Guild Wars 2

In lieu of an invisible glider, quaff a quaggan tonic and glide whilst transformed. Hilarious. Not entirely practical all the time, certainly not indicative of a "super" persona, but worth a giggle as it truffle-shuffles its way to its destination. :-D

Ardid.7203:

Suziana.3759:

To each their own. I personally like flash, and stay away from the boring stuff that look like starting gear and weapons. I play this game for the fantasy, not real life simulation.

Fantasy worlds also need to have some internal consistency. Too much flash and even the strongest suspension of disbelief begin to crumble.
Also boring is relative. Wings on everyone are one of my more hurtful definitions of boring.

You know, even though I’m guilty of the flashy and shiny love, I had my new char in DR the other day and was literally shaking my head, wondering if she belonged in the same universe as the NPCs going about their daily business. I mean, I had the pinky-blue dragon wings, Winter’s Presence, Jormag’s Breath sword, plus some rather intense dye-age going on. I love it on one hand, but on the other, you’ve nailed it with the suspension of disbelief.

Not sure I can go to DR with that character ever again. :/

Yeah - I’d personally like a smaller sized affair. I loved the scale of Gilded Hollow (didn’t access Lost Precipice with the guild I was in), but for small guilds, that same scale is a bit much. I’d like something that was more standard house-sized, and preferably something using existing assets, so something that looks like a DR house, or an LA building, or something asuran, etc. Even the actual guild building itself in LA is okay size and design-wise. Just want to put usable furniture in there, a barkeep, etc. Don’t actually mind if it costs lots to upgrade, as anything can be achieved gold-wise over time, but it shouldn’t be completely insane costs, either. I mean, a chair’s a chair and technically doesn’t cost an entire forest to make.

Further, I’d be happy to just go to an estate agent to make a purchase. Don’t need an all-singing-and-dancing "This house must be reclaimed from X invaders!" stuff. Put it this way, although Archeage is a pox, the way you acquire a home and upgrade it was not an entirely terrible idea (bar the "where the heck can I put it?!" shenanigans).

Also, something with a library anyone can add a copy of all those books we can carry around would be nice (also can be used in "home" instance, I suppose).

Although, the way I’m putting it here makes me think this may be more of a solo "home" instance upgrade. I’m amenable to that, or guild housing, akin to FFXIV, perhaps.

I’ll happily be back to test again! Thanks for the opportunity!

I’m not sure we stressed things enough. I suggest a much longer test, say another weekend or so.

I found things mostly stable in my experience, although I’m sure there were occasional delayed responses - like the smallest fractions of delay in combat or movement, but noticeable nonetheless. My only other recurring bug is that on rare occasions, I’m running along, hit the mount key, see the mount animation and my character on the raptor running off into the distance - but my camera stays put as if none of that happened at all. A dismount fixes it. For both issues, however, I’d really need to do more stress testing to see if there’s more variables involved (hint, hint ).

Yeah, I’ll add my +1 for Anet’s support. I’d happily say they’re the best game support I’ve ever dealt with.

11pm is typically when my ability to function in any sensible manner is done for the day (I’m EU-based). I shall, however, make my minionmancer asura and simply exist in whatever capacity is available. Things shall Rise! as I fall on my face due to tiredness for science! Yay!

EDIT: As I turn back into the pumpkin at midnight, I can only do an hour. But I will attempt to make that hour incredibly stressful.

Djinn.9245:

It is unfortunate for me that Anet decided to put this level (I understand it is no level to many) of difficulty into the Stories. It means that I (and many people I have read) avoid the stories as I don’t enjoy being a floormop. I do enough of the story to get to the new map and then don’t finish it unless I feel I have to. Then I have to beg some friends to help me.

Welp, if you’re EU, and I happen to still be playing, I’m happy to help out with anything. I can be a professional mop if the occasion arises, and look fab whilst doing it. I just can’t do it for hours on end anymore.

Here’s my thoughts:

It’s not you, Anet, it’s me. I’ve possibly had my fill for now and although I’m grateful for the chance to try out PoF, I was generally uninspired to make a pre-purchase.

But here’s another reason why it’s me: I’m just not into deserts in any particularly way. I don’t like brown, yellow and orange. The occasional green of palm trees and such is nice, but it’s not enough. I just couldn’t even bring myself to complete any hearts because of the terrain, other than that first one for the raptor. I only found myself doing events because I saw some other players and felt bad for them, as they clearly needed some mesmer fabulousness to bring some colour and pop into the party.

