Guild Wars 2

Note i am up to date with all the comments since last night.

Chris

NewTrain.7549:

Creating a CDI about communication is like forming a committee to discuss how to form committees.

Morning All,

You asked me to be honest so I am going to be. I am starting to feel like doing another CDI just isn’t worth the frustration, huge amount of time and heartache.

As i have said many many times before getting the logistics around communication right is extremely important. Time is precious and anything that can be done to make every second more valuable is paramount. Any time a developer spends on CDI is time away from the game. The benefit however is huge in terms of the products evolution so it is an extremely difficult balancing act.

Chris

ArrDee.2573:

Hello frands! Vee Wee here, #1 Engi NA and world first rank 80!

Thanks for the reply Evan Lekittenhese are all good responses!

One thing my frand! Vee Wee wasn’t talking about voice emotes even though that is an interesting idea! Vee Wee was thinking more along the lines of fast chat menus!

Same feature. I would want voice emotes tied to the fast chat so people could hear them without having to always watch chat.

PS. What is a Lekittenhese.

Test Servers: These are hard to do at the moment, and not something we will support for now. It takes a lot of manpower to manage another live environment and iteration on features in that environment takes a lot of extra lead time.

Skyhammer: Obligatory “Nothing is off the table”. (except deleting skyhammer)

Communication emotes: I really want this and think it’d help coordination a lot. I enjoy this feature in games like Dota2 and HoN. The problem I run into when thinking about this is how to make the feature approachable for all game modes without requiring 50 different voice emotes. This could be solved with generic lines, or automatic clarifications (like Dota2’s missing call know what lane you’re in). Feedback on this feature alone in a new thread would be awesome.

Leavers: We’ve been collecting data and are discussing if there are better ways to apply dishonor.

AFK Check: This comes up a lot, and we’ve discussed it plenty. Rest assured we understand this problem and have discussed ways to solve it.

Pause feature: Implementing this in an MMO makes my head hurt just thinking about it. I honestly see no way to do this without a significant rework to most systems in our game unless we implement a pseudo-pause.

Match history: Yes.

Voice Communication: I wouldn’t mind this, but I’m unaware of what the rest of the company thinks about this one.

Build Templates: Drool.

Split skills:
Passive Skills:
Balance Patches:
Balance peeps could answer these.

Disclaimer: I make no feature promises.

We cannot do a region lock, I’m sorry. It’s just not something we are able to make available right now.

Have you secured your e-mail account with a new password? One that you’ve used nowhere else? I guess at this point I might conclude that someone knows my e-mail address and is trying to figure out my password, but if they’re being blocked from access, that’s a big relief. I still would change my password, and make sure it’s new, complex, and used only with that e-mail account.

And hey, if you feel that this is a risky situation, you can contact our Support Team (Top of page, then “Submit a request”) and we can help you change your Account Name to a different e-mail address. Bear in mind we’d need to verify ownership (for security’s sake, of course) but reach out to the team if you want to look into that option.

I am escalating these reports to the teams who work most closely with our Gem Store.

Now, if you’re experiencing a delay with PayPal, that’s a known issue that we are still trying to get resolved. If you’re having difficulty with not being able to purchase through PayPal at all (even after waiting several hours to see the order arrive), or if you are not able to purchase through a CC that you know is valid and good to go, that’s a different matter.

I will post if I learn more about this, but in the meantime, thank you for your reports and for your patience!

absolutelyalice.7950:

I am also having this problem still! I did submit a support ticket and it got boosted, but nothing yet.

Thanks for letting me know. How did you try to purchase? Credit card? PayPal? Are you still having the issue?

I want you all to be assured I’m escalating these reports to relevant GW2 team members to let them know about them.

I am sorry you are having this issue. I am going to gather these reports (mostly from today) and pass them along to the developers so they can make sure things are working ok. Sometimes these issues are individual — a credit card issuer has issues, PayPal is slow to fulfill the order — but sometimes player reports point to a genuine issue.

