Guild Wars 2

Capes are not exactly pratical combat attire… But then neither is a quaggan plushie.

http://i.imgur.com/9Ybgz.gif

…Seriously… Those things are death traps.

kta.6502:

Anet never offered refunds when they took away peoples’ town clothes and turn them into tonics. I was one of those folks who never got a refund.

This is totally incorrect, they did offer refund and quite publicly infact. I should know, I got one. You had to actually show your dissatistifaction and request the refund but this was all clearly outlined in a stickied post in the forums.

I disagree on this one. It’s not okay. There are minors that play this game, and it’s well known that online bullying does cause some kids to commit suicide. As an adult, I’m mentally and emotionally strong enough to handle bullies and trolls. A teenager is a whole other story.

Disagree all you want, it’s not a major issue. It’s not Anet’s job to police the world nor is it their job to be surrogate parents.

Want to bet?

Sylvari is basically Anet’s love child, they have been gushing over them ever since the game released. The games initial story, Season 1 and season 2 are basically love letters to the sylvari lore. You know what they aren’t going to do?

Kill off the Sylvari race.

They couldn’t even bring themselves to kill off lions arch, their too attatched and sentimental toward it.

When the pale tree took damage and acted injured I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and groan. Because they picked the one character in that room who had plot armor. The pale tree isn’t going anywhere because by her very nature she is linked to a core game mechanic. So any dramatic build up regarding the pale trees well being is ultimately meaningless, since you already know the outcome.

kta.6502:

— the 800 gem($10) SAB infinite play coin. SAB fans can’t use it because there isn’t any more SAB.

Fairly sure this is a none issue, they will definitely offer a refund if they conclude they aren’t going forward with SAB. I even seem to recall they said the life of SAB was solely based on how popular and useful it becomes. So you can’t say they didn’t warn anyone.

— No moderation since megaserver was implemented. I’ve gotten kitten threats (aka sexual assault threats) since the megaserver was installed.

I don’t personally think Anet should be moderating chat outside of abusive behavior anyway… But if a lack of chat moderation is the price to pay for fuller and more viable areas in the world. I’m okay with this…

—Gold sellers over-riding the game’s block system. I’ve gotten whispers from gold sellers who are on my block list.

It took them a few months to cut down on sellers and bots but when they did the effect was profound. Give them time on this one.

— Nothing is being done about the various exploits and bugs in Arah and Orr.

Theres a lot of assumptions in this one so I pass.

— The possibility of the Sylvari race being erased from the game.

I facepalmed pretty hard at this one… Never gonna happen, don’t be absurd.

—Lack of Progression after lv. 80.

Finally something we agree on completely!

If this keeps up, “This won’t end well.”

The only serious thing here is the lack of progression and if i might add my own to your list…

—A game with a focus so heavily on a perfect market that there is a destinct lack of reward for doing anything

CrashTestAuto.9108:

Calling the expression of anger a hissy fit is unfair. Sure, some people are being immature, but simply being angry isn’t.

What is an immature expression of anger if not a hissy fit?

The lack of communication has been a problem that has become worse and worse. People have become increasingly upset, and the latest interview pushed a lot over the edge.

Arenanet aren’t even that incommmunitive, it’s just that people don’t hear what they want to hear amnd use the excuse thay there is a lack of communication to try and bully an anwser or response out of Arenanet.

ANet have demonstrated that they are willing to simply ignore their customers. Polite discourse has failed (and many, many people have been polite. The people who behaved badly do not justify ignored the majority of a consumer base), so being louder is the only practical alternative.

You speak with such certainity yet I don’t feel they’ve conclusively demonstrated anything of the sort. A lot of changes made to the game since release have been things people specifically asked for. If anything I’d say theres more evidence to the contrary. But ultimately we are obviously measuring this on different scales.

The very assumption that because you ask nicely for something the developer should buckle and give you what you demand is a little entitled don’t you think? Because it implies that anything you ask for, you are somehow entitled too.

The only thing you are entitled too here is a good experience and ultimately if you aren’t having it you can say so to the developer or leave.

But the idea that the playerbase is entitled to any changes they request is absurd in any game, not just this one.

Of course, it is possible to express anger in an immature way, and I do not defend that. But the expressions of anger I have seen recently seem largely sensible enough.