I did enjoy the raptor, for what it’s worth. If it could actually bound upwards the way it can forwards I’d be happier. It’s definitely the equivalent for HoT’s glider. Though it does feel a smidge clunky every now and again (just what is it getting stuck on? I can’t see anything for it to be stuck on), could use another dye channel or two, I still found bounding around a lot of fun. However, the biggest issue is the transition to glider. I do understand why you wouldn’t just jump an animal off a cliff and whilst in the air seamlessly get your glider out, having the creature fall to its death, but still. The raptor disappears after a dismount, so why does the associated pocket dimension Bag of Holding or Pokéball not work in the air? Some slight re-config for a better change over is required, for those who are combining gliding with riding.

Anyway, I’ve been disinterested in future GW2 since Lord Buckethead made it apparent I wouldn’t be going to tickle Jormag in the Shiverpeaks. I was so looking forward to that! Yet again, that’s me, not you. I really was looking forward to a lot more snowy maps. I like the snow. But only in games. In real life, it sucks.

It’s probably fair to say I’ve been cheating on you, too, with another game. I’m sorry. The other game doesn’t cause my eyes to dry out, you see. You have since HoT, although I still played through the pain and discomfort. I’m just not sure I can do it again. You will still remain installed on my pc, and considering I have just a tiny amount of space (only two MMOs, and two single player games at a time), it’s not too bad a place to be in. And considering you’re still installed, I may pick up PoF at some point. I might just wait a while is all.

Thanks again for the privilege of testing it out and I hope you do well out of it.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

I opened up the boxes, got a ranged weapon for my second weapon set and used the food given to us. No problem. Whenever I got low on health I dodged out and switched to range. The non boss mobs died easy. It was only the boss that gave some trouble.

If you didn’t get a ranged weapon or food from the boxes given to you, do that next time. Makes a difference.

However, if OP didn’t find a DH bow in the boxes, then that could be something that needs tweaked for future updates. Being nice and all benefit-of-the-doubt and such.

Other than that, everything you say is spot on.

My own take was it felt like I had to rush on the with the story before having chance to look at my inventory. Y’know, people being burninated and so forth seems to be a pressing matter. I then saw my character had a staff equipped (I do not mesmer with staff), and I couldn’t let it go on. Then, of course, I had to fix my wardrobe to be all pretty and the right colours, then I found boxes and had to open the boxes, and then my inventory was a mess, and to cut a long story short, if it truly was an urgent situation, someone other than Tests-with-Cake should’ve received the call.

If I’m being all nice again, I could suppose this: if anyone else happened to feel a sense of urgency in getting stuff done just like I did until I saw what a fashion faux pas it would’ve been, they may inadvertently forget to check what they have in their inventory, and thereby fail terribly at being equipped adequately for the mission.

Yes.

If you don’t want to be spoiled for stuffs, do not look at the attached image.

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Personally, I think it’s an improvement. In the face department, the chap gods aren’t all that smexy. Sigh.

In no particular order: Frostgorge Sound, Snowden Drifts, Wayfarer Foothills, Dredgehaunt Cliffs and Lornar’s Pass. Sneaky extra in Timberline Falls. All the snow, (most of) all the time!

Best of bunch for art: Snowden Drifts, because there are points, when running across the map, where the sun is perfectly hazy, which causes a "Somewhere in My Memory" response in me. The simple effect makes me so happy. It’s beautiful.

Best for personal challenge and core game self-fulfillment: Dredgehaunt Cliffs. This may not make sense to a lot of you, but as someone who sucks at JPs, the Tribulation Rift scaffold vista used to be the stuff of nightmares for me. Now, having completed it so many times, it’s something I just run to and bounce up. Love it. Also, got over a few JP woes doing the caverns following the vista. The Vista in Dostoev Sky Peak also gave me the jitters, but now I cheerfully fight my way up completing the heart as I go, so not too fast, not too slow, and it works for me nicely.

1. Tangled Depths. I have respect for the map design in theory; in practice it’s just not fun to spend so long finding one PoI, or one Vista, etc. Mini-map especially poor, even now and I speak having just completed the map again yesterday, for my sins.

2. Ember Bay. I do not enjoy fire-based content as it often bugs my epilepsy or just plain gives me a headache. Oddly, I have no problems to speak of in Mount Maelstrom or Fireheart Rise, the core world map’s vaguely comparable content, but Ember Bay is just harsh. Also, the place is depressing.

3. Inside of the Citadel of Flame dungeon. Again, some fire-based stuff in GW2 wants to give me seizures, therefore I do not favour this "map".

4. Bitterfrost Frontier. Bitterly disappointing. I usually love snowy maps, with some caveats (see no.5), but this one is quite joyless. The kodan stuff doesn’t really do it for me in terms of gameplay, and only two waypoints is clearly a joke.

5. Snowblind Fractal. Sometimes, the snowfall in game can cause problems for me, typically in a dark night time setting (the frequency of contrast between some colours/patterns triggers seizures at worst, a very bad headache and panic at best. I usually log or go to another map if it’s too much). Hence this fractal being particularly horrible. Got the mastery, and will never go back.

