Guild Wars 2

You’re very welcome, I’m glad we were able to get this all sorted for you!

Randulf.7614:

And if people present their ideas differently to the format, will they be ignored/deleted/encouraged to re-write?

None of the above. It will just make it harder for folks to keep up with the thread and contribute meaningfully thereby.

Reducing ideas down to their core will also allow me to share ideas more efficiently.

Chris

Nike.2631:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Good format and process in my experience absolutely do not negatively impact creativity and problem solving.

…This is going to get rather esoteric, isn’t_it ? That’s all right, a Process Evolution thread really does seem like the right place for it.

Yes, structure has its uses. A joke about the limitations of haiku is way more funny when delivered within the limitations of haiku . I can, if pressed, still dance inside a cage, and sometimes the bars provide opportunities I wouldn’t have dancing on an open field. (And there IS a certain camaraderie to be had in all being locked up together …)

On the contrary design within constraints have led to some of the very best ideas I have seen/played.

Absolutely. Recognizing constraints is KEY to practical solutions. There’s a huge difference between “can it be done?” and “should it be done?” and correctly answering the second question take a lot higher degree of awareness of the limitations where the first question is about capabilities.

I’ve just found the most amazing leaps forward come from recognizing when a widely perceived limitation doesn’t actually exist. That makes me extremely hesitant about introducing them artificially where they may not be necessary.

I’d be a lot happier with the ‘player story’ form if its presented as a “if you are in doubt how to proceed, try this.” rather than enshrining it so that the hidden subtext is “Nike, next time you pop one of your ‘Episode Previews’ just don’t, because its going to get deleted. Bad dog, no biscuit.”

It also raises a question of does this sort of formatting need to extend to response and discussion? Or is it only an issue for initial presentation? Where does “fill out Form A” start and stop?

As mentioned earlier (-: specifically for initial presentation of ideas (-: Discussion et all will be unconstrained (-:

Chris

Got it. And you had updated your old ticket and made a new one, so I was looking on 307013 and it was and it was actually updated on 247685.

I’m glad we were able to help you out.

And by the way, I’m not a “he.”

Chris Whiteside.6102:

I like the idea of the following:

- Include a topic primer (The CDI thread owner will do this)
- Create a template for proposal ideas starting with a ‘User Story’ and then formatted in a similar way to Nike and other’s suggestions I will create this)
- No word limit as the hope is that the new format will help with more concise communication.

I think we need to continue to discuss:

- CDI having its own section in the forum.
- Tech improvements for the CDI forum.
- How we decide the subject of topics ( I am leaning toward the DEVs picking the next round and seeing how that goes)

Chris

Bump

Well, I can figure that out. What’s your ticket number?

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Nike.2631:

I want to be very clear: I support the principles of good presentation over rigid formatting.

I’ve said it before – CDIs are about creating art. When we explore making art, we often need to demonstrate our understanding of art. To illustrate our points, but also to seek critique and review to improve upon it. That requires a degree of freedom. Freedom, in turn, requires a degree of responsibility.

CDI have become possible because the game has had time to teach about the game. Clear formats are an excellent tool for teaching processes, but they cannot be the highest level of contribution we will tolerate. I’ve been infracted for reaching higher before. I don’t want to see good posts being deleted again because they didn’t fit in a box.

You do not foster creativity by enforcing conformity.

I guess I don’t understand how format limits creativity.

Look at Shakespearean sonnets, for instance.

Anyway, I just think that a format would help collaboration with everyone, not how creative your posts look. I think what’s really important is the content, and a format would best portray that content.

Good format and process in my experience absolutely do not negatively impact creativity and problem solving.

On the contrary design within constraints have led to some of the very best ideas I have seen/played.

Chris

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Honestly, my last bit of input I can think of right now?

- Set up the forum topics and aggressively delete completely off-topic posts (no infractions unless it breaks code of conduct). Topics which arise out of natural progression of conversation which wind up off topic get split into their own CDI thread with a link in the first post to the original thread so people can find context where needed.

- On the players side, try to be neat and concise with your ideas unless asked to elaborate. On the devs side, if you need elaboration ask via PM unless you intend to discuss it openly. This will prevent elaborations from bogging down threads and allow you to still collect the information.

- Announce CDI threads starting on the patcher screen so anyone starting the game is made aware they are being done.

- If possible, allow one (1) in-game session somewhere where a dev or two can log a chat so players in the game who don’t visit the forums may include their input. Alternatively, some way of in game getting people to put in their ideas without needing to come to the forum from the game. Something to do while waiting on the wurm/marionette?

- Definitely try to get all CDI topics to run concurrently and receive similar amounts of developer attention/input/feedback.

‘- Announce CDI threads starting on the patcher screen so anyone starting the game is made aware they are being done.’

We definitely need to do a better job of letting folks know when a CDI starts.

