Guild Wars 2

I didn’t really see it as much of a reconciliation. At the end, their interaction was still awkward and strained. (“Um, so, uh . . . anybody hungry?” “Yeah! Let’s go stuff food in our mouths so we don’t have to try to talk to each other!”)

I got the impression that even though Braham’s first “adventure” with his mom might have been an eye opener as far as her fighting prowess goes, it really did nothing to mend their relationship.

The part that bothered me though was “my” acceptance of Eir’s decision to abandon Braham. (“Can’t be a hero with a kid dragging you down” or whatever “I” said.) Then again, my parents were pro-career and anti-child rearing so I have a built-in prejudice against people who treat their children like burdens.

(BTW, I still don’t like Braham. He’s a punk.)

Snoring Sleepwalker.9073:

I can understand some waiting, since making the rocks stay up all the time would lessen the difficulty. But why do we have to wait so long ?

Because the geysers are timed. What do you propose they do to decrease the wait without breaking the timing of the sequence?

Pavel.8531:

Let’s see… there is this trait, called Retributive Armor… are you using it?

Ah, that’s most likely it! Thanks!

I have two full sets of level 80 exotic armor for my guardian: a set of Knight’s armor I bought with badges and a set of Zerker’s that I crafted last night. The Precision stat is the same on both sets of armor yet when I swap from Knight’s to Zerker’s I lose 22 Precision overall. (I have ruby orbs slotted in both sets.)

Any idea what’s going on here? Nothing is changing except the six pieces of armor. When I mouse-over each piece, it shows the Precision stat in white (ie, identical), yet just standing in LA swapping between sets my Precision drops.

Summary: Allow people to purchase additional wardrobe sets (for gems) that can be configured and saved, then swapped to and from freely. Return transmutation charges to their original functionality (allowing the swapping of skins and runes/sigils).

Goal: To increase gem sales by increasing the flexibility of the wardrobe system, and return the ability to reuse valuable runes/sigils since upgrade extractors are prohibitively expensive.

Assumptions:
Gem Store
1. The vast majority of transmutations were performed on level 80 items.
2. Most people have a surplus of transmutation charges now that the formerly-near-useless 1-79 transmutation stones can be used on level 80 items.
3. The purchase of transmutation charges is significantly less frequent than the purchase of transmutation crystals was.
4. The purchase of upgrade extractors isn’t making up this shortfall in gem purchases.
Fashion
1. Some people would like to switch between multiple cosmetic appearances.
2. Some people find that cost-prohibitive because of the “per-item” and temporary nature of said costs.
3. Some people would be willing to pay a fixed gem cost to have one or more additional appearance sets that they configure and then access.
4. This cost could be more than the cost of the individual transmutation charges necessary to swap an entire appearance because of the permanent nature of the purchase.

Proposal:
What I’m proposing is categorizing the six armor slots as a single, customizable unit called a costume (a subset of the existing Wardrobe tab). Every character would start with a single costume (which would function exactly as it does now).

In addition, people could purchase, through the Gem Store, a creatively named new item: the Additional Costume Slot. This would appear in the Wardrobe tab as a drop box or set of tabs. Initially, the armor slots would be blank (or if necessary for technical reasons, have a set of generic white gear). The process of assembling and dying the desired costume would be identical to the current system except it would cost no transmutation charges. (This cost is built into the Costume Slot’s purchase.) The costume would not be wearable until any and all desired customizations were “finalized” by the purchaser. At that point, the costume slot would be available for use but only modifiable with the use of transmutation charges.

All combat stats would be derived from the armor equipped in initial/base/free wardrobe the character has—there would be no need for multiple sets of gear for additional costume slots.

Lastly, the old transmutation interface would be restored (accessible by right-clicking an item in your inventory? a button in the wardrobe tab?) to allow old-style sigil swapping or item customization. Weapons would be skinned using the existing Wardrobe interface or the new/old transmutation window.

Drawbacks:
1. Because of the wide variety of appearances available in the game and the limited ability to switch between them, some people are uniquely identifiable by their appearance. This could dilute that sense of individuality.
2. Upgrade extractors could be a big hit in the Gem Store currently. This would diminish their utility.

I noticed that too. I hope it’s a bug.

Double-click them and they become transmutation charges.

Yeah, I was trying to look at some daggers on my elementalist, but his robes are so puffy that 90% of the weapon was obscured when viewing the different skins.

So in the Economics blog, JS said he balanced the removal of repair costs with a reduction in champ payouts. Will anything be done to balance the cost of increased waypoint usage, reduced access to events (and their rewards), and less efficient harvesting? Seems like characters will necessarily be poorer in the new megaserver system.

It was a prototype of the assault knights.

Celtic Lady.3729:

Really? You think? With 20 million or so fans of their games? Why wouldn’t they subscribe?

Compared to eleventy-billion Star Wars fans? How’d that work out for EA?

