Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 nails the combat, exploration, casual style, and grouping with other players extremely well. You can basically play everything with a friend except hearts. One thing I will mention that Guild Wars 2 isn’t as good are story quests.

I’m not talking about fetch quests, but quests from Runescape, that gives consistent lore, depth, and story. Guild Wars 2 does have that, but not as much as Runescape does. And even so, Runescape’s quests feel a lot more like actual exploration. In GW2, I can go to Auric Basin without doing the story, it doesn’t feel like “this quest has allowed me to explore this and that”. Or for that matter, GW2’s quests doesn’t have any old locations that will drastically change perspective because of a quest (Runescape’s The Wizard’s Tower).

I’m in a sort of disbelief that you guys have managed to get gliding to work in Central Tyria, with how big the world is. Bravo.

Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed by the guardian buffs/nerfs. Guardians don’t really excel in anything that’s great, and the meta classes can do roles better than the guardian (support, tank, dps, etc). Regarding this, guardians aren’t very optimal for raids. They’re not in a terrible position, but they’re so mediocre that they tend to get overlooked now.

I hope you understand that multiple people go to Guild Wars 2 for multiple reasons. I am an example, I didn’t play Guild Wars 2 for it’s casual-friendly progression but its dynamic events, combat, and lore.

You don’t need to do raids, you do don’t need to do high level fractals, and you don’t need to craft ascended armor. All of this mentioned is only a small portion of Arenanet’s main focus, but as they stated, is intended for hardcore players because hardcore players did not have any hardcore content to begin with.

In fact, they made fractals a lot easier, and designed masteries to be account-bound for alt-friendly use. Guild Wars 2, even with the addition of raids and high-level fractals, is still very casual friendly compared to most MMO’s out there.

Listen, buddy. They’re not going to stop raids and its likewise hardcore content unless they lose their hardcore playerbase. I’m somewhat surprised the hardcore playerbase in GW2 is flourishing, considering how little hardcore content there was to begin with these 3 years.

One of the main complaints is that GW2 wasn’t challenging enough and that there was no endgame progression. You can still do raids with full exotic gear, in fact the guild KING did it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSgj8Vqnlgc). This shows that skill and team coordination is more important than gear, and that ascended gear is currently overestimated with its value. (of course, the future raids might actually require ascended gear, who knows).

Endgame progression doesn’t give you any significant statistical advantage, just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to go do it. I mean seriously, have you tried going for the Yakslapper title? I think not.

Nope. In 1-2 weeks, raids are coming. Next year, Season 3 Living Story starts. I’ve heard they will come in bigger chunks, so expect more content than Season 2 Living Story.

We’ll be getting more content more frequently, and all of it requires HoT. It’s safe to say, I would assume, to have more content incoming for the next 2 years before the expansion Pancreas of Crystals is announced.

tron.1438:

Kravick.4906:

I have a few outfits for my charr that would look good without shoes. Especially on my mesmer.

Ya thought it might make my Engineer, Rose Oil’s look a bit more interesting. ;P

Though I would like it for my Charr as well as my Asuran.

Why is your sylvari not wearing any underwear? What armor?

This title is now a spoiler, lol.

Edit: Thx u fixed it

I feel like OP is being sarcastic

A match history, maybe the past 5-10 matches would be great. Shows the stats and everything.

Expansion is 50 bucks, core game is free. You need the core game to play the expansion, so you’ll have full access to the core game.

When the September 15 patch hit, the customized playlist has been changed so it functions differently.

BossBattle playlist no longer plays music in order, and now plays music randomly. MainMenu playlist doesn’t work at all, and plays Ambient when you go to the character select. These are the changes I’ve noticed..

Is there any way to get the MainMenu playlist working again?

Heavily doubt it since nobody else ever mentioned the cutscene you described was in the HoT beta.

Above all, Scarlet doesn’t even remotely look like that. She looks like someone who just saw her fetish come true.

Creating a system where the rewards are map-wide allows better cooperation than individual rewards, especially when it comes to completing events and tagging mobs.