This SAB or riot idea does not come across as sensible at all as it puts across the worst message possible. That the playerbase is more concerned about trivial meaningless filler minigames than actual coherient and long lasting content.

What a backwards message to be pushing.

Azrael.4960:

Players would then have the best of two options
1. A tag with a colour of choice for 1 character at 100g
2. A tag with a colour of choice for all characters at 300g

I’m surprised Anet didn’t think of that.

Pretty good idea actually…

I am genuinely curious… Is it common for commanders to have multiple tags to justify the 200g price rise?

Relshdan.6854:

agree….but i think the bosses in LS2 (and some of the end events of LS1) are Anet’s way to try and rectify the problem. more mobs like the mordrem would also help.

Ultimately I feel this is more the byproduct of salvaging the dungeon team for the living story. Than dilberate intent to move away from the casual slop permeating throughout the game.

I think people are misunderstanding what brought us to this point.

The problem isn’t the fight, it’s that guild wars 2 doesn’t properly teach players how to play. If you’ve never entered a dungeon and even if you have most current tactics involve stacking or cheesing your way through every fight. Relying on more knowledgable players to simply carry you through. And when these players are so used to this level of easy success. When they come into a party that doesn’t know how to do the instance. Ragequitting generally ensues, because why learn when you can just reroll for a dungeon team that requires less effort from you?

Theres no personal responability to not suck in guild wars 2. World events? Fall back on the countless players present to prevent you from ever suffering a loss and forcing you to rethink your stratagy, playstyle and ability. And when you do lose you’ve got the excuse that you simply didn’t have enough players.

Guild Wars 2 pve doesn’t foster an environment that encourages learning to play.

So what happens when a fight is added that requires only the basics of “stay out of the aoe” but is themed so there are no training wheels or crutches during the fight to keep you safe from failure?
See all the negative posts above.

And these players who are so used to success without the risk of failure, their immediate response to something challenging is to rush to the forums and complain that the difficulty was too high or that the fight was too unfair. Because that’s the environment they’ve grown to expect in guild wars 2.

My advise to the players who broke all their armor several times?

Stop wearing the armor, fight until you can beat the boss without it… Then put the armor back on.

I was spamming renegade but there was no renegade option.

Where’s shepard when you need her.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Maybe you can just skip this one, and wait until the next…or the next. =)

gasp But that would make it… Optional.

Elden Arnaas.4870:

re: There is not enough jumping in the game. – It is not a jumping game. It is a high fantasy MMO. The sequel of Guild Wars, which did not have jumping as a game mechanic.

Well I am afraid you are slightly wrong. Aside from the fact that these are in no way mutually exclusive (as demonstrated by the fact that they exist with abundance within guild wars 2.) Guild Wars 2 does have jumping puzzles as an integral part of almost every map. It is a high fantasy MMO with optional jumping puzzles. I think it’s probably time you either came to terms with this fact or got over it. The puzzles have been in game since day one and there’s no sign that they are gonna stop adding them.

Because at the end of the day it is Arenanet who decide what is Guild Wars 2 and not some arbitrary genre/category that the game may also fall into.

Eggman.1405:

I agree that fighting off an Inquest raid would change the tone of the house exploration from a pleasant browse to having a sense of urgency, but I don’t see that as bad.

The writers have got a story they are trying to tell, that requires certain plot elements to be in place.

What you are saying is kitten the writers, GAMEPLAY. And twist the story to fit in with the forced in gameplay.

…Yeah, no thanks.

There is pleanty of gameplay before the house scene… The whole chapter doesn’t need to be contorted to ensure that every second is choc full of gameplay.

For me, if you are calling a game an RPG, then my personal choices have to matter, and in GW2, they don’t once you finish the Personal Story.

So you basically just said RPGs have to contain an impossible to achieve element. Even to the loosest definition of “Choices have to matter” you are clearing most of the rpgs ever made from your definition of RPG.

For me… For a game to be an RPG, The key focus of the game must be you playing out a role within a story. And gameplay focused around that of course but never in spite of it.

That’s it… That’s all that is necessary… I know you can stick a lot of adventure and action games into that category as well. But more often than not, their main key focus is on something different.