Sure, lots of people will try ESO. Then they’ll realize how superficially it resembles an Elder Scrolls game. All the freedom and depth they enjoyed in Skyrim or Morrowind is missing. In its place: just another crummy generic MMO—with a monthly sub and a cash shop.

But the graphics sure are pretty!

Rayti.6531:

Abaia.1365:

Actually, that’s an interesting question since we’ve been told by Anet to report AFKers in this instance.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/escape/Report-AFK-people/3721305

Actually what you have been told is:
“If you see something in-game which you feel violates our Code of Conduct, please report these instances in-game so Customer Support can review.” (CC Danicia, 05.03.2014)

Which was in response to the question: “Since there are more and more people abusing this, I want to ask before I get myself in trouble for “abusing” the report system: Is this a reportable offence?”

Whether or not it violates the CoC isn’t the question here. The question is merely one of procedure.

Actually, that’s an interesting question since we’ve been told by Anet to report AFKers in this instance.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/escape/Report-AFK-people/3721305

szygum.2607:

What is more to offer? It’s the 3rd topic about the same. Everything has been already told. Reward system is broken, not afkers’ fault. As time goes, more bugs are revealed. Developers are silent. Consider more same poor content in the future.

So you agree that AFKers are exploiting and should be banned? Ok, thanks.

From the perspective of someone who WvW’s a couple hours a week but does zero PvP, I don’t think things will be as kittenome dedicated PvE’ers think. Here’s why.

First, WvW fights aren’t as structured as PvP. Instead of having two groups of people packed into a relatively small area, WvW “match-ups” tend to sprawl all over the place. As a result, there’s never enough population on both sides to contest the entire map. So while one objective may be locked down by the enemy, others will be in your teams control or contestable.

Second, griefing in WvW isn’t very satisfying. Why? Because you can’t see your victim’s name. Psychologically, that detracts from the joy griefers feel in the same way that de-humanizing enemy combatants makes it easier for soldiers to pull the trigger.

Third, there’s the numbers game. Griefers are a minority outside of prison showers. When the LS hits the Edge of the Mists, there’ll be one zerg for every griefer. Want to complete the LS and move on? So does everyone else. Pop in, find a blue dorito or a ball of green dots, and fall in. You might come into conflict with other people pulling the same routine, but that’s just the WvW analogue to champ fights.

So, again, from someone who avoids true PvP like the plague, WvW will be more familiar than strange. The red names across the valley are just mobs to be killed by you and your green-dot buddies. It’s nothing personal—you’re just a server and title to them, too!

I’d like to comment on the “practice” factor that could improve success on this event.

Given that the event runs every 2 hours, and for the most part any one player is only going to get 1 appearance on a platform against 1 particular boss, there’s a very limited opportunity to experience each bosses’ mechanics and practice successful strategies against them. So to the extent that practical experience with each boss type would increase the individual success rate of some players and thus the overall success rate of the event, the event’s design works against itself.

One solution could be to have each lane occasionally spawn veteran-level versions of the lane’s regulator so people can get a preview of the mechanics they’ll be up against. Or maybe weave the five regulators into the LS as a “build-up” to the Marionette.

Although Majory and Kasmeer’s relationship can be salacious at times, a genuine current of affection and concern seem to carry the relationship. I think there are two primary factors that play into the view of their relationship as nothing more than cheap pandering to horny teenagers.

First, there’s the fact that most (all?) of our knowledge of their relationship comes from the point of view of the “third wheel.” We don’t know how Majory and Kasmeer behave in private, only the show they put on in public (for all the gawkers in Kessex Hills). And in Kasmeer’s case, I think 90% of what she says is for show. She seems to have two goals: to shock and titilate her “audience” and to try to embarass Marjory. At least that’s how I read her more outlandish behavior.

Second, there’s the age old fantasy rule of “No Uggoes.” In the fantasy genre being unattractive means one of two things: you’re evil or being “the ugly one” is your character type. Hence, no one in fantasy in general, or GW2 in particular, is allowed to be unattractive. So even before the first piece of concept art, the Marjory/Kasmeer romance was doomed to be fan-fic fodder. There was simply no choice but to make them attractive because to do otherwise would be to break a fantasy rule more deeply held than “elfs in trees, dwarves under rocks.”

In short, I think the relationship is more than mere pandering but the accusation is sound—for reasons both in and out of the devs’ conscious control.

I want to add my thanks as well. After missing almost all of my October playtime, I’m only 1 daily away from the event achievement.

So, thank you!

Yolink.8691:

I have yet to see Fort Aspenwood to defeat the Skeletal Lich. This makes me upset because I need to defeat it to complete the achievement.

I was with a group on FA that took him down Saturday. There was a lot of “skip the lich” in chat for a while, but eventually we wound up running past him and decided to stick around. We cornered him in a mausoleum which made it almost mandatory for everyone to stack on him.