Guild Wars 2

Have had one response from an Elona Reach guild [TEC] so far. So thats 1 Red group, 1 Green group so far for this matchup.

Any others interested? Reply here or via in-game mail.

I’ll try to keep this short and to the point. Massive queues = issues with running Guild Closed Raids and a lack of decent fights.

I’d like to extend an offer to all EU fight/closed raiding guilds that are having similar issues to migrate onto EotM maps for however many weeks it takes for queues to drop again.

If you’d like to get in on this, i’d like to try and get a contact/mailing list sorted asap.

If we can get 5 Red, 5 Blue and 5 Green guilds interested we might stand a chance to meet at least 1 of each other on the many overflow shards.

Pls indicate your interest like so:

e.g Guild: [sF] Smash Face
Server: Deso
Colour: Blue
~Size: 15-20
Contact: Byron.1902

Don’t let this kitten throw you off your guild content. I don’t care for rewards, I’m sure many of you don’t either. We’ll still be here to pick them up when the pvers lose interest.

When are ANET going to wake up and scrap all servers to start again with 9 new ones? (4x EU, 2x FR, 2x GER, 1x SPN)

Whole system is just trash.

So many ‘false’ servers pops. Deso gets about 25ppl on ts on a good night, yet we’re somehow ‘Full’ – even though as the match-ups suggest, we’re heading to r10 as fast as we can. Whole system relies on ‘gutting’ servers until all thats left is Pugs and casuals.
We have 3/4 guilds left (at a push).

Let us ‘sign up’ to new servers and breath new life into WvW’s dead corpse. (Also time to delete EotM)

While you’re at it, maybe release some metrics on prime-time Desert Bl populations. That’ll give us all a good laugh. Or maybe we could have portable cannons back? Or even have one of those fun event weeks where instead of golems, everyone has to play with a dragon/turtle/centaur/slug banner ^^ Or how about Char car racing for funsies?

…. #lostfaith

@Jim Hunter

Yh that makes sense, transfer 30 ppl to play with 5, instead of the other way around. -.-

By the same logic, T1 and T2 would be a carousel of leaving guilds and be left as zombie pug hordes. Good work.

Also, the ladder would become stale. Guild was made when Deso was r10, now we’re punished for becoming established and landing Vabbi as partners for 2 months. Go figure.

Now T1 is locked into bickering over PPT coverage (literally no guild cares) and waiting till the casuals leave as we ship rating like crazy.

Is there actually a WvW development team? or is it an Urban Myth?

This is TOTAL BULLkitten.

We have guild members on our linked server (Deso + vabbi) that were hoping to join us once de-linking occured – but held off in-case there was a slim chance the whole linking fiasco was going to be rebalanced. Now they are stuck and can’t play with the guild.

Why the kitten did you not announce this before hand!!!???? No clarity, no transparency – are you surprised no one thinks you’re capable of providing any meaningful solutions to the hole you’ve dug for WvW?

Lowering the population cap makes no sense as it is. You’ve already handicapped us with shoving Desert BL back in our faces (which no one ever plays on in prime), now you pull this sneaky kitten.

Sort yourselves out, its getting amateurish.

Great Combat, Great Community, kittening kittene Support.

Maybe we should start opening our own community forums to get ready to move teh community to Crowfall or Camelot Unchained. You’ve pretty much blown it Anet.

This is a really bad idea for a few reasons:

1) This is, in effect, exactly what you did before. Small ‘Linked’ servers are already those empty servers anyone can transfer too. Except they are now playing ‘Kingmaker’ every month or so.

Fighting guilds leave for these ‘Linked’ servers so their match-ups freshen up every so often. Leaving established servers subject to heavy ranking swings as they carry the ‘PUG’ populations.

2) You’re totally looking at the wrong metrics (as usual…sry but it’s accurate). You need to look (and understand) the population drop-off of plummeting servers. What is actually happening and why.

3) You have always failed to properly grasp that you have more than one type of player within the WvW gamemode and you always fail to cater to any as a result.

Suggestions:

1) As many have mentioned, your current population metrics are false. Its time you either re-iterate on EotM or disable it completely.

I’d suggest having 2 versions running – one for under lvl 80 players so you don’t erode that established leveling path – except boost every players stats to template (per class) thresholds. This way it doesn’t run as a frustrating player farm where achievement hunters bully out new players from sticking with WvW.

The second, a level 80 version (with free stat choices) only open over the prime time window. In doing so you can keep that playmode for anyone who prefers it, keep the over-flow queuing option but also encourage players to migrate to actual WvW.

2) The WvW population is slowly dying, there aren’t enough (or strong enough) incentives for players to stick with it. As a result you now have very strong bouts of bandwagoning.

Either close transfers except for a week mid-linking rotation or start with totally new servers all together.

3) Change WvW to an Alliance War model. Every guild with a roster of 10 or more signs-up to a server every 2/3 months.

All players are also given a ‘Solo’ option in the WvW UI where they are placed with a different assigned server when linkign occurs. Every region has enough new ‘Solo’ servers to match ‘Alliance’ Servers 1:1 = reduced change of dominant Kingmaker Linking.

Having said all that, what WvW actually needs to survive is a complete re-think. The players have evolved how they play the game-mode but you’re still shoveling the same perspective onto them.

I’m not sure where the balanced argument lands. I find myself agreeing with points on both sides of the argument.

Personally, I think you could lose the timer on some or shave the health pool on others. I wouldn’t like to see the mechanics dropped or the challenge element (how deadly they are) become trivial. Some issues are even based on the core class kit you have (mesmer has clear advantage).

That being said, it is a time consuming hurdle where players ‘wait for the fun’ in Anet vocab.

For me when I run them solo I do – 8/9 in Verdant Brink, 5 in Auric Basin, then stop after 1 in Tangled Depths (running through that map makes me vomit on my keyboard). I make up the rest with vanilla HPs and WvW currency. Maps take about an hour, vanilla + WvW maybe an evening.

