Guild Wars 2

It’s not a bad fight, but it does have some terrible elements. The AOE is largely avoidable, if you have the special-action ability set on a hotkey you should be able to get it off before Caudecus hits you with it. If you focus down the adds immediately when they spawn you’re left with a boss that mostly does nothing save for that special action ability and some melee skills.

The problem… and it’s a big problem… is the small arena and those jade armors. In that small room with all those camera issues it’s easy to miss the incoming CC from the armors and find yourself in a stun-lock situation. At that point you can’t do anything about the special ability attack, can’t avoid the aoe, can’t deal with the adds/armors and you’re focused down in seconds. Stability gives you a chance to stay ahead, but not every class has that option available to them. Stun-breaks also help, but usually once you’re knocked down you’re going to be eating at least one big damage attack before you can pull yourself out of the fire. High health on the armors means many classes are going to get hit with the CC more than once before they’re destroyed which snowballs the problem.

Combined with the lack of a forge… eventually you’re naked (or nearly) and it becomes a death-attrition grind.

Same here. Achievement is complete, all 21 letters found, but the journal item remains incomplete

At the very least, providing some kind of armor repair in this instance would have cut down on much of the L2P issues. I know you want a challenging fight in a tiny room with string CC, massive aoe and adds, but once a player’s armor is broken it becomes a death-attrition boss instance.

I’ll grind my way through it because I’m stubborn like that, but this was something which really should have been addressed during your playtesting.

Blade Shards, doubloons, Amalgamated Gemstones, Essence of Luck (if it’s ever intended to be used as a crafting item), Agony infusions, Mystic Crystals, Mystic Forge Stones, Philosopher’s Stones, Milling Stones, Vision Crystals, Bottles of Elonian Wine, Tenebrous Crystals, Shimmering Crystals.

Would also love to see some of the map currencies added to the wallet: Blood Rubies, Petrified Wood, Crowbars, Exalted Keys, Chak Acid, Machetes, Greater and Lesser Key’s of Nightmare, Shovels, Bandit Skeleton Keys, Zephyrite Lockpicks.

Fantastic news… thank-you so very much for removing the DR from the Labyrinth! Every year I look forward to roaming that instance in the midst of a loot-drunk zerg while having netflix up on a second monitor. It’s the perfect combination of relaxing play and mindless entertainment at the end of a long day.

Looks like the scavenger contracts where people were getting them have been disabled. Unless there’s some other way to get this trophy supplies are extremely limited right now.

I frequently get the same thing while exploring the open world. I’ll dodge past mobs, get the “evade” text and find my movement reduced to combat speed anyway. No clone generation, no damage taken.

Sometimes the same thing happens when I blink or my Signet of Inspiration goes off and feeds me a Might instead of swiftness. Instant reduction to base combat speed even when I haven’t agro’d anything.

Every other class, not an issue. I can block and evade on my Guardian, lightning flash with my Elementalist and death’s charge on my Reaper without getting thrown into combat speed. But the Mesmer? Completely unreliable. Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn’t.

Did the first round of the new achievements in Frostgorge, then headed back to LA to burn some black lion keys. 20 keys: 2 full tickets, enough scraps combined with previous ones for a 3rd and a zodiac sword skin. Couldn’t make up my mind on what Bloodstone weapon I wanted, then lost connection when the servers went down.

Today, burnt the same 20 keys. 2 Makeover kits, a hair kit, barely enough scraps to combine for 1 ticket. And a bunch of dyes I already had. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the makeover kits (can’t ever seem to make a good-looking male sylvari) but I’d love to have had a choice of black lion skins.

Well, that’s RNG for you. A couple years from now I’ll try again.

~2000 hours since September 2012

Found 2:

Zap dropped from one of the bags from Dragon Stand (November 2015)

The Bard dropped from the chest beside Eastwatch Waypoint in Auric Basin (February 2016)

I don’t play the Mystic Toilet game, nor have I ever gotten anything of significant value from champ trains/World Bosses/or the various HoT-specific map chests. Mostly I wander from map to map, do an hour of meta or chase an achievement or two then log off.