Chris

mercury ranique.2170:

Just checked, and allready done by another nice person.

Yay! I truly love the Wiki and the Wiki community! <3

DrDivine.5378:

Gaile Gray.6029:

DrDivine.5378:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I’m a little worried that someone may have access to your account, although generally when this happens more than a few items are missing. Are you sharing the account with someone? Have you activated authentication, and have you gotten any notifications of remote access? Did you happen to delete a character recently that may have had the mini in its possession?

If the answer to all of these is “No,” then I suggest you look at every possible storage space: character, collection, bank, bags, boxes, tote bags, refrigerated coolers…. oooh, new item ideas! But seriously, most of the time when someone notes just one or a few items missing the agent is able to suggest places to look and the item was simply placed somewhere other than where the player thought to look. So I’ve given you the list. If you still cannot find it, do submit a ticket and an agent will be happy to help.

Thank you for the helpful advice, I went through everything (characters, all bags on each characters, refrigerated coolers lol etc.) but no luck. Me and my friend thought it may have been hacking, but I find it unlikely since all my gold is still there and I would think that would be the first thing they would take. Plus, my password is really long and convoluted xD

I submitted a ticket just in case, is there a possibility I will be able to get my items back?

The team will do everything they can to make that happen, after they can track down what took place. There should be game logs that show possession of an item and then what happened to it, so it shouldn’t be impossible to get this all sorted for you.

Thank you, I doubt it was hacking, it was either a technical glitch or I could’ve just really messed and didn’t notice it until now. I just thought it was really bizarre that both items went vanished.

If yours is the ticket that the team is reviewing at present, it looks as if you deleted the character that held the mini. ~ahem~

You’ll get a response real soon, and the team will see what they can do to help!

Malchior.5042:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Malchior.5042:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Question:

- Should we run the WvW, PVP and PVE concurrently or one at a time for the next round of CDI topics?

Chris

I’d only run them concurrently if one developer from each discipline can be available for some amount of time during his/her work day. The unequal contribution between yourself, Chris, and say the WvW team during the Commander Tag CDI made WvW players feel like they were being ignored, or at the least, being shafted.

Granted, I’m well aware that WvW team was 100% involved in developing EotM at the time. I was there in the Public Test and saw how much got accomplished between releases.

If Arenanet has the resources to designate one Host-Dev (to use one of Nike’s terms) per CDI thread, then I’d be comfortable with each thread running concurrently. Otherwise, let’s just keep it to one at a time.

Ok let’s run them concurrently. I will delete that part of the question section.

Chris

Alright Chris, thanks!

Any idea who you’d recommend to be host Dev of the PvP and WvW sections? Josh Davis has been doing decent in communication with both communities recently.

Also, I sent you a message on Twitter when you find the time, sir.

‘Any idea who you’d recommend to be host Dev of the PvP and WvW sections? Josh Davis has been doing decent in communication with both communities recently.’

That would be for Colin to work out.

If we find that one area is to busy to give the pertinent CDI the time it is due then we would not have a CDI for that area during that time.

I will read my twitter when i get a sec (-:

Chris

Lampshade.7569:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

4: Post writers should aim to be concise and to the point using examples where necessary. (We need to improve here)

1: We need to keep thread and post sizes more manageable. Should we put a limit on the word length of posts?

Forum design is an issue and its obvious that many people struggle to properly convey their thoughts due to this. After all, if you want to communicate, you need better ways to do so.

The solution ( and not just in this particular issue ) should be a shared responsibility though. Give us better tools, but dont be afraid to ask players for whatever you need.

In this case, my idea would be that you upgrade the forums but in exchange you would give us some posting guidelines and expect us to properly format our posts in order to be taken seriously.

2: How are we going to chose topics moving forward, for example, by votes or by Anet choosing them etc?

You choose possible topics, players vote.

Good post Lampshade. I love your enthusiasm for collaboration and shared responsibility.

Chris

Malchior.5042:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Question:

- Should we run the WvW, PVP and PVE concurrently or one at a time for the next round of CDI topics?

Chris

I’d only run them concurrently if one developer from each discipline can be available for some amount of time during his/her work day. The unequal contribution between yourself, Chris, and say the WvW team during the Commander Tag CDI made WvW players feel like they were being ignored, or at the least, being shafted.

Granted, I’m well aware that WvW team was 100% involved in developing EotM at the time. I was there in the Public Test and saw how much got accomplished between releases.

If Arenanet has the resources to designate one Host-Dev (to use one of Nike’s terms) per CDI thread, then I’d be comfortable with each thread running concurrently. Otherwise, let’s just keep it to one at a time.

Ok let’s run them concurrently. I will delete that part of the question section.

Chris

Randulf.7614:

Are we over complicating this a lot? surely it will put many contributions off if we start going into templates etc

Personally I think a template will make it easier for collaborators.