I understand that individual rewards are to prevent AFKers and likewise people to get awarded for doing nothing, but pure individual rewards are as much as a mess. Maybe having a system of both map-wide and individual rewards is key in balance.

Perhaps having a threshold of completing 30% of all events completed so far gives the full reward, and completing more than 30% gives better rewards. Having tiers (0-10, 11-19, etc) gives a feeling of unfairness when you have 19 credit and still get awarded as having 11.

In regarding of event tagging, perhaps making a limit where you can only tag one event at a time would help tremendously, or having the gold/silver/bronze completion medals put in more productive use, rewarding you depending on what medal you have. (maybe both for the best effect)

Another thing to note, and to help people who D/C and otherwise disconnect, giving rewards as soon as events are completed also helps a lot. Everybody in the map gets their reward as soon as an event completes, giving at least something to people who D/C and doesn’t get to see the end. The individual rewards are given out at the end, since the stacks change during the event.

The key is to make sure approximately 60% of the rewards are map-wide, and 40% are individual participation. Getting credit and completing 30% or so of all events completed in the map gives the full individual reward, less than 30% participation then the rewards gives less, giving nothing if you fully AFK.

Oh yeah, and getting a bonus chest full of loot when an event completes would also be great, because it focuses on making sure the event is completed asap to make profits, and none of it is focused on loot sticking mobs.

Setz.9675:

You are actualy happy about how slow we get experience for leveling masterys OP? Somehow GRINDING, because that is what it is and to get maxed out masterys is endgame? Is this a kittening hoax? Is this next level sarcasm that is just too high for me to grasp? How the flying kitten did you (and Anet for that matter) fabricate the thought process that grinding experience is somehow endgame and using those skills to add new layers of world exploration is just a fortunate side effect? Because to me, that is the message you (and Anet) is conveying to me right now. If it would take me 50+ hours of straight up FARMING experience to max out JUST 1 MASTERY TRACK and be done with collection maguuma items with said mastery in far less time then it required me to get that one line of maxed out mastery I’d feel devestated. It looks like Anet is artificially prolonging the replay time of HoT and lobotimizing its player base by using ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE GRIND WALLS TO LOCK AWAY CONTENT.

Don’t get me wrong, the elite specs are funs, the maps look pretty darn amazing but doing those meta events 10 times in a row and spending hours a day for a week just to get the last tier of mastery is beyond mental. Also, which lazy person couldn’t make a jungle outfit for lord faren?

First of all, most masteries are soft-gated, meaning that you can still do the content, but you will have a more difficult time. I’m assuming the 3 maps will be more difficult and require more masteries, but that’s great because it’s a sense of progression.

Second of all, with the massive amounts of xp most veteran players get daily with xp boosts and likewise, it’s designed so people don’t shred through everything so quickly.

Another thing to note, is that these masteries are designed to be long-term, meaning you don’t complete these in 1-3 weeks (I hope).

I do agree with OP. Especially on the wyvern and events here.

During my fights against the wyvern, the wyvern just stood there and attacked every 10 seconds. It never once allowed the opportunity to empty the Break Bar, so I think it’s a bit broken.

I believe that the events are way too short, when we completed the 2 outpost daytime events we had 30 minutes of leftover time. We literally stomp rolled all the events, while some do require a bit of thinking and coordination, they’re all too easy, and will feel old and mundane as time goes by.

Simply, I believe the solution is to make the mobs harder by increasing their damage and attack speed, I think the health of the mobs are fine. I know the giant frogs have a giant AOE knockback attack occasionally, but it doesn’t change things enough to make the mechanics seriously engaging.

I do love some of the mob mechanics though, like the Diarmuid’s mechanics of jump rope and shred attacks that will most likely instantly kill you. I’m not saying make all mobs require to instantly down you, but more coordination to work together and kill the boss by following the mechanics.

I know there are mechanics in each mob, but most of them don’t stand out at all that requires a different strategy, making the content all too easy and shred through all of the content. Heck, I managed to get all the achievements for the beta event in 3 hours.