So whichever way you run it, its about 2 play sessions of barrier content. That’s tolerable imo but if you have a lot of alts or multiple accounts… that’s a lot of zombie content.

I completely understand where OP is coming from.

If you don’t like PvE then it is plain and simply a chore to complete. It’s not about ‘hard’ content – it’s about spending time doing something that makes you feel ill (PvE).

Proof of Heroics are fine but if you have 9 characters or more it would be nice to get something from sPvP too.

I do some easy to reach Verdant Brink Hero Points and a couple in Auric Basin but ppl don’t seem to understand how nauseating PvE is for some players. Yes it might take 2-3 hours but that is 2-3 hours of un-fun time I’d rather spend washing the dishes or ironing!

Give us some choice. Award Proof of Heroics in sPvP AND WvW.

@Sarah

There is nothing fun or rewarding about Black Lion Chests in their current implementation. If you truly cared about items being under or over-valued you’d have sorted the loot tables properly by now.

If you don’t give a guaranteed ticket scrap with each chest you will just kill the interest outright. People don’t like to be taken for mugs and a repair canister, tome of knowledge and a dye is beyond anyone with half a brain’s idea of ‘loot’.

Re-focusing the in-game arbiter mechanism away from the player-driven TP towards the content-creator Black Lion Store (and accompanying gem-conversion) would sound like logic if you pulled your finger out, dispensed with a lot of the RNG and gave actual rewards in the chests.

Fix the chests first. Make fundamental changes second.

We don’t care about ‘special’ sets. Your decision making is such total kitten its unreal.

Most of the game’s end-game revolves around skin rewards. You’ve just taken a massive dump on one possible progression system.

If this persists (for the love of god see the light and reverse it) do you understand every decision you’re currently making is fueling the anti-anet bubble. Why are you so determined to turn people against you?

If this crap sticks you need to seriously amend Black Lion Chest loot tables. People don’t buy them because they are kittene not because the TP gets in the way. Perhaps have the loot from chest itemized into 3/4 selections that you can actually choose from. Getting a repair canister, tome of knowledge and a dye is a slap in the face.

I didn’t buy keys before and I still won’t be buying keys now. Maybe if you played your own game you’d understand.

I think Rym’s summed it up well.

Just to add from my experience testing:

- You can’t switch out of Ventari in teamfights, making you have to manage your Mist Power beyond what is possible. The fact you have no kill pressure anyway basically means you are doing this job less well than either Druid or Tempest. (Plus the range on the Tablet is PATHETIC – you can’t play the build on Foefire at all). So either the mist costs for Ventari need to come down or we’ll have to wait for changes to Jalis(?) perhaps.

- You are locked into taking Retribution for the stab and herald for the double stab and prot on heal. What you need is Assassin’s Annihilation but instead you’re offered the terrible Steadfast Rejuvenation (got to be up there as one of the worst Rev Grandmasters).

- Sure you can decap, but you are essentially waiting for your team to win somewhere else and +1 you or you’re waiting for the enemy to do it to you. So you can’t even think of yourself as bunker/bruiser – so what are you actually bringing?

- Glyphs druid and D/F ele do your job better than you so you’d be better off bringing what Rev is actually good at.

Suggestions:

- Increase tablet radius to 300.

- Shave some Mist Power cost from Ventari (5-10 on utilities – heal cost and elite are fine).

- Re-work Protective Solace, -5 not -8, have it break stun on you and allies on re-pop. Give some sort of active mitigation trait – e.g ‘Sanctuary’ – When Protective Solace ends, Allies are granted Aegis and enemies are blinded (in place of Tranquil Benediction).

- Make Eluding Nullification a Minor (in place of Disarming Riposte).

- Change Natural Abundance to something like – ‘Primal Energy’, create energy fragments when you cast Ventari skills (same as before), should an enemy step on a fragment, it heals you for half of its potential and damages your enemy for the other half. Basically, you need to give Ventari Revenants a way to become a bruiser so you give support Rev more comp scope.

Offer some off-Ventari options. Jalis should be next in line to receive changes.

- Change ‘Versed in Stone’, give Jalis elite baseline -25% condi duration – instead offer ‘Final Stand’ – Vengeful Hammers costs -5 and grants 1s of fury to all allies in range every 3s, Forced Engagement is 120 AoE (but taunt is halved) and Inspiring Reinforcement also grants 1s of Ret per pulse.

- Roll Steadfast Rejuvenation into Improved Aggression – combine both aspects but add taunted foes heal you on all their hits.

Whatever happens, there need to be several linked-in changes to offer something that will make Revs consider playing anything either Ventari or Jalis. Plenty of Flavour but zero actual role or impact.

Maybe, reckon its Steve or Primordus next.

Anyone who doesn’t think Kralk will be last (The whole Guild Wars story is about him by proxy…see Glint) has been drinking.

If we’re getting Tengu, it’ll be Steve. Followed by Dwarves with Primordus, Kodan with Jormag and nothing with Kralkatorrik (maybe some sort of Abbadon acolyte race). Thats right, Abbadon will return!

But seeing as ANET is bonkers, we’ll not get any new races or land masses. And the next 6 years will be about collecting Dragon tails to make a special soup/pie which will make the whole world hold hands. And somehow one of each race will always hang out together, learning a new weapon every 1.5 years.

BrotherBelial.3094:

Byron.1902:

I half expect Mike O’Brien to go back on this after the massive reaction.

Who drops this kind of bombshell before a 4 day weekend and creeps away!?

I guess we’ll all jump about once they decided ’they’ve listened to the playerbase’.

‘Mo4President!’ we’ll all shout. Then he’ll be the hero, Colin the villain and everyone will get back on the hype train having had their kitten tickled.