Snowmoon.1758:

Dondagora.9645:

I think it isn’t that they’re choosing Sylvari right now because they don’t like using the other races. It’s mostly because this piece of the story is centralized on either what sylvari are and Mordremoth, the plant dragon, thus his minions, the villains of this season, will likely be mainly sylvari(probably).

Absolutely agree.
Its just that we already have Scarlet who basically hogged the villian limelight
in Season 1, and now we still have to push ahead with Season 2 with predictably
yet another Sylvari villian.

Hopefully for Season 3 and beyond, less emphasis can be given to the Sylvaris.

Well power creep would dictate that all the sylvari villains in season 2 be considerable less effective than season 1. And reducing them to agents of Mordremoth certainly plays into that I’d say.

Eggman.1405:

- Make the search for the miner interesting. Maybe they have to be saved from the Devourers and/or Bandits/Inquest.

Sure why not.

- Add some actual house defenses that have to be overcome. The NPCs discuss the fact that defenses could be a problem, but nothing happens. Make it a real problem.

This would have undermined the key distinction that this isn’t Scarlet’s house, it’s Ceara’s. She isn’t the unhinged genius we know her to be yet. This would be out of character for it to be something truly menacing.

- Toss the Inquest in there since they are present already. Maybe you have to stop Inquest agents getting to Scarlet’s house before you do.

This would cause such a headache for the story… You think Braham’s gonna let Taimi stay in that house with the inquest attacking? More to the point do you think any of the group are gonna side with Taimi and think its worth the risk of defending that house while she has time to research. I do not… This would present problems that work entirely counter to the stories direction.

- After the house scene ends, Taimi touches something she shouldn’t that starts an encounter. After this she gets admonished about being more careful, everybody laughs and we fade to black.

You’re still considering this to be Scarlet’s abode… It is not. An encounter or boss would have worked against this. And given players the impression that it was scarlet’s home. Counter to what the story was trying to portray.

It definitely feels like you’re trying to force in gameplay where it is not wanted. A lot of these suggestions do not seem to fit with the pacing, themeing or intent of the story.

Eggman.1405:

If any of Glint’s babies survived, that would make me feel better about GW1. I never understood why they made the mission bonus for her to kill her eggs. Not a very heroic thing to do.

Later on there was a mini mission to protect her child from swarms of destroyers… So one of them definitely lives.

Eggman.1405:

I think calling gameplay a `distraction` is a bit unfair. And really, I’ve seen plenty of discussion here of people saying it was fine the way it is. Ok, we all have different views. But I haven’t really seen any arguments that claim that any alternative I’ve proposed would be unacceptable or at least equally enjoyable. It’s almost like talking to Apple die-hards about tweaking anything that the iPhone/Pad or Mac does.

Adding gameplay to this scene would be a distraction. But to be fair you haven’t actually presented how you would add gameplay to this scene. Personally I don’t see how you can do it without ruining the mood and point of this scene. And thus it would be a distraction.

Eggman.1405:

I’m on the fence if you want to classify GW2 as RPG or not. The Personal Story (and by extension, the LW stuff) is RPG, but nothing you do in the Personal Story really matters in the explorable world, so since the Personal Story is non-repeatable, once you’ve done that the RPG portion of the story is dispensed with. I don’t then enter the LW with an RPG mindset since that isn’t my most common experience when playing the game.

It’s an RPG… The hint is in the genre… MMORPG.

Eggman.1405:

Alice.8694:

You give me the impression that you are the kind of developer that would end up with some godawful sandwich making mini game during a picnic scene.

This is also unfair since you presume the sandwich game would be awful.

See you’ve actually just proved my point… By misunderstanding mine.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the best sandwich minigame ever made… With metal gear revengeance style cutting physics. Probably the only game where I’d accept such a minigame actually…
I’m not here for sandwich minigames and when I’m immersed in story it’s not the time to throw out your new mini game ideas. Theres a time and place for that and that is not it.

Boneheart.3561:

Alice.8694:

… godawful sandwich making mini game during a picnic scene.

Oh god, lol!

[Group Event] Fight off the ants before they abscond with your sandwich fixings!
Ants Empowered by sandwiches: 89%
Bread loaves recovered: 5
Prosciutto recovered: 19
Miracle Whip recovered: 0

…Pls no… ( lol. )

Mad Pig.2890:

Looking forward to seeing how they open up the story of the Sylvari.
I once said that sylvari were dragon minions that were pacified by the pale tree and I was called a slanderous liar.