TL;DR: Make the mob mechanics stand out more, create strategies to efficiently kill mobs and bosses. Increase mobs’ attack speed. Special attacks should do a lot of damage. 20+ man zergs makes all the content too easy, have scaling increase damage and attack speed significantly.

EdwinLi.1284:

I wonder when did he become a member of the Pact.

He didn’t, he and the nobles went on a special airship to spectate the battle against Mordremoth.

Matazeruz.7498:

Wipes tear

All the way man. weep

If the free core experience is everything in the core game including gem store, TP, and daily login rewards then RIP the economy, so many alts created for the sole purpose of daily login farming.

Community will also take a big, massive hit, increasing the likelihood of trolls and salty people. World bosses that require coordination (Teq, Vinewrath, Triple Trouble, etc) will increase the chance of failure because of the fluctuation of trolls.

OP, you’re crazy. Simply crazy.

Here, this will help. http://www.calm.com/

Grim West.3194:

Guild Wars 1’s storylines are very good. Not like GW2’s, which is a boring skip to the end as fast as possible waste of time.

Eh, it’s okay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3meKrcjQpYk

The 2nd expansion, feels like it’s so long from now but I know it’s going to happen relatively fast. I propose an idea for an expansion about the Crystal Desert/Elona/desert areas. That idea are mounts in a mastery track, unlocking combat abilities. Be aware these are land mounts. Horses, giant insects, dinosaurs, and the like. I’ve been having this idea for a while, so I want to go into a bit of detail.

New Way to Explore:
Mounts. Ride on your mount and build momentum as you continuously ride, you’re able to use new combat skills while on your mount. Also available on WvW (you can level up your mount mastery by just doing stuff on your mount). Initially your movement speed is very slow, when you continuously build up speed your movement speed increases and the damage for your skills greatly increases.

Progressing through the mastery unlocks more skills (healing, utilities, and elites), ride faster as you build momentum, and go through previously impassable terrain.

Weapons equipable while riding a mount:
- Shortbow
- Longbow
- Greatsword
- Spear
- Rifle
- Trident
Not going through these weapon skills

Mount Passive:
- You can now attack people by running into enemies with your mount if you meet a certain speed threshold. Damage increases as your speed increases, and you will knock down enemies for 2 seconds. After the initial attack, your speed will greatly decrease. Enemies that use block skills while you charge into them will stun you. All mount skills will do more damage and do its full effect when your past a certain speed threshold.

Mount Skills 6 to 10 (Traps):
Notes: These skills will come by default when you unlock your mount. All of these traps are AOE, meaning they can be placed depending on where the player places them. Not going into a lot of specific details like damage, radius, and likewise for any of these skills.

- Healing: Puts down a healing trap. Does an initial heal and a greater heal when an enemy lands on it. Enemies that land on it will be slowed for 5 seconds.

- Utility 1: Lands a bear trap, enemies who land on it are immobilized for 2 seconds.

- Utility 2: Lands a trap that when an enemy lands on it, they are crippled for 4 seconds.

- Utility 3: Lands an explosive trap. If enemies land on it, they will be knocked up.

- Elite: Lands a rope trap. If one enemy lands on it, they will be dragged by the mount for 8 seconds, doing damage over time depending how fast the mount is, they are unable to use any movement skills and all of their skills are slowed by 50%. The rope trap will disappear if the mount goes too far away from the trap or it goes below a certain speed threshold.

Mount Skills 6 to 10 (Shouts):
- Healing: “Giddy up!” Your mount’s acceleration increases slightly, and gain 8% of its health every 1 second for 5 seconds.

- Utility 1: “Get away!” Your mount does a roar, fearing enemies for 3 seconds.

- Utility 2: “Form up!” Your mount and allied mounts near you gain a special protection buff for 10 seconds that will grant you and your allies protection depending on your speeds. The faster you are, the more protection you and your allies gain.

- Utility 3: “Faster!” Your mount and allied mounts near you gain a significant speed buff, granting more speed the more allies you affect.