Just watch, this is a PR wet dream waiting to happen.

If he doesn’t, their PR team needs to be re-assigned to LW :p

I think you are giving them too much credit there. It took bad media press too with the last big out burst, the whole HoT character slot/price thing. Unless a gaming site jumps on this nothing will happen.

Maybe, but it’s either go back or come clean on when and how the next 6 months of content will be delivered.

He’s crazy if he does neither. People will just leave and will have lost too much confidence in ANET to come back. Could be over guys – think back to the last well handled crisis or expectation exceeding content…………exactly.

I just play GW2 as a lobby PvP game now. Perhaps after almost 4 years its time to re-evaluate what this game is actually good at:

Grindless and Gearless sPvP
‘Chillzone’ Zerg farming (PvE events, EotM, EB)

-er- I can’t actually think of anything else :s

I half expect Mike O’Brien to go back on this after the massive reaction.

Who drops this kind of bombshell before a 4 day weekend and creeps away!?

I guess we’ll all jump about once they decided ’they’ve listened to the playerbase’.

‘Mo4President!’ we’ll all shout. Then he’ll be the hero, Colin the villain and everyone will get back on the hype train having had their kitten tickled.

Just watch, this is a PR wet dream waiting to happen.

If he doesn’t, their PR team needs to be re-assigned to LW :p

This is getting beyond a joke now. As a company ANET your ability to screw up just baffles me. Sort. Your. kitten. Out.

Here is your current breakdown of content with noted disappointments/poor decisions/mismanagement:

WvW – New Borderland design – flawed, un-fun, ignored the player-base’s desires.

WvW (GvG) – Unsupported, left and ignored resulting in an unavoidable split within the community.

sPvP – Lack of new conquest maps, unwanted deathmatch mode.

Stronghold – Developed and then left unsupported, unadvertised and poorly incentivised.

sPvP Leagues – Hit. Good Job (late but still appreciated).

Raids – Hit. Overall, best new PvE content since the game launched.

Fractals – Poorly Incentivised and mismanaged.

Guild Halls – Poorly structured and gated. Undemocratic. Basic functionality should have been base-line (e.g arena).

Living World – Late. Divisive.

Legendaries – Shelved when advertised as a selling point. Inexcusable.

In all honesty, have you even considered the very obvious question? How many GW2 players trust you anymore?…not many.

It becomes clearer every week that you never expected to make expansions – and your first attempt is shaky at best.

You’re going to have to act very fast over this (you are setting a very dangerous precedent with this news). You can start by changing HOW you relate to your playerbase if want to regain their trust.

For anyone who wants to spout some ‘oh, well i guess it’ll come in time’ nonsense. This game is not a ‘Privilege’ , its an item for sale. I’ve spent around £350 across 2 accounts myself – does it hold up against this list of hits/misses… its a clear No. Would I trust you with another £350….80% sure its a No – a lot would have to change.

I have played against this build. Hits like a truck.

Not to take anything away from a great accomplishment (Gz), but there will always be scope to flip the table on the meta and win with cheese.

When everyone plays against so much of the same stuff and wins are down to either: out rotating their eles or dealing with SnR or winning fast against their engi some stuff will always slip past due to a lack of practice.

Everyone assumes when they see a Warr on the other team ‘as long as we peel for endure pain’ its a free lunch. But when the damage lands its more like ‘what the kitten was that’.

This build will win 75-80% of its 1v1s mainly due to a lack of experience from the enemy, the other 25% because it deals great damage.

But if you out-rotate your opponents after easily winning the first far push you’ll defo win a lot of games (which means you know what you’re doing – ergo – you will end up in legendary).

Either way, its GG for the balls alone.

Not sure why you’re over-complicating it. Damage either lands or it doesn’t.

50% chance to ‘fumble’ – ‘fumble’ deals 50% damage (also affects crits).

- 0.5 × 0.5 = 0.25

Regardless of crit chance, crit dmg or power the enemy will be dealing 75% of their damage whilst under weakness.

Its impossible/useless to think any further than this as you’d need to factor in each skill co-efficient.

Best way of thinking about it is as the Sister to Vulnerability. Full Vuln stacks increases incoming damage by 25%, Weakness decreases outgoing damage by 25%.

Is it #worth. Debatable, as ANET gives out so much CC that there are other (better) ways of trading damage more effectively.

I’d prefer to see boons like:

RESOLVE:
- decrease damage received by 50%.
- lose a stack of RESOLVE when hit.

LIFELINK:
- Under LIFELINK your auto-attacks leech ~300 health
- Stacks in duration
– Being hit whilst under LIFELINK extends its duration by 1s (1s ICD).

There are probably more/better options than these. But as one of the posts mentioned, it’d be nice to see some mitigation mechanics outside of CC into damage. ANET pls give scope to TRADING damage (esp 1v1).

Also, I’m disappointed to see boon duration come back. There is so much scope in the trait system for augmenting skills and most of the current ones are redundant anyway. Why make it harder to balance when you are already misusing the tools you designed to achieve it?

oops I didn’t see the thread.

Glad to see others are as frustrated with it.

Its a bit irritating to think ANET could do something about this but its just not high enough on the priority list. -.-

Surely ANET could run their own bots under each map version that hunt these things. Perhaps kill them and force them to respawn at a WP with a different colour nameplate so passers by can flag/report them?

I don’t play much PvE but have recently been wandering around maps doing the first level of legendary collections.

I can’t believe the number of under-map botters I’ve seen so far. If its the same everywhere then I’m certain its warping the TP massively.

I remember near launch it being a problem and ANET made a concerted effort to fight back.

What tech is in place to combat this under-map version?

I can’t even select the characters who hover for a second before dropping underneath fast enough to report

Please share your experiences or opinions on the matter. Surely ANET can do something towards this.