Well, it’s nice to see I’m right sometimes.

Yes I seem to recall raising the same conclusion and getting a similar response.

Eggman.1405:

No, my #1 choice is to have something with gameplay in it.

RPGs and story driven games have generally different expectations to games from other genres such as RTS’s or FPS’s which don’t usually need a story and any story is secondary to the gameplay. In these kinds of genres the players come for the gameplay, so forcing cutscenes on to them is counter to what they came for. However within an rpg one of the main expectations is that you are taking on a role and that role somewhat realistically plays out with some degree of immersion.

I am personally in the camp that there was far too much telling and not enough showing in season one. However the notion that there cannot be story unless there is some gameplay to distract the player is basically an absurd notion. And dear god I hope no one takes your advice to heart. You give me the impression that you are the kind of developer that would end up with some godawful sandwich making mini game during a picnic scene.

!!!warning: potential spoilers!!!
What follows is speculation into the story of the recent patch so obviously some spoilers are going to be unavoidable ahead.
!!!warning: potential spoilers!!!

So here is basically my break down of what I think has occurred so far…

In the previous patch we saw Aerin, a rather over excited and eccentric (read as relatively normal) Sylvari join the Zephyrites. Also notable is that Taimi mentions getting absurd readings from one of the airships.

The Zypherites are sabotaged by Aerin and Aerin… A seemingly normal Sylvari goes full on psycho mode… Not unlike a certain red topped Sylvari we once knew.

Based on the texts in Maguuma, I believe the Zypherites were holding Glint’s baby dragon in the air ship that the introduction cutscene made a point of zooming into when you entered the festival. It’s probably the one you protected in Guild Wars 1, if you did that mini game.

Aerin, a seemingly normal Sylvari learns of this secret… He’s clearly overly curious and eager to learn everything as he joins the Zypherites. And yet the Zypherites describe him as soundless… A trait that he does not seem to possess when we first meet him. Poorly thought out characterisation? Unlikely… It seems quite dilberate.

So here is my chain of events:
Aerin joins the Zypherites.
The Zypherites set off on their journey.
Somewhere along the way Aerin learns of the baby dragon.
The closer the Zypherites got to Maguuma the more likely that Aerin seemed to act soundless.
The soundless appearance is actually Mordremoth’s influence slowly asserting itself over Aerin.
He then goes on the killing spree that follows in an attempt to destroy the baby dragon for Mordremoth.

Finally it would make sense that Mordremoth would have a vested interest in cutting a Sylvari off from the Pale Tree’s dream. As it would be the only outside influence that could possible stop him from asserting his will over a sylvari. Thus making them appear soundless, because they technically are to some degree.

It would seem that even when a Sylvari is being controlled by Mordremoth they retain some will power. Mordremoth seems to get round this by convincing them that what they are doing is right and justified.

Eggman.1405:

I’m discussing the story delivery method, not the content.

Your complaints seem pretty meaningless, the way the story about that house is presented feels pretty natural. In that situation you’re gonna have a lot of people standing around discussing their surroundings. Especially when it happens to be the room of someone they quite recently killed but don’t understand why.

Eggman.1405:

back then how to best integrate story and gameplay was our key concern.

And something a lot of game developers seem to fail at simply because they try to force every inch of story into some explosive action scene. Because apparently you can’t have a story where a group of people discuss their surroundings unless those surroundings are also trying to kill you.

There is an ebb and flow to story telling that you seem to vastly under appreciate… There is a time for action (Aerin’s battle) and there is a time for standing around and discussing a room of someone you killed. Both reveal story, both are equally relevant and important and most of all both are equally valid ways of progressing the story.

I worked for a game developer from 2000 – 2003

Position? Company? Game?

ESC Raven.7410:

As far as I see it, there were some heroics but no heroism (which is what I look for in my escapes from the real world).

“ohmehgerd where power fantasy at arenanet”

Sorry… I couldn’t resist.

Season 1 had a lot of flaws but pursuing convention wasn’t generally one of them.

Neko.9021:

It is not MY fault that players that I PUG with end up as bad players. I take PERSONAL offense to being told that just trying to run a dungeon quickly, even telling people where to go and how the fights work, is somehow me contributing to making players bad.