Let me pass this along, and thank you for your continued efforts! Can you update this thread if you find you’re able to purchase? Thanks!

eekzie.5640:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You don’t have to look up any posts. I’m sure the forum-users will be all over that. Lol. Who wouldn’t want to take credit for a great idea! Just a list of things that were influenced by/implemented because of the CDIs. =)

Exactly, we don’t need a point by point presentation of every single small sniff of CDI that rubbed off into the game.

Just maybe the most meaningful things you can recall (top10?)

That would be great.

Chris

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You don’t have to look up any posts. I’m sure the forum-users will be all over that. Lol. Who wouldn’t want to take credit for a great idea! Just a list of things that were influenced by/implemented because of the CDIs. =)

Sounds good, thanks for reminding me.

Chris

P.S: Go Hawks!

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Chris, you have mentioned many times (or, at least, a few times) in the past CDIs that you (the Devs/ArenaNet) would communicate to us what ideas or implementation discussions were placed into the game. In other words, what feedback you took from the CDIs and implemented, in some form or other, into the game.

Considering how often it is commented on the forums how ArenaNet never listens, never uses anything from the CDIs (or any other feedback), I think it would be great if you (ArenaNet) could post a list of things that were either implemented, or influenced and found their way into, the game.

Could you perhaps do that this time? Soon-ish? I would be really interested, and it might make many players feel connected to see something they contributed to found its way into the game (in some form, anyway).

Thank you in advance. =)

Yeah I need to do this.

It will take up a lot of time however and remember I am a dev on the design team.

However what I can do is list the specific areas but not link them back to posts which is what I would ideally like to do.

Maybe by the end of next week.

Chris

Palador.2170:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

People seem to be of the opinion that CDIs never really did what they were supposed to do. If your solution to the communication problems (including CDIs) is to have a CDI on it, then you’re pretty much shooting yourself in the foot.

Forget the format for this one, and try just talking. Yes, you’ll get a lot of static and noise, but you get that in a CDI, too. And don’t talk about just the big game stuff. You’re human, talk like it. Act like it. You guys come across as faces and names without any souls or humor. Relax a little. You’ll get more understanding as a person than as a job title and a name.

I am sorry if I come across as inhuman. It is because i am from the UK and speak a different language (-:

But seriously this is how I talk and it entertains the guys at work so who am I to take away their fun!

Chris

BigDaddyDizzle.7046:

how long does it usually take

A request like this needs to be reviewed by a couple of agents, so it will probably take a few days to get this reviewed and handled. I wish we could do this instantly, but it really does require several steps to be able to help, so thank you for your patience.

I am so sorry you both are having this issue! I see that these posts were made earlier — are you ok now? Alternately, did you submit a ticket so Support could help you?

This was escalated to see if we can help, and I feel sure you’ll hear back soon.

As mentioned above, where you play — in what region, on what world — doesn’t limit the gem card you use. The flag is where the account was registered. For instance, an EU-registered game account would use EU gem cards; a game registered in North America would use an NA gem card.

As I said, I believe you’ll hear back soon.

eekzie.5640:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

Is a roadmap of sorts off the table for this? (i.e. give us the outline of the plans for the coming 3/6/whatever months)

I personally don’t think a lot of direct contact is needed when we are having ’’constant’’ updates on certain things. But they have been severely lacking.

I do think you can take a look at how other companies/structures are being handled.
For instance you could take from reddit how to make topics more structured. Each reply pretty much is it’s own ‘’sub-topic’’ inside of a post. This lets you reply to eachother regarding the same responses. I think that’d work nicely for this forum, in a more aesthatically pleasing way.

It also has to be made easier to find ‘’Dev Posts’’ inside of a topic. People care deeply for what you guys have to say, and currently the only way to easily find it is the Dev Tracker. But it’s still a hassle. Simply turn the Anet text bubble into a button that takes you to the post(s).

I loved the way the ‘’Mind Stab’’ discussion was handled for the mesmer.
IIRC someone at Anet mentioned we don’t like how it is now, we’re working on changing it. How would you like it being changed within it’s current function?
Debate happened. And now some time later we see a change.