Chris

I like the idea of the following:

- Include a topic primer (The CDI thread owner will do this)
- Create a template for proposal ideas starting with a ‘User Story’ and then formatted in a similar way to Nike and other’s suggestions I will create this)
- No word limit as the hope is that the new format will help with more concise communication.

I think we need to continue to discuss:

- CDI having its own section in the forum.
- Tech improvements for the CDI forum.
- How we decide the subject of topics ( I am leaning toward the DEVs picking the next round and seeing how that goes)

Chris

videoboy.4162:

First, I really like Malchior’s User Story idea.

Secondly, to answer you question Chris, I think that the CDI could continue in the same manner they have been. However, I think there needs to be one major change: posts that don’t pertain to the actual topic of the moment need to be moved.

For example, in our last thread, there was a point where you specifically asked us to brainstorm about Sub-Classes. Instead on posts brainstorming on that subject, we ended up with massive walls of texts about Fractals or condemning the idea of sub-classes entirely.

Neither type of post was bad per se, but they each completely took away from the topic at hand, preventing us from having the best discussion possible, about the topic. Those posts should have been moved elsewhere, in order to keep the thread focused.

Yes i agree with removing posts that don’t pertain to the topic at hand. I will do this moving forward.

Chris

Naetell.3815:

Lessons learned here should be that writing for an MMO is completely different from how you’d approach a traditional novel.

This is definitely true. We also have to deal with the fact that simply writing something doesn’t guarantee that it will be implemented in a way that represents the original vision (if it’s even implemented). We learned a lot over the past year. I hope you all will see the difference in the next few releases. I look forward to hearing your comments late next week.

gidorah.4960:

BobbyStein.2315:

You’ll have to wait and see how we integrated story into the release. I think it works pretty well but I’m biased. I am looking forward to the feedback we receive next week.

you also thought scarlet was a good villain.

I also know the entire plot a year in advance.

Gilgalas.7860:

You must also understand that fights such as the Marionnette one are meant as server events. The difficulty is set to an average level so that very skilled players compensate for lower skilled ones. This by itself should reinforce the community feeling as everyone can fit in. You would be right if the fight difficulty was set so high that it required to excluded lesser skilled players, but that is not the case for Marionnette.

That was the goal. To the extent that some still feel excluded, we did not perfectly reach it. We will continue to learn and iterate.

Gilgalas.7860:

Whatever efforts the developper put in, the game will always be only as good as the efforts you players are willing to put into building an enjoyable community.

Well this is true to a certain extent. But it really comes down to the mechanics to encourage cooperation and goodwill. An obvious example is the way we give XP for resing. The tricky part is that you often get mixed results from the same mechanic. For example, I was shocked when I first saw people harassing each other on my Mad King Clock Tower map. It made me feel terrible that something I created had fostered so much animosity. But then I heard from person after person that they had the opposite experience and had a blast chatting with people and making new friends as the shared challenge cemented their relationships. And with the Marionette I’ve played maps where there was some hostility, but more often people are cheering each other on. ( http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/01/30/now-playing-earning-a-hard-fought-victory-against-guild-wars-2s-twisted-marionette/ )

So yes, it IS up to a community to police itself to a certain extent, insofar as some behavior is condoned or encouraged in chat, and others are shunned and discouraged. But also, as a developer we’ve got to do our best to find creative solutions to make inclusion and friendship be the profitable way to play. That’s why reading the harsh critiques on forums like these is so important to us.

PowerGamer.2874:

As of this writing my server (which is designated as having “Very High” population on the world select screen) has beaten Marionette exactly ZERO times. Does anything else have to be said?

Nope. I hear you. We’ll take that sort of feedback into consideration when designing future open world boss events. We want to figure out ways to keep the events challenging while also providing enough direction to increase a server’s chance of success.

DiogoSilva.7089:

I believe that the problem with this event, and why it’s so difficult to finish it, is not the difficulty itself, but the very restricting victory conditions versus the nature of an open-world event.
No matter how many casual players become more skillful out of this, there will always exist a few randoms, who stumble upon or try the event for the first time, and compromise the entire server’s victory. This is because the event’s success is heavily tied to the weakest links – and all the other, better players can’t do much to prevent the situation.

I agree. This is the weakest part of the design. If I could go back in time I’d make sure our brilliant designers and content people had the time to make it so after you break a regulator you can /cheer to res the nearest downed player.

I don’t have time for more replies, but I’ll keep reading. Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Gene Archer.8560:

But players can put in all the hard work they can and still not break through to the next level. People have limits and thresholds.

I recognize this. I don’t expect every player, or even a majority to improve their skills. The hope is that ENOUGH of them will that we will be able to create more creative and nuanced content.

Gene Archer.8560:

Wish Anet would stop making raid content altogether.