It has made me feel like a massive mug for trying to achieve anything with human hours.

Plus, I’ve been disappointed to see players with guild tags doing it. How can that happen? I came close to starting a name and shame list, but knowing that it’d probably break forum rules decided against it.

I can’t be the only person feeling peeved with this. Where’s your bite ANET? MMOs need to have some version of social justice. Otherwise it just descends into people clicking stuff, pressing a few buttons and pixels lighting up.

Having spent the last week mucking about with the new stuff, I’ve now gone back to what i was mainly doing before – aiming to craft ascended Armor and Weapons.

Except now I’ve completely lost interest. FULGRITE!? what is this bullkitten?

You honestly expect me to grind 75 of these things for each armor piece? Are you kittening mental?

I’m not much of a PvE player tbf, but finding ways to grind karma for obsidian shards was a side-game i was willing to play. Now we’re expected to farm Airship Oil, Auric bullkitten and Ley Line kitteny for the same kitten people have been crafting for 2 years. -.-

There better be some way to earn this joke tat in WvW or PvP.

More hurdles to jump and hoops to kitten about with until I’m on the same power level as everyone else. Ty ANET, you’ve pulled a solid on this one GG.

Exotic 4 Life, shove that pink gear up your kitten , what a crock of kittene.

From testing Ventari I found the Fragments left behind from Energy Expulsion simply don’t persist for long enough to make it interesting to use as a bunker. They need to stay longer on the ground. @ 5 secs you have to pretty much abandon everything your doing to run around and pick them all up (which isn’t much fun or rewarding). Engineer’s Elite med-packs last at least twice as long.

Also, Ventari needs some sort of stability or stun break outside of switching out of the legend otherwise it doesn’t have any ‘reactive’ gameplay. So perhaps giving 1s of stability for each fragment picked up might give it some more scope in both 1v1 point contesting or team-fighting or even WvW.

If that isn’t thematically appropriate then perhaps Protective Solace needs a 3s Blind to give the stance some reactive scope? or a 1s AoE Aegis? That fits with Ventari being a pacifist etc and gives the stance a layer of complexity. Making the Blind or Aegis pulse from Ventari’s Tablet would also differentiate between players who show a better aptitude for controlling the core component of the Stance (the tablet).

Either way in sPvP being in Ventari is a free lunch ticket for your opponent and is a bit underwhelming for WvW as you have to switch out of the stance to survive (which makes the whole point of being in Ventari to BE supportive completely redundant?)

I have to admit I didn’t see the 180 coming. If we’re honest, everything unique and subsequently fun about Revenant was pretty much because of Mallyx.

I can’t understand what is so impossible to fix about Embrace the Darkness. Just make it be impossible to be cleansed from any other source than yourself for the duration or rather than be cleansed be healed a small amount instead. Give it a 15s CD and its fine.

As for Unyeilding Anguish, ok it was perhaps a bit too strong but either give it a 5 sec CD so it can’t be spammed or make it a knockback on cast and keep the pulsing chill. Mallyx needs some sort of denial skill effect to make it actually interesting. I don’t buy the ‘players found it too confusing’ thats an l2p issue – which also means the skill cap is lowered and its just more bland.

I’m not really sure on builds if you’re going the max dps PvE route, then maybe you are right and with damage you sacrifice cleanse. For WvW cleanse is insane. For sPvP it looks good for bunker, risk/reward and condi.

I’m looking at Mallyx/Glint, Mace/Axe – Hmr – Corruption, Invocation, Herald (on Cele) and it looks really, really strong.

Honestly, I think the whole class (regardless of fine tuning) has been very well designed. Its pretty much good at everything. Ventari is still a little bit clunky – Energy Expulsion needs to break stun on you and the fragments needs to persist on the floor for longer (more like Engi med kit drops).

err not sure what build you’re going for but to me it seems like Revenant is perhaps the strongest condi cleanser outside of ele. If it lacks anything its enough stun-break.

There is just no way anyone will prioritise casting an overload. 4.25s cast is just mental. Either drop the cast down to 1.5-2s or have it cast in the background whilst you can still use other skills (but still be CC’d or interrupted). You’d have to balance the overloads – but honestly they will NEVER be used in anything competitive.

Aside from that so far the Warhorn skills are too slow. With any movement speed bonus you out-run the spells making them pretty much insignificant. The speed needs at least parity with whatever speed the character is running at. Although I feel like the spells are actually in an good spot.

Also the elite shout needs something a bit extra maybe 2-3 stacks of Stability (for 5s) giving scope to cast an overload.

@Dancing Monkey. You’ve missed the point. By supporting the GvG scene you are supporting WvW. Currently we do ‘take up space and not participate with the main goal and objectives of the map’ as you put it.

If we had somewhere instanced to fight in that actually meant something (points awarded on win) we’d be productive for the server and we wouldn’t take up space.

As it is now, no one is getting what they want. You want us gone and we don’t want imbalanced fights. Plus trying to compare 5v5 with 15v15 or 20v20 makes you look a bit inexperienced.

As for interrupting fights, that is not being done by your enemy but by other angry PPT guilds on your own server.

Giving both sections of the community space to do their thing and making it count towards a common goal is supporting the Community. While it remains like this its a community divided and servers are at war with themselves. It got so bad on my server at one point that guilds were deliberately sabotaging each other and everyone suffered.

If you have such a clear idea what this gamemode is perhaps you can give me an example of how communities and servers are magically supposed to reconcile their differences. Ok this is my idea, what’s yours? Or do you expect us all to unite under the Turtle Banner and cruise around in Char cars together?

@Jski, OS is ok as a stop-gap. We’ve been fighting in their for almost 2 yrs now. The problem is not being instanced. Often you have to wait most of the evening for 2 other guilds to finish their scrim or 4 guilds take alternate rounds. Plus the trolls come and try to snipe your backline or FP, or you get some random ele casting meteor shower in the middle of the fight.