A boundary that cannot be crossed by other players would be a nightmare in a PVE environment. Especially when used to troll objectives, vendors, story-instance entrances and such. I could see folks constantly dueling on bridges and other choke points simply to deny other players access.

As there already exists means for players to engage in mutually acceptable duels in WvW and in the Mists, I have to think the chief desire here is to impose PVP on players who would otherwise not choose to partake. That acts against the spirit of cooperation which has been the foundation of every aspect of the PVE experience.

If you want to PVP, go to a PVP approved area and have fun. If you want to RP something out, you can do the same by exchanging friends and linking up in one of the PVP areas. If you want to troll PVE’ers by harassing them with challenges or instigating favorable duels against poorly equipped players, this isn’t the game for you.

Why? Because they’re fun little easter eggs that reward players for playing the game in unusual ways.

If you’re a checklist kind of player, I can see why it might frustrate. But if you’re an explorer or enjoy playing content in an unconventional manner, this is exactly the kind of thing you would want.

“Don’t Cross the Streams” even got me watching Ghostbuster the other night,

Both are viable but take on vastly different roles. Ele provides top tier DPS while Mesmer is now almost exclusively a support class. Both are in heavy demand for group content in all game types so it’s mostly a question of what role or playstyle you like.

I play a Mesmer main as well but find Ele more satisfying for casual play. Just grab a staff, berserk gear and enjoy the explosion of huge numbers with very little effort.

It’s been proven time and again that the biggest sources of revenue for an MMO are the retail purchases of the base game, it’s expansions, and the whales who spend generously in the games’ various cash shops.

Only a very small percentage of an MMO’s population maintain a subscription over the long term, and the whales are typically part of that percentage. In other words, these folks will spend regardless of whether a subscription is a part of the game’s financial model. The rest of the game’s population either won’t pay at all, or will pay only until they’ve exhausted the current content.

If you want to support the game the best way to do it is to spread word of mouth. Get friends and family interested and encourage them to check out the cash shop to see if there is anything they like.

If you want a subscription service to provide perks and benefits above and beyond what is available to regular players, it’s best to be upfront about that. Some folks don’t have the time for all that grind and would pay the price for convenience. Others want to pay for exclusivity and the sense of being a prominent supporter of something they already enjoy. Some folks just want any possible advantage they can get over other players and will pay so long as it’s worthwhile.

Personally I’m happy with the way things are. There are plenty of convenience items in the cash shop and buying gems with real dollars to snap them up is already an efficient subscription service. When you’re already at max characters/max level/max rep/max etc all the bonuses from a traditional subscription service are completely wasted. At least this way you’re free to buy only those perks which are useful for you.

Loot drop from a Jormag minion for me. But I’ve a suspicion any dragon minion might do

An interesting development… I wonder what it means?

I understand GW2 works on a steam machine, though not without it’s own unique issues. If that’s a platform you want to pursue then it’s possible to have a “console port” of any PC game that steam will run.

Personally I’d prefer the development team stick with PC-only rather than divide resources to accommodate another platform, but I don’t mind them considering consoles when they draft up plans for GW3.

“Pay-to-win” has become a buzzword for any perceived injustice where paying players gain access to content which is not immediately accessible to non-paying players.

It doesn’t even matter if the content provides a competitive advantage. So long as it’s desirable and exclusive it will be labeled “pay-to-win” and judged accordingly.

Still, it baffles me how someone could consider an expansion “pay-to-win” content. I’ve always considered expansions to be different games entirely.

If I’m going to pre-order, it’ll come at the last possible opportunity to do so and only if the pre-order incentives/preview/leaks fill me with a desire to play it on launch day.

It’s far too early to say “yes” or “no” on the subject. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy HoT and the next season of the living world that comes with it.

For me it was Bolt.

I’d been saving up mats since launch, thinking that if I ever got a precursor to drop I might as well have the rest ready to go. Getting that drop seemed pretty unlikely though, it’s a running joke with my D&D friends that I might as well roll a d10 instead of a d20. Ultimately I figured I’d have to bank a thousand gold and buy Dusk off the trade post like everyone else if I actually wanted one.