(Dis)Honourable mentions: All of Ascalon. Thankfully, there are some decent bits and charr are awesome, so none of "their" maps make the top 5, but goodness all that yellow brown boring bleh. Only exciting because of the Brand, Meatoberfest, and I always like the snowy bit in Fireheart Rise. Also, Dry Top: I still despise its sandstorms and only use the map for story, dailies or completion. Oh, and Draconis Mons. The only thing that saves it was I had fun playing it, even when it annoyed me. Its downside was I played too long, completely dried my eyes out, got a bad headache for two days, and couldn’t play GW2 for about two weeks after, when my eyes started to get better. Although, that was largely my fault, not the map.

I second this!

/15 charr can cancan.

Solo, with the inevitable running into other people doing the same thing. I’m okay with that as long as we don’t have to get all chatty about it.

As someone who just doesn’t have it in them to indulge in rotations and since my mesmer starting letting me down, I’ve mostly being playing a necro reaper - my variant is the minion master reaper, the filthy zerker version. I acquired the build from these forums, though sadly forget where exactly, and have linked it before, and have linked it again below.

I regularly run into packs of enemies and use "Rise!", then maybe GS 4 (Nightfall) if I can be bothered/if there’s a few beasties, then GS 2 (Gravedigger), then GS1 (Dusk Strike) and then back to Gravedigger off cooldown, every time. Use 5 (Grasping Darkness) if something tries to get away from you and if a fight gets hairy, or you just want some giggles, use Shroud and have fun with that (I like the combos from 5 + 4 and/or+ 3 where appropriate; 2 will get you to your target if it tries to escape, and 1 is for traditional spam). If I don’t really feel confident, or I’m new to a fight - particularly something involving other people or some world bosses - I pop the staff and spam 1 until I have the measure of it. Note: I only use this soloing about and open world - very sure playing "proper stuff" group content would require a fair few tweaks if you have people who are very hospital corners about their gaming. There’s probably necroes despairing over what I do. I’m sure there are some rotations that are optimal if you’re into that stuff, but personally, I just do the above. For me it works, it’s kitten good fun, I don’t stress, I rarely die, and the job’s done. On a personal level, I’d call that optimal.

As you don’t get reaper (or any elite spec) fully maxed just by using the booster, it gives you a little wiggle room to refresh your previous knowledge and get a feel for it again. I would advise taking it to a 50/60/70 core Tyria area - stuff won’t kill you and you can practise before moving on to something that’ll live longer so you can flesh out any rotations to see if you’re happy with them. This naturally follows for any profession you decide to go with.

The Reaper build is here. I do a few things a little differently, in that I don’t use the bone fiend (use the shadow fiend), and I don’t use the food and utility buff advised. I’m cheap and use omnomberry pies and standard stones. I also use speed sigils instead of frailty so I can be a speedy reaper instead of a slow one. I also use Traveler Runes because they’re cheap and I hate dropping completely out of the speedy boost from the sigils into molasses (I figure I still want to be my Chrono.). It still works well enough for me on my own doing things. Again, professional necroes everywhere are likely turning in their graves at what I’m faffing with, but I have fun. XD

I like some of the suggestions I see here. I’d certainly want Snarl & Galina, Laranthir, Prof. Gorr, Barron & Fero, Mira and Carys to be part of the gang. Then I’d want Rytlock and Taimi for sure and Canach, if he could be persuaded to stick around. For eye candy and my amusement, Faren is a must (I also think there’s more to him than he lets on). I’d like to think this bunch would get things done and be rather entertaining whilst at it.

I don’t have any norn I’d add: the ones I’d want already expired. :/

Hi, OP! I’ve played everything, 80’d it, world completed it. Currently maining a MM Reaper Necro and having an absolute blast on it - but note I don’t do group content per se, so my little cuties don’t break anyone’s day (usually. Bless ’em). I also have a basic DPS DH Guardian in the stable, but he doesn’t get out much. I always deleted any warrior I made due to finding them rather boring - and yes, that’s even after doing world completion and some WvW with them.

You can, however, pick any of the professions, and there’s a build for all game modes if you’re coming up short yourself. Then tweak to your preferences (and/or what best accommodates the people you group with if that’s how you roll). If you have the character slots, roll one of each and just play them. Maybe you’ll find that they all have enjoyable merits and are keepers.

If you do decide to play a warrior, do note random open world people will nick your banners when you’re not looking and run off with them. Many a time I found myself running after them, shouting "Oi! Give that back!!"

Nah, leave as is. "Retreat!" is simply fooling the opposition (or informing them what they should be doing, as Ashen says up thread). Ditto "Save Yourselves!" Guardians aren’t being literal by any means with these shouts.