Also, if GvGs were supported, instanced and balanced we could have a framework that awarded points to successful guilds and work as a community towards a shared goals (server domination).

I’m tired of people trying to claim we’re such a small percentage of the playerbase. Most player’s ‘trajectory’ points them towards the team-fighting scene after a while. The reason there isn’t a larger GvG oriented population is largely to do with most people giving up and moving on as its not supported. The whole gamemode is leaking players hand-over-fist. Ok we’re getting an influx of new players with HoT, but perpetuating this model just isn’t sustainable.

ANET listen to PvEers when they wanted space for organised, harder group content. sPvP is finally getting some love with Leagues. Why is WvW the unloved ginger kid?

Hey Blood Nice to see you, we should catch up sometime.

I hope so, although they did look to be on the slightly smaller side. Not that I’m complaining, honestly I think they’ll be great. Looks like they’ve done a fantastic job with the pillar and prop concepts. It should create a nice 2v2, 3v3 Arena-type scene.

I just hope finally, with every other gamemode getting some love (in terms of team oriented content) that perhaps we are next on the list. Because more than anything I don’t want to see us being pushed into a situation where players and friends start pointing their fingers at each other. I don’t like to say it but we’ve been put here by years of neglect and denial.

What I’m trying to say isn’t ‘people should play the way i like to play’ its ‘please support the playerbase and stop communities from turning on each other’.

I have no problem with people preferring ‘organic’ fights or ‘strategic’ fights. Others prefer balanced matches that pit one team’s skill and organisation against another’s. I’d just like there to be a way for them to co-exist.

Currently, all we get is interrupted fights, wasted evenings and usually the blame for when a server’s community turns on itself.

Its not about who prefers what, its about top-down initiatives that will keep different types of players enthusiastic about the gamemode. We’re getting Raids for the PvE community why not support the Guild oriented PvP (i.e GvG) community?

@Chuba – I understand where you’re coming from. For me I try and find some organised WvW for Autumn/Winter, then go casual in Spring/Summer. You’re right its just not sustainable.

Though I do think running around the BL for 2.5 hrs and getting 10 mins of fights is too little content not to expect something to change.

If people like to scout and do the siege thing, thats great – I’m glad they enjoy their evenings. But without some Infrastructure, currently it feels like a massive waste of energy and time. Which is a shame, as I genuinely love this game.

I’m hoping that sPvP leagues and potentially raiding will show the Devs finally what some considered progression and team oriented support can do for re-invigorating the organised aspects of their game. After which, only GvG will be left undeveloped and potentially ‘unlockable’.

@Sorin, not sure if its a Slippery Slope, but I do think people without a lot of money and/or time will experience 1 or more examples from 2).

I’m a little behind the times as I pretty much gave up on WvW since my server’s community basically split itself in two and everyone fell out.

Yes I’m from the GvG side of things and I know people who love their PPT believe we’ve ruined their game-mode.

I’ve just read the post about upgrades coming into WvW (Turtle Banner!?) and after planning to come back to Organised WvW for Autumn/Winter have found it hard to get the optimism going.

I understand there are fresh new mechanics coming for WvW, I understand people want to keep things strategic and engaging, I even understand that some people just want new stuff. I get it. But we’re all kidding ourselves if a conversation on the future of the WvW community isn’t discussed with the Devs.

GvGs, Scrimming, Fight-oriented whatever guilds are a natural progression for players that have honed their skills and still want more. After 3 years its only natural players want more of a challenge and begin to move towards team-fights in controlled scenarios.

If the GvG community had a way for its guilds to fight each other in an extension large enough within their Guild Halls and matches earned points towards the weekly totals, you’d have a way for the two sides of the community to reconcile their differences and potentially have shared goals (domination strategically and competitively).

Surely its not too much to ask for? Because honestly I don’t think ANET understands the ‘trajectory’ of most of its WvW players. If an individual plays WvW for 2 yrs+ the vast majority want to experience more, challenge themselves and push onto a level above.

Without addressing both sides of the community, we’ll just go round and around and the lifespan of most WvWers will continue to last about 2 yrs.

I’m sorry but driving around in a Charr Car will last a day, fighting 20-20, 15-15, will last forever.

Please, Can We Just Fight Yet?

@BrotherBelial How about having a craftable component you can add to both Ascended and Legendary armor that lets you add a Rune type each time? i.e letting you add a 2nd, 3rd, 4th Rune type to an existing piece of armor.

That way you can get around the Legendary of GTFO by focusing on the Runes rather than the armor itself.

@Wasabi Kitty The whole OP is about needing multiple Armor sets for raiding if ANET delivers on their message – that raiding will require various types of gear etc.

On your second point (about Exotics), I also agree its fine for most levels of gameplay but I’m wondering therefore where raiding fits in with that philosophy.

What would help is if ANET explained what level of gear they have designed Raids for. The are obvious multiple issues at each of the levels that I’m really hoping they will address or release info about (Runes being just one).

One of the clunkiest aspects of gearing is committing to a Rune type that might not be your best fit, but provides a good ‘all-round’ foundation (e.g Strength/Hoelbrak, Traveler, Pack). Having to shell out gold 6x for more niche Runes and back again makes diversifying builds difficult and undesirable.

With the coming Legendary Armor (and to an extent Ascended Armor) what are the plans to alleviate the problem? From what the Raid posts suggest (needing multiple build types), we’ll also need various Runes.

In its current design, there are two likely outcomes. 1) People will continue to run Jack-of-all-trades Runes because they simply cannot afford multiple sets, leading to players with more money having a boost on others. At the very least a pre-requisite for raiding will be a f tonne of gold farming. 2) Players who simply cannot afford multiple Rune sets will have less fun, take more time, see less of the rest of the game, feel less satisfied and more likely to burn-out faster.