Had everything ready to go save for the unique gift and lodestones when Zap dropped for me when I was opening champ bags from the Dragon Stand meta. Absolutely blown away when I found it, then instantly relieved that the luck gods didn’t hand me an underwater precursor just to rub it in.

I don’t see the game focusing on “hard core” players at all. I see the developers expanding the existing content to make a full and complete experience. Legendary weapon progression, increased mechanics in core Tyria (gliding), another WvW map. Skill and class re-balancing. Another PVP season and now difficult group-based content for dedicated players.

There’s a lot of marketing focus on the Raiding aspect of the game and it’s new wing, but that’s expected as it’s the latest content release and the designers want to see a lot of players experiencing it. It was the same way with each Living World update, WvW map and PVP season.

If you’ve completed all the content the game has to offer and are bored, waiting for something new… then you’ve probably been playing the game too much. If there’s lots of content but you don’t want to do any of it, you might be experiencing burn out. In either case, take a break. Play something else for a couple months and come back when the game has something that interests you. The great thing about GW2 is that it doesn’t demand your free time like a subscription MMO does.

There seems to be a lot of server-side lag where player targeting is concerned, you really just have to be lucky.

Plus, it doesn’t help that an overwhelming majority of players ignore this daily and just kick the skritt instead. Competing against a dozen or more other players for that fraction of a second where your toss might actually hit the target is a very poor design.

People will still need to run dungeons for the Gifts/collection items necessary to craft Legendaries, likewise with fractals.

It’s not the gold farm it used to be, but it still has a purpose. And for some, it’s more engaging and enjoyable than the SW chest train.

If it’s one of the underwater weapons or a second or third tier collection, no. At the moment there’s no means to find out what those locked collections require unless someone has made the information available on the forums, wiki or some other place on the web.

But since nothing turned up when I searched those places, I thought I’d put it up here in case someone has those collections unlocked but doesn’t have a lead.

Found something by the Lightfoot Passage vista in Straits of Devastation

Deadly Nightshade

“A unique and unusual flower is growing here in isolation”

I can’t do anything with it, but feels like something attached to one of the Legendary Collections.

Really? You couldn’t make this achievement-related item bound to account? It absolutely HAD to be bind on pickup?

Ugh… thanks for giving my mesmer more salvage fodder. Appreciate it, really.

A day later and STILL broken. Updrafts continue to be non-functional and the boss platform continues to disappear after failed attempts. This lack of satisfaction is feeling like the old Zhaitan fight all over again.

Oh, and a new twist. Now additional boss skills unlocked through the phases start on phase 1.

For the last week I’ve been applauding Arenanet on what appeared to be an almost flawless launch, something I’ve never seen in an MMO before. I knew it was too good to be true.

Yep, completely bugged. After a dozen fights the updrafts only worked once. half the time half the boss platform failed to materialize. The rifts sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t and most of the time they remained on the map even after they’d been used. NPC companions stood bundled together in a group rather than attack the adds or Mordremoth.

All in all, a complete mess. Seems to get progressively worse after every time you repeat it, so hope you get a bug-free run the first time or just exit instance and try over.

I’ll add my voice to the growing number of account holders who refuse to support the game with real-world currency until they return the exchange back to the way it was.

I’ve stood by arena net for a very long time, considered it one of the few gaming companies that put the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their players first. Since launch I’ve spent over $100 in the gem store and encouraged dozens of my friends to pick up their products. But if wallet gouging in the name of “making the interface less confusing” is what I can expect from here out, I won’t be spending one more dime on this game. Your players may love the game, may be willing to pay to play it the way they like, but they’re not stupid. When you take away the weekly statistics you remove the casual player’s ability to gauge a good market price for their real world $$. When you take away their choice to spend exactly what they want, to buy exactly what they want, you’re forcing them to over-pay.

This is a cash grab pure and simple. Don’t try to hide the greed by claiming players want a simplified store that maximizes your own profits.