Well, that’s how I square that circle.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

The new mini pet, a Krytan Floppy Fish, is a fish out of water. It has a gasping for air animation and flops around on the ground. The question is, should ANet keep this animation or change it to a swimming animation. On one hand it is only pixels. No animals are being harmed. On the other hand, it’s depicting an animal suffocating and dying. As for myself, while I know it’s not real it does give me an “Ick feeling” as I watched it lie there gasping for air, so I would vote for a change in animation. Your thoughts?

Video of new mini pet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPSJQ6h8LnE

I don’t think any alterations will be made to it now. What this thread does, however, is hopefully give Anet an indication of more thought being required before they release stuff like this. Of course, this may not change what ultimately gets released, but perhaps the critical process will be thoroughly examined beforehand.

I personally wouldn’t buy this due to its inherent taste issues.

OP is sort of right.

Assumedly may be a word (admittedly one the forum dictionary is unaware of), but in that sentence, it comes across as awkward simply because it’s not a word in common use. Therefore I’d recommend "presumably", given it more accurately reflects what the sentence is trying to convey, and wouldn’t cause any head scratching.

Well, that just sucks. For fun, I’ve been levelling characters on the maps and doing story stuff alongside it, as that’s what I like doing (I’m not interested in raids or fractals, despite being fully geared up ascended). However, the inconsistent inactive NPC nonsense in the story has been ruining the experience for some time. I can understand them not wanting NPCs to carry everything, but I wasn’t under the impression they ever did in the PS - don’t recall it in the expansion content, either. Only in the recent LS stuff have NPCs become bolstered enough so they survive almost anything (seemed that way during the LS3 ep4 finale fight). Frankly, I’d call time on this because the balance is clearly not working; give us something like henchies/heroes a la GW1 instead. Let us build a functional team we can actually work with.

Welp, I shall play something else for fun until it’s fixed (if it gets fixed? oof) because it’s just not enjoyable as it currently stands. Although, I am getting my kid through the expansion story atm, so I’ll stick with doing that as my GW2 stuff for the time being.

Recently I have been utilising the (blue) quaggan and the Princess Doll tonics for my jumping/vista/JP shenanigans. The quaggan is hilarious for gliding too - it has a constant falling animation which is akin to the Truffle Shuffle. Both also dodge roll, for what’s it worth.

If you’re EU, I recommend GW2 Community. Here’s their events list:

http://gw2community.com/calendar/

They have a Teamspeak server going, which you’ll get the info for before they start a TT run, and then you simply have to listen to their instructions. They’re absolutely fantastic, efficient, clear to understand and a whole heap of fun. Without them, I would never have gotten the TT masteries (let alone all the associated achievements). And I’ll be honest: I don’t particularly enjoy teaming up with others, if I don’t know them. But here, if you bite the bullet, you don’t need to talk, just listen and you’ll get through TT and have fun whilst doing it. There’s definitely something to be said for enjoying a fully co-ordinated open-world raid-like experience.

TT is the hardest open world event there is, and is designed to be so. You don’t technically need to do it if joining others isn’t your thing - but it’s actually not so hard to do when you run with an experienced command crew like GW2 Community. So I urge you to put any doubts aside, and just try to catch up with the Community for a TT run.

Good luck with it!

Hi all!

I haven’t got all the way to the end, as the "Now go and do events until this bar fills out" bit had me cursing and logging out: "I’ve just spent the last few kittening hours doing stuff around the map, and it doesn’t count?! I just want to progress story! Kitten you!" etc., etc.

I like map completion. It’s a thing for me. I’m missing a few spots in this new map: a mastery point somewhere I read may be less easy than just walking up to it, and the odd vista I appear to have ignored for no real reason, plus the centaur PoI which is heinous, but I’m sure I’ll get anyway. Other than that, I’m okay with the map. I don’t hate it, but I’m not particularly convinced I enjoyed doing stuff on it. Renown hearts are slightly tedious to fill. Some events do seem to drag a little.

Now I’ll be back in today to try and finish the map up, and in doing so, that pesky story bar. Then I’ll have a crack at the last story instance, but if I’m reading things right, I may have a lot of problems doing so. Epileptic? Check. High anxiety levels? Check. Arthritic in the hands and wrists? Check. I hate to have keep bringing this up, but if people who don’t have such conditions are having issues, what chances do I have? I’m not exactly filled with confidence the best of times. I have, however gotten through most of the game before, sometimes just by the skin of my teeth - even if I don’t go back and do it again for obvious reasons. I will try this end bit nevertheless, and will edit this post with an update.