Also, how open are you guys to debating every single skill/ability in the game? (More in the sense of, would this be useful to try and debate? I did something similar in a smaller way during the beta stage for the guardian, I didn’t seem to get anything out of that)

Think I’m already getting ahead of myself, sorry.

I think we should talk about options for discussion around road map but please understand if we do it will be theoretical design decisions on improving existing parts of the game as well as discussing potential evolutions.

Thanks for your feedback.

Chris

IndigoSundown.5419:

Chris, go home (If you haven’t already), hang with the family, play some GW2, have a good weekend. We’ll see you Monday.

I am at home. Thought I would hand with you all for a while.

Chris

Baels.3469:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

I feel as though, from past CDI’s, there should already be an abundance of resources and insight into what this community wants. Looking back, reflecting on these things… in some ways, seems better than opening up a number of “new” CDI’s that will likely result in wires being crossed.

I’m in the design industry, unrelated to gaming, but design regardless.
From my perspective… CDI’s are essentially like the “interview” process we have with our clients. From here, we receive a brief. (i.e. key points of contention, requirements for the job to come into fruition, a basis to work from)

We develop a “program”. This covers everything from who will be on the job, “expected” time taken, detailing the different stages of design from conceptual & design development, to practical completion. Order dates, expected delays… you get the point.

My point is, it feels like we’ve been ramming our heads against the wall “briefing” the “deisgner” for months… and months. It’s almost as if we’ve given you the brief, (CDI’s) you’ve said yep, great. We’ll take this on board and be working toward improving ____x feature__.

Monday morning, 8:45 AM. We’re the disgruntled client yelling at you over the phone, asking where our schematic designs are. You’re telling us you require another meeting before you can get started.

I respectfully disagree.

I concede that some CDIs were more valuable and collaborative than others but I will have to ask you to trust that it wasn’t through lack of trying.

However a number of CDIs have had a major impact on the game from Living World Post Marionette to Feature Packs. We aren’t going to go into specifics of development schedule and I am sorry that this is tough.

It is tough for us to, but please understand that we don’t want to disappoint, we have made mistakes like this before in premature delivery of info and that isn’t fun for the community either.

This said I intend for the CDI’s moving forward to have more focused and specific discussions and we will go from there. Our communication or presence for want of a more suitable description has been below par and we are going to work to correct this.

A connection to the community is of huge importance and we aim to rebuild the bridge.

Chris

Don’t worry, Thlydd, this is common with dynamic IPs. I sometimes get a message that I’m logging in from a town about 40 miles north of me. The thing I watch for is a log-in attempt from somewhere pretty distant to me, like a different state and certainly a different country.

You’ll probably be asked to authorize a few times through the authentication system, but with time the system “learns” your range and you’ll probably not be asked too often in the future.

The one drawback to this “dynamic IP” situation is that people may start ignoring the log-in attempt notification e-mails, thinking “Yeah, that’s just my ISP using into a new IP address” but in fact the IP shown is from a totally different location and should be viewed as an attempted account theft.

My advice: Never simply ignore the notification, but read it carefully, consider if you were actually logging in at the time shown, and if that’s the case, you can breathe easy. If that is not the case, consider changing your game and e-mail account passwords and submitting a ticket if you wish for more help.

Zoso.8279:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

I think that would be great! Just being able to do THIS is a step in the right direction. Maybe setting a specific time 1hr or so would help I don’t know if that is the current format but just like guild events if we can coordinate the timing maybe that will help get everyone on the same page and won’t feel that we are being “left in the dark”. Fellow Tyrians we also have to show respect I agree we don’t have to have the same point of views but we still have to respect each other and the staff working together benefits us ALL.

That’s a cool idea. I will announce the day and time a few days in advance and then when I am afk I will say so in the thread.