- Elite: “Run them down!” Your mount gains the ability to continuously knock down enemies for 2 seconds and do damage based on its speed for 10 seconds. You cannot use this shout under a certain speed threshold. (rip zerg armies)

Mount Mastery Track Tiers:

(1) Mount Riding – Unlocks a mount. You gain new skills, new weapon abilities, and a defiance bar. You can unlock more mount skins via gem store or difficult challenges (pls no rng anet). You fall off your mount when your defiance bar is broken, and a cooldown starts of 180 seconds before you can use your mount again, you’re also stunned for 3 seconds.

(2) Trained Riding – Unlocks the ability to build momentum faster and increase your top speed.

(3) Flawless Startup – When you start riding your amount while moving, you start from a certain speed threshold.

(6) Diligent Commands – You unlock shout skills for your mount.

(8) Without Resistance – The control of your mount is significantly increased. You can turn your mount faster and stop your mount much more quickly.

(10) Speeding Stability – Your defiance bar is no longer a static bar. Your defiance bar’s maximum amount can increase or decrease depending on your speed.

(12) One with Riding – Your health bar greatly increases by 8,000 when you ride

My 2 cents, folks.

OP you’re not going to be persuading anyone if you just criticize the game “boring”, “guessable”, and “big and boring circle”.

Seriously.

To be bought via gems, no.

I’ve played the beta for quite a while, mostly PvE. I played Stronghold, and so far it’s a pretty solid experience. But it’s not the thing I’ll be talking about.

I have 1 tier in gliding, and 2 tiers in Itzel Progression, which took me 2 hours and a half to complete (ost of the time I couldn’t do events since they were heavily bugged). I have concerns about this because while it feels great to have new abilities, I may progress through the entire mastery system too fast.

I know that it requires more and more xp to get to new tiers, but when it’s 1-2 years after HoT releases players have most likely found the most efficient ways to get all masteries (which can take them a few days I fear). I want masteries to be a long-term progression, that can take months to learn all of them. This is the end-game Guild Wars 2, after all.

The way how you go back to places and use your new abilities makes you create an incentive to think intuitively how to navigate the jungle is a wonderful idea. I’ve never been so lost in a map before with things above me, things below me, and things in front of me, but I love it honestly.

Having played the previous beta, I’m also glad how the mobs are a lot harder. The reason why I play Guild Wars 2 is to group up with other players seamlessly and tackle harder and harder challenges, it’s one of the very few games that can do that extremely well, and Anet has the resources to do it and do it well. I want to see harder monsters further into the jungle.

Regarding how maps work, I feel the way how the meta events in the maps progress is a lot more linear. While this can create a good narrative, storyline, and sense, it can leave a lot to be desired if you wish to leave the dynamic event and do something else. Because currently the only thing I could do are adventures (which I couldn’t manage to do, bugged?) and 2 event chains. The way how night and day works is good refreshing change, having different objectives. While the way how players work together towards a main objective is decent, it can leave the feeling of emptiness for those that are not with the main group.

Besides that, game is great.

TL;DR Mastery progression is way too short, make it longer (or put in a lot more masteries and mastery track). Only thing you can do in the beta map are 2 event chains and adventures (event chains are heavily bugged and adventures I couldn’t manage to do), the choices on what to do aren’t a lot. Put in more things to do that aren’t tied in long event chains.

anzenketh.3759:

Avascar.9237:

Got through 2 tiers of Itzel Lore and first tier in gliding in about 2 and a half hours. I really think they should make it longer to level up, or at least add in more tiers because if this is really the entire mastery system for HoT it’s not going to take very long to get all of them.

How much XP did the 3rd tier take to complete?

If my guess is correct it would take about 1,081,451 XP to level the 3rd tier. Also if my guess is correct it would take about 50-60 “level 80 levels” to complete a single mastery. That means that it would take 200-300 “level 80 levels” to complete all the masteries that are currently available in the beta and we know that some are missing. Now obviously you are not going to be able to please everyone. However I think that is more then enough time to have completing all of them within reach of the average player but still keep it something to keep them occupied.

For anyone wondering my guess I think they are simply taking the previous tier and putting it to a power of approximately 1.0398

Based on my guess I think that the speed to level is right we just need more masteries added (I know we are missing some) to make our choices impact the game but yet at the same time obtaining them not be a grind.