EDIT: Have now finished map and story. Map with little zerg was fun and hairy, but not something I have a great desire to do again. The last story instance was okay, but you really need to let up on the twitch. Not all of us are blessed with cohesive reflexes! I agree with pretty much everyone else: the last encounter room is far too small, and there’s just too much spam going on. I didn’t have a seizure, sure; then again, I spent a lot of the fight with just no clue what’s going on because I’m having to look away or feel sick. Please, for the nth time, have some overall consideration in view of this when it comes to harder encounters. And the mask as a reward? Ick. At least it sells for 2 gold 50 (but I’d rather have cash-in-hand next time. * shudder *)

Thanks for advising of the alternative route. I went the idiot way last night (what glorious failure!); it was a bit much for a simple PoI. XD

Mea.5491:

Ceridwen.6703:

The answer is always asura

But your display name sounds very Sylvari-ish!

Yes. I acknowledge my superiors. XD

I know you’ve picked already, OP, but for what it’s worth, it doesn’t matter in theory whether it’s male or female, or what race. However, the answer (particularly for a minion-summoning necro), is asura. The answer is always asura:

"Oh, this one’s kinda cute!" (f)

"Arise, my brainless, arise!" (m) (oh, and: "These things should come with a warranty!")

Oh, yes. Absolutely /signed. I would really appreciate an option for turning squad names off/on. It gets really cluttered in Dragon’s Stand during escorts, like a choppy sea of blue.

This should go in the QoL thread (and/or you should edit your title with "Suggestion").

I can complete it in the festival area, but it’s frustrating for reasons others have mentioned. I remember the LA version of this - there was one skritt we used to pick on by the Lion Statue (IIRC). We need that skritt back!

Until then, I go for the Bell Choir daily, as it seems to crop up at the same time.

MoarChaos.8320:

Are you trying to tell me that people saying lol aren’t actually laughing out loud? I’m a bit skeptical.

D’oh! Knew I should’ve clarified that better. I meant, people who actually say “LOL” when communicating verbally, and then don’t laugh. It’s a sad loss of real expression.

Although saying DPS is the much lesser crime by far, since it’s simply a lingistic change based on a mutual understanding, if not a grammatic one. We all know what is meant when somebody says DPS in a gaming context these days. Conversely, failing to laugh and saying LOL instead in spoken conversation is just tragic (and in a similar vein, laughing and saying LOL at the same time when communicating face to face is just weird).

Now if you’ll excuse me from this otherwise serious thread*, I’m just going to pop on my LOLlerskates and make for the nearest ROFLcopter.

*see below

Dawnbreaker.6215:

I can’t believe how hugely misused this term is. I’m in a dungeon and I hear barbarities such as “DPS that boss guys”. Really? “Damage per second that boss”? Does that sound English to you?

Now I don’t mean to be a grammar kitten SNIP!

Fear not: there is a layer of the (Forgotten Realms) Abyss reserved for those people who started using “DPS” as a verb.

I was after the snow dragon mini, myself. Think I might have seen it for a few seconds, but it was before I had cash (in-game or real) to commit to gems. It would just be nice if they’d kept all the appropriate themed items available through the whole festive period. It’s not always a good time of year for finance on the fly, which means things can easily be missed out on, and it feels contrary to the spirit of the season. Plus, all that pack stuff should be available separately at the same time, and in the pack at a reduced cost per item.

Arda Gyreshriek communicates her feelings post-"death".

Yes, please. Customisation is good stuff.

/signed

Manasa Devi.7958:

Ceridwen.6703:

Manasa Devi.7958:

Sounds like a convenient system, but doesn’t it use up a lot of inventory space if you want to save more than a few different "looks"?

I don’t know if you’re referring to my comment or not, but if so, the answer is: the stats tab and vanity tab gear are stored on those tabs, not the inventory. If you wanted to haul around extra looks then yes, your inventory would be compromised.

Yes, I was referring to your post. If I understand it correctly, maintaining, for example, 3 different looks would require 20 inventory slots to keep the 2 looks not currently in the paper doll slots.

I’m not sure if I’d prefer that to GW2’s system. It would depend on the value and scarcity of inventory space in that particular game, and I have no clue about that.

AoC isn’t really Fashion Wars, so the comparison of having many spare sets of armour/clothing in that sense is irrelevant (though I personally never had hassle with inventory space as quest items, etc, had a separate inventory to where you’d keep your fun extras). It’s more a suggestion of how to improve the transmute system (and by extension, the wardrobe system) in GW2 - where we do have access to a fair bit of inventory and banking space (an inventory or bank tab just for those extra looks you mention, for example). I would even argue that extra paper doll tabs could be purchased from the gem shop in the same way as those inventory and banking spaces are. This eliminates the need for transmutes and still potentially gains revenue for Anet.

EDIT: by further extension, I’d also argue extra tabs for weapon sets and/or stat changes, but we may get rather off-topic if that’s pursued in this thread.