Whether or not you think the Rune gold sink in its current iteration is good for the game (I do understand we need a gold sink but surely skins are a better way to do it – and consistent with ANETs gameplay philosophy). Maybe it’d be a good idea to let players know that it will be a feature of Raiding.

Secondly, the only realistic way around the problem for most players is to have multiple sets of Exotic Armor to rotate Rune types. In which case, it would also be prudent to inform players at what stat lvl (gear quality) the raids are designed for? Have they been designed with Ascended in mind? Or are there new design factors to help alleviate the Rune problem, or a general consideration that Exotic quality gear is an ‘inclusive’ design baseline?

Share your thoughts below. Perhaps we can get some feedback on the issue. Personally, I am on the poorer side of gear (Crafting Ascended Weapons currently but not yet Armor). If I do need better gear or multiple sets for Runes, being able to plan would be a bonus.

I want to get enthusiastic about Raiding, but having to craft multiple gear sets just for Runes as well as baseline stats would be a bit of a downer.

*Is there any way, in future design, to craft some attachable component to armor (perhaps needing ascended materials) to add a second, third, fourth (etc)rune type to a piece of gear and then be able to select your Rune of choice from a list similar to how you ‘select stats’ on a current legendary? Surely its possible, but i’d really like to know if its likely?

Signed,

?Future raider?

Dear ANET,

I understand the whole development team is hard at work on HoT. But for several months now we’ve had very little ‘significant’ content or events to rally people around.

Is it at all possible to put the Queen’s Jubilee event (and farm map) into the calendar over the next month or so as its becoming abundantly clear the timetable for HoT indicates a release later in the year.

In addition, any chance of a WvW season? Give us something to sink our teeth into please!!

No one cares if the content is an exact replica of previous calendar events. Right now people want something more than dailies to log in for and expac hype is turning a bit :s the longer we wait.

Signed,

Concerned GW2 enthusiast.

*post ur own suggestions for easy to implement calendar events below.

@Drarnor

Ok so what you’re saying is Protection is a flat-rate value added to the damage reduction you’ve already gained from Armor? It doesn’t interact independently as a mitigating factor? (i.e it’s an attribute gain that takes place before damage is adjusted?).

I don’t understand your point about 2000 Armour being 99.95% damage reduction however. I was considering real values of base-line gear armour + Toughness. Maybe I’m just being thick but can you explain a little?

@Tman

I have to admit, this is how I thought the engine worked. Although its logical to assume factors are considered in the same mitigating/modifying parts of the formula, I can’t imagine the servers would be up to it.

This is why I made the post because if the values are calculated in isolation it makes a significant difference.

@Altair

I see what you’re saying about it not mattering at what point its added into the formula. I don’t know why I was trying to isolate it.

Wow, that is pretty strong. Does anyone have any info on the comparable real value of scaling damage vs power increases? (When considering trait choices, for example)?

Thanks for the help though guys, much appreciated.

@Coldart

I follow the idea of protection as an over-time concept but what I’m trying to work out is how it relates to other mitigating factors, namely your armour.

If you looked at a singular value of damage. Would an Armour value end up being worth more than the prot (relatively) because they are measured independently?

Ok, so the decreasing values must interact with the baseline value of a skill and disregard the incoming adjusted value.

Thank you for clearing it up

Can you help me with the others? :p

I do think it’s logical to assume condition duration would resolve in an independent clause, do you have a source at all? Or is this from personal testing?

Its not that I wouldn’t believe you but is there something you can link to show-case the theory?

I’ve been trying to work out some of the more puzzling game-rules/coding that runs some of the secondary mechanics and attributes in GW2 and there’s very little info available.

So if anyone’s interested perhaps we can post and reply as a community to some of the more head-scratching examples in this thread.

If it gets a bit too confusing perhaps someone from the testing community can help clear things up.

Puzzle 1: Protection’s real value.

Ok so the tool-tip states Prot is worth 33% damage reduction. But depending at which point the mitigating clause enters the code it de-values.

An example:

1000 weapon damage x 2000 power x 1.0 (skill co-efficient) / 3000 armour = 666.6 true damage

(so in this example, 3000 armour gives a damage reduction of 33.3%, roughly the same as prot).

However, if the mitigating Prot clause is added post true damage it multiplies against itself:

666.6 × 0.33 = 219.9 damage. (i.e dealing 446.7 true damage overall).

Therefore, if the clause is 2 part, the armour mitigates for 33.3% whereas the Prot mitigates for 22% damage. Giving an overall damage reduction value of 55.3%

If the coding works together though (the mitigating factors are combined), then it works as the supposed 66.3%

Q: When/how does Protection enter the mitigating clause?

Puzzle 2: Anti-condi duration. Scaling or combined?

Similar to the Prot puzzle, the way condi duration is valued is v sketchy.

Lets take attributes vs food values for example:

An example:

You gain +40% condi-duration from attributes but face an enemy with -40%. (Using Warrior Sword Flurry as an example).

Full Flurry is worth 4s baseline. 4 × 1.4 = 5.6s adjusted.

5.6 × 0.6 = 3.36s adjusted.

Therefore, if condi-duration factors are isolated clauses (from both sources). Anti-duration is worth more than Plus-duration.

However, if there is a coding clause that compares the duration attributes and gives a resulting value overall, it comes out as equal (Negating).

Q: Does Condition Duration resolve in an independent clause or not?

Puzzle 3: Damage Scaling Abilities/Traits.

It is very unclear how percentage damage increase compare in real terms to flat increases.

Take the Warrior Trait ‘Destruction of the Empowered’. It increases outgoing damage by 3% for each boon on your target.

However, it isn’t clear when the multiplier is added. Is it only added to the ‘weapon damage’ quota of the DD formula? Is is multiplied after the entire DD damage formula but before mitigating factors? Is it multiplied post mitigating factors?