Setting aside the misnomer, I’d just like to point out that if everyone had their wishes and Anet stopped making content that didn’t appeal to them, Anet could not make any content. The PvPers would negate the PvE, PvE negates WvW, WvW negates PvP, etc. Think of an MMO like a newspaper. Some people only read the comics. Some only want the sports page. Some like all the parts, but enjoy the local news the most, etc.

Gene Archer.8560:

But I still know where my limit is, and if this trend continues, I will be excluded from the new content, very soon.

Perhaps this is the root of your problem. You feel like we don’t want or like you. First of all, that’s not true. There is no trend to exclude any particular kind of player. Please look over the past year of LW releases. We’ve done so many different kinds of content specifically so that we can excite the various kinds of players out there. Out of the dozens of releases we’ve had two dedicated to open world bosses. We’ve done some WvW, some PvP, some Dungeons, some holidays, some JPs, etc. When I say I hope the overall player-base skill can be brought up, it’s not because all our future content will be uniformly more difficult. It’s just so that the stuff we are making for those who like to be challenged can be more complex and interesting. That should not exclude you any more than the occasional WvW, PvP or JP content would. I guess you consider that “muddled”. I consider it nicely diverse.

Zylonite.5913:

I play the game to have fun, not to become better at something….If something tries to change me then it means it does’t accept me as a player??? so is the GW2 player base not accepted within ANet’s walls that now we have to change?

Some people only have fun WHEN they are learning and displaying mastery of skill. If you are not like that, cool. No problem. We love and accept you just as you are. We made most of our game content for you! Don’t ever change. Seriously, there’s room for all of us here.

Kalarchis.8635:

ANet is spot on the money. PvE has been far too easy for far too long and it’s spoiled players into thinking that anything that requires effort = too much effort.

That’s not really the message I hope this kind of content sends. I don’t think anyone is “spoiled” for wanting to chill out and not be challenged in their virtual world. It’s their time off, I’m happy to help to provide that blissful state. My only concern is that we are not then obligated to create nothing but blissful relaxation. There’s enough room in Tyria for all kinds.

Ohoni.6057:

Nothing about the new content teaches players how to play better, it just requires that they DO play better,

That’s a fair point. Thanks. I’ll think about how to incorporate better direction in future content.

Minos.5168:

It’s not really fair to the rest of us decent players who are able to successfully clear our platforms EACH AND EVERY time, and then watch us fail overall because one or two platforms fail.

Yes. If I could change one thing it would be better support to under-performing platforms.

zenleto.6179:

I just thought I’d let you know that this is what has happened for me. I do know about traits but since I don’t run dungeons, or any other heavy group-based content that might exist, I’ve never needed to switch them out or change to a weapon that a particular character has never used for some particular skills or even just used different skills. I’m not sure it has increased my skill level but its definitely cleared the rust away and make me think a bit more.

That’s awesome! To the extent that it got you to stop and think after a defeat, and come up with alternate strategies… THAT is improving your skill. It’s not like we want everyone to magically get faster reflexes or become Nintendo Wizards. If we are limited to making content that has to be able to be rolled over by anyone without thinking, our events can only be reskinned versions of the same thing over and over. I hope that there are lots others like you.

Risingashes.8694:

Can I suggest a more focused training program for the individual for a future patch?

You’d need to make it essentially mandatory, either by rewards or locking Legendaries, level 80 or something behind it.

Have something that specifically teaches dodges, something that specifically requires trait swapping, something that specifically teaches positioning.

I really like this idea. Sounds like something that could be worked into the personal story. There’s a game I’ve been playing lately that does this really well called Desktop Dungeons. It’s makes learning the more advanced skills a puzzle game, so learning is fun and not a chore.

Gene Archer.8560:

High failure isn’t fun. Tension isn’t fun. Feeling hopelessness and dread because your server can never muster the numbers to have a shot at success isn’t fun. Feeling like you’re being forced to get better isn’t fun.
The moment you do any of this, it stops being a game and becomes a job. It becomes work.
That isn’t fun, period.

So there are many ways to categorize gamers, and one useful way is by looking at what they want out of a game. Here’s a really great video by my friend James Portnow on the subject of the aesthetics of games, and why people are drawn to certain types.