And I do not take kindly to kittens like you telling us that we’re making PUGs worse by helping them to get through dungeons in the least painful ways possible. If a PUG wants to get better, it’s their responsibility to get better, NOT MINE.

Over-reaction much?

In your own words “telling people where to go and how the fights work” you are already doing what I suggested, no? Or Perhaps you missed the part where I specifically said:

If you want a solution to my issue, when you carry a newbie through a dungeon and use stacking. Explain why it works to them and in what situations it would not work.

Finally

I take PERSONAL offense

And?

Dramen Maidria.1034:

Oh, I wanted to add I very much disagree with your opinion of Hrouda. The Molten Facility and the two bosses at the end was one of the best designed dungeons this game has seen, it was sad that it only existed for two weeks. At least we got part of it back as a fractal.

In his own words:

This was not built by the dungeon team, but instead by the living world team. William and I are currently working on other content in the game, which is why there weren’t any significant changes to the core dungeons this last patch.

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/dungeons/Molten-Weapon-Facility/first#post1881882

Molten Facility is not one of his, sorry.

Ayrilana.1396:

So me stacking on a boss in melee range, while trying to mitigate damage, is less skillful than sitting at 1200 range and auto attacking? So melee players are less skillful than ranged players? After all, melee players stack on the bosses anyway. I also take it that stacking to group enemies up and make each attack more effective via cleave damage is less skillful too.

I really cannot tell if people like this do not understand the issue or merely wish to strawman my entire point for easy ego points.

But for the sake of discussion I shall explain it, very very slowly.

I’m NOT saying stacking isn’t a valid tactic.
I’m NOT saying that it isn’t highly valuable in some situations for speed killing, especially when the entire or majority of the party is wielding melee.
I’m NOT saying that utilizing stacking is in anyway unskillful or that utilizing everything at your disposal is somehow dumbing down content.

Now that we’ve got these bargain bucket strawmen out the way. Here is what I am saying.

I’ve encountered a lot of new or inexperienced players who do not understand why stacking is a viable strategy.
They’ve been mistaught by being carried through dungeons with players who do understand how to stack or through other means such as popular youtubers, streams or other community media that stacking is the easiest and goto tactic to beat a boss.
This causes players to continue to remain uneducated on the bosses basic tactics and continue to depend on being carried by groups that do understand stacking. Meanwhile when they encounter a group not suited to utilize stacking efficiently, they do not understand why it fails and what is expected of them.

What surprised me was the alarming rate that players I was pugging or partying with would immediately call for stacking, even on bosses with moves that punishing stacking. This gave me the impression that the overall skill level of pugs in my absence had gone down.

In closing: Stacking isn’t exactly a problem, I think it’s poor dungeon design but I do not think it’s an immediately destructive to dungeon runs like some claim. It’s an issue that needs addressing on the whole. I do however think it’s teaching inexperienced players poor dungeon skills.

If you want a solution to my issue, when you carry a newbie through a dungeon and use stacking. Explain why it works to them and in what situations it would not work. It won’t take you long and you’ll have the opportunity to improve the dungeon pug skill level considerably. We all win, and if you don’t know… Stop using it till you do.

The Pointless.3869:

Alice.8694:

Jamais vu.5284:

Aidan Savage.2078:

Because historical weapons dont have the visual impact players want.

Show me a GS in this game that looks even half as badas as those.

http://i.imgur.com/cuF8a.jpg

That is just all kinds of wrong. O____O

What’s the matter? Do you want that charr’s meat?

Jamais vu.5284:

Aidan Savage.2078:

Because historical weapons dont have the visual impact players want.

Show me a GS in this game that looks even half as badas as those.

http://i.imgur.com/cuF8a.jpg

Romo.3709:

I think they’re trying to “show” that there is a dungeon team and they’re working on stuff, but the problem they’re randomly coming up with stuff that nobody asks for and put them in game. And don’t even want to start talking about fractals ,_,

Yeah, possibly…
Or perhaps they don’t want to spend budget on dungeons, so who ever is working on them has very limited time or resources to make bigger changes.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

We do actually. Someone grab that Hrouda quote I’m done quoting it for the billionth time.

The guy they fired, whose list of contributions to the game all seemed to kinda suck?

Can’t say the ascalon refit, underwater fractal and scarlet’s playhouse are on or anywhere near my most memorable dungeons list.