This is a difficult to account for because it obviously scales incredibly well depending on your power and might stacks.

It is also unclear how it interacts with Crit. Is it multiplied post Crit and therefore worth both 3% increase in DD and Crit %?

Q: At what point are scaling clauses added to the damage formula?

• suggestion – make trait sourced multipliers scale before mitigating factors but vulnerability scale post-mitigation, making vulnerability worth more – placing it higher in priority (or make it consider crit and be worth +1% on DD and +1% Crit).

I know this is a bit of a nerd-fest, but I thought it’d be useful to some and interesting to others to try and work it out.

I may be way off but I can’t be the only one who scratches their head with this stuff when trying to craft builds.

Please feel free to add your own mechanics ‘puzzles’ below.

Insight and discussion is welcome.

Having seen the new Stronghold trailer and read the early indications its a new 5v5 game-mode, I’d like to strongly ask Anet as to why the current GvG scene has been ignored for the 3rd year running?

Since the early days of RG, Votf, CoN etc… we’ve developed a strong and popular fighting format based around 15v15 or 20v20. That is what GvG means in a GW2 context. Yes GW1 gvg was fun, but every guild (that can actually fight :P) in GW2 has been playing a new exciting format for 2.5 years (and had to ‘unofficially’ support itself).

Does ANET not realise many server communities hang by a thread as it is, with relations between PPT and GvG guilds pretty much killing the experience. You had the opportunity to bring something to the table that’d reconcile some of those differences… but no you wiffed… GG

Anyone who says the new OS is enough hasn’t had to wait a whole evening for their turn to fight.

The biggest thing I don’t understand is you did the whole ‘Adopt a Dev’ initative. Grouch even went to dF (and had a great time). Where did the feedback that WvW is a diverse game-mode but doesn’t have the features to satisfy the player-base in the long-term go? Instead we got siege disablers? (srsly though -.-).

It wouldn’t even be that hard… a medium sized map with a slightly re-designed version of the ready-check you give players in spvp to indicate a fight-resolved gg call, have that trigger a simple score-board and leave it as first to 5 rounds. Not really that hard surely?

Either way, you could at the very least acknowledge there’s clearly an under-represented part of your competitive community. Honestly, you should do something…you’ve got an A+ fighting-system going to waste.

oh? nice one thanks mate

I know this is a bit impatient, but it does seem a little strange to transition from PAX without giving some indication when the first package of further information will land.

If someone knows from Reddit or Twitter when the first ‘Delve’ is coming please share, I’d sleep better :p

*ANET we get you can’t give us a date when HoT is coming. But can we have a vague date when the first forum ‘Delve’ is coming (even if you say something like ‘within 2 weeks’).

Having seen a lot of discussion on this topic, with the feature pack landing with a v soft thud and the announcement of CDIs – I thought I try to create a discussion that could show-case to ANET that we’re capable of coming up with solutions to issues.

This is intended as a constructive discussion on a topic that has polarised the community. Let’s give it a shot. (In any case, I’m intrigued to see if we’re actually capable without chopping our noses off to spite our face :p).

As a player interested in PvP rather PvE, the system is difficult to regard as anything but limited, short-sighted and frustrating.

I think a lot of the frustration comes from the fact GW2 prided itself on being accessible in terms of playing with choice. (i.e giving you the tools to create builds and playstyles as entry-level / base-line).

This is a design value that separated it from the rest of the MMO market – giving it an identity. Those values and identity are now missing, potentially lost.

However, what I can understand is the desire from the community to have an experience that rewards or incentives an explorer’s mindset. Mainly due to the fact we’re 2 yrs in and *significant (read how you want :p) new content is thin on the ground.

This, coupled with the design team’s understandable desire to see the world populated with inquisitive players eager to digest mechanics, artwork, immersion etc they’ve spent many thousands of collective man-hours producing – has imo placed us in this rather confused state (regarding the erosion of their choice-based design values).

At this point, it would be wholly un-wise for ANET to back-track on their system. Although we don’t like to admit it, losing face, losing integrity and pandering to the community – will never produce good results.

As such, the only thing left is a compromise. And this is what’s led me to post (I don’t very often). There simply aren’t enough solutions (other than a re-do) being offered by the community.

This is just my line of thinking, add your solutions perhaps? Lets maybe show ANET we can actually offer them a way out.

What I’d like to see:

Instead of traits being unlocked by world content – instead earn a new currency through exploration. (Explorer’s Token – for example). (Somehow this would be different form Karma, perhaps specific content? – no idea exactly – its a design team issue :p).

Then its pretty simple. Vendor the tokens for specific, exclusive rewards. Have an ’Explorer’s Armor Set’ or ’Explorer’s Weapons’ skins. Perhaps exotic or ascended back-pieces?

Then revert the skill based changes to the original method.

In effect, players desiring choice or an alt character friendly lvling system get what they want. Plus the PvE ‘Explore the world – smell the roses’ types players also get exclusive content that rewards the way they play.

Plus, you get an extra dynamic to the game. A system that perhaps gives players looking for a more progressive ‘grindy’ game experience – whilst not losing the design values the game started with.

Add or discuss your creative solutions below…

I also chose the Visionary Helm and still like its aesthetics but as you progress levels you invariably find armour that gives your character more flavour – mainly due to sets (its impossible to have both the visionary helm and shoulders for instance).

However, if you want practical advice – transmogrification stones can combine the look of one piece of armour with the stats of another. These come in 2 kinds:
lvl 1-79 and lvl 80.

The lvl 80 stones can be hard to come by if you’re not planning on using gems. The lvl1-79 stones however, can be acquired relatively easily.

TL;DR – completing a capital city (any of the 5) rewards 3 lvl1-79 transmogrification stones.
>I did exactly this with my Visionary helm until about lvl 50 because I too liked its look.