From what you’ve said, (Includeing: “All I want from a video game is a relaxing, entertaining ride.”) it appears that what you come to GW2 for is abnegation. You can skip to 7:25 to hear about it. But it essentially means that one wants to escape the real world to go to a relaxing comfortable place for a while. This is a core aesthetic of most MMOs, and GW2 is no exception. The vast majority of our content is PvE abnegation. We all love it. It’s the foundation from which the rest of our systems are built. However, being a diverse lot, we also have other aesthetics we want to pursue, and as a result we attract other kinds of players with other motives for playing. People who ENJOY some amount of tension, who want to learn. Who like to fail from time to time in order to challenge them to come up with new and creative strategies. This challenge and learning is the basis for most video games that have existed. In Mario if you don’t learn to jump when a Goomba walks up to you, you die. There is pleasure inherent in learning for most people if the context is correct. It sounds like you have a very specific idea of what contexts learning should occur, and don’t count your MMO playing time as one of them. And that’s totally cool. We want to appeal to you and others like you. That is why the vast majority of the game is designed the way it is. We don’t want our game to feel like work. We want people like you to find the process of expanding your skillset fun and exciting. And that’s why there is such a range of content. There are others who land further toward the challenge end of the spectrum than you, and we need to keep them engaged as well. No single person is going to find every piece of content we release a perfect fit for their gaming pleasure. I hope you can understand that it’s not malice or stupidity that keeps us from creating 100% of our content to fit your specific tastes, or that makes us want to expand the overall skillset of the player-base.

tl,dr: Not all content is going to appeal to all players. So we make a range.

DrDivine.5378:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I’m a little worried that someone may have access to your account, although generally when this happens more than a few items are missing. Are you sharing the account with someone? Have you activated authentication, and have you gotten any notifications of remote access? Did you happen to delete a character recently that may have had the mini in its possession?

If the answer to all of these is “No,” then I suggest you look at every possible storage space: character, collection, bank, bags, boxes, tote bags, refrigerated coolers…. oooh, new item ideas! But seriously, most of the time when someone notes just one or a few items missing the agent is able to suggest places to look and the item was simply placed somewhere other than where the player thought to look. So I’ve given you the list. If you still cannot find it, do submit a ticket and an agent will be happy to help.

Thank you for the helpful advice, I went through everything (characters, all bags on each characters, refrigerated coolers lol etc.) but no luck. Me and my friend thought it may have been hacking, but I find it unlikely since all my gold is still there and I would think that would be the first thing they would take. Plus, my password is really long and convoluted xD

I submitted a ticket just in case, is there a possibility I will be able to get my items back?

The team will do everything they can to make that happen, after they can track down what took place. There should be game logs that show possession of an item and then what happened to it, so it shouldn’t be impossible to get this all sorted for you.

laokoko.7403:

I can visit the support page now. thank you.

Great! I’m glad that worked out ok for you.

This might be relevant to you: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Not-Getting-Our-Mails-Yahoo-Gmail-Hotmail-and-more/page/3#post3555852

And of course, Support will be happy to help you via a ticket.

I’m a little worried that someone may have access to your account, although generally when this happens more than a few items are missing. Are you sharing the account with someone? Have you activated authentication, and have you gotten any notifications of remote access? Did you happen to delete a character recently that may have had the mini in its possession?

If the answer to all of these is “No,” then I suggest you look at every possible storage space: character, collection, bank, bags, boxes, tote bags, refrigerated coolers…. oooh, new item ideas! But seriously, most of the time when someone notes just one or a few items missing the agent is able to suggest places to look and the item was simply placed somewhere other than where the player thought to look. So I’ve given you the list. If you still cannot find it, do submit a ticket and an agent will be happy to help.

Nike.2631:

I’ve said harsh things about the early part of the Scarlet arc and I stand by them as being true of that time. But the last 2-3 episodes have shown dramatic growth. The recaps have be entertaining and well delivered. Scarlet has become more compelling and more frightening. I feel more involved in the story from within the game rather than chasing after supplementary texts. I am genuinely hopeful that the climax will achieve something we talk about with fond remembrance in years to come. I do want to be able to tell my friends, “It had a rough start, but look how far they’ve come.”

Thanks for the feedback. I’m hoping that people will notice a difference in the 2014 LW releases.

Yes, you can transfer between your accounts, although there are limits on how much a new account can accept in the early days. (That’s a means of curtailing RMT activity.)

You’ll have to wait and see how we integrated story into the release. I think it works pretty well but I’m biased. I am looking forward to the feedback we receive next week.

Rajani Isa is making an important point: Any codes added to an account after the initial purchase need to align with that region. To put that another way (paraphrasing an earlier post):

Yes you can purchase an NA (“Other” or Non-European) code from us for your friend in the EU and he or she will be able to register and play the game. However, that account always will be an NA account. If your friend wants to add codes to it later, that player would have to be NA codes and not EU codes.

Once an account is registered, it can be played from anywhere in the world. But the game code and all added codes need to align. I don’t see this as a huge issue. A European who moves to the US and wants to add gem cards simply can purchase gem cards from a EU vendor. But for full disclosure, I wanted to make that situation clear.

Nike.2631:

BobbyStein.2315:

Funny that you mention player voice. I’ve had a few meetings recently about that. I can’t go into details but I will say that it’s on the list of things we’re looking to address. The current issue is more of a tech one and less of a “we don’t want the player to talk” decision.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

I would expect it’s also a budgetary one to get those voice actors (all 10 or so) back for just that.