But sure, i’m curious let’s see this quote.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Alice.8694:

Oh I see how it is, I start offering cookies and people start actually reading my post. XD

+1 to the lot of you that bothered to address my actual point.

Vox Hollow.2736:

I also see OPs point.
It seems like a pretty logical observation.

If it makes you feel any better, during the Marionette event the PR campaign mentioned something to effect of; ‘we have some idea of where the general player skilllevel is at, and we think people have fun when they’re presented with a challenge just beyond it and have to stretch to meet it’.

Which seems pretty promising as a balance philosophy, if they’d only feel inclined to apply it to dungeons.

Marionette was an awesome boss…

It seems like they’ve abandoned dungeons, which is a huge shame.

“Seems”.

They did abandon them. They do not have a dungeon team. They don’t care. So here we are.

I don’t have omnipotence so I cannot really say… Maybe there is like… One guy… Diligently working that everyone has forgotten about… I can hope.

Oh I see how it is, I start offering cookies and people start actually reading my post. XD

+1 to the lot of you that bothered to address my actual point.

Vox Hollow.2736:

I also see OPs point.
It seems like a pretty logical observation.

If it makes you feel any better, during the Marionette event the PR campaign mentioned something to effect of; ‘we have some idea of where the general player skilllevel is at, and we think people have fun when they’re presented with a challenge just beyond it and have to stretch to meet it’.

Which seems pretty promising as a balance philosophy, if they’d only feel inclined to apply it to dungeons.

Marionette was an awesome boss…

It seems like they’ve abandoned dungeons, which is a huge shame.

Stooperdale.3560:

The OP is right on all counts I think. Firstly, people are misreading the original post. Secondly the use of one single (mindless) tactic leaves players unaware of how any other tactics work, or maybe don’t work. If you only ever use one tactic that negates the dangers of the fight, how are you ever going to learn what those dangers are and how different classes deal with them?

It certainly feels that some have misread, have a cookie for getting it.

mtpelion.4562:

I wouldn’t say that stacking has ruined player skill, rather stacking has removed the need to learn many fight mechanics and thus many players are ill-prepared to handle the fights the “right” way.

A player who doesn’t know what they are doing can easily beat many dungeon paths by stacking, which is fine, until they show up in your group that is doing a path where stacking isn’t going to work and that player hasn’t learned anything about dungeons.

Nice to see someone understands.

deSade.9437:

My reaction to the thread

Ooo free loot.
loots

Lindbur.2537:

OT:
I would say that it is not stacking itself that made players bad, but rather bad players didn’t understand why they were stacking and thus gave it a bad rep. They seem to believe that stacking will magically destroy the boss without them taking any damage, when in reality it’s really the other way round. They’re completely missing the point.
Stacking against a boss is usually done to facilitate Fiery Rushes (I think), otherwise there is no point in doing so. Where stacking really shines is when it’s used to group up a bunch of trash mobs using line of sight so you can blind them with a single Black Powder, share boons and pick anyone who goes down with ease.

This seems accurate.

FenrirSlakt.3692:

Good heavens! For a moment I thought I had missed our weekly anti-stacking thread.

I haven’t read anything, but I suppose that the OP argues that stacking is not how the game is meant to be played, that only bad players use it and whatnot, as usual.

Incorrect… But nice try!

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Oh boy! A stacking thread!

So personally I don’t think it’s the stacking that’s ruining player skill. I think it’s skipping. Like I mean, they need to practice killing things! Else they won’t know how.

And looting, if they don’t practice looting… How will they learn?

Anyway it’s very clear that player skill is being ruined and the source is directly related to bunny ears being wearable in combat.

How dare you!

serialkicker.5274:

I have never seen weaker arguments. You literally think not stacking is the only “right” way to play and you expect anyone to play like that. Who cares what other people like, right? And yes, if you can’t be bothered with LFG or finding a guild, then don’t even complain here. If you don’t get people that you asked for in lfg, kick them. Same as I will do with you if you ever get in my group. I’m done, your arguments are nonsense, you’re just disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing. Good day.

I think i’m being fairly reasonable and at no point did I say anything above that you are accusing me of.

DonQuack.9025:

It is not so much that it is ruining player skill levels it is that their skill lies elsewhere.