Chris

Update: 22 August 2014

838089 – Resolved.
722968 – Resolved.
837745 – Resolved.
831029 – Resolved
830142 – The agent is expecting one final internal process and should be able to help you wrap this up when that happens.
843253 – Agent responded Monday. You need to verify you want a refund, after recognizing the outcomes.
837122 – In queue for continued review.
69969 – In queue for continued review.
68483 – In queue for continued review.
829223 – In queue for continued review.
844340 – Final Answer: Ticket is closed. The account was tied to credit card fraud, as explained multiple times. The account will not be reinstated. Please do not petition on behalf of your friend again; he knows full well what took place.
837122 – You have requested your third account restoration. The team must review this very, very carefully, as they have explained. So we ask for your patience.
Selianna.8263 – I need your ticket number in order to review, please, assuming the ticket is at least three full days old.
simon.3961 – The player who asked you to submit on his behalf is ineligible for assistance, as he well knows. As we say in the notes, you should never submit a ticket unless you know the person very, very well.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Do not ask for a review of someone else’s ticket unless you know that person. Culling random comments from other forums or social media is not appropriate.
• Always include a ticket number in your request.
• Responses flagged as “Final Response” will not be reviewed again.
• If you still need assistance and your ticket is at least three days (72 hours) old, feel free to post in the Tickets for Review – 3 Days and Older – Part 2 [merged] thread at the top of this forum.
• Please do not submit duplicate tickets for the same situation. Instead, please update your ticket by simply responding to the most recent e-mail that has the existing ticket number in the subject line.
• Please do not post in multiple threads on the forums asking for assistance.
• If you believe your e-mail may have been compromised, submit a new ticket from a new, secure e-mail account and include the old ticket number in the subject line. Please be prepared to provide proof of ownership, but we will do our best to help in this situation.

Update: 22 August 2014

838089 – Resolved.
722968 – Resolved.
837745 – Resolved.
831029 – Resolved
830142 – The agent is expecting one final internal process and should be able to help you wrap this up when that happens.
843253 – Agent responded Monday. You need to verify you want a refund, after recognizing the outcomes.
837122 – In queue for continued review.
69969 – In queue for continued review.
68483 – In queue for continued review.
829223 – In queue for continued review.
844340 – Final Answer: Ticket is closed. The account was tied to credit card fraud, as explained multiple times and the account will not be reinstated. Please do not petition on behalf of your friend again; he knows full well what took place.
837122 – You have requested your third account restoration. The team must review this very, very carefully, as they have explained. So we ask for your patience.
Selianna.8263 – I need your ticket number in order to review, please, assuming the ticket is at least three full days old.
simon.3961 – The player who asked you to submit on his behalf is ineligible for assistance, as he well knows. As we say in the notes, you should never submit a ticket unless you know the person very, very well.

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

Lheimroo.2947:

Svarty.8019:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Hi,

Sorry, to clarify in regard to ‘Streamline’ I mean consolidate the number of channels of communication so we are able parse the flow of information better and in so doing connect more easily.

Chris

Could you kindly elucidate? What does this mean in practical terms? Without meaning to sound rude, your post seems like business jargon.

Please don’t infract this: It is a genuine enquiry.

Translated, they chat in a lot of different forums and media. The players never get the full sense of what’s being communicated and the developers have trouble keeping track of what’s being said where. They’d like to focus their efforts more.

Exactly. We will be looking out our forums as well as other options to ensure that we can spend our time effectively and not miss stuff.

Sorry I will try to be more clear moving forward.

Chris

Xli.7629:

The attack has been happening for at least a couple days, so it is reasonable to assume people have received multiple false dishonor stacks.

eekzie.5640:

Angel McCoy.1832:

I think that’s a very cool idea. We do it sometimes.

Can Phlunt be grumpy in my asura home instance please?

Pretty please with a cherry on top?))

LOL. He’s quite an old Scrooge, isn’t he?

I’m not sure I can quantify the connections between the Dream, the Wyld Hunt, and the Pale Tree. They are all very connected.

The Wyld Hunt does not always involve killing. It can be any quest at all. Finding something lost. Protecting something or someone. Rebuilding something destroyed. And so on.

A Soundless can have a calling to a Wyld Hunt, though they are most likely to try to ignore it. They could also miss the calling.

