmg. Usually the amulet have more “%” stat on it so you’re talking about a 20%+ more to crit dmg with rings/earrings/amulet/back combine.

Most people like to max/min and a 20% additional crit dmg is hard to pass by…

This is assuming prec/crit stats will be part of the ascended gear.

Syphen.1980:

Laef.4519:

This is just Land of the Dead all over again (Warhammers first (and last) content update)..
An update that forced rvr (wvw) players to do pve dungeons to stay competitive in pvp..
:(

Riiight give up runes and sigils for a few points more stats. I know I will jump all over that. I wouldn’t jump to conclusions untill you actualy see the stuff.

Maybe this set isn’t appealing but the next one will be.
The progression is what concerns people because it’s a quick pace, we are just a few mos. into the game now.

Of course, no one wants the game to be stagnant but regular PVE upgrades to gear will have to be caught up with by W3 players at some point because we come into W3 with PVE gear from doing PVE to get to 80. None of us came in naked for W3 so once the gap becomes large enough, yes we might have to come out to PVE but how often that happens will be a concern.

If we feel like we are letting down our server and the W3 matches all derank us because we are losing people all the time so they can PVE just to stay competitive, that then becomes manpower shortages of skilled players because they must leave.

Would you want to hit T1 for the first time in your server’s existence to find out next patch is going to put such a gap in parity that you have to upgrade your gear stats with new PVE gear just to fight the casuals that come in for their monthly? It could happen if you keep saying – I’ll do it next time, I’ll upgrade next time because you abhor doing the dungeons and it’s just a few stats? By the time you do go to do the dungeons no one will want to group with you because you don’t know them, you haven’t been learning them since day 1, you are dead weight that needs to be carried in their eyes.

I already now see ppl asking for dungeon runs in our Lion’s Arch with stipulations, no explore mode, must know x fight, they are already starting that “don’t come if you don’t play dungeons full-time” junk. Fortunately for them, they can’t be excluded from W3 unless there is a server queue, there is no test to pass to get in and no one questioning whether they belong or not. These are probably the ppl still taking supply from towers.

I’m still wearing PVE green gear I bought off the trading post at 80 because I rarely saw light gear drop for me and it was never a set.

Gear for PVP must come from these sources to be gained there, karma, badges, cash. Dungeon running doesn’t fit anything you do in PVP, that’s why ppl are concerned.

Here’s another thought, will deaths in W3 become more expensive with higher lvl gear on – are the events then up for any tweaks on their rewards over time?
If only one side is massaged and the other left dormant then someone is going to end up with an achy back.

How about time investment. If you expect the content to keep PVE players occupied, how do you expect a PVP person to squeeze in their tasks along with trying to defend their server regularly. I’m sure these won’t be something you earn in one day. Who can even take one day off W3 tho, our people took a day off for halloween and we got told that our server likes candy more than PVP.

https://d2vn94glaxzkz3.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ascended-EN.png

Yeah, the gear grind is coming. I am extremely pissed off about this. Everything else I could look passed and wait out for fixes….this has me considering just quitting now.

Laef.4519:

This is just Land of the Dead all over again (Warhammers first (and last) content update)..
An update that forced rvr (wvw) players to do pve dungeons to stay competitive in pvp..
:(

God I remember that stupid kitten, I quit the game.

The new ascended armour will be wearable in WvW.

ALso do not fear the new armour, its only a minor bump up.

Fuzzion.2504:

The new ascended armour will be wearable in WvW.

ALso do not fear the new armour, its only a minor bump up.

Its actually rather significant, especially if you factor the stat differences for a full set.

So, when does The Elder Scrolls Online come out?

Fuzzion.2504:

The new ascended armour will be wearable in WvW.

ALso do not fear the new armour, its only a minor bump up.

Extra 5 on precision and power for 1 item. Extend it to full armor and jewelry and its an extra 55, thats significant.

Plus the extra 7% magic find.

morrolan.9608:

Fuzzion.2504:

The new ascended armour will be wearable in WvW.

ALso do not fear the new armour, its only a minor bump up.

Extra 5 on precision and power for 1 item. Extend it to full armor and jewelry and its an extra 55, thats significant.

Plus the extra 7% magic find.

it is not extra 7% mf. u have to realize there’s no normal slot for crest/jewel, so the equvalent stats added to itself make it 10% magic find. the only slot is defensive infusion, pretty sure nothing to do with extra magic find or critical damage. so each trinket gives another 3% mf at most where as 18% or 21% more magic find if u have 6 or 7 (7 counts on “back”). not sure how they do with critical damage. if each trinket have 2% more, it is quite imba to have 10% to 12% critical damage total. that is the significant part of ascended trinkets.

Thrumdi.9216:

Enenion.8127:

This exactly. Look at the stats given by the new Ascended gear in the image below. At first glance this appears to be a considerable upgrade from Exotic gear, but once you factor in that the slot on the Ascended gear cannot have Jewels, Runes or Sigils on it it is actually only a difference of 5 points in Power and Precision (less than 1% crit chance different) from Exotic gear assuming the infusion slot does not carry stats with it. From the sound of the blog post the infusion slot is to deal specifically with Agony, or monsters that cause Agony, which implies that they won’t carry excessive stats. If this is the case the stat upgrade is extremely minor, and when compared to what you are losing in customization it may well not be worth it to upgrade for WvW.