I know the OP mentioned not crafting and most of this thread concerns the actual world drop rate but I really think more info (either from Anet or the player base) needs to be released on crafting (cooking in this instance). I’ve thought long and hard about a viable solution that would appease different types of player.

Suggestion:

- create a pool of around 20-30 dyes that are exclusive to the gem store and cooking.
- make the ingredients needed to craft such dyes cost karma/gold or available on the gem store (possible room for powerful nourishment buffs exclusive to gem store).
- make the resulting exclusive dyes available for placing on the trade post.

My hypothetical argument and justification:

- People love chasing exclusivity. Making 20-30 dyes non world drop would mean more people taking up crafting. Leading to a gold/karma sink, making the economy healthier.
- World drop rates can be altered due to the gem store dyes not competing with world dyes.
- More people crafting dyes (with a random result (either exclusive or WD dyes)) means more unwanted dyes circulating on the trade post. Leading to lower dye costs. Keeping players happier and the economy healthier.
- Completionists are happier due to lower costs on the trade post. Traders/Crafters are happier due to more exclusive products available. Anet are happier because more people are interested in the gem store. Casual players are happier because there is a greater chance the dye they are actually looking for is cheaper/drops more often.

Just a side-note to the post:

- Don’t forget that you can take up multiple crafting skills and won’t lose your progress in the others (max of 2 at a time).
- This point in time (in the lifespan of the game) will be most testing regarding issues like this. An ever increasing number of players have completed or satisfied/saturated the core elements of the game, turning to other content like dyes. Prices will be all over the place.
- People are 500+ hrs on mains – so either recognise that more niche aspects of the game will be more frustrating to complete or start running alts.

However, it would be nice to get a line or two from Anet to tell us where or how their plans for dyes will evolve in the future.

Dayra.7405:

Byron.1902:

-high tiered servers with large PvE focused populations will only go one way, down. This is unavoidable so accept it.

I don’t believe in this one. Maybe in the short run, but in the long run only these server will be able to maintain powerful WvW-Forces. There will be hard-core GW2 players that will play GW2-WvW for years, but I don’t believe that they are a majority. In the long run only well mixed PvE and WvW servers with a healthy PvE, will have the new recruits needed to keep enough mass for successful WvW. Pure WvW-Server with just WvW population will just die out rather sooner than later (as people will move to other games).

What I mean by this is basically, PvE heavy servers are difficult to organise for WvW. This alone gives them a slight disadvantage in match-ups (I think we’d all agree Pugs are notoriously unstable). For a t1 server (like deso) with this problem t2 beckons. If you’re behind in the tick with equal numbers its because you can’t/don’t organise. However, like I stressed earlier, a server such as this will find its bracket eventually.

I do agree that in time more people might be tempted to WvW if their PvE content dries up. However, I’m sure you’d agree that most of these players will be less inclined to contribute/join an organised WvW outfit. The fights will remain casual and the Pugs will get mowed down just the same.

Tbh, and I know this sounds crazy but this is the best thing that could have happened to WvW. Paid transfers were always going to create a mad rush whatever their scheduling.

I know the first few weeks of matches (from 28th) will be v frustrating as servers bounce around but the populations/strength will reassert itself:

- strong servers will form guild alliances to cover all maps and timezomes (either due to necessity or queue frustration) and become balanced.
- mid-tier servers that have avoided joining rushes will stay roughly where they are in their tiers but more importantly, keep the type of fights they are used to and like .
- low-tier servers that have recruited new blood (such as xaoc to surmia) will rise to a tier that balances their lack of numbers/organisation, giving them challenging but ultimately satisfying fights.

The anomalies:

-high tiered servers with large PvE focused populations will only go one way, down. This is unavoidable so accept it.
-the biggest losers are t2 and t3 brackets. fights will be challenging for a while then its run into the brick-wall time. This is unavoidable so accept it.

Three suggestions that will help address these problems.

1. Anet creating some kind of partition or seperate queue/lobby for the jumpy jumpy insert colourful word ppl. – keeping Pvpers and Pvers happier and focused on what they enjoy most.
2. If you’re in a T2/3 server right now and want to have a crack at T1 at some point – RECRUIT. YOUR. kitten OFF. – you only have yourselves to blame if it never happens.
3. Change the points/tick weighting of structures from 3am-7am (imo 2,4,7,12). This would rly help servers with false bracket positions / unhealthy timezone biases. Making weekly match-ups more satisfying/truly reflective and help ppl keep their jobs in RL (^^)

MikeFerguson.8921:

Jomg.9061:

What about Durios guard not spawning with the proper faction ?

I thought we fixed that one too, might be a similar thing. I’ll try to get it looked at tomorrow!

Any idea what team colour it seems to happen on?

Desolation has had this problem this week. We’re green (lowlands) and I believe it was previously red (arborstone). This happened at around 3am-6am on a loop. We’ve had similar problems with Anza in the last few weeks. But Durios is by far the worst affected on EB, with enemy Veteran Archers spawning on walls as well.

Desolation has quite a few commanders (some sadly are of the PvE, stand in LA, or jumpy jumpy sort) but most are competent (we wouldn’t be a solid T2 server otherwise).

IRON leads our WvW efforts esp on BL and they are all v good.

However 1 stands above the rest and if you’ve spent as many hours on EB esp at night you’ll know who I’m talking about and why.

→ so i’d like to take this opportunity to thank Moorta (IRON) for all the great runs and I totally agree with OP, he is one of the few commanders who I’d willingly run with on a suicide mission because I know there’s strategy, grit and courage behind it.

/salute

From a European perspective:

Best commitment – Vizunah Square

Best tactics – Desolation/Elona’s Reach

Best Guild – RG (Red Guard – Blacktide), the most impressive/terrifying thing in WvW.