Its a LOT more than that. 10 actors for every language the game has been released in.

I don’t discount the cost and I wouldn’t begrudge them carefully managed repurposing of existing audio stocks. I just want for the endgame of a year-long world shaking tale to not come off as cheap.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is in a similar bind with a cast of fully voiced heroes, and it suffered terribly from “major events” that were completely ludicrous in their handling of the resounding silence of the heroes after launch. I’m a bit traumatized by it, really. It was bad.

Yup. There is always a cost factor involved, but right now the blocking issue is a technical one. It’s a totally solvable issue but we want to make sure we’re fixing it in an extensible way that supports our core design and story philosophies.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

KyreneZA.8617:

The ‘reveal’ could possibly have been a little more romantic and a little less dramatic, since not all players have been with the game from the vaunted beta days.

Please note, the “reveal” as you say is so far only done via an out of game comment. They haven’t yet said in game “we are a couple/dating”, they have just behaved somewhat in line with it.

Heck their behavior isn’t even dissimilar from close friends.

I was once again a little disappointed in the writing team, as the pay-off was less stellar than the build up.

It hasn’t even paid off yet either

Exactly. I was about to post this and then saw your reply.

The story instance didn’t really have any pay-offs. It was really a series of character moments that are pushing them along their respective arcs. It’s also worth noting that they will not all resolve at the same time or in the same release.

DragonSquid.5873:

Gaile,

I would like to know if this deal is still active as i have a few account picks i would like to get refund to buy the new gemstore watchwork pick,

Thanks for your time

DragonSquid

Sure, I bet we can help you! If you have identical items — that is, the same exact item (not two different items of the same type) — submit a ticket to Support and we’ll get you fixed up.

To be clear, here’s what I wrote about the “same item” requirement: The refund process is intended for duplicates of the same item. For example, if you had two Bone Picks, we could refund one. But with two separate items, the refund offer does not apply because they are different items, even if the function is the same.

Well, there ya go, and thank you so much, folks, for finding that confirmation. Another fine game feature at your service!

I did confirm that there is a 72-hour (3 day) waiting period for new guild members to use the guild bank. doomfodder, I’m figuring you don’t have long to wait before you’ll be able to make those transfers.

Gosh and golly, I sure wish someone ~hint, hint~ would update the Guild Vault page on the GW2 Wiki to show that feature.

Hey all,

There will be a fix for this coming in the February 4th release next Tuesday. In the meantime, I would avoid using Signet of Vampirism in the manner outlined in this thread.

Thanks for the reports!

Arlette.9684:

Hey there,

I tried to submit a refund request just now and when I went and selected Purchase issue the ticket form won’t let me “Issue” further down even though it’s a required field and I can’t submit my ticket without it.

Help!

If all else fails, you can submit an e-mail to Support@GuildWars2.com.

decote — I’m sorry that you’ve experienced this situation, but it appears you’ve discussed this matter with Customer Support agent multiple times. If you wish a review, and if this is at least 3 full days old, please post in the sticky post above, “Tickets for Review: 3 Days and Older” and I can take a look. It’s essentially that you provide the ticket number(s) involved.

Please also try the suggestions from Inculpatus cedo — they may be the way to find the slot that you indeed to have on your account.

Vi Neomir.9653:

Wasn’t sure where to post this, so I will try here.

Because tonight I wasn’t paying attention I accidently destroyed my ascended staff. Pretty annoyed with myself for doing this, but what has made it worse is it was transmuted with the Kasmeer’s staff skin.

First, is there any possibility for support to help return the destroyed weapon?
Second, if the weapon cant be returned how can I get to use the skin again, or is that not possible?

It’s very hard to know what can happen in these individual situations. It’s true that many “user errors” cannot be reversed or corrected through CS involvement. But we’re always trying to do the most that we can for each player, so I think you should submit a ticket and discuss this matter directly, since it’s not something that could be answered well in a forum thread. Best of luck!

mercury ranique.2170:

~snip~

I want to take time to make an easy to read (short) topic that is also to the point and taking both sides of the balance into mind.

Excellent plan. I see the best ideas get bogged down in 42 pages, when a couple of paragraphs — well-thought — can really lay out the idea very well.

mercury ranique.2170:

As said. I am going to try and make a good proposal in the dungeons forum (and not the pvp-forum as Gaile recommended, I think that was a small typo).

Typo? Moi? No wai! Yes, the Dungeons Sub-Forum is the perfect spot.

Well, I am impressed with The Scarlet Raven’s reasoning, and I think it’s not a bad idea at all, but but I confess I wasn’t aware (or possibly simply do not remember) that there is a cool-down period for new guild members to have access to the guild bank. Nor does my favorite resource — The GW2 Wiki about guild vaults have such info, either.