In light of the upcoming patch (September) which is to feature some substantial balance changes to many of the classes, a current best-to-worst dps list won’t be useful for very long and what the future might bring is pure speculation at this point.

That being said, it’s likely Warriors and Guardians will remain the default DPS class of choice due to their heavy-armor resilience and raw base damage that does not rely on conditions.

But really, it’s all a matter of play style and preference. This isn’t WoW where a raid team will slot a specific class/build for each role to min/max boss encounters. Some classes which are junk DPS in dungeons/general PVE perform very well in WvW or PvP. Find a class which meshes with your play style and learn to use every trick it’s got. Even an “average” class can perform very well if you use it properly.

I’m experiencing the same bug.

My fixed-stat exotic backpiece was completed on the weekend before this recent patch. The cultivated seed was left in my character’s inventory. Not sure when the seed changed, but I noticed it after having completed dragon’s reach p.2, finished enhancing the living story materials, and created a chaos infused clay pot earlier today.

I’ve got an ancient PC as well, but that hasn’t been an issue for most of the releases since launch. But maps with a significant number of particle effects (fire, smoke, dust, etc., as well as zergs with all the effects on skill use…) bring my FPS to it’s knees.

Adjusting the camera so that the only thing being rendered on screen are the player character, enemies, and ground texture brings FPS back up to a manageable level. Still, how long do we have to wait for some kind of particle effect slider?

A pleasure to hear another point of view, Konig Des Todes.

As you’ve stated, the minions of the Elder Dragons possess a fanatic devotion to their Masters. It may be that the minions themselves perceive the vision of their Master ruling over Tyria while their Master’s do not.

Quote Jeff Grub and Jormag

True, the wiki is written by the player base and is subject to errors, omissions and should not be taken as a primary source. It is a fine appendix for for hunting down those primary sources however, which is why I posted the link. However, at no point have I stated as fact that the Elder Dragons are forces of nature, merely that they have been described as such. Other than the destruction of advanced civilizations upon their awakening and the consumption of magic, there has been little else to suggest at their motivations. I make no judgement on whether or not a force of nature can possess sentience or even higher intelligence, it seems equally possible to me that they may be brilliant or mindless. Are Elder Dragons forces of nature? Possibly, they may represent a form of balance that exists within the Eternal Alchemy. Or they may be a Tyrian version of the Reapers, crushing advanced civilizations before their use of magic disrupts the balance. Or they may simply be fantasized versions of Godzilla that awaken and act on instinct until such instincts are satisfied. Either theory is possible, there isn’t enough evidence to elevate one significantly above the other unless opinion is the final deciding factor.

The “alarm clock” analogy was more about suggesting a purpose for Scarlett than to state as fact that the Elder Dragons required champions to awake them. I’m wondering how much longer Mordremoth would have slept before the events of the Battle for Lion’s Arch caused his awakening. If he percieved it would be decades before he could rise to confront the Pact and the other Elder Dragons, would that threat be enough to cause him to reach out for a new champion rather than summon an existing one?

Of course, this all assumes that it was Mordremoth who spoke to Scarlett in the first place. All we know is “something” did, and Vorpp speculates that whatever it was existed within Ceara before she entered the Machine. It may be Mordremoth who lurked behind the barrier of Ceara’s psyche, or it might be some other inner demon that the Pale Tree walled off. Vorpp may even be wrong, though I admit anything said in game stands as “truth” until it’s explicitly revealed as a lie in later content patches.

Aethelbert.1497:

I don’t get how you made that conclusion.

Thanks for your continued interest, keep tuned for more!

Thank-you Narcemus and Zelkovan, lacking an engineer I haven’t found that specific screen shot yet. You’re definitely right that Scarlett had designs on the dragon, though other than drawing it’s attention and awakening it we’re not sure what her goal was.

It’s a little strange to think of Mordremoth using her as an alarm clock though. If we assume each of the Elder Dragons required a Champion to assist in their awakening (the Great Destroyer, Glint, Tequatl, Drakkar, for example), it’s strange that the Jungle Dragon didn’t have one active before Ceara entered Omadd’s machine and became Scarlett. Considering the strange case of Malyck, I can’t say with confidence that Ventari’s Tablet and the Pale Tree were the only thing keeping Mordremoth asleep until now.