Manasa Devi.7958:

Sounds like a convenient system, but doesn’t it use up a lot of inventory space if you want to save more than a few different "looks"?

I don’t know if you’re referring to my comment or not, but if so, the answer is: the stats tab and vanity tab gear are stored on those tabs, not the inventory. If you wanted to haul around extra looks then yes, your inventory would be compromised.

EDIT: LotRO’s version sounds even better, but I didn’t stick around there long enough to find out.

Zeyta.3519:

Ceridwen.6703:

Linken.6345:

Just out of curiousity what other mmorpgs let you switch for free, I know wow dont since you have to get the item.
Then pay gold to store and you cant store unlimited items either + pay in game gold to switch the look.

It’s not directly swapping the looks of items, but Age of Conan has a second appearance paper doll. You have your looks on that tab, and your stats are on the first doll. It costs nothing, it’s just a straight-up feature.

It’s probably the best option I’ve ever seen in a game yet, but I’m not sure just how applicable it is to GW2, as it would negate the need for transmutes altogether (arguably becoming a more streamlined approach, but potentially losing revenue from purchased transmutes).

Paper doll? Tell me more about this system. Can you change skins individually?

You don’t need to change skins at all. One tab has your stats gear equipped, and the other, the vanity tab, has your looks gear equipped (its stats are overridden). The looks you can alter individually (IIRC) are head, shoulders/upper arm, cloak, forearms, hands, chest, waist, legs, feet and necklace/amulet - 10 potential look differences, including no armour equipped at all if you choose. You also choose whether to equip each vanity slot or not - if not, the look defaults to the relevant stats gear tab item.

Linken.6345:

Just out of curiousity what other mmorpgs let you switch for free, I know wow dont since you have to get the item.
Then pay gold to store and you cant store unlimited items either + pay in game gold to switch the look.

It’s not directly swapping the looks of items, but Age of Conan has a second appearance paper doll. You have your looks on that tab, and your stats are on the first doll. It costs nothing, it’s just a straight-up feature.

It’s probably the best option I’ve ever seen in a game yet, but I’m not sure just how applicable it is to GW2, as it would negate the need for transmutes altogether (arguably becoming a more streamlined approach, but potentially losing revenue from purchased transmutes).

To chuck my opinion into the cacophony: I use transmutes regularly - my method tends to be using a spare character slot on something running around the cities. Sometimes I’ll level a character (doing area map completion) and cross fingers for a transmute (or a key. Usually if I want a key, I’ll get transmutes, and vice versa). This is rather time consuming, however. But I sometimes have fun, and sometimes it feels like a mini-grind I can’t be bothered with. I have no real solutions to this, however, it is what it is. If I really want them on the fly, and if I have the cash, I buy the transmutes with real money or gold. I’m sure I’d be open to more creative ways of acquiring transmutes, but I have the dumb today and cannot think of any. :/

What it comes down to for me is this: I don’t mind the crafted skins and whatnot requiring transmutes, or that I jump through a few (occasionally boring) hoops to get them. What gets my goat is stuff bought from the gem shop with real cash requiring them as well. That’s something that doesn’t sit particularly well - you spend 700 on the glider combo, and all bar one of your chars that want the backpiece have to transmute it. You buy the ear muffs, or are addicted to the scarf (for example) - you’ve already paid for it (either through time invested in the game or with real cash), it sucks to have to do it over and over again. I propose any armour piece purchased in that manner should remain free to transmute - similar to an outfit bought from the gem shop being free to apply every time,ditto HoM stuff, Zenith weapons, etc. - these items represent investment in the game(s) in the same way (cash or time or both). The armour pieces should be no different.

I was able to work on the drinks, plus the Essence of Mischief, Essence of Snowfall and the Magnanimous Obsidian Crystal at other times this year. I’ll repeat putting in Buyer Orders is better on your cash flow situation, and drinks are more expensive off-season.

Only the blueprint, JP, Snowball Mayhem, Toypocalypse, Claw of Jormag and Bell Choir have to be done in the Wintersday festival period.

I have to say, ever since I saw Winter’s Presence I wanted it. Then when I looked at the requirements, I became a sad panda. I also missed out last Wintersday as I was on an extended rage quit break, so the 10k drinks out of season was daunting. I was just shy of 5k when the Wintersday patch was released, but I had seen to Mystic Forging the essences and the crystal ahead of time (tip for anything like Mystic coins and things from the TP en masse: place a buy order and save cash. Got the coins within 30 minutes of placing the order much more cheaply. I’ve ended up doing the same for the drinks, and have saved cash and reached 10k much quicker).

Did the bell ringing (it’s an activity I’m not fussed on either way), snowball PvP within the hour of logging in after the patch release. The Claw took two days because of the event times, but no issue. Toypocalypse I started without realising it: my kid logged on to my account and played half the required rounds before I saw she was on my account not hers (!). I managed the rest no problem, as it’s not a particularly difficult activity. Just a little time investment.