I can’t give you an answer to your other question. We’re still learning about Mordremoth, how its corruption works, and who it works on. Anything I tell you, one way or the other, would be a spoiler.

Tell me this. Why, in your opinion, are folks so enamored with the Mursaat?

I think that’s a very cool idea. We do it sometimes.

PetboyJoshua.3108:

Thanks for answering ! I’m a member of a Sylvari roleplayers guild, and we’re always looking for more informations, those clarifications about the Wyld Hunt are going to be quite useful for us.
I have a silly question about the Dream and the fern hounds, by the way. :’p I guess the answer is no, but do Sylvan Hounds experience the Dream (or a part of it) ? Do they share some sort of empathic bounds with the Sylvari, or are they just like normal dogs ?

Ooh! You’re welcome. Tell your guild I said hi. I love roleplayers. They bring their own imaginations to the table and make the game sing!

Sylvan hounds are special to sylvari, especially if they raised them. Just like dogs in real life, sylvan hounds can love their masters and have a special connection with them. In certain circumstances, like if a sylvari raised a hound from puppihood to adulthood, then they would definitely have an empathic bond. Especially if the sylvari is not Soundless.

This sylvari would know when her hound wasn’t feeling well and would be able to read body language and sounds more accurately. Much like Eir and Garm’s bond, it’s a bit more magical than what we experience in the real world. There’s a “soul connection,” for lack of a better phrase.

And that sounds like it would be so fun to roleplay!

Horst Hortensie.5420:

Would it be a spoiler to tell what Scarlet’s wyld hunt was or is it already in game and I just missed it?

If she had one, what would you guess it was?

Torsailr.8456:

If I may make an analogy for the dream…

Is it like a giant cauldron of stew? In the beginning it was a fairly simple stew and every sylvari got bowl of it. As time went on new ingredients were added, and maybe a few were purged but leave a taste behind. Newer sylvari still get a bowl, but maybe it has a little more subtlety than before. Every sylvari gets its bowl but each one has a slightly different set of ingredients and tastes just a little different.

Would that be accurate Angel?

Yeah! That’s a pretty cool analogy. Nice one.

I’ll just add that no two sylvari get exactly the same veggies in their bowl of soup.

We’re as much fans of player agency as you are, I assure you. The hurdle we face is that in order to do due diligence to those three Taimi choices you offer up, we have to have repercussions for each. You can’t just stab Phlunt, then have him appear again in the next release. Ultimately...Taimi had to give up the device.

We are always discussing ways to get more player agency into the game. It’s not as easy or as simple as any of us would like, however.

The one place we can have player agency is in dialogue trees. We are doing a lot of customization with conditional content based on your race, gender, profession, and history. We can also look for opportunities to give you more choice in how you respond.

saventis.1485:

thank you very much for your reply^^ makes me feel all special inside heh

I am trying to figure out Caithe’s secret, hoping perhaps she and the first borns may all share the same secret, and perhaps the ability to enter the dream went along with that (I dont expect an answer to that one just yet) as well as the meaning of the shadow of the dragon in the dream.

… (clip) really im trying to see what conections i can make to the current living world because from my view you had this planned all along

I can tell you that Caithe’s secret has nothing to do with how she entered the Dream. Beyond that, it’s all spoiler all the time, and you’d hate me if I told you!

The Shadow of the Dragon is definitely one of Mordremoth’s lieutenants. It is a plant creature and quite evil. When you see it in the Dream, however, you’re seeing some sort of magical reflection. You fight it there, but it’s not the actual creature in the Dream. This doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous there.

The roots of this story were conceived while we were creating the main game, and the lore goes all the way back to Guild Wars 1. So yes, it’s safe to assume that we’ve planned it (mostly) all along.

Are you ok now, Jordio?

So sorry, the issue with delayed fulfillment for PayPal purchases is still with us.

If you find you don’t have your purchase within 24 hours, definitely consider submitting a ticket so we can examine the issue.

If you’re CC is being blocked, then submitting a ticket right away is perfectly fine. We’ll be happy to try to help you.