Its like saying guns/bombs/etc ruined how men wage war. Not really Yeah we probably suck at pulling out a longbow and sword right now but 1 tomahawk and am whole army is gone.

War… War never changes…
Unless this is Metal Gear…
Then it changes way too much.

serialkicker.5274:

“So I start public groups with the expectation that we won’t be stacking in corners. And the overwhelming results of this is that no one can fight the bosses on these terms.”
Sorry, you expected to not stack, that doesn’t mean they should not stack, they can play however they want. If you want to play your way, put that in description.

I do, hence the expectation.

“So now I feel stuck that if I want to use the LFG to dungeon run I’m gonna have to sit in corners and spam a rotation.”
This is why I said you have LFG, where you can make your own group and get people you want.

Ohh this is Subway? So if I ask for bacon I definitely get bacon and not a slice of cheese pretending to be bacon?
Dumb analogy aside, what you type into an LFG advertisement doesn’t magically garauntee anyone even read it.

Cute lil case in point; when I put “All welcome” i get people joining… Then seeing that as advertised all are welcome regardless of skill, level or class and then quitting. (Also sometimes raging… raging is however optional.)

And… “while i’m wearing DM title….” clearly indicates that you think DM title is something that would show how skillfull player is in dungeons..

No, it means exactly what it says it means… You’ve beaten every path once. Nothing more, nothing less.

Miku Lawrence.6329:

The problem is poor knowledge of encounters by newcomers that copy mindlessly what they see on youtube, and then teach this same badly learned strategy to others.
If you ask most of them why they stack they won’t be able to answer. Pros do it so the bads try to do the same. Funny thing is – that doesn’t make them any better.

I agreed though I also think that since the encounters do not really counter this method of play, that is equally part of the problem.

Tachii.3506:

Don’t blame the players, blame the game mechanics. If every boss did an unreflectable AoE at melee range when 3 or more players are meleeing it then there might be more incentive to do it the “normal” way. (Good luck teaching pugs in Aetherblade and finishing it in any time frame short of 1 hour though.)

I wasn’t blaming them, I was concluding that this stacking method has been teaching the general player base bad habits.

serialkicker.5274:

First, DM title =/= experienced at dungeons.

No kitten sherlock.

Second, LFG is there, so you can find a group you feel comfortable playing with.
You’re always free to make your own group and put in description “no stacking” or anything else.

I don’t know why the same thread is opened everyday, while you have all the freedom to find like minded players, you can even find or make your guild to get people you like playing with. I’ve seen a lot of guilds that plays dungeons with no skipping and some of them don’t stack either…

Didn’t read what I had to say, did you? Don’t worry I’m used to it around here.

Terkov.4138:

Hello.

Firstly, I know it’s game and if someone wanted realistic look then there are many much more “problematic” things.

But… is it only me who has problems with size of greatswords? Atm I’m using Foefire’s Essence but it’s still too big and looks stupid when my norn swings it or even during running animation. I’d love to make legendary GS, but they are even longer and much broader, making it a no-no for me :/
Size of most greatswords makes them all look like Zweihänders
The only good looking and sized GS I found are Ebonblade and Cobalt. But you know, I’m average MMO player and using skin worth 3g doesn’t satisfy me xD

What’s your opinion? Does anyone else hope that they add more expensive greatsword with more “realistic” size? Or maybe even new legendary GS (when/if they come – different topic) will be smaller?

Doesn’t the ascended greatsword basically fit all categories you are requesting here?
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/9/9d/Ascended_Weapon_Colors.jpg

Reasonable shape and size and hella expensive comparatively.

I’m a firm believer of letting private groups do as they please within the game rules. But when I start up a public run anywhere I personally refuse to use corner stacking tactics, I think it drains the enjoyment out of almost every fight. But I understand why some people do it, so what’s the harm right?

Well in the past few days i’ve been dabbling in dungeons again, I haven’t personally touched them in a while. Getting dungeon master was enough to tap out my interest in them for a few months.

So I start public groups with the expectation that we won’t be stacking in corners. And the overwhelming results of this is that no one can fight the bosses on these terms.

A great example is Kholer who requires very little outside of one dodge every time he does his aoe wire. And of the people who insist on corner stacking, I didn’t find a single one who didn’t take every single scorpion wire.
Only to get snarky comments like… “See this is why you corner stack.” and “Do you have experience here?” while i’m wearing a DM title and dodging every wire.