The JP was the thing I was most concerned over, having not been a natural on those things. Most of the ones in the core game I’ve gotten (admittedly some with portals which were not mine), and somewhere along the way I must’ve become better as I managed Winter Wonderland in two sessions. The first session was just figuring the thing out - I’ve never done it successfully before (I think I did about two snowflakes a few years ago and never bothered again). I did the Gingerbread path and then kept failing on Quaggan, so took a break. Went back to it later in the day, and took my time watching other people jumping the path, and following them, and then just doing the Quaggan path over and over. On my successful run of this path, I literally told myself that this time, this was the success, and it seemed to do the trick, plus some deep breaths (I get panicky with the puzzles). I think the calming down and counter-intuitively taking my time (you have longer on the snowflakes than you think, but not too much longer), plus the subsequent occasional mouse/camera readjusts, helped a lot.

Riding on that success, I then went and ran the Snowman path in one go - my heart was thumping out of my chest with adrenaline all the way (ow), but I did what I needed to. The shoulders are awesome, and I hope everyone who wants the skin, whichever part of the grind to get there bugs you or seems impossible, manages to acquire it too.

Regardless, Happy Wintersday to all, and to all a good night!*

EDIT:* Ceridwen wrote this at midday in her timezone, so... to all a good afternoon, also...

Others have mentioned the GW2Community (EU). If it wasn’t for these people, I’d never have completed the TT meta. They are awesome! Look for their map shout-outs ahead of their daily TT take down, jump on the Teamspeak and listen to their clear instructions on what to do, then do it! They’re competent and fun. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.

HnRkLnXqZ.1870:

I sometimes feel the urge to use this phrase, but mostly the “go back to [game]”
It only happens with a special sort of players, a minority ofcourse. Our community is great, everyone is awesome (no sarcasm).

Last evening I had another approach with one of those special people. It always goes after the same routine:
The first thing they say after their name is from what game they come from. From their understanding, this information raises their rank from a newbie to a wise-elder instantly. After a little chatter they start questioning why GW2 not has certain features, features their other MMORPG has. A few sentences later they start to complain, that GW2 is stupid because certain things do not work as in the other MMORPG. After some reasoning and some explanations and friendly calming words, they continue. They point out GW2 is really bad and ANet should really take a look at that one MMORPG which does so many things right. That is usually the 4th or 5th time I kindly mention that this is GW2 and we are what we are because we are not a clone of another certain MMORPG. After a little silence we usually get to player-housing and mounts and that GW2 totally needs both of them, because that other MMORPG has it and it works so great there. At this point I already start breathing slowly and forcing myself to stay calm and answer in an appropriate non-offensive way. After another attempt of persuading, explaning and reasoning they do somehow understand that GW2 is not that certain MMORPG they come from. But on the other hand they really do not care and tell me another time that GW2 is really bad and it should have all the things they complained about earlier, or it will die within 2 weeks.

And that, well that is usually the point where I lose my countenance and tell them to go back to that certain MMORPG. I feel bad for doing so, but my patience has limits. I am not a jedi or a monk. Any suggestions how to overcome such great ignorance in a more peaceful way?

There’s a couple of things you could say: you can sympathise with their situation, yet politely disagree – paraphrase “Yes, you really seem to like X a lot. That’s great! I’m happy you like X in that other game. As for me, I like…” – You can then focus on what you view as the positives of GW2 (no fee to play is usually a big one here, perhaps gold to gems, cash (to gems) to gold), and you don’t have to even compare it to other games. If the other person says Game X has all that and a bag of Cheeze Doodles on top, then you can say, “okay, maybe I’ll check that out if I fancy a change of pace”. You never, ever have to check it out. Always just say you’ll get around to it at some point, and/or you’re just having so much fun doing what you do.

If this gets you nowhere fast, and the person is not in the same room or building as you, you can simply dodge the conversation any time it crops up. Oh, you have a phone call. Oh, you have the oven on. Your 3rd party communication has just suffered a catastrophic malfunction and you can no longer speak to them. You have fallen down and can’t get up. It will depend on how close you are to the other person (and how bothered you are about lying through your teeth to avoid the conversation). If you’re suitably close, you can avoid this shenanigans by just telling them the truth: when they begin to rag on your game like this, it gets you down, and you’d appreciate it if they’d stop doing it. If the person is your friend, this should get them to back down. After all, your differences have to be respected.

Have a ’net hug. I hope you and the other person fix the meh.