So I’m just not sure that feature exists, nor that it would explain your problem, doomfodder. Let me check into this and I’ll update when I confirm precisely how it works. The devs made improvements to the game all the time, and perhaps this IS how things function; I just want to make sure before I post.

In the meantime, could you kindly update this thread if you find you got access to the guild bank? (And are you on the correct world? Just making sure. )

Thanks.

laokoko.7403:

I’d like to contact support. But I don’t think I can because the website blocks support for people in my region(other people can’t contact support where I live too, I live in Taiwan). How am I suppose to get help?

My problem: I bought a molten alliance mining pick, and I bought another 1 again. But I realize Anet changed the mining pick to account bound.

Now I like to get a refund of gem. Since no point to have 2 if it is account bound.

I have never known our website to block any region. (And hi there, I <3 Taiwan — went there in 2006 and has such a wonderful time!) Anyway, can you tell me the exact message you get when you click the word “Support” at the top of this page? We do want to help you!

And the advice you received may be the answer: Although it’s not as speedy, you can e-mail Customer Support for Guild Wars 2 by writing the details of your situation in an email addressed to: Support@GuildWars2.com.

First, this is not an “issue” but more of a request, so I changed the subject line so it’s less confusing.

Second, what does “removed” mean in this context? Moved to his account? Sold? Traded? Deleted (destroyed in the trash bin)? Forged? Naturally, some wouldn’t be possible for account- or soul-bound items. But the details of exactly what happened are relevant to your case, should you contact Support. They also relate to loss because if “removed” means traded or forged or transmuted, then the net is clearly not zero.

You seem to be aware of the limits placed on the use of the ART (Account Restoration Tool), and also are knowledgeable about the number of players who ask us to make exceptions in their cases. I wish I could say your situation was unique, or that it even represented a highly-unusual case. Unfortunately, no, this sort of thing does happen on a fairly regular basis. It’s most common with accounts that intentionally are shared but it’s certainly not unusual with accounts that are not kept secure. (And yes, I call it the Evil Little Brother Syndrome™, so you’re not far off the mark in what you called it.)

I just sent an answer to a player who heatedly has demanded that we roll-back his account due to his own admitted lack of security. That will not happen for very practical reasons which I sense you understand, including our inability to verify the circumstances, the possibility of abuse through planned “hacking” incidents, damage to the game economy through unwarranted roll-backs without retrieving the items from the (genuine) hacker, etc.

Having said all that, please feel free to submit a ticket to discuss the items you’re most concerned about, but thank you for understanding, out of the gate, that we cannot offer a restoration in this case.

Nike.2631:

BobbyStein.2315:

What people don’t understand is that we wrote and voiced a lot of these moments throughout the year. Some scenes and story instances were cut or never implemented in the final releases, which is why this particular story instance was longer than the typical one and filled with lots of exposition.

I sincerely hope that over course of the year there was an opportunity to get the Hero Voice Actors back into studio and allow the players to be more engaged in the climax of the arc than as mute witnesses.

Scavenge some clips from the existing Personal Story library if you have to, but please don’t leave us completely silent in the face of these world altering events!

Funny that you mention player voice. I’ve had a few meetings recently about that. I can’t go into details but I will say that it’s on the list of things we’re looking to address. The current issue is more of a tech one and less of a “we don’t want the player to talk” decision.

BrunoBRS.5178:

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

BobbyStein.2315:

You’ll actually find your answer in the game soon.

You made this just for us didn’t you? Hahaha.

Well I’m loving every bit of it. We have so much to examine now.

he feeds on the blood and tears from Lore forum discussions.

It’s either that or Monster energy drinks. I’ll stick with blood and tears.

j/k

Nike.2631:

BobbyStein.2315:

That’s not really true. There’s a lot of information in the game, but it’s been spread across multiple releases. If anything, the theorycrafting on Scarlet that I’ve seen on these forums and on Reddit are fantastic. We’re lucky to have a really smart fanbase that is connecting the dots. That’s not to say everyone is right—there’s probably one accurate guess out of a thousand. We want to get people talking and guessing.

“One out of ten thousand” was also mentioned publicly… Thing is, having a sub-one-percent success rate actually points to not connecting to your audience very effectively. More than 99% of your active and engaged audience just don’t get it.

You may be over-doing the mystery/twist a bit .

Disclosure: 1/10,000 is hyperbole.

But I get where folks are coming from, and this feedback has been noted. I think we can drop more hints along the way without spoiling too much in the future.