All this discussion makes me want to find that Machine and toss another Sylvari in just to add more data points for comparison.

As an amendment for many followers of the Mordremoth theory, a kindly messenger suggested taking a second look into what Vorpp said at the Dead End.

Player Character: "When Scarlet looked across the open threshold, she saw things. And something looked back.
Vorpp: Ceara encountered something that literally broke her mind, but the only things in there were things she brought.
Vorpp: I surmise she was directly exposed to a part of her own psyche that had been carefully walled off. Perhaps for her own protection?
Vorpp: We’d need to do far more extensive study of the sylvari Dream before I could draw any more-detailed conclusions.

This piece of cannon, to my mind, is probably the strongest evidence supporting the idea that that the Sylvari are minions of Mordremoth and that the Dream of the Pale Tree is the only thing preventing them from returning under his control.

However this is problematic when we take into account the unique case of Malyck and the second Tree. Malyck claims not to feel the Dream, only a “great sense of distance, and loss”. Trahearn speculates that this second Tree may not possess a Dream at all. If that is the case, this second Tree may represent the Sylvari in an unaltered state, and if true it might mean that the Dream and it’s corruption is something unique to the Pale Tree’s children. If the Sylvari are naturally minions of Mordremoth it stands to reason that Malyck, who is not protected by the Dream, would already be one of them yet this does not seem to be the case. If Ceara needed the protection of the Dream to be removed before being corrupted by Mordremoth, it should have been a much easier matter for Malyck’s unshielded mind to have been corrupted as well.

It makes me wonder just what it was that was walled off in Ceara’s psyche that found an expression in Omadd’s machine. And perhaps more importantly, whether this part of the psyche was unique to Ceara herself or is something found in all Sylvari. Right now most assume all Sylvari carry this dark seed inside their mind because Ceara did, that might not be the case.

Zelkovan.2630:

Except that your whole theory is debunked if you are playing an engineer and you go to the control panels on the breach maker. It states in the text dialogue that Scarlet’s real target all along was a dragon. There’s no real other way to interpret that.

Actually the text states that the drill was meant to disrupt the leylines beneath Tyria, nothing more. Scarlet may indeed have had designs on a dragon, but to what end is mere speculation at this point. Nothing yet has been confirmed.

Aethelbert.1497:

I don’t get how you made that conclusion.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Elder_Dragon Under Nature and physiology and again in the first description of the subject.

Aethelbert.1497:

Oh, yes, a mere force of nature. Let me remind you of what minions of these forces of nature, namely, Zhaitan’s mouths, say. … Too much personality for just a force of the nature.

I can only assume this is meant to demonstrate that an Elder Dragon has a “personality” and thus can’t also be a “force of nature” due to possessing one. I feel I should point out that the two are not mutually exclusive.

Aethelbert.1497:

Examples, please. Low-tier minions are, in fact, no more than a mindless pawns. But are we talking about lowest-tier minions here?

And why do you, people, tend to forget about Glint? Which, in fact (and that’s important!) was killed for the betrayal.
/sarcasm on
Yes, I surely remember an earthquake destroying a tectonic plate last monday for betraying it, mhm.
/sarcasm off

Implying all dragons do and are the same thing. Hint: no, they are not the same. The way they produce minions, corrupt and all that jazz are different. Your assumptions are logical, but superficial.

Sarcasm aside, I will concede there is some value in that discussion. Most of the Elder Dragon minions are mindless pawns given some basic “programming” and then left to their own devices. You can see this much in Orr, where farmers and undead animals carry on the behaviors they experienced in life when these things can neither benefit themselves or Zhaitan in death until a player character approaches. The Champions and unique minions (Eyes, mouths, etc) are a different matter. These are entities the Dragons have invested significant time and attention toward, and it stands to reason that their own degree of personal autonomy is held rigidly in check. They are too valuable to be left to their own devices, both as tools and as potential targets. I argue that because of this value the Elder Dragons are always present within them, observing their actions in real time, ready to dominate their minds if the situation necessitates this. In that light they, while able to voice unique dialogue, can be equally mindless when directly controlled.