I’d be inclined to suggest a MM necro/reaper, plus check on Dulfy for the easier HP you can solo in HoT. Map shout for the trickier ones - but know a necro can likely take those, too. I used a build from someone off the forums (forgive me, but I don’t remember who it was!):

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vRIQJAWRnM0AN1gdbCe1As3glpBbqldBqASDgCQAI+DmCfhA-TxRDwAH3fIxlUUC2T53L1fAprpxTKAg5PSBs1wK-e

I had a lot of fun with that one.

I was thinking this is more an old school D&D Bard, myself.

I would also be partial to following a Guardian about, singing "Brave Sir Robin".

I would recommend GW2 crafts (links further upthread in ArchonWing’s post), in addition to running metas like Auric Basin or wherever you find most fun, salvaging everything, keep what you need and sell what you don’t, and doing buy orders like Anchoku suggests.

You could also hit the (perma) rich mining nodes across the maps (specifically iron and platinum) - this can get a bit dull, but will generate cash in the form of something you won’t need in leatherworking.

If you have a spare slot and aren’t in a particular hurry, running a different character through some level appropriate map completion, farming those nodes as you go, helps lots. Do the PS, too. There’s a nice amount of T6 leather towards the end. You get a lot in drops through salvage, too, which may directly or indirectly help your goal.

Good luck with it!

Just a quick question: anyone got a guesstimate for the Wintersday patch’s arrival this year? I’ve got a lot of festive beverages to quaff, and am hoping prices will drop in that period! My daughter is also super excited and has been asking when it starts as she wants to fling snowballs at everyone.

I’m thinking the 13th, going on last year’s release, but would love to hear your thoughts.

(also, sorry if this has come up recently; I will own to being rubbish at searching for stuff here!)

EDIT: Cheers m’dears, for your quick answers! A round of festive spirits to you all!*

*Except, buy your own. I still have a lot of quaffing to do and need every last copper. <3

You can get up on top of Thaumanova by jumping up in the right place in the poison/earth room (not sure if you can do it from anywhere else), following where you’d go if looking to charge the matrix cube key for the Steam Ogre event. From there, you can jump thenglide over other parts of the area, which is likely how those two got there.

I had a bash through this yesterday. Love the new map’s art, love the bonding sesh with Aurene. Broke my bank to make the mini, but it’s adorable. Please ensure everything I salvage from rares for two weeks is ectos, to make up for the cost, and also that I find T6 leather just by looking at dolyaks. Thanks!

Story was okay, but we did the disguise thing in Ember Bay, and it was interesting then, but shouldn’t reappear quite so soon. Also, my character is a mesmer. I’m disappointed she’s not able to pull an illusion out of her behind for the svanir disguise bit, but I suppose that wouldn’t be fair to others - except I recall in one part of the PS, Lady Wi disguises Tybalt as Demmi, so it’s not out of the realms of possiblity for another mesmer to be about providing this option for players (and any mesmer player could opt to do their own, for flavour). Less junk in the inventory and all that.

Speaking of which, I’ll echo others: enough with the multiple currencies and collectables in each (new) map. I’m now refusing to buy another bag or bank slot on principle.

Having to re-do collection parts to revisit parts of the map another day is not cool:

The Svanir armour, if the mesmer suggestion is not acceptable, should only take up one inventory slot as a whole (think someone mentioned this in this thread already), particularly once you’ve already completed that part of the chapter. If it is dropped thereafter, then it should be available from a nearby NPC (along the lines of - "hey, we collected this stuff after you swung by. Feel free to borrow it again if you want back up there!"). Players still can ’t use the armour if they want to complete the heart again, but it’s there if they want to talk to the heart vendor, and the pieces don’t need to drop from the mobs and take up more inventory space again.

The elixir buff is something we should be able to apply once made, or heck, even buy for a small bit of unbound magic (or better yet, plain old gold, silver or copper), once you’re completed that part of the story, or made the elixir. I’d argue it should be free from an NPC of your choice after story completion, but I’m nice like that.

Mobs are a little eager from a distance, and a bit crazy around the winterberry bushes. I’m sure those spiders don’t really covet the berries, and they’re just being mean. Foo on them, I say.

The quaggan at the hot spring is hilarious. I’m formally requesting this quaggan join the new guild as my personal cheerleader ("ooo, you’re going to your death...s-o-o sad"* can follow me all day), since Braham is being a baby cat about the guild right now. Also my commander sucks at explaining stuff, but the V.O. was good (sylvari female) - and I did laugh at her Svanir impression. I’d love a video composite of all the V.O. Svanir impressions - it’s a bit soon, I imagine, but does anyone have something on Soundcloud or YouTube for that?

Lastly, I went back and saved a baby snow leopard.Touching, as in RL, those cats need all the help they can get.

*I paraphrase.

EDIT: Also, love Marjory and Braham’s outfits and the new glider/backpack combo in the gem shop. I simply, however, cannot afford them right now - will they be permanent, or at least, come back regularly?