Nikasaur.4713:

Go ambar! wurmhead achievement bugged, killed 2 different ones now, no achieve , please fix anet. Loot sucked :p

Leona Lovebite

Fire Heart.9167:

Really cool !
but please fix the achievement progress

Bogomil.6180:

was there as well gj guys. this time the 2min timer worked for the heads. was at amber now for 2 days. head killed —> no achievement progress…please fix. would have had title

Hey guys. I was wondering if you could provide a little more information here. What achievement didn’t progress for you? What achievement were you expecting to complete? What were you doing to get progress? This will help us investigate.

Deathknight.3075:

I would like to know if Sigils that have ‘on crit % apply effect’ of two different types can be used together.

As for the thief, do people really use the with off hand empty it gets overwritten when you slot anything in the off hand slot when you use the main and secondary weapon slot. It would be nice if with off hand empty would get a skill for the 4th and 5th slot on the skill bar instead of a blank spots

For the first question: Sigils that have different effects can indeed be used together. Sigil of Fire can be used in conjunction with Sigil of Air.

As far as the ‘Offhand Empty’ skills go, these abilities were designed for new characters that have yet to gain an off-hand weapon and I wouldn’t count on these sets being changed anytime soon. Thanks for the suggestion though!

I added an edit in the original post explaining why the notes are being posted currently. I’ll post it here too:
“Most of these notes are simply a summary of what was discussed in the previous Ready Up stream, with a few tweaks based on feedback. This list of changes does not encompass all changes that will occur in the next feature build. We’ve got quite a few more things coming, but are unable to talk about them at this time. Soon.”

Thanks for the feedback all!

Also, another change that wasn’t in ready up but is new to the list:
Ranger:

• Keen Edge: This trait is now classified as a Survival Skill.

Citizens,

The fourth episode of Ready Up will be airing on Friday, January 31st, at 2PM PST. WvW Game Designer Tyler Bearce will be joining me to talk about Edge of the Mists and a few other WvW changes coming in with the next update.

The stream will be live at www.twitch.tv/guildwars2

If you have any burning questions about EotM that you’d like to ask, feel free to respond below.

Thanks!

Hey all,

I want to clear up some potential confusion that may have been caused with this thread as I’ve seen a few posters questioning the connection between this thread and the Collaborative Development Initiative. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, the CDI is a tool that our designers use to gather critical design-focused feedback on a given topic that we then take into consideration during the development process, making the development of Guild Wars 2 much more of a conversational two-way street.

On the other hand, the main intent of this thread was to help me acclimate to the WvW community at large, getting a grasp on the things players both enjoy and dislike, and with that in mind I think the thread served its purpose well. World vs. World is a very complex machine in that it caters to many groups of diverse interests and play styles, and because of that there is no absolutely uniform list of high-concerns that players might have. The opinions and information I’ve gleaned from this thread have been extremely helpful in getting my finger on the many pulses of WvW. My job, ultimately, is to not only communicate things to you, but to also act as your representative to our developers.

On the topic of CDI, if you’d like to participate in the next one, Chris Whiteside will be starting a new thread that focuses on improving the CDI process itself sometime today or tomorrow in Guild Wars 2 General Forums.

Thanks again!

Greetings all,

We will be rolling out fixes with the next build. As an aside, if you have a stalled out event, submit a ticket to Support so they can get a reset for you. http://en.support.guildwars2.com/

Malchior.5042:

At Chris’ request, I’m going to further define the structure I laid out in a previous post regarding User Stories.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, user stories are a method of determining requirements or opening discussion for the development of a software project.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_story

• The story is written as one or a couple of sentences where the developer (in this case, each one of us) makes a request or statement that they want the piece of software to perform. The statement is usually written in the most simple language or vocabulary as possible, as if a user (or in our terms, a player) were speaking to the developer directly.

For example – As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that <benefit>

“As a WvW player, I want stronger defensive tools/rewards, so that zerging across objectives is lessened and defense is more valued.”

• After the basic story is established, the poster could spend a couple paragraphs detailing their design. Again, whenever possible, the most basic language and vocabulary should be used. This way, any player of any language can understand the design, critique it, and offer their own insight.

• The idea of simplified user stories would allow people like Chris and other contributing Devs to get a quick overview of what the player wants and why they want it. If the Dev agrees with the player or the player touches upon an aspect or design that may already be in discussion or development by Arenanet internally, then the developer can read through a player’s detailed design suggestions.

• Interesting user stories Devs can “Favorite” or “Tag” to be explored further, or used within the final proposal at the company roundtable.

Essentially, it puts us, the players, in the developer’s chair as if we were at one of Arenanet’s SCRUM or Sprint meetings.

Personally, I feel establishing a format for a concise presentation like a user story would help us cut down on a lot of the redundancy, confusion, and length that have existed in previous CDIs.

As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that <benefit>

Something akin to this structure or user story template at the beginning of every player’s post would make elements like type of player, intent, and scope much more visible from a simple statement.

I really like this idea. Obviously for discussion we discuss bit for design proposals this is genius!

We actually work like this internally.

Chris