It stands to reason that the Elder Dragons, who each possess a different elemental nature, would not necessarily pursue their goals in the same fashion. However, from what we have seen of them so far there is an unsubtle undercurrent of brute force. Jormag, Primordus, Zhaitan, Kralkatorik and the deep sea Dragon have all displaced the native races of Tyria by advancing fronts with waves of corrupted minions. Targeted strikes upon individuals or specific locations that are not already present on the advancing edge of the invasions has yet to occur. During the “Forging the Pact” story quest the Risen were already present in Timberline Falls, not far from where the Rubicon was found.

Aethelbert.1497:

What she thinks she saw: The Eternal Alchemy, nature of Dream and Nightmare, perhaps Mordremoth.
What she saw in fact: supposedly, that the Pale Tree made a ‘firewall’ to prevent her offspring, Sylvari, from Mordremoth’s influence. Turning off the ‘firewall’ brings the attention of the Elder Dragon, and from that moment, it consumes Caera’s mind, slowly. Or instantly, leaving less and less space for Caera’s former self in these florabrains.

It is not explicitly stated that Scarlett saw Mordremoth while in Omadd’s machine. All that is mentioned is that she witnessed what she believed to be the Eternal Alchemy, the nature of the Dream and Nightmare along with a brief conversation with the Pale Tree and a mysterious “other” that saw her in turn.

Aethelbert.1497:

Wait, what?

The final Elder Dragon to awaken. There, some context for you. I guess that wasn’t made sufficiently clear.

Aethelbert.1497:

Nobody.

Clearly tl;dr had applied at this point. My explanation specificly addressed this in the post above.

Aethelbert.1497:

Pretty far-fetched, I daresay. Nothing suggests it. Consider your theory debunked: dragon minions do praise their Elder Dragons in some way or another while showing some degree of intelligence; Zhaitan showed some kind of consciousness, even human emotions, one could say. Yes, that’s all.[/

You’re entitled to your opinion, though you should be aware that a dismissive attitude will be returned in kind. I’ll wait for future LS updates before deciding whether this theory has been “debunked” rather than trust your own judgement, if you please.

The interesting thing, well one of many, that I took away from Scarlet’s final pieces of dialogue was the suggestion that Tyria would “bow before a new Master”.

Many have speculated that this new Master is the Jungle Dragon Mordremoth, however I feel this to be a misguided assumption. The Elder Dragons have been described as “forces of nature” who “gorge themselves upon the magic of the world, then return to slumber”. Does that sound like the kind of villain who lusts for world domination? Each one of them seeks nothing more than to drain Tyria of it’s magic. Not once is there a mention of Zhaitan’s desire to enslave the members of Lion’s Arch or any other city. Jormag merely displaced the Norn and Kodan, likewise with the mysterious Sea Dragon, and Primordus has been actively exterminating the living-stone dwarves for centuries now. Furthermore, there’s the seeming perception that none of the Elder Dragons viewed any of the advanced races of Tyria as a threat, merely creatures populating the world upon which they were feeding. Even when confronted with the knowledge that it’s enemies possessed the means to do him harm, Zhaitan’s efforts against the pact were remarkably simple and straightforward. He merely expanded until resistance was met, then brought overwhelming force to bear upon it until a breach was made.

It’s also important to note that in all other cases when an Elder Dragon “corrupted” enemy figures, these beings were little more than mindless minions who performed relatively simple tasks. There was very little autonomy given to any of them, certainly nothing that even remotely comes close to the elaborate and sophisticated plans Scarlet has devised. Some might speculate that in the wake of Zhaitan’s death other Elder Dragons may take a more strategic approach, however the idea that a sleeping Dragon would possess this depth of knowledge (Zhaitan required undead minions actively “turning” the enemy to gain strategic intelligence) is a kittene to swallow.