Woot! I’m glad it all sorted out for you! And welcome back to Tyria.

Coming soon: A fix for this situation, so all GWAMMers can proudly display their achievement. I do not think you will need to wait too long for this, and in the meantime, we thank you for your patience.

(Congrats on the title, btw! Well done!)

Berelious.3290:

The first question is where did you purchase the game from? If it was from a retail outlet they should give you a replacement since the serial code was used. If you got it from the GW2 website you’ll need to contact support.

This is correct. Retail products should be discussed with the seller, but if you purchase from our website, a ticket will get you the support you need.

I am concerned that your account may be in jeopardy. And I also wonder if your e-mail account is secure. I suggest you run a full scan of your system, that you change passwords, and that you submit a ticket to allow us to help you try to secure your game account, as well.

Best of luck!

RoyalPredator.9163:

I would like to say my Thanks to the team who made it, it was my first outstanding good experience of Living Story!
We hope the future brings same good episodes!

Thanks back at ya for playing and being part of our world. To all of you.

dlonie.6547:

Lheimroo.2947:

I know you’re busy – probably far more than most forum users realize, and that sucks; you shouldn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of communicating with players gratis on your free time. It should really be sponsored more by the company itself rather than merely condoned.

The one piece of advice I’d give is don’t streamline too much. A lot of people are looking for much less formal interaction – off the cuff stuff.

I realize this might not be kosher to link another mmo’s discussion forums, but seriously take a look at (link removed, just in case…) – and yeah, that’s just one thread, but entirely typical of Blizzard communication.

You get something like that.. even if you as a player don’t agree, you can at least say “Yeah, okay, I’ll go with it cuz they got a bit of a reason”. You become a lot more willing to give changes a shot, and more able to provide feedback vis a vis the intended effects of the change versus the reality.

Oh wow. That’s the sort of discussion I’d like to see for this game. If you asked me “What one thing would restore enough of your confidence in GW2’s future that you’d start buying gems again?”, this would be my answer. Players and the company sitting down and discussing things, human to human, no bullkitten.

Everything else in the post above is spot on, too. Very true.

One thing that’s really surprised me about the silence on the forums is the business aspect of it. For a game with a F2P business model, you really need to let your players know that you’re listening and care about the things that matter to them. We don’t want to buy gems to support a company that appears to be ignoring whatever part of the game we love. You can tempt us with items in the store, but the money will flow more easily when there’s a layer of trust that the money is really going into making the game more fun. At the end of the day, every armor set in the store is just shiner pixels. I’d rather invest in the game’s future, but I need to know that they’re interested in providing the sorts of experiences I come here for.

I suspect that a lot of the fixes and features we’ve been asking for are in the works. I suspect some of them were in development and were discovered to be impractical to finish. I suspect some are just not at all a priority in light of more pressing issues. But I can’t understand why this information isn’t shared? What’s the harm in letting us know “We can’t handle this”, “This isn’t going to happen”, or “This is on the way, but we’re still designing how it will all work”?

These sorts of posts used to happen. Skim through former employee Robert Hrouda’s posting history; he was our “contact” from the dungeon forum and provides quite a few wonderful example of the sorts of interactions that show the company cares. Those need to return in order to restore my confidence in the company, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

tl;dr We will buy more gems if you talk to us, because we’ll know we’re supporting a company we can trust.

We just want to build a better connection. Gems really isn’t the goal.

Thanks for your feedback though.

Chris

Lheimroo.2947:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Gene Archer.8560:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

We knew that we needed to do more for communication. This has only been even more obvious this week. This has nothing to do with PR and everything to do with doing a better job with the connection with the community.

Not to continually jump on you, or anything, but, again; this isn’t the first time you’ve said such things.

So in order to do more than just jump up and down and proclaim “you already said that!” a million times, I’d like to ask a serious question of you, if I might, Chris;

You’ve now stated that you know that better communication is needed, and that it’s even more obvious as of this passing week. So my question is this:

What are you guys going to actually do about it? What is going to occur in order to foster this discourse?