3rd tier is actually 1,143,000 xp to complete. I suppose we do need more masteries, I’m just very concerned to complete all masteries in less than a month since I play GW2 practically daily.

Got through 2 tiers of Itzel Lore and first tier in gliding in about 2 and a half hours. I really think they should make it longer to level up, or at least add in more tiers because if this is really the entire mastery system for HoT it’s not going to take very long to get all of them.

Glad that the first map of HoT isn’t exactly a walk in the park compared to most maps in vanilla, creates an incentive to dodge smartly and/or build differently depending on who you fight. I sincerely hope further into HoT it gets harder with masteries and elite specs coming into play.

That’s actually a pretty cool idea, but wouldn’t be feasible for all classes. Perhaps an elite specialization that plays with its hp pool like that.

Feeling that HoT will feature Canach as a major character, I think Canach is my favorite.

He’s not in any major plot, he’s just somewhat involved (kidnapping, running away, living). The kitten he went through and how it hardened him made him really kitten.

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

In terms if military strength:

1 – Charr.
-Huge numbers
-Tanks
-Helicopters
-Airships
-Artillery
2 – Asura.
-Golems (lots of em)
-many magic users
-Lazorz!
-lots of other powerful technology (force fields, teleporters, etc)
3 – Humans.
-Numbers (not as much as the charr but still quite a lot).
-Many magic users
-Clockwork robots
4 – Sylvari
-Many magic users (even non magic sylvari seem to have some magical abilities, such as racials)
5 – Norn
Last place since they basically have no army.

Just my 2 cents

It’s been said that while Norn have no army, it takes about 4-6 charr to take down one Norn. They’re tough stuff.

Eight Samurai.6840:

There needs to be an upgrade version for those that already bought GW2 and have the ‘core’ game. I can’t see many people jumping the gun to buy the preorder for this amount of money

And just to add… if we do buy this preorder which includes the ‘core game’ then technically speaking we should get 5 character slots because we are buying the game again…

Yeah that’s seriously right, at least give us CHARACTER SLOTS.

Is it me or are you guys forgetting the Engineer?

Hahahaha!!! Hahahahahahahaaaa!!!

No.

Riku.4821:

Plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz x9001
I want the beta log in screen so badly.

Even a specialist agrees!

Anet recently added the Streaming Client feature, allowing you to download the game and its patches while playing the game. I hear that they removed it because they couldn’t find a way to update the game with this launcher in mind. But now that the Streaming Client feature is here, can Anet pls bring it back?

If you guys don’t know what this old login screen is, check this vid out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh2qLcZAUfY

That’s a nice heart warming post, I’m glad you enjoy Guild Wars 2 as much as us!

I’m loving Stronghold right now, but matches last so short. I can’t have an amazing comeback in Stronghold because of the timer. The two outcomes in Stronghold is completely pubstomp the enemy team, or the timer ends. The timer is never satisfactory.

Whereas in a moba, a subgenre that Stronghold is influenced by, can have amazing games with a surprising comeback and great plays because there is no timer.

Extend the timer, or remove it.

TheRandomGuy.7246:

More like zerg focused. Tag following simulator 2015.

I’d say it would be a lot harder to follow and keep zergs together when we dive deeper into the jungle and require masteries (mushrooms, gliding, etc) to progress through.

BETA WHEN?!!?!?

This thread is pretty negative, have you all forgot about Heart of Thorns?

I see two problems regarding difficulty in content.

One problem is that Arenanet does not want to create content that is grindy, or gate content requiring you to grind. The reason why Ascended is only 5% better is because you have to do a massive grind to get to it, Fractals is also very grindy. You can consider them endgame, since overtime your gear improve and your Agony Resistance increases.

Another problem is since how all content is not gated by grinding stats (which consumes a lot of time), you can pretty much pub stomp every PvE encounter pre-80.