No this is why you don’t corner stack, because it trains you how not to play the game. So now I feel stuck that if I want to use the LFG to dungeon run I’m gonna have to sit in corners and spam a rotation. Unwillingly, players have turned GW2’s dynamic combat into WoW fights… stand in corners and hit a rotation. So now I don’t feel I can force a party to fight the boss on normal terms. Because dragging 3 people through a dungeon who don’t know how to fight the bosses on the old terms just isn’t happening. None of them seem to have the patience or interest to learn content they already think they are above.

Really by embracing the RNG method they are saying they only value the whale gamer over the average gamer.

Example.
If the new dyes came out as a 1000 gem one shot for 6 unique dyes, everyone would equally be able to purchase and enjoy them. They would also see a huge sales increase due to the reliability of such a purchase.

By comparison the RNG system depends on people not getting what they wanted so that they continue to spend more. It doesn’t function for the benefit of the player or to improve the overall playing experience. It merely exists as a bottomless cash sink to snare in players who are willing to plunge vast amounts of cash into the game. And causes badwill in players when they are burned by it. Which gradually over time causes players to stop using these shop items.

When I say it encourages goodwill and faith in players to drop the RNG. What I mean is, it encourages more people to buy things. Rather than solely focusing on the players who can only drop fat cash on the game: Whales.

tolunart.2095:

Alice.8694:

Curtis Johnson.8456:

I’m not saying it’s a final solution, but it is the current solution.. And the consumer benefit being the direct purchase price is largely driven by the true player value of each color.

Alternatively you could just stop the RNG based cash shop purchases? But I guess that would cut into your whale fishing profits.

What’s the motive for a business to stop trying to make money? Unemployment is fun?

Customer goodwill and faith.

Curtis Johnson.8456:

I’m not saying it’s a final solution, but it is the current solution.. And the consumer benefit being the direct purchase price is largely driven by the true player value of each color.

Alternatively you could just stop the RNG based cash shop purchases? But I guess that would cut into your whale fishing profits.

ApplePearOrange.9281:

I love how people are just twisting each others words to suit their own needs.
Asking for build diversity is not the same asking for a trinity.
Asking for uses for non zerk is not the same as making zerk unviable.
Viability of defense stats it not the same as making full tank builds the meta.

Even within the constraints of “dps + active mitigation” theres potential for a far more playstyles than we currently have.
- Specialist Zerkers: Even within zerker gear, there can be room for specialisation for AOE or Targeted damage.
- Mixed Direct + Condition damage
- Glass cannon condition users
- Power+Cond Duration executioner: Direct damage is based on targets condition stack.
- Pain Inverters: Damage dealt based on damage taken, Vit/Tougness is now worth something.

The beauty of this game is that it allows for fluid roles.
In Gw2 the divide between full damage and full utility is a spectrum, not a game predefined option like in other MMO games.
The issue that people have is not that they cant tank or cant heal, but that anything other than the extreme end of the damage spectrum is rubbish.

I think this post pretty much summed up this thread and the issue perfectly. And as with most posts of that nature it went completely unaddressed by anyone. Probably because they knew there was no easy victory to be had here.

I don’t really think basic negative posts are the issue. Much like other people have stated, not everyone can word their critiques in well meaning neutral posts.

The problem, as I perceive it is the tendency for these negative posts to try and bully the conversation their way. And more so bully the devs into acting on their demands. It’s not uncommon to see the “I hate this and i’m gonna quit and I know many more who will too” kind of comment thrown about.

Equally it’s not uncommon to see these negative posts trying to rally similar negative sentiments in people and completely ignoring actual discussion on the topic.
Kinda like; “I’m kitten and everyone else should be too, don’t question me!”

Phantom.8130:

It’s actually basic sociology. If someone was neutral about something, they wouldn’t give any feedback about it either way. They wouldn’t care, so they wouldn’t be bothered. People have to go out of their way to post on the forums. That requires conscious effort. People only put conscious effort into something they care about. Those who post on the forums have made the conscious effort and have gone out of their way to post here about something they feel passionately about, instead of just quietly playing the game.

This in no way accounts for human bias, well you did say basic I suppose.