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Personally I am looking forward to building a better bridge.

Before one can build a bridge, they must build a solid foundation for said bridge.

We are going to streamline our methods of communication and put more manpower toward communication.

I know I have said that I have wanted a better bridge in the past but I am a developer and I just cannot absolutely commit to 100% CDI/Communication problem solving due to responsibilities elsewhere. Therefore we are as Mo has stated focusing on this from a company perspective now.

Thanks for your feedback.

Chris

I know you’re busy – probably far more than most forum users realize, and that sucks; you shouldn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of communicating with players gratis on your free time. It should really be sponsored more by the company itself rather than merely condoned.

The one piece of advice I’d give is don’t streamline too much. A lot of people are looking for much less formal interaction – off the cuff stuff.

I realize this might not be kosher to link another mmo’s discussion forums, but seriously take a look at http://blue.mmo-champion.com/topic/333249-elemental-consolidated-feedback/ – and yeah, that’s just one thread, but entirely typical of Blizzard communication.

You get something like that.. even if you as a player don’t agree, you can at least say “Yeah, okay, I’ll go with it cuz they got a bit of a reason”. You become a lot more willing to give changes a shot, and more able to provide feedback vis a vis the intended effects of the change versus the reality.

Hi,

Sorry, to clarify in regard to ‘Streamline’ I mean consolidate the number of channels of communication so we are able parse the flow of information better and in so doing connect more easily.

Chris

saventis.1485:

does this mean that all the first born are very similar in terms of the way they think and act? ( because at the time they were in the dream the pool of knowledge was tiny)

Also beyond that do they all have a sort of link to each other ( in the begining we see Caith in the dream) can all first born enter the dream at will?
(maybe they have to prepare themselves first, meditate or something similar)

because if so this may go towards explaining what we see in the dream originally

The Firstborn were definitely individuals. If nothing else, they were differentiated by the cycle during which they awakened. They weren’t like clones, but did have personalities of their own. Their knowledge of the world may have been more similar to each others’ than two sylvari born today would have, however. That’s an interesting concept to discuss.

The only reason Caithe was able to enter the Dream was because the Pale Tree made it possible. It was not easy for the Pale Tree to do this. She did it on this occasion because it was so important for Caithe to speak with you before you awakened. No sylvari can enter the Dream at will, not without the magical assistance of the Pale Tree.

What parts of what you see in the Dream originally are you hoping to explain?

RedStar.4218:

It’s always nice seeing you post here ^^.

Could I ask something ? Does a sylvari know (like really knows) when it has completed it’s Wyld hunt ?

Hi, RedStar, Thanks for the kind words.

A sylvari knows beyond a shadow of a doubt when his/her Wyld Hunt is complete (as long as she isn’t in denial). At its most natural state, the sensation of having a calling changes, and there is a sense of peace left in its wake.

Sylvari can feel a calling to do something at any point in their lives. They can ignore this calling. Some will experience guilt and subconscious repercussions from ignoring it. Some won’t experience this at all, depending on the personality.

In the situation you describe, where your Hunt is NOT complete, but it appears to be on the surface, then you would at bare minimum experience a sense of unease about it being incomplete. The mind is a powerful thing, and sylvari are not immune to that. You may think for awhile that you’ve completed the Hunt, but a niggling feeling could begin to bother you that maybe you didn’t quite get it. You’d continue to feel the calling. Some sylvari might rationalize this as just residue, especially young sylvari experiencing their first Wyld Hunt.

Alternatively, you maybe don’t want to complete your Wyld Hunt, so when you do, you convince yourself that it’s not done, that you have to keep going. Even though you don’t experience the calling anymore, and a part of you knows it’s done, you won’t give it up. Each sylvari is an individual, living their own lives.

How you deal with your Wyld Hunt is up to you and what you want to roleplay.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I’m not okay with Knut claiming to be over 150 years old and knowing such youth when aged norn live to only roughly 120 while still being physically active.