However, Arenanet has created some content that is difficult, but at the same time very fun. There is a problem, however. Overtime as the difficult content ages, more and more players familiarize themselves with how the boss works, increasing the chance of their win rate (Triple Trouble is a special exception, since I’ve never had the chance to beat it even through multiple tries)

Let’s take an example, Vinewrath. It’s been about 5 months since this little guy has existed, and I’ve ran plenty of runs throughout the months to examine my experience. Between 1 to 3 months being released, it was fairly common to see the Breach and Vinewrath fail. But when mid April hit, I’ve observed that the win rate is pretty high. As of now, I’d be surprised if I see the Breach fail and really, really surprised to see Vinewrath fail.

You may create the argument “Vinewrath and the Breach is always easy for me!”, sure. However, it’s not the same situation when you have 100-200 people on your side and having enough coordination to beat the boss.

I would absolutely love Arenanet to create these giant, epic bosses and to have them absolutely heart-wrenching difficult. It will harden the players, and overtime will make them more skilled, resulting in smoother dungeon runs, better win rate for Triple Trouble (the Triple Trouble boss is perfect for a true endgame boss), and more engaged gameplay. I believe Arenanet has created a mistake by making things easier. Arenanet should gate content by skill and group coordination, not by stats. Why? Because they’re Arenanet. I’ve played Guild Wars 1 (not as much as GW2 now), and while the level cap is 20, consider yourself dead if you don’t have the proper skills and the proper team to beat the content.

When I play Heart of Thorns, I want to see players being killed by everything until we’re hardwired to understand the mechanics. The defiance mechanic is amazing, and encourages teamwork instead of zerging bosses until they’re dead. So far from what I’ve seen, Arenanet has stepped their game up in terms of mechanics and difficult (their post-launch bosses are seriously good), and it’s our job to step it up as well.

TLDR: I disagree, OP. Overtime content will become easier as more players learn how HoT content works. Arenanet should gate content by skill and group coordination, not by stats.

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Maclaine Diemer.7693:

Nice catch! Yes, there is a new piece that goes with the rebuilding. I wonder if it’s the only one?

That means it’s not the only one :v

kitten , ALL new specializations?

Release may be sooner than I think.

You missed:

- https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Living_World_season_2
- https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/feature-packs/
- A rerun of https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blood_and_Madness
- A rerun and redecoration of http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wintersday but on Divinity’s Reach instead.
- A rerun and redecoration of http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lunar_New_Year but on Divinity’s Reach instead.
- An overhaul on the camera, allowing more flexibility of camera settings
- An overhaul on dailies and monthlies
- A login reward everyday
- Bugfixes, polishes, etc
- And most importantly, https://heartofthorns.guildwars2.com/en/

If you love story, play through all of the Season 2 episodes before doing ANYTHING about Heart of Thorns. (the story has improved, I really like it compared to Personal Story)

Also, precursors’ prices has reduced greatly, because they’ve announced precursor crafting in Heart of Thorns.

Of course, there’s more changes to come, such as the overhaul to traits.

1. WvW ship battles!
2. WvW sky ship battles!
3. WvWvE ship battles!
4. Hoverboards!
5. Mounts integrated with its own combat mechanics!
6. WvW mounts! Horse armies!
7. WvW ship battles with mounts!
8. WvWvE sky ship battles with flying mounts and its own integrated combat mechanic!
9. Collections that reward certain exotics so you don’t have to rely on TP or RNG just to get them for the Exotic Hunter collection :C

You can basically do whatever you want, it doesn’t really matter. Everything you do gives xp. If you don’t like what you’re doing, just do something else. It’s extremely flexible.

Oh my god, the lore page! It would be absolutely amazing to have a little book of all the characters, items, locations, and lore bits you unlock as you play.

Like, if you find a book, it should unlock for you in the lore page, or unlock a character page during Personal Story. kitten , it’s so essential especially when the lore in Guild Wars is so deep.

Having it come out late May sounds reasonable.

Awesome Guild Wars 1 references.

kitten , what a great post, I applaud you. So informative, excited for the story of Heart of Thorns with the Mursaat, Glint’s legacy, and the White Mantle.

Gonna be a fun ride.