Scarlett definitely saw something in Omadd’s machine. It seems clear that whatever protection was afforded to her by the Dream was destroyed by her experience which allowed something “else” to speak directly into her mind. That “other” intends to rule Tyria, not devour it. That “other” desired the awakening of Mordremoth, the final Elder Dragon who, along with it’s brethren, would continue their millennia old tradition of consuming all the magic on Tyria and then return to slumber. If the Dragons succeed, magic would once again fade from Tyria for thousands of years. If the Pact succeeds, than the cycle would be broken and magic users need never fear the loss of their abilities.

The question I ask myself is this: who benefits from both outcomes? Who benefits most from playing both sides against each other as Scarlett intends?

Then I remembered. Centuries ago there was a race of beings who fled Tyria before their magic could be devoured. A race of beings who possessed the exceptional magical ability to use all forms of magic, not just the single aspects available to magic wielders in the civilizations today. A race of beings who manipulated, who enslaved, who lurked behind the scenes for centuries in order to see their plans carried through.

And one among them fled to the Tarnished Coast just a few centuries ago, to recover and vow revenge against “countless generations” of Tyrians who have followed his disgrace and the destruction of his people. A being of immense power who was already well practiced at turning the races of Tyria against each other. A world where only he, and the surviving members of his people, could wield magic would be an easy one to conquer. Even should the races of Tyria prevail they would be sorely tested to resist them now that the Gods have turned away from the world and the path to Ascension no longer possible.

I’m speaking of course, of Lazarus the Dire and the return of the Mursaat.

More to come as I follow up this theory and elaborate.

The optimum number of players per event is around 10. A single 5-man group of well-geared highly competent players can handle a miasma all on their own. The only time the map requires a zerg to “succeed” is when said zerg wanders into a miasma event and upscales all the spawns.

As for myself, I tend to wander all over the map during the hour; grabbing 15-20 heirlooms each run while taking on any events that spawn within 30 seconds of my position. I encourage/revive around 30-40 cits (mostly around the Western Ward beach, Hooligan’s Run and Urmaug’s cave) and burn the 3-4 mobs that regularly spawn on the evac routes. At the end of the event I usually find myself at the Postern Ward and down the Worm Queen for a champ bag before heading toward Lornar’s. A quick swap for the aoe heal/cleanse in the final few minutes then I linger in front of the gate as long as I can to see if we make 1200. Usually we do, though sometimes it’s a minute or two after the evacuation order before the ultimate bag get’s handed out.

Each run usually nets me about 70-80 blue bags, 5-7 champ bags and the Ultimate bag if the map manages 1200 saved. I could probably double that with the right group in a competent zerg, but the mad frenzy to tag melting mobs for bags isn’t as satisfying to me as actually succeeding at an event.

I’m also on the Tarnished Coast server and whenever I see a commander tag leave the Trader’s Forum it’s almost always to hit an aetherblade miasma that spawned nearby. Once that event is upscaled it’s impossible to save any citizens in the area until the event fails, so I just ignore it and go someplace else.

Personally, I’d like to see DR scale along with champions killed. When people stop getting champ bags from a zone there’s little reason to pursue champ kills exclusively, which means other events are more likely to succeed.

Assuming there are groups who do nothing, NOTHING, but activate Civs and escort them to Whisper Agents, you’ll still need at least 50. More makes it easier when miasma/defend events spawn along the escort routes.

If you can leave the zerg for 10 minutes to activate/escort Civs then usually the map hits 1200 with no problems. If you can’t be bothered to do even that… well, at least you’re not AFK’ing in the sewers/portals like the rest of the leeches.

I can appreciate how busy real life can be and the frustrations of players who genuinely want to experience the content but are unable to do so due to circumstances beyond their control. These are the dedicated fans who, if their situation was different, would easily find a couple hours every two weeks to log in and experience the content as the developers have intended.

The rest are your classic MMO hoppers who are frustrated that this particular game won’t provide a backlog of content for them to devour when their current game of choice gets played out. These people rarely support any titles they play beyond the cost to actually play it, and considering GW2 is already free it makes no sense to dedicate development time toward their interests.