There’s a bit of confusion on this point. That line is not intended to imply that Knut was there when it happened. He’s simply referencing that event. The word “remember” was not the best choice, and perhaps too subtle a turn of phrase. The intention was like “I remember WWII and how the kittens killed all those people.” More as a historic thing than an actual personal experience. Like how people say, “Remember the Alamo!”

I love hearing your theories. I’ll just toss out a couple thoughts to foster more.

You can enter the Dream with the help of the Pale Tree, but what that means exactly is currently unclear to all but the Pale Tree herself. It’s perhaps more accurate to call it a mystical landscape, though even that doesn’t quite express the truth of it. It’s mystical and magical, beyond any previous experience of Tyrians.

And, sylvari consciousness originates there. It is the sylvari womb, in a metaphorical sense.

You’ll also note that the Pale Tree says “I believe…” in her interpretation of what you saw in your Dream. The Dream does not accurately predict the future, not even when you accept a Wyld Hunt from it. You always have free will, and no Wyld Hunt is guaranteed to succeed.

The Wyld Hunt is a quest, not a definite prediction of what will happen. In most cases, it’s a self-fulfilling prophesy at best. The Pale Tree understands this. Though, in their enthusiasm, sylvari may forget this and assume that the Wyld Hunt equates to their destiny. It’s a matter of individual perspective and of their culture. Sylvari take their Wyld Hunts very seriously, and their first one often becomes central to their sense of identity. Not all sylvari find a Wyld Hunt in their slices of the Dream.

Lastly, I’ll note that the Dream’s pool of knowledge began to form before sylvari were first awakened. If this weren’t true, then the Firstborn would have come into the world extremely innocent and vulnerable. All sylvari draw from the Dream for their knowledge of the world upon awakening, and that’s how they are able to function from the moment they open their eyes for the first time. They don’t download the entire Dream, but rather receive a portion of it, a scoop of it, a slice that makes each sylvari an individual.

It’s interesting to ponder what the Firstborns must have been like when they first awakened, relative to what new sylvari are like now. Sylvari now draw from a much broader and deeper pool of knowledge in the Dream, one would assume. But does that mean they get more knowledge, or just the same size slice of a much bigger pie?

Hi, Ryan. Thank you for sharing your story with the community. It really means a lot to us that the game has helped you in some way, and offered you a place where you can escape from the cares of the world for a short time. Please take care and again—we appreciate your support.

Like a couple people mentioned, these groups often don’t target one game, they target many. Anyway, let’s not give them more of the attention that they desperately crave.

I just want to note: when these malicious incidents happen, please know that we have our NOC investigating almost immediately after they occur.

If you have a technical problem to report, please do so on the Technical Support sub forum: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/tech

Thanks for the feedback. This definitely hits on the rising themes we’ve seen coming from the community.

Creating a sense of progression through the different PvP types is definitely something we want. Hotjoin is not structured enough for new players, while team and solo arena are too daunting.

Open spectating of rated matches requires a lot of back-end work to make it scale to any number of viewers and support delays to prevent abuse. It is also less of a priority than leagues and seasons. Especially since we still have authorized shoutcasters and streamers.

Gene Archer.8560:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

We knew that we needed to do more for communication. This has only been even more obvious this week. This has nothing to do with PR and everything to do with doing a better job with the connection with the community.

Not to continually jump on you, or anything, but, again; this isn’t the first time you’ve said such things.

So in order to do more than just jump up and down and proclaim “you already said that!” a million times, I’d like to ask a serious question of you, if I might, Chris;

You’ve now stated that you know that better communication is needed, and that it’s even more obvious as of this passing week. So my question is this:

What are you guys going to actually do about it? What is going to occur in order to foster this discourse?

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Personally I am looking forward to building a better bridge.

Before one can build a bridge, they must build a solid foundation for said bridge.

We are going to streamline our methods of communication and put more manpower toward communication.

I know I have said that I have wanted a better bridge in the past but I am a developer and I just cannot absolutely commit to 100% CDI/Communication problem solving due to responsibilities elsewhere. Therefore we are as Mo has stated focusing on this from a company perspective now.

Thanks for your feedback.

Chris