Additionally, it’s been confirmed that this new tier of items can be crafted in the mystic forge, which is present in WvW. If you really want the stat upgrade you can upgrade using the mystic forges located in SMC and the Garrison in each of the borderlands. .

Where does it say Ascended armour won’t have slots for Runes, or Ascended weapons won’t take sigils?

That screenshot is of a Trinket. Trinkets take neither runes nor sigils.

We just don’t know whether Ascended armour will take runes or weapons, sigils. I assume they will in some way though.

Also, only the back piece is confirmed as craftable through the Forge. The blog appears to say the Ring is only dropped in the dungeon. No word on how to get the other gear.

I would encourage you to read this section again: “The stats and functionality normally added to gear through upgrade components are actually built into Ascended items. Instead of upgrade slots, Ascended gear has Infusion slots, and rarer versions of the items also come with additional Agony Resistance built into them.” Infusion slots means no existing component can fit into them. The phrase “instead of” implies that you won’t be able to slot the new components into old upgrade slots and vice versa. Why make it different otherwise? That means no Jewels for trinkets, no Sigils for weapons and no Runes for Armor.

Velron.3729:

https://d2vn94glaxzkz3.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ascended-EN.png

Yeah, the gear grind is coming. I am extremely pissed off about this. Everything else I could look passed and wait out for fixes….this has me considering just quitting now.

You’re actually worried about +5 stats? Like, this legit makes you believe you are no longer competitive in WvW unless you upgrade immediately? I feel bad for the WvW community if this is a common opinion.

Rhyis.7058:

Velron.3729:

https://d2vn94glaxzkz3.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ascended-EN.png

Yeah, the gear grind is coming. I am extremely pissed off about this. Everything else I could look passed and wait out for fixes….this has me considering just quitting now.

You’re actually worried about +5 stats? Like, this legit makes you believe you are no longer competitive in WvW unless you upgrade immediately? I feel bad for the WvW community if this is a common opinion.

+5 in itself is meaningless, it’s the percentage that matters. The exotic ring gives +63 stats, and extra +5 is a 8% increase in stats. A ring itself doesn’t really matter, but if this extends to things like weapons, for example, will we see a similar +(a set number) or +(a percentage)? I think the latter is going to happen.

For example, let’s say you have an exotic weapon that normally does 995-1100 and gives 179/128 bonus stats. What will happen to the ascended version? Will it give you 1000-1105 damage and 184/133 stats (5 like you said), or will it be 1075-1188 damage and +193/144 stats (+8% like the ring). If it is the latter, then someone who is outfitted in full ascended set will do 8% more base damage, have 8% more armor, and get additional benefit on top of that from the extra stat bonus. This will almost be like he is carrying two orbs in his backpack – or about 70-80% of the effect of going from a full rare set to a full exotic set. That is a big deal.

That said, even if this is the case, I think the actual gameplay effect will not be quite as large. Even now, a sizable portion of our WvW population in any given map is upleveled, and a lot of them do not have full exotic (I don’t). Also, a lot of us aren’t using top end food + potion/oil, whose combined effect is like a 5% or so increase in a few stats. The problem is that the idea of gear-grinding providing an actual edge in gameplay is very disagreeable to some of us, and completely goes against what appears to be Anet’s philosophy. For example, right now Legendaries have the same stats as exotics, but according to the notes, they will be updated to have increased stats to match that of ascended. What caused them to change gears on this, and can we expect this is continue in the future? It’s only a matter of time when a lot of people have full ascended gear, and calls for more gear progression. It’s a slippery slope.

Was there any reason to increase the stats at all? No really, give me one reason. What I got from this is you’re basically only future proof if you have a legendary. Sure I’ll wait until the 17th to see the details, but I’m very disappointed Anet. Next year another set will be released and the legendaries will get buffed again, evil beware, we have gear grind.

I’m gonna repeat what I thold some peope moaning about this in LA yesterday:

Are you honestly complaining about new content?

I get it that you are upset about changing your pants or whatever, but the stat increase is minor, meaning you don’t have to put yourself through what you call a “HELL” and what the rest call playing an MMO cause this is an MMO, right?

I dont see what the confusion is about, the update adds a new rarity ‘Ascended’ which is between Exotic and Legendary. At the moment its obtainable via a new instance and Mystic Forge.

Apart from the infusion level to help run the instance better (so the more Ascended rarity gear the quicker the farming) it is normal gear usable anywhere, so gearaholics looking for the best setup will need to grind the instance to get it.

Agony is also only inflicted by monsters, not players so the infusion stat isnt a requirement for wvw but the 8% or so increase on base stats vs. Exotics will be worth it (especially for critical damage.)

Whatever, I’ll just adapt.