I don’t mind watching a youtube video of events I’ve missed, I don’t mind missing out on achievements I didn’t have the time to grind out. I play this game because I enjoy the world the developers have created, because the lore has depth and provokes enlightened discussion and speculation. I play because the environments are well crafted and satisfy my need to explore, to discover all the little details that aren’t attached to quests or specific storylines. A current, evolving game world that changes and grows irrespective of my progress within it possesses greater immersion than one that puts itself on pause the moment I log off. It’s that immersive quality that keeps me tied to this game, or any other game for that matter.

What I would like to see however, are more cut scenes/cinematics made available from journals or NPCs to catch players up on past living world updates. For those who absolutely MUST have access to the story instances and group-based content in previous updates, there’s nothing wrong with bringing them back in an adjusted fashion via Fractals.

Personally, I’m looking forward to an eventual Marionette fractal boss. Jury is still out on the Ancient Kharka though.

When Scarlett used Omad’s machine and caught a glimpse of the Eternal Alchemy it seemed she saw something… and that thing stared back.

My question is, if an Elder Dragon used (or was forced to use) Omad’s machine… what would it see? Would it see anything at all?

This is speculation more on what the Dragons might be rather than the direction of the current Living World. If what Scarlett saw while in the machine was a sleeping/dreaming Mordremoth, it might suggest that the Elder Dragons are manifestations of the Eternal Alchemy acting as a force of balance (which may explain the evolution of Tequatl now that Zhaitan is dead).

If what she saw was something else entirely, then it stands to reason that the Elder Dragons are merely ancient, powerful beings that periodically gorge themselves on magic and then return to stasis until stirred by hunger once again. If true, then it’s possible they might “see” something also. Would the effect be as profound upon them as it was for Scarlett? Is this effect, or this “meeting” something Scarlett may have an interest in facilitating?

Lion’s Arch and Sanctum Sprint, Tarnished Coast. Looks like it’s a game-wide issue

The difference is that PVP is not designed to be a challenge but to provide the environment where players create their own challenges. You don’t always get to chose what challenge to tackle, hence there’s a very good chance you will be forced into something you’re not equipped to deal with. PVP players accept this, being in a disadvantageous position is the only way to judge how far your skill has grown—it’s part of the reason they’re there. There’s no shame in being stomped by a better player, it’s just another opportunity to learn.

By contrast people play PVE to relax, enjoy the story, explore the game world and tackle challenging content with their friends. They play for the immersion, for the escapism, and to while away the hours in an entertaining fashion. Personal achievement is certainly nice, and it’s part of the reason people keep playing, but it’s not the primary concern behind every hour spent online.

Which brings us to the next patch. Most PVE’rs don’t have a problem with PVP, they have a problem with content that has a swift and steep difficulty curve accompanied by an equally sharp learning curve. Putting the same content on a clock means many won’t have the time to learn what they need to succeed.

When you combine these problems with a player faction who’s primary interest will be in providing an insurmountable challenge for these players while largely ignoring the story-based content that brought everyone else there, it’s easy to see why people get upset.

For the most part, arenanet has been good about designing Living Story content that allows the story to be accessible while the rest is free to be completed or ignored as players see fit. So long as the “story” part of this patch can be experienced without undue frustration (i.e, hours of re-spawn running due to camping PVP’ers) I don’t see it being a problem.

Give me illusions that dodge in a random direction whenever I do.

Though if that’s not an option, I’ll take the 10 second blink in a heartbeat.

I think you’re forgetting Elona and Cantha…

Yep, short and relatively painless. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. I understand there’s a big wvw battle tonight?

Sounds like an awesome guild! Would love to join, if you’ve still got room. Lvl 80 mesmer, exotic geared, looking to do some fractals/dungeons and WvW

Looking for a large, active and mature guild on Tarnished Coast. Vent/mumble preferred for dungeons/fractals and wvw, but not a requirement. Main toon is an exotic geared mesmer, several leveling